Simple Woman's Daybook...a day late :)

August 26, 2008

Outside My Window...
Sunshine, and "school has definitely started" morning stillness.

I am thinking...
that I need to get my thoughts in order! This is one of those days when my thoughts are a jumble. This is our last *quiet week* of vacation, staying home, a relaxed schedule...and the *list* to get ready for the coming weeks is a mile long!!

Trying to "forget what is behind, and press on toward the mark", and "RWYK" this week.

Pondering again the need to "Give it up, Let it go, Throw it down..." in some areas (from our "Moses" music experience Sunday).

I am thankful for...
my husband, who truly demonstrates the selflessness of Christ to me...
and that we are past the "first date fruits and vegetables" stage!
(Don't panic if you don't get that...it was one of those "you just have to be there" things ;-))

my children, and the desires I am seeing in the older ones to grow in Christ
(and Ammah Grace's constantly keeping us in stitches, even as she is wearing us completely out! ;-) :-D ),

my parents, who sacrificed much for their children,

our church, which is truly a family,

friends God has given who make the journey so much more bearable and fun!

creative outlets,

and the blessing of being able to homeschool my children.

From the kitchen...
We're on a *no-bake cookie* kick...which will last until the humidity (or whatever gremlin it is that causes some percentage of my no-bake batches *not* to set) strikes again and we have a batch of my infamous no-bake soup. ;-)

I'm thinking of making some banana bread and maybe a chocolate pie later in the week.

Saloon Beef sandwiches on the menu tonight, *if* I get the meat in the crock pot on time. :)

I am wearing...
denim capris and a red and white shirt, with my dawn-to-dusk summer footwear, my black jeweled flip flops.

I am creating...
school and schedule plans for the year!
Life learning notebooks for my children,
and still working my way through scrapbooking projects much more slowly than I should be!

I am going...
I'm actually going to go see my MIL tonight...she's been here all weekend and I haven't seen her yet! I'm probably also going to get beaten by everyone in the family on the Wii. ;-)

We're *actually* planning to take Billy to work (for one of the first times all summer) this Thursday and go to lunch with Kathy, Kaitlyn, and Josh. Kaitlyn (the *planner* of the group:)) said to her mom, "We need to go to Chick-Fil-A one last time before we all start school and you start this new *MOTH schedule* thing!" :-D So we are!

Other than running some errands while we're out that day, I'm planning on a low-key week. The last couple have been busier than we're used to these days, and I need to recuperate! (Especially since next week we have the holiday, the start of our school year, and the GK Sale...ack!)

I am reading...
lots of school planning stuff. :)
Hidden Art, by Edith Schaeffer (I'm supposed to be doing a book club discussion on this, and I need to get on it! I promise I haven't forgotten, Julie!))
Faithlift and Treasures of Heaven in the Stuff of Earth, both by Babbie Mason. I'm so excited about these!
Need to finish A Bend in the Road, by David Jeremiah, this week, as well as the biography of Charles Spurgeon.

I am hoping...
For a peaceful, productive week,
and for another phone call to come quickly!

I am hearing...
the fan behind me,
our *new* 12-year-old Beagle (that we inherited from my in-laws a few weeks ago) snoring as she sleeps beside my desk. :)
my children in their rooms trying to pretend they aren't awake (they had a *very* late night last night because Nonna is in town! :))

Around the house...
I *must* finish organizing the books this week!
I *must* catch up on the mountain of laundry again this week!

One of my favorite things...
Seeing my children working hard to please God and mom and dad...even when it is a real struggle sometimes.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
Prepare for school,
Prepare for the Growing Kids Sale (ack!),
Finalize plans for the weekend,
and finalize plans for "what to do next with my hair" (it's in severe need of an overhaul, after being up in a ponytail all summer...the ponytail has got to go, and some sort of *style* must take its place. :))

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Silly Glamour Girls at the GA sleepover. They had a blast, and I discovered that you are never *really* too old for a sleepover. :)
(Facebook friends...more sleepover pics on my FB page:))

Hop over to Peggy's to see what others are doing this week!

Forgetting What Lies Behind...

Much of my life seems to be about "old things". Old furniture, old houses (although 11 years in this one has about changed my tune on that! ;-)), old family stories, family heirlooms, old books, my antique family Bible collection...and even my favorite hobby-turned-tiny-business is all about preserving memories and remembering the past.

Remembering can be a good thing. We are told, in fact, to remember. The Israelites erected "standing stones" to commemorate God's promises and supernatural acts. God gave the rainbow as a reminder of His promise never again to destroy the earth by flood. We are told to celebrate the Lord's Supper "In Remembrance of Me", to remember Jesus' sacrifice for us.

We are told in 1 Chron. 16:12 to remember...

"Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced"

And Psalm 111:4 says,

"He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate."

