Merry Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas 2018

This has been a very full year for our family.  We have had many blessings this year, some wonderful and some hard.  I say it like that because I believe anything that brings us closer to our Lord and Savior is a blessing.  The wonderful blessings are ones that make us cry for joy and thanksgiving, the hard blessings are the ones that feel scary and bring us to our knees in prayer and submission.

  We have had an abundance of both of these this year.  

 I can truly say #blessed!

 I would call this a "moving" year. We have moved from Oregon to Montana and many of our family and friends have made moves this year.  The nice thing about all this moving around is you can get rid of things that you don't want to keep dragging around.

  Things inside and outside, it's been a bit cleansing.  

The hardest and greatest part of all this moving around is I have watched my kids have to readjust and make all these changes at such tender and formative years.  They have all been amazing overall, even though it has been super challenging. We have hit some hard bumps in the road, but every single time, they bounce back and overcome.  I tell them often that this is the year that will grow them in many ways.  They will be stronger and more flexible and learn more about who they are and what they believe.

God has given this family so much this year, and yet I feel stripped of the securities and support we have spent so many years building.  The routines and habits and friends that have been there for so many years are so far away. 

 Charlie is still commuting back and forth between Oregon and Montana,  so that has been a challenge and has forced me to put on my big girl pants and do some things that were hard for me even in the comfort of my old familiar stomping grounds.  Charlie has been away from us most of the time, but we have felt his presence and leadership more than ever.  The way he has provided and protected and supported this family thru so much sacrifice and generosity have been above and beyond. 

God has blessed us GRANDLY, in double portions this year!  We have been overjoyed to be ALL HANDS ON DECK with the GRANDS.  I remind myself on the hard days of this very "moving" year, that if everything else in our lives seems crazy and out of control, that all the changes and all the adjustments are worth it to be near these GRANDS

 (and their parents).  

One of the top 3 #blessed additions to our lives this year has been my amazing

 daughter- in-love.

  We hit the jackpot with this girl! 

 I love her like my own

AND 

we have the same feet. 

 This is a big deal to me...nobody understands me quite like her, because when you can walk in the same shoes, there is a bond beyond titles or DNA.

I get to have lunch or coffee with grown daughters and daughter-in-love on a pretty regular basis! 

 #blessed

We never know how long this season is, as the more we grow, the more things change, but I know for right now, this has been one of the biggest blessed seasons of my life!!!  

#blessed

Anyone who knows me knows my favorite number is 333.  It a fun little reminder when I see it that God is with me. There is no power in the number itself,  It's just a fun little wink from God everytime I see it.  There has rarely been a day lately that I haven't seen it.  God has been winking his face off at me, it's like He has something in His eye.  

Psalm 17:8 English Standard Version (ESV)

8 

Keep me as the apple of your eye;

    hide me in the shadow of your wings,

 It must be me He has in His eye.  Look at what He has done.

 

 And look at the army of men God has given to my man!  These are men that are fun and fierce, they love and fight for what matters.  A few years ago Charlie preached on David's mighty men and he talked about how important it is to have men in your life that will back you up, and call you out and keep you humble and build you up in all the right ways.  God has done that for my man!  

Christmas is a season to celebrate our Savior and to acknowledge how He broke into this world to save us and be with us every day in every way.  If we save this celebration for only once a year we are missing the point of life.  May we stand in awe and thanksgiving

 every.single.day.

 thru every wonderful and hard blessing in our lives.

Isaiah 9:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

    and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

What's Next? Living Free!

Give us this day our daily bread.

  This is one of the things Jesus put in a prayer that was to teach us how to pray.

I have been thinking and praying a lot about what is next for us.

 This move has been a huge transition in every way. 

Charlie and I feel freed up and yet stuck in the thoughts of,

 “What now?”

 Charlie got a good contract to finish his Oregon building career.

 He is working as hard as a young man with the wisdom of an old man.

  He is getting paid for his back and brain on this one. 

I feel like God gave us our financial get out of jail debt free card and if I begin to think it was a one-shot deal that can make me worried and stingy.  I can start to think God is done with taking care of us and now he is sending us to figure life out on our own.

