Living Hope

I am reminded in a new way that we are truly headed home. Life is hard. It is a journey but thankfully it has purpose. And, in its midst we can experience joy. Often misconstrued as happiness. Happiness comes from the things that happen and the emotions that come and go. Rather joy comes when you know that something is coming and when it is revealed the next moment can not steal it away. It does not perish, spoil, or fade for it is kept in heaven. Joy- an unspeakable Joy. And, it lives in the unseen Jesus!

As hard as many things are in this life, I am growing more confident that we are getting a taste of what life looks like without Him directly governing. And, someday we can forever celebrate knowing that we won’t have to go back to life as we’ve known it. The older I become, my heart yearns for reconciliation with the Maker of our souls.

Between sickness, death, heartbreaks, and broken dreams I am seeing a more vivid awareness of how much I need a Living Hope. Any attempt to soothe these losses with material means, achievement, or other forms is only a temporary satisfaction. The deceiver of our souls finds such victory in distracting us from relaxing within that Living Hope.

“In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade- this inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power- until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5

No fairy tale, here. No ancient myth. He is that Living Hope and there is an inheritance, and there is nothing that I did to earn it. He did it all. How many kings would step down from their thrones and be willing to become a helpless baby, a servant of men, and a personal sacrifice?

“Though I have not seen him, I love him; and even though I do not see him now, I believe in him and I am filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for I am receiving the goal of my faith, the salvation of my soul.”

This can be hard for me to fully grapple with because I know that personally I have not touched the surface of pain and hardships that many have endured. For me it is often my regrets that I let hold me down. A note to self: “surrender regrets and move forward allowing Him to do good things through me.”

A momentary lapse of Summer

Where did the month go? Between good weather, a day at Six Flags, a week of camp for ds and Bible school for dd, a month of sports, swimming, playtimes, a race and attempting to keep up with my running appointments, a weekly small group, a home project, church activities and commitments, and some finishing up of the Math, Phonics, and History lessons; our month is officially complete.

At the moment, I am seeking desperately to have something to reflect upon, a little continuity within my devotions would be good, a good piece of literature, philosophy, theology. Though there will be days and times like these. It's time to pull up, seek perspective, read, and write again!

Spring, Easter... NEW LIFE

Here we are mid April and on Friday, I was still wandering and glazed. I don't think I was reflecting, yet! I think when I am caught up in a holiday, unfortunately even a HOLYday, and the rush from one activity to the next I come out having a tough time with the transition. The whole "egg part" of Easter is my scapegoat this year. Oh, but it could have been anything. Perhaps though, as the children are getting older they could "independently" dye the eggs while I do my part of the Sunday meal during this activity versus cooking at midnight on the eve before Easter. I am not complaining or berating myself. I am thankful that I did do it the day before versus Easter afternoon. And, I am glad that as a family we attended the Zoo egg hunt on Saturday morning. See the pattern... two egg activities. :-) No one pop-culture activity should get too much room in the lime-light.

Between the basket on Easter Sunday, the egg hunt, and Easter "display" on the buffet that was our extent of "celebrating" Spring. Though living in a cold weather climate brings much desire to celebrate this new season. But, I do not want my family to become distracted from the true reason to celebrate and who it is that gives NEW LIFE.

Today, I am here with this fifteen minute commitment to peel back the moment and take a sweet taste of the season. Easter, our Spring HOLYday, consisted of... JESUS, the reality that Christ has redeemed us if we receive what He did as Savior. And, as we can often do... life, and stuff, and the tendency to clutter up the diamond amongst the "rough;" we become distracted. Yet if we taste and see, we will see that it is He which is truly good and sweet. Only He can satiate our longings, not these baskets of sweet treats that I allow to lull me when I am tired, bored, lonely, or distracted.

Winter Reflections

It's already February and I haven't sat still long enough to jot some reflective thoughts of these past wintry months. Yet, perhaps now is the perfect time. December was full of the holiday activity. As well we had a record snowfall so I was consistently working in the snowblowing into my schedule.

January began with a festive New Year celebration with both parents/grandparents. And, then more quiet days followed as we began to implement and consider what new goals and activities, this year would hold.

It was somewhat of a transitional month. It did hold more spontaneous activities like our women's latte & scrapbooking, a family church movie night for my daughter and me while my husband and son took in a semi-professional ice hockey game, two holiday events with my husband's work teams, a sleep-over where one of my daughters friends spent the night with us, another scrapbooking Friday evening while my husband met with the church leadership team, and a family ice hockey game.

In addition, my husband and my son were able to help one of our church families move, one of my son's friends will be joining us for Awana each week, I am jumpstarting a phase of the church pre-teen ministry this year, I am continuing to lead Children's Church on the 3rd Sunday, and we began our 10 week small group with Dr. David Jeremiah's, "What in the World is Going On?"

With the extreme temperatures last month I am glad that we didn't have lots of running around during school hours. We are officially signed up for summer soccer and next week we re-commit to the local football club for the Fall.

Eighty-two school days left till summer. Come Spring, I will join a friend for a moms weekend conference/retreat. We will have a family vacation for Spring Break this year, my parents will be back in April, and my husband and I will attend a Homeschool conference in May.

For now, we have plunged into February by watching the Super Bowl, will be celebrating my hubbies birthday, a Valentines concert, attending a Children's Ministry conference, and of course homeschooling, supporting my husband in his profession, leading in the Church Children's Ministry, and connecting with family and friends. What fun blessings!

In the midst of all these "temporal" activities, I seek to pursue the Father's will and purpose. These events and activities, each hold meaning but not in and of themselves. It's the Kingdom Building which truly matters. Knowing Him, giving hope in the relationships, and investing the gifts He has bestowed upon us are amongst what truly matters.

