Give Thanks

Psalm 136:1-9

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. 

            His love endures forever. 

Give thanks to the God of gods. 

            His love endures forever. 

Give thanks to the Lord of lords: 

            His love endures forever.

 to him who alone does great wonders, 

            His love endures forever. 

who by his understanding made the heavens, 

            His love endures forever. 

who spread out the earth upon the waters, 

            His love endures forever. 

who made the great lights— 

            His love endures forever. 

the sun to govern the day, 

            His love endures forever. 

the moon and stars to govern the night; 

            His love endures forever.

We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with love, joy, and peace.

Thankfulness - A kid's perspective

Ellie's Thanksgiving Feast at school
She's our pilgrim princess

My kids came up with their own thankfulness lists. Can you guess who made which list?

Things to be thankful for:

• 5 days off from school
• Food
• Football
• The letter "f" which made all of the above possible

I am thankful for:

• mi dog
• Mrs. Owen
• family
• friends

I'm thankful for:

• football
• five days off from school
• turkey and stuffing and potatoes and pie and pie and pie

Thankfulness

Thankfulness - adj. expressing gratitude and relief. (New Oxford American Dictionary)

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am grateful for so much.

1. My kids and the joy they bring.

The kids at Yosemite. No one threw anyone else over the edge!

2. My husband and our twenty years of married life so far.

Buzz Lightyear and no kids. A perfect combo for our anniversary celebration!

3. My friends.

With Susan, Megan and Allie at Hilton Head

4. My family.

That's a real sunset behind us. Beautiful!

5. My church family, doing life together.

Ellie meets Hartley - one of our newest "church members" and special little neighbor!

How about you? What's on your thankfulness list?

Little Miracles

Last weekend while I trimmed bushes to prepare for winter, Ellie entertained herself by  raking a tiny pile of leaves to jump in. She was so proud of it she asked me to take video of her jumping in them. Funny.


She asked if she could pull the leaves off the trees to make a bigger pile. "No," I replied, "let's leave the leaves alone."


Ellie sat there for a second, hands in her lap, surrounded by her little pile. "I know," she exclaimed, "I'll ask God to do it."


Wouldn't you know it... just two nights later, a wicked storm blew through. At breakfast Wednesday morning, she looked out the window to see our yard filled with leaves. Lots and lots of leaves!!! 


"Look, Mom. God blew the leaves down for me!"


He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 18:2-3)

Doors!

What do you do when God closes a door? Does it sadden you? Or do you look expectantly to the door about to open?

The past several weeks, I've been asking God to reveal what's next. Oh... He is closing doors here and there. He's opened a couple - not far yet, just enough to get a little peek. I can't wait to see what happens when the door opens all the way! What is it, God?

I can hardly wait! "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). Oh, Lord, what are your plans? Can you open the door? Please?

In case you wonder... I'm not good at waiting for Christmas either!!!

Lessons in Faith. Taught by a Dog

Bloggy friends,

Sitting in her favorite place. My lap.

I've been wrestling with my thoughts these past couple weeks. What is faith? I mean really -- lived every day, what does faith look like? What does God want from me? How can I show Him my gratitude for His unending love? Does my life even reflect my faith in Him?

Apparently, He wants me to understand because we now have Daisy. A dog. I am NOT a dog person! My good friends know that me having a dog is about as likely as snow in h - e - double hockey sticks! 

Daisy adores me. I mean really adores me. No matter who plays with her, holds her or feeds her, when I walk in the room, her tail goes crazy and she does everything in her power to get to me. Yes, it makes me feel good to be so loved.

Daisy obeys me. When I take her outside, I don't need a leash. She sits when I tell her to. She comes when I call her. She's learning to stay in place if I command it, but those little muscles in her legs twitch like crazy, fighting the urge to race to me. Very funny. When I want to come in, I walk to the back door. She hurtles to the door to get there, not wanting to be left outside.

Daisy apologizes to me. Really. Her house training has gone really well, but occasionally she has accidents in the house. When I clean up, she sits nearby, head tilted to the side, with big pathetic eyes that say, "Oops. I really didn't mean to do that. Do you still love me?" No need to reprimand. One look into that face and all is forgiven.

