Redemption

I'm still studying the life of Christ....very slowly (Beth Moore study, "Jesus the One and Only). Last night and this morning I have learned some incredible things about my Savior. I am learning about the rites that Jewish parents observed after having a firstborn son and they included circumcision, redemption and purification. Mary and Joseph followed each step exactly as any devout Jewish parents would. Luke 2:22-24 Mary and Joseph were to take their son and present Him to the Lord. This act was to symbolize them giving their firstborn son back to the Lord (vs. 23). Interestingly, right after this they would "redeem him, or buy him back." I am so thankful today that my parents did not have to buy me back from the Lord, but that the Lord bought me...by the shedding of His only Son's blood! Christ has bought me from myself, my sinful flesh. The Hebrew word for redemption is "padhah," and mean to redeem by paying a price.....that He did!

"In HIm, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace..." ~Ephesians 1:7

Now something neat about the rite of purification...

Leviticus 12:8 says that is the parents cannot afford to bring a year old lamb for a burnt offering, they should bring two turtledoves or two pigeons. Well, we can gather that Mary and Joseph were not the wealthiest people because when we read Luke 2:24 we see that they could not afford the lamb and brought a pair of turtle doves or pigeons instead.

How interesting that Christ's parents "offered the least sacrifice permitted by Jewish law for the rite of purification." I love that! Another way for Him to show His power and His glory! Humans couldn't measure up, couldn't have enough wealth, wisdom and we certainly can't be "good enough!" We need a Savior to save us from ourselves....Jesus Christ!

Guys Night Out & Girls Night In

Tonight was so sweet. Steve came home and surprised Noah with a guys night out. He took Noah to his first Smokies baseball game and bought Noah his first glove!! Noah was sooo excited! We'll see if he makes it passed the seven inning stretch! Paige and I got to have a girls night in. This was fun because our kids rarely get one on one time with a parent. I had a blast with Paige tonight. We went for a walk and played outside for an hour, then bath time, and bedtime routine. Oh, how she loves her routine...she was one step ahead of me the whole time. She is so smart and it seems as if she is 19 months going on 19 already! Girls are so different than boys! The only similarity she has with Noah right now is that he has taught her to make the exact same car and gun noises that he can make! Fun night for our family!

As for Romania updates, today was a lot of e-mails and phone calls to make to make more solid preparations for having our house rented out and storing our stuff that we don't get rid of and health insurance details. More to do with that tomorrow, but at least I got a start on it.

And, we got our FIRST response card in the mail of someone who is supporting us prayerfully and financially. Note, this is just THREE days after we sent out the letters! To say we are thankful to the body of Christ and to our Lord is a huge understatement!!

Steve and I have total confidence in God and we believe 100% we are following the path He has laid out before us. We believe He has been drawing us to the place for well over a year now. Even still in the passed few weeks I have prayed, "Lord, if this is not what you would have us do slam the door in our face." Not because we didn't want to follow through, but to be sure we were directly in the center of His will. He keeps swinging the doors wide open for us and I feel the Savior saying to me, "keep coming....this is where I need you to go for now.." I trust Him fully! There are so many details and things to iron out and I cannot sit around and worry about it all because I would drown in my own anxiety and fears. So, I can do nothing but hang my head low and hold my arms high and say God this is ALL about You and all for YOU! Our lives are in YOUR hands! Have YOUR way with us! Be glorified!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered...They're Yours!

Our support letters are out! After an entire week of editing, printing, labeling, folding, stuffing, printing on envelopes, much smudging, more labels to cover the smudging and addressing....236 support letters found their way to the postage machine at our church office yesterday morning!! YAY! We have about 15 more to, but that is slowly being done. This is such a relief and it feels good to know that the people we serve in our ministry finally will know why we're leaving and what we will be doing! Real excited to see how God builds up a team of prayer warriors who will lift us up to HIM while we are preparing and are away...people who we can come to and share the good and the bad and to bring praises and requests to them so they can talk to the Father about it as well! Real excited to see GOD nudge people's hearts to be more like His in generosity to give to help us serve and survive while on the mission field. We know that not everyone will be able to or will want to, but are excited to see what God does! When I look at the future, I can't help but smile in anticipation and excitement!

