And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 8-12
I sit here at 9am waiting for the kids to wake up and I am just so blessed with this time to think about Christ. What was Mary thinking when she held that miracle of a baby in her arms, not knowing what would be the outcome of His death on a cross. How for thousands of years His name would still be called upon and praised. How He would be the soul source of comfort and peace to men. I often think of Mary and how much God must have valued her as a wife and mother to in trust her to HIS SON! She must have been about so much more than PTA meetings and soccer games.
So much gets lost during this hectic time. But CHRIST is why we even have a Christmas. Our family at this time has decided no to do Santa but to keep our focus on Christ. His Birth and Death. He really is the reason for the season and so often with the shopping and giving and cooking He is lost and the world exalted. I pray that my family could be a light in this time that we would remind people of why we give gifts and why during a time that could make people sad and depressed that we have HOPE! That Christ came as a little child by a holy birth, served the people and TRULY loved them, and then gave His life in a horrific death so all people might come to call him "papa daddy" "Abba father" to know Him personally and cry out to Him. My Christmas wish is that anyone reading this might know that. That my family and friends would know that. That the world would know that. Our God is more than a god at a computer zapping people but an ALMIGHT ALL POWERFUL AND ALL LOVING Father who is a father that would do anything for His children....even send His own son to the cross so that His other adopted children would be able to know Him and Love Him and choose to be with Him forever.
Merry CHRISTmas everyone!
~Becky~
Friday, December 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
So today has been a crazy day. I have been in prayer most of the day praying for Kana a friend who lost her boy at 21 weeks. I have also been trying to get caught up on housework. Sarah has been in a "hold me mama" mood and Josh broke a pot FULL of carrot, zucchini curry soup which was a MESS to clean up. However behind my stove is now vacuumed out and cleaned. I am planing on making baked chicken thighs marinated with BBQ sauce, salad and biscuits. Neal gets home around 5 so I still have a few more hours before I need to hope to that.
This week is thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for. God has always provided for me and my family. He gave me such a wonderful family and a husband who loves God. I really have nothing to complain about. My life at this moment is pretty perfect. I think the thing that I am most thankful for is for being a child of God. God turned my life around and used my sin to bring me to a place of repentance. I don't know how I could even go on in life if I didn't know Christ...If I didn't know that He loved me more than anyone and was always looking out for me. I don't even care if things in my life "go wrong" because I know that everything is for His glory and that no matter what it is God will see me through it.
This time of year is my favorite. I LOVE Christmas and can't wait to decorate the house and put the tree up. My favorite thing about Christmas are the live nativity scene and Christmas lights. I hope to have the house decorated the weekend after thanksgiving and our tree the first weekend in December. I love the carols and have already started listening to Christmas music. Well I should probably start on my last load of dishes.
This week is thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for. God has always provided for me and my family. He gave me such a wonderful family and a husband who loves God. I really have nothing to complain about. My life at this moment is pretty perfect. I think the thing that I am most thankful for is for being a child of God. God turned my life around and used my sin to bring me to a place of repentance. I don't know how I could even go on in life if I didn't know Christ...If I didn't know that He loved me more than anyone and was always looking out for me. I don't even care if things in my life "go wrong" because I know that everything is for His glory and that no matter what it is God will see me through it.
