An Age of Treasures

Is there much fulfillment in getting older? If one were to base their answer to this question from simply watching television or flipping through magazines at the local newsstand, it would become apparent that our society places a high value on youth and maintaining an image of youthfulness. The older generation, who isn’t known for being hip, cool, or chic, is not often esteemed in the media for their graying hair, years of life experiences, and their wisdom. Instead our society has downplayed the blessings, the treasures, and the priceless gifts that can be found in the latter years of life. As I turned another year older in November I carefully pondered over what is there to gain from getting older. Growing older provides a unique opportunity to develop in wisdom, as you grow in the knowledge of truth from God’s Word you find yourself desiring the things of this world less, and the less that you desire worldly treasures you long more for your eternal home. Maybe there is some fulfillment to be obtained in the aging process after all.

To many people being thirty-seven years old is not ancient. To a budding, nineteen year old that’s about to be twenty something, it’s not just old. It’s ancient.  Although the media may glorify the young and beautiful, in recent years our society has experienced an acceptance and celebration of Grandmothers and Grandfathers. One article entitled, “How Society Misunderstands the Elderly”, makes claims that the baby boomers of today are establishing a new trend in what it means in 2016 to be old. Grandmothers don’t like to be called “Grandma” because of the negative, old connotation that the title Grandmother carries. Many Grandparents, who do not settle for simply growing old behind closed doors, are not letting a case of arthritis slow them down in life. Instead, you’ll find the baby boomers of today on the move, traveling, trying new hobbies, and taking advantage of life in a way that the previous older generation may not have done. There is an aspect of growing old that the collective, older generation do have in common. They grow in wisdom. A dictionary definition of wisdom is,

Wisdom (def):

The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.

No matter how old one gets, they will have experiences and will gain knowledge from those experiences. As I pondered over this first growing-old treasure, I smiled to myself to think about the quality of wisdom one can gain from studying God’s Word day in and day out as they celebrate one birthday after another. The Bible is full of riches and truth that as the dictionary explains, provides good judgement. We can obtain wisdom from the world, but what difference would it make in our life if we obtain wisdom that came from the Creator of Heaven, Earth, and of us? In my short thirty-seven years of life one of the unique gifts of wisdom I’ve obtain from God’s holy Word is a sensitivity to sin. As I read and ponder over the fact that none of us our righteous, I see how I fall short daily of God’s righteous standard. Though I desire to honor God with my life and be a light in the world, I constantly struggle in my flesh. This constant struggle beckons me to run to God’s Word to know Him more and seek to walk in obedience. While thirty-seven may not be ancient, it does carry with it life experiences that add to growing older.

                As a believer in Christ longs for God’s Word and maturing in wisdom, they may find themselves loving the things of this world to a lesser degree. For that budding nineteen year old, the excitement that awaits them when they finally move out of their parent’s home seems almost intoxicating. There is freedom finally after years of living under the shelter of home. While they may have the best intentions of simply living life to its fullest and taking in all that is has to offer, godly wisdom whispers to them there is a lust within their flesh, a desire within their eyes, and a pride of life that is feeding their inner man or woman to sacrifice all to be fulfilled. A lack of wisdom bring this realization to light. Understanding these desires comes from careful study of God’s Word and it can be an immense treasure to be attained as one grows older, lives life, and clings to the Word of God. As I’ve grown a year older in 2016 my affection for the world isn’t fueled by the shiny, new, and sparkly nature of the world as it once was in my young eyes.   

