Expectant Legacy

Thinking Charlotte Mason Thoughts

2010-06-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

"Are you a Thermostat or a Thermometer? ...Some people are like thermostats and some are like thermometers. A thermostat regulates the temperature and atmosphere of the home. It is set to a constant temperature, and if the atmosphere around it heats up, it kicks in and gets that temperature back to normal. On the flip side, a thermometer reacts to the temperature and atmosphere around it. If the air around it heats up, it heats up too. In other words, a thermometer is controlled by its atmosphere; a thermostat controls its atmosphere. There’s a big difference." --Sonya Shafer from the Simply Charlotte Mason Blog. This quote is from her free ebook called Education Is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.

How often do I find myself being a thermometer?! Too often. Too often I am driven by the tyranny of the urgent rather than the ideals and priorities we want to establish for our children. Sonya Shafer says, "The atmosphere of our homes is formed out of the ideas that rule our lives as parents." Then quoting CM herself, “Education is an atmosphere––that is, the child breathes the atmosphere emanating from his parents; that of the ideas which rule their own lives." What ideas are my children breathing? What ideas are ruling my life? What are the habits that I have and what do they communicate to my little ones?! Again CM said, Every look of gentleness and tone of reverence, every word of kindness and act of help, passes into the thought-environment, the very atmosphere which the child breathes; he does not think of these things, may never think of them, but all his life long they excite that ‘vague appetency towards
something’ out of which most of his actions spring. Oh, the wonderful and dreadful presence of the little child in the midst!

The beginning of every summer for those of us who homeschool marks the evaluating of the previous year and the looking toward and preparing for the next. We're actually schooling through the summer, but still I'm looking ahead and trying to better order our days. Below are encouraging words toward ordering:

Schedules
As you determine your schedule, be courageous enough to make it reflect the ideas
that rule your life—or maybe, the ideas that you want to have rule your life. Charlotte encouraged us, “Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind” (The Story of Charlotte Mason, p. 160)....There is a huge difference between a life ruled by ideas and a life ruled by crises. I urge you to carefully consider all those sports, field trips, co-op groups, and mommy commitments that you feel are expected of you. Reclaim your home’s atmosphere and embrace those ideas that you value most.

And along those lines, may I also encourage you to build some margin into your
schedule? You know what a margin is: that space around the text on a book’s page.
Think how overwhelming it would be to try to read a page that had words from edge to edge, from top to bottom, with no margin! Well, some of our lives have become like that crowded page. We have left no room in our schedules for spontaneous opportunities to teach, unexpected moments to enjoy beauty, or immediate privileges to serve others. So if you want a home atmosphere that reflects those ideas, keep “margin” in mind as you create your schedule.

Schedules and curriculum—two important facets that make up the atmosphere in
which our children grow and learn.

This ebook discusses the 3 aspects of education: atmosphere, discipline, and life. Whew. Its so much more than what subjects we cover and what "knowledge" or list of facts they retain! Lord Help!!!

Breakfast Creations

2010-03-05T12:49:00.002-06:00

I'm a compulsive NON recipe follower. For some reason exactly following the recipe "bothers" me. I must be creative when I cook. And Praise to the Giver of Creativity, I'm usually blessed with an edible even yummy result. This morning's concoction I call Piña Colada Breakfast Cake. If you are wanting to throw in a new dish for your breakfast cycle, this one was a big hit with my kiddos and very easy.

Piña Colada Breakfast Cake
Mix together
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup grape-nut cereal (this adds a nice crunch. We're a NO NUT household but you could toss in chopped pecans or walnuts)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Mix together
3 eggs beaten
1 cup canola oil
20oz can drained crushed pineapple

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until all moistened.
Pour into sheet cake pan and bake for 35-40mins at 350*F.

This batter would also work as 2 loaves or as muffins.
Enjoy!

Procrastination...

2010-02-16T14:08:00.002-06:00

We're reading through Now we are Six by A.A. Milne (creator of Winnie The Pooh)
Oh but do I feel like this guy sometimes!!!!

THE OLD SAILOR By A. A. Milne From Now We Are Six

There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew
Who had so many things that he wanted to do
That, whenever he thought it was time to begin,
He couldn't because of the state he was in.

He was shipwrecked and lived on an island for weeks,
And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks;
And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks
For the turtles and things which you read of in books.

And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing
Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring;
And he thought that to talk to he'd look for, and keep
(If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.

Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut
With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut
(With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about),
And a very strong lock to keep savages out.

He began on the fish-hooks, and when he'd begun
He decided he couldn't because of the sun.
So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that
Was to find or to make, a large sun-stopping hat.

He was making the hat with the leaves from a tree,
When he thought, "I'm as hot as a body can be,
And I've nothing to take for my terrible thirst;
So I'll look for a spring, and I'll look for it FIRST."

Then he thought as he started, "Oh, dear and oh. dear!
I'll be lonely tomorrow with nobody here!"
So he made in his notebook a couple of notes:
"I must first find some chickens," and "No, I mean goats."

He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape)
When he thought, "But I must have a boat for escape.
But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread;
So I'd better sit down and make needles instead."

He began on a needle, but thought as he worked,
That, if this were an island where savages lurked,
Sitting safe in his hut he'd have nothing to fear,
Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!

So he thought of his hut...and he thought of his boat,
And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat,
And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst)...
But he NEVER could think what he ought to do first.

And so in the end he did nothing at all,
But basked on the shingle wrapped up in the shawl.
And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved ---
He did nothing but basking until he was saved!

Elaena's storytime

2010-01-14T22:03:00.002-06:00

Elaena is our storyteller. She thinks up witty and inventive tales. Tonight around the fire at Oma and Opa's house, Maggie asked her to tell us a story. She settled into Oma's lap and began:

Once upon a time there was a place called the Land of Silly. The Queen of the Land of Silly was very silly. She woke up one morning and went down to breakfast. She ordered her servants to bring her "Silly Milk." But instead they brought her "Serious Juice" (gasp!)

The story continued in her "regular voice" which sounds like Angelina Ballerina. (British)!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T11:08:00.002-06:00

I'm sure I'm not alone in staying up until 1am on Christmas Eve finishing up preparations for Christmas Day... It seems to be the way of parents especially Mamas! Our Christmas Eve celebrations were joyous and rowdy and meaningful. We had planned on attending the 7:45pm service at church, but looking out the window at the steady snowfall and over at our wound-up yet tired children, Lindsey and I were delighted to STAY put. So we had our own service. Lindsey helped direct the children's Live Nativity Play. Iain as Joseph, Maggie as Mary, Elaena and Eliana as Angels, John Hardy as a Shepherd, and Chaya as Caesar commanding the tax. Hilarious and Adorable to the adults and hopefully significantly, memorable to the children. We sang some carols and finished the nativity portion of the Jesse Tree and put baby Jesus in the manger to readings from Luke 2.

This morning the children got up at 6am to do Stockings and some of their gifts before Matt left for work at 7:30am. Again joyous chaos and much excitement. I think only Elaena asked the inevitable question. "Are there any more presents for me?" But that was, I think, primarily prompted by the basket under the table still mostly full of wrapped gifts. (for them tonight) We really want to make Christmas about Jesus and are navigating how to do that and still celebrate with the giving of gifts. Its a learning curve. My attempt this year has been multifaceted beginning with the Jesse Tree, Advent wreath, and nativity right after Thanksgiving on the First Sunday of Advent, carrying on with readings (most nights), and culminating to some degree in the Nativity Play last night and other things mentioned above. But one thing that just "happened" unplanned by me was the schedule for the kids' gift opening. Matt was post call yesterday, and is working this morning 7:30-noon and we're off to the Morgans for our annual Christmas Day Fiesta Dinner of Tex-Mex favorites around 1pm. (Whoohoo! Feliz Navidad!) So it was a challenge for me to figure out WHEN to have the kids open gifts. The Lord has graciously arranged it far, far better than I could have with a year of premeditation!!

Last night right before dinner we exchanged gifts with the Morgans. So there was utter CRAZINESS for about 20 minutes as 7 very excited children ripped into their packages to one another, and then went off to play with them. This morning we had time for stockings and some of the presents here. And after we get back home from the Fiesta at the Morgans this evening we'll do the remainder of them. The "remainder" includes 2 (second hand) American Girl Dolls for Maggie and Elaena, which will send them "over the moon" as MissKatie would say! But I'm rejoicing that it just "worked out" in our day to put them off 'til later. Right now instead of obsessing over their dolls, they are planning the next installment of the Nativity Play and other fun things to do with the Morgan kiddos. What a grace.

Now don't get me wrong I'm thrilled that we found these dolls for them. Maggie had even prayed that sometime the Lord would let us find an affordable Josefina for her. (we'd told her they were too expensive and that she shouldn't expect to be able to get one). I definitely feel the sweetness that He did provide just what she (and Elaena)wanted for a price we really could afford. SO I'm very excited about the dolls, but I'm more excited to see them embrace all the NON-Material joy to be found in this day. This may be the beginning of a new tradition for us...

As Pastor John wrote in his Christmas letter to Bethlehem:

...I want you to have light-hearted happy moments. This is what humble, child-like people often do. The have one foot in heaven, and cannot help tappint the toe with the other.

But mainly I wish for you a steady, unshakable, confidence in Jesus. That he is stronger than all the political, industrial, military, educational, psychological, and spiritual forces in the world.

That he is wiser and smarter than all the folks who work for Google, Microsoft, Apple, and IBM put together.

That he is committed to you as if you were his own soul.

And that in the safety of that commitment, there is a grassy field where you may leap as merry as a lamb.

He came that you "may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10)

Merry Christmas! May you find the "good tidings of great joy" very good and very joyous today.

Jesse Tree Devotion #8: The Royal Promise

2009-12-18T16:57:00.001-06:00

THE ROYAL PROMISE

Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

When God chose Abraham, was it because he was especially good and from a God-fearing family? When God chose Jacob, was it because he was a truthful and reliable guy? No. God doesn't choose like we might choose. God chooses out of Love and Grace rather than based on our goodness or works. Thank you Lord! Well, so it is with God's choosing and promising among Jacob's 12 sons. Joseph is a remarkable character! His story takes up many chapters in the Bible. But do you know that the BIG promise that God had given to Abraham and then to Isaac and then to Jacob, isn't given to Joseph. Although, Joseph does receive a sweet blessing. The BIG promise of the coming Messiah, the Savior of the peoples is given to Judah, one of Jacob's sons by his wife Leah. Judah was far from being morally upright and full of good works, yet it is from his offspring that David and eventually Jesus descended! Just before he died, Jacob spoke this prophecy and blessing over Judah, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."

So in this blessing, Judah was promised the respect and allegiance of his brothers (a big deal since these brothers tended to bicker a lot, didn't they?!) and victory over his enemies during his life. And then Jacob looked further ahead and gave a Royal Promise, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." A few generations later, with the crowning of David as King over Israel there is a near fulfillment of that promise. David was a descendant of Judah and his kingdom extended into the nations. But do you know what the ultimate and full accomplishment of the promise was? JESUS! Yes, He is the ultimate Ruler of the nations! And ultimately all will praise Him; He shall have victory over all his enemies! Do you know what one of the names of Jesus is? The Lion of the tribe of Judah. Revelation 5:5, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. As you place the scepter ornament on the Jesse tree, celebrate the Lion of the Tribe of Judah from whose hand the scepter will never depart. Jesus is King. Celebrate God's fulfilling of His promises! Jesus once again is the ultimate fulfillment of all God's covenant promises, isn't he?

Nothing to do with Advent, but SO fun!

2009-12-18T15:07:00.002-06:00

(Yes, I know I'm behind on my Jesse Tree writings. Its been a VERY BUSY WEEK.)

Today, as Maggie and I were finishing up her school work, we read "The Elephant's Child" from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. This wee poem at the end tickled my fancy and I had to share. ::grin::

I Keep six honest serving-men:

(They taught me all I knew)

Their names are What and Where and When

And How and Why and Who.

I send them over land and sea,

I send them east and west;

But after they have worked for me,

I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five.

For I am busy then,

As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,

For they are hungry men:

But different folk have different views:

I know a person small—

She keeps ten million serving-men,

Who get no rest at all!

She sends 'em abroad on her own affairs,

From the second she opens her eyes—

One million Hows, two million Wheres,

And seven million Whys!

