Paul is 13, Part II

When Matt and I were deciding who to ask to Paul's thirteenth birthday party, we knew we wanted to invite men who have poured into Paul's life.  Those men were gracious enough to pick out Bible verses and write letters about manhood to Paul.  It's our hope that Paul will refer to these items in the years to come when he needs encouragement to stay on the narrow road and to fight the good fight.

One person we invited to write to Paul was Rob Bixby (aka Apostle P).  This is the man that Paul asked to sharpen his Dad's knife this past spring.  Paul is a huge fan of the Apostle P You Tube channel.  Mr. Bixby lives across the country, so we knew he couldn't attend Paul's party, but we asked him if he'd be able to write to Paul.  This was a big favor to ask of a stranger, but he did not disappoint.

The other day Matt and I received an email from Mr. Bixby,  He was holding a knife giveaway on his You Tube channel and he wanted to give one of the knives to Paul as a late birthday present.  He told us to watch the announcement of the winners video later that afternoon, in which he intended to announce Paul as a winner.  We were thrilled.

So Matt asked Paul if he knew that the Apostle P was doing a knife giveaway.  Dumb question.  Paul proceeded to name all the knives he was giving away.  Matt took a break from his work to set up our t.v. to stream You Tube.  Paul had no clue what was about to happen.  I walked into the family room and asked, "What are you guys watching?  Who is this guy?" to add to the ruse.

When the Apostle P announced that Paul was the winner of a small Northwoods fixed blade knife donated by Derrick Bohn of KnivesShipFree.com, his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped.   Paul has wanted a fixed blade for a long time and this was completely unexpected. Needless to say, our son was elated.  Later, when Paul was talking to me more about the knife, he sighed.  It was the type of sigh I hope to one day hear from him when he tells me he has found the woman the Lord wants him to marry.  Until then, I'm happy that knives are the only thing that will elicit that type of sigh from my boy.

As for Paul's Mom and Dad, we were so encouraged by the Lord's provision of a knife for Paul.  Such a small gift in God's economy, but one only the Lord and his parents knew he wanted.  Our family has been going through a bit of a rough patch lately and it cheered us immensely to know that God has His eyes on us.  He hears.  He sees.  He knows.  He is aware of even the smallest details.  What an awesome God we serve!

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4:19

(As I understand it, this knife is quite the knife.  It's heirloom quality.  We made sure Paul knows that.  Also, a knife is certainly not a "need," but it sure is cool that the Lord delights to give His children gifts.  Paul has not been begging for a fixed blade, but Matt and I both knew he really, really wanted one.)

Here's the video of the Apostle P making the announcement (it's at about 5 min. in and lasts about 2 min.):

Paul is 13, Part I

Paul hit a milestone at the end of September.  In our family, we make a pretty big deal of 13th birthdays.  As parents, we want our kids to know that there comes a time in one's life when the business of becoming an adult comes to the fore front.  Fun is certainly not to be eliminated from one's life, but this world is not a playground, it's a battle ground and the time of the teen years should be redeemed, not squandered.

 Each of Paul's two older sisters received cedar chests for their thirteenth birthdays, so Matt and I found ourselves in a bit of a quandary when it came to deciding what to give our firstborn son.  Matt put a lot of thought and prayer into what we should do for the birthday celebration.  After all, Matt knew a precedent would be set for Paul's four younger brothers when they each turn 13.

Matt finally settled on giving Paul an old Army trunk (correct term--footlocker) that was from Paul's great-grandfather, who served in the Korean war.  We ordered a few things to put in the trunk, including a couple of books.  The Pilgrim's Progress is a family favorite and The Wealth of Nations is a book Matt thought would be good reading for a boy who is on the road to manhood.

We had the birthday party at our church so that we could accommodate a larger crowd.  Our pastor, friends, Paul's grandmas and grandpas, godparents and a great aunt and uncle attended.  We started the evening with a dinner of Paul's favorites--ham, cheesy potatoes, his sister's homemade rolls, salad and green beans (which Paul didn't care about, but his mom did).  For dessert we had a traditional family celebration cake, Texas sheet cake.

