Our Daily Bread {Part 2}

I love to know about the how and the why of everything.  So when the doctor told us that I was a ticking time bomb for diabetes and that our daughter hit all of the indicators and needed it to be controlled now, I started to read.  I got my hands on every single thing I could.  And a lot of it did not line up with what my health conscious self had already learned was good for us.  So I prayed.  And I started to read the Bible with an eye for anything that might apply.

I got so much more than I bargained for!

God really does have a plan for all of this.  And, if I align our habits with His mandates, we'll be fine.  I was so encouraged, but I felt a little crazy.  I mean, who eats like they did in Leviticus?  Well, believe it or not, a lot of people.

One of my favorite blogs has been Hallee the Homemaker (and I loved her recipes before we embarked on this journey, too!) because she shares the what and the why of the Levitical plan for nutrition.  Not to mention about two years ago I felt like God was prompting me to learn how to make bread.  And not only that, to make the flour I was using in it.  I tried - and failed.  But then, at the start of this new leg of the journey, God reminded me that He did not call me to give up.  So I started to do more reading to see if maybe it was a part of the puzzle.  It was!  I found a blog (and I'm sorry I can't remember which one) that pointed me to a teach CD (order it HERE - it's totally FREE!) by Sue Becker.  I ordered it, listened to it, and was convinced it was the missing piece.  I've continued to read articles by her and watch the videos they have on their website for learning purposes.

And for the last month, it has been awesome around here.  As a homeschooling mom, I can only tell you that I wish we had changed our diets like this at the start of the journey.  And I'm so glad we're doing it now and not later.  As a parent, I can tell you that God has shown me that quality nutrition is literally a tool I use to equip my children to behave well and have a good attitude; when I deprive them of it for convenience, then I am robbing them of a tool they need to succeed with their best.  As a concerned mom wondering about various health issues in her children, I have found so much relief in seeing them all clear up!  And as a woman who has not been at her healthiest, I am feeling better than I have in years.  Even Awesome Hubby is on board!

God certainly knew what He was talking about when He spoke of daily bread.  And none of the mandates in Scripture are pointless.  I'm learning and growing in this area, and excited to see what else will be coming our way!

Our Daily Bread {Part I}

This past year has been on that has turned our lives upside down, inside out, and more!  Since last Christmas our family has grown, our home has been largely remodeled, our finances have changed, our diet has been drastically overhauled, our homeschooling style has done a total one-eighty, we have found a new church, we have started the journey of adoption, we celebrated our tenth anniversary, and about half a dozen other things I can think of off the top of my head.

The change I wanted to share with you today is one that is very exciting for me.  God has been teaching me to trust Him for His provision each day.  We've obeyed in finances, in child rearing, in regards to what activities we do and do not participate in, and even little household details.  About two years ago we started obeying God's directive to make our family healthier.  A little at a time we would eliminate something we should not eat/do and replace it with something better.  I have been learning to trust in the large and the minute details.  Each leg of the journey has made me more and more confident that my God shall supply all my needs ... even our daily bread.

A few months ago I found myself on my face before God asking Him about some things that had come to light.  I found out I am borderline diabetic and that our oldest has every single indicator of childhood diabetes, plus a few other things that go along with it ... but we were told that a diet and lifestyle overhaul could make the needed difference in her life and in mine.  I was also seeking God about behaviors.  Our daughter is prone to emotions - it was not uncommon at that point for her to spontaneously combust into a puddle of tears over just about anything.  Even she recognized that although she could not find a way to control it, it was not the response that she wanted to have in many circumstances.  Our son was getting disenchanted with school (not a happy thing for a homeschooling family!) and plain 'ol mean at times, and I was getting grouchy, tired, and overwhelmed.

And God answered.  But not in the way I expected.  Or wanted.  Or imagined in my wildest dreams.  Come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you more about it -- about how we are not worried about diabetes now (although we still choose with wisdom), about how schooling has gotten better, about how self control has all but eliminated tears and temper tantrums in both of our children, and about how my spirit has been renewed and redeemed.  God has given us each day our daily bread and it's changed our lives!

And if you're interested on why I'm challenging people to not make resolutions this year, read HERE and link up if you want to hop on board!

ReSolutions are Out; ReVolutions are In {and a Link Up!}

I'm not a big fan of New Year Resolutions.  They often fizzle out and fade away.  And then you're left with a heap of despondency and doubt in your ability to succeed as a person.

But I do like revolutions.  What's the difference?  Let me share it with you:

• A resolution is a statement of intention or setting the course of the mind.  It is an idea of what you want to do.  
• A revolution, however, is a radical and pervasive change or a complete, marked change.

So one is wanting to do something.  The other is actually changing your life and doing it.

Each year I ask God for a word and a theme.  This year my theme is abandoned to faith and my word is prudence.  At first glance, these two really don't seem like a well matched pair.  Abandoned to faith means to be completely yielded over to that which I cannot see .  Prudence is related to careful consideration and care.  But they do work together ... at least for me.

God is teaching us to walk forward in faith.  He's taken us on some crazy journeys already and 2012 is going to surpass them all.  I feel like so much of my life has been a training ground for what is coming.  The Beloved has been whispering to my heart; He is calling me to give myself completely over to Him.  I have an image in my mind of walking blindfolded through this next year, holding His hand.  And He is leading me around every dangerous place and taking my to places of beauty and wholeness.

