Growth and Life

I “met” a new friend yesterday. I’m keeping names and details out to protect the innocent . A person emailed me that I know from a homeschooling site about how she and her husband are embarking on the same journey we are. They live on the other side of the country and have been in ministry for a number of years. She has the following quote on her myspace and I loved it so much I had to make a graphic out of it to share …

It’s from a Sara Groves song – Painting Pictures Of Egypt. I don’t know about you, but that quote describes me right now, and I hope from now on. My mom asked me why my favorite color is green (see the silly post here) … and my answer? Because to me it represents growth and life. It feels like a new life is growing inside of me … what a grand and glorious thing!

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-16

If you like the graphic enough that you want to use it, please contact me first

(heathergal51 at bellsouth dot net) - everything here is COPYRIGHTED!

PLEASE DO NOT lift it without asking, and PLEASE DO NOT link ot it here … Thanks!

I Am an Artist

I enjoy art. I always have. It’s just something that’s down deep in my soul. i like viewing it, creating it, hearing it. I’ve always dabbled in some form of it, be it music, drawing, or painting. I’ve not tried sculpting, but that day may come. Okay Brandon, it’s time for you to laugh (it’s always something, right honey?). Seriously, I was looking into art classes for Little Buttercup and at the same time as the children’s classes where I was looking there are adult pottery classes!

Okay, anyway, one form of painting I have not tried is acrylics … yet. But I got a nice gift certificate to JoAnns ETC for Christmas, so I spent some of it today on supplies (*again, this is where Brandon laughs*). The picture over there is one that I did in watercolors a couple of years ago. It’s supposed to be me worshipping the Lord. I’m not sure what I’ll paint with my new acrylics. I’m not a Bob Ross kind of artist … in other words, I don’t like hotel room art, and I don’t create art just to create “art” … I have to be inspired. And I am not a fan of Thomas Kincaid. I like more simple, sometimes abstract, art.

Since Baby Buttercup is down for her nap, I think I will go and unpack my new things and have some fun ….

Later!

Something Silly and Utterly Insignificant

We were having dinner and I made an announcement to Brandon. “I’ve made a decision – my favorite color is no longer pink.” Yes, I actually said that OUT LOUD! I am laughing as I write this, sharing how shallow and silly I can be.

Brandon looked at me bewildered. I’m sure he was wondering what in the world made me say that and why I actually gave it thought, and so much thought that I felt the need to announce it.

Actually, I got one of those pointless email tags from a friend and was filling it out during some down time. One of the questions was “What’s your favorite color?” I wrote pink, because EVERYTHING I own is pink. If you know me IRL, you know it’s true! … my phone, my diaper bag, my clothes, my ……BIBLE…… (that’s your fault Paige!). So I got to thinking do I really still like pink that much? I’m kind of tired of seeing that color since it seems to surround me … I have 2 daughter, a girl dog and Brandon’s favorite color is pink (yes, I said it).

Anyway, so now the cat’s out of the bag … it’s no longer pink. And if you have read this silliness this far, do you want to know what it is now? It’s green.

Oooooooooooooo … I’m so wild and unpredictable!

I think I need to take my tired self to bed now … but I do have something serious to blog about … later!

Two Things I Learned in the Last Two Days

#1)
I get frustrated with Little Buttercup because I am not trusting God. That is what is behind it all. I actually learned that about myself while reading So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore. I love how God does that. I’m reading about one subject and He speaks to me about another one.

Basically here’s the deal: She is JUST LIKE ME! Yes, bless her Lord – help us all, but more than that, help her! She gets it honestly, as the saying goes. Anyway, I don’t want her to struggle with things that I have. So when she is disobedient or disrespectful I get frustrated because I don’t want her to be like me (in the bad ways, of course ). So I try to make her change, I try to make her feel guilty so that she’ll change. I try to manipulate her by my tone of voice or the things that I say.

