Killing bad guys

Ziva has been talking a lot lately about killing. She frequently makes comments about Daddy killing the bad guys at work, she talks about police and soldiers killing people, and occasionally she voices fear that someone will kill her. It has concerned me that my 3 year old is thinking about killing, and I wondered where in the world she's been getting such ideas, until a light bulb went off and it occurred to me--the only place Ziva hears about killing is in the Bible.

And it's had me thinking. These stories we read her, in any other context, I would probably shelter her from. But since they are in Scripture, we don't. We read them and talk about them, and even at this early age, try to teach her truth, even though it's hard. A lot of what Jesus taught was hard to hear, harder to live. Still is. But we can't gloss over it or leave it out because of that. It's there for a reason, and it's an important part of the puzzle, a very real aspect of the life of faith.

I think all those war stories, all the killing of the Old Testament, are visible, in-the-flesh reminders that the life of faith ultimately is a battle. No longer do we see God's people fighting against God's enemies, fighting for their home--at least not in the form of Jews fighting against Philistines, fighting for a piece of property. Today, Goliath comes in the form of "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm" (Eph. 6), all the more dangerous because unseen; the home we're fighting for is one we've not yet seen. And the not seeing makes it so hard for us to remember there's a war going on all around us. Perhaps the war scenes of the Old Testament are trying to remind us....this is happening right here, right now, all the time. Killing is still an important part of following God, but now it's putting to death self, killing the sinful nature, destroying anything that tries to turn my heart away from God toward something less, something empty. Now that's a concept that a 3 year old can't grasp...most adults still have a hard time with it too. So we continue to read the stories of battle and death and pray that what Ziva--what we all--take away from it is the knowledge that good must be fought for, in the world and in our own hearts. And victory is ours if we remain in Him.

A good night's sleep

Last night was Zoe's first night in her crib. We put her down and let her cry herself to sleep, which she did pretty quickly. She whimpered some off and on but finally settled into a good sleep. She woke up a couple times to eat but went straight back to sleep every time, and I felt like I got the most rest since we brought her home. Hopefully tonight will be a repeat! Here are a few pictures from this week...

I thought I rotated this one, but I guess it didn't take. Oh well. We have a picture of Zoe with this lamb her first few days at home, and they were the same size then. What a difference a month makes!

I think she looks like Grandma Ramirez in this one....what do you think?

Happy after nap time!

All dressed up in their red white and blue for the 4th!

Zoe has her eyes open more and more all the time, and she's so much fun. She's starting to "talk" and smile more...can't get enough!

Chunker - 1 month check up

Today was Zoe's one month check up, and she weighed in at 9 lb 2 oz! Our doctor laughed at how much she's gained...2 pounds in a little over 2 weeks! She's in the 45th percentile for both weight and height (21 inches), so she may not end up tall like Ziva, but time will tell. The best news is that I don't have to wake her up at night to eat anymore. I forgot to set an alarm last night anyway, and she slept 5 1/2 hours before waking up, so I'm hoping I can start getting a teeny bit more sleep. We'll see :)