"For unto us, a child is born... his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 Years ago, I purchased a book called GODSPEED by Britt Merrick. I purchased this book after finishing his first book, Big God. For years, GODSPEED sat on my bookshelf.. That was, until, 2 days ago. It was nearly midnight, and I was exhausted, but before getting into bed, I had to step over a pile off stuff. (Also known as: a mess) Sometimes things just end up in random places, due to my constant rearranging, and somehow, GODSPEED happened to end up in the pile of stuff that stood before my bed and myself. Instead of stepping over it, or sliding it to the side, I picked it up, and started reading. I started reading, and I couldn't stop. The book itself is about making Christ's mission your own. You know, getting out there and LIVING your faith. Building relationships. Sharing JESUS! It was such an encouragement to my heart- I finished it in two days! (That says a lot, considering I rarely manage to finish one book a year!) The mission Britt shares in the book is the same mission that is alive in my heart. Britt challenges us to step out of our limiting self-focused lives and step into God's grand mission- to redeem, restore, and renew the world. I loved how this matched up so completely with our little Christmas mission this year. You see, we decided to do something different this year. Our mission started with prayer- praying for our actions to be an extension of Christ, praying for the people we'd encounter to come to know Jesus Christ, and praying for the Holy Spirit to flow freely through us. Our mission took our love for Jesus to the street- to the supermarket, to the shopping center, to the unexpected stranger passing by. We put together small treats- candy bars and Culver's gift cards, and attached a note to them. Upon leaving the house, we pray... and then hand the goodies to the boys. They are in charge of approaching someone, wishing them a Merry Christmas, and delivering the goodies. I wish I had a photo to share with you, but unfortunately we roll old school, and don't have a camera phone. My big Canon would make this pretty awkward, and to be honest, it would take away from the mission's purpose. So, instead, I just have pictures of treats to share! Another part of our mission has involved putting change in soda machines. The boys' have been generous in using the own change for this. It's neat to tape our note to a machine when we enter the store, and then see the note gone when we leave. Friends, I love doing this!
I'm not sure if anyone will come to know Jesus from it or not, but it brings me joy to know we are living this mission for God- and we so desire to bring honor and glory to Him through it. Have you ever been blessed with kindness in an unexpected way? Our family has been the recipient of this sort of kindness three times. There just aren't words to accurately describe just how awesome it is. God works in mysterious ways, and He most certainly works in and through His people. We will continue to carry this mission out long after the Christmas season ends. I'd like to close by sharing a few quotes from Britt's book with you. I hope they stir something in your heart that causes you to want to live at godspeed- bringing new life to where you are, with who you know, in what you are doing, right now. GODSPEED by Britt Merrick "You and I may never set foot outside this country as a missionary, but each of us is just as much a missionary wherever we live." "God designed relationships to thrive on mutual need. When we place ourselves in settings of mutual need, we discover that barriers are brought down, relationships develop, and opportunities to communicate the gospel naturally appear." "When we take time to hear one another's stories, those experiences change the way we feel about each other and the way we do mission." "How much better could we live out this calling if we took the time to really know people? If we learned the backgrounds of those struggling with big moral problems and heard the stories of those most affected by the social issues of today? I don't know if it would make the answers to these issues any clearer, but it would make loving each other easier. And maybe that is the answer." "Did you know that most non-Christians today think you and I see them as projects? Only one out of very three people believe Christians genuinely care about them." "By definition, God IS a relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." "Jesus pursues both the oppressed and the oppressor in mission." "Put simply, God sends us into the world to testify about Jesus, just as He sent the demoniac back to his people to report the great things God had done. Christianity is a "go and tell" life more than it is a "come an see" religion. Often Christians get together and say, "You want to check it out? Come see us." But our faith is based on the nature of God, who always reaches out in love. The pattern in Scripture is that God's activity is not one of entrenchment but of advancement." "It doesn't require any training, because transformation is a witness that can neither be ignored or denied.... the gospel is best heard where it is most clearly seen." Oh how I wish I could share more of the book with you, but then I could very easily end up sharing the entire book! He shares beautiful insight into the Samaritan woman, the demoniac man, Zaccheaus, a leper... I encourage you to read the book! Even more, I encourage you to live at godspeed- after all, it's what you were created for!
