A Sweet Perfume

    It's Tuesday once again and January is just about done for another year. Today the snow has been swirling and the wind whipping. This morning I got up and poured myself a cup of coffee, snuggled into my chair to do my devotions, when what should I see scurry across the floor but a little rodent. Needless to say my heart rate went up a bit. I spied the little intruder about 4 times and even set out a trap, but he eluded it. Can't say I'm thrilled, but oh well.
   
     This past weekend, my parents came up for a visit. We had a nice time and I'm so glad that Buirlen has not one but two sets of loving grandparents who are involved in his life.

   
    The baby goats are starting to arrive out at the farm. It was fun to take Buirlen out to see them. He found them to be rather interesting.

It was gorgeous out!

 Checking out the goats with Uncle Jordan

This little boy is quite the climber. He as literally been getting into things lately. 

He's not walking yet, but getting pretty steady on his feet. 

The other day I was thinking about 2 Corinthians 2:14-15a

"But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God."

    Smells can be powerful and potent things and they can leave a hefty impression. (I will never forget the time the skunk sprayed the side of our house permeating everywhere. It was awful and we were fragrant for awhile!)They can be awful and distract you until you find and get rid of it...(That rotten potato in the bottom of the potato pail) Or, they can be wonderfully pleasant, and comforting, reminding us of loved ones, and moments in time. 

People can have their own smells too. I remember when I was a kid some of our good friends had a very distinct smell to their home and we always knew if something came from them. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was uniquely theirs. Jordan mentioned the other day that one of his shirts smelled like my house, (I like that he's around enough these days for that to be a thing).

Anyway, Jesus makes us whole and fragrant in the most lovely way possible. When we are His we spread His fragrance to the world. I like this and I surely hope it's true in my life. That I am known as a child of the King and that my life carries His fragrance. 

To spread the love of Jesus like a sweet perfume. to be a pleasant fragrance to The One who knows us to the core, This is awesome!

Snowy Adventures

It was a beautiful and warm Saturday. This afternoon, Luke was working outside, so Buirlen and I headed out with him and tried out the sled my mom found at a garage sale. It was nice. 

My adventure buddy. 

Keeping an eye on Daddy

Checking out the cold, white stuff.

Cutie pie.

"Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child's eye--it is very beautiful." 

~Kailash Satyarthi

Grow in Grace

      For the past couple of years, I have chosen a verse. Something that fits with what my goals for the year are, something that I am striving to grow in or learn(2017). This year, I have chosen,

2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

     One of my goals for this year is to truly learn to live forward in grace. All to often, I find myself stuck. What I mean by this is that I look back to decisions I've made, mistakes, sins etc. and obsess over them. I Play the "What if" game, thinking about what I should have done instead, beating myself up over it. And this isn't good. In our discussions on this, my husband has often told me that I need to live forward in grace. Meaning, strive to be my best, to do what's right, to change what needs to be changed, but to leave the past. To allow the grace of The One who loves us enough to die to be enough, and to live forward.
     And so, the other day, as I was reading my Bible, 2 Peter 3:18 popped out at my, specifically the words, "Grow in grace." That is exactly what I want to do this year. To keep growing towards Jesus, to have a deeper understanding of grace, to rest in the arms of The One who gives me life.

    As for the daily adventures of life...

I think he's a monkey at heart. 

Keeping the house warm. 

This weekend was Mr. Ephraim's birthday. He got a sword...Fun times. 

Burieln thought this whole sword business was interesting as well. 

A valiant knight and his mighty steed. 

The birthday boy shared his party with Uncle Luke who's birthday is coming up.

These are some pretty awesome cousins. 

My sister Lydia was also in town this weekend. 

It's always nice when you find someone willing to share chocolate with you. 

Delicious!

 We've decided to hop on board the Kefir bandwagon around here. It' been fun and tasty. 

Well folks it's Monday and a whole new week awaits. Find something wonderful in it!

"God answers the mess of life with one word, 'Grace,'"~Max Lucado 

John 1:16

"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."