Jesse Tree Devotion # 5: God's Providence

2009-12-08T08:38:00.002-06:00

GOD’S PROVIDENCE

Genesis 45:5 “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

God blessed Jacob exceedingly, just as He had promised. He went back to his mother, Rebekah's, family and married both of his cousins, Rachel and Leah. That wasn't Jacob's plan. Jacob loved Rachel and only planned to marry her, but his Uncle Laben was just as tricky as Jacob was! Laben tricked Jacob into marrying both his daughters, and eventually, Jacob had 12 sons! His firstborn son by Rachel, his favorite wife, was named Joseph. Joseph was very special to his daddy. Jacob loved Joseph more than all his brothers and made him a special coat of many colors to demonstrate his love.

Now what do you think of Jacob's favoritism? Do you think it promoted family unity or brotherly affection? Decidedly no. Joseph's brothers were angered by their father's preferential treatment. To make matters worse, Joseph started having prophetic dreams and told them to his brothers. He shared how he dreamed that the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowed down to him! Not very wise of Joseph to tell his brothers, who already didn't like him and who were already mad at him, that one day he was going to be their ruler and they were going to bow to him! Whew. Trouble. The brothers in their anger and hate sold Joseph into slavery. They tore his special coat, dipped it in blood, and lied to Jacob saying that they had found it coming back home from tending the sheep. Jacob believed Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave.

Things went pretty well at first for Joseph. He was honorable and treated well by his master. Genesis 39:1-5 tells about it, And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. Joseph was given a really good position for a slave, wasn't he? Sadly, Potiphar's wife falsely accused him of evil deeds and Joseph was cast into prison.

Had God forgotten the dreams He'd given Joseph? No, even though it may have felt like it, God was still with Joseph. Genesis 39:21-23 says, But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper. Again, Joseph obtained a pretty good situation for a prisoner, didn't he? He stayed in prison a long while. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Then finally, Pharaoh was given a dream by the Lord. Joseph had a reputation of being an interpreter of dreams even in prison. So Pharaoh called Joseph from prison to tell him the meaning of the dream. The dream was regarding 7 years of plenty that would be followed by 7 years of great famine. Joseph, who had gained wisdom and discernment from the Lord, perceived the need to carefully store up during the 7 years of plenty. Pharaoh was impressed by Joseph and gave him the job of overseeing the storehouses! Now Joseph had a really important position, right? --a ruling position, in fact!

The 7 years of plenty came and went just as God had shown in the dream. Then the famine came. And it was horrible and far reaching. It reached into the Promised Land where Joseph's family lived. What do you think? They came to Egypt to buy food. And the brothers bowed before Joseph! Just as he'd seen in his dream! But they didn't know him at first. He waited. He tested them. And then he revealed himself to them. Genesis 45:3-10 says, And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?" And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.And Joseph said unto his brethren, "Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:"

God indeed sent Joseph to Egypt. He knew the famine would come. He knew that to preserve the life of Jacob's family in the famine, Joseph would need to be in a position of power to provide for them all. He was working on making a great nation from the children of Abraham just as He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He's taking the family to Egypt on purpose. His providence was over all of the troubles in Joseph's life. He was FOR Joseph even in the hard stuff. He was WITH Joseph, too, wasn't He? As you place the coat of many colors ornament on the Jesse Tree, take courage from the story of God's providence over Joseph. He is always in control. He is always at work. He NEVER forgets His promises.

Questions to Ponder:
What did Joseph dream?
Did God fulfill His Promises?

Jesse Tree Devotion # 6: Jacob's Ladder, Promises Re-given

2009-12-08T08:33:00.002-06:00

JACOB’S LADDER: PROMISES RE-GIVEN

Genesis 28:15a “Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land"

Abraham received such great promises from the Lord didn't he? He knew God so well that he is referred to as "the friend of God." Listen to these words:

2Chornicles 20:7Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?,

Isaiah 41:8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.

James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Do you think of yourself as a friend of God? Do you believe His words like Abraham? Isaac followed after the God of his father Abraham. And God renewed the promises He'd given to Abraham, to Isaac. Isaac had two sons. Twin boys. They were completely different in appearance and personality. The younger one was named Jacob. He was a tricky guy, always scheming. He managed to wrangle his brother Esau out of his birthright inheritance and even out of his birthright blessing. Long ago it mattered who was the first born son in a family. The firstborn son was given a double portion of the inheritance and a special blessing/prayer from the father. Jacob deceived his brother and then his father to acquire both! Not the likely guy to be next in line for the special promises God had given to his grandfather Abraham. But God doesn't choose us based on our own righteousness. He doesn't choose us because we are BETTER. He graciously and lovingly calls people because HE is a gracious and loving God. He delights to make promises and keep them.

Soon after Jacob deceived Isaac regarding the firstborn-blessing, he had to flee from his brother Esau. Esau was mad enough to kill him. So Jacob left his home and headed back toward Abraham's original country Haran. Genesis 28:10-16 tells the story of how Jacob met the Lord, And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not." Do you have dreams when you sleep? What did Jacob see in his dream? What did God say to him? Did that sound a lot like what He'd said to Abraham several times? Especially the line "in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed", right? God added a new promise to Jacob though, "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land". God promises to be with him in all his journeying and He promises to return Jacob to the Promised Land again. The Rescuer is still coming. He's coming to bless all the families of the earth. He's coming from Abraham, from Isaac, and now from Jacob. Jacob is the one chosen to be in the lineage or ancestry of Jesus. Was it because Jacob was so good and righteous and just the perfect son and brother? Nope that wasn't it! God sought Jacob out, sent him a vision of a His nearness, renewed the Covenant He'd had with Abraham, and promised to protect and provide for Jacob wherever he went by GRACE. What's grace again? Unmerited favor. Undeserved help. What is Jacob's response? Genesis 28:17-19a tells us that he woke up, And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.And he called the name of that place Bethel. So Jacob encountered the Lord in a special dream and upon waking, he begins to worship. Jacob establishes a memorial pillar of the rock he'd slept on and calls the place Bethel which means House of God. As you put on the symbol of Jacob's ladder, think about the nearness of the Lord. Jesus is our ladder to God. We could never have spanned the distance without His intervention, His life-giving, heart-changing power. Thank the Lord for giving promises (big ones even!) to those who DON'T deserve them.

Questions to Ponder:
What did Jacob dream?
What did God promise?

Jesse Tree Devotion # 5: Abraham's Offering

2009-12-08T08:30:00.002-06:00

ABRAHAM’S OFFERING

Genesis 22:13b And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

After waiting and waiting and waiting, Sarah gave birth to a baby boy. Just as God had promised. (Genesis 17:19, And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.) So Isaac the long awaited, promised child was given to Sarah and Abraham. Genesis 21:1-5 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. Can you imagine how delighted they were to be his parents?

The next part of Isaac's story is surprising. God made great and specific promises to Abraham about Isaac's future, didn't he? Do you think God will keep his word this time, too? Let's read Genesis 22:1-18, ...[God] said unto him, "Abraham:" and he said,"Behold, here I am." And he said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, "My father:" and he said, "Here am I, my son." And he said, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:" so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham:" and he said, "Here am I." And he said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, "By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." What happened? What did God ask Abraham to do? What did Abraham say to his young men who were with him? Do you think Abraham believed God could keep His promise if Isaac died? He did! Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. He believed that even if God had to raise Isaac from the dead, He would keep His covenant! Abraham told Isaac that God would provide Himself an offering. What did God provide? Abraham named that place Jehovah jireh. The meaning of this name is The Lord Who Provides. It literally means, The Lord Who Sees, or The Lord Who Will See To It. And He does. He sees our needs and provides for us. Consider His provision in your life as you put the ram ornament on the Branch. He is the LORD Who Sees. He is the LORD Who Provides. He is the LORD who keeps His covenants.

Questions to Ponder:
What miracle did Abraham believe the Lord would perform to keep His covenant?
What did God provide in place of Isaac?
What did God provide in place for you?

Jesse Tree Devotion # 4: The Promise

2009-12-08T08:06:00.002-06:00

THE PROMISE

Genesis 12:3b …in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 15:5 b Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.

Many generations after Noah, from the descendants of Noah's son Shem, Abram was born. The earth was again filled with wickedness and idolatry even in Abram's family. Abram was a sinner, just like everyone else before him --just like us. If God had not intervened, he would have continued on the idolatrous course established by his family. But God is a gracious God! God chose to act. Nehemiah 9:7 says, Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees... Abram was fallen and without any merit to recommend him to the Lord. But, God who is rich in mercy and grace, chose to make several BIG promises to Abram

God did the initiating, God did the choosing, God did the calling and Abram responded by faith. Genesis 12:1-4 tells about it, Now the LORD had said unto Abram, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. God told Abram to leave his country, his family and all that was familiar. God promised to give him a new land and make of him a great nation (even though Sarai, Abrams wife was barren --couldn't have children). God promised to bless Abram and to make him a blessing to all the families of the earth: ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH would be blessed through Abram! What do you think that means? Those are BIG promises, aren't they? How did Abram respond? It says in Hebrews 11:8 that Abram responded by faith, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

God came to Abram on multiple occasions. He called him initially in Genesis 12. Then God comes again to Abram in Genesis 15:1-7...the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." And Abram said, "LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless..." And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, "...he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir." And he brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be." And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, "I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." Wow. WHAT A PROMISE! God says that He will be Abram's shield and "exceeding great reward." Even though Abram is an old man by this time and still does not have a child, Abram believes the LORD when He promises to give an heir and seed (descendants) the number of the stars in the sky! The Lord counts this believing as righteousness. The LORD comes again to Abram in Genesis 17:1-8, And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. " And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, "As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." Imagine what it would be like for the LORD to appear to you in this way and make such promises to you! What did He say Abram would be called now? Yes, Abraham. Why? Because Abraham literally means "the father of a multitude (of nations)." Did you notice what the LORD called his promises first to Noah and now to Abraham? He says "I will make my covenant between me and thee." Covenant is a special word. Generally it means a "biding agreement." Sometimes they were conditional, meaning they stayed binding only if both of the parties making the commitment kept their part of the agreement. But, God's covenant with Noah and now Abraham was unconditional, meaning God was going to keep his promise no matter what Abraham did or didn't do. Isn't that wonderful!? If God's great and precious promises were reliant on what people did or didn't do, there would not be any hope. As you place the field of stars ornament on the branch, consider how impossible this promise looked! But nothing is impossible with God. He did make Sarah's 90-year-old, barren womb to give birth to a son named Isaac. He really did make the descendants of Abraham like the stars of the sky in number. And most importantly, He really did bless Abraham, as the forefather of Jesus, to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth--including us!

Questions to ponder:
When God first called Abraham, what did He say?
What were some of the promises God gave to Abraham?
Were those promises conditional?

2009-12-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

THE FLOOD

Genesis 9:12-13a And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud

When Adam and Eve broke God's rule about the fruit, there were many consequences, weren't there? They had been created VERY GOOD with a very good nature, but after the Fall their nature was twisted. After that first sin, came more sins. Innocence was lost forever. All of the people that have come after Adam and Eve have kept on sinning, because it is in our very nature now to sin, to choose the wrong path, to break the rules, to follow the serpent instead of Jesus. The Bible affirms this in Romans 5:12 ...by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

After Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, they began having children, and those children had children. Soon there were lots of people and lots of sins. There was murder and lying and evil of every kind. In fact, in Genesis 6:5-6 God looks down and sees ... that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The earth was filled with corruption and violence. Gods patience gave way to righteous anger, and He determined to destroy all life on earth. Genesis 6:7, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." Oh, no! Man deserves this judgment and God is right and holy to send it, but what about His promise? He promised to send Someone to crush the Enemy! The answer is in the next verse: Genesis 6:8, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. What does "grace" mean? Unmerited or undeserved favor. Noah didn't earn God's acceptance by his own works. The Bible tells us that Noah was a just and upright man who walked with God, but he wasn't sinless. Romans 3:10-12 tells us that ...There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one. So, there was nothing in Noah that was holy. He found grace not because of who he was or what he did, but because of who God is. God is a gracious God. As Psalm145:8 proclaims, The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Graciously, God determined to make a covenant with Noah. He gave Noah plans for building an ark, a life boat. In Genesis 6:17-22 God says to Noah, "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." Noah did all that God commanded him, and God kept His promise to deliver Noah and his family and through them, humanity itself. Through the ark, God mercifully provided a way for humanity and all other air-breathers of every sort: animals, birds, and creeping things to continue existing.

