Awake/Asleep

This is a post about being awake and being asleep. Although my words will not adequately reflect what the Lord is trying to say, I pray you would find understanding in what He was speaking to my heart.

Before I begin, I want to point out that this is a picture of my very tired mailman husband. He is so handsome, but he desperately just wanted to go to sleep. I desperately wanted him to just stay awake. :)

While they are awake, the redheads are the ultimate team. Creating trouble wherever they can find it, getting into things they know they aren't supposed to, snuggling together, holding hands, fighting with one another, learning from each other [more than they know] and most of all loving each other deeply. Day after Day.
They are the silliest kids I ever have known. Yesterday, for example, when I was taking these pictures, they were out in our mudroom playing with Heidi's dog leash that we keep partly inside so she doesn't escape when we try to leash her outside. One of the many tricks of my trade around here. They were clearly bored with their toys and normal routine. We have turned off the TV alot over the course of the last couple weeks and have focused on coloring pictures, worshipping to our music, playing with play dough, doing 'school work' on the computer, etc. It's been a nice break to not hear Dora blasting through my entire house.
You see, while these babe's are awake together, I rarely intervene in their playing together. I only do so if I need to break up a massive fight that involves hitting, biting, pinching, or anything else extremely physical. Otherwise, I try to let them duke it out with kind words and alot of yelling. For the most part, though, they can make each other laugh like no one else can and they enjoy their time awake together. In fact, when Braden went down for his nap yesterday, Nora went to look for him. When she came back, she said to me in a troubled voice, "Mommy...I cant find my bubby."
You see, I'm telling you what they are like when they are awake together because lately their schedules just aren't matching up. They used to wake up together, nap together and hit bedtime together. Now, Nora sleeps in later, doesn't usually nap and stays up later than Braden. In the mornings, while she looks like this...

...I get the pleasure of seeing him look like this...

...and I must admit I cherish this time with him. The same is true of her when he naps. I enjoy those couple of hours where we can talk, play and snuggle. Sometimes I get frustrated, seeing as how I'm getting NO mommy-time at all anymore--but I can really see how the Lord is orchestrating this time for a purpose. I need these moments individually with the children now more than ever. A time when I can enjoy their voices, their fingers, their songs and dances, their jokes, their laughter, their every movement. And you better believe I do enjoy it.

In fact, there is nothing I love more than their everything.

Braden's voice is just the cutest sound you could ever imagine. He is telling jokes and laughs at himself and when he says them, his eyebrows raise just perfectly. His fingers and toes are growing into those of a toddler and no longer my baby. His body is changing and looks almost identical to that of his dad. He is becoming a little boy right before my eyes. I love his smell, his whine, his hair, his ears. I love every detail of this 2 year old babe. He is such a precious gift to me.

He says to me almost daily...

"Mommy, I miss you."

"I love you too, mommy."

"You're my best friend."

"Wanna hold my hand?"--and I do. For long periods of time.

"Sit with me"

"Lay with me."

"Don't go out, mom."

And my lady. What is there not to love about her? I have adored her for longer than she has been alive. Literally, adored. I cherish every word that she speaks, cling to every look she gives me and even thrive on the little attitude that is budding. I look at Nora and am certain that she has a heart that is destined to love our Father. I have always known that she will love God and go after Him with everything she is. And she amazes me. She understands things spiritually that she maybe shouldn't understand at 3 years old. But the Lord knows she is capable and He is already molding her. It excites me. Her eyelashes are perfectly long and her eyebrows are a soft curve over her beautiful blues. She sings everyday and loves to learn. Her hands are so tiny and dainty and her toes are still my most favorite thing to catch a glance at through the day. She is absolutely perfect.

Every night she asks me to sing "Step by step"

'God you're my God and I will ever praise you.

God you're my God, and I will ever praise you.

I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in your ways...

...and step by step you'll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.'

Sometimes I look at the children and I see such a strong and powerful message of God. Because of his age, Braden resembles someone who is spiritually asleep. It is not by his choice, but rather his inability to understand deep things as of now. In a year, he will begin to grasp important concepts just as his sister has. I am confident that he will because my prayers over Braden are just as powerful as they have been over Nora.

In Nora, I see the resemblance of someone who is spiritually awake. It's as if one day she woke up and began understanding the things I was speaking over her all along. They are not deep or complex topics, of course, but they are simple and basic lessons of our Lord that even the greatest Christian needs to be taken back to now and then.

I want to be awakened in my spirit once again!

In fact, I believe that I am being awakened. Over the course of the last week, I have felt this stirring in my spirit for my God. This love affair that is beginning yet again. It is intimate and passionate and pleasant to my being. It is powerful and exciting.

The world around me is sleeping and while they are, I want to have a time that is worth cherishing with my Lord. I want to memorize every part of His essence and even know the smell of His sweet breath. I want to cherish Him like I do my children while they are awake in the day.

What about you? Do you want to be awakened today?

Do you want to begin a whirlwind affair with your creator?

Take the plunge and dig into Him.

Spend time with Him; learning from Him.

He longs for you to wake up...like a mother waits on her child in the morning.

He is waiting.

"...Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!"

Ephesians 5:14