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Last night my husband and I were talking about tattoos and I asked him if he’d ever want one, to which he replyed that he wanted one of one of the drawings that Adair (our artistic nearly 5 yr. old) has done. He brought to mind several of his favorite pictures that she has portrayed, and it gave me the biggest smile… to think of him with a permanent reminder of her youthful expressions. : D
Last night as I was reading my Bible, I was imagining the way God will work in Utah and other areas to suprise us in the way that He brings people to Him. In an earlier post called what if, I blogged on keeping open in our minds how God can do things we can’t even fathom.
Upon these reflections, I started thinking on our neighbors apricot tree heavely laden with fruit, just waiting to be plucked. In the beginning, there is the firstfruits, that ripen before the rest of the tree as a whole, then the rest of the fruit just continues to grow and ripen, causing the branches of the tree to bend under the weight. So, God wants our firstfruits, and He wants us to pray for Him to send out more workers to harvest. Our harvest is plentiful but those to do the work are few, so He is calling us into prayer to place upon Him our hearts for Him to send more workers to help us!
Like my neighbors apricot tree, there are so many around us that are ripe and nearly ready for someone to show them how to give their life to Christ. God will not only use us if we are responsive to His voice, but, if we act as intercessors, He will send more into the harvest. When I don’t know how to witness completely, especially to people who I am closest to, like Mike, God has given me the instruction to pray for more workers into the field. John 4:35-38 says, Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” We have to do God’s will to help bring the message of salvation to those who are weighing down the branches with their fruit, so that they too will join us in His Kingdom.
I need to remember that He wants a continual harvest, and we should not only pray for Him to send in more workers to the harvest, but we should also pray to enlarge the harvest, and for Him to show us those He wants us to cultivate. Fruits vary in size, shape, color, and ripeness, and they are all delicious, but susseptable to pests from hungry worms, birds, or deer. Even when the fruit reveals it was exposed to a little worm, it is still not a waste. The fruit can still be harvested and the bad spot cut off.
Everyone is waiting to come into season and the harvest is and will be plentiful.
I was going through my computer yesterday and found lots of photos worth uploading! Take a look at my family if you are so inclined! : D
This summer has been a time of growth for my kids, and with our upcoming visit to my family in southern Calif. on the 12th of August, we’ve been clearing out the house of all the things the kids have outgrown, or soon will. My older brother and his wife are expecting their first child in January, so they are getting many handme downs for the occasion. Some people frown on handme downs and they don’t want anything to do with them, and even though my brother and his wife have successful careers (he’s a chiropractor and she’s an optomotrist), they are welcoming the second hand gifts. And boy, do we have a lot to bring, as our family is complete (minus a large dog or two that we’ll add at a later date), so we sure are happy to give them a big start on their new life. As you may remember, we are giving them the crib, which we successfully moved Alec out of a few weeks ago. We are also giving the changing table that matches, which even though we still use because Alec is in diapers, it will save me the strain of trying to lift him for the pit stops. My back will rejoice, although my knees will creek. The rest of the list is this; car seat, port-a-crib, high chairs & tables, Kelty backpack, breast pump, Baby Bjorn, Little People farm & house, and a ton of board books that we have made it through. I’m glad that they want the handme downs, I think my brother sees them as having history and he’s always liked that, and I see it in a way that makes it easier to let go of items to someone who will expect and respect my emotional attachment. Even though a crib is just a piece of furniture, it serves as a tie to what Alec and Adair used to be. Even though I don’t need to keep it, somehow knowing that I’ll still know where it is, is soothing for my heart.
In giving all these things away, I have noticed how the simple act of packing them up (even some things that we still use, like high chairs), exchanges our routines for a new kind of lifestyle. Although all of those things make some chores easier, after a time now that my kids older, I am realizing that taking them out of the routine makes things simpler. For so long our routine was to put the kids “in their chairs” (i.e. in the high chairs that mounted to our own kitchen chairs, and then attach their tables, to effectively lock them inside thier chairs… basically a chair prison), and once they were in their chairs, they would stay there eating breakfast and watching Sesame St., which gave me time to take a shower and get on my broom for the day. But now, I’ve disassembled the chairs and now the kids have the freedom to run around in the morning, but you know what? They don’t, they just sit in their regular chairs, eat their breakfast, and keep watching their show…. I guess that we’ve been doing it for so long this way, they are just used to it.
So… our routines are changing, and it’s freeing. Freeing to let go of things we are no longer using, or things we can step away from to simplify. I’m really enjoying the transitions.
Our Pastor is on sabbatical, so we have been having a visiting speaker every Sunday for the last month, with one more to go this weekend (which I am particularly looking forward to, but I’ll get into that in another post). Anyway, Sunday before last we had Greg Johnson come from the Standing Together Ministries and I loved the message he shared. Greg is an Evangelical Chrisitan here in predominatly Mormon Utah. The vision of his ministry is to be able to dialog with Mormons openly and honestly, and in love, not in a way that is confrontational.
Greg’s message last Sunday began with Matt. 22:37, Love God with all your heart. So now, imagine what if, we were fully surrendered to Him to live out our faith daily for Christ? We believe that God has a transformation for our own hearts when we are in Christ, so we as believers in Utah should be fired up and change our perspective on what God can and will do here.
