some of the random thoughts in my head

a list of thoughts on my mind (in no particular order)...

1. we have been enjoying amazing sunny weather here, in the mid to high 60's, and i have heard several people voice their concern that we will get no rain.  then i look at the 10 day forecast and see 7 of the next 10 days predicting rain.  no worries people.  i have lived here my whole life, besides a few years for college, and we are not a place that rains all winter long, but it does rain.  we will get plenty of rain and then be ready for the sun.  i, for one, am enjoying the sun and the opportunity to get outside without being soaked while it is here.

2. this pregnancy is the 1st time i have to take the second test for glucose sensitivity.  let me tell you, i am not thrilled about this.  it isn't that i detest needles like so many people do.  instead, i detest that drink and how icky it makes me feel and the thought of fasting while pregnant and nursing still just makes me not feel well thinking about it.  hopefully all goes well and i am fine and tolerating sugars fine, but either way... i have to take that test again and that is no bueno.

3. i am by myself for a little bit sitting in "my" starbucks and getting to write a bit on my blog.  that is amazing and wonderful.  i love to be with my kids and love to be a stay at home mom.  i also love getting an hour or two a week at starbucks where my thoughts actually aren't interrupted every 10 seconds and i am not staring at all the stuff around the house that needs to be done.

4. i am in a group that orders from azure standard (among ordering other real natural foods stuff) and we have a group message on facebook that is ongoing.  as people are talking about splitting a bulk order of almond flour, i am reminded that i have been allergic to almonds for about a year and sometimes that makes me sad.  i like almonds.  not sure what happened.  i have been advised to do a thorough cleanse someday when i am not breastfeeding or pregnant (or how about breastfeeding and pregnant???!)... oh, someday.

5. i love to juice at home.  i am so unmotivated to do it sometimes though, especially when i want to include in my juice fresh pomegranate seeds.  the problem is i hate to open up pomegranates.  however, my wise husband taught me a new way that isn't as messy.  i think i may be juicing pomegranate seeds more often now.

6. have you ever made homemade yogurt?  oh my goodness... it is so yummy and really so easy.  i study and researched it for weeks before i tried doing it about 9 mos ago for the first time.  i made some again last night.  katie has great detailed, easy to follow, instructions on how you can make your own yogurt at home.  go check it out and make your own... you will thank me.  one of my good food money saving tips for sure!  we use it as a sub for milk in soups and sour cream on mexican food, besides the kids wanting it for a snack topped with only fresh fruit.  get those probiotics and get it for cheap.

7. due to the recent good weather, we have been able to almost completely clean up the leaves from fall in the front of our house (important to note the "front" as the back has a tree even more giant... if we had cleaned up both it really would be a miracle that could be classified as a sign and a wonder).  one year, actually the first year we owned our house, for reasons beyond our control we did not even attempt to rake or clean up 1 leaf until spring.  i walked through the front yard, where there was supposed to be a lawn, and i had leaves up to my mid thigh... almost my waist.  we have massive trees and a ton of leaves every year.  amazing to think we are almost leafless in front at it is only january.  amazing indeed.

8. purple sparkle nail polish is just fun.  you should all try it (well, if you are a female that is).

9. life is not easy... even a christian life, or maybe i should say especially a christian life.  bad things happen and Jesus Himself assured us of this fact.  what we do in the middle of these bad things is the most important testimony of our life really being devoted to following Him.   c.s. lewis said it best when he said,  

i didn't go to religion to make me happy.  i always knew a bottle of port would do that.  if you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, i certainly don't recommend christianity.

you can refer to my post yesterday on why is is definitely not comfortable to be a follower of Jesus.

10. i have a dear friend who is having a baby on thursday. a baby girl.  she has 3 boys and finally is having a girl.  i am so excited for her i could burst.  someday i hope to be as lucky as she is.  can't wait to go visit her and that little one.  i just can't wait.

still counting gifts to 1000...

396 - 409:

396. a day off from school with the kids home (even though it has been a bit of a bickering morning).

397. the way a hug can change two grouchy arguing kids into two smiling giggling ones.

398. cup of hot tea on a cold day.

399. a fire in the fireplace.

400. a relaxing lunch and connecting time with new friends.

401. free coffee at starbucks with the mug my husband got as a gift for christmas.  so fun!