Prudence is careful consideration, living with wisdom understanding future import of present actions, and frugality.  It relates to wisdom in relationships and life choices, stewardship of resources, and an overall attitude of discretion.

My Personal Top 5 for 2012 are:

1. Become more intimate with God; I want my quiet times to mean something
2. Get up and dressed every morning before 7 a.m.
3. To show my husband I loved him in one special way every single day
4. To love my children more than I love myself -- and have the way I allocate my time be reflective of that
5. To exercise discipline and self control in my choices (diet, exercise, time)

My Top 5 for the Home in 2012 are:

1. To nurture our spirits with daily family devotions
2. To nurture our bodies with healthy meals, three times a day (plus snacks!)
3. To homeschool with intention and excellence, patience and encouragement
4. To re-institute weekly family game night  
5. To make sure that every single item in our home has a place and that it can be easily put there

Please, link up your theme, your word, your goals for this New Year.  And stop by and encourage someone else who has done the same! (Click on the blue letters to add your Linky ... they are below the line!)


I've linked up with Above Rubies, Growing Home, WLW Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, and Peace Creek on the Prairie, too

Now What?

The days following Christmas always leave me wondering.  Is it exciting to pack up the decorations and move into the new year or should I be wistful that such a time of anticipation and excitement has ended?  To be honest, it depends on the year for me.  This year, it's both.  Next Christmas we'll have even more children and so I am already looking forward to the added joy each child brings.  This next year holds much promise for our family and I can't wait.  However, I've truly enjoyed many special moments this Christmas season and loved the peace we've been living in.

This week, for us, is one of anticipation and preparation.  In our family, we have a New Years tradition (it's a young one, but we plan to continue it!) that we must now prepare for.  We will ring in the New Year together at home ... with snack foods and a movie and one present for each person to celebrate the final day of the year.  The next day we will enjoy a day of family relaxing and go over our goals for the next year.  We will talk about things we want to experience, things we hope to learn, the people we want to grow into.  We will set goals for ourselves, but also for our family.  We will also reflect on the year we have just finished.  It's a time of encouragement and a time of motivation.

What will you do?

The Final, Most Important Character of Christmas ... *and it's not Jesus* {Day 25}

I had a great post all spun out.  Truly poignant.  I was actually quite proud of it.

And then I felt like God told me I had it all wrong.  Here's how it went.

God: You're missing it.
Me: How?!?!
God: Look closely.
Me: It's the Christmas story; how can I be missing it?  I've got it memorized for crying out loud!
God: You're writing about the most important part.
Me: I know, God.  That's why I wrote about Jesus.
God: Keep looking.
Me: Seriously.  Seriously?  You want me to look some place else to find the most important part?
God: Keep looking.

I just have to ask.  Is anyone else as confused as I was at this point?  I mean, really, it's Jesus' birthday.  Who could be more important than Jesus?

Me: Okay, God, I looked.  I do not see any other character to write about.  Well, okay, there's Simeon, the rabbi who circumcised the infant Jesus on the 8th day, the animals in the stable.  But, God, it's the last post in the series and I want to write about Jesus!  I saved the best part for last.

And then I heard it.  The truth.  An epiphany.

God:  Jesus isn't the most important character in the Christmas story.  He is Christmas.  

Me: Okay, true.  I can see that.  But that's just a phrase to talk about the people in the story.

God: Yes, but there is another character who is important that I want you to write about.

Me: Sure thing.  WHO?

God: YOU.  Everyone who reads this.  Jesus isn't a character in the story; He is the story.  But you are.  You, and every other person throughout time on this earth.  Without you all, I would never have sent Him in the first place.  The opening line of my love letter to earth came in the form of a newborn babe.  I signed that letter on Calvary in red.  I know you want to celebrate His birthday, and that is precious.  But realize how incredibly precious, please.  Christmas symbolizes the moment in history that I knew it was finally time to redeem you so that we no longer had to be separated.  Christmas symbolizes the second time in history that God walked with man and gives hope for the next and final time.  Christmas symbolizes, more than anything, how I wrote you a love letter before I even created you and had a plan because nothing -not sin, not death, not hell itself- could keep me away from you.  Christmas is about YOU and how much YOU are loved.

Merry Christmas friends!

Holiday Plan: Activities and Menus

I'm a planner.  I like things to run smoothly.  And that's so ironic, considering I end up flying by the seat of my pants half the time.  But when it comes to special events and family time, I like to have done my prep work so that all that is left is to enjoy it.  I also like to take some time to journal special memories and write down things we'll enjoy remembering next year.  So here is how the holiday week will go for us.  I'd love to hear how yours will go, too!

Christmas Eve:  During the day, the kids and I will "holiday clean."  And then we'll read all kinds of fun Christmas stories, make a craft (probably just something simple so the house will stay kind of clean), and watch a holiday movie.  For dinner, I always make something a little extra special.  After the kids go to bed, Awesome Hubby and I will wrap up their presents and set up the living room to "wow" them when they wake up.  Then we'll go to bed, knowing that morning will come quickly!

