Straight No Chaser: The 12 Days of Christmas (2008 Version)

This still makes me smile!

By Name

I've been working on my homework for Outbreak and just had  a great reminder as I was reading through John 10. I love this passage about the sheep and the shepherd and how the sheep follow the shepherd because he calls them by name.  vs 3b "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."  Part of this week was about the fear of being forgotten and I admit that I often times feel this way, especially when I am in the drudgery of day to day life with three small little ones. They drain everything out of me and sometimes I just have to wonder, "Lord, do you remember that I am here? Can you cut me a break with all the whining, crying and screaming?"  It gets old, it gets lonely, it feels like I am forgotten.  I wonder if that is how Moses or David felt for all of those years out in the field tending sheep?

So, today was a sweet, tender touch of, "Jen, I haven't forgotten you.  I know you by name."

That is astounding to me that the Lord of all of the Universe, knows my name. I mean, I am horrible, horrible, horrible with people's names.  I know all the tricks of the trade. You know the ones: call someone by a generic name. If you are from the South, honey, will do or Bless Your Soul.  You don't need a personal name to say, Oh Bless You.  For those of you who are married, you know this one well, "if I don't introduce you by name, be sure and step in and introduce yourself." The hope is the other person will give his/her name while saying, "nice to meet you."  Deny it all you want, but I know that we have ALL played that game.

The Lord though, doesn't need that. The Lord knows, and the Lord calls each of us by our own name.

I started thinking about that and remembered that I had once written in my Bible somewhere in Exodus 3, "The Lord is a personal God."  It stemmed from the repetition of the phrase, "I am the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  The Lord didn't just say, "I am God," though He did say, "I am who I am."  He also referred to himself as the Lord of people. He's not an impersonal God, but a very personal one.

It made me think of these verses:
Exodus 3:4 "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'"

I Samuel 3:10 "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!'"

Luke 1:13, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah."

Acts 9:3 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to Him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'"

John 20:16 at the tomb, "Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'"

While we may not hear the audible calling of our names, rest assured, that the Lord does know our names, that He does call us by name and that one day there will be a rock with our name on it, known only by the Lord (Rev 2:17).  What a beautiful reminder.  It was almost as if a whisper, "Jen, you are not forgotten. I know you by name."

Once in a Lifetime

Once in a lifetime you get to do things:
Get Married. Hold your First born in your arms,

Watch Air Force One land

See your first born shake the President's hand....

Regardless of your political views, that is a once in a lifetime experience that can never be replaced. He had the opportunity to meet the leader of our country.  What a history lesson for my son as we talked about who the President was, why He was important, and also that God teaches us to respect the government, unless of course we are told to go against God's written word.  We talked about the sovereignty of God.  It was a day!

Needless to say, we came home playing "Air Force One."  Grayson has decided that he wants to be President.  I told him he could do anything the Lord called him to do and if he keeps the Lord center of his life, he would make an incredible President.

Get Out of the Window

This Monday night I had the pleasure of attending Outbreak, a night of praise and worship for women in the Katy area. It goes on for eight weeks and we would love for you to join us.  This week, Gari Meachum, spoke on having Contagious Worship.  In her words, "worship is coming undone before God."


She went on to go through what she called the three mosaics of worship.  They are:
-  Worship resulting from storms
-  Worship resulting from awe
-  Worship resulting from surrender

It was a great, great message on worship and has really had me thinking. I would love to say the part on the storms got to me, because I love how Peter sank and the disciples still worshiped. It made me think that even in times when I start to sink, others are watching and worship can still result, not because I failed, but because the Lord saves.  Gari made the point that we are to worship while the boat is still rocking.

However, the one that has been eating away at me was the part on worship resulting from awe. Gari used the Scripture 2 Samuel 6:12-23 where David is dancing with all of his might because the ark is being brought back to Jerusalem.  He was in awe of what the Lord was doing and was worshiping with all of his might.

2 Samuel 6:14-15, "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sounds of trumpets."


The Scripture goes on to say in vs 16, "as the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Sal watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart."


Gari made the point that our worship can draw criticism from others, but even so, we are to continue to worship the Lord with all of our might.  We should continue on.  Great point.....but how often am I in the window instead of on the street?

How many times am I like Michal?  How many times do I sit in the window and criticize how someone else is worshiping?  She even goes as far as to question David on it in verse 20, "How the King of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" (She was reprimanded and harshly).

Can you believe they would sing that song in that way?
Can you believe that she thinks looking at a flower or watching a sunset is the same as singing praises to God? (side note: Gary Thomas has a great book called Sacred Pathways that talks about the different ways that we can worship God).
Can you believe that she would dance?
Can you believe...you fill in the blank...

Here is what I thought, how often am I looking at how others are doing things rather than what God is doing? For when I look at how they are worshiping instead of what is going on in my very midst, I may very well be missing out on what the Lord is doing. What a tragedy that I miss His presence all because I was focused on someone else rather than Him.  I don't want to ever miss out on what the Lord is doing and miss the opportunity to worship Him and Him alone.

