simple living

trust...

2011-11-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

this is a really special book a sweet friend gave to me. if you haven't read it yet ~ read it! it's all about knowing God & being grateful...the author ann voskamp says,"anything less than gratitude and trust is practical atheism...perhaps the opposite of faith is not doubt. perhaps the opposite of faith is fear. to lack faith perhaps isn't as much an intellectual disbelief in the existence of God as fear and distrust that there is a good God...the fear is suffocating, terrorizing, and i want a remedy, and it is trust. trust is everything."

do i know the true God
the one Your Word reveals?
or have i made an image
that holds for me appeal?

so many want a god
who only comfort brings
who gives just ease and goodness
allows no suffering

His Word says i'll have trouble
my view of suffering
should count it as a priviledge
to struggle for my King

should my first thought be always
how to be removed
from the place of trial
do i His Word confuse?

instead, should i embrace it
when trouble comes my way
and ask what may be learned
while difficulty stays?

then maybe His work finished
i more to Him will turn
and thank Him for the suffering
now His ways more i've learned

jb~sdg

simple desire...

2011-11-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

my heart's desire is simple
i want to be like You
to act and to react, Lord
as You would have me do

my mornings start so sweetly
so quiet and so still
but as the sun arises
my mind begins to reel

i take the kids off this way
i get the laundry done
but who knows what's for supper?
what homework's yet begun?

the busyness engulfs me
at times my focus shifts
i see myself get moody
see tiredness take a grip

i long to hear Your voice
be grounded in Your words
that in the midst of daily
Your Spirit reassures

that though i walk imperfect
Your grace will make a way
and through my interactions
each one will come to say

"well, she just needs her Savior
and guess what? so do i!"
and grace will be extended
as busy days go by

then end of day approaches
i look back and review
were my words filled with sweetness?
did i, Lord, look like You?

now time spent in confession
i see the truth of me
may my heart, Lord, continue
in hope to be like Thee!

jb~sdg

You see me...

2011-06-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

You see me every moment
i am not alone
when i feel so weary
You make Your presence known

sometimes i get discouraged
thinking all's for naught
this, though, not what You tell me
not what Your word has taught

lo, I am with you always
I will never leave
I will send you comfort
I'll meet every need

cast all your cares upon Me
I have gentle ways
You see and know my moments
You number my days

so when my heart is hurting
and worry weighs me down
i turn to You, my Father
thankful for the sound

of Your gentle voice within me
reminding every day
i'm loved and You go with me
Your joy makes me say

thank You for all You're teaching
for grace that each day's new
in the middle of my tiredness
please make me more like You

*jb~sdg
matthew 11:28-30
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

ask...

2011-05-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

turn me not away, my Father
as i make, Lord, my requests
let me come to You in sureness
You will not withhold Your best

as a child comes to her mother
asking for a piece of bread
let me come to You, my Father,
confident and without dread.

You have told us we may ask You,
as Your children, for our needs.
You will not turn and not hear us
but gladly answer as we plead.

lost souls, Father, wandering Christians,
hopeless people, a hurting world,
our own children, our own families,
You have told us in Your word,

to make requests known to You, Father
that You care about them all.
so in faith and because You promised
hear me, Father, as i call...

*jb~sdg

Luke 11:11&13
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

1 John 3:21-22
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases Him.

Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

I AM with you...

2011-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

japan tsunami

mississippi river flooding

tuscaloosa, alabama

joplin, missouri

how does the heart survive
apart from the One it knows?
suffering,pain and destruction
lost hearts on every shore

are there words,oh my Father
that might spread Your hope abroad?
may i ,oh God, be a tool
You'd use to share Your love?

yet lately i sit in silence
pencil ready in hand
and all i hear is more silence
my heart beginning to starve

a friend asks why i'm not writing
i wonder along with her
examine my heart for a reason
daily seeking Your word

then pleading, i ask for the floodgates
of Your love to be opened wide
speak to me oh my Father
this silence,to me,long enough!

and gently,a soft word is spoken:
a heart, it cannot survive ~
apart from the One who made it
suffering calls to people "abide"

focus not on this world,its beauty
possessions that you gain
but minister to those who are hurting
meeting them here in their pain

tell them the winds and the weather
the earth and even the tides
I use it all for My purpose
calling hearts "come to Me and abide"

My people go and love others
pointing the way back to Me
the lost see My people suffer
I use this that they may see

that truly a heart cannot live
apart from My infinite grace
this is the message you must share:
hurting hearts, I AM in this place!

Exodus 2:24~25
"and God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. God saw the people...and God knew."

Matthew 28:20b
"...and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." ~ Jesus

*jb~sdg

quiet...

2011-02-14T06:39:00.000-08:00

oh Lord, help me to be quiet
and oh so very still.
for You, Father, may be speaking
but my mind tries to reel.
calm every impulse stirring
all the thoughts within.
let me not miss Your Spirit's
promptings they begin.
the world whirls in busy chaos,
choices everywhere.
i, Lord, must slow on purpose~
constantly in prayer.
how can i sense Your leading
follow, Lord, Your plan?
lest i be still and quiet,
each day take Your hand.

seeking wisdom...

2011-01-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

how will You ever give wisdom?
how will You, Lord, hear my prayer?
how will i know what's Your answer?
how will i know that You care?

Father, the way is so foggy!
Father, I don't understand!
Father, You've promised me wisdom!
yet confusion remains - sinking sand!

peace is my deepest desire
peace that abides in my heart
but there is no peace at this moment
i feel all alone - in the dark

tears fill my eyes and they flood down
who loves this one more than You?!
i desire only protection
You want to make something new

how do i know what You want, Lord?
how can i ever be sure?
if i'm headed the wrong direction
turn me or stop my path short!

for i want the best for my loved ones
and surely Your plans You'll reveal
i'm seeking, i'm waiting, i'm trusting
alone, Lord, quiet and still

*jb~sdg

I know my children still have character to be developed - I know they have lessons to be learned - I pray I will not so protect them that I delay the learning of lessons that will be their blessing to learn! I pray I will step out of the way at the right times and that I will step in when that is best. I pray I will not be afraid to require something hard of them when it's for their good and, I pray, for His glory!

truth & perception...

2011-01-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

well, i guess the Lord is going to start His work on me right away!! yesterday, we were (sadly) taking down our Christmas decorations and tommy announced that we were changing storage containers. we've used the same red and green containers for FOREVER! ok - i know it's silly when extended to something like storage containers, but i am the QUEEN OF SENTIMENTALITY AND TRADITION! (are you picturing images of Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof? ~ yep, that's me :)) anyway, i am married to Mr. Organization/ Always-Looking-to-get-Rid-of-Something-and-Improve-Efficiency :) ~ as you can imagine, this occasionally leads to conflict ~ and i had just asked the Lord to show me my sinful ways and make clear where i needed change!

just a day later, i have much more clarity about this whole incident! tommy really wasn't trying to hurt my feelings! the old containers truly were wilting in the heat of a desert storage unit and the fact that the new containers were clear and black was not meant as a personal affront to me. so, this morning the Lord laid on my heart that there is a difference between perception and truth and that i, as His child, am to look for TRUTH and begin more and more to assume the best before opening my mouth...

perception ~how i see it~
often leads astray
for i know not the thoughts of others
You've placed in my way

truth ~the way it really is~
what i must seek to know
assuming best, extending grace
and hoping this will show

that i am but a sinner
needing grace that so abounds
that when my words and actions
tempt others to resound

"she is so impatient!"
"she's so set in her ways!"
"she has such an opinion!"
"she makes lists everyday!"

that in that grace they'd see me
step back and love me still
and say with all that's in them
"i know that she means well!"

then may i do the same, Lord
i hope others do for me!
assume the best of another
have eyes that clearly see

the difference 'tween truth and perception
that most hearts seek what's good
for others You've placed in our lives, Lord
choosing Your way as we should!

*jb~sdg

a new year...

2011-01-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

i sat jan 1, having just returned from tennessee/mississippi with loved ones, thinking about this new year. i love jan 1 ~ it's the day i choose what devotional book(s) i'll use through the year. i love to sit and think about how the Lord has been working in my life and may work in my life in the year to come. i just finished My Utmost for His Highest (wonderful!) and the year before Streams in the Desert (amazing!). this year, i think 2 books ~ Devotions on Prayer from andrew murray's wrtings and nancy guthrie's Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. (as a side note, i also started Walking on Water~Reflections on Faith and Art by madeleine l'engle ~ one of my favorite writers!). so, we will see where the new year leads ~ kids growing up so fast, a new camera for Christmas :) big decisions to be made, and much hope and anticipation for what the Lord has for me and those i love in 2011. Happy New Year blessings!!!

a new year, Father, we begin
our hopes all set in You
many changes we will face
but You will see us through

world not for a moment still
and neither, Lord, are we
yet help us seek Your way of peace
that Your plans we may see

help us slow our pace, oh God,
and daily seek to know
not just what Your plans may be
or which way we should go

but oh much deeper, Father God,
may we seek more of You
to say at year's end from this day
"i know You more than i knew!"

that we would grow in ways that now
we cannot comprehend
that as we walk, Lord, this year through
our lives You'd shape and bend

and as we sit a year from now
reflecting on this time
that we would say with most glad hearts
"He's evermore ~ more mine!"

*jb~sdg

intercessor...

2010-12-13T05:36:00.000-08:00

Intercessory Prayer ~ My Utmost for His Highest
Dec13. . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart —Luke 18:1

You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.

As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can’t pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.

Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.

What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply “patched up.” We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.

help me to pray on the grounds of Redemption
and not just from sympathy
for i trust, my Father that You are still working
and want me upon my knees

long years of suffering tempt me to falter
God, why must this still go on?!
please help me remember You always are working
that suffering isn't too long

for You have a plan ~ and it's in Your timing
that answers to prayers we will see
give me the hope, and the faith, and the focus
for loved ones i must intercede!

*jb~sdg

the gift of tears...

2010-12-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Repentance ~ December 7 ~ My Utmost For His Highest
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Conviction of sin is best described in the words:

My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.

Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God—
“Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight . . .” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.
The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.

the old puritans used to pray
for "the gift of tears"
oh, that You would break my heart
and make it ever clear

where i need repentance, Lord
where i have been wrong
show me, Lord, truth of my sin
break the chains so strong

sin i can't seem to escape
sin that weighs me down
only You can break the bonds
and turn my heart around

may my true perspective be
~against YOU, Lord, i sin
then please give me hope and grace
to humbly make amends

excuses want to trickle in
to ease my bitter heart
but this is not the truth, i know
when with You, Lord, i start

it does not matter others've done
it's in my heart You speak
conviction from Your Spirit, Lord
brings me to my knees

grant me, Lord, "the gift of tears"
for long my eyes've been dry
but reminded my sin's against You, Lord
surely i must cry!

*jb~sdg

my heart...

2010-12-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

Lord, make my heart ever tender
always willing to hear
where my life surely needs changing
please make it perfectly clear!

sometimes i sit and i wonder
"what's the problem with everyone else?!"
and then the reality hits me
'tis i that am really a mess!

show me the truths of my actions!
let me, Lord, hear my own words!
as i interact with my loved ones
teach me where work's to be done!

it's easy to look out at others
to think "can't they see things my way?!"
so, God, please change my perspective
and make me more willing to say

"i am no better than others.
in fact, i can often be wrong!"
help me to choose to be quiet!
to listen to You all the day long!

for i am no martyr of suffering!
in my life, blessings abound ~
let those, Lord, be more my focus
than losing by standing my ground!

oh, make my heart ever tender!
oh, make me, Lord, willing to hear
where i am the one who needs changing
to better love those i hold dear!

*jb~sdg

Christmas 2010...

2010-12-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

i look at these Christmas pictures
from years now so long gone by

my heart almost aches with the memories
tears tempt the edge of my eyes

i knew they were not mine forever
that one day they'd make their own way

and that is for what we're preparing
yet coming too fast seems the day

oh help me to slow down and cherish
oh help me to take time to spend

more moments to add to the memories
with children who're becoming my friends

i LOVE my Sam and Elle! ~ i pray i will "let go" well and, Father, that You will be pleased and glorified.

*jb~sdg

more than a pattern...

2010-11-29T05:06:00.000-08:00

today's Utmost For His Highest:

He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14

The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.

The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!

Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.

help me, Jesus, more to be like You!
ah, yes, that's what i so want to do!

to follow Your example to a "T"
that You may see my efforts and be pleased

but, Jesus, You are more than a design
that i should follow - staying in the lines

help me, Lord, remember all you gave
for a wretch like me that You would save

You are much more! may i ne're forget!
You came not a pattern just to set!

but You came, Lord, to save my very soul!
through blood and pain, from death's grip, i You stole!

You alone - Salvation are to me!
You. The Gospel. Savior. All i need.

jb~sdg

may i have Your eyes...

2010-11-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

abundance of blessings for which to give thanks
leave me just wondering why
i sit in comfort and prosper in peace
while so many voices cry

mercy, oh Lord, on a suffering child
healing for one racked with pain
an end to the violence faced everyday
food that would cease hunger's reign

oh Lord, in the place and the time You have me
help me to not close my eyes
nor busyness keep me from seeing the need
from hearing the voices that cry

for i know Your ears catch every small sigh
Your eyes turn to each suffering one
You miss not the sparrow that falls from the sky
nor struggles that seem never done

give me the grace to walk through my days
not denying that there is great need
in a world full of contrasts of hunger and pain
to one filled with excess and greed

may i have the blessing of having Your eyes
may i see the world as You do
and look for the good works set just for me
that others be drawn close to You

*jb~sdg

the old one - two!

2010-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

I got it from Tim Keller and Oswald Chambers this morning! I'm reading Counterfeit Gods by Keller. Such conviction about what I have set up as idols in my life...good things...idols!...ouch! and then Oswald Chambers too! The entry for today was "Shallow and Profound", and again, right between the eyes! Oh, to put to death my thinking so well of myself! and oh, to find the balance of my responsibilites and His being in control! Conviction hurts, but I am so grateful He does not just leave me alone!

Shallow and Profound
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God
1Corinthians 10:31

Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher . . .” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

suffering prayer...

2010-10-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

oh that i had the words to say
what's in the heart of me
but i am at a loss, my Lord
and silent on my knees

so many suffer quietly ~
desire to know Your plan
yet painful as the suffering ~
yet resting in Your hand

oh may Your presence be so strong ~
the comfort that You give
that we would trust Your goodness, Lord
as through the pain they live

that purer, Lord, and purer still
the suffering'd make them be
until Your work is finsihed, Lord
and You alone we see

but teach me, Father, by their pain
may I share in their hope
that when my times of suffering come
it's You we better know

*jb~sdg

holding onto hope...

2010-10-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

our church's women's retreat was this weekend. a lady named nancy guthrie spoke on suffering. the message she had to share was amazing! she has lost two babies to a genetic disorder and God has taught her so much through her suffering. i just wanted to share one of the quotes she shared with us about our idea of who God is and how He works. it's a quote by Abraham Kuyper...

Nancy ~ When I read what Abraham Kuyper wrote in Near Unto God about what happens when we suffer, first published in 1908, I realize that doing battle with the God we’ve created in our own mind is nothing new. Though he wrote one hundred years ago, Kuyper completely captures the modern mind-set and experience:

Abraham Kuyper ~ At first what our heart feels is that we cannot square this with our God as we imagined Him, as we had dreamed Him to be. The God we had, we lose, and then it costs so much bitter conflict of soul, before refined and purified in our knowledge of God, we grasp another, and now the only true God in the place thereof . . .

We fancy ourselves the main object at stake; it is our happiness, our honor, our future and God added in. According to our idea we are the center of things, and God is there to make us happy. The Father is for the sake of the child. And God’s confessed Almightiness is solely and alone to serve our interest. This is an idea of God which is false through and through, which turns the order around and, taken in its real sense, makes self God, and God our servant . . .

Cast down by your sorrow and grief, you become suddenly aware that this great God does not measure nor direct the course of things according to your desire; that in His plan there are other motives that operate entirely outside of your preferences. Then you must submit, you must bend . . .

This is the discovery of God’s reality, of His Majesty which utterly overwhelms you, of an Almightiness which absorbs within itself you and everything you call yours. And for the first time you feel what it is to confront the living God. And then begins the new endeavor of the soul, to learn to understand this real God.

job 13:15 ~ though He slay me, yet i will hope in Him.

job 42:5 ~ i had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee

nancy ~ faith is lived out through submission - not manipulation to get God to want what we want. what we need most is not "yes" to all our prayers, but when He says "no" to know that He's doing what's best...God wants to use the difficulties in your life not to punish you, or to hurt you, but to draw you to Himself...

http://nancyguthrie.com/

exceptional in the ordinary...

2010-10-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

"discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God...it requires the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored exisitence as a disciple of Jesus. it is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. we have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes."
~oswald chambers (of course!)

words cannot express!!

2010-10-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Romans 10:14-15
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Matthew 25:35-40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ... 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' ... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

mission trip...

2010-10-08T06:07:00.001-07:00

our family leaves today for Mexico. this will be our children's first mission trip! we are so excited and hopeful about how the Lord will work in each of our hearts and lives. please join us in praying for safety as the team travels and builds a new home for this sweet family,that we will be a blessing to them and have LOTS of opportunity to show Christ's love to each of them!

the trip is through the organization YWAM. this is the link to the family we are serving!

http://www.ywamsandiegobaja.org/articles.aspx?id=27958&menu=HOH&nodate=t
rue

Homes of Hope Family Profile
Miranda Vazques Family

Husband’s Information
Name:Jose Antonio
Age:35
Occupation: Security Guard
Weekly Salary: $130/WK
Place of Birth: Guerrero

Wife’s Information
Name: Maria Isabel
Age:35
Occupation: housewife
Weekly Salary:
Place of Birth: Guerrero

Children’s Information
Erick Daniel, 15YRS, 10th Grade
Areli Isabel, 14 YRS, 9TH GRADE
Gloria Vianey, 4 YRS, Kindergarden

Community Information
Name: Frace Sonora

Police Station: NO
Hospital: yes
School: Yes
Church: Yes
Shopping Area:NO

General Information
Time Married: 18 yrs
Time Living in Tijuana: 2 yrs

Current Living Conditions: cement floors with scrap wood construction
Property Information
Time Living on Property: 2 YRS
Electricity: YES
Running Water: NO

“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”
Hebrews 3:4

prayer...

2010-10-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

i know that You are working,
drawing to Yourself,
one who's lightly sought to follow You

and though it's sometimes painful
to see him start to grow,
i trust that You will fully see this through

i give him, o our Father,
into Your gentle hands
knowing there is purpose in each trial

and trust the other side, Lord,
that he'll more clearly see
You walked with him 'long each and every mile

who to better teach him,
that he'll more clearly see,
than You? the One controlling everything

so when he's more mature, Lord,
more fit to to face this world,
it will be only You to whom he clings

so draw him, Father, draw him,
a deeper place with You,
not satisfied to stay but status quo

that ever he may seek You,
surrendered to Your will,
as for himself, he comes Your heart to know

*jb~sdg

ephesians 3:16-19
that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

worldliness...

2010-10-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

Life in this fallen world can draw our hearts far from God and from growth in godliness. Worldliness equips you to search your heart for the presence of worldliness and gives practical help for resisting the world's influence in the areas of media, modesty, music, and material possessions.

oh my goodness! a MUST read for us!!!

1john 2:15~do not love the world or anything in it

what does this mean for us? how does it look?

hard conversations continued...

2010-09-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

wow! i guess the Lord is going to open doors right away to these conversations! the first one started in the drive-thru at in-n-out :) we were talking about college and where some of the kids we love are going - in this case a big state university - and our son's "fascination" with this big school experience. the subject turned to examining what was drawing interest in that direction - then to what some of satan's "lures" might be for him...HONEST MOMENT :)... he thinks he's wanting to know if he can fit in with this young man he has looked up to for years...question? is this a person to follow? answer...not really b/c i think one of his lures might be the same as mine!...follow up...where do you see that lure active in your life today? what are you doing or will you do about it now to combat it in possibly a bigger way in the future?

conversation 2 - waking me up to say he's worried about the SAT/ACT. (he had just read a Puritan sermon for one of his classes that was about God's decrees and providence - PERFECT!) questions...are you praying about this yourself? what will you do when hard/scary things come up when you are more on your own? is God's being in control something you just read and write about or something you actually believe? what does it look like when you really believe this? are you willing to surrender to His plan, or will it be a battle?...silence - thinking, but able to go to sleep :)...follow up...are you having time with the Lord daily? are you praying regularly and learning to rest instead of worry? are you willing to go where He leads even if that looks different than you thought it would?