• Dinner: Homemade gyro meat (a mixture of ground lamb and beef with seasonings), homemade pita bread, tzatziki sauce, salad, and wild rice.
• Dessert: Homemade banana pudding (except I'm not making it; it was a gift from a friend who knows I've had dreams of her specialty!).

Christmas Day:  We start out the morning by reading the Christmas story.  I'll have hot cocoa and coffee made and ready to drink as we gather around the tree and turn on the lights and dedicate this day to the One we are celebrating.  I will have muffin bites and fruit out to nibble on while we open presents and brunch is baking in the oven.  We will have a relish try out for nibbling on during the day and an Italian feast for dinner.

• Mini muffins: homemade cranberry orange bites and chocolate bites, apple slices.
• Brunch: Egg bake (egg, ground turkey sausage, cheese, bell peppers), French Toast with peaches, Homefries, fresh pineapple.
• Relish tray: Triscuits and spreadable cheeses, olives, pickles, cucumber stick, celery sticks, ranch dip, chips.
• Dinner: Salad, garlic bread, stuffed shells, sausage and meatballs.
• Dessert: Believe it or not, we don't always do one ... but I made some sugar cookies :)

New Years Eve:  We started a tradition in our home to ring in the New Year.  We don't like going out to parties or even separating to go our separate ways at church (Kids to kids class and us to service).  We like to be together.  So we have a PJ party!  We put on fun jammies, watch a new movie (usually a Christmas gift), eat hor'dourves, and everyone gets one gift to open.  Then we play a game, read a bed time story, and hit the sack.

• Stuffed jalapeno boats, potato skins, taquito style wraps
• Ice Cream Sunaes (Awesome Hubby's favorite ... he's going to be so excited!)

New Years Day:  We chill out.  We take the first day of the year to relax and spend together as we intend to continue the year with a family focus. We each talk about our goals and any themes God might have shown us.  Food is simple, but satisfying.  The focus is on growing together as a family.

• Breakfast: Pancakes, Eggs, Homefries, Fruit
• Lunch: Toasted Subs (hopefully turkey, avocado, bacon, provolone, lettuce and tomato if I can get all the ingredients on sale!) and chips.
• Dinner: Blackened Chicken Alfredo, salad, homemade garlic knots, sparkling punch

I've Waited So Long for This Day! {Day 24}

Perhaps the character I'd most like to be in the Christmas story is one that showed up a little late to the party.  Eight days after the Big Event, to be precise.  Her name is Anna.

Anna was a prophetess.  There really hadn't been any of those walking around Israel for about four hundred years.  Before Anna, there had been a time termed "The Silent Years" ... that time from the end of Malachi to the beginning of Matthew.  God had made His people wait. 

But then ... then something awesome happened.  He began to stir in the hearts of some of the people an awareness that it was almost time.  Time to be ready.  Time to keep eyes wide open.  Time to fast, pray, and look.  Time to start preparing hearts who would listen.  John the Baptist lept in Elizabeth's womb.  Anna and Simeon hung around the Temple.  I'm certain there were others who also knew something was coming.

But I love Anna.

She had been a widow for 84 years.  She was right around the ripe old age of one hundred.  She was not living in a state of mourning, but in one of expectant exultation.  She stayed in the Temple, all the time, just fasting and praying.  And one day, a young couple walks in with their 8 day old son and she starts leaping and dancing and shouting with excitement!

I bet the people -those other devout, religious people- thought she was insane.  I bet they were worried she would fall and break a hip.  The loved the same God, read the same Scriptures.  But they didn't get it.  She did. 

I doubt she really cared what people thought.  She knew.  She knew it was He - the One she had been waiting for!

You see, Anna was so in tune with the heart of the Father and so in love with Him, that she recognized Him even in His unexpected infant form.  She recognized what others missed.  Her entire life was spent with bated breath, waiting for that one moment when she would see His face.  He didn't need to deliver her, heal her, overthrow a government.  She just needed to glimpse His face.

God, I want to love You with that abandon.  I want to want to see Your face so badly that nothing else matters.  I want to long for such intimacy with You that when I catch a glimpse of You - in whatever way You choose to appear ... even if it's not what I've expected or asked for - that I am exuberantly excited.  Bring me closer, Beloved!

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

A Royal Pain {Day 23}

When we tell the Christmas story, we often circumvent the role of King Herod.  But really, God used him to play quite the role in getting Mary and Joseph to go where He needed them.

Herod was a wily soul and a very insecure, ego-maniacal leader.  He tried to con the wise men into coming back and telling him where the Christ child was "so [he] could go and worship Him, too."  He was so threatened by a newborn babe and so puffed up with his own power, he just assumed he could outsmart God.  When he didn't get his way, he slaughtered innocent babes.

It makes me nauseous.  And it's so easy to look down my nose at him.

But I often act that same way.  I remember many times when I tried to make things come out my way without praying about what God wanted.  I hesitate to imagine the spiritual casualties that resulted in.

And yet, I also find comfort.  When God sets something in motion, He is not deterred my human sin.  When He ordains something, He is supreme and finds a way.  Look at your life today.  Look at what God has spoken over it.  And then stop being concerned by the circumstances you find yourself in.  God is sovereign!