Daisy trusts me. Within four days, Daisy was completely crate trained. The first few nights, she whined and whined. It broke our hearts to listen to her sad lament. Though, she always settled down. Not liking it, perhaps, but giving in. It's like she knew we were doing what's best for her. Now, she runs to her crate when she wants alone time (not often). She circles up and settles in when we tuck her into the crate for the night. No whimpers. No fuss. 

I wonder if this is what God truly desires from me. Would His heart burst if I ran to him, ecstatic, every day? Instead of wagging tail, I could shout my adoration to Him. Would He fill with pride at my obedience? Listening to His instruction and following His ways. Running to Him at the end of the day. Would He love my immediate remorse as I love Daisy's? One quick and heartfelt apology from me and all is forgiven. Does He crave my trust? He knows the plans He has for me. He has my best interest at heart. Like Daisy couldn't understand the crate, I might not understand His ways. But, can I trust Him as she trusts me? Completely?

Father God,

You desire to fill our hearts with You. You want our trust, obedience, remorse, and adoration. Why do I find it so hard to do? Why can't I run to you like my dog runs to me? Lord, fill my heart with more of You. Draw me in. Help me listen. Help me follow. Help me to trust. I lay my life at Your feet. I love You. I hope that today at least I show it.

In Jesus' precious name I pray,

Amen

Faith is a verb

Faith: (noun)
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.2 strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
Technically, faith is a noun. We have faith in God. Maybe, instead of God, our faith is in ourselves, our job, our skill, our country. 
I've believed in God for a long time. As a young girl, I went to church whenever I could: children's choir, drama, acolyte, youth group. I was a good little church girl. Something about church drew me in and I had to be there. I don't remember praying. I didn't read scripture often. Church was something good to do. Good girls go to church.
Throughout college and young adulthood, my prayer life began. My prayers were largely "gimme prayers" though. God, give me a new job. Help me through this day. Help me on this test. My prayers weren't often to share His love with others or to become the woman He wants me to be. Somehow, I managed to stay connected with church. I believed that being a good girl mattered. Good girls go to church. 
Early in marriage, it was hard to go to church. My husband, a medical student, rarely had Sundays off. We visited a lot of churches nearby without making any connections. Finally, we settled on attending his parents' church -- though it was 45 minutes from home. After all, good couples go to church.
When we moved to Delaware, Ohio, we floated from church to church, determined to find a good church home. Then I met Barb. Barb had a very different relationship with God. She knew Him as her friend. She trusted Him with the easy parts of life and the chaos. She knew He would carry her even in her darkest pain. Barb had been praying for a Christian neighbor. She got me. A career baby Christian. She even saw that as a blessing. (For which I'm quite thankful.) 
I didn't know it then, but as we continued our church search, Barb prayed. She prayed we would find a wonderful, living church to call home. We didn't end up at Barb's church, but we did find a living, real church home. That church wasn't about tradition and ritual. It was -- and still is -- about people loving God and sharing that love with others.
The people there loved us in a huge way. Soon after we started attending, I was put on bed rest because of pregnancy complications. Women whom I'd never met cared for our older son (then age two and still in diapers). None asked for or accepted payment. They just wanted to help. Families we didn't know brought us dinner for weeks. People took time from their busy days to visit with me or rush me to the doctor for emergency appointments. They loved us through our crisis. Our second son is here in large part because they cared. 
My faith grew in our years there. I realized I had a lot to learn. I learned about tithing. I learned about serving. I learned that church is about God, not about the building and events. I didn't really learn about pride -- though I needed to! While I didn't get far, I was becoming more than a "good girl who goes to church."
And then we moved to a new state. And 9/11 happened. All at the same time.
My faith crumbled. I cried out to God in desperation, but He didn't answer. We visited church after church while my world collapsed. I desperately wanted to find Him, but I couldn't. It wasn't that I stopped believing in God, it's just that I didn't see Him in the people at church. I felt abandoned.
And then... frustrated and ready to throw in the towel, I told my husband I'd give church one last chance. We visited C3, our church home for the past nine years. We walked through the door and everything was different. The people cared. They comforted. They dried my tears. They assured my broken heart that it would all be okay. In his sermon, the pastor challenged the people, "Will you be Jesus to that person who is giving church one last chance? Will you be the hope to the hopeless?" He included coffee, chocolate, professional baseball and college football in that sermon (four of my all-time favorite things!). God got my attention!
I knew we had found our home, but still, I didn't bounce back quickly. I had to learn that the people of the church are only human, they are not the answer. I'd put my trust in Christian people -- not in Christ. My whole life. There's a big difference!
Faith, I've discovered is not really a noun. Sure, Webster can define it that way. But God wants our actions to be faith. He wants us to love and share His hope with the world. He wants us to make a difference. But, we are not the difference. He is. He desires that we share HIS love and encourage others to get to know him. Faith is walking by completely trusting God with the highs and the lows, in the dark times and the easy times. Faith is sharing His love with the broken, hurting, hopeless ones who don't know that love.
Today, I live a different life. Not a perfect life, that's for sure. I know I don't always choose what Jesus would. I still battle pride. I battle selfishness. Inwardly, I fight between righteous rule following and grace giving love. Sometimes the rules win. Even so, I know that God is God and I am not. I may make mistakes. Sometimes big, ugly, horrible mistakes. 
But God...
Redeems. Restores. Reunites.
That's what faith really is. Trusting God. Stepping out to make a difference, one relationship at a time. Faith is a verb.