Just as He had warned, God sent the flood of waters and covered the whole earth. Genesis 7:23, And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. Who did God spare? Yes, only those inside the ark were saved. Their lives were spared and they were thankful to God for His deliverance. But, do you know what? The problem of sin still remained. Even though they were starting new, their hearts were still sinful and they still struggled to choose good. God knew that of course. Let's read what happened when Noah and his family and all the animals came out of the ark: Genesis 8:20-22 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar, And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. God was aware that man's heart is evil, He wasn't expecting things to all of a sudden go well. Yet, He came to Noah and his sons and said, "...behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth" And God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." And God said unto Noah, "This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." What was the sign of this new promise? Yes, a Rainbow. What are we supposed to remember when we see it? We should remember that God keeps His promises! He sends rain, (and we need it!) but He will not again send it for the utter destruction of all flesh. So as you place the rainbow ornament on the Jesse Tree, think about the beauty of God's mercy. Think about His Sovereignty: His right, wisdom and power to do all He pleases! So, He can make BIG promises and keep them.
Questions to Ponder:
What did God see when He looked at the earth?
Why did God deliver Noah?
Was there still sin on the earth after the Flood?

Jesse Tree Devotion #3: The First Sin

2009-12-08T08:02:00.001-06:00

THE FIRST SIN

Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Yesterday we learned that Jesus did not have a beginning like we did and that the whole world was created by His power. We saw how He spoke, and immediately galaxies were born and stars were hung in their spaces. He spoke and the earth brought forth living creatures and all kinds of plants. Then the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - created man in their own image. He formed Adam, the first man, from the dust of the ground, and He made Eve, the first woman, from one of Adam's ribs. They were given the beautiful and perfect garden, which God Himself planted for them, as their home. The Bible tells us that ...out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Genesis 2:9. When God placed Adam in the garden, before He even made Eve, God gave Adam a command to obey. Genesis 2:15-17 says, And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." What was the rule? Do you think that Adam thought it was going to be an easy rule to keep? Seems pretty easy, huh? And maybe without that sneaky, lying Enemy Satan, maybe things would have gone differently. Maybe.

Do you like to play Hide and Seek? Is it fun? Can it sometimes be a little scary: like just before you are about to be found? Well, you could say that Hide and Seek has been around since the garden of Eden. First, that wicked Satan hid himself in the form of a serpent and secretly slipped into the garden. He found the man and woman and started weaving his tricky, evil scheme. From what we can tell, Satan did all his talking with Eve, but Adam was standing right there listening. Genesis 3:1-6 tells all about it, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, "Yea, hath God said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" And the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'" And the serpent said unto the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Oh NO! Adam didn't obey the one rule, did he? What do you think the man and woman did after they finished eating that forbidden fruit? Yes, they hid. First they sewed together fig leaves to hide their bodies, because now they were ashamed to be naked. Then when the evening came, and they heard the voice of God in the garden, they tried to hide from Him. Now is there any hiding place good enough to hide you from God? NO! He sees everything and knows everything and is everywhere. God is the ultimate Seeker; He always finds what He seeks. Genesis 3:9-11 describes what happened, And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, "Where art thou?" And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." And he said, "Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" Uh-oh! Busted! But even after God had confronted them, Adam and Eve were still in hiding mode, not willing to confess. Both of them blamed somebody else that God's rule had been broken. And the man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." And the LORD God said unto the woman, "What is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat," Genesis 3:12-13.
God does not overlook sin. He cannot. He is Perfect and Holy and Righteous in all His ways. He had to act; Genesis 3:14-23, And the LORD God said unto the serpent, "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Unto the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." And unto Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it:' cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for evermore:" Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So, God put the serpent on its belly to slither. He told the woman that she'd have sorrow and pain giving birth and that she would be ruled by her husband. God cursed the ground for the sake of the man and caused the ground to grow thorns and weeds. God determined that death would one day take them back into the dust. And finally they were cast out of the garden of Eden. Sin brings sadness, doesn't it? These are all hard judgments from the Lord. Is there anything in all those verses that offers hope that somehow things can be fixed? Yes. In the midst of the curses, God gives a promise and He provides a covering (one better than leaves). Let's look closely at the promise. He promises to send One, born of woman, who will crush that old serpent Satan's head. Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." As you put the ornament on the branch today, think about what that promise meant. Think how much it was going to cost God to keep that promise! Keeping that promise meant that Jesus was going to have to enter our world as a person, be born as a baby, grow into a man and be bruised for our sins. Isaiah 53:5 says of Jesus, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Questions to ponder:
Sometimes do we sin and try to hide it like Adam and Eve?
Can we really hide from God?
In this story, what does God promise to do to fix His now broken and fallen world?
Why do you think Jesus is sometimes called the Second Adam? (Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.)

Jesse Tree Devotion #2: ?????????

2009-11-30T20:23:00.003-06:00

So today's lesson was "THE DOVE" finishing out the beginning of Isaiah 11. It was a bust. I personally was very blessed by thinking through all the ways that the promise of verse 2 was fulfilled, but it really shot over my kiddos heads as a whole. Maggie got some of it, Elaena less, Iain nothing (as far as I could tell). SO I think I'm going to "pull" this one from the list of symbols and lessons. And go from "THE BRANCH" to "THE CREATION." Maybe, if I ever continue the Jesse Tree thru Lent and into Easter, perhaps I'll rework it to be included. As of now, I think the concepts are precious, but I definitely didn't communicate them appropriately for elementary/preschool age! ::sigh:: S0, here's "THE CREATION." Which we haven't done yet, (will do tomorrow) but next year will be in the 2nd-day-of-Advent slot. Hopefully, its more on the mark for age level and will better engage them.

THE CREATION
John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Did you know that Jesus was in the beginning with God and that he made all things? It says in the gospel of John, In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God. Who is the Word? Yes, Jesus is the Word of God and the Branch from Jesse and the Son of David. And though we are in the season of Advent, awaiting the celebration of His birth as a baby boy, that wasn’t His beginning like our birth was our beginning! In Colossians 1:16-17 we read, For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. He was before anything.
Genesis 1:1-2 says In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without from and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. So while God the Holy Spirit hovered over the deep, God the Father brought into being our world through the creative power of God the Son, Jesus. Jesus commanded light to exist. Jesus hung the stars in the sky and gave the Sun its heat. Jesus filled our planet with fish and birds and bugs and animals of every kind! And as each visible and invisible thing was made, God saw it as good. And then he created Man. He took dust formed the ground and formed man. Genesis 2:7-8, And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. His hands tangibly shaped man and his Breath brought life and gave a soul to man. Wow! Isn’t that amazing?! And then He planted a garden for the man, PLANTED--H e chose to plant and grow this garden. Do you think it shows God’s special care for man that He would plant this garden for him? How does it show man to be different than the other air-breathers creeping about the world?
There is another enormous difference in the creation of humans that can be seen in Genesis 1:26-27. And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness":…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them. People were created in the image of God. God describes it as "our image, after our likeness". People were made in the likeness of the Triune God (One God in Three Persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit)! Man is completely unique in his role of bearing the image of God. Dogs don’t. Horses don’t. Monkeys, bumblebees, dolphins and penguins don’t! And this time, God pronounced all that He saw very good.
Sadly, this goodness did not last. Soon afterwards, the man and the woman, the special image-bearers of God, fell from their perfection (we’ll read about that tomorrow) and marred the entirety of Jesus’ creation. Romans 8:22-23 talks about how the whole creation, almost from the very beginning, has been groaning and longing to be made whole again by Jesus, For we know that the whole creation groaneth and trvaileth in pain together until now…waiting for the redemption…. So we wait for His coming expectantly, along with the whole earth, the whole universe. As you hang the ^2nd advent symbol on the Jesse Branch, think about the world you hold in your hand. Jesus holds our world in His hand. He made all things and all things hold together by His power. He is the reason our world still spins in space in its perfectly placed position in the solar system. Let's praise Him for His beautiful creation and His awesome power!
Questions to ponder:
What can be known about Jesus from His creation?
Did Jesus begin when He was born in the manger?
What was different about Jesus’ creation of Man?

Jesse Tree Devotion #1: The Branch

2009-11-29T20:49:00.002-06:00

The Jesse Tree (also here) is one of several tools we use as a family to keep Jesus the focus of our Christmastime. (Thankful for Noel Piper's Book Treasuring God in our Traditions for the encouragement to be intentional about that! --you can read it online here! ) This year, I'm working on composing the readings for our Jesse Tree devotions myself.

We started the Jesse Tree tradition in our family last year. We made all our ornaments and then from numerous sources (Google "Jesse Tree"!) and from some on-the-fly lessons just reading the appropriate scriptures, I piece-mealed our way through the 4weeks of advent, hanging an ornament a day. (yeah, sometimes we'd get behind a day and hang 2) It "worked" OK, but I really wanted to create something more concrete for long-term use. Something we could modify as needed, but provide the basic lesson structure year-to-year.

Soooo, in the next 4 weeks, as we celebrate the Advent Season, I'm planning each day to post my work-in-progress lessons. Feel free to comment and/or offer corrections and edits. These are primarily for my own children (ages 6, 4, 2, 1) so they are purposefully simple in language, yet it is my desire to retain the MEAT of the Promises. (Feel free to use them or parts of them if they would bless you and your family)

Lesson 1:

THE BRANCH

Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Do you remember any Bible stories about David? David was the boy who slew the giant Goliath. David was the shepherd who God chose to be king over the nation of Israel. David was a man after God's own heart.

Well, God made a special promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee,...and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever." That's a big promise. God promises He is going to establish this descendant-of-David's kingdom for ever. Wow, a king that's going to reign for ever?! Hmmm.

Did you know that at the time of Jesus’ birth, there had NOT been a King from the line of David for 600 years! That’s a LONG time, isn't it?!
The royal house of David looked completely done for. Kaput. Finished. The nation of Israel had been conquered by invading armies. God's people had spent time in captivity. The Promised Land was occupied and ruled by those who didn't worship the true God. Things looked pretty grim. But had God really forgotten His promises to David or to His people? Does God EVER forget His promises? No! At just the right time, God sent Jesus as King and Messiah to sit on the throne of David -- just as He’d promised. And you know what? Like Isaiah prophesied, Jesus’ coming was just like a new green Branch coming out of a dead looking stump--an unexpected sight! Jesse’s family tree was like a bare and withered old stump, robbed of its trunk and branches, lifeless and forgotten. To human eyes it looked like this “tree” could not bear fruit any more. But with God all things are possible. He can make dead things live! So the coming of Jesus looked like a small green rod or shoot sprouting up from the root of the dry, old stump of Jesse’s family tree!
Do you know what else? When Jesus was born, there was nothing apparently royal about Him. He came humbly and in lowliness, not into a palace but into a stable, didn’t he? He didn’t look like the “Son of David”; He didn’t look like a King. Perhaps that is why Isaiah refereed to Him here as “a shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Jesse wasn’t the famous one, was he? We only know about Jesse because he was the father of famous King David. It also could have been a clue for the people that David’s family was not going to be as well-known and famous at the coming of this special “Branch,” and that is true –after 600 years people weren’t thinking about David’s throne so much.

These Jesse Tree lessons that we read during this Advent season will show us over and over that GOD ALWAYS keeps His promises. ALWAYS. So, from now until Christmas we will trace the beautiful promises in the prophecies that point to Jesus’ coming. God didn’t send Jesus “out of the blue”! He’d been letting people know to be on the lookout for a Messiah, a Savior, a Servant King from almost the very beginning of the world! We will see that God prophetically revealed that a “Son of David” would come as the ultimate fulfillment of every promise He had ever made! As we hang the ornament of the Branch on our Jesse Tree, consider how Jesus' coming was as a new, green shoot from an old, dried-up stump.

Questions to ponder:
Who was the “Rod” and the “Branch” that came from the stump of Jesse?
Does God ever forget His promises?
Does God sometimes do things in ways we don’t expect?

"Thanksgiving Day is a happy day where we say 'Thank you, God'!"

2009-11-26T20:07:00.003-06:00

The girls wanted to sing a "Thanksgiving song" this morning and one suddenly came surfacing from elementary school music class "Thanksgiving Day is a happy day where we say 'Thank you, God'!" They were delighted with it-- in its simple, easy-to-learn repetition. And really that simple little song just about sums it up. That's what today SHOULD be about. It makes me sad to hear "Happy Turkey Day." That phrase is purposefully negating the substance of this unique holiday.