I need to get out of the window and on to that street.  While I am way too reserved to dance, I love to run and as I have said many times before, my greatest worship comes from turning one foot over the other, praising the Lord along the way!

I encourage you to get out of your window and get to worshiping.

Different Does Not Mean Wrong

Different does not mean wrong.
Different does not mean wrong.
Different does not mean wrong.

This has become a mantra in my life, beginning some years ago in my marriage.

For the first few years of our marriage, I equated different with wrong.  J's different than me, in more senses than just being a boy, therefore, he must be wrong. Different is wrong.

In my world, everything has a place and everything in it's place.  To J, everything has a place, and that place is where ever he put it down.
To me, I knew the Lord as a very personal God. J knew Him as holy, Lord, one to be revered.
I tend to be on the louder, let you know what I think side. J, not so much.

Guess what? I always (and that is not is not an exaggeration) thought he was the one who was wrong. How could he not know that everything needed to be nice and neatly put up? What do you mean that processing before speaking is a good thing; isn't it better to just let it out when you think it? I really in truly never, ever, ever considered that his way might be a good way or that there might be something that I could learn from it.  He, in my humble opinion, was wrong.  OR to put it another way, I was right, period. End of story.

Then I learned something, something very,very valuable. Different does not mean wrong. As long as different does not go against the law or against God's word. Different is just that, different.  Surprise of all surprises to me, different can also be good, very good, and at the same time, very painful.  The problem was, I was so set in my ways, that I had become unteachable.

What I found is it is good. It's maddening, but it's good.  Jamison has taught me to sometimes let things be - a little dirt and chaos is ok (but not a lot), he's helped me to reverence the Lord more and to maybe take my volume down a notch or two and think (if only briefly) before I speak.  On the flip side, he will tell you he has come towards me. He's become more organized, he's learned to speak up and that conflict is not all bad, and that the Lord does care about the personal details.  We've both changed and that change is good.

What brought all of this up?  Believe it or not, a conversation I had with a friend about parenting.  What do you mean you don't let your kids drink caffeine, watch tv, eat a little junk, spank your child?  Haven't you learned that tv is your friend?  That a little caffeine never killed anyone? that junk food allows you to try on clothes in a store? Not only that, I have been prideful enough to think, but maybe not say, just wait, she'll figure it out.  Because, why? Because, I am right, of course.  

Then I learned again, different is not wrong. Different is different and different is good. That mom who does not allow much tv watching has some great ideas of things to do on a rainy day. The mom who is careful what her child eats can teach me much about creative and healthy lunches.  Discipline techniques - I could learn more.

My conversation caused me to stop and think about a few things.  Why do I parent the way I parent?  Why do I make the decisions that I do?  Why do I let my kids do some things and not others?  Why do I use the discipline measures I do?

Instead of pumping my ego up that I have parenting all figured out, I need to be looking at these situations and asking myself:
-  So, what? In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? So what if we differ on diets, television time, etc.
-  What can I learn from another parent? Is there something she is doing right that I had not thought of?  Instead of assuming that what I am doing is right, why don't I assume that the other parent has great ideas as well.
-  Is this a salvation issue?

How boring, no, how loud would this world be if there were a bunch of Jen Smith's running around? The kids might be pretty unruly too.  The world would be organized for sure, but it wouldn't be very decorated.  The kids would be clean, but would they have had much fun?


Differences are like iron, sharpening one another, molding us, conforming us, dare I say, sanctifying us.  The  question I have to ask myself is, am I staying mold able, changeable, conformable or am I insisting on my own way in my marriage, in my parenting, in my life?

Different does not me wrong.

In Your Path

I never really knew how hard three kids was going to be. About the time that I think I have it under control, it all falls apart again.  I'm exhausted. Yet in my exhaustion, I look around and see so many people who have a heart and passion for foreign missions and I think to myself, "Why don't I have it?"  or "Why can't I do that?" I know comparison is not healthy, but I see the passion and it bothers me that I don't have some sort of compassion, much less passion for these sorts of things.  I would like to, but it's not there.  I often ask, "what's wrong with me?"

Then in one of the sweet, tender moments when I had a brief moment of silence in my house, these words were whispered to me, "In your path."  Minister to the people that are in your path.  Because I am hard of hearing most days, my Proverbs 31 email came through that morning and it was on the Good Samaritan. I believe the point was that we were supposed to show grace, but this jumped out at me.  

'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road.....So, too, A Levite, when he came to the place.....but a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to the same place..."  Luke 10:30-33


Three men, on a road with an opportunity to help, yet only one took the opportunity.  What jumped out at me, was they were on a road, the man was in their path. Right now, I don't have to look far and wide to find opportunities to minister. My problem is that I often times walk down the path and don't see or I choose to walk on the other side of the road.