These events and activities represent... gifts we have been given, gifts that either represent something we will be using in the kingdom or ...vehicles for the here and now. These vehicles are intended to be used for the kingdom, to draw us closer to who He is and opportunities to reinforce with others whose we are, so that they too would be drawn to Him. And, they can be drawn to Him by how we glorify Him. As far as the gifts, depending on how we cultivate these gifts now will drive how He entrusts us further with them then. And, the quality of the cultivation will not pend upon only a skill, in and of itself, but on how the fruits of His Spirit were used to cultivate them.

Summer Days... Vacation- part 2

Before I get too far away from Summer a little recapturing could be good for my soul come Winter. It will have its own joys but different as the world transitions, dies down, and sleeps till Spring.
Our 2nd two days of our "Missouri vacation" were a true retreat as we headed west into the hills of wine country. I never imagined how pretty the countryside of western Missouri would be. With just the two of us we were able to let go and rejuvenate. Though running in the southern heat was a much different experience than our mild, summer climate the humidity, strangely enough, did seem to help cleanse the body quicker. I was encouraged that my dear husband was willing to join me so that I could stay on track for the race I would participate in on Saturday once we were back home.
Between great conversation, scenery, the exquisite accommodations we enjoyed in Hermann, Missouri, and the fun sights we experienced there I truly enjoyed and am thankful for a relaxing respite. By Wednesday evening we were home where we enjoyed the next 36 hours before my dh had to return to work on Friday. I was able to take advantage of independent opportunities between power errands, computer time at Barnes & Noble, reading, scrapbooking, and then running the race.
By Monday evening, the return of my precious children was well-timed. They were energized from time with grandpa and grandma, and would continue to experience the euphoria for one more week as their grandparents stayed with us.

Summer Days...Vacation- part 1

Today is Friday and we are home again, at least my husband, our dog, and I have settled. The children will return on Monday evening with my mom and dad. We left on vacation last Friday and returned yesterday. It was a good week. We began by driving to St. Louis. We were there for two days after driving the first day. These two days were about family time before mom and dad would pick the children up on Sunday evening and spend a week with them in Arkansas where they live.
On Saturday, we set out for the Arch of St. Louis which is pretty much an all day activity after you stand in two lines. The first was a security check line which took about an hour because of all the people ahead of us and the limited space within the premises. The second line was about a thirty minute wait in order to purchase tickets. We chose the option of seeing an IMAX showing of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and of course to take the tram to the top of the Arch.
This event was truly a treat. I had my reservations of trekking 650 feet into the sky into a structure that seem to be suspended by very little. It is truly an engineering marvel and they taut it’s endurance capacity of at least 1000 years. (So they think!) Accidents do happen and in my mind I couldn’t help imagining that I might actually be there the day the Arch fell. Okay! I didn’t let my mind dwell long on such thoughts. Otherwise, I may have talked myself out of a thrilling experience, gotten sick, or my biggest concern impacted my children’s braveness. They seem much less concerned or maybe we were all subconsciously working through our fears. In short, I am glad we did it!
Prior to journeying to the top, we spent time in the Museum of Westward Expansion. For this is what it was all about. The Arch, the Gateway to the West, was to remember the bravery of those who along with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the western territory and to encourage others to pioneer the newly purchased lands of the United States. The museum encompassed our American History from the 1800’s up until the 1900’s. Impressive exhibits whet the appetite of any who sought to gain perspective of those foundational years in our heritage. The IMAX movie, too, was a powerful retelling of the feat these people accomplished with the help of Native American Tribes spread throughout this great body of land. I was intrigued by the sheer number of tribes who populated this area. As many as 170 nations or 10 million Native Americans lived in these parts and many sacrificed incredibly to expedite the journey.
We completed our day by dining at a local downtown barbecue hang-out. Great food! It brought back fun memories from my southern childhood.

Summer Days

It was a fun week, but definitely a summer-time week. We have completed another year of Vacation Bible School. One week to go of soccer and three more weeks of T-ball and Baseball. (Though we’ll miss one of those weeks while we are on a family vacation.) And, four of our afternoons this week included swimming at the lake with four other families.
Tonight, Friday, the children are camping out with daddy in the tent. After our VBS program tonight we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. They are now sleeping, hopefully snuggly, under the stars and I am hanging out writing and watching a Paul Simon tribute on PBS.
In addition to the other activities, I have had the treat of “playing” on the computer and spending time with friends at our local cafe the last two mornings. I did get to start Jane Eyre’s Pride and Prejudice this week. What a fun read! Definitely a style of writing that requires concentration, but one that parallels my natural conversation style. A little wordy, in a fun kind of way. Of course from my own perspective. For me personally, I have been working on being more concise.
The weather has been simply wonderful this week. Though tonight’s forecast was sketchy so hopefully it will hold off for the camp-out.

Summer Days

Summer is going so quickly. Here we are, six weeks have past. We are half way until we pull out the school books for our Fall season. What a beautiful summer morning we had. I was able to jog, take the children to Vacation Bible School, mow the yard, and then take them to the park for a swim before the clouds rolled in and brought an overcast and drizzly summer afternoon. Just the right mood to snuggle and read with my five year old daughter... her latest reading interest, Little House on the Prairie; and then play a fun game of Go-Fishing with my eight year old son who was happy to defeat me. :-) And, now with dinner, soccer, and bed-time behind us. I can slip in some quiet time. My newest evening reading goal to read Pride and Prejudice. A feat I am eager to see accomplished since I haven't indulged or pursued such genre since college. We shall see!