And while I'm soapboxing....it was originally established as a feast of thanksgiving unto the Lord (not to the Native Americans). So while I am thankful for people and to people, of course, my thankfulness needs to primarily be directed toward God. All the blessings I experience. ALL OF THEM. Are by Him and through Him and ultimately to Him FOR HIS GLORY.

IICor 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."

Psalm 84:11-12 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."

Psalm 105:1-5 "O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
May your heart savor His goodness and linger in the knowledge that He has done great things for you! May your Advent Season be marked by a carry over of thankfulness to the Giver of all the many gracious gifts in our lives, extolling Christ as the most treasured, most costly, most precious gift of all!

Rhyming rhymes at meal time...

2009-11-10T20:59:00.002-06:00

My 4yo thrills to all things silly. For example, Dr. Seuss is a favorite of hers. Especially enjoying made-up words herself (ie. Gogi. This is a word Elaena likes to say when she just wants to laugh. Yep. Gogi. Gogi- Gogi. See it works!) books such as There's a Wocket in my Pocket, just give her a warm fuzzy. Recently, Elaena has introduced us to a constant banter of mealtime wordplay (think Fezzik from Princess Bride) where all things said by her must be replied to in rhyme. Meals go in their mouths more slowly but the giggles come out quickly!
So Here is a "Poem" for my Silly one.

Now's the time for a silly Rhyme
about my giggly little Girl-y

Who knew the Q. Bee
Was out of tea?
Who could guess this of her Hall?
Who opened the oven door too soon
Who caused her cake to fall?

"What! NO tea!" said the astonished Q. Bee
And on the night of the Poetry Ceilidh!

(Enter Princess Elaena thoughtfully.)

"We can make Coffee." says she,
with a smile and a nod,
"In a pinch it's as fine as Ceylon,
especially with a bit of whipping cream charm
And finally the cake: viola! no harm!
berries and pudding in layers will bless
its falling into a yummy success."

And so the Ceilidh was performed without Tea.
by the fairest and brightest of Bee's friends
and when the finale was spoken with glee.
Princess Elaena went to bed with ne'er a plea.
Having happily made every amends.

"Poetry" is such a loose term, is it not!? =)

Thoughts on RESPECT from my reflections on The Excellent Wife.

2009-09-21T22:07:00.006-05:00

I thought I'd share a bit of personal epiphany from the first BBC MOMS this past Tuesday. Our speaker was Cynthia Francis and her talk was titled "The Excellent Wife." (Prov 31)

One of the sections of Cynthia's talk that stood out to me was her exhortation concerning Respect. She stated the obvious by saying that God knows us! And that He knows how important being loved is for us. AND, maybe not so obvious to us, He knows our men! He knows how important respect is for them. (she recommended the book Love and Respect by Eggerichs) Thus, the commands of Eph 5:33 are appropriate to both our needs and our husband's needs. They Need to be respected, just as we NEED to be loved. For a man, to live in a marriage without respect is like what a woman would experience to live in a marriage without love. (she paused to reflect on Ps 63:3 as an encouragement to any women who may face that)

There's NO "IF CLAUSE" for either of us. Our society definitely allows wives an "if clause" along with the idea that respect must be earned. In my notes I boiled down to this: "respectable" or not, we Honor our husbands because 1)God gave them the position as husband and 2)God commands us to honor them ::period:: not IF they Love us, or IF they deserve it, or IF XYZ from him first...

So, life application for me personally?

Well, I don't honor him "perfectly" (I know, I've shocked you, right? - haha), and Cynthia's words definitely exhorted me to want to have his heart "safely trust" in me more and more, and to want to be intentional in finding ways I can honor him better! But kidding aside, respecting Matt is generally "easy" (he makes it easy and I am overwhelming blessed!!!). BUT I don't remember the last time- or if I've ever actually- told my husband "I respect you" or something similar in words. I know this may sound Cheezy, but It occurred to me, as I processed these thoughts, that MAYBE I should. I like being told that he loves me IN WORDS-- on top of being shown. =) So I thought perhaps he'd like to hear the WORDS from me about how much I respect him and some of the reasons why... He did. It was a sweet moment.

I'm so thankful Cynthia focused on this in her talk. It was a blessing to my husband and thus to me and our marriage. There were many other noteworthy exhortations, but this was the one that played out in life-application 101 for me that same evening. Oh, to be a more "Excellent Wife!"

Context for raising children.

2009-09-05T23:33:00.003-05:00

Contemplating a great quote from a good sermon. Gregg Harris (Rebelution boys' dad, Josh Harris' Dad) Sobering. Challenging. Praying for God's Context for raising our kiddos.

God gives children to us in order to increase the impact of our lives on this world. You realize that the greatest thing you may ever do in your lifetime is raise your children? …Whatever you may accomplish in your lifetime, as wonderful as it may be, I want to tell you something, it may be primarily CONTEXT for raising those children. And that its greatest contribution may not be what it accomplishes in your lifetime but rather the inspirational and the instructional value that is has in the life of your young people. One generation after another is affected by the passion and the obedience of faith of the generation that preceded it. –Gregg Harris

I pray we will be stirred up to be inspirational and instructive in wisdom and godliness.

Encouragement for Admitted Ignorance!

2009-09-04T12:25:00.004-05:00

As we began our foray into the adventure of homeschooling this year, I'm reading along/ahead in the "HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY" for our...well.."Nature Study." Last year in "kindergarten" we did a bit of nature study and notebooking, but not much. I didn't have the MANUEL (mentioned above) and I wasn't committed to throwing myself into it all either (I blame it on pregnancy and the prematurity of WINTER here in Mpls). haha. If NS got skipped, I didn't sweat it. But Maggie LOVED every little walk and noticed so many details. So after more reading on Charlotte Mason and embracing more fully the importance of this discipline/habit, I'm geared up for it this year. Here's a little nugget from my reading in HoNS.

WHEN AND WHY THE TEACHER SHOULD SAY "I DO NOT KNOW "
No science professor in any university, if he be a man of high attainment, hesitates to say to his pupils,"I do not know" if they ask for information beyond hisknowledge. The greater his scientific reputation and erudition, the more readily,simply, and without apology he says this. He, better than others, comprehends how vast is the region that lies beyond man's present knowledge. It is only the teacher in the elementary schools who has never received enough scientific training to reveal to her how little she does know, who feels that she must appear to know everything or her pupils will lose confidence in her. But how useless is this pretense, in nature-study! The pupils, whose younger eyes are much keener for details than hers, will soon discover her limitations and then their distrust of her will be real.

In nature-study any teacher can with honor say, "I do not know "; for perhaps the question asked is as yet unanswered by the great scientists. But she should not let lack of knowledge be a wet blanket thrown over her pupils' interest. She should say frankly, "I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing. Maybe no one knows it as yet, and I wonder if you will discover it before I do?" She thus conveys the right impression, that only a little about the intricate life of plants and animals is yet known; and at the same time she makes her pupils feel the thrill and zest of investigation. Nor will she lose their respect by doing this, if she does it in the right spirit. For three years I had for comrades in my walks afield two little children and they kept me busy saying, "I do not know." But they never lost confidence in me or in my knowledge; they simply gained respect for the vastness of the unknown.

The chief charm of nature-study would be taken away if it did not lead us through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the undiscovered....

I love that last line -- "through the border-land of knowledge into the realm of the undiscovered"!! That communicates what I believe life-learning is all about whether pertaining to creation study or history study or Bible study -- because there is ever more to be discovered! He is infinite and His works declare His praise!

And the Greatest of these is Love...

2009-06-29T08:53:00.002-05:00

Pastor John recently tweeted about this opening paragraph from The Weight of Glory
by C.S. Lewis:

If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

These kinds of thoughts are even more on our minds as we consider crossing cultures and LOVING others in the name of the Messiah. I'm certain I'm far to easily pleased. I'm certain I need more of the Gospel in my own heart and the weight of Glory and the Joy of the Lord! May His LOVE be what compels mine. Mine to Him. Mine to my neighbor.

Yes, I vaccinate my kids.

2009-06-01T15:47:00.003-05:00

Recently I received a notice about a seminar being offered in the Twin Cities on vaccines. "Vaccination is not Immunization: an informational seminar" by Dr. Tim O'Shea (D.C.) I'm not one to often weigh in on a debated topic, and usually I hesitate to even voice an opinion. I have many friends in the "no vaccine" camp, and I certainly want to respect sister's out there who have strong opposition to them. I know people are passionate about this. (isn't it interesting what we choose to be passionate about?) Also, I am married to a doc so I realize no one is going to think I have an unbiased point of view anyway. But regardless, there is soo much misinformation floating around out there. So many conspiracy theories. So many people making money on both sides no doubt. The information must be sifted prayerfully, but whatever you may think about vaccines or doctors or the "medical establishment" please consider this, there are children STILL dying all over the Third-World.

Measles remains a leading cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of an effective vaccine. We saw children in Haiti crippled by Polio. Third-World mothers don't have choices in health care like we do. They watch their children die of pneumonia, diarrhea, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Maybe that's like telling your kid to eat his broccoli because there are starving children in Africa. I don't know. I'm just very aware of the luxury of health we have here in the US. For my family, passionate about going to live in the Third-World and be part of the efforts to rescue broken bodies and broken lives, vaccines are a very clear-cut decision. IN 1979 the World Health Organization was able to say that small pox was completely eradicated from the planet (thanks to vaccines), wouldn't it be good if there were a few more killers added to that list...

If you'd like to read some literature that answers 6 of the most common "misconceptions" about vaccines, here's an indepth article on the WHO's website.

Printed Pictures!

2009-03-20T17:46:00.003-05:00

I went through our more recent pictures today. I'm pretty good about taking pictures but they tend to remain in digital format and never get printed. I have picture frames that are empty. I have frames that show Maggie as a baby/toddler and me pregnant with Elaena and maybe one frame that shows Elaena as a baby. I'm sad to say I don't think we have a single printed picture of Iain! Or Annie! So as I made my choices to print, I decided to make a slide show. Here are my current favorite shots of of our family:

Of getting out of the house with a new baby in winter...

2009-01-22T18:44:00.005-06:00

It's been 5 days since I left my house. The kids all have colds so we've had to miss a few things this week that would have gotten us out. We went to church on Sat night, but then stayed home Sunday, missed MOMS on Tues., and classes our on Wed. evening. I was feeling a little stir crazy by today!!! So this afternoon, since Matt was home and Iain and Laena were napping...Annie and I went OUT! We went to pick up a movie I'd requested from the Library and then to Savers.

I've found the library to be a super place to "rent" movies! Sure the New Releases have a huge wait list, but I go ahead and request whatever we want to see, and my name moves up without me thinking about it. When it's ready I get an email and all I have to do is pick it up! I request almost everything I want to read or watch ahead of time these days too. Even if its checked in and available, it saves so much time to just have it ready on the hold shelf! And for children's books that you want to own, YOU CAN'T BEAT Savers!!! All children's books are .99 cents! And most of them are in like new condition. Today I found one of our favorite little golden book compilations by Eloise Wilkins, an Animals of the World jigsaw puzzle book that had 6 48piece puzzles showing animals from all the continents (it had all its pieces and looked new!), a fairy tale book with beautiful illustrations, a fisher price TOOL book for Iain, Max Lucado's "Because I Love You" and a few others.

I was just going to run in to look for "That Hideous Strength" by C.S.Lewis (finished re-reading the first 2 books in the Space Trilogy and then realized we don't own the third!!!) They didn't have it. Oh well. I did pick up Eragon by Christopher Paolini for $2 (been thinking about re-reading the Inheritance Cycle and we own Eldest and Brisingr but not Eragon) =) It was good to be able to Brouse. Brousing was not very easy with 3 and I haven't attempted it with 4! Anyway, Annie and I enjoyed our OUTING! She slept through the whole thing like the EASY baby girl she is... We made it back home in about an hour and 20mins but it was SOOOOO refreshing to GO!!!

Matt works a 30 hour shift tomorrow so I imagine I'll be sticking close to home again at least until Saturday night when we all head back to church (Lord willing everyone will be well again by then!) But today will last me for another several days before that stir-crazy/cabin-fever feeling sets in again. Happy MN Winter, everyone. Its bound to come to an end eventually and Annie is really not a reason to stay home. She's such a gracious gift from the Lord. So incredibly content and easy to care for. =)

consistent "child training" with a new baby???

