how to change what your heart loves

one of our family's goals is memorizing the Word.

we decided to start with the psalms and work our way through the longest book of the Bible and the easiest to memorize (in my opinion because of the poetry).

last year asher read heavenly man, the autobiography of brother yun. asher was 6 years old when he read this book.  i have not yet read this book.

asher came away from reading this book so convicted and challenged to memorize Scripture because brother yun has most the books of the Bible memorized.  memorizing more of the Word has always been a desire of mine, but my son was the one who really gave me the kick in the pants i needed to refocus my efforts on it. 

as a family, we have the 1st 3 psalms memorized... even david my 3 year old.  i wish we were going faster through it, but i am honestly content that we are working at it at our slow pace and at least doing it!

one great incentive for our kids is my mom offered to pay them $1 for each chapter of the Bible they memorized.  her grandma paid her to memorize chapters, so she wanted to pay her grandkids.  what a great way to earn money, right?

while i started in on psalm 4 i found so much truth and encouragement to hide in my heart.

o sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? how long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? selah.

as i was meditating on this passage and praying through the psalm, this section just kept standing out to me.  

there is just so so much i can give my time and attention to... so much that can consume me and worry me and steal my affections.  while i wish this passage was speaking just to other people and not me, i know it also speaks to me.  as much as i long to be fully His, i still have worthless things that steal my affections.

and when it is all said and done and i am standing before Him, face to face and eye to eye, like each one of us will... well, when i am there, what am i going to wish i would have loved?  am i going to be happy with what took my affections?  am i going to be proud of how i used my time?  will i wish i made choices a bit differently?

i am asking the Holy Spirit to help me love what He loves and give myself to those things.  with His help, you and i will both grow in righteousness and keep pursuing a walk with Him that will prove us blameless in the end.

let's hide His Words in our heart... He promises that when we do this it will strengthen us to not sin against Him.


still counting gifts to 1000...

431 - 449:

431. beautiful weather.

432. a day sledding in the snow with the family on saturday.

433. my sweet uriah turning 6!  can't believe how fast time flies by.

434. warm weather forecast for this upcoming weekend meaning we will have the boys' birthday party outside!

435. God's faithfulness to fill in the gaps in our finances.

436. a warm comfy bed to fall into at night.

437. God's faithfulness even in hard circumstances and even when it is hard to understand.

438. time by myself with God and my Bible when i am really needing it.

439. the offense in the book of matthew that keeps me from my comfort zone in life and keeps pointing me towards the narrow path of walking with Him.

440. a reminder yesterday of what has been on my heart... "he who gives to the poor lends to the Lord."

441. that God knows the unfulfilled desires of my heart and is trustworthy.

442. lately i have really liked ice.

443. the small organic fancy dark chocolate my husband brought home for me on saturday... just because he knows how much i enjoy fancy dark chocolates.

444. so much encouragement while reading the Word of God.

445.  the Holy Spirit's activity in my life.

446. broccoli in this upcoming week's csa box!

447. much needed green juice from my juicer - this time it is ginger, lemon, beet, pomegranate, celery, mixed greens juice.

448. the rare times all 4 kids go down for a nap at the same time and the house is quiet in the afternoon.

449. learning how to be a christian mom who raises her kids to know the Lord.


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

charis

the best two minutes of your day

then

now

today is a very special day.  my sweet boy uriah jaden turns 6!  this short video of him and his cousin singing in their talent show last week only shows a small glimpse of his sweetness - take time to watch it... it will be the best 2 minutes of your day.  trust me.

side note - an american tail was one of my favorite movies when i was little... the first movie that i cried in.  hearing these two sing just like the little mice brings back so many memories and a few tears.




i love you uriah and happy happy birthday!  mama thinks you are amazing!

if you want to read more about uriah, a whole handful is a post i wrote last year for him.

charis

still waters

in whirlwind days like today, i am reminded to slow down!  it doesn't mean i can necessarily stop the activity before me and all around me, but i do want to choose thankfulness instead of dread and stress about what lies ahead. 

this river, the river i live by, always seems to remind me of peace and stillness.

be still and know i am God. psalm 46:10

some translations say cease striving.  wow, is that ever talking to me when things get busy.  have you found yourself striving lately with all that must be done like me?

somehow there is a way to be still while still being active... while still moving and going somewhere, but keeping the peace that is a fruit of a life anchored in trusting God.

so i am asking tonight,

Lord, You be my Good Shepherd.

