This morning we got up early to go to the 1st Presbyterian Scottish Celebration per the recommendation of our dear friends the Gruwells. It was so wonderful to see them, and the service blew our minds.
The service especially touched Lily who grew up going to a Presbyterian church. So many aspects of the service today (such as the building, the message in the sermon etc) reminded Lily of her childhood experience. She felt like she was home, and she was touched by the entire experience. We may attend much more based on how wonderful the experience was. I couldn’t help myself in grabbing these two videos. The music was so beautiful.
The sermon was about how we need God’s help to change us, and the pastor told the story of a very rude and bad child in the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series who turned into a dragon from his greed. He was not able to shed his own scales but needed Aslan to rip them off for him. The process hurt but made him a new creature, and we were invited to step into God’s grace and become new. It was beautiful
Then we went to lunch with the Gruwells and had such a great time talking with them. A highlight for me was learning about Ammon’s transition to veganism for environmental sustainability and how well it is working for him. Also, there were very few people at “O my Falafel” which worked out great given all the kids that we had with us (8 total!).
At home, I delivered on my promise to Ammon to help him build his birthday Millenium Falcon. It was one of my favorite father-son experiences that I have ever had. At first it was especially nice because we could methodically build each section together. Then, as we realized it was a five hour project or more, I spent the last hour and a half myself finishing it up. Ammon was so thrilled to build it with me (and I was having so much fun with him) and his mind was blown by the result. I have to admit that it is the most amazing and thoughtfully designed Lego set I’ve ever built. I was also very impressed with all the details. To top it all off, we watched Star Wars Episode IV (the first one ever made) so Ammon could get an appreciation for the Millenium Falcon. I was over the moon sharing that movie with the family and Ammon really got into it.
What a special day!