We are princesses...we are special!

Last night I had the amazing privilege of hosting 12 young girls at my home for a "princess party" sleepover (and I certainly wasn't alone, two of my amazing teammates and my friend who runs the children's home helped out too)! These 12 girls are amazing! They range in age from 10-15 and live at a children's home here in Kathmandu run by one of my British friends. The home is a wonderful Christian home where the children learn first and foremost about Christ and how He can change them. They also learn how to be kind and loving, grateful, honest and helpful, among other things. These girls were an absolute JOY to have in my home. They are all from small Himalayan villages north of Kathmandu. There are no other known believers among their people except for the kids in the home. There are 23 total (the boys were jealous that the girls got to come over for a fun night but when Ryan gets back he is taking them to play soccer and have ice cream!) Our party definitely had a theme and that was PRINCESSES. We began the evening with singing and talking about the Bible together. I was able to teach these girls that as Christians, as the King's (God's) daughters, they were special. VERY special. We went through verses that showed that God is the king of kings (1 Timothy 6:15-16) and verses where it explains that God loves us SO much that he calls us "children of God" (1 John 3:1a) and I taught them that even if everyone around them forgets them or if they feel that their friends, family and others don't love them, that God NEVER forgets them, that He always loves them. That in fact, He has written them on the palm of his hands Isaiah 49:15-16). I asked them, "OK, so if God is the king of kings and you are His daughters, what does that make you????" "His PRINCESSES" they all responded loudly together! They loved hearing these things as BIG smiles lit up their faces as I looked at them and said, "God loves you SO much that He allows you to be His child and He gives you the right to be His princesses. He thinks you are SO special and He will NEVER forget you because you are written on His hand." What an honor it was to spend time with these precious girls and simply remind them of who they are in Christ.

It was a short message kept so simple so that the girls could grasp it and really understand. But isn't it an amazing one? I pray that this simple truth encourages you as it has me. As Christians, we are special. God LOVES us and will NEVER forget us. We are His princesses, He is our King.

We spent the rest of the evening eating way too many sweets, decorating cupcakes, blowing bubbles off the balcony, making princess crowns and jewelry out of silver pipe cleaners, drawing princess pictures, eating chicken quesadillas, doing each other's hair, playing with (and bathing and feeding) Gracie and Keane, and watching Enchanted. We then woke up in the morning (at about 6 am) and ate cinnamon rolls and eggs and did each other's make-up, gave pedicures and watched Air Buddies. They girls all left by 10:30 am and now it is 12:30 and I am TIRED. But a great tired. What a great weekend!

New Territory...

My husband is leaving tomorrow for a 10 or so day trek in the Himalayan mountains. He is going with 4 of his great friends and is going to be able to serve God in some of the remotest and most difficult to reach places in the world. I am excited for him and SO happy that he has this opportunity and is taking it. I can't wait to hear about all that God does and to see pictures and hear about all of their crazy adventures BUT I am also sad. I am sad that we will be apart for 10 days. We have been married for 5 years and dated for 3 before that. In our married life we have only been apart for two nights (and they weren't consecutive) and both times I was staying with family or friends. I will miss him. I know God is with me and will give me the strength I need to take care of Gracie and Keane each day and I am SO grateful that I have Lhakpa (the girl who helps me around the house) coming each day and good friends (American, Tibetan and Nepali) to help me whenever I need it. I am confident that we all will be fine and do fine BUT I will miss him. Ryan is my best friend and we do practically everything (or as much as we can do now with two little ones) together. We love being together and so it will be strange not having him around. I do have some fun things planned while he is away that I am really looking forward to such as hanging out with girl friends that are in town because their husbands are also on the trek and having a sleep-over with my good friend here and 6 of the Tibetan teenage girls from the children's home she runs. There are also some errand type things to do and of course there is always email and blogging and my never ending list of stuff to-do on the computer and then add that to taking care of my amazing babies and I am sure the 10 days will fly by. We are entering new territory here in the Parker family and it will be interesting to see how it all goes...I should be updating the blogs regularly (except that Ryan is taking the camera so pictures will be limited, I am supposed to be borrowing one from a friend though) so stay tuned....

Just one of those days...

Yesterday was "just one of those days" not a bad day, just a "blah" day. I felt that way pretty much from the moment I got up. I was sleepy, not feeling 100% and simply "blah". Then Gracie and Keane did not have their best day. They seemed to be sleepy too and we are working on getting them on a different schedule...you know moving from 5 bottles to 4 with more solids. I find it to be a difficult transition right now. Figuring out when to give the milk, when to give the solids.