My part...to look for natural opportunities the Lord provides for these conversations. to pray for His words - not my own!!!

john calvin~ gratitude of mind for the favorable outcome of things, patience in adversity, and also incredible freedom from worry about the future all necessarily follow upon this knowledge (of God's providence)...ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries; the highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it.

james1:5~if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

hard conversations...

2010-09-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

a friend and i talked recently about our children's sanctification. it's time to have what i will call "some hard conversations". our son is a junior in high school -looking at colleges, thinking about the future - all exciting to him, a little scary to me :)

some of the questions... for me - do i love him enough to risk having these conversations? do i see a servant's heart? do i see gratefulness or a sense of entitlement? do i see fruit of the Spirit?...for him - why do you do the "right" things you do? what is your motivation? are you loving your neighbor? who is your neighbor? what responsibility to do have to others? your sister, friends, girls? what do you see as the "lures" of sin that satan might use on you? what do you believe about sin? and to whom do you feel accountable?
...the list goes on - LOTS of opportunity for growth and good, but hard conversations!

and after waking up in the middle of the night and making note of several questions...a poem...

i watch his chest move up and down
the breath of life within
i reach to stroke his fevered head
this little life begins

before i know it i unpeel
the little hands that cling
the nursery seems a major step
what will the future bring?

does he ever see my tears
or know my deep, deep love?
i must give him everyday
and trust my God above

i hope the t-ball soars so far
as he the bases rounds
that life is filled with lots of friends
and much new confidence found

choice to keep him home for school
equipping so many ways
my hopes and prayers i lift to God
each step along the way

then glasses,
growing,
and braces too
and now almost a man
was i but checking off a list
was i making the plan?

oh no! my Lord, much more than that
Your call for me as a mom
to pray and give him back each day
to You my loving God!

*jb~sdg

known...

2010-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

there is a wave of darkness, Lord
that threatens from within
it wants to overtake me now
it whispers to give in

but You are always with me, Lord
still walking by my side
at other times You carry me
as i learn to abide

the world does not have time for this
nor care my thoughts to hear
and i must learn ~ You are enough
You wipe away my tears

for though i feel so oft' alone
i know You never leave
and in this quiet, empty place
i more and more believe

that You withhold the things You do
to teach me to depend
upon Your presence ~ You alone
and i must learn to bend

submit my will and my desires
and trust You have a plan
and find in my heart gratefulness
contentment in Your hand

for though i do not understand
~i'll not pretend i do~
You give me faith that's big enough
to know You will be true

so i will meet You everyday
sustained by You alone
and walk, though it be just with You,
as one who's deeply known

*jb~sdg

psalm 23

2010-09-19T06:35:00.001-07:00

delicious weekend...

2010-09-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

saw this friday afternoon with my sweet friend, Kim, who loves to cook too! loved it!!!!!

then tommy and i went to essence bakery for b'fast this am ....YUMMMM!!!!!

dancing...

2010-09-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

keep me, Lord, in step with You
though i am not a dancer
oh help me follow every move
and yield to Your sweet leading

i am amazed that You would choose
one lacking perfect rhythm
but trusting, i will take Your hand
surrendered ~ i Your maiden

for who am i to question You
the partner of Your choosing?
for You, Lord, take the simple things
and bring to Yourself glory

oh may we dance in loveliness
and bless each heart who passes
yet i will know deep in myself
it's only by Your leading

*jb~sdg

now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

healing...

2010-09-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

i looked in the mirror
and what did i see?
i saw me
looking at me

and then You told me
to look once again,
and i saw me
exposed in my sin

but You didn't come
just to leave me exposed,
but healed and restored
deep in my soul

layer upon layer
oh peel them away
taking apart
the me that i've made

and answer the questions
that lurk within me
of just who i am
of just whom You see

open me, Jesus,
to Your healing ways
removing my blindness
and self-focused days

heal me of thinking
so much about me
of what others think
of who i should be

just let me be real
no need to pretend
a work still in progress
but loved to the end

and when, Lord, the healing
You started is done
now free to love others
than when You'd begun

*jb~sdg

mark 2:17
and when Jesus heard it, he said to them,"those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous,but sinners."

unsullied...

2010-09-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

Oswald Chambers ~ Holiness means
unsullied walking with the feet,
unsullied talking with the tongue,
unsullied thinking with the mind
~ every detail of the life
under the scrutiny of God.

oh, unsullied may i be
as i live this life 'fore Thee

feet that go where You would lead
meeting others in their need

words just pleasing, Lord, to You
bringing encouragement ~ hope that renews

and, Father, the challenge of an unsullied mind
thinking toward others, only thoughts that are kind

of these simple details, will You ever take hold
under Your scrutiny, continue to mold

and move me toward holiness, teach me to be
unsullied, Father, ever for Thee

*jb~sdg

2010-09-01T06:47:00.001-07:00

can this be redeemed...

2010-08-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

can this, oh my Lord, be redeemed?
some things seem as though they maybe can't
but i know of Your powerful right hand
and i must put this there and learn to wait

in my unbelief will You work?
will You give me faith to believe?
i want to trust You with this oh so much
but all that is within me seems to say

that i'll not see an answer to this thing
that it is much too deep and far too long
but You see through the years don't You, Lord
and You've said NOTHING for You is too hard

reason to believe is all i need
let some word of courage lift my head
do the work in me that is required
my heart is broken, scattered on the shores

and though it seems impossible to me
put it back together as You do
this is just the place You love to be
repairing all the damage caused by man

redemption is the work You came to do
restoring us to what we're meant to be
so take this broken thing that needs Your touch
and make it whole and lovely by Your plan

*jb~sdg

this is the gospel...

2010-08-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a new book. It's called Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt. I just wanted to share some of what I read this morning.

"I remember sitting outside a Buddhist temple in Indonesia. Men and women filled the elaborate colorful temple grounds, where they daily performed their religious rituals. Meanwhile, I was engaged in a conversation with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader in their particular community. They were discussing how all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different. "We may have different views about small issues," one of them said, "but when it comes down to essential issues, each of our religions are the same."

"I listened for a while, and then they asked me what I thought. I said, "It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain. It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place."

"They smiled as I spoke. Happily they replied, "Exactly! You understand!"

"Then I leaned in and said, "Now let me ask you a question. What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are? What would you think if I told you that God doesn't wait for people to find their way to Him, but instead He comes to us?"

"They thought for a moment and the responded, "That would be great."

"I replied, "Let me introduce you to Jesus."

"This is the gospel. As long as you and I understand salvation as checking off a box to get to God, we will find ourselves in the meaningless sea of world religions that actually condemn the human race by exalting our supposed ability to get to God. On the other hand, when you and I realize that we are morally evil, dead in sin, and deserving of God's wrath with no way out on our own, we begin to discover our desperate need for Christ."

each day first and last...

2010-08-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

give me Your perspective
as i pass through all my days
as if it were my first one
let me be amazed

help me catch the beauty
in the simplest of ways
the eyes of my children
the coolness of the shade

the colors of the rainbow
against a stormy sky
the voice of a loved one
let me not pass by

help me to take notice
of all the varied ways
You let me know You love me
each day as my first day

then help me also,Father,
to walk through time You give
as if each day's the last day
i might have to live

help me speak with kindness
to those You've given me
finding ways to show them
their preciousness i see

let me not be short
or in a hurry with my time
but give them full attention
as they share their hearts and minds

help me,Lord,to focus on
all in them that's good
stop wasting, ever wishing,
they'd be as i think they should

so each day as my first day
and each day as my last
living in the moment
not dwelling on the past

nor focused on the future
but the gift that is today
my life a living sacrifice
before You, Lord,i lay

*jb~sdg

proverbs3:27
do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.

dependence...

2010-08-17T07:20:00.001-07:00

bless our children,
Lord, we pray
as they walk
each in their way
move them each & every day
to more dependence, Lord

"more dependence?"
one might say
"that is surely
not the way!
for independence is the goal
for every self-actualized child!"

oh, my friend
but don't you see
i don't want them
to depend on me!
so everyday i'm on my knees
to pray for their dependence

"you make no sense
you silly girl!
INDEPENDENCE!"
says the world
but i know a secret
a precious pearl ~ pray for their dependence

for the dependence
that i seek
will not leave them
at home & weak
but send them soaring
on eagle's wings
dependent ONLY on Him!

*jb~sdg

isaiah 40:28-31
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

"a healthy relationship between parent & child moves from dependence to independence, but a healthy relationship with our heavenly Father moves in the opposite direction...we put so much pressure on ourselves, as if the eternal plans of almighty God are contingent upon our ability to decipher them. the truth is, God wants to reveal them more than we want to know them. and if we think one misstep can frustrate the providential plans of the Omnipotent One, then our God is way too small. not only does God want us to get where God wants us to go more than we want to get where God wants us to go, but He is awfully good at getting us there. He may not always reveal His plans how or when we want Him to, but when we chase the Wild Goose, our future becomes His responsibility. "in His heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." do me a favor. stop reading for a moment and take a deep breath. now let it out...a deep breath recalibrates us physiologically. it relaxes us. the sovereignty of God has the same effect on me spiritually. when i'm reminded that God is the one ordering my footsteps, it helps me relax. God is in the business of positioning us in the right place at the right time. and that ought to give us an unshakeable sense of destiny even when we feel disoriented." ~ mark batterson, Wild Goose Chase

chastening...

2010-08-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

Despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him.
Heb 12:5

today's Oswald Chambers was once again so timely. how does God do that?! have someone write something so long ago and then bring that word to me today - the very day i need it - amazing!

anyway, the writing was about chastening, sanctification and not quenching the Spirit. several years ago, the Lord made pretty clear to me how to respond in one area of my life. well, i thought recently that things were changing and that it was time for a change in my response - NOPE! as i listened to a pastor speak this week , i sensed that i was being chastened and reminded that my response is still to be what He made clear previously.

