" ‘Tis not that I did choose Thee,
For Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse Three,
Hadst Thou not chosen me …
My heart owns none before Thee,
For Thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love Thee,
Thou must have loved me first."
– Josiah Conder, 1836
Found in the front matter of the Jesus Storybook Bible we bought Dutch. Wow, that’s the type of Christ-exalting humility and truth I hope our young son to grasp. We hope to swim with him in the deep end of God’s perfections and grace (even from this young age).
"We love becaus e hefirstlovedus ." [1 John 4:19 ]
Five years ago today Kari Zyp and I exchanged vows, and then I got to kiss the love of my life for the very first time. What an amazing time it has been, my Sauce. We’ve had our adventures: moving 7 times, living in two states, both following the call to seminary as students, raising Dutch, continuing to serve our Lord Jesus Christ, and being able to know, love and enjoy Him oh so much more because of one another.
Sauce, I love you! I told you back then that I want to plunge the depths of who you are, and that passion has not and will not fade. You are cherished and loved!
Because 5 is not enough to convey how much my Sauce is worth (well, nor is 55!) …
She loves Jesus
She loves me
She was created to be a wonderful Mommy and is more than our boy Dutch (and baby #2 on the way) could ask for
She thinks
When someone asks if I can share my wisdom with them, I respond, "No, I’m not sharing my wife."
She is my best wisdom
She searches and swims in the deep things of God
She realizes that our pursuit of joy and God’s passion for His glory are not at odds — He is our Joy!
Her identity is not wrapped up in what she does
She is "in Christ" and walking in the Spirit in all of life
She loathes the separation of the Sacred and the Secular
She’s not afraid to say "No" to many good things
Her words drip with wisdom and grace
She waited for me, and gave me a second chance, even when I broke her heart 6.5 years ago
She does something once, right, and then moves on
She enjoys reading as the greatest form of entertainment
She doesn’t waste words
She is a woman of exceptional character
She is so consistent and faithful that I often say I feel rebuked yet encouraged trying to catch up
She has many young women "caught up in her wake"
She loves to solve issues quickly with grace-filled resolutions
She is God-centered in all her ways
She is a far better djembe player than she will admit
She is graceful and dancing, and patient with her clumsy husband
She perseveres always
She loves when I lead spiritually (yet is so strong in Christ that it seems like she doesn’t require my initiative)
She’s willing to think and feel with God in the fullness of her being, all the appropriate emotions (as found in the Psalms)
She’s quick to forgive
She’s coached me through a few somewhat humiliating yet totally humorous public situations
She likes it when I call her good nicknames and returns the favor (my Sauce!)
She is a devoted friend
She recycles
She’s is an ever-grateful daughter to her parents
She’s willing to do crazy thinks like live with them for over a year (this past year)
She puts up with me, and the quirks I’ve managed to pass down to the Dutcher
A better wife none could ever find
She makes each day of marriage better than the previous
She still has the joy and perspective of a newly marred bride, mingled with the wisdom of a mature woman beyond her years
People of all ages listen to her (and ought to)
She is a giver not a taker
She makes me want to eat vegetables
She is the greatest chef I’ve ever met (sorry Mom, you set the bar high!)
She can turn nothing into something absolutely delicious
She holds her finger below her nose in just a certain way while deep in thought
I left a comment about the article, and recently Timothy Paul Jones, Assistant Professor of Leadership and Church Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, commented:
I may be wrong, but I do believe that some seminary professors are beginning to glimpse the truth in what you’re saying here—especially with reference to refusing to neglect your family. As a seminary prof, my students probably hear this statement in every class I teach: “What you do for God beyond your home will typically never be greater than what you’re practicing with God within your home. If this class keeps you from being the spiritual leader in your home that you need to be, drop the class and finish later. This seminary has been here 150 years and will probably be here another century or two—but your family, at the stage of life they’re at right now, will not be here forever. Do what they need you to do before you do what I ask you to do.”
Good words.
—
Here’s the list of seven given in the full article :
Transformation, not information
Give the wrong answer
Read the important stuff (the Bible)
Stop listening
Put your family first
Ignore your GPA
Love the Church
And a concluding word from the author, "Just a Guy":
Note: I love seminary and I love my seminary. However, I am willing to do poorly in my classes in order that I might excel in the things listed above. These two things are not mutually exclusive, but I’d argue that focusing on the above will very likely result in lower grades (maybe not failing, but would you be willing to fail in order to do the above?)
