Thankful Thursday - End of the year

 I took last week off from the "thankful Thursday" post in order to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas; the Greatest Gift ever, Jesus!  Come to Earth as a baby yet didn't stay in a manger, He grew, was fully human without being any less fully God so that He could show His love by dying on a cross to take our punishment - to face God's wrath for our sin - so that we could have a relationship with Him, to have the presence of God in us - Emmanuel, God with us! Every day of our lives and for all eternity.  As I look back on 2020 it was a very tough year and one that I'm thankful I don't have to re-live.  However, there have been many things that I'm truly thankful for; even some very hard things.  Here are just a few of those things:

1) As mentioned above, I'm SO thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ.  For His love, His sacrifice and His presence in my life.  I'm SO thankful for the wonderful, merciful, worthy, sovereign, unchanging, all-knowing God who, even though He is all those things, sees me, hears me and cares about the deepest sorrows and joys of my heart.  

2) This year has been one of a lot of family time. It has mostly been just the 8 of us since March.  We now have a "pod" of people that we see but that is still limited.  While at times this has been challenging as we all miss the relationships we have outside of our home it has also given a lot of time for making memories.  Extra bike rides, walks, talks, games and puzzles.  

3) I'm thankful for the lesson this year to live each day one at a time.  So much changed from day to day that we truly had to slow, clear the calendar and take one day at a time, relying on God for the details of each day.

4) I'm so very thankful for Matt & the kids.  I have said several times that the hardest decisions we make are those that affect our kids.  Feeling the responsibility of the task God has given to us to seek to raise our kids to love and depend on Him.  I'm thankful for a marriage where we work together in those decisions. There have been some tough days for us all but the kids have truly been amazing,  They have showed grace to me during tough days, they have been open about their own struggles and they have adjusted to the ever-changing guidelines.  

5) I'm also thankful for our church family.  When we weren't able to meet in person we connected over Zoom, there were phone calls from leadership to check in on how we were doing.  Mother's Day brought a special delivery (small plant) to each lady's door.  They have worked tirelessly to connect with people, to make sure that when we did start meeting in person again that it was as safe as possible.  All while also still reaching out to show the love of Christ to our community too.  

There's a saying that "God is good all the time and all the time God is good."  That has certainly been shown so many times this year.  I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for 2021.

What are you thankful for as we close out 2020?

I wanted to share this song because it's another one that I just love.  God really is our God "Through all of it"  No matter what we face, God is still our Emmanuel, God with us!  He is still the Great I AM, Yahweh the covenant God Who is Faithful and True!

Thankful Thursday - December Edition

 Another week! I am reminded of the verse that speaks of redeeming or making the best of the time we have (Ephesians 5:16).  Time marches on and even in this crazy year of 2020 we need to be aware of how we are using our time.  Things are different, in many ways slowed and more focused.  So how will we use these last days of 2020?  Let's continue to focus on gratitude and the One from where all good gifts come from (James 1:17). Here are a few things I'm thankful for this week.  Feel free to share yours in the comments.

1) For God's Word and the reminder this week (in the book of Hebrews) of what an awesome High Priest we have who has covered us by His blood and sacrifice.

2) For snow and the outdoor fun it brings.

3) For the reminder that God gives peace and strength as we step out in faith.

4) For good books to read.

5) For fun times and the gift of friends to laugh with.

6) For new songs, here is one I was introduced to this week.  

Thankful Thursday - December Edition

 This week has been a bit tough but I'm SO thankful that there are always blessings to count.  Here are a few from this week:

1) Celebrating a special someone's birthday.  

2) That we are all healthy.  

3) While Christmas plans look very different this year we are still finding joy and able to do some of our regular traditions.

4) Thankful for Christian friends who listen, pray and encourage.

5) Lastly I'm thankful that my first attempt at "freestyle" crochet is going well.  I found a poncho pattern that I loved the shape of but wanted a different motif so I decided to try and combine them.

Progress so far: 

A closer look at the dragonfly motif:

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday - Christmas Edition

I'm going to try this again...I'm hoping to put up a Thankful Thursday post each week this month highlighting some Christmasy things I'm thankful for; here are two of them:

1) This Advent Storybook: I found this book several years ago at a used book store.  The book has Mama Bear sharing a story each night with Benjamin Bear.  They follow Little Bear's journey to Bethlehem. After each story Mama Bear shares a moral reminder or a specific truth about God.  The stories are short enough to keep the attention of the youngest and also allow some beginner readers to read the stories.

One thing I was disappointed to find out was that there is no corresponding advent calendar to go with this book (despite the fact that each story begins with Benjamin Bear opening a door each day on his advent calendar).  So, my goal this year was to build one myself.  There are some odd items listed in the book (a beggar, thief, wolf, etc) so I couldn't use any traditional advent calendars.  While poking around online I found a seller on Etsy that sells silver charms.  She had every single item I needed in her inventory!  Another quick look around online and I found this cute light up advent calendar with drawers.  The drawers are large enough to hold the charm and a Lindt truffle candy.  So far it's working great and I'm so thankful to finally have an advent calendar to match this book. 

