Sicky, Sicky

I don't know which is worse, being sick myself, or having one or more of my Crew be sick. It's usually mild stuff, a little cough, a headache, upset stomach... but when they are REALLY sick-- stomach bug, or the flu-- and I've done all I can to ease their discomfort, that STINKS! Not to mention that my germophobe self kicks in & I want to scrub and bleach and Lysol EVERYTHING in sight! =?

It's harder to preach the gospel to myself when my Crew are the sad victims of this fallen world. I know they are sinful. I know they deserve the same wrath for their sin that I do for mine, but my mama heart wants better things for them. I guess that's kind of gospel after all. =)

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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 11:11-13
 
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10

Scrumptious

My middle daughter is a word collector. We got her the most wonderful book for Christmas called The Boy Who Loved Words. One of my favorite things about this book is that there is a glossary at the back! =) One of the words that Reanna "collected" as we were reading was "scrumptious". And I told her that scrumptious is one of Nanny's favorite words. Anytime Nanny likes a food, it's scrumptious. =) I've been chuckling to myself for a couple days thinking about some of the things I've heard Nanny refer to as scrumptious-- things like blackstrap molasses, and sweet potatoes, and peas, along with things like chocolate, and steak, and donuts. I think that "scrumptious", like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder... I've also been chewing on our pastor's sermon from Sunday where he said that we as God's children don't often know what we need. It's easy to know what we like, but knowing what we need is an entirely different matter.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:24-33

Fun ---> Mess

Tomorrow life begins to lean back toward "normal chaos". We have had a fantastic week and a half. Thankfully we've had no real sickness this year. So we have partied (of the family friendly variety), and played. When we play hard, we generally have BIG messes. Colossal type messes! =) And after a day or four, I begin to go a little crazy, and we have a cleaning sprint. But two things have stood out to me this week. One, Mommy reminded me of something that her dad had said when she was a kid: "A house should be clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be lived in." I know that balance varies from person to person, and house to house-- for us, it means not vacuuming every day... or every week... ;) And toys on the floor most days. The second, and bigger thing is that as my Crew are getting older, I'm realizing even more how brief their childhood is-- and I want to savor the moments I have with them in my home. =)

"O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
Psalms 39:4-5
 
O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Psalms 144:3-4
 
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
Psalms 103:13-16
 
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Think Carefully

I have not been as faithful in my devotions this month as I'd like to be, because holiday busyness crept in and..... So I am still in Ezekiel. And I was a bit distressed as I read this passage this morning:

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."
Ezekiel 24:15-17

It seems apparent, since God refers to Ezekiel's wife as "the delight of your eyes", that Ezekiel loves his wife. Now God has been using Ezekiel as a living illustration in His prophecies against Israel, and some of them have been pretty bizarre, but this just seems over-the-top harsh. It's bad enough that the Lord is taking Ezekiel's wife, but the Lord forbids him to even grieve!!!
So I pondered a little more, and was reminded that we must not "pass judgement" on God.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation. Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you? Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.
Deuteronomy 32:3-9

"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:6-9

Fun and Games???

I like to play games... and win! ;) I'm insanely competitive. I come from a family that played for blood, and a family that said they didn't... I'm that player who, when I lose, becomes a storm-- or tears-- or both. I refuse to play games that I lose repeatedly.

You may be thinking, "So what? Nobody likes to lose. Everyone enjoys a game more when they win." But I've been really pondering this, because this is a lesson that the Lord is trying to make me understand. Much of what I've played at recently, I've lost at-- repeatedly. And it's like a dragon begins to breathe fire inside my chest when I lose. As I have ruminated over the why's and wherefore's of this, I've come to the conclusion that my reaction to loss flows from my sinful pride. I want to win because I want to feel important. And so, when the inferno begins, I start to pray for less of me...

One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
Proverbs 29:23
 
The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up--and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 2:11-17
 
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:19-25

Friend

I spent my childhood moving every four to five years. I had many friends over the course of my childhood, but although we shared things in common, none of them quite met my expectations. The friendship that has lasted the longest to date, is with a sweet young woman I met on a mission trip between my freshman and sophomore years in high school. I'm thinking about friends this morning because we enjoyed an evening of fellowship last night with one of the families from our church. It was a last minute deal, and they walked in as my house was all topsy-turvy. You know, the post-Christmas chaos of taking down decorations and trying to find homes for all your new stuff... My house was a maze of "Christmas threw up". ;) My sister in Christ walked in and said, "You don't have to clean for us." Over the course of the evening, we talked about all kinds of things. But I was marveling at how, with this family, I am able to be me. I can confess what a mean, selfish, hard-headed, rebellious child I was-- and often still am as an adult-- and this brother and sister still love me. And I thought of the verse in Proverbs:

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

As I was pondering that, I was overwhelmed thinking about how IN CHRIST my "friends" really are my sisters and brothers! =)

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."
Mark 3:31-35
 
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 8:16-29
 
You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."
Hebrews 2:7-12

Hit and Miss

Sorry it's been hit  or miss with my posts recently. Christmas and the trappings thereof have consumed my life for the last month. =) But, the day is past, and I'm expecting my life to settle down-- at least a little bit! ;)Thankfully, my God is NOT hit and miss, even when I am inconsistent.

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."
Romans 3:3-4
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
John 1:1-18