10 Mother's Days Without You

I picked out cards for other people’s mothers this week.

I cried and gave thanks for the 25 years God gave me with you.

I packaged up a small gift to mail to someone else’s mother.

I cried and gave thanks for the 25 years God gave me with you.

I was showered with homemade cards, hugs, and kisses.

I cried and gave thanks for God allowing me to be a mother.

Slap Jack

A couple weeks ago, my youngest and I went to a local coffee shop and while we were there I taught her how to play slap jack. I grew up playing this game and loved it and I was shocked I hadn't taught my children to play yet. She felt pretty special learning a new game she could teach her older brother and sister.  What are some games you like to play together as a family?

What Does She Want for Mother's Day?

What does this mother want the most for mother's day? 

She would love hope for her child. Hope for a better life. A life free from begging, beatings, hunger, illness, loneliness, and shame. The Dalits, a people group in India known as the "untouchables" are unable to change their children's fate on their own, but YOU can. You can sponsor their child so they can attend a Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center where they can receive a free education, basic medical care, one warm nutritious meal each day, and most importantly a place where they can learn about Jesus. You can give this mother a beautiful gift - the opportunity for her child to have a better life than she had.

Gospel for Asia would love to have 250 children sponsored by THIS mother's day. Will you help sponsor one of the 20,000 children still waiting for sponsors? For just $35 a month, you can bless a mother with the hope she so desperately would love to give to her child.

When you do sponsor a child, take a moment to pray for the precious mother of your sponsored child. I am committing to pray this week for our sponsored child's mother. I am praying for her to truly see the Lord's goodness and love in her life and for her to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3

The first Friday of each month, I lead a Bible study for a small group of ladies. We are working our way through Philippians. This month we studied chapter 3. If you're interested, you can go back and read our study outlines from chapters 1 and 2 as well. 

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Confidence in Christ, not Flesh - 3:1-11

Verses 1-11 Shows how the confidence of a Christian should not be the result of things we DO, but rather from our relationship with Christ and Him alone.

Verses 1-2

• Judaisers teaching falsely that Gentiles must be circumcised in order to receive God’s salvation.

Verse 3

• The true meaning of circumcision in this passage is not a literal cutting of a piece of flesh, but rather a spiritual cutting of the heart which reveals believers their need for a Savior. Confidence of salvation cannot be placed in something physical, like circumcision, but only in the work of Christ. When Christ came, he freed us from the bondage of doing and offered us a relationship with Him.

Verses 4-6

• If anyone had reason to boast in the flesh, it was Paul. He followed the law perfectly, but it did not save him. He was not saved until He came face-to-face with Christ.

Verses 7-11

• Paul calls all those “things” rubbish/dung/garbage (vs. 8).
• Righteousness comes from faith in Christ, not the law (vs. 9).
• KNOW Christ and BECOME like Him (vs. 10).

Application: Am I more centered on DOING (following rules and doing things to “serve”) rather  than BEING in relationship with Christ?

• Focus on knowing Christ and becoming like Him. This is harder than doing, because this requires us to be still, listen, and come face-to-face with God.  Doing is easy because we can stay busy, preoccupied with ourselves and others and avoid God altogether if we are not careful.

Goals With an Eternal Focus

Verses 12-21 - Teaches us how to press on toward eternally focused goals.

Verse 12 - Christ has made me his own and therefore I will keep pressing forward.

Verses 13-14 - Forget the past because it is paid for, done, and settled. Dwelling on past (forgiven) sin will only hinder you and hold you back from reaching the goals Christ has for your life.

Verses 15-16 - Christians who still beat themselves up about their pasts are immature. Mature believers recognize their past is covered by the blood of Jesus and press on to live victorious lives for Christ.

Verse 17 - Paul followed Christ’s example. Look for people around you who are following Christ and learn from them (but give them grace because they are not perfect). Strive to be a follower of Christ so someone else can live by your example as well.