The entire time that they were on just bottles, it worked amazingly well for us. It was pretty cut and dry, every 3 hours during the day give a bottle and then they would nap between practically every bottle. Even when they began eating a bit of solids it was fine too (see previous post about our schedule then) but now, at almost 7 months, that has changed and it seems to be changing so quickly, everyday I am having to re-evaluate what I am doing (I am sure many of you know what I am talking about). They are still sleepy but don't want to sleep as much because they are now so curious and into everything, they still definitely LOVE their bottles but also LOVE food. They get so excited when they see that little cup and spoon. And, trying to stretch them to four hours, figure out when to give them their solid foods (with the bottles, as a snack, some with, some separate) and figuring out when to carve out the best time for some naps in this new schedule has been tricky. I have been trying different options of schedules that are modifications of the schedule we were on and are ideas from other websites and books I have read.

Today is my third day really trying to nail a new great schedule down. I am finding that this is the first major time that trying to schedule twins has been pretty difficult. In our situation, feeding them bottles every few hours worked well and since they were eating at basically the same time for most of their feedings their nap schedule was also pretty much the same but now, with more components of the schedule to deal with, I am finding that they are more often napping at different times, waking at different times, etc.

I realize that with twins (or even for a single baby for that matter) and adding food and their personalities, that it is never going to be simple cut and dry "3:00 pm on the dot peas and then 4:00 on the dot nap for both of them for 2 hours..." I know that but what I am looking for is just a BETTER schedule then we have now. Now I know generally what is going to happen in the day but I am at a strange point where I am trying to figure out if they are sleepy and need more naps, if they are hungry and want more food, if they are missing that one extra bottle I am trying to drop each day, etc. Before when it was just a bottle every three hours, I knew (95% of the time) why they were crying and what they needed. Now we are in this muddled area that I am not sure what they are upset about because I don't have the feedings and naps down for this stage in their growth yet. They are still sleeping amazingly well through the night (6:30 pm - 6:30 am). I would like to be able to put them to bed a half an hour later or more but with the way things are right now they are SO ready to go to bed by 6:30 which works fine for me but I would like them to begin sleeping a little later in the morning and I know that won't happen until they are going to bed a bit later because they are already sleeping an amazing 12 hours...which I am SO thankful for.

And so, here in lies the dilemma which made my blah day a little more difficult yesterday because I was not in the best of spirits and neither were my two precious babies. I am looking forward to getting a good schedule worked out for all of us. The wonderful thing about having children is that even in the blah days it does not take much effort to find something that makes you smile or makes you thankful. Here are just a few things from yesterday that made my "blah" day a little brighter:

- My trip to run errands with Keane yesterday and having him fall asleep on me in the taxi.
- The fact that Gracie is beginning to crawl a bit and had the biggest smile on her face when she "broke free" from the play area we created for them on the floor.
- The times throughout the day that I would be holding Keane and he would pull my face into his just to be close to me.
-Watching Ryan lay on the floor and play with them while I got lunch made and seeing them smile at their dad.
- That even when they were both upset and crying before their bath we put them facing each other so they could see each other and they began laughing at each other so loudly for a long time.

I am so grateful to God for my family. I desire to serve them and love them abundantly. They are undeserved gifts from Him. Today I woke up feeling more refreshed and ready for the day. Right now Gracie and Keane are napping. We will see how today's "schedule testing" goes. I will let you know when we find one that works! Have a great day and don't forget to allow God to show you the many things around you that you have to be thankful for (small and big) even if today is one of your "blah days".

**Anyone have any advice for schedules that worked for you at this point??? I would LOVE to hear them!

Obedience Part 3: Solomon's disobedience and punishment.

Yes, you read the title correctly...after the clear direction and amazing promises from God, King Solomon STILL chose to disobey! He KNEW the consequences and disobeyed. Not only that, he knew the "rewards" if he obeyed and disobeyed! UGGHHH. All I can say is UGGHHH. Reading about this makes me SO frustrated but unfortunately, I can relate so much. Often times I know what God is directing me to do or what He wants me to and I simply do not do it for one reason or another. It makes me sad to think of the ways that I have clearly disobeyed God and how much it must hurt Him. Let's take a look at how Solomon disobeyed and what happened as a result from 1 Kings 11:1-13...

We learn that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines!!!!! from many different nations. The nations these women represented are nations that the Lord had told the Israelites not to intermarry with. God said,

"You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." (1 Kings 11:2a)

Remember from the promises that God had made to Solomon that God said that he needed to keep His statutes and commandments. Well, this clearly was one of his statutes. And Solomon clearly did not obey,

"Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them [foreign women] in love." (1 Kings 11:2b)

And what happened??? Exactly what the Lord had said would happen...

"As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been....So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done." (1 Kings 11:4,6)

And the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from Him even after He appeared to him twice (1 Kings 11:9) So, the Lord said to Solomon,

"Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime, I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." (1 Kings 11:11-13)

God is true to His word. Solomon was punished and God was gracious enough to wait and withhold the punishment until his son's generation but doesn't that almost seem like worse punishment to you in the long run? Knowing that a decision you made to disobey is causing your son to be punished? I think so. I would imagine that Solomon thought about it. Too late unfortunately.