As if I wasn't convicted enough, the other morning devotional was on finding five people to do good to this week, people that were in your path.

So, who is in your path?

I took about two steps before I ran into the first person on my path:

Then the pitter patter of little feet brought three more people into my path:

Right now, my path is in my home.

FIVE

FIVE.

My baby's five. Where, oh where did the time go? I am in denial. He can't be five. After one, five is the first big milestone birthday.   His picture was made in the bluebonnets to commemorate the event. It is now hanging on my wall.  In not too many years, his 18th birthday picture will be hanging beside it.  Sigh. It makes me sad.  Years of praying to be a mom and now the answer that I thought would never come is five.  God is so good.

Grayson -

Now you are five. It seems like just yesterday you were an infant that I had no idea what to do with.  Then you were a toddler, into trucks and dirt. It seems as if overnight you went from that little one to a little boy. Trucks and dirt turned to superheros and capes.  Those have now been traded to Star Wars and Legos. Big boys like Star Wars and Legos.  You can't possibly be that big.

This picture captures it all. You always have a smile on your face and your eyes dance with mischief.  Even running, you are constantly smiling.  You are an expressive child.  We love to hear you tell stories as your whole face expresses the story. You are animated to say the least.

Little Man, you are a delight.  You have a sweet and sensitive spirit. Though you can pick unmercifully on Hope, you are a tremendous big brother.  You are always willing to help. You are quick to make sure that your sisters are taken care of. You are learning that your role as a brother is to love and to protect your sisters. We have watched you this year grow into that role.  You are Michaela's biggest fan and are already teaching her many things and looking out for her. We pray that all three of you will remain close in the years to come.  We often tell you that God has given you a big role in being the big brother of not one, but two sisters.  God is proud of how you take that seriously. I periodically hear you tell Hope, "a gentleman gets the door."

You love sports.  This year you took on soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring.  You loved both of them. You also progressed in your swimming and learned to use your arms. We spent many days at the pool and perhaps your favorite thing to do was to swim with your pops.  Uncle Justin taught you how to dive this summer.

Your imagination is going in full force.  You and Hope dream up games and play them; everything from lifeguard to football games to hide and seek.  The two of you also love to play "bikes and trikes" and we can often find you riding circles on the driveway. Just another sign of you growing up: your training wheels came off this year and you also picked up riding a scooter.

You love to build - whether it be Lincoln Logs, blocks or legos.  You love to create and to ask me to guess what it is you have built.  You build everything from towers to planes to bat caves.

You have also gotten into playing games with the family.  It seems as you have mom's competitive streak and hate to lose.  Games you love are Cootie, Battleship and Sorry!  You also talked daddy into downloading an electronic battleship on the I-Pad.  It's entertaining to hear how you sank the ships.

You love to sing and dance.  We crack up as you and Hope dance to "fast music" in the evenings.

This summer you have also learned to read.  I am so proud of you, although it's just another milestone to remind me that you are indeed growing up.

You love to learn and tell your Bible stories!

We are so blessed to have you as a son. What a wonderful answer to prayer you are.

Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye is never easy. This weekend we said goodbye to my Nana. While goodbyes are hard, it was great to have the cousins together. My grandmother will be greatly missed, but we are happy that she is at home now with her Lord and Savior.

Cousins and our Papaw
Amy, Justin, Jon, Jen and Kelley

Back: Sandy, Justin, Jon, Howard, Carl, Jen and Jamison
Front: Amy, Mike, Papaw, Carol and Kelley
Taking care of the newest family member: Robin

From the paper:

Joan Moore Gillett was called home on August 27, 2011 to be with her Lord and Savior. Left behind to cherish her memory is her loving husband, Mage, of 67 years. Joan was born on September 18, 1922 in Marshfield, Missouri to Jess and Clara Moore.

Joan was a true beauty inward and outward. She grew up in Springfield, Missouri and graduated from Drury College with a degree in home economics. During her years at Drury she was crowned homecoming queen. In 1944 she married the love of her life after he returned from being MIA for almost a year.

They lived in several locations before settling in April Sound in 1987. She enjoyed traveling, playing bridge, volunteering at the hospital, sewing, Bible Study Fellowship, gardening and spending time with her family. Over a period of many years she invested her life in nurturing others by leading Cub Scouts and Blue Birds. Joan was actively involved in her children's lives serving as room mother, member of various booster clubs and being president of the PTA. She served fervently in women's ministries at University Christian Church in Fort Worth before becoming an active member at First Baptist Church in Conroe where she was a member of the Encouragers' Class.

