Multitude Mondays

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

Thomas Moore

Irish poet (1779 - 1852)

210. zipping up coats, pulling snowpant legs over boots, adjusting sleeves over mittens
211. organizing mittens and hats
212. photo Christmas cards still hanging on the door
213. paying the bills and balancing the checkbook...thank you Father that you provide...grow us to be better stewards of what you've given us
214. "I don't want to do BSF" voiced by my littlest one, turned to smiles, head bent over pencil and paper, listening intently, "I guess I do...this is fun."
215. my 10 yr old, 8 yr old and 6 yr old crammed behind Dad's chair as they create and play
216. cold that stings the face
217. Maggie bouncing energetically through the snow

218. Jake's gift, from his siblings, earthen fort inside a fallen tree's roots...a place to hide, to imagine, to be awed by, to climb, to enjoy...all truly given to them all by our Creator

219. sleepless nights...waking with worries on my mind...directing me to count my blessings and to immerse myself in Him - the Word, which leads to peace and finds me curled in sleep on couch for the last few hours of early morning
220. hearing Jake play...how beautiful the guitar sings for him or the piano
221. seeing the look of determination on Isaiah's face during drum lessons....this is something he desperately wants - to play for God - then seeing the look of joy and excitment on his face as his teacher plays for him their next "fill" they will learn

222. a 13 year old who can still play with a pile of Mr. Potato Heads for 20 minutes
223. the sound of boots being stomped
224. thoughtfulness of children filling the my birdfeeders without my asking just because they know I enjoy looking out

225. oldest wanting to serve and make breakfast for all yesterday...what God teaches me in the midst of that as I look at waffle maker overflowing w/ mix and a messy kitchen afterward...focus on his heart, his longing to serve, to love...let the other stuff go...it's insignificant and uneternal
226. homemade snow ramps

227. sink full of crusted hot cocoa mugs
228. seeing the efforts my eldest is making to truly love his siblings more, to not just say it, but to live it
229. my oldest sister coming to BSF last night, praying that she enjoyed it and is excited to start, thankful for being able to have something to share with her
330. gathering of neighbors on Sunday night, many times I just watched everyone in awe at how fast time flies, how "young" our families were when we all moved onto Crocus Trail and seeing before my eyes how we've all grown and envisioning gatherings in years to come and what our families will look like then

331. Lukins family and their desire and commitment to grow alongside our family.....the study on Don't Check Your Brains at the Door with Noah and Joe
332.  saying "yes" to sledding even though my first instinct was to say no, seeing the joy and hearing the laughter at Dead Man's Hill with the Dysarts

333.  pushing Amy B. out of my driveway, 2 weeks in a row
334.  homemade gifts, what makes them truly beautiful is what is seen in the eye of the beholder, seeing the heart mixed with paint and yarn

Open Me

I've posted the lyrics to this song before, but it is just so beautiful. Last night I was listening to it again and I'm sharing it again today, with the music, because it describes me...my thoughts....my heart.


Would You open up eyes, so I can see
Would You open up my ears, so I can hear
Would You open up my mind, so I can know
Would You open up my heart, so could I love You more
I want to serve You, my God
I want to give You all of me
I want to serve You, my King, yeah
I want to serve You, my Lord
I want to give You everything, yeah

Would You open up eyes, so I can see
Would You open up my ears, so I can hear
Would You open up my mind, so I can know
Would You open up my heart, so could I love You more
I want to serve You, my God
I want to give You everything
I want to serve You, my King, yeah
I want to serve You, my Lord
I want to give You everything, yeah

Here I am with my arms open wide
Asking for You to come up, up inside
Won't You make me new, won't You make me true
Jesus, won't You make me like You, oh
Will You touch my eyes so I can see
Will You touch my ears so I can hear
Will You touch my mind so I can know
Will You touch my heart so I can love You more
Won't You open me
Won't You open me, open me
Won't You open me, open me
Won't You open me, open me
Won't You open me, open me

Gathering My Manna

I just love J.C. Ryle quotes! They are so challenging and simple. If you like them too, you can subscribe to them at  http://jcrylequotes.com/

“Read the Bible daily.