"Am I prepared to let God grip me by His power and do a work in me that is worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me; sanctification is God's idea of what He wants to do for me, and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit where at any cost I will let Him sanctify my wholly." ~ Oswald Chambers

i feel so silly when i go my way
was i really thinking i knew what was best?
but God so gently chastens when i stray
and straightens out the things i've made a mess

i'll think i've so progressed beyond the need
to follow closely things revealed before
and so i go my way to check and see
if maybe there's a shortcut i'll explore

He lets me go for just a little bit
and though there's clearly tension in this way
i remain determined - my teeth i grit
until i sense His Spirit gently say

"what was it, child, I told you once before?
the good work I began, I will complete"
and i stand there rebuked, but ever sure
the place He's taking me will be so sweet

*jb~sdg

1 peter 3:4
You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

terra incognita...

2010-08-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

take me to a new place, Lord
i lose sight of the shore
take me to a place, O God
i learn to trust You more

what is it i'm asking?
do i really trust you so?
am i willing this to ask
then willing to let go?

let me not pray empty prayers
or write just pretty words
give me strength to truly trust
You'll do what's best, my Lord

for it is my surrender, God
me out of the way
the thing to which You call
each and every day

and that's the true adventure
where i'll grow and learn much more
the terra incognita
where i lose sight of the shore

*jb~sdg

In addition to Wild Goose Chase, I'm also reading a book about Columbus by George Grant...funny when things you just think you're doing somewhat randomly come together in a meaningful way...the author of WGC quoted Columbus today as he talked about the chase! ~ "It was the Lord who put it into my mind,(I could feel His hand upon me),the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with the rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures."

Batterson also quoted Andre Gide ~ "People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

"The Wild Goose is calling us into terra incognita. That is where the adventure is found."

Sabbath...

2010-08-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

ahh the coolness of the breeze You send
on mornings fair
and the sunshine bright and warm
reminding me You care
daily blessings sent my way coaxing
"slow your pace"
for when i take time to be still
Your goodness i can taste
so slow me, Lord, this Sabbath day
that i may catch my breath
ready then to walk a week
until the Sabbath next

*jb~sdg

I'm reading Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. He shares that "Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit An Geadh-Glas, 'the Wild Goose.'" In the book, he tells the story of a European explorer in Africa who hired some natives to carry his equipment through the jungle. "They didn't stop for three days. At the end of the third day, the hired hands stopped and refused to move on. The explorer asked why and one of the natives said,'We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits time to catch up with us.'" Batterson says,"The word Sabbath means 'to catch one's breath.'...The way you chase the Wild Goose isn't by going faster and faster. The key is slowing down your pace, taking off you sandals and experiencing God right here, right now."

call...

2010-08-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

i hear, i hear the call of the sea
its sweet, clear voice so strong in me
bidding me come and stay awhile
walk its white shores ~ mile after mile

yet there is another voice i hear
the call of my Lord ~ ever so near
He bids me come to rest and abide
to walk in His love as i do the tide

not everyone hears the call that i do
whispering, wooing me out to the blue
and neither the other call do all hear
drawing me ever and ever more near

both of these callings speak love to me
one of the beauty and depths of the sea
the other, the stronger ~ most precious to me
constantly, quietly, gently it leads

and my part ~ to follow and visit the sea
whenever life slows and time allows me
but the other following ~ daily requires
surrender of self to His sweet desires

*jb~sdg

psalm 37:4
delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart

oswald chambers ~
the call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him...

early rising...

2010-08-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

a dove is cooing early this clear morn
the sun shines warmly on my writing hand
the easiest of breezes stirs the air
and i sit and surrender life's demands

You bring to mind those who need a prayer
You teach me gently by Your written word
then i begin my day with all its chores
remembering the early cooing bird

some mornings more inspiring than before
the blueness of the sky or words i read
but may i never weary or grow tired
of meeting on my backporch just with Thee

*jb~sdg

psalm119:147
i rise early, before the sun is up; i cry out for help & put my hope in Your words

travel...

2010-08-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

This article by Dr. George Grant is the Feature Article in Veritas Press' Epistula this month...it's got me thinking!!!

Classical Education and Travel

The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.

St. Augustine

Ye distant spires, ye antique towers,

Hold me in thy sway;

Make me see, make me flee,

Unto thy rich array.

For there amidst, and there consist

The root and branch and leaf,

Of faith and hope and love persist

In this, the world of grief.

Tristan Gylberd

The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.

G.K. Chesterton

Travel's greatest purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

William Hazlitt

Life is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.

Arnold Toynbee

According to a Latin proverb, travelers may "change their climate but never their souls." While it may be admitted that such a truism is essentially true, there also can be little doubt that travelers may at least change their thinking. By virtue of seeing the world-the different sights, sounds, textures, hues, and passions of cultures different than their own-affords them with a unique perspective that militates against prejudice, parochialism, and pettiness. As Mark Twain said, travel somehow "broadens the mind and softens the heart." More often than not, travel serves to sunder our uninformed native preconceptions and to establish more mature perspectives.

For that reason, travel has always been a component part of a well rounded education. The banal prejudice and narrow presumption that inevitably accompany an unexposed, inexperienced, and undiscerning existence can often be ameliorated only by the disclosure of the habits, lifestyles, rituals, celebrations, and aspirations of the peoples beyond the confines of our limited parochialism. The great Dutch patriot Groen van Prinsterer aptly commented to his students, "See the world and you'll see it altogether differently."

As a result, in times past, travel was seen as far more significant than just fun and games. It was for more than mere rest and relaxation. It was intended to be more than simply a vacation or a getaway. Instead, it was a vital aspect of the refined instruction in art, music, literature, architecture, politics, business, science, and divinity. It was, according to Benjamin Franklin, "the laboratory where theory meets practice, where notion encounters application."

Travel has thus enlightened lives and perspectives throughout history. Some of the most famous books, some of the most influential perspectives, and some of the most remarkable social transformations have had their genesis in some great quest or expedition or journey or voyage-from Agamemnon in Troy and Caesar in Gaul to Marco Polo in China and Richard the Lionhearted in Outremer, from Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean and Cotton Mather in Massachusetts Bay to Charles Lindbergh in the Spirit of St. Louis and John Glenn in the shuttle Enterprise. Just visiting has left an indelible mark upon the human experience.

From the end of the fifteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, it was expected that all the members of high born families, aspiring artists, poets and historians, prospective members of the diplomatic corps, and young bon vivants would undertake an extended pilgrimage to the great cities of the Western world. It was considered an essential part of a well-rounded education. Indeed, in many elite circles it was believed to be the capstone of a true classical curriculum. Many of the most eminent people in history thus set out on what became known as the Grand Tour just before they entered into public life. Traveling to the great centers of culture, history, and influence, they sought to take in as much of the art, music, literature, architectural sites, historical monuments, social revelries, and culinary delights as they possibly could. Taking anywhere from just a few weeks to several months, the Grand Tour was intended to help the next generation of leaders to learn the languages, customs, and mores of far flung lands and societies. They desired to broaden their horizons, test the practicality of their book learning, and to deepen their social and academic awareness. It was to enable them to eventually do all they were called to do and be all they were called to be.

The long and varied history of the Grand Tour-which invariably began in London and ended in Rome with visits to Edinburgh, Paris, Venice, Florence, Vienna, Jerusalem, and innumerable other great cities along the way-includes amazing stories of such travelers as Queen Victoria, John Milton, John Ruskin, Percy Shelly, Anna Jameson, Lord Byron, Adam Smith, Thomas Hobbes, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Joseph Addison, Charles Dickens, William Wordsworth, Emma Hamilton, William Thackery, and Edward Lear. And the Grand Tour was not merely an English phenomenon. Americans such as Washington Irving, Julia Ward Howe, Mark Twain, Henry Adams, Stephen Crane, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Teddy Roosevelt also traveled abroad as youngsters. It was assumed that if they were to be classically educated, they would have to be classically traveled as well.

It is not surprising then that the modern recovery of classical education in the classroom and at home has inevitably led to the simultaneous recovery of classical education on the road. After all, as the contemporary poet Tristan Gylberd has asserted, "If you always go where you have always have gone and always do what you have always done, you will always be what you have always been."

George Grant

beauty?

2010-07-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

is there any beauty still left here?
everywhere i look man's been near
postage stamps carved out
but to their edge
man in all his "progress"
long since hedged

o for wide and open ~ undisturbed
whether blue of sea or untrod berm
can it yet be found
some quiet place
eyes may gaze unhindered
beauty's face?

thanks be to God
there still one place remains
and in all of its glory
never tamed
is reachable by all
who'd persevere
before the face of God
the beauty clear

*sdg~jb

oswald...

2010-07-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

today's "utmost" was a reminder that God is focused on "the process" more than "the end." that makes sense to me! He is in the process of making me/us more and more like Him - so of course, He desires obedience because that is how we go about becoming more like Him, and seeing us walk through what comes our way - looking more like Him than we did the last time we walked through something, must surely be pleasing to Him! not just pointedly saying,"i will be peaceful as i face another new school year because He has told me not to worry and so i am being obedient - and that is the goal!" NO! i just do approach this year more peacefully - with less worry - because i have seen His faithfulness in the years past and i am
more peaceful because of that - does that make sense???

Oswald Chambers: we have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not...what we call the process, God calls the end. God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now.

so do, Lord! i give this day to You - asking that You be such a part of me that i walk through this day looking, acting, speaking, thinking, being more like You - it's all part of the process!

that i may know Him...

2010-07-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

let me not keep Thee waiting
but ever be seeking Thy heart
for Thou hast filled with desire
i beg ~ Thy glory impart
for though i know Thee from childhood
Thy depths never fully explored
may i be ever thirsty
always to know Thee more

*jb~sdg

deeper...

2010-07-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

"In this hour of all-but-universal darkness one cheering gleam appears: Within the fold of conservative Christianity there are to be found increasing numbers of persons whose religious lives are marked by a growing hunger after God Himself. They are eager for spiritual realities and will not be put off with words, nor will they be content with correct "interpretations" of truth. They are athirst for God, and they will not be satisfied till they have drunk deep at the Fountain of Living Water." -AZ Tozer - The Pursuit of God

draw me ever closer, Lord
more of You to know
take me to the deeper place
my heart so yearns to go
fill me with Your love my God
as i seek Your face
take me to the depths of You
in this quiet place

*jb~sdg

psalm42:1~as the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, o God

discernment...

