On Christmas morning Pastor David recited the fighter verse, "He restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:3-4) Verse 4 seemed to some to be pretty inappropriate for Christmas, until he said "because death happens at Christmas too." Oh how this touched me. One of my closest friends miscarried just a few days before Christmas. While the rest of us were rejoicing in a birth, she is mourning a birth that will never happen. My heart hurts for her. My soul aches for her. She lives too far away now for me to comfort her in person, but I wish I could. Death is awful no matter which way you cut it, but the death of a child, even an unborn child is devastating. Death was never meant to be. It is because of sin that death entered the world. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they ruined God's perfect creation. Romans 5:12 says "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned..." We all have sin natures, even precious tiny babies, and so we are all susceptible to death. But God, in His perfect will had a plan to save us from death. Romans 5:18 says "Therefore as one trespass led to condemnation for all men ,so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men." That one act of righteousness was Jesus' death on the cross. He died to take the sin of mankind so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life. John 1:12 says "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." How amazing is it that all we have to do to receive eternal life is to believe in the name of Jesus? Acts 16:31 says "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved..." Oh how wonderful to believe in a God who is victorious over death. "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces..." (Isaiah 25:8) "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) So, take heart my dear friend. Death is not forever. We serve a victorious God. One day there will be no more grieving, no more tears. One day you will be with your precious Noah in heaven. Until then rest in the fact that Jesus holds him in his arms. This pain is temporary. And if just one person reads this and is touched by the Gospel, then Noah's short life and tragic death are not in vain. You are loved, my friend, and prayed for.
If you want to follow her healing process you may visit her blog:
www.learningfromthegreatteacher.blogspot.com
(for some reason I cannot link to it, so you'll have to do it the old fashioned way and type it into your url)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
2011 Year End...
As 2011 comes to a close I feel compelled to write a Christmas letter, even though most people who read this probably already know everything anyway. So, here goes!
2011 has been an eventful year in the Metcalf house. Our beloved Derek turned 2 in February. It was really hard to believe he was that old, and now we are staring down the barrel at 3!! He was in his first wedding in March when he was one of the ring bearers in his Aunt Jessica's wedding. He did so well, and was the only one who did not cry going down the aisle! Go Derek!!! He has loved being a big brother since May. He loves his baby brother so much. Every night before brother goes to bed Derek has to give him a hug and a kiss and tell him that he loves him. It's adorable! In August he got another opportunity to be a ring bearer in his Aunt Rebekah's wedding. He walked down the aisle so nicely, and made everybody laugh when he was aghast that the flower girl was throwing the flower petals on the floor. he kept saying "no, no! Don't spill the flowers!" Right after the wedding we tackled potty training, and he accomplished that in less than a week. Christmas this year was a blast! He loved opening his gifts, and even loved helping his little brother open his gifts to. He would open them and then go show him what each thing was. Derek speaks in full sentences now, and there are not many things he cannot say. He's growing up before our eyes. We are so proud of how much he has learned in the past year.
On May 27th we were ecstatic to welcome Owen Michael into our family. He was born at about 4:30pm after a 5 hour labor. This was my first natural birth, and it was amazing! I am so proud to have been able to accomplish it. Owen is not the greatest sleeper, but he makes up for it in sparkling personality. He brings a big baby smile into the room whenever he enters. He has cut two teeth in the past month, and is eating solids very well after being exclusively nursed for the first 5 months. He still prefers to nurse over any other form of food, but he is enjoying trying new tastes of fruit and veggies as well. He crawls everywhere, and is into everything! It is so fun watching him grow and develop!
Nathan continues his job as a youth pastor at our local church. We just passed the two year mark at this church in September and things are really amping up there. This past year Nathan went on two ski trips, a Colorado camping trip, a service project trip to Wisconsin, and a few other trips with the youth group. He stays very busy to say the least. He is also a substitute school bus driver for our school district. It's a great chance for him to meet new kids.
