The Empty Basket

The picture to the right is of our beloved (and handy) snack basket. It is empty because we just came home from preschool and shared snack for the last time....

For some reason it made me a little sad. I have spent 9 years bringing snacks for Preschool. One of the moms laughed and said, "Did you bring the best snack ever today?" The answer is no. We had a good laugh over my first time bringing snack. I actually read the list of what to bring back then. Today, a little more scrounging took place. I will have many opportunities to bring snack for other occasions (soccer anyone?!!), but each little event of finishing is a step forward towards a different period in our lives. So much of the time I think we come to the Lord thinking our snack basket is full and that it should be. The truth is our basket is empty...which is exactly how the Lord wants it. For there is no other way to come humbly to Him....

The Entire Book

OK.....you might as well just go and buy your own copy of Ruthless Trust. I think I am going to be commenting on it for awhile. Then again I most likely will comment on anything I read. Here is another quote.....chew on this for awhile.

“To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of marvels, cruel circumstances, obscenities and commonplaces of life is to whisper a doxology in darkness.”

...isn't that great? To be grateful is to whisper a doxology in darkness. I was talking with a friend today. Who are the people in your life that the above quote would describe?

Remember...

Thank you Ryan, Lance, Seth....and those who didn't come home. It is for our freedom that you labor so hard. Our words will never be enough. His eternal Glory will be....

Back to Trust

I mentioned in an earlier post a book I am currently reading. It is entitled Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning. I am taking my time reading this as I am studying it with a friend, but I keep coming across amazing thought provoking quotes. I hope you don't mind if I post a few occasionally. I would love to hear your thoughts after you read them.

Based on this thought, "The foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness. Gratitude arises from the lived perception, evaluation, and acceptance of all of life as grace-as an undeserved and unearned gift from the Father's hand. Such recognition is itself the work of grace, and acceptance of the gift is implicitly an acknowledgement of the giver."

That being said and understood here is a quote by Henri Nouwen.

"To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives-the good as well as the bad, the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God."

Proverbs 31

"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future." Proverbs 31:25

This is part of our future. My daughter's fourth grade Sunday School class gets together one Friday night a month just for the fun of it. It is simple and sweet. They are a unique and gifted group of girls. There is no question God will use this group in a mighty way. It was our turn to host this past Friday. We didn't manage to get the entire class there, but those who were had a good time. Lots of games as shown by Tummy Ha, Ha below. Cookies and M&M's galore.....

I am so thankful for the families of these girls. Our daughters are growing up in a challenging time. The world influence is strong. It will take deep prayer, "...the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit" Eph 6:16-17 for these young ladies to stand strong.

We have enjoyed the blessing of mentors already in our childrens lives. My son, Joey, has been attending a bible study for two years called, "The Backyarders". It was started by two older boys at our church, Justin Hooper and Charlie Grey, who recognized the need for older young men to step in and mentor younger boys. Trust me when I say 10 year old boys need to have positive older male influences in their lives besides their dads. These two young men meet once a week with a group of 11 year olds. They are just boys....they play (or I should say wrestle), they read and study scripture, they ask questions and they pray together. We are so blessed that this type of mentoring was modeled in Justin and Charlie's lives and now they are living the gospel with our boys. They will need the same "shield of faith, helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit" that our girls need. God has uniquely brought these young ones into this time in History for specific reasons. May we not hinder His work.

Keeper of the Lulls

A few years back my oldest was entering the summer of the 5 year old. The summer between preschool and Kindergarten and this Mama was struggling with the transition. My heart was anticipating many changes. Changes that I wasn’t quite ready to accept. A good friend told me about an article she read about this magical summer. The article completely put words to my heart song. I am now in my 4^th summer of transition. It is also my last transition from preschool to Kindergarten as my youngest will cross over this bridge this summer. As my heart strings continue to be played I went back to this article entitled Keeper of the Lulls by Kathleen Hirsch. I have put several sections of the article in the blog. Enjoy

Keeper of the Lulls

We are hunting frogs, and my five-year-old son has almost got the hang of it. A stealthy hand comes up behind his prey, the other forms a gently cup in front. A few feet away from the edge of the pond, I sit watching. Now it happens. William has managed to coddle his pulsing green quarry of these long, languid days. Only – he hasn’t the heart for capture. I watch as he lets the frog bound away, out from between his hands into the cold, clear depths of water. When the Lord told Adam he was to have dominion over the animals, I believe that he had in mind the sensitivity of the five year old.

The gift of this season has been learning that the fifth summer of life is one of the sacred pauses of childhood. Poised between preschool and kindergarten, my son knows better than anyone that as summer draws to a close, his world will utterly change. Part of him experiences this anticipating like a great hunger. It rises like sap in his veins, charging him with the enchantment of mastery. To know! To do! To grow up!