We have to be careful in the process not to limit the way God may transform Utah. Greg lead us to reread Jonah. God instructed Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh, but he didn’t want to because he grew up hating the Assyrians and didn’t want to share God’s word with them, for fear that they would repent and recieve God’s mercy. So, even though God specifically gave Jonah a job to do, he didn’t want to do it and instead went in the opposite direction with the intent to head to Tarshish. As he got to a port called Joppa, he paid a fare to get on a boat to sail to Tarshish so that he could flee from God. But, as we all know, that isn’t possible. God sent some great winds and violent storms that threatened to break up the ship and in the end the sailors thought Jonah was responsible. Jonah knew that because he disobeyed God, he was putting the lives of those on board in danger, so Jonah had the sailors throw him overboard, and God smoothed the waters for the sailors (who then came to believe in Him), while He provided a whale to swallow up Jonah for a time out.
So, while Jonah was in time out, he called to God, and God faithfully answered and gave Jonah another chance to go to Nineveh. After being belched out of the whale, Jonah went to proclaim God’s message that He would overturn their city if they failed to turn from their wicked ways. Upon Jonah’s preaching, the king proclaimed that everyone should urgently call on God and repent so that they wouldn’t perish, and when they did this, God had compassion on them. BUT…. this made Jonah angry and he expressed that anger to God, who basically said, “Why do you have the right to be angry?” Jonah was so angry that he wanted to die.
What does Jonah’s story remind us of? To remember for one, that when we are in time out (in our own belly of the whale), God certainly hears us. Also, we must know that if we are ready for Utah to change, and for Mormons to see the truth, we can’t doubt how God is going to do it. Would we act like Jonah and be angry if the Mormon chruch crumbles in a way other than what we would expect? What if it doesn’t “crumble”? What if God worked in a different way? What if through our ability to talk and relate to Mormons, God worked in redemption? What if our ability to be intercessors and get on our knees asking for God’s blessing over all of Utah, to pray for her people, and <what if that brought God’s redemption of them? Historically, past relations between Evangelical Christians and the LDS church has been conflicted over the foundation of the Gospel, what if God used our fully surrendered heart to His Holy Spirit to show His love, and awoke them to trust God?
On the 12th of November, the LDS General Authorities have invited Ravi Zacharias and Greg Johnson (from Standing Together Ministries) to meet with LDS leaders for an open dialog… please pray that this metting will build bridges and foster further loving conversations so that God can suprise us with His power to unite and redeem those whose hearts He cherishes!!
I’m pondering this… it seems to me that some things, like certain songs, or artists, a note from a friend, a particular sermon, or a book, or a part of a book, etc. are anointed with a filling of life. While others may seem sterile and without life, like the author was just simply not filled while creating it, or they did not believe what they were putting words to. Does that make sense? It’s as if some things are just clothed with a divine power and it manifests itself in a way that the words become alive, with the ability to breath on their own. Like if you read a Scripture, or when a meaningful line from a book that just pops out at you in a way that it grips your heart with a passion that pours out and enkindles the flame He has within you, to higher heights, that you long for more time to sit with Him on the new provoked thoughts and feelings.
Somewhere along the line though, I am also pondering if some things are only living and breathing for certain people… people who are continually dissolved to the Holy Spirit. Over the last year, as I have been growing in my walk with God, and understanding more about intercession, or spiritual gifts, and having His Word become more alive and personalized to my own heart and life, I have glimpsed from discernment where some of the hearts of believers are around me in their own walk with God. Some I see as so rich and fertile, with a direct line to the Father’s heart, and they exude a reflection of His peace and ready access to the gifts of the Spirit. Then, there are others who I sense as having a believer facade, as if they are holding Him on their surface, yet not being indwelled by Him. I don’t quite know what to do with these perceptions that God is revealing to me, I have only been sitting with them in prayer awaiting His further unfolding of wisdom.
It’s an interesting position to be in to be able to smell the aroma of Christ within people… some people it is the headiest perfume that drifts on the air, while with others, it’s a scent that is more faint, but still there. God has us all in different seasons of growth within our lives, and in His process within my own heart, I am increasingly hungry and ready for every touch of Him. I just awake daily with a desire to swim and splash like a young child in the inheritance that His heart holds for me… while at the same time, I want to swim the distances of of my high school swim team days, in the solitude, momentum, and flow of His living water surrounding me, gliding over me, and even propelling me faster, as my heart rate increases, and I use my muscles to power through His water and feel drunk with the Spirit, and energized by His filling.
There is a song in my head today and I am burning to get the cd, if you want to listen to a clip, it’s by Matt Redman, click song #9. The lyrics are based on the Scripture Lev 9:24, it’s alive and stirring me deeply today. If anyone has the whole song, would you post it so that I can listen and fill my ears with it’s entirety? : )
Here are the complete lyrics:
Welcomed in to the courts of the King,
I’ve been ushered into Your presence.
Lord, I stand on your merciful gound,
Yet with every step tread with reverence.
There is none in the heavens like You,
And upon the earth, who’s Your equal?
You are far above, You’re the highest of hights,
And I’m bowing down to exalt You.
And I’ll fall facedown,
As Your glory shines around.
Yes I’ll fall facedown,
As Your glory shines around.
Let Your glory shine around,
Let You glory shine around.
King of glory here be found,
King of glory.
I think he just has a mental pain override feature that others just can’t harness. Some people speculate that he’s doping, but I disagree. I think he’s just got a reserve within him that lets him push himself beyond the distance, where other’s just slow or stop, he just goes to an inner room and refocuses with a hidden determination and will that others just haven’t developed or learned how to access.
