Worship. That's what God wants. I wrote about it the other day. Then, that same day, I heard a few minutes of a sermon on Romans 12:1,2 that talks about being a "living" sacrifice. We worship today without having to sacrifice an animal. We are to offer ourselves as the living sacrifice, but not just ourselves. The preacher then talked about how the first time the word "worship" is used is in Genesis when Abraham is about to take Isaac up to the mountain to be sacrificed. He doesn't know how this is going to work, as Isaac is supposed to be the beginning of many generations to come, but Abraham believes God is in control just the same and is willing to sacrifice him if that is what God wants.
The preacher then said that, in the same way, we are not just supposed to offer ourselves, but also our children, as living sacrifices, just as Abraham did. Suddenly offering ourselves seems like a walk in the park. I find it much harder to hand over my children as living sacrifices.
My one friend did this. She had a plan for her children this summer. She knew they needed to work and make money. She wanted them to learn business/entrepreneurial skills. She wanted them to learn how to farm. She wanted them near her, being discipled by her and her husband. So what did she do, she offered her children to the Lord as living sacrifices, giving her dreams and plans to Him, knowing He could do a way better job of pulling all those dreams together. She also fasted, knowing Satan was alive and well and wanted nothing more than to take her children away.
Then a miracle happened. Her children applied for grant money that would teach them how to run a summer company. Quite a few applied and both of her children got it! The more amazing thing is that they both wanted to do agricultural businesses, but how do you do this if you don't have a lot of land? She approached a neighbour who wasn't using his land for anything at all and unbelievably he was open to her children using his property for their businesses! It meant a lot of cleaning up and tremendously hard work for it to come together, but it has happened.
I think this has to be one of the greatest examples of offering up our children. She gave the Lord her dreams and plans for them. She did all that was required of her, to train them, to prepare them, to encourage them. She took the initiative on their behalf when it was necessary, but the rest was up to God. And He blessed her efforts. He made a way where no way was even on the horizon. She and I talked the other night and both of us were just in awe. It was so obvious that God had done this, we could only give Him all the glory.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
I Can Prove the Existence of God
I have so much proof for the existence of God and I don't even have a Ph.D. The way I see the most obvious proof is through the way He so specifically answers my prayers and those of my friends. I'll share one example that has happened recently.
In my own life, I can feel pretty overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning that has to go on. Order is something I long for but often can seem out of the realm of possible, even with Chore Packs, just because of the number of children I have, the type of life we live on a farm surrounded by hay and manure, etc., etc....I try to keep a general sense of order for sure, and the kids definitely help, BUT, there have been many days, let me repeat, many days, where I have stood in the laundry room, surrounded by laundry, messy cupboards, dishes in the sink around the corner, children crying and I am near tears, when suddenly I just cry out, "Lord, help me! Help me do these things that seem so impossible! I can't get on top of it! Send help! Can't you please send help?!" Never once did I think He would actually send a cleaning lady, though I did maybe hope. I wasn't sure what help even looked like. I figured it was probably just learning to cope better or perhaps continuing to train the younger ones who weren't quite as on top of it like the older ones.
Then, one day, Jen came over. My daughter was in her wedding in June. Things have settled down and now she's at home where her husband is happy to have her not work at this time, but instead encourages her to volunteer wherever she is so inclined. At first this was a little hard for her as she was used to working, so she spent her time cleaning and organizing their new home. She came over and we talked about how things were going. She wasn't exactly sure how to be spending her time. I sensed she needed purpose for living so I said, "Let me give you purpose for living!" I'm not sure that she knew what I meant, so I explained how I ALWAYS need a little extra (or a lot of extra) help around here. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "You mean like cleaning and organizing or doing laundry?" "Uh, yeah...," not knowing this could actually make someone's eyes light up. "I LOVE doing laundry and cleaning! You should see how organized I am!" I looked at her with my eyes lit up now. "Are you serious? Would you come help me?" "Sure, where should we start?" I gave her a tour of my home, which to me, wasn't so bad, but she was very dismayed and clearly saw her super powers could be used here.
With that, it was decided. She would come as often as she could, stay for an hour or two and then keep coming! The next week, much to my shock, she came. That week she just washed my dishes and cleaned my kitchen. That was a big enough job in itself. After that, she organized the cupboards in my mudroom. Unbelievable. The next week it was my fridge. I clean my fridge more often than perhaps even the average person, but I have more kids and more food than the average person, so there is always a spill. That was a HUGE task. The sweet thing in this whole Jen miracle is that whenever she comes, my little 7 year old is her right hand woman. She cleans and talks with her the whole time, getting things she needs, delivering other things. It is such a special relationship that she has with her. Then, usually, right before Jen leaves we have a quick marriage debrief and make sure all is well. Perhaps being an ear for her is one way I can give back.
This is how I know God exists. He answers my prayers in ways so specific to me that it is really inexplicable except that their is a supernatural Being that loves me, knows me and shows me. I'm amazed.
In my own life, I can feel pretty overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning that has to go on. Order is something I long for but often can seem out of the realm of possible, even with Chore Packs, just because of the number of children I have, the type of life we live on a farm surrounded by hay and manure, etc., etc....I try to keep a general sense of order for sure, and the kids definitely help, BUT, there have been many days, let me repeat, many days, where I have stood in the laundry room, surrounded by laundry, messy cupboards, dishes in the sink around the corner, children crying and I am near tears, when suddenly I just cry out, "Lord, help me! Help me do these things that seem so impossible! I can't get on top of it! Send help! Can't you please send help?!" Never once did I think He would actually send a cleaning lady, though I did maybe hope. I wasn't sure what help even looked like. I figured it was probably just learning to cope better or perhaps continuing to train the younger ones who weren't quite as on top of it like the older ones.
Then, one day, Jen came over. My daughter was in her wedding in June. Things have settled down and now she's at home where her husband is happy to have her not work at this time, but instead encourages her to volunteer wherever she is so inclined. At first this was a little hard for her as she was used to working, so she spent her time cleaning and organizing their new home. She came over and we talked about how things were going. She wasn't exactly sure how to be spending her time. I sensed she needed purpose for living so I said, "Let me give you purpose for living!" I'm not sure that she knew what I meant, so I explained how I ALWAYS need a little extra (or a lot of extra) help around here. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "You mean like cleaning and organizing or doing laundry?" "Uh, yeah...," not knowing this could actually make someone's eyes light up. "I LOVE doing laundry and cleaning! You should see how organized I am!" I looked at her with my eyes lit up now. "Are you serious? Would you come help me?" "Sure, where should we start?" I gave her a tour of my home, which to me, wasn't so bad, but she was very dismayed and clearly saw her super powers could be used here.
With that, it was decided. She would come as often as she could, stay for an hour or two and then keep coming! The next week, much to my shock, she came. That week she just washed my dishes and cleaned my kitchen. That was a big enough job in itself. After that, she organized the cupboards in my mudroom. Unbelievable. The next week it was my fridge. I clean my fridge more often than perhaps even the average person, but I have more kids and more food than the average person, so there is always a spill. That was a HUGE task. The sweet thing in this whole Jen miracle is that whenever she comes, my little 7 year old is her right hand woman. She cleans and talks with her the whole time, getting things she needs, delivering other things. It is such a special relationship that she has with her. Then, usually, right before Jen leaves we have a quick marriage debrief and make sure all is well. Perhaps being an ear for her is one way I can give back.
This is how I know God exists. He answers my prayers in ways so specific to me that it is really inexplicable except that their is a supernatural Being that loves me, knows me and shows me. I'm amazed.
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
Take Off Your Sandals
I think I have started many posts with "What a weekend" and this past one was no different. I ran the 5K on Saturday with my oldest son. He won 3rd place for his age group, so did really well. I, uh, finished the race, let's say. It was one of the hottest days of the summer and coupled with the hills, it was much harder than I remembered. I usually run in the coolest time of the day and find that much easier to handle. I definitely won the reddest face award. But I did it and enjoyed our afternoon at the winery that hosted it afterward! I ran again today, though no race is coming up now, just to show myself I can still run even if there is no particular race to train for.
