Cole, the Graduate

This week was Cole's preschool graduation. Now, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of the whole thing. I mean, really? A graduation from preschool?

But when I saw my sweet son in his little hat and gown, walking across that stage and shaking the school director's hand, I have to confess I got into it just a little bit.



As I sat there in that moment, I thought ahead to the future. If we end up homeschooling all the way through high school, Cole won't participate in a traditional graduation ceremony again until he works his way through college. That's a long time from now. And yet, I am keenly aware that if in fact the day comes that he does graduate from College, this moment, this moment I am in right now watching my little 4 year old boy holding his "rolled up piece of paper" as he calls it, will feel like yesterday. In a blink of an eye my little boy will be a man, all grown up and ready to face the world. My primary opportunity to influence him, to shape and mold him, to teach him and train him will be over.

How I pray that I will be a good steward of these short years while he is in my care. How I pray that Cole's heart will be turned toward the Lord; that he would learn to love others and serve God with all his heart. That he would trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and serve Him faithfully all his days. And not only for Cole, but for all three of my sons the Lord has entrusted into our care.

It is a massive responsibility, but I am not alone. How thankful I am for a God-fearing husband with whom to partner. And how blessed we are to have parents and grandparents who love the Lord, who pray for us and our children that the legacy of faith would be passed down from generation to generation. And most importantly, we have the Lord, "who is able to keep us from stumbling, and to make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy" (Jude 1:24).

Now "to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever" (Jude 1:25).

The Rest of the Story

I figured after sharing Cole's sweet prayer in yesterday's post, I should also share what a mother of 3 boys usually hears during the day:

"Let's play something reckless, Daddy!"

"I'm a T-Rex. Grrr!"

"Can we have a pet snake?"

"Mommy, come look at Max's poop. It's cool!"


Never a dull moment.

Cole's Mother's Day Prayer

"Dear God, thank you for giving me a mommy who cuddles me. Thank you for our food, and thank you for giving us the church. Amen."

Lessons from Grease

Just over a week ago, I grilled some hamburgers on my indoor grill pan. And when I say "some," I mean enough to feed 21 adults and children.

Now, I don't know if you've ever used one of those things before, but if not, let me just save you the trouble. When I was done, the pan was such an awful mess it took 3 of us taking turns at scrubbing to get it to come clean.

And that was just the grill pan. You should have seen the stove. The grease splattered ALL OVER the place. We're talking all over the stove, the wall behind the stove, the utensils that live in a container next to the stove, and well, everything anywhere near the stove, including the floor. So when the party wound down, I got out my handy kitchen cleaner and went to work. After some good scrubbing (and lots of help from my lovely family), we got the kitchen sparkling clean (or so I thought), and I went to bed thinking that was the end of that.

But the next morning when I went in the kitchen, I was greeted by a very unpleasant smell. I realized pretty quickly where it was coming from; the stove.

"Great," I thought. "There's still grease somewhere."

So, I cleaned it all again.

And again.

And again.

I can't tell you how many times I've cleaned that thing and thought the smell must be gone by now only to come back later and find that it still wreaks of smelly grease.

I've removed the control knobs and cleaned behind them. I've cleaned the whole vent-hood-thing-y (whatever it's called), including the vent cover and the fan inside it. I've cleaned the grooves that are hard to get to on the oven door handle. I've wiped down the cabinets. I left out baking soda and vinegar over night to see if that would absorb the smell. I've even pulled the stove completely out from the the wall (thank you, honey!) so I could clean it on all sides.

The smell is still there.

As I've pondered what else to try, I've also wondered if there is a lesson hidden in this whole escapade. I love to find little illustrations in life that go along with what the Bible teaches. Somehow looking for the gold in the dirt, so to speak, makes the chore seem a whole lot more tolerable. You know?

And by prayerful thought and God's grace, I found it! (The lesson, I mean. Not the grease.) You're just dying to know what it is, aren't you? I thought so!

Sin is Like Grease
Ok, so sin is like grease. When grease is first cooking, it smells yummy. Those hamburgers made my mouth water smelling them while they splattered away in the pan. Some of our guests even commented on how good they smelled as they pulled into the driveway. Sin can seem equally yummy. If it wasn't appealing, we wouldn't want to eat it.