* This is not the character or my experience of my Father, it’s just what happens in my mind if I forget WHO my Father is.*

 God teaches us things to draw us closer to Him, into a deeper dependence, and to trust Him fully.

 He doesn’t teach us things so we can move out of the house and fend for ourselves.

God treats us as children that He loves and cares for.

I think of our children and how we give them what they need when they need it, and we aren't all mean and mad about it.

 And when they get old enough to send to the store with a list and some money, and if they come back with a bag of candy instead of the things on the list, I might not send them to the store again for a while, until they learn how to handle the list and the money responsibly.

God doesn’t shortchange us and tell us to figure it out ourselves and He also doesn’t approve when we come home with nothing but a bag full of junk that isn't even good for us.

Matthew 7:11-12 (ESV) 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

As I sit with the Lord and feel so thankful for His mighty provision and His faithful generosity; in the same sitting, I can hold my breath in anxiety about the future if I forget WHO I am sitting with.

We have done everything wrong according to American living and yet our God keeps showing up and providing generously as needed. 

The thing that is often taught and preached about is how to be good stewards.  I believe in good stewardship, it is Biblical.  What if we have stewardship backward, kinda like Kingdom living is upside down.
The KING came down as a servant to serve and save.

  What if stewardship means giving more, not saving more, using what is given now, not storing for later.

What if we remembered WHO we are stewards for and WHOSE resources we are stewarding.
 What if we really believed that every last bit of everything we have been given is for His Kingdom, not ours?

I’ve never read anywhere in God’s Word that He could only use people that were rich enough, or smart enough, or creative enough to do what He has told us to do in His Word.

 How have we put a price tag or limitations on what God puts on our hearts?

My mind wants to store up what He has given us, and be smarter this time, and my heart wants to 

GO and GIVE

 like a wild child that is free and forgiven and lavished on with grace and love, and everything I could ever need physically and spiritually are provided for by my Heavenly Father forever!

Psalm 34:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

8 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9 

Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

    for those who fear him have no lack!

Happy National Adoption Month

  November is National Adoption Month!!
I love to share our journey in 

 ADOPTION!!!

Some things I would say about adoption, as we are 8 years into this journey; is that my heart and mind have changed a ton, and grown a million miles thru this journey.

 I still believe in adoption 100% but not 100% of the time. 

 I am thankful for adoption.  I'm most thankful for my adoption into God's family.

  I'm thankful that God saw His people; some kids, and some adults, with broken places in our lives and brought us together, to do some healing thru

the story of adoption, on earth as it is in heaven.

. I'm grieved by the brokenness that makes adoption a thing.

 I'm sad that people have often times corrupted the institution of adoption.

I'm totally against some practices that go on with some adoptions.

I've matured in my understanding, and I don't think adoption is for everyone, not for every "orphan" and not for every family. 

 I definitely think adoption is for FAR more people than actually enter in, but it's not a firm yes across the board.

  I've learned some things along the way and learned a lot about my own heart in this process.

Some good some gross.

When we set out to adopt over 8 years ago, we thought it was about the orphan and how we could help make a difference.

 We thought we were doing what God called us to, we thought we could provide a child that needed a family, 

with a family,

 a really big one.

  I still believe we were/are called to adoption, but I believe we needed it even more than our adopted children. 

 We have learned more about God and our own adoption into His family, than anything else we have ever done. 

Laboring to give birth, is the most beautiful, painful, exhausting, exhilarating and amazing messy hard thing God has ever designed a body to endure, and I put those same adjectives with adoption.

 Adoption is a different kind of labor, and it can stress a person beyond control, and it can bring out beautiful life and joy to the whole family. 

  God needed to grow us in a lot of areas; so what better way than to throw us out in a big wild sea that is full of high winds and waves and full of enough fear to sink any ship. 

 He has taught us how to rely on Him, and in the process of teaching us,  He has brought us a  few more kids to love and raise.  

Our family needed these kids, more than these kids needed a family.

