Jesus, Our Light - Day 1

One of my most favorite things about Christmastime is the lights--twinkling on the tree, sparkling on homes and streets and buildings.  The world doesn't even know the vast significance of it, that Jesus came to be our Light, to shine on our darkness.  Without the Light we are blind and the darkness rules.

So I offer you my version of the "The Twelve Days of Christmas"--a devotional thought each day from the Word, a thankful look at the beautiful gift the Father of Lights has given us.

"Behold!  My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!  I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles...I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house..."  Isaiah 42:1, 6-7

From the time God gave Abraham the covenant that in him "all the families of the earth would be blessed" (Genesis 12:3), He meant everyone--the Jewish people and the Gentiles.  It was His plan from the beginning to redeem all mankind, all those who would accept it.  So in this passage from Isaiah, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, we see His promise to give His Son as a covenant to us, our eternal Light.

In the years after Jesus' death and resurrection, the apostles initially preached to the Jews, proclaiming that their Messiah had come.  But with broad rejection of that message, Paul, in obedience to the revelation of the Isaiah passage quoted above, declared that the message was for the Gentiles, too.  In Acts 13:47-48, he says,

"...For so the Lord has commanded us: ' I have set You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.'  Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord."

 Hallelujah!  Today I am glad and glorify the word of the Lord!

Pain and progress

While I'm held captive in the kitchen tending food on the stove, I have a few minutes for an update.  My poor blog(s) have been on the back burner (no pun intended).  My poor hubby's back has been the front-and-center issue in our family life the past couple of months, and continues to be that until we get the issue resolved.

Turns out he has a herniated disc, the culprit of his intense pain.  We have a couple of options before us now, including that of surgery, so we're seeking the Lord's wisdom what direction to go.  I'm thankful for the good help we've had with physical therapy, chiropractor, and the counsel of professionals--and the sustaining mercy of the Lord.  We're trusting Him for complete healing and restoration.  We'll all be glad when this is done!

SweetPea has managed to stay on track with school and make good progress through it all--and has had a special blessing sent her way in these recent weeks, ice-skating lessons.  It's really a dream-come-true for her.  She's not a sporty person but she seems to really have found her thing and is making rapid progress.  Couldn't be easier for Mom, too--an ice rink a mile from the house and early Saturday morning lessons (yawn!) that don't interfere with school and free time schedule.  God is good!

I'm in school, too--publishing school!  We're making progress on finalizing my mom's book manuscript for publication with a self-publisher, getting excited as we see the whole thing coming together.  I had a phone interview last week with the publisher, talking through the process and learning all that goes into both creating a book and marketing it.  I used to do this back in my single days, but the whole industry has changed dramatically with computers and internet.

Had to share some of our fall pretties, though after a heavy, wet snowstorm a couple of days ago, there's not much left of our autumn color.  Glad we've got pine trees to keep us company over the colorless winter!

Whose side am I on?

I've been pondering in recent weeks about the subject of criticism/judgment/accusation.  Seems like there is so much of it out there, either flying at us from others or doling it out ourselves, whether overt or subconscious, just or unjust. 

If you are a recipient of this unlovely trio, you know how painful it it, how it can paralyze you with insecurity and hurt.  We feel misunderstood, our hearts race to our defense, and we might lash back, fight for justice and dig in to maintain our position.  Or we might simply cave in, believing that we are really that bad and buy the whole package of "I'm not worth much."  The net result is usually that we distance ourselves from the source and go into protectism mode, avoidance.

The other side of the coin is when we dish it out.  "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," so whatever we've been secretly thinking about someone might come out in a 'justifiable' situation, usually when we've got a sympathetic audience or directly at the target when the moment is right. 

In one of those moments recently--when I was giving rein to my accusation of someone--the Lord spoke to my heart and in essence said, "Did you know that you're helping the devil do his work?"  Ouch!  The Word says that he is 'the accuser of the brethren," one of his main job descriptions.  He's busy all the time working to tear us down, render us useless from within because we have to agree that we're not...whatever.  So my critical and accusing words are working beautifully into his plan against that other person--and I feel right and righteous in my 'position.'  After all, isn't my judgment right?

I see another whole realm of reason that God calls us to LOVE others (the second commandment, remember?).  When we look past the sins and shortcomings of others, entrusting them to the Lord's (effective) working, we are participating in His work of healing, blessing, restoring--to His righteous standards.  We can look past their faults and see their need.  It cuts them the slack they need to continue on their own path of deliverance and healing.  Don't I want that kind of mercy from others?