The rest of the weekend was spent prepping for our son's manhood commissioning. We did this several years ago when my oldest son turned 13. We were a little behind on the next son, but as long we are in the 12-14 year mark, it's ok. We were very close to missing church as it's easy to justify when there is so much prep to do, but my husband went with the oldest children and it was so good that he did. He had been feeling so overwhelmed by life and he came back that morning telling me the pastor must have known what he was going through as he seemed to speak directly to him. He spoke from Joshua 5, a very obscure passage, vs. 13-15. Joshua looked up and sees a man with a drawn sword in his hand. He asks him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" He simply says, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." Joshua fell on his face to worship him and asked, "What does my Lord say to his servant?" and the man answered, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
The pastor elaborated on this by saying how we often approach God like this, "What do you want me to do next, in my life, work, with my kids, today, tomorrow....?" God didn't answer Joshua with a game plan for battle, he simply said, "Worship." The encouragement to my husband was to not allow himself to get distracted by all the questions he has for God like, "What should I do today? Will you provide work? What kind of work should I be pursuing? Am I where you want me to be?" Instead, he needs to just take off his sandals and worship. God will show him what to do next if he continues to put Him first. It was just what he needed to hear.
It was perfect timing as people arrived later that afternoon to watch my husband commission his son to manhood. The neat thing about the whole ceremony is that it ends with my son receiving a sword from his father. The passage that morning had the commander of the Lord's army holding a drawn sword, too. But He wasn't there for battle, but to show Joshua the importance of worship. We give our son a sword, not so he can go and use it on a field, but to remind him of the battle for his soul. It was a good reminder, too, that God will fight for him, as long as he remembers to put Him first.
My husband described to those attending how it isn't necessary for every family to do ceremonies like the one we did, but we thought, with our sons, it would be helpful for them to be able to mark a day in their life when we considered them men. Each one of the older children read to their brother something they had written to him noting how they had seen signs of manhood in him already and encouraging him to continue on in the role of being a man. It was really amazing to hear what they had read as I hadn't helped them prepare word for word, but had directed them in what types of things they could say. It was very moving. Then I spoke to him, which is always a guaranteed good cry. I made it almost to the end.
Then whoever wanted to from those attending were invited to share a verse or encouragement. I only wish I had recorded all that they said. Many spoke on how there will be challenges ahead, but to trust God in his future walk as a man. Others talked about the battle to stay a boy, how the world will try to keep him from being a man. Finally, my husband came up and described our son, how he is a quieter boy, but how on the inside deep things are going on. There is much more to him. Then he pulled out the sword. On the outside, it looked like a regular sword, but when he drew it from the sheath, it was beautiful, shiny and had incredible detail to it. He compared our son to the sword. So much more to him than what is seen from just the outside. We also gave him a leather bound study Bible to be his other "sword" to help him to do his true battle.
At this point, RM called up all the men and they came and surrounded my son, putting their hands on his shoulders. A meaningful time of prayer followed. I wanted to just stand back and take it all in, not close my eyes. It was wonderful.
When it was all said and done and I found myself in bed that night, I actually found myself lying there with a smile on my face that I had to purposely relax as I couldn't sleep with this smile going on! What a special day, incredible memories.
The next day, my son was pretty quiet about it all. I asked him what his favourite part of the day was and he said, "Getting the sword." According to my older son, he said he caught him more than once picking it up and beaming.
On a practical note, these events cost money and we're always trying to figure out how to do them without breaking the bank. As always, I wish I could serve the types of things I used to serve, all sorts of expensive little appetizers, etc., but we kept it really simple again, just a bar-b-que with burgers, sausages, and hotdogs. Drinks were super simple, too, just iced tea, lemonade and water. Nothing fancy! I would have loved to have brought in a landscaper and finished the siding on my house, but alas, just the house and landscaping we have, but none of those things matter in the big picture.
So now there are 3 men in my house, my husband and two oldest boys. Wow. I thought I would have been just a mom to girls as that's what I knew growing up. I spoke to my son that day and said, "Never in a million years did I think I would be a mom to 5 boys." Yet God decided I would be. I've heard it said about raising boys that I am raising a house of leaders. Such a privilege and such a great responsibility. I have so many questions for God on how I should do this, yet He only says, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." That's my answer. I'm on holy ground, raising these boys to be men.
The rest of the weekend was spent prepping for our son's manhood commissioning. We did this several years ago when my oldest son turned 13. We were a little behind on the next son, but as long we are in the 12-14 year mark, it's ok. We were very close to missing church as it's easy to justify when there is so much prep to do, but my husband went with the oldest children and it was so good that he did. He had been feeling so overwhelmed by life and he came back that morning telling me the pastor must have known what he was going through as he seemed to speak directly to him. He spoke from Joshua 5, a very obscure passage, vs. 13-15. Joshua looked up and sees a man with a drawn sword in his hand. He asks him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" He simply says, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." Joshua fell on his face to worship him and asked, "What does my Lord say to his servant?" and the man answered, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
The pastor elaborated on this by saying how we often approach God like this, "What do you want me to do next, in my life, work, with my kids, today, tomorrow....?" God didn't answer Joshua with a game plan for battle, he simply said, "Worship." The encouragement to my husband was to not allow himself to get distracted by all the questions he has for God like, "What should I do today? Will you provide work? What kind of work should I be pursuing? Am I where you want me to be?" Instead, he needs to just take off his sandals and worship. God will show him what to do next if he continues to put Him first. It was just what he needed to hear.
It was perfect timing as people arrived later that afternoon to watch my husband commission his son to manhood. The neat thing about the whole ceremony is that it ends with my son receiving a sword from his father. The passage that morning had the commander of the Lord's army holding a drawn sword, too. But He wasn't there for battle, but to show Joshua the importance of worship. We give our son a sword, not so he can go and use it on a field, but to remind him of the battle for his soul. It was a good reminder, too, that God will fight for him, as long as he remembers to put Him first.
My husband described to those attending how it isn't necessary for every family to do ceremonies like the one we did, but we thought, with our sons, it would be helpful for them to be able to mark a day in their life when we considered them men. Each one of the older children read to their brother something they had written to him noting how they had seen signs of manhood in him already and encouraging him to continue on in the role of being a man. It was really amazing to hear what they had read as I hadn't helped them prepare word for word, but had directed them in what types of things they could say. It was very moving. Then I spoke to him, which is always a guaranteed good cry. I made it almost to the end.
Then whoever wanted to from those attending were invited to share a verse or encouragement. I only wish I had recorded all that they said. Many spoke on how there will be challenges ahead, but to trust God in his future walk as a man. Others talked about the battle to stay a boy, how the world will try to keep him from being a man. Finally, my husband came up and described our son, how he is a quieter boy, but how on the inside deep things are going on. There is much more to him. Then he pulled out the sword. On the outside, it looked like a regular sword, but when he drew it from the sheath, it was beautiful, shiny and had incredible detail to it. He compared our son to the sword. So much more to him than what is seen from just the outside. We also gave him a leather bound study Bible to be his other "sword" to help him to do his true battle.
At this point, RM called up all the men and they came and surrounded my son, putting their hands on his shoulders. A meaningful time of prayer followed. I wanted to just stand back and take it all in, not close my eyes. It was wonderful.
When it was all said and done and I found myself in bed that night, I actually found myself lying there with a smile on my face that I had to purposely relax as I couldn't sleep with this smile going on! What a special day, incredible memories.
The next day, my son was pretty quiet about it all. I asked him what his favourite part of the day was and he said, "Getting the sword." According to my older son, he said he caught him more than once picking it up and beaming.
On a practical note, these events cost money and we're always trying to figure out how to do them without breaking the bank. As always, I wish I could serve the types of things I used to serve, all sorts of expensive little appetizers, etc., but we kept it really simple again, just a bar-b-que with burgers, sausages, and hotdogs. Drinks were super simple, too, just iced tea, lemonade and water. Nothing fancy! I would have loved to have brought in a landscaper and finished the siding on my house, but alas, just the house and landscaping we have, but none of those things matter in the big picture.
So now there are 3 men in my house, my husband and two oldest boys. Wow. I thought I would have been just a mom to girls as that's what I knew growing up. I spoke to my son that day and said, "Never in a million years did I think I would be a mom to 5 boys." Yet God decided I would be. I've heard it said about raising boys that I am raising a house of leaders. Such a privilege and such a great responsibility. I have so many questions for God on how I should do this, yet He only says, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." That's my answer. I'm on holy ground, raising these boys to be men.
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
More Lessons in the School of Faith
Last week had been a bit of a discouraging one before the broken arm even happened. One of the things the pastor had said last Sunday was how sometimes you feel you just can't get ahead, referring to finances. He didn't have a specific answer to that problem except to follow the wisdom of the Bible. It explained how we feel sometimes though.
Silly things catch me off guard. Last week it was a simple photo of someone we know. In the photo, the person was wearing very nice clothes, clearly not from a second-hand store. The person was also on a trip, traveling on a whim to meet up with some other people just because he happened to be "in the area" (out of the country!). I couldn't believe how badly this photo made me feel! In my mind, I started thinking to myself, "Sure would be nice if I could shop in nice stores, too!" or "Must be nice to just jump on a plane and visit someone just because you are already out flying around". Not good things to be thinking. I had to reel them all in really fast. As soon as the comparison game starts, I'm done for.