On another note....I still can't stop thinking about the last post I made on Sat. night...about my heart and mind being cluttered, just like my gutters were! Well, I get up and go to church on Sunday and guess what...there for me was a custom-made sermon! It was like God was speaking through Rick Dunn and was speaking to only me. Everything I wrote about Saturday or tried to convey, very weakly, in a journal was put into better words of exactly how I felt the last week or two in Sunday's sermon. So here is what it was about and what I am have been struggling with in the last week or two:

Sluggish Spirituality (eewww, that sounds nasty..and hurts a little..or a lot!)

The pastor shared about how we have a "pull toward dull or sluggish spirituality....it's a natural drift of who we are." YES, this is what I was trying to say. This is what I am so frustrated about. In the evenings, instead of reading more, meditating, memorizing, talking over the Bible more...why have we been getting into this rut of slouching in front of the couch to watch something that has no eternal value on my life! I don't think it's bad for me to watch television, but I think it's bad for me to be a slug and put superfluous things before the Lord. I don't want to be sluggish, I don't want to melt in front of the tv. As I was laying there last week watching tv, I thought to myself...why am I still up, watching something that I don't really care about...and I would rather be reading. But, ya know what...I didn't get up! So, I need some boundaries and I need to get my priorities straight. Two weeks ago, I didn't feel this way, because I wasn't doing this. I hate the human flesh most of the time because I feel like this a lot:

"For what I am doing I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate...For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing that I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Romans 7:15,16,18-21, 24-25a, 8:1

O Praise the ONE who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!!!

Some things I am trying to do to not be spiritually sluggish and pursue my Father and other relationships is get my priorities straightened out. I know that I am not going to get it right every time (last two weeks of my life-great example), but "one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained." -Phil. 3:13, 14, 16

Here is what Steve and I are trying to do:

-go to bed earlier

-wake up earlier and spend time with the Father EVERYDAY, not when I feel like it. If I don't get up I will tell myself I will do it during nap time, but it never works out for me that way. I have to do it when everyone is still asleep.

-have family worship night with our kids

-be consistent about reading the Bible with our kids every day

-pray together daily

-pray for my children daily

-have a family worship time

-have a family day once a week

-have one or two families over each week for dinner to pursue better relationships

-memorize Scripture weekly (for Steve, Cali & Noah)

These are things we have strived to do for a long time, but just in the last week or so we have been going to bed so late and then I don't want to wake up early in the morning and then during nap time I don't spend time with the Lord....the late to bed again...and so the cycle continues. I need my time with the Lord. I am a different person with Him!

reflecting

Today was a productive day....lawn mowed, gutters cleaned and that is basically all that got done, but when you have a 3 year old and a one year old that sounds like quite a feat. So we felt good about that. But tonight as I am thinking about my day, my life...I am a little discouraged. You see, I failed to mention that the grass in our yard had not been mowed in almost two weeks and it looked bad, our gutters...well, they had a mini forest growing in them (no lie, trees were growing!--embarrassing, but true). And as I write this at my very unorganized desk, in a messy toy-filled play room with 3-4 loads of laundry that need to put away, I am also thinking about the loads of laundry going in the dryer and washer, my bathrooms need to be cleaned, all of my floors need to be mopped, closets need to be organized and we still have a pretty long to-do list of projects for our house before we leave in January. Sorry for the terrible run-on sentence! There are bills to be paid and cards I want to write to people. Then, I got to thinking about our car. This morning I had to go clean it out because of all the granola bar wrappers, water bottle, sippy cups, cheerios EVERYWHERE and there are still toys and books covering the back floors. (some days I just feel I can't keep it all clean at the same time, ahhh!) I was thinking if my car and my gutters and my home, today, are a reflection of my heart and mind--that's NOT good! So I had to examine.

