musical monday

I know I have shared how Keith & Kristyn Getty's music is such a blessing to me.  They are "modern day hymn writers" from Ireland and God has truly anointed the words and music they share.  We were blessed to see them in person at Southeastern Seminary and I'm so excited to see them in a few weeks as they help the choir at my parents' church, First Baptist Charlotte, lead worship for Christmas.

This song, Speak O Lord, is one I could and should sing or read everyday before I spend time in God's Word.  It is a prayer for God to use His Word to penetrate us, challenge us, and change us. It is a reminder for me personally to read God's Word expectantly, and not casually.

I pray that this song will bless you today.  I chose to share the live version of them singing at a church, even though the video quality is not best, because I love to watch Kristyn Getty sing.  May God's Word penetrate, challenge, and change us each day!

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

fall sensory tub

Here's another fun activity we did with Elijah surrounding pumpkins. In fact, I have never seen Elijah get so excited over an activity, so I will be sure to expand on this one!

I have read about several sensory tub activities over at this website, but I just didn't get around until making one until last week.  I had a lot of papers that I needed to shred, so I thought this would be the perfect time to hide some small pumpkins and gourds I had around the house in a "shredded paper sensory tub" for Elijah.

He literally played with this activity for about 45 minutes.  And every pumpkin he found was accompanied with squeals of delight.  I (of course) was so pleased and Justin and I had the best time watching him.

We had been outside earlier, which had turned into a major acorn-collecting adventure, so I decided to add a few acorns to the tub as well.  Elijah had to have help with those, but again, he was SO excited every time he found another object.

Basically, you can use items such as rice, beans, or shredded paper like I did to serve as the main substance in a plastic tub.  (It's also nice to have a lid so you can close it up for storage and use it again). Then add some larger items that can be hidden in the tub, preferably a themed object, to add focus to the activity.

We put a bowl beside the tub for collecting the items, which allowed us to encourage Elijah to count how many pumpkins he found.

I really was amazed at how much Elijah loved this activity.  I should have videotaped his reactions as he found pumpkin after pumpkin. Hopefully your toddler will enjoy this activity.  I highly recommend giving it a try!  ...And it wasn't really as much mess as I had expected!

musical monday

The children at our church sang this yesterday and it is so powerful.  I couldn't wait to share it with you because it is one of my favorites. My husband hopes for the kids at our church to sing this at least once a year because it is such a short and clear message of the Gospel - the Good News in one verse.

If this message has not yet impacted your life, but you want to know how it can, ask me about it!  And if the message put to this song has completely transformed your life, please share in the comments!

The Gospel Song - Sovereign Grace Ministries