Verses 18-19 - We live in a world with many “enemies of the cross” who do not follow Christ. Their life’s focus is on the here and now rather than God’s eternal Kingdom.

Verses 20-21 - Paul reminds us not to live with our focus on earthly things because this is not our forever home. Our earthly sinful bodies will one day transform into heavenly glorious bodies. A body no longer affected by the curse of sin, which means it will not give into weakness, death, decay, or sin.

Application: Am I more centered on earthly or eternal goals?

• How do I spend my time and money? What do I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about and actually doing?
  
  

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Jesus Wells

Our AWANA club recently raised money to buy wells for villages in Asia. The boys and girls competed against one another to see who could raise the most money. The children's grand total came to $2,032.80, which is enough to buy TWO wells for two separate villages in India! We sent our money to Gospel for Asia so they can give two Jesus wells to villagers who are in great need and since missionaries and pastors will be involved, the people won't simply have a physical need met, but they will have an opportunity to hear about Jesus - the true and living water (John 4:10).

Animal Planet Future Stars?

Last Friday we found a toad while doing some yard work. The kids went into immediate action. They found a bucket to put it in, ran and got some gloves so they could handle the frog, and then of course the iPod came out so they could make a video like the stars on Animal Planet. They kept the frog around for an hour or so and then safely released it in the woods in our backyard. We hope we'll get to see our little friend again sometime soon!

I couldn't keep from smiling as I raked and cleaned out flower beds because I am so thankful for how learning naturally happens when you simply allow children the freedom to run, play, and explore the beautiful world God created.

Would you like to enjoy some nature studies? I would encourage you to check out the Handbook of Nature Study. Today they are sharing a special blog carnival all about reptiles and amphibians. 

Back to the Heart of Worship

I was talking to a sister in Christ the other day and she was sharing with me how her church is divided over the issue of worship style. The older generation wants their own, separate traditional service, while the younger generation wants one blended worship service. This breaks my heart, because the moment you split congregations into two different worship style services, you have created a divide between this one body of believers and in a sense have created two separate churches within one building.

 

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God's Word speaks many times about unity. Jesus even prayed for us (believers) to be one in order to experience complete unity (John 17:22-23). Unity does not happen naturally though. In order to be unified we must show one another grace, love unconditionally and lay aside our selfishness (our personal preferences). God refers to this as "denying yourself" (Luke 9:23).

I lost my mother 10 years ago to cancer and I no longer have any living grandparents. Perhaps that is why I greatly desire to worship in a multi-generational church. I need older women to look to for counsel, I need peers to confide in when these parenting years are sometimes lonely and hard, and I need younger women and girls to encourage, mentor, and befriend. Shouldn't the family of God look, act, and function much like a family, which would include people of all personalities and ages doing life together and loving and serving one another? Will we have differences of opinion and preferences? Of course we will, but that is where selflessness, love, and service should be tested and put into action for the glory of God.

My son, the drummer

My children may have to deny themselves when only the piano is playing and we sing In the Garden, because that is not their personal preference of worship style, but they can still choose worship.  My sweet friend "Miss" Marcie may have to deny herself when my son is up banging on the drum set to Who Can Satisfy, but she can still worship because she knows the worship service is not about her or for her because it's all about Christ and giving Him the praise and glory He deserves. The music portion of the worship service should help us focus on the presence of God. It is not a time to focus on how much you dislike the particular style of music that is being played. Oh precious church, may we not fight over worship styles, and may we never give up meeting together and all the more as the day of His return is approaching (Hebrews 10:25).  When He returns, let's not be caught fighting over worship styles, but may we be caught worshiping Him together as one beautiful, loving, and unified body focused on Him and not our own personal preferences.

God said the world will know us by our love for one another (John 13:35). What does it say about our love for God and one another if we fight over the worship style in our church?

