Totally Random

I have 4 children and because of it, I think in lists. I didn't so much before they came. :)

So, here is a completely and utterly RANDOM list of the goings on of the 'Hammer Tribe' (and me personally.)

Note: After writing this, I came back up to the top to add that this is a rather long and extremely random post. It's mostly for the purpose of being able to look back on, so REALLY, feel free to just wait (don't hold your breath) for something more thought provoking :)



Personally:

Blogging Memories
A friend, who's girls are now teenagers told me that she wished she would have kept a journal of some sort so she could remember things about her girls when they were young. She said "You think you will remember these sorts of things, but really, you don't." That being said, "I NEED TO BLOG MORE!"

Health
I'm looking into homeopathic remedies. Roll your eyes or ask me what I discover. I'm still somewhere in between those two myself.

I just made my/our own toothpaste and am quite pleased. As for why, just do a quick research on the dangers of fluoride in our water/toothpaste. It will give a better explanation that I could. (youtube videos are easier, I think.) Next on the agenda is our own shampoo/conditioner... that one is just for fun.

My brother-in-law shot a deer for us this fall and I'm busy learning how to cook it. We ate a lot of antelope in Namibia and the experience is proving well now. Tonights menu, venison steak.

I got a juicer for my birthday and I LOVE it. T loves. The kids love it. And, it is FUN. Super fun! I highly recommend it.The possibilities are endless.

I turned 30 on Wednesday and am convinced my metabolism virtually came to a halt.

Motherhood:

Keano
Keano's back!  I should have written about this more and sooner and am now overwhelmed at where to start and where to finish. Here are just a couple random thoughts/experiences....

* I didn't realize how much I missed him. In some ways it felt as if he was never gone.


* I am ever so grateful for his salvation. The time away from us and the situations he was in would make for a very hard and crusty heart had it not been for his understanding of the Gospel in that God is sovereign over all he has and will experience and that God is good. ...and the two are inseparable. It is a beautiful gift to have such 'Gospel conversations'  with your children.


*We need play dates! Anybody have/or know a family with boys Keano's age, shoot me an email.

*We (T, myself, Keano, and Felicity) will be going back to Namibia in January (when the courts reopen) to finalize the NAM side of the adoption.

Ponderings
My mom told me not too long ago that one thing she wished she knew when my sister and I were children is that she wasn't responsible for making 'perfect' children. She thought that if she could just reason with us, prove to us what was right, and blah, blah, blah that we would make the 'right' decision and good choices.

...Now, she would tell you that unless the Living God rescues us, we will be nothing but sinful and there is no reasoning she or anyone could do to change our nature. (Not at all advocating here that we don't reason with our children as that is one of the primary means God uses to reach their hearts, but) My point is simply that it is impossible to raise good children unless God awakens them to their sinful hearts and need for a Savior. I know this concept might beg a lot of questions, but what I'm trying to get at is that I have realized that when Christians do 'miss the mark' it is a result of not trusting in some part of the Gospel. Anxiety, fear, outward or inward, whatever the 'sin' is, it is a result of not knowing and or trusting some part of the Gospel.


I often think that if I had understood the Gospel as I do now that it would have kept me from many mistakes, cycles, choices that I made in the past. This has gotten me thinking about parenting the Christian child.

I am not so naive to think that he will not sin. He will struggle. ...Scripture talk about how we all have a sin that 'easily entangles us,' but my job as a parent is to teach him as much as I can about the Gospel so that when those situations arrive he knows and understands the truth to apply to keep him out of the cycles of sin.

I want a formula. It's the truth. How do you do this?


"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:7 I understand being purposeful. ....but if it doesn't come naturally, or if you're so busy changing diapers, feeding babies and keeping a house rolling, you need a purposeful plan. I do not want to do teaching as a response to mistakes as much as I want to do preventative teaching. ....all those times - when you walk, when you lie, when you rise, they are all times of NON tension.

(As a side note, I realize that this Scripture is speaking of the 'laws' of God. This is not what I mean. I am talking about the doctrines of Scripture that the Christian clings to in order to keep them from a whole host of things that could be avoided had they known the Gospel.)

Any suggestions welcome :)

Todd
I know most wives think their husband is the best man in the world (as it should be!), but I just want to brag a moment (feel free to scroll down... again, just for my own remembrance. And, if something terrible should happen, I want my kiddos to be able to read my own words about how much I love their Daddy.)

My Love, 

I love you. Christ in you is an ever flowing fountain of grace towards me. There is no other man that I would ever or could ever love as I love you. I am blessed beyond measure to call you my husband.


I pray for you. I pray that the Living God who has lavished Himself so richly on you would satisfy you to your deepest desire. I pray that He would make me a wife that is full of grace and wisdom towards you that I, through which, would cause you to love our Lord more. 

I pray that he would answer the prayers of your heart and open a way for you to pastor a church and/or speak clearly to us for the direction of our family.


This past year and a half has been one of great hardship with many tears, but through it, God has graciously held us together and drawn us closer, not only to Himself, but to each other. We were homeless, jobless, back in a new culture, loosing our son, and having a baby. Yet, God. 

Yet, God drew us and kept us and still draws us and keeps us to His good and sovereign Self. He has worked out character issues in us that we would have known we had, and yet through this all, he has enabled our marriage to grow stronger. Oh my love, what a God we know! What a God who knows us!

Blessed be His name in all the earth....


With the love of Christ, I write these things to you,


Erin Elizabeth