Her greatest joy was watching her grandchildren mature into successful adults. She consider herself blessed at the birth of seven great grandchildren. She will be sorely missed by all those who loved her. She is survived by husband, Major Roland Gillett, son Mike Gillett and wife Sandy and their daughters, Kelley and husband Carl Loredo and Amy Gillett all of Plano, Texas. Joan is also survived by daughter, Carol, and husband Howard Crockett of Conroe, and their children, daughter Jennifer and husband Jamison Smith of Houston, grandson Jon Crockett and wife Robin of Bristow, Virginia, and grandson Justin Crockett of Houston. She is also survived by seven great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, August 29 at Metcalf Funeral Home and a celebration of life service will be at First Baptist Church Conroe on Tuesday, August 30 at 10 a.m. Interment to follow at Garden Park Cemetery.

The family would like to thank the caregivers; Candice Cannon, Margie Carter, Evie Fulton, Cheryl Lavergne, Deneicia Price, Cindy Tatum and Lighthouse Hospice for their loving devotion during Joan's illness. Special thanks also to Dr. Howard Crockett and Dr. Gary Sharpless for their dedication.

Donations in memory of Joan can be made to Montgomery County Food Bank of First Baptist Church Conroe.

Special Memory

The kids and I went to see my grandmother today.. (The picture is from the end of July).  We know that the end is near and it is so hard, but such a sweet memory was created today.

Michaela, who is an extreme mommy's girl and RARELY goes to anyone, stuck her arms out to Nana. So, I held her down and she gave her one of her wide open mouth kisses. Michaela is stingy with her kisses.  Nana, who has been unresponsive for the last week, gave her a kiss. I even saw a smile.  Michaela then tried to squirm out of my arms to get on the bed and sat there for a brief second. It warmed my heart.

The BEST part of the day, and the special memory for me, was this.  When we got ready to go, Michaela waved and said, "Bye." Her very first word was to Nana.

Who's the Parent?

We have struggled lately with bossiness from our eldest child. In fact, I am beginning to wonder who is the parent around here. Grayson seems to think that he is the dad and is constantly ordering Hope around, correcting her, etc. I read a while back in Creative Correction that an idea for disciplining this was to allow the child to do all of the parent's responsibilities for the day. For example, make lunch, wash clothes, dishes, etc. I am not sure how well this will work with an almost five year old. We did tell Grayson that if he continued he could do all things that a daddy does if we heard him correcting Hope.

Today I was in my room and heard Hope say, "Grayson, if you don't stop it, Mommy's going to make you wipe my bottom." I laughed and thought, "Great, now we have another mini-parent in the house."

The Big O-N-E

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

One year ago today, we welcomed what I have deemed the blessing I never knew I wanted. How glad I am that the Lord's ways are infinitely higher and better than mine. You complete our family.

I'll never forget you daddy saying on the way to the hospital that he couldn't wait to hear the soft, newborn cry. He was greatly disappointed as you came out with full blown Crockett lungs. You haven't tuned down the screeching since then. You made and are still making your presence known. I can't say that I am surprised. I knew from the beginning that the Lord has great plans for you and I have prayed since I was pregnant that you, my sweet child, would make His name known. He has certainly given you the lungs to do so. I can remember my walks 9 months pregnant praying about you proclaiming His name.

As for your first year, daddy and I would characterize it by the phrase, "that's what babies do..." We were still in awe of you finding your toes, rolling over, giving us wide open mouth kisses, and putting your arms out, we just didn't find ourselves talking about it constantly like we did with your brother. It doesn't mean we love you any less, I just don't have the pictures to show for it. One of my friends told me with the third that I became an expert at parenting; I have determined I have become absentminded as one and often times don't know where the camera is to capture it. I wouldn't have it any other way, being absent minded that is. I do wish I had taken more pictures.

Michaela, you have captured my heart. From the beginning only I have been able to comfort and soothe you. You bring a whole new meaning to the phrase, "mommy's girl." You don't want me out of your sight for a minute and scream bitterly to get my attention. You are attached at my hip constantly. At night, you want me to rock you and sing no less than three songs. You lay your head on my chest just like you have done every day since the day I brought you home. Every day I sing you Jesus Loves You because more than anything we want you to grasp this reality.

You do love your bubby and sissy and follow them everywhere as fast as you can tripod crawl. You will soon be running after them as you took your first steps this past week. You are so proud of yourself. You giggle and light up when your siblings walk in a room. I pray that you all will be the best of friends.

You love the water and are not scared to jump right in. I see you as being my fearless child.

I can truly say as I put on your birth announcement last year, "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with Joy."

Happy, Happy First Birthday, Michaela Joy! You are so incredibly loved.

Mommy's First Girl

I keep asking myself, "Where did Hope get this attitude, standing with her hands on her hips?"

Hmmmm...I wonder...

Mommy's Baby Girl

Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of me when I look at the girls. I wish I had the close up picture of me from this age. It's at mom's house, but the expression, the way Michaela's hair flips, it's like looking into a mirror many moons ago. Not to mention that she has my loud lungs.

Hope Turns 3!

You are such a joy and delight to us.

