Look to the One

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)
Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment! I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

[T]he defenses of Judah are stripped away. And you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest; you saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.

Isaiah 22:8-11

Today's verses recount the Assyrian encampment around Jerusalem during King Hezekaih's reign. As the Israelites anticipated a siege, they feverishly set out to do what needed to be done. They took inventory of their weapons and made new ones. They repaired and fortified the walls that surronded their city. They made sure to store water since their main supply was outside the city gates. None of these things were inherently bad; in fact, they were prudent. The problem was that in the midst of their preparations, they failed to seek guidance from God.

How often do we forget about seeking God in the midst of a crisis? How often do we put our preparations ahead of our meditations?

• Do we take inventory of our talents and strengths without remembering that God has equipped us with these gifts? (Hebrews 13:20-21) Do we not consider that God has planned this situation and has given us this gifts "for such a time as this"? (Esther 4:14)
• Do we put up walls of our own making to protect ourselves from being hurt, while forgetting that Christ calls us to suffer for Him? (Romans 8:16-18)
• Do we try to quench our thirst with physical water while forgetting that it is Christ and God's Word that truly satisfy our craving? (John 4:12-14)

Making preparations from our strengths is not wrong; we simply must remember that those strengths are from God and to look to Him.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

The Cultivation of Beauty

Around the beginning of the year, I read Jill Savage's Professionalizing Motherhood. In this book she quoted Holly Schurter on the difference between housekeeping and homemaking:

Cultivate the skills, not only of housekeeping, but of making a home for your family. As you know already, they are not always exactly the same.

Housekeeping consists of the laundry, the dishes, the toilets, and floors that need to be scrubbed, but homemaking is something else. The difference between housekeeping and homemaking is the difference between a barren field and a lovely fragrant garden.

Homemaking is the deliberate cultivation of beauty and productivity in family relationships. Homemaking is about helping your family feel loved and comforted. Homemaking is about celebrating each other, and about caring for each other, as well as for your friends and extended families and even the occasional stranger. Anyone can keep a house. Not everyone bothers to make a home.

Hmmm. I'm not so sure about that statement that anyone can keep a house; Holly obviously hasn't seen my kitchen floor. I am getting slowly but surely better in the housekeeping department, probably just a little too slowly to suit my husband's (or 90% of the population's)taste!

Now, this homemaking thing--those words strike right at my heart. This area is the one in which I always thought I would excel, especially the part about the "deliberate cultivation of beauty." I remember looking through issues of Victoria magazine as a teenager and cutting out pictures of rooms I loved. Surely I would be adept at creating a beautiful and comfortable home for my family.

Lately, ten years into my marriage with two children under the age of five, I haven't felt up to homemaking either, especially the decorating of our new home. For about a year now, we have been living with just the bare minimum of our furniture so that we could stage the house we're trying to sell. God has been definitely teaching me something about contentment during this past year. Philippians 4:11 has been my touchstone verse during this time, but I am not so content that I won't be happy to have these rooms filled again with our things.

Don't you just love that Boring Beige? I am so excited that within a month or so I will be able to put our stamp on this house and provide real comfort in our home.

In preparing for the imminent return of our furniture, I have been doing serious research in interior decorating, and I'm sharing that research with you! I have compiled my favorite home decorating blogs; the authors of these blogs definitely know a little something about the cultivation of beauty. I hesitate to do this because it may cause you to spend way too much time in blogland, but these blogs are just too good to miss. Here we go!

• Nesting Place: Thoughts on Feathering My Nest: I absolutely love the Nester's sense of style. She uses a lot of buffalo checks and toile, two of my favorite types of fabric. She is all about decorating on a budget, which also fits my circumstances, especially right now. Her window "mistreatments" are not to be missed. I also love her motto: "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!"
• Southern Hospitality: Rhoda had her own decorating business and generously shares her tips and great rooms on her blog. Just look at her gorgeous laundry room! Maybe I could get more towels folded and more ironing done if my laundry room looked like that! Rhoda also loves thrifting and going to tag sales, and you could often see her latest finds on her blog.
• A Soft Place to Land: I love where Kimba explains how she got the name for her blog in her "About Me" section. She has articulated what I'd like to create for my family. Also, check out this bench she refashioned. It's too cute!
• Dana Moore Designs: Dana is a professional decorator and shares her fabulous designs and ideas on her blog. Look at this guest house she designed. Gorgeous!
• The Handmade Housewife: Hayley has post after post filled with her cute projects. Check out these adorable pillow shams she made from place mats!
• New Every Morning: New Every Morning is a kindred spirit; she has latched on to The Nester's philosophy, too! And just look at what she did with this old door in her laundry room (I love the fleur-de-lis hooks below it, too!) and how she tied it into a spiritual insight!
• Pure Wells: Kathryn is my sister and has just made her debut into the blog world. I am putting her in this list because if she ever posts any pictures of her house, you would think that she does interior design for a living. Even if she doesn't post pics, you will be blessed by her posts!