2009-01-16T12:11:00.004-06:00

Lax and frustrated are two words that could be used to describe how I feel regarding this very serious charge! I'm confronting lapses in all kinds of areas...guess I'm being tested at all boundaries to see if the rules still hold in the distraction of tending a newborn! Whew. I feel like I'm woefully failing at holding those lines! The past two days my "frustration" has escalated to out and out anger with the SLOWWWW obedience, the inattention to what I say, the failure to complete tasks unless I'm standing over their shoulder monitoring or prompting, the WHINING.

I'm completely aware that my anger is not helpful and that my response to their testing is crucial. This is a HEART issue in all three of them and a battle with their wills to varying degrees as well. Still I'm floundering for a good practical answer. I re-read some super convicting chapters in Shepherding a Child's Heart this morning. It gave me good perspective and re-focused my heart for mothering these children in a gospel centered, Christ exalting way. My heart desires this, but how do I act this out consistently on a moment by moment basis??? Its overwhelming! I see my own sinfulness and I'm confronted by the depravity of my own heart at the same time I'm being tested by these things in my little ones.

I don't want to be "feared" wrongly, getting obedience because I manipulated them with my frowns and exasperated words or threatened to take away toys, etc. Ted Trip does a great job in Shepherding showing how unhelpful that is for the HEART and how it trains them to fear my displeasure rather than training them to pursue God's heart and His precepts as given to us through His word. Still I'm seeing how scarily easy it is for me to default to manipulation! Guilt tripping with my martyred looks or coercing with threat of punishment (but not following through biblically and consistently).

I feel helpless and hopeless within myself for the enormous responsibility of training these little ones rightly!!! Lord, I fall before you in great need of help and hope! As the perfect, unchanging, ever-faithful Father, teach me to parent these children you've given us. Reach into their hearts Holy Spirit and bring them to Jesus. May we as a family learn forgiveness and growth and change at the foot of the Cross. Show me how to get to the HEART of their struggles with rules and obedience and listening and whining and complaining and arguing! And help me get to the heart of my own struggles with these things. Change ME and my heart, Good Shepherd! And then help me to shepherd and mother them rightly according to your Word.

Newborn Pictures of the Children. Who does Annie look like?

2009-01-10T13:28:00.006-06:00

I've spent some time the past few days pulling together "newborn" pictures of the 3 older children. They grow and change SO swiftly that I couldn't pull up a picture in my head very accurately of what they each looked like at Annie's age. I found out much to my horror that all the Elaena newborn pics were lost in our computer crash a year or so back. Thankfully there were some saved online. So here are 2 montages of the children. As it turns out, I think Annie just looks like herself. How about you?

Perspective is a gracious gift.

2009-01-07T09:59:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Annie was 1 week old and we ventured out to see the Morgans. The kids and I were having some symptoms of cabin fever, so even with the chaos of getting everyone bundled up and in the van, it was great to GO. We even went by the post office and mailed out a pkg (you should have seen the looks of pity I got -- SO FUNNY --just with 4!) and to Target to buy diapers. Everyone did well. Annie is the easiest baby I've had yet. She's super content and happy to be sleeping or eating or just looking around. Thank you, Lord for your mercies in big and small things!!!!!

We're really missing time with Matt this week. He's in a 10 day stretch with no time off and very late hours. Even yesterday when he didn't have call he didn't get home until 8pm. Tonight he's "long call" so it will be closer to 11 or 11:30pm. The kids saw him for 5 minutes this morning - enough for hugs and kisses to everyone, but that will be it for the day. I have to admit I'm having some blue moments, missing him and wishing he wasn't having to work SO much right now. And some anxiety as I look ahead to the next rotation that starts on Monday. Its 2 weeks of a similar schedule to this one and then 2 weeks of NIGHT FLOAT. Groan, Whine, Wail!!!! I look back on the 2 weeks of night float as the worst 2 weeks of intern year. He works every night but one for 2 weeks. Roughly 6pm to 8am. He's home during the day, but of course must sleep! And the "day off" is really a "night off" so he needs to keep his body on that schedule in order to make it to work the following night. Yuck.

But as I said in the title, PERSPECTIVE is a gracious gift. I just got an update from friends in a very dangerous/volatile and "closed" country. The husband's platform for being there involves making water wells for areas that are currently without. This involves traveling to remote areas along very dangerous roads. The "bad guys" like to hide out around these roads and see what they can "gain" from travelers. The wife will stay behind alone with 3 children (one just a few months old) in their house in town to wait for his return. His next trip will take 2 days and the following one 6days. As I understand it, there's no means of communication for them while he's gone. There's no way for her to KNOW if he's okay, if he's delayed, if he's on his way back...

That kind of faith and that kind of trust in the Lord who is our shield and defender is awe inspiring to me, challenging and convicting to me! They rest in Jesus. They know His protection and His mercy. They embrace this life for the sake of the gospel among those who have never heard. They are willing to love not their lives even unto death for the sake of His Glory among the nations. They have refused to buy the safety myth that says if you remain here in America doing normal things you'll be "safe." They know there's no such thing as risk when you are walking in God's path. (Not that you won't be harmed or even killed, but you could be here too!) Theoretically we probably all know that it's only by his protecting, perserving power that we breathe our next breath. period. So many things COULD happen and dwelling on "what if" will make your mind creep toward the insanity (and sin) of constant worry.

I know my husband is really no "safer" than my friend's, though from a purely worldly outlook it appears he is. The God who keeps our steps and numbers our days, watches over my husband as he drives home from work after an 18hour shift and keeps him awake at the wheel, and he watches over her husband as he travels in remote areas where "bad guys" lurk with evil intent. Still I redouble my prayers for my friend and her heart's peace and trust in Christ, for her husband's safe keeping, for her children as they miss their daddy! I redouble my thanksgiving for the grace of each new day that allows my family to love each other on this earth even if we don't get to see as much of one another as we'd like right now!

So yes, Perspective. I miss Matt. The kids miss Daddy. But I'm sure its not to the degree S. will miss J. during his jaunt into the wilderness. For in spite of what we know to be true about "risk," there's still a gut level sense of what feels scarey and what does not. And yes, what J does feels far more frightening than what Matt does. I hope you'll join me in praying God's protection and grace over our friends today and if applicable, over your own husband today too... (Eph 6:10-20)

Annie Rose is here! Her Birth Story

2009-01-02T15:40:00.005-06:00

I'm so thankful to say that Anastasia Rose was born of her own accord (sans induction!) at 6:33 am on Tuesday, December 30th. I was scheduled to go in to the hospital at noon to get induced, but I actually woke up to a contraction around 3am! Totally new experience for me. 10 minutes apart and I'm thinking, maybe I won't have to wait until noon to get labor started! Within the hour they were 5minutes and strong. So I woke Matt and he said, "hmm this is your 4th baby you should definitely call in." So I did and the doc on call said, you don't have to RUSH, but come on in. So we arrived at the hospital around 4:45am and made our way up to the 6th floor. Contractions in an elevator totally new experience. haha.

So I was 5cm when they got us to our L&D room. Monitoring showed a strong labor pattern and a healthy baby. The doc offered to immediately break my water, but I chose to see how things progressed first, since I find the pain more manageable with them intact. But when I was 7cm almost 8cm I wanted SPEED! haha.

Several things were NEW to me with this 4th L&D. I didn't have an IV. No need!! I could move around the room if I wanted, and I spent one contraction on a "labor ball" (I actually got back in bed pretty quickly, most likely because I was already entering transition) Anyway, it was nice to not feel tied to the bed, even if I still stayed there!

I was feeling great pressure and great DESIRE to push even though I was still at 8+ almost 9cm. The Doc was great. She said that she thought that if she held things back for me and let me push through a couple of contractions I'd be there. Its funny to me how 2 contractions coming minutes apart feels LONG at that moment. It took 5 contractions all told to get her born. She got hung by a shoulder and I had to reposition in the middle of the last one to get her out, but it took only seconds. 6:33am only a little over an hour and a half after we arrived, Anastasia Rose was born! WHEW!!!

As an aside, I have to mention one of the things that got discussed between the doc and Matt! here's my memory of a snippet of their dialog. It may be paraphrased but it really is the jist of it!
Doc: So I read on your chart you are thinking maybe 6 children?
Matt: Oh yeah, she'll be talking about the next one by tomorrow.
Me: THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT THIS!!!!!...
(I really knew that was funny then, but at the time all I could do was grimace)

We only had to stay overnight so were able to come back home on Wednesday by noon! WHOOHOO!! No poking or prodding in the middle of the night and being in my own bed meant much better sleep and Annie actually slept a 5hour stretch! (no I didn't sleep a 5 hour stretch, I kept waking up and checking on her)

The kids are doing soooo well with her. They are doing a great job of understanding the amount of time she's going to need from Mommy and are being very patient to let her eat first, etc. And Annie is a GOOD baby. Thank you, Thank you, Lord! My fears were groundless and my heart is so blessed by His lovingkindness and faithfulness!

Anastasia means "resurrection" Her life verse is John 11:25. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" Our prayer is that she will know Jesus as the "Resurrection and Life" and that her life will be an instrument of resurrection and life to those she touches as long as she walks on this earth.

Rose is my Grandmother's middle name and I love the image used in Isaiah 35 of the rose blooming (KJV) "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God..."

Annie Rose! We are so thankful that you are here!

Life as the Wife of a Resident physician...

2008-12-26T08:32:00.003-06:00

I have an amazing husband. He works way more hours than most husbands and still gives to me and our kiddos enough love and play and attention that we don't feel robbed. For instance this past week he worked 86 hours. (shh don't tell because that's actually 6hours over the limit) There were days the children missed seeing him completely. But the one day off he had, we completely enjoyed. He took the girls ice skating and we did some Christmas shopping and just soaked up being together. I fully appreciate the amount of purposeful choosing (with the help of the sanctifying Holy Spirit power) it takes for him to be able to have a day off and forget the ever expanding to-do list in his head and devote himself to loving us. He's an efficient tasker. He always has a list of things that should be done around the house (and that piles up as you can imagine working the hours at WORK that he does), and relaxation and recreation doesn't come easily to him when he has "A LIST" in front of him. I think that's why I really work at never adding to his list. I don't want to put one thing on a "honey-do" list for him to think about. I'd rather have time with him than a cleaner porch, or a certain shelf hung up, or the furniture rearranged, or whatever.

This week (YES THIS WEEK, this 86hours at work for him already week) I decided to move the computers around in the house. I thought, "I'm a bright cookie, I can do this. How hard could it be to take apart and put back 2 computers and a wireless network?" The computer part was easy. But I totally destroyed the wireless network. Even putting it "back" wasn't an option once I'd finished. He came home to no internet and had to spend 2 hours fixing my mess. Uhhhggg. I felt soooo horrible. And to make things worse, the children were wanting Daddy play time and were being super hyper and loud at his elbow while he was up to his eyebrows in technological havoc that needed his undivided attention. Its fixed now and we are enjoying the rearrange, but if I could "do over" I'd wait and not be so confident in my own abilites!!!!

I imagine most people would look at how our household runs and not understand. I suspect in most marriages there's more "teamwork" in household chores and household management. Last week in a more "normal" life the husband would have had 46more hours at home (or at least not at work) than mine. In 46 hours I imagine one could do several loads of dishes, cook a meal or 2, vacuum, do some laundry or ironing... (of those things Matt vacuumed this week. THANK YOU PRECIOUS!) I don't run a "tight ship" I'm not a very organized, very neat gal but he is a very organized neat guy. It takes effort for him to come home to what I'm comfortable with and NOT start cleaning and doing house stuff, but I'm so grateful that he chooses to put people over tasks. I'm so thankful that he comes home and embraces the mess and loves on us with all that's in him. Don't get me wrong! He takes care of the house, not many residents have put in a bathroom or done plumbing tasks etc. He does things I can't do and WELL!!! But we have an understanding. I do what I can. I do all that I can. And even after I've done "everything" here, it hasn't taken me near the amount of time that it's taken him at work!!!

So that's how our household runs. No, it's not normal. No, it's not how we plan on it always being. But right now its what works for our family. Our family, our marriage, our time together, our growing together in BIG things is WAY more important than an even-division-of-labor in small stuff like dishes and laundry!!!!

Thank you, Matthew for loving us with all that you are! Thank you for taking care of us and providing for us (as unto and in the Lord) and for leading our family in Truth and Grace. You are an amazing man and I love being your wife!

Of Expecting at Christmastime...

