Living the Resurrected Life

I had the priviledge of going to see Beth Moore in Tucson this past Friday and Saturday. Her theme for the weekend was Living the Resurrected Life. The text was I Corinthians 15, the whole chapter. She had six points, which I will number and then some of them I may go off into further detail.
Because of Christ's Glorious Resurrection
1. By grace, we are what we are.
2. The tomb ALONE is empty.
    Because the tomb is empty, our lives are NOT empty. Anything we experience in this life is for a greater purpose. It is NEVER for nothing.
3. All is proceeding as planned.
    God is a God of perfect order. And He is perfectly creative. And according to II Corinthians 5:16-18, WE are the new creation until Christ returns and makes a new world. We are to show the hope of what is to come. As long as we think like the old person, we will act like the old person. Through the power of the resurrection, we have no excuse to stay in our bondage.
YOU were meant to be profoundly and powerfully free in the resurrection power.
4. Stone-rolling power is ours for the victory
    When we don't understand the how, we don't believe He will.
5. We get to be part of a mystery
6. We'll cheer that death is history
I have to say that one of my favorite things she talked about this weekend, was in the beginning of the chapter where Paul is laying out why we can believe that the resurrection is true, and he lists all the eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. As Paul goes through the list, he says Peter and James separately. Now, this is something I never noticed before, but nowhere in Scripture does it talk about these two meetings Jesus had, one with Peter and one with James, except here in I Corinthians. They were personal and private. She goes on to say, that Jesus, in His tenderness, met with Peter alone before He showed Himself to the rest of the disciples in a group, because He knew how ashamed Peter would feel in front of everyone else because of the way he had denied Christ before Christ was crucified. And also with James. James was the half brother of Jesus, and did not believe that Jesus was God's Son, when Jesus was crucified. But Jesus, again, in His great love and mercy, showed Himself to James privately, and their relationship was restored, and James goes on to be in charge of the church in Jerusalem, and when he writes the epistle of James, calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus. What I love about this, is the availability, the desire Christ has to meet us in private, where we are. This just really touched my heart in a deep way. That if anyone is unapproachable in my relationship with God, it's me. All me. He is just waiting for me to soften my heart and let Him in.
The praise and worship was awesome. I just can't say enough about Travis Cottrell and the rest of the men and women who work with him. They are so talented and anointed.
Coming home from something like this is always hard. You feel like you have been given all this information and it takes me a couple hours, usually at least a day, to kind of decompress all the information, let it sink in and figure out how to apply it to my life. And I don't want it to just become a distant memory, I want it to stay active and be present in my life at all times.
I am so thankful that I was able to go. It was great to be able to get away for a night, and receive some good teaching, and the chance to focus on worship admist all the distractions in this life.

March 26

Today, March 26, 2010, was the due date of our fourth child. And those of you who know me, know I am pregnant and not due until the end of July. Nate and I experienced a miscarriage back in August. August 2, 2009, to be exact. For reasons unknown to us, we lost our baby. And even though we are expecting another child, I just felt like I couldn't let this day pass without acknowledging this life that we did not get to meet. The face we did not get to see, the hands and feet we didn't get to touch,  the soft skin and new baby smell we didn't get to experience. But I know that this little soul will be waiting for us in Heaven, and I can't wait to see him or her. We had been trying for a while for baby number four, and when we found out we were pregnant, we were thrilled. About two weeks later, I started bleeding and cramping and knew that there was something wrong. It took a while for me to recover physically. There was something especially difficult in not even knowing whether we lost a boy or girl, so that we could at least name this little one. But there are several things we have learned from this experience. Namely, compassion for those who have suffered the same thing, and there are some women who have suffered the same thing over and over again. And there are some who never can have a biological child of their own. And when I think of those women, I feel so selfish, because here I am, with three healthy beautiful girls, and I am pregnant again. At times I feel so unworthy. But I believe God is faithful, and there is a miracle just waiting around the next bend in the road. It might not look like what we are expecting, but I believe it's there. So to our little angel up above, we just wanted to say how much we love you and are looking forward to seeing you one day, even though we never got a glimpse of your sweet face here on earth.
And to this new little one now moving and kicking around in my belly, we are so very excited to meet you as well, in hopefully four more months. Your sisters can't wait to love on and mother you.

