Gift from the Spirit - Laughter

And the moral of the story is...always admit if your favorite chapter and verse from the Bible has temporarily slipped your mind!

Now for the story:
After hearing a clip from comedian Tim Hawkins on The Fish yesterday morning, I decided to check out some of his You Tube videos. Here is a clip of his "favorite" Bible verse. I was laughing about this all day and still chuckle when I think about it. Here's the link so you may get a good dose of one God's best medicine's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jdWH9N-JXI

Can't Remain Silent

[Please note: the following post reflects my personal opinion]

I am appalled, disgusted, and ticked off and perhaps a little naively suprised. The first three, because I just read about what a popular retailer has decided to print on their clothing just in time for kids to head back to college. The last because there was some part of me that believed mass consumerism would know when it had gone too far. Apparantly not.

Great way to start off a post, huh? But it's hard to remain silent after reading about this new tee line, geared for college kids has a number of sexually explicit messages printed on their tees. (But that begs the questions, would they refuse to sell these tees to kids who are not college age and do they have these tees in a restricted part of the store which requires and ID to enter?)

Why do I feel it's appropriate to post about this issue on this blog you may wonder? It's because I believe the church body as a whole needs to take a stand and advocate for the sexual purity of our children. Not a popular stance I know. But if we, as followers of Christ are afraid to take a stand or confused about what God expects of us as stewards of our bodies and sexuality, then there really is little hope that things will ever change.

I could go on for many paragraphs, instead, I'd rather have God speak to your heart about what HE believes about this issue. So my prayer is that everyone who reads about this issue, takes some time and listens to what God has to say about it. Consider asking Him to lead you to Scripture on His purpose in creating us as sexual beings and what He has to say about our bodies. Ask Him if He feels it is honoring to Him to wear or allow our children to wear this type of clothing.

If you feel moved to speak out on this issue, visit this link: http://www.onemillionmoms.com/CurrentIssue.asp to learn more and to send an email to the company asking them to stop producing clothing of this nature.

A final note...as this is a topic which can produce heated debate, if you feel moved to comment, please carefully choose your words. We review all comments before posting them.

Believing we can make a difference for our children,
Andrea

Making it Count

Because we recently switched Internet service providers and my efforts to link my ISP email to my Outlook were continually frustrated (!!!), I decided to “shop” for an email address elsewhere. For reasons I’m still fuzzy on, I settled on hotmail (there didn’t seem to be any great advantage of one free email service over another, but then I did only a cursory review).

What does this have to anything to do with God or the church? Well… it all goes back a short month ago when I was reading the book “The Hole in Our Gospel,” by Richard Stearns (President of World Vision). This is an excellent book that is tops on my recommended reading list if you want to get a new perspective on our call as followers of Christ. Many stories relaying the realities the majority of people in this world face are contained in its pages along with Scripture references which correlate to the anecdotes or point being made.

In a section dealing with stewardship, Stearns recalls the parable of the talents – you know where two of the guys double the talents they’re given and one guy decides to hide his, so his master’s ROI is zilch. Though this is an extremely familiar story, God tweaked my Spirit anew as I was reading His Words in the context of this eye-opening book (I LOVE it when He does that!), especially when he (Stearns) likened these servants to the modern day stockbroker.

A new thought struck me…everything we have belongs to God – material possessions, skills, abilities, time – and it’s all on loaner from our Creator. If repaying interest on a loan is standard practice here on earth, perhaps God expects the same thing in an eternal, kingdom of heaven sort of way?!

Instead of being a daunting thought, this seemed like a fun challenge and is changing my perspective on what I do with my time, resources and abilities. Which brings me back to the email…

I was excited to discover that hotmail offers its account holders the chance to give back to a charitable organization just by sending an email. All the user has to do is select which organization to support and a tag is added to the signature. For every email sent, money is donated to the selected nonprofit. What a cool way to do more for God’s kingdom!

I love the way God brings opportunities our way to serve Him. All we need to do is pray for this heart change and then wait for God to reveal how He will answer this prayer.

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1 NIV, emphasis mine)

Making it count for Christ,
Andrea

The Monastic Order of Parenthood

At the very beginning of this year, my mother forwarded to me an e-mail that she had received from a friend of hers. In the subject line was written: "had to share this gem with all the moms I know", so I knew immediately that this e-mail would have something to do with the general issues of parenting. Since this was forwarded to me by my mother, I have to also add this background: I am the youngest of 10 children, and my mother is an extremely intelligent woman with an excellent sense of humor...so, I figured this one had to be worth reading.

