Hamner's Home

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Unexpected Jesus

This Advent Season we are trying to teach our kids what it means that Jesus is with us all the time. He is everywhere and His presence often shows up when we don't expect it to. It has been our family tradition for six years now, to count down to Jesus' birthday with advent activities each day. Sometimes the activities cost money, but most of the time they don't. They are always things we do together as a family. This year, my heart was pricked by a dear friend who told me that she really wanted her Advent activities to be focused on others. I LOVED THE IDEA, but most of my activities were already planned out and of course we had our traditional things on the list that didn't necessarily focus on others. My heart continued to stir as I thought about how I could possibly refocus some of our activities on others, but still keep them as is, especially the ones my kids expected because we do them EVERY YEAR. Advent began. The first day we made these blessing bags with a couple of other families. We filled them with things that would bless others who were struggling and living on the streets: soap, deodorant, gift card, snacks, water, a bible, and a handful of other things. We worked together, explaining why these things would be a blessing to others. Our kids were diligent in their efforts and had smiles on their faces.

The third day of Advent came and when my kids opened their star for the day, it read, "Wear pj's and take a picture with Santa." Santa isn't even something we include in our celebrating of this season, but the pictures are fun and I've loved watching them grow over the years. How could Jesus show up in this and how could I possible make this about others? So, we get to the mall and the prices have skyrocketed for a simple 5x7 picture. Matter of fact, we couldn't just buy that; we had to by a package. However, they had an option to take a picture with our phones (and not use their services) and then they asked that we consider donating to a charity. They did not disclose what "charity" they were referring to. Eddie and I have recently been convicted to restructure how we spend money, including wanting to be in a place where we are living off very little and giving away the rest. We know that comes in the big decisions as well as the small ones so we opted out of the expensive package, took a picture with our phone (despite the battle in my heart that "this isn't how we have done it all the other years"). We get to the counter and Eddie asked, "So, what charity is it that we would be donating to." The lady placed a SHOW HOPE pamphlet in front of us. My eyes filled with tears.

"Established in 2003 as Shaohannah’s Hope, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth initially founded Show Hope out of their desire to see more children find their way into forever families. Though many families they talked to were willing to adopt, the financial costs to adoption were simply too high." God had gone before us and put everything in to place to make even our "meaningless traditions" effective in the Kingdom as we took steps to follow his lead. I couldn't believe he had taken something like "a yearly picture with Santa"and turned it into something where we could give to others. It was a privilege to sit down with our four kids afterwards, over a kiddie sizes ice cream and explain to them what had just happened. This was a true example of the unexpected Jesus!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Project: Link's Shield

This recent project inspired me to blog, again. We will see how faithful I am! It amazes me how different children from the same womb can be. My oldest is an athlete. Loves every sport on the planet. He knows every team, the quarterbacks, the plays, the positions... He is a fantastic baseball player. So, what was this sports loving mama to do with my second son who, while freakishly strong and athletic, doesn't show the same interest in sports?! Observe and learn him... He has come to love the video game Zelda. YES, the original from the NES system many of us played in the 80's and 90's. He loves to pretend he is the hero, Link and fighting to protect the princess, Zelda. He bounces around our home, fighting the pretend villains and it has driven me crazy until I recently realized the beauty in what he was doing. The "Wild at Heart" I had read about so many times was bleeding out of my son and I was totally missing it because I was simply annoyed by his behavior. So, I became interested in his interest. Truthfully, Zelda was one of my favorite games growing up. I googled and came across a you tube video for making "Link's Shield" and felt is was cheap enough to purchase the materials and complete this project with Noah.

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

This is my prayer for Noah, that his love for epic stories of good verse evil will translate into the reality of this world. I pray his faith will grow into a shield that he battles through life with as Satan throws arrows of temptation at him. I pray he grows into a man who loves God and sees life as a true adventure. Eddie and I have been praying for his "princess to be rescued" since before he was born. Supposedly, he has her picked out already! :) Here is our project!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Oh, good! My account is still active!

Hi all who have probably given up on the Hamners! Not much to report from H-Town! Had a fun, crazy, and long summer! I now officially have a 4 (soon to be 5), 3, and 1 year old. They grow SO fast! School started this week and we are FINALLY back into a routine. The boys are in Preschool and A and Mommy have girl days. Super fun! We are all doing well, including Eddie, who continues to enjoy what God has called him to for now. Here are a few updated pics! I'll try to keep up with this more! And, people ask me why I'm not on Facebook! :) Ha!