                If the Lord allows me to see another year in 2017 and I mature more, what do I have to look forward to if my flesh desires this world less and less? The answer is the last treasure that developing in Christ gives. In my younger years I remember like it was yesterday the excitement I felt in my spirit over experiencing life. Feeling what it was like to discover and face something first-hand simply got my blood going. So much that I can’t imagine in those years that I could ever imagine leaving this Earth. There was too much to be experienced. During those years I recall thinking to myself, “If I love being here so much that I don’t want to leave, what is the basis of my faith in a God and in a Heaven that I don’t long for?” If there was a longing in my Spirit for Heaven in my earlier years, it was surely minimal and thinking back I believe part of that missed longing was a lack of knowledge of who my God was. Longing for Heaven is a fortune to be claimed and made personal in a believer’s life. The devil wants me to be so content, satisfied, and happy here that I don’t seek to know my Savior. He also wants me to think that I’m such a great, fantastic, and wonderful person that I don’t recognize my poverty of spirit and need for a Savior. As I wrestle daily with my flesh, I now long to be away from this body where I will never have to struggle with my sin nature again. The work that the Lord has planned for me to accomplish on this Earth will one day be complete and my work in Heaven, honoring and glorifying my Savior, will begin and will last for eternity. What a celebration there is to be had for the believer in Christ as they age, mature, and grow older. There is wisdom to be gained, a fulfillment within the spirit to be claimed, and a longing for Heaven to be enjoyed though the Earth and all that’s in it is wasting away. I’ll take the age of 37 and however many years to come as long as I have my Savior and the Holy Spirit maturing, teaching, and blessing me with these treasures until I see my Lord face to face.

Fall Pictures 2016 - Sneak Peek!

I love pictures so much. They can capture what a person's feeling in their heart and they give us a glimpse into the joy that can be found between people. We've made it a family tradition to take pictures in the Fall for our family Christmas card. This year my girls wanted to venture to the George Washington's Birthplace. They have so many beautiful spots with wonderful backgrounds.

Here's just a sneak peek!

 

 

 

 

 

An Inspiration of Faith

I get inspired by the faith of other believers. 

When they demonstrate an ability to trust God, no matter the odds or the difficult circumstances before them, I am encouraged. I am moved and I am motivated to walk in obedience to God's call on my life.

I’ve written in the past about how Joni Eareakson Tada and Katie Davis have inspired me. Their stories have moved me and filled me with such an awe of how God has worked in their life and how they’ve walked in obedience to what He’s called them to do. They each have very different stories. One, living life with a disability and yet she’s used her life to bring God glory. The other sacrificed her youth to give of herself to a people in need of love and the gospel. They both have lived selfless lives being a light for Christ and serving Him in very unique ways.

They inspire me.

I happened upon another woman one day while on Instagram that grabbed at my heart strings and wouldn’t let go. As I first looked at pictures of this woman, her husband, and family, I was taken back at how beautiful this family was and the love that you could see in their eyes for each other. I later learned that this woman had just recently become a widow and her handsome husband, who she writes so deeply about was taken from her suddenly, leaving her with 3 beautiful boys.

What inspired me most about Brittany was, despite her tragic loss, she takes life one day at a time with her Savior. She doesn’t live life begrudgingly or bitter; instead she rejoices through the pain and sorrow and gives God glory for the time she had with her husband and Father of her children. In the midst of the pain she openly shares about her reliance upon God solely to sustain her now as a widow. He is her Jehovah-Jireh, her provider.

Brittany inspires me to rely on the Lord in a way that another human being can’t be depended upon because, well, they’re human. My Mother in law shared a quote with me today that said, “Lord, the next time I look to some person, thing, or idea to complete me, draw my eyes to You instead.” This is the life of a Christian. To take up their cross daily and follow the Lord, wherever He leads and depend upon Him for our every need. Joni, Katie, Brittany, they strive to live in such a way that God is glorified in their life regardless of the circumstances that face them.

May we be such a people who inspires others by our walk, our obedience, and our faith.

(To read more about Brittany’s story, visit here)

Spirit Filled Holidays & More

November seems to be the kick-off month for the holidays. Store clerks are eager to greet you and share with you the holiday specials and sales. As we draw nearer to Thanksgiving, people begin to think about all the aspects of life that make them thankful. The weather turns colder, the leaves change into all of my favorite, inviting colors like orange, red, brown, and gold. People seem to change too. They become nicer. Immediately after Thanksgiving, the countdown to Christmas begins. The media pours on the holiday cheer something thick. If you’re not typically known as a pleasant person, there’s something about the holidays that inspires people to be thoughtful. To be kind, cheery, and bright. Maybe all the happiness blossoms because it is just what is expected of us this time year. Even if you don’t feel it in your heart, you fake it. Even if it’s just for the month of November and the holidays, isn’t it okay to just be nice and then go back to our normal impatient, short-tempered, self-centered selves?