Failure to remember what God has taught us and the miracles He has done brings about disaster. Neh. 9:17 is just one example of God's people forgetting His works and becoming "stiff-necked" and rebellious:

"They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery."

Sometimes, though, we get stuck in our remembering. Our looking back at the "good old days" can cause us to be discontent with the "here and now" where God has us, and even cause bitterness about the changes He has brought about and expectations that have not been met.

I actually meant to post this Wednesday. I woke up Wednesday morning with this song running through my head:

This One Thing

The things we have are nothing, compared to knowing Christ,
He's surpassing great and wonderf'lly true.
As we run the race to Heaven, rejoicing as we go,
Til the day we reach our goal, this one thing we do:

We forget the things behind us
and press onward to the prize,
For as citizens of Heaven living here,
We do eagerly await Him, Jesus Christ who is our life;
We press onward til our Savior shall appear.

The things which once were profit, we now consider loss,
For the righteousness of Christ has made us new.
To share His pow'r and suffering, to die and then arise,
As we seek to reach the goal, this one thing we do:

We forget the things behind us,
and press onward to the prize,
For as citizens of Heaven living here,
We do eagerly await Him, Jesus Christ who is our life;
We press onward til our Savior shall appear.

Let us run the race with patience, for we know not when
He will change us to His glory,
When He comes again.

We forget the things behind us,
and press onward to the prize,
For as citizens of Heaven living here,
We do eagerly await Him, Jesus Christ who is our life;
We press onward til our Savior shall appear.
~Karen Kuehmann and Dan Forrest, Jr.

The past few weeks I've struggled with *looking back* in a very discontented way...wanting to go back to the "good old days", or wishing that I (or others) had done certain things differently. I have so needed to be reminded to "press on". I ran across this video on Wednesday when I was pondering the song above and the verses from which it is taken (Philippians 3:13-14):



I've also struggled this week with *not* remembering things I *need* to be remembering...God's promises and His mighty works in the past. God has taught me so much recently about the perfection of His timing...and yet, once again, I found myself yesterday doing anything *but* "waiting patiently on the Lord". Agitation and just a general feeling of being "down in the dumps" left no room for peace, joy, or trust.

I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness not to leave me wallowing in disobedience in those times! I'm so thankful for a husband and friends who pray for me, both when I ask them, and when I don't. I'm thankful for friends who remind me to get in the Word even when I don't feel like it...and who read it, quote it, or send it to me when needed. Most of all, I am thankful that His Word is quick, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, and for the songs that He gives in the night.

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

~Philippians 3:13-14

"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago."
~Psalm 77:11

ETA: I had planned to include another quote that has been running through my head often lately, especially as I've pondered the things in this post. My friend Kecia's dad used to remind us *often* to "RWYK...Remember What You Know." I can hear his voice and see the twinkle in his eye as he said it even now *years* later as I type this. I realized earlier that in all the interruptions I had while typing this post, I had left that part out...and before I got back to add it, my friend Tauna had posted it in the comments. :) What a blessing "Mr. Tom" was and how he is loved and missed! He left quite a legacy, and I'm thankful for the memories I have of his encouragement, and teaching.



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Emlyn's Birthday!!

I can't believe I am just now getting Emlyn's birthday post up...two days late! Ugh. I woke up not feeling well on her birthday, and managed to get through all the birthday preparations and festivities that day, but didn't get much else done that day and have been behind ever since!

Here are a few photos of the big day and our newly-turned-seven-year-old:


Birthday Banner...
Presents...
Peter decorated this wrapping for her, with help from Bay...:-)
Birthday Girl!!
The new seven-year-old...
She *loved* her penguin from Mrs. Jodie...
Silly girl!
Puzzle from Peter and Bay...
She was very excited about this...
...Because of these!!
(For those who don't know, Em's nickname is Princess Penguin, which stems from Peter dubbing her Mr. Penguin before we knew if she was going to be a boy or a girl, and she collects all things penguin. :-))

Birthday girl's breakfast of choice...
She has wanted this *forever*!! (Many thanks to Mrs. Jodie who saved Mom's life by finding this after mom had been all over town looking only to find them *gone* everywhere I looked. :)) In case you can't tell...there is a teeny, tiny Polly Pocket penguin in there...
At her birthday dinner...at her favorite Chinese restaurant. (She inherited her mom's love of Chinese food!:))
Birthday girl with Daddy...
Bay...
Necklace from Mamoe...
Peter and Gracie...
Gracie...
Dad...
Mamoe...

In spite of a few bumps in the road, she had a great birthday. Happy Birthday, Princess Penguin!!

We need to change the question...