The only thing, and I mean, ONLY thing that works in getting rid of those awful thoughts is to start looking around me and being thankful for what I have. Immediately I see how I've fallen in the devil's trap and how dangerous it is to compare! However, Satan is relentless and if he can't get me, he'll go after my husband.
RM came up to me last week a little bit after I had gone through my discouragement and it seemed like he was feeling a similar attack. The "tyranny of the urgent" was upon us. We were both starting to feel the pressure of the trip coming up and how much we had to do to prepare our house. We have friends coming that will be watching our house for us and we have a list a mile long that we had hoped to get done. RM was feeling so overwhelmed by all that had to be done and how it was all on his shoulders. Even if he got one or two things done on the list, there were so many other things still to do. And none of the things on the list were small. They were huge, such as "side the house" or "fix basement" .....not little projects, to say the least.
One of the things that got us through those two stressful situations was a verse I had read earlier on in the week, "God... calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:17. It's an interesting verse basically suggesting that as Christians, we can "boldly declare what God says you have and He will accomplish what you believe" (from the devotional I'd been reading). Living by faith means believing even when we aren't seeing. All the discouragement we were feeling proved we had temporarily stopped trusting God..... again. So weak!
When RM was particularly discouraged, I told him about that verse, how we needed to be like Abraham. He was called the "father of many nations" even before he had a child. It was because he believed God when God told him it would happen. We are called to trust God and His promises. It occurred to me that we needed that reminder, too, to "call things that are not as though they were". So I tried to apply the verse to ourselves. I thought of a promise in the Bible. For example, we aren't out of debt, but my husband is working diligently, so I reminded him "the diligent will eat the fruit of their hands". The "things that are not"? We still have the debt and the long list of things to do. But, "as though they were"? We are believing He is helping us as long as we do our part. It still feels a little bit like walking on air when you step out in faith believing He'll actually do His part, but that is faith!
So, off he went, back to work. That was about midweek. Then on Friday, miracle deposits started showing up in our bank account. He got his first commission cheque from that course he wrote a while back. We knew it was coming, but we were shocked at the amount! (I can still hardly believe people watched his course on electronics! Who watches these things?!). Then some money back from the government which we also knew was coming, but it happened the same day! Then there was an order for hay. It just seemed like it was one thing after another, all on the same day and all after hours which kind of makes you feel like it was from heaven. I can't even remember all that came in, but there were at least 4 surprise sources of money on Friday. I couldn't believe it.
We had stepped out, believing God's promises and He sent reminder after reminder that He was faithful. I went back and read the devotional. "If He has spoken, will He not fulfill it? If He has given you His word - His sure word of promise - do not question it but trust it absolutely. You have HIs promise, and in fact you have Him who confidently speaks the words. 'Yes, I tell you.' (Luke 12:5). Trust Him!"
So, once again, we saw God's provision. Once again, we got through our discouragement. Once again, we've learned another lesson in the school of faith. I feel like such a bad student sometimes, but fortunately our teacher is so patient with me, with us.
Silly things catch me off guard. Last week it was a simple photo of someone we know. In the photo, the person was wearing very nice clothes, clearly not from a second-hand store. The person was also on a trip, traveling on a whim to meet up with some other people just because he happened to be "in the area" (out of the country!). I couldn't believe how badly this photo made me feel! In my mind, I started thinking to myself, "Sure would be nice if I could shop in nice stores, too!" or "Must be nice to just jump on a plane and visit someone just because you are already out flying around". Not good things to be thinking. I had to reel them all in really fast. As soon as the comparison game starts, I'm done for.
The only thing, and I mean, ONLY thing that works in getting rid of those awful thoughts is to start looking around me and being thankful for what I have. Immediately I see how I've fallen in the devil's trap and how dangerous it is to compare! However, Satan is relentless and if he can't get me, he'll go after my husband.
RM came up to me last week a little bit after I had gone through my discouragement and it seemed like he was feeling a similar attack. The "tyranny of the urgent" was upon us. We were both starting to feel the pressure of the trip coming up and how much we had to do to prepare our house. We have friends coming that will be watching our house for us and we have a list a mile long that we had hoped to get done. RM was feeling so overwhelmed by all that had to be done and how it was all on his shoulders. Even if he got one or two things done on the list, there were so many other things still to do. And none of the things on the list were small. They were huge, such as "side the house" or "fix basement" .....not little projects, to say the least.
One of the things that got us through those two stressful situations was a verse I had read earlier on in the week, "God... calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:17. It's an interesting verse basically suggesting that as Christians, we can "boldly declare what God says you have and He will accomplish what you believe" (from the devotional I'd been reading). Living by faith means believing even when we aren't seeing. All the discouragement we were feeling proved we had temporarily stopped trusting God..... again. So weak!
When RM was particularly discouraged, I told him about that verse, how we needed to be like Abraham. He was called the "father of many nations" even before he had a child. It was because he believed God when God told him it would happen. We are called to trust God and His promises. It occurred to me that we needed that reminder, too, to "call things that are not as though they were". So I tried to apply the verse to ourselves. I thought of a promise in the Bible. For example, we aren't out of debt, but my husband is working diligently, so I reminded him "the diligent will eat the fruit of their hands". The "things that are not"? We still have the debt and the long list of things to do. But, "as though they were"? We are believing He is helping us as long as we do our part. It still feels a little bit like walking on air when you step out in faith believing He'll actually do His part, but that is faith!
So, off he went, back to work. That was about midweek. Then on Friday, miracle deposits started showing up in our bank account. He got his first commission cheque from that course he wrote a while back. We knew it was coming, but we were shocked at the amount! (I can still hardly believe people watched his course on electronics! Who watches these things?!). Then some money back from the government which we also knew was coming, but it happened the same day! Then there was an order for hay. It just seemed like it was one thing after another, all on the same day and all after hours which kind of makes you feel like it was from heaven. I can't even remember all that came in, but there were at least 4 surprise sources of money on Friday. I couldn't believe it.
We had stepped out, believing God's promises and He sent reminder after reminder that He was faithful. I went back and read the devotional. "If He has spoken, will He not fulfill it? If He has given you His word - His sure word of promise - do not question it but trust it absolutely. You have HIs promise, and in fact you have Him who confidently speaks the words. 'Yes, I tell you.' (Luke 12:5). Trust Him!"
So, once again, we saw God's provision. Once again, we got through our discouragement. Once again, we've learned another lesson in the school of faith. I feel like such a bad student sometimes, but fortunately our teacher is so patient with me, with us.
Monday, 20 July 2015
One Way to Meet a Neighbour
What a weekend! It was full of blessings, even amidst the trials. I'll start with the major upset of the weekend - our first broken limb. I can hardly believe it still, but our second daughter, 4th child, broke her arm on Saturday. According to the doctor it was a bad break, too (are there good breaks?).
We were all at our friend's party, having a great time. They had bouncy castles set up for the kids and things got a little out of hand in the racing up and down the slides in the bouncy castle. My daughter was racing down the slide determined to win against another girl. The first one down won. My daughter got to the bottom of the slide and then did a somersault accidentally off the slide, landing on the ground below on her arm. She looked down and her arm was facing the wrong way! Yuck! Unbelievably, she took it and turned it back into place, hearing a "pop" sound at the same time. I think at that time it was dislocated, too. I'm so glad I didn't see that, I might add.
At this point, she wasn't even crying, hyperventilating, but not crying! She told us later, she knew it was broken and actually told my other daughter that, too, "I just broke my arm." My other daughter saw what was going on and ran over to us, "Uh, S needs you really badly." I just froze. I didn't move a muscle. The way my daughter said that, I knew it was bad. I, in fact, hid behind a tree while my husband ran over. I looked over once in a while to see if there was blood or screaming and saw nothing and heard nothing. I sent my youngest daughter to see if we needed to call 911. She returned mad, "Dad won't even answer me!"
Then, I saw them coming towards me. She was panicky and still breathing crazily, tears were starting. You couldn't go anywhere near her arm without her getting very upset. We knew it was hurt badly. I told my husband, "Get the truck." The hospital was literally 1 minute down the street. I had to miss out on gelato and cappuccino, but hey, that's how parties go! It went from hanging out, listening to a band, kicking back on a Saturday night, to 3 hours in emerg in a matter of seconds. Life can change that quickly. But this is where we start counting our blessings. She didn't land on her head and break her neck. She was able to have the presence of mind to put her arm back in place. The doctor couldn't understand how she thought to do that as much more damage could have happened if she hadn't done that right then and there. We were minutes away from help and got a cast on within a couple hours of being there. We live in a province where the care was "free" (well, you know what I mean, sort of free! We didn't have to hand over any cash at the hospital anyway), barely any line-ups that night..... the list could go on and on. She'll go to a fracture clinic this week which is also very close to us at a top notch children's hospital. We're so grateful!