Just my .02 cents ; )
Boy oh boy! Whew, is all I can say! Things are back to normal around here. Thank you Reid for your hello, I’ve actually missed blogging! What’s hysterical, is that our computer cleaned all the cookies, which meant that I had to log into Typepad again, and I guess it’s been so long since I’ve done that, that I forgot my password. Doooohhhh! I had time on Sat. eve. to blog, but I couldn’t figure out my password, then it took a while to get it in an email, by the time I got it, the time I had to blog vanished, as did my thought.
Anyway, this time away from blogging was spent getting more stuff ready for the yard sale we had on Sat. Holy Cow, can I just say that we made $594.25!!! That seems like a ton of money to me! A friend gave us a gas stove (she didn’t want to bother trying to sell it, so she offered it to us, or she was going to give it to charity…. so, I took it & cleaned it up to sell), I sold for $100, which was a big part of our grand total, then my dh sold some Yamaha stereo equipment for $80, and then everything else was just housewares, kid & adult clothes, jewelry, books, knick-nacks, yard stuff, etc. Totally amazing. Anyway, it goes to show you that God does refill the coffers many times over for the small amount in comparison that I spent for the Bible for my friend. This timing is also awesome because the amount we made is going to help us pay the difference in the mortgage because our renters are moving out on the 5th of August. It will help us cover the difference until we gain some new renters. I’m praying and trusting God to lead the perfect tenant for us, within the perfect timing.
So, that covers the profits and password, now to the ponderings…. I’ve had a lot on my mind about God. First, I went to the Opera again with a friend from church, and we watched The Secret Garden (I’m betting that you know about that one Lesa : ) you artisan you.). Anyway, while I was watching the performance, I was drawn to watching the conductor of the orchestra. Totally amazing. The woman conductor was watching both the performers, and directing from them, as well as directing them, because I could tell they were looking to her for timing cues as well. So, this got me to viewing the role of the conductor… vital, and I traveled in thought to God’s conducting. The Conductor dictates the timing, tempo, the softness or crechendo of the music. He draws in the players of different instruments, and if we are on the same page and watching or being attentive to His direction, the result is that everything will play according to His will and desire, and be a melody that is beyond beauty. But if we don’t pay attention, or rely on our own timing, we might miss the valuable cues He is drawing us into. Then as I pondered this with a friend, we also conluded that we may actually the “score” and not the individual players of instruments.
I have some more blogging that I want do on a few really good sermons that we’ve been having at chruch while our Pastor is on sabbatical for a month. I’ll get to those tonight or tomorrow; one covers Jonah and “What if,” the other covers Eph 6:10-20 and “Being IN Christ & Ready for Battle”, then the other is “The Hardest Person to Discipline”from II Tim. 1:7. They all are beconning me to run through them again and revisit where God spoke to me.
Also, to update on my friend who I gave the Bible to… to quote her on Thursday, she said “I LOVE IT!” How awesome is that & I can just see God’s grin over her widening!!! I can feel Him taking the Bible and holding it open for her! She said she began in the NT and loved the translation and ease of flow of the words and that it was “so easy” to read, and then with the Life Application notes, she said it helped her to understand more in depth. Then when I saw her on Friday, she said that she felt the magnitude of the gift as something she could never repay, and I said that is God’s gift to us exactly. She said she started reading Ruth the night before, and she was looking forward to continuing reading and finding answers. I said that’s all that He wants for us. So, I’m knowing that He has been preparing her for this very moment in time, and I feel that God also used this to edify and exhort me as well. He deposited greatly within me a desire to seek Him further, and to actively pursue His heart for myself and for others.
We completed our last day of swim lessons for the kids! WooHoo and waaaa at the same time. It’s a challange to get to swim lessons on time everyday, lubed up with SPF 50 sunblock, bathing suits, swim shoes, dry towels, a snack, sippy cups, sun hats, and the most important thing, children who are happy. Even though our lessons started at 11:00am, it’s some weird law of nature that even if you start getting ready at 9:30am you’ll still find yourself running late. What’s up with that? There are some things that just cannont be done until the last minute, potty breaks, swim diaper for Alec, and getting lubed with sunblock. And somehow, even if I get all the other things done ahead of time, those things devour any time advantage we did have, and we are always rushing out the door to get to the pool on time. But another thing that puzzles me, is that even though we can be running late, we always arrive “just on time” and the kids can get right in the pool. *ahhh*
Anyway, it’s been a fun two weeks, but I’m the one who is glad that things will return to “normal,” with the now occasional planned trip to the pool, instead of everyday.
Both Alec and Adair have accomplished the feat of being able to go underwater and hold their breath whenever they want. It’s great! They aren’t timid about getting under the “mushroom” that has water coming over the sides raining down on the kids underneath. They’ve both mastered jumping into the water with no fear, and you can’t put a value on the what all of the swim lessons (or the days we’ve stayed after for 2 more hours of playing in the pool) have done to their physical, emotional and cognitive development. The sensory effect alone of the pool with the water temp, the breeze keeping their goose bumps bumpily, and the sounds of all the other kids playing has got to be the most stimulating thing. Not to mention, all the physical contact that I get, because they love to give me hugs as I sit next to them with only my head poking out of the water. That is one of my fondest memories growing up, being able to climb on my mom in the pool. It’s incentive to look at the fun things in life and want to do them more often just for the sake of the sensory overload factor. We all need that. : D
I was nervous about giving the Bible to my friend, and the fact that my dh was unhappy over me spending money on a Bible as a gift, while we are on a tight budget didn’t help things. I felt torn of being obedient to the thought God spoke to me of “give her a Bible…” to the other thought of maybe I need to respect (or submit) to my husband and return it. After some inner turmoil yesterday morning, I decided to just listen to God and give it to her.
