Day 25 (18): Parenting Seems Hard

140 eggs

For worship today, we sat and listened to God and then shared what we heard and prayed together. I feel like I heard God bring to mind the verses where he says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

I spent the rest of the time thinking about that. What does that mean? In Hosea, the second half of the verse is "and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings." In Matthew 9, it's right after Jesus calls Matthew and people are upset that he hangs out with sinners. In Matthew 12, it's when Jesus is telling the Pharisees that their version of rest and Sabbath laws isn't the same as God's. So, it seems like the context of understanding is: following God is less about keeping all the rules and earning his favor, and more about living relationship with God. So, that's a good word for me. And now I'm wondering what Matthew 12:5 means.

We had the little kids at the CDI today. Before they arrived, Georgen shared some really beautiful and honest stuff about her life and how God has used parenting and the challenges that can come with it. It was a really fantastic moment. The kids showed up and we tossed around the rubber balls for a while, then I got to sit and color with Julian and then Saul. They're such sweet kids. Of course, Julian also colored his T-Rex to have bloody teeth and said it killed the Triceratops on the next page. He sang songs in Spanish to himself narrating what he was thinking and doing. "Los dinosaurios no tienen que llevar mascarillas porque no pueden llevar coronavirus." I...didn't know what to say to that.

Our story today was the same as for the big kids yesterday; Jesus and the woman who washed his feet with her tears and anointed him with perfume. The little kids were more reluctant to act it out, but they did and we had good conversation about it.

Saul's fish craft had gotten destroyed by the rain, so he made another while Katie and I played a version of chess with Sharon. Sharon's version of chess involved moving the pieces in turns to whatever empty spot we wanted. She played the game and made her choices with a high intensity of concentration, even though it was all random and there were no actual rules or goal to the game. I wonder if that's how existentialism feels.

We practiced singing and English, which went really well. Matthew is doing an amazing job teaching useful things in a way that is fun. We played a game of sorts with the words "give," "have," and "want." They're pretty helpful words in communication.

Many piggy-back rides were given today. Also some impromptu dodgeball happened.

I left my camera out for the kids to find. The big kids had enjoyed it, so I figured the little kids would too. I think they're primarily confused by the fact that it's a separate piece of technology from a phone, but that confuses a lot of people.

After the CDI, we took an Uber to Duke's, to try the BBQ that has been in the works for so long. The decorations at Duke's are fun; they remind me of my parents' house. We got to joke around and talk with some of the adults in the church, which was a nice change of pace. Then, we ate BBQ. It as actually really, really good. The sauce needs some tweaking, and Katie - who, it turns out, knows a lot about BBQ - gave some helpful feedback on the brisket. Sheryl and Matthew had some good input as well. I just thought it was tasty, so...less helpful.

We Uber'd back and hung out with the Lagos for a bit, then headed home. Now we have a to-go bag f i l l e d with ribs in our fridge.

Our weekend of relaxing, experiencing Costa Rica, and bonding with the Lagos starts early tomorrow. I'm excited :)

PRAYER:

- for our last week and a bit with the kids to go well

- for us to be able to have an in-person worship time with some of the students here

- for us to have a safe and joy-filled weekend

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