Katie’s New Life

April 3rd, 2011, was a day I’ve been praying for since my beautiful daughter was born, twelve years ago.  That was the day Katie declared to the world that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Lord and Savior of her life!

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”  -3 John 1:4

 

“… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  -Romans 3:23

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for an unrighteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  -Romans 5:6

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  -John 3:16

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’  Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.'”  -Acts 2:37-39

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has gone; the new has come!”  -2 Corinthians 5:17

Blessed Sunday

I hope she doesn’t mind, but I’m borrowing the “Blessed Sunday” meme from my friend, Jen, who always writes her Sunday blog post about something she’s thankful for.  I love that.  I have an embarrassment of riches in my life, and I’m sure I could fill every Sunday from now till the Lord returns with no trouble whatsoever.

Today I’m thankful for Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.  Not many people know this, but the jolly Kris Kringle and his rosy-cheeked wife go to church with us!



Every December, they make the long trek up to the North Pole for their seasonal gig, but the rest of the year they live quietly and anonymously under the names “Ray” and “Karen”, doing good deeds and basically spreading joy and bonhomie wherever they go.

After church this morning, they donned their working clothes and showed up for an early Christmas photo shoot in the teen center.  Everyone was invited to share Christmas cookies and listen to  Christmas carols while they waited in line to get their photo taken with the Kringle family.

My kids loved it!  Katie danced around in time to the Christmas music, and Caleb waited patiently for his turn to talk to “the big guy”.  We got to watch as several of our other friends got their pictures made, and then it was our turn:

Can you believe how huge my babies are?  Katie’s on the cusp of her preteen years, and Caleb, who is in 2nd grade, seems to get taller every day.  Just for comparison’s sake, here are some Christmas pictures I took of them in 2006, when Katie was in 2nd grade and Caleb was only three:

Here’s the part where I usually get all maudlin about how quickly the years fly by.  Unfortunately, I don’t have time.  I have to go break up a fight over whose turn it is to use the computer.

Merry Christmas!