As a pastor's wife and a mother, I would like to share how much I love and treasure many old hymns. I grew up singing hymns and I desire my children to experience these beautiful songs in worship too. However, I also treasure a lot of the newer music as well. For me, it's not about the style of music or the instruments used, but rather the heart of the matter. As Matt Redman's  song says, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, Jesus." 

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Friends and Mentors

I was beyond excited and blessed when my friend asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding recently. This girl loves the Lord and truly desires to serve Him and make Him known. She serves in our church in a myriad of ways from VBS decorating (she is super creative), youth worker, worship team (she has some mad bongo skills), as well as served on various mission trips.

When my friend introduced me to all the other bridesmaids she said I was a friend and spiritual mentor. This mentoring relationship unfolded quite naturally. We were both wanting someone to journey through the season of Lent together a few years ago, so we met weekly and read through all the Holy Week gospel accounts together. Once we were done with that we started meeting bi-weekly and went through a book about the fruit of the spirit together, and now she has joined my monthly Bible study group. This has not been a one-sided mentoring relationship, because she has also mentored and challenged me greatly. An added bonus, is she is also my tea drinking buddy as well. We both love our chai tea and we usually enjoyed a cup (or two) when we would meet.

My friend is beautiful and she truly honored God in her singleness by striving for purity and serving the Lord while she waited for a strong Christian man to come into her life. I truly believe this guy who stole her heart will do his best to guard and protect her heart and they will be a strong and powerful couple for the Lord's glory.

Mentoring is often a sacrifice of time, but it is something we should all be doing in some shape or form. Look for women around you and encourage them to grow in their walk with the Lord and you might just be asked to be a bridesmaid if you mentor a single lady.

Father & Son Scripture Memory Challenge

My 11-year-old son just finished up an 8-week scripture memory challenge with his dad. He participated in AWANA through his 2nd grade year, and gave T&T a try as a 3rd grader, but quite frankly he was miserable in that environment. It was too much sitting down, being still and quiet, writing, and studying independently. It was too "schoolish" for him. He probably would have done better if there would have been an adult in there who got his personality, gave him a little extra attention and encouragement, but that wasn't the case. So, my husband decided to let him skip AWANA and stay home with him, while the girls and I continued to participate in AWANA. AWANA is a good fit for our girls and I'm sure it would have been a better fit with the right male leader for our son, but that's okay because the church is not solely responsible for the discipleship of our children. The bulk of the responsibility lays on us as parents and that's why my husband spends time each night reading through books of the Bible with Tyler and does things with him like this recent scripture memory challenge. Tyler was rewarded with a special day out with his dad at the end of the 8 weeks and they are continuing to memorize scripture together even though the initial challenge is over. 

Do you memorize scripture with your children? 

Spring 2013 Piano Recital

On Sunday, April 7th, Kaitlyn had her piano recital and did a lovely job. She played two pieces this year. Her first piece was In an English Country Garden and Here I am to Worship.

Tuna Noodle Love

When we were first married I wanted to know what my husband's favorite meal was, so I asked him. I was shocked (and slightly horrified) when he told me it was tuna noodle casserole. Really? Why would anyone choose tuna noodle casserole as their favorite meal? I had no clue how to make tuna noodle casserole. Back in 1999, we didn't even have a computer in our home, let alone internet, so instead of Goggling "tuna noodle casserole," I had to actually use a cookbook to do some research. About once or twice a year now, I make Heath his favorite meal and I have even grown to like it. When I make it, I often smile and recall the conversation we had when he first told me this was his favorite meal. Now I simply like to make this meal for him to show him a little tuna noodle love.

Putting on a Play

Kaitlyn wrote another play, but it was hard finding actors for this one because she needed three princesses. It took a lot of begging to convince her brother to play Princess Uglyenna, but he finally agreed and did a hilarious and great job.

I love to see the creativity shine from my children when they do these little projects together. They get writing, speaking, acting, and directing experience all in one. It is always a fun treat for Heath and I to watch these short productions they put on for us.

Do your kids like to put on shows for you?