Church Today

On a recommendation from a friend and mostly becuase of the fantastic weather this weekend, we decided to go camping one last time before rainy cool weather. We had family church next to the lake this morning. I won't lie. The kids were exhausted after staying awake in the tent way too late, Mommy and Daddy didn't sleep well which probably made our tempers a little shorter than usual, all three boys were struggling to listen and obey which meant that our intentions of having family church seemed out of the question.

Elijah had gotten in major trouble; I admittedly almost totally lost it with him. Micah was nearly asleep eating lunch, and Isaiah was crying over every little thing, but our window of opportunity surfaced during picnic lunch, and Eric seized the moment. He told the story of Jesus calling the fishermen to him (since we'd been fishing), teaching them to fish anew and giving them a new purpose in life, to be fishers of men. Eric asked the boys, "How can we become fishers of men?" The obvious answer came out first, "Tell people about Jesus." We said yes, but what else? Elijah said, "Show them." We asked, "How can we show people Jesus?" What followed was a great little conversation where each boy (maybe with the exception of a VERY tired Micah) thought of ways that they could SHOW the love of Jesus. We talked about showing love at school, at home, with our family and to others. When we talked about prayer requests, Elijah requested that we pray for a kid at his school that he says is a bully. I don't think it's any coincidence that after talking about showing love to people, the person Elijah requests to pray for is a bully. Kids get it! We didn't even talk about loving your enemies.

We all connected today- better than we have in weeks. Even though I was more angry at Elijah today for a few moments than I can remember being maybe ever... the reconciliation was sweet and because of it, our relationship is better. Before bed tonight, he hugged me tight. Really tight. It was a hug that said, "I know you were mad at me today. I'm sorry and I understand and I'm so glad that you forgive me and I'll do better." I hugged him back- tightly, and I know we are in a good place.

Anyway, Cave Run Lake is beautiful and the place we camped was great too.. secluded little campsites and helpful, kind staff members-highly recommend it. The place is called Zilpo Recreation Area in Daniel Boone National Forest.