MOPS Moments: Eyes to See Sorrow

At Monday's MOPS meeting, our topic was "Eyes to See Sorrow." And while it may have been a heavy topic, the spirit in the room was so sweet and Jesus' presence was felt. I am so thankful to have the promise of His presence in the midst of sorrowful times.

In our devotional, the author described how music is often an encouragement to her during sorrowful times. As I read those words, I really identified with this concept. I've loved music from as early as I can remember - I love to sing, play instruments...it has always been a part of my life. A few years ago, though, I realized that God has often given me a song to hang on to during harder times to point me back to Him.

I remember this first happening while in college. A friend of mine, who knows the truth, decided to live her life her own way, instead of God's. It hit me really hard. It frustrated me and hurt me deeply. But one of the popular songs of the day was "Mighty to Save" - Even to this day, when I sing those words, I pray for friends that need to turn back to Christ.

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing...

Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save...

He rose and conquered the grave

And when I remember that He conquered the grave, I know that He definitely has the power to change lives. 

When my Hudson was born unexpectedly at 33 weeks, my family was scared. (Part 1 and Part 2 of the story) I still have no memory of those days. And we weren't sure what the future held.

 But as I came back to being myself, I remember clinging to the words of the song "Our God is greater!" 

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God, you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer 

Awesome in power

Our God, Our God

And He was and is greater than anything we experienced during that scary time. He healed me. He was stronger than we were. And even if things hadn't turned out perfectly, we knew that Our God was greater! 

A few years ago, I lost my Nanny rather suddenly. It wasn't fair and it didn't make sense. She was the life of the party. She was so much fun. She loved any chance to get with her family or talk about her family. She spent her entire week preparing for church on Sunday. 

She had been in a deep sleep for several days, and Hudson was awake one night around midnight. As I rocked him, I prayed for Nanny. The familiar words of "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" began to pour out of my mouth. A few minutes later, my dad called to tell me that Nanny was with Jesus. My mom and her brother had been singing to her "This is the day that the Lord hath made" when she opened her eyes and then went to Heaven. 

The next day was Sunday, and as we sang the song "Bless the Lord O my Soul" at church. it seemed to be so fitting for my Nanny. 

And on that day when my strength is failing

the end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing your praise unending

ten thousand years and then forevermore

Although the Lord may not use music in your times of sorrow like He does for me, He knows what you need. He may use encouraging friends, Scripture, nature, etc to minister to you. Regardless of the avenue, it reveals that He is near. It doesn't make the hard times go away, but it reminds me that I am not alone in the midst of them. 

"For the Lord your God is with you

He is mighty to save

He will take great delight in you

He will quiet you with His love

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

Our speaker for the day shared her heart so sweetly with us. I love that she pointed us back to the Word of God during hard times. And I love that she encouraged us to spend time in the Word now so that we are equipped when the hard times hit. "Time in the Word is never wasted." Here are her notes. 

I am so glad that the Lord knows us. He knows when we are hurting and He knows what we need. 

"Every trial becomes a platform." Kay Arthur

A Manly Makeover for a Little Wooden Box

There are certain "everyday things" we celebrate in this house. Sometimes it's a clean plate. Other times it's using the potty. Our son wears glasses and we patch one eye for an hour each day.

We celebrate putting the patch on, taking the patch off, and taking care of our glasses.

This little wooden box got a manly makeover today to help Hudson feel that his "eye supplies" have a special place.

I picked it up last Saturday, not really knowing what I would use it for. It was half price at my thrift store, making it a bargain that I could not pass up.

I think that it used to be some type of jewelry box. I like when I don't know exactly what the item was - it lets me be more creative in re-purposing it. Inside the drawer was a yucky velvety surface.

I simply ripped out the "velvet" insides, intending to decoupage something cute in its place. After I removed the fabric portion, I let the box air out in the garage for a day or two. That process usually removes any musty/old smells.

Wrapping paper that looked like old newspaper was the perfect choice for the inside of the drawer.  A quick wash helped the overall appearance of the box. I love to pick up wooden items from thrift stores or yard sales - they can easily be painted or fixed with glue and nails.