Our adopted kids, as well as our bio kids, have their own story, that I have often been too open in sharing. 
 I have learned to tame it back a bit (probably not enough) and let them tell their story to who they want when they want.  I get excited to share and it blesses me and blows me away what God has done, so I thought it would bless all who heard.  I have learned that when I share too openly, I open the door for people to share their opinion. God put our family together, and it is not subject to opinion, it is a gift from our Lord.

 I love that I can point to God and say,  HE DID IT!  I don't want to take credit as the one who did something wonderful when things are good, which can bring pride, and I don't want to think I'm a total screw-up when things are hard, which can bring shame.
 Neither of these is helpful for anyone.

It was God that lead us on this journey no matter how we have stumbled and fallen our way thru it at times.
 I can look to Him when things are wonderful and when things are hard and everywhere in between.

I love that our adopted kids have a different color of skin than us pale peeps. 
Our family was anemic in a lot of ways.
  We needed some color added to our lives.
  Adoption comes in all skin colors, but for me, I especially love to look at my kids that look nothing like me and know that God went across the world and borders and oceans and color charts and allowed me into a world that I knew nothing about. Only God could have done such a colorful creative thing in our family.  I look at my bio kids and marvel at how much they are like us, we pick out things on each kid saying who each particular feature reminds us of.
With our adopted kids we revel in the way they look so different from us. 
We love how different skin and hair need different things to be healthy.
We embrace both, we are in awe of both.
Esther put coconut oil in Cellie's hair the other day, which is a very healthy thing to do with African hair.
  I had to remind Esther that limp hair cannot take that oil.
 I have laughed and enjoyed experiences many times over these kinds of
"differences".

 Both, the ways our kids are like us and the ways they are different bless my mother heart beyond anything I can describe.

I can't tell stories and show pictures of our family without including our heart adoptions.
Adoption comes in many different forms and looks different and unique with each one.  

We have 2 sons that are in Uganda, Simon and Patrick, and they have a beautiful mother that has raised them well and continues to be a vital loving part of their lives on a daily basis.  God has allowed Charlie and I  to step in and fill a role with these boys that have helped and supported their family unit.  We get the amazing privilege of filling this role and loving them as our own.   I can tell you with every fiber of my being they are our sons.  We have adopted them into our hearts into that special place that is saved only for our children.

Claiborne is our son that resides in a place in our hearts the size of Texas.
Claiborne has a family that loves him and have been in his life from the day he was born until forever.  Somehow, by the grace and goodness of God, from the time we met him, there was this family bond that took over our hearts towards him, and our kids all took to him like a brother.
 Once that love has been adopted into your heart, it is forever family.

   The beautiful part about family is there are no limits in age, color, or number that can overextend the love of a family that draws their love from the

 Wellspring of Life and Love.

Adoption has made this limitless love a reality for us and the outside is only a glimpse of what it has taken place on the inside.  

Ephesians 1:5-6

 In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

We All Sin.

I hear people say...let kids be kids..kids just want to have fun...I just want my kids to be happy....they are so sweet and innocent.  I do not experience that, with ANY of my kids. 

 Let's be CLEAR I LOVE LOVE LOVE my kids and grands so very much. 

 I learn from them daily, they are life and joy and wonderful gifts from God; they are the biggest blessings of our lives.

  I LOVE them, and their spirit and energy and child-like faith. 

 What I don't see is this naturally sweet innocent nature that people talk about.  When we just let our kids be kids...they whine and scream, and throw food,  and do all kinds of crazy stuff.  I never never never had to teach them to hit, or bite, or lie, or be selfish, or self-centered.  I never taught them how to run off when I call for them.  I did not teach them any of these things, it's in their nature and they have to be taught NOT to do these things and they have to be taught to DO something different than what comes naturally to them.

We are three amazing grown kids into this journey, and the beauty of that is we can look at what worked, what has helped them the most and what was not a help to them. I can promise you, the stuff we as parents have spent the most time worrying about and trying to do for them is not the stuff that gives them what they need in life.  They need Jesus, they need to know they can trust Him, they need to know how to love Him and serve Him, they need to know how to love people, all people, all the time.  When we spend so much time trying to do everything else, and working our heads off to give our children this amazing childhood, and then sit passively by when it comes to a relationship with the Lord, we are treating the symptoms of a broken life in a broken world, not giving them the cure, the TRUTH that will fill them with true joy and happiness and wisdom and LOVE and PURPOSE. 

