Psalm 84:1-5

Psalm 84: 1-5

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage."

I do and you do long to be in heaven. However, I know that Jesus has promised that for us both so I also appreciate life here on Earth. I know Jesus has things for us to do, for us to raise up our precious children and to enjoy this life that we have right now. I also yearn for his judgement day, where the wrongs will be corrected and punished. That also means that I must die to see that or that Christ has returned. I am not overly anxious for that day since I want my children to enjoy their time here on earth. If it is his second coming that would be great both for us and our kids. It says here that we need not worry that he will provide for our needs, just as he does for the birds. Then it goes on to say that even in heaven there is constant praising to our Lord. I would imagine that after being in heaven all you would want to do is praise him especially when you know what happened to all who did not get to heaven.

I pray that we will continually get closer to Jesus and use his strength rather than rely on our own strength.

Father we praise your Holy name and thank you for all that you have given us guardianship over. Help us to have loving and giving hearts and to share our abundance with those in need. Help us know the best avenues to do that through.

Sincerely, Tom

Ask And You Shall Receive

Last night, I was doing devotions with Josh and Debbie (Jenna lurking in the background) while Tom was at Bible study. We were done with Awana verses and the daily devotional, and we were praying. Jenna started to interrupt the prayer with "Mommy mommy" and finally I had to stop the prayer and say "Jenna we are praying - shhh" and she said, "well, I need you to get these ponies to sit up in this car!" she was trying to put her little plastic ponies in her toy car and have them sit up like they were driving the car. I said, well, we are praying and you need to pray with us." So she promptly sat down, rolled her eyes, folded her hands, and before I could continue with the prayer, she sighed and said distinctly, "Dear God, PLEASE help me get these ponies to sit in this car!"
I took a quick break from praying and put the ponies in the car after I heard that one.
Love, Lisa

An Encouraging Message from Tom

Psalm 40: 1-4
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods."
Praise God for giving us a place to raise our children in safety. Thank God for our home! As safe as Stow is, it isn't our Rootstown location. The more I see the kids going through this school the more I desire to be in Rootstown. Last night I listened to Pastor Jack, a missionary, talk about his calling. My heart goes out to Pastor Jack for following his calling and leaving his young family for such a long period and in such a dangerous place to try to raise his own funds to do God's work!! But it does say blessed is the man who follows the Lord. Thank goodness that we are trying to turn from false gods, people's opinions,TV, movies, clothes, malls, things, parties, drugs, alcohol, sports etc.
Dear Father, thank you for raising us out of the slimy pit the mud and mire and thank you for showing us the rock upon which we need to place our feet on. Help us to stay on that rock and to keep our children on that rock. Praise you for your grace and your warm comfortable grasp. Help keep our eyes focused on you.
In Jesus' name, Tom

Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart

This posting is my free advertisement for AWANAs. If you go on Wednesday night to AWANAs with your kids, and/or if you work with your kids on their verses every day, YOU will get a reward too! The kids get jewels and AWANA dollars, but they also maybe don't realize that they, and whoever is working with them, get the word of God planted in their hearts! That is better than any jewel or money! I have been helping with the Cubbies. Every week that I make it to Cubbies, I sit there transfixed as the leader shows the kids the Bible, opens it up, and says "I love my Bible - it's God's Holy Word!" and gets them excited about reading and learning the Bible. She is doing an incredible thing! I sit there and learn the verses along with the little ones because (sadly) it took me to age 45 to realize that the most important thing I can do with my mind is to fill it with Scripture's promises. I am woefully behind on my verse memorization. I need a bigger bank of verses to draw from when times get tough. I need to get more verses buried/hid in my heart, so that I might not sin against God.
When my kids easily memorize verses, it helps me to see that this is the time "NOW IS THE TIME" to bury the Word in your heart. As we get older it is harder to memorize. But that's okay and my kids are teaching me how to memorize. Debbie learned all the books of the New Testament in two weeks! How - we made a song of it, sing-song, la-di-da, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians Colossians..... she learned it so fast. Then when Sunday came and the pastor said, turn to Philippians .... I sang the song to myself and found the book of Philippians much faster. Wow!
Dear Lord, this is Clergy Appreciation Month. Thank you for our Pastors, for our AWANA teachers, for our children's director, for all ministers and teachers of your Word. Thank you for leading them so that they may lead us to see your ways. Thank you for their sacrifice. They are poured-out offerings.
Until next time, Love Lisa p.s. Tom is about to join the blog here - any time soon - he will be adding his inspiring thoughts. I know you will be encouraged. He has been praying for me and sending me devotionals from the Psalms - encouraging me to PRAISE GOD in every situation! One day recently it was really, really bad at home - the puppies were pooping everywhere in the house, Jenna was being potty trained and it wasn't going very well (ahem), just a bunch of you know what everywhere - that night I said to Tom, tell me, how am I supposed to praise God that I had to deal with THAT all day today? He reminded me that, well, for one thing, these dogs give us a lot of love, they teach the kids how to be sweet and kind, they give us unconditional love, they are very forgiving, and then by sacrificing a clean house, at least our kids are AT HOME where they belong, and mom is cleaning up after them, and teaching them every step of the way. The dogs are able to run these 5 acres, the kids are able to run around outside in the fresh air, we have this incredible beautiful space to be caretakers of, and pets and children make us happy! So we clean it up and forget about it.
When you put it that way, it's not so bad.