I find it so interesting that when God spoke to Solomon he said, "Since this is your ATTITUDE". The truth of the matter is that Solomon's outward actions are a reflection of his inward heart. God is concerned about the heart and the reason behind WHY King Solomon is doing this. I would imagine that it is because King Solomon does not trust God enough to believe His promises. To believe that God's design is best. He is fearful of God's plan and simply does not trust Him. Ever been there??? If we are honest we probably all have been there. On the outside we would say that we trust God but do our actions show that???

I will tell you that I have learned so much from this part of King Solomon's story. I want to serve and obey God all of my life. I want to know what He wants me to do and I want to do it. The truth is though that we NEED HIM. We cannot do it on our own strength as much as we say we want to. I am thankful for the lessons I am able to learn from reading about Solomon's mistakes. I pray that my life will be filled with obedience to my God. I am so thankful that HE has a plan for my life and my families lives. His plan and His desires are best. Let's not make the same mistake as Solomon. We must encourage each other always to seek after God and to follow His will at all times and not our own.

Obedience Part 2: God's promises to Solomon.

The Bible says that God appeared to Solomon TWICE in dreams. This does not mean that Solomon simply dreamed about God. The Bible clearly states that God appeared to him (1 Kings 11:9). In 1 Kings 3:6-15 we see Solomon talking to God and God responding. Solomon was young when he took over as king after the death of his father King David. He asked God for wisdom to lead and rule over the people. God was very pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom and not riches or long life. So not only did God give Solomon abundant wisdom, he gave him what he did not ask for: riches and long life. But then God spoke and presented Solomon with an IF/THEN statement,

"And IF you walk in my ways, keeping my statues and my commandments, as your father David walked, THEN I will lengthen your days."

Sounds simple doesn't it??? Sounds simple to me. If you desire long life...do these things...What is God asking Solomon to do?

1. Walk in His ways.
2. Keep his statues and commandments.

(He even had King David to use as a model for what TO do (although David is not free from mistakes and sin).
The result of obedience??? Solomon will live a long life. His days will be lengthened.

The result of disobedience??? Solomon's days will not be lengthened. He will not live a long life.

God then appeared to Solomon a second time in a dream (1 Kings 9:1-9). This time we read about God speaking to Solomon. God tells Solomon that He has heard his prayer and that He will answer it. He also gives him another if/then statement.

"As as for you, IF you walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, THEN I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' BUT if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, 'Why has the Lord done this to this land and to this house?' Then they will say, "Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought disaster on them.'"

Again, sounds simple doesn't it??? It sure does to me. If you desire a man to sit on the throne of Israel forever then do these things...What is God asking Solomon (and his children) to do here??

1. Walk before God with integrity of heart and uprightness (having David his father as a model)

2. Do all that God had commanded of him

3. Keep God's statutes and rules

4. Don't serve and worship other gods

The result of obedience??? There would always be a man (from David/Solomon's family) on the throne of Israel.

The result of disobedience??? Israel will be cut off from the land that was given to them, the house (temple in Jersualem) that was consecrated to God will be cast out of God's sight, Israel will become proverb among people and the house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone will know of King Solomon and his families disobedience.

King Solomon has a choice to make. In the following post we will look into what He decided to do...

Obedience Part 1: Why and who was Solomon?

So, I promised that I would write about what God has been teaching me about obedience through my study of 1 Kings and the life of Solomon and some of the other kings. At first, I was simply reading through 1 Kings until I came to this quote in the commentary section of my study Bible,

"The Bible is filled with stories of people who had direction from God and yet chose their own way. Their disobedience was rarely due to ignorance of what God wanted; rather, it grew out of stubborn selfishness." (Life Application Study Bible NASB pg. 579)

I decided to dig deeper into finding more specifics about what this was talking about. It truly interested me. Why? Because I often use the excuse, "Well, if I just knew for sure what God wanted me to do OF COURSE I would do it. I would do it wholeheartedly and I would not look back but right now, I just don't know for sure what he wants me to do." How many times have you said something like that??? In the midst of a time that you did not feel clear direction from God have you said something along these lines??? I know I have! But what I have found and want to share with you is that unfortunately, what you and I say we would do might not actually be what we would do if we were in that situation. Let's examine this further by looking at the life of King Solomon.

First of all, Who was King Solomon?
- He was the son of King David and Bathsheba.
- He was the builder of the temple in Jerusalem.
- He asked God for wisdom and God gave him wisdom and MORE (1 Kings 3:13).
- He was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 4:30)
- He was very rich.
- He wrote Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, many proverbs and some psalms.
- He was known for having MANY pagan wives and concubines and and using wives to seal foreign agreements. (BAD)
- He was known for heavily taxing the people and working them VERY hard. (BAD)
- He allowed many of his wives to effect his loyalty to God. (VERY BAD)
- He reigned over Israel for 40 years.

Next, we will look at the promises from God to Solomon when God appeared to Solomon TWICE.

Life with twins...

There is never a dull moment. I love it!