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This boy recently celebrated 6! A full hand of fingers, plus one thumb! To celebrate his birthday, our little family spent some time at a local bounce house, and also went to see "Home," which we all agreed is a "two thumbs up" movie. We also had a big pancake feast, because this boy still LOVES his pancakes. What can I say? He exudes sweetness. (And has a sweet tooth, too!) He has a strong sense of justice for what is right and what is wrong. As a mom, it's already quite apparent to me that his little heart seeks to please Jesus. As you grow older, my sweet boy, I pray your heart will continue to seek to please Jesus. I pray that loving and honoring Him will be your heart's greatest desire. How to make a BW in 6 easy steps: 1. You must wear your underwear backwards. (No exceptions!) 2. Your hands must be covered in marker at all times. (Any colors will do.) 3. You have to be really good at finding pennies. (Or quarters. Or dimes. Or nickels.) 4. You also have to be really good at basketball. (Eyes shut, and backwards, too!) 5. You have to have a heart for music. (Listening, dancing, singing, making) 6. You must know how to love a pancake. (How to really love a pancake. See visual below) This is what it looks like to really love a pancake: In celebration of BW's 6th birthday,
we're sharing our top secret, family favorite pancake recipe. (It took a LONG time to find the perfect one, but, with a few adjustments,we've finally mastered pancake perfection!) BW's Perfect Pancakes 1 C homemade buttermilk about 1 3/4 C flour about 3 T honey about 1 1/2 t baking powder about 1/2 t baking soda about 3/4 t salt 2 eggs about 3 1/2 T melted butter some vanilla or a few dashes or cinnamon To make homemade buttermilk: Put 4 1/2 t vinegar in a measuring cup Add milk until it reaches the 1 C line Let sit for 10 minutes. (Easy peasy, right?) To make "Perfect Pancakes" Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients. Add together. Don't overmix. Enjoy!! Last month, Mr. Mustard Seed called me from work,
to tell me that our neighbor, and co-worker of his committed suicide. When I opened our living room shades, I saw the police cars and the man's family members. I stepped outside, crossed the street, and hugged the man's dad. It's hard to find words that capture that type of sadness. The man moved into our neighborhood shortly before winter arrived, and so, we didn't get to know him quite as much as we would have liked. The cold of winter tends to keep people inside. We had recently made plans to cook out with him when the warmth of spring returned. It hurts our hearts to know he was struggling so much. It hurts our hearts to know he was so hopeless. A short while after this happened, Bryce came home with a prayer chain he made at church. One of his chains read, "Dad's work friend." Of course, I knew immediately what those 3 little words meant. Three little words that held so much loss. Yet, at the moment, I also felt an overwhelming sense of love. You see, we pray for our neighbors regularly. Because our neighborhood changes so often, we pray for the people who will one day become our neighbors- we tell God we trust His purpose in bringing them here. We also pray for opportunities to share His good news with them, and that we would be an extension of His love toward them. The little prayer chain showed me that Bryce's love for others isn't confined to the walls of our house. He has a care and love for others that reaches out our front door. I'm writing this post to encourage you to have that type of love- a type of love that reaches out your front door. I'm writing this post to encourage you to love your neighbor, and I encourage your definition of "neighbor" to be broad in definition: your co-workers, your family members, the people who live near you, your mailman, librarian, your fellow church members... Love them. And love them well. What does this type of love look like? I'd start by saying this type of love is born out of kindness and selflessness. It's a simple hello. It's a smile. It's an invitation to dinner. It's sharing a hot dog or brat when you cook out. Sharing an ice cream cone