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

The Stinky Outcasts {Day 22}

Perhaps my other favorite characters in this ongoing look at the Christmas saga are the stinky outcasts of society.  I've always had a heart for the rejected and the different.  Possibly because I can so totally relate to them.  And I love how God often chooses them (it gives me hope that He'll choose me to use one day for some beautiful purpose of His own!).

Christmas morning was no different.  The shepherds were up in the hills, watching the sheep.  The night was cold, the sky a pitch backdrop to the stunning light of the stars that were different this year for some reason.  The smell of the sheep and the smell of the men intermingled; a shepherd often walks among his flock and picks up their distinct odor.

They talked of the lambs they would send to town to be sold by the Temple for sacrifices; only the best of the best would do.  Perhaps some of the younger men, not so set in their ways, scoffed at the irony of their job.  After all, they were tasked with finding the best lambs and protecting them from injury or attack so they would be worthy to lay down on the altar before Jehovah.  And yet, the men themselves were considered unclean and unable to participate in so holy an event.  The old men just advised them to accept the laws instituted by the religious leaders of the day; their passions had long since retired in the face of continual rejection.  The young men, though, they had dreams and visions of grandeur; after al, they reasoned, King David started out as a lowly shepherd, did he not?  Why can't God use us for some great thing, as though we were like him?

The old men laughed at the idealism of youth; their dreams now buried, they had little patience for those who thought beyond the boundaries of acceptable.  After all, it was just the way things were and longing for more would just make you discontented with your lot in life.  Wisdom says if that is how we worship God and that is how it is done in your time, don't be rebellious and expect more.  The older shepherds tried to impart their knowledge.

To keep the peace, one of the shepherds begins to sing a psalm of the great David who walked those same hills.  It was a psalm of expectation.

Suddenly, the pitch sky was not just dotted with beacons of light; it was totally sliced open to allow the greatest light they had ever seen illuminate the mountainside.  A host of angels filled the sky and gave them the news that the Perfect Lamb had come.  Suddenly, the dried up dreams of the old men were resuscitated and the longing in the hearts of the young was fulfilled.  They rushed to see this precious Gift in the lowliest of places - a barn! - and yet they knew that even the grandeur of the Temple could not hold the same honor and richness of that place.

Which one are you?
Are you the older shepherd, who feels rejected once too many and has given up hope?  Or are you the younger one, full of passion and yet afraid to step out of the box?  Are you the one burgeoning with hopes and glimpses of something different, something radical and yet just can't seem to grasp it?  Or perhaps you are that one given to praising when logic and dreams collide; trusting God that He loves you and will make a way.  Take a look at Scripture and don't be afraid; God is coming and He is coming for you no matter anyone else thinks about you or has declared over you.  You are His!

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Linked up with Women Living Well

The Crazy Coots of Christmas {Day 21}

So who are you guessing I'm terming the Crazy Coots of Christmas?  Any ideas?

Well, traditionally we call them the Wise Men.  Three men, hailing from east of Bethlehem, who travel with costly gifts through miles of desert to sit at the feet of a toddler.  With nothing more to guide them than a change in constellations.  Seriously.  They followed a really bright star.

Can you imagine leaving your life ... a very comfortable life ... where you are held in high esteem and have everything you need or want ... to follow a bright star?

Craziness.

or Faith.  Extreme Faith.

Beautiful Faith.

Passion.

A transcendent understanding that there is something more important in life than the trappings of wealth of privilege.  Something higher to attain to than education, prosperity, and societal standing.  And understanding of how truly empty those things are.

Not only that, but to be taken into a king's palace and to have him ask you to return to that opulence and lead him to your discovery.  To have angels warn you in a dream that that is dangerous.  To devise a plan to disobey the ruler who could have you killed if he found out before you left his territory.  To listen to a God you did not know growing up, but have sought out because the longing in your heart is so strong to hear Him.

I want to be that crazy.  Not just at Christmas, but every day.

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Knock, Knock (No Joke!) {Day 19}

One character in the Christmas story that's always grabbed my attention was the innkeeper.  I've seen him vilified, pitied, overlooked.  But really ... what do we know about him?  For one, we know his business was rockin' his socks off that year.  Talk about gangbuster business!  People were sleeping two deep, piled into corners, probably even sitting up to make room for more people.  The man had a legitimate reason for turning away more business ... he just couldn't handle it.

But dude, give the guy a break!  The above question is a cute way to put it, but in reality I'm sure that the innkeeper was just doing what he thought was best.

It wasn't like he looked at Mary and thought, "Wow, you look like a nice young lady.  I bet that's the Messiah growing in there.  I think I'll turn you away anyhow." 

I've heard it speculated that the innkeeper is the one who offered them the stable out of pity.  I can only imagine.  But it does get me thinking every year.  How often have I done what I thought was best or necessary and missed out?  So this is my checklist heading into this final week of Advent:

God, is my life too full for You?

Will I recognize You if You come a little camouflaged?

Have I turned away others in Your name and therefore said no to You?

Is my busy-ness creating an environment that is so overly full that You will birth blessings elsewhere?