Enjoy, and let me know if I've missed any great inspiration blogs!

I Am Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

So, last week, we began homeschooling. It was a great week, and my favorite part of the day has become our "circle time" at the beginning of the day where we begin with prayer, a reading in The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos, discussion, Bible songs, Memory verse, and a craft based on the Bible story. We started at the beginning with Creation.

Our study of Creation has fit in perfectly with Elaine's (Peace for the Journey) series about what she saw at the zoo. Elaine is a beautiful writer, and her blog is filled with deep posts about the glory of God. Today, I saw a powerful, powerful video clip from Louie Giglio about how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." I haven't yet figured out how to upload videos from Youtube, so here's the link.

It's about nine minutes long, but it is a nine minutes that cause you to praise God for His awesome Plan!

Altars to Achievement

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

"Their land has been filled with idols;

They worship the work of their hands,

that which their fingers have made."

Isaiah 2:8

Isaiah spoke these verses to the people of Judah seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, yet they are appropriate to our lives today.

In my last Thirstin' for the Word post, I wrote about the Bible study that I was doing and how it intersected with the sermon given by my pastor. This concept of idolatry is still on my heart, and this verse stood out to me this week in its treatment of one of the most prevalent and insidious idols in our culture.

Isaiah was referring to actual graven images in these verses, which to modern-day readers seem foolish. How could these people put their faith in statues that they had made?

Despite our incredulity at these people's misplaced faith, we have our own tangible idols: diplomas, certificates, trophies--all the evidence of our own achievement. How often are these items arranged in a place of honor in our homes, shrines, if you will, to what we have accomplished. In contrast, it may be difficult to find any physical evidence of God in our homes, other than a Bible coated with dust.

Sometimes these idols of our achievement are less readily seen. They may be the note that congratulates us on a job well done that is tucked away to be re-read one day to give us that "needed" confidence boost. Even less apparent, it may be spoken words of praise or approving glances that we treasure in our heart, raising our sense of worth.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that what we accomplish is worthless or that to have a healthy sense of self-esteem is wrong. However, like so many idols, achievement is a good thing that can become bad. It is when we have confidence in ourselves and what we can do to the exclusion of confidence in God that our achievements become pride and idolatry.

Back in my teaching life before I had children, I had my own little altar to the accomplishments of Celly B. Behind my desk at in my classroom ranged my diplomas from college and graduate school and a certificate proclaiming my National Board certification. I had paper weights and clocks engraved with laudatory words for teaching awards. I saved notes from students, parents, and colleagues that reminded me that I was a good teacher. Notebooks from workshops and presentations I had led were stacked on display in my bookcases. Whenever I walked into my domain, I was surrounded with evidence of what I had achieved.

When I left teaching to stay home with my new baby, God effectively tore down that altar I had created to myself. Those things that I had accomplished were unimportant in my new role as a mother. My former sense of identity and confidence were demolished. Slowly, I came to realize that what I thought I had accomplished on my own I had done with God's help and that He would provide me with what I needed to be a good mother:

"Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God." (2 Corinthians 3:5)

When we rely on ourselves and what we do to define ourselves, we will ultimately be disappointed. When we tear down our altars to achievement, we allow God to step in and reclaim His rightful place at the center of our worship.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

1st Day of Homeschooling!

