Reflections from a week of remembering.

 Dying leaves scattered on a rocky path;

 withering reminders of short-lived enthusiasm.

Roosters crowing in the gray dawn;

 piercing recollections of bravely-spoken promises

 that melt away when our hearts turn coward.

But the Lord be praised, it is not our pitiful performances,

 but the finished work of Him who

"was wounded for our transgressions....

bruised for our iniquities"

that we are called to remember.

HE IS RISEN!!!! and so the believers have confidence

 in all He has promised!

"Buried with Him in baptism, 

wherein also ye are risen with Him

 through the faith of the operation of God,

 who hath raised Him from the dead. 

And you, being dead in your sins....

hath he quickened together with him,

 having forgiven you all trespasses."

 - Colossians 2:12-13

"If ye then be risen with Christ,

 seek those things which are above,

 where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Set your affections on things above, 

not on things on the earth. 

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,

 then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

 - Colossians 3:1-4

"

A matter of Perspective.

I have been reading through two books in the evenings, alternating between them because of the refreshing differences in topic and difficulty. However, the other night after reading a few pages of each, I came to the amused realization that despite being written on different continents, in different centuries, my two "different" books were sounding uncannily similar.  Here is an excerpted portion of what I read that night:

"For it is indeed true that none of us has a right to exercise authority, in things great or small, except as we are, and acknowledge ourselves to be, deputed by the One Supreme and Ultimate Authority."
-Charlotte Mason, Homeschooling Series, Vol. 3


"Clear thinking about the function of discipline illustrates the importance of seeing yourself as God's agent, called by God to be in charge. If correction orbits around the parent who has been offended, then the focus will be venting anger or, perhaps, taking vengeance. The function is punitive. If, however, correction orbits around God as the One offended, then the focus is restoration. The function is remedial. It is designed to move a child who has disobeyed God back to the path of obedience. It is corrective."  - Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart


Where does our authority as parents stem from? Interestingly, our actual disciplinary action/ method might look the same. But this perspective takes out all the fuming, "how DARE they disrespect MEEE like that!" I don't suppose the police officer takes it personally that someone was speeding, even when because of his court-appointed position, he writes out the ticket. I want to see myself as God's agent for bringing up HIS children in HIS ways, instead of ruling MY children so that they do things MY way, and above all, don't embarrass MEEEEE!.

ALH<><

quiet

...quiet. I shut the curtains on half a dozen tan smiles. I know that our piece of sidewalk is nicer for sitting on because it has a lower level for you feet, but somehow I feel watched. And at the same time, guilty for wanting to crawl in my nice safe hole, when I came here to tell them about the One who will "in no wise cast out". The kids are in bed - half of them fell asleep a few minutes after the light went out. Taylor's working late trying to be ready for cut over at work next week. For once, I don't even feel like turning on the music. Somehow the duet of the box fan and the crickets is too pleasant to interrupt. This week has been something. It's the busiest week of the year for Taylor at work, but he's done such a good job to try to be around and supportive for us. As I look at the roses he gave me on the table, I'm thankful all over again for his thoughtfulness. Levi's broken collar bone seems to be healing fine, but has left him just a little bit whiny. Plus, I miss him every time I want something heavy carried in and have to go back and do it myself. :) It seems like the Lord may be moving to open up the study lounge downstairs, as it seems He has dropped the lynch-pin assistant into our laps. This leaves us with lots of planning and prep work to begin. And is very Exciting!! Or rather it should be. My brain is just. so. tired.

I know that He knows exactly what He's doing. And I can't wait to find out what it is. I also know that His timing is perfect...and that THIS week, I will do what he has given me to do THIS week.

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you..."

