Jesus is enough!

One of my goals for 2017 is to read books that will help me grow personally and in ministry. I started the year with Fresh Out of Amazing by Stacey Thacker. I determined that I'm not going to rush through it to check it off my list, but to allow God to use it to speak to me.

Here's the thought from chapter 5 that I'm contemplating tonight:

"Jesus is enough. Our life hidden with him in God is the enough we need. If we want streams of living water to flow in, we have to believe Jesus is enough. We don't need him AND something else. Nor do we need to know the how and the why. We simply need to receive and drink deeply of the grace-filled living water only Jesus offers."

In this season of Lent, leading up to Easter, I've been thinking about how many times I allow myself to be so filled with other things that I end up crowding out the One who is truly enough. I chafe when I have to be still, not wanting to be alone with my thoughts. I busy myself with action so I feel competent and productive . . . and worthy. As if my value is found in my busyness. As if somehow I can be enough.

But I'm not enough. Not for my husband or children. Not for those I'm privileged to serve in ministry. I'll never be enough as long as I'm trying to be enough. But when I realize that Jesus is enough, that His grace is sufficient for me because His power is at work in my weakness - in that moment, everything changes. In that moment, I can begin to receive what He has been longing to give: Himself.

Reflections on Lent

Growing up, I was one of the only kids in my class who did not attend the Catholic church across the street from our elementary school. Sometime after Valentine's Day each year, I would hear my classmates talking about Lent. They shared about having to eat fish on Fridays and giving up sugary treats "for Lent", but I had no understanding of what they meant - and honestly, I'm not convinced that THEY knew why they were making these sacrifices either. It was just the thing to do.

Fast forward a bunch of years . . . I'm married with young children, and I want to make holiday celebrations meaningful and significant for my young family. It was at that time that I began to see the beauty of the Lenten season and how it could help us as a family to grow in seeking God together.

I discovered that Lent is a season of preparation . . . an opportunity to remove distractions and prepare to celebrate the joy of the Resurrection. There are three practices of Lent - fasting, prayer, and service. Each one of these has a purpose in helping to prepare our hearts.

Fasting is all about growing in our reliance upon God. I don't know about you, but I can't fast anything - not television, not chocolate, not Facebook, nothing - without being reminded of how much I need Him! When I've tried fasting in my own strength (and yes, I've done that 😔), inevitably one of two things will happen: either I will absentmindedly engage in the thing I'm "fasting" - like snacking on sweets while fixing treats for my kids, or I will justify why it's okay for me to indulge in something that I'm supposed to be fasting - like having cake because it's someone's birthday and I don't want to hurt their feelings. 

I needed to learn to fast correctly, and the only way to do that is by asking God what to fast from - asking Him to show me what is hindering me from going deeper in intimacy with Him. And then, the most important part - leaning on Him and relying on His grace to fast correctly. When I've done that, the time of fasting has been virtually effortless because I'm not relying on my ability but upon His!

Fasting and prayer in the Bible are almost always mentioned together, so it makes sense that prayer is a practice of Lent as well. In Ezra 8:21, fasting and prayer are combined with humility . . . recognizing that I am NOT "all that and a bag of chips." It's my pride that drives me to present an image of having it all together, and sadly this can even happen in my relationship with God. But during Lent, the goal is to create space in my schedule to connect with God in the secret place - to hear His voice and allow myself to be vulnerably real with Him. When I do that, He begins to fill me up, restoring the broken places and healing to the wounds.

As I grow in intimacy with God through fasting and prayer, I am now prepared to give out to others in service - or "almsgiving" - the third practice of Lent. As a follower of Jesus, I'd like to think that I serve others regularly. But this season is a reminder to serve intentionally and purposefully. It's a call to think of ways to minister to others in a way that will point them to Jesus instead of me. Sometimes that means doing something anonymously so that the person being blessed doesn't know where the blessing is coming from. Other times, it's doing something for a person who isn't in a position to do anything in return. And as I serve, I'm following the example of Jesus . . . after all, "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others" (Mark 10:45 NLT).

So now, I actually look forward to the Lenten season - to the richness of this time of quieting my heart before Him and listening to His voice. I know that as I enter this time of fasting, prayer, and service to others, I'll be forever changed!

Dusting off this blog . . .

I am dusting off this blog . . . not for any other reason than sheer obedience.

