Jesus Loves Me, This I'm Learning

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook a couple of months ago, and I shared it so I could find it again for myself.  There are one or two people in particular who I want to share this with this morning, but I realized, hey, there are a lot of us who need to hear these promises and assurances.  It takes time, but is worth it to look up, write down, record yourself reading all the scripture that is referenced.  Get this "God loves me" thing rooted deep!

A Letter from Daddy-God

My Child, 

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. 

Psalm 139:1 

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. 

Psalm 139:2 

I am familiar with all your ways. 

Psalm 139:3 

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. 

Matthew 10:29-31 

For you were made in my image. 

Genesis 1:27 

In me you live and move and have your being. 

Acts 17:28 

For you are my offspring. 

Acts 17:28 

I knew you even before you were conceived. 

Jeremiah 1:4-5 

I chose you when I planned creation. 

Ephesians 1:11-12 

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. 

Psalm 139:15-16 

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. 

Acts 17:26 

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Psalm 139:14 

I knit you together in your mother's womb. 

Psalm 139:13 

And brought you forth on the day you were born. 

Psalm 71:6 

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. 

John 8:41-44 

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 

1 John 4:16 

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 

1 John 3:1 

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 

1 John 3:1 

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. 

Matthew 7:11 

For I am the perfect father. 

Matthew 5:48 

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. 

James 1:17 

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. 

Matthew 6:31-33 

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. 

Jeremiah 29:11 

Because I love you with an everlasting love. 

Jeremiah 31:3 

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. 

Psalms 139:17-18 

And I rejoice over you with singing. 

Zephaniah 3:17 

I will never stop doing good to you. 

Jeremiah 32:40 

For you are my treasured possession. 

Exodus 19:5 

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. 

Jeremiah 32:41 

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. 

Jeremiah 33:3 

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. 

Deuteronomy 4:29 

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. 

Psalm 37:4 

For it is I who gave you those desires. 

Philippians 2:13 

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. 

Ephesians 3:20 

For I am your greatest encourager. 

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

                                                                                                                                When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. 

Psalm 34:18 

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. 

Isaiah 40:11 

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. 

Revelation 21:3-4 

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. 

Revelation 21:3-4 

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. 

John 17:23 

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. 

John 17:26 

He is the exact representation of my being. 

Hebrews 1:3 

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.

Romans 8:31 

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 

1 John 4:10 

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. 

Romans 8:31-32 

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 

1 John 2:23 

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. 

Romans 8:38-39 

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. 

Luke 15:7 

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. 

Ephesians 3:14-15 

My question is…Will you be my child? 

John 1:12-13 

I am waiting for you. 

Luke 15:11-32 

Love, Your Dad 

Almighty God

It's All In How You See Things

A few days ago I pulled into my driveway and noticed a teeny, tiny little rainbow.  A magical little rainbow, in a teeny stream of water.  

Yes, that teeny stream of water came through my broken gutter, the snow-melt off a slightly rusty roof.  And though you can't see it in this photo, it held a beautiful, glowing-bright rainbow down the length of its stream.  

But it turned out that the rainbow was only visible within a very narrow view, that if I leaned forward or backward a foot, or was higher or lower in my seat, I couldn't see it.  What a little blessing to pull in to just the right spot to get that rainbow!  

And of course my thoughts extended farther, to the metaphorical.  And I need to preach it to myself over and over again, and usually still don't choose to look for the rainbows.  But sometimes it just slaps me (sweetly) in the face, and I have to remember it: the situation can look pretty ugly, and still, STILL, if you look at it just rightly, there's a rainbow in there somewhere.  

Rainbows are a reminder of a promise straight from God, of his Father-heart toward us.  You can find the original story in Genesis.  And you can extend His promise there to signal His faithfulness to all His promises, because even if we are faithless, He is still faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.  

What a promise!

Because You Prayed

So I'm realizing that I haven't given you an "official" report on my baby's health, or all those other things I asked you to pray with me about.  So here it is--and for those several of you who have specifically asked how things have shaped up since Sunday, thank you!  It is somehow still surprising to realize that, when I ask for prayer or help, you guys really care, and really pray, and really would like to know how a situation changes as a result.  Still learning.  Thank you for the lessons.  

Here is the original post:

Honestly, THANK YOU!

So, Lem isn't 100% yet, but he's back down to a mild head cold, requiring some snot-sucking, saline, and extra snuggles.  During the day Sunday, he retained a bad-sounding cough, but not all-out croupy.  By Sunday night, he slept peacefully again.  We have continued the humidifier in his bedroom.  The Scary Croup was only Saturday night, meaning it stopped when we all joined together to pray.  He's a happy kid again.  