 Today I'm going to slow down.  I'm going to remember that JESUS really is the reason for this season and that if I allow activity to eclipse Him, it is pointless.  I'm going to have fun with my children and my husband, reading our Advent stories and talking about the most important gifts we'll give this season: Love, Peace, and Joy.  I don't want to become so wrapped up in all of the hustle bustle that I fail to have room in my life for unexpected God-moments!  What about you?

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Linked with Moms The Word

Here's to Joe: The Man Behind the Scenes {Day 17}

Joseph has to be one of the most intriguing characters in the Christmas saga.  Very little is known about the man.  We know his lineage, his wife, and his children.  We know his occupation.  There is very little in Scripture said about him beyond the early chapters of the Gospels.  Mary crops up here and there, Jesus' brothers are around, but Daddy isn't.

Yo, Joe ... where are you?

I've heard some speculate that he wasn't really a key player in the big picture.  I don't buy into that theory at all.

Surely God, our Father, would not pick just any man to father His own child during His time on earth.  I just don't believe that could happen.  No, I think Joe was a man of integrity.  In fact, I can say that with a fair amount of certainty because of how quickly he changed his own plans to align them with God.

Joe was no fool; he recognized that Mary wasn't the ideal virginal wife when she showed up to tell him she was pregnant.  And yet, it speaks highly of both of their characters that he was willing to do what needed to be done without making a spectacle of her.  He didn't care about opinions; he cared about the people.  And when God spoke to him, he answered.  He married a woman pregnant with a child not his own and gave his life to protect that child's and raise that child.

No matter that the child was the Christ.  He still cried for milk in the middle of the night, still teethed, still asked incessant questions, still needed to have food and clothes provided for him, still needed to be taught a trade, still needed to have Scripture ingrained in His heart as directed by the sh'mah. 

And Joe?  He did that.  He raised a young man to know the Scriptures so well that He held His own at a very early age with the religious leaders in the synagogue.  He raised up a man who respected His mother and honored her request to miraculously turn water into wine even though it was not time yet.  He raised up a man had the self discipline to fast in the desert and face the devil. 

Yes, this child, this young man, was the Messiah.  But He had within Him the potential to sin.  If He didn't, He would not have been able to be tempted in every way.  If He didn't, His presence on earth and His death would have been irrelevant.

So Joseph raised this boy into a man, fathering the Son of the Father.  And He equipped Him, supported Him, loved Him so that He could fulfill the call of His Father in Heaven.  Joe had to have been quite a man to be hand picked for that job.

My hat is off to you, Joe.  May dads everywhere follow your example and love children, regardless of genetics, with the love of the Father Himself so that this next generation becomes all that God has called it to be!  May wives everywhere love their husbands and pray for the men in their families to step up to this calling.  May we all love the children of this world with the unfettered grace that Joseph loved the Christ child.

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

As If Being A Teen Weren't Hard Enough! {Day 16}

Welcome back.  If you've been joining me this week, you know we're taking a good look at the characters of Christmas ... hopefully from a new perspective.  I don't know about you, but pretty much every single year I get to hear at least one sermon on Mary, one on Joseph, and one on the "others."  This year, I felt like God challenged me to find things in this part of Scripture that I'd never realized before.  I think Elizabeth is my favorite, actually ... and she's one I've often overlooked.

But what about Mary?  What can I tell you that I haven't told you already?

Probably nothing.  {Insert smile here ... cheesy smile, at that!}

But I can share with you what I think she might have felt like.  Scholars age Mary at anywhere from 13 to as old as 17.  But she is still well within that teenage range and that means she was just like every other teen God created.  With hormones, heightened emotions, strong passions, waffling self esteem, hopes and girlish dreams, and big fears. 

Ever wonder why 4 years in high school can shape a person's future?  Why twenty years after graduation, people still get together and remember vividly what being a teen was like and how they viewed people?  When we're teens, everything is more colorful and alive and important than at other times.

As if that's not hard enough to handle, Mary gets a visit from Gabriel in which she -a pure, innocent, virginal young lady on the cusp of womanhood- is told that not only is her entire life about to change, but that she stands to lose everything.  Young women in Mary's day and age didn't just get pregnant and keep on going to school or walking around town, people applauding them for not having an abortion and telling them how cute babies are and how they can do it.

No, it was a little more reserved back then.  Mary could face being stoned if Joseph wanted to expose her.  She certainly faced a lifetime of spinsterhood; who would marry someone who gave their virginity away, after all?  She faced a lifetime of shame, too.  And the love of her life?  Well, she was going to be lucky if he still married here with this news.  And then ... and this may be total projecture, but I know it's how I'd feel ... then, she'd have to wonder Why me?  I'm not good enough for this.

Or maybe Mary was more optimistic.  Maybe she wondered if Joseph would be excited, too.  Maybe she expected her parents to rejoice with the news that the Messiah would be their grandbaby and they would get to spoil God Himself when He was a toddler.  Maybe she understood grace a little bit more than I do and knew God would equip her.  Maybe.

But I'm thinking she was a little more realistic than that.  Or at least more human.  Surely there were doubts and fears, hopes and anticipation and mangled together in her heart.

What's that look like in my life?  Well, it means that there are times God is going to come to me.  Times when He is going to nudge me in a direction that not only seems impossible, but that look ludicrous.  And He's going to give me two choices: (a.) turn and run or (b.) reply as Mary: "Let it be to me as you have said." 

