Wired for relationship

Daddy had the day off today and again J slept late. I got up a little after 9am to shower and daddy was just getting him up when I was done. He was reading his little bible to him, it was so cute watching J sitting on daddy's lap pointing to things or asking questions. He was "reading" the Dr. Suess book called Are You My Mother? I loved watching him and following along as he went through each animal the bird talks to and he would say "Are you my mother, kitty? No! Are you my mother, dog? No! etc. until he made it to the end. This morning it was play, play play. He got out his dinosaurs, flash cards, digger trucks, fire trucks and had things all over the room. Later, we put in a music DVD called "Raffi" who does music for children. A lady at the library who watches kids recommended it. J wanted me to hold him and dance. We had fun listening. Then I found a video on You Tube called "Slippery Fish" that we sing at the place I take him called Pal Zone. We had fun singing that together.

We had lunch and then we all went to the library. After picking up some things and getting my holds, we were looking for daddy. J says "daddy, where are you?" "daddy, come here." Then we found him. We went across town to the library L really likes and J wanted to play in the castle. Once home, it was time for his nap. I can say we've officially moved to one nap a day now. On vacation last week, J took one morning nap (he actually told me he needed it) but otherwise he's okay if I just put him down in the afternoon. Now that he's only doing one a day though, he's sleeping for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Sometimes I have to wake him up for dinner because he's still sleeping. The downtime is nice in the afternoon, although I do miss that morning nap time!

For my quiet time today, I listened to the sermon that we missed yesterday since we were on the road from Chicago to Madison. It is a new series called "Wired for Relationship". He started out sharing that what we desire are relationships where people really know you. So often we are in places were we are together with people (sometimes many people) yet we are really alone. We don't KNOW those people. Yet we are wired for relationship. Deep relationships are really hard to find. He read from Genesis 2:7 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. We were created in the image of God, created to reflect his image to the world around us. Then God created a companion for man. He shares how the "perfect" relationship was broken by the choice made to trust in man's wisdom and not God's. As a result, our relationships became distorted. Our priority as Christ followers is to cultivate healthy, growing relationships. They take time, patience and lots of attention. He shared how today's culture with all its technology and ability to text and write others on Facebook has broken down the path to intimate relationships. The question to keep asking ourselves is, "Is the way I'm using it (technology) healthy? Does it foster relationship? We were challenged to open up time to spend with others who inspire us or challenge us to grow in following Christ. We were also asked to look at what things we could change or do to make more time for important relationships. One thing that's opened up in my life is meeting one on one with a fellow Christian friend who wants to create an accountability relationship. Where we can share our struggles, confess, pray for one another and enjoy fellowship. We've met one time so far and we are meeting tomorrow night. I look forward to seeing how this relationship develops.

Tonight, dinner was really low key since it was mom's night out for my Titus group. I took J out of his feeding chair and he's standing up saying "I'm dancing. I'm getting my exercise." This was so cute because I had been telling him how Daddy would be taking him to the Y so he could work out. I was explaining that I wouldn't be there since I would be meeting with the Titus moms. He kept saying he wanted to go with me in my car. I went to kiss him goodbye and he got upset and started crying. I picked him up and brought him out to daddy's car talking all the way and he calmed down. Daddy said he did really well and they played for a bit once they got home. Our mom's night out was at our church building. We had game night. Seven of us ending up showing up so it's a very small turn out for our group which has more than 75 people. Yet it was also nice to just have our small group too. We played Cranium which I hadn't played before. It was pretty fun. I seemed to do well with the spelling questions and when I had to hum a tune for my partner to guess. Our team won. Then we played a round of Rummikub which is a game I played as a kid but had almost no memory of it. I guess it's along the lines of Rummy. This was a fun game too. I'm glad that I went.

photo credit: Blackhawk Church