I was not able to nap at all Sunday, but got to experience the Grace that also covered the first month following Lem's birth: the God-given anomaly that I could function normally and even enjoy my awake time despite terrible sleep.  In my life, this is an actual miracle, and not coffee's fault.  We prayed together.  

Andy was alert until he was about two miles from home at the end of a long day.  He and our bigger boys made it home just fine, and then Andy got to take a nap for awhile.  And he made a wise decision to watch football from home instead of traveling an additional hour in the late evening to watch football with friends.  Bummer, but wise.  

And his preaching?  He's gotten good feedback from those who heard it, and he and the boys got to experience some God things with that church family that they haven't seen before--especially the boys--and Andy got to share some special conversation with our boys describing what it was all about.  Important God lessons for our boys to receive from their daddy.  Unexpected was able to be beautiful because we prayed together.  

And Lincoln and Lewis?  Well, they did great, of course.  They experienced/participated in 2 1/2 hours of prayer-worship-communion.  And then Lincoln went off to kids' church during daddy's sermon and did great.  Lewis was not interested in going to a strange nursery, and instead was very quiet during all of daddy's sermon.  The first few quiet minutes were spent in his seat.  And the rest of those sermon minutes were spent by Lewis standing by daddy, spreading out his blanket and lying on the floor by daddy, or running circles around daddy--all quietly, and all welcomed by that church family (Andy checked ;) ).  There may have been a short Tickle Break between father and son.  And the word of God was shared by my husband.  Because we prayed.  

Thank you for praying with me.  Your prayers matter.  

Restart

I've been running on autopilot for a long-feeling time.  Blasé.  Resigned to mediocrity.  Fat.  Getting old.  Disorganized.  Grumpy.  Aimless.  Waiting and wandering.  Disappointed.  Discontented, dissatisfied, and antsy.  I've been disgusted with myself.  
Sometimes I have inklings of what I am missing out on spiritually, and I see that I am simultaneously on the brink of amazing things, and also falling off the train, stepping away from Amazing and settling for Surviving.  

I need to hit Restart.  Set some goals.  Be proactive about pursuing good things.  Realize that I cannot let life pass me by.  

I challenge myself:

To meditate on what Jesus thinks of me, to write it down and think it and sing it.  To physically write it on the walls and cupboards of my kitchen.  

To pursue Sundae Stories, or some form of sharing a meal and testimonies of what God is doing in our lives and hearts among friends.  

To take down my bedside mirror and put up my beautiful duck in a frame in its place.  

To follow the workout calendar published by Lindsay Brin, to do those workouts and experience health and vitality in a new way.  

Beginning next school year, or whenever Lem does not need to nurse through the day anymore, to hire a babysitter once a week and to use that time writing with the intent of publishing.  

To be more intentional in creating systems for my family life to function more smoothly, such as a chore chart and timer.  To get the boys actively participating in the work and the fun of our family.  Learning to love what must be done.  

To be more intentional about putting down my ideas for the community adventure center in a place where I can access them, and discussing those ideas with my husband and pastors.  

When I'm thinking of people, praying for them, TELL THEM.  Encourage them.  Thank them.  Don't sit there ashamed that you haven't sent them the sort of thank you they deserve.  Just do what you can, no matter how small, to let them know you appreciate them.  

Make lists.  Of chores, of the little projects that stack up, of meals and groceries for the week.  Make lists, and cross off what gets accomplished.  More will get accomplished in a day, and you'll remember it.  

Kid in the Kitchen

It's a wintry-mix sort of day out there, and another good day for baking.  

In general, my relationship with the kitchen is this: I cook to serve my family.  It isn't a love affair for me, or a particularly creative outlet.  I just want my family to have good food, and I was blessed to grow up with a mom (and grandmother, and great-grandmother, a long Southern legacy) who pretty much always put good meals on the table.  As a kid, I didn't learn how to make good meals.  But I did learn what good meals looked like, so when the time came that meals were suddenly up to me, at least I had a worthy goal!

Now, part of that goal is to teach my boys (sometimes along with me) how to cook, and how to enjoy cooking.  There are a few prerequisites for enjoying the company of your kids in the kitchen, but they're worth it.  

Kids are gross.  Always, always, always remember to wash hands.  And plan to train them to cover their coughs and sneezes.  And not to stick their hands back in the bowl after licking them.  And that food that lands on the floor doesn't go back in the bowl (unless it's washed off first).  And then, despite all that, just learn to be ok with some germs, because they're inevitable.  

