![\"\"](\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20170523133714\/iStock_000001603332Small.jpg\" "\\"Together\\"")
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Having children has been a huge blessing in our home.\u00a0 Silas is now 3 and the twins are a little over 1. And let me tell you, my kids are non-stop!\u00a0 Amidst all the chaos (much of which Kelly would say I never see :-) it’s been so much fun to see these little guys develop.\u00a0 I’ve been noticing that, as Silas has gets older, he’s gradually becoming more aware of when I come and go.\u00a0 Our goodbyes could go either way, but usually it’s expected and not a big deal.\u00a0 But the real joy comes when I return home for lunch or maybe in the evening when I’ve been gone all day.\u00a0 Almost without fail, my homecoming is a pretty big deal.\u00a0 There’s nothing quite like being greeted by a 3 year old yelling “papa’s home” all the way from the other side of the house as I come through the door.\u00a0 There’s nothing like having a little boy that just wants to grab ahold of my legs and hold on until I can set my things down and pick him up. \u00a0 As if that didn’t bring enough joy, now that the girls are crawling crazy fast, they converge on me as well with their curly hair and huge smiles.\u00a0 All I can say is I love being a dad.\u00a0 There’s nothing like it.<\/p>\n
Although Kelly and I are definitely on the front end of raising our kids, I thank God for the opportunities he’s giving each day to be reminded of the kind of relationship that our heavenly Father desires to have with us<\/strong>.\u00a0 My mind often goes to this passage in Romans 8.<\/p>\n So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God\u2019s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God\u2019s children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Abba is a term that expresses warm affection.\u00a0 We don’t even really have a perfect equivalent in English.\u00a0 I know for me personally, I often forget to run to my heavenly Father.\u00a0 I forget that he is there, ready to hold me and protect me.\u00a0 I don’t anticipate or get that excited about the time that we will spend together.\u00a0 I think sometimes I simply forget that I’m his child, and he is my Father.<\/p>\n Thank God for children, who in their honest, warm affection can show us how far we tend to stray from our one great love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"