Easter Box

Every year my parents send us a box brimming with bright colored grass, creatively decorated eggs, and squeezable stuffed animals.  My children anticipate the arrival of this box the entire month before Easter.

Don't you just want to dig in and find the eggs?

  
When we received notice in our mailbox that we had a package waiting for us at the post office, we weren't positive it was the Easter box.  I had ordered several school books for next year and they were also supposed to arrive.  When the woman brought out the box, we knew without a doubt it was what the kids had been waiting for.  Pieces of grass were poking from the lid. 

Thanks Mom and Dad for this special box.

Learning Fair

One of the highlights of the school year is the Chil Learning Fair.  Students and classes bring the projects they have worked on throughout the year to share with the group.  My kids enjoy the evening of sharing their work and seeing what their friends have been doing.

Samuel did his project on coins and even shared his collection.

Gabrielle learned about wolves and enjoyed locating pictures that displayed her research.

Rebekah researched leopards and even had a stuffed animal to add to her display.

All three of them worked hard to research their information and did a great job displaying it creatively.  Another Learning Fair is in the books.

The footsteps of Jesus

 

“’Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’”  Mt. 4:19

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  ‘Follow me,’ he told him…”  Mt. 9:9.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”  Mt. 16:24.

Follow me.  Jesus didn’t suggest or highly recommend following him.  He commanded it.  If we are to obey his command, we must study the footsteps of Jesus.

Jesus’s footsteps took him down the mountain side as crowds of needy people pressed in on him, hoping to be healed, saved, or set free.  Mt. 8:1

His footsteps took him upon the waves of the billowing sea where he reached out his hand to lift his fearful disciple from the waves.  Mt. 14:25-31.

His footprints embedded the dust on the roads as he visited different towns telling the people about God’s kingdom.  Mt. 4:23

His feet dampened as he walked along the lake shore where a demon possessed man, fell at his feet and begged at the top of his lungs to be set free.  Mk. 5:1-7.

His footsteps took him into the synagogue to teach.  Mt. 12:9

His footprints landed beside the disciple’s prints in the dusty road as he walked next to them, training them, teaching them, equipping them for the birth of the church.  Mk. 8:27-31.

His feet labored with agony as he walked the road outside of town that lead to Golgotha, carrying the heavy wooden cross upon his beaten back.  Jn 19:17. 

His footsteps took him to the home of a disciple where he broke bread after his resurrection.  Lk. 24:13-15

His feet moistened with morning dew as he prepared fish for the breakfast he was going to share with his disciples before he ascended into heaven.  Jn. 21:1

Jesus’s footsteps took him to needy, desperate, and hurting people.  They took him to teach and to heal.  They took him to do things that are impossible for man.  And ultimately they took him to the cross where he would offer himself for the sins of the whole world so that anyone who believed in him could have eternal life. 

“’Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”  Mt. 16:24.

 

Am I ready to follow those footsteps?

It doesn’t matter if I am because, it isn’t a choice.  It’s a command.

“As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”  Rom. 10:15.

Discouragement

The last month or two has been a real struggle and I have been dealing with discouragement to an extent which I have never experienced before.  Last night I was really being bombarded with it and this passage just "happened" to my devotions for the day.

Isaiah 42:5-12

Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and its offspring,

who gives breath to the people on it,

and spirit to those who walk in it,

"I am the Lord, I have called you in rightousness,

I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you,

and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,

as a light to the nations,

To open blind eyes,

to bring out prisoners from the dungeon

and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

I am the Lord, that is My name;

I will not give My glory to another,

nor My praise to graven images.

Behold, the former things have come to pass,

now I declare new things;

Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

Sing to the Lord a new song, 

Sing His praise from the end of the earth!

You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it.

You islands, and those who dwell on them.

Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, 

the settlements where Kedar inhabits.

Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, 

Let them shout for joy from the tops of mountains.

Let them give glory to the Lord

and declare His praise in the coastlands.

10 Commandments

This weekend we made a quick trip down to Georgia.  On the way down we stopped in N. Carolina at the world's largest 10 commandments.

The little spots on top of the wall at the top of the hill are the girls and me raising our hands.  It is 343 steps to get up there.

Happy 10th Birthday

Step One:  Invite friends.


 


Step Two:  Play Games.

The girls mummified each other with a little (or a lot) of TP.

Part of the game was creativity, which you can see expressed in the poses each girl chose.

I never knew a mummy to smile so brightly.

We also played the taste game, which was my favorite.  I had the girls taste different foods (green bean baby food, lemon juice, plain yogurt, ketchup, you get the idea) with their eyes closed.  They didn't think the food choices were all that great.  Imagine that!

 Step Three:  Eat Cake

Step Four:  Open presents.  Sorry we have no picutres, but Rebekah's friends knew just what she liked.