when you eat ice cream. Baking cookies for a new neighbor. Leaving pumpkins or flowers on an elderly neighbors porch. Shoveling sidewalks. Raking leaves. Waving when you drive by. Stopping to say hello. Sharing cards at holidays. Asking someone, "How are you?" with a heart that truly cares. It's asking someone if they need prayer, and committing to pray for them. What do you say, friend? Can you commit to loving your neighbors? Can you reach out to them in love? I know that you can. Let today be the day you set the distractions of life to the side, as you find a way to share sweet kindness with a neighbor. By Bryce, age 5 We've been continuing on with our Peregrina Bible Study, and I can't say enough about it. The boys are learning so much; I am learning so much. I love how it gives us an opportunity to study God's word together, and grow together. A few weeks ago, we finished studying Deuteronomy. We read about the Israelites struggles and problems. We also learned how God wants His people to act when they go into battle. You may not be aware of this, but we are actually in battle every day- battling our selfish flesh for the goodness of God. So, how does God want his people to act when facing these situations? We learned that: -He does not want us to be afraid. -He wants us to remember how he has helped us in the past. -He wants us to listen to wisdom of those who are older, who have studied God's word, and who can give advice and comfort. -He wants us to remember that He doesn't just fight with us; He goes before you, so He can save you. -He will never put you in a battle you can't win. It is up to you to have faith in Him and keep up the good fight. After reading through Deuteronomy 20:1-4, Peregrina had us read Thornton W. Burgess' "When Mr. Bluebird Won His Beautiful Coat." I really enjoyed this little story. It referred to "Mother Nature" but the boys and I talked about that, and the fantasy behind it. Overall, the moral of the story far outweighed the reference to Mother Nature. We spent some time talking about the bluebird story, as well as the struggles the Israelites faced. Dear reader, do you ever feel like you know what's right, but what's wrong seems so much easier? Around the time we read this lesson, we uncovered some hidden food stashes in our house. Notice I said "stashes." Plural. Apparently, Bryce has been hiding food he doesn't want to eat. Now, you'd think at least one of our 2 dogs would've found them, but that was not the case. This study helped us talk about how it might have seemed "easy" to hide the food, but it's definitely more important to be honest. (Bryce has taken a real interest in aiming to be honest, and I know a lot of that is due to the time we've spent studying God's word) It makes me a happy mama, for sure! Dear reader, do you ever feel like you know what's right, but what's wrong seems so much easier? When are some times you find yourself facing this battle? I trust you don't have hidden food stashes around your house, but might you have hidden stashes other places, perhaps within your heart? How can you be ready for the next time you have to fight the good fight? As I continue to work on overcoming my anxieties in life, this lesson caused me to reflect on God's trustworthiness- something I feel I somehow lost sight of. He is the great promise keeper, and has never broken a promise. Not only that, but He's the author of my life, the giver of my salvation, and completely worthy of all my trust. When you find yourself in battle, I hope the things I've shared with you will comfort and encourage you. There is always hope. If you are in need of prayer, please visit my "Say hi!" page, and send me a message. I would love to pray for you. Ashton, age 8.
If you're interested in sharing the Peregrina studies with your family, they can be found here, and are completely free: Peregrina Studies This boy will make wishes tomorrow. This boy will eat cake and open presents. This boy will celebrate. This boy. This boy has helped me capture the moments of life more beautifully. More intentionally. It seems like just yesterday you stood, excited on the front steps, as you saw snow for the first time. This boy.