Make it part of every day’s business to read and meditate on some portion of God’s Word.

Gather your manna fresh every morning.

Choose your own seasons and hours.

Do not scramble over and hurry your reading.

Give your Bible the best, and not the worst, part of your time.

But whatever plan you pursue,

let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Faith & Obedience

“As a soldier follows his general,

as the servant follows his master,

as the scholar follows his teacher,

as the sheep follows its shepherd,

so ought the professing Christian to follow Christ.

Faith and obedience are the leading marks of real followers,

and will always be seen in true believing Christians.

Their knowledge may be very small, and their infirmities very great;

their grace very weak, and their hope very dim.

But they believe what Christ says, and they strive to do what Christ commands.

Christianity like this, receives little praise from man.

It is too thorough, to decided, too strong, too real.

To serve Christ in name and form is easy work, and satisfies most people;

but to follow Him in faith demands more trouble

than the generality of men will take about their souls.

Laughter, ridicule, opposition, persecution are often the only reward

which Christ’s followers get from the world.”

~ J.C. Ryle

I was encouraged by this quote and I seem to latch onto any reminders that I don't have to have it all together.  The bolded part is a description of me - my knowledge is weak, my grace is small, but I long to have the last part said of me - that I believed and I strived to be obedient in all things!  I know in the past, I bought into the lie from the deceiver that I'm too much, too real, too open for people.  He still lays it at my heart when I feel like an outcast, but may it never change!  

Goal Making for the New Year

Don Whitney, author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian life, has ten good questions to ask at the start of the new year:

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

I'm posting this today and then going to come back after prayerfully thinking on each question.

Expectations

This quote was shared with me by a dear friend and I've stuck it in my bible to be a constant reminder to me how quickly my passion for God's vision for the body of Christ can become a thing of pride and destroyer of that which I believe God has given me a deep love for and burden for....I've seen His grace grow in me because of these convicting words.

"He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of that latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial. God hates visionary dreaming; it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself...When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Multitude Mondays

195. Christmas unlike any other...the love...the thankfulness for even the smallest gift...the family sharing of what's on one's heart...the best Christmas I've ever had as a mother

 196. precious time spent with friends and family over the past two weeks
197. break from all school responsibilities and piano - biblequizzing - youth group commitments
198. good Christian fiction...the draw of a good book...seeing kids sequestering themselves in quiet places to read themselves
199. the honor of being trusted with raw feelings from a friend, praying that I'll honor God in my responses and encouragement
200. challenging quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and how it has convicted my heart, halted condemnation and criticism and grown grace in my life
201. Christmas season and the license to enjoy food - although now I'm paying for it
202. reoccurring reminders of how far I have to go to live the life of a Christ follower - reminded by my petty jealousies, my lack of praying blessings over situations that don't involve me, my verbal stones I like to throw, may it never be something that doesn't bring me to tears
203. the Word...became flesh...is sharper than any sword...guides me...encourages me...refreshes my soul
204. playing games...Buzzword, Euchre, Pinocle, Clue, James Bond, Spoons, Golf, Colorku
205. sleepovers...I'm definately reaching a new stage in life when I can't stay up later than the kids
206. grandparents...both left recently for Florida for lengthy stays...how we'll miss them and be praying they'll be safe, healthy and enjoy their warm weather (but not so much that they won't want to come back to Michigan!)

207. family...sisters, brothers, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews...our hearts shared and given to each other...how blessed we are to have them all, how blessed my children are to have them all to look to, to laugh with, to be challenged by
208. first shaving experiences for Jake & Isaiah - how their father's antics made it unforgettable

 209. traditions....my dad still reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to a couch full of children, although now it's not his children, but his grandchildren