…Yesterday’s world was a circle of two. Regularly, indeed incessantly, the baby’s first business is to complete our circle, to sit contentedly in the haven of mother’s breasts and arms. In hindsight, I see that all of our visits to neighboring farms, all of the stories read and told, were merely glosses on the essential circle dance of childhood. At five, his gaze has shifted beyond my shoulder. It’s not cuddling he hungers for, but himself. And for this he must leave the circle, he must go more deeply into his emerging self and at the same time, out into the world.

…I have come to see my role this summer as the “keeper of the lulls,” the protector of these tranquil hours when William can reflect on nature and himself with the same unhurried at-homeness with which a frog gazes at the bottom of the pond.

…This summer, on the cusp of waning babyhood, I realize that for a long season to come – perhaps for the rest of the journey – I must content myself with this role as the keeper of the lulls. It is my task now to learn to keep my hands as open as my son’s, to watch and to cherish his tight-coiled brightness and ripeness, know that this life force will surely lead to yet another leap – into a new and unimagined distance. But I also know that one day my little adventurer will return to the boy in the summer of five, in search of his buried treasure.

Deeper Still, The Event

As many of you did, I attended the Deeper Still put on by Lifeway Ministries in March of this year. It was an incredible, life changing experience for me personally. I'll post on that at a different time, but I wanted to put a link here in this post to a 4 minute video recap of the event. Beth Moore, Priscella Shirer, and Kay Arthur were beyond expectations. Three broken women who God has used mightily to further His Kingdom. Yep, you can praise Him for that! Anyway...if you have a minute click on this link Deeper Still, San Francisco then click on the video clip on the left side of the link page for the Deeper Still Event (it is the option directly above the slide show option).

Let me know if you have link problems. Enjoy it.....

Chickens, anyone?

Yes, we are now the proud owners of 5 baby chicks. Not all of them have names yet, but Rosemary, Tiger Lilly Sister, and Rainbow have been given identities. They are the cutest little things. We have had chickens in the past, but it has been several years. The kids are ecstatic. I can't wait until they start earning their keep with fresh eggs. We have two more to name.....any ideas? David suggested, "Make mine deep fried", but Emma didn't much care for that one.

Reflections of Living Beyond Yourself

On Thursday we finished up our year long study of the Fruits of the Spirit. We utilized the Beth Moore study Living Beyond Yourself. Can you recite the Galations reference from memory? Better yet for those who attended, can you say the verse and do the sign-language at the same time?!!

It was a very special year for our Thursday morning bible study. I think many had preconceived ideas of where this study would go. Were you surprised? You betcha.....I haven't spoken to one gal who attended reguarly that wasn't absolutely changed by the teaching of the Lord's word. Week after week the Lord showed up and showed us a different facet of Himself. He is worthy of our Praise!

I personally was blessed beyond belief this past Thursday morning. We asked each small group to in some creative way express an assigned fruit of the spirit. What a bunch of characters we have. I don't think I will ever get over Davia Rusco dressed as Vanna White and Donna Jeffery as the MC in their groups version of Wheel of Fortune! The word that was spelled out, by the way, was Makrothumia. I'll give you a hint.....it has a lot to do with the fruit of patience. Hearing Terri Hanson and Rhonda Greenelsh, with their group as back up, sing It is Well with My Soul, was tremendously uplifting. I can't list it all here, but I'm glad there is a video of it. It filled my heart.

We also had a very challenging year with great loss experienced amongst our gals. I will never forget the blessing of sitting next to Leslie Cone the week after she buried her beloved Andy or the incredible prayer time and outpouring of love towards Julie Theule in the passing of her sister, or the giving of over $1500 plus hundreds of dollars in food gift cards to one of our members who was in need. All collected within one week. It was true Agape Love.

The Spirit of the Lord is strong in this group. They truly live beyond themselves.

Babies...

Did you see the post on Pastor Tim's blog this morning? We are in the midst of a baby boom at Grace. We have had several babies born to our bible study ladies as well. It is a huge honor and blessing to pray over these little ones. To watch these mommies as they navigate pregnancy and then standing next to me holding those precious babies as we pray over them......It just doesn't get any better. The picture on the blog is absolutely hilarious.....you brave women! Next time show some skin! Oops, better not say that. Those gals would do it! I want to see a picture in the Fall posted of the same group holding those children.

Lord, I ask your continued blessing on those women. Give them strength and endurance to endure their pregnancy. Life comes from you father....you open the womb. Give each parent group an added measure of grace as they strive to raise those children in your name. Help us as a body of Christ to look for active ways we can support, love, and encourage them during this very special time. We Praise you Lord!