As we entered into one of the waiting rooms, a nurse assisted us. Right away I recognized her from two years earlier when we had that same daughter in for her appendix. I said, "Hey, I recognize you from last time we were here!" Sure enough, she recognized us, too, as we had talked last time about where we lived and we had found out her grandma lived down the street from us! Turns out, her grandma had moved out and she and her family had moved in, so we are now neighbours with this nurse! This is where it gets interesting. I had dropped off Christmas baking at that house last year, knowing new neighbours had moved in, but not realizing it was her. I had included a gospel tract in the card simply suggesting that we hoped they would consider the eternal significance of Christmas that year. I had debated putting in the tract thinking "I don't even know who these people are. They are going to think I'm nuts. They'll never want to meet me after this!" But I did it anyway, with the encouragement of my daughter who gives tracts to everyone she meets. I made sure I had included our address so they knew who gave it to them. Then, I show up at the hospital.
She came into the room while we were waiting for the doctor and she said how sorry she was that she hadn't stopped in. She explained how touched she was that I had dropped off the baking and how she had been meaning to come and visit us, but just never had. Then, she said, "Look, I still have this." At that point, she pulled out a journal, and there at the front of the journal was the tract I have given her! She had been keeping it with her all this time! My broken-arm daughter didn't see it and said, "What's that?" In front of the nurse, I said, "It's the gospel tract I gave them, asking them to consider eternal things last Christmas." The nurse just smiled and said, "I love Christmas." Once everything was all taken care of with my daughter and we were getting ready to go, she came in one more time and met my husband and a few of my other kids and we talked about getting together again. She even said, "It's so unusual that I'm here in tonight. I'm not in very often." Coincidence? I don't think so.
As we left the hospital that night, my daughter said, "Why do you think these things happen to me?" I told her, "It was so we could meet our neighbour!" I had been thinking about that neighbour ever since I had dropped off the baking. I had thought it had been a wrong move. I still don't know exactly how she received it. I'm not sure if she kept it because she wants to speak to me about it or if she just thought it was a bookmark, but I feel like a window has been opened. God may be working in her and I just need to be available.
Interestingly, that Saturday morning, two of my older kids and my husband went to Niagara Falls to hand out tracts with a few others. Sometimes it doesn't seem like anyone wants them or even reads them. I was able to tell them that night about the nurse and how she still had the one I had given her months later. We just don't know how people will receive these things, once they are out of our hands and into their's, but we just have to trust God that He'll use them for His purposes. I am now so excited to connect with this neighbour and I'm already praying for boldness and that God will give me an opportunity to share my faith with her. All because of a broken arm!
I just love how God uses everything in our lives, from Christmas baking to broken arms. It's strange what it'll take to get people connected and I'm sorry that it did take a broken arm, but I know God has a plan even in that. How else do you meet a nurse? You've got to go to a hospital! At least I know I've got good care now, just down the street! Well, there's much more to write, but the world has woken up......
We were all at our friend's party, having a great time. They had bouncy castles set up for the kids and things got a little out of hand in the racing up and down the slides in the bouncy castle. My daughter was racing down the slide determined to win against another girl. The first one down won. My daughter got to the bottom of the slide and then did a somersault accidentally off the slide, landing on the ground below on her arm. She looked down and her arm was facing the wrong way! Yuck! Unbelievably, she took it and turned it back into place, hearing a "pop" sound at the same time. I think at that time it was dislocated, too. I'm so glad I didn't see that, I might add.
At this point, she wasn't even crying, hyperventilating, but not crying! She told us later, she knew it was broken and actually told my other daughter that, too, "I just broke my arm." My other daughter saw what was going on and ran over to us, "Uh, S needs you really badly." I just froze. I didn't move a muscle. The way my daughter said that, I knew it was bad. I, in fact, hid behind a tree while my husband ran over. I looked over once in a while to see if there was blood or screaming and saw nothing and heard nothing. I sent my youngest daughter to see if we needed to call 911. She returned mad, "Dad won't even answer me!"
Then, I saw them coming towards me. She was panicky and still breathing crazily, tears were starting. You couldn't go anywhere near her arm without her getting very upset. We knew it was hurt badly. I told my husband, "Get the truck." The hospital was literally 1 minute down the street. I had to miss out on gelato and cappuccino, but hey, that's how parties go! It went from hanging out, listening to a band, kicking back on a Saturday night, to 3 hours in emerg in a matter of seconds. Life can change that quickly. But this is where we start counting our blessings. She didn't land on her head and break her neck. She was able to have the presence of mind to put her arm back in place. The doctor couldn't understand how she thought to do that as much more damage could have happened if she hadn't done that right then and there. We were minutes away from help and got a cast on within a couple hours of being there. We live in a province where the care was "free" (well, you know what I mean, sort of free! We didn't have to hand over any cash at the hospital anyway), barely any line-ups that night..... the list could go on and on. She'll go to a fracture clinic this week which is also very close to us at a top notch children's hospital. We're so grateful!
As we entered into one of the waiting rooms, a nurse assisted us. Right away I recognized her from two years earlier when we had that same daughter in for her appendix. I said, "Hey, I recognize you from last time we were here!" Sure enough, she recognized us, too, as we had talked last time about where we lived and we had found out her grandma lived down the street from us! Turns out, her grandma had moved out and she and her family had moved in, so we are now neighbours with this nurse! This is where it gets interesting. I had dropped off Christmas baking at that house last year, knowing new neighbours had moved in, but not realizing it was her. I had included a gospel tract in the card simply suggesting that we hoped they would consider the eternal significance of Christmas that year. I had debated putting in the tract thinking "I don't even know who these people are. They are going to think I'm nuts. They'll never want to meet me after this!" But I did it anyway, with the encouragement of my daughter who gives tracts to everyone she meets. I made sure I had included our address so they knew who gave it to them. Then, I show up at the hospital.
She came into the room while we were waiting for the doctor and she said how sorry she was that she hadn't stopped in. She explained how touched she was that I had dropped off the baking and how she had been meaning to come and visit us, but just never had. Then, she said, "Look, I still have this." At that point, she pulled out a journal, and there at the front of the journal was the tract I have given her! She had been keeping it with her all this time! My broken-arm daughter didn't see it and said, "What's that?" In front of the nurse, I said, "It's the gospel tract I gave them, asking them to consider eternal things last Christmas." The nurse just smiled and said, "I love Christmas." Once everything was all taken care of with my daughter and we were getting ready to go, she came in one more time and met my husband and a few of my other kids and we talked about getting together again. She even said, "It's so unusual that I'm here in tonight. I'm not in very often." Coincidence? I don't think so.
As we left the hospital that night, my daughter said, "Why do you think these things happen to me?" I told her, "It was so we could meet our neighbour!" I had been thinking about that neighbour ever since I had dropped off the baking. I had thought it had been a wrong move. I still don't know exactly how she received it. I'm not sure if she kept it because she wants to speak to me about it or if she just thought it was a bookmark, but I feel like a window has been opened. God may be working in her and I just need to be available.
Interestingly, that Saturday morning, two of my older kids and my husband went to Niagara Falls to hand out tracts with a few others. Sometimes it doesn't seem like anyone wants them or even reads them. I was able to tell them that night about the nurse and how she still had the one I had given her months later. We just don't know how people will receive these things, once they are out of our hands and into their's, but we just have to trust God that He'll use them for His purposes. I am now so excited to connect with this neighbour and I'm already praying for boldness and that God will give me an opportunity to share my faith with her. All because of a broken arm!
I just love how God uses everything in our lives, from Christmas baking to broken arms. It's strange what it'll take to get people connected and I'm sorry that it did take a broken arm, but I know God has a plan even in that. How else do you meet a nurse? You've got to go to a hospital! At least I know I've got good care now, just down the street! Well, there's much more to write, but the world has woken up......
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
God is Our Strong Tower - a Test
I had just said to my husband two days earlier, "I wish we could hear another motivational speaker on finances." It had been so great when Barry Cameron had been in town from Texas to give his talk on financial freedom. We had loved reading Dave Ramsey's book on getting out of debt or listening to him every day on the radio. Each time we had heard or read from these guys, it gave us that little boost we needed to keep going. We needed another boost, I felt. That's why I made that comment.
