the heart of the Father

It's been a while since I've blogged - busy running around after Jordan while getting bigger by the minute. YUP! Number two is on the way! So in the meantime, while I still just have one that's out of the womb, I'm learning alot and enjoying the time I have with her.

Lessons learned (or maybe I should say in the process of learning):

1. I love my baby girl. And that word "love" means that I leave my heart out there with her and whenever she feels loved I revel in it. It also means that when she gets rejected or hurt, my heart is broken for her. And this is what I'm learning - I have a hard time handling rejection for my daughter whether it's by an adult or a little kid. Jordan, on the other hand, could care less. I'm thankful for that. And so, I have to be careful not to be overprotective because rejection is a part of life. But no parent would knowingly send their child into a situation knowing they'd be rejected. It goes against our instinct as parents. And this is why I've fallen even more in love with the Father. Knowing that Jesus had the perfect relationship in heaven with Him and the Holy Spirit - He sent His son to earth for us. Knowing that even the most devoted follower of Christ could not measure up to the perfect fellowship He already had... He sent His ONLY Son to earth. Knowing that He'd be rejected, despised and ultimately killed. He sent Him. I can't comprehend it. Except that God's love for humanity and justice run so deep that He allowed His Son to go through this temporary yet excruciating pain (which is an understatement) so that we might live in eternity with Him.

2. Discipline is tough. Jordan started to show signs of the "terrible twos" or "terrible toddler" phase - whatever you want to call it. But no matter what you name it, it's terrible. I realize i don't have much to complain about or worry about yet because she's still very agreeable. But we knew we needed something in place because she would not take no for an answer at times and she also would refuse to listen at times. The light hit on the hand just brought about laughter and would at times evoke a retaliation of the same sort. So we ended up trying time out. But time out with a 16 month old is like... a game. But we finally found our answer. The gated area. We gated off an area in our hallway and closed the doors. When she would hit or refuse, I would place her in there. The minute she went in there, she would hate it and when she came out she'd do a 180. Now don't get me wrong. She's only in there for a maximum of 1 minute. That's all she needs as she's only 1 year old. But I'm so thankful that there is a solution to the craziness. At least for now.