2010-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

open my mind ,Lord, please will You teach me
i am so ignorant of Your perfect ways
i read & i read, i pray & i study
yet there seems always to be this vague haze
open my heart & open my eyes, Lord
let me see clearly what You'd have me learn
for i am a child, a wearying traveler
needing Your guidance Your ways to discern

picturefromwww.sallyrbreen.com

to know...

2010-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

walking in Your Spirit, Lord
may i ever be
guide me in my inner man
is my urgent plea
the world & even i sometimes
cry a fleshly cry
to see me busy doing,doing
as the days pass by
but i sense Your Spirit,Lord
gently prompting me
"pray, pray, pray ~
this is My plan for thee"
yet let me not miss, Father God
the works You'd have me do
but stay in constant contact
seeking Your plan all day through
for faith without good works is dead
and i know You have planned
works that You would have me do
as Your love You extend
so guide me every moment,Lord
and help me ever seek
do You want me doing something?
or simply on my knees?

*jb

galatians 3:2-3
let me ask you only this: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? are you so foolish? having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

james 2:14-18
what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? can that faith save him? if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? so also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. but someone will say, "you have faith and i have works." show me your faith apart from your works, and i will show you my faith by my works.

is this a struggle for anyone else? i don't want to be "doing" just b/c it's expected or the "right" thing, but i don't want either to miss opportunities to love or bless another...i just soooo want to know what He wants me to do! so many hurting, so many needs, so much to cover in prayer

2010-06-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

We took Sam to Worldview Academy in Flagstaff yesterday! I know it will be a wonderful week ~ but I sure do miss him!!

how to pray...

2010-06-03T07:00:00.001-07:00

the hardships of this world,oh Lord,
are much,too much,to bear
families deal with illnesses or conditions
oh so rare
but God,You know the secret place
where only You can reach
and as they face these battles,God,
i pray that You will teach
that You are in control
as the world spins right along
that You hold in Your hands
time and moments~Yours alone
teach me how to pray,my God,
for these in whom You're working
take away each doubtful thought
that in me might be lurking
give me the faith and them the strength
to 'wait Your plans revealed
anticipating glory You'll bring
as we see each one healed...

*jb*

so many people are hurting!so many people are ill ~ i am so thankful to know that You are in control,because sometimes satan tries to make me think he is winning!i pray,Father,that You will bring Yourself glory through the healing of these,Your children!and that many will come to know You as a result of knowing them!

too busy...

2010-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

hardly finding time at all to write my thoughts to You
life has been so busy, Lord, what is this child to do?
many good things, though they are, steal my time away
but these morns with You alone - what gets me through the day
keep my mind, Lord, stayed on You - though busy I may be
that even in the rush of life, Your way I plainly see
I am weary of this world, its charms are all in vain
yet this is where You have me now, oh help me not to strain
but rest in You and all day through, just constant keep my heart
that even in the busyness - far from the quiet start
I may sense You guiding me, come whatever may
and as I lie at quiet night, may I ever say -
He is my all,
my savior, friend -
He led me all the way

Your plans...

2010-04-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Your plans,Lord,and not my own
let me not go ahead
rushing as i'm prone to do
help me to wait instead
oft' i tell You what we will do
and ask Your blessings then
but if i wait and ask Your will
help me to comprehend
that then Your blessings naturally flow
for the work is Yours not mine
and i can rest amid the storms
having waited for Your light to shine

*jb*

galatians 3:3
are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

psalm 62:5
my soul, wait thou only upon God.

psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

proverbs 3:5-6
trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

absolute surrender...

2010-04-25T07:45:00.001-07:00

"Father, let the Holy Spirit have full dominion over me, in my home, in my temper, in every word of my tongue, in every thought of my heart, in every feeling toward my fellow men. Let the Holy Spirit have entire possession."

from Absulute Surrender, Andrew Murray

grace upon grace...

2010-04-15T06:35:00.001-07:00

teach us to love, Lord
despite our quirky ways
to look past our differences
and give each other grace

we walk through life uniquely
and see through our own eyes
and You, Lord, set the standard
that to us each applies

so let us be ourselves
accountable to You
withholding our judgments
about what others do

and let there be a peace
a security in knowing
that we love each other best
when our differences are showing

give me Your eyes more
to look at others' hearts
embracing Your image
in each our deepest part

for we're in this life together
not by accident, but design
so grace upon grace extending
may this be our bottom line

*jb*

overflow...

2010-04-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

i am reading absolute surrender by andrew murray. this is what he reminded me of today:

1john 4:20 - if a man say, i love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

if is say, "i cannot love her."

andrew murray says,"oh, friend, you have not learned the lesson that Christ wanted to teach above everything. let a (girl) be what (she) will, you are to love (her). love is to be the fruit of the Spirit all the day and every day. yes, listen! if you don't love that unloveable (girl) whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen? you can deceive yourself with beautiful thoughts about loving God. you prove your love to God by your love to your (sister); that is the one standard by which God will judge your love to Him. if the love of God is in your heart, you will love your (sister). the fruit of the Spirit is love."

oh, search my heart
where ere may be
lack of love today

show me truths
about myself
where i have missed Your way

have i looked down
and thought myself
better than someone?

yet walked a mile
i, in their shoes,
might better understand

oh, fill me up
to overflow
on all who pass my way

that though unlovely
to the world,
my judgment cast away,

i might reach out
in love You give
and to that one extend

the grace and mercy
i've received ~ undeserved
to that friend

for how can i
the unloveable see
and yet choose not to love?

but say to You
i cannot see
looking from above...i love You?

*jb*

1cor 14:1a
let love be your highest goal

*photoborrowedfromdragonflyspoetryandprolixity

questions...

2010-04-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

if i don't prompt them on their way ~ will You? guide them?
if i step out and let them fall ~ will You? catch them?
i say i trust You all the way ~ do i? really?
i say their future's up to You ~ do they? is it?
You say You have plans bringing hope ~ for them? for me?
You say You're with us every step ~ today? always?
if i tell them what You say ~ will they ~ hear You?

Go to the altar ~ leave them there ~ will i? obey You?

*jb*

the Lord showed me this morning - it is mediocrity that i fear - He has shown me this before, but apparently i have more to learn, because here it is again! this time - not just in myself, but in my children. what is the balance between:

motivating and self-initiative
reminding and responsibility
leading and walking beside
too much and not enough
excellence and mediocrity
me hearing and them hearing
loving and controlling
trusting and fearing
obedience and sin

i know in my head ~ help my heart

gen 22:12b
for now I know that you truly fear God. you have not withheld even your beloved son from Me.

psalm 127:1a
except the Lord build the house,they labour in vain that build it

coram Deo...

2010-04-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

May I live my Father God
Before Your face alone
Let me lift up only You
Not blessings You bestow

Such a human thing to do
To worship what You give
Rather than just worship You
And for Your glory live

Teach me as I teach my own
To mostly speak of You
Not caught up in all that the world
Is saying we should do

May their work bring glory, Lord
Ordinary as it may be
But may their faith be exceptional
Their hearts seek after Thee

Teach me how and what to teach
Call me, Lord, anew
Not to labor or to toil
But to rest and trust in You

*jb*

i subscribe to homeschooling today magazine ~ an article by r.c.sproul,jr. hit home with me this issue...here are a few quotes: *"he does not delight in his son's gifts but seeks validation through them...we turn the joy of discovery into the agony of drudgery...the problem wasn't what he was pursuing but that Solomon's pursuits did not take him to the Source...if we homeschool to attain or acquire, then we miss the point - we fail to consider the lilies of the field...let us acknowledge the glorious truth that we do not live under the sun but live coram Deo, before the face of God...may He be pleased through us to raise up children of ordinary abilities and extraordinary faith" ~ amen

*fromhomeschoolingtoday,march/april2010.vol19.issue2-rcsprouljr-solomoninallhisglory

white...

2010-04-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

a drop of red falls to the ground
unnoticed, but by One
a kiss ~ He let them take Him then
His passion just begun

denied and broken hearted
deserted by His friends
He stood alone and quiet
He knew how it would end

more drops of red ~ too many now
but numbered by the One
Who watched the silent suffering
of His own precious Son

why would He bear for one like me
who nailed His hands, His feet
who spat upon the face of God
from sin to set me free?

i cannot fathom this great love
that suffers willingly
for i who turned my back on Him
denying my great need

but i was chosen He has said
before the bounds of time
and at the cross the red that flowed
was by His plan designed

it covers me and cleanses me
and sets my heart aright
that when i turn and face my God
He sees not red but white...

*jb*

romans 5:6-11
when we were utterly helpless,Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. but God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. and since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ,He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. for since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. so now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

lilies & sparrows...

2010-04-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

oh my heart is heavy
it seems too much to bear
some good some not so lovely
for all of it You care

i find myself so thankful
You hear me all the day
as i walk both through blessings
and difficulties on my way

You will not leave, forsake me
i remember in my mind
for i just could not make it
but for your presence all the time

You care for lilies and sparrows
so glad You care for me
and as i care for others
may it be You they see

*jb*

matthew 6:27~29
who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
and why do you worry about clothes? see how the lilies of the field grow.they do not labor or spin.yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

matthew 10:28-30
do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body.are not two sparrows sold for a penny? yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.and even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

hearing from God...

2010-03-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

santa clarita

the bell tower at biola

biola library

we just returned from a wonderful trip to California. when you grow up in the south ~ so far from there, you kind of wonder what all the "hype" is about CA! i soooo love my florida beach! but we had such a great time and it was really fun because it was all new to us.

we have begun the journey to discover where our son will go to college, and CA is where it started. he played b'ball this year with what i call "the dream team". who ever gets to play on a team filled with Godly best friends?? what a blessing! anyway, they went to a tournament in riverside, so we decided to make a week of it! we visited The Master's College and Biola. We met with the president of Providence College, drove the campus of Azusa Pacific and even Pepperdine ~ just for the views!

so, this is our prayer...that God will speak to sam's heart about where He wants sam to go. that our hearts (mine and tommy's) will be in agreement with what the Lord shows sam. that when he goes to college, he will know that we didn't send him where we wanted him to go...that he didn't pick someplace he thought would impress others or that had a great cafeteria or sports team...but that he would go knowing that he is going where God has led him!

i'll keep you posted!

can be...