2) Today we also made one of my favorite cookie recipes.  They are a bit more involved since they require making brown butter, chilling the dough and then rolling them in sugar.  My three little helpers had fun with the rolling.  The picture below shows off their different personalities. I've also included the link to the recipe for these yummy Brown Butter Chewy Ginger Oatmeal cookies.  One note I would make is that the dough needs to be chilled for much longer than the 15 minutes to insure that the cookies don't melt too much. 

Cookie Recipe:

https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/brown-butter-chewy-ginger-oatmeal-cookies/

Stay

 I joke that Proverbs 16:9 has been the theme verse for 2020.  So much of what we had planned changed, and we have been forced to truly slow down and trust God for what each day, sometimes each hour, will bring.  In my last post I talked about faithfully following God: stepping out, keeping our focus on Him and not comparing to what He is doing in the lives of others.  As hard as following can be, I think that can be the easier of the two between action and what we see as inaction.  We "get" busy.  We are all busy.  The world around us places a high value on busyness, productivity, and reaching goals.  Those things aren't inherently bad but we understand that thinking.  What can often be harder is when God says "stay", be still, because in our minds that seems like we aren't doing anything we think nothing can happen if we don't get moving; getting something done.  

A couple months ago I saw a post on Instagram. I wish I had made a note of who wrote it, but unfortunately I didn't.  It was a post that I read and thought "Oh, that's cool. I've never thought about that before," and moved on; yet it has stuck with me and become one of the truths that I'm clinging to when I just don't get what God is doing.  The post was about Jarius.  In Mark chapter 5 we meet Jarius, a man desperate for healing for his daughter.  As soon as Jesus returns from across the sea, Jarius is there, asking Jesus to heal his daughter. Jarius knows Jesus can heal her.  How thankful Jarius must have been to have Jesus immediately start following him to his house!  But here's where the story gets hard.  Someone else needed healing from Jesus that day too.  A woman, who we are told has had a bleeding issue for 12 years, touches the hem of Jesus' garment and is healed...and Jesus stops!  He stops and turns to the crowd to ask who touched Him.  From our view, we know that Jesus already knew who had touched Him.  She was healed so why delay?  Jesus (for several reasons I may blog about in the future, but won't get into here) knew that He needed to publicly acknowledge her healing.  But where was Jarius in all of this?  He was right there...he stayed.  Then, after Jesus heals the woman, someone comes from Jarius' house to tell him that his daughter has died.  How hopeless Jarius must have felt...how angry that Jesus didn't move faster. "Why did Jesus have to stop?" Jarius must have thought.  But Jesus responds with, "Do not fear, only believe." (vs 36)  

So what does this have to do with us?  Notice the example of Jarius, he doesn't rush ahead of Jesus, and he doesn't interrupt and pester or complain about Jesus tending to the needs of the woman.  Jarius simply stops when Jesus stops, and stays.  He is still with Jesus when the messenger from his house comes.  So often we don't understand Jesus' timing.  We get impatient and want to move ahead, thinking He somehow needs our "help."  We get restless; we think He's forgotten or that He has become unfaithful to His promises.  It's SO hard to wait, to sit, and to trust; especially when we are facing a situation that affects those dearest to us.  I'm going to somewhat contradict an earlier statement I made, but hear me out...earlier I mentioned how we aren't to be looking around at what Jesus is doing in others lives, BUT that admonishment is given for the times when we look around and start comparing ourselves to that person; when our focus is on the person and not on Jesus.  We DO need to look at how Jesus has worked in the lives of others because in those times we are reminded that He is faithful, that He does keep His promises and that we are to care about others as He does; not with jealousy or contempt but with love and care.  Just as we look back in our own lives, not to dwell there but to be reminded of all God has done in our lives.  So here we see Jesus, reaffirming to Jarius that He does heal, that faith in Him makes people well and then Jesus reminds Jarius to (just like this woman) only believe.  Believe not only that Jesus can fulfill His promises but that His timing is always perfect.  

A few years ago there was a heavy burden on my heart.  God used time at a women's retreat to speak to me in a very powerful way.  I shared that burden with a few of the women at that retreat and asked them to also pray.  That weekend God gave me two verses to hang onto; the first is Psalm 27:13-14 "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" the second is Psalm 20:4-5 "May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!"  Waiting is hard!  But we can be sure that we will see God's goodness.  We can trust that God does hear our petitions, even when it seems like He's not listening.  We may not immediately see results but we need to believe, have faith and be reminded of Who Jesus is.  When He stops, we need to stop and stay for as long as He does...and that my friends is hard. 

Jarius' daughter was healed! He believed, just as Jesus had said. Jesus was faithful to fulfill His promise to Jarius...to grant Jarius' "heart's desire".  And yes, Jesus answered my prayers too...it took longer than I wanted and there were days when I clung so tight to those words and though my emotions were of doubt, I chose to trust that Jesus would be faithful to grant my petition in His perfect timing.  Now, with each new burden I can cling to those lessons. In those hard times of waiting, when Jesus stops, remember to stop, stay close to Him, "Do not be afraid, only believe."  Because when it seems that we aren't "doing" anything remember what Jesus told Martha when she complained about Mary sitting at His feet "Mary has chosen the good portion." (Luke 10:42). He makes everything beautiful in His timing..which is always the right time! (Ecclesiastes 3:11).