A Changing Life Mobile

One of my favorite authors is Edith Schaeffer...I have an entire section of ever-growing editions on my personal bookshelf.  She writes with beauty and wisdom, especially when speaking of the family.  I have been thinking about the subject of change lately...as it seems to be ever-present in the day in which we find ourselves.  

In her book, What is a Family, Edith so beautifully paints a word picture of family.  "What is a family? " A family is a mobile.  A family is the most versatile, ever-changing mobile that exists.  A family is a living mobile that is different from the handcraft mobiles in the art-museum mobiles, different from the mobiles of lake and trees and from the mobiles of birds, fish, and animals-different from any mobiles of machine, animal, or plant.  A family is an intricate mobile made up of human personalities." 

"In so many ways a family is a mobile-an artwork that takes years, even generations, to produce, but which is never finished.  The artwork of this mobile called "family" continues, and imagination, creativity, originality, talent, concern, love, compassion, excitement, determination, and time to produce a diversity which is a challenge to any intelligent human being who has been given understanding of how to begin in the studio of life itself."

"Unity and diversity.  Form and freedom.  Togetherness and individuality.  A family."

"Birth, education, marriage, tragic deaths, successes, failures-eternal life-heaven.  Never static, A Christian family is a mobile blown by the gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit.  This is not a romantic idea; it is in accordance with what the Bible teaches is possible.  Each member of the family, as he or she is born again, is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  If this takes place, one can picture not perfection, but a measure of reality in thinking of the Christian family as constantly changing from month to month, year to year, with the mix never the same-agewise, interestwise, talentwise, intellectwise-never static, with always new fascination in discovering new points of communication as human beings are growing and developing.  A mobile-blown by the breeze of the Holy Spirit."

"No, not one member of any family will always be directed or blown by the Spirit, nor will all the members be directed every day in perfect balance to His plan, but there is an exciting possibility of knowing something very real in some measure, as there is recognition of the importance and centrality of the living artwork, the mobile which the family can be.  What is a family?  An artwork-a mobile."

My family...and your family are precious works of art blown by the breeze of the Holy Spirit!  Each change, event, or circumstance is first sifted through the hands of our LORD.  I find this such a blessed assurance and encouragement for our families!    

Bless the LORD, O my soul:  and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

                                                                          Psalms 103:1-2

 

Wordless Wednesday

Treasure Hunts and Projects

I had a wonderful weekend with my daughters and son-in-law.  We got to catch up with the goings on in our lives and found time for a wee bit of shopping to boot!  Of course one of our favorite places to treasure hunt is the Good Will Store.  I found this ginger jar for considerably less than at a retail shop. 

Spring has sprung...with all its vibrant colors, so when I saw this pink purse at a discount shop...it found its way into my basket...it just looks like spring!  I usually stick with neutral colors but this purse says "fun"!  And girls...well you know the rest of the song!

And now for the practical side...I found these shower hooks and cup in bronze at Ross for much less than at the other standard stores in our area.  And since our latest home project is the boy's bathroom...these will go great with the new colors.
 As you can see the bathroom is still under reconstruction.  The boys are learning at Paul's side and hopefully we will make some progress as time allows this week!

Multitude Monday

51. Lauren and I enjoyed a weekend visit with Megan and Andrew.

52. Safe travel to and from Megan's.

53. The well lived life of a dear Uncle who met the Lord last week...we'll miss you Uncle C.

54. Girl talk with both my girls...oh, how I've missed that!

55. The sturdy lawn mower that hopefully will stand the test of our rocky, hilly, yard!

56. The work of all my guys this weekend to get the yard in shape and start a much needed project in the house...and my azaleas are blooming for the first time this year!!

57. Paul, who rearranged a very busy day to spend the afternoon with me...I love that man!

58. My son-in-law who loves our daughter and takes very good care of her...you are a blessing!

59. An impromptu visit with a friend on a lovely spring day!

60. Kindred spirits who have encouraged me, spoken truth to me, laughed and cried with me, and loved me through the years!

Wordless Wednesday

Our country boys...target practice with their BB guns.

Multitude Monday

  

41.  I found myself being somewhat anxious last week about many things...and then the Lord brought this verse to my mind:  For who hath despised the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10

Thank you Lord for your patience with me...such a weak instrument.

42.  The small things...I guess it was our theme last week...I came home on Thursday after an extremely busy day to find this on my night stand...from my very thoughtful daughter, Lauren!  I had shared with her that I used to crave these cookies but it had been years since I had enjoyed one...or two.

 

 43.  A day out with Luke and Jonathan...thank you boys for all the lifting and loading at Sams!

44.  The progress of all of our music students!  Great job, boys!

45.  For our daughter, Megan...thank you so much for helping me with all the tek stuff! I love our chats and miss you so much!  