Then we walked into church on Sunday morning and the pastor said, "Today we will be talking about finances from the book of Proverbs." No way! So we got our motivational talk after all, from God. The visiting pastor even had an American accent like the other two financial gurus we love, so it felt like we were listening to one of them. Proverbs says it all. Everything we already knew, but it was good to hear it again.
In short, we can't make the pursuit of money our strong tower. God is our strong tower, 18:11, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his imagination." We think our money will protect us, but it can't. And, almost to prove my point, I got a call from my sister the next day saying she had been robbed. I couldn't believe my ears. They had been away for a week and came back to their house been completely ransacked from top to bottom. Everything electronic was taken, all my sister's jewellery and who knows what else. Such a terrible experience to come back to. The verse certainly came to life all of a sudden. I thank God that my sister and her husband already knew where their strong tower was, that it wasn't in anything they owned. Because of this they are walking around in complete peace even though their material possessions and their world as they knew it has been turned upside down temporarily. They've been able to handle this new situation with calmness of heart as they know you can't take any of those things with you to heaven anyway. God is their strong tower and this situation has proven it which is why they find themselves safe.
Wow, talk about God's Word coming to life. The pastor said many more things that we've all been meditating on all week. My favourite line has been, "The wise are not confused about wealth." We really have no reason to suffer from confusion about our money if we read Proverbs. We can't be confused! So much more to say, but a three year old has woken up....... more later.
Then we walked into church on Sunday morning and the pastor said, "Today we will be talking about finances from the book of Proverbs." No way! So we got our motivational talk after all, from God. The visiting pastor even had an American accent like the other two financial gurus we love, so it felt like we were listening to one of them. Proverbs says it all. Everything we already knew, but it was good to hear it again.
In short, we can't make the pursuit of money our strong tower. God is our strong tower, 18:11, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his imagination." We think our money will protect us, but it can't. And, almost to prove my point, I got a call from my sister the next day saying she had been robbed. I couldn't believe my ears. They had been away for a week and came back to their house been completely ransacked from top to bottom. Everything electronic was taken, all my sister's jewellery and who knows what else. Such a terrible experience to come back to. The verse certainly came to life all of a sudden. I thank God that my sister and her husband already knew where their strong tower was, that it wasn't in anything they owned. Because of this they are walking around in complete peace even though their material possessions and their world as they knew it has been turned upside down temporarily. They've been able to handle this new situation with calmness of heart as they know you can't take any of those things with you to heaven anyway. God is their strong tower and this situation has proven it which is why they find themselves safe.
Wow, talk about God's Word coming to life. The pastor said many more things that we've all been meditating on all week. My favourite line has been, "The wise are not confused about wealth." We really have no reason to suffer from confusion about our money if we read Proverbs. We can't be confused! So much more to say, but a three year old has woken up....... more later.
Friday, 10 July 2015
Little by Little, Mother-in-Law Memories and Half-Birthdays
Lately our goal is, do just one thing every evening, referring to our massive list of things that need to get done this summer around the house and farm. We still haven't finished the insulating of the house and went through another verrrry cold winter. We still haven't fixed the awful water mess in the basement...... like I said, it is a massive list and none of it is fun or easy, but by doing just one thing, or working an hour here or there, it is slowly getting done.
Last night, RM took on the beginnings of drying out the basement. He had to rework the plumbing from the laundry and then the kitchen sink/dishwasher. It only took a couple of hours and one trip to the hardware store, but then the drying out could begin. We've had to start the removal of all storage bins that were down in the swamp and, of course, found out quite a few things were ruined in the process, which is unfortunate, but helps me decide what to keep and what to throw out!
Exodus 23:30 has been my motto during this time. It is a verse referring to how God is going to help Moses and the Israelites conquer Canaan, driving out all the people that stand in their way. The encouragement really begins in verse 29, "I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land."
There it is - little by little - that's how we're going to accomplish our house renovations, our mortgage debt, raising our children..... It just doesn't happen in one year, even God says so! I no longer get discouraged when it isn't happening fast as I realize now, it isn't supposed to!
This afternoon, it is the beginning of siding the house. We started last summer and made great progress, but there is a whole other section of the house to do. We are planning on "hiring" our children. I'm so grateful for my sons' new muscles! Both my older boys are getting quite big now and have tremendous strength. My older daughter is going to be the "painter". I'm not sure how much she'll love that, but oh well!
I have hope again. I have hope even though a lot of the things we have on our list were on last year's list and that may happen again this year. Some things might carry over into the next summer. That's ok. I don't want to be ruled by "the list". That steals my joy and robs me from enjoying my summer. Summer goes fast enough without me ruining it all on my own. My hope comes from the fact, we will get done what we can by doing this "little by little" approach. That verse tells me whatever we get done is exactly what we are supposed to get done. I can rest in that and not be stressed.
Meanwhile, I found out I do have some friendly neighbours. One of our neighbours on a nearby street is planning a tea party every Friday for just 45 minutes for whoever wants to come. She invited all the neighbours in the area. I've been busy for the last two Fridays, but plan on going today. I find that such an encouragement to think others long for relationship, too.
Little by little - it's such a great approach to everything in life.
I should add, today is my mother-in-law's birthday. I have two distinct memories of her from over 20 years ago. The first one was when I was not even in a relationship with her son. She had come to visit from Winnipeg, where she and her husband were still living at the time, and was at our church. The first thing I thought was, "Wow, does her son ever look like her!" (referring to my not-yet-husband!). Then I thought, "She is a funky lady! Check out her glasses!" Right away, I could tell she had a really neat sense of style and now that I know her a little bit better, it makes complete sense. She does have great taste in everything, from clothes, to decorating, to gardening, to cooking. She is a really neat lady. She passed this on to her sons, which I am very grateful for!
My other very distinct memory was when I was in the courting stages with RM. I had come home from Colombia for Christmas and we had decided it would be a good idea if I flew out to Winnipeg to meet his parents. He went ahead of me and met me at the Winnipeg airport. My brother thought this must mean things were pretty serious and started to try to tease me and get me all paranoid. His parents were German, so every time I saw my brother he started to speak in a German accent acting like he was interrogating me. It worked. I was starting to picture his parents, his mom in particular, like a very scary woman who was going to be a nightmare to impress.
RM met me at the airport as planned and we went right to the store where his mom was working. I was literally shaking in my boots. We got up the stairs and went towards the place where she was. Then I saw her. She saw me. She almost jumped out from behind the cash register and ran towards me, but not to interrogate me, to hug me! She was grinning from ear to ear and was so excited to meet me! It was like I was a long lost daughter! I couldn't believe it and right then and there, I broke down and started to cry! I told her I had been so afraid to meet her, but instead found out that she was so nice! My bad brother!!!!!! I'll still have to get him back for that. She has been the greatest mother-in-law our whole marriage. She's been so generous to us, kind, forgiving when I mess up as a daughter-in-law.... she's what I hope to be one day, not a scary mother-in-law, but a supportive, loving one. I love her son and how she raised him. I'm so grateful he was born into their family. That week that I was there to meet his family, I observed how he treated his mom. Supposedly, if a guy treats his mom nicely, then he'll treat his wife in the same way. I wasn't sure if that was true, but I watched very closely. He was so good to her and they had a very special relationship. They still do. They talk on the phone several times a week even now and are very close. That really moved me and it made me really start to fall for RM. That was one of the turning points in the relationship for me. I left Winnipeg wanting a ring on my finger. It happened only days later.
Her birthday is also my daughter's half birthday! She is only 6 months away from being 18!!!! How is that possible!!!???? She can't stand it. She knows she isn't a kid anymore! She is so sad about that! I keep trying to tell her it only gets better and it does, but there is a sense of loss, too. She sees her little siblings playing in the sandbox and she realizes she doesn't do that anymore! Ahhhh....growing up, so hard.
So Happy Birthday, Mom! And Happy Half-Birthday Big Girl! Love you both.
Last night, RM took on the beginnings of drying out the basement. He had to rework the plumbing from the laundry and then the kitchen sink/dishwasher. It only took a couple of hours and one trip to the hardware store, but then the drying out could begin. We've had to start the removal of all storage bins that were down in the swamp and, of course, found out quite a few things were ruined in the process, which is unfortunate, but helps me decide what to keep and what to throw out!
Exodus 23:30 has been my motto during this time. It is a verse referring to how God is going to help Moses and the Israelites conquer Canaan, driving out all the people that stand in their way. The encouragement really begins in verse 29, "I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land."
There it is - little by little - that's how we're going to accomplish our house renovations, our mortgage debt, raising our children..... It just doesn't happen in one year, even God says so! I no longer get discouraged when it isn't happening fast as I realize now, it isn't supposed to!