The moment of truth arrives when God speaks to us and shares His plan.  Have you been there?  Have you looked all around and thought that nothing good could come from this?  Or have you ever known God had something great and awesome to do, but then shied away when He asked you to be a part of it?

And we are told that she treasured these things in her heart.  How beautiful.  She was obviously more mature than your average teen, more ready for intimacy with God than others of her day.  And she went through scorn, rejection, disbelief and probably a whole spectrum of other emotions when she shared the news (why else would Joseph plan on divorcing her quietly?).  And yet, she took all these things and treasured them.  I don't think that just refers to His birth; I think it encompasses the entire story.

Mary got a lesson in treasure: it's not all good and shiny ... but it is all valuable.  I challenge you today (and me!): be open.  Be ready.  Be available.  Know that God knows your heart (fears and weaknesses, hopes and strengths) and when He calls you it may not line up with how you've planned on things going.  But if He wants to use you to birth something special, He's already lined up every single detail.  But YOU have to be the one to say okay.  It's up to YOU to say LET IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID.

Please Join These Bloggers in

their 25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon 

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Angel Say WHAT?!?! {Day 15}

Ever wonder what it would be like to have an angel come into your room or walk up to you out in public and give you a message from God?  There are a handful of folks in Scripture - starting way back with Abraham - who had angelic encounters.  Nearly all of them freaked out and had to be told not to be afraid!

I totally get that.  I mean ... HELLO! ... I am pretty sure I'd freak out, too.  One thing I don't know about is whether or not I'd have the ability to speak.  I'm thinking I'd be stunned speechless (those of you who know me well are probably doubting that, but really ... it's a big deal for me to be speechless).

Gabriel got quite a workout traveling from heaven's throne room to Israel the year Jesus was born (frequent flier miles, anyone?).  First to Zechariah and then to Mary.  And both of them started out afraid and ended up questioning his message.  (As a side bar, Abraham did this, too!  And Joshua.  And Gideon.  Doesn't take long for the shock to wear off and human nature to step in, does it?)

Picture it with me in a today kind of way (poetic license taken; hope that's okay):

MESSENGER: I have come to tell you that God is going to do {insert unfathomable miracle here}, a great and beautiful thing in your life.

YOU/ME: uh uh uh uh {stuttering in shock!}

MESSENGER: Calm down and put away your fear.  God has a plan and this is on a heavenly timetable.  You don't have to make sense of this, there is not a single way you can justify this logically, and you have now stepped into the supernatural in a way you have not before.  God is doing this because you are highly favored in His sight.

YOU/ME: Are you sure?  That doesn't sound totally possible!  Let me break this down for you, Gabe ... my life has {whatever challenges you are currently facing} going on and so what you're saying can't really happen that way.

Now, I'd love to think it wouldn't be like that.  But it is.  Nearly every day.  God comes to us gently, lovingly, beautifully all of the time.  He no longer has to send an angel because He has sent His son and there is no longer a veil blocking us from His presence.  Instead, Holy Spirit comes and whispers to us.  He beckons us to come closer, to step up higher, to engage more.  And oh so often I sit back and think, "That's crazy!"  or "That makes no sense at all" or "I just can't see how that makes sense."

You see, when the supernatural begins to seem mundane, I start to limit God to natural boundaries.  What a mistake!  I want to stop taking the Word of God and trying to fit it into my human box.  I want to respond like Mary when I hear the voice of God and reply, "Let it work in my life just the way You're said it.  If You've ordained it, I trust You!"

I get that they all questioned God ... I used to think it was nuts when I was kid, but I get it now.  I couldn't understand in my youthful passion for God how anyone could second guess Him when He was sending something so awesome to them.  Now, as an adult, I like things to make a little more sense.  Dear Lord, give me back my faith and trust in You!

I challenge you today: Open your ears, your heart, your life.  Listen to God.  And when He begins to whisper in your heart a dream that is impossible, don't reason it away.  Step up like Mary and reply: I'm ready for this; You are with me and I trust You!

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Linked up with Women Living Well

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Auntie, HELP! {Day 14}

After Gabriel came to visit Mary, not much is said about family reaction, teenage emotions, or community conjecture over her pregnancy.  We can assume that several people expected Joseph to divorce her, even Joseph himself for a time, based upon Scripture's reference to that.  We can also assume that no one believed she was virginally innocent once she started showing and that it might have been hard to fit in anywhere at that point.  But we don't really know anything.

Except that she had a beautiful support system in her aunt (actually, it was a distant cousin, but I have often heard that the relationship was more that of an aunt/niece), Elizabeth.  A woman who was also supernaturally gifted with a child, though in a slightly less miraculous way.  A woman whose faith allowed her and her husband to accept what God was giving them.  A woman who raised a man who walked in a faith so radical that people thought he was Elijah the prophet returning.

What a woman!  I wonder if I'll ever have that inner strength that she must have possessed.

When Mary went to see her, I can only imagine it was with a supernatural measure of peaceful resolve coupled with human uncertainty and fear.  And what she found in Elizabeth's hug of greeting was affirmation, encouragement, honor, respect, and expectancy for what was coming.

