Guess who's celebrating a birthday.....

Sixteen years ago, my second son was born, and my first son was greatly relieved to finally have a brother!  That little brother isn't so little anymore....

Elliot is 16

Happy Birthday Elliot!  The Lord has certainly got His hand on you, growing you and teaching you faithfully.  We are so very thankful for His work in your life, for His amazing creation of Elliot Stefan Hellwig :  Elliot - (English version of Elijah: Yahweh is God); Stefan - (Greek: crowned)

We love you, Elliot! 
This next year:

          The LORD bless you, and keep you;
    The LORD make His face shine on you,
            And be gracious to you;
     The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
            And give you peace.’        
                                                            Numbers 6:24-26

                                   



                                   A bit of blackboard art....

 ... the obligatory birthday picture....

Gazing on the bonfire!

Happy Birthday to Timothy

                                            Cliche alert:  "Where have the years gone?"

Okay, now that I've gotten that thought out of my system, we can move on to more pertinent matters!

Timothy turned 22 today, and, as a proud mother, thank God for my son.  We had the usual dinner of favorite foods.... but this time, as he didn't tell me what he wanted for dinner, I got to pick  favorites of the whole family.  I did include some seafood for him, as he loves shrimp and mussels.  Cheesecake is everyone's favorite, and chocolate is on nearly everyone's list of preferred treats.

There were presents and the usual singing and pictures, and Benaiah snuggling with his beloved Timothy.  Pepe and Meme were there.  All that was missing was Arianne, who had to work that evening.  Missed you, Arianne!

We love you, Timothy, and look forward to seeing God work in your future for your good and His glory!

What Wondrous Love

How often do we think on the depth of Christ's amazing love for us?  What did that Love do for us?  Do we really understand the sacrifice in that ultimate act of faithfulness?  What does our love, for Him or for others, look like?

Well, I have an answer for that last question : puny and pitiful.

On Thursday evening, our church held a Maundy Thursday service.  Our speaker shared with us a few points regarding the scene in the Garden on the night Jesus was betrayed.

John 13:1 tells us that :
  Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world  to the Father, having loved His own  who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 

After the disciples had witnessed His love to them at the Passover feast, they went with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Had they realized what He'd just shown them?

Jesus asked them simply to watch and pray.  They couldn't do this.  They fell asleep.  Did those disciples sense the urgency of His quiet request?

What does Gethsemane describe for us?

1. Jesus' crushing sorrow : He was being separated from His Father.  The Trinity, an indivisible Union,  had never been separated in all eternity.  This point marked a pivot in the 'history of eternity.'  Christ chose to endure this.... for us!                                                                                           
2. Jesus' humble submission :  He was heard because of His reverence to His Father. "...for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."  (John 8:29) "For I have come down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." (John 6:38)  Christ is the path to the Father....our Father.                                                                                                                                   
3. Jesus' unwavering concern :  Even in His darkest hour, Jesus is concerned for His disciple.  He demonstrates His faithful shepherding, concern for their temptation.  "Watch and pray," He speaks to them, taking the time to disciple His disciples.                                                                             
4. Jesus' strength and resolve : Standing in our place, He moves toward His captors, moving forward toward His death, pushing things along. He set His face like flint. (Isaiah 50:1-10) His time had come.  Gethsemane is the Holy of Holies of Christ in His time on earth.

What wondrous Love this is!

A holy God demands that perfect justice be paid for our sin.  His Son steps in, sorrowful, humble, concerned and resolved to take our place.  He endures unmitigated wrath as punishment for our crimes.  He lays down His life for those He loves.

What ought to be our response?

                                       Hushed worship.

The Pi Pie

by Mama H.

Happy Pi Day !

2015 Pi Pie.... by Christianna

 Christianna came home from our Women's retreat this afternoon and baked us this lovely pie!

        While the Pi was not as distinct on this year's pie as on last year's,

2014

        it was delicious nonetheless!