When I presented it to her, she was touched and happy. She said she has been considering over the last year or more of getting another tranlsation other than what she has, the KJV. I summarized briefly what the Preface of the NIV translation Bible said & encouraged her to read it herself so she would see when, how and who created the NIV translation. After much contemplation, I ended up not writing an inscription on the inside of it because I told her that way if she wanted to return it for a different one, or if she wanted to pass it along later to someone else, she was free to do that. I did write her a card and tucked it inside the box. I gave it with an open hand, in love, and I trust that God is going to do fun things with this experience for all of us. I look forward to seeing how God will use this.
There is a link to an article in this post on World Magazine Blog: Return of the callous abortions. I am left dumbfounded and broken after reading this article. Absolutely unbelievable….
In an earlier post on being a witness, I talked about a friend of mine. Well, I ended up getting a new NIV Life Application Bible for her. God was really tugging at my heart last night with the question “Does she have a Bible?” and I didn’t really know. The further I prayed for her and for wisdom on what God wanted me to say or do, I felt God whisper, “Give her a Bible.” So, today I got one and I am going to give it to her tomorrow. I’m wondering if I should take it out of the plastic wrap from within the box and write on the inside for her? Should I wrap it? I don’t know why I’m puzzled over how to give it to her. I already wrote a card to her because God brought to mind the perfect way to relate the gift. A long time ago when we worked together, after she had her son, she let me borrow her pregnancy books because we were thinking of starting our family as well. She lent the books to me with a preface that they were a great resource where I could find answers to my questions… so I related giving the her this Bible in the same way, that I just wanted her to be able to have a place to easily read and research to find answers to her questions, as well as the NIV translation with the Life Appliation notes on the bottom are probably something she is not familiar with. Most LDS have the NKJV which is excellent, but not as easy to read as some of the newer translations.
I sense the enemy trying to put a little doubt about giving this as a gift. I have never given a Bible as a gift, let alone to someone who is not a believer. I’m trusting that this is what God desires for her….
David, from The Apologetic Response writes onDo Mormons have “another Jesus?”… it’s an insightful read for those of you who are so inclined to understand their religion.
In reading, David writes on understanding the Trinity, he says:
I cannot tell you where I first heard this quote or who first coined it but it bears repeating, “Every theological heresy begins with a misconception of the nature of God.” I have also heard it said that “we may not be able to comprehend the Trinity, but we can apprehend it.” That is to say, our finite human minds cannot comprehend the infinite mind of Almighty God. Why can we not comprehend the Trinity? Because we have no frame of reference of the infinite. We do however have a frame of reference for the finite, which is why we can apprehend the Trinity. Here are some classical examples of how we can apprehend the Trinity: The Shamrock: Is it one leaf or three. If one, why are there three lobes of equal size? If three, why is there only one stem? It is both 1 and 3 at the same time. Water: Is it solid (ice), liquid (water), or gas (steam)? It is 1 and 3 at the same time. Mankind: Are we bodies, mind or spirit? We are one and three at the same time. The Universe: Is it made of time? – Yes ; space? – Yes ; dimension (or matter)? – Yes. All three are distinct and individual elements yet none can exist without the other. Again, we have 3 in 1.
I had only heard of the water analogy, and not the others, so it was awesome to gain more ways to apprehend the Trinity. I had heard of describing the Trinity as in the way of an apple, with the core, then fleshy part you eat, and the skin. It’s acutally in a childrens book titled “3 in 1 – A Picture of God” by Joanne Marxhausen.
Anyway, good reading David, thanks for sharing and illuminating truths! : D
I have a friend who is a self-described agnostic, who was raised Mormon, but now denounces it, yet still reads books by Gordon B. Hinkley (“prophet” of the LDS church). She also read the DaVinchi code and really thought it was good, and she suggested that I read it. Not sure if I’m really interested in reading it. Should I? I also need to ask her if she reads the Bible & find out which Bible she reads. Hopefully it’s not the JS translation, eek. Maybe I’ll just go get her a new Bible. I did offer to her the books Case for Faith, and Case for Christ, and she said she would read them if I lent them to her, so I am going to bring them to her tomorrow.
I am praying that I will be able to witness to her, so that I could share with her the feelings of my heart. I want to plant the seed of God’s love through Christ, to get her to question if He was more than what she described as “not a savior, just a good man.” So far, she’s falling into the trap of the of believing the second biggest lie of Mormonism, which is that if the Mormon church is the “one true chruch” then every other church is false. Or, maybe she is just being extra cautious because she doesn’t want to get hurt or decieved again.
What books are really good to help prepare us to witness? I need to prepare myself and be ready to give the reasons for the hope and trust that I have. I need to share God’s grace with others.