This year we have watched you turn from a toddler into a little girl.  You have a sweet spirit and love everyone.  You light up the room when you walk in and are quick to give kisses and hugs to those you love.  Pops like to steal all your kisses and then make you tell everyone else that you are, "fresh out."  You will giggle and giggle telling Mimi that you are fresh out of kisses.

You are everything girly.  You love shoes, necklaces, bracelets and purses.  Most mornings you will get up dress yourself and will have completed the outfit with all the accessories.  The more it sparkles, the more you love it.  A purse always goes with us and your favorite shoes are silver sparkle flip flops.  You often times want your hair to be in a big ponytail, just like Ainsley Robinson's. You love Ainsley and look up to her.

You love princesses and dress up. You love playing mommy with your dolls. It warms our heart to hear you singing Jesus Loves Me and Holy, Holy, Holy to them. You have an active imagination and role play often with your brother.  You also like to play games with him.  Your latest games are Cootie and Zingo.

This year you have found a love for riding your tricycle and will ride "bikes and trikes" with Grayson on the driveway.  You want us to say "hello" when you drive up and "good-bye" as you drive away.  You also love play-dough, playing house in your playhouse and swinging. You have always loved the swing.

You still love to cuddle and want mommy or daddy to cuddle with you at night before going to sleep. It reminds me that you are still little. Every night you want to be covered up in your Cinderella blankie and you want to wear frilly nightgowns.

Hope, you still love pink.  You will hear people in our family saying, "I wore pink today for Hope."

You have captured our hearts and light up our lives.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hope E.!

We love you so very much.

WFMW: Marriage Advice

I've been cleaning out some boxes lately and have had fun looking at things that I didn't remember I had.  Among them was a box given to me at a wedding shower. In it were cards full of marriage advice. I read a lot of them again, but there was one that I did not need to reread.  It was the one that has stuck with me through our marriage.  I partly laughed when I got the card and partly thought, "that's an odd piece of advice."  Oddly enough, it's the one piece of advice that I go back to regularly.

The card said something along these lines (I don't remember the exact wording):
When you have an argument with your husband, remember two things:
1. You married a boy and
2.  Remember how you felt on your wedding day.

I honestly didn't have a clue how good that advice was until I got into the trenches of marriage.  This was before Love and Respect, blue glasses, pink earphones, etc.  Jamison is a boy and that accounts for a lot of our differences when we are fighting, I mean having "intense fellowship" as a friend of mine would call it.

The other piece of advice is invaluable. I know I am not alone in saying that marriage is H-A-R-D.  My pastor said that once and I am convinced he sugar coated it.  Marriage is a gazillion times harder than I ever imagined it to be. Perhaps that is because God wants to make me holy, not happy (thanks for that quote Gary Thomas!)

This is what I can say though, no matter how mad I get, no matter how many times I want to throw in the towel, no matter how much Jamison infuriates me, I can go back to my wedding day.  All on that day was right; all was good; it was the way things were meant to be.  I knew that I knew that I knew that I knew that Jamison was and still is the one that the Lord had for me.

I remember standing at the back of the church with my daddy.  It is the one time in my life that I have been completely and totally overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord. I remember thinking that I was standing on Holy ground. I remember it vividly. I remember getting to the end of the aisle and the pastor saying, "it's almost as if you can hear the rustle of angel's wings."  It was sacred. It was Holy.  I can say, my marriage is exactly what the Lord intended for me. Without a doubt.

Even when I doubt because I am tired, worn out, or just simply being hard headed, if I go back to that day, I remember all that I am committed to.  I remember that my marriage is a reflection of the Lord.  That the Lord wants our marriage to succeed and that it is worth fighting for.  It is worth battling out and not giving up.

I am so thankful for the advice, but more thankful for the incredible husband and marriage the Lord has blessed me with.

What marriage advice works for you?

Linking up at We Are That Family, Works for Me Wednesday.

God's Attributes A to Z

Many moons ago, when I was single, I was part of a wonderful Bible study. Each week we met, we had a prayer time beforehand.   We had a specific way in which we prayed:  we praised God for who He was, we thanked Him for what He had done and we petitioned Him for our needs.

If you are anything like me, I settle into my ways. I would find myself week to week praising God for the same attributes.  You are holy, holy, holy. Sometimes that is a good thing, if that is how the Lord is revealing Himself to you week after week. Other times, it is complacency to find a new attribute of the Lord from Scripture.

Since we were meeting for roughly 26 weeks, a friend of mine and I took the challenge to pray through the alphabet with God's attributes.  I can't tell you how fun it was to learn something new and to start prayer with praise.  What a way to get focused. (Psalms is a great place to find attributes)

Can you come up with an attribute for each letter?

Here are a few of mine.....

