How Important Is It?

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance.

The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

~C. S. Lewis

Has it become moderately important to you?

A Victory

**Warning: Shameless bragging ahead. I apologize in advance. Since I have no baby books recording first steps, first tooth, first hiccup, I should at least record somewhere an accomplishment that my children and their parents (us) were impressed with that did not involve how much food was packed away into their stomachs in a 45 second time span.




This guy is a machine. We enrolled our children in the AWANA program at our church in September. He has taken on the books and the verses like a beast. A beast of memorizing that cannot be stopped.

He just won 1st place in the "Belt of Truth" competition having memorized and recited the most verses. He was the last man standing in the stand off, so to speak.

Since September he has logged away 65 plus verses in his noggin as well as the entire Psalm 103.
He also has completed 2 full books in this short time there. This alone has earned him the "shortest- time - for- someone- to- accomplish- so- many- discovery- assignments" title in this particular AWANA club this year.

As his momma, I am proud as punch! I think I'll reward him with a haircut.

This girl too has been driven. She won 3rd place in the "Belt of Truth" competition beating out girls in the 6th grade. I have been so impressed with her independence in this feat and her confidence.

I really wish that I could say that somehow I am responsible for this. That I had some sort of great system that I trained them in, kept them accountable and rewarded their diligence.

But, umm...no.

I had no idea that they were doing as well as they were until some other parent told me. Awkward?

Yes.

My only contribution to these babies accomplishments has been keeping their T&T duds clean. I can't really brag about that because they have been known to attend AWANA with ketchup on their shirts.

Oh, and I have rescued an occasional book from Baby Mys chubby grasp who likes to mercilessly scribble on them. She doesn't like to be left out.

They do however come by their great memorizing ability honestly.

Or not.

I have been trying to memorize a verse a week myself using the igoogle application for memorizing scripture. Although it's great and I am memorizing. It does not come easily, but rather goes easily.

Week 1 the verse is memorized, week 2 and 3 new ones are added. I then try to recall what week 1's verse was and for the life of me I cannot remember a single thing about the verse or where I might find it in the Bible and the 3 post it notes that it was scribbled on can no where be found. They have now joined the missing sock pairs, baby toothbrush and pencil sharpeners that are never to be located again.

I figure that the Holy Spirit is more than able to help me recall the verse when it might be needed the most. So I continue to plow through anyway.
Although, it would be nice not to be shown up consistently by my children who ramble off verses by the tens, and laugh at my feeble attempts to recall one.

I blame it on television and video games. I watched far too much as a child and played way too much as well.

Darn Pacman.

Let this be a warning to you young mothers. :)

So young man and baby girl, I am VERY proud of you both!

Love, your mama xo

p.s. You both may be better at memorizing, but I got you beat in the dancing department. I do a mean polka and you know it.

Randomness

On children ~

You know you let your 4 yr. old watch too much Veggie Tales when you hear him indignant after being kicked out of his sisters room open up the door one last time to bellow at them
"I'll have you know that I am no ordinary tomatoe!!"

On husbands ~

Hearing him talk on the phone to a customer... loving how professional, intelligent, and funny he sounds and thinking that you can't wait until you have him all to yourself later.

On homeschooling ~

Marking and explaining Algebra is no more fun or exciting than doing Algebra was.

On spring ~

Man, I need to shave my legs more often.

On exercise ~

Why, oh why does this just not get easier...and why when taking a very small break 4weeks does it feel like you have never run in your life or used your legs or lungs before, for that matter.

On chocolate ~

Must find 12 stepper for this...it is getting reeediculous.

On teenage boys ~

It matters not on how much food that you make, you CANNOT fill their bottomless stomachs with all the food prep in the world. While you eat your small salad with a large side of air, they consume every morsel of food in site plus some. And yet my abs are nowhere to be found and he has a 6 pack.
No fair.

On the movie "Amazing Grace" ~

I loved, LOVED this. Relating with how William Wilberforce delighted in the Lord, was giddy to just spend time with Him. Seeing his internal struggle with what God was calling him too.
We are to delight fully in the Lord AND we are called to action. Williams physical suffering, personal sacrifice, and persecution all for the cause to which He was called.
The triumphant ending resulting in myself consumed by the ugly cry and much partaking of chocolate.

On giving your almost 12 yr old boy his own cool multi-tip screw driver and leaving various electronics unattended ~

Don't.

On writers bloggers block ~

You end up with some weird, makes no sense contents of your head poured out for all to see, post.

sorry.

On trusting God ~

He is faithful. And I am humbly grateful.





p.s. Feel free to leave your own randomness in the comments..I would love to read them.

Children Won't Wait

"There is a time to treasure every fleeting minute of their childhood. Just eighteen precious years to inspire and train them.