The song called “Here I Go Again” by Casting Crowns expresses my heart right now…
Father Hear My Prayer
I Need The Perfect Words
Words That He Will Hear
And Know They’re Straight From You
I Don’t Know What To Say
I Only Know It Hurts
To See My Only Friend
Slowly Fade Away
So Maybe This Time
I’ll Speak The Words Of Life
With Your Fire In My Eyes
But That Old Familiar Fear
Is Tearing At My Words
What Am I So Afraid Of
But Here I Go Again
Talkin Bout The Rain
And Mulling Over Things
That Won’t Live Past Today
And As I Dance Around The Truth
That Time Is Not His Friend
This Might Be My Last Chance
To Tell Him That You Love Him
But Here I Go Again
Here I Go Again
Lord You Love Him So
You Gave Your Only Son
If He Just Believed
He Will Never Die
But How Then Will He Know
What He Has Never Heard
Or Never Seen Mirrored In My Life
So Maybe This Time
I’ll Speak the Word Of Like
With Your Fire In My Eyes
But That Old Familiar Fear
Is Tearing At My Words
What Am I So Afraid Of
But Here I Go Again
Talkin Bout The Rain
And Mulling Over Things
That Won’t Live Past Today
And As I Dance Around The Truth
That Time Is Not His Friend
This Might Be My Last Chance
To Tell Him That You Love Him
But Here I Go Again
Here I Go
Here I Go
So Maybe This Time
I’ll Speak The Words Of Life
With Your Fire In My Eyes
But That Old familiar Fear
Is Tearing At My Words
What Am I So Afraid Of
But Here I Go Again
Talkin Bout The Rain
And Mulling Over Things
That Won’t Live Past Today
And As I Dance Around The Truth
That Time Is Not His Friend
This Might Be My Last Chance
To Tell Him That You Love Him
This Might Be My Last Chance
To Tell Him That You Love Him
This Might Be My Last Chance
To Tell Him That You Love Him
You Love Him
You Love Him
What Am I So Afraid
What Am I So Afraid
What Am I So Afraid Of
How Then Will He Know
What He Has Never Heard
I’m going to stop drinking sodas, and for most, this wouldn’t seem very hard, but for me, a few diet cokes everyday help and truly refresh. It’s just that it’s getting to be a problem, I think one hot day last week, I drank 6 cans of diet cokes in one day. Stop the madness! That is completely unnecessary, but somehow it happened, and I think I just need to stop soda’s cold turkey. I love them for the caffiene, but do I really need them? Doubtful. I haven’t even mentioned how much we are spending on sodas every week at the store… at least $10-$13 dollars on diet coke every week for my dh and I to be supplied anytime we want to go to the fridge.
So, adios diet coke….. I’m really going to miss you. Hello water… please help me not to miss my dearly departed diet coke. ; [
I went to the Utah Opera Festival last night and watched Brigadoon. It amazes me to think of the expanse of talents that God gifts to us. From what I enjoyed last night, the orchestra playing the accompanyment to the voices of the cast, I was completely entertained. One of the songs was a song sung by “Charlie” to his fiancee “Jaennie,” called “Come to Me, Bend to Me…” and the chorus is this:
Come to Me
Bend to Me
Kiss Me Good Day….
Do you ever hear things around you, and feel like God is using it to speak directly to you? It’s as if He jumps into a melody or a sentence that someone speaks and internally it resonates as God’s whisper to your heart? I felt like He was singing me a love song, even though I know I was at the opera and that particular song is a part of the performance… but it felt like as I listened to it, God took it and twisted my heart with it so that I would know it was from Him.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a meme, so I’m going to use Bryan’s Last Things… as a meme!
Last CD you purchased
Vegi-Tales Sing Along Songs ; D
Last movie you saw in a theater
The Terminal with Tom Hanks, loved it!
Last movie you saw on video/DVD
Just rented Stuck on You or something a-ruther. With Matt Damon and that other guy ; ) about the conjoined twins (who didn’t appear to look alike if you ask me *wink*). Super funny!
Last time you visited another state
A few weekends ago we crossed the Idaho state line and at mile marker 1 in Fish Haven, we went to my dh aunts summer abode for a 92nd birthday celebration for Mike’s Oma.
Last time you wanted to change jobs
hmmm… well, I would say that was about 5 yrs. ago, the last time I “worked.” I’ve been a stay at home mom for the last 4.5 years, and besides the little breaks I need here and there, I wouldn’t change this job for any amount of money.
Last concert you saw
Well… lets see…. I saw Bob the Builder last summer with my daughter, does that count? hmmm… guess not. I’d say it would have to be Sting from summer before last.
Last book you read
I’m in the middle of a few right now, but the last book I completed would be Purpose Driven Life.
Last song on the radio you really dug
hmmm… ahhh…. Beautiful One, by By The Tree
Last video game you played
Frogger ; D lol!
Last amusement park you visited
Disneyland in 1994
Last time you went to church
last Sunday
Last time you sang really loud in the car
Every day!!!!!!!!!! I have to be an example to my kids! They sing loud too!
This is a great idea from Bryan at Spare Change on A New Family Tradition. Kids have awesome questions and what’s most awesome is taking the time together as a family to discover the truths that God has for us. What a great way to bring your family together! I spying an oatmeal container in the kitchen right now… *grinning*
I’m just spending some time in my Bible tonight…being saturated with the way it lives and breathes into me. A while ago I came upon “Tasting the Powers of the Coming Age” (a totally must read) from a site I visit called Your Kingdom Come. I have had this in my binder (the place where I keep all the good stuff I want to read, re-read, and then re-read again) and so rignt now I am following up on a few things, like Ephesians 1:3-14 and the heavenly realms… In Christ:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.