Introducing Daisy!

Hey bloggy friends,

Meet the newest member of the family!

Meeting Daisy. She's a rescue puppy. So sweet.

Our little cutie!

Ben loves scratching her tummy. She loves it too.

Ben and Daisy playing with her favorite toy.

Her favorite "teether."

Isn't she the cutest puppy ever?

Do you know why?

Dear bloggy friends,
Most of you here with me know Jesus. We are united in our bond of Christian faith. We speak church-ese. Have you ever tried to explain it to a non-believer? Have you been challenged by someone who is completely against Christianity?

The past several days, I've had the privilege of sharing and discussing my faith with a self-proclaimed athiest. Sadly, he shared that few Christians will take the time to discuss WHY they have the faith they do. Few of them will defend the scripture on which they base their faith. He said that most get angry and call him hateful things. (I realize not everyone would be that way toward him. He was never disrespectful with me.)

First Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..."

I needed to examine my faith journey a bit to answer his questions. I wasn't fully prepared. I KNOW what I believe. I KNOW I follow the One True, Living God. But to articulate it to someone who doesn't know... that wasn't so easy. How about you? Are you prepared?

It's not enough to be prepared to give the account, though. Can you do it with gentleness and respect? Or would you get defensive? Would you argue?

God is LOVE. Is that what I share when I speak? When I write? When I stand in line impatiently at the Walmart check-out counter? When I grab the parking spot before the other car waiting there? When I say, "I don't have time for you right now."?

Believers, are we prepared to share our hope in love? What would you say to my friend if he asked you?

God, break my heart for what breaks yours

Shared my faith with an athiest. He says few Christians do more than label him hatefully. That breaks my heart. Fellow Christians, do you just talk the talk or do you walk the walk?


2 Tim. 2:24-26
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Memorial Box Monday: Precious Moments

This morning, like just about every morning, my daughter snuck quietly into my bedroom, rubbed my arm and softly informed me, "Mommy, it's time to get up."

Like every morning, I opened my eyes (begrudgingly. Morning comes too early!) and gave her the really-you-must-be-kidding-it's-too-early glare. She smiles broadly, "Or do you want to hit the snooze button?" By the way, that question comes from years of marriage and me asking if I can hit the snooze just one more time.

I reached out from under the snuggly covers and patted her on the head. She giggled and ran out the door yelling, "Daddy, she hit the snooze button!"

Even if I am ready to get up, I think I'll always hit the snooze button just to hear her laugh.

God called our family to adopt Ellie. We knew what we'd provide for her: a safe home, love, physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment, opportunity, family. We knew she'd add a new dimension to our family. I never anticipated how great her gift would be. Thank you, God, for the gifts you gave us through Ellie: playfulness, a generous heart, a nurturing spirit, and joy. We love you, sweet pea.

I can't capture the sound of her laugh for our memorial box. I can include this picture - classic Ellie!

Ellie's first day of kindergarten. She's our special gift.

Goofing off with her friends!

Memorial Box Monday started at "A Place Called Simplicity." A friend of mine introduced me to it last week, and I love it! love it! love it!!! Memorial Box Monday provides an opportunity to remember all the good things God has done. Huge, gigantic things and little things that might seem insignificant. God's word is clear: "Cast every care on Me, for I care for you." (1 Peter 5:7).