So tonight I am thinking about all of this clutter! And feeling like my mind and heart feel the same way. I may not can see the clutter, but I feel it! We are very much wanting, trying, needing to simplify our lives and how much "stuff" we possess before January and at this point I am ready to burn, throw away or give away all of my stuff...well, a lot of my stuff! I don't like clutter, but today it seems that a lot of areas in my life are cluttered. I like a clean house, but I LOVE spending time with my kids. So I know that sometimes my house goes because my kids come first! And that is very worth it to me! But at the same time, I dont want them growing up in a cluttered home, with a mom who has a cluttered heart!

Tonight, as I am thinking about my heart and my mind I am wondering how it gets this way. Why do I not live as if Jesus were the focus of my life 24/7? Why am I worrying/thinking about 15 other things at one time, but haven't been in the WORD today? I feel I am so inconsistent, so unfaithful at times...and He is continuously unconditionally kind and faithful and generous to me! I am so humbled and thankful for my Savior. I don't want my mind to be full of anxious thoughts or any thoughts that are not of Him. I need my heart to be "cleansed by faith" daily! ( Acts. 15:9) And I need to be with my LORD daily so that His Word can sharpen and judge my intentions and my heart. So He can search me and know my ways and make me more and more like Himself through His power and grace!

It boils down to me being selfish...and lazy. I want to do what I want to do most of the time, not thinking how I will be a better disciple, a better mother, a better wife, a better sister, a better daughter, a better neighbor (you get the picture) if I were spending time my Savior more consistently...through prayer, worship and reading. I am not saying that these things aren't a part of my life...they very much are. It's how I survive, it's how I am in a joyful marriage with a man I love more than words can describe, how I parent with grace and love. But some weeks, most weeks, I fall short of His glory and this has been one of those weeks! I must decrease and He must increase! I just want to be set apart...holy....for Him!

this is quite inspiring!

So, I have a friend who knows of this girl who lives in Uganda. She works with a non-profit and has been there for 3 years. She is 21 years old and God has told her to STAY there and she has now, just in three short years, adopted 14 girls!!!! My mouth dropped--almost to the floor!

I was excited to read this for a few reasons. 1. Steve and I have always wanted to adopt from Uganda. When we got married, Invisible Children, was all the rage and was just starting up big time, and we said we wanted to adopt from there one day. There is a giant soft spot in me for adoption from Africa one day. 2. I love missions 3. I love a true, truly inspirational life story and this is the best one I've heard of in a long time outside of reading my Bible!

You guys have to check this out!

www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

Happy Mother's Day!

I am doing a study on the life of Jesus. There has been a verse that sticks out in my mind and that is Luke 2:19. After the birth of Jesus it says, "but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." In my study I have learned that the Greek word for "treasure" is "suntereo", which means to preserve. It is the idea of keeping treasure preserved and safe. The Greek word for "pondered" is "sumballo," which means to throw or put together. It's the practice of combining several things together and acting as if they are one.

Today, I felt as if I did that...treasured and pondered.....the birth of my children, remembering their tiny bodies, watching them grow, funny memories, good moments and terrible moments....and then seeing them today getting so big so fast. There was a lot of treasuring and pondering going on in my heart! It was so fun taking a long nap with Noah this afternoon, eating dinner outside as a family, watching Steve teach Noah and Paige how to eat corn on the cob type writer or round-about style (a moment he claims "he has waited three years to do!" lol), taking them for a walk in the wagon and Steve and I were all smiles as we listened and watched our two babies make each other gut laugh (by spitting on each other, seeing who could stuff their entire fist in their mouth the best, etc, etc.--Noah has taught Paige so much...we are so proud!) I love my family and I love my life that is all an undeserved gift from the hand of my Father! Children are a treasure and a gift and we are so blessed to have them. They teach me so much! It is fun to look at all of these separate little things and look at them as one big whole act of GOD that I can keep safe in my heart and remember and love forever!