This is so awesome… all spiritual blessings are given to us… He blessed us (past tense)! We are seated next to Christ, right now, in the heavenly realms, and the heavenly realms are eternal, not temporal! We ARE a disciple, gifted with every blessing in Jesus Christ and we ARE in the heavenly realms. He chose us (past tense!) to be holy and blameless in His sight… for His pleasure!!!! We are His elect and chosen, it’s a done deal, it’s a sure thing… we are holy and blameless in His sight… we are a new creature in Him (2 Cor. 5:17), dead (unresponsive) to sin and alive in Christ (Rom. 6:11-14). He had made known (past tense) the mystery of His will… we know it, He doesn’t want to keep it a secret, through the blood of Christ, His will can now be fully understood. In Him, we are chosen and predestined (past tense!) according to His perfect plan which He is working out according to His will. In my Life Application notes it says that “Predestined means marked out beforehand. This is another way of saying that salvation is God’s work and not our own doing.” So, just as John 14:6 says, I am the way and the truth and the life. Now one comes to the Father except through me. God adopted us as His own children, and chose us in Him… and according to His own will and heart.
Do we even begin to “…know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance…” (Eph. 1:18)? Eph. 1:19a-23… goes on to say God’s strength “…exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right and in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in everyway.” Fullness is Christ…. filling his body, the church, with every spiritual blessing and gift.
It’s hard for me to truly grasp the depth of this… and I question if I am truly living with the fullness that He has already filled me with.
I was skipping through my Bible this morning while enjoying my morning coffee. As I wandered through the thin pages, I ended up in Proverbs. The descriptions are so deep in wisdom and fullness. I’m thinking God wants me to sit a while in Proverbs and soak it up. One thing I read that I don’t recollect that I’ve passed by before was Prov. 27:15-16 “A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.” That is such a great description that also hits my funny bone, I certainly don’t want to be a constant drip on what is already a wet day. What’s the point of dripping when the ground is already saturated with moisture from rain? Useless really, and what a pain that she can’t be contained… so not only does she run a way with herself headlong into nagging or a quarrel, but she can’t be reigned in or gotten a hold of, she’ll just slip through your hands like oil and continue to nag. *ack*
Note to Self: Monica… Don’t nag, or you’ll be a drip. Reflect the Fruit of the Spirit and speak in love.
I am a faithful follower of the Tour de France… it’s so awesome to watch the from a distance, the shots of the Peloton cruising along, just weaving through the French countryside in a fluidity of motion and color. The fellowship of the Peloton or of the breakaway Leaders is so interesting… the way they draft off eachother to decrease the wind resistance, which in case you didn’t know, saves their energy expenditure by 30%. Fellowship with believers saves us some energy like that… when we are tied in with the body of Christ, we are hopefully connected to the needs of others, as they are connected to our own.
In the Tour, there are crashes and spills, but they just get back up again… refocus and ride on. We as believers do that… Prov. 24:16, we fall in our walk with God… not always because of sin, but sometimes just because we are young and still learning to walk with baby steps in God’s love and grace. But He is the ever encouraging and loving Father who awaits to help us stand back up. We continue to get up to pursue God, from our place of immaturity in hopes spiritual growth.
The cyclists face the range of road conditions, like cobblestones to wet slick pavement, they have to stay focussed on the task at hand, because have you seen those wheels? They are so tiny, not to mention the close proximity with everyone else as they face the road conditions. Then the weather variations… it must be exhausting to ride in the hotest hot one day, to the wetest wet the next. Within all their work, they know the end is in site, because each day is a different stage, so they can focus on an endpoint, and plan their strategy accordingly. As believers, our circumstances are similar… we face different paths with continually changing conditions, put upon us by either our difficulty in dying to “self” by either heart immaturity or heart rebellion, or we face the consequenses resulting from sin, and we also face the enemy trying to distract our focus on only Christ, just to get us to lose our concentration for a minute. If the accuser succeeds and we fall, besides hurting ourselves, we hurt others. I guess I just see the riders and think of the endurance they posess, and I want to live for Christ that way, just endurance to race hard day after day, so that I can win 1 Cor. 9:24!
Anyway, the jersys are awesome if you know what they all mean, to me they are like little wearable trophys! The most well known jersy is the Yellow Jersy, for the race leader who holds the least accumulated time from combined stages for total distance traveled. Then there is the Green Jersy, that goes to the guy who is the fastest sprinter within the stages because there are intermediate marker lines to race to in each stage and they are usually on flatter terrain. Then the comeback of the White Jersy is given to the best young rider (age 25 & under)… so basically, they are considered the best rookie. And my favorite jersy is the Red Polka-Dot Jersy, which is given to the “King of the Mountains.” This one is given to the rider who placed first among all riders from the different mountian and hill climbs rated on difficulty level. I guess the reason I like this most is because to climb a hill, it takes so much resolve and inner strength along with the physical endurance. It’ blows me away what these guys are capable of for 23 days in a row.