We will not exchange this birthright for a mess of pottage called social position, or business success or professional reputation.

An hour of concern today may save years of heartache tomorrow, the house will wait, the dishes will wait, the new room can wait, but children don't wait.

There will be a time when there will be no slamming of doors, no toys on the stairs, no childhood quarrels, no fingerprints on the wallpaper.

Then may we look back with joy and not regret. God give us wisdom to see that today is the day with our children.That there is no unimportant moment in their lives.

May we know that no other career is so precious, no other work so rewarding, no other task so urgent. May we not defer it nor neglect it, but by Thy Spirit accept it gladly, joyously, and by Thy grace realize that the time is short and our time is now, for children won't wait!"

~Helen Young

Resolve to live this day like you won't get it back, because...

well, you won't.

Not for the Faint of Heart

You are thinking that she looks cute perched here.

It all looks rather harmless.

How about now?





No, my baby girl is not perched on a fence post while I lie on the ground so that I can get cute photos of her.


Why do you ask?




I would never be that terrible and crazy as a mother.

I assure those of you that are having heart palpitations at this moment that tradesman is very much close by. I had to crop him out of the pictures.

She was quite proud of herself.

Really, it was all her idea.

A Fruitful Sacrifice

"To many in my generation, my decision to stay home is a fruitless sacrifice, a waste of feminine intelligence and abilities.

To me, though, it is a small sacrifice if by it I can send my children into the next generation bursting with spiritual life ready to change their world for Christ. Fruitless? Only by the world's standards. By God's it is a fruitful sacrifice that will yield a harvest of righteousness."

~Sally Clarkson in the book "Seasons of a Mothers heart"






Tend to your seedlings mommas.



Love,

I Belong to You

Tears fall on the dark wood floor. My shoulders, they feel so heavy. The weight is unbearable, how I ache to put it down.

This burden of my sin. It cuts deep knowing that after all that He did for me, I still so easily fail Him. His death means freedom from eternal punishment, His resurrection means hope, new life and yet, I still weep.

I know that He is my everything, my all and all and I long to please Him.

Oh Father, how I long to please you.

I wander aimlessly around lost in my thoughts these last couple of days in the aftermath of the Easter weekend.

I reflect at how Jesus still seems to get brushed to the side no matter how much I vow to put Him front and center. I promise every year it will be different. I add new traditions, I am intentional, but in all its planned purpose, it still lacks.

Can we really ever be reverent enough, can we really ever dwell on His holiness, His sacrifice in a way that will satisfy our innermost desire to embrace His suffering and death to the point that somehow we will have given it justice.

Never.

I am human. I am selfish. I will always be at a loss.
Each day as I lay here at His feet, I again realize that it's daily.

Deny, Deny, Deny.

I will deny my flesh. I NEED to deny my flesh.

My humanness is a mess, always such a mess. He is perfect, blameless and He loves...Oh, how my Saviour loves.

I shield my eyes from the mess, the gory, brutal mess of my first love hanging there on that cross. His blood it drips and spills, pours out for me and I feel hot tears fresh on my face. I watch them drip on the floor and marvel at how broken I am yet again.

You bring me to my knees, your love for my wretched soul. I come knowing that I am not worthy, you alone are my ransom. Bought and paid for with the blood stained tree, the spikes encased in flesh, the bruised, battered body and the salty, tear stained face.

Its clear.
My pride, my selfishness, my laziness, my impatience, my anger, my lack of self control, it's all here.

I am led to the cross. In all its ugliness there is beauty too great to put into words. A beauty that takes my breath away.

He thinks I am worthy enough, he has seen something worth saving that I don't see.

I am humbled, my soul stirs deep and I count the cost.


I belong to you.


I belong to you.

Take up your Cross

"Salvation is free, but there is a price to pay in following Jesus."

~Billy Graham

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus.

Matthew 16:24 ~

"Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (ESV)


What's your cross to bear?

Sunday's Coming

(remember to turn music off in my sidebar to watch video)

Remembering my Saviours suffering and death today.

Counting the cost of my sin.

Feeling set free.

On my knees in gratefulness.

At the Cross

There is forgiveness.

At the Cross

I know redemption.

At the Cross

I find purpose.

Significant?

"If no one is accusing you of being too legalistic, then you probably aren't living a holy life.

If no one is accusing you of being a 'bleeding heart', then you probably aren't loving enough.

If no one is accusing you of being too dogmatic, then you probably aren't standing for the truth.

If no one is accusing you... or criticizing you...you probably aren't doing anything significant."

~Israel Wayne

The Word

I have to admit, I have been mostly a New King James girl. It is the Bible that I have had and have read for years. I love the accuracy, and comfortable reading style.