But she is a child of God and the Holy Spirit convicts her and guides her into Truth … I have seen it over and over again and am blessed by it. So why is it that I feel this need to convict her as well? But I cannot do that … only the Holy Spirit can. I am trying to be the Holy Spirit in her life and that just won’t do. It’s impossible and leads to things that need not be. The Lord is in the her life, He loves her more than me and I cannot control her or her life. I can only be the best mommy that I can be … which leads to the second thing …

#2)
I speak cursings and blessings with my mouth. James 3:9-12 says:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

I have learned over the past couple of days that I am also guilty of this. Want to know how I realized it? When Little Buttercup mocked me. Yes, through her sin I was convicted of mine. I am embarrassed to write this, but I feel I must share what happened …

I had told Little Buttercup to take something upstairs and put it away. She gets distracted easily and didn’t do it … she picked it up, but didn’t take it upstairs and put it away, so I found it in a different place. I was frustrated and told her, “Take this upstairs and put it in its place – I’m tired of telling you this over and over again!!” And do you know that as I said that, I saw her silently mouth the words while I said them (she was at the top of the stairs turned to her hide)? At that very moment I was convicted that I, by the things that I say and how I say them, speak cursings. There is really no need for me to say what I said, or other things that I find myself saying. I only need give instructions and blessings. The rest is not up to me. But again, as I said in #1 above, I’ve been trying to convict her. That’s not my job.

At the end of the day I am only accountable to God for how I acted, and how I reacted. I cannot control others, only myself. Perhaps I will begin to live by that today …

More changes …..

This time with my template …

if you are viewing this on my blog and not in a reader … do you like my new header? And if you’re reading this in a reader, go to my blog and see the new header. I’m working on fine-tuning the other elements to my liking, but I think I really like the header ….

What do you think?

I like change ….

p.s. I also changed my Good Soil (homeschooling) blog …

So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore

I am currently reading through an interesting book – So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore by “Jake Colson” (a pseudonym for Wayne Jacobsen & Dave Coleman). I have so far found it intriguing and eye-opening. On the website above you can print out the book in pdf format for free (free is good). Last night I printed out chapter 1, then chapter 2, and then chapter 3 in about one hour. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was so tired I think I probably would have printed out and read the entire book.

From the website:

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus’ original disciples still living in the 21st Century? That’s Jake’s dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him, and whose way of living challenges everything Jake had previously known.

So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore is Jake’s compelling journal that chronicles thirteen conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake’s world upside-down. With his help, Jake faces his darkest fears, struggles through brutal circumstances and comes out on the other side in the joy and freedom he always dreamed was possible.

If you’re tired of just going through the motions of Christianity and want to mine the depths of what it really means to live deeply in Christ, you’ll find Jake’s story will give you hope for your own. This book probes the difficult questions and offers some far-reaching answers. It just might turn your world upside-down as well!

I read a few things just in the first 3 chapters that really grabbed my attention. I’ll share one with you. Jake is telling John about when he was presented with a gold attendance pin as a child. They had been discussing the ways in which we motivate (i.e manipulate) people in the church. John says to Jake:

“You know that morning you got the attendance pin? If that pastor would have really loved you, do you know what he would have said? ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we want to introduce a young man who has just completed a two-year span of never missing a Sunday school class. We want to pray for him because that means his family’s priorities are so askew that for the last two years they never took a vacation together. It means he probably came here when he was sick and should have been home resting. It means that winning a gold-plated trinket like this one and your approval is more important to him than being your brother. And not one day of his attendance will draw him any closer to God.’”

“That might have been a little rude,” I countered.

“And a set-up, certainly, Jake. But if he had, perhaps you wouldn’t pursue the approval which does far more to distract you from God than it does to open you up to him.”

That dialogue really spoke to me about how askew we have become in the church. Although we may say with our lips that performance is not important, do we, by our actions and activities, communicate that it really is?

I am looking forward to reading more …..

Grace and A Brand New Me

Grace Walk Chapter 3
A Brand New Me

This is my next “installment” (for lack of a better term at the moment) of reviews on Grace Walk by Steve McVey. You can also read about Miserable Mediocrity (chapter 1) and Darkness Before Dawn (chapter 2).