                            make me lacking in nothing.

                                                         teach me to rest in green pastures.

                                                                            lead me beside the still waters.

restore my weary soul.

                  guide me in Your paths of righteous for the sake of Your name.

    and when i walk through a valley that has the threat of death
                                                                           
                                                                               help me not be afraid.
                 
                                                                                           Lord, be with me.

guide me with Your discipline.

                comfort me with Your leadership.

                       prepare a feast for me in the presence of those who hate me.

anoint me with Your oil.

                           make my cup overflowing.

             may Your goodness,
                    
                        may Your lovingkindness,
                                     
                                     Your faithfulness,
                                              
                                             follow me for all the days You have set before me

      so i may dwell with You forever in the place where You dwell.

                                                                                                           amen.


still counting gifts to 1000...

410 - 430:

410. Jesus' words, "so do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows."

411. that with God, all things are possible.

412. warmth on a cold day.

413. unexpected provision... yet again, at exactly the right timing.

414. that the glucose test is now behind me... hoping for a good report.

415. reignited love for favorite old hymns.

416. the hope in the old hymns anchored in when we finally see Jesus face to face and not in the present time we live in.

417. a helpful husband when i have had so much to do and so little energy to do it.

418. a meal in the freezer to pull out for a no hassle dinner.

419. much needed rain that is falling.

420. teething tablets for the little guy who has been cutting 8 teeth nonstop for about a month now.

421. newman's peppermints.

422. sunshine break in the middle of rainy days.

423. grace to do what needs to be done.

424. a good report on my glucose tolerance test.

425. the upcoming blitz of birthdays in our family.

426. meal planning and the headache of "what's for dinner" that it eases.

427. the hope of His return and wrong things being made right.

428. naptime.

429. my flax seed heatable wrap to ease back pain.

430. my cute uriah who is going to sing "somewhere out there" with his cousin in his school talent show... mouse ears and all.


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

charis

missing the point

while jesus was in the house eating, many tax-collectors and sinners came and joined Him and Him disciples at the meal.  when the pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "why does your rabbi eat with tax-collectors and sinners?"  but Jesus heard the question and answered, "the ones who need a doctor aren't the healthy but the sick.  as for you, go and learn what this means: 'I want compassion rather than sacrifice.' (hosea 6:6)  for I didn't come to call the 'righteous,' but sinners!  matthew 9:10-13

so i am going to make the short, sweet, and hopefully simple.

as i read the words of Jesus to the pharisees i think about how often we skim past His words, missing the point, because we have demonized the pharisees in our modern church circles to the point that we can't (or maybe won't) relate to them because... gosh, they were so dense they should have got the point from the start, right?

why did Jesus allow those who were sinners to eat with Him for dinner?  why did He allow them to be around His inner circle of followers?  why was Jesus not surrounding Himself with those who had their lives on track?

didn't Jesus know what they had done?  was He unaware of the gravity of their sins?

i imagine the pharisees were upset because they were probably personally affected and offended by the sins of these people who suddenly had the privilege of eating a meal with Jesus.  in the small cities Jesus ministered in, it is no wonder that people knew and had experienced the aftermath of the sins of others.  and now Jesus, the one who was supposedly the Righteous One, the Messiah, was eating with these jerks who had hurt so many in the community with their sinful lives.

and if we can get the "pharisee" picture out of our minds that preachers have shoved in there with rhetoric and actually think of real life senarios involving real people, i imagine we will have the same questions that they had.

why Jesus?  why them when they for sure do not deserve it?

sometimes Jesus offends me just as much as He offended them.  how about you?

for the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (matt 18:11)


charis

linking up with barbie this week for fresh brewed sundays.

when it is just too much

it has been a rough couple days.  i don't know if it is just in the air, so to speak, but there is so much going on all around me and pretty much all of it involves pain deep in the heart.  the pressure seems unbearable at moments when i cry out to the Lord and say, it is too much... all of this is just too much. 

tonight i was reminded of a song:

turn your eyes upon Jesus
look full in His wonderful face
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of His Glory and Grace

it isn't as if the problems are magically solved and everything is fine and dandy.  but it feels so different to approach the same things that life has to offer when i lock my gaze onto Jesus, search for the hope and encouragement that is in His eyes, and let the anxiety go.  He really can be trusted.  we can trust Him with whatever it is that is weighing so heavy upon our hearts. 

He knows, He understands, and He can be trusted. 

charis