Thank you, Christianna, for helping us enjoy a little more of God's glorious fingerprints.... in our Pi-pie.  I suppose you could say God's got His fingers in our pies!  His blessings are indeed everywhere.  May you enjoy our inscrutable Creator, His salvation, and His innumerable gifts.

(More on the Women's retreat in another post....)

Happy Pi Day!

by Mama H.

Around our home, pie is certainly appreciated: apple, blueberry, pumpkin, coconut, strawberry-rhubarb, chocolate-hazelnut, pecan, peach.... well, it goes on for a while. 

But, a little known fact about our family is that Pi is also greatly valued: 3.1415926..... well, it seems that this Pi goes on for a while as well.  In fact, Pi goes on forever, as far as we know.  I do not believe any computer has been able to find the "end" of pi.  (Just as no one in our family could ever find the end to his enjoyment of pie!)

Today just happens to be 3/14/15.... and at 9:26, we'll have the first seven decimal places of Pi: 3.1415926 ! 
Don't worry: if you miss 9:26 a.m., you get another chance at 9:26 p.m.!  (Such worries!)
 
The nature of pi and of God who created it are very much alike.  
Did you know:

• Pi cannot be expressed as a common fraction.  It can only be approximated.  Can we ever come anywhere near to "defining" God?  We can only approximate Him (and poorly, at that).

• Pi's decimal representation never ends.  God is infinite. 

• In fact, that decimal part of Pi never even settles into any permanent repeating pattern. While God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, we cannot know what He will do or when.  We cannot understand Him, or predict His thoughts.

• Yet, Pi is a wonderful number:  it is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.  Any circle, large, small, or in-between.  God is Wonderful, having stamped his image on the human race, and left his fingerprints all over creation. (Try looking up the wonders of the Fibonacci numbers in pine cones and sunflowers!)From the smallest atomic particle to the vastness of the universe, God's signature is readily apparent.

Here in the Hellwig family, we love Pi.  In fact, years ago, it was a fun family challenge to memorize Pi to 7 digits.  I can remember the older ones, when they were little, coming to the dinner table with their recitations of Pi, proudly rattling off 3.1415926 as fast as their tongues could go!

Here in the Hellwig family, we also love pie!  In sure Hellwig tradition, Christianna will be making us a Pi-pie today.  View a  post about our past Pi-day celebration  here.

Of course, hugs are always appropriate for celebrations, but, what better way to celebrate the love, the glory and majesty, the masterful genius of the Creator of  Pi by giving someone you love a big, circular hug?  So, give a hug.  And have some pie with your Pi!  And praise the Lord of the Universe for His unspeakable gifts.

(Did you know that the word "Universe" comes from the Latin words for "one" and "word"?  With One Word  He spoke, and it was all created!  The Word is Jesus! I love how God has embedded His presence in our very languages and semantics!  I do believe I could write a whole other post about this...)

Stay tuned for a picture of Christianna's Apple Pi!

Oliver and Jedidiah run the Rolesville 5K

by Mama H.

On November 8, Oliver and Jeddie were up bright and early to run the Road to Rolesville 5K race.

Oliver had run it a couple of times before, once with Arianne.  This year, he thought he'd take a relaxing run (after the trail marathon) and see if he could improve his 5K time.

And they're off!

Oliver flies in....

  He ended up winning 1st place in his age category and 4th place over all.  Methinks the trail marathon training helped quite a bit.

Here comes Jeddie!

 Jedidiah finished, though there were so many boys in his age group he did not place.  Not bad though, considering he didn't train for it much, and was just recovering from a sprained ankle.

                                                                  Good job, men!

Marathon!

by Mama H.

On October 18th, Oliver ran a marathon!  And it wasn't just a normal marathon.  Oh no!  Combining his love of running and his love of hiking, he decided to try a trail marathon:  the Medoc Mountain Trail marathon.

It was only about an hour from home, an easy drive.

It was a lovely day, sunny, and just a bit cool, to keep everything very comfortable.

