Altrogge Family

One thing that I love about reading God's word each day, is that His Holy Spirit reveals more about God and His call for Christians each time I read a passage, whether it be the second time or the hundredth time.

Camera and camcorder in hand, Stephen and I introduced Charis to rice cereal today. She seemed pretty open to the idea of new food but also sort of confused. Yeah, she had sucked on a few fingers here and there, and tried to lick the soap off of her face during bathtime, but this was a new flavor (if one can even us the word "flavor" to describe rice cereal). Putting a spoon into the mealtime mix threw her off a bit. Once our little trooper had her fill, she sure did not waste any time letting us know.

This week I had "one of those days." I woke up in the morning, felt exceptionally rested and got a whole lot done during the day. I was organizing boxes from when we moved, clearing out old clothes from our closet, etc. At some point during the day, it hit me. I felt good because I had been productive. I was more cheerful than normal because I had gotten more done than normal. I failed to see that I need Christ and that my joy is found only in Him.

After I do my devotions in the morning, I try to pray that God would strenthen me to serve my family throughout the day. It does not take very long before I am "running on my own fuel." My storehouses of strength quickly run dry. In His ministry, Paul said, "For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1:29) He knew that apart from the Lord, He could do nothing. I make lists of things to do and mentally plan out the day, all without remembering where my help comes from. My help comes from the Lord. He alone posseses all the energy for me to fulfill what He has callled me to do.

Whenever I am more joyful on a day like this, it is a sure sign that I am placing my hope in something other than the cross. In essence, I am believing that my hard work earns for me joy and right-standing with God, that the cross cannot. The opposite is true. God is pleased with me because of the unchanging work of Christ dying on the cross. He is pleased with me on days I do not get out of my pajamas until 1:00, just as much as He is when I organize my house from top to bottom. There is joy to be found in every day, knowing Christ purchased it for me.

I am learning the necessity of turning to the Lord in prayer at times like this. He has abundant strength for me to serve through the day. In Him, there is unending joy, from when I rise until when rest my head at bed, regardless of the day's outcome.

Today started out just like every other day. Little did I know what awaited me. I got Charis out of her crib after her afternoon nap. As usual, while she was in "wake-up mode" I gave her kisses on her cheeks and neck. For some reason, today it was funnier than normal to her. She started screaming in a high pitch, so I kept kissing her. Before I knew it, she let out a laugh, for the first time. I was cracking up. I laughed even more than she did. That made my day, and
pretty much my week.

The worst part is that not even two minutes after she giggled, Stephen walked down the stairs. As you can imagine, we spent the rest of the night doing whatever we could to try to make her laugh. Wouldn't you just like to have been a fly on the wall?

While I had a cold, Stephen took care of Charis in the morning, so that I could sleep in. He truly lives Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Here's how they spent some of their father-daughter time.

As I write this Preface I have just preached to my people several messages in which I pleaded with them to be ‘coronary Christians,’ not ‘adrenal Christians.’ Not that adrenaline is bad, I said; it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it lets you down on Mondays. The heart is another kind of friend. It just keeps on serving—very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never says, ‘I don’t like your attitude, Piper, I’m taking a day off.’ It just keeps humbly lub-dubbing along. It endures the way adrenaline doesn’t.

Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline—a spurt of energy and then fatigue. What we need in the cause of is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul. Marathoners, not sprinters. (The Roots of Endurance, John Piper)

The heart is a good picture of God's call for His children in service. "It just keeps on serving—very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated." What does this look like in my day? It means going to Wal-Mart every Thursday to buy groceries, or doing the laundry each week, or scrubbing the poop stains from Charis' onesies, or continually seeking God in prayer for strength.

The bottom line is that I am not naturally a "coronary Christian." There are many times when Wal-Mart is the last place on earth I want to be or I wish I could open my oven and dinner would be ready-to-serve. My flesh does not desire to serve consistently and "endure for the long haul." This is why I must cry out to the Lord to strengthen me to serve. I cannot do it on my own. I am weak and frail, but He is mighty to help.

"But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

I must admit, I oftentimes find Stephen and I "oooing and aahing" over Charis doing little things. I have even said, "Stephen look, she raised her eyebrow. How cute." I am sure all parents are doomed to think their kids are the cutest things, so here is some of what Charis has done recently to bring a smile to my face:

• arching her back approximately 180 degrees in an effort to roll over
• squealing with delight and sometimes when she is not delighted, but quite disgusted; let's just say, she squeals a lot
• frequently sticking her tongue out
• whenever I say, "I'm gonna get you," beginning in a low, manly voice and ending in a shrill, high one, she gets pretty excited
• grinning from ear to ear when Stephen sings "I'm a Maniac" while shuffling her feet
• talking to herself in her crib after we put her to sleep at night, that is until she realizes it is not mobile time, but sleep time

We probably smile five times for every one time she smiles. She brings us inexplicable joy.

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore." Isaiah 59:21