2008-12-22T14:02:00.005-06:00

We've come to the countdown part of this pregnancy! **GOOD THING, HUH??! I've definitely reached beach-ball-belly stage** With just 8 days remaining until induction (Lord willing--or she could come sooner), I have to say these 9 months have gone by incredibly fast. So fast that I really can't believe we'll be adding a little girl to our family in about a week. Perhaps its the season too, with all its scurrying and bustling about. I've definitely been "nesting" in spurts. Yesterday I did some major rearranging for baby preparation and let the gift wrapping slide. But that was after 2 weeks of highly focused advent preparation with the creation of our Jesse Tree ornaments, the gathering of gifts and wrapping of maybe 75% of them, the reorganizing of toys and clothes currently owned, ending with a van load of stuff hauled away to donate. (where does all this STUFF come from!?)

I find in the lulls though its easy to allow new fears to take claim on my thoughts. Fears that I didn't experience much with the other 3. After 3 very easy deliveries, will this one be long and hard? After 3 very healthy thriving children, will she struggle and be physically challenged? After 3 "good babies," will she cry for hours for no apparent reason and tax my sanity with loss of sleep? After having such an easy pregnancy, will something go terribly wrong here at the end? Fears are loud sometimes, and the struggle to Trust is hardest in the quiet moments. I've come to realize that my default view of God, without a conscious effort to hold fast to the promises contained in scripture to the contrary, is very Yin-Yang. For instance, this view would conclude that there's only so much good allotted to a person in life and that there must be a balance of "evil" or "bad things" to even things out. Or that old saying about "waiting for the other shoe to fall" like I'm expecting some calamity to follow the blessing. Anyway it ends up being a very god-like not God-like viewpoint of one who's capricious and untrustworthy. Certainly not the God of the Bible who is unchanging, who's faithfulness and mercy are renewed daily, who has promised that goodness and mercy shall follow all the days of my life. Certainly not the Saviour who gives grace upon grace.

So I'm repeating the true things that my head knows even when my heart falters with doubts and fears. I'm treasuring the Advent devotions that recount His purposeful, providential work in all of History. Just yesterday we read Micah's prophesy concerning Bethlehem. Caesar thought the census was his idea, but it was God's. Jesus would have been born at home in Nazareth if Mary and Joseph could have chosen, certainly not in a Bethlehem stable! I feel very blessed this year to be experiencing Christmas SOOO pregnant. I am able to feel a little more fully the trip to Bethlehem. Though, I frankly am unable to imagine just how horrible riding a donkey 9mos with child would be! Lying in a nice warm comfortable bed is uncomfortable right now!

May the Prince of Peace reign in your hearts as you celebrate the wonder of "FOR UNTO US a child is born..." Mary gave birth, but he was born unto us. Merry Christmas!

Reading the Bible...All of it!

2008-12-18T08:19:00.002-06:00

It has been a long time since I made it through the whole Bible in a year, if ever. I think I did once in early high school, but it was with the help and continual prompting of my mom. I've tried many times since. I've always failed. I'd start getting behind with the particular "plan" I was using and then fall off the wagon completely mid February or certainly by March. 2 years ago now, around Christmas time in 2007, I read a very insightful and instructive post by Noel Piper called "Never In January" That year I once again tried to get going on a reading plan, missing the point I think of the article....and never even truly got going.

But THIS year!!!!! Looking back, I think several things came together to really fortify my "resolve" and CONVICT my heart. First was the rereading of "Never in January" which I think I "got" as I revisited it last December. I armed myself with a highlighter and a paperback Bible and got started right away in Hosea (I felt, like she said, that there were parts of the minor prophets I'd never read or only once). The next were 2 sermons Pastor John preached for Prayer Week 2008.
1) Pray Like This: Hallowed Be Your Name (on Prayer)
2) Receive with Meekness the Implanted Word (on THE WORD)
Both messages the Lord used to cut my heart with the realization of how prayerless and how scriptureless I had become over the years. How much I'd allowed a grounding in Biblical knowledge from a young age to continue carrying me along instead of digging deeper and finding fresh and renewed mercies and glories in His Word.

So, though not without faltering, though not without missing a day here or sadly a week there, I MADE IT!!!!! =) This morning I finished the final chapters of Daniel and Numbers (random finish huh?!) to complete my reading of the entirety of scripture in about a year (maybe a little under!). =) THANK YOU, LORD!!!!!

I'm starting over tomorrow --yep, with a new highlighter and a new paperback Bible... I'm not sure what I'll "look" for this time, but I'm scheduled to be induced on Dec 30th around noon with our 4th little one, so I KNOW I'll need a jump-start on 2009.

I'm praying the Holy Spirit will daily call me to the Word and shows me beautiful things about my Lord as I read. May he do the same for you!

22-words about Elaena...

2008-12-16T21:35:00.004-06:00

So today Abraham Piper challenged his readers to blog a 22-word kid story. I just happen to have a good one about our 3yo second born that's already becoming a classic in our family! =) Here's the story in 22-words:

Elaena, out of the blue, turns to her daddy's Jewish Atheist colleague and says, "God loves everything about Jesus!" One sentence evangelism.

Uncomfortable...

2008-06-02T21:23:00.002-05:00

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."
~ M. Scott Peck

This quote resonates deeply with me. It expresses, in part, what I expect to experience in Haiti. As we prepare to purposely move out of the comfortable (though just for 11 days this time) and into the uncomfortable, disturbing, emotionally-upheaving poverty that exists in the two-thirds world, I believe God will bring great change in my heart. I think it will produce a search for "different ways" and "truer answers" even in the mundane upon our return. I pray it will. I believe perspective can be a major catalyst for change of heart, change in attitude, change of mind-set, change of actions. I am praying for a pliable heart. I want to be "propelled" to be different, non-conformed, transformed, even renewed.

May he bring forth fruit in our lives and souls as we go and as we return!

Time flies. Our children at One Year

2008-05-24T13:23:00.003-05:00

Right after Iain's 1st birthday I had fun putting together a montage of pictures of our three children at his age. Elaena had the most hair by far! Yet they do all resemble don't they!?!

Blogging...

2008-05-24T10:36:00.002-05:00

I love reading friend's blogs. I like the way words come together to tell a story or give a glimpse into a life. I even enjoy writing myself, but where do you carve out the time? I think it must first come from a commitment to find time. We can generally do the things we REALLY want to do. If it means less sleep or less of something else of less importance. So I think I'll "try again" on this blogging venture. I've allowed the ease of Facebook to become a lazy mindless substitute for the challenge of crafting words into meaningful paragraphs. There's not much challenge to writing a sentence long "status" for the world! haha.

So the idea is germinating. Write!

On Sunday Morning as a "Single Mom"

2007-09-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

This morning, as will often be the case during the next four years of residency, Matt was working. Left by 6am in fact. Saturday passed without the girls catching a glimpse of Daddy since he worked 15hours, so they haven't seen him since Friday at bedtime. Iain woke at 6:30 to eat; then Elaena woke up at 6:45am and the first words out of her mouth were "Where's Daddy?"; and Maggie soon followed at 7:15. I had taken precautions for the morning by laying out the girls' dresses and Iain's outfit Saturday evening. Knowing I'd be completely on my own. Early service is at 9am. I had great intentions to be early for it!

Well, first of all I'm not very time conscious. I realized it was 8am. The girls were fed and Iain was back asleep. So I started some lunch in the crock-pot. Now its 8:25 and I want to leave in 20minutes.
"Hurry Girls! Get upstairs! Time to get dressed for church!"
Up we tromp. I get Elaena dressed first, oops messy! so diaper change, then dressed. "Bother!"
Why didn't I bring her shoes up from downstairs. Okay Maggie is almost dressed (she doesn't require much assistance) so I comb out Elaena's hair. Then I turn to Maggie and discover she doesn't have white tights. Hmmm.
"Where did I put those?!!"
Rummage, Rummage. Well heather gray will have to do.
"Where is the Comb Maggie?" She doesn't know. "How can you not know, you just had it in your hand!??!?"
Its now 8:45 and I'm still in pjs. Iain is now fussing to be fed again. So I leave Maggie, hair a tangled bed-head disaster, to dress myself.
"Just a second Iain!"
Maggie comes in with the comb. Quickly, I part and comb her hair, pulling it back in partial pig-tails. Very nice.
"Where are your black shoes Maggie?" -she doesn't know.
We search. I find last year's. NO, too little!
"Keep looking, honey, I have to feed and dress Iain."
Its creeping past 9am. Yep, Church is starting. No shoes for Maggie. She looks everywhere. I finish feeding Iain. Okay its just 9:10 we can still make it for most of the worship time. Downstairs we head. I look. Still no shoes. Grr! Okay. I put Iain in his carrier and quickly pack the diaper bag (WHY DIDN'T I DO THAT LAST NIGHT??). I decide Maggie's pink suede clogs will suffice. Its now 9:35. Making the first service is just not going to happen.
I lean down to put Iain's blanket over him and "WHEW!" what's that smell.
Okay, unbuckle Iain and change him before he leaks out! Upstairs, change the diaper, back down, rebuckle, READY!
"Everyone in the car! Climb in."
I buckle Maggie and begin to buckle Elaena.
"WHEW! OH NO! Elaena are you messy?" "Uh-huh..."
Okay. Unbuckle Elaena, grab whipey and diaper from bag, go back inside, change the diaper, back to the van, "Back in your seat, Elaena."
Buckle Iain's carrier in. Get in the Car. 10am. Its an hour until 2nd service, but I'm not about to go back in the house! We head to church and Whine Whine Whine from the backseat.

"Okay! There's some things to be sad about, but could we all please try to find something to be thankful for?!?"
I mention that I'm thankful that its sunny and not rainy. Silence from the back. Oh well. Silence beats Whining. As we drive up, I'm thinking about the fact that its a Vikings game day and the overflow parking will be filled with folks going to the game, besides I haven't picked up a pass yet to say I'm parking there for church not game the parking attendant will want me to pay. Its not time for first service people to be leaving.... I go ahead and make a fruitless circle through the main parking lot. Oh.
"Wow. Thank you Lord!"
There is ONE space. Unbelievable. Its right by the front door! In we go. Pastor John is well into his first service sermon. So we head to the church library where we spend 15 minutes. Me regrouping my frazzled emotional/spiritual state and the kids enjoying all the books. Maggie's little friend Kiandra comes in with her older brother Daniel. Maggie and Elaena are now throughly delighted with life! I have to smile. 10:45 comes and we make our way to the sanctuary and sit in the back pew. I'm looking at my 3 to 1 ration and feeling a little unnerved. "What if Iain needs to eat?" "What if Maggie has to go potty?" "What if Elaena starts being a little turkey!" I talk to both girls about how important it is that they listen to mommy and obey quickly and be SOOO good in church today. They nod solemnly. And somehow, it is all okay. I did end up going out to the training area for the sermon, but they all 3 did fine. Praise Jesus. I'm exhausted and SO glad I don' t have to do this solo every weekend. Zach and Andrea go to church Saturday evenings. That's usually when we go too. BUT we had that garage sale yesterday and I thought I was just too tired to attempt night church. hmmm. It might have been a toss up!
So I'm more than ever thankful for my precious husband. We miss him horribly on days he's away for LONG long times. I could not perpetually be a single mom. I would not make it long before sinking into madness!

Bekah's Visit

2007-08-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we enjoyed visiting with Matt's sister Rebekah. She flew up from West Palm Beach just for Friday-Sunday, but we were able to squeeze much fun into those few days. Here are some pictures from the party we had for the girls' and Matt's July birthdays. Elaena's face was dyed blue for the duration! It was a good time.

Summer Fun

2007-07-26T08:02:00.000-05:00

We have been enjoying ourselves this summer with bike rides to the Lake, acquiring a new Yellow Lab (Casey), making home-made ice cream, celebrating Elaena's, Matt's and soon Maggie's birthdays, and adjusting to our new home and Matt's new job in our new city! Here are some pictures that make me smile.
Maggie and Elaena LOVE to play dress up.

The Bicycle made for 2. Maggie love riding tandem with us.

Usually Iain thinks the trailer is fun. He'd had enough by this point!Happy Birthday Elaena! She thought being sung to was great!Maggie's helping Casey cool down after a run with our bikes.Water play at the Morgans. Maggie, Elaena, Eliana, John Hardy.John Hardy and Iain. The Boys!
Happy 30th Birthday, Daddy!!!

Iain's smile

2007-06-17T19:23:00.000-05:00

Lake Harriet

2007-06-14T08:35:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday we went to a concert at Lake Harriet. Our friend Brian's Irish Band was playing. We had a great time. Maggie has begun doing some Irish dancing as a result!