This afternoon, it is the beginning of siding the house. We started last summer and made great progress, but there is a whole other section of the house to do. We are planning on "hiring" our children. I'm so grateful for my sons' new muscles! Both my older boys are getting quite big now and have tremendous strength. My older daughter is going to be the "painter". I'm not sure how much she'll love that, but oh well!
I have hope again. I have hope even though a lot of the things we have on our list were on last year's list and that may happen again this year. Some things might carry over into the next summer. That's ok. I don't want to be ruled by "the list". That steals my joy and robs me from enjoying my summer. Summer goes fast enough without me ruining it all on my own. My hope comes from the fact, we will get done what we can by doing this "little by little" approach. That verse tells me whatever we get done is exactly what we are supposed to get done. I can rest in that and not be stressed.
Meanwhile, I found out I do have some friendly neighbours. One of our neighbours on a nearby street is planning a tea party every Friday for just 45 minutes for whoever wants to come. She invited all the neighbours in the area. I've been busy for the last two Fridays, but plan on going today. I find that such an encouragement to think others long for relationship, too.
Little by little - it's such a great approach to everything in life.
I should add, today is my mother-in-law's birthday. I have two distinct memories of her from over 20 years ago. The first one was when I was not even in a relationship with her son. She had come to visit from Winnipeg, where she and her husband were still living at the time, and was at our church. The first thing I thought was, "Wow, does her son ever look like her!" (referring to my not-yet-husband!). Then I thought, "She is a funky lady! Check out her glasses!" Right away, I could tell she had a really neat sense of style and now that I know her a little bit better, it makes complete sense. She does have great taste in everything, from clothes, to decorating, to gardening, to cooking. She is a really neat lady. She passed this on to her sons, which I am very grateful for!
My other very distinct memory was when I was in the courting stages with RM. I had come home from Colombia for Christmas and we had decided it would be a good idea if I flew out to Winnipeg to meet his parents. He went ahead of me and met me at the Winnipeg airport. My brother thought this must mean things were pretty serious and started to try to tease me and get me all paranoid. His parents were German, so every time I saw my brother he started to speak in a German accent acting like he was interrogating me. It worked. I was starting to picture his parents, his mom in particular, like a very scary woman who was going to be a nightmare to impress.
RM met me at the airport as planned and we went right to the store where his mom was working. I was literally shaking in my boots. We got up the stairs and went towards the place where she was. Then I saw her. She saw me. She almost jumped out from behind the cash register and ran towards me, but not to interrogate me, to hug me! She was grinning from ear to ear and was so excited to meet me! It was like I was a long lost daughter! I couldn't believe it and right then and there, I broke down and started to cry! I told her I had been so afraid to meet her, but instead found out that she was so nice! My bad brother!!!!!! I'll still have to get him back for that. She has been the greatest mother-in-law our whole marriage. She's been so generous to us, kind, forgiving when I mess up as a daughter-in-law.... she's what I hope to be one day, not a scary mother-in-law, but a supportive, loving one. I love her son and how she raised him. I'm so grateful he was born into their family. That week that I was there to meet his family, I observed how he treated his mom. Supposedly, if a guy treats his mom nicely, then he'll treat his wife in the same way. I wasn't sure if that was true, but I watched very closely. He was so good to her and they had a very special relationship. They still do. They talk on the phone several times a week even now and are very close. That really moved me and it made me really start to fall for RM. That was one of the turning points in the relationship for me. I left Winnipeg wanting a ring on my finger. It happened only days later.
Her birthday is also my daughter's half birthday! She is only 6 months away from being 18!!!! How is that possible!!!???? She can't stand it. She knows she isn't a kid anymore! She is so sad about that! I keep trying to tell her it only gets better and it does, but there is a sense of loss, too. She sees her little siblings playing in the sandbox and she realizes she doesn't do that anymore! Ahhhh....growing up, so hard.
So Happy Birthday, Mom! And Happy Half-Birthday Big Girl! Love you both.
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Clotheslines, House Infertitlity and Contentment
Well, they say good things come to those who wait and I waited! But yesterday I finally got my clothesline! Seems like a small thing, but not to me! I had been using our dryer of course before the clothesline and realized there has got to be a better way and cheaper way. RM had it on his list, but there were many things before that on his list of priorities.
I tried to get creative and hung things on trees! That didn't work very well. Everything fell off or got dirtier! Then I got some rope from the shop and hung it between trees. Also not very great. I couldn't make the rope taut enough so it fell to the ground with one or two wet towels on it.
Then one day I looked at the chicken coop fence and realized it was perfect! Everything from an entire load or two would go on it. It was strong enough to hold everything. I didn't even need clothes pins as the fence had little wires on the top that the clothes attached themselves to (although that did cause a few holes here and there!). I was quite proud of myself. I had managed to solve my problem and it relieved my husband for the time being. I did that for most of last summer and all of this spring and summer until yesterday.
Here is the "before" picture: (clothes thrown on by kids, so not so tidy looking!)
Here is the "after" picture:
Something just clicked in my husband's head that made him realize it wasn't that big a deal. I was so grateful! I share this story for a couple of reasons. I think we, as wives, can be more resourceful than we realize. I think we think that unless our husbands do it, it can't be done. Truth is, I have a lot of friends that I like to call "capable women" who do take on many things, not waiting for their husbands. Not out of disrespect for their husbands, but because they realize they can help their husbands by taking something off their already long list. The alternative is to become wives who complain and pester their husbands. I'm sure I mentioned the clothesline more than once to my husband, but I tried to be mindful of how it might come across to him. I can tell when I've crossed the line (pardon the pun...) Anyway, I'm learning to come up with solutions that take things off my husband's list until he can get to them. It's one way I can help him.
The other reason I mention this is to remind us how we can go to God, even about things like clotheslines, instead of becoming the kind of wife we know we aren't supposed to be. I had a long chat about this with a close friend yesterday. She is struggling, longing for a change in her circumstance. She has communicated this to her husband and he is doing his best to provide. What is she to do in the meantime? What if things don't change for her? We decided she had to come to grips with her attitude first and foremost. She knew this, but it was good to think about that again. She already felt conviction about being a "drippy faucet", but sometimes we just can't help ourselves! We talked about all the positives about staying where she is at, if she never gets out of her current situation. We talked about the worse case scenarios if her situation never changes. Suddenly it didn't seem so awful. Finally we prayed, for herself, for her husband, for change, but for contentment in the meantime.
It's like me and the clothesline - I just had to be content with a silly little thing like not having a clothesline. What was the worse case? Hanging my clothes on the fence for the rest of my life? No big deal. Once I was at that place of contentment.....a clothesline suddenly appeared! It was completely out of the blue! He literally started hanging it up last night without me saying a word!
My friend is learning that awful lesson of contentment. How we fight this particular wife/life lesson.
A pastor we heard talk on Sunday prayed for his congregation and for those who were baptizing their children, but then he stopped and prayed for those who might be finding the day particularly hard, especially if they were infertile. "Lord," he prayed, "Please bless them with children, but if that is not your will, bring them to a place of contentment." I shared that prayer with my friend who longs to live in a house, not an apartment. We realized she had "house infertility". We laughed, but it's true! She longs for a home, just like some long for kids. Our prayer continued on to echo that pastor's prayer:
"Lord, give her a home, but if it isn't your will, bring her to a place of contentment."
I tried to get creative and hung things on trees! That didn't work very well. Everything fell off or got dirtier! Then I got some rope from the shop and hung it between trees. Also not very great. I couldn't make the rope taut enough so it fell to the ground with one or two wet towels on it.
Then one day I looked at the chicken coop fence and realized it was perfect! Everything from an entire load or two would go on it. It was strong enough to hold everything. I didn't even need clothes pins as the fence had little wires on the top that the clothes attached themselves to (although that did cause a few holes here and there!). I was quite proud of myself. I had managed to solve my problem and it relieved my husband for the time being. I did that for most of last summer and all of this spring and summer until yesterday.
Here is the "before" picture: (clothes thrown on by kids, so not so tidy looking!)
Something just clicked in my husband's head that made him realize it wasn't that big a deal. I was so grateful! I share this story for a couple of reasons. I think we, as wives, can be more resourceful than we realize. I think we think that unless our husbands do it, it can't be done. Truth is, I have a lot of friends that I like to call "capable women" who do take on many things, not waiting for their husbands. Not out of disrespect for their husbands, but because they realize they can help their husbands by taking something off their already long list. The alternative is to become wives who complain and pester their husbands. I'm sure I mentioned the clothesline more than once to my husband, but I tried to be mindful of how it might come across to him. I can tell when I've crossed the line (pardon the pun...) Anyway, I'm learning to come up with solutions that take things off my husband's list until he can get to them. It's one way I can help him.