2010-03-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

a man named steve garber came to visit our church a few weeks ago. he was the guest speaker at the men's retreat and then he spoke to a group of students and adults during the sunday school hour. he's had some amazing experiences ~ i loved his depth, his heart, his questions...and answers...

one of the concepts he shared was a timeline of sorts with creation on one end and eternity on the other.

he said at creation, everything was as it "should be" and at eternity, everything becomes as it "will be" ~ but we live on the shaky line in between the two...and on the line near creation, is the point of the fall. after that point, the "should be" becomes the "is" ~ as in "it is what it is" or "that's just the way it is" ~ understand?? but then, there comes this other point along the line, and it happens at the cross ~ it is at that point that another option is offered ~ a departure from the "is" ~ and that option is called the "can be"...

i've been here before
but you've not been with me
open,Lord,this door
show how it can be

living in the is
broken hearts and tired
longing for the should be
or awaiting glorified

but the abundant life You promised
can be ours right now
that is what we seek
Father,show us how

preservation set aside
jumping off an edge
will we hurt this time?
catch us,Lord,we beg

give us a new hope
springing from inside
let us not give up
in can be to abide

*jb*

ephesians 3:19
may you experience the love of Christ,though it is too great to understand fully. then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

prayer for friends...

2010-02-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

right now i sit in blessing
while others sit in need
how might You use me,Father
to plant a tiny seed?

a word of encouragement?
a shoulder for their tears?
use me,heavenly Father
as they face their fears

may my life be an offering
poured out into theirs
holding nothing back
Your love may i share

so many who are weary
wondering how they will endure
give me wisdom,Father
words that help them to be sure

that You have not forgotten
or left them in their need
but You're working every minute
and Your plans will succeed

in making us like You
as we share our struggles here
'til we stand before You,Father
hand in hand ~ then all things clear!

*jb*

Ephesians 3:16-17
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

drudgery ~ transformed

2010-02-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 60:1
“Arise, Jerusalem! (Jennifer!) Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you.”

Today, Oswald Chambers' selection was about drudgery. (Don’t you love old words like that! Words that we don’t use so often anymore, and then when you hear them, you think - oh, that’s such a good word!) Anyway, he reminded me that when I arise and shine in the midst of everyday things, that “drudgery becomes divinely transfigured.”

He went on to say “drudgery is work that is very far removed from anything to do with the ideal – the utterly mean grubby things.” And then he says “some people do a certain thing and the way in which they do it hallows that thing for ever afterwards. It may be the most commonplace thing, but after we have seen them do it, it becomes different. When the Lord does a thing through us, He always transfigures it.”

What a blessing this reminder is since it has been with an “attitude of drudgery” that I have been facing my days lately. Now I see anew that if I do what He is telling me, He will transform it! The very mundane, will become lovely!

A trip to the grocery store ~ becomes ~ a shared family meal

The writing of another paper with my children ~ becomes ~ perseverance in their character

The cleaning of my house ~ becomes ~ a welcoming home,ready for friends

Math lessons ~ become ~ diligence and excellence in all my children do

You alone can do this, Lord ~ transform our drudgery!

2010-02-14T06:17:00.000-08:00

"You wish to hear from me why and how God is to be loved? My answer is: The reason for loving God is God Himself, and the measure in which we should love Him is to love Him without measure." ~ Bernard of Clairvaux

HaPPy VaLenTinE's DaY!!!

2010-02-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Audrey's sister Ruth joined us for cooking class yesterday! We made Red Velvet cupcakes.

soooo pretty!!

Ruth kept saying the batter looked like ketchup!! yuck! We think the hand over her head thing is her halo!! Thanks, Ruth, for being such a sweet girl! Good job girls!

sauces continue...

2010-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Tuesday we continued with working through the 5 Mother Sauces...it was time for Veloute. Another pretty white sauce made starting with a roux (combination of butter and flour cooked together) and then adding stock (chicken, fish or vegetable - we used chicken stock) and then salt & white pepper to taste. The veloute can then be transformed into several other sauces including "Supreme", which is the one we made. We reduced the veloute by 1/4 then added tempered heavy cream, butter and lemon juice. It was soooo rich, silky and delicious! We served it over some roasted chicken and we also roasted some veggies to go along side. It made for a bigger lunch than what we usually have, but it was really good!

waxes & wanes...

2010-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

waxes & wanes
my determination
i want to deal with this
but i don't

it must be done
but it's just too hard
this will be different
maybe it won't

a battle's going on
here within me
it's worth fighting for
it's gonna hurt

i know there's more
status quo's not so bad
you must be strong
just lie down

every thought captive
it's someone else's fault
the battle is raging
it can't be won

I AM in control
it's all up to me
I can turn a heart
this won't work

now is the time
just wait & see
it's worth the risk
no it's not

you're fully loved
you don't deserve
for all have sinned
you're the worst

voice in my head
Voice in my heart
a turning point
trust in Me

give up control
I'll give the words
I'm the Redeemer
you will see

it's not up to you
this is about Me
glory to Myself
I will bring

you will be free
open your heart
step in the place
no lingering

transparency
honest open heart
humility
these My plan

it won't be easy
I will be there
trust not yourself
but My hand

*jb*

from Shattered Dreams~
"The movement begins unseen. Slowly, sometimes not for years, it becomes visible. When we catch sight of the trickling stream that will eventually develop into a river with force enough to carry us toward joy, a new kind of hope stirs. God is working when we see nothing but darkness. He is moving with rhythmic purpose through our agony and pain to unimaginable joy...Knowing that He's moving at all sometimes becomes the central piece of faith we need to keep ourselves moving. The courage not to quit, not to settle..."

Jer.5:22,24
Why do you not tremble in My presence? I, the Lord, am the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss & roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set...Let us live in awe of the Lord our God, for He gives us rain each spring & fall, assuring us of plentiful harvests.

He ~this HOLY, powerful God~ has His eye on us today!

~more Oswald Chambers~

2010-01-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

"Speak,Lord"
That is the mindset Oswald Chambers encourages. Facing my circumstances, encounters, pressures in light of God speaking to me through all of them. He says,"Make time to listen...as we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus, we shall hear God all the time." Do we really get it? The providence of God ~ as the world pushes randomness...

"Gratitude of mind for the favorable outcome of things, patience in adversity, and also incredible freedom from worry about the future all necessarily follow upon this knowledge (of God's providence)...Ignorance of providence is the ultimate of all miseries; the highest blessedness lies in the knowledge of it." ~ John Calvin

Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

longing for more...

2010-01-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

take me to the quiet place
where i can be with You
speak,Lord,to my very heart
as only You can do

the world sometimes is just too loud
it swirls with busy days
slow my heart and free my mind
and give me time to gaze

upon Your face, please fix my eyes
oh let me know You more
for i am weary of this pace
i just want to explore

the very depths of You my God
is all that will fulfill
the longing in this heart of mine
help me to be still

early in the morning,Lord
i wake to be with You
meet me in that quiet place
fill me and renew

my thoughts,my heart,my time,oh Lord
i place them in Your hands
water,prune,and teach me Lord
and help me understand

what in my life You're doing,Lord
where You want me to grow
then make my roots go way down deep
much more of You to know

*jb*

Matt.11:28-30
Then Jesus said,“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Colossians 2:7
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

His plans...

2010-01-28T05:48:00.001-08:00

someone asked me the other day if i thought we would move back to tennessee if the Lord leads sam to go to college over there. i realized i've never thought of that! i want so much for my heart and mind to be so tuned to Him being in control, that i just know He will take care of my heart if He takes our son far away ~ if He leads sam to the south, wonderful, but that will be sam following God and at some point~not that it will just be easy~ but we must let him follow the Lord's calling for him, even if it’s in a different direction than His calling for us. will i just easily send our son off to the other side of the country (even with my sweet sister and parents over there!) no, i’m not so naive as to think it will be easy, but if we know that is where our Lord has led him, who am i to stand in the way or to think i need (or sam needs me) to go with him.

this is good to think about now ~ while sam is in 10th grade. we are praying that the Lord will make clear His desires,His designs for our son,and that sam will more and more sense His leading for himself. i pray we will always, always submit our lives,our futures to His plans and i pray we will have the courage to trust our children and their lives and futures to His plans.

Jer.29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

struggling...

2010-01-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

oh how thankful i am for men like oswald chambers...wonder if he knows up in heaven how he continues to bless us here?

today's entry~
vision & darkness

Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him, as it were, in the shadow of His hand, and the saint's duty is to be still and listen.There is a darkness which comes from excess of light, and then is the time to listen...When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you will wait His time. Never try to help God fulfill His word...Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God; in books and prayers...is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings? (WOW!) "I am the Almighty God" - El Shaddai. The one thing for which we are still being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other people become shadows. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever perturb the one who is built on God. ~from My Utmost for His Highest~

*posted for my sweet friends ~you know who you are~ who needed to hear this as much as i did today!

our cooking class continues...

2010-01-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

we are about to move into the section of our class where we will learn about sauces! we've already "mastered" the white (béchamel) sauce and we've made hollandaise too, but before moving on, we slipped in a day of making homemade pasta ~ oh soooo yummy and LOTS of fun too! we made the dough, let it rest, then used a pasta maker to roll it out to the perfect smooth, silky (and we thought quite beautiful) texture for delicious pasta! we decided to cut some into fettuccine noodles and to hand cut some into raviolis. we made alfredo sauce for the fettuccine and stuffed the raviolis with a cheese filling and topped it with homemade marinara. we added salad and garlic bread to complete the meal. it took most of saturday afternoon ~ but the reward was our 2 families enjoying a great meal together saturday night!

friends...

2010-01-16T04:36:00.000-08:00

blue on a canvas
red and then some green
colors start to mingle
but the plan is yet unseen

the Artist's gentle strokes
guide the colors where He wills
He's painting something lovely
that in time He will reveal

something we had asked for
yet none of us knew how
this thing He would accomplish
we start to see just now

but He has been there painting
on the canvas of our lives
every stroke intentional
sometimes hidden from our eyes

but now He lets us see
a mere glimpse of His plan
He's bringing it together
with the brush of His hand

here He moves a family
there He prods a heart
bringing it together
this lovely work of art

step back for a minute
remember where we've been
the masterpiece He's painting
looks just like our friends

this burden...