"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

New life...a "birth story"

For the past six months or so, Levi has been asking real questions about God, people, and being a follower of Christ. We'd been encouraged to see him waking up to what God says is a reality...that we can't come to God on our own, in our sin...but that God himself has provided one Way for our rescue: faith that Jesus' work on our behalf is accepted before God now and forever. Faith that as He was raised from the dead, He is able to give us the new life He has promised us...a life in sweet relationship with the God that made us and gave Himself for us. Levi kept asking questions, and we kept prayerfully answering him. For several weeks, as we prayed before bed, his "thank you" for the day, would be "that I am still thinking about being a Christian"...thinking about being, but not a Christian yet. For our oldest, it wasn't like that. She understood the gift of the gospel, and she took it. Levi, he understood the gift, and then spent the next month or two thinking it over. Finally, last Tuesday, he walked into the kitchen during quiet time and asked, "where's Papa?" "In his office", I told him. "Oh, I guess I can talk to you or him -  When will he come home? It's important." I stopped what I was doing, struck by how serious my silly almost 6 year old was being. I asked him what he wanted to talk to Papa about.  "I want to talk to him about being baptized," he said. (He and Glory have been reading through Acts together at night.) We decided to go out to Papa's office together and talk about it. After going over the gospel again with him, Taylor told Levi that it was great to talk to us about wanting to be saved and go to heaven, but that he was going to have to talk to God about it. What happened next was one of those thing that Mamas "hide in their hearts" like scripture says Mary did. My big mouth little boy, who has voiced little prayers since before he was quite understandable, was suddenly shy. He closed his eyes and in a little voice that was almost in tears, he asked, "Dear Lord, PLEASE give me a new heart. Amen." Does he have a lot of growing to do in understanding this God he belongs to? Yup. So do I. Did I have to spank him the very day after he was baptized? Yes, but then again, being born again is not a "'get out of growing up' free card". ;) Yet, I believe the angels in heaven were rejoicing last Tuesday...because my Levi finally decided he'd "Rather Have Jesus".

Sitting with Ruth

"Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.." Ruth 3: 18

We are REALLY excited to see what the Lord is planning. We spent this weekend scouting out a town that we are considering moving to. Puyo seems to be what we were hoping from the research we had done. It is large enough to have good internet and a tiny university. It is a market center for a fairly large area, as it is the first "large" (20,000 people?) town you come to coming out of the jungle. There seems to be a legitimate need for the literature and Bible Study we hope to bring with us, as it does not seem like there is a lot of work already being done there. There are a few believers there, but they are fairly isolated.  (Case in point, as we were passing out tracts Saturday, a man we had passed several streets back chased us down after reading the tract to find out where we were from and who we were with. He was a believer who was very happy to talk about the Lord's things on the sidewalk with our friend Wilson for probably 20 minutes.)

In order to move, we need:

 internet for Taylor's job - at least what searching we have done seems to indicate that it will be adequate.

a house - on our first walk around the town we found one for rent that seems to have much of what we were looking for. (Me and my not liking to wait like Ruth...I am trying not to be anxious that someone else will rent it...I believe my man when he tells me, "If the Lord wants us to rent it, it will still be there when we need it", but this sitting still thing is HARD!)

an acceptable place to have this baby - we made same day e-mail contact with a Dr. at the mission hospital that is less than 20 min. away, and are very pleased with what he told us. The facilities are very good, there are two gen. practice physicians there...AND a nurse midwife!

Last, it would be very beneficial if we had a vehicle before we moved - and today...we got an offer for our van we left for sale in the States for enough to finish off what we need to buy a truck here. Things are looking excitingly hopeful! Pray with us as we wait to "know how the matter will fall"?

Fair Gratitude

The kids and I were reading in The Giant Killer, by A.L.O.E. the other day, and got to the part where the champion finds and rescues the fair maiden, Gratitude. Her enemy, the giant Pride, had chased her until she had gotten lost in the dreary swamp called Forgetfulness. I couldn't help but smile, because the night before, I had been so enjoying Ann Voskamp's blog post about the very thing. And oh wait...what I read with Glory that day was Romans 1, about how they were inexcusable who knew God, but glorified Him not as God - and neither were they THANKFUL. I'm still working on the nitty-gritty of how to keep this focus of gratitude in my life in practical ways. But at least I get it, that this is something that I need focus on, because it seems to be something that my King puts a premium on...and something very, very healthy for the hearts of His children.

Another one?

Somehow I find that a blog can be like a kitchen drawer. I could have one, and throw everything in together...family updates, kid pictures, homeschool resources, personal journaling...but this could get messy. ;) OR...I could have two or three and organize things a little. That is the hope here. I kept not blogging because what I was thinking didn't seem to "fit" anywhere. Also, the audience for our family blog is much broader than those who would care about my random rambles most likely. ;)  So...now I have a drawer to put my thoughts in. :D