a quiet day

cory & betsygirl, central park

emily & the boys bring fresh baguettes from soutine bakery

3 responses to Christ

boyhowdy, that 7pm worship service is
food for my soul.
the friends, the songs, the sermon,
andy roda & the back up girls.
whoeee.

the way tim puts Jesus in front of us:
he’s the judge,
he was judged,
and if we understand those two things
in balance it will change everything about
the way we live.

and that our timid (“i’ll consider that. i like that.
Jesus is good.”) response to Christ is repulsive.
people in scripture didn’t respond to him with approval.
they were furious (hate),
they ran away (terror),
or they fell on their face & said, “command me, Lord.” (adoration)

He’s it.
he’s it.
His life makes ours possible.
His life changes everything about how I live mine.

(full disclosure: i cried through the worship songs -
how can you not? i cried through the hope for new york
testimony – the bailey house told them not to mention
Christ at all while serving there, then after they had
established relationships with the people suffering from
hiv/aids there at the house, the house staff called the
fg and asked, since many were too sick to travel to
church, would they do a worship service on site?!
they asked Redeemer for guidance & have been leading
sunday worship there for 1 yr now. chills.
and i cried as i listened to our dear tim
telling us the truth about our Savior,
about our Judge,
about our Intercessor,
who was thrown out so that I
will never. never. be thrown out. amen.)

(and for all my non-cry-prone friends -
you don’t know what you’re missing)

Jesus, what a friend for sinners,
Jesus, lover of my soul.
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Halleluijah, what a Savior,
Halleluijah, what a friend,
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

3:30pm, sunday afternoon, you know how it is.

ps – did anne marie really show up on my doorstep on a snowy
sunday night with a huge pot of delectable chicken soup to
make my cold get better?! you are something else, my friend. thank you.

saturday, what a day

groovin’ all week with you

i think my kids are huge.
they dominate the emotional space of every room,
they dictate my life in many ways.
and then it strikes me how actually l i t t l e they are…
when i rounded the corner into betsy’s room this
morning, i had to take a step back. curled up in a little ball.
this little thing is so b i g?! this little ball runs my life?!
love you, girl.

we’re tickled to have miss emily here for a week’s visit.
but it makes me realize i’m old. when i was little, her parents were
in our church in kc and now i’m the ‘mom’ who she comes to visit
on her college spring break. i’m old enough to be ‘the mom’?! oye.
i still think of myself as ‘the kid’.
(and what a gracious, kind, cheerful girl she is; way to go, clay & nancy.)
thank you, whole foods kids section, for helping me feel
potentially less guilty about coming up with healthy kiddo meals.

sing with me

the refrain in our apt today:

“i had it first!”
“she’s stinky” (literally)
“but i need it!” (a vitamin, a new purple marker?,
caroline: any toy betsy is currently holding)
“i only got to do it for one hour! i mean one hour!”
(henry evidently thinks one hour is a short, unreasonable time.
unfortunately, it doesn’t achieve the dramatic reaction he’s hoping for)
“uh ho!”
“nooooooooo!”
“nathan! nathan! nathan! nathan!” (h & c are loving having nathan
around this week, but can’t leave him alone for one second)
“he hit me!”
“poopy”
and carrie love’s song:
“if i knew you were coming,
i’d have baked a cake…“

and my song:
“this is the day that will not end,
it just goes on and on and on (and on and on),
this is the day that will not end,
it just goes on and on and on….”

luckily Cory’s home early and his song seems
to be much more cheerful, optimistic & wholesome.

we’re off to the park; i hope our songs harmonize
and the day ends on a sweet note.

happy birthday, kara cross!
we sure do love you, my friend.

and cookie mag’s brain food ideas seem reasonable; we could use more brains.

dangerous dave

she’s learning the tricks of the trade.

does ‘class a’ absolutely guarantee that they’s better quality?
this video is not endorsed by kj the dj.
we don’t know how it got up here or why it makes us laugh,
esp the house music part & the dangerous dave drives the bus part.
we do know that the uk gov’t man is precious & a jolly good sport.