Happy Birthday, Sheri

I am probably the only one who calls my sister, Sheri. She is Sheryl to everyone else. Don't know exactly why that is. Probably the same reason I am Missy to most people but Melissa to a few. Today is a big day.....the 50 year old Big Day for my sister. She is the elder and I am the younger with two bros in between. She is more beautiful today than ever. She is as stylish as ever and is transitioning well into the phase of her life where her oldest will be married in the Fall and her youngest is in college as well. I'm going to ask her today......"If someone came to you today and you could describe your first 50 years in one word.....what would it be?" I think I know the answer, but am looking forward to hearing it! The party was last weekend. She is headed to a special weekend away with her hubby.

Happy Birthday, Sheri! Live every day for Him....




PS....yes, I am the one in the middle being held on to by my sister. Every picture of me with my siblings they have someone holding onto me! I didn't sit still very well....still don't!

Are you Reading an Interesting Book?

Do any of you actually have time to read? I mean the hold the book in your hand, feel the cover, smell the pages type of reading. I'm not a fiction reader. Most of the reading I do seems to always be for a purpose.

OK....sidebar....when in Disneyland a few weeks ago we went on a new ride. It is the new Buzz Lightyear ride. My boys in particular would have loved it. You sit in these little cars that go through a building in chase of some bad action hero. Each car has two handheld blasters. There are targets up all over the place and you point your laser at them and shoot. I got off the ride and said to my husband, "No women were involved with the design of this ride." He had a big smile on his face and said, "I know". I asked him how he knew and he said, "Because there is no purpose to the ride!! Isn't that great!"

Allright back to the post....A friend suggested a book to me that deals with the topic of trust. Here is a quote:

"Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God. Fear of the unknown path stretching ahead of us destroys childlike trust in the Father's active goodness and unrestricted love. We often presume that trust will dispel the confusion, illuminate the darkness, vanquish the uncertainty, and redeem the times. But the crowd of witnesses in Hebrews 11 testifies that this is not the case. Our trust does not bring final clarity on this earth. It does not still the chaos or dull the pain or provide a crutch. When all else is unclear, the heart of trust says, as Jesus did on the cross, 'Into your hands I commit my spirit.' (Luke 23:46)"

What do you think? The book is titled Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning. You can pick it up at the Parable.

How Sad

Did you see the front page of the Tribune this morning? The lead article is about a guy who survived a fall in a remote part of the Sequoia National Forest. Here is the opening paragraph, "I'm not religious whatsover," said Rose, whose wife of nearly seven years is expecting their first child. "But that night I prayed to every God I could think of."

Wow. Lord have mercy! It is very sad to me that when faced with death he called out to any and "all" gods on his behalf. It is also interesting to me that he claims not to be religious yet his first instinct was to pray. I wonder who this guys neighbors are and if any of them know the Lord and have invited him to church. I also wonder particularly for those who attend Grace Church in SLO, if he had been in attendance with us last night at the Building on the Legacy Celebration what his reaction would have been. What was yours?

Beth Moore is right in her teaching on the book of Daniel. We are living in a modern day Babylon. How many people will read that article this morning and think nothing of the fact that this guy was praying to many gods. We need to wake up, Christian. There is only one God - have you proclaimed your Lord and Saviour to anyone today?

Disneyland at 5! (or almost)

The family tradition is when you turn 5 you get to go with Mom and Dad to Disneyland. No other siblings, just you, mom and dad. Well it was Elena's turn this past week. It was cold and rainy but that did not slow her down one bit. Three favorite experiences are shown here. Of course, you must have your picture taken with Mickey! A ride on a very special horse (this horses name is Jingle. It is Mary Poppins horse and the lead horse on the Carousel. I didn't know that until last week!) Every girl wants to be a princess. In Elena's case there are no princesses except her beloved Cinderella... Our tradition is now complete until Grandkids bless our lives. That just brings tears to my eyes.

Obedience

What is your definition of obedience?

Here is one I read this morning and shared with my bible study group:

"Obeying Christ is the very basis of life. Simply put, when we obey Christ, we live in him. When we live in Him, we will know the very mind of God. If we become centered on laws, rules and regulations rather than simple obedience of Christ's words, then the particulars of the Christian life turn into a source of stress, worry and argument. Spiritual improvement books or plans, instead of Christ are sought after to clear up the problems. Over time, we tend to lose sight of that which brings us truly in step with Christ."

In our self filled modern Babylon I wonder what a non-believers definition of obedience is and to whom one is obedient?

Choices...