This time of year is my favorite. I LOVE Christmas and can't wait to decorate the house and put the tree up. My favorite thing about Christmas are the live nativity scene and Christmas lights. I hope to have the house decorated the weekend after thanksgiving and our tree the first weekend in December. I love the carols and have already started listening to Christmas music. Well I should probably start on my last load of dishes.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Life has been a bit crazy lately. I think it has a lot to do with me working and not being able to relax on my down time. I can't believe Sarah is 5 1//2 months, sitting up and starting to look like she wants to crawl. Josh had night terrors 2 nights this week. They are always heart breaking and last for an hour. Thankfully his 2nd one only lasted about 30 min. He has had a few night terrors in the past and they usually come in pairs or 3's, so it looks like we are (hopefully) done for a while. I can't wait till the weekend after thanksgiving, because I get to put up our Christmas stuff!! This is our first Christmas in our house! So I am really excited to decorate the mantel and figure out where we will put the tree. Also all the baking! Speaking of baking I have been cooking a lot lately because, well we have no extra money. I have been using my cookbooks and allrecipes.com I picked up an Amish cookbook at goodwill and the recipes are SO good...not too healthy but VERY good. I recently found out about Pioneer woman and have been going to her web site and want to get her new cookbook. I have really been enjoying cooking lately...hating the dishes though. I have been making pizza, dough and everything, at least once a week which has been a lot of fun. Neal and josh have been loving it too. I guess thats all for now
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Winds of change
I have been so busy and tired lately that this blog has been a work in progress for over 2 weeks or so...
I watched a sermon a couple days ago called Lukewarm and loving it. It has caused me to think about my walk and my heart. There are times I question my salvation, I think everyone does and I think it is something healthy. The Bible even instructs us to test our hearts and see where our motivation lies. When I think of where I am and where my salvation is, I always return to fruit. Jesus said that they will know us by our fruit. I ask myself do I see fruit, especially NEW fruit in my life? I know people often comment on my "quiet and gentle" spirit and I often look at that myself as to reassure myself of where I am at with Christ. However I tend to look only at that. I have posted before on how God has been slowly and steadily been revealing how truly wretched I am, how much pride I have and how desperately I need Him everyday. I tend to unfortunately think, "I'm a good person, I try to live a good life" but that isn't what Christ wants. Christ said that there is No one good except Him. He wants our heart, our thoughts and our lives. He wants us to lay EVERYTHING down before His thrown and say "its all yours, my money my kids, my husband, my vanity, everything, just take it" I continually lay my family down, before his throne. It is the only way my stress of "who is dead and laying in the ditch" mentality, can cope. To KNOW that nothing is going to come to harm my family unless appointed by God. A friend of mine has a statement he often says "God appoints man only one time to die, and until that time I am invisible" I think that we should be good stewards of our bodies and lives, but when things come that are out of our hands, all we can/should say is "let YOUR will be done" The sermon I watched had a lot to do with money and possessions. Where are we putting our trust? In our stocks and savings or in Christ and his provisions. I loved what this pastor said "money creates false sense of safety the more you have the more you feel like you have security and you don't find your security in God...." That is so true. Although I would like to not live hand to mouth, and I would love to not be a slave to our debt, God is providing for us even when the money should have ran out we still have this or that to get us by. During my maternity leave we did get into some big pickle but thankfully even in those God provided us help. We never lost our house, we never went without food (variety maybe but never empty bellies) My goal in life has never been to be rich. However, I have been pretty careless about spending. I am turning my mind to a new philosophy though. When I buy thing, they need to be second hand if possible or homemade. I think that thinking will push me in the direction of being thrifty. A friend of mine is contemplating giving all her possessions away to move and be a missionary. When she told me that my flesh screamed out, "what about your security" But I am reminded of the rich young ruler who Jesus told to sold all he had. The ruler couldn't and turned away and left. Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. That is such a hard thing to swallow. Am I rich? In the US, NO. In regards to the world? Yes. Do I think everyone is called to give away all there things? no, Jesus spoke on matters of money often, however only a handful of time he told the person to give away all they had. the majority of the time was speaking of giving some of your money away and being good stewards of it. He never instructed people to dig a hole and put there money there for safe keeping or for a rainy day. I think it is righteous to be good stewards of what we have, not spending on things that will only go into a landfill in a year or when it goes out of style. Not giving into the latest and greatest things because tomorrow something else will be even better. I try to keep my mentality on "the olden days" and how my grandparents would have done things...but it is hard when the world around you is screaming at you to buy this or look here or wear this... Sometimes I wish I were just Amish. However God called us not to be like the Amish in how they have taken themselves out of the world. And not to give into the worlds temptations. He called us to be "in the world but not of it" Such a hard thing to do, but God said all things are possible with him. So this is my stance, and I will try to produce the fruit that will glorify Him and keep my heart in check on where my treasure lies, for I know I want my treasure to be in Christ.