The Mission of Motherhood

I am reading a book called, "The Mission of Motherhood," by Sally Clarkson. It has been one of the best books I've read on being a mom in a long time. It was so easy to read, and she gave examples from her own life with her four children on how she applied the principles she was writing about.  I just wanted to share some of the quotes that stood out the most to me.
     "Someone once observed, "Christians are like people who are trying to straighten the picture on the wall while the house is burning down!" Isn't that what we as mothers are tempted to do--to waste our energies trying to meet external standards while our children's deep spiritual needs go unmet and unnoticed?"
How true is that? At least, for me. I can become so consumed with how things look on the outside, that I don't always realize that what is important is the heart, and what is going on inside my child, not just their behavior. Your child's behavior is always a reaction to what's going on in their heart. This statement really convicted me about the tendency to worry too much about how my children appear to others, rather then the heart of my children.
     "In my observation, however, many of these experiences are more like day camps than true discipleship tools. They entertain the kids, and the best of them offer some valuable biblical training as well. Yet I know that the real work of digging deep wells in my children's hearts with Scripture, a biblical world-view, issues, of prayer and faith, and Christian convictions is a job for which God will hold Clay and me responsible, not the volunteers at church. And this is a task that is best accomplished day in and day out with our focused attention on each child's heart."
This, too, caused me to step back and really think about how much I am discipling my kids. It's so easy to overlook our responsibility and leave it to our children's club teachers, children's church teachers, and Sunday School teachers, but no, ultimately, we will have to answer for the discipling of our kids. They are our responsibility. And no one else's.
     "I have realized that one of God's purposes for my children is to be his tool for disciplining me to make me more holy! I do not have to be a perfect mom--just an authentic believer. From interacting with my children, I have seen my own selfishness and my lack of patience more clearly then ever before! I have blown it many times with my children, but even these mistakes have helped me to mature and depend on God more than I would have without my parenting responsibilities."
Amen, Amen, and Amen!!!! I have realized this so many times the last five years that I have been thrust into parenthood. This is a constant refining process, and to be honest, most days, I hate it! I hate being reminded daily of my shortcomings and failures. But that's the only way change can happen. And sometimes I need to be reminded multiple times before I grudgingly make change. God really has a sense of humor, doesn't He? He sends us little toddlers to teach us lessons! Mothering is such a humble undertaking. And frustrating. But so worth it.
If you are looking for a good book to read on how to be a better mom, and to use the dailyness of life to teach your children about God, pick up this one.

Easy meals

I know most of us are pretty busy, whether it's running a house, working a job, raising a family, or running around to various activities everyday. I had been struggling earlier in the year with homeschooling and balancing all the other household duties that I needed to accomplish throughout a day. And so I determined that I was going to become super disciplined and plan out my meals, two weeks in advance, so I could do my shopping and I would wake up each day knowing what I was making that day for our big meal, which we eat at lunchtime. So trying to homeschool and get that done in a morning was sometimes difficult.
Well, two things that really helped me was the Gooseberry Patch Super-Fast Slowing Cooking Cookbook, and  the Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites cookbook. The Once-A-Month cookbook was actually featured on a Focus on the Family Radio program last year, and I ordered it right away, and it's made my life lots easier.
Anyway, I thought I would share some of the recipes I have found that are super easy and don't take up tons of time. I especially loves those that I can just throw into the crockpot and forget about until dinnertime! This is what I made yesterday:

BEEF GOULASH

2 pounds extra lean beef ( I use stew meat, and cut it up into small pieces)
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/3 cup catsup
1 TB worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce (I don't usually add this)
1 14.5 can beef broth
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
4 medium potatoes (I don't use this either)

Brown the ground beef, chopped onion, and red pepper in skillet on medium heat. Drain and cool. Mix all ingredients together and put into crockpot. Make sure potatoes are under liquid. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

If you use the stew meat, you don't have to brown the meat. I usually make rice to eat along with it, and we eat it in a bowl, rice first, then goulash and sometimes we sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. It's so filling and good on those cool winter days. I can just throw it in the crockput in the morning and by lunchtime, we have dinner!

This recipe is from the Once-A-Month cookbook by Mimi Wiilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, and can be found on page 28.

And something that I have found helpful, is when I am at the grocery store, I will stock up on lots of onions, carrots, celery, peppers, bring them home and chop up a bunch to store in my freezer, so when  a recipe calls for them, I can just pull them out. Saves LOTS on time, which is a precious thing. I'll try to post some more as I think of them. I know I love to get new ideas.

It's a BOY!!!!

Today we went to Mexico and had an ultrasound. My sister, Ashlea is here, so she got to come along with us. I really wanted her to able to come with us and was so glad it worked out. Before we went, Nate wasn't sure he wanted to know whether we were having a boy or girl. But once we were in the room, and the doctor was checking things out, Nate called out, "It's a boy!" and then he questioned the doctor because he wasn't sure. The doctor said he would show us, and he ran the machine over that part of the baby, and sure enough, there was something there!!! We were just in shock. And I still am so surprised, just wondering, after having three girls, what it will be like, raising a man child. The measurements and pictures showed that everything is looking good, and that is a lot to be thankful for. I know there are many parents who don't receive that kind of news, and my heart goes out to them.

So we are looking forward to meeting this new member of our family. The girls are excited. They wanted a baby brother. And hopefully they still will, once he's here!

