Busy Weekend

We drove up to Rexford, about an hour from here, Saturday morning to experience our first Amish Auction. The handmade furniture and quilts were incredible! I was hoping to purchase a full-size quilt, but the ones being auctioned were selling for $600-$1200 each. I did end up with a small, display-size quilt from a vendor outside the auction itself. We learned recently that most of the Amish community are not Christians. This was quite a surprise b/c of the strict rules under which they choose to live. However, we have a small community at the edge of our town that is Christian. Our church here has a fellowship with them once or twice a year so we are hoping to be here when the next one takes place.

On Saturday night, we went to a bull-riding competition which happened to be the first for Grace as well as Philip. We were all impressed with the size of the bulls and riders themselves. We even saw a female rider in the miniature bull-riding competition! Hopefully, Grace won't remember that!!

A trip to Kalispell on Sunday rounded out the busy weekend. This was a much-needed trip for Mom to spend some time shopping at Target and TJMaxx! The trip also gave us some quality time to spend talking while Grace slept. We have much to talk as well as pray about as we consider what the Lord has as our next step in the journey of faith.

Teeth!

I noticed Monday night that my baby is finally cutting her first teeth! This is a wonderful thing, but then I felt even more guilty that I was frustrated with her. It's definitely not her fault that she couldn't sleep well. Also, she took great naps starting Monday afternoon until Thursday morning. Not so great since then, but that just gives me more practice in being patient. :)

(The picure of Grace was taken May 27 on top of Tunnel Mtn in Banff, Canada)

Always Learning

The past several days have been especially challenging. Grace has not been napping as well as she normally does and, therefore, has been cranky. We have still had some wonderful times as she continues to grow and learn each day, but I have let these great times be overshadowed by my frustration with her crankiness. Just last week, before these hard days, I spoke with a friend who has been studying and practicing the fruit of the Spirit. It was such a blessing to speak with her and I'm sure the last several days would have been much harder had she not reminded me of the fruit that I am to show as a follower of Christ. I have to admit, for the first few days, our conversation was not on my mind. However, over the weekend, I remembered her words and was convicted that I had not been bearing much fruit. The following is from another website, allaboutgod.com:

Fruit of the Spirit - Visible Growth in Jesus Christ
"Fruit of the Spirit" is a biblical term that sums up the nine visible attributes of a true Christian life. Using the King James Version of Galatians 5:22-23, these attributes are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. We learn from scripture that these are not individual "fruits" from which we pick and choose. Rather, the fruit of the Spirit is one ninefold "fruit" that characterizes all who truly walk in the Holy Spirit. Collectively, these are the fruits that all Christians should be producing in their new lives with Jesus Christ.

I am humbled to think that I was not showing the Fruit of the Spirit to my daughter. As her mother, it is my job to teach her through practical application what it means to be a Christian. Although she is still very young, she watches me day in and day out and I truly desire to accurately display the love of Christ to her. So, I am learning to give up the natural desire of my flesh, which is to be frustrated when my precious little one doesn't nap well. Stating it this way, the problem that started all of this seems very trivial. However, I know that the application reaches far beyond this one event.