SO MUCH JOY!

This morning, I was looking through family photos on my computer. I'd been sitting here browsing pictures for several minutes when I realized: I had the biggest, goofiest smile on my face!

My kids do that to me.

Yeah, yeah, I know...everyone thinks their own kids are the most special. You know what? I think we are all right.

Every single one of my seven children has taught me new things, expanded my horizon, challenged me to think in new ways and to see with new eyes. Every one has made my heart exponentially bigger, then filled it full to overflowing. When I thought my heart couldn't stretch any bigger, my kids brought home friends and sweethearts, classmates and wanderers, then stretched my heart a little more and tucked these precious people inside my heart, too.

I used to think as a parent: "It is my job to teach my children." But my children have taught and continue to teach me far more than I ever taught them.

I thought as a parent: "I want to love and encourage my children." But my children reciprocate with a tsunami of love, grace, and encouragement so great that it astounds me.

When I think of my children, my countenance and my mood brighten. I can't help it. They give me so much joy!

So, I was sitting at the computer this morning, looking at pictures of the kids and grinning like a 'possum, and I got to thinking: God delights in his children, too. He calls us his beloved, his chosen ones, the apple of his eye.

I think about my children this morning, and my heart feels so incredibly full. To think that God looks at me, his child, and smiles; to think that I give him delight, like my children do me...I think my heart just exploded.

LOVE YOU, MAN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!