Was it ever.

The content consisted of a column written by a man named Ron Rolheiser (a Catholic priest in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and a writer/columnist) back in 2001. The title was "The Domestic Monastery", which right away caught my attention because 'domestic' and 'monastery' aren't usually two words that go together. Indeed, in this article Rolheiser focuses on an idea that, for me, has become a kind of hard-to-accept "aha!" moment:

"What is a monastery? A monastery is not so much a place set apart for monks and nuns as it is a place set apart. It is also a place to learn the value of powerlessness and a place to learn that time is not ours, but God's.
Our home and our duties can, just like a monastery, teach us those things. John of the Cross once described the inner essence of monasticism in these words: "But they, O my God and my life, will see and experience your mild touch, who withdraw from the world and become mild, bringing the mild into harmony with the mild, thus enabling themselves to experience and enjoy you." What John suggests here is that two elements make for a monastery: withdrawal from the world and bringing oneself into harmony with the mild.> Although he was speaking about the vocation of monastic monks and nuns, who physically withdraw from the world, the principle is equally valid for those of us who cannot go off to monasteries and become monks and nuns. Certain vocations offer the same kind of opportunity for contemplation. They too provide a desert for reflection.
For example, the mother who stays home with small children experiences a very real withdrawal from the world. Her existence is definitely monastic. Her tasks and preoccupations remove her from the centres of power and social importance. And she feels it. Moreover her sustained contact with young children (the mildest of the mild) gives her a privileged opportunity to be in harmony with the mild, that is, to attune herself to the powerlessness rather than to the powerful."

Rolheiser goes on to point out that, just as monks and nuns do, parents also must live in obedience to their own version of the "monastic bell": the incessant interruptions from our children, who seem to need assistance/supervision/hands-on-parenting about every 10 seconds on any given day. "The monastic bell was intended as a discipline to stretch the heart by always taking you beyond your own agenda to God's agenda. Hence, a mother raising children, perhaps in a more privileged way even than a professional contemplative, is forced, almost against her will, to constantly stretch her heart. For years, while raising children, her time is never her own, her own needs have to be kept in second place, and every time she turns around a hand is reaching out and demanding something."

"It is also a place to learn the value of powerlessness and a place to learn that time is not ours, but God's." These are very, very difficult lessons for any human, with or without children, to learn. And, to be honest, I'm not always very patient towards my two little 'monastic bells'. And so now, I have arrived hard up against this question: how do I reconcile myself to God's agenda....when it seems like there are so many items on my agenda that will never be accomplished? What exactly does "stretching my heart" look like, and have I been at all able to do that since becoming a parent? I guess another question might be, "how much of my parenting, so far, has been pleasing to God?"

I received this e-mail from my mom in January, and in the following months I have thought of it repeatedly. I have never read a more accurate summation of what have come to be my own personal frustrations when it comes to being a parent. I know in conversations with my husband I have asked the rhetorical question, "why would God make me a parent, and yet give me also all these other talents and skills which, as a parent, I have no opportunity to use????" My friends, I will be very honest here in saying that over the past 10 years I have consistently struggled with the my-needs-vs.-my-childrens'-needs conflict, even more so since transitioning into the SAHM mode.

Last week, my husband and older daughter and I went to visit Trinity Cathedral, here in downtown Cleveland. I forgot the camera otherwise I would share pictures...it's a beautiful place. We also stopped in the "Sacred Path" bookstore and the "Ten Thousand Villages" store. In the bookstore I came upon a book which, like that e-mail from my mom, has seemed to speak directly to my internal conflicts about "my agenda vs. God's agenda". I will write about this book in another post, but here is the title (you will see immediately how appropriate it is): In The Midst of Chaos: Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice, by Bonnie Miller-McLemore. I am already about halfway through, with some underlining and comments in the margin along the way....

Blessings to you,
Jen

Father Keith's Sermon, 6/14

Greetings all,

A while back I asked Father Keith if he would be okay with having his sermons posted on this blog. His reply was that that was one of the original ideas for the blog anyway! So, here is his sermon from today, Sunday June 14 2009. Today's readings were: 1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13, 2 Corinthians 5:6-17, and Mark 4:26-34. It is helpful to review these readings so that the context of the sermon is fully understood. Everything within the quote marks is taken directly from the sermon print-out provided in the front foyer at St. Peter's Church.

