and flying solo! nana (my MIL) left last night after dinner, leaving me alone today with my 4 boys. its not been bad at all. actually its been quite easy. not that i have tried homeschooling yet and the boys are at the moment watching a movie. so ofcourse, its been easy.

i’ve also just put jonah down for a nap, in hopes that today he actually stays put! yesterday he decided that he could get out of his cot, without falling or making any noise! i put him in and came back downstairs to help make lunch when we heard the footsteps and the crying getting closer and closer and eventually down the stairs!! i let him stay, have a bit of lunch then tried again…nope! but this time, i closed his door and he couldn’t open it! i went in eventually and tried again, but we ended with a no nap day. he fell asleep at dinner time for an hour, then went back down at 9 with micah and that was it!

ezra continues to be a star during the day time! and he is actually getting a bit better at settling down at night time. sunday night was hard but thanks to nana, i got some sleep while she took jonah. then sunday morning she stayed in with me and jonah and i was able to sleep till half 12! it was lovely =) ezra doesn’t get weighed again until friday when the health visitor comes. Ezra also turned 2 weeks yesterday! my oh my how time flies!!

last thursday we had our first outing as a family of 6! we went into town to explore the german markets. it was a lovely day, not too cold and quite sunny! we met up with our friend steve who we haven’t seen in absolutely ages =) i got a few photos, but not much and none of us as a family or non of ezra or jonah! oops…

we don’t have much planned for this week. andy was on a course yesterday for school and back in school today after having the last week off. school finishes on friday for christmas break!! yippee!! we have some busy evenings though. wednesday is our normal mid-week meeting, thursday night is our carol service, friday night is our christmas party with our WMF group and saturday is our sunday school party! i think we’ll be a bit tired by end of it all!
i’m still trying to buy the last few pressies, online ofcourse! just a few wee things to buy. we are hoping to go either fly out of drive over to belfast next tuesday. we are looking into borrowing a friends 7seater while they use our car over the holidays….and i think we’ll know more in the next day! praying that things work out. everyone has been so kind and generous this last few weeks… we are truly blessed in our friends and family!

Here are some instances of God’s active controlling sovereignty in the book of Ezra:

“And in the first year of Cyrus King of Persia, so that the Word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he caused a voice to pass in all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, So says Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah…Then the chiefs of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, and everyone whose spirit God had awakened, rose up to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:1-2, 5).

“And they performed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy. For Jehovah had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to make their hands strong in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel” (Ezra 6:22).

“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God in your hand, you appoint judges and magistrates who may judge all the people who are Beyond the River; all who know the laws of your God; and those who do not know, you cause to know. And whoever will not do the Law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed diligently on him, whether to death, or to exile, or to confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem. And He has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty leaders. And I was made strong, as the hand of Jehovah my God was on me. And I gathered out of Israel chief men to go up with me” (Ezra 7:25-28).

“And I sent them with command to Iddo, the chief of the place Casiphia, and I put in their mouth words to say to Iddo, to his brothers the temple-slaves, at the place Casiphia; that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen…Then I called a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God, in order to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask of the king troops and horsemen to help us against the enemy of the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is on all those who seek Him for good; but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him. So we fasted and prayed to our God for good. And He was pleased to hear us” (Ezra 8:17-18, 21-23).

“And we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was on us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and ambushers along the way. And we came to Jerusalem, and remained there three days” (Ezra 8:31-32).

A year and a half?! 1.5?! Almost 2?! 18 months?!

We figured that we would wait a day or two extra to post the photo for his 18 month birthday because we had his doctor appointment today…and we could add his vital stats. Dr. Sheehan was impressed with how he is growing and developing – everything is on track and looking good. Ezra did an especially good job hanging out and letting the doctor do her check-up. He didn’t do a noteworthy job of handling the shots…

On to the stats. Head: 19″ (65%). Height: 32.75″ (75%). Weight: 24.2lbs (40%)

Ezra 10:1-2

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him.  They too wept bitterly.  Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us.  But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.”

In the middle of moral collapse, Israel recognized its need for the righteousness of a forgiving God.  They were unfaithful to God and had married foreign women.  But, the good news…  There is still hope!

I see my country represented in these verses.  I see my church represented here.  I see my family.  And I see myself.

How many times have I been unfaithful to my God?  How many times have I chosen to marry sin in some form when I know I’m the promised bride of Christ?  How few times have I thrown myself down before the house of God and broken in my failure?

If you’re like me (and I know you are), you need to hear this…  There is still hope!  No matter what you’ve done…  No matter what you’ve seen…

God still loves you and God still wants you.  There is hope for your life.  Spread the news…

The book of Ezra gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

Ezra, the author of Chronicles continues his narrative with conscription and precision, this time with the second exodus motif from Babylonian captivity, working toward the cleansing of the land and the Temple of God.  Unlike the exodus from Egypt, there were only a select few who chose to leave Babylon and there was 2 exodus out of Babylon.

Ezra 1-6    : The 1^st return under Zerubbabel; for physical restoration of the temple
Ezra 7-10   The 2^nd return under Ezra; for spiritual restoration of the people, a.k.a. the temple of God.
Ezra in a manner of speaking, prefigured in shadowy form the One named Jesus who is to Come.

Ezra 7:6 – says Ezra was a skilled scribe – one who wrote down the Law of the Lord.

Remember the account in John 8:1-11. Where a woman caught in the act of adultery is brought before Jesus to be Judged by Him according to the law of Moses. What do you see Jesus doing, He stooped and he Scribed (scribbled on the ground), not ones but twice. We don’t know what he wrote and we can speculate. But really the main point is this. See if he had spoken, he would have spoken to try to write the law into the hearts of the accusers, who asked him “What Sayest Thou?”, but knowing their hearts were hearts of stone, he wrote (just as the finger of God wrote the 10 commandments on tablets of stone), Jesus THE SCRIBE stooped and started to scribe.

Jesus the Scribe wrote down, not necessarily the law, but grace and forgiveness.

Ezra 9:8 reads grace has been shown by giving us a nail in his holy place. Grace of God shown to us, by the nails that were pierced in the Holy One of God (Jesus Christ)

In Ezra, Jesus is the faithful Scribe, writing grace and forgiveness in our stony hearts.