I like this chapter because this is when the author begins to get into the heart of grace and freedom. He says: BE YOURSELF. And then asks the question: WHO ARE YOU? Good question! Who am I?

Understanding our identity is absolutely essential to our success in living the Christian life. No person can consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with the way he perceives himself…many Christians have been deceived into believing that they are something other than what God has made them to be. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” Our identity in Christ is one of the most liberating truths we will ever understand.

And that is an accurate statement. I can personally testify that once I realized who I was in Christ, and began to live accordingly (that’s key), my life drastically changed (just ask Farmboy). I am not who I will one day be, but praise God I am not who I once was!

Steve McVey goes on to talk about how we normally answer the question, “Who are you?”

If someone asks you today, “Who are you?” what will you answer? I’m sure you’ll tell them your name…whatever you say next will probably reveal where you gain your sense of identity. And if you’re like most folks, you will tell them about the things you do. We’ve been programmed to think of identity as inseparable from behavior. But God doesn’t look at it that way. He doesn’t determine identity by behavior but by birth.

I just love that about God. He doesn’t love me any more or any less, His love is unconditional. And that love is based on who He is, it’s not based on me, or what I have or have not done. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” and 1 John 4:10 says “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Isn’t that just awesome? When I was unlovable, Father God loved me. When I hated Him, He still loved me. And even now, when I behave in an unlovable way, He still loves me! And Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Even when I am faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

God now sees me as one of His children. That will never change because He will never change. I was transferred from the darkness to Light … for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (Ephesians 5:8). I am now Father God’s child: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God… (John 1:12). My identity is solely in Christ. Yes, I admit that I have a tendency to find my identity in what I do, but the truth is that my identity is that I am God’s child. But what does that mean?

Acts 17:28 says for in Him we live and move and exist… I like the translations that say “… and have our being“. Isn’t that really what it is? We have our being in Christ.

Consider some of the thrilling family traits that you received by being born into God’s family…You are a saint; You are God’s work of art; You are righteous and holy; You are fully accepted by God. These are just the tip of the iceberg! You may be thinking, “But I don’t feel like a saint. I don’t think of myself as a heavenly poem. I sure don’t act very righteous and holy. I don’t feel accepted by God.” I know how you feel. But you must decide whether you are going to trust what you feel or what God has said in His Word.

If you are unaware of the truth of who you are in Christ, I encourage you to study God’s Word and see just what He has to say about you if you are His child. A good starting place is simply to go over this list of Who Am I In Christ? The truth really will set you free! The truth of Jesus will set you free from sin and hell, and the truth of who you are in Christ will set you free to live the abundant life that Jesus came to give!

Family stuff ….

First, I tried to figure out a way to add a new page to this blog with the new blogger (not the old classic templates) about homeschooling, but I couldn’t and got tired of trying. I didn’t try for very long because it was late and my allergies are getting to the point where I want to gouge my eyes out (because that would make me feel better) so I have little patience right now. I’m seriously considering switching over to WordPress so I that I can get all the functionality with my blog that I want. But I digress …..

Anyway, I created a new blog here on blogger – Good Soil. It’s my homeschooling blog. The link is over on the right and I will update it with more stuff.

Second, if you are into podcasts and your children are into iPods (or any mp3 players) I found a great website for free downloads of children’s stories – Story Nory. You can subscribe to their podcast, which I, of course, did (I’m a sucker forchildren’s books and stories). They publish free audio stories every week – check it out!

Have a day!

Understanding

Ever read the Bible and just long to really understand it? I was reading through Luke 9-11 this morning. Before I read I asked the Lord to show us what He wants us to do. As I was reading I had such a strong desire to understand, to grasp the meaning, the significance of what I was reading. What is Jesus actually saying here and what does that really mean there?

I am at a place where I realize that I don’t know as much as I thought I knew. I long to know HIM more …

Happy Birthday!

I love you Brandon!

Visit Brandon’s blog to wish him a happy Birthday