The other reason I mention this is to remind us how we can go to God, even about things like clotheslines, instead of becoming the kind of wife we know we aren't supposed to be. I had a long chat about this with a close friend yesterday. She is struggling, longing for a change in her circumstance. She has communicated this to her husband and he is doing his best to provide. What is she to do in the meantime? What if things don't change for her? We decided she had to come to grips with her attitude first and foremost. She knew this, but it was good to think about that again. She already felt conviction about being a "drippy faucet", but sometimes we just can't help ourselves! We talked about all the positives about staying where she is at, if she never gets out of her current situation. We talked about the worse case scenarios if her situation never changes. Suddenly it didn't seem so awful. Finally we prayed, for herself, for her husband, for change, but for contentment in the meantime.
It's like me and the clothesline - I just had to be content with a silly little thing like not having a clothesline. What was the worse case? Hanging my clothes on the fence for the rest of my life? No big deal. Once I was at that place of contentment.....a clothesline suddenly appeared! It was completely out of the blue! He literally started hanging it up last night without me saying a word!
My friend is learning that awful lesson of contentment. How we fight this particular wife/life lesson.
A pastor we heard talk on Sunday prayed for his congregation and for those who were baptizing their children, but then he stopped and prayed for those who might be finding the day particularly hard, especially if they were infertile. "Lord," he prayed, "Please bless them with children, but if that is not your will, bring them to a place of contentment." I shared that prayer with my friend who longs to live in a house, not an apartment. We realized she had "house infertility". We laughed, but it's true! She longs for a home, just like some long for kids. Our prayer continued on to echo that pastor's prayer:
"Lord, give her a home, but if it isn't your will, bring her to a place of contentment."
Monday, 6 July 2015
Delayed Blessing Office
What a gorgeous weekend compared to last weekend! The craft show organizers must just shake their head as to how the weather went so badly for them (and me!) a few days ago. I'm sure there were even a few that were on the organizing committee that prayed for the weather and it still went so badly.
I read in my devotional book last week about the "Delayed Blessings Office" located up in heaven. Someone wrote in a book about a character that was being led around heaven and was brought to this place where he learned where "God stored the answers to certain prayers until it was wise to send them." The devotional went on to describe that "delays of answers are not denials. In fact, in the "Delayed Blessings Office" there are deep secrets of clove and wisdom that we have never imagined! We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully ripe."
That has helped me to understand even a washed out craft show is not a denial of my prayer as I had done it in the hopes of making extra income to put towards debt. It seemed like God wasn't answering my prayer. We actually lost money on the whole show which really confused me. But it isn't a denial as much as it is a delay. I now have a lot of inventory for another show which I'm hoping to sign up for and possibly others. It motivated us to really work hard as a family. It showed us we could do things we'd never done before. So it wasn't a waste of money at all. It really taught us a lot.
My own children are learning this lesson as well. The older two were looking forward to the Worldview Camp that my daughter went to last year. It was supposed to take place in a couple weeks time. They were counting down the days. Then, out of the blue, it was cancelled. Not enough signed up. It seems they were losing money every year and perhaps they just couldn't afford to lose money again. Either way, my kids were devastated. This was going to be the highlight of their summer!
But, the very day that it was cancelled, an email came through explaining another evangelism/worldview type of camp. At this camp, or really a training week, all the world religions were going to be explained and then have you actually go to the mosques and temples of these religions. Then the students will be trained on how to share their faith with those people of other faiths. It actually sounded like a really good alternative. It wasn't an overnight camp, but it was so close that they would be able to drive back and forth. On the one hand, it seems like God answered their prayers immediately for another alternative, but on the other hand, it seems like God denied them what they really had hoped to do as my kids were looking forward to meeting up with the friends my daughter had made from last year. Is it a denial of a prayer request or perhaps a delayed answer? We are all anxiously waiting to see how this all goes. I'm now in this new role of watching my kids go through trials that are teaching them about God and how He works in their life. It is hard! I guess all parents want to fix things for their kids and make life just work out and be easy.
The last line in the devotional is great - "Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Instead, lift up your eyes and begin praising Him right now for the deliverance that is on its way to you." I don't think it occurs to us that we might be grieving God when we doubt Him. We wouldn't want to be known as grieving God, but that is exactly what we are doing. What great life lessons for our children.
I, too, want God to answer my prayers as soon as they are prayed. I've definitely seen how delayed answers are God's way of showing me His love and wisdom. One of the most obvious delays was in how long we looked for this farm. We looked for 7 years. That is a looong time!!! I remember how many times I was so discouraged when we would come back week after week, farm after farm, after looking at so many different properties. They were always too expensive or too much of a dump or a quarry was going to be put in or a railroad or a garbage dump or........ we were about to give up. But through it all, I forced myself time and time again to try to trust God, to try to believe He was in control. I faked it sometimes and would just say "thank you for not giving us a property right now", but deep down I wasn't very thankful. But even faking it was ok as I knew getting a property when we weren't ready for it wouldn't have been good either. I really did believe God was in control and I knew it was better that He was planning my life, not me.
Now that we are on a farm, with animals and outbuildings and lots of grass to mow, I can see why God waited. There is no way we would have been able to do this when our children were so young. It would have all been on my husband and that would have killed him. Right from the beginning, our kids have basically run the farm, done all the lawn care and animal care, leaving my husband to take care of the big stuff as well as his business, which is enough on its own. I'm so grateful for the delayed answer. It has taught me to be more trusting of other delays, even in our debt-reduction. I wanted it to be over and done with right away. I'm already seeing how not answering my prayers right away have taught us multiple lessons and we've been able to see God work many miracles in the process. Had he sent a big cheque in the mail on Day 1, I think we would have missed out on all the "deep secrets of love and wisdom" that He wanted us to have.
Is there really an office up in heaven? No, but picturing it like that has helped me to try to be a more patient Christian.
I read in my devotional book last week about the "Delayed Blessings Office" located up in heaven. Someone wrote in a book about a character that was being led around heaven and was brought to this place where he learned where "God stored the answers to certain prayers until it was wise to send them." The devotional went on to describe that "delays of answers are not denials. In fact, in the "Delayed Blessings Office" there are deep secrets of clove and wisdom that we have never imagined! We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully ripe."
That has helped me to understand even a washed out craft show is not a denial of my prayer as I had done it in the hopes of making extra income to put towards debt. It seemed like God wasn't answering my prayer. We actually lost money on the whole show which really confused me. But it isn't a denial as much as it is a delay. I now have a lot of inventory for another show which I'm hoping to sign up for and possibly others. It motivated us to really work hard as a family. It showed us we could do things we'd never done before. So it wasn't a waste of money at all. It really taught us a lot.
My own children are learning this lesson as well. The older two were looking forward to the Worldview Camp that my daughter went to last year. It was supposed to take place in a couple weeks time. They were counting down the days. Then, out of the blue, it was cancelled. Not enough signed up. It seems they were losing money every year and perhaps they just couldn't afford to lose money again. Either way, my kids were devastated. This was going to be the highlight of their summer!
But, the very day that it was cancelled, an email came through explaining another evangelism/worldview type of camp. At this camp, or really a training week, all the world religions were going to be explained and then have you actually go to the mosques and temples of these religions. Then the students will be trained on how to share their faith with those people of other faiths. It actually sounded like a really good alternative. It wasn't an overnight camp, but it was so close that they would be able to drive back and forth. On the one hand, it seems like God answered their prayers immediately for another alternative, but on the other hand, it seems like God denied them what they really had hoped to do as my kids were looking forward to meeting up with the friends my daughter had made from last year. Is it a denial of a prayer request or perhaps a delayed answer? We are all anxiously waiting to see how this all goes. I'm now in this new role of watching my kids go through trials that are teaching them about God and how He works in their life. It is hard! I guess all parents want to fix things for their kids and make life just work out and be easy.
The last line in the devotional is great - "Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Instead, lift up your eyes and begin praising Him right now for the deliverance that is on its way to you." I don't think it occurs to us that we might be grieving God when we doubt Him. We wouldn't want to be known as grieving God, but that is exactly what we are doing. What great life lessons for our children.
I, too, want God to answer my prayers as soon as they are prayed. I've definitely seen how delayed answers are God's way of showing me His love and wisdom. One of the most obvious delays was in how long we looked for this farm. We looked for 7 years. That is a looong time!!! I remember how many times I was so discouraged when we would come back week after week, farm after farm, after looking at so many different properties. They were always too expensive or too much of a dump or a quarry was going to be put in or a railroad or a garbage dump or........ we were about to give up. But through it all, I forced myself time and time again to try to trust God, to try to believe He was in control. I faked it sometimes and would just say "thank you for not giving us a property right now", but deep down I wasn't very thankful. But even faking it was ok as I knew getting a property when we weren't ready for it wouldn't have been good either. I really did believe God was in control and I knew it was better that He was planning my life, not me.
