Saturday, September 12, 2009

Brett's Burgeoning Faith

My little second grader, my firstborn, my "mini-Greg," my talker, my "remind-me-of-myself-child," is growing up. I can hardly believe Brett can read chapter books, add, subtract, spell, and receives number grades on homework instead of letters like 'S' for Satisfactory and 'N' for Needs Improvement. Yes, our little guy is growing up.

Last week, we watched videos of his birth, his first steps, first words, and first birthday. I remember all of it like it was yesterday. I also remember praying for him since he was in the womb... praying that he would know God and love God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and spirit. That he would love others. That he would have a faith in God that is all his own based on his experience and God's word.

Brett is in church a lot as you can imagine. After all, his parents work there and he is required to go! I have often wondered what his personal relationship with Christ would look like in light of his "socialization" in all things Christianity. Just like we teach our kids to speak our native tongue, we teach our kids about faith based on our own experiences. The beauty of our faith, of Christianity, is that we serve a LIVING GOD who speaks to us through his Holy Spirit. This means that even though we teach Brett foundational truths about our faith, our God actually speaks to Brett all on His own without us. Brett prays and reads his Kid's Bible and I know the God of the Universe speaks to him.

Brett says the most profound things about his faith. It might not be profound to you and me as adults, but in his own age appropriate way, Brett is learning to articulate what it means to be a Christian. Brett recently prayed the ABC prayer as we like to call it:

A: Admit that we are sinners (we have all thought, done and said things that do not please God, Romans 3:23).

B: Believe that when Christ died on the cross, it was the ultimate sacrifice for those sins. He rose from the dead on the third day and now lives eternally in heaven (Romans 5:8 and 10:9).

C: Choose to follow Him.

Praying this simple prayer means we have died to our old self and we are a new creation in Christ. Brett asked us a few weeks ago if he could now be baptized. Water baptism is an outward symbol of this experience according to Romans 6:4, "By being baptized, we were buried with Christ into his death. Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father's glory. And like Christ we also can live a new life." When we are submerged in water, it symbolizes our old self being buried with Christ; and, when we come up, we are a new creation in Him.

It was really cool that Greg got to walk him through this experience and baptize him. Here is Greg asking him if he has accepted Christ as his Savior:




And, here is Brett coming out of the water:


*Lighting not so good!

Brett is just beginning his walk with Christ. He has a lot to learn just as I, an adult, do. I know life will come with challenges and difficulties. His faith will be tempted and tried (even Jesus was tempted). My prayer is that those experiences will continue to build Brett's faith in a God who loves him and who created him for a purpose.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

CPYFL

Brett has been begging us to play football for two years now! I wasn't ready for tackle and somehow thought he would decide not to play after trying basketball, soccer, and baseball. BUT, we live in Texas and when kids play football *everyday* at recess in Kindergarten, there is no avoiding football! By the end of first grade, there was no doubt we'd be playing in the Fall. After all, he can do a mad spin move!



So, this fall, we signed Brett up to play Flag Football with Pop Warner (good first step for me). Turns out, he's pretty good at it. He can run fast and he's super coordinated. It is so much fun to watch! We had our first game today. Here's Brett studying his playbook last night:


Although we lost at the five yardline about to score the winning touchdown when time ran out, the Wolverines had a great game. Brett scored our two TDs breaking free from the defense and running over 30 yards each time. He also made an amazing diving catch during one play. Here's his team just before the start:

I have to admit, this is FUN! Maybe next year, we will play tackle like most everyone else we know. Cedar Park Youth Football League is competitive and we certainly wouldn't want our seven year old falling behind his peers...



Oh, and on a side note... he lost his two front teeth this week. Check it out: