A Note for the Discouraged Among Ye

Here we are. The end of May. Anybody have a grand scheme to do one of those read the Bible in a year plans? I would just like to share my thoughts on those plans and just hope it blesses someone.
How wonderful it is to have a daily time in the Bible. Simply to learn more about God and reflect on what you already knew; and, of course, to worship the King of Glory.
I think that daily time in the Bible is so good that it is one of the chief offenders of the evil one. If you have plans to (or had plans to) read the Bible every day for a year, beware of the attacks that will surely be coming your way. In the eyes of the evil one, I think those Bible in a year plans are the best. People just stop the whole business if they miss more than a few days. Something about reading the Scriptures laid out for Feb 8 on Feb 14 (and all the Scriptures in between) is just not as appealing. Let me propose a new plan. Skip the dates. Start in May if you like. January isn't a whit better. Try to forget the day you started once you do commence.
Generally the B-I-A-Y plans have you reading a couple of chapters from the OT (in order!), a Psalm, a Proverb, and then a couple of chapters of the NT (in order as well!). So I propose that you simply get one of those sticky tabs and put on in Genesis, one at Psalm 1, one at Proverbs 1, and one at Matthew 1. Proceed at your own pace. No discouragement from missing a day, though I doubt you will miss much in this new risk free investment of time and heart! This will have you reading through the entire OT in one year, twice through the Psalter and the NT, and a monthly run-through of the Proverbs.
Encouraged? I am!
Get on it. -- Oh, and please don't feel like you have to go out and buy those sticky tabs (another plot of the evil one to get you to delay). I just tore a post-it note to make something like looked like those tabs (long and thin). Scotch tape, however, may tear the pages of your Bible. Test it out on the concordance pages before you loose any words of God to the Scotch.

In addition to reading the Word daily, one should spend time in prayer. Arguably, prayer is more important than reading the word; but let us not put two at odds which go so well hand in hand; just agree to do both with gladness! This, certainly, is one of the other chief offenders of the evil one. RE: prayer ... If you are new at this, I would spend time pouring over every word of the Lords prayer; quite a lofty prayer kindergarten but just trust that the Lord sustains the simple. From there, you will be soaring on into prayer elementary school in no time adding your own praises, thanksgivings and petitions like a pro.
For my quiet time I use a book of prayers (to which I add my own) called The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime
This book helped me cultivate the discipline of prayer in this season of life (which is so much different from the pre-children season). At first it was a crutch for my tired and brainless head right after Margaret was born. Now it has become a starting point for a very rich personal prayer time. When I travel, I use The Divine Hours, Pocket Edition, which is what Jeff and I went through together on our honeymoon.
To keep you from making any unnecessary purchases, I am willing to PDF a day's worth of prayers from the Pocket Edition if anyone is interested to see what it is like. Just ask!

p.s. Margaret is actually reading the Bible in the above photo -- just a single story; David and Goliath (heretofore mentioned). She does have a slight obsession with the picture with Goliath stretched out on the grass. "Did he fall, mama?" a thousand times a day isn't as cute as it is just once.
"Yes, Margaret, he fell. For the battle was the ...."
"LORD'S!!!!"

A Delayed Watering

The snow yesterday did something to my spirits. The light inside was so wonderful reflecting off that wonderful white fluffy blanket on the lawn. Still a bit here and there today, but mostly just frigid puddles (which Margot discovered this morning. BURR!)

Here is my due-in-two-weeks pregnant friend, Ali





My brilliant husband Jeff has often said something in regard to the discipline of reading the Scriptures. This morning it really came into the light as we were playing on our front porch, hearing the very constant drizzle of snowmelt.
He has said that even when the Scriptures seem so confusing and mysterious, we will still be blessed by reading them, just like the ground is watered days after (sometimes weeks after) it snows. I think that hiding God's word in our hearts will bless whether we understand the full meaning of the scripture or not. It will be there forever, watering our souls. (Jeff, I know you can say it better, so try to weigh in here in the comments when you have a chance!)