2010-01-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

i'm reading My Utmost for His Highest this year in the mornings. it's funny how i ask the Lord what i should read in this time with Him & then He lays something on my heart & then some days the entry for that day is the perfect thing i need to hear!

today was such a day ~ here is little of what oswald chambers had to say:

"when God gets us alone by affliction, heartache or temptation, by disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted affection, by a broken friendship - when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are dumbfounded, and cannot ask one question, then He begins to expound...if you are going on with God, then the only thing that is clear to you, the only thing God intends to be clear, is the way He deals with your own soul. your brother's sorrows and perplexities are an absolute confusion to you. we imagine we understand where the other person is,until God gives us a dose of the plague of our own hearts...Jesus can expound nothing until we get through all the noisy questions of the head and are alone with Him."

my heart, o Lord, is heavy
i'm weary of this load
is there a place to lay it down
somewhere along this road?

this burden that i carry
it seems too much for me
how do i surrender
and leave it, Lord, with Thee?

i have no understanding
of what is going on
the hurt sometimes so painful
i feel i am alone

my heart says You are with me
i can trust You through this way
You will not ever leave me
but guide me day by day

and now a revelation!
i've looked at this all wrong
searching for a way out
not Your plan all along

this burden You have given
it's not to be laid down
but carried through the fire
i'll be quiet, You expound...

*jb*
deut 31:6
be strong and courageous.do not be afraid or terrified...for the LORD your God goes with you;He will never leave you nor forsake you.

mal 3:3a
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify(and refine)like gold and silver.

first snow...

2009-12-18T06:08:00.000-08:00

temperature drops
clouds gather
grayness fills the day

people hurry
grocery shelves empty
be ready~come what may

home at last
everything sealed up
better drip the faucets just in case

dinner blessing
includes "please send lots of snow"
bringing smiles to every face

fireplace roars
hot cider simmers
weather channel predicts where & when

kids check the windows
look for the first flake
hope for "school closings" to begin

quilts & afghans
pj's of flannel
all settled snugly in bed

anticipation
hard to fall asleep
visions filling each head

then about 2:00 AM
something awakens
look out the window & view

world of whiteness
silently covering
all things being made new

storehouse of snow
angels shoveling
transformation only You can bring

beauty
purest beauty
in my heart do the same thing

*jb*

job 37:6a
He says to the snow,'fall on the earth'

ezekiel36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

*photo~www.topnews.in/files/SnowFallss3.jpg

what to do with hurt feelings?

2009-12-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

like icicles gleaming clear
oh my heart would be!
examine every motive
test my thoughts and see

am i walking in Your way
or is there something deep inside
that needs examination?
Oh,Father,be my guide

so hard to discern
when emotions get involved
show me,Father ~ truth
for my thinking may be flawed

i want to assume the best
yet it's judgment i perceive
i'm willing to be wrong
let me not be deceived

relationships get messy
we're all human ~ that's for sure
so take my sinful condition
and help me to endure

the times my understanding
is put,Lord,to the test
help me to be quiet
and in Your comfort rest

*jb*

proverbs 17:9
disregarding another person's faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends

but at the same time...

proverbs 27:6a
faithful are the wounds of a friend

i will wait on the Lord to give clarity & in the meanwhile, i will trust that He is working all things together for good!

content in the present...

2009-12-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

we have an old pine chest where every year we set out all the Christmas cards from years gone by ~ it's so fun to look at them and remember what life was like "back then". if someone asked me which one is my favorite, i think almost every year i would say, "this year" ~ and it's true once again ~ God is so good! it's a blessing to be content in the present ~ to embrace what He is doing & where He has me NOW. for all the talk of the challenges & difficulties of teenage years ~ i say "bah humbug!" i love my teenagers & their teenage friends! this time is a gift from God ~ they spend time with us, share their thoughts & feelings with us, their struggles & victories because they choose to now and that is a blessed Christmas & everyday gift that gives more joy than my simple words can express...i love my children TODAY!!

beauty...

2009-12-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

frozen beads pitter~pat against the pane
walkways sparkle 'neath the frozen rain

every light reflects in a blur
like looking through old glass windows at the world

frozen branches begin to twinkle & shine
holly berries glisten & remind

that we the best decorations cannot buy
just look at the stars in the sky!

this season is His & His alone
may the beauty of it turn hearts to His Son

*jb*

psalm 19:1
the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.

for gwenn...

2009-12-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

my friend is moving on
strange cause it's usually me
who's packing for a new place
what the Lord has next ~ waiting to see

they're leaving us ~
a sense of sadness tempts me to despair
another friend to love from a distance
in my life something not so rare

but they go because the Lord is leading
and their obedience i love to see
His sweet presence traveling with them
to my beloved home ~ tennessee!

the gift of friendship oh so special
even with the risk of a broken heart
i wouldn't trade a single minute
though now we'll live far apart

for the Lord's knit our hearts together
i pray for her family & she for mine
He's given again a precious sister
a friend for a lifetime ~
*jb*

thank you, gwenn
we love each one of you
and pray God's watchcare over
your sweet family as you walk in His way.
see you in tennessee ~ love

psalm 40:1-5
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
who have no confidence in the proud
or in those who worship idols.
O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them.

barn memories...

2009-12-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

time is passing quickly
the old barns ~ they disappear
fewer the people who've experienced
the scents & sounds i hold so dear

the smell of fresh~cut hay
just unloaded from the truck
stacked up high in the hayloft
a perfect place to read a book

and in the neatly kept tack room
the fragrance of leather & saddle soap
a little, wooden chair in the corner
bins filled with sweet~feed, a little corn & some oats

the stalls with waiting horses
stamping feet & whinnying low
waiting on their dinner
their nostrils, they snort & blow

grain spills from a bucket
a sweet sound to the ear
the horses greedily digging in
like they haven't eaten in a year!

and later in the evening
as the animals settle down
the hush of gentle breathing
music of crickets the only sound

step outside in the flood of moonlight
stand & gaze at a thousand stars
was this what that evening looked like
that special night in Bethlehem far?

*jb*

let the stable still astonish...

2009-12-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

let the stable still astonish:
straw - dirt floor,dull eyes,
dusty flanks of donkeys,oxen;
crumbling crooked walls;
no bed to carry that pain,
and then, the child,
rag-wrapped, laid to cry
in a trough
who would have chosen this?
who would have said: "yes,
let the God of all the heavens
and earth
be born here, in this place"?

who but the same God
who stands in the darker,fouler
rooms
of our hearts
and says,"yes,
let the God of Heaven and Earth
be born here-
in this place."

~lesile leyland fields

busy but blessed!

2009-12-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Dec.1~
My house had boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations scattered all around. As soon as i woke up, I realized that I had a stressful day ahead of me: taking Sam to Gileskirk, needing to get a few things for his first basketball game that night, Audrey coming over for cooking class, Elle to piano where she and Audrey would see if they were ready to play a duet they had been working on, then I would need to pick Sam up, study for Biology, finish a poem for Gileskirk, Elle had history, I had a doctor appointment very close to the time we needed to leave for Sam's game which was not in a great part of town, so we were going by Tommy's work so we could all go together - oh and by the way, Sam's new b'ball shoes hadn't arrived yet (ups) - did I mention Christmas boxes everywhere and a tree not even 1/2 decorated??!!

Well, I began to pray as soon as my feet hit the floor! Lord, give me the ability to meet the challenges of the day and to respond as it would be pleasing to You. Make my words- Your words. My reactions - Your reactions. I even shed a few tears on my friends shoulder over this "busyness" when she dropped her son off to ride with us...
So, we were off to Gileskirk - thinking we probably wouldn't have time to cook the delicious recipe (gourmet mac & cheese) that I had planned! But, after dropping Sam off, we were quickly able to find what we needed for b'ball at Sports Authority. Elle, Audrey, and I came home and quickly got started on our cooking. Fortunately, Elle and I had chopped onions and grated cheese (Fontina, Gruyere, Sharp White Cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano) the day before! Everything came together like clockwork! The girls are becoming experts at a lovely, smooth Bechemel(white sauce). We were off to piano which went well- still a little more practice needed on their piece. We swung back by home and were able to deliver a lovely, not to mention delicious, dish of mac & cheese to Audrey's mom and her hungry brothers when we took her home!
Sam and Elle went straight to work after a little lunch and we headed to my Doctor appointment. They stayed in the car to study while I went in. As I sat waiting, I received a call letting me know Sam's basketball game had been cancelled - I couldn't believe it! Not only had things all day run smoothly - not only had the Lord given me grace to walk through a busy day properly, but now (as far as I'm concerned!) He had freed up my evening too!

We came home, and as the kids studied a little more, I was able to get to the Christmas decorating! When they'd finished their work, they joined in as we hung ornaments on the tree! Tommy and Sam blessed me even further by going ahead and moving all the storage boxes our right away. Finally, about10:30, I climbed into bed tired - but so grateful for a full day of blessings!

*Oh! and by the way, when we got home, Sam's basketball shoes were delivered and he'll be able to wear them to his game tonight!

1Peter 5:7
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

HaPpY ScRapPY QuiLt GivEaWaY!!!

2009-11-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Visit Marie-Madeline Studio and register to win one of their adorable quilts!

http://mariemadelinestudio.typepad.com/mariemadeline_studio/2009/11/the-happy-scrappy-quilt-giveaway-again.html

tradition!

2009-11-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell

the world today wants to steal away tradition!
as an unnecessary practice to impart
it tells us that it's a worthless mission
to instill tradition in our children's hearts

but the Lord says differently when we read His Word
tradition was His original intention
the Israelites were to keep their memories stirred
through feasts and festivals and frequent mention

of things the Lord had done in years gone by
He knew it was important to remember
the blessings to each family applied
traditions fanned to flame the glowing ember

so as we sit around the Thanksgiving table
and eat Grandmother's dressing another year
it's more than just a story or a fable
the lessons deeper than they first appear

our children learn tradition is a blessing
that we do things as we do from years ago
we teach them and we pass along the lessons
so future generations continue to know

that the God we worship is The One True God
traditions remind us of His guiding hand
they show the path our forefathers trod
and lead our descendants on in His plan

*jb*

Jeremiah 32:38-40
They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

face to face...