I watched a sermon a couple days ago called Lukewarm and loving it. It has caused me to think about my walk and my heart. There are times I question my salvation, I think everyone does and I think it is something healthy. The Bible even instructs us to test our hearts and see where our motivation lies. When I think of where I am and where my salvation is, I always return to fruit. Jesus said that they will know us by our fruit. I ask myself do I see fruit, especially NEW fruit in my life? I know people often comment on my "quiet and gentle" spirit and I often look at that myself as to reassure myself of where I am at with Christ. However I tend to look only at that. I have posted before on how God has been slowly and steadily been revealing how truly wretched I am, how much pride I have and how desperately I need Him everyday. I tend to unfortunately think, "I'm a good person, I try to live a good life" but that isn't what Christ wants. Christ said that there is No one good except Him. He wants our heart, our thoughts and our lives. He wants us to lay EVERYTHING down before His thrown and say "its all yours, my money my kids, my husband, my vanity, everything, just take it" I continually lay my family down, before his throne. It is the only way my stress of "who is dead and laying in the ditch" mentality, can cope. To KNOW that nothing is going to come to harm my family unless appointed by God. A friend of mine has a statement he often says "God appoints man only one time to die, and until that time I am invisible" I think that we should be good stewards of our bodies and lives, but when things come that are out of our hands, all we can/should say is "let YOUR will be done" The sermon I watched had a lot to do with money and possessions. Where are we putting our trust? In our stocks and savings or in Christ and his provisions. I loved what this pastor said "money creates false sense of safety the more you have the more you feel like you have security and you don't find your security in God...." That is so true. Although I would like to not live hand to mouth, and I would love to not be a slave to our debt, God is providing for us even when the money should have ran out we still have this or that to get us by. During my maternity leave we did get into some big pickle but thankfully even in those God provided us help. We never lost our house, we never went without food (variety maybe but never empty bellies) My goal in life has never been to be rich. However, I have been pretty careless about spending. I am turning my mind to a new philosophy though. When I buy thing, they need to be second hand if possible or homemade. I think that thinking will push me in the direction of being thrifty. A friend of mine is contemplating giving all her possessions away to move and be a missionary. When she told me that my flesh screamed out, "what about your security" But I am reminded of the rich young ruler who Jesus told to sold all he had. The ruler couldn't and turned away and left. Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. That is such a hard thing to swallow. Am I rich? In the US, NO. In regards to the world? Yes. Do I think everyone is called to give away all there things? no, Jesus spoke on matters of money often, however only a handful of time he told the person to give away all they had. the majority of the time was speaking of giving some of your money away and being good stewards of it. He never instructed people to dig a hole and put there money there for safe keeping or for a rainy day. I think it is righteous to be good stewards of what we have, not spending on things that will only go into a landfill in a year or when it goes out of style. Not giving into the latest and greatest things because tomorrow something else will be even better. I try to keep my mentality on "the olden days" and how my grandparents would have done things...but it is hard when the world around you is screaming at you to buy this or look here or wear this... Sometimes I wish I were just Amish. However God called us not to be like the Amish in how they have taken themselves out of the world. And not to give into the worlds temptations. He called us to be "in the world but not of it" Such a hard thing to do, but God said all things are possible with him. So this is my stance, and I will try to produce the fruit that will glorify Him and keep my heart in check on where my treasure lies, for I know I want my treasure to be in Christ.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
How I have been feeling about my worship lately...
Heart of Worship by Michael W. Smith
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You Jesus
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You Jesus
Sunday, July 26, 2009
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