Generosity

After a sudden cancellation by the babysitter meant to stay with the girls during the confirmation service, practically every member of our church offered to come and expose themselves to all the phlegm so I could be confirmed.

Graciously my friend Naomi came to sit with them during the service and another friend, Ali, stayed with them during our dinner with the Bishop. Thank you, friends!

It was a fine evening. The service meant very much to me and I'm grateful for all the help I received. It was wonderful to be confirmed right alongside Jeff, too. And those slaps on the cheek from the Bishop? What can beat that?

Click here to see a few pictures. In the first, I'm standing in line to be blest by the Bishop. I'm not in the second photo because I was putting my babies to bed.

Rosary, Bible, and Our Lord's Prayer

We are not Catholic, but my darling Catholic aunt gave us a totally fun glow-in-the-dark rosary. Margot just happened to discover it on the same day she discovered her Bible that my grandparents gave to her. She was walking around with a turtle neck on under her romper and it looked so much like a clerical collar. I had to get a picture.

It's about as cold as it gets in Texas right now. We didn't leave the house all day. I'm sure Margot will need to get out tomorrow so we're off to the shops to find some soup bowls for the soup party we're having here on the 13th (Did I say soup party? I meant to say confirmation class for the church plant which just happens to be at my house.).

I've started saying Our Lord's prayer with Margot every night before bed (before I started this, we were just praying thanksgivings and intercessions for friends). She latched right on! About five days after I started doing this with her, I asked her if she wanted to pray. She said the whole thing! Amazing how they can remember what is obviously important to us. The manner in which she says, "Deliver us from evil" does not exactly hold the gravity which such supplication ought to, but it's really cute!

When you pray the Lord's prayer do you say trespasses or debts? Can you guess which one Margot says?

Spaces: Part One

You've seen our front door here. You've seen our bathtub. You've seen my bathroom sink. And you saw the piano on Monday. Today, I want to share with you a few more of the well-loved spaces we live in.

This play area is beside our bed in the master bedroom. I nurse Stella while lying down, so it's nice to have something close by for Margot to work on.

Here's Stella enjoying the pillow top. We found these big pillows at TJMaxx and have just loved them. We enjoy Tomie DePaolo, although the legends are a bit much for the younger sect to grasp. His toddler bible is impossible to beat. Margot memorized it and asked for it constantly even at 12 months.

The baby rocking chair was thrifted at Laverty's in Waco for less then $10.

Margot, feeding Brown Bear in his highchair


This is the Room of Many Cribs

Excuse the Stella blur. She was bouncing up and down in this picture.



Here is our 25 foot hallway. So much fun to run up and down. I love it because it never EVER gets cluttery. Dusty? Yes. But I just love the clean feel of the wood grain.

This is Stella's Mama-You're-Too-Funny face. I think I was playing peek-a-boo with my camera.

We don't have hardware on the lower drawers because the babies were simply too tempted to get in there and dig around. Hardware is for the next season of life. We also keep the bottom shelf of our bookcases clear (or use it to store the kids' books, below.)

This is one of the built-in bookcases in our Dining room.

You can see the bottom two shelves are dedicated to their books. We keep a hefty stack of books in each room for them to look at (or chew). The owl sitting amongst the books was sewn by me in the weeks leading to Stella's birth. It was the I'm-Sorry-You're-Not-The-Only-Baby-Anymore Gift that I gave to Margot. Stella has taken a liking to it in the last month though, so I guess it's hers. Margot never did take to it. I used this pattern with a few adjustments (ie no ears and some owlish eyes and beak). Yellow duckcloth and grey vintage linen.

Singing

My dear and darling husband has perfect pitch. It's wonderful to have such a person in an a capella singing group. But for a practically tone deaf wife, it's a bit intimidating.