This boy is joyful beyond measure. This boy shows sincere kindness beyond his 8 years. This boy cares for his brother with such tenderness and love. It's impressive. Sometimes I wonder how God squeezed so much joy into one small boy. He knew what he was doing when he created you, my sweet boy. He knew this mama needed a boy with a giant sized heart, with a sparkle in his eye, with kindness in his soul. This boy. We have much to celebrate, you see- this boy- this boy has taught me much about motherhood, about love, about living life joyfully. As hard as it is to see your little hands become bigger hands, and your little footprints become bigger footprints, to see your shadow race to catch my shadow, I am blessed. I am thankful. I am joyful- because of you, my sweet boy. Because of you and the endless joy you bring to my life. Thank you. So many memories made. So many memories yet to make. Love, Mom *Please note, the videos seem to lack sound.* Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix this. If you know how, I'd be grateful if you could help a girl out! :) The other night I was swept away by the beautiful snowflakes dancing across the lavender sky. This photo was taken the day after my previous blog post. As you may know, I shared a struggle in that post. Even though the struggle continues, the hope perseveres. God is faithful. Have you ever noticed the lavender skies of winter? Winter sunsets seem to hold different colors than summer sunsets. In the stillness of the photo above, I was reminded of God's care for me. The night I took this photo, my lil fam went to eat at our favorite fast food restaurant. We placed our order, and took our seats. Soon enough, our food arrived. We started eating and enjoying each other's company,. when the waitress suddenly returned. She told us that someone paid for icecream for Mr. Sunshine and BW. Someone had blessed our family with kindness. We asked the waitress to thank the person. We talked to the boys about joy, thankfulness and blessing others with kindness. Since that night, I've thought often about the blessing in that moment, and the kindness that stranger showed. The stranger didn't know us, our hearts, or our troubles. They just reached out in love, with kindness. And we were blessed. That stranger's kindness caused me to reflect on the "one anothers" in Scripture. Are you familiar with the "one anothers"? Do you know how many are in the Bible, friend? There are 59. 59 exhortations to do good toward one another. I'd like to share a few of them with you: "Love one another." John 15:17 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." Romans 12:10 "Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10 "Instruct one another." Romans 15:14 "Have equal concern for one another." 1 Corinthians 12:25 "Serve one another in love." Galatians 5:13 "Carry each other's burdens." Galatians 6:2 "In humility, consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3 "Build each other up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Encourage one another daily." Hebrews 3:13 "Spur one another on towards love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24 "Don't grumble against each other." James 5:9 "Confess your sins to each other." James 5:16 "Pray for each other." James 5:16 "Love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 3:8 What do you think, friend? It's quite a wonderful list of ways to show kindness toward one another. Will you do something for me, friend? Will you spend some time thinking about these "one anothers"? My friend, Casey, over at Simple Joy Crafting recently blogged about the importance of God's words being in our hearts, and "writing His words on our doorposts." I plan on posting some of the "one anothers" around my house. Let's serve one another, have concern for one another, encourage one another, and build each other up. Let's not grumble against one another. Let's carry each other's burdens, let's pray for each other. Let's love one another, friend. Let's love one another well. Great are God's commands; Great is His faithfulness. It's an honor to live out His commands, and It's a joy to bless one another with kindness. Hey there, dear reader. I'm glad you're here today. Today I'm going to share my hard with you. Today, I'm going to share my broken. What exactly is my broken? My broken is a combination of misfit feelings- loneliness, struggle, worry, fear. Perhaps you know some of them, too? I will be sharing the bare bones details of my current hardships. A few bits of hard. Maybe you can pray for the bits? Will you? Thanksgiving day was a seemingly "normal" day here. Mr. Mustard Seed had to work all day, and so the littles and I spent the day together. They helped me make pretty pumpkin pies, and I cooked a turkey feast. We celebrated together when Mr. Mustard Seed came home. It was a sweet time together- our cozy little family, gathered together, with hearts of thankfulness. There's brokenness in my extended family, and brokenness is hard. I found myself missing the extended family feeling, or at least my idea of what that should be like. I suppose the feeling was not without reason, yet it caught me off guard. Mr. Mustard Seed and I have always been a rock star team. We've always handled the hardships of life together, and I know it's that rock star togetherness has helped root our relationship. Sometimes we struggle together with the loneliness in the hardship. Perhaps you know that loneliness too? Sometimes I think that the loneliness in hardship is almost more difficult than the hardship itself. When I find myself facing a large trial, I shrink. My heart longs to be spurred on, encouraged, hugged. But I shrink. I feel lonely, I feel like hiding. And it takes strength to tell myself, "Self, you can't hide." I know hiding lets the devil win. I know hiding keeps me from the goodness God wants me to grow in me. I refuse to let it hinder the refining of my soul. Yesterday, I pushed through. I pushed through and went to church- afraid I would cry. Afraid I would feel alone. Or bottle up. Or shrink. But I pushed through, because I know there's a greater good in all of