Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Living in Philly

Some of you may know, but many others probably don't, what a daily struggle it is for me to live where we live. I love what we do and I love who we work with, but I hate living in the city. My dream as a kid had always been to live in the country. I think mostly it centers around fears of all the things that go on and in the city. I grew up in an area very similar to the city and witnessed a number of different things. I certainly NEVER wanted that life for my kids. So, when God called us to Philadelphia I really struggled with that call. I still do. Everyday I have to wake up and give the day to God and the fact that we live here. I have to give my children over to Him for protection each and every day. I know we should be doing this no matter where we live. So it's good I live in Philly or else I would certainly be oblivious to this fact and take it for granted that they were safe and not give them over to Him everyday. Today I was made keenly aware of God's protection of my children. Each day we take a walk to the playground at the end of our block. It is one of the last "green" places in our neighborhood and is slated to be the new elementary school for our neighborhood. Since this is the case no one takes care of this playground and it has become a terrible eyesore. There is broken glass, trash in abundance and this:Yes, seven needles. Five still with their points. Sarah found these. It makes me sad to think that my eight year old daughter (1) knows what a needle looks like and (2) that she has to constantly be aware of these things. I thank God that she knows to come to an adult and tell them about these things. We gathered them up and threw them away so that no one else would get hurt. Please continue to pray for our children as we raise them in the city. Pray for God's protection and that they would grow up without fear, but know God's strength and power in their lives.

On a lighter note this is our rockin' baby:He thinks Sarah's swing to her Loving Family Doll House makes a great pair of glasses! He loves this Backyardigan's guitar he got from Grammy for Valentine's Day. He is always rockin' out! I just happen to get a good picture this time! He usually runs away from the camera. Like the little curl on the left top side of his head? He needs a haircut! He gets one on Friday.

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