We then had a time of blessing and worship.  We started with prayer and the singing of  "Holy, Holy, Holy."  Matt then gave a talk on 1 Corinthians 11:7--"For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man."  and 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 " Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love."

I gave a little talk on Hebrews 11:24-26--" By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." 

Matt asked each of the guests to bring a Bible verse for Paul to the party.  These were read aloud and then the footlocker was presented to Paul.  Paul's Great Uncle Keith also added a piece of advice he received from his father (my Grandpa Paul):  "Don't marry a woman for her money, but don't hold it against her either."  Matt requested that every man who attended write a letter to Paul about manhood. These letters were gathered and put into the footlocker, along with the Bible verses.   

Paul's two older sisters then presented Paul with a brand new Bible with his name inscribed on the front cover.  Part of being a man, Matt said, is learning how to properly handle the Word of God.  So Matt had Paul read Psalm 19 to those in attendance.  We then ended the evening by singing one last hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

 Although the evening was a bit overwhelming for Paul, I know he enjoyed it.  He was especially touched that his Grandma Jane, despite being in extreme pain from a broken back, made the long trek down to be at his party (and to Grandpa Tom, who got her there).  Both Matt and I were touched at the outpouring of support for Paul and the time and effort folks put into picking their Bible verses and writing their letters.  I was especially thankful to our friend, Peggy, who helped set up for the dinner and for my mother-in-law, who helped clean up after the party (and for my father-in-law, who made the beans that Paul didn't want).

Suppose I'd Better Get Used to It

Life has changed for me in the past year.  I keep trying to pin down what it is that keeps my head spinning as I struggle to keep all the necessary balls in the air, but I can't seem to do the pinning.  Big kids getting bigger, little kids staying little, homeschooling, canning, mothering, wife-ing, daughter-ing.  I don't know.  I do know I miss having time to write.

To that end, Matt bought me a desk at a thrift store this past weekend. You know how changing one piece of furniture in your house can set off a chain reaction?  That's what happened.  In order to make room for the desk, we had to shift a couple of kids to different rooms (and all of their furniture/stuff).  Then we got rid of the love seat in our bedroom (my sister-in-law took it) and put a recliner from the family room (which traded places with a chair from our bedroom) and the new desk in the love seat's place.  Ta dah!  A new writing space for Melissa.

So far, I've had about fifteen free minutes to utilize it.  This is it.  Right here, right now.

It's been my mission this week to get the four huge boxes of apples that have been sitting in the basement for a month turned into applesauce.  Three boxes down, one to go.

The apples were leftover from apple strudel making.  The apple strudel is prepared every year by the folks of my aunt and uncle's church for their small town's German festival.  Grace, Liz and Lydia helped with the strudel making for a few days at the beginning of September.  A large number of Golden Delicious apples were left over after the 550 strudel for this year's Fest were made. Grace called me and asked if I wanted any.  I groaned.  I literally was elbow deep in canning peaches at the time.  "They're selling them for a great price," she said.  And of course, Golden Delicious apples are my favorite for making apple sauce since they need so little sugar.

"Yes,"  I said.  "I'll take four boxes."  In my mind I was thinking four fruit boxes, but  Grace came home with the equivalent of six or seven fruit boxes.  Turns out my money was no good with the buyer of the apples--a gift which couldn't have come at a better time.

Since I let the apples sit for so long, they've become nice and yellow.  I haven't needed to add any sugar to the sauce, so I'm very pleased.  I'm also pleased because when things around me seem to be spinning out of control, I can make a huge mess of the kitchen, drop some jars in the canner and produce something that my family needs.   Isaac keeps pointing to the jars on the table and asking, "Mom, are these for the winter?"  Yes, son, they are.

As an added bonus, I've been using my very own Kitchen Aid apple sieve this year instead of borrowing my mother-in-law's.  She and Dad have been scouring Ebay for several years for the Kitchen Aid mixer attachment that is no longer made.  They found success this year and purchased a sieve for me.  I think this little gadget is the best thing I've ever seen for making applesauce because it's a hands free device.  While the mixer is doing the work, I can be getting other things done around the kitchen (and so can my little helpers).

So I suppose I'd better get used to this new season of life.  At least we'll have applesauce to enjoy with it.