Note to my dear Grandma: You may want to skip this one.

me. here. now.

O Lord, begin with me. Here. Now.

lent 101.
ash wednesday marks the start of the
lenten season, the 40 day season that
climaxes with Easter.
the ashes being a symbol of humility before God,
of mourning and sorrow at the death
that sin brings into the world.
mourning the death of Jesus and
realizing the consequences of our sin.

intown’s [atlanta, ga] lenten devotional has been
helpful to cory and i the past few years.
i think tuck was the one who pointed us there.

so the kids and i actually went to eat at
mcd’s tonight to talk about it being the beginning of lent.
we sat in the booth reading,
‘uncle arnold’s bedtime stories’
and then talked about ash wednesday,
about wanting the Holy Spirit to help us
change our hearts so that we can live a
new life & glorify God, and about how this
season culminates in Christ’s sacrifice for our
redemption…Easter.

nathan’s eyes lit up and he reminded the others
what fun Easter is -
the egg hunt in central park with other redeemer families
(come one, come all – sat morning, april 7, 10am,
the big rock inside the loop at 72nd st, bring 1 dz.
filled eggs per child, we hide them quickly and
then release the kiddos to find them. dad’s serve
as guards so the rest of the random people in the
park don’t scoop them up – it happens!),
spending saturday afternoon decorating eggs,
(last year with the jennings)
and the huge party at julia & christa’s
on sunday where bebe brings those confetti
eggs that we smash on eachother’s heads.
and all of this somehow makes us think of Jesus.

the Lord is risen,
he is risen indeed!
alleluijah.

those drawer handles are paying a huge price.

‘wet desert’

that’s what mrs. vanderbilt thought of the expansive view
her summer ‘cottage’ in newport, rhode island, provided.
“a wet desert, who wants to look at that?”
evidently it was the salt air they prized, thus the location.

cory and i toured their home, the breakers,
closed our eyes & inhaled the deliciousness of sara & scott’s cooking,
listened to the children playing, playing, playing with harry
(two electric motorcycles to ride i n d o o r s, hotdog),
worshipped at first pres,
savored fresh swordfish, from anthony’s, that scott prepared,
rested by the fire,
and enjoyed the hinzman’s hospitality to the fullest.
thanks, guys.

‘how good and pleasant it is when
brothers dwell together in unity.’
psalm 133:1

ps – yes, karen, we hit the trifecta of consumerism:
target, wally world, tjmaxxxxxx…

good design

…makes me happy.
makes me breathe.

pentagram design
the cool hunter
hable construction
moma design store, where you can find nathan and i
playing on stolen tuesday afternoons
jane marvel, whimsy is happy
tate modern (we’ll be there in may – my parent’s 40th and we’re traveling with them)
design public
kate is from kansas city, of course
citarella designs the best dern spring joy chicken salad around

happy long weekend, friends!
we’re off for a romp in rhode island…

hmmmm

let’s sing ourselves to sleep, shall we?

I have a maker
He formed my heart,
before even time began
My life was in his hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought,
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

I have a father,
he calls me his own
He’ll never leave me,
no matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

(and if you’re still not sleepy, do check out
our very own courtenay’s
newly released lullaby cd,
sleep is behind the door)

bibliography for earlier posting

a bibliography with links:

child’s story bible, catherine vos
stories Jesus told, nick butterworth & mick inkpen
how & when to tell your kids about sex, stan & brenna jones
book 1: the story of me, ages 3 to 5, brenna jones
book 2: before I was born, ages 5 to 8, carolyn nystrom
read aloud bible stories: vol 1, ella lindvall
the tell-me stories: volume 1, ella lindvall
the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, illustrated by robin lawrie
what would Jesus do? mark thomas (i can’t find it online, good luck)
the adventures in odyssey bible, focus on the family
the chronicles of narnia, full-color collectors edition, c.s. lewis
the family book of manners, hermine hartley (super cheesy)
read with me bible, zonderkids
big truths for little kids, susan hunt
discovering Jesus in genesis, exodus, etc, susan hunt
my a b c Bible verses, susan hunt
illustrated children’s Bible, catholic book publishing
love is…, wendy anderson halperin