A:  Abba, Able, Anchor, Ancient of Days, Architect, Atones my Sins, Author of Life
B:  Banner, Beginning and End, Blessed, Bright and Morning star, Burden Bearer
C:  Captain of the Hosts, Caring, Cornerstone, Consuming fire, Counselor, Covenant Keeper, Creator
D:  Defender, Deliverer, Dependable, Directs, Dwelling Place
E:  El-Elyon; El-Olam; El-Shaddai, Emmanuel, Enthroned, Eternal, Everlasting Father, Ever Present
F:  Faithful, Father, Flawless; Forgives; Fortress; Fulfills His Purposes
G:  Gardener; Gate; Gentle; Glorious; God of all Comfort; God of all Grace; Great; Guide
H:  Hope; Healer; Helper; Holy; Hiding Place
I:  Instructs
J: Judge; Jehovah; Jealous; Just
K: Kind; King of Kings; Knowing
L: Lamp; Leader; Life; Light; Love; Living
M: Magnificent; Majestic; Maker; Marvelous; Master; Mediator; Merciful; Mighty; Most High
N: Name above All Names; None Like You; Near to Us
O: Omega; Omniscient; Omnipotent; Omnipresent; Orderly; Overseer
P: Patient; Peace; Perfect; Personal; Physician; Portion; Potter; Powerful; Praiseworthy; Preserver; Priceless;
    Promise Keeper; Protector; Provider; Purifiier
Q: Quiets you with His Love
R: Radiant; Reconciles; Redeemer; Refiner; Reliable; Rescuer; Restorer; Resurrection; Righteous; Rock;
    Ruler
S: Satisfies us; Slow to Anger; Superior; Sun and Shield; Strong Tower;
T: Teacher; Tender; Tower of Refuge; Truth
U:  Unchanging; Understanding; Unfailing Love; Upholds Us
V:  Victorious; Vindicator; Vinedresser
W: Warrior; Watcher; Wise; Wonderful; Worthy
X:
Y: Yahweh
Z:  Zealous
S: Sanctifies; Savior; Seals us; Self-Sufficient; Servant; Shadow; Shelter; Shepherd; Shield; Slow to Anger;  
    Sovereign  Steadfast; Strong Tower; Sufficient; Sun and Shield; Superior; Sustainer

Scripture A to Z

I love when the Lord is timely.  The other day I was thinking about something that a friend of mine and I did a few years back.  During our prayer time, we prayed the attributes of God using the alphabet. It was fun; it was challenging; it forced me to learn new things about our Lord.  I was thinking that I needed to do a post on it and I got sidetracked.

Then the other day, I picked up my daily walk Bible and was on Psalm 119.  The application was this:
When the psalmist wrote 119, he began each eight-verse section with a successive letter from the Hebrew alphabet, which has 22 letters.  From memory, can you think of Bible verses that begin with each of the 26 letters of the English alphabet?


I took the challenge....I was surprised that I came up with verses for almost all of the letters, but was not surprised that for most of them I only knew the book that they were found in. I knew very few actual addresses.   I took the time to go back and look them up. It also surprised me that a lot of the verses I know are just partial verses - the second half of verses.   Tomorrow I'll look at the attributes A to Z.

It was a fun exercise and a challenge to read and memorize Scripture more.
Feel free to share your list!

A: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you.  Matt 7:7
B:  Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs shall be the Kingdom of heaven.  Matt 5:3
C:  Cast all your anxieties on him for he cares for you  I Peter 5:7
D:  Do not be afraid
E:  Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with praise  Psalm 100:4
F:  The Fruit of the Spirit is... Galatians 5:22
G: Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life Prov 4:23
H:  Have you not heard? The Lord is he everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  Is 40:28
I:  I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6
J; Joy of the Lord is my strength.  Nehemiah 8:10
K:  Keep my commands
L:  Love one another as I have loved you.  John 15:12
M:  but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:10
N: Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.  Hebrews 13:5b
O:  Children, Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.  Ephesians 6:1
P:  Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.  John 14:27
Q:  I am sure there is one on Queen Esther...
R:  Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: rejoice!  Philippians 4:4
S: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God  Matthew 6:33
T:  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
U:  Unto thee O Lord, do I lift up my soul  Psalm 25:1
V:  Verily I say to you.
W:  Worship  in Spirit and in Truth  John 4:24b
X:
Y: You are the light of the world...  Matthew 5:14
Z:

WFMW: Teaching Toddlers Biblical Words Part 2

Last week I shared some tips for teaching toddlers Biblical Words. If you want to read the first part, go here.

I talked about such things as calling things for what they are, using gestures to help them remember, relating things to their world. Here are a few more tips that I have found useful.

5. Incorporate it through their day. Repetition!

While driving in the car, standing in line, running through the park I might ask: "Is God here?"  They laugh and giggle.

When I say, "How do you know?" they tell me he's everywhere.

Then we go back to, "What's that called?"  Omnipresent

Usually they say, "trinity" to get me to say something silly back to them. It's our little game. We eventually get back to the real word.

Do you think God is powerful enough to do...? Yes.  He is!  He's omnipotent!