You are the best mother ever and the joy of our home. Dutch can take a nap in peace right now because of your untiring labor of love. God’s grace is evident in every facet of your character and personality. Thank you for pouring out your life for us.
Happy Mother’s Day!
"But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." [1 Thess. 2:7-8]
Yesterday we three ventured out for our first ‘08 hike in the woods. The single track trails were closed due to winter erosion but the old logging roads provided a good and wide path for us to let Dutch loose on the trails. We set out to go about 4 miles round trip, but that was cut short by an impatient little 16-month-old. In Kari’s words :
We did do our hike, although it is now confirmed that Dutch does NOT like hiking. That is, he loves hiking, as long as he’s the one hiking. He doesn’t like being stuffed into a backpack. So, our hike was significantly truncated because about 1/2 through we had to let him hike on his own. That meant going as fast as his little 16-month-old legs could carry him. It went something like this: step step step (stop to pick up a stick and wave it around) step step step (stop to pick up a bug, mom grabs it before it goes in the mouth) step step step-TRIP, BOOM, WAHHHHHHH!!!!! (tears, hugs, scraped hands…sniffs, whining to be put down) step step step (veers over toward cliff, daddy scoops him up and plops him in middle of trail). Anyway, you get the picture. But it was fun nonetheless. We just need to plan to hike one mile in three hours.
The house is quiet tonight. Just returned from teaching our Foundations class. Kari and Dutch are not here with me, as they hopped on a plane this morning bound of Salt Lake City to visit her brother and his family.
Truly, I married up (!), and miss Kari already. As much fun as Dutch is and as much as I love Him, I could not live without my Karina.
I think it was J.C. Ryle who wrote: “The great thing I always desired to find was a woman who was a Christian, who was a real lady, and who was not a fool. Whether I was successful or not, others must judge the better than I can, but I call God to witness these were the three points I always kept steadily in view.”
Before dropping her off at PDX I asked her to send me lots o’ pics, so I could at least "see" how they were. A whole bunch were waiting in my inbox tonight when I arrived home. Uncle Kris taught Dutch how to throw rocks, our precious boy giving cousin Jennika a kiss on the cheek, then giving her a little frightening, and then one of his beautiful blue eyes.
May God be the glory for all His mercy in our lives and the abundant ways He lavishes us with His love, in practical evidences of His grace.
——————————–
Nothing deep here … I just wanted to reflect on the joy of mommyhood. Yesterday Dutch got a new toy–a green John Deere truck from my dear friend Crystal. Dutch flipped! He loved it. Usually snack time is the most exciting part of the day and when I pull out the special Dutch muffin and start breaking off pieces and putting them on his high chair tray, he just about goes crazy. He loves muffins. But yesterday, he totally ignored the muffin as soon as he saw the tractor! Then later, the boy who hardly ever plays on his own, took his tractor over to the stairs and played for 30 minutes, all by himself, making the engine sounds and loading and unloading special imaginary bucket-fulls of dirt on the stairs.
Dutch’s other favorite thing right now is to sneak into our bedroom and go through Jeff’s nighstand drawer. He usually goes for the “No More Fungus” bottle (yeah, gross) and hides things in our bed. So last night, about 2am, I woke up and couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t comfortable, the realized something hard was under my back. I reached back and there was a deck of playing cards … from our special little boy. Too tired to get up, I tossed them down to my feet and fell asleep smiling. What a little boy.
Today at church, I was the proudest mommy ever because Dutch ran to Pastor Dale and jumped into his arms. Then I said, “Dutch can you give Pastor Dale a kiss?” And he leaned up and planted a huge kiss right on our pastor’s cheek. Yeah, it was pretty sweet. Of course he might be a terror at home for me, but at least he’s sweet at church.
The two Greek words de ("but") and Theos ("God") are the first two words of Ephesians 2:4: "But God, who is rich in mercy..."
Because of God's great love and grace extending to us in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed and able to know, love + enjoy God more fully, ever-increasing and forever.
This site contains the thoughts and conclusions and journeys of the Patterson family -- Jeff, Kari and Dutch -- who have experienced the front-end of God's amazing grace, and continue to delight in His unfailing love.
Read more about us, and what we hold most precious.
Yesterday we three ventured out for our first ‘08 hike in the woods. The single track trails were closed due to winter erosion but the old logging roads provided a good and wide path for us to let Dutch loose on the trails. We set out to go about 4 miles round trip, but that was cut short by an impatient little 16-month-old. In 
Kari took this picture of Dutch with her phone…
A short article/reflection of mine has been posted at Going to Seminary:
