Having kids is like …
being back in school! Homework
is not just for them.

Perhaps I’m having a “senior moment,” a “brain fart,” or whatever you want to call it, but I don’t remember my parents having to be responsible for much of my schoolwork. I remember having a spiral notebook that had to be initialed once a week for 6th grade Science, but other than progress reports & report cards, I don’t remember them being directly involved in my day-to-day schoolwork.

Now that I’m a parent of two intermediate schoolers and three in elementary, I feel like I’m back in school, myself! (Well, I am back in school, myself, but that’s beside the point.) I appreciate so very much the after-school effort that my mom makes with the little three to practice spelling words & weekly Bible verses, because I am obviously dropping the ball.

My eldest came home with an awful progress report, and I feel partly responsible. Yes, I know that it’s his responsibility, and he will have to own up to it. Unfortunately, it looked like he may have had learn the really hard way by potentially being unable to perform at his first big Orchestra concert later this week because of one failing – yes, failing! – grade. He’s always been pretty reliable and independent, and although he’s forgotten a few things here and there, his grades have always been good, so I was utterly shocked.

As it turns out, his teacher informed me this morning that the progress reports were printed before he made up some missing assignments last week (did I mention he has forgotten a thing or two here and there?), so he has a mid- to high-B rather than a 55!! Goodness gracious, son – you nearly gave me a panic attack!! He’ll still be grounded as a reminder to not let his work slide, but at least he can perform at the concert. He was in tears when he realized that you can’t play with a failing grade.

I’m so relieved that it worked out, but it still saddens me that I have been so focused on the younger three and their escapades (mostly behavior, but also book projects/crafts and other assignments) that I’ve not given enough attention to the older two. I just feel like a crummy parent right now. 😦

Jesus is called our Wonderful Counselor. Do you go to him first with your concerns, or is prayer your last resort?

Let’s use Isaiah 9 as a prayer guide this week to give thanks to God for sending us the gift of his son. What does Jesus mean to you?

When we think of the Christmas story, don’t we tend to flip pages over to the New Testament? There’s the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, followed by the shocking story of how Joseph heard that his fiancé was pregnant. There’s a recap of Mary’s surreal conversation with the angel Gabriel and the heart-warming family reunion between Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1, not to mention John the Baptist’s leap for joy – in utero. There’s also the disciple John’s poetic reminder in chapter 1 of his book about Jesus’ stature as the Word of God. The New Testament is chockfull of wondrous stories about Jesus.

The story of Jesus’ birth began much earlier, however. Back in the 730s BC, the prophet Isaiah had a conversation with King Ahaz of Judah. (This is the same Ahaz listed in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1.) Ahaz was shaking in his boots because the kings of Aram and Israel were plotting against him. The Lord spoke through Isaiah and offered Ahaz a miraculous sign, which he declined. (I don’t know about you, but I think I would have said, “Yes, please!”)

Isaiah lost patience with Ahaz and told him that God already had a miraculous sign in mind that he would show, anyway. Then, right before he delved into a lengthy explanation of the wars and sieges that were about to plague Judah for the peoples’ disobedience, Isaiah prophesized about the birth of Christ: “The Lord himself will give you a miraculous sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV). We often see the verse isolated by itself, but it’s actually tucked into a much longer conversation between God (through Isaiah) and Ahaz.

I’m not a theologian, but this fascinates me. How cool is it that God chose a time of war to have his prophet foretell the coming of Christ? This Jesus, who rescued us from the darkness of sin and from the wars that wage battle within our own hearts, is Immanuel – “God with us” – who was and is and is to come!