6.  Have fun with it.  

When we taught them that the Holy Spirit landed fire on the heads in Acts 2, they put their hands on top of their head and waved fingers to make fire.  Periodically I'll ask them, "who is your helper?" To which they answer with fingers on top of their head. I usually have to prompt them to give me the name; they think the waving fingers suffices for an answer.

We've played an exchange game - exchanging sin for righteousness.  I want them to understand that not only did Jesus take our sin, we got his righteousness (Have NOT yet taught them that this is called "double imputation.")

Role play!  We have risen from the dead, we have been in lion's dens, we have walked along a road. They love this!

7.  Sing it.

I can't sing and my kids don't care.  My husband can and usually corrects the tune.  

I have decided to teach them one song in it's entirety at a time. Sometimes it takes a few months to learn it. 

I usually start with singing one verse, saying it, having them repeat it and singing it again.

We do this in the morning as a way to start our day.

I sang Jesus Loves me to My Kids every nap time from  the day they were born.  They know it; all four verses.

I sang Holy, Holy, Holy to my daughter every night for 2-3 months.  One day, I heard her singing it to her dolls as she was laying them down.  I didn't know she knew it, but she did. It's amazing what singing will do for them.  Plus it exposed her to words like holy, purity, merciful, mighty, almighty, etc.

Play CDs while they play, in the car.  

Beware: they can and will correct you. My son corrected me on the third verse of one song. I laughed - I'm a Baptist and only ever learned. verses 1, 2 and 4.

8. Most importantly: don't force it.

There are days when I can see my 5 year old staring off in the distance completely uninterested in what I say. Some days it ends with me giving him a lecture about the importance of God's word (not the best idea) and some days it ends in the Tickle Monster showing up and tickling away.

For the record, I don't do this every day.

Use Your Words

As I watch the drought and wildfires that are consuming our great state, I have been thinking about all things Texas.  Bluebonnets, Blue Bell and the Birds.  In particular, the mockingbird.

Aside from the fact that it is our state bird, and that it mocks other birds, that was about all I knew.

Dr. Google says the following:

Ask any Texan, and you will no doubt learn that the mockingbird has the prettiest song of any bird native to North America. That's perhaps the chief reason the "mocker" was adopted as the state bird of Texas in 1927. Legend has it when Texas chose the mockingbird as its state bird, the resolution stated that the bird is "a fighter for the protection of his home, falling, if need be, in its defense, like any true Texan..." Its species name comes from the Greek mimus to mimic, and ployglottos for "many-tongued.�  (http://www.shgresources.com/tx/symbols/bird/)

A mockingbird can have up to 25-30 songs in its repertoire at one time (http://www.lsjunction.com/bird.htm)

For some reason, the mockingbird has stuck with me and how often do I feel like this bird?

A beautiful song I may at times play, but how many times do I feel that it is because I am mimicking 25-30 women in my life.  I want to blog like Missy, do crafts like Katie, sew like Sharyn, create like Suzanne, teach like Leanne, and the list goes on.  You will hear me say, "I can copy, but not create." I feel like a mocker, hiding behind other's songs. Mimicking at it's best.

Do you ever feel that way - like all you are doing is mimicking those around you? It's left me with the question, "What am I good at?"   What is the song that God has created me to sing?  What is my song?  I don't want to merely imitate those around me that I respect.  I want to flourish in the way He has created me. I can learn from others as we are told to seek wise council, but the Lord did not create me to be just like them.  He created me uniquely.

First and foremost the Lord has shown me that I am ultimately to "imitate" him as I am conformed to the image of His son.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children ; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.  Ephesians 5:1-2

Ephesians 4:29-32 gives me a glimpse of what this looks like:

vs 29  Speak helpful, edifying words

vs 32  Be Kind

vs 32  Be Compassionate

vs 32  Forgive as Christ forgave you

I don't even want to stop and think about how well I am doing there.  Does my song merge together the melody of edification, kindness, forgiveness?  Oh, I dare say not as I blow it so many times a day with my children. Yet they are first and foremost the very people I am a reflection of Christ for.  I need work. I need help. I need Christ. Daily. Hourly. Minute by Minute.

Then there is the part of the melody that I have been praying for.  Lord, what am I passionate about? 

As I have been reading through the Psalms, the same thing has been jumping out at me:

"Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, Till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."  Plsam 71:18

"My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long." Psalm 71:24

"...I will tell of all of your deeds." Psalm 73:28

Ultimately I am to sing His song, to tell of His deeds, His power, His righteous acts. To glorify Him.

In our house, due to the insane amount of temper tantrums these days by all 3 kids, the summer mantra has become, "Use your words. You have words, so use them."  As I read through the Psalms, it was if I heard, "use your words.  You have them. Use them."

It starts with telling my children of the great and mighty things God has done: most importantly of sending His Son to give them a right relationship with Him. It is telling others of the great and praiseworthy things He has done. My life is His life. My story is ultimately His story. It is for His glory and yet I fail each day to tell it.