The other day we had some people over to sing (thankfully these people don't read my blog so I needn't worry). These people were absolutely off key. It was a joy for me to having them singing so, for it made me a little less self conscious about singing half as well as the hunky husband.
Why should it be that others singing off key should make me more at ease about not being perfectly tuned? I suppose that not being the worst singer in the room does lift one's self esteem a bit. Was it humility that kept me from singing loudly without the OKP (off key people)? I've decided that it was indeed pride that stopped me singing with all my heart. Have you ever thought you were being humble when you refrained from doing this or that because another might have done it better? I have always wanted to be the best at everything I do. As a young girl I was not the best student so I pretty much stopped trying my best. When I got to junior high and I wasn't the best one on the basket ball team, I ditched it and chose to run track instead. All my life I thought I was humble. Skipping something because you're not the best stems from pride. I'm working on doing my best at what I do without regard to being the best, but I'm still tempted to pride.


Psalm 10: 4
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”



In pride, we are saying to God, "You don't matter, I do"
In humility, we crown him with our lives.



For now I will leave you with a humbling video of me singing to my Stella. Margot sings from the other room when I pause.

Company

...I am inclined to think that a Christian would be wise to avoid, where he decently can, any meeting with people who are bullies, lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful and so forth.
Not because we are 'too good' for them. In a sense because we are not good enough. We are not good enough to cope with all the temptations, nor clever enough to cope with all the problems, which an evening spent in such society produces. The temptation is to condone, to connive at; by our words, looks and laughter, to 'consent'. The temptation was never greater than now when we are all (and very rightly) so afraid of priggery or 'smugness'. And of course, even if we do not seek them out, we shall constantly be in such company whether we wish it or not. This is the real and unavoidable difficulty.
We shall hear vile stories told as funny; not merely licentious stories but (to me far more serious and less noticed) stories which the teller could not be telling unless he was betraying someone's confidence. We shall hear infamous detraction of the absent, often disguised as pity or humour. Things we hold sacred will be mocked. Cruelty will be slyly advocated by the assumption that its only opposite is 'sentimentality'. The very presuppositions of any possible good life--all disinterested motives, all heroism, all genuine forgiveness--will be, not explicitly denied (for then the matter could be discussed), but assumed to be phantasmal, idiotic, believed in only by children."


Words from my guest blogger, C.S. Lewis

The Ambulator

Guess who took four consecutive steps last night!

Another two steps this morning! She's still a 99%-of-the-time crawler.

But just to know that this baby can walk ... if there happened to be a flashing red light across the bathtub. She could do it!

We had such a productive meeting with our church planting leadership team last night. I was so encouraged about the life of our church. Please join me in praying for the ministry of King of Glory Anglican Church.

Once in Royal David's City

Margot's Royal City

Once in royal David's city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
who is God and Lord of all,
and his shelter was a stable,
and his cradle was a stall;
with the poor, the scorned, the lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.

And, through all his wondrous childhood,
he would honor and obey,
love and watch the lowly maiden
in whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian children all must be
mild, obedient, good as he.

For he is our childhood's pattern,
day by day like us he grew;
he was little, weak and helpless,
tears and smiles like us he knew.
and he feeleth for our sadness,
and he shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see him,
through his own redeeming love;
for that Child who seemed so helpless
is our Lord in heaven above;
and he leads his children on
to the place where he is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
with the oxen standing round,
we shall see him; but in heaven,
set at God's right hand on high;
when like stars his children crowned,
all in white shall wait around.

Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895)

The Wittle Fings

Direct quote:
"Heavenly Fader, Fank you for the mama who helps me feel better and fank you for all the wittle fings."





Where on earth do they come up with such darling (somewhat sentimental) things to say!? Jeff and I have conferred, neither of us has every thanked the Father for the "little things".

Last Day of Fall

Today is the last day of fall. In Texas, winter looks a lot like fall.

Here's the gorgeous red oak in our front yard.





Today we're eating the hummus I made and some golden crusted brussels sprouts, learning to play the guitar, going to church, playing peek-a-boo, and getting ready to leave town in two days!





I'm resolved this winter to focus on small blessings and rejoice in the good things from my past. I need to stop worrying about where I haven't grown and start rejoicing about areas in which I have grown. Do you have some winter resolutions?