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.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Grateful Monday

11.  An afternoon spent soaking up the sunshine at one of my favorite childhood places.

12.  A visit with our Megan!

13.  A girl's day out with Lauren!

14.  Book shopping!

15.  A quiet breakfast with Paul.

16.  Teaching my little guys how to read.

17.  Watching my guys working on an outdoor project together.

18.  Coffee and conversation with a dear friend.

19.  Spring...need I say more!

20.  The power of prayer!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

True Woman Manifesto

Go here, to read & sign the True Woman Manifesto. http://www.truewoman.com

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss has been such a blessing to me through the years.  Visit the True Woman link to read the True Woman Manifesto and learn about the True Woman Make-over!  I signed up for the 30 day make-over !!  I know that it will be a great encouragement to women...in each season of life! 

Grateful Monday

 

1.  A wonderful get-a-way weekend with my best friend...my husband!

2.  Opening the front door to lots of smiling faces when we returned home!

3.  My sister's good report from the doctor.

4.  God's provision for our needs this month.

5.  The surprise spa day that my daughter gave me!

6.  The many insights that we have gleaned from Mitchell Tolle's book.

7.  Watching my older sons play with the little guys.

8.  My baby who loves to play chess and has taught me how to play!

9.  Chatting on the phone with my daughter.

10.   Re-connecting with a dear friend.

Our Birthday Boys!

We celebrated two special birthdays this month!  Jonathan turned a big 8 years old this year!  He is our fun-loving, ever quizzical son that makes life an exciting adventure!!   We had a wonderful day complete with dark chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting and chocolate strawberries...YUMMY!

Luke turned 14...I can't believe it!!  He has grown several inches during the past year and shows no sign of slowing down!  He has the heart of a true southern gentleman.  We enjoyed his favorite cake...strawberry with cream cheese frosting...Delicious!

We are so thankful for our two birthday boys...it is a blessing and an honor to be your parents!

Wordless Wednesday

A PEEK INSIDE A THOMAS KINKADE WINDOW

I found myself completely spellbound as I lingered in front of the various pieces of art in the Thomas Kinkade gallery.  Each painting was captivating, illuminating, and inviting.  One can close their eyes and feel that they are transported to one of the quaint, little villages where peace and perfection abound.  

I find myself at times looking at another woman and imagining that her life is just as perfect as a Thomas Kinkade painting.  After all...she sure seems to have it all together...she looks great, wears a smile, and don't even ask me about her hair!!  She has a wonderful husband, great kids, and all of her meals are nutritious and served on a beautifully decorated table.  She teaches a Sunday school class and visits the elderly weekly.  She maps out her curriculum a year in advance.  She is the ultimate Proverbs 31 WOMAN!!

Now, turn that last paragraph around...and imagine that someone is watching your life and sees you as all the things mentioned above!!  We do put our best foot forward when interacting with others...especially when outside of our own home.  We usually take the time to fix our hair, dab on a little color, and press our dress...and slip on shoes(my kids know that I am getting ready to go somewhere when I slip on the shoes).We clean up pretty good...as my mama always said!  

 For the LORD seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

But the truth of the matter is...if someone takes a peek inside the window of my life...it isn't going to look like a Thomas Kinkade painting!

I remember reading a homeschooling magazine as a young, new to homeschooling mom, that featured a column that showed a day in the life of a homeschooling family.  I can vividly remember how totally inadequate I felt after spending a day in "their" life!!  Please don't misunderstand me...it was a wonderfully encouraging magazine.  It was a great blessing to our family during those first few years of homeschooling.  I later realized after a few years under my belt, that most of these were veteran homeschoolers...and let's admit it...most of us are going to report about a good day in our life.  But honestly...it probably would have helped me more at that point if the article went more like this....

A day in our life....

I reached over to hit the snooze button one more time on the obnoxious racket that was loud enough to wake the dead!!  At this point, my husband bounded out of bed and shouted, "I have a meeting this morning...did you turn the alarm off?"  The baby woke up screaming at all the commotion that was taking place in our room.  My husband got dressed in record time and puckered his lips in my general direction as he raced for the front door.

I changed the baby and sat down to nurse him as the two year old appeared at the door to let me know that he was wet along with his sheets and teddy bear.  I placed the baby in his bed, to which he responded with shrills of disagreement, as I cleaned his brother up and started the washer full of bedding.  The two year old finally settled in the rocking chair with me, the baby, and a dozen or so picture books.  After much rocking and a half a dozen or so readings of Are You my Mother, I put the baby down for his nap...or really the night since he had only slept for four hours!

By this time the four and six year old were up and having a difference of opinion as to the ownership of a chunky green tractor...I quickly dealt with that issue and we were off to see what our breakfast options were for the morning.  We were out of milk and only had enough bread for two of the children...so I divided the toast and added fruit to each plate...note to self:  Add milk and bread to the list.  At this point the baby could be heard by the four year old who decided to try to gather him up from his bed just as I steeped in the room.  Thankfully she had not had much success on her attempt to "get" the baby.  

The six year old was yelling that there was a man at the front door and I could hear him telling the man that his mommy was probably breast feeding his baby brother but he could come on in!!  I grabbed my rob and ran to the living room to greet the U.P.S. man whose face was the color of the tomatoes in our garden!!  

I bid him good day and sat down to have a talk with our little man of the house about strangers and the rules of the house which stated that he wasn't allowed to open the door.  It was now 9:30 and we were all in our p.j.s and a few of us....had jelly stained lips and sticky fingers.  The baby reminded me that he was still alone in his bed...and once again needed changing.  After clean up, I snuggled him in the swing by my chair in the living room and then gathered the rest of the chicks in hopes of restoring some sort of order!

After some whimpering, mostly mine, we marched to the bathroom and proceeded to scrub hands and faces, brush little teeth, and hopefully begin our day. And of course after a few potty breaks, clean up, and the like,  it was 10:30 when we finally settled into the big fluffy couch to enjoy read aloud.

The phone rang on our second page of Little House so I paused to answer.  It was the doctor's office...as I was explaining the symptoms of the two year old to the nurse, I heard a crash in the general direction of the living room.  I finished up the phone call and sprinted to the living room to see all three angelic children standing in a circle around my great aunt's vase...or should I say what was left of it.  

As I was placing each piece in a box...hoping to glue it back together, I heard my six year old yelling at the back door that he wasn't allowed to open the door because the U.P.S. man didn't really want to hear about breastfeeding and that grandma should come back later when mama was through picking up the broken pieces....to which my mother's laughter assured me that it was indeed grandma at the door!! 

I would fill you in on the rest of our day but it was pretty much down hill from here...so what's going on in your home?


O.K. so I may not have learned much about which language arts program to use or which math program works best for the kinesthetic learner...but it sure would have made me feel better...to know that I wasn't alone... and if that lady could persevere than so could I!!  My kids would grow and lessons would be done and life would still move forward...I would learn and grow too.  Real life, even for a Christian, is seldom a Thomas Kinkade painting...and that's O.K.  My Father sees my heart!!