How is the Lord weaving together your song?

Book Review: Free Yourself to Love

A friend of mine, Gillian Nichols, took a challenge this summer to read a book a week. (I took the challenge to read a book a month!)  You can check out her blog here.  I respect her and her opinion so I asked if she would mine sharing some of her book reviews for my blog.  Here is what she has to say.  Thanks Gillian!  I'm looking forward to reading this and to hearing more of what you have to say in the weeks to come.

Free Yourself to Love, The Liberating Power of ForgivenessBy Jackie Kendall co-author of Lady in Waiting

This is first book I’ve ever read of Jackie’s, but it won’t be the last. Having had the blessing of meeting her in person at one of church’s women’s event I have one word to describe her: firecracker. She is a firecracker of a person. Set off to ignite your passion and make you laugh simultaneously, i.e. my kind of people! I even got the chance to tell her, “Thanks for bringing the fun bus!”
After the event was over I was helping out with the book signing table, not really helping but just standing there waiting to help, and I just felt the need to buy this book. Forgiveness has been a sort of pop-up word in my life this year, popping up all over the place when I really thought I was “over it”. Oh Gillian, you’ve got a lot of baggage, but thankfully forgiveness is not one of them! Or is it? Could that just have been a lie the enemy (for those of you who don’t know the enemy is what Christians refer to to mean Satan) wants me to believe? He’s so tricky like that and I don’t mean tricky in the ‘my four yr old is so tricky’ sense, but tricky to your ultimate peril. 
So I tried to purchase it and wadya know- there weren’t any copies left. As I was lamenting this to Jackie, she mentioned “Even the sample?” “Yes! Oops we sold the one marked Sample!” In short, she actually had the one marked SAMPLE and it was in her purse, and now it’s on my computer desk. I love food samples and now I love book samples.
Reasons I’m glad I read this:
• She brings it all back to the Word. You don’t have a moment where you don’t think her words are aligning with The Word! Love that. There are so many scriptural references I wrote down in my prayer journal and I was so thankful to the Lord for each and every one. 
• She is great at putting visuals, thus making it very easy to apply the truth you learn in your life. To demonstrate here’s an excerpt:
In fact, I envision this gigantic warehouse where God stores a bounty of gorgeously wrapped packages of grace just waiting to be delivered to those who are knocked down but not knocked out. … As I described, these bags com in all shapes and sizes, because authentic forgiveness addresses offenses of all shapes and sizes. p. 60
• This book is rich in tools and application and the part that makes the most sense is that it’s coming from a person who has truly forgiven the unforgiveable. She is real folks. Real means relatable. 

Summing it Up:
To sum it up I think a sentence from her book states it perfectly on page 168 

“Remember, I am like Jesus not when I am perfect, but when I am forgiving.”


Recommend to Friend?
Amen!

WFMW: Teaching Toddlers Biblical Words Part 1

I have been told that if you want kids to be bilingual, start teaching them the second language when they are young. I just got back from a family reunion in which J's 2nd cousin, who is 2, could understand and communicate in both English and Japanese.  I saw first hand that children have the capacity to learn. Yet when it comes to teaching them about the Bible and things of God, we think we have to water it down for them, that they can't learn it.  I disagree. If they can learn a second language, we can teach them from the Bible, using the language of the Bible.

I wish someone had taught me.  I don't ever remember hearing the words, omnipotent, sanctified, justified, etc. until I was in my 20s.  For the record,  I grew up in a church. I think we are afraid to call things what they are for fear of turning people away.

However, the Bible uses words such as these. Why shouldn't we know them and why shouldn't we teach them to our kids? So, here are my tips as I am on this journey called motherhood:

1. Don't be scared of using "big" words.
Call sin, sin.
Call sanctification what it is.
Call justification by name.
Trinity is trinity.
Call God's attributes what they are: omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, faithful, just, etc.
You get the point.  Just expose them to the words.


2. Use simple words to define the big words.
Sometimes I just expose them to the big words and wait until they ask to explain.
Sometimes, I explain.
Sometimes, they get a small little English lesson on prefixes:
Omni means all. all present, all powerful, all knowing.
He knows everything you are thinking, even before you say it (Ps 139)
Tri means 3.  That's about as simple as I can boil down the trinity.  3 persons, 1 God.
Someday they will thank you on their SAT because you have taught them prefixes.
Holy - clean

3.  Relate it to their world.


4. Use gestures to help them remember.

I am finding that my kids love to make hand motions. We stick one arm in the air Superman like when we yell, "Omnipotent." To which my kids ask, "Is God more powerful than Superman?" Keeping it on kid terms around here.

When I ask them, "where is God?" They point around the room like mad-men and mad-women. I say, "Use your words." They giggle and say, "everywhere." 
"What's the big word?" I ask.
They stumble over it, but will eventually say, "Omnipresent."


Part 2...next Wed