a sunday morning reflection...

..and our christmas letter.

The status updates on each member of our family today:

Jack loves his teaching job at UGA and enjoys fathering his two boys.

Heather has so much joy in this season of her life as she mothers Ryan Jefferson and Jackson.

Jackson loves leafing through toy magazines and watching “Jake and the Never Land Pirates”.

Ryan Jefferson is a dream baby who loves to snuggle and eats/sleeps like a champ.

However, status updates can be so deceiving because life circumstances change; and how we feel about our lives is constantly shifting. By the time you read this letter, Jackson may think magazines are boring and Ryan J may be waking up 3 times at night. (we sure hope not!)

The intent of our Christmas letter this year is to focus on the things in life that never change. God spoke and the mountains appeared, separating the vast expanse of water...He is creator. God sent his Son to be born of a woman and walk the earth for 30 years loving and teaching His creation...He is Father. God called his son to die as a man on a cross and conquer death and the powers of hell on our behalf, so that we could live with Him in heaven forever...He is redeemer. God is living and active in our lives always loving us fiercely and fighting on our behalf to bring glory to Himself...He is sustainer. We wish for nothing more than for you and yours to know the unchanging God we serve.

Thank you for being a support to our family. Please join with the Morse family as we pray for hearts that would be less concerned with our always changing circumstances and more concerned with having a heart that is oriented towards God.

His Grace motivates,

Jack, Heather, Jackson and Ryan Jefferson

Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly Lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.

James 1:16-18

spit up

yes, i am very aware of the spit up coming out of my ryan j's mouth in the picture above...that is why i posted it to my blog :)

a fun grocery list format..you just fill in the boxes..and this is the order that i walk through walmart on my grocery trip.

Non-Grocery Items/pharmacy/household	Produce
Cans and Boxes	Frozen foods
Crackers/Cookies/Coffees/Gum/Choc Syrup/Beer
Dairy	Special events/meals/foods:
Eggs/Butter
Meats	Other grocery stores:

testifying that a little order can go a long way

ok, so monday..let's just say that I wouldn't have gotten mom of the year...

Jackson still does room time (even though he doesn't sleep) and on monday room time ended poorly..I was mad at jackson for being bored and coming out every 30 seconds to ask me a question..i was mad at jack for not coming home the second he said he would be home...but most of all, i was mad at myself for getting NOTHING done during a 3 and a half hour room time. well, besides reading blogs and reading status updates..waste.of.time.

so, since Monday was a low point of my week, Jack asked a question that prompted me (the Holy Spirit) to make some changes. His question really didn't relate to the action plan..but it got me thinking..

his question: "do you think Jackson needs to go to some sort of structured program?"

my thoughts: no..surely jackson doesn't need to go to school..he will be in school his whole life..this is my time with him..but he is acting bored at home..for goodness sakes..i am a school teacher..surely i can figure out how to take the boredom out of his day and make him more stimulated...i think i need to shorten his room time..wait, i can't do that..i don't have enough time as it is..well you would have enough time if you didn't get on facebook at the beginning of the room time..well let's make a schedule for what I will do during room time and stick to it..

now notice how the Spirit used a question from my wise hubby to get me to a place of repentance..ie..turning from my sin (laziness)...

revised plan:
first i have been taking ryan j upstairs and putting him down, then i spend about 30 minutes with Jackson doing a craft (painting is what he has chosen the past few days)..then i read him a story and send him upstairs..I decided room time should be no more than 2 hours..so tues-thurs i have timed it...also decided to start my quiet time with a devotional time for 30 minutes then a workout with jillian time for 30 min..the other hour is flexible and most importantly, it is second.

this.has.been.revolutionary.

the time with jackson has been so rich for us..the time away from jackson has been so rich for me with the Lord and with my body and with our home...

the truth of the bible stands.
1cor 14:40 Everything must be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Eccl 8:5-6 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.

alive

i am alive over here..living life..

i have noticed a trend of having stuff to say..going to my blog reader...reading blogs for an hour...getting tired...no longer having anything to say.

needless to say, this doesn't help my blog posting aspirations.

i desire to blog more, work out every day, eat more fruits and veggies, and read more of my bible..oh and drink more water.

but until then, upstairs..i have a 3 year old banging on the walls...and an 8 month old whimpering to get breakfast, a dad on his way to see me from Florida, a mother-in-law on her way to deliver a new desk to my house..

and, most importantly, a Heavenly Father who is at work in the midst of all of this and loves me fiercely, unconditionally, and forever.

a kitchen sink and truth

on a little piece of paper, these words are written above the sink. many days, when i wash dishes, i read this truth.

q:what do you believe when you say, "i believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth"?

a:that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. i trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. he is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.
(heidelberg catechism, question 26)

i will choose to believe this and tomorrow, i will choose to believe this again.

joy

enjoyed lunch at a friend's house today..kids in the back yard playing in the wet sand box...while me and my friend gave thanks for the blessings of life and lamented about how we so often miss out on the reality of the abundance of grace that is ours in Christ...

i told her about something that happened to me today while i was in the car..jackson saw my face in the rear-view mirror and said, "mommy, why is your face like that?" me: like what? j: like this (makes a mad face) me: what do you want me to look like? like this? (i smiled)

smiling felt weird...out of place...that disturbed me.

reading for my women's bible study in acts something struck me..acts 7:  54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

when my son isn't obeying, when my bible study doesn't seem to be changing me, when i don't seem to be having any real impact in this world...when i can't remember back to a conversation that i didn't pick apart and feel guilt about..my prayer is that my verse 55 will be "But Heather, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

my prayer is that the Lord will give me joy..a smile in the rear-view mirror.