Thy Will Be Done

     The morning light is seeping in, though it's dampened by the grey clouds and swirling snow. The past few days gave us delightfully warm temperatures, but today we are back to January in Northern Minnesota. My Love headed off to work this morning and requested that due to the state of the roads and driveway, I not go anywhere. So, Buirlen and I are all cozy and ready for a snow day.
      Lately, I have been mulling over what it means to pray, "Thy will be done." We had been studying prayer at Wednesday night Bible study and this came up, and it has just stuck in my mind. So, I've been studying it. Throughout my life, I've often heard people add this to their prayers and it had always kind of rubbed me wrong. I kind of felt like, "why do we need to say that, I don't want to say that. I just want to ask God for what I want." But as I've been dwelling on and studying it lately, the concept of "Thy will be done," has been blooming in my mind in such a beautiful and peaceful way.
    My brain tends towards worry. I've found that I can turn about any mole hill into a mountain with very little effort, and this is not healthy. I've been known to agonize over things and wonder what I should do, which direction I should take. I want to do what God wants me to do, but if it's not an issue that is clearly spelled out in His word, how am I to know for sure. But after thinking, reading, and studying about praying, "Thy will be done, " I began to understand something new.
      I texted Luke at work and asked him,

         "I'm studying about praying that God's will be done. I decided that if I'm praying this way, I can just move forward trusting that the doors that open before me or close are opening/closing because it's God's will. And this all sounds so peaceful and relaxing because, if I've been praying that the LORD's will be done, then I don't have to agonize over whether a move is the right decision. Is it really that simple?" 

And he texted back, "It is." And that knowledge was so awe inspiring to my worrisome brain. 

    Lessons, they are everywhere....A lot like adventures. Perhaps, they are one in the same. 

Yesterday's tropical temperatures made for an enjoyable walk to the mailbox!

Happy Thursday!

James 4:15

"Instead, you ought to say, 'If the LORD wills, we will live and also do this or that."

"True peace comes from knowing that God is in control." ~Unknown

10 Months

Buirlen Elder is 10 months old. He's been busy this month getting 2 teeth, walking around furniture, climbing, and getting into things. He's discovered that the pantry cupboard is a rather fun place to explore and that he can climb on the bucket of potatoes to better reach things on the shelf. He likes to pick stuff up and put it into things, be it a bowl or his dump truck. He likes playing with friends and being with Daddy and Mama, playing chase with Dad is particularly fun. He keeps us smiling.

"Mischief, giggles, fun, and love...that's what little boys are made of." ~Unknown

Our Holiday Adventures

     We are now 3 whole days into this new year and so far, it's been good...and cold. Here are 12 memories from 2017 as well as our holiday adventures. 

January: Waiting

February: Keeping life interesting. 

(Photo credits to The Lovely Keren Ruth)

March: Our world changed in an amazing way.

April: Sweetness

May: Heart melting moments

June: Best Buddies

July: Hanging out with Great Grandma Shearer

August: 6 Years!

 September: Buirlen's first camping trip.

October: We are loving having my brother Jordan back in town. 

November: Hanging out with Poppy(we like tie dye!)

December: Getting into everything and keeping life fun. 

Our Christmas adventures took us south to visit my grandparents and then on to my parents' house. 

 Buirlen thoroughly enjoyed this large box full of packing peanuts. Needless to say, we had to vacuum when he was done. 

Chatting with Great Grandma

Checking out the ornaments. 

4 generations.  

My brother Mick and his wife Payge

Jordan and Jesse being so excited for the camera.  

My parents have had this wooden nativity set my entire life. I have fond memories of playing with it often as a kid. Buirlen discovered it's joys as well. 

While we were in town, we got to stop in for a visit with my good friend Polly and meet her adorable new baby Ruthie. Buirlen thought she was interesting. 

My mom and Mick made Buirlen this awesome busy board. It has all sorts of fun things and on the back there is a ball shoot. Fun times!

For the new year we went to visit Luke's sister Martha and her family in their new home. It was a lovely day. 

Chatting with Uncle Derek

This cookie is serious business

And so delicious! 

 Cousins

So there you have it. Enjoy this lovely day, stay warm, and remember to keep your eyes open for adventures. 

"Let today be the start of something new." ~Unknown