"WEEDS AND REBELS, Proper 6, Year B"
"'With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of the seeds of the earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of shrubs, and puts orth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.'

If you are one of those people who take great pride in having a lawn that could make it onto a Scott's Turf-builder fertilizer advertisement; if you aspire to a yard that looks like a fairway at Augusta National Golf Course; if you're an artist in green who could pass for the groundskeeper at Progressive Field; then you do not ever want to live next door to me and my family. For a variety of reasons economic and philosophic, Monica and I practice more of a wild meadow approach to lawncare. If it's green, let it grow! Keep those chemicals off of our children's feet and our of our storm sewers.

Which, of course, means that every May, in addition to the random selection of grass species that populate our lawn, we have an abundance of Dandelions. And in August, as the grass is drying out, we enjoy a bumper crop of crabgrass. So, it is by definition a yard that likes to share itself with neighboring yards. Every May, those pretty yellow dandelion flowers overnight become those fuzzy dandelion seed-heads. And just a puff of wind is all it takes to scatter from each one of those plants thousands of tiny aspiring dandelions, which rise into the atmosphere to float along with the offspring of thousands of other dandelions, to create what sometimes looks like a warm-weather snowstorm. And each of those little flying seeds is looking for one of those perfect green lawns into which to settle. And there, it will wait patiently until next May, when it will spring up to repeat the glorious process all over again, or to die and agonizing death, burned and poisoned by the lethal chemical weapons of mass dandelion destruction arrayed against it by the lover of thoroughbred Kentucky Blue Grass.

What is this priest babbling about, you are asking yourselves?

Well, I'm using an image that for us might evoke the same kind of wonderment and wry confusion that the image of a mustard plant would have evoked for Jesus' listeners. In Jesus' day and place, the mustard plant was, and still is, a nuisance. It is a prodigious reproducer, each plant capable of producing thousand of tiny seeds to send aloft in a gust of wind, or in the guts of birds. Left unchecked, mustard could largely take over a farmer's field in just a few seasons. Galilean farmers, to this day, go through their fields hand-plucking as many of the plants as they can, and in late May and June, use the old-fashioned form of herbicidal warfare: burn over their harvested fields precisely to destroy mustard plants and their seeds on the ground, and other plants like them.

So, to those Galilean peasants, and to us this morning, Jesus must have sounded slightly demented here: The Kingdom of God can be compared to mustard seed? The kingdom of God can be compared to dandelions? What gives?

A similar thing is going on in today's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, one of the most tantalizing tales in all of Scripture. [Discursus: this Summer the Lectionary takes us through one of the wildest ancient soap operas you'll ever encounter - the story of King David. You won't want to miss it, so be in church every Sunday.].

So here, in our Scriptures today, we have held up for us two pretty strange images of God at work: rebels and weeds. For those of us whose values tend more towards law and order in politics and uniformity in lawn-care, those images are probably not just strange, they may be positively alarming.

And yet, step back for a moment. Let your historical imagination be free. Look at the story of God's people, and see if rebellious weediness isn't precisely what you see. God's people have always faced suppression, God's Kingdom has always been opposed. Yet, somehow, in every generation, God's people and kingdom have managed to survive. And not only survive, but thrive, and grow, and like weeds, spread. God's Kingdom, Jesus seems to be saying, is like weeds: you can keep them in check, but you can never, ever get rid of them. God's work, we see in the story of David, will almost always be done by the most unlikely of people - the youngest son of Jesse the shepherd, the son of Mary of Nazareth - found along the margins of established power, quietly undermining the edifices of control.

And interestingly, the most dangerous form of suppression that God's people and kingdom have always faced has never been the active forceful opposition of the world; the most dangerous form of suppression is domestication, the taming of the wild. Wild prairie grass is tamed and domesticated to become the perfect, lovely fescue to adorn McMansions. The rebel shepherd becomes the oppressive king. The tiny Jewish cult of Jesus Messiah, becomes the institution of the Church.

And so, hear the Good News this morning: the Kingdom of God is like a weed. You can't stop it. The world will try, through force, intimidation, and domestication, to keep God's kingdom under its thumb, but ultimately that effort will fail, the control will break. God is, even now, calling and appointing the rebels, the