Genesis 17:9-14,23
"Then God said to Abraham, 'Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant."
"On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him."
Friday, January 09, 2009
When Mommy's on the Computer . . .
Bella finds ways to occupy herself . . . "tucking in" the dog . . . and wearing her ballerina outfit for the fourth day in a row!
Failure/Success
So this is what happens when you try a recipe from the internet . . . I'm thinking there was an ingredient missing!
And this is what happens when you stick to the tried and true recipes from your home recipe box! MMMMMmmmmmm!
And this is what happens when you stick to the tried and true recipes from your home recipe box! MMMMMmmmmmm!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Bummer Dude!
It was 7:20a.
We were a flurry of activity, as we always are on carpool mornings, trying to get out the door by 7:30.
Mike went to leave for work, but came back in the house saying, "You better check to see if Faith has school this morning. I bet we got 6 inches of snow last night."
I went to my computer and checked WOODTV.com . . . and, what do ya know! Two hour delay!
Nice!
It wouldn't be so bad if the kids naturally got up that early . . . but we had to wake them up, and today even BELLA is a crabby bear.
GRRRRRR!
Note to self: ALWAYS check for closings BEFORE you wake up the kids!
I'm just glad I figured it out BEFORE we were out the door!
We were a flurry of activity, as we always are on carpool mornings, trying to get out the door by 7:30.
Mike went to leave for work, but came back in the house saying, "You better check to see if Faith has school this morning. I bet we got 6 inches of snow last night."
I went to my computer and checked WOODTV.com . . . and, what do ya know! Two hour delay!
Nice!
It wouldn't be so bad if the kids naturally got up that early . . . but we had to wake them up, and today even BELLA is a crabby bear.
GRRRRRR!
Note to self: ALWAYS check for closings BEFORE you wake up the kids!
I'm just glad I figured it out BEFORE we were out the door!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
YouVersion - January 5 Thoughts
"Then God told Noah and his sons," Genesis 9:8
I don't know why, but it struck me as strange that this is a verse - in and of itself - "God told Noah and his sons,"
I SO wish that God still spoke aloud . . . that I could have an actual conversation with him. All through the Bible are examples of God speaking to people . . . Adam, Noah, Moses etc. He gave verbal instruction.
Now, I realize we have God's Word, and that he "speaks" to us through it . . . I even realize that God "speaks" to us through other people, or through our thoughts . . . but, wouldn't it be really nice to actually hear his spoken Word? To get a clear instruction from him?
So often I find myself in a situation where a decision needs to be made, or a path needs to be chosen . . . wouldn't it be nice to chat with God, instead of having to discern it through time, advice, prayer (which so often feels one-sided)? Wouldn't it be nice to audibly hear, "Sonny, go and . . ." OR "Sonny, I solemnly promise . . . " I find myself willing to do what God asks of me . . . but wondering what it is he's actually asking. I'd really love a verbal word from him right now.
Then again, even when God spoke to people like Abraham, there were commands on WHAT to do, but a LOT of confusion about the WHY, and sometimes even the WHERE . . . The bottom line is that we move forward in faith, right? Even when we don't know the whys, wheres or hows.
Maybe I'm just feeling tired . . . prayer and discernment are hard for me right now. I just wish God would "quick a sec" tell me what the "next steps" look like. It would be so much easier that way than discerning it for myself.
I don't know why, but it struck me as strange that this is a verse - in and of itself - "God told Noah and his sons,"
I SO wish that God still spoke aloud . . . that I could have an actual conversation with him. All through the Bible are examples of God speaking to people . . . Adam, Noah, Moses etc. He gave verbal instruction.
Now, I realize we have God's Word, and that he "speaks" to us through it . . . I even realize that God "speaks" to us through other people, or through our thoughts . . . but, wouldn't it be really nice to actually hear his spoken Word? To get a clear instruction from him?
So often I find myself in a situation where a decision needs to be made, or a path needs to be chosen . . . wouldn't it be nice to chat with God, instead of having to discern it through time, advice, prayer (which so often feels one-sided)? Wouldn't it be nice to audibly hear, "Sonny, go and . . ." OR "Sonny, I solemnly promise . . . " I find myself willing to do what God asks of me . . . but wondering what it is he's actually asking. I'd really love a verbal word from him right now.
Then again, even when God spoke to people like Abraham, there were commands on WHAT to do, but a LOT of confusion about the WHY, and sometimes even the WHERE . . . The bottom line is that we move forward in faith, right? Even when we don't know the whys, wheres or hows.
Maybe I'm just feeling tired . . . prayer and discernment are hard for me right now. I just wish God would "quick a sec" tell me what the "next steps" look like. It would be so much easier that way than discerning it for myself.
