Thorns or Treasure?

I stood a mendicant (beggar) of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."
He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

By Martha Snell Nicholson

Sanctity of Life Day

(Edited to add: I had this post written a week ago, but totally forgot to post it on Sunday!)

I don't remember where I first heard about this video or how I ran across it, but I do vividly remember the face of Eliot and the joy of his special parents. Abby remembers too. She took a break from playing one day last fall to come check on me (she often does that) and found me sitting in front of my computer with tears streaming down my face. "What's the matter, Mommy?" she said, patting my arm. I couldn't even speak being so choked by the beautiful short life on the screen. I hugged my daughter and she too watched the video about this precious life. She remembers Eliot even months later. She still asks about him and wonders if she will get to see him in heaven.

In celebration of Sanctity of Life Day today, I wanted to share this powerful tribute to life and joy in hopes that if you have doubts that every human life is precious and valuable, you may be swayed to reconsider.

Spring Will Come

I dearly love having all the seasons (though summer could be shortened to a couple weeks and I'd be fine with that!), and even winter is enjoyable for me. Despite my love of winter though, I was excited to see our crocus bulbs that we planted last fall pushing their way to the surface today. There is just something special about the promise of Spring. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the new life I've been given through Christ, the new creature He's made me and the promises that go with that. Whatever the reason, seeing those small green sprouts sticking up through the mulch gave me such a thrill and peace knowing that God is faithful and the Spring will come again, just like it always does.

"While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease." Genesis 8:22

Lessons for Mommy

As part of his daily schooling, Ryan reads aloud to me one chapter of a book from our chosen curriculum. His latest book is called Little Prudy's Dotty Dimple and was written in 1865 by Sophie May. Today's chapter had the oldest two girls (nine and six years old) being humiliated and embarrased by their littest sister's naughty and rude behavior (three years old). I had to smile at the end of the chapter when the oldest said,

"I've been thinking it all over," replied Susy, "and I've made up my mind that God allows her to mortify you and me. You know we must have some kind of a trial, or we shouldn't grow gentle and sweet tempered."

"As mother is," added Prudy.

After having an especially trying morning with one of my darling children, this was a gentle nudge from the Lord for me. It's a wasted "trial" if I am not changed by it, not more dependant on Him because of it, and not growing more "gentle and sweet tempered" through it.

Christmas Cheer and Crisis

We had an especially good Christmas this year. I can't really put my finger on why, especially since so much of what I had planned didn't happen. Hubby had an emergency at work that began Thursday afternoon and lasted for three and a half days, and he got only seven hours sleep in 91 hours (I only had 11 hours sleep). We didn't get the gingerbread house done (for the second year in a row), we didn't have the usual homemade cinnamon rolls or dinner rolls, we had salad out of a bag (gasp!), we skipped some crafts the kids wanted to do, and the house wasn't sparkling clean like it usually is by Christmas Eve.

What I do know is that we worshipped God. We were grateful. We shared the gospel with our neighbors. The kids and I had opportunities to serve Daddy and minister to him. We weren't sure we'd be able to have him home Christmas Day, but we did and were so thankful for that. We had a warm and dry house to celebrate in. We were all healthy (despite lack of sleep). We rejoiced in knowing Jesus. We even had some snow! It was a memorable Christmas, and I know hubby and I will remember it fondly in years to come.

The Love Chapter for Christmas

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able
to give in return; but rejoices in giving
to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.

--Author Unknown

(Okay, I swiped this from Ann who has a knack of posting brilliant things.)

Local Flooding

This is the cute little town of Vernonia where Eddie often goes fishing.
Photos from KATU.com.
I am so grateful to wake up to a dry and warm home this morning. Not everyone I know is so blessed. I found out yesterday that one of the families in my homeschool group has been displaced from their home due to flooding. They have three children, one of whom is a darling little two-year-old boy they just adopted two months ago (Ryan LOVES this little boy who was being fostered by a friend of ours until the adoption).

I'm told the watermark goes about eight inches up the walls of their home, and to make things worse the sewer backed up during the flood and contaminated all the water so there will be few things able to be salvaged. They think they were able to get the beds up off the floor in time, but they lost everything else that touches the ground: their dressers, sofas, chairs, bookcases full of books, homeschoooling supplies, anything in the lower kitchen cabinets, etc. They will have to replace walls and floors and cabinets and who knows what else...and they had no flood insurance.