Okay, so I have known for a while that we were going to do the homeschooling thing, yet I have had a hard time deciding exactly when to begin! At first, I made up a detailed year-round schedule that would basically be three weeks on, one week off throughout the year. However, once summer got here, things got too busy between Vacation Bible School, swimming lessons, and vacations and my schedule was wrecked! So, then, I decided to wait and just begin when our local homeschool co-op would begin--the week of August 18. I went ahead and planned out our first week of homeschooling and made copies of everything we would need.

Then, Emily Anne began asking about when we would begin homeschooling. One of the things that I originally loved about homeschooling was the flexibility to homeschool when we wanted to, and also the enthusaism for learning that EA was showing. So, since, we had everything ready, I thought, Why not begin Monday? It would keep me from anticipating and getting too nervous or get my expectations hyped for the ideal situation.

Today began with circle time on the floor of the playroom. We said a prayer, and then I read aloud from the first section of The Child's Story Bible: "God Was and Is." Emily Anne thrilled me by making an unsolicited connection; when we were talking about the fact that God loves us even more than our parents do. She said, "Mom, that sounds like that song that we sang in Bible School" and proceeded to sing it--"If you ask me how much God loves me, I'd say, 'deeper than the ocean, wider than the sea!'"

We then sang "My God Is So Big" and "God Made Me" (The lyrics are "God made me, God made me, God made everything, and God made me." It's sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell."). We had fun substituting our names, our pets' names, and other nouns for "me."

We then made self-portrait paper-dolls, with the theme of "God Made Me." Will really got into this! I helped him cut out the pieces and drew the eyes and mouth when he got frustrated, but he enjoyed coloring the clothes and taping them on to his figure. Emily Anne did all of hers except the cutting out of the figure. I was really impressed with her cutting skills, especially around the shoes!

Next, we practiced our memory verse for this week: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1. We'll be studying Creation for the rest of the week in Bible time.

The next subject was Math. We completed Lesson 1 of Saxon Math. Will played with foam number puzzles while Emily Anne and I talked about calendars and numbers. The days of the week, months, year, and dates were all review for her; she knew them without my going through the "script" for the lesson at all. She surprised me, too, on the number chart. The lesson called for counting only up to 30, but when I stopped at 30, she continued counting by herself up to 100!

Snack break was next on the agenda (I was able to put clothes in the dryer during this time), and after snack, Emily Anne worked on the first review lesson of handwriting in Level A of A Reason for Handwriting, while Will colored a worksheet. After I went over the form and direction of the letters (EA does need some help in this area; she wants to make the letters her own way), she was able to do a lot of the practice by herself, and I was able to help Will coloring in objects that were the same on his worksheet.

Emily Anne and I then worked on the first lesson in Section 3 (Lesson 29) of The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Reading (We had already been working on these lessons during 4K). After Emily Anne's lesson, we all played with the alphabet letters on the magnetic white board, encouraging Will to pick the correct letter from the board.

We went outside, along with Addie, to have some unstructured play time, and lasted about thirty minutes in the heat. Emily Anne was pulling up weeds and then planting them in pots!

In the time before lunch, I was able to clean the carpet in the playroom.

When Daddy came home for lunch, the kids were extra excited to see him, and the first thing Will did was to take Joel by the hand to the refrigerator and say, "Look, Dad! Will made craft!"

Emily Anne recapped the morning for him, and then later, Will took him by the hand to the white board in the playroom where our schedule was written out. He pointed at Bible and said, "We had Bible," and then pointed out the other words and had Joel say them for him. Apparently, Will was more acclimated to the schedule than I thought!

After lunch, we had some read-aloud time with various books. I would like to have themed books for the week for read alouds, although I'm not sure that I want all our lessons pulled from them. I'll have to check out some FIAR websites and see what's there.

So, all in all, it was a great first day for homeschooling, and I'm glad I didn't have the time to stress out beforehand. We'll see how tomorrow goes . . . .

Beach Portraits

Over July the week of July 4th, Emily Anne, Will, and I went down to my parents' place at the beach. My sister, her husband, and their daughter were also visiting. My mother has been wanting one of the ubiquitous beach portraits of our family for a long time. July is a busy time at work for Joel, so he had to drive down on Sunday, the only time he had. My mother's father also joined us for the portrait session.

During the session, my sister, who is a great photographer herself, snapped these pictures. I think some of these are as good or better than the professional shots.