Kidz-Say-The-Darnedest-Things-at-Sunday-School

I am continuing to be flummoxed by the intellectual superiority of little children. They ask the loftiest questions! Last week in Sunday School (2 to 4 year olds) I showed the little munchkins the short video they were to watch (it was about Jesus performing miracles) and then asked them the questions that were on the curriculum list. This is always an enjoyable time and these little ones listen alot better than you'd think they would. Jenna, for instance, understood that Moses turned the river's water into blood and that he made the staff turn into a snake and then back again. She even remembered it weeks later because we had a little baby named "River" visit the nursery one day, and I said, Jenna this is River, and she said, "Oh, River turns into blood!" my oh my
anyway, last Sunday, I was asking the children questions about the video, and was trying to get them to say "miracles" - it came out "merkels" - I was pleased - and then little one little girl (age 4) just looked at me and said, "Well, just who IS God?" I stumbled over some answer, felt very foolish, and then she pressed me further: "Well, what does he LOOK LIKE?" It is so hard to answer these questions. You just feel like you won't do the question any justice. I was very close to just stopping the whole session and running and getting the Pastor to come in and ponder these questions with the kids. I said, "well, I think it's time for snack. Shall we?" Phew! Got out of that one! I felt humbled and humiliated and just so totally blessed all at the same time. These kids bring me to my KNEES.
And then there's Jenna. Last night I was reading to her at night and trying to get her to settle down and we had talked earlier about a little girl who had lost her mom and I said, I hope you and I don't ever lose each other and she said, "No, I'm not gonna lose you; you're my MOMMY and I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!" and she beamed at me. She just melts my heart.
Thank you, Praise you, Dear Jesus, for these little lambs. When I look at these little angels I see You. I certainly see you alot clearer when I look at children than when I obsessively clip coupons or fastidiously check the ads for grocery store bargains. Help me to get my mind unwrapped from these worldly distractions and get back on to worshipping and praising you, The King of Kings. I see more clearly that we all tend to worship or copy or become "like" something or someone else. It is our nature to copy or conform. But "do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...." "that way you will know God's good and perfect will for you." Lord please transform my mind by what I see and what I look at and what I listen to each day. I pray that my ears and eyes and heart will be tuned into You through the Bible and through your little messengers that surround me all day long - my children.
Until next time, Lisa

The 11th Commandment

For the past few weeks, Josh and Debbie have been memorizing the 10 commandments.
It has been going really well; we just got a little tripped up on this week's commandment. It was Debbie's turn, and she went down the line, reciting the commandments:
1) have no other gods before me
2) don't make for yourself any idol
3) do not take the name of the Lord in vain
4) Honor the Sabbath to keep it Holy
5) Honor your parents
6) Do not murder

When we got to number 7, Debbie paused, looked at me, and said, "Do not commit adoption."

I looked at her, looked at Josh, and he agreed solemnly, and said, "that's right, do not commit adoption." !

By the way how does one explain "adultery" to a five year old child ?????