Graduation in Texas

2007-06-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

presenting "Dr. Matthew Steven Jones!" hooray! Matt's parents were able to come and share in the milestone celebration. It was a special and emotional day for us.

Mother's Day in Mississippi

2007-06-14T08:18:00.000-05:00

Here are the pictures we took on our final day in MS. Such a great time with my family during all of April and part of May. Sweet memories for our girls especially.

Easter Pictures

2007-04-20T10:04:00.000-05:00

5days or less to go! If Iain hasn't been born by this Wednesday morning at 6am, we'll be going in for induction.

Here are some pictures taken at Easter. As you can see I'm very much EXPECTING!!! The girls are growing up so quickly. And Gabe and Hannah just had birthdays and are now 17 and 13! The picture of Maggie in camo was her first trip Turkey Hunting with her Daddy. They didn't see anything...(Maggie admits it was hard to be quiet) but they enjoyed going together. This rotation has been tough on all of us but maybe most on Maggie. She really thrives on routine and Daddy being gone for all but 1-2 half days a week has been hard for her to accept. We look forward to Iain's coming for many reasons, and one of those reasons is that Matt will be finished with his rotation on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation for Wednesday. He is able to take 3 days off per rotation so he can take Wed-Fri. We are looking forward to being able to be together as a family again!!!! We'll have about a week together then Matt will be flying up to Minnesota for the closing on our new house! Everything is still looking good for that to happen on 5/3. He'll return to Mississippi on 5/8 and we head to Texas 5/15. Graduation is 5/19!!!!

Please be praying that all will go well with Iain's delivery, that the closing on our house will go through without a hitch, that Iain will thrive and eat well and travel well!!!, that the girls- especially Elaena- will adjust quickly to Iain's arrival, and that our move to Minnesota will be an easy transition for all of us.

We are so thankful for all the ways God has graciously provided for us these last 9months! In a crazy vagabond kind of existance, we have flourished as a family and been blessed abundantly with the fellowship of friends and family. I know we will look back on this incredibly unique year and be struck again and again by how faithful He has been and how thankful we are for this time. At this point in the journey, though, I am becoming eager for a home of our own again. I look forward to settling into a more "normal" (whatever that is) kind of life, you know with my own bed and the girls own toys and a chest of drawers and a closet for our clothes. =) Of course, the cleaning, the grocery shopping, the electric bill, and the cooking will be realities too!!! haha.

The Countdown Has Begun!!!!

2007-04-13T08:28:00.000-05:00

My OB visit yesterday went really well! They did a final ultrasound to check the placenta. No previa! And Iain is measuring 38wks, 7lbs 5ozs already! I'm at 2cm dialated and 70% effaced. So things are already favorable. If he hasn't come on his own in 2weeks, my doc said we can induce on April 25th! This is wonderful news. Matt's rotation ends April 27th, but he has 3 days he can take off during a rotation. So he can finish his PICU rotation April 24th and we'll have a baby the next day! =) Theoretically. Iain may decide he's ready sooner than that! Which would logistically be more difficult than induction, however I am more than ready to have him here. I doubt I'll get any more sleep, but the sleep I get will be better. I'm enormous and my hips and back ache when I lay in one position very long. Gearing up for a newborn!
Here's one of the pics from yesterday's ultrasound of his face. You can see the outline of the right side of his face!

March in Minnesota

2007-03-06T21:06:00.000-06:00

As expected, we are awed by the WINTER here! We drove through the night from Texas last Tuesday in order to beat a snow storm that sent a good new foot of snow to the Twin Cities. Maggie, Matt, and Elaena had a great time playing in it! (I just took the pictures --the only snow activity I would have risked at 8months pregnant would have been building a snow man, sadly the snow was too powdery for that!)

Matt has begun his Emergency Medicine rotation. It looks like its going to be a superb learning experience. He will have a lot of independence and responsibility, and I think he finds that both exhilarating and scary. He's only scheduled for 2 overnight shifts, so its not going to be as physically taxing as we'd anticipated! Its more than a little exciting to contemplate that after this rotation, he will only have one more to complete all the requirements for medical school. Graduation is May 19th!

We are working with a realtor up here. We've seen maybe a dozen homes in our first week back, and think we may have found "the one"... We are scheduled to see it again on the 9th to make some notes and to try to discern the Lord's leading about it. If we still love it and do sense the Lord's blessing, and it's still available at that time, we'll probably make an offer the following Friday, March 16th. We trust the Lord to keep it for us if its "the one" and to make it plain otherwise!

Here is a slide show of a day at the park in TX followed by a MN SNOW DAY!

Flash Slideshow

Heading North

2007-02-17T10:17:00.000-06:00

This next weekend we'll leave MS for MN via TX! Its hard to believe how quickly this month is passing. We go on Monday for another ultrasound to see how things have grown and if the placenta has moved. The first ultrasound showed some placenta previa, but my OB says 90% of the time it does move out of the way in such cases. We are praying so!

Next Saturday morning we'll make the 8hour trek to TX. We are looking forward to seeing all you dear folk there! We will be in TX probably through Thursday morning, leaving after Matt finishes a Geriatric Shelf Exam at TCOM. We have decisions to make about our STUFF that's still in the utility trailer we left in Stephenville and in the shed and attic at our house in Fort Worth. We aren't positive our van can handle towing the load back to MN, but we don't want to have to make an extra trip back down in the Jeep with a newborn in May! SO, we're praying God will make it very clear what is best. AND if we need to unload, re-sort, and get rid of more stuff so we CAN tow it back this trip that we'll do that and not avoid it for convenience's sake. =p I'll feel more like sorting and tossing now than I will with a 2month old, while we're trying to settle into a new house, and while Matt's trying to settle into a new job! Anyway!!! That's what the immediate future looks like.
Over the month of March in MN, we'll be househunting in earnest and are hoping to have a contract on a place before we get back to MS in April. That's a big prayer request! It's a huge decision and we want to be wise, not attempting to constrain the Lord to OUR TIMELINE, yet not agonizing needlessly if the "door is open!" We are trusing that He is at work for us even now as we wait... He knows just the appropriate space for our needs, in the right neighborhood suited for us, and what financially would be a wise investment.

We look forward to the adventures of the next few months!!!! =)

Daffodils are already blooming in MS. I'm expecting to have quite a SHOCK to my system going back to MN winter!

Happy New Year from Virginia Beach

2007-01-08T19:20:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed our holiday season surrounded by family and friends, many of whom we don't get to see more than once or twice a year! The girls have been blessed by the love of those who aren't around to see them day by day, and in spite of the lack of routine are soaking up the attention. haha!

We have had some unhappy bouts with sickness, beginning with the stomach virus that hit Maggie the night before we left MN! We have shared our germs freely with one another and have received new ones from other family members as we traveled! That's been kind of yucky. I think the entire time in MS at least one person was sick enough to be in bed. We are on the mend now, just residual cold symptoms that have lingered tenaciously for the past 2weeks.

Currently we are in VA visiting Matt's mom's parents and some dear friends the Sitterdings. Matt had a residency interview at Yale this weekend and took his Clinical Skills Board Exam just outside Philly, PA today. He's been gone for 5 days and we are READY to have him back with us!!! He should be home in about an hour or so. HOORAY!

The Lord has altered our plans several times since setting out from MN in early Dec. Around New Years, in the span of just 2 days Matt had 3 rotations fall through! Considering he HAS to have 3 more rotations to graduate, we were almost in a panic! God is gracious and compassionate though and within a few hours we had some really neat alternatives in place. At this time it looks as though Matt will be rotating the month of February in the Pediatric ICU at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Then for the month of March, we will return to MN for an Emergency Medicine rotation at Hennepin County Medical Center. April will be spent at a hospital/clinic in north Minneapolis doing what is known as a "sub-internship in Family Medicine." (basically you function like a first year resident or intern, taking a lot of responsibility including "call" etc.) That rotation will conclude April 27th and Baby Iain is due May 4th and Matt's graduation is May 19th back in Fort Worth! CRAZY-CRAZY!!! We make our plans but the LORD directs our steps!!!

Here are some fun pics from Christmas.

Gabe and Matt with Matt's first bow hunting kill! She wasn't a BIG deer but the venison was yummy!

Elaena playing Dress Up in Aunt Hannah's hat.

The GIRLS!

Family Photo Shoot for Chirstmas Cards.

December is Here!

2006-12-03T11:57:00.000-06:00

We are moved into our new home in the Morgan's basement! Its a wonderful situation and we are so thankful!!! We are enjoying the fellowship and the space. Matt only has this week left of his Geriatrics rotation. We hope to pull out of here on Friday evening or early Saturday morning for our Holiday journey down to Mississippi! The girls ESPECIALLY Maggie is very excited about all the people we are going to get to see over the next 2months. We won't be getting back to MN until February3rd! We'll spend Christmas in MS then go visit the Joneses in NC then head to VA for a month. He's going to do a peds rotation at a CHKD the children's hospital in Norfolk, VA. Then back down thru NC and MS to TX to retrieve baby items!!!! =) And see friends there. We are excited about the trek but 4000miles is a daunting lump of driving! 77hrs in the car over 6weeks time! wow. BUT it looks as though on Monday we will be the owners of a MINIVAN!!! My dream car! haha. I never thought it would be, but I'm so excited with the prospect! SPACE is a wonderful thing with little ones. So barring any unforeseen issues on Monday with an in-depth inspection, we'll close the deal Monday evening.

Now the exciting news! We had our ultrasound on Friday!!! Here are some pictures of

Iain Matthew Jones!

Moving Again!

2006-11-03T09:19:00.000-06:00

We are reaching the end of our time in our first apartment here in the Twin Cities. We'll be moving into the Morgan's basement for the months ahead until we know for sure about THE MATCH. Match day is March 15th. That's the day we'll find out where Matt has been accepted for Residency... We hope and pray that it is right here at the University of Minnesota!!!! Yet, we rest and hope in God's perfect, sovereignty. He knows what we need in every way --as a family, for Matt in training for his future as a doctor, financially, etc. So though we make our plans, the Lord directs our steps.

We'll be doing a LOT of travelling December and January. Its so gracious of our friends to open their home and allow us not to have to commit to a lease. We'll only have a little over a week to settle in at their house before hitting the road for the holidays. We hope to make all the rounds this year! Matt's parents are temporarily moving to North Carolina and we are planning to visit them first. Then to Mississippi to be with my family over Christmas, Then to Virginia (flying in and out of Jackson, MS) in January to see Matt's grandparents and for him to do some other residency interviews. And finally we will travel back to Minnesota from Mississippi via Texas retrieving the trailer containing the remainder of our stuff and my MATERNITY clothes!!! haha.

Here are some recent pictures. Some park, some playtime at home:

Big Events in the Twin Cities

2006-09-28T08:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend is the Desiring God National Conference here in Minneapolis. We are looking forward to Tim and Gary coming up from Fort Worth. The conference has been sold out for weeks (over 3000 people are coming) and Matt and I won't be going. We pray that God will exalt Himself and bless his kingdom through the teaching and worship! The conference sessions will be available for MP3 download at www.desiringgod.org just days after the conference is ended, so we plan on listening and learning that way.

Pastor John's new book What Jesus Demands of the World is out! This is the book he wrote over the 5months he was on Sabbatical at Cambridge. It also is available online to download for FREE. If you don't mind reading on the computer, or you want to preview before buying, this is a fantastic option.

Matt and I are really enjoying Bethlehem. The Word is exalted every weekend, and we are exhorted and excited by the teaching, worship, fellowship. The Lord has clearly brought us here and we are delighted with His path. Also, the "audition rotations" Matt is doing in hopes of securing his chosen residency are going REALLY well. God is blessing his efforts and giving him good face time with attendings. He has also found fellowship with the drs over the global health track. The director of the Pediatric division is a strong believer who has spent alot of time overseas!!

I have a drs appt next Friday (Oct 6) to confirm that I am really pregnant. =) (10weeks by then) And we are praying that the insurance situation will process quickly and easily after that.

Oh, lastly, as a silly aside. It was announced this morning that the 2008 Republican National Convention is to be held in the Twin Cities. Considering they had it in New York in 2006, I guess they won't be shocked by any hostilities from the natives. Haha. MN as a whole may lean more conservative, but you definitely get the feeling the Cities are super liberal.

Minnesota Zoo

2006-09-18T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Girls and I and our new friends the Morgans went to the zoo last week. The Minneapolis Public Library offers "museum passes" to anyone with a library card. Which means we got in for FREE!!! Maggie and Elianna liked the dolphins the best. Elaena and John Hardy thought they were nice but were not as impressed. haha. Here are several pics: two from the car and two from the zoo.