One thing I’ve been thinking about as I watch this from my living room… I’d like to add some more technology so that I could be IN the race, so to speak. I’d like to have some of the cyclists “miked up,” kinda like the one select player on Monday Night Football. If you haven’t seen it, that’s where they put a microphone on one of the players for the game, and at half time, they put together snippets of the comments and conversations that the player has. So, to implement this in the Tour de France, we could mike up a few riders so we could hear some of the chit chat that occurs among them in the Peloton… wouldn’t that be cool? I’d also like to steal an idea from NASCAR, where they show you the speed of an individual car, as well as what rpm they are running at. Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to see the speed the cyclist is going (but not in kilometers… I’m bad at calculating to mph, so if they could just convert it for me, that would be great!)? I’d also like to see what gear the cyclist is in for different parts of the course, as well as seeing when and how often they are using their brake. Plus, I’m also thinking it would be kinda fun to have a helmet cam on a few people, just to really get in on the action to see it from their perspective.
K, I know I’m crazy. I love watching the field of colored jersys ride in the sea of the Peloton, swerving along the road like an ameoba. I could go on and on, because I haven’t even talked of Lance Armstrong and the US Post Office team… but I’ll spare you.
I’m trying to change some of the problems with my vision. Not with my eyesight (I have 20/20 vision there), but my vision of how God is working the circumstances of my life. Over the last year, I’ve grown a lot in my walk with God… and so I’ve come to look at each day with expectation, desire, and intention as to what He is going to do in my life, or what He is going to reveal to my heart in ways of new understandings or new perspectives on old thoughts or visions. But, that’s the thing that I sometimes struggle with, that I insert my vision of what I think things should look like, while He is patiently trying to describe or unveil His reality for me instead. It’s like I just forget my expectancy, and do things without thinking. Like today, I woke up kinda sad. I dwelled on it a while too, trying to figure out what was wrong with me… trying to just focus and figure out a game plan for the day that would work. Some of the “blue funk” (that’s what my mom and I call it) is partly hormonal, but some is compounded by my dh going away for the weekend backpacking, and me looking at the weekend having no breaks from my kids. That sounds so aweful! Who complains about not getting a break from their children? Maddness, I know. But, I’m a stay at home mom, Mike works 12 hr. shifts (5am-5pm), so when he has days off work, I need to recoup a little. My kids are wonderful and I can’t put a limit on the love I have for them, but they are 2 1/2 & 4 1/2 and they are just so active, nonstop, and sometimes so LOUD, I can’t think straight. My emotional energy and endurance just gets stretched.
So my point here is, that instead of me waking up remembering my expectancy of His working in my life and be inquisitive to ask Him – “so God… watcha going to do today? I’m sad, how come? What are you up to? Please comb through the tangles of my emotions and transform me…”, I wasted nearly an entire morning with sadness, worry, doubts at my mothering skill (after all, who would say “waah, I don’t get to have a break from my kids?”) and all the other things I think the accuser could heap onto my shoulders. Why is it so easy to forget that the enemy is just waiting… and looking for an opportunity to redirect my focus away from God? Why didn’t I just have that suspicion & see it from the get-go? If I did, I would have said something like this, with a sista-twang in my voice, and with my pointy finger snappin side to side, “noooo-wayyy sataaan! you ain’t changin’ my focus! your suspect, and I’m onto you and your trickery… in the name of Jesus, leave me be! I don’t wanna hear nonna yo’ lies!” But instead, I was a mope with a quivery lower lip, only thinking of myself, and what I was capable of (or not).
I guess what I’m working through here, is that I’m praying and remembering that I don’t have to have a game plan… I just need to go along and instantly follow Him, and how He is working in me. I needant waste time looking with my vision, just instead immediatly look to His heart, for His vision for me. He will fulfill His purpose for me (Psa 138:8).
Is this something that I’ll grow through, and one day just naturally see through His eyes, without having to waste a morning of blubbering? I guess it’s a continual process of dying to “self” so that the Holy Spirit has full possession, but I don’t understand how can I go from one day feeling totally surrendered and filled with the Spirit, to another day of feeling like I don’t know where He went? I’m in progress… I’m just a lumpa wet clay on the spinning wheel… gettin dizzy at times, as He’s spinnin’ me and shaping me to His perfect design.
++Lord… show me how to press forward and to live every moment in Your truth and love. I surrender to my vision to Yours.++
Some regions of the country are fortunate enough to be able to have yard sales year around. Not here… the 6-12 inches of snow on our lawn in the winter make yard sales non-existant, but I guess if I was gutsy enough, I could have a “Polar Bear Yard Sale”, and offer hot chocolate, but I somehow think it wouldn’t be as lucrative as one in the summer. Anyway, now that summer yard sale season is in full swing, I have been feeling irritated at the amount of junk that has accumulated around my house. Between all the clothes and toys the kids have grown out of, the extra set of dishes, flatware, or glassware that we never use, the lego table taking up space, the books that have been read half-way through or once over with never the intention to read again, the long ago mindlessly purchased home decor that I have sitting around “decorating” the house, when in acutality it just irritates me because it looks like clutter, or the bag of skinny clothes in the bottom of my closet that I’ve been keeping there as in incentive to drop some weight to get down to the size I was when Mike and I got married….. it’s all stressing me out and I want to get rid of it! It’s bondage.
I want to live more simply! Why is it that I’m holding onto things that people gave us? The item I may not even like, but because it’s something that someone gave us as a gift, I feel obligated to keep it. We don’t have space! Because we rent out the basement, we live in only half of our home, that equals 1025 sq. ft. Our closet space and storage is limited, therefore we keep it jam packed with stuff. I want to live a kind of life style where I’m not holding onto objects that I don’t need. I want to rid myself of the clutter around me so that my home can look soothing and cleaner, like the room re-do’s on “Clean Sweep”. I want to open my linen closet and be able to easily use things, without interferance. Why am I living under a self created yoke of slavery to things?