Here is Will playing in the sand. He was much more interested in playing in the sand than posing for pictures!

Here is Emily Anne with her cousin Katy.


Here is Emily Anne with Daddy.

Can't you tell she's just the apple of his eye?

Emily Anne and Mommy

I think this picture is so sweet!

EA already knows how to work the camera!

In August we are vacationing with Joel's extended family and will have portraits made of his side of the family, this time in the mountains! I think we'll have our choice of pretty backgrounds for
Christmas cards this year!

What's at the Top of Your Priority List?

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

"For the wrath of God is [being] revealed from heaven against all impiety and wickedness of men, who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

Since what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse;

for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.

Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen."

Romans 1:18-25

Two weeks ago I belatedly joined the study of Kelly Mintor's No Other Gods, hosted by Beth Moore on her Living Proof Ministries blog. Although I'm still behind in the study, I have been convicted of having gods other than the One True God in my life. Kelly points out that most idols in our society today are not the graven images of "man or birds or animals or reptiles," but rather those things to which we devote our time and attention, and which put God in the background. In other words, we give idols a higher priority in our lives than we give God.

In the midst of taking inventory of my priority list, our wonderful new pastor, Rev. Phil Thrailkill, gave a sermon on idolatry, using the above passage as part of the Scripture for his message. Now, Pastor Phil would never in a million years be described as a minister who "tickles your ears" (2 Timothy 4:3) and people were squirming in their seats across the entire congregation as we realized that we were all guilty of one (or two or three . . .) forms of idolatry and were convicted of to whom or what we were giving our devotion.

Pastor Phil went on to explain how this passage from Romans illustrates the result of idolatry. Because God's majesty and sovereignty is evident in His creation, ignorance of (or ignoring) God is deliberate. Because we fail to worship our Creator, our attempts to think for ourselves without relying on His wisdom are futile and ultimately, our plans for ourselves do not turn out the way we had hoped (Proverbs 16:25).

As a result of our futile attempts to rely on our own wisdom, we begin to justify to ourselves why our sins really aren't sin. As sin breeds sin, we continue into idolatry, and we push God farther and farther into the background of our lives.

Verse 25 of the first chapter of Romans holds an insight for me. When I first read the verse, I passed over it quickly, thinking the "creature" was more of a kind of physical idol, a graven image that ancient people might have worshiped, but not really relevant to me. As I have meditated on these verses, however, I find that they are all about me. When we worship idols rather than God, we are really worshiping our own selfish desires. Whether those idols are money, food, our possessions, our achievements, or even our children, they reflect what our heart desires more than God. When we are guilty of idolatry, we are guilty of serving ourselves rather than serving God.

In order to tear down the idols in our lives, we should heed Jesus's words in Matthew 22:37 as he quotes Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 6:5): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

Praying for Enlightenment

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.

Psalm 119:7

A couple of years ago, when I became really serious about my quiet time each morning, I began reading Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods, which is a great resource for studying the Bible by topic, book, chapter, etc. One of the ways that it really changed my Bible study was his suggestion of praying for enlightenment before reading the Bible. One of his suggested prayers was Psalm 119:18, which I've previously written about here.

To guide my Bible reading, I've been following Charles Stanley's devotions in In Touch magazine, and, according to this schedule, I was in the Psalms and revisited Psalm 119 this week. I was amazed at the number of verses I could use in Psalm 119 to ask for God to reveal His truth to me. Here is a list:

• Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119:12)
• Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. (Psalm 119:18)
• I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119:26)
• Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. (Psalm 119:27)
• My soul is weary with sorrow; strenghten me according to your word. (Psalm 119:28)
• Teach me , O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. (Psalm 119:33)
• Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. (Psalm 119:34)
• Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. (Psalm 119:35)
• The earth is full of your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119:64
• Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. (Psalm 119:66)
• You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119:68)
• Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. (Psalm 119:73)
• Accept, O LORD, the living praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. (Psalm 119:108)
• Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. (Psalm 119:124)
• I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. (Psalm 119:125)
• Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees (Psalm 119:135)
• Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live. (Psalm 119:144)
• May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. (Psalm 119: 169)

These verses are just those that directly petition God for His help in understanding His Word. There are many more verses in Psalm 119 that could be used for prayer in Bible study, too.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.