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). 

"You Follow Me!"

 

In my last post I mentioned that I had recently attended a one day women's conference.  The conference included video presentations from several different speakers who each spoke on a different portion of Romans 8.  The variety of speakers, by age, style, etc was wonderful and to see God work through each one to bring a complete message was an important reminder and encouragement that when we put God first and desire for Him to lead He brings it all together.

One of the speakers was Sadie Robertson Huff; several attendees were familiar with her from Duck Dynasty but having never seen the show I was not.  Sadie is newly married and in her early twenties; it was so cool to see her heart for God and her session is one that has stuck with me these last couple weeks.  During her session she went to the passage in John 21 and the interaction that Jesus had with Peter on the beach.  Specifically verses 20-22:

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”  

Over the past few weeks I keep coming back to this passage and the fact that so many things can distract us from following Jesus.  As in this passage, comparison or even jealousy over what Jesus might be doing in someone else's life can take our focus of Jesus.  In this case, Peter was wondering if John was going to "get more" from Jesus than Peter himself was getting; but I think there are a couple other ways that we can be just like Peter.  

Often times when someone wrongs us we wonder if Jesus will "give them enough" punishment.  We look at people, even other believers, and don't see remorse; they seem to be getting away with sinful behavior and we wonder if Jesus sees how we've been wronged...if He sees our hurt. He has the same message for us as He did for Peter "what is that to you? You follow me!".  So many Scriptures assure us that He DOES see us, He cares deeply when we are hurt but He also knows that the most important thing we can do when other's fail us is to keep following Him.  Trust that He is working in all things even though we may not see it.  One step to following Him when we have been hurt or betrayed is to pray; pray for the situation, pray for the person and then leave them in the hands of Jesus.  Simple..yes...Easy..not at all!  This step of not turning to look at others, but keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, takes trust and humility.  It takes a heart that is surrendered to letting Jesus have control and not trying to "fix" things ourselves.  

As a mom, I've found another distraction can be my kids; and concern for their futures.  I pray for them; I know they are His and yet as they get older I have to remind myself more and more that just as they are unique, their journey with Jesus will be unique.  My responsibility as their mom is not to control or fix everything but to keep following Jesus, to be an example, to pray for them, to lead them as best I can but ultimately to recognize that they are in Jesus' hands not mine and that is a much better place for them.  

This doesn't mean that we don't talk to people that God may be leading us to speak to; or that we just ignore everything going on around us, or that we get lazy in our parenting.  What I think it does mean is that anytime we feel something tugging at us to pull our focus off Jesus we turn back to Him; we make sure that we are still following Him not looking back or around at things He has not asked us to do or things that He has asked us to hand over to Him. 

Another way that we can get distracted is by things.  I think of the rich man who when Jesus called for Him to sell all and follow Jesus (Luke 18:22)  was sad and walked away because the man loved his riches more than Jesus.  

To follow Jesus will mean turning away from other things.  Sometimes from tasks, as with the case when He called the disciples (Matthew 9:9, Mark 1:17), other times it will mean turning from things (Luke 18:22, Mark 10:21) but Jesus promises everything that truly matters to those that will "...deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23) Does He promise it will be easy; no (John 16:33) but He has said it is as simple as choosing to believe and trust Him (John 3:16).

So this week when people or circumstances try to distract you remember Jesus' words "what is that to you? You follow me!"  

Savoring Sundays

As long as this year has seemed it's still hard to believe that it's November already.  As the verse below reminds us we can make plans -- like keeping up with blog posts -- but God ultimately directs our steps and days.  Looking back I see that my last post was in mid-September; which seems crazy to me that it's been that long. 

Since my last post the kids have started school remotely.  So far the school year has gone very well for them.  Over the next several weeks they will all be transitioning to a hybrid schedule which means they will be home three days with remote learning and in school two days.  I'm thankful for the great teachers that are flexing with all of this too and have done an excellent job keeping the kids engaged, learning and still having some fun.  

We've also been enjoying the start to the fall season at church.  Even with the COVID restrictions and guidelines we are able to do some really cool things.  One of these was a ladies one day conference at the church.  It was such a blessing to meet with other women and be encouraged by several different speakers as we watched several sessions from IF: Gathering 2020 (which was filmed in January of 2020) and to see how fitting the messages from Romans 8 were for all we would face this year.  

As this season of Thanksgiving is now here I'm hoping that even with the busyness of the holidays I'll have some time to sit down and blog a few things that God has used to teach and encourage me recently.  I'm also hoping to keep up with some thankfulness posts.  

I'll end with a couple things I'm thankful for today; a slow, relaxing weekend.  After our first snowstorm on Friday we had a cozy day at home yesterday baking and crafting.  Today we went to church and then I was able to order our Christmas cards (crazy that it's that time already!) and put together some Spotify playlists for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.  

Thankful...Friday?

 A day late but since it's always good to find things to be thankful for I thought I would still share a few things I'm thankful for this week.

1) A good first week of remote schooling for the kids; a few technical glitches but overall they did really well.

2) Starting a new study..in person!  at church.  We are reading through and discussing this study.

3) That God is always in control and because He is good and has perfect knowledge we can trust Him even when we don't understand all that is happening.  

4) A visit with family that I don't get to see often.

5) Answered prayers.

6) Encouraging podcasts.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

 Here are a few things I'm thankful for this Thursday:

1) A fun Monday celebrating someone special..and bonus that it was a holiday. (also why I didn't get the Miscellaneous Monday post up)

2) That God is the same ALWAYS..He does not change even when our circumstances change; He is the same...yesterday, today and forever.  

3) A great "older" (it is copyrighted 1978) Bible study on the attributes of God. It's a small book but one I'm making my way through slowly as there is a lot of Scripture and great truths to meditate on, digest and rejoice in.

4) That despite the very different school year the kids are looking forward to starting their year.

5) Yummy vegetables from the garden

6) A church where hard questions are discussed, God's Word is shown to have all the answers (and how we can apply them to these questions in our everyday interactions with people around us - Yay for practical applications) people are truly our church "family" and where we can worship together. 

What are you thankful for this week?  

Thankful Thursday - How much more...

I'm going to try to do these two posts each week or so; Miscellaneous Monday and Thankful Thursday.  Even in this time of having to live a bit differently, because of the pandemic, there is still so much to be thankful for.  No matter what is going on in our world these words are still true: 

"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us

 rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24.  

The sun still rises and sets because God is still faithful and in control.  In Jeremiah 33 God even uses the sureness of day and night as a sign that His covenant to Israel will not be broken.  

So, here is what my thankful thoughts are for today...How Much More...  A few years ago I did a Bible study in which five "recalibrating" questions were presented.  These questions were based on ones that God asks in the Bible.  The very last question was How much more?  This question is posed by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount; recorded in Matthew 7. 

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

 how much more will your Father who is in heaven give

 good things to those who ask him! ~ Matthew 7:11

In Luke 11, Jesus, after teaching the disciples how to pray, tells us just What that gift is... 

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 

how much more will the heavenly Father 

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! ~ Luke 11:13

An adorable picture recently reminded me of the greatness of that gift of the Holy Spirit and just "how much more" God truly does love us.  

While flipping through a website I saw the picture below...

I wondered if the picture was real so I did a bit of digging.  This is, in fact, a real picture of a tiny harvest mouse asleep in a flower.  According to an article that Ranger Rick magazine had on harvest mice, "These mice are no bigger than an adults thumb.  They are the tiniest rodent in Europe" One photographer who has several pictures of these tiny mice wrote "The mice love the smell of the pollen and climb inside the flowers to eat the stamen, often falling asleep inside the flower." ~Miles Herbert.  How very much in character with who He is for God to provide not only such a beautiful and comfortable place for the tiny mouse to rest but also have it be one of their favorite places.  

Going back to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount we see how that Jesus Himself reminds us to look at how He cares for nature.  

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and

 tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you,

 O you of little faith?" ~ Matthew 6:30

Notice again His use of the words "much more". The greatness of God's love for us is something we can only understand so much, this side of heaven, yet He proved how much more He loves and cares for us by sending Jesus to die on the cross so that we can have the greatest gift of all....His presence continually with us...through the Holy Spirit in us.  How much more we truly are provided and cared for as His Spirit in us guides, works and teaches.  How much more we can rest knowing that He is here with us.  I'll end with a quote from the devotional I'm currently working through.  It's an "older" book titled "Behold Your God" by Myrna Alexander; the study is a wonderful look at the attributes of God.  In the chapter titled "God is All-Powerful" she reminds us that 

"it is just as easy for God to speak a universe into being as it is

 for Him to provide you with a needed new coat.  It is no more 

difficult for God to transform a person characterized by hate into a

 disciple of love than it is for Him to get you through a particularly 

hectic day effectively and peacefully.  There are no bounds to God's effortless power." 

How much more!  Thank you Lord for the greatest gift; the sacrifice of Jesus that we might have the Holy Spirit...Your constant presence with us. And thank you Lord for the reminders you place throughout all of creation of how much you love and care for what you have made and how much more precious we are to you!  

"From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the LORD is to be praised!"

Psalm 113:3