Overall, Oliver did well.  While he didn't place in his age category, he still finished ahead of men much younger than he!

Good job, Honey!

Praying for my Children....

by Mama H.

I came across this today in a book I have owned for some time, but have not spent very much time in (Praying the Bible for Your Children" by David and Heather Kopp :

 " Father, I know that sometimes your blessings are disguised as a challenge or a disappointment.  As I listen for your voice about my children, show me what I may have overlooked or undervalued."

May we look beyond the ugly to see the image of God stamped in each one, and to celebrate (while we gently correct) the life He has blessed us with.

(Hmmm, I'll have to work a bit harder on not ending my sentences with prepositions!... there, I did it again!)  

End of the Year... already!

by Mama H.

December is fast coming to a close and I can't stand it!  Okay, I can't "sit" it either, as sitting is killing me these days.

To watch the calendar page flip wildly by, my children grow up and the dust bunnies take over is sometimes overwhelming to me.  To see a world of people made in the image of God shake a fist at Him, ignore Him, or make Him into its own image almost crushes me.   Almost.  Because the Lord has promised that, as children of God, His very own earthen vessels fragile as we are, we can never be crushed.  Afflicted in every way, yes.  Crushed, no.

I could almost be driven to despair when I see loved ones destroying themselves, taking the way well traveled by those who have no regard for God.  But instead, the Lord only allows me to be perplexed.

When I have felt as though all are against me, like I'm all alone, misunderstood, slandered, imputed with evil or incorrect motives, left out, persecuted?  Well, I suppose those things could qualify as persecution in a tiny way, but I really do not feel persecuted... not in this country.  Not yet. But I know I'm not forsaken.  God is with me.  He has promised His nearness and I feel it keenly.

God is faithful.   The evidence of this is everywhere.  He sustains every mitochondrion in each cell of each blade of grass on each lawn, field or meadow all over the world.  Every cell in our bodies, each chemical reaction, every twist of our DNA, each electrical impulse that passes through the brain, nerves, and system of our physical selves is appointed, directed, ordained by a loving Father, a Mind unfathomable.

Each grain of sand on all the shores all over the earth, unique in its color, shape and composition, has been crafted for His glory, and our discovery.

Everything in nature cries "Glory!"

So why don't we?

Don't we "believe?"  Then let us speak!

Yes, the new 2015 calendar is resting on my table, ready to replace the 2014 one on my fridge.  The pens are ready to scribble in the appointed dates, meetings, events. I am looking forward to a new year of joys, heartache, misunderstandings, apathy, encouraging books, deeper friendships, pain....
But all these things cry "Glory!" as well.  These are the divine appointments where we meet God, look Him in the face and either shrink back and pout, continue on the way we have always gone, not allowing us to be changed, or declare with the Heavens, "I trust you!  You are faithful!  You have loved me with an everlasting love, and I will not let You go.  I will hold fast to You, and cry 'Glory!'"

My word for this year is "Glory!"  May Christ be glorified in me.  Yes, I swallow hard when I say this, because I know what may come.  But I also know what kind of God I serve.

Join with me in 2015 in telling others about our glorious God, our kind and merciful Savior, of the patient, persistent Spirit who leads and quietly encourages.  May we tell with our lives by living in separate-ness, but also by engaging all about us fully and telling our praises with our lips.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Thanksgiving Tree

by Mama H.

This year, I thought we'd do something a little different to display our gratitude to the Lord for all His kindnesses to us.

I asked the younger boys to run outside and gather a bundle of sticks.  Boys? Outside? Sticks?  How much better could it get?  They were very obliging (gross understatement) and gleefully presented me with an armful of perfect  "branches" for our "tree."

Tobias adding some thanks

As the children remarked, while the tree leaves were dropping outside, leaves were appearing inside on our "tree."

Every time someone thinks of something he is thankful for, he writes it on a paper leaf, and ties it to a "tree" branch.  After only one day, we have quite a few. 

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?  What are you thankful for?