402. beautiful sunny days (crisp, but not too cold) as well as rain in the forecast.

403. that God stays the same even when i have my ups and downs.

404. the money to get my minivan worked on... we have been praying for it and God has been so faithful to provide.

405. provision to go to kansas city in the summer - we will be traveling with 5 kids, we will see how crazy we are then.

406. the grace He gives to forgive when we ask for His help.

407. the abundant mercy He showed when He forgave us.  makes forgiveness a bit easier when we realize we didn't deserve it either.

408. new way to open pomegranates.

409. my juicer that was an amazing gift from my husband 4 years ago... still on the counter and still being used.

i am linked up at a holy experience. i would love to hear from you in the comments below!

charis

even them? you have got to be kidding me.

 my view as i am writing this blog post... quiet in the house right now.

you have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.  but I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.  whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.  give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.  you have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor' and hate your enemy.  but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  for if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? do not even the tax collectors do the same?  if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? do not even the gentiles do the same?
therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.   matthew 5:38-48

i have always thought the words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount (matthew 5-7) were particularly challenging.  these challenge me to the core if i take them literally.

do not resist an evil person.  if they hit you, abuse you, mistreat you, just let them do it again.  He couldn't be serious, right?  He wouldn't really be telling us to allow someone to cause us pain.

i have heard so many many people, unfortunately including those from pulpits, argue how this couldn't really be literal.  i have heard so many people say how it is okay, even godly, to defend ourselves and our rights.

the only problem with this is that Jesus didn't defend Himself or His rights.  He wasn't asking anything of His followers that He wasn't willing to live fully Himself.

just as challenging is the exhortation to love your enemies.  did you know that there is no where in the old testament that it says to hate your enemies?  it is almost humorous how many times i have heard it said that Jesus was correcting the old testament here.  no, it did say to love your neighbor and to treat them right, (He wasn't just adding the love your neighbor as yourself stuff to the 1st commandment... it was a commonly understood command of the Lord all through the law), but it never said to hate or mistreat an enemy.

yet, how many times do we just turn a blind eye to this exhortation of Jesus and justify our anger at our enemies?  we even call it righteous anger at times, trying to make it godly.

Jesus is right.  it is so easy for me to be kind to those who treat me well.  it is easy to give to those who appreciate what i give them.  it is easy to pray for a friend who has done so much to positively impact my life.

but the person who treats me like dirt and doesn't understand me, appreciate me, or sometimes even wounds me?  pray for them?  love them?

you mean the one who betrayed me?  the one who at my weakest moment rubbed salt in my wounds and didn't seem to care that my heart was broken and devastated... even them?  love them?  pray for them?

there is a reason there is a reward for this completely counter culture request.  many times throughout the different gospels Jesus says that if we receive our reward here, we forfeit it later.  if we fail to get the reward here, He will make sure of it we do get it on the Day of the Lord and then it will be forever.

we rarely get any rewards for allowing someone to hurt us again.  we rarely get any advice to lay down our lives for those who betray us, even from our friends who are believers.  our first instinct is definitely not to love those who cause us pain.  i know it isn't mine.

Jesus' teachings are so challenging and honestly most of us, even those of us who say we desire to follow Him, hate what He asks us to do.

but He never asked anything that He didn't do Himself.

when we spit on Him, He turned the other cheek.

when we told Him that He owed us something, He was gracious and gave freely and not begrudgingly.

when we hated Him for who He was and is and how much He made us realize our own darkness, He loved us anyways.

when we crucified Him, (because each one of us would have been in that crowd yelling 'crucify Him!' if we are really honest) He prayed to the Father asking Him to forgive us because we didn't really know what we were doing.

He could have called down fire from heaven and would have been fully justified, but He didn't.  our entire hope and salvation and life depends on the fact that He turned the other cheek, and we defend daily, sometimes every moment, why we are justified in our unforgiveness towards those who have done true wrong towards us.

if Jesus's words are literal and true, there is so much i must change about how i live and so much in my paradigm, in the paradigm of the entire Christian church, that needs to change.

seems so huge sometimes it is hard to know where to begin, huh.  well, when you stop reading this blog and someone mistreats you, the simple prayer for help to respond the way Jesus asks us to is a great start.