I continue my work with the transitional home for women. I have moved from just being a relief staff member to being the relief staff manager. It is a big change so far as I take over the tasks of scheduling and managing the staff. So far so good though. My primary role is still at home with the kiddos. Derek and Owen are the lights of my days! They are a lot of fun. I am doing a lot of pre-preschool things with Derek to prepare him for starting preschool in the fall. Owen and I are the best of friends. Anywhere I am, he has to be too. I love it!
Our cats, Calvin and Piper are doing well too for those curious. They still don't get along very well, but they have established the pecking order and they have calmed down about it a little.
We wish you all the best in the coming year. We rejoice that the Son of God was incarnated as a tiny baby so that he might grow to be the perfect Lamb of God, a sacrifice for our sins that we might be reconciled to God. We thank Jesus for the precious gift of salvation. And we praise God for His perfect plan to send his Son as a baby. Amen! May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all this holiday!!!
Soli Deo Gloria,
The Metcalf family,
Nathan, Sarah, Derek and Owen
2011 has been an eventful year in the Metcalf house. Our beloved Derek turned 2 in February. It was really hard to believe he was that old, and now we are staring down the barrel at 3!! He was in his first wedding in March when he was one of the ring bearers in his Aunt Jessica's wedding. He did so well, and was the only one who did not cry going down the aisle! Go Derek!!! He has loved being a big brother since May. He loves his baby brother so much. Every night before brother goes to bed Derek has to give him a hug and a kiss and tell him that he loves him. It's adorable! In August he got another opportunity to be a ring bearer in his Aunt Rebekah's wedding. He walked down the aisle so nicely, and made everybody laugh when he was aghast that the flower girl was throwing the flower petals on the floor. he kept saying "no, no! Don't spill the flowers!" Right after the wedding we tackled potty training, and he accomplished that in less than a week. Christmas this year was a blast! He loved opening his gifts, and even loved helping his little brother open his gifts to. He would open them and then go show him what each thing was. Derek speaks in full sentences now, and there are not many things he cannot say. He's growing up before our eyes. We are so proud of how much he has learned in the past year.
On May 27th we were ecstatic to welcome Owen Michael into our family. He was born at about 4:30pm after a 5 hour labor. This was my first natural birth, and it was amazing! I am so proud to have been able to accomplish it. Owen is not the greatest sleeper, but he makes up for it in sparkling personality. He brings a big baby smile into the room whenever he enters. He has cut two teeth in the past month, and is eating solids very well after being exclusively nursed for the first 5 months. He still prefers to nurse over any other form of food, but he is enjoying trying new tastes of fruit and veggies as well. He crawls everywhere, and is into everything! It is so fun watching him grow and develop!
Nathan continues his job as a youth pastor at our local church. We just passed the two year mark at this church in September and things are really amping up there. This past year Nathan went on two ski trips, a Colorado camping trip, a service project trip to Wisconsin, and a few other trips with the youth group. He stays very busy to say the least. He is also a substitute school bus driver for our school district. It's a great chance for him to meet new kids.
I continue my work with the transitional home for women. I have moved from just being a relief staff member to being the relief staff manager. It is a big change so far as I take over the tasks of scheduling and managing the staff. So far so good though. My primary role is still at home with the kiddos. Derek and Owen are the lights of my days! They are a lot of fun. I am doing a lot of pre-preschool things with Derek to prepare him for starting preschool in the fall. Owen and I are the best of friends. Anywhere I am, he has to be too. I love it!
Our cats, Calvin and Piper are doing well too for those curious. They still don't get along very well, but they have established the pecking order and they have calmed down about it a little.
We wish you all the best in the coming year. We rejoice that the Son of God was incarnated as a tiny baby so that he might grow to be the perfect Lamb of God, a sacrifice for our sins that we might be reconciled to God. We thank Jesus for the precious gift of salvation. And we praise God for His perfect plan to send his Son as a baby. Amen! May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all this holiday!!!
Soli Deo Gloria,
The Metcalf family,
Nathan, Sarah, Derek and Owen
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