Even here, God provided.

Just like He directs us in Titus 2 to seek out older women to learn from, so He gave Mary an older woman in a very similar situation (about as similar as you can get when dealing with a miraculously unique situation!) to speak wisdom and encouragement over her.  I can picture them over a cup of tea talking of things that no one else would even whisper about, bonding over the fact that they were both carrying men in their womb who would shape history.  I wonder what they said to one another?

God is nothing if not constant and consistent, loving and generous.  I want to encourage you today to look back at Scripture and see how time and again God provided a gentle encouragement for women in tough situations.  You are not alone, no matter how alone you feel today.  God has provided Holy Spirit for you, the Son Himself is interceding for you at the right hand of the Father, and there is a Titus 2 woman out there praying for you (even if you haven't met each other yet).  God gave Mary an Elizabeth and He will give you one, too, if you need her!

 Please Join These Bloggers in

their 25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon 

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Linked with Titus2sday

The Key Players - Part 1 {Day 13}

Ever find yourself thinking about the key players in the Christmas story?  I used to think I identified most with Mary - after all, I've been a young girl, I've been scared and pregnant, I've faced the unknown and slightly incredibly overwhelming world of motherhood.  Now, I'm not so certain.

So, who do you think of when you think about Christmas?  Who is it that you most relate to when you think about that miraculous day?  This week, I'll be taking a look at some of the key players in the story.  I'd love for you to share a link to your blog if you are doing the same.  I'd love to read your comments if you want to share any thoughts.

One thing I like to do is imagine who they are in the context of my world today.  I'll be getting to that in each day's blog post.  I'll be delving into Mary, Joseph, Gabriel, the Wise Men, the Shepherds, King Herod, Elizabeth, and -if time permits and God leads me this way- a few others we don't think about as much.  So come back and see me!

Today I'll leave you with this thought: Who are YOU?  And what role do you have in the exciting coming of the King?

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

Fun at Home {Day 11}

Today is a great day.  We have two (yes, two!) Christmas parades to attend and play dough to make.  I cannot wait to try out THIS RECIPE from Tammy's Recipes for holiday scented play dough.  How cool and yummy is this???  (THIS PICTURE IS HERS ... WE WILL SHARE OURS IF IT COMES OUT WELL).  By the way, if you're new to her website, we love her tortilla recipe - and several others.  There are some great kitchen tips there, too!

And Joye shared a wonderful recipe yesterday for salt dough ornaments and I've been looking for a way to bake our own dough instead of buying it.  Take a peek at that HERE.  I think we might give this a go if we have time, as well.  While you're there, peek around her blog.  Way back when I first discovered blogging, hers was a favorite stopping place for me.

UPDATE: We did the salt dough ornaments and painted them and they are treasures!  You've got to try it :)

What do you do to decorate your home?  I love the idea of decorating, creating a tradition, and making a tangible memory all at once!

Make Your Home Sing link up

25 Days of Christmas Series: 

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon  

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey 

25 Days of Simple Christmas @ Simply Living for Him

The Bittersweetness of It All {Day 10}

I missed a day in my 25 days of Christmas series.  But I have a really good reason; I promise. 

Yesterday was our home study for the adoption process.  It is a bittersweet victory for us; sweet because it is one step closer to bringing our child(ren) home, but sad because it is Christmas and we are not together.  But I'm moving forward in joy.  And peace.  And trust.  And faith.

We are in the process of adoption; we have saved, raised, and earned about half of the money we need to go and complete our precious family.  It hurts me so much to see the materialism of the season and all the money people throw around and know that it is that same money that is the barrier between us and bringing our family home.  I have always been frugal, but I'm bringing it to a whole new level.  In the last few weeks we kind of loosened the purse strings, but today strengthened my resolve not to do that any more. God is bringing me back to the very start of this journey.  He is calling me to follow His heartbeat and ride with Him on this adventure.

Someone shared this video with me and I ask you to listen to the words; this articulated so beautifully what my heart has been crying out.  I sat in a puddle of tears, but the last verse filled me with hope for next Christmas.  Her stocking is hanging, but it is waiting.  Next year it will be filled and the wait will be over!

It's time to be moved beyond pity and into a place of determined compassion.  It's time to step out and step up.  There is a world out there filled with fatherless children ... and it starts just outside your door.  What will YOU do about it?  Will you pray?  Will you go?  Will you love?  Will you support someone else who longs to do so?  I challenge you: ask God what gift you can give to the Father of All ... how you can be His hands extended this season to one who has no one else to love them. 

I don't normally toss this out there, but if you'd like to help us on this adoption journey you can click the paypal donate button on the top right.  All money will go directly into our adoption account and be used to help us with our adoption costs.

Please join us for: THE 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

25 Days of Christmas Traditions

25 days of Simple Christmas

Decking the Halls {Day 8}

Do you have a "deck the halls" tradition?  When I was growing up, I remember by mom making a really big deal about hauling the boxes of ornaments in from the shed, playing our favorite Christmas CDs (who am I kidding?  My earliest memories are with cassettes!), and decking our tree.  I remember taking an entire day to bake and decorate and beautifully plate Christmas cookies to be gifts for anyone and everyone we knew and loved.  I loved all of our traditions; I think Christmas is the center of pretty much all of my favorite childhood memories at home -- my mom made it wonderful special!