We usually place Hudson's glasses on this shelf each night while he sleeps.

As he is getting older, he is learning to do more and more by himself. And I have found that if something has a proper place, he has a better chance of getting that item where it belongs.

It also has been helpful to let him get the patch and open the wrapper himself before I place it on his eye.

Having a fun little drawer to open seemed to make this dreaded part of the day more fun.

After painting the drawer front white, the piece felt more modern.

I needed a drawer pull and had thought about attaching a cute knob, but I wanted the box to look more manly.  I had a leather strap on hand that had once been part of a luggage tag on an old suitcase.

A thumbtack held the leather onto the drawer front quite securely. A few taps from my hammer finished the job. I love that the thumb tack was long enough to hold the leather into place but not so long that it stuck out the other side of the drawer. It made me start thinking about using old belts for dresser drawer pulls. Super simple.

Hudson loves his little box. As we got ready for bed tonight, he asked if he could open the drawer one more time. I love when he gets excited about little things.

The Lord has been good to us and has made the adjustment fairly easy. I am so glad that I can look back at the Lord's faithfulness when future difficulties arise.

I Samuel 7:12 "Up to this point the Lord has helped us."

And I hope that this little wooden box reminds Hudson that we are proud of how well he does with his glasses.

A friendship in the making...

There's a little transformation happening in our household.

With each little adventure, it seems that these two little Cooks are becoming best friends.

I don't really know when it started. But as I watched my laundry basket become a boat this morning...

I realized that two siblings had become playmates.

He celebrates her victories..."Look, Mom, Baby Girl is standing up!!! Just like me!!!"

 He loves on her.

And likes to baby her...even though she is pretty much his size.

He hugs her too tightly.

And she finds ways to show him who's really the boss.

She wants to do everything just like him.

Which includes playing with his toys and reading his books.

As I listen to their conversations, my eyes mist over a little bit...

Because I pray that this friendship that is starting right now...

... will be a friendship that will last for a lifetime.

Siblings make the best of friends. 

"Happy Easter, Mom"

Reading books, singing songs, Resurrection eggs...We really tried to teach Hudson about the true meaning of Easter this year. Sure, we ate our share of Peeps and chocolate eggs, but I wanted him to really associate this holiday with Jesus.

I love how his little mind absorbs things so quickly. I can tell him the new Bible verse for the month, show him the motions, and get him to repeat after me...and he has it memorized!

This Easter, I had the awesome privilege to lead over 500 preschoolers (ages 2-5) at church in their worship time. One Saturday night service and two Sunday morning services.

At first, I have to admit that I was a little bummed that I would miss all of the Easter services in "big church." I didn't even wear an "Easter dress" because Jeremiah and I were sporting our church t-shirts like the other workers.

But, in the midst of jumping around with over 100 kids, loudly singing "He is Alive!" I realized something. I would have never celebrated Christ's resurrection in the main adult service with the same enthusiasm as we did in that preschool chapel. And I got to do it three times! It was so fun to share the real meaning of Easter with those kids and watch them get excited about celebrating in song. We even did a cheer with pom-poms!

Jesus understood it and tried to tell His disciples about it in Matthew 18:3 when He said, "Unless you turn from your sins, and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Kids get it...they believe! Their faith is amazing. We adults make it too complicated.

Part of that scares me, that Hudson can be so trusting. But another part of it challenges me to have a faith like his. It also challenges me to keep pouring the truths of God's Word into his little mind, whether it's through songs, books or memory verses.

My dad has always said that children's ministry is one of the most important areas for a church to focus on. George Barna says that nine out of ten Christians come to know Christ as their Savior before the age of 18 . That should pump up any children's ministry worker to know that their service is directly impacting the Kingdom of God.

As a child, I remember hearing the gospel presented at church. I knew I had sinned and that because of that sin I would never be good enough to get into Heaven on my own. I was excited to learn that Jesus had taken the punishment for my sins on the cross and came back to life. Because I believed all of this, I can spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  My parents taught me these truths, but I also learned them at church.

