Firemen at the Park

I read the first part of Luke 3 for my devotional time today. It says that in that year, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, and he went out to encourage others to prepare the way for the Lord (verse 3:3) preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Beth shares that daily repentance/confession is like refreshment for our souls. We come away cleansed and ready to be filled. Beth asks if we are preparing the way for the Lord's work in our lives. That's a good question. This had me examine and ask if I am spending good quality time with him, spending time in prayer and worship; seeking direction and guidance from him. I think these help prepare the way for his work in our lives. Some of the people are asking John what they should do and he says that (verse 3:11) the man who has 2 tunics should share with him who has none. This made me ask myself how am I doing that, how are we helping the poor? I have the desire to, but haven't made it my priority! I think it was last month when I was thinking about all the possessions I have and wanting to sift through them to share with those in need. I still want to do this. The people were wondering if John was the Christ and he told them in verse 16 that one more powerful than he will come...who will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus was baptized by John who was very humbled to do so. Then you heard the voice of God saying in verse 22 "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well-pleased."

It was a beautiful day again today. Not as warm as yesterday, but bright and sunny. After lunch, we had some time playing outside. Then for my gardening project I wanted to pick up some mulch which they have at Elver Park near our home. We picked a great day for this project since the firemen were there with 3 trucks practicing using the hoses and driving and backing into tight places. We watched them for awhile which J enjoyed. I got my mulch and then we played on the jungle gym for a while. Before we left, we stopped by the fire truck so J could get a closer look. Several firemen were standing near the truck putting away hoses. J pointed and said hose, fire truck. One of the firemen asked if J would like to sit inside - would he??!! So he had me sit in the driver's seat and he handed me J. He was thrilled wanting to put on a helmet and press the buttons but we told him no buttons. We have quite a story for daddy tonight! Meeting Engine 12. On the way home in the car, we were listening to the oldies station. A song came on and J says "Elvis!" Believe it or not, the song was one by Elvis. I know he's heard him before but I didn't know he could pick out his voice. Maybe we have a little Elvis fan.

This afternoon, J only took a 1 hour nap so he had to join me in my chores. He did really well playing by himself while I put away the laundry and fixed dinner. I tried to teach him matching his socks but he didn't quite get "same" and "different". J really liked the alfredo chicken with broccoli that we had for dinner. God has been answering prayer in that meal times have been going better the last few days. We've actually had a couple days with no meal melt downs. Thank you Lord! Tonight we spent the evening with our life group. It's just 3 couples for now. We were discussing the sermon of Revelation 2:1-7 where the church in Ephesus was doing all kinds of things right yet they had "forsaken their first love". We had a pretty good discussion.