Reflections

Isn't it amazing to see reflections of ourselves in our children? Well, sometimes.


This week's question...

What part of your personality do you see in your child(ren)?

Unconditional

Love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:8

When I Am Kind

When My Heart Is Ugly

God will never love you more than He does right now, nor will He ever love you less.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; 

and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 

Ephesians 2:8-9

When I Speak Kindly

When I Yell at Little Ones

There is nothing you can do to get God to love you more than He already does, nor is there anything you can do that will cause Him to love you less.

Look the level in the jars doesn't change! It is like His love.

I don't need to take advantage of it by staying on the right, but when I creep over there He still loves me!
Sometimes I need to be reminded.

Veterans, we thank you!

A forest of clouds pass over the cresent moon struggling to light my darkness. The radio fails to distract my thoughts as I wander through a quaint neighborhood alone.

The sweat finds its way onto my brow from beneath my USMC headband. I ponder another life far from what I know and realize finally that the age of 29 years 11 months and 15 days is precisely when time and change demand that I open my hands and release my longsuffering ambition to be a bona fide United States marine.

One year later, teetering on the precipice of age 31, I've less than a week until I fulfill my dream for one day by running the Marine Corps marathon on October 31, 2010.

Still I contemplate whether I could actually achieve so high a goal – to serve my country and live for the welfare of others. My body still allows me to run outlandish distances but feels noticably more tired and beaten than she did in earlier times and places. Nevertheless, physcially I’m confident, willing and certainly able for the task if it were set before me. And the sacrifice – the sacrifice of my freedom for others is one I desire – even long to make – but that sacrifice touches not the one I’m unwilling to make for the corps. No, no, there is a bigger price at stake in exchange for the prize here – one I’m unwilling to pay.

My writing is interrupted by three tiny voices needing help down the stairs. “How ironic,” I think to myself. They need help using the potty and they are hungry. They want me to watch a cartoon about farm animals with them so I sit and type in between the E-I-E-I-O’s. I am their whole life.

Several years ago I presented myself to a marine recruiter. As he began asking all the preliminary questions he said, "Why do you want to be a marine?" I thought for a minute and replied with wide eyes and a less than jaded 25 year old passion, "Because it's best the job I could have. It's the highest calling I can think of aside from following Christ. It means something to be a marine and I want my life to matter."

The recruiter looked down and paused from his hurried questioning. I remember seeing tears in his otherwise dark and distant eyes when he looked up and seemed to be abruptly finished with his inquiries.

You see, when you’ve decided to pour out your life for someone else, it’s a commitment you simply cannot renege on. I guess the Lord chooses who our lives will be given to – not us. My sacrifice – my freedom to choose what I will – what I desire – has been removed from all ambitions out of love for my Savior, my husband, my children and my mother. His sacrifice, along with every other service man and woman in this country is given for the greater good of each and every one of us. Their ambitions and what they desire have been removed by their love and sacrifice for all of their brothers and sisters in America. What a gift! What amazing people must our soldiers and sailors be! They have sacrificed what I am not willing to sacrifice and much more than that. The tie that binds us together is the same, though. The weight of our sacrifice lifts off the second we realize how blessed we are to have something or someone we love enough to sacrifice for.

Thank you soldiers and sailors for considering me and sacrificing for me. Thank you for my protection, my freedom, and my country. You are they who make this country worth sacrificing for. You do not sacrifice in vain. We who watch your courage desire to live as you do with all heart, no fear and constant sacrifice. You lead by example everyday of your lives.

So, am I the best example of sacrificial giving? Certainly not. Am I true to the core and “ever faithful"? Most definetely! I am striving to become more like those who've considered others to be of more importance than themselves. When my freedom is sacrificed for others, even in small ways, I have succeeded. Semper Fi.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." ~John 15:12-14

~Written by Lori Rodeheaver. Lori is the mother of three preschoolers and attends our Cherry Tree MOPS group!

Collections

I love to be outside, just being. Abigail likes to be outside to play or to ride a bike or to do something that requires being outside. It is just a difference in our personalities. I want to nurture her desire to be out-of-doors to be out-of-doors, to see the Creator in His creation, one of the ways He reveals Himself to us. But how?

So I started reading, Charlotte Mason (who I wish I was) advocates hours outside, just being outside. (She also advocates lots of unstructured time without Mother participating in the activities of her children but being mindful of them.) Now I can't quite manage that, though I am trying to work toward it, but even then on the days we spend outside Abigail will tromp by a flower, walk over the ants and completely miss the changing leaves and sky without some kind of guidance. For some exposure isn't enough to draw them in.