 I don't know what has made us as parents so timid when it comes to the spiritual side of our children.  Why will we do everything in our power to help them thru life, and then leave it up to them to figure out their own TRUTH?  

That is like giving a kid a car and having them figure out their own way to drive the thing, never telling them where the gas pedal or brakes are, let alone how to use them.

We are born with a sin nature.  We are broken people in a broken world and I don't know about you but I can't even blame Eve for my sin...I can know the rules, just like Eve knew the rules and I still break them constantly.  I don't even have a talking serpent trying to convince me to do things, I just do them.  The very first commandment is to have no other gods before God. There are many times I put my kids before God, myself, my house, my time, my problems, my worries, my activities. I can't even get past the first step on many days. 

 

I have had a struggle in my own heart because we have fallen out of some good habits; we had a routine of pretty consistent family devotions and prayer time, and since we have moved we had let that go, not because we meant to, it just got over-run with everything else. 

 I then began to think...well, it's fine because I can't have a relationship with the Lord FOR my kids (which is the truth) so I began to think I would just let it go, and let them figure it out for themselves.

I thought we would just continue to pray for them and encourage them, and take them to church.  Going to church is never a struggle, for us or our kids, this is a constant in our lives no matter the season we are in.  But, I didn't have peace about just leaving it at that.  I kept going back to it in my mind thinking I don't want myself or my kids to do things out of ritual or religious obligation, I  want them to know God and want to know Him more every day of their lives.  

After wresting it through for a time, I have come to understand our role as parents a little better,  I do believe as long as kids are being raised and still living under the care of their parents, the parents have a big responsibility in 

*creating a space and time and an example to allow and encourage that relationship with the Lord.*

  I can't make things take root in their hearts, but I can sure till the soil and plant seeds and water the hell out of it. 

 I don't think it is something they just pick up by watching either....I mean I have never jumped on the couch (since Cellie has been alive :) ) and yet she is constantly jumping on the couch, so I don't think she is naturally picking things up, by just watching the people in her life.

  My teens and young kids are super receptive and responsive any time I create that space and time for them to participate in Bible time, faith discussions, and prayer time, but it isn't something they naturally do on their own very often.  I don't know when that will happen for each of them, but I know as I watch our older kids it does become their own, and it is the most beautiful part of them that affects every single area of their lives for eternity. 

I can't take responsibility for my kids' hearts and I can't take credit for them either, but I can keep taking them to Jesus and trusting that He is faithful and worthy and He is the most influential person I can introduce them too, and keep bringing into their view.

I pray that God captures each child's heart, and they learn to enjoy a very close and intimate relationship between them and God, but we as parents, we have to do our part in giving all we know how to, to help cultivate a relationship that continues well beyond our time with them in our home.  Our faith has to be lived out in our own lives and also a constant invitation to our kids to join in a deeper relationship with God.  

Joshua 24:14-15 The Message (MSG)

14 “So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God.

15 “If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.”

Waiting Well

Almost 16 years to the day of the first time setting foot on our 40-acre piece in Powell Butte, we are done.  The last 8 years were a struggle.  It's a bittersweet feeling to have it behind us.  When I signed the papers I felt thankful, relief, and sad.  Thankful for the time we had and thankful that it is finally over.  Relief that it sold and we don't have the weight of it on our shoulders or on our finances any longer.  The sad part is that it didn't go the way we planned and it feels like a defeat more than a victory.

After all these years of praying and waiting to see how it was all going to turn out, one of the biggest things I wished I would have done differently; I wished I would have waited well.

We prayed and fasted and tried everything in our own power to "fix it" any way we could.  

The part I didn't do well was waiting on the Lord.  We waited all right, we had no choice, when our Father decides it is time to wait, it is time to wait.  The last few years I gave up on my plans and waited much better, but it took about 6 years of high stress and struggle, to get to the 2 years of surrendering to the process and wait.

