Then sings my soul

After daddy left for work, J wanted to go outside. I thought we'd hang out and play but he grabbed my hand and said "walk mommy" so I followed. This was new. He took me down to our mailbox area and liked going up and down the curb practicing his stepping up. Then we went past our place so we could go by the pond. Our timing was good, since we were able to see a muskrat swimming nearby.

I started a new Beth Moore study today called "Jesus, the One and Only". Again, I like the format where she'll pick a book of the bible and then in each chapter of her book, she'll do one chapter from that bible book. Like today we started in Luke 1. In the introduction of her book she shares a powerful promise, that we will never spend time more invaluably than in the pursuit of knowing Christ Jesus. Amen to that! She says, let's fall in love with Jesus all over again. A good prelude. In Luke 1, it starts with Zechariah the priest in the temple and an angel appears to tell him that his wife will bear a son, that their prayer had been heard. This day was his turn to burn the incense in the temple which is a task a priest gets to do only once in his lifetime. Because he was incredulous about this asking "how can this be" the angel said because he did not believe, "now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens." Beth asks, "Do you have a long-standing prayer request?" God waits for the perfect timing. He is faithful and enjoyable even when a request goes unmet. That one can be a struggle for me. I continue to wrestle with impatience when there's something I pray that isn't coming to pass. It seems like I'll break through and start accepting it, and then I'll get impatient and struggle all over again. I'm learning to enjoy him with my unmet requests.

We met my friends and her 3 kids at the park today for a picnic lunch and play time. I thought it would feel cold, but it was actually comfortable without a coat. Nice and sunny. J was done eating before me so I sent him off with the kids to play (with a little coaxing). He wanted mommy to play with him but mommy and Tina wanted some time to chat. I had to ask my friend's opinion about bringing J to a hymn sing tonight at our church. I was getting a sitter but then realized in my heart I really wanted him to go, I just wasn't sure what to expect. She went to these as a kid and said they're usually family friendly. I think it'd be good to bring him. J was having fun on the swing and then the jungle gym. We joined the kids and spent a good part of the time on the little step bridge of which J started off being afraid. He would go across the bridge if I would hold both his hands walking beside him, then he would let the kids take him across, then he even got the courage to go on his own while holding the railing. There was a little boy who came with his mom and J started following him around. I think he scared him a bit. He said "hold hands?" to the boy who it turns out was only 14 mos old (but almost as tall as J) so he didn't understand. J is not shy. Afterward when I was getting him out of the car, he started a little word game. He wanted me to repeat what he said so he went through all sorts of words (blankie, nuk, teddy graham, hat...) and I'd repeat it back to him. Cute!

After the park, on a whim I decided to stop by the pet store to pick up a new goldfish. Turns out there was something else beckoning me instead of a fish. We visited the adoptable cats and fell in love with a cat named Luther. Well, I did at least, I'm not sure about J. Luther is a gray and whitish/tan tabby who is the most laid back cat. When they brought him out, J got down on all fours to see him and Luther came up and sniffed J's face. He was so mellow! I'm not sure if L is on board with this but we'll be near the pet store tonight so we can stop in and check him out.

We went to the hymn sing with J and he did so well, it really was a blessing. We met my friend and her husband and son and sat in the back. J just sat pleasantly on my lap taking it all in. There was a really good crowd. It was wonderful to sing the old hymns. Toward the end, J wanted to color so I brought out the little activity book. The best part was singing How Great Thou Art. It is such a beautiful hymn (we had it at our wedding) and being a nature/outdoors person it really speaks to me. Here's a snippet: When through the woods And forest glades I wander I hear the birds Sing sweetly in the trees...Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Tonight I think I learned what "then sings my soul" feels like. For those few minutes we sang, my soul felt this sweet freedom as the words resonated within my heart.