Labor Day

2006-09-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a lovely Labor Day here in Minneapolis. The weather was super! Matt spent the morning "sighting-in" his bow while the girls and I took a trolley ride and played at the playground. Here are a few pictures I took of the sisters:

The World....

2006-08-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

I often follow the articles/photos by Kevin Sites "In the Hot Zone." Today I was especially gripped by something he wrote from Kashmir with a subtitle of "the Soccer War," life even in a turbulent region has moments of "normal" and humor. The above picture was from an earlier Kashmir article on the Boat People. One of the reasons I think I'm particularly interested in Sites' writing is because I think if Matt had been driven/called to pursue a different side of his personality and talents, I can so see him doing this -- travelling world-wide from one place of crisis to another with a camera and a platform for telling the stories he sees. I believe to some degree when the time is right, in a different way, he will actually. I think we all got a little taste from his Africa Blogging, right? Kevin Sites is a humanistic, secular, probably left-leaning journalist, BUT his work has given me fuel for prayers I didn't know to pray...

Bhajans (songs of devotion)

2006-08-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

We've recently been introduced to some incredible ethnic worship music.

Aradhna is the name of the group. Started by two guys, Chris Hale and Peter Hicks, who grew up in Northern India/Nepal. The music flows from their desire for an Indian expression of devotion to Yeshu Khrist, the North Indian name for Jesus Christ. Many converts have embraced the music of the west for their worship...these men have found a way to express worship and praise within in the context of Eastern! INDIAN! music. These songs express adoration through Bhajans (literally "songs of devotion") and the Indian way of bhakti (literally "devotion").

The website has extensive information about their music. (Chris Hale has actually done a Thesis on Bhakti/Bhajans!) They offer 3 selections for preview from each of their albums with the lyrics and translation AND the sheet music! Check out one of our favorites "YeshuRaaja" (Jesus my King) Should any of you Mississippi readers have interest, Aradhna will be in OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI September 15-17, 2006. I wish we could go!

We found out about Aradhna through their work with International Justice Mission.

Minnehaha

2006-08-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we all went to Minnehaha Falls of Hiawatha/Longfellow fame. Matt, the girls, and I rode bikes (we have a little trailer for the girls that Matt pulls) --it was about a 3 mile bike ride along the Mississippi River. Very nice. The falls are beautiful! Zach and Andrea came later in the Jeep and brought Caleb (the dog). Here are some pictures of the occasion...

Trolley Ride!

2006-08-24T07:47:00.000-05:00

We have been enjoying our first COMPANY! Zach and Andrea flew up on Monday. Its been a blessing to have them and discover our new city together with friends. We took Maggie and Elaena for a ride on a vintage street car Tuesday evening out at Lake Calhoun. Here are some pictures from that adventure. Matt also enjoyed playing photographer and got some beautiful shots at sunset.
Afterwards we went to the Village Market (read Somalia!) where Andrea bought a skirt and we got Mango juice and Sambusas (a pastry stuffed with seasoned groundbeef)
Yummy! Its pretty amazing going to a mall/market where you are 1) the only "Americans" 2) the only ones with light complexion 3) the only native English speakers!!! Matt said its close. (close to what its like in Africa) What a great way to experience the unique and beautiful cultures of North Africa --without a passport!

Our new neighborhood...

2006-08-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

So we have moved into our new apartment in Minneapolis! I love it! Not alot of space but oh so much charm. We purchased a living room set for a song today and got that manuevered into the living room. Also flawed but tons of character, we like it. I haven't taken any pictures yet but here's a link that I thought you all might enjoy: The Midtown Global Market is less than a mile from our place. We made a quick pass through yesterday and know for sure we want to return! Tomorrow we hope to hunt up some more ethnic shops and enjoy the marvelous diversity of our new city.

More later!

July Birthdays...

2006-08-01T15:55:00.000-05:00

We've been enjoying our sojourn as part of the Mangan household! The girls all do well together most of the time, and its proving a growing experience for them as they learn the joys of "sharing" and "preferring one another in love." We adults, however, are trying to remember that we are not young college kids and that we should try to get to bed at a decent time instead of talking into the night!

Elaena, Matt and Maggie all had birthdays in July! We enjoyed celebrating. Elaena received her first haircut! We have less than 2 weeks left in Texas. Its hard to believe we are about to be residents of Minnesota!! Wow.

Below are some pictures we have taken over the past few weeks...

Flash Slideshow

Candids

2006-07-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

Here are some recent photos:
1)Girls with Daddy
2)Elaena
3)Gabe and Maggie

Unbelievably they are turning 1 and 3 this month. Elaena will be 1 TOMORROW. She and Maggie love to play "chase" through the house, her still on all fours and Maggie hopping, skipping, jumping full speed ahead.

Moving!

2006-07-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

Moving... yes several big moving notices. WE are moving. The sell of our house will hopefully proceed without a hitch this next Friday. At that time, we will be staying with our good friends the Mangans for about 3weeks (through August 13). (Sarah and Jeremiah are getting married on our 6th anniversary, August 12th --they will be moving to Denton, TX.) We then are moving to Minneapolis, MN for Matt's final year of medical school. He has arranged for all of his rotations (except the last one that has to be done at his Rural Track site in Eastland, TX) to be in the Twin Cities. We are very excited about this step. Though, yes we know we are gonna freeze this winter!

ALSO the Africa Blog has moved. In light of the fact that "expectant legacy" was supposed to be our family news blog, I created a new blog specifically for Matt's trip (moving his posts from Malawi and Ethiopia to it) and possible future trips/musings on the subject of Medicine/Missions. Look for the link in the sidebar under "Matt's Medicine/Missions Blog."

Our new apartment is just south of downtown in what is known by some as the "African Corridor." There are many, many recent immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritria etc. in the Twin Cities. We are living in an area where many of those have settled. Our expectation is high as we approach living in such a diverse community. Pray for us as we learn to love our neighbors!

Shalomawhit Smiles

2006-05-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

Seeing Oma Off

2006-05-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

The Family taking Oma to the Airport

Recent Travels

2006-03-20T20:32:00.000-06:00

Monument near Summit Avenue on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, MN

The first weekend of March, our family headed NORTH. Matt was awarded a scholarship to attend an Obstetrical Ultrasound Course offered by the Family Medicine Residency Programs at the University of Minnesota on March 2, 2006. The girls and I went with him and, may I say, its a LONG stretch of road (I-35) from Fort Worth to Minneapolis!!! It took many, many hours, but the girls were great! And Matt and I enjoyed getting to spend so much time talking together. Sometimes life gets so hectic and a road-trip was a great way to catch up. (Coming home was wearying because we came through a snow storm in Iowa and a traffic accident that had shut down the freeway in Oklahoma City...the return trip took 18hours!)

In Minneapolis, Tim and Anita Thomlinson graciously opened their home to us, and we were very blessed by their fellowship. Matt visited with residents and residency directors. I visited with Anita and her backyard neighbor Jill, and just enjoyed the Twin Cities! It was a productive trip. We feel very strongly that the Lord will be moving us up there for Residency. In fact, Matt will be having about 5months worth of "audition" rotations up there starting in September! SO we are looking toward hopefully renting out our house in Fort Worth and leasing an apartment in Minneapolis for about 9months --starting September 2006!!!! Matt has only one remaining rotation to do in TX and that is out in Eastland, TX at his rural track site. We usually stay with the Shafers when he's in Eastland since Stephenville and Eastland are only about 40miles apart (much closer than Fort Worth and Eastland!). That rotation is tentatively set for mid-March to mid-April 2007 --which is the final rotation block. He graduates in May 2007!

Tentative Timeline for the rest of School...

2006-03-20T20:29:00.000-06:00

02/24/06 – 03/24/06 Fort Worth, TX OB/GYN Rotation
03/25/06 – 04/29/06 Africa (Matt)
05/03/06 – 08/25/06 Manip-Fellowship and Studying for 2nd round of Boards

BEGIN FINAL YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!

09/04/06 – 10/02/06 Med/Peds audition rotation
10/02/06 – 10/30/06 Pediatric-Cardio (Peds audition rotation)
10/30/06 – 11/27/06 Emergency Medicine (Hennepin Co. audition rotation)
11/27/06 – 1/01/07 Vacation Month -traveling... Philadelphia (Comlex Clinical Skills Board Exam) Virginia Beach, Georgia, Mississippi
01/02/07 – 01/26/07 Elective Rotation MN (radiology?)
01/29/07 – 02/23/07 Elective Rotation MN (neurology?)
02/26/07 – 03/23/07 Vacation Month?
03/26/07 - 04/20/07 Geriatrics in Eastland TX!
04/24/07 – 05/20/07 8th sememster (the business side of medical practice)

GRADUATION MAY 2007!

Residency

2006-03-20T20:27:00.000-06:00

Medical School has been a wonderful, challenging, refining experience; however, the end is in sight! Because Matt was given a fellowship at the school, his tenure has been one year longer than most. (The fellowship has been a huge blessing financially. Our debt load will be only about 50% of what it could have been!) But May of 2007 is drawing closer all the time!

After graduation, Matt must complete a residency to be a full-fledged doctor, and each rotation he's completed has given him a taste of the many possibilities. After our recent visit, he's especially impressed with the four-year combined residency program in Internal Medicine-Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Upon completion of this dual residency program, he would become board certified in both Internal Medicine (adult medicine) and in Pediatric Medicine (children). Additionally this program has an International Track that allows you to also sit for the ceritificate of knowledge in Tropical Medicine and Travelers Health. There is a seminar series on Tropical Medicine that is designed to prepare the participants to serve in Third-world situations. (A bit of trivia we discovered while researching the area: Minneapolis/St.Paul is home to 3 of the 5 most diverse neighborhoods in the country. There is a large population of recent immigrants from Somalia, Central and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.) The Global Health Track is also available for the Pediatric Residency at U of MN and at the combined residency for Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

These specialties narrow yet deepen the scope of study. Certainly Family Medicine offers the broadest training. There are several excellent FM residencies also at the University of Minnesota, the one he's most interested in after actually visiting with residents and directors is North Memorial. We continue to pray and seek counsel on this BIG decision. He will spend time "auditioning" with each of the programs this fall and early next spring, Lord willing!! That will help him make a more educated choice... though ultimately it comes down to "THE MATCH." --well humanly speaking anyway!

THE MATCH is what happens when you as a potential resident "rank" the programs you are interested in by preference, and the residencies "rank" the students they are interested in by preference. So, say you rank "Z residency" #1 and they have 6 slots. If you are their #5 pick-- you "MATCH" and that's where you go, but if you are their #7 pick-- you don't. So it moves down to your #2 pick, etc.... For REALLY competitive programs sometimes you don't "match" at all and have to "scramble" --spend 48hrs on the phone trying to find a place that didn't fill all its slots that will take you. MADNESS! We are so thankful we can rest upon the sovereign power and providence of our Lord Jesus. We have no cause to fret since "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." (Proverbs 21:1) Matt will go to Residency exactly where the Lord wants him!

Dreams of the Future

2006-03-20T20:10:00.000-06:00

It has been Matt's dream since he was about 10 years old to be part of the adventure that is medical missions. As we look at the world, certainly the needs are incredible!! But at this juncture, its hard to have any firm plans on where we'll go once Matt has finished his training...back in the autumn we were considering China and more recently we've been studying and praying about India. We've joked that we've narrowed it down to roughly half the world! Seriously though, it is exciting to pray and dream. We use Operation World and The Global Prayer Digest to focus our perpective and fuel our prayers. (The Global Prayer Digest is a daily prayer guide for unreached peoples. It gives you a quick insight to the people and their location and what's being done to bring the gospel to them.) Matthew 24:14 says:

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Jesus is coming back when the gospel has reached every nation (people group-- think of nation here as Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, etc, not nation as in the geographical boundary sense.) Revelation 5:9 says:

And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:
for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation

There are currently about 10,000 unreached people groups -- people who have no churches, no scripture, and have never heard about Jesus much less about His work of redemption; and according to Revelation 5:9, God has children in every one of those groups. So we are praying that when Matt has completed his residency, the Lord will give us a burden for one of the 10,000 unreached peoples; and He will open the door for us to be instruments for His glory among them.

My favorite Psalm is Psalm 67

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

This psalm declares that the Lord blesses us for the sake of His name and glory among the nations. We want to be "blessed to be a blessing."