{"id":94,"date":"2015-10-21T16:06:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html"},"modified":"2015-10-21T16:06:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T16:06:00","slug":"reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a>\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder. There\u2019s nothing\u00a0captivating about a cardboard tube, but he was so lit up, so joyful about his newfound \u201ctoy.\u201d He laughed and squealed and waved it around like the prized possession he\u00a0believed it to be. <\/p>\n

He also chewed on it, but, Ahem!<\/em>\u00a0We won\u2019t\u00a0spend a lot of time discussing\u00a0that, as it makes me look like a negligent \u201cMarmee\u201d \u2026 <\/p>\n

Most days, he\u2019ll\u00a0flash a two-toothed smile\u00a0at me for no reason other than I\u2019ve said hello. His blue eyes sparkle like car keys in sunshine at the simplest entertainment. Sometimes he\u2019s somber. Rarely, he\u2019s grumpy. And by rarely, I mean in the last eight months of his life, I\u2019ve only heard him cry once out of anger. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

When we say we see Jesus in someone,\u00a0I think we typically speak\u00a0of someone aged, whether literally or by life\u2019s\u00a0hard knocks \u2013 someone who has\u00a0developed a\u00a0soft, smiling, kind, and gracious disposition, even thought their life hasn\u2019t been perfect. But I see Jesus in baby Auggie\u2019s joy.\u00a0In the soft, thankful\u00a0heart of Jack. In the loving, excitable\u00a0heart of Todd. I cherish their little hearts and\u00a0have a strong desire\u00a0to shepherd\u00a0them so\u00a0they might learn to persevere with all their joy, gentleness, and thankfulness through the\u00a0hard times they are guaranteed to encounter as time goes on. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

I can\u2019t cause anyone to persevere, of course. Only God can determine the outcome and direction of a child\u2019s heart. I\u00a0can only\u00a0join their parents in\u00a0loving, correcting, encouraging, and steering them toward Christ. <\/p>\n

Are you wondering why\u00a0would I need to\u00a0correct or steer in the right direction\u00a0if their hearts are, as I portray,\u00a0so golden? <\/p>\n

You have a\u00a0valid point. Truth is,\u00a0I\u2019ve only shared with you the bright,\u00a0sun-shiny side of the story. Of course each boy has their sinful bents,\u00a0but my ongoing hope and prayer is that they\u00a0will be pliable\u00a0\u2013 willing to bend in the\u00a0opposite way\u00a0their flesh tells them to\u00a0flex.\u00a0I\u2019m just saying that in\u00a0many ways, they are the ones teaching me.<\/em> They are the ones exhibiting the Christ-like behavior that puts me to shame and reminds me that\u00a0life is more than\u00a0schedules and food prep\u00a0and\u00a0to-do lists and\u00a0________. It\u2019s about becoming joyful, loving,\u00a0thankful, and\u00a0staying soft in the midst of this hard thing we call life<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder. There\u2019s nothing\u00a0captivating about a cardboard tube, but he was so lit up, so joyful about his newfound \u201ctoy.\u201d He laughed and squealed and waved it around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2920,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nReflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Felix Culpa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/files\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-0NzxriMAE-Y\/VigZPoEkV_I\/AAAAAAAAA0g\/pcskwpqw928\/s320\/Auggie10mo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brenda Renee Coats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brenda Renee Coats\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html\",\"name\":\"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0e763ae152fbf5b79f1c2a8ee55124\"},\"description\":\" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/\",\"name\":\"Felix Culpa\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0e763ae152fbf5b79f1c2a8ee55124\",\"name\":\"Brenda Renee Coats\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bfca24ce7057bd8f93fb15ffdc3d5b14?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bfca24ce7057bd8f93fb15ffdc3d5b14?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brenda Renee Coats\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/author\/brenda\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies","description":" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies","og_description":" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html","og_site_name":"Felix Culpa","article_published_time":"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/files\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-0NzxriMAE-Y\/VigZPoEkV_I\/AAAAAAAAA0g\/pcskwpqw928\/s320\/Auggie10mo.jpg"}],"author":"Brenda Renee Coats","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brenda Renee Coats","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html","name":"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-10-21T16:06:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0e763ae152fbf5b79f1c2a8ee55124"},"description":" The other day on Facebook, I posted a video of Auggie Fynn sitting on my hardwood floors playing with a tube of cardboard from a paper towel holder.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/2015\/10\/reflections-on-the-hearts-of-grandbabies.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reflections on the Hearts of Grandbabies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/","name":"Felix Culpa","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0e763ae152fbf5b79f1c2a8ee55124","name":"Brenda Renee Coats","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bfca24ce7057bd8f93fb15ffdc3d5b14?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bfca24ce7057bd8f93fb15ffdc3d5b14?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Brenda Renee Coats"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/author\/brenda"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/felixculpa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}