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."

Walking on Sunshine

     It's Friday and it has been one of those happy, sunshine in your soul, kind of days. The temperature was in the 70's, there was a warm breeze, and the sun was out in all its glory. Buirlen and I had kind of a slow start to our day but once we got going, we filled it to the brim with goodness. A walk in the sunshine by the sparkling lake, lunch with Grandpa, Grandma, Keren and cousins, and coffee with a good friend from work.

Sometimes it's just hard to get yourself going in the morning. Today was just such a day. 

Walking on sunshine!

Cousins that just happened to coordinate.

He likes to sit upright and observe the world. 

     At the beginning of the year, I decided that I needed to make some changes to my perspective. I needed to shake up my faith and start living a life that was not dictated by fear. It is certainly still a challenge for me, but I feel like I am making progress in the right direction. I still struggle with fear, but in some ways I feel like its grip on me is not quite as strong. I feel like I can rest in peace more easily these days. I desire to see this progress continue to move forward. I am so ready to live in the complete freedom that Jesus Christ has given me and you. Freedom to walk in the sunshine of life knowing that The One who created your soul wants to walk with you. 

    So as we head into the weekend, I hope that your heart is full to the brim with sunshine. I hope that you seek truth and stand firmly in it and that the joy of Jesus overwhelms you in a wonderful way. Happy Friday!

Here is a happy little song for your weekend. 

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."

Happy Easter

     A most happy Easter to you! This morning at Church we sang the song "Because He Lives." Now I have sung this hymn many times before, but it stood out in particular today because of the verse, "How sweet to hold a new born baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives..." How sweet indeed, this little guy is so wonderful and I am so blessed to get to be his mom. But today, I noticed the second half of the verse for kind of the first time, "But greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives." Buirlen is in God's hands! Luke's and my goal is to raise this little boy to love and honor the LORD and to stand in faith and truth.

Looking pretty snazzy.

     So a bit of randomness for you, the other day I was sitting on the couch and I looked out the window to see a girl and a cow walking down the road in front of our house. And then another cow and another. I have no idea why they were herding cows down the road or where they were going. Later on while we were outside we found several cow pie surprises left in the yard.

    So, Buirlen likes to sleep with his face smashed into things. He seems to particularly like Luke's armpit and they snuggle this way frequently. Silly boy!

My sweet little Honey Bee

"Because He Lives" by William and Gloria Gaither

Happy Sunday!

"It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful." ~Unknown

Birthdays, Shoes, and other Randomness

     Yesterday was My Love's birthday. The big 30. He spent a good chunk of the day working out in his shop, creating.

      This is the 7th birthday I have gotten to celebrate with him. The first one was his 24th when we were dating. He is such a good man. He has an unshakable faith, a gentle spirit, a kind heart, and an easy laugh. He works hard and he loves to learn. I am so blessed to be able to live life with him.
      He had requested spaghetti for his birthday supper and german chocolate cake(The only cake he has ever asked for on his birthday as long as I've been around). As I was cooking the topping, I had to smile to myself remembering the first time I made his birthday cake. The recipe calls for 6 egg yolks. Now my mother-in-law occasionally will just cut the amount of eggs and use the whole egg instead of the yolk or the white, because in some cases that is just fine. So I figured I would just go ahead and do that. Well, apparently german chocolate cake topping is not a recipe where this works. As I was stirring the cooking goo I noticed that the egg whites were beginning to "scramble." Scrambled egg and pecan frosting...YUM.  So yeah, I guess you live and learn. It turned out much better this time around.
     34 weeks and 6 to go! I was thinking the other day about how Baby Williams has already amassed a nice shoe collection. I guess it runs in the family, both Luke and I have a decent collection of shoes.
    Work boots for when he needs to go split wood with Daddy(from Uncle Peter and Aunt Holly) Red Converse for when he needs a little pizazz in his outfit(from Uncle Jordan) and tractor moccasins for all his toddling needs(From Uncle Travis, Aunt Anna, and cousins)

    On another note, here is some randomness that always makes me smile. I keep a running grocery list on the refrigerator. Occasionally, after the Lovely Keren Ruth has been for a visit, I notice that new and unusual items have been added to the list. Things like chocolate and polka dotted underwear have made it on there and most recently it was armpit diapers and an ear wax candle. I like that girl, she brings joy to my life. 

    January is closer to the end than the beginning and as I've been working on my goals of learning what it means to follow Jesus, change my perspective, and live a life that is not run by fear, I've begun to think about something. I do believe that I have an idol in my life and it needs to go. An idol is anything we set up in our lives that takes top billing over Jesus, and nothing and no one is supposed to do that. I think that in a lot of ways, I have set up "The idol of my own understanding," and I turn to it a lot.

      Fear has become such an ingrained habit in my life that I will all to often listen to every thought that pops into my head and believe that it is the truth, regardless of whether or not it lines up with what God's word says. Fear can be so strong that it convinces me that these thoughts are the truth and that I must follow them. But in doing this, I take what I think I know or what I feel(my own understanding) and raise it up to a place where it does not belong. 