Another perspective the Lord has reminded me of is that everyone thinks they're right.  If that weren't the case, they'd be doing it differently.  Either that or they just didn't think about it, think it through, in which case they'd probably change if they knew they were wrong and could change.  Seeing it that way diffuses the missiles I'm ready to hurl their way (which is because I think I'm right).  Track that whole process back to its root, and I see that it's pride at work, a desire to control.  It's really about me, not correcting the other person or helping them to grow.

Well, needless to say, I'm working on it!  Having seen a fresh perspective from the Lord on this, I'm asking His help daily both to see where I'm operating in the wrong camp and get back to the right one, from my heart.  I'm so glad for His mercy.

A snapshot of today

If you came to my house today, you'd see...

Me...in the kitchen, frying chicken and cooking broccoli for supper, scooping handfuls of small garden tomatoes into a serving dish, and spooning marinated yellow bean salad into a bowl. What a beautiful palette of colors to enjoy--red, green, yellow. Makes it such a pleasure to cook.

My hubby...just home, resting his hurting back with a heating pad after a long day at work. He really did a number on it it while getting ready for our camping trip a few weeks ago, reinjuring an old trouble spot, and it's been quite a siege of pain, ice packs and massages, pain pills and chiropractor visits, physical therapy and lots of prayer. Thankfully, we're seeing daily improvement and yesterday got the good report that it's not a disc involved.

SweetPea...in the kitchen preparing the broccoli, helping pick up the house for a friend's visit this evening. She's had to do school pretty much on her own since we began four weeks ago since I was quite distracted taking care of Dad, but she's done a super job and is right on track. (I think I'm working myself out of a job here. Sniff.)

Mysterious jars labelled "rice, hay, egg, soil" sitting on a family room table...a biology experiment in process. We took a lovely little field trip the other day to collect pond water and see what would grow in those cultures. Pretty gross, smelled bad after a few days so I made her do her microscope work out on the patio.

A mess on our dining table...at least three sewing projects in process: 1) A skirt SweetPea needs to hem so she can wear on Sunday, the fruit of our summer's sewing class; 2) a quilting project I'm trying to work on--two pillow shams to match a quilt I did years ago for our guest bed (problem: new pieces look pretty vividly colored next to the faded quilt; I'm thinking I need to run them through some hot-water & soap cycles in the washer to force-fade them); and 3) several little fleece jackets for our little black dog--her short hair just doesn't keep her warm and she's already huddling in her bean bag to keep warm.

A lovely pile of watercolor supplies in my workroom...new paints and another brush to round out a nature journaling kit I'm putting together, sitting alongside a stunning how-to book from the library, The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook--Landscapes by Gordon MacKenzie.  And to further inspire me, I'm loving a garage-sale find, The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden.  Not sure when I'll find the time to dig very deep into this stuff right now, but it's such a refreshing pasttime that I think I need to work it in. While on my current sewing roll, I'm going to make a denim field kit with pockets and ties to carry everything in.

A wilting pile of squash plants in my garden...after a heavy rain last night and some too-cool weather for them. I'll have to clean them out this weekend. But I'm happy to still be harvesting beans, collards, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, and kale. Hope that first frost won't happen for a while!

A very cute little black dog called Sadie...bumping my leg and wondering why I'm not paying attention to her. 

A pile of books, papers, and notes on my desk...no, not homeschooling stuff--writing stuff! I came home from our summer trip to Arizona with a new and very exciting project to work on, helping my mom get a book published! We are going the self-publishing route, which is now a direction many authors are going, given the publishing environment (hurting). If you are interested yourself, I'd highly recommend the book, The Indie Author Guide ("indie" stands for independent)--a fantastic resource for DIY publishing.   We're going with a self-publisher who also handles a lot of the marketing. In case you haven't heard, marketing is something that authors have to do themselves now, no matter which way your book gets published, traditional or self-published.

More books, papers, and notes on my other desk...yup, homeschooling stuff. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm still working on SweetPea's grades from last year, but it conveniently fits the "later--much later" pile, so I keep ignoring it. My goal is to keep up with all the record-keeping and transcript stuff for this high school thing and not panic in her senior year because I was derelict in duty, but I don't have to do it today...

In the basement...no, sorry you can't go there. That's The Place where no matter how hard I try to keep it organized, it defies me. Today a search for some yarn and a turtleneck wrought some chaos that I can't get back to 'til the weekend. Beside, there an irritating cricket that somehow got lost down there, and we can't find him. He seems to give voice to the general mockery of my noble attempts at order. He, too, might win--I can't stand squishing a cricket.