He gives us plenty of opportunities to practice this in our lives, over and over again.  i challenge you to ask for the grace to take what He said as true and then to walk it out.  we will mess up over and over again, but as i said, we will get so many opportunities to practice this with mistreatment... over and over again.

go, and be like your Father.

charis

linking up with barbie this week for fresh brewed sundays.

how will you use your time?

does it seem to anyone else besides me that the days are just flying by?  i don't know if it is a result of getting older, but it feels as if time is just speeding up faster and faster. 

it makes me think of all the things i want to get done, some important and some only seem important, and how i really do have to choose what i will spend my time on.  time is our most precious commodity to spend.  time is more valuable than money.  i have heard countless people talk about the war between the important and the urgent and, even though i understand the concept well in theory, i find myself in this very struggle all the time.

i took the time to reflect on my 2011 using the questions once again from simple mom.   she has 20 question prompts for looking back over the year and i found them very helpful the past two years.  both times, i must admit, i shed quite a few tears (in starbucks! haha!), but i am not one to be very introspective so it was a very needed time of reflection for me.

i still have yet to sit down and pray through and write out some simple goals for this upcoming year.  i want to have a direction i am going so that i can be intentional with my time.  i have always marveled at the verse in psalm 90:

so teach us to number our days, 
that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

how we use our time, and our awareness of the finite nature of time, actually causes us to grow in wisdom.  amazing.

last year i felt the Lord urging me to be more intentional, especially with my children and family life, and i have definitely grown in this over the past 12 months.  just like you i am sure (unless you have the drive and focus of a super human), there are times when i was less than present and purposeful in my time and energy with my family.  but, i can honestly look back and see growth.  i am thankful for the small strategies the Lord would give me in how to use my time to connect to my children and husband and ideas of how to serve them joyfully and pour into this family He has entrusted to me.

as i look ahead i wonder what He is asking of my time in 2012.  where do i most need to make growth?  what are areas that i can bring Him glory that i may have never focused on as much in the past?  i have some good ideas, but i want to steal away to get His perspective on my focus so that i am not running in 12 directions at one time with all my good ideas.

what have you discovered in reflecting back on your past year?  do you use any specific ways to reflect?  what do you feel the Lord is highlighting for 2012 for you personally?  how do you go about making goals for the year or refining your focus?  i would love your feedback in the comments and feel free to link to any posts you find helpful in having a focus for using our time wisely in the comments as well.  i love what you all add to the conversation.

still counting gifts to 1000...

380 - 395:

380. using our new freezer to prepare easy future meals.

381. our new baby boy coming in april.

382. two and a half wonderful weeks of the kids home on christmas break.

383. many many unexpected blessings lately.

384. hubby cleaning out the garage.

385. lots of different soups for cooler days.

386. christmas decor down and away - enjoying the extra space in our living room again.

387. the beautiful sunny january days we have been enjoying.

388. slow but steady progress on getting our bedroom back in order and cleaned out.

389. getting some much needed exercise.

390. seeing old friends and still feeling connected.

391. answered prayers.

392. persimmons in the freezer ready to make persimmon spice cake all winter long.

393. a much needed talk on the phone with a friend i have missed so much that i dreamed about talking to her on the phone.

394. reading the book of isaiah and realizing more and more that Jesus being both the Messiah and God is the real deal - getting anchored in the Word.

395. the gift of time.

i am linked up at a holy experience. i would love to hear from you in the comments below!

my top 10 posts of 2011

well, i have seen this around the web and decided to do my own top ten posts of 2011.  it was hard to narrow it down and pick which posts that impacted me the most while writing them or rereading them later, but these are some of my favorites (and some ended up being your favorites too!).

the Lord has made me happy - probably the most personal post i have written this far... written with lots of tears and i hope it ministers to you.

there must be more than this -thoughts i had on the day of the Lord - standing before Jesus and giving an account for the state of my own heart.  sounds heavy, but hopefully it is encouraging to you to not give up on the pursuit of a fully vibrant heart.

proverbs:  how to become a fool - in my one year bible reading challenge i decide to write the "what not to do's" of proverbs. 

ten things to remember when studying the book of isaiah - this is part 3 of a three part series on the book of isaiah that gives the most important 10 things to keep in mind when you go to read the popular book of isaiah.  if you like this one, i recommend also reading the first two parts which go into more detail on why i started studying isaiah and what i found when i started digging in.

how to grow in a life of prayer - this is what we do with our lives as intercessory missionaries - grow in prayer in our own lives and help others grow as well.  these tips are a good place to start if you are frustrated or at a standstill in your own prayer life.