(this table is decorated with things that have been in my family for decades; it is especially 

precious to me since I live so far away from my family and miss them greatly at this time of year!)

 
I do it a little bit differently with my kids, but the memories are no less precious.  And I'm praying my kids grow those same beautiful memories.  I decorate when my kids are in bed -- either nap or after bedtime -- and they wake up to a Winter Wonderland.  Last night I burned the midnight oil to set up the tree, hung our stockings, and put out the rest of our decor.  When they woke up this morning it was with giggles and radically high levels of excitement!  I also snuck into their rooms and hid decorations on their shelves and walls for them to discover.

What's your holiday decorating tradition?  Part of having a simple holiday at home that is also rich with love and times to cherish is creating a tradition; God Himself is the author of traditions (just look at how He established the feasts and times of remembrance!) and it is only normal that we find comfort and delight in them ourselves.  The challenge is in creating traditions that are meaningful and will leave a lasting impact; I want to leave a legacy of faith, not just empty fun.  But the fun is great, too! 

Have a blessed day, my friends.  We're off to the Wee Theatre to see "Twas the Night Before Christmas"!

Please join us for: THE 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

25 Days of Christmas Traditions

25 days of Simple Christmas

Staying on Track {Day 7}

Awesome Hubby and I were super blessed by the Best Friend last night; we got to go on a date together!  Our original plan?  Hit the mall, maybe a few shops, grab a bargain meal, and catch a dollar movie (gotta love that $1 theatre!).  It didn't happen that way; we got totally derailed.

After reading THIS POST (don't forget to go read it; I think it's truly spectacular!), we decided to do Christmas a little differently.  We have always thought our children received a little too much (and the funny part?  Very rarely did we buy them much ... it's called grandparents, friends, extended family, and so on!).  But one child in particular seems to think it is all about a huge stack of presents and what will be inside of them.  The want-List is growing by the minute.  And that breaks our hearts as parents.

I know it's natural, but it's not where I want their hearts to be.  I desire for my children to truly understand that worth is priceless.  So how do I teach them this?  By giving them gold, frankincense, and myrhh (yup, you gotta read that blog post I mentioned to get it!).

Before we decided to go that route, we had our Christmas ideas all mapped out.  Then, we thought better about it.  We picked one gift that will be their eye-popping, jumping up and down with excitement gift.  Just one.  I found like four a piece and then had ideas for more.  But we picked a favorite.  Then we picked a more practical need gift.  Now, to be totally honest, it's not a "needed" item like a toothe brush, but it is something we can use for schooling and it's fun.  Lastly, they are each receiving something that helps them express themselves creatively - this we picked specifically for them.  And my mom is giving them each beautiful Bibles with their names stamped on the front (they're gonna go ga-ga over those -- both have been asking for a while now!).

It wasn't easy to stay on track.  But that's the point of a simple, home for the holiday themed Christmas.  We are going to teach our precious little people that it's more about what you give and what God has given than anything that comes under the tree.  But we'll also bless them with something simply because we love them.  And I pray that as they get older and we continue with our new tradition of only gifting gold, frankincense, and myrhh (now see, you just have to go read THIS POST so you get it!) that they will come to understand the beauty of a well chosen gift and think just as thoughtfully when it is their turn to give.

How are you staying on track this holiday season?

Please join us for: THE 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

25 Days of Christmas Traditions

25 days of Simple Christmas

Linked up with Tuesday Confessional

Are We There Yet? {Day 6}

Sometimes the wait is hard.  In fact, for a child it's probably quite the challenge.  I know for me it is, too.  Looking forward to a certain day, just waiting, waiting, waiting...  Or, being the mom whose children have all these grand ideas and keep asking, "How many more days?" 

It's like being on a road trip and having them ask, "Are we there yet?" every ten minutes!  I find comfort in the fact that Jesus is waiting, too.  He is excited to come back and catch up His Bride.  He is finding opportunities to ready us for that day, to build in us a child like anticipation that just cannot wait for His arrival to be here.  Now.

What are you waiting for?  Are you super excited about Christmas this year?  Are you waiting, eagerly, for the moment when your children run around the corner and see the presents under the tree?  Or are you seeing that there is more to it than that?

Perhaps the spirit of Advent has stolen your heart and you are instead waiting for the King to come.  You are waiting for the Gift of Heaven to arrive and take you home ... you are asking, "Are we there yet, God?  Is it time?"

Today, we're reading our Advent books as we do each day (Jotham's Journey each day and The Jesse Tree each night).  We're also going to make hot cocoa and listen to Christmas music with Daddy after dinner.  During the day, we'll do spelling words (words like Advent, Christmas, present, coming, holiday, and season ... I like themed studies!), crafts (Christmas cards for our neighbors), clean the living room and ready it for the tree (yes, we're running way behind!).  And most importantly, I'll share with my children while I am just as antsy as they are -- except that I'm waiting for a different day to arrive.  And I'll be planting the seeds of hope in them.

Please join us for: THE 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers

25 Days of Christmas Traditions

25 days of Simple Christmas

Lining up with Titus2sday and Make Your Home Sing Monday