"Stitches"

With an unexpected visit to the emergency room today, Micaiah left with 8 stitches in his forehead!  This was his first (of what I suspect may be many to come) incidents that require medical attention,
if he is anything like his Papa.
Micaiah is quite a curious, fearless (and in some cases ignorant), 

and at times mischievous little boy.
For the next five days until he gets his stitches out,
his nickname will be "Stitches."

It was an unexpected fall (or was he jumping?) off of the ottoman when he gashed open his forehead and required 8 stitches.  Anna and I were in the dining room while he was playing in the living room.  Even though we didn't see it happen, we heard his body thump when he hit the ground and his immediate crying.  When I picked him up, he was already covered in blood and I knew this one wasn't going to feel better with just a kiss.  While the nurses and doctor were stitching him up, he laid on the hospital bed screaming, "GO HOME NOW!"  It was his first three word sentence!!!  And in his desperate cries, the sense of our safe and familiar home was what he was demanding.  

His pleas for "home" captured my heart.  Home is where the heart is.  

Isn't that a famous quote or something because I know I've heard that before? 

While comforting Micaiah and telling him that we would go home when it was "all done," it was as if the Lord was showing me the delight He will have on the day that He will come to take His church home..."Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."  

(Revelations 21:1-4)

Though for now we can find encouragement in this:

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." 

(2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

The road less traveled

"He who obeys instructions guards his life,

but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die."
(Proverbs 19:16)

To fear God's instructions is to travel on the path of honor.
To obey them is our security.
If we keep the Word, the Word will keep us safe.
Our duties are thus identified with our privileges. This is the first successful effort to shake ourselves from the deep sleep of laziness. Yet, the power to obey God's instructions is not within a man. Is it not rather a matter of God working in us, through us, with us? Let the world know that we do not exercise obedience in a covenant of works, but that keeping the commandment evangelically is keeping our own souls. This is the way of present happiness, the seal of everlasting mercy, and the pathway to heaven.

This summary of Proverbs 19:16 is from the
commentary "Proverbs" by Charles Bridges.

Spot Time

So, what does Micaiah do while I'm working

with Anna on teaching time???!?

Micaiah has spot time!!

He gets to choose a few things to enjoy playing with on his own (something that only happens during this time of the day) and he gets to choose where he wants to play. Spot time is great because it allows me to focus my attention on working with Anna, yet he is learning to have quiet play time on his own. For Micaiah, this is his time to explore, try new things, and figure things out without being chaperoned by his sister. Imagine--no fighting, no arguing, no craziness for at least half an hour out of the day! Its marvelous (to me!). Some things that Micaiah likes to do during spot time is: ride his tricycle on the balcony, play with trucks or legos or empty boxes, and cook on the cooker set.