Why can’t we just be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all year long? These are fruits of the Holy Spirit. It would be so convenient if we could bottle up them up and somehow ingest them daily so that we just don’t look the part, but actually live the part not just at the holidays but every day of our lives. When everything in life is operating like a storybook fairytale, it is easier to exemplify these loving, stirring emotions, but every tale has a villain, a traumatic climax. Similar to a tale from a story book, in life there are trials and circumstances that serve as a litmus test, proving if we’re truly walking by the Holy Spirit or by our flesh.

When we allow our circumstances, good or bad, to rule our emotions we’re like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. One day we’re happy, the next we’re sulking and in a state of despair. No, the fruits of the Spirit can’t be bottled up and drank, but they can be read, studied, meditated on, and internalized into our heart and mind. When we feed on God’s truth our flesh, which desires to be ruled by our circumstances, is controlled by the Holy Spirit within us. He’s a living being that resides in every believer. When we feed our Spirit with truth, we are empowered to be loving when a family member spews hate towards us, joyful when we’ve lost everything, peaceful in the midst of chaos, patient when everyone around us is frantic, kind when someone you love doesn’t speak or acknowledge your existence, good when the world does bad, faithful when those you care about let you down, gentle when your boss treats you harshly, and self-controlled when you’re tempted to indulge in an activity that you know is wrong.

For the Christian the truth is we will not always feel like being any of these things. It isn't until we wrestle with the emotions, the issues, and the sin within our heart that we begin to produce fruit that remains. This fruit isn't temporal. It doesn't rot and disintegrate when difficult seasons of life come upon us. This fruit is lasting and creates within us a peace that surpasses all understanding.  Let’s demonstrate to the world that simply faking a smile at the Thanksgiving table or giving a perfect gift to appease the in-laws will never lead to lasting joy. Now that November has arrived and the holidays are soon around the corner, let’s walk in obedience to what God’s Word commands us to do. Let’s be filled with the Holy Spirit in November, the holidays, and every year to come!  

Worth It All

For the past few months my usual routine for meal planning and preparation has included a grocery store run on Sundays after we return home from Church and little man is down for his nap. While I go on this weekly run to the store my girls and hubby usually fulfill scripture by reclining and resting on the Sabbath Day. No matter what mood I’m in after returning home from Church, it seems that right before I grab my purse and grocery list, I always seem to be in a stinky mood about having to go to the store.

As I gather my things and head to my car my mind fills with feelings of dread and despair as I think about walking the aisles trying to locate the items on my list, the possibility that I’ll have to wait in long lines, and then the final task of unloading my truck and putting the food away. What dread awaits me each Sunday. What’s interesting though is this sullen attitude has a way of turning from sour to sweet once I make it to the store and start checking things off my list. By the time I get home and put that last item away in my pantry I am filled with joy, fulfillment, and completeness.

Grocery shopping isn’t the only task that I find myself in this interesting, emotional, transition from gloom to gladness. When my alarm goes off at 545 a.m. each weekday morning to workout I enter this same cycle of emotions. I go from rejection of what I need to do, reflecting on what I’m about to do to my body, to acceptance and action. The feelings that I experience once I’ve completed a workout are beyond words. Relief. Joy. Victory.

There are some tasks in life that we can’t rely on our feelings to propel us to complete them. We won’t always feel like laying out a healthy meal plan for our families and running to get the groceries, especially when the recipe calls for a weird ingredient that you have to track down in some weird aisle of the grocery store. Your body may not enjoy you shaking it out of restful sleep in the morning to exercise. In both of these cases though, you NEED to do them. Your family needs to eat and your body needs exercise. Therefore, you have to execute these tasks.