Until next time, Lisa

Jenna

I just have to add this little note from yesterday. We had kind of a magical evening late yesterday while waiting for Tom to get home from his last - final - day of cross country (yay!) He is retiring from coaching as of yesterday! Anyway, that was his last meet, and it was late afternoon-early evening and we were outside waiting for him and just trying to get some exercise before the predicted rain would show up. It was very cloudy and actually kind of ominous looking but you could somehow tell the predicted rain was not going to come to fruition. Josh and Debbie were on the trampoline bouncing to their heart's content and Jenna was wheeling her little wheelbarrow around the grass, picking up grass clippings and putting them into her wheelbarrow - which, I found out later, she would end up bringing into the house and putting them on "my" easy chair so I could sit on them! arghhhhhhhhh anyway, ginger was outside with us and I guess she feels protective of Jenna or something b/c she nestled down in the grass near Jenna to watch over her. Ginger looked so peaceful and sort of "I'm doing my job and all is well." Also, "those blasted puppies are in the house for once and leaving me alone!" Jenna laid down on her back and looked up at the sky and then got up and sat next to her wheelbarrow and started putting grass in and looked at me and said, "Mom, it's a beautiful day." It was all I could do to answer, yes, my love, it is, it is a beautiful day. I think that little girl might just be an angel.
Until next time, Lisa

Grocery Store Checkout

I am about ready to boycott the grocery stores. Does the world think that we will not live a day longer if we don't read the latest on Britney, Angelina, Brad, or Jennifer? Is waiting in line at the checkout counter so unbelievably insufferable that we need to read this stuff in order to survive it? You're a captive audience, I guess is what they're thinking, and also that I better buy this magazine b/c I keep thumbing through it and am going to smudge it and that means I have to pay for it .....??? I was waiting at the dentist's office today for my appointment and all they had to read was Car and Driver, Outdoorsman, and People magazine. So I selected People - on the cover, it said, breathlessly, "Yes, she IS pregnant!" (Jennifer Lopez). I guess this is traffic-stopping news.
Yet I can't say I don't read these magazines, after all I picked it up at Dr. M's office. But they're all wrong. The good news is NOT that she is having a baby, although that is fine. The good news is that there is a Savior. But you wouldn't know that from anything you read today. I keep getting sucked in, though, by the immediacy and the urgent nature of the headlines. I MUST read this. I MUST find out what is happening with these celebrities, these important people. What if they put out a headline that said: "HE IS RISEN!" "YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN"! Prob'ly wouldn't sell.
Until next time, Lisa

Jenna's Sunday School Theology

Yesterday was church, and on the way home I asked 2-yr-old Jenna, "what did you do in Sunday School today?" She replied, "We watched a movie." I said, oh, what did you learn? She said, "Well, we learned about Jesus, and his son named God."

Suffering

I read yesterday that God used suffering to teach Paul dependence on Him, and also to show that individual suffering has corporate value: we can comfort others based on our own experience of being comforted by God. Christ suffered immeasurably more than anyone of us will suffer. He bore the sins for all humanity. Every last one of us! It's amazing. "Suffering" has been a watchword for me lately as I have struggled with this latest toothache. When you have pain, it seems like that's all you can think about. You just can't concentrate on anything else! You think that people can see the pain on you even though it's invisible. Help me! You cry. Help! Anything! I'll do anything to make this go away! And you're so relieved when the pain relief comes -- you're just so happy. Just think, Jesus got no relief from His pain. He was doing what God asked him to do - die for all of us. No Advil, no aspirin, no cloves, no anesthetic. I think of the desperation I feel for relief from this pain, and I can hardly imagine what Christ went through for us. Thank you Lord for bearing the sins and pain for us. Thank you for this unspeakable gift. Thank you for my toothache because the pain helped me to think on you and to meditate upon your goodness.
Until next time, Lisa

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.

Lately my devotional readings have shed better light on this passage so that I can understand it. For example, if I do not have self-control (or patience, or kindness, whatever) it means that I do not have that fruit of the spirit. Why not? Why does one not bear fruit? Well, then you must go to: "I am the vine, you are the branches; if you abide me in me and I abide in you, then you will bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." So the fruit/tree/branch/root analogy applies. (some of you may be thinking, how could she have never gotten this yet? She's 45 years old!)
But sadly it's true. I am realizing now that if I am to bear fruit, which would be to be more patient, more kind, have more self control over my tongue, other areas.....I have to be truly abiding in the vine, the source of my life. I have to build strong roots. I have to be fed and watered (fed by the Word, sprinkled with the Holy Spirit). I have to allow my dead branches to be pruned (painful disciplining process but necessary). Unless the seed goes into the ground (unless self dies), it will not grow and bear fruit. This metaphor explains it so clearly but I hate it when my branches get pruned. It hurts. I don't always want to abide in the Vine b/c I'd rather do things my own way. But it's clear what the Lord says needs to happen in order to grow spiritually. We have to be obedient.
Until next time, Love, Lisa