We kept living, we kept using our piece of the planet for many gatherings, and celebrations and fellowship, we brought home babies and adopted kids over the course of the wait.  We lived full speed ahead but with a knot in our stomachs for much of the time. I often felt guilty and anxious about our situation.  I felt crazy with trying to figure out how it was all going to work out and what was NEXT for us.  Little did I know God was putting every piece together for us to come to Montana and enjoy 6 grown married kids and an undisclosed number of GRANDS, while still raising the 6 kids still at home.

 If I would have known we were all going to be here at this time altogether, I would have spent every minute of every day trying to figure it out, plan it, and control it.  I would have made myself and everyone around me miserable.

  Instead, God chooses to keep working out a plan for my good and not telling me anything about it, He knows I would have taken the information and ran with it, probably ran it right into a ditch.

My prayer is that I have learned how to wait well.  I have no doubt God has a good plan, so my prayer is, as He is working out His will and plan for our lives, that I wait well.

Currently, we are waiting for Charlie to be able to join the family full time and I have once again failed at waiting well on several occasions, but hoping I have learned some things along the way and I can wait well from here on out.

God Is In The Details

It's the details that make me know Jesus loves me and knows me, and cares for me.  The big stuff, the big picture is not hard for me to know there is a big awesome God.  He is so big and so amazing that my mind can't grasp how He created all the earth and keeps it spinning and makes the sun rise and set every single day, it is easy to believe that the God of the world has been here since the beginning of time has done all this, but it's the details, it's the intimate knowledge and personal gifts that make me feel so loved and cared for personally by my Lord and Savior. 

For some crazy reason, when we moved here I felt like I should homeschool Maezie this year....the one concern I had was being new to Montana she wouldn't meet any friends.  I went for my first Montana hair appointment this summer, which was a stretch for me because I have always had people that were close to me do my hair...good friends and my sister are the only ones that have done my hair for the last 25 years.   I went to my first Montana hair appointment and became instant friends with Brooke, and instantly knew she loved Jesus.  It came out in the first 5 minutes of that appointment that she is homeschooling her 1st-grade daughter also.  I can't tell you how many prayers were answered in one simple hair appointment.  This is the friend that gets me out of my house on days I would rather just not leave the house.  This is the friend that talks about Jesus with me and tells me what He is doing in her life.  This is the friend that makes my hair look like I'm not going thru a total life crisis.  This is the friend that doesn't think I'm a total nut case and doesn't judge me that Cellie takes her pants off every single time we meet at the park.  She gets me, and she gets my kids, bigs and littles.  I couldn't have found a better match on friend.com if there is such a thing.  

I could go thru the list of kids and how God has done something so special and personal for each and every kid along the way in the last few months.  It's not that it's all perfect, but when I know a perfect and loving God is looking out for our family, it makes my worry seem ridiculous.

Another biggy for me was that when we left Powell Butte, I was so sad about leaving Charlie in that big empty house alone to see it all thru to the end of the deal.  I knew it would be a shock to his system and lonely at times, especially at first.  Of course, God was thinking ahead and moved in the best neighbors we could ever ask for back in February before we knew any of this Montana move was going to happen.  Our good friends that love Jesus and know how to love their neighbor as themselves live about 3 feet outside of Charlie's door.  The transition from a big full house to one man baching it has been a very smooth transition due to good neighbors that feed Charlie often and feed the animals when Charlie is up here seeing us. 

I have no idea what the next step looks like for us, and there are days it overwhelms me to think of it all.
  We have spent close to 30 years building a business with the motto,
"Where details matter most."
We are in a spot that we can't see the big picture clearly let alone the details.

 God is so good and He is into the big picture and the details of our lives, and He has reminded me again and again from providing a friend for a 1st grader to forgiving the sins of the world, and everything in between. 
He will lead us and guide us into every single step we take.
May we praise Him with every move we make!

Romans 8:28-29 New Living Translation (NLT)

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Could Have Been Some Hail Damage.

My man is one gray-headed, big-hearted, strong-bodied superhero. 

