baby danger: the legend grows

tonight, i am hanging out with my ridiculous nephew.  three and a half year olds are hilarious.  and exhausting.  luckily, this one's been sick, so he's not at full energy level right now.  which means he still has 400% more energy than me.

it's pretty fun to compare him to shorty mcgee...they are very very different.  she was extremely verbal very early on.  he is just getting to a semi-verbal point.  he mostly just repeats things in his stinking adorable voice.

dooby doob?  chardie browd?  bye, buddyyyyyyy.

baby danger and shorty are also very similar in some ways, though.  they are both super smart and super musical.  i am pretty sure shorty will, like her father, master every musical instrument and be the star of many stage shows.  baby danger will probably get totally into guitar and start a cool hipster band.  he'll definitely rock some skinny jeans.

the little man has the best smile, an incredibly joyful heart, and gives the greatest hugs and kisses.  although he is a total stinker, he is also a total sweetheart.

he is currently hiding under his jake and the neverland pirates blanket yelling, 'yuyu, where are you?' (not quite the master of l's yet) and then giggling to himself.

it's really too bad i don't like my nephew at all.

devotional thought: doing life together

something i have been reading, writing, and thinking about recently is the concept of doing life together. there are many facets to this topic, but i think there is much to be said for coming into someone's presence, sharing their burdens and joys, challenging and encouraging them, and seeing both their mess and their glory.

we are relational people. even me...the hibernating hermit introvert...i am a relational person.

which means we are supposed to be in one another's lives. we are supposed to share and invest. even (and especially?) when it is hard. when we feel weakest. when our shame is weighing us down. when we feel worthless.

the point of community-of being relational-is that we are a body that works together for the purpose of loving God and loving people. we are gifted in different ways so that where one is weak, another is strong. and the point isn't to rub that in someone else's face--it's to teach us our need for support and encouragement from one another.

we don't love well because we don't trust. if we truly did life together, we would be transparent. we would trust each other enough to show our scars. we would entrust our past sins, our present struggles, and our future worries to one another. our vulnerable faith in each other would cause an overflow of love.

'such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. if we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. we love each other because he loved us first.' 1 john 5:18-19

what is keeping you from trusting?