Recently my son and I read RC Sproul’s The King Without a Shadow. The story begins with a little boy asking a king about why people have shadows, which leads the king to ponder on the subject. Through his wise men and the “man in the cave,” the king comes to know the Great King without a shadow.

There are many parallels in this book to Sproul’s classic book The Holiness of God. The Great King, i.e. God, has no physical shadows, nor any blemish or darkness. The story is very engaging and the illustrations are superb. This book has a lot of biblical truth about God and his holiness, and Sproul presents it in a very readable format for a child to understand. I really appreciate this book because not only does the child enjoy reading the story, the child also learns the accurate truth about God. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Cloth training pants are very useful when potty training children, and one can easily make quality training pants inexpensively. I find that the store-bought training pants are simply regular underwear with padding in the middle. Since I find the padding a little bit thin (or my children very productive!), I decided to make my own.

I purchase regular underwear/panties (size 2T) and sew a padding to the underwear. Here are the steps (click on images to view full-size):

Step 1: Cut the padding. I used eight layers of flannel and the size of the padding is about 2.5″ x 8″. Terry cloth can also be used.

Step 2: Finish the padding edges. Sew zig-zag around all the edges so they don’t fray. Make sure your sewing machine can sew through thick layers.

Step 3: Sew the padding onto the underwear.. For girls, you should sew the padding towards the back whereas the padding should be sewn towards the front for boys.

In addition to wearing the cloth training pants, I have my child wear a nylon pull-up pants which keeps accidents better contained and prevents soiling of their pants, for the most part. We use Alexis Feather-Lite nylon pants which, while no longer being made, are fairly easy to find on eBay and other similar sources.

Hot off the online press is news that Sovereign Grace Ministries, headed up by C.J. Mahaney, is now offering sermon audio at their online store for free! This is a terrific opportunity to load up your iPod with gospel-centered soul-enriching preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

Here’s a few direct links to classic messages from C.J. Mahaney to get you started:

• “The Main Thing”
• “Interrogating the Legalist Within”
• “Cravings and Conflict”

As Lois and I get a chance to listen to some of these messages (not just from C.J. but from many wonderful speakers at their various conferences, including Al Mohler, John MacArthur and Mark Dever), we’ll post links and reviews.  And I humbly request that all of our readers who happen to listen to a really edifying message post a comment for the rest of us.

And just in case you weren’t aware, Desiring God, which distributes resources from John Piper, has long been offering audio, video and reading (books/articles) resources on their site for a long time.  What a terrific example of how the Internet and modern technology can be a tremendous blessing for God’s people globally!  Get busy listening and watching, folks!

(HT: Solo Femininity)

Here’s a piercing quote from D.A. Carson on how easily we only scratch the surface of the implications of the gospel — and so easily feel no sense of remorse about it.

I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.

Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.

I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.

I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.

I want ecstasy, not repentance;

I want transcendence, not transformation.

I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.

I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.

I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please.

(Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, pp. 12-13)

May God help us to be and to make disciples who learn to apply the gospel to every aspect of our lives deeply.

(HT: Oversight of Souls)

Matthew (5 years old) and I have been working through his memory verses and just today we saw one of the benefits of memorizing Scriptures.

Our youngest (15 months old) somehow got a small bruise right under her eye yesterday. I didn’t bother finding out where she got the bruise because it was near impossible to get an answer. Plus, she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it so there was no need to pursue the origin of the bruise. However, my brother saw the bruise this morning and asked where she got it. Immediately, Matthew fessed up and said he accidentally hit her with the seatbelt yesterday while getting out of the car. I was rather surprised that he confessed and admitted fault. The very first Scripture we memorized was Proverbs 12:22 about lying.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight.

We had many instances in the past where lying was an issue which explained why I had Matthew memorize Proverbs 12:22 right off the bat. I was very encouraged that Matthew has internalized Proverbs 12:22 though I know the temptation to lie will prevail again the future. Nevertheless, he understands the verse and tries to abide by it. He was rather happy that his confession was an act of faithfulness and that God was happy with him.  In fact, when I asked him to relate to my husband what happened, he tacked on at the end, “So I was acting faithfully!”