Excellent video clip from Voddie Baucham...yet another voice saying we've got the *question* all wrong when we ask "Why do Bad Things Happen?". (*Love* the part about college philosophy classes...maybe someday I'll take a trip down memory lane and tell my "semester of philosophy" story here. ;-))

Depth

A while back I posted some thoughts on a article written by Babbie Mason, one of my favorite singer/songwriters. I actually located a *brand new* used copy of her book, FaithLift, for under a dollar. I love those deals! :-) The combination of Babbie's heart and writing skill in her music made me anxious to read this book as well.

I'm just getting started on the book, but I've not been disappointed. I'm sure I'll be posting thoughts from the book itself soon. But before I ever got to Babbie's actual writing, I was struck by the forward to the book, which says this:

"We want breadth. Numbers. More people saved! And so does God. But He has another work He wants to do within the church that will cause us to be far more effectively used for breadth. It's called depth. Specifically, a depth of sanctification and a depth of faith. The combination invites God to do the inconceivable like no other."

As I read those words, it was like a light bulb suddenly popped up over my head. Several of us have been talking lately about how everyone in our circle of friends right now is facing some huge storm. And not only that, but it's been going on for a *long* time. Either new storms coming, one after another, before the last one is completely gone, or long-term intense storms...or both. I've seen the same thing in online friends facing huge giants. It can get very overwhelming very quickly.

But the other thing that I've seen in that is that over and over and over again, both with IRL friends and online ones, people are sharing things that God is showing them about Himself that are totally amazing. Deep things. Things that could only be learned in the school of suffering. A new awareness of and awe for the sovereignty of God. A new assurance of His goodness, even when circumstances are far from good. A deeper realization of His incredible love. A renewed love for His word, and even in some cases a drive to dig into the previously-seen-as-dry-and-not-so-relevant-to-life-right-now subject of "doctrine".

I've been seeing those things, experiencing them, and marveling about them for a while, as anyone who reads much here knows. But I hadn't really put them together with the term "revival" until Beth's words. She continues with these:

"The good news is that faith--the authentic New Testament kind--is beginning to come back in style.
I'm not talking about name-it-and-claim-it theology. I'm talking about simply believing God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do. I'm talking about learning to abide in Christ and letting His words abide in us so that our petitions begin to reflect His heart and mind. (John 15:7-8)
The result is a God-glorifying harvest that bears witness to a lost world that Christ is alive and powerful. Ultimately, the harvest will be one of souls. I am convinced that breadth revival will follow closely on the heels of a depth revival."

Is the suffering that seems to be mushrooming around me part of that very thing? A "depth revival"? What a thought. And what a perspective-changer to begin to look at those storms through "revival-colored glasses."

LORD, I have heard the report about You;
LORD, I stand in awe of Your deeds.
Revive Your work in these years;
make it known in these years.
In Your wrath remember mercy!
~Habakkuk 3:2

More birthday....:-)

We always let the kids open one present when they get up on their birthday, and then they have to wait until Dad gets home from work to open the rest. (It's always exciting when a birthday falls on the weekend so they don't have to wait!) Bay had waited anxiously *all* day for Daddy to come home so she could open this gift...

And it was worth the wait! Her Hobby Lobby gift card for scrapbook supplies, and a pink "padfolio" because she has wanted one for ages. (She may not *look* like me, but her wish lists sure look like mine! Notebooks and paper and crafty stuff...;-))
Another highlight of her day. Long-standing birthday tradition around here is Mr. John singing "Birthday" by the Beatles (aka "Mr. John's Crazy Birthday Song" :-D) He didn't get to come eat last night, but his call was a very fun surprise. I think her face says it all...




Bayley and Kaitlyn weren't happy about having their picture taken *again*.
Silly boys!
Em wasn't in a picture-taking mood, either.
Poor Mrs. Kathy learned a valuable lesson last night...never take menu suggestions from an Italian child. My children all tolerate spicy food at young ages (unlike their mother...:)), and Bayley's recommendation of the Jalapeno chips had Kathy breathing smoke!
Josh, of course, kept us all in stitches, between his dancing (they should have advertised the live entertainment!) and his ever-present verbal wit.
Bayley said it was a *great* birthday...:-D

Happy Birthday Bayley!!!

The long, long, LONG-awaited 9th birthday has finally arrived!!

The birthday banner...(pardon our not-quite-yet-primed-and-painted walls..ack!)
Presents!!
One of the highlights of the day...*finally* getting to change earrings after having her ears pierced 6 weeks ago. She has waited and waited to wear her new Minnie earrings...an early, early birthday present from one of her favorite people. :)
The other highlight of the day...getting to go have a *girls-only* lunch with Mrs. Kathy and Kaitlyn. They went to Sweet Bay and had a wonderful time, and Kaitlyn gave her adorable monkey earrings...:-D
More pictures later....Happy Birthday, Bay!!!