It is such a treasure to relive life through the eyes of a child!

Thank you mom for all that you taught me and showed me by your actions. Showing how to love and forgive and live with integrity and grace. I can only hope and pray to have faith in Christ as much as you do! You are my hero and role model. I love you more than you will ever know! God was so good to me when He graced me with you as my mother!

reassurance

Today, once again, God blew us away by revealing that we are being obedient by going to Romania. I know it sounds vague...sorry....but our hearts are full and we are so thankful for a personal God who cares about details and hears the cries of His people. He is once again our Faithful Provider! Why do I worry? He has done so much for us!

Another cool tid bit....last week Steve was at the bank asking some questions about wiring money when we're gone, etc. There is a native Romanian lady at our bank who is really happy to help us and work with us as we transition to go and while we are there!! It may not seem like much to those who read this, but to us who are leaving and going somewhere completely foreign to us it means a lot to have an advocate to help with finances. How cool that she is from Romania? Coincidence? I think not. Love seeing God in little details of our life!

Support letters coming soon!

poor and needy

Steve and I have a huge soft spot for the poor, needy, forgotten, abandoned, outcasts, orphaned, widowed, untouchables, unlovables and the lowest of low in society. It's one reason out of many as to why we are so very excited about God leading us to go to Romania. Those are the ones we will mostly be working with. There is a lot of segregation between Romanians and Gypsies, understandably so.

A couple of years ago as I was leaving a grocery store, there was a couple by the road as you drive out with signs saying they needed help...money. The lady looked incredibly sad, probably my age, face covered in sores and as I drove closer I saw she was pregnant. My heart broke! I had my little man in the back seat and could not imagine carrying a small life and having no food to eat or having to beg for money. As I drove closer I rolled down my window and gave them all the cash I had....a big $2! Whoop-dee-doo!! I left and got just a couple of miles away and immediately felt convicted that I did not pull over and give them some food and drinks as I had just bought a lot of groceries. I do not have a good excuse as to why I did not turn around and feed them and possibly share the Gospel with them, but I still remember those two faces to this day and I have regretted my poor decision on that day!

Ever since then I have literally prayed for God to send homeless people into my life so that I could help them....whether it be to feed them, pay for a motel for them, pray for them or whatever they may need. And GOD has been faithful to answer. I can remember each person He has brought into my path over the last two years. There have been some that after I leave them I just burst into tears because I hate knowing that they have no place to lay their heads and to call home.

It happened again last night. As I was leaving from my grocery shopping....loading up my car....a homeless man walked passed me with his head down. I saw his eyes glance at all the bags of food in my buggy and then head down again. Until I acknowledged him and said "hello." He quietly mumbled a "hello" back to me and kept walking. Then, he turned around and came back and told me a little bit of his problem and how he missed the Knoxville transportation bus and had been out since 1pm and needed to catch the bus when it came back at midnight. He had a cane and he was aged and very tired. He was also diabetic and needed some food. I had no cash, but this time I didn't let it stop me. We went back into the store and I bought him some fruit that he wanted and withdrew some cash from my account to pay for him to catch the late bus. I really did believe him. I had no reason to believe he was lying to me. All I could think of is that this man is someone's father and someone's son and He was created special by GOD. All I could think was that if this were my dad or my son or my father-in-law....I would pray someone would acknowledge him and help him if he were in this situation.

After I bought the food for him and tried to talk (I'm always hopeful to be able to share the Gospel), it was evident that he was embarrassed to ask for it and he wanted me to leave. He just kept looking around to see if anyone noticed and my heart broke again. I had to respect his pride...what little there was left in his mind. I thanked him for asking me to help and left. On my drive home I was so bummed that I did not share the Gospel with him and even this morning lying in bed thinking and praying for this man. God reminded me of this Scripture and I realized that sometimes that is all I am supposed to do.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. ...And the Kind will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"~ Matthew 25:35-36, 40