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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Multitude Monday

152- Our new bookshelf!! Which I enjoyed filling with our books...there's still a lot of room for more too. 
153. Our group of eager learners on our "first" day of school. 

154. Experiments with Daddy inspired by imaginations of the young and young at heart.

155. Homemade boats

156. Lessons learned and a chance to revisit the drawing board in days to come...but still lots of fun. 

157. Feet (mine are missing, so don't get too confused trying to do the math :-)

158. Thumbs

159. Bigger sisters (Mayme) who will always make sure you have a baby to sleep with.

160. Ballerinas in boots

161. Big brothers


162. Golf Cart rides with Grandpa

163. Rocks!!
164. Doing laundry (more to come on this later, so stay tuned).


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Now is the time...


You can barely see the puddle here, but we took a moment to enjoy it.
When we were done, the puddle was completely splashed away.
Go figure, the only puddle on the block was in front of our house. :)
God knew just where to put it. 





Now is the time to get things done...
     wade in the water, 
     sit in the sun, 
     squish my toes
     in the mud by the door, 
explore the world in a boy just four. 

Now is the time to study books, 
     flowers, 
     snails, 
     how a cloud looks;
     to ponder "up,"
     where God sleeps nights, 
why mosquitos take such big bites.

Later there'll be time
     to sew and clean, 
     paint the hall
     that soft new green, 
     to make new drapes, 
     refinish the floor--
Later on...when he's not just four.
                        Irene Foster           
                        "Time is of the Essence"

Monday, September 20, 2010

Multitude Monday

2 large eggs
2 Tbs. ground coffee
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1 bar chopped Ghiradelli Bittersweet Baking Bar
oven
**Biscotti**
151








Saturday, September 18, 2010

Alpha and Omega

So, I had a neat thought a few weeks ago while lying in bed at night. I finally have a chance to write it out, so here it is:


God has always existed. He has no beginning and no end. He is and was and always will be. He also knows all things. He's had "the end" planned out since before it even began. Right?!


He knew me (and you) before I was even born. Before I was even created or formed, I was a thought in His mind. He had the details of who I would be and all of my life planned in His mind. Right?!


So, isn't it neat to think that we have ALWAYS existed as a dear thought and precious plan in God's mind?! Not because we are great but because God is great and He chose us and wanted us for His glory. 


Wow! Isn't that a neat thought! God loves you. He always has and always will! He is Great!


Selah at 6 weeks old


Psalm 139 (New International Version)


Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
 1 O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.
 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.

 4 Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD.

 5 You hem me in—behind and before;
       you have laid your hand upon me.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too lofty for me to attain.

 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
       Where can I flee from your presence?

 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
       if I make my bed in the depths, 
[a] you are there.
 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 10 even there your hand will guide me,
       your right hand will hold me fast.

 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
       and the light become night around me,"

 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
       the night will shine like the day,
       for darkness is as light to you.

 13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.

 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

 17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

 18 Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand. 

       When I awake,
       I am still with you.

 19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
       Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

 20 They speak of you with evil intent;
       your adversaries misuse your name.

 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
       and abhor those who rise up against you?

 22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
       I count them my enemies.

 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my anxious thoughts.

 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

"If we only wanted to be happy it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is always difficult, since we think them happier than they are."
     -Charles-Louis de Secondant, baron de La Brede et de Montesquieu

Why I share so openly...

Lucy, age 4, sharing her thoughts with someone :)

Some of you may wonder why I share so many details of my life, especially the hard ones that we often want to hide from the sight of those around us. Let me share my reason why with you. :-)

I always try to be open and honest with others, especially about my own shortcomings and struggles, my sins. James 5:16 tells us to "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed." I don't feel like this is a legalistic commandment for us. However, I have found that the time when I have confessed sins and struggles of mine to Tyson or a trusted friend, I find tremendous freedom and healing take place in my heart. It is not because at that point of confession to another person my sins are forgiven, for the Bible tells us that Jesus' blood alone has the power to cleanse us and forgive us of our sins, and that we can be assured that when we confess our sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness, He will forgive us as far as the east is from the west. Perhaps it is the act of humbling myself, admitting that I am not perfect and allowing another person to pray for me and help me in my weakness that brings such release and freedom. Whatever it is, sharing in this way brings healing to my heart.

I've also seen how much another person can be encouraged by hearing about my struggles. Let's face it, we all struggle! Sometimes, however, we feel like we must be the only person on the world going through a particular struggle. All my years in MOPS listening to and working with other Mothers of Preschoolers, has taught me that none of us is alone. I'm amazed at how many moms/women feel like they are the only one who are struggling with an issue, when in reality there is always some other family/mother/woman who will or has struggled with that same issue at some point in their lives. I LOVE being able to encourage another person by sharing my struggles and shortcomings and sins!! That's all there is to it. I know it encourages me to hear from others that are facing struggles like mine. In the same way, I hope to be an encouragement to as many around me as possible, even if it means I have to share a side of my life that normally we would lock up in a closet in fragile hope that even the Lord wouldn't see it. He does see and know all things. Yet, He loves us and wants desperately for us to turn to him for help and forgiveness, for comfort and strength, for abundant life and satisfaction, for peace and healing.

I hope that I never sacrifice discretion for myself or my family in my sharing, but I hope that my honesty and (hopefully) humility will be an encouragement to you in your times of joy and your times of sorrow and weakness.

God Bless You friend.

Despair Part 2 : HOPE

When I wrote the first part of this post on Despair, I mentioned that Andrew Peterson in a live web concert was setting up a song about hope when he said,

"When we despair, we are assuming that 

we know how the end will go."

I don't remember which song on his new album he was referring to when he said that. However, Tyson and I finally had a chance to really sit down (in the car) and listen to the lyrics of this amazing lyricist. Wow! I just had to share the lyrics to this song, "In the Night My Hope Lives On" because it echoed so clearly what I was trying to say in my post and what he said in the quote above. 


When we despair, we need to remember God's promises, His greatness. Remembering Him is the key to finding hope and leaving that pit of despair. 
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.



Andrew Peterson
In the Night My Hope Lives On

I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling 
In the darkness with the Fear, in the darkness with the Fear 
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing 
So in the night my hope lives on 

When Elisha woke surrounded by the forces 
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God 
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses 
So in the night my hope lives on 

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding 
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan 
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding 
Still in the night my hope lives on 

I see the armies of the enemy approaching 
And the people driven, trembling, to the shore 
But a doorway through the waters now is opening 
So in the night my hope lives on 


Oh in the night, oh in the night, 
oh in the night, My hope lives on.

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness, 
Too ashamed to lift his head--but if he could lift his head 
He would see his father running from a distance 
In the night my hope lives on 

I can see the crowd of men retreating 
As he stands between the woman and their stones 
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating 
Then in the night my hope lives on 

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary 
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb 
He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried 
And in the night, my hope was gone 

But the rulers of this earth could not control Him 
No, they did not take his life--he laid it down 
All the chains of earth could never hope to hold him 
So in the night my hope lives on


And I can see the Son of Man ascending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn 
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night, my hopes lives on
Oh in the night, oh in the night, 
Oh in the night, my hope lives on