Love this CD

I just had to write a quick blog about this CD that I have been listening to almost everyday. It was released back in the spring of 2009, and I just love EVERY song, which is rare. Usually I have several favorites, but rarely do I love the entire thing. It's the CD, Jesus Saves, by Travis Cottrell. One of my favorite songs on the disc is his version of "In Christ Alone". From the first time I had heard that song, it always brought tears to my eyes. But the one that speaks the most to me, is the song, "I am persuaded." The chorus says, "Nothing in life, nothing in death, no mountain high, no ocean depth, no power below on earth or above, can separate me from Your love." I don't know if many of you know, but Nate and I experienced the loss of our fourth child back in mid August. I miscarried very early, around the six week mark, and we don't know whether we had a boy or girl, but irregardless, it still stung and hurt. I remember driving home from the grocery store, and out here that is a 35 minute drive, this song came on, and it was like balm to my soul. I felt like Jesus was sitting right there in the truck with my, grieving with me, but also reminding me that nothing can separate me from Him; even the worst circumstances, and that someday we will see that child that God saw fit to take home early. So everytime I hear that song, I am reminded of that sweet moment, where I experienced the loving comfort of my Savior.
But I just want to encourage you to get this Cd and check it out for yourself. I think he is so gifted in writing and arranging, and everytime I listen to this Cd, I feel myself being ushered into the throne room of God. I have the opportunity to see him lead worship at the Beth Moore conference in Tucson this March, and to say I am looking forward to it is an understatement! :) Plus it's a night away with other adult women, which is a rarity for me these days. I hope the music blesses you like it did me.

What's new

I know it has been so long since I have updated my blog. I still have Christmas pictures I thought I would like to upload on here of the time we spent with my family over Christmas. We went up to Greer and stayed in a log cabin for three days. It was so much fun. There was snow on the ground, and the girls had a blast playing in it. Grandpa and daddy took them out each morning in it. Charlotte wasn't too sure of it at first, but by the second day she warmed up to it. Of course, it didn't help that I didn't have any snow pants that actually fit her. Her two year body was crammed into a 9 month snowsuit!!! But I guess that's how it is when you live in southern Arizona, and rarely get to see any white stuff on the ground! Snow pants aren't in abundance at our local Target or Walmart! But anyway, someday soon, perhaps I will be motivated to upload those photos. Life has a way of just moving way too fast!



But I actually wanted to blog about what happened to my second child, Alaina this morning. I had been vacuuming the hallway and finished and was coming into the kitchen when I noticed Alaina standing at the table, crying and holding her mouth. I asked her what was wrong, expecting some teeth or a bloody mouth, but instead she gasps out she can't talk. I realize she's choking and so I start pounding her on the back. It's not helping, and she is now crying even harder because something is seriously stuck. So I turn her upside down and just start whacking her on the back. And a marble falls out onto the floor. A little marble. Thankfully that was the only one she had in her mouth. And then she threw up all over the floor. But I was glad to clean up that mess since it meant she was at least able to breath and talk again! I am still kind of surprised that the marble got stuck in her throat. I would have thought it would have just gone straight down and eventually come out the other way. But when she realized it was going down, she must have tensed up and it got stuck. I don't know. But I do know that my children had a very good object lesson about putting foreign objects into their mouths!



But this afternoon as I was laying in bed and trying to find some relief from a majorly bad headache, I was thinking about what happened this morning and what kind of lesson I could glean from this. And I realized that you could look at the marble as a metaphor for sin. Any sin. A sin that seems so small and so unlikely to hurt anyone, or yourself. And as you let it into your life, just kind of playing around with it, one day it gets lodged somewhere, and you suddenly feel choked off and fighting for air. And if you don't get rid of the sin, it could either make you really sick, or even kill you. Doesn't matter how small or insignificant it feels at the beginning, it will eventually take on a life of its own, and will ultimately own you, if you don't get rid of it. Or kill you. Wow. It's amazing the lessons you can learn from a four year old!



In two weeks my baby sister will be coming to visit us. To say I am excited would be a slight understatement. She is stopping here on her way home from Hawaii. My sister is quite the traveler. I am just so glad she is making time out of her vacation to see us. I don't know what all we will do while she is here, but she does want to go down to Bisbee and check it out. So we'll probably be antiquing and looking at some vintage stores. Being out in the middle of nowhere sometimes can feel so isolating. I check my computer for emails and facebook multiple times a day. It's quite sad actually. I am sure there are better things i could be spending my time on. But some days I just yearn for that adult connection. I mean, I am totally connected to my husband, but I think it's that girl connection I need so much. And to know there's other people out there, dealing with the same things I do each day. It's so easy to get into your little bubble world, and not have much fellowship with anyone outside my four acres. Sometimes I wonder how much good I am doing for the kingdom of God in my house with just my children. But then God reminds me, they are not just my children, they are His children. And I am raising them to be God lovers and seekers, and really, there is no more important job. But some days, like today, it still feels small. But that is when one clings to what she knows and not what she feels.