I did just buy tradesman an ESV (English Standard Version) study Bible for our anniversary. He was thrilled.
Our church has switched over to using the ESV exclusively for scripture readings and such and he has been dying to get his hands on one.

He is LOVING it. The study content is very extensive and according to John Piper the translation is very accurate to the original wording in the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts.

But I have a confession to make.

Pssst.

I have been reading "the message" as of late.

I have been a bit of a Bible snob and was unwilling to even look at that translation as I considered it completely false and misleading.

I am not saying that I recount those original thoughts completely. I think that we do have to tread carefully when reading translations that are thought- for -thought based. Many
interpretive decisions that should be made by the reader are already made for the reader by the translator. The context, meanings and expression of the original can be lost.

However, since going through the loss of the twins I have abandoned my regular style of reading through the scriptures temporarily and instead have been reading everywhere and anywhere throughout my Bible. And one of my favorite things to do has been to use Bible Gateway.com.

I love that I can look up any scripture in a variety of translations. I found this to be most comforting at times. If you look through some of my more recent posts, you will see that I have a fair bit of scripture posted in the New Living Translation and The Message.

I still always go back to my trusty New King James for Study and context, but I have rather enjoyed the narrative style of The Message. I picked up a soft cover one for rather cheap at the Christian bookstore and have barely been able to put it down.
Maybe, I am just a bit more simple minded or enjoy the easy flow, but I find it comfortable.

Using it for depth or interpretation of scripture I would not, but an enjoyable, relate-able version it is. I believe that it should not replace the actual reading of Gods word from a reliable version, but as an added pleasure with discernment, I could recommend it.

For example, today I was reading in Romans some favorite verses below.

"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:3-5 (NKJ)

Beautiful! Can you not just picture that? God has poured out His love to FILL our hearts! I loved that and was curious how "The Message" might word the same scriptures.


Here's Romans 5:3-5

"There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! "

Amen!

This is EXACTLY how I feel. And it was a blessing and an encouragement to me to read.

So hence... my closet "Message reading" has been revealed, and strangely I don't feel bad about it. :)

Where's Waldo Baby My?

She is enjoying the sunshine, I tell you.

She is thinking that the great outdoors is the greatest thing since slice bread or rather sippy cups...

She wasn't quite walking until the end of summer last year, so this whole outside new found freedom has been quite a high for our little My!

Enjoying the wind in her hair face.

So much to see and do.

These shoes were made for walkin'...

"Oh bother mama, are all these pictures really necessary?"

"Mama, I really have places to go, people to see and things to do climb..."

"I am outta here!"

Just a couple more pix little baby...

Mama does not want to forget a moment of you!

Soaking in the wonderfulness of being a mama,

The Real Mess

Crash!

Glass vase, rocks, new tulips from my neighbor and a whole lot of water hits the wood floor.

I react.

I see it. The pain I caused.
Blonde curls fall over his big blue eyes, they well.
His cherub cheeks so sweet, but his little lip it protrudes and quivers.

"I'm sorry mama...I didn't mean too."

Oh how it aches now to type it, to remember his precious face and my angry expression, my voice annoyed and loud.

With towels we mop up, him and I side by side.
As I watch his little determined expression while his wee hands try to mimic mine, I meditate.

This wet mess is far easier to clean up then the havoc I created in his tiny heart.

Why am I such a slow learner?

I can create all the beauty I want in the nooks and crannies of our home, but it matters not to my children if I have failed to create beauty in my heart and actions.

I am grateful for the quick forgiveness of little ones, the unconditional love freely given, chubby arms that wrap around my neck and heart. Kisses and smiles that replace the ugliness of moments before.

It comes like a flood, the gratefulness for my life, the sorrow for my many inadequacies and I reflect.

Oh, these little ones have so much to share with us. Sometimes we as mothers are the students and they are the teachers.

Each day is full of choices, moments are captured good and bad and I am thankful.

Blessed, grace-filled memories are but a moment away.

Spring has Sprung

The last two days of sunshine have put me in the mood!

The mood you say, "for what?"

Spring decorating! Silly.

Collected some squiggly branches in the yard...

Threw them in a plastic bucket, filled it with some rocks to anchor them...

And Voila!

Its a...um, uh...ah.. well, whatever it is, it makes me happy! :)

I paired it with an abandoned nest leftover from last spring. The nest looks cute perched on the chair beside it. I need some fake eggs or something.

This little pot had paint on it, but got left out all winter. I like how it looks now.

Cuteness.

A watering can that my big boys bought me when they were just little boys. This baby just gets better with age. I leave it out every winter and love it even more every spring.

Bring on the spring!

I am ready.

Let the fun begin!


Loving the sunshine,