2009-11-26T04:37:00.000-08:00

face to face is how i like it
visiting ~ i mean!
friends & family just stopping by
a treat too seldom seen

nowadays people carry planners
everywhere that they go
"let me check our schedule"
leads to the response so often "no"

"somebody's got this on Tuesday
Wednesday we're running around"
calendars filled to the maximum
families riding all over town

and then there are we who stay home
at the edge of the maddening fray
but we mostly keep to our own selves
hoping for few interruptions in our day

what happened to spontaneity?
to people just dropping in?
a surprise knock at the front door
bringing to faces a happy grin!

have we lost the art of visiting
all so focused on our "to do" lists?
i fear in all we're "getting done"
simple blessings are being missed!

blessings of sitting & sharing
a cup of tea or a glass of lemonade
slowing down & just enjoying visiting
precious time & attention paid

i hope to hear unplanned knocks at my front door
to invite friends at short notice home
so i'll encourage diligence in the time given
when we are at home alone

so that when the opportunity rises
and visitors call face to face
we'll be ready to set ourselves aside
our loved ones knowing they are welcome in this place

*jb*

acts2:46
...they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts

take time to read...

2009-11-24T07:11:00.000-08:00

I added a new blog to my "blog list". Joyfully Home is the blog of Voddie Baucham's daughter, Jasmine. What a wise and gifted young lady she is. Take a few minutes to spend some time hearing what she has to say...you'll be blessed!

awaken, awaken, awaken...be the church!

2009-11-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

have you read the Manhattan Declaration?
visit www.manhattandeclaration.org

read and sign on if the Lord leads you...

"Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's."
-from The Manhattan Declaration

oreo again ~ don't you just love this :)

2009-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

all except the amish...

2009-11-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

the turn of century brought new ways of life
new inventions popped up everywhere
to some the new ways caused their thinking strife
as they determined what might be a snare

they did not want to lose their simple ways
yet time was moving to a faster pace
how would the amish choose to keep their days
from being lost to the ever moving race

the horseless carriage with its speed to go
might make their families lives much easier
the bishops must determine how to know
if this would only make them busier

they gathered for a meeting of the minds
the people were committed to their ways
this new invention sure might save them time
but just what might it also take away?

the boys, they all gathered by the door
for they had seen the horseless carriage’s speed
they were thinking a “yes vote” was for sure
to help each amish family with their needs

for life on amish farms meant lots of work
and traveling by buggy took much time
the boys all remained on high alert
until the bishops’ decision they’d find

deliberations went both ways of course
the bishops seeking wisdom all the way
who knew this choice of giving up a horse
would stretch their minds to think of future days?

so on and on ‘twas best they sought to know
the boys growing worried as time passed
preserving all their simple ways ~ no show
the hope of every bishop’s vote ‘twas cast

and as emerged they from the final choice
the fate and future of their ways in hand
the amish fathers spoke as with one voice
deciding horseless carriages to ban

the boys may have disagreed at first
what harm could modern helpers ever do?
but wiser minds could look beyond the burst
of new machines attempting to intrude

the simple ways of life that most led then
were left behind for stressful,fast-paced times
oh that our Christian fathers way back when
had had the wisdom of those amish minds

for here we find ourselves pulled to and fro
the auto just the start of my remorse
and what for all these busy years to show?
but simpler times left behind with the horse

*jb*

this is for my dear friends longing for simpler times along with me!

our special guest for cooking class...RUTH!!!

2009-11-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

today audrey's little sister, ruth, joined us for our class! she was soooo good! we made applesauce cake - it smelled really yummy! ruth ran the hand mixer. she broke one of the eggs, she scrapped down the sides of the bowl as we mixed, and her cake turned out beautifully! and on top of all that...she said,"yes m'am" almost every time i asked her a question!

thanks ruth for being such a sweety-pie! you are welcome to join the big girls and me anytime!

1 peter 3:4
You should clothe yourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

for the beauty of the earth...

2009-11-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

aww!!! my sweet friend sent me this picture of these pretty cows. they call the one right up front OREO! this is near the house where we lived in pennsylvania...

take november...

2009-11-14T07:49:00.001-08:00

it's happening again
the early christmas push
shop now!on sale!get your tree!

and i love christmas
maybe more than lots of folks
but i like november just to be

a time to slow down
a time to reflect
a time to cultivate a grateful heart

i love to imagine
a simpler way of life
where each in the family knew his part

one gathered wood
to make a roaring fire
another quietly slipped through the trees

hunting the bird
that on the special platter
perfectly roasted was sure to please

another gathered acorns
a small pumpkin or two
and magnolia leaves for a centerpiece

while mother in the kitchen
filled the home with scents
as anticipation of the meal increased

then finally the time
began to draw near
close family & friends had arrived

young eyes filled with wonder
as the table they beheld
filled with bounties from the earth derived

all gathered 'round
clasping hands,grateful hearts
as daddy's voice spoke familiar words

"we thank Thee for these
and all Thy blessings received
from Your hands alone given,Lord"

simple ways,simple days
my heart longs for those times
but here & now is His place for me

so may i take november
and with a thankful heart remember
simply grateful is what He wants me to be

*jb*

Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

waiting on the Gardener...

2009-10-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

make me, Lord, a garden
till my very soul
so the deepest parts of me
surrender to Your hold

underneath the surface
Your tiller overturns
stones that need removing
that by me must be spurned

i, Your laborer, go out
in the field that is my life
gathering stones unpleasing
causing sin, condemnation, strife

and then Your plow digs deeper
to the very heart of me
revealing impure motives
thoughts no one else can see

the pain of this deep plowing
the guilt and oh the shame ~
You wash it all away
by sending gentle, healing rain

the Gardener walks through daily
inspecting what's been done
to see the field is ready
for His work has just begun

now the ground is fertile
the plan He's known all along
the Gardener starts his planting
and this is His sweet song

"I love you my sweet child
I've prepared you for My use
I will tend this garden
to bear the fruit I choose"

so who am i to question
seeds the Gardener will sow?
i am but a field
humble, meek and low

i pray the plantings come up
with roots that go down deep
that the Gardener as He passes
will see growth with which He's pleased

that in the times of weeding
or of pruning, sunshine or rain
may i be found abiding
trusting without strain

and as the seasons pass
may i begin to see
that i've become the garden
He planned me to be

may He find pure pleasure
may i find joy divine
as He walks the peaceful pathways
He laid out before time

*jb*

song of songs 4:16
Awake,north wind,and come,south wind!
Blow on my garden,that its fragrance may spread abroad.

john 15:1
My Father is the Gardener.

matthew 13:1-9
The Parable of the Sower
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

photo from one of my favorite gardens ~ surreybrooke in frederick,md http://www.surreybrooke.com/MainInformation.htm

Corners of a Heart...

2009-10-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

I know You must be working
Although I cannot see
The secret places - corners of a heart

A spirit so resistant
Impenetrable it seems
Faraway, it holds itself apart

I turn it over daily
And wait upon Your time
Discouragement tries to find a home

And though I may grow weary
Be tempted to give up
I'm holding onto Hope in You alone

Draw this heart to You, my Lord
As only You can do
Enter secret places hidden there

Lay it all bare and open
Tread upon my soul
Crushing yet releasing fragrance rare

You know my every corner
Nothing hides from You
A heart of stone, You can mold like clay

So, here it is my Father
I give it up to You
Trusting You are working day by day

Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Ezekiel 36:26
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

waiting...

2009-09-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

always waiting, i seem to be
at present Your plans i cannot see
let me not sit in the grip of tears
but always to Your sweet side draw near

i wait and wonder, what You do?
are You making anything new?
discouragement threatens as a rising tide
may i, in You, simply rest and hide

keep my thoughts, Lord, set on You
constantly asking what You'd have me do
and when the answer continues to be
"rest and wait, one day you'll see"

help me not to push ahead
but peacefully stay just where You have led
i want so much, my Lord, to know
but i trust Your timing is never too slow

so i wait ~ and i hope in a plan You'll reveal
keep me, Lord, quiet, peaceful and still
and when the time comes to carry out Your plan
may i be found ready in the palm of Your hand...

*jb*

col.3:1-3
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

fresh salad greens and creamy, homemade dressing...

2009-09-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

please pause my playlist before listening...

2009-09-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last night at our small group, some of our friends told us about the GOOOH Party - it means Get Out Of Our House - speaking of the House of Representatives. This is a plan to take the House in the 2010 election cycle and begin to head our country back in the direction our Founding Fathers intended! I have this posted on my Facebook too. Take a look. If you like it, pass it on! There is something we can do!

garlic & lemons :)

2009-09-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

today in our cooking class, we worked with garlic and lemons! 2 favorites around our house...we peeled, chopped, and minced garlic. we made it into paste and then we used it to make homemade croutons - so good! as for the lemons, we tried zesting, supreming and juicing and then we made a yummy lemon vinaigrette which the girls shook in jars to combine. final result: fun, learning to one day be keepers at home and a delicious salad to share with our families!

Titus 2:3-5
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be keepers at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

give me the boring life...

2009-09-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

"The reality is that boring is what most people are actually yearning for—they just don’t know it. Boring is having no people to see, no tasks to accomplish, no expectations to meet, no pressures to deal with—it is the ideal adventure. People go halfway around the world to find a secluded beach or a remote cabin or a mountain chalet, just so they can do nothing. It is dull people who have to be stimulated constantly. Something has always got to be going on." - Dr. George Grant, follow Dr. Grant's blog on my blog list ~ Grantian Florilegium

1 Timothy 2:1-3
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone...that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.This is good, and pleases God our Savior.

Hebrews 12:14a
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy...

science/cooking class

2009-09-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

we're doing "science" in a different way this last year of jr high. elle and i have decided to work through martha stewart's cooking school. one friend, audrey, will be joining us regularly as her mom teaches sam in the gileskirk class. yesterday isabelle was able to join us too. we learned about herbs - tender & robust - we visited aj's for some fresh basil, oregano, rosemary & thyme and each girl brought home a baguette to take her family so they could sample the italian herb infused olive oil we made. so yummy and so pretty!! we also practiced stripping and chopping herbs. next, we moved on to onions. everyone cried as we practiced peeling, slicing and chopping them! we learned to sautee and caramelize onions. the caramelized onions were finally used to make an onion tart. Yum!