46.  I am so grateful for my husband, Paul...who took our son, Luke, on a special father/son trip!

47.  Movie night with the gang!  We love Gary Cooper movies!

48.  My new bread maker...so thankful we can have fresh bread in the summer without melting the house!!

 49.  A meal prepared by Ethan...and the boys loved it!

50.  An afternoon out with most of the gang...and supper out to boot!

  

For The Beauty of the Earth

I love spring! The boys and I look forward to watching all of the usual visitors to our bird feeders and hope to catch a glimpse of a few new ones as well. I love to take in the fresh air, sunshine, birds, flowers, trees, and nature all around us as we soak up the sunshine on a nature walk. We spotted an eagle on our trek this week!! I wasn't fast enough to snap a picture, though!! We took our sketch pads and chose various things to add to our nature notebooks. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do find it relaxing to at least attempt it. The boys enjoy the activity and I see real progress in their notebooks. Samuel is our artist and he was so encouraging to me as I was drawing a wildflower..."good job, mom"!! How sweet! Of course the boys had to wade the creek and our springer took a swim as well. It was a wonderful way to start our day!

For the Beauty of the Earth

by Folliott S. Pierpoint

For the Beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour, Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flow'r, Sun and moon, and stars of light,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above, For all gentle thoughts and mild,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy church that evermore Lifteth holy hands above,

Off''ring up on every shore Her pure sacrifice of love,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.

Multitude Monday

 

31. God's provision so that we could pay our taxes!

32.  Steady projects for the business.

33.  A good day at testing and for everyone that helped!

34.  A wonderful visit with a dear niece.

35.  An afternoon with Lauren!

36.  Bible study with the boys...much discussion and praying together!

37.  A day spent at a friend's house...the boys played basketball, baseball, football...and we enjoyed a walk.

38.  Prayer with Paul...connecting our hearts as we seek HIM.

39.  A nature walk with the boys!

40.  Sunshine, birds singing, flowers and trees blooming!

Multitude Monday

21.  I am so thankful for Christ's victory over the grave!

22.  And because of that victory, I will see dear loved ones someday...miss you mama and daddy!

23.  Grace...I sure need it!

24.  Time well spent...my boys love this game!

25.  The good job that all my guys did on washing the windows and siding.

26.  The surprise supper that Lauren brought home to us at the end of a very busy day...I love that girl!

27.  The blessing of praying for dear friends and their prayers for us.

28.   Easter with my family...even though it didn't go quite as planned...it was a wonderful day!

29.  The steadfastness of my husband...I love you, Paul!

30.  The faithfulness of my Lord.

Resurrection Sunday!

One Day

One day when heaven was filled with his praises,

One day when sin was as black as could be,

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin

Dwelt among men, my example is he!

One day they led him up Calvary's mountain,

One day they nailed him to die on the tree,

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is he!

One day they left him alone in the garden,

One day he rested, from suffering free;

Angels came down over his tomb to keep vigil;

Hope of the hopeless my Savior is he!

One day the grave could conceal him no longer,

One day the stone rolled away from the door;

Then he arose, over death he had conquered;

Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

One day the trumpet will sound for his coming,

One day the skies with his glory will shine;

Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;

Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

Living, he loved me; dying, he saved me;

Buried, he carried my sins far away;

Rising, he justified freely forever:

One day he's coming, oh, glorious day!

THORNS

I love roses...all colors, shapes, and variations!  They are gorgeous and instantly add elegance to any table, desk, or night stand!  The fragrance of a dozen roses seems to linger for days on end.   The only problem with one of these long stem beauties is that it always comes equipped with thorns.  I don't care for thorns much...But I have been pondering thorns lately...

I have been reading through the  Bible in chronological order this year during my quiet time...which more often than not is anything but  "quiet" but that is a story for another day.  The second chapter of Judges brought about my pondering of thorns.  

And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars:  but ye have not obeyed my voice:  why have ye done this?

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

*A Failure to Complete Conquests

Despite the conquests that the Israelites had made, there were still sections of unclaimed territory, and inhabitants who had not been driven out...contrary to God's specific orders.

*The Danger of an Incomplete Conquest

The influence of and the fascination with the pagans left in the territory generated a spirit of compromise that led to intermarriage, idolatry, immorality, and ultimately oppression by various pagan peoples. 

The Israelites failed to fully obey the word of the LORD...and for this disobedience, the LORD allowed the thorns.

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers:  and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

I have read this account on many occasions and I still get the same chill each time that I read it.  What happened...how could this happen...in one generation?  The words begin to swirl around in my mind....disobedience, compromise, fascination with the pagan culture, intermarriage, idolatry, immorality...THORNS!  

I must say that I have been feeling some thorns in my side of late...and the adversary stepped in to take full advantage of every situation.  I have felt like throwing in the towel on it all at times...and then I am driven to my knees to cry out to my LORD, just as the Israelites did in the days of the Judges.

Our role as wives and mothers in the days in which we live are of utmost importance.  There is a sense of urgency surrounding us...we must not lose faith.  We cannot afford to give up or give in...even though the way of the world would have us do so.  

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

May the thorns of life prove us to be a faithful generation...equipping the next generation to know and serve our gracious LORD.