this. The first song we sang was, "Happy Day." Do you know that song? I was worried I was going to cry, and you know what? I did. I held BW in my arms, fixed my eyes on the screen, and sang praises to my Savior. And I cried- big, salty, soggy tears. And you know what? In that moment, the only thing that mattered was the song I was singing. In my brokenness, Jesus met me there. And then my pastor started teaching. He taught from the book of Acts. He shared about the numerous hardships Paul faced- -riots (Acts 19:23-41, 23:6-10) -assassination attempts (Acts 20:3, 23:12-22, 25:1-5) -imprisonment and house arrest (Acts 24, 28:14-31) I'd never really thought about how hard Paul's life really was. And you know what? Through his hardships, the words of Jesus were fulfilled. And despite the seemingly hopeless circumstances of his life, he repeatedly shared a message of hope with others. Paul's hope was not a temporary earthly hope. Paul's hope was an eternal hope, firmly rooted in his faith in Jesus Christ as the risen Savior. Of course, all of this caused me to reflect on my current situation. I immediately felt convicted and knew I was living a defeated life in my current hardships. My eyes were focused on the struggle within my circumstance, and not focused on the goodness and grace of my Savior in the circumstance. And I recognized the sin in my struggle. Lately I've found myself pondering two questions: Am I willing to suffer for Jesus? And if so, how much? I know I need to live my life like Paul- a life of eternal hope. A life that glorifies God, even in the broken. I can suffer for my Savior, after all- look how much my Savior suffered for me. Suffering is not without reason; it's in our broken that we are refined and made new. And that, my friends, is a beautiful thing. "Oh, what a glorious day, what a glorious way, that you have saved me." -Tim Hughes, "Happy Day" -found beach art, Sanibel Island, Florida. May 2014.
When you hear the word "obedience," what do you think of? In the past, my definition / expectation of the word "obedience" was easily summed up with the word "listening." If you listen to to what you're being asked to do, you're showing obedience, right? It sounded simple enough to me! At church yesterday, my Pastor briefly touched on the subject of obedience. He summed it up with 3 quick descriptions. Obedience is: 1. Immediate 2. Complete 3. Without complaining Of course, this caused me to reflect on my own definition. How did my definition match up with this? And, most importantly, how have I been living this out- in my walk with Jesus, in my role as a wife, and in my role as a mom? How often am I lazy? How often am I incomplete? How often do I complain? What does my picture of obedience look like? As I reflected on my thoughts on obedience, I quickly realized how lacking they were. Obedience is so much more than just "listening." Let's see what the Bible says about it: Romans 6:16-17 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 2 Corinthians 2:9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 1 Peter 1:4 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. When I look at my spiritual obedience, I feel convicted by the biblical definition. If you are saved by God's grace, your obedience to His word should be lived out in your every day life every single day, and should be done to the glory of God- completely, immediately, and without complaining. I feel even more convicted when I think of my Savior, and the obedience He showed on the cross- Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Romans 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Hebrews 5:7-9 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And, being made perfect, he became the source of salvation to all who obey him. Wow! How powerful is that?! How amazing, how beautiful. Up until today, I never thought much about the cross being a picture of obedience. Sure, I knew Jesus was obedient, but I never thought about it like this. I guess I never thought about it enough. Not until I stopped to reflect on this wonderful word- obedience. As some of you may know, I've been reading a special book to my boys at night- Mighty Warrior by Sheri Rose Shepherd. (love. this. book!) It's a collection of love letters from God, written to boys. My boys look forward to this every single night, and it's led to some really great conversations. After reading it a few weeks ago, we talked about their "favorite Bible words." BW said, "Luke and John," and Mr. Sunshine said, "joy and obedience." Since that day, it's been awesome to see how much this little word "o" word has been brought into our lives. I feel so blessed to be an example of obedience to my boys, as well as encourage them to live their lives obediently, too. Keep reading! We started our homeschool today. We're using a free bible study from the peregrina website. You can find it here: http://peregrina1.wordpress.com/daily-bible-studies/ It has lessons for every day of the year, further study questions, journal prompts and memory verses. It's pretty nifty! Our memory verse this week is: Psalm 119:9: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to The word." I made some discussion questions which centered around the meanings of "pure" and "Thy Word." After finishing this study, we moved onto our Draw to Learn the Psalms book- published by the Notgrass company. Today was our first day diving into this study. I am so excited about this book, guys- seriously! It's great! The boys had so much fun with it! They are very excited to know we'll be using it every day. Today's lesson centered around Psalm 1, and their drawing page was captioned with: "The person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night is like..." Oh guys! How awesome! Do you see how this ties in with memory verse for the week? Do you see how both of them weave in the opportunity to talk about obedience? The best way to keep your way pure is not only to read God's Word every day, but to be OBEDIENT to it. Every. single. day. So, what is that person like- the person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night? That person is obedient!