As my grandmother taught me, before you start anything, read the WHOLE recipe.  And when you add kids, it really is helpful to only make recipes you're already comfortable with yourself.  

Lately, I've been using recipes as reading practice with Lewis.  He's learning to read cooking ingredient words, as well as fractions and other measurement words.  It's so cool to watch him sound things out! However, make sure you DON'T need to cook within a timeframe.  Just plan that things will be SLOW, and everybody will be happier.  

If you're willing, your kids can help you with a surprising amount of the process.  And when you take the time to teach them some techniques--like how to level the scoop, how to tap the ingredients out on the edge of the bowl, how to use tools properly--it works well to have them more and more involved, with less and less mess.  

Today, Lewis helps by unwrapping the butter...

...and "chopping" the white chocolate wafers into chunks.  Actually, this is really hard work, even for me, but why not give him a shot at it, right?  There's some good pounding action happening here :0)

And then, of course, enjoy a little white chocolate snack!

Lewis is in charge of turning the mixer on and off.  He practices speeding it up by just the right number of clicks.  We start slow, and add speed as the ingredients get better mixed. 

 

He's learning the names of different tools, like the scraper spatula--and how to do things like "scraping down the sides."  Again, mommy still takes a turn after him, but he's able to make some progress with it.

            Measure...                                  ...add...                                 ...mix.

Combine the dry with the wet ingredients, more mixing, more scraping down, and finally fold in the chips and craisins.  And then, the reward: 

It takes a lot of concentration to wrap that tongue around a batter-y mixing paddle <3

And cleanup.  There will always be more cleanup with your kiddos than without.  But by now, Lewis can clean himself up (mostly).  And look at that: I did sweep up the white chocolate dust that got spilled between the chopper and the bowl.  But honestly, those few oats?  I make that much on my own!  Lewis is getting pretty good.

Meanwhile, this Sweetness jolly-jumped himself right to sleep.  Up to bed with him.  And in 12 minutes, we'll enjoy some cookies! Woohoo!

Join Us For Testi-Tacos!

Who doesn't like taco salad?

Hail the New, Ye Lads and Lasses

Fast away the old year passes, truly!  And it is good to stop, even for a few minutes, to reflect on what has passed, and what may come.  Because without that reflection, we so easily fall into the category that goes something like, "You do the ________, and I'll do all the rushin' around."  

I have a vague but growing concept of how much "rushin' around" I'm doing, without much intention.  And I want that to change.  

I want to be strong and healthy and trim again.  And I've been invited to run in this summer's Boilermaker.  But that (for me) is an enormous commitment; I'm not sure it will happen.  I did remove the coffee table from the middle of my living room, to encourage myself to actually use the new exercise DVD.  I haven't downloaded its accompanying workout calendar yet.  So I have good intentions, but the proof is in the pudding, not the recipe.  

I want to feed my family healthy fare, increasing our fruits and veggies, decreasing our sugars and snacks.  Unfortunately, I have this apparent inability to moderate myself.  If there's something sweet at hand, I will eat it.  And a lot of it.  And I'm not willing to totally give up sweets, like a pre-Passover leaven sweep of my sugary pantry.  So the vicious cycle continues.  I want that to change.  

I want to pay more attention to my children while I have them.  A big part of my rushin' around is checking Facebook compulsively, and way too much time gets wasted.  Yes, you matter to me, but checking in with your digital lives should never be more important than my child desiring my attention, my company, my intentional time--and my behavior would indicate that digital life reigns.  That has to change.  

That inability to moderate myself affects my whole personality, not just what I eat.  It affects how I use Facebook.  And so, starting tomorrow morning, I'm taking a one-week Facebook fast.  One week doesn't seem like much.  But really, to be honest, I expect it's going to be kind of a big deal to me.  It's going to be hard.  But if I keep being honest, and don't try to cheat or fill up all that time with some other stupid pursuit, but actually use that time for relationship (with my God, with my children, with my stack of New Years letters to send to friends), a Facebook fast has the potential to be revolutionary for this one week.  I would like to say that my new normal will be Facebook only on Sunday afternoons, and suddenly I will be much more present with my real life.  But, you know, the proof is in the pudding.  I'll see how this week goes, and accomplish a small hard thing before declaring I'm going to conquer a big hard thing.  

This next line doesn't quite flow well with the rest of my post.  But it is the heart and soul of the matter, and the more I invest myself in pursuing the face of God, the better all my other good intentions will automatically be!  So here, this, this is the heart of the matter:

I don't really want a "new year, new me" resolution for 2016.  What I need, and what I want, is a "less me, more You" resolution revolution.  

Cheers to that!