Teach me to pray!

One of the many things that I have found myself asking God over the last few months is that He would teach me how to pray.  More than just the “Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub.”  I believe that there is power in prayer and many times we just don’t get it.  I have learned a few things in the process.

Naturally a good place to start would be in Luke chapter 11 where the disciples say to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Jesus then proceeds to set an example for them that we are all familiar with.  (I think every one of us has memorized it in the KJV, but I am going to attack it in the NASB, just to mix it up a little.)

“Father, hallowed be Your name.”

Ok, I get that.  We want to be worshipping God and lifting His name high above all others.

“Your kingdom come.”

Again, this makes sense.  I want God’s will to be done and I want Him to be glorified.

“Give us each day our daily bread.”

Good, now we’re getting down to food.  I do enjoy a good loaf of bread sometimes and….  Hang on a second!  He said “Give us each day our daily bread.”  He’s talking about seeking Him every day for our needs for that day.  We can probably skip that part.  I mean, I can run down to the grocery store and the only tough part is deciding if I want white, wheat, rye, sourdough, seven grain, generic, name brand, French, parmesan, garlic, Italian, seeds on top, split top, or brown.  Actually I have been eating a lot of bread lately and it sits on the counter so long it goes bad; maybe I shouldn’t even get some bread.  Hmm…  What am I hungry for?  Well, I guess I’m not really that hungry right now.  I did have kind of a big breakfast.

I think I see the problem.  I don’t need God.  WHAT???????  Yeah I think that’s the problem.  I mean He did that whole sending His son to die for our sins and I am thankful for that, but, I really don’t need Him.  I’ve got this all covered.  If I need food, I go buy it.  (Ok, Holly actually does that, for which I am eternally grateful, but you know what I mean.)  If the car needs gas, I go buy it.  If its dark in the house, I flip the lights on.  Too hot or too cold, I adjust the thermostat.  Sick, go see the doctor.  I think you get the picture.  What do I need God for?

This got me thinking about the story of the rich young ruler.  (Since we’re already in Luke, we’ll stick with it, chapter 18.)  I believe this young man came to Jesus with the best of intentions.  He truly wanted part of this eternal life Jesus was speaking of.  But Jesus saw the man and knew what was important to him.  Jesus knew that the most important thing to this man was his possessions, and he had a lot.  So Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it all to the poor.  This is where Jesus brings out what is inside the man.  His priority was his stuff.  He didn’t need Jesus, and he certainly didn’t need to ask him for his daily bread.

I don’t believe that Jesus was sending the message that “stuff” is inherently bad, but it definitely gets in our way.  All my stuff gets in the way of me getting to see God work.  It takes away the need to rely upon God.  I read a story of a man from Sudan who came to the US and was in awe of how much we have.  (Paraphrasing here because I don’t have the exact quote.)  He said “You don’t need God here.  You come to church and flip a light switch to turn the lights on.  We have to pray for those things.”

In full disclosure, I sit here in my Lazy Boy writing this.  In my nice warm house with a fire going in the stove, and not a bit of hunger within me.  I probably won’t even be that hungry by the time breakfast rolls around.  So what do I do about this?  How do I get to the place where I am relying upon God?  Well, for starters, if you are interested in the nice warm house with the fire in the stove, let me know and we can talk numbers.  But this is part of the reason we are trying to jump off the diving board and go to the mission field.  We want to see God move.  We want to be a part of what He is doing around the world.  God has already shown us that there is absolutely nothing we can do to get us there.  I mean I could spend the rest of my years relaxing in this nice house with four bedrooms, two baths, hardwood, dual zone heat pump… ok, now I’m just shamelessly trying to sell it.  But that’s not what I want.  I want to live a life that is not safe, or predictable, or comfortable.  I want to need God.  That’s when we learn how to pray.

Party Preparations

Rebekah had her 10th birthday party on Saturday, but before the friends arrived there was some decorating to do.  

Rebekah wanted a cookie cake this year.

Gabby helped the birthday girl decorate a rainbow. 

It was so colorful you needed a close up shot to get the maximum blessing.  Can you guess what the black design is?

Answer:  Not an m.  It is a bird.  

Wow 10.  What a blessing Bek has been to our lives.  We love you Bek.

God's Confetti

One Sunday morning as I sat with a friend waiting for Sunday school to start, we watched snowflakes gracefully drift to the ground.  They were in no hurry to land, but seemed to be enjoying the journey through air, floating back and forth on the breeze.

My friend smiled and said, "I've always thought of snowflakes as being God's confetti."

The statement struck me and got me thinking about God's pleasure in his creation.  Yesterday I caught a picture of God's confetti and the Psalm that we are studying for class drifted into my thoughts as I watched the flakes enjoy their descent.

 

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.  O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.  Psalm 131