Now that we are on a farm, with animals and outbuildings and lots of grass to mow, I can see why God waited. There is no way we would have been able to do this when our children were so young. It would have all been on my husband and that would have killed him. Right from the beginning, our kids have basically run the farm, done all the lawn care and animal care, leaving my husband to take care of the big stuff as well as his business, which is enough on its own. I'm so grateful for the delayed answer. It has taught me to be more trusting of other delays, even in our debt-reduction. I wanted it to be over and done with right away. I'm already seeing how not answering my prayers right away have taught us multiple lessons and we've been able to see God work many miracles in the process. Had he sent a big cheque in the mail on Day 1, I think we would have missed out on all the "deep secrets of love and wisdom" that He wanted us to have.
Is there really an office up in heaven? No, but picturing it like that has helped me to try to be a more patient Christian.
Friday, 3 July 2015
Canada Day...on the cheap
Well, it has been one busy week, so much so that I haven't written at all! The usual pattern for the morning was to do a short run and then come back and write and read. I started to calculate how long I was actually running and knew it was definitely short of 5k. I didn't want to run longer than that though! My husband used to run track so I asked him how I should be training. He encouraged the longer run for sure so that I wouldn't die the day of. I wasn't happy about this, but I did remember this particular run is full of terrible hills. I live only minutes from where the 5k race will be. I decided I would run down to the race and start actually training there. The first morning it took me an hour to get there and back! We calculated I was now running more than 6k which my husband said is perfect - overtrain for the race and that will make the race seem easy! Ha. Not yet, anyway. I've shortened the time quite a bit in this one week, but those hills are killers. I can't make them all the way yet without stopping.
All that to say..... by the time I get back home, kids are up and there is no time to write or read! We'll see if I can somehow back into a new pattern....
The craft sale was almost a week ago. I'd love to say it was a huge hit, but sadly, we were rained out and packed up at noon! I can't quite figure out why that happened except that it was a good motivator to get us to finish up some crafts. I managed to sell one skirt and got some interest in other things we made, but not much else! It was still fun to interact with people in the community and to see what other people were selling. Perhaps more craft sales as the summer goes by.
The rest of the week we cleaned and prepped for a Canada Day event we like to host. How do you this when you are trying to be good with money? It can be super expensive to host anything, even just having another family over for dinner, but we do this one really inexpensively which is why we're able to do it year after year. There's no fancy drinks, just a jug of water and a jug of juice, a few Styrofoam cups. We buy the hotdogs and buns and then others chip in with snacks or desserts. This seems to keep everyone happy and fed. Perhaps not with the most nutritious food, but it's a party, right??? The most expensive part is probably the fireworks, but again, quite a few bring fireworks as well as the ones we buy and the "show" seems to go on for a very long time! The dollar store is an awesome source for glow in the dark sticks and that makes all the kids happy. At the end of the day, it isn't so much about the food anyway. It's about a bunch of friends getting together and celebrating our country.
I loved checking on my 5 year old after he had gone to bed. He was lying there fast asleep.... glowing. He had a glow band on both wrists and ankles. It was a cute picture.
The rest of the event doesn't really cost anything as people just hang out and chat. Our "band" consists of a sweet family that bring their flute and recorder and just before the sun goes down, we all get out the sparklers and as they burn down we all sing O Canada as they play their instruments. It's probably my favourite part of the evening as the glow of the sunset plus the burning sparklers mixed in with the beautiful singing.... it seems magical. After that we sing the second verse (which they bring copies of). Few know this verse which calls on the name of the Lord to help us. When this part is over, my husband or someone else (this time it was our pastor), prays for our nation. It is wonderful to thank God for our country and all the freedoms we enjoy, the beauty of our country, the friends we have, the God we serve... so much to be thankful for on Canada Day!
By this point, everyone has had a full day of running around, playing volleyball or Frisbee, and the kids are full of sugary desserts..... Once those fireworks are done, it is mind boggling how quickly everyone disappears! We come back in and chat for a few minutes about the evening to see if everyone had fun. I haven't seen the kids for most of the night, even the 3 year old and 5 year old have been busy playing and running around. They only check in a few times during the night to see where the food and water is..... Then, we crash, too.
It was a full day before everyone arrived. We had found out that we needed to mow between the grapevines after we pruned to keep the nutrients in the ground going to the grapes, not to growing grass, but my husband had promised me a sand box for the little ones! I somehow convinced him to do the sandbox first before he mowed. It's always more work than it appears! It took him the better part of the day as nothing on our place is level and he can't stand it when things aren't level! So, he was tired, but it got finished and now we have a huge sandbox (are you allowed to love sandboxes?!). This will keep the kids busy for hours. Every age group seems to love sand! This wasn't free to build unfortunately, but it was an investment and again, keeps me home instead of driving around to playgrounds looking for things for the kids to do.
Somehow, RM managed to find a few minutes to mow between the grapes after that and shortly after people started to arrive, so he called it quits and joined the party. A full day, but a great day.
Of course, now my kids wonder, "What can we look forward to next???"
All that to say..... by the time I get back home, kids are up and there is no time to write or read! We'll see if I can somehow back into a new pattern....
The craft sale was almost a week ago. I'd love to say it was a huge hit, but sadly, we were rained out and packed up at noon! I can't quite figure out why that happened except that it was a good motivator to get us to finish up some crafts. I managed to sell one skirt and got some interest in other things we made, but not much else! It was still fun to interact with people in the community and to see what other people were selling. Perhaps more craft sales as the summer goes by.
The rest of the week we cleaned and prepped for a Canada Day event we like to host. How do you this when you are trying to be good with money? It can be super expensive to host anything, even just having another family over for dinner, but we do this one really inexpensively which is why we're able to do it year after year. There's no fancy drinks, just a jug of water and a jug of juice, a few Styrofoam cups. We buy the hotdogs and buns and then others chip in with snacks or desserts. This seems to keep everyone happy and fed. Perhaps not with the most nutritious food, but it's a party, right??? The most expensive part is probably the fireworks, but again, quite a few bring fireworks as well as the ones we buy and the "show" seems to go on for a very long time! The dollar store is an awesome source for glow in the dark sticks and that makes all the kids happy. At the end of the day, it isn't so much about the food anyway. It's about a bunch of friends getting together and celebrating our country.
I loved checking on my 5 year old after he had gone to bed. He was lying there fast asleep.... glowing. He had a glow band on both wrists and ankles. It was a cute picture.
The rest of the event doesn't really cost anything as people just hang out and chat. Our "band" consists of a sweet family that bring their flute and recorder and just before the sun goes down, we all get out the sparklers and as they burn down we all sing O Canada as they play their instruments. It's probably my favourite part of the evening as the glow of the sunset plus the burning sparklers mixed in with the beautiful singing.... it seems magical. After that we sing the second verse (which they bring copies of). Few know this verse which calls on the name of the Lord to help us. When this part is over, my husband or someone else (this time it was our pastor), prays for our nation. It is wonderful to thank God for our country and all the freedoms we enjoy, the beauty of our country, the friends we have, the God we serve... so much to be thankful for on Canada Day!
By this point, everyone has had a full day of running around, playing volleyball or Frisbee, and the kids are full of sugary desserts..... Once those fireworks are done, it is mind boggling how quickly everyone disappears! We come back in and chat for a few minutes about the evening to see if everyone had fun. I haven't seen the kids for most of the night, even the 3 year old and 5 year old have been busy playing and running around. They only check in a few times during the night to see where the food and water is..... Then, we crash, too.
It was a full day before everyone arrived. We had found out that we needed to mow between the grapevines after we pruned to keep the nutrients in the ground going to the grapes, not to growing grass, but my husband had promised me a sand box for the little ones! I somehow convinced him to do the sandbox first before he mowed. It's always more work than it appears! It took him the better part of the day as nothing on our place is level and he can't stand it when things aren't level! So, he was tired, but it got finished and now we have a huge sandbox (are you allowed to love sandboxes?!). This will keep the kids busy for hours. Every age group seems to love sand! This wasn't free to build unfortunately, but it was an investment and again, keeps me home instead of driving around to playgrounds looking for things for the kids to do.
Somehow, RM managed to find a few minutes to mow between the grapes after that and shortly after people started to arrive, so he called it quits and joined the party. A full day, but a great day.
Of course, now my kids wonder, "What can we look forward to next???"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)