That person is fruitful! Do you see the hills? The stream? The tree bursting with fruit? The boy under (or above, hehe) the tree, with a great big happy smile? Guys, this is what it looks like to be obedient! Obedience to God's Word produces fruit. It produces LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF CONTROL. I've decided to give our homeschool a theme this year. Anyone wanna guess what our theme might be? Yep, you guessed it: Obedience! What is obedience? Obedience is immediate. It's complete, and it's without complaining. We all face struggles, we all spend some time in the valleys of the hills, but when we are disciplined and obedient to God's Word, We are never too far from His perfect grace, and the life, joy and hope it brings. My family celebrated Thanksgiving differently this year.
This is the first year we've celebrated alone. Just the four of us. I know that may be normal for some people, but it's not normal for us. Yesterday, I found myself feeling grateful to my Jesus- for all the things he's shown me the past two years. And I cried. I cried good tears- my heart filled with His joy- joy of the lasting sort. In years passed, I would have probably hidden out today. I probably would have jealous tugs at my heart as I watched neighbors leave to celebrate with their families. I would have felt pity on myself, thinking of what could have been. But that's not what happened today. Nope, not at all. Instead, I found myself embracing the small moments today. You know, the little things. The things I may have missed if we would have celebrated on a bigger scale. On a normal Thanksgiving, I'd probably be thankful for my family, health, home- you know, the "usual thanksgiving things." Of course there's nothing wrong with being thankful for those things, and I am thankful for these things; This Thanksgiving is different for me. In the quiet, solitude of my home today, I found myself thanking Jesus for... -The sweet note Mr. Mustard Seed left for the boys and me today. (He's working all day today.) -The happiness I feel knowing Mr. Mustard Seed starts his week of tomorrow. --The snowflakes that danced around outside my window. -The little phone calls we received, and the sweet care behind them. -The boy's friendship; how kindly they play. Their love for one another. -My first "made-by-me" Thanksgiving meal actually turning out. (I've messed 3 recipes up in the last week, so this is a small miracle!) -The time the boys and I had outside, exploring animal tracks, admiring snowflakes. -My church family and their love for my family and me, the care and accountability we share with one another. -Christian Family Radio, and the songs that ministered to my heart today. -The kindness of a neighbor who shoveled for me today. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 John MacArthur's Bible Commentary says this: "The word 'burden' implies one's circumstances, one's lot. The psalmist promises that the Lord will hold the believer in the struggles of life." This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the work the Lord has been doing to show me I CAN find complete contentment in knowing Jesus as my Savior, and His amazing, unfailing love for me. Thank you, Jesus, thank you for loving me. A little video of the Fantastic Okapi singing a sweet song he created. I love how joyful he is to let his love for Jesus shine through. Sweet boy of mine, let your little light shine! |
AuthorThis page is dedicated to living my life on mission for the King of my heart, and planting seeds of love and hope along the way. |