This would be Sam’s basketball. Any serious basketball player has his/her name written on his basketball, so that when he is shooting around at the gym, his/her basketball doesn’t get mixed up with someone else’s. But did you notice what Sam wrote as his last name….Sullivan. He had done this all by himself, and I am pretty sure it was within the last week or so. Very interesting. And, it made me smile. I know some people have gotten a lil confused about our 2 Samuels…and in fact many think that we have already ‘picked up’ Samuel from Africa, and that Sam is Samuel. Now I am confusing myself. Anyways, in case you are just joining us on the blog, Sam is 10 and he is from Des Moines. We are helping out his mom, and he has been living with us since the end of February as a sort of mentoring situation. Most interestingly, the little boy we are adopting from Ghana is also named Samuel. So, we will have 2 Samuels very shortly. To avoid confusion I have been referring to 10 year old Sam from Des Moines as ‘Sam’. And, 5 year old Samuel from Ghana we are calling ‘Samuel’. I might have to change this….I know it is confusing - but since we aren’t changing Ghana Samuel’s name I don’t really know how else to keep each of them straight for you. Anyways, if you are praying for us and our adoption, you can add Sam to the list. Please pray that his heart would be prepared as well for Samuel to come. He’s already been through a lot of adjusting as he has joined our family, and I am sure you can imagine what more will be ‘worked through’ when a little boy who has his name (and our last name) will join our family. It’s just a lot of complex emotions to work through right now…for all of us…..so pray as we adjust and work through it.Now, this next identity experiment will hopefully make you laugh….this would be a picture of the mii on the wii that JJ has designed for himself. You will notice something very obvious that does not quite match up to JJ’s looks (other than the glasses)….
Oh I just LOVE how JJ’s little mind works! When we first got the wii, we designed our mii’s to look exactly like each of us. (Jayla’s is especially perfect). Then one night Jake and I went on a date and Grandma came and watched the kiddos. When we got home Grandma told us that JJ had wanted her to change some things around on his mii. And the next time we went to play it, we saw JJ’s new image with his new skin color! He is so funny. He is definitely 3 years old and he is definitely part of a colorful family. :)
I am not reading too much into either of these identity experiments, they more so just grabbed my attention and got me thinking a little more deeply about how we go about figuring out ‘who we are’. In the book Power of a Praying Parent there is a chapter devoted to praying for your child that they would understand who God created them to be. I’ve realized that the best identity that we can find is our identity in Christ. And, this is what I will pray for all of my children, whether they have my last name or not. Here is the author’s prayer….
Lord,
I pray that You would pour out Your Spirit upon (name of child) this day and anoint him (her) for all that You’ve called him (her) to be and do. Lord, You have said, “Let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:24). May it be for this child according to Your Word, that he never stray from what You have called him to be and do, or try to be something he is not.
Deliver him from any evil plan of the devil to rob him of life, to steal away his uniqueness and giftedness, to compromise the path you’ve called him to walk, or to destroy the person You created him to be. May he not be a follower of anyone but You, but may he be a leader of people into Your kingdom. Help him to grow into a complete understanding of his authority in Jesus, while retaining a submissive and humble spirit. May the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grow in him daily (Galatians 5:22). May he find his identity in You, view himself as Your instrument, and know that he is complete in You. Give him a vision for his life when setting goals for the future and a sense of purpose about what You’ve called him to do. Help him to see himself as You do – from his future not from his past. May he be convinced that Your thoughts toward him are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give him a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Teach him to look to You as his hope for the future. May he understand it is You “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9). May his commitment to being who You created him to be enable him to grow daily in confidence and Holy Spirit boldness.
Amen.
(prayer from The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie O’Martian)
I am not reading too much into either of these identity experiments, they more so just grabbed my attention and got me thinking a little more deeply about how we go about figuring out ‘who we are’. In the book Power of a Praying Parent there is a chapter devoted to praying for your child that they would understand who God created them to be. I’ve realized that the best identity that we can find is our identity in Christ. And, this is what I will pray for all of my children, whether they have my last name or not. Here is the author’s prayer….
Lord,
I pray that You would pour out Your Spirit upon (name of child) this day and anoint him (her) for all that You’ve called him (her) to be and do. Lord, You have said, “Let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:24). May it be for this child according to Your Word, that he never stray from what You have called him to be and do, or try to be something he is not.
Deliver him from any evil plan of the devil to rob him of life, to steal away his uniqueness and giftedness, to compromise the path you’ve called him to walk, or to destroy the person You created him to be. May he not be a follower of anyone but You, but may he be a leader of people into Your kingdom. Help him to grow into a complete understanding of his authority in Jesus, while retaining a submissive and humble spirit. May the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grow in him daily (Galatians 5:22). May he find his identity in You, view himself as Your instrument, and know that he is complete in You. Give him a vision for his life when setting goals for the future and a sense of purpose about what You’ve called him to do. Help him to see himself as You do – from his future not from his past. May he be convinced that Your thoughts toward him are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give him a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Teach him to look to You as his hope for the future. May he understand it is You “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9). May his commitment to being who You created him to be enable him to grow daily in confidence and Holy Spirit boldness.
Amen.
(prayer from The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie O’Martian)
Too Cute!
ReplyDeleteI laugh every time we play wii. :D. Last night it looked like everyone in the wii-fam was black except me! I remember when JJ thought he would grow up to look like Yaw, skin color and all.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why... but I am tearing up over that. How cool to see that name on his basketball. And thanks for the laugh JJ because I'm sitting in a very public place and crying wouldn't have been too cool. :)
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