I am writing this not just to express my gratitude for the blessings I have but to ask those of you who are able "to go boldy before the throne of grace," to pray for the S****a family. They are believers and appear to be holding up well, but they will need strength and peace in the coming days, weeks, and months it takes to rebuild. I don't know what their church is doing for them, but I know our homeschool group is making meals, offering labor and childcare, and trying to do anything we can to help them.


Flooding of Highway 30 about 30 miles northwest of where we live.

Weather Report

I have had a couple of inquiries this morning about how we "weathered" the storm yesterday. We're doing fine, thankfully! Eddie came home from work pretty early yesterday morning since the only highway to our little town was flooding quickly and was closed in several locations. He did manage to get home, and this morning the roads look much better. We have a big branch down in the backyard, and Abby was up all night afraid of noises she was hearing. However, I'm very grateful we still have power and a warm, dry house!

Just Photos

Interesting

On a recent trip to the zoo I saw these two identical trees side by side. I found it interesting that only one of them had changed colors. Then a week or so later I saw these two trees. Again, they are the same type of tree living side by side, but one turned brilliant red and the other yellow. Don't have a clue why, but it sure looked cool!

Out of Commission

Edited to add: Hubby reminded me that we hadn't wiped my old laptop yet, so I dug it out and am back in business...sort of! At least I can check my email regularly and maybe even add a blog post or two.

My wireless adapter "disappeared without being properly prepared for removal" two days ago. We were told it's a known problem with the driver software, but my wireless card may be fried too.

At any rate, in the process of trying to get it going again, my system has had to be wiped and completely rebuilt, so I am out of commission for a while. I will try to check email once a day or so on our PC, but I probably won't be doing any blog posts until I get the issue fixed. Our PC is REALLY slow and cumbersome to use, as well as not having everything I need on it.

I'm sure it will do me good to be without a computer for a while, but it is more painful than I care to admit!

Time Change

Anyone else have kids getting up at 5:30? Sigh. My son has a sturdy internal clock, and he's always been an early riser anyway!

On the Sidebar

In case you haven't noticed, I thought I'd point out the poll I have on my sidebar. I am extending the poll for another couple of weeks because hubby told me he didn't notice it until I said something to him about it. This is a topic that has been coming up again and again for me the last couple of years, and I am curious what others believe about who God is and how He acts. So, if you've got an opinion or even if you're not sure, please take a minute to vote...I'd appreciate it!

View Out the Front Door

Reformation Day

We don't celebrate Halloween in our house, but we have been struggling with a better way to love our unbelieving (and believing) neighbors who come knocking on our door once a year asking for a treat instead of hiding in the house with the lights off! Though this year we have some errands and a medical appointment that will keep us away from home during the trick-or-treating, we are considering giving out candy and perhaps a gospel tract or something about the good news of Jesus Christ next year.

Also, did you know that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg on October 31st? While Luther's work is controversial, there is no doubt he was pivotal in setting off the firestorm we now call The Reformation. More and more churches have taken to celebrating Reformation Day instead of Harvest parties or carnivals. Our church doesn't do either, but it is an interesting idea.

My hubby and I have several seasonal movies that we watch every year for different holidays. We watch Groundhog Day on Februrary 2nd, The Patriot on July 4th, The Passion of the Christ on Easter, etc. This year we're adding one of our favorite movies to our tradition; Luther on October 31st. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it!

Some Lose Houses By Fire; Others, By Persecution

PAKISTAN Christian Homes Demolished in Pakistan - VOM Sources

On October 19, local Muslims demolished homes belonging to three Christian families in the village of Lobhana, near Lahore, Pakistan. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts, more than 70 armed villagers moved in with tractors and began destroying the homes. VOM contacts said, "They demolished and looted three homes and only stopped when the police arrived." Some of the Christians attacked reported that the Muslims threatened to kill them. VOM contacts added that the land where some of the demolished homes were located had been given to the Christian families by the Pakistani government more than 10 years earlier. However, some local Muslims claimed the land, intending to build a cemetery. Pray for God's protection for Christians in this area. Ask Him to provide resources for these families to rebuild their homes. Pray the testimony of these believers will draw nonbelievers, especially their attackers, into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Psalm 68:19, Proverbs 3:5, 6

I Love Autumn

One of many reasons I love autumn!

