Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary.  I wish I could say we did something wonderful but we didn't.  Next year.  :)  But I can still say that the wedding gift napkins we still have, (you know how hard it is to actually use up your favorite things,) read true: don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after.

At our rehearsal dinner we had a slideshow with images of us growing up and dating.  My pictures flashed to the song My Girl and Shaun's to Son of a Preacher Man, which was really cute, right, RIGHT?  (Because he's the son of a preacher man.)  Get it?  SO cute.

Anyway, I've been wanting to record how Madalyn preaches.  It is hilarious.  She gets on these rants- just goes on a roll preaching about this or that.  Whenever I read the Bible to them, or a specific verse, the normally Attentive-Deficient child drops all distractions to put on a grave expression and listen in earnest to the Word of her Lord.  I wish I could write how my heart swells to see that.  God is good.  He shows Himself in new places daily, and there's no place to see Him like in your very own child.

This morning I was instant messaging with Shaun and this was the background soundtrack of Madalyn's voice that played like a poetic chant or rap while she danced-

You better listen to Jesus

and do what he wants you to do

always listen to Jesus

and if you don't

He's still happy

but before you do

you better listen to Jesus

before He's mad

but He's still happy, He's still happy...today He says that to you!

He does, He does

He does

oh yeah

He says it, He says it,

you gotta listen, you gotta listen,

hooray for Jesus, hooray for Jesus!

ohhhhh........... YEAH!

Jesus loves the children of the world!

Red and yellow black and white.

Now, we obviously have a bit of theology to hammer out, some confusion, perhaps, on whether God is angry or just appeased or crazy in love with us... that subject matter comes from the kids arguing theology on the way to school.  They don't understand how God is not angry anymore and sees Christ in us, but how sin is still upsetting to Him... (I'm  not sure I understand that myself, though I try to explain how sin hurts us and others and God doesn't like our sins but loves us.)  In the car conversations, Evan argues God isn't mad, Madalyn argues He is.  Which is fitting.  Because Evan is the one who needs to give himself grace, so that's where he's coming from... where as Madalyn needs a little tough love- thus, her perspective on the matter.  

I've read/heard it's important to recognize gifts and natural talents and inclinations and preferences your children have and help define and verbalize them.  It gives them a sense of individuality and direction.  That very well might be a bunch of bunk, but to a degree,  I actually buy it... (maybe because I wish in high school someone had kindly escorted me off the basketball court and into the art department.) 

So I found myself stopping to say to Madalyn, "I LOVE hearing you teach about Jesus.  Are you teaching and preaching?  I wonder if one day Jesus will want you teach many, many people about His love.  Do you know who you remind me of?  One of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore."  And then I showed her a bit of this clip:

She put on the grave expression I mentioned prior.  She stood attentive and silent.  And she processed.