the just so stories, rudyard kipling
the hobbit, j.r.r. tolkien, illustrated by michael hague
a book of narnians, c.s.lewis, illustrated by pauline baynes
george & martha, fox books, james marshall
peter spier (noah’s ark, rain, people, bored nothing to do, any of his books)
jan brett’s books, including on noah’s ark
cynthia rylant’s books (henry & mudge, poppleton, mr. putter & tabby)

caldecott award winners
newberry award winners

from immature to mature

chris’ words this morning on prayer,
praying for our children, for our husbands
and for ourselves, were spot on.

we’re learning to pray.
the Spirit intercedes for us with groans.
we groan along with him.
we move from immature praying to mature praying,

not from ‘wrong’ prayers to ‘right’ prayers,
nor from ‘ineffective’ prayers to ‘effective’ prayers.

it was such a treat to be with a full-house crowd of
of our mom’s group this morning. who would’ve
thought that such a snowy blustery day would
bring us all out to talk about family worship,
about prayer & about raising our children in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
yee haw

i’m attaching my list from this morning -
accept it as it is, a tiny drop in a large bucket
by someone who’s about 3 tsp short of a Tbsp.

with love,
kj

christian education in the home ideas

morven’s birthday

…happy birthday to yoooooou…
across the pond, from ny to the uk
can you hear us singing?
we sure do love you, sweetheart.
and we’re remembering the last time your
birthday was on the Lord’s day – that
sweet party at our 118th apt, blt’s & diet coke.
(purely american, in her eyes)

romans 14 – paul’s admonition to’walk in love’

one laptop per child

Lord’s day prep

alright, it’s saturday evening…
final Lord’s day preparations,
so tomorrow can in fact be dedicated, different & delightful.

we’re scurrying a bit to have a fun night and
get the last bit of has-to-be-ready-monday-morning
work done right now, with tomorrow’s pork chops
are defrosting in prep to marinate.
(hello, tomatoey-brownsugary-porkchops!?)

dr. benton’s description of Praying Hyde’s
prayer has me tearful.

may your prayers tonight &
your Lord’s day be delightful in his presence.

ryan & paula, world travelers; lazaro for dinner;
butterfly betsy (thanks, jenny) & uno championship with julia & lisa

for real

i heart

dana is cracking me up. so i’ll follow her lead…

today i heart stickers.
not the little stickers, but the big square
ones you get when you’re good at the doctor’s
office. little mermaid, dora, star wars, strawberry
shortcake; i’m not discriminating. just a big ol’ sticker.

makes me happy.

caroline & leah. and for a real treat, listen to leah’s mom (‘audio’).

bootcamp

II timothy 3:15
“…from infancy you have known the
holy scriptures which are able to
make you wise for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.”

daily bible reading boot camp :
(aka. reading regardless of how i ‘feel’)

-robert murray m’cheyne bible reading calendar
-hymn singing
-proverbs & psalms
-private & corporate prayer

paige, you feed us in so many ways, my friend.
and that bentonangel is such a persevering sweetie -
he will not give up on our stairs! he is a master walker.
singled out by God for good

and ava, you are such a love. and you SO love God.
for better or worse

carrie love, the stanton family (hi, jack!), kathie

overflow

“Whenever you are communicating with another person,
let Psalm 19:14 be your guide,
‘Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my rock and my Redeemer.”