YouVersion - January 4 Thoughts
"I will never again curse the earth, destroying all living things, even though people's thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night." Genesis 8:21-22
Every change of season is a reminder of his promise. Even a Michigan winter is evidence of God's faithfulness . . . hmmm . . . that's a new perspective! ha ha.
Every change of season is a reminder of his promise. Even a Michigan winter is evidence of God's faithfulness . . . hmmm . . . that's a new perspective! ha ha.
You Version - January 2 Thoughts
"So they hid from the LORD God among the trees." Genesis 3:8b
When you read this passage, don't you want to laugh a little? It really is ridiculous . . . hiding from God. Duh, he knows EVERYTHING!
Yet, I do this all the time. I don't literally hide, but I choose not to disclose things to God all the time. I choose not to talk to him about things, afraid I'm going to jinx something . . . how ridiculous is that? He knows my thoughts, whether I'm "telling" them to him or not.
I think the things I'm most afraid to "tell" him are the things that shine negatively on my Christianity - you know, things like doubt, anger, questioning him etc. I shove all those things down because I don't want to admit that they are there. Thoughts enter my head like, "A good Christian wouldn't be doubting . . . a good Christian wouldn't question God . . . a good Christian wouldn't be angry". Those thoughts obviously aren't from God. They're from the deceiver.
I know that just the opposite is true. Doubting God, questioning God, even being angry with God can be a good thing, dare I say, a healthy thing? The trick, however, is full-disclosure. I need to have the courage to share my misgivings with him. I need to be completely honest with my struggles and my questions. Doing so . . . wrestling with them . . . has the power to actually strengthen my relationship with him.
I hope 2009 can be a year of "full disclosure" not a year of hiding.
I must say, right now is a low time of life for me. I have a LOT of questions and a LOT of doubts, and, quite frankly, a LOT of anger. God can be very confusing sometimes. However, instead of letting those things eat away at me, or allowing them to take root and grow bitterness, I'm going to choose to keep God in the loop. I'm going to take him at his Word. His Word says that he has unfailing love for me, and that his grace is sufficient to cover my sins and my doubts. I need to echo the psalmists that fully disclosed their feelings of abandonment, fear, anger . . . yet chose to remember God's faithfulness to them.
Everything in me right now, wants to hide . . . to run away . . . to abandon the God that seems to have abandoned me. But, instead, I will choose to trust . . . I will choose full disclosure . . . I will choose to keep him in the loop, trusting (not feeling) that my faith will be strengthened through it.
When you read this passage, don't you want to laugh a little? It really is ridiculous . . . hiding from God. Duh, he knows EVERYTHING!
Yet, I do this all the time. I don't literally hide, but I choose not to disclose things to God all the time. I choose not to talk to him about things, afraid I'm going to jinx something . . . how ridiculous is that? He knows my thoughts, whether I'm "telling" them to him or not.
I think the things I'm most afraid to "tell" him are the things that shine negatively on my Christianity - you know, things like doubt, anger, questioning him etc. I shove all those things down because I don't want to admit that they are there. Thoughts enter my head like, "A good Christian wouldn't be doubting . . . a good Christian wouldn't question God . . . a good Christian wouldn't be angry". Those thoughts obviously aren't from God. They're from the deceiver.
I know that just the opposite is true. Doubting God, questioning God, even being angry with God can be a good thing, dare I say, a healthy thing? The trick, however, is full-disclosure. I need to have the courage to share my misgivings with him. I need to be completely honest with my struggles and my questions. Doing so . . . wrestling with them . . . has the power to actually strengthen my relationship with him.
I hope 2009 can be a year of "full disclosure" not a year of hiding.
I must say, right now is a low time of life for me. I have a LOT of questions and a LOT of doubts, and, quite frankly, a LOT of anger. God can be very confusing sometimes. However, instead of letting those things eat away at me, or allowing them to take root and grow bitterness, I'm going to choose to keep God in the loop. I'm going to take him at his Word. His Word says that he has unfailing love for me, and that his grace is sufficient to cover my sins and my doubts. I need to echo the psalmists that fully disclosed their feelings of abandonment, fear, anger . . . yet chose to remember God's faithfulness to them.
Everything in me right now, wants to hide . . . to run away . . . to abandon the God that seems to have abandoned me. But, instead, I will choose to trust . . . I will choose full disclosure . . . I will choose to keep him in the loop, trusting (not feeling) that my faith will be strengthened through it.