God has been prompting my heart to begin writing again. Not that I ever completely stopped - I've been journaling for years and have the stack of journals to prove it! 😉 But I haven't often shared my thoughts in writing because I've believed the lie of the enemy that there are others who are more gifted with words than I am, who can communicate more elegantly than I ever will . . .

But no one else can record my journey - no one else can share the things that God is speaking to me and teaching me. So I will begin again, cautiously and timidly, but obediently. Nothing profound or earth-shattering. Just the thoughts, reflections, and ponderings of one God-seeker who is married to another God-seeker and together with him is raising up three young ones to seek God too.

First day of school!

It is with great joy that I introduce to you the students of God Seekers Academy for the 2013-2014 school year . . .

 

Lael - age 12

Jaden - age 9

 

Noah - age 3

 I'm looking forward to a fabulous school year - and I am confident that it won't be boring!!



Tot School: B is for . . .

We are slooooowly easing back into our school-time routine after taking some much-needed time off this summer.  (And for those who are wondering why we start so early - it's so that we can enjoy days off and long weekends throughout the school year as needed!)

 

I spend a great deal of time over the summer thinking and praying about the upcoming school year - things like curriculum choices, scheduling, extracurricular activities, and household management are not things I take lightly.  I am so excited to see these decisions finally come to fruition in the new year!

 

One thing we are trying out is a new school-day schedule now that there are three students in God Seekers Academy - a seventh grader, a fourth grader, and a preschooler!  (I can't believe how fast they are growing up!)  I have structured our day so that while the big kids are working independently, Noah and I can do "Noah-school".  So far, so good!

 

For Noah's tot school this year, I will be using Before Five in a Row as our curriculum.  Because we've been doing a lot of berry picking lately, I decided to start with Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey.  We have been reading it over and over this week - so much so that Noah almost has it memorized!  He especially likes the part where the mommies and babies are all mixed up on Blueberry Hill (if you aren't sure what I'm talking about, you should read the book or watch it here)!

 

In addition to this wonderful story, we've been having fun with the letter B . . .

 

Here Noah is putting stickers with uppercase and lowercase Bs onto the "B" and "b" on his paper.

He also had fun putting "blueberries" on the B with a bingo dabber.

He traced the lines to bring the bear to the B.

 We also did some other preschool things - like coloring shapes.  (I put the coloring page into a plastic page protector so that we can erase it and use it again!)

 Noah was VERY proud of himself when he finished putting the numbered blueberry clusters in order from 0-10 without any help!

 He also worked on color words - each bear had the color word printed in the corresponding color so he knew what the word said and could color them all in.

 He even made his own book to read - all about Little Bear (from Blueberries for Sal) that introduced position words.  He loved putting the cutouts of Little Bear in the right place and then "reading" the book to Mommy and Daddy.

 

Now this may look like a lot . . . but remember, it was spread out over several days.  And we only did these activities as long as it was fun for Noah.  My philosophy of homeschooling in the early years is that I want to impart a love of learning, discovering, and exploring new things.  I do recognize that as Noah sees his older siblings with their schoolwork, he naturally wants to do "school" too - hence the worksheets and other activities.  But the best part of our school day is the times we can cuddle up on the couch with a book (or five) to read together!

Strawberry picking . . . then and now!

We took a trip to our favorite berry-picking place yesterday - we've been going there for years to pick blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries . . . which was our goal for this trip.  (Of course, yesterday was probably the hottest day of the summer so far!  We got there when they opened at 9:00 - I'm so glad we didn't come later!)

 

I had the help of three amazing pickers!

Lael was my methodical picker . . . she chose a spot, picked all the berries in that area, then moved on to the next spot.

 This was Noah's first time picking berries. He had fun finding strawberries for a while, but then he decided that he'd rather be my "runner" - carrying my picked berries to the larger container so I could continue picking.

 (However, by the end of our time at the farm, he decided that the best job of all was that of "taste tester"!)

 Jaden was on the hunt for the biggest and best strawberries - and found some beautiful ones!

 

Just so you can see how long we've been coming here . . .

 

This was Jaden and Papa picking strawberries - back in June of 2010.

 Lael and Nana had fun filling their buckets too.

 We've definitely made the George Schmidt Berry Farm a favorite destination for whenever we have a craving for amazing produce!  

Although we can't live on a farm, at least we can visit one :)

Nine years ago . . .