     Proverbs 3:5-6 says, 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean NOT on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

      Then Proverbs 28:25b-26 says, 

"But the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched. Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."

    I don't want to trust in my own understanding anymore, clearly it's a foolish way to go. I want to learn how to lay aside what my own uncertain brain tells me and look to God's word for wisdom. I want to learn how to rest in peace when I don't understand something and trust that in time, God will show me what I need to know and lead me through, rather then let fear seep in and confuse the issue. The learning goes ever on. Happy Sunday. 

"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it." ~Unknown 

"You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind." ~Joyce Meyer 

Snow, Babies, and the Truth

        Another beautiful Friday has rolled around. Yesterday, it snowed and snowed and snowed. Today, the sun finally peeked out and the world was absolutely beautiful. The evergreen trees were heavy with sparkling snow. And since it was so cold it stuck to the trees all day. The view from my classroom window was delightful.

       Despite the beauty, I did manage to pick up a cold this week. I don't know if the kids were just chill today or if I just didn't let little things bother me, or maybe they sensed my need for a chill day. Whatever the reason, it was nice. I love having a rocking chair in my classroom. We spent a good chunk of time reading and when someone needed help with math my rocking chair pulled up to their desk. I am truly blessed with the job I have.
       Exciting news! The Lovely Keren Ruth had her sweet baby this week. Mr. Ephraim James was born on Wednesday and he is the cutest little nephew. From now on the adventures of Keren and Bea will be the Adventures of Keren, Bea, and Ephraim. They will be good ones!
       The other day I got an email from Pay Pal that was not addressed to me and I don't even have a Pay Pal account. Then, this morning, on the radio, they were talking about some scam that is going around. They talked about how scammers often send out incredibly legit looking emails trying to get your information from you. This made me think about how the enemy of our souls is a class A scammer. He knows all the tricks in the book to try to deceive you into believing a lie.
     It says in John 8:44 "When he[the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar
and the father of lies." So we know that the devil is a liar, but he's not just any liar, he's the best one. In the story of Jesus in the wilderness, we see how the devil comes to Him and begins to tempt Him. And he lies to Jesus. The tricky part comes when the devil uses the Word of God to try to deceive Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-11) Just like those internet scammers can do a pretty good job of making themselves look legit the devil tries very hard to make himself look legit. It says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 "...No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." Because he wants nothing more than to scam you of the peace, joy, and hope that is yours in Jesus. 
       So on this beautiful, snowy, Friday, I hope that you lean back in the arms of the One who makes the snow sparkle and rest in His love. And if you have a baby to snuggle and kiss go for it. Because it doesn't get much better than that. 

Side note, Norbert the Turtle is a yoga master. 

"The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love." ~Margaret Atwood 



"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on." ~Carl Sandburg 

Truth

     Good morning. How are you on this fine Friday? I've been learning lately, that God's word is the absolute truth. Now I have always known this, but it is becoming more real to me. One thing that I am working on re-learning right now, is that I don't have too--in fact I shouldn't-- believe every thought that pops into my head. All to often, a thought or idea pops into my head and I accept it as gospel truth. Now I'm not saying that God can't or won't speak to you this way. But I have gotten to the point that I believe it even if it is fear or even if it doesn't line up with God's word. And that is not right. In fact, the Word has something to say about it.

1 John 4:1
" Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

And

2 Corinthians 11:3-4
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully."

      My love has been helping me to realize that this is not ok and I am trying to work on it. Though, like they say, "old habits are hard to break." So lately, I've been trying to read the Bible, all of the Bible. I so often find myself reading the same books and passages over and over. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was not reading other sections because of it. As I start to read more and more, God's words and truths jump out to me and my mind is like, "Oh God does have something to say about such and such."

     So, God's word is the absolute and ultimate truth. So, when I find myself stressed, afraid, and worried and feeling trapped by the stress, fear, and worry I need to remember what  John 8:31-32 says

"So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;  and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

      God's word will set me free from the trap my mind has set, if I allow it too work in me. Another thing the Word tells me to do is resist the devil. I will get there in a minute. But first, 1 John 4:16 says, 

" We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

      So, according to the Word of Truth, God is love. It then says, in 1 John 4:18 

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."

      So, God is love and there is no fear in love. Therefore, fear is absolutely not God. And if it is not of God than it must be of the enemy. And so I come back to what I mentioned about resisting the devil.  

James 4:7-8
" Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

    Thus, if fear is absolutely not of God, then it must be of the devil. And if we are to resist the devil, we have to resist fear.  
     So today, find rest in the Word of God. Allow it to set your mind free from whatever has it in tangles. Resist when your mind throws things your way that don't line up with the Word. And finally, rest. 

Psalms 46:10
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 

 "The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is." ~Winston Churchill