One of the greatest blessings of this beach trip was time with our 2-year-old granddaughter Reese. I know I'm totally biased, but she is absolutely the cutest thing ever. She has a great mommy and daddy, so no wonder she's awesome. We laughed and hugged and took pictures as we soaked in the wonderful experience at the beach with her. We all learned some good lessons from Reeser:
1) Don't settle in until you know the ground is solid. When we hit the beach that first day, Reese was excited for fun in the sun in her cute bathing suit. When we got to the sand, Uncle Eric was carrying her and started to put her down. She put her feet down and then quickly picked them back up. I'm sure the sand felt funny and shaky to her little feet. But the grasp of Eric felt secure and sure. Of course, later, she was running around and loved having her feet buried in the sand. It took time for her to trust the beach. In the meantime, she played it safe. We need to do the same. We move from circumstance to circumstance and too often let go of the grasp of God along the way. When we start to sink, we reach for His grasp, but like Reese, we shouldn't have ever let go. God desires to walk with us always.
2) Depend on others. As a two- year old, Reese is pretty much dependent on those around her for everything. Elizabeth and Mark are such great parents and recognize their role as her caretaker and provider. It's a beautiful thing to watch Elizabeth loving on her child. Reese loves us all, but there is a special link between those two. Her little will is strong, but she submits to those that love her. Putting on sunscreen, changing diapers, putting her under an umbrella, carrying her across the hot sand, giving her water, providing food...the list goes on and on. Reese simply would not survive without those who love her, and she's apparently okay with it all. Truth is, whether two or ninety five, we're all designed to be dependent. We need our loving God and we need people. And that's okay. Pride says to be independent and protected. But humility says to "be like a child" and let others love us.
3) Be picky about what you eat. Reese is so selective about what goes in her mouth. She's a petite little thing and doesn't eat huge helpings of food. We took a picnic to the beach everyday. She just likes certain things and refuses to eat others. Grapes certainly qualify as a good food to eat but she doesn't like eggs. We need to all be careful about what we "eat." A hundred years ago, there were only a few meals available. In the electronic world we live in today, many different "devices" feed us constantly. If we're not careful, we succumb to information that isn't healthy. We need to be picky about what we allow inside our souls.
4) Take a nap. It's not hard to tell when Reese is tired. She rubs her eyes and get's a little irritable. Everyday she had naptime in the afternoon, but usually fought to stay awake. She'd sing songs in her crib or cry, but eventually, silence came from the baby monitor. She rested and woke up ready to go again. We all need to rest. We fight it, resist it and avoid it. But we need it. Not necessarily a nap in the afternoon, but rest in the trust of Jesus.
Thanks Reese for teaching us. We sure love you. There is a lot we can learn from the unexpected. Jesus said we're to have the naive, uncalculated, simple faith of a child.
That's when we experience the most joy in this life and have the most fun at the beach.
By Eric Joseph Staples ©
www.parentingyourteen101.com
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Beach Lesson #3: Reese
"From the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have established strength…" -Psa. 8:2
One of the greatest blessings of this beach trip was time with our 2-year-old granddaughter Reese. I know I'm totally biased, but she is absolutely the cutest thing ever. She has a great mommy and daddy, so no wonder she's awesome. We laughed and hugged and took pictures as we soaked in the wonderful experience at the beach with her. We all learned some good lessons from Reeser:
1) Don't settle in until you know the ground is solid. When we hit the beach that first day, Reese was excited for fun in the sun in her cute bathing suit. When we got to the sand, Uncle Eric was carrying her and started to put her down. She put her feet down and then quickly picked them back up. I'm sure the sand felt funny and shaky to her little feet. But the grasp of Eric felt secure and sure. Of course, later, she was running around and loved having her feet buried in the sand. It took time for her to trust the beach. In the meantime, she played it safe. We need to do the same. We move from circumstance to circumstance and too often let go of the grasp of God along the way. When we start to sink, we reach for His grasp, but like Reese, we shouldn't have ever let go. God desires to walk with us always.
2) Depend on others. As a two- year old, Reese is pretty much dependent on those around her for everything. Elizabeth and Mark are such great parents and recognize their role as her caretaker and provider. It's a beautiful thing to watch Elizabeth loving on her child. Reese loves us all, but there is a special link between those two. Her little will is strong, but she submits to those that love her. Putting on sunscreen, changing diapers, putting her under an umbrella, carrying her across the hot sand, giving her water, providing food...the list goes on and on. Reese simply would not survive without those who love her, and she's apparently okay with it all. Truth is, whether two or ninety five, we're all designed to be dependent. We need our loving God and we need people. And that's okay. Pride says to be independent and protected. But humility says to "be like a child" and let others love us.