He came *home* to Billings for the weekend.  He drove, almost 30 hours round trip for a very short weekend because he brought this meat-eating bunch, a steer and a half, all cut and wrapped and transported in freezers.

Within a few minutes of my man's arrival, he met up with Lashae to arrive a few minutes late to the JV football game.

  He helped her and our 5 little GRANDS get into the stands, so we could all watch the game together. 

 We were only there for a few minutes when Maubry yelled, "OUCH," and at the same time, an announcement came over the loudspeaker for everyone to seek shelter as quick as possible.  A hail storm had moved in super quickly, and everyone took off, including the players who were running off the field in their helmets to seek shelter in the locker room.  We were stuck in the stands with 4 adults and 7 little people. There was no time to grab and run since 2 of the little people can't even hold their own heads and the hail was already hitting hard. My man grabbed the big wool blanket that we have drug around to games for over 25 years and without saying much at all, he posted us adults at the 4 corners and put the blanket over us like a tent and we had all 7 little people huddled right in the middle.  It was as if we had run this drill 100 times because it seemed so smooth and smart.  We sat under the blanket not knowing how long it would be or how bad it would get.  I have seen many cars around here that have major hail damage from previous hail storms, so I can only imagine what it could do to a little head.  It passed pretty quickly and then turned to a downpour of rain.  We took the opportunity to grab littles and make a break for it.  By the time we got to the car, we were all SOAKED

 to the bone.

We went back to the house to change and regroup. A few of us came back for the varsity game.

The next morning Charlie took Esther out for a little coffee date before she headed out on her bus for her volleyball game.

He spent the rest of the day organizing our garage;  building shelves and hangers for us so we can have easy access to everything, including our snow shovels that he brought.

We then partied it up for Maubry's 6th bday.

We got up the next morning and I headed out for a run.  I told Charlie to come find me when he was out and about taking Reece to his school event.....he did just that.  

My man left as quick as he arrived. 

Within a 48 hour period of time, my man provided shelter (from a hail storm), built us some organization, brought us food to eat, took Esther out to coffee,  he picked up and dropped off multiple kids, multiple times, he stopped me from running in circles, he celebrated and cheered for his family as only my man can do.

 He left us with everything and everyone in better shape than he found us.

We miss him so much but he makes the time count when he is here.

What Stories Do You Tell?

At church, the question was posed, "What kind of stories do you want to tell to your kids and grandkids, and great grandkids?"

The old sports stories are fun once in a while and the stories of fun adventures are exciting, but the stories that stand the test of time and generations gather to hear, willingly not out of obligation, are stories of God's faithfulness.

  The stories of God's faithfulness always include FAITH and a moment or a season or a decade of struggle and hardship. 

 As much as we would all like to keep our comfort level at an all-time high and our pain level at an all-time low, it seems this isn't the WAY of LIFE and it doesn't get our attention like the story of OVERCOMING the struggle and VICTORY over pain.

 I'm not a big fan of discomfort or suffering but I can tell you, in my life and in lives since the beginning of time, I see that endurance and perseverance only come after some discomfort and pain have been involved to some degree.

The stories that encourage and gather some attention over the years are stories of lives lived in faith, where God is the only WAY,  TRUTH is told, and LIFE is lived out in perseverance, not in preservation.  

We long to hear true stories of God's greatness, not embellished stories of our greatness back in the day.

Our old stories will die the minute we quit telling them, but the stories of God's faithfulness, LIFE giving, TRUTH telling stories will last for eternity.

There are a lot of days I want to take all the struggle I can away from all my loves, and I want to give them (if it were possible) a life of ease and comfort, and then I look over my own life, and it is the years and the seasons of struggle that I remember the clearest who God is, and what He has done for me, and  it is the times of struggle that brought the biggest growth and the best stories of my life.

This year has aged me in ways that don't look so great on the outside,  but I pray it is producing some strength and beauty on the inside.

I am so thankful that God has allowed my arms and heart to be full of

GRAND

 treasures from HIM!  

These are the stories I want to tell.

God is faithful!

Deuteronomy 4:9 New Living Translation (NLT)

9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.