Grease Turns Nasty
But when the meat has been eaten, the grease that remains turns nasty. If my hamburger had smelled the way my stove has for the last week, I assure you I would not have eaten that hamburger. The first bites of sin taste good too, but it leaves behind a residue in our hearts. It makes us filthy, smelly, and downright ugly. So how do we get clean?

We Confess; God De-greases
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And God's cleaning is far more effective than my bottle of Lysol, because it's the blood of Jesus that "cleanses us from all sin"(I John 1:7 & 9). But did you catch that first part? "If we confess..."

Sin May Be Obvious
Sometimes our sin is obvious to us, and we confess it quickly; like the grease I first saw on the stove right after I cooked the hamburgers. I could see it was dirty, so I cleaned it.

Sin May Be Hidden
But what about the sin we don't realize is there; sin that's stinking up our lives and we don't know where it is hiding? Sin we would confess if we knew about it. Maybe it's because we don't know it is sin, or maybe because we've been doing it so long, we don't "smell" it anymore. As I've been working on making my home smell nice again, I have worried that my nose would get use to the smell before I figured out where it was coming from and think it must be gone when it wasn't. How bad would that be! My house would stink and I wouldn't even know it! I would need a friend, someone who cares about me enough to tell me the truth, to let me know (gently!) that my house didn't smell so good.

Friends Show Us Our Sin
Likewise, we need to have friends in our lives who love us enough to (gently!) tell us when we are sinning. As it says in Hebrews 10:24, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." As we "spur each other on," sometimes that will include (gently!) pointing out the areas that need improvement.

Scripture Shows Us Our Sin
God also shows us our sin through His Word. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16). I know my stove stinks because I've had the privilege of smelling better things. Things that make me go, "Mmmm." I have a reference point, so to speak. If I had never smelled anything good, I may not especially enjoy the aroma wafting from the stove, but I might not know just how bad it is. Likewise, if we want to know what sin is and how badly it makes us stink, we need to read the Bible and "be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

The Search Continues
So, the hunt for the grease on my stove continues. I really hope I can find soon. I'd rather not smell it every time I go to the kitchen to prepare a meal. It just isn't very appetizing. But even more, I pray God will show me if there is any grease hiding in my heart. To have a stinky stove is an inconvenience. To have a stinky heart is a hindrance (Hebrews 12:1). So, I join with the Psalmist and pray:

"Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139:24)

The Hat

Max has a little baseball cap he inherited from Cole. It has a picture of the cartoon character "Diego" on it.

He's never watched the Diego show before, so he doesn't really know who Diego is, but Derek, Cole and I still call it the "Diego Hat." Max, however, calls it his "Yogurt hat."

For a long time I just thought that maybe he couldn't pronounce Diego and so it just came out sounding something like yogurt, which I thought was really cute. But then I noticed this...



...and I realized that he knows exactly what he's talking about. It is his yogurt hat. For obvious reasons.


Clever Max!

Happy Birthday, Seth!

On this day one year ago, I was in the hospital for a very special reason; Seth Daniel Rowden was born! At 9lbs 4 oz, he was a healthy boy.


I distinctly remember the first time I touched his sweet face. Having had him by cesarean section, I only had a quick peek of him over the curtain before they took him away to the other side of the room to weigh him and clean him up a little. Once he was all burrito-d up, a nurse brought him to my head and held him close. I reached up and touched his skin; skin so soft I could barely feel it.


And now, here we are, a year later. I never cease to be amazed at how quickly these little ones change and grow their first year.

From a tiny, little limp lump...


...to an exploratory little boy with energy to spare...


...the first year can be quite a ride. But what a sweet ride it has been! Happy Birthday, dear Seth. We love you!

A Day Out with Thomas

Like most little boys, ours love playing with planes, trains and automobiles. So when I heard about an opportunity to spend the day with Thomas (the train), I figured that was an outing well-suited for our family!

The tickets came weeks ago. To count down the days, we made a paper chain (like the ones we use to do as a kid for Christmas), and the boys took turns cutting off a ring each day. FINALLY, last Friday came, and we got to go and enjoy the festivities.

Of course, the highlight of the day was actually riding on Thomas, but there were other fun things to do and look at too. There was a model train exhibit, a gift shop, a live and working Blacksmith (making tracks for Thomas, of course), glass blowing (I failed to see the connection to trains, but it was interesting nonetheless), and a bounce house. Other activities included a petting zoo, seeing Sir Topham Hat and eating some way overpriced jumbo corn dogs.
It was a great day!

The Train Ride

Meeting the Conductor