3) Be picky about what you eat. Reese is so selective about what goes in her mouth. She's a petite little thing and doesn't eat huge helpings of food. We took a picnic to the beach everyday. She just likes certain things and refuses to eat others. Grapes certainly qualify as a good food to eat but she doesn't like eggs. We need to all be careful about what we "eat." A hundred years ago, there were only a few meals available. In the electronic world we live in today, many different "devices" feed us constantly. If we're not careful, we succumb to information that isn't healthy. We need to be picky about what we allow inside our souls.
4) Take a nap. It's not hard to tell when Reese is tired. She rubs her eyes and get's a little irritable. Everyday she had naptime in the afternoon, but usually fought to stay awake. She'd sing songs in her crib or cry, but eventually, silence came from the baby monitor. She rested and woke up ready to go again. We all need to rest. We fight it, resist it and avoid it. But we need it. Not necessarily a nap in the afternoon, but rest in the trust of Jesus.
Thanks Reese for teaching us. We sure love you. There is a lot we can learn from the unexpected. Jesus said we're to have the naive, uncalculated, simple faith of a child.
That's when we experience the most joy in this life and have the most fun at the beach.
By Eric Joseph Staples ©
www.parentingyourteen101.com
One of the greatest blessings of this beach trip was time with our 2-year-old granddaughter Reese. I know I'm totally biased, but she is absolutely the cutest thing ever. She has a great mommy and daddy, so no wonder she's awesome. We laughed and hugged and took pictures as we soaked in the wonderful experience at the beach with her. We all learned some good lessons from Reeser:
1) Don't settle in until you know the ground is solid. When we hit the beach that first day, Reese was excited for fun in the sun in her cute bathing suit. When we got to the sand, Uncle Eric was carrying her and started to put her down. She put her feet down and then quickly picked them back up. I'm sure the sand felt funny and shaky to her little feet. But the grasp of Eric felt secure and sure. Of course, later, she was running around and loved having her feet buried in the sand. It took time for her to trust the beach. In the meantime, she played it safe. We need to do the same. We move from circumstance to circumstance and too often let go of the grasp of God along the way. When we start to sink, we reach for His grasp, but like Reese, we shouldn't have ever let go. God desires to walk with us always.
2) Depend on others. As a two- year old, Reese is pretty much dependent on those around her for everything. Elizabeth and Mark are such great parents and recognize their role as her caretaker and provider. It's a beautiful thing to watch Elizabeth loving on her child. Reese loves us all, but there is a special link between those two. Her little will is strong, but she submits to those that love her. Putting on sunscreen, changing diapers, putting her under an umbrella, carrying her across the hot sand, giving her water, providing food...the list goes on and on. Reese simply would not survive without those who love her, and she's apparently okay with it all. Truth is, whether two or ninety five, we're all designed to be dependent. We need our loving God and we need people. And that's okay. Pride says to be independent and protected. But humility says to "be like a child" and let others love us.
3) Be picky about what you eat. Reese is so selective about what goes in her mouth. She's a petite little thing and doesn't eat huge helpings of food. We took a picnic to the beach everyday. She just likes certain things and refuses to eat others. Grapes certainly qualify as a good food to eat but she doesn't like eggs. We need to all be careful about what we "eat." A hundred years ago, there were only a few meals available. In the electronic world we live in today, many different "devices" feed us constantly. If we're not careful, we succumb to information that isn't healthy. We need to be picky about what we allow inside our souls.
4) Take a nap. It's not hard to tell when Reese is tired. She rubs her eyes and get's a little irritable. Everyday she had naptime in the afternoon, but usually fought to stay awake. She'd sing songs in her crib or cry, but eventually, silence came from the baby monitor. She rested and woke up ready to go again. We all need to rest. We fight it, resist it and avoid it. But we need it. Not necessarily a nap in the afternoon, but rest in the trust of Jesus.
Thanks Reese for teaching us. We sure love you. There is a lot we can learn from the unexpected. Jesus said we're to have the naive, uncalculated, simple faith of a child.
That's when we experience the most joy in this life and have the most fun at the beach.
By Eric Joseph Staples ©
www.parentingyourteen101.com
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