Another example was during lunch time where Matthew decided to help his siblings make lunch. After spreading the cream cheese on the bagel and intending on keeping it for himself, I asked if he would consider his brother first and offer the bagel to him instead. He then asked, “Isn’t that in the memory verses?” After I replied with a “yes,” he graciously gave his bagel to his brother. It was very heartwarming to see him sharing with his brother, especially in light of the constant struggle between the two in sharing. I was surprised that Matthew knew the principle behind my request was in one of his memory verses because we haven’t memorized any verses pertaining to being selfless and giving. Even though he hadn’t memorized all the verses in our little booklet, he had been reading through them. I had to look through his verses and found the following:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. (Proverbs 3:27)

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

After reading these verses to him, I explained each one and praised him for his selfless act. I could tell he was encouraged. It is my prayer that the Word of God be ingrained in his heart and that he desires to follow God.

Some time ago, we got a copy of the children’s book Ruby the Copycat. The book tells the story of a young girl named Ruby who is new to a school. In order to feel more accepted, she begins to copy another student. When that student wears a nice dress and is complimented, Ruby goes home during lunch and comes back with a similar dress. When that person talks about her interests and hobbies, Ruby copies her. In the end, Ruby is “caught” in her copying, and is encouraged to discover her own “unique” traits, and not merely to be a “copycat.” Which she does — her unique trait turns out to be the way she hops to and from places, which the teacher brands the “Ruby Hop.”

The moral of that story seems a good one: to merely be a “copycat” is no great accomplishment. We should each strive to discover who we are, and not merely strive to copy someone we (or others) admire, especially for the sake of gaining equal “fame.”

Of late, we’ve seen interesting behavior patterns among our children, and especially our oldest son. Though he is merely five years old, he has three younger siblings, none of which are quite as far along in physical abilities or verbal expressiveness. Thus, at times, we’ve observed his tendency to try to get attention by being a “copycat.” For example, if one of his siblings starts babbling, he’ll start babbling. At other times, when they want to play with a toy, he suddenly gets interested in that toy. Suffice it to say that such “copycatting” often results in conflict.

The other night we were eating out as a family, and the conversation came around to not being a copycat. Matthew has so absorbed our reminders — not necessarily applied, but he certainly remembers it — that he was reproving one of his siblings for being a “copycat.” At this point, I jumped in and began to take the conversation in a slightly different direction, only to be surprised by his ultimate insight (the below is a loose recollection of our dialogue):

Me: Matthew, why are you correcting [sibling's name] for being a copycat [since that's something he does all the time]?

Matthew: Because we aren’t supposed to be copycats. That’s not good. We should do our own thing.

Me: You’re right. Except… there are times when it’s okay to be a copycat. For example, if Andrew is doing something he should be doing, then you ought to copy that.

Matthew: So it’s okay to copy sometimes?

Me: Yup. For example, you’re supposed to copy Mommy and me, when we are living to honor God.

Matthew: So I’m supposed to copy you as you copy Jesus…

Me: EXACTLY!

What a neat conversation. What might’ve simply been a disciplinary moment became an opportunity to emphasize a Biblical principle laid out by the apostle Paul: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). I hope to build on this “copycat” concept in terms of discipleship in coming months and years.

In order to have my oldest memorize Scriptures on a more regular and consistent basis, I gathered up a list of Bible verses from Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman. I printed the verses onto cardstock and cut them into rectangles (approx 1″ x 3″). Next, I punched a hole in the corner of each card and put them all together with a metal ring. Now we’re ready to work on memorizing these verses.

I like to have my oldest memorize his Scriptures during meal times because the younger three who are not able to memorize can hear them while he practices his verses. He is to read the Bible reference first, then the verse, and the reference again. I have him read the verse in this matter for three times, and usually by the third time, he’s got it memorized. He always reviews the previously learned verses before learning a new one. With each new verse, I make it a point to explain the meaning to him so he understands what he’s memorizing.

This technique seems to work for us, and thus far he has made progress and enjoys learning a new verse. I, too, enjoy helping my son memorize his verses because I learn and memorize as well. In a way we are keeping each other accountable. Another bonus is that we’re learning about verses that address undesirable behaviors as outlined in “Wise Words for Moms.” With both of us learning these verses, we are more equipped to handle each behavioral (and underlying heart) problem we face on a daily basis.