While your body needs food and fitness, so does your spirit, your mind, and your heart. You need the Word of God as your sustenance to grow in wisdom and in truth. I don’t always feel like sitting down with the Word of God and wrestling over its truth, but when I do there is a joy that floods my mind and spirit as I’m filled with God’s truth. Making time to spend with your Heavenly Father, getting to know Him and His Word takes discipline. You won’t always feel like doing it. Don’t let your feelings rule you. Let the Holy Spirit within in, propel you to open His Word. His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. God’s Word will accomplish a good work in us if we discipline ourselves to study and show ourselves approved. As we study we’ll find within ourselves a confidence in who we are in Christ and who God is.

The next time that you feel a funk creeping over you when it comes to something that you know you need to do, focus on the end result. Your cupboards full of everything you need to prepare meals for your family for the week, a healthy and stronger body, and God’s truth ruling your heart and mind which will propel you to a life of peace. Results that are definitely worth it.

Finding the Right Fit - Toning and Lengthening Muscles

While away on vacation last year I happened upon an exercise DVD at a thrift store that I hadn't yet tried. Given my history with trying every exercise routine that has been released on DVD, my fitness nerve was struck and I snatched it up with my anticipation levels running high to see how my body and interest levels would respond to something new.

If there were ever a key piece of advice I could give about maintaining a workout regjme, this would be one to take note of and never forget,

If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same results.

Be willing to periodically change up your workout routine.

 

As you surprise your body with a new and different physical challenge, your body will be prompted to respond in a manner that speeds up your metabolism, burning more calories and fat than if you just continued doing the same routine day after day.

 

The Firm workouts were just what I needed to move beyond my usual cardio routine. It was at this time that I needed to be challenged by lifting weights that were heavier than my usual 3 lb. weights. The original Firm Workout Program was designed and produced by the Benson sisters in the 80's. Other companies have continued to produce a variation of the original Firm Workout, but I've found that they are not as rigorous as the 80's original Volumes 1-4 set of DVDs.

The first volume of DVDs are at least an hour in length and do a thorough job of toning all major muscle groups with light (3-5 lbs), medium (5-8 lbs), and heavy (10 lbs and up) weights. They also include a lengthy floor routine to work the thighs and buttocks using ankle weights (1 1/2 - 3 lb) and heavy weights. I highly suggest that on your first attempts at doing the workouts, DON'T USE WEIGHTS. Watch the videos through the first time that you get them and on your first try at it, do the routine with no weights at all. As your body adjust to the routine itself, incorporate weights as you feel comfortable. If you choose to go with the original volume of Firm workouts, you'll have to be comfortable with working out to 80s music and watching instructors with leg warmers and bright, wild colors. I find it rather entertaining.

The Firm is by far the most complete workout routine to lengthen and tone your muscles. If you're ready for a challenge, dust off your leg warmers and drag that step box out of your garage and get to work!

Year 4 - God's Grace

By God's grace we've entered another school year! The summer was a time filled with impromptu moments in the pool, catching up on movies we've wanted to see, and just plain relaxing. We also made a concerted effort this summer to maintain a weekly routine of doing Math and writing work.

As we enter our second week of school, I am praising the Lord that we were successful at executing a summer study schedule. There has been less heart ache and brain loss in Math this school year thus far because of the girl's commitment (along with Mom's weekly routine of leading a peaceful march to the school room) to doing some summer work.

As Lea enters 5th grade and Love officially becomes a 7th grader, there has already been a bittersweet moment. I realize that your kids grow and mature from year to year, but does it have to happen so fast? The first day of school last week Love asked if she could do all her Sonlight History Readers on her own. Isn't it enough that she's doing her own independent Science curriculum? Now history too? Ugh. I thought that I'd be all good with this letting-go process, but I have to say that it's harder than it looks.

The sweet part of the bittersweetness came when I glanced at Love's Science notebook at the end of the week. The notes were so thoroughly taken, neat handwriting, vocabulary words highlighted, etc. I didn't even give her instructions on how to take notes. She can't be doing things like that without prior instruction...can she?

She had come up with her own plan and was executing it. I guess she's just doing what I've been trying to get her to do since, well, forever. Be self-disciplined. Applying instruction independent of someone else having to tell you what to do.

Who would've thought that I'd be the one schooled the first week of school? Maybe I should've posed for a school picture too!

Lea 5th grade

Love 7th grade