Hudson loves church. Several mornings a week, he will ask if we are going to church and if he can put a sticker on his back. (That's where our church places their name tags) But he also keeps looking at me randomly throughout the day saying, "Happy Easter, Mom." In fact, those words came right after his wishing me a happy birthday yesterday.

At first, it made me chuckle. "No, buddy, it's not Easter anymore." But then Jeremiah said, "He's got it right...we should be celebrating Easter more than just once a year!" After all, Easter celebrates the most important part of our Christian faith.

Hudson may not understand everything about this holiday where we remember Christ's death and resurrection, but I do think He understands that it is about Jesus. And he knows there is something to celebrate! I am so thankful that his continuous celebration and those kid's enthusiasm at church made me rejoice about the resurrection a little differently this year.

Kids get it...they believe...and I want to have faith like them!

So, Happy Easter! 

Our own little Home Church

Yesterday was one of those Sundays. Thanks to a couple head colds, we were not able to take the kids to their classes at church. But whenever I am not at church on a Sunday morning, I get a weird empty feeling. No, it's not guilt or feeling like I am doing something wrong. I think I just miss the Christian fellowship and the emphasis on our Lord.

So, yesterday morning, I decided that Hudson and I would have our own little Sunday School at home. As he ate his oatmeal, we watched the Easter Story via the Right Now Media App (thanks to our church). I remember watching these animated Bible stories as a kid. They are still great teaching tools today. You can buy the Easter DVD here.

We then talked through our Resurrection Eggs. You can buy a version of the eggs, or you can make your own, like we did. Hudson is a little young to grasp every aspect of the story. But I talked through all the items and their place in the Easter story. He loved looking for the next numbered egg and anticipating what would be inside.

Since it was Palm Sunday, we even waved a big leaf around saying "Hosanna, Hosanna!" Except Hudson kept saying "Go, Nana." (You can find thousands of free coloring pages to print with a simple google search).

Thanks to YouTube, we sang a few songs that are often used in his class.
I'm Gonna Sing, Sing, Sing (Video Here)
Roll that Stone Away (Video Here)
God is so Good (Video Here)
When Jeremiah came home from church, Hudson was excited to sing these songs for him. And he has requested "Sing, Sing, Sing" close to 50 times today. So, we just keep singing it.

We practiced our March Bible Verse.   John 13:34 "Love One Another"

And we watched a few Ollie Bible Stories, thanks to the Parent Cue App. It mirrors what the kids at our church are taught each week. We use this app on a weekly basis to reinforce the lesson. Even if your church doesn't use the "First Look" curriculum, its a great parent app. It has a video Bible story each week and little activities to go along with it. It's where we get Hudson's monthly memory verse too.

We dug through our book tub, pulling out our Easter books. Here are some of our favorites.

What is Easter? (buy here)

My Easter Basket (buy here)

The Tale of Three Trees (buy here) - There's a cute video of this story here.

And then we waited on Daddy to bring us lunch by hiding and finding Easter Eggs.

Hudson loves going to church. In fact, he was so confused why he wasn't getting to go yesterday. He kept saying, "Maybe church tomorrow?"

But I think that he had a good time with our Easter activities at home. This was the first time I've tried to have "Sunday School" at home, but it won't be the last time. By the end of our activities, I was encouraged, feeling like I had still spent the morning focusing on Jesus. Hudson had fun and also learned a few things too. He has asked all day to sing our songs again.

I've been sick all week too, and it would have been a lot easier to just let him watch cartoons all morning or play by himself. But with a little effort, we both started preparing for Easter. And that's exactly what this momma's heart needed.

Hudson's Snow Adventure

Here in Tennessee, we don't get a lot of snow. And, being a summer loving girl, I am ok with that. Last night, there was a little bit of accumulation.

I could hear the neighbor children out playing in the dark - because snow melts pretty quickly around here.

Luckily, the ground was still white when Hudson woke up this morning.

We bundled him up, took him outside, and realized our yard was one giant sheet of ice.

It made for good sledding though.

Hudson got to make snowballs...

And figure out how to walk with four pairs of pants on.

We had to bribe him to come inside.

Hudson definitely loved his adventure in the snow.

And I can almost guarantee that he is going to beg to go back outside as soon as he wakes up from his nap.