Is it a lifestyle of simplicity? Is it something that once I make a choice I can just live that way? How do I deal with the guilt of letting go of things I like, yet that serve no purpose (ie: a birds nest that Mike got me when he was fly fishing that still has a cracked open robin’s eggs in it….. I love it, but it just sits there collecting dust and taking up space…. I love it because it reminds me that he thinks of me when he’s away from me… I love it because he brought it home for me because he knew I would think it was so pretty….).. how do I draw lines to what to keep vs. what to let go of? I’m attached to the birds nest because of what it represents, but after a while is it just complicating my life? If I do let go of it, will I miss it when it’s gone, or worse, will I forget about the beauty of it and what it meant? I am faced with a dilemma of if I remove too much “clutter” am I then wiping away everything that helps to display our uniqueness? I don’t want my house to be so sterile that when you look around you can’t find one thing with emotional attachment. I also don’t want to hurt the feelings of family members who have given us gifts in order to be thoughtful, if the next time they come over and don’t see it on display. Does that make sense?I want them to feel like they still have their markers on our life… if I got rid of them, how would that make them feel? While at the same time, I don’t want their gift to be bondage to me like that, or me to see it as I’m keeping it out of guilt or obligation.
I have lots of crafty things (scrapbooking supplies- tons, paints, brushes, etc.) that I was once into, but have found that it takes too much time, therefore I don’t enjoy it. But I cannot seem to let go of any of it because I think, “I spent money on that stuff (some of which I put on credit, so I’m still paying for – dooh.), but if I sell it at a yard sale, I won’t be able to get nearly what I paid for it, so I should keep it in case I want to use it later.” What is that logic all about? Should I be looking at it a different way? Some things I have, I think “oh, that was an investment, I have to keep that so that I’ll have it when I want to use it when I get time…” but if I haven’t used it in a year, but think maybe I will “later”, is it still worth keeping? *ugh.* Plus…. there is that ever present thought that we can all associate with, that *poof* as soon as I get rid of it, then that’s when I’ll need it! It’s like some law drilled into our head.
How do I price things? Marla? You’re a yard sale regular. What prices do I put on used kids clothes? Or toys? Or home items? Or a used gas stove? I mean, if it’s too little, I’d almost rather give it all to a local thrift store where the proceeds they make goes to the domestic violence shelter. Yet, if I can sell it for a decent price, then I can feel like it was all well worth it and we can do something fun with it… or…. just get more “stuff” *giggle & joking*.
What example am I setting for my kids if our house is unorganized because of not being able to draw a line between things of true value and purpose and emotional attachment, to other things that we keep because of “reasons” which really don’t make sense. *ack……* I need to clean sweep my house, so that I can focus on the things that matter, instead of being consumed by the little things that all add up to cause frustration.
Now that the crib is out of the kids bedroom, their room feels huge! We are loving the new space to lay on the floor and read books or to have every single “Little People” toy possible (the farm, house, airport, garage, construction set, and circus, along with all the little people) spread out on the floor as an entire Little People village. I should have taken apart his crib earlier, but I think I was the one who wasn’t ready…… *sniff*. He’s growing so quickly, nearly three come early September, and because Mike and I have come to the decision that our family is complete, he is our last. So every stage that he is passing and growing out of, we will not see again, unless we are revisiting them in fond memories, or tending another family’s child. It’s as if I’ve been thinking he could stay in the crib as long as he wanted, because that, along with potty training, are almost the last recognizable signs of a toddler. I am aware that I can’t keep either of them in a stage, and that it’s my job to help them grow and mature and eventually “let go” and then move on… all in process to become who God wants them to be. So they are just mine in trust for a time, and I need to just be the best shephard I can be along the way. It’s hard to explain, it’s not that I’m “sad” that they are growing out of certain things, it’s just that it’s moving at a pace that I sometimes can’t keep up with….. and just when I think I’ve recovered from one transition, I am faced with watching them move on and out of another. : )
Another thing that is new… is the discipline (in the form of a spanking). *ugh.* I haven’t completely figured out if I’m ready for it or if it is the right method. Until now, we have successfully relied on counting to three, with the premise that the offender being counted needs to stop the behavior, if the behavior isn’t stopped, they are placed in time out. This has worked really well with our kids, and we haven’t even thought of spanking. But…. (and I say that with a hard T at the end) I never quite figured out a successful way to implement a time out when bed time rolled around. If they keep getting out of bed, and the desired goal is to have them stay in bed, what good is a time out? It doesn’t work in that situation. I tried an alternate approach with Adair when she was younger, and that was to say “if you get out of bed, I’ll have to take one toy away.” But, after a while, she just started saying, “here, take my toy,” and she didn’t care. Sooooooo…. that leaves us with a spank. I understand the Biblical view that children need discipline, like
Proverbs 23:12-14, and Proverbs 29:14-16… but I wonder if there are better methods (without a spank) that would be more appropriate to get to the end goal of my children obeying us as parents and to honor us.
I guess I have fear about the message of spanking. I hate hurting them… it hurts me…. and haunts me. While interestingly, at the same time, I can already see some results… Alec is staying in bed and not getting out, and when he awakes from his nap, he calls for me to come get him, and when I do, he proudly says, “I stayed in my big boy bed!” upon which, he is showered with praise and applause.
Any thoughts to share from the onlookers?