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature." CS Lewis

A friend gave that to me yesterday. Chew on that one for awhile.....I would be interested as always in your responses. Remember, though, I have the blog set so that I read them before they are released to the blog comment section.

What is Worship

OK, so it has been awhile since I posted. Well, actually it has been months since I posted. I've had a busy school year and decided to hold off on the blog, but have been encouraged recently to start it up again.

I heard a great message on Worship this past Saturday Night by a local pastor. He was teaching on Revelation 4. I've thankfully heard many good teachings on worship and this was another perspective. I am going to throw out a few quotes for you to chew on:

"Worship=Faithful response to the grace filled revelation of God." "Don't miss who is on the throne!" "The seeker we serve is God." He used a quote from John MacQuarrie which said, "The act of worship rehearses in the present the end that lies ahead." He then asked the question if that last line motivated or discouraged you?

As with many churches this particular church is also grappling with corporate worship. I think our worship hits the target when we remember who we are worshipping (or who is on the throne) and the importance of the Lord's word. AW Tozer says it this way:

"He expects His believing children to measure the church against the standards and the blessings promised in the Word of God. The, with love and reverence and prayer and in the leading of the Spirit of God we will quietly and patiently endeavor to align the church with the Word of God. When this begins to happen and the Word of God is given its place of priority, the presence of the Holy Spirit will again begin to glow in the church."

Amen.

Summer comes to a close

It was a race to the finish, but today marks the end of our summer vacation. We started slow yet finished strong. One of our last vacation days was spent at a lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Gorgeous weather, great water, family fun all around.

At the end of our day we witnessed two amazing creations of the Lord. One was an eagle's nest with two bald eagles in it! The second was a golden eagle that swooped down and grabbed a fish directly in front of us. The majesty and beauty of both....amazing. We sadly say goodbye to our summer yet look forward to the new year.

"Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, The will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." Is. 40:31

The Sweetness

I'm not sure where the month of August went. I haven't posted since the beginning of the month and a few people have commented to me on it. Time to get back on the blog highway...

As all of you do, I come into contact and discussion with many people on many different levels. Several people I know at the moment are struggling with serious, life threatening illnesses of friends and family. I had one of those days recently where are the end of the day I was just blown away and emptied by the amount of grief I had come into contact with during the day. I am thankful that all the people who took time to share with me know the Lord. I don't know how those who have not received him do it. I will continue to pray to that end.

All the thoughts and feelings of friends dealing with grief were still circling my head as I was driving my children home from the water slides. I realized I had tuned them out until I heard my 4 year olds sweet voice singing many verses to Jesus Loves the Little Children....Every verse she put in a different group of people. Jesus loves the mommies, Jesus Loves the Daddy's, Jesus loves the sisters.... I realized God was using her to answer all the petitions I had put forth the night before.

I love it when he answers in such a sweet way!

The Mystery of Autism

Many of us have differing experiences with Autism. There are those who have a child who is Autistic. There are those who are friends of those families. There are those who have siblings who are Autistic. Caring and nuturing these precious children of God is challenging. I recently read an article from a homeschool company who has an autistic daughter. I thought you might appreciate these thoughts:

Dear Friends,

For the last three months 8-year-old Krissy has brought sunshine and laughter to our home. Better still, through her autism she has brought us fresh insights into our responses to God's sovereignty.

The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations. But one of the most heartbreaking characteristics is the remoteness, a seeming complete disregard for the thoughts of others.

When fireworks startle a typical toddler, he will quickly seek the face of those he trusts. If they are happy and at ease, he will relax. An autistic child cannot do this and therefore has less ability to cope with the uncertainties life throws at him.

A child who is unable to sense his parent's serenity during change may respond violently to something as simple as a modification in daily routine. Likewise the same child will not be aware of the parent's alarm as that child eases the family pet out the second floor window.

While society presents a case for how liberating it would be to be free of the thoughts and opinions of those around us, autism presents us with a different view. Difficulty interpreting tone of voice or facial expressions and not learning to watch other people's faces for cues about appropriate behavior will result in impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and severely limited activities and interests.

Sadly, in many ways, we display autistic behavior toward our Almighty Creator. When we find ourselves unable to respond appropriately to the irregularities of this life, or when we passionately cling to our possessions and schedules, it is probably because we are not "looking to God's face" to help us interpret His plans for our lives.

The autistic child is often described as being in his "own world." As we make every effort to draw Krissy out of that world we are daily thankful that God is relentlessly doing the same in our own lives.

May your hearts be full of hope as you work to prepare your children for eternity,
Timberdoodle Co
Dan, Deb, Joy, Hope, Grace, Abel, Pearl and special guest Krissy