Some Deep (and not so deep) thoughts

Well, the seemingly endless days of Winter are upon us, and some days I feel like if it weren't for my kids, I'd go crazy! (Or is it BECAUSE of my kids? I'm not sure which some days...) Graham is learning so much! He started saying "da-da" and Isaac asked when he would start saying "Isaac." I told him probably not for awhile because it is a hard name to say. Well, within about two days, he was making his first clear attempts to say "Isaac." It is so cute!! He does it primarily when it is quiet and when he wants Isaac's attention. It sounds like "EYE...dddd...ckk" It is very clear (to us anyway) what he is trying to say! And then, this past weekend Graham said, "mama." He has only said it once, but it was very clear and during a time when he REALLY wanted me, so I know he can say it if he wants me bad enough!
We spent the past weekend with Dave's family and it was SO fun. We needed a few days to be with our family and get away! The roads coming home were pretty bad though. It took us SIX hours to make a three hour drive, and we saw probably 100 cars in the ditch on the way. But, God was taking care of us because we had made a last minute decision to stay an extra night...had we taken off on the day we had originally planned, we would have ended up in the worst of it.
I've been thinking about the Church lately (as in the general body of believers), about our past and present experiences in the church, and what we want to teach Isaac and Graham about all of this. What we have learned is that it is critically important to compare everything with the Word of God...this is our baseline and the very reason God gave it to us. We have learned that just because a message is coming out of a church, or it has the word "Christian" stamped on it, it does not necessarily mean it is good or Biblical. I thank God for the experiences Dave and I have had because God has used them to teach us these things that we will, in turn, teach our children. As time marches on, Christians will have to be more and more aware of what is going on in the world and in the church. As bad as the present state of things is, Graham and Isaac will have to face things we probably cannot even fathom, and I want to prepare them as much as humanly possible.
On this same note, I have to share a little bit about Isaac. At AWANAS (which, by the way, I am very thankful for...it is such a Bible-based children's program with a heavy emphasis on scripture memorization), they have been talking a lot about salvation for the past few weeks. I have really noticed some changes in him. For example, yesterday we were flying around the house because we were late for preschool. I got after Isaac because he was not listening to me. Well, he must have went downstairs and said "mama's dumb" (I didn't hear it). As I was trying to get ready, he kept saying, in a quivery little voice, "I said dumb," I couldn't figure out why this was bugging him, except that he knows "dumb" is not a great word to use. He kept saying it. Finally, he burst into tears and said, " I said mama's dumb and I'm SO sorry!" His little heart could not rest because he knew what he said was wrong and that he was not telling me the whole truth about it. It is amazing to see the way God works in the heart of a little four year old boy. I know God has an amazing plan for Him (and for Graham) and pray we will parent both boys in the right way and not be a stumbling block to God's plans.