That's our snapshot of today.  "Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox." (Prov. 14:4)  Lots of 'oxen' here...but I love the promise of much increase!

A Sunday afternoon

We've had a spectacular shot of fall this weekend...much cooler, crisp clean air, the stillness that breathes rest into your very bones.  I don't think we're done with summer yet, but it's sure been a treat.

After church today, the loveliness beckoned, so I grabbed my much-neglected nature journaling set and parked myself in the backyard to observe our late-summer flowers.  Several last-minute stragglers still flourished and I had to capture their colors.  I'm learning to work with watercolor pencils and need a lot more practice...but it was satisfying nevertheless to sit still and really observe the incredible artistry of our God.  Have you ever noticed that every flower He made is perfect??

Need some strength today?

I do...lots on my plate right now.  I bet you do, too.  Summer is winding down, fall and a new set of demands face us all.  So here's the "supplement" I'm taking today--encourage yourself with a dose, too!

• "The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace."  Ps. 29:11
• "Your God has commanded your strength; strengthen, O God, what You have done for us."  Ps. 68:28
• "The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people."  Ps. 68:35
• "Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'"  Joel 3:10
• "...the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Neh. 8:10
• "I am anointed with fresh oil."  Ps. 92:10
• "As for God, His way is perfect...It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect."  Ps. 18:30, 32
• "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."  Ps. 27:14
• "Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them."  Ps. 89:9
• "He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength - causing it to multiply and making it abound...those who wait for the Lord...shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint or become tired."  Is. 40:29, 31 (Amplified)
• "As your day, so shall your strength be."  Deut. 33:25
• "The way of the Lord is strength and a stronghold to the upright."  Pr. 10:29
• "God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect."  II Sam. 22:33
• "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous hand."  Is. 41:10
• "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped."  Ps. 28:7
• "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord."  Ps. 31:24
• "...that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."  I Cor. 2:5
• "I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me--I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me [that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]."  Phil. 4:13 (Amplified)
• "The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like a deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills."  Hab. 3:19

 Have a blessed day in the mighty strength of our God!

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A wonderful week

Wow, VBS week was great!  God blessed us with a good turnout of kids, good weather, a terrific team of volunteers, and the very evident work of the Holy Spirit bringing peace and ordering all the details of a packed schedule. 

I had a wonderful group of 6 & 7-year-olds, fifteen or so absolutely precious little lives.  As a homeschooler, I get so surprised when I'm leading a group like this--most of whom are public-schooled--at how quickly and obediently they line up for any and every reason.  ha!  Great crowd control technique and a blessed surprise when we had to move from station to station quickly and efficiently.  I've heard someone say that organizing a group of homeschoolers at an activity is like herding cats.  I agree.



My class

A large percentage of my class had already asked Jesus into their hearts before this VBS, but on the last day when I put the flannelgraph piece on the board of Jesus being crucified, a gasp went up.  It wasn't a particularly graphic picture but it did show the stripes and nails.  One little boy blurted out, "What did they DO to Him?"  Wow, talk about a teachable moment!  The SAW what it cost Jesus to pay for our sins and, as a group, were very moved.  Then we saw Jesus coming out of the tomb, resurrected and showing us His new and perfect body, what theirs would be like one day if they belonged to Him.  Finally, we saw Jesus on His heavenly throne and talked about the glories of our life to come (a wonderful reminder to me!).  I could sense the Spirit really connecting with their hearts and felt that He had sealed the week with His witness to them.  What a privilege to be part of a life-changing moment in these young lives.

Volleyball!

"He's got the whole world in His hands..."

More fun this week...we're off to our state homeschool conference tomorrow.  Yay!  Fresh inspiration, seeing old friends, fresh fuel for the year to come--I need it all.  SweetPea will be with me this time, a first for her.

Then I think I can safely say that my summer really begins next Monday!!  :-)

Catching up



Summer, yay!  Feels like summer, looks like summer, calendar says it should be summer...I think it is, finally.



A peek into my garden...the "before" picture
(hopefully I'll share a great "after" one in August!)

I'm enjoying the privilege of some time at home after our marathon spring and getting caught up on all sorts of things.   My dearly beloved helped me get my late garden in on Monday--a huge relief that I was able to still squeek in under the proverbial wire.   Lots of home projects to tend to now that the weather is warm and our schedule has relaxed (oh, I love that word!).   Can't wait to set up my sewing machine again, teach SweetPea how to can, work on some landscaping ideas, and read some non-homeschooling novels over iced tea in the shade of the maple tree.  :-)

Most importantly, I'm enjoying the space for reflection and sorting out the cacophony of thoughts whirling in my mind over the past couple of months.  I've been needing quality time with the Lord to gain His perspective on my friend's death and how it has impacted her family, our little church, and myself; analyzing how this first high school year went in our homeschooling and getting God's wisdom on the areas we need to modify or improve; praying over our short and long-term goals for the last three years of SweetPea's home education; revisiting my own personal goals for the summer--in short, I need my cup refilled.  He is so faithful, He will do it.