The best things to fill your heart with are
God’s love, peace, joy, compassion for others,
and other positive qualities.
Then the words you speak will also be acceptable.
Luke 6:45c tells us why:
‘Whatever is in the heart, overflows into speech.’ “
Alyssa’s mom, Nancy Butkowski,
‘My heart belongs to him’, p. 56

homework time

call it a ‘delight’

the bentons’ were helpful in admonishing us
to strongly consider how we honor (or not!)
the Lord’s day.

dr. benton reminded us that the sabbath is
dedicated to the Lord, that it’s
different from other days, and that it is to
be a delight.

this was fresh in my mind on sunday (duh, as it should have been)
and it tripped me up a bit. wanting to throw in
that load (or 3) of laundry i missed because we
were at the conference,
wanting to finish up some citywrites things,
wanting to do the things i do every other day of the week.

but the sabbath is a day set aside and acknowledge that
i am the Lord’s. that he is, in fact, my God.
that i am not defined by my earthly roles,
but by an eternal calling from the Creator of the Universe.

ouch and hooray. and the more i think of it,
hooray. hooray!

isaiah 58:13-14

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

my handsome brother, scott, deployed on saturday.
(marine helicopter pilot)
my oh-so-lovely sister-in-law,
katie, remains in okinawa, their home.
happy birthday, katie! pizza in the sky, babe.
wish we were there to celebrate with you.

rookie cards

cory’s downloading dennis jernigan & run dmc* for his ipod.
nice theological combo, babe.

and thank you, covenant seminary, for this:
parenting lectures, free.

Big News: 51 days until baseball season opens.
cory’s fantasy team drafts the last week of march.
go, naked banshees.

three new cards we’re launching tomorrow- the memo, the birthday & the chicken meeting, with tiffany blue envelopes, a first for citywrites:
(click to enlarge)

*”in new york the people talk and try to make us rhyme
they really hawk but we just walk because we have no time
and in the city it’s a pity cos we just can’t hide
tinted windows don’t mean nothin’, they know who’s inside”

food & soul food

next week’s meal list, as i run out the door to hit fairway:

1. grilled chicken, butternut squash, salad
2. pork chops, broccoli & bow ties
3. chicken & rice soup, broccoli
4. capellini & sauce (we love that ittybitty spaghetti), salad
5. spinach lasagna
6. cheddar french toast & tomato soup, broccoli
7. tuna casserole of some sort

backup: split pea soup or bolognese sauce in freezer
snacks: apples, bananas, dried cranberries, popcorn, grapes
drinks: love margaret’s encouragement to add more oj, less reliance on milk for calcium

parenting conference:
we are so grateful to dr. and mrs. benton (i can hear her now, ‘it’s pam! just pam’)
for coming on such a cold new york weekend to encourage us in how to
raise our children in the admonition and nurture of the Lord.

they are a gracious, warm, Biblical, practical, godly couple.
emphasizing the importance of the covenant community, the
community of believers, they admonished us to root our lives in that
context. to seek the Lord ourselves, and not require things of our
children that we are not obeying as well. (thus preventing our
hypocrisy) thanks for watching our kiddos, justin & anita.
and nathan sat through this morning’s seminar with us (9am-12pm) -
good job, sweets. i’m surprised at how much he can recite
from the seminar as he was reading & playing pokemon, or so
it appeared.

may the Lord’s word bear great fruit in my life,
in our marriage, in our children.

dinner last night, nothing fancy food-wise, trying to convince betsy to eat sitting down…

say what?

to: nathan love
from: mom & dad
re: talking back

it’s been a good week, babe.
good job working on holding your tongue &
not talking back. and when corrected,
softening your heart and changing the tenor of things.
we know that the Lord sends his
Holy Spirit to give us the grace we need to obey.
we can not do it without his help & strength.
way to go, calling on Him & acknowledging that this
is way hard. way hard.
not talking back, esp when you’re dying to defend
yourself or to clarify something – oye! it’s hard for all of us.
way to go! let’s keep on this.
we’re on your team, kiddo.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

i think we’ll memorize phil 4:8 (true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable,
think about these things) this week and try to fit our words & thoughts
into these categories, and ultimately on Christ Himself.
i’ll let you know how it goes.

your assignment: send me other ideas that come to mind
that would encourage joyful obedience.
(in my heart & in nathan’s heart)

random entertainment for a friday afternoon?
this next website. the wee ninja slays me.

the amazing katherine leary and a bedroom full of friends.

break out