So then I started reading about nature tables and other ways to mark time with nature, and hit upon something I could use. Now we go for a walk or to work in the garden and I give the girl a purpose:  find something. It requires her to see the world around her, to think about and interact with this thing we call Creation and to think about the One whose work it is.

 Our nature table is the top of a dresser filled with art supplies. Somehow it just feels right that we place the work of the Master Artist atop the tools of our works of creation. We fill baby food jars with seeds and leaves and dirt. We put leaves and plants and figurines in pie plates cracked from the dishwasher (who would have thought they weren't dishwasher safe). We stack gourds in pottery class creations and walnuts shedding hulls in fine china found many years ago at an auction.

Perhaps in Simon I will find one who easily sees the Creator and is satisfied to watch His work without needing a purpose of his own to fulfill in order to venture outside, but for Abigail right now this works. This marking time in collecting His work.

Do you have a way of getting your children to engage outside? Do you have a way of keeping their collections?

Recipe Gift Idea

This month we are going to help you try and get more organized at home, therefore helping you be more prepared for the busy Holiday season that is right in front of us!

We are going to feature this month on the blog, recipes that can be used as Christmas gifts!
Why not save some money and give a gift that is truly from your hearts and made with your own hands!


OLD TIME HARD CANDIES

2 cups white Karo Syrup

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. flavoring oil

6 drops food coloring (to match chosen flavor)

In a heavy saucepan with deep sides, combine Karo syrup and sugar. Boil to hard crack stage (300-310°F on a candy thermometer).

Remove pan from heat and add flavoring oil (orange oil, lemon oil, cinnamon oil, peppermint or spearmint oil, etc).

Add a food coloring to match the chosen flavor (yellow for lemon, red/orange for orange, red for cinnamon, green for mint).

Carefully pour mixture into a well buttered or oiled pan. Allow to cool long enough so that the candy may be scored into small pieces by running a buttered knife through without the mixture running together.

When candy has cooled completely, break the scored sections into pieces. Store in a cool dry place in an airtight container.

Caution: Sugar mixtures are VERY hot and will cause severe burns. Have a bowl of ice water close by, just in case.

Question Tuesday!

I'm starting to really dislike the words "Bucket List"... it seems like ever since the movie came out, you hear it everywhere! People are using that in place of the age old question "What are some things you'd like to accomplish before you die?" because it's faster to say, of course, but it's just so trendy...and so, I won't use the term BL here (although I kind of just did...) and just ask "What are some things you'd like to accomplish before you die?"

In a conversation with some family members recently I said, “we are not necessarily done having children.”

My father-in-law was shocked. “You’re not?” After a significant pause he added, “you know the more children you have, the more chances there are that something will happen to one of them.”

Did you ever have one of those moments where you feel like someone just hit the “slow motion” button? Then you want to grab the remote from them and hit “rewind” so that you can replay what you just heart to be sure that you heard it? Yep, I had me one of those moments.

I had no idea what to say to him. All I could get out at that moment was, “God is in control of my life.”

I feel much sadness for my husband’s father. He is completely consumed by fear.

His statement isn’t exactly false. Yes, something could happen to one of my children. Have I thought about that? Sure. As easy as it could be for me to let that particular worry consume me, I don’t let it. How? I give it to Him. My trust is in Him.

Having Him certainly does not give you a “get out of a stressful life free” card. There is still worry. There is still sadness. There is still loss. There is still hurt. There is still pain. There is still sin. There is still sorrow. There is still fear. But there is forgiveness, there is peace. A peace, that truly surpasses all understanding, especially the understanding of those who do not know Him.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:7

I often remind myself that my children, technically, do not even belong to me. They are just under my care. They belong to Him, they are His. He just chose me to be their mother. I am so glad that He did.

I do not know what the future holds for me or my family. I only know that He is in control. I have to trust fully and completely in Him. Not always an easy task. So many times I fight with Him for that control and do you know what I usually get if He allows me to win a fight? Fear.

Time goes by so fast. Do we really want to spend every moment fearing what the next will bring? What a waste!

God calls us to give Him all of our fears and worry. I certainly don’t want them. Why does He? Because he loves us.

I found a couple of fun quotes about fear:

"FEAR is an acronym in the English language for "False Evidence Appearing Real”

“98% of the things we worry about, probably will never happen.”

I also wanted to share some truth about fear:

“Fear not tomorrow, God is already there.”

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” ~Psalm 23:4

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” ~Isaiah 41:13

“The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?” ~Psalm 27:1

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ~John 14:27