Nine years ago today, we welcomed our first-born son . . .  after two months of bed rest for Mommy!

 We were so excited for his arrival - it felt like we waited extra-long for him after his sister's super-early arrival three years before!

 Jaden was born at 8:15 AM on May 14, 2004 - he weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.

 Because of the circumstances of Lael's birth and the fact that we couldn't hold her for over a month after she was born, I was extremely anxious to snuggle Jaden.  However, the hospital was super busy, and they didn't have a room ready for me.  So finally I asked if I could hold him in the hallway while we waited for our room . . . and they agreed!

 Lael was quite excited to meet her baby brother - but she didn't like the fact that Mommy and Brother had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days before coming home.

 Daddy and his boy

 Leaving the hospital

 Jaden - all ready to come home!

 It felt soooo wonderful to have our little family together at home!

 I had no idea when we welcomed this sweet baby boy into our family what was in store for us - all the giggling, dare-devil climbing, upside-down hanging, hole-digging, LEGO-building, computer game playing fun that a little boy would bring to my life.  But I wouldn't change a minute of it! 

Happy 9th birthday, Jaden!  I am so proud of the young man you are becoming and am so blessed to be your mom!

Read this during my time with the Lord this morning . . . and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind!

 

There is no audience in the body of Christ.  There are only believers, only servants. We're the body.  We're the hands, the feet, the ears, and the toes . . . . We're the first and primary way that Jesus is going to love on others. We're His chosen vessels. He chooses to love them through us. That's His design for the Church. We are their clearest picture of Jesus. And how we respond is how they're going to see God.

 

It's pretty humbling to realize that I am the clearest picture of Jesus that some people will ever see.  I know I don't do this perfectly . . . in fact, if I'm honest, some days I don't do it very well at all.  How do I deal with the reality that the way I respond in different situations is how someone watching me is going to see God?

 

I need to run to God daily minute by minute, leaning on His grace and strength so that my life is a reflection of His work in me.

A day in the life of Noah

If you ask your two-year-old to put his dirty dishes in the sink after a meal . . .

 

they might just show up in an unexpected location!

 (At least he didn't put them in the trash can . . . he LOVES throwing things away for me!)

 

 

And in unrelated news, today Noah learned how to read words in the "at" family:

hat, mat, bat, cat, sat, rat

 

He was so proud of himself!

(And I was just a bit proud of him too!)

First EVER family bike ride!

Today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day here in Pennsylvania . . . the perfect day for our very first-ever-in-the-history-of-our-family bike ride!

 

Brent and the big kids go biking often . . . but Noah and I have been unable to join them because I have not had a bike.  In fact, I don't think I've ridden a bike for at least twenty-five years a looooong time!  Recently, however, I was blessed with a bike - and with the purchase of a bike trailer for Noah, we were ready for adventure!

 

It takes a while to get everyone geared up - helmets, pads . . .

 Even Noah had his helmet on!

 Jaden did some warming up in the parking lot . . .

 . . . while Lael chose to conserve her energy - and looked beautiful doing so!

 Noah had the easiest job of all - sit back and enjoy the ride!

 Daddy did a fantastic job of making sure that everyone's bikes were road-worthy!

 We rode on the Ironton Rail Trail - which has some amazing history to it - dating back to Civil War times!

 Halfway through, we took a break . . . the big kids had fun jumping from post to post with Daddy.

 And Noah and I were entertained watching them!

 

All in all, we biked 5.5 miles in just under an hour.  Not bad for my first time on a bike in a loooong time! (And that was the fastest trip for the kids doing a complete loop on the rail trail too!)

After the bike ride, Noah was ready to play!  (After all, he'd been sitting in his trailer for an hour!)  Fortunately, there was a little playground there with plenty to entertain a busy two-year-old . . .

  And of course, what park trip would be complete without a game of "everyone chase Daddy around until someone catches him"?

 And we had to spend some time by the creek . . . for now, just looking - but I know that come summertime, the kids will be asking to do some creek walking . . .

 The sound of the water rushing over the rocks is so restful.

 We kept looking for any sign of beavers around the dam, but they were hiding from us.

 Jaden asked me to close my eyes - then took my hand and led me to a patch of these beautiful little flowers by the water's edge.  We both admired them for a while.

Welcome, spring!

We're so glad you're finally here!