One of God's Paintings

I love this time of year! For some reason we have the best sunrises in the fall and winter months here, and I've been enjoying them tremendously this week.

Getting Caught Up

Since we've returned from California I feel like all I've done is laundry, sorting mail, paying bills, getting out fall clothes, getting rid of too-small clothes, organizing, getting our homeschool year going, and just generally running in circles. This week has been much better though. I've made some headway on things, and now that I'm not spending hours each doing therapy with Abigail, I actually have found time to do some blogging. For the first time in probably eight months, my blogs are all caught up! In fact, I was so close to getting all the posts done that I wanted but had run out of free time today. So I went through the closet for something for the kids to do for a while so I could finish up the last few posts, and I found their Leap Pads which haven't been touched for probably a year (how could I have forgot them that long?). They each spent about an hour with them quietly on their laps, and I got my posts done!

A Night to Ourselves

We hadn't been back from California and Georgia for even a full week, when we headed off again for a night away. A coworker of hubby's got married out in the gorgeous hills near Mt. Hood, and a dear friend offered to watch the kids overnight for us. We dropped the kids off around noon, and then headed to a place we've been wanting to visit for a few months...The Original Stash, the first geocache ever placed. After making a couple of finds in that area, we headed out to The Columbia River Gorge, truly one of the most beautiful areas in Oregon, perhaps in the country. We did a little more geocaching, finding some really neat areas we wouldn't have found otherwise and a few we'll have to bring the kids back to. Eventually, we made our way to Hood River, a beautiful small town along the Columbia River and right in the heart of the Gorge, and checked into our hotel. We got cleaned up and headed to the wedding.


It was an outdoor wedding and we all were freezing, though thankfully there was no rain. It was a fabulous setting, and had there not been cloud cover, there would have been a breathtaking view of Mt. Hood. The cloud cover and threat of rain were only two more proofs that it was definitely an Oregon wedding...no one here gets dressed up for anything. There were guests in tennis shoes and jeans, and I felt way overdressed despite the fact that I was initially worried I wasn't going to be dressed well enough. The groomsmen wore shortsleeved linen shirts, and the bridesmaids wore flip-flops.


After a five-minute reception line which we missed out on, there were drinks and delicious hors d'oeurves while we waited to be taken inside where it was warm. After a while we were moved inside where we sat at a table with Devotion, Confidence, Refinements, and Katie. They did the flowers for the wedding, and are true flower children if ever I've seen any. Hubby and I laughed later over the fact that a schoolteacher who had come alone asked us if it would mess up the table if an "odd" person were to sit there! Between us and the flower children, she was probably the least odd person at our table.


My favorite thing about the wedding was their music selection; they made some great choices. Interestingly, their gift to everyone was a CD of 20 of their favorite love songs (stolen music for everyone, woo-hoo). After a yummy dinner and spice cupcakes for dessert, we wished the bride and groom well (oh, and the groom gave hubby the backup tapes for work...what a great employee!) and headed home before all the people who were drinking heavily got on the road! The two young women at our table had at least six glasses of wine each (these were huge wine glasses, I might add) during the two hours I was watching and who knows how many before and how many after!


The next morning we ate our free breakfast and went out to see some more of the town. We did a few geocaches, one of which got us our exercise for the day with climbing 350 stairs from the bottom of the town to the top, really neat but exhausting. Then we ate lunch and took the "fruit loop" out to the country to see if we could find some good apples and cider. It was raining and not ideal for browsing fruit stands and markets, so after buying some cider and looking at the odd things one can do with pumpkins, we decided we better go pick up the kids. We made one more stop on the way home, a beautiful house and farm with dahlia fields, which was the flower of choice at the wedding.


This is the second time this year we've had an overnight stay with just hubby and I, and we so enjoyed it! It was so relaxing. We had dinner provided for us, and we had one of the most comfortable hotel beds I've ever slept in, and a free breakfast the next morning. It was wonderful to reconnect with my husband after being apart for so long!