Sorting flannel graph pieces


Monday starts VBS wherein I get to test-drive my writing efforts with a live class of wiggly 1st and 2nd graders!  SweetPea will be my flannel graph assistant and I have a lovely lady helping me with crowd control.  The sanctuary and main classrooms have been decorated with black plastic "space" with planets hung and the sun, moon, and stars providing the background for "The Power and Majesty of God."  It's going to be a lot of fun--and hopefully, the kids will go home with a new sense of awe and wonder at this mighty God who has called us to be His own.

Thanking God for the meaning and beauty He's brought to my life!



A sad day

"You look so lovely today."

Those were the last words my dear friend Kim spoke to me, last Sunday in church.  She passed away suddenly yesterday morning from a recurrance of cancer, taking us all by shock.  She taught Sunday School and led worship Sunday morning, full of joy and anointing, with not the least hint that by the end of the week, she'd be gone.

My heart is so heavy for the family.  She and her husband have five lovely children whom they've homeschooled from the beginning, the first to graduate next month and the youngest just seven.  Her dad is pastor of our church and I can't imagine how difficult it will be for her folks to carry on the ministry without her very gifted and loving presence.  Ours is a small church, so she leaves a very large hole.

Kim and I hit it off the first time we met years ago in our homeschool support group.  Later, when she left the group, we would run into each other at conferences or fairs, and always it was as though we'd just seen each other just yesterday.  It was at one of those times she invited us to their church.  We did, and from the first day it was 'home' for us.  One of the highlights of these past two years for me has been the reconnect of our friendship and warm fellowship in Jesus.  But more significantly, her spiritual strength, radiant joy, and amazing faith has lifted me time and again when I've been discouraged over the long course of healing from health issues of my own.

I've been privileged to know a truly lovely soul and been blessed by her love and genuine, caring heart.  We will miss her terribly, but the Word promises that all of this is working together for good, and that we sorrow not as those who have no hope.  Thank the Lord, it doesn't end here--she's in our future.

This 'n that

This breathtaking sight greeted us earlier this week, a Colorado spring snow in the morning sunrise.  We dashed out so as not to miss our chance with the cameras, knowing that in just a few hours, it would be melted and gone.  It was.

Just as the ups and downs in our weather, so it seemed to go with other things this week.  My two sweeties were both sick with colds, which made it hard to get anything significant done.  School was choppy, events cancelled, and surfaces disinfected...over and over. Thankfully, the patients are mostly better, and I had the joy of cleaning and setting our life to rights again today.

We've just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird in our literature study.  Wow, I'd forgotten what a powerful book that is!  It prompted some wonderful discussion, not only the issues of prejudice and injustice and so on, but also Harper Lee's incredible, funny, moving writing. To top it off, we checked the movie out from the library and watched it last night.  That has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made!  SweetPea says, "That's in my top three!"  I think I'd have to agree.

I had the delight of having a little dream come true this week...a netbook!  I've been saving my pennies for a while to get it, and on Wednesday the FedEx truck made my day.  (The estimated delivery time--from China--was 10:30 a.m.  The doorbell rang at 10:16.  I told the delivery lady that they were really good--Shanghai to my door, with 14 minutes to spare!)  I've envisioned how handy this little mini would be for my on-the-go life and writing-when-the-inspiration hits me.  Feels like Christmas.  :-)   

And in case you noticed that very cute mug next to Minnie in the pic, that was my thrift store find this week...a set of four for $1.50.  I have a thing about mugs (especially when they're filled with tea) and I'm sure my family groaned when I eagerly displayed my new wares, but they indulge me and for that I'm grateful. When Momma's happy...

SweetPea's drama production of "Robin Hood" is only a couple of weeks off, so we're adding extra practices and a costuming session to our school week. It's a wonderful group of kids, very focused, attentive, and giving it their all.  And the play is hilarious!  This past week they had the first full run-through and it was a delight.  SP's role is the dim-witted, klutzy daughter of the Sheriff of Nottingham and she has to deliver a number of curtsies that end in a sprawl on the stage.  No easy task to pull off and not color yourself black-and-blue!  She'll look back on this as the highlight of the year, I'm sure.