28 random things about bill - turns out you all are as nosy as i am (and i mean this as a high compliment) and this is one of my top read posts ever.  here is a sneak peak into who the man i married almost 10 years ago really is and why i like him.

the rooster formally known as susan -or- letting go of false expectations - who knew that having chickens would teach me such deep life lessons? 

you do not have to get divorced - this has been my number one google searched post and someone recently let me know it was on the first page of google if you searched the word divorce.  wow.  i feel like it is a timely exhortation the Lord gave me to share and, though i know it is controversial, i believe it is worth your time to read and think about whether you are married, have been married, or may never get married.

you cannot have it all - this is the reality of life.  the world tries to tell us we can do it all and have it all, but real life is about choices.  what do you choose to have?

how to find true joy - most of this post is just me quoting one of the most inspirational and convicting stories i have heard.  i want joy, how about you?

dear simeon - this is a letter i wrote to my youngest son on his 1st birthday. i actually have posted about each of my kids on their birthdays this year (my oldest is above in the Lord has made me happy) and the other two are a whole handful and 1.2.3.4.

when the curse is reversed - this pregnancy has given me vision for the day when the curse really is totally broken.  can't wait for that day!

how to deal with money with faith instead of fear - a little bit of our story of living on full time missionary support in california with a family of 6 (soon to be 7)!

the great adventure - i was just having fun with this one but it really spoke to me after i wrote it - don't you love when God speaks to you through you? crazy, isn't it!

12 tips for saving money on good food - this was a reader requested post.  i hope it helps you if you are trying to save money on your groceries like us.  please add your tips in the comments because it is far from all inclusive.


okay, so there aren't just 10, but since when have i been a good list maker or brief for that matter?

thanks for being such great readers and for all your comments and feedback - it means a lot to me!

have a wonderful end of 2011 and remember that we all have something to share that will encourage someone else on this journey of knowing God.

charis

the great work of God

during the past several weeks leading up to christmas day i have been reading the gospels and some of the old testament prophesies regarding the coming of the Messiah. my prayer this year during advent has been that the Holy Spirit would open my heart to really believe in Jesus - that He is a man who walked on this earth and all that is said of Him and by Him is true, that He is fully God who came down to be near you and me and offer us the hope of a resurrection life when He comes back, and that He knows me and cares about me in my own little life here in northern california raising lots of little boys and spending my time building a house of prayer that will hopefully sustain until He returns. open my heart to believe - this is my prayer this year above all others.

i was reading in john 6 the other day and the words of Jesus struck me deep.  the crowds had been coming to Him and asking Him to teach them and show them miracles. they then asked Him the question that seems to be on my heart lately,

what should we do in order to perform the works of God?

isn't that a question all of us ask? so much to do and so little time to do it, and so often the nagging question arises inside, is all i am putting my energy into really worth it? what should i be doing? what should be my focus and do i need to adjust in some way? 

i have been asking myself this question often lately as time seems so finite and the most limited commodity i have been given, and i really desire to be found faithful with it. i want to do the great works of God. i want to be found pleasing. at the end of the day when the dishes aren't done, the floors are dirty, the laundry piled high, the kids grouchy and crying, and the ministry in a seeming holding pattern, what is it that really counts?

Jesus' answer to the crowds is His answer to us all:

here's what the work of God is: to trust in the One He sent.

it is really that simple... and it is that difficult. at the end of the day when i come to the end of myself and am faced with my inevitable inability to be the savior of the world, or even of myself, the great work of God that i can do is to trust in Jesus.

and perhaps this is why He said we must be like a child to inherit the kingdom of God - we must come and trust that He is who He says He is, that He is real, and that He can and will save us when we cannot save ourselves.

since trusting in Him is the highest work we are called to do, may He send His Spirit to strengthen our weak hearts to believe.

go today and do the great work of God.

believe this Christmas in the One He sent.

blessings.

charis 

this post is linked up at