YouVersion - January 1 Thoughts
"He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person." Genesis 2:7
Forever and ever I have struggled with self-esteem . . . loving myself . . . discovering my self worth. Today as I was reading this passage and scrolled down to the life-application notes, I read this: "The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive . . . therefore, our life and worth come from God's Spirit . . . in reality, our worth comes not from our achievements but from the God of the universe, who chooses to give us the mysterious and miraculous gift of life. Value life as he does."
I've always "valued life". I've been pro-life my whole life, and my struggle with infertility and knowledge of what it takes for a life to actually come into existence has increased the value I put on life. Why is it then, that I don't allow myself to put that value on myself?
When I think of myself, I go first of all to all of my flaws . . . a zit, cellulite, my gut . . . my "broken" reproductive parts. It's so easy for me to degrade and devalue myself.
I need to remind myself that my worth comes from The One who breathed life into me in the first place. Without him, I wouldn't even BE! When I self-loath, I am loathing the very God who made me! Instead, I need to praise The One who made me, and celebrate the beauty of his creation.
Forever and ever I have struggled with self-esteem . . . loving myself . . . discovering my self worth. Today as I was reading this passage and scrolled down to the life-application notes, I read this: "The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive . . . therefore, our life and worth come from God's Spirit . . . in reality, our worth comes not from our achievements but from the God of the universe, who chooses to give us the mysterious and miraculous gift of life. Value life as he does."
I've always "valued life". I've been pro-life my whole life, and my struggle with infertility and knowledge of what it takes for a life to actually come into existence has increased the value I put on life. Why is it then, that I don't allow myself to put that value on myself?
When I think of myself, I go first of all to all of my flaws . . . a zit, cellulite, my gut . . . my "broken" reproductive parts. It's so easy for me to degrade and devalue myself.
I need to remind myself that my worth comes from The One who breathed life into me in the first place. Without him, I wouldn't even BE! When I self-loath, I am loathing the very God who made me! Instead, I need to praise The One who made me, and celebrate the beauty of his creation.
New Year's Resolution
I'm not huge into New Year's Resolutions, but I've made one this year, that I hope to keep.
My goal: to read through the Bible in a year.
I tried this in 2006, and did fine til about March . . . if you skip a day, you end up about 6 chapters behind . . . that starts to add up if you skip 2 days . . . and pretty soon it becomes overwhelming.
In 2007, I committed to reading the New Testament in a year, and succeeded. Click here to read that blog entry.
In 2008, I took it up a notch and added the Psalms and Proverbs to the New Testament. I'm proud to say that I succeeded in that as well (and was richly blessed, by the way).
This year, I'm going for it again. The whole Bible in a year . . . this means 6 chapters EVERY DAY! That's a lot. But I think I can do it with the help of YouVersion. If you click on the words YouVersion it will take you to the YouVersion site, where you too, can join me in this challenge. The site is cool, cuz you can highlight passages, comment on them, or even keep a private journal of your thoughts. It's a new site, so there are a few things they could improve on, or kinks to work out, but so far I've been impressed. I hope to take time on my blog this year to share thoughts on what I'm reading.
I don't want to get too "church lady" on people, but I think it's important for us to share our thoughts on God's Word.
I'm already behind, but I hope to get caught up today. I'll keep ya'll posted. Join me!
My goal: to read through the Bible in a year.
I tried this in 2006, and did fine til about March . . . if you skip a day, you end up about 6 chapters behind . . . that starts to add up if you skip 2 days . . . and pretty soon it becomes overwhelming.
In 2007, I committed to reading the New Testament in a year, and succeeded. Click here to read that blog entry.
In 2008, I took it up a notch and added the Psalms and Proverbs to the New Testament. I'm proud to say that I succeeded in that as well (and was richly blessed, by the way).
This year, I'm going for it again. The whole Bible in a year . . . this means 6 chapters EVERY DAY! That's a lot. But I think I can do it with the help of YouVersion. If you click on the words YouVersion it will take you to the YouVersion site, where you too, can join me in this challenge. The site is cool, cuz you can highlight passages, comment on them, or even keep a private journal of your thoughts. It's a new site, so there are a few things they could improve on, or kinks to work out, but so far I've been impressed. I hope to take time on my blog this year to share thoughts on what I'm reading.
I don't want to get too "church lady" on people, but I think it's important for us to share our thoughts on God's Word.
I'm already behind, but I hope to get caught up today. I'll keep ya'll posted. Join me!
Christmas
Christmas Eve with my sweet family! There's nothing better than good food, good wine, and good company!
Mike got Faith a BB Gun for Christmas. She got a bullseye the first time she shot!
Bella's prized gift was a ballerina outfit. She had to try it on right away!
Mike got Faith a BB Gun for Christmas. She got a bullseye the first time she shot!
Bella's prized gift was a ballerina outfit. She had to try it on right away!
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