Recommendation: Keeping Holiday

Over the last couple weeks I have had the immense pleasure and privilege of reading Keeping Holiday to my children. When I heard about this book on the blog Girl Talk (highly recommend this one!) I assumed it would be a lovely book about Christmas for me to share with the children.  Oh, it was ever so much more!  This book drew all of us in and opened our eyes in a new way to what it means to have Jesus call us to Himself.  A regular quote in the book was "You don't find the Founder; He finds you.  He's not just the Founder; He's the Finder too."  As I contemplate each of our children's journeys with Jesus, it was very reassuring to be reminded that the ball is not entirely in their court (though of course they need to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit!)  Ultimately, the God of the universe is the One who takes them from the kingdom of darkness and brings them into His kingdom of light.  I think the target age for this book is 8-12 year olds, but having been deeply blessed personally by reading this book, I'd recommend that all parents find some excuse to read this even if your kids are a bit younger or older than that. Just pretend you're reading it to yourself and you can't keep quiet so everyone happens to hear you. :)  I was able to get this book from our library, but I already purchased a copy of it because it will be one we re-read and I'm anxious to share it with other families, too.

One Thousand Gifts re-opened

A couple years ago I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I loved it (stick with it and you will too!) and was profoundly impacted by keeping my own journal of one thousand gifts.  Very soon after we got the call that Emmery's little brother would not be joining our family, I felt led to pick up this book and re-read it.  It has been EXACTLY what I've needed to help me process this journey and has helped me wrestle through God's perspective on suffering.  Here are a couple quotes that have really ministered to me:
"All God makes is good.  Can it be that, that which seems to oppose the will of God actually is used of Him to accomplish the will of God?  That which seems evil only seems so because of perspective, the way the eyes see the shadows. Above the clouds, the light is always shining." (pg. 88)

Chilling in the stroller while her big siblings swim.

I recently had the privilege of reading Joni Eareckson Tada's most recent book, Joni and Ken: An Untold Love Story.  Any of you who know Joni's story know that she has experienced all kinds of suffering in this life.  Stuff that doesn't make any sense at all.  And yet she has been used by God in ways that (even she would say) would NEVER have been possible if it weren't for the trials she endures.

As Ann Voskamp says, "That which seems evil, is it a cloud to bring rain, to bring a greater good to the whole of the world?  Who would ever know the greater graces of comfort and perseverance, mercy and forgiveness, patience and courage, if no shadows fell over a life?" (pg. 90)

I think we always try to interpret the "God works all things for good..." principle to mean that I have to be able to see that it is good right away in my own life, or else it's not true.  I'm learning that God sees a much higher, bigger picture and is working for the greater good of the whole world (which is what's best for me too. :)  He is always working for our good and for His glory.  If it doesn't seem like it, then it's my perspective that needs to be adjusted, and re-reading One Thousand Gifts has really helped me with this process amidst recent trials.  So thankful God led me to pick it up again!!

Yes, she really is enjoying a little toe snack!

Easter

We had several weeks of focused reflection on the life of Jesus and the heart of the Gospel leading up to Good Friday. Then, Easter Sunday was a fantastic, joy-filled celebration of our risen Savior!!! We love getting outside early in the morning to sing loudly (only one set of neighbors to wake up), and to imagine what it was like on that first resurrection morning. We sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," and Emmery joined in on the "alleluia" parts. :)

Some of our dear friends were able to join us for Easter dinner and it was so sweet to hear each child present share what character they would like to be in the Easter story. Calvin, Abigail, and Easton recited a portion of the Gospel in poetry form from this gem: A Gospel Primer for Christians.

We were also blessed to have Dan's dad join us for a couple of days!

I don't have any photos to blow you away, because Emmery is much more interested in seeing images on the camera than in being one of those images. :)

Easton grabs Emmery for a quick picture:

My attempt at catching a photo of my sweet children before we headed out the door to church:

Papa enjoying some time with his grandchildren:

Emmery loves her Papa and was happy to have him read to her from her ABC Scripture book!

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 

Christmas 2012

This was my best Christmas yet. I had just finished reading Anything by Jennie Allen. I devoured it in less than 48 hours.  I'd waited months for my turn to get it through the library but now I have to buy my own copy so I can go back and highlight and loan it to as many of my friends as possible. Reading this helped to soften my heart before God and make me hunger for Him more.  It reminded me of what I already knew...that I'm wasting my few breaths on earth if I live for my own comfort and happiness.  I've got all of eternity to be comfortable and happy.  Right now I'm here to live out my little part in God's story and I good and well better be listening to Him each day to hear what that is.





 I've been reading in Isaiah where God makes it clear that we are here for His glory, and we watched some Louie Giglio sermons that reminded me in powerful ways how big our God is.

So with a softer heart and a hunger for Him to increase and me to decrease, Christmas was a time of worship and joy.  On Christmas Eve Day we had our shepherd's dinner (actually a lunch) and remembered their part of the Christmas story.  Then we went to church and worked in children's ministries. When we got home we gathered around for some fun holiday snacks and read a special story.  Christmas Day we slept in, ate incredible food, exchanged stockings (we sent the kids on a treasure hunt for theirs), selected gifts for Gospel for Asia, watched How Great is Our God by Louie Giglio, and had a candlelight worship time singing praises to the King who came as a Babe. This year we enjoyed a little Advent book by Nancie Guthrie, Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room.  It's one of the best advent resources we've discovered!

 I've not been very successful with my camera recently, and I also didn't want to be so busy trying to take pictures that I wasn't fully present in the moment.  So although I don't have a ton of photos, I'm grateful for how God blessed our season of celebrating the gift of Jesus and wanted to share a few of our treasured resources with you!  Hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas!

Getting ready for our Shepherd's Lunch

Shepherd's Lunch by the fire

Emmery examining her new doll

Checking out an art book from Grandma

Recommendation: Kisses From Katie

A few friends whom I highly respect recommended this book to me, and I just had the privilege of reading it to our children.  Wow!  What an inspiring, challenging, eye-opening book about a young woman who is living as though God really did mean what He said in His Word regarding loving others.  I know it looks different for each person, but this book left all of us with a greater desire to listen to God and seek out ways to love those around us.  Why do we so often live as though life is all about us?

We regularly read missionary biographies to our kids (George Mueller, Amy Carmichael, etc), but it was great to be able to read them a story of someone who is currently living so we can pray for her.  I noticed that this book left us all with a heightened sense of gratitude for what God has blessed us with, and we pray each day that He will show us how we can give.  For we definitely have much more than we need!!!

I highly recommend Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis.  We were able to get it through our library system!

FREE: Crazy Love

In case you haven't had the opportunity to get your hands on Crazy Love by Francis Chan, the publisher (David C Cook) is currently distributing copies for free!  Click HERE to request yours.   This is a fantastic book, but be ready to be convicted!   Don't read it if you want to stay in your comfort zone.

Recommendation: One Thousand Gifts

Over the past few weeks I've had the privilege of reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  This book is  a dare to LIVE FULLY right where you are.  As she shares from her own life, she shows how the act of giving thanks is the key to joy.  It took me a bit to adjust to her writing style, but I deeply appreciated this book and have begun my own list of One Thousand Gifts!  Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving." (pg. 176)

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"It's impossible to give thanks and simultaneously  feel fear."  (pg. 203)

I highly recommend this book because no matter what you're going through in life, it shows you how to live out one of my favorite scripture passages:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18