take your beard off please.

so ben and i argue you a lot about his beard. we kind of laugh and whatever,

but seriously ben, sometimes shave your beard. once every year on valentines day isn’t good enough.

its just so…bushy.

and then there was the time that he dribbled ramen noodle juice in it and the smell just stayed. and he kissed me and the smell scarred me.

i think i’m over it.

its almost like i hear God saying,

let the man grow his beard.

whatever.

so it grows. and grows. and grows. and grows. and his mustache is actually curling into his mouth.

and he twists his mustache on each side until he has two torpedos sticking out in either direction.

but whatever.

i love him anyhow.

our family of three went out on a date tonight per emri’s request.

its so easy peasy having one child. don’t get me wrong. i long for more kids. i want a quiver full. but let me tell you, one little three year old is cake….most of the time.

as we are driving home from our family date, emri is quietly fake whimpering in the back. she does this on a daily basis. quiet, fake whimpers. mostly when she’s tired.

so she’s sniffling in the back and here goes our coversation.

ben:

emri, what’s wrong?

emri:

i…uhm…sniffle, sniffle..i just want you to take your beard off. i just want you to take if off like your wedding. and you won’t. you never will.”

ben:

kerri, did you tell her to say that?

me:

no. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

perhaps one of the best conversations with emri that we ever did have.

so we pull into blockbuster for a movie. em  and i stayed in the car. i tried my best to recap the conversation with my camera. those don’t always go so well.

but here you have it.

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moses

i love the story of moses.

his journey fascinates me. i’ve been reading through it this summer and it has sent me into major meditation.

i’m going to begin telling the story of moses on my blog.

first off: there are two major themes in the bible that weave their way in out of scripture.

1. our covenant relationship with God. (our covenant relationship gives us our sense of identity.)

2. our responsibility. our response to what the Lord is doing in our lives. (this is how we live out the Kingdom of God here)

and what i love about the story of moses is that it reminds me of what God is doing in my life, and the lives of those around me right now. he’s awakening us to the battle that is around us. i believe that we are all wired for battle. for adventure. for a story. that in our identity with the father, we have what it takes to be warriors for a movement that could change the world.

as i said before in a previous post, i’ve been journeying with jesus for a while now. learning who he is and who i am IN HIM. but now i’m dreaming about what it looks like to engage in this battle we are in.

thus enters the ideas of covenant and kingdom.

 we find ordinary people that God engaged with. every one of them wrestled with their identity. and then God began giving them missions to carry out. and their success in responding with obedience hinged on their sense of identity.

abraham.

joseph.

moses.

esther.

ruth.

gideon.

just to name a few. here is what keeps happening. God calls us. and it doesn’t take long to realize this. some of us recognize our calling and see that we are gifted to some degree (which is true) but sometimes we develop a sense of arrogance. maybe child-like narcisicism that suggests to ourselves that we are  more gifted than someone else. that others need us. (gag) but how true is this sometimes? i do believe people are gifted. i believe we all have gifts. i just do not believe that anyone is better or more qualified to carry out what God has called us to do than anyone else. we all have different callings on our lives. and we are all equally capable of doing what God has created us to do. whatever that looks like.  but what causes people to fail, is when we think we have what it takes in and of ourselves. and we move forward in obedience with this perspective. we think we “got” it. but it will never work like that. every situation fails in biblical history when someone moves forward with this perspective. its as if God isn’t letting us. like he’s trying to teach us something.

arrogance was the problem with joseph. he journeyed for a long time in slavery until he had the perspective that he couldn’t accomplish anything of himself. but that God could do something big through him.

some of us stall in insecurity, thinking we don’t have what it takes. and that God could never use us. this insecurity and frailty is just as toxic as the first. such was the case with moses.

and so into this story, i begin. i will continue to tell the story of moses throughout the next several posts.

 but first, i must post this little video of my daughter telling her version of the story.

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little latte land dancing

last night ben, emri, and i went do latte land. ben and i were enjoying our time chatting drinking coffee while emri was off playing on the fireplace, i mean stage…  we soon notice her dancing. i had to very stealthily take out my phone in an attempt to record her performances, knowing very well, that if she were too see my phone, she would stop. ben and i tried our best to pretend we weren’t watching as i hid my phone.

please note the coffee stirrer she uses in her routines.

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responsibilities

you get to witness some mad parenting skills right here. that was a joke.

you guys, i have no idea what i’m doing.

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ben brings home snakes!

before you freak out, please understand that my husband absolutely loves reptiles and amphibians. its what he does. and every year at this time he takes his students on a reptile and amphibian camping trip. he always invites me. i always say no. and he always finds several reptiles on his trip and brings them home to emri and i.

these are the little guys he brought home to us this time.

enjoy the craziness of my family.

this is a ringneck snake. these little guys are adults. they don’t get any bigger than this. these might be my favorite. how cool is that orange ring around his neck and orange belly?

i love that my daughter isn’t going to have irrational fears of snakes like i have of spiders….and june bugs. or any flying insect that makes a clicking noise every time it hits a window. i’m not afraid of snakes but wasps and bees… my reaction to them is entirely inappropriate. and totally out of control. a lot of flailing and flapping is involved. i also feel like i have no control of facial expressions.

the fella is a coach whip

and this lizard here is a brown skink. and wendolyn, if you are reading, this guy is very similar to your little feelskie… rest his little lizard soul.

this guy bit ben. as you can see, emri freaked out a bit. i can hear her little voice asking ben, “daddy, is it better? are you okay?”

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did you know?

while emri and i are eating lunch, she starts asking me this…

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she’ll randomly say stuff like this to me in such innocent ways,

and it will convict the heck out of me.

i thought i was supposed to be discipling her ; )

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dr. emri

when i’m not feeling very well, most of the time i go see dr. emri. she writes me a prescription and sends me on my way. i think what i like most about her is that she has great bed side manners. she takes an interest in my life. she’s interested in important stuff… like my favorite candy.

dr. emri

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miniature teenager

confession:

i have no idea what i’m doing sometimes. how do i parent a miniature teenager?

miniature teenager

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emri breaks her bornament

i have to post this clip of emri putting ornaments on our little christmas tree, even though its many days after christmas. she was so mesmerized by the “bornaments”. and so distraught when she accidentally dropped one. this is just the sweetest little incident. you might not be able to make out her words, so i’ll quickly type them right now.

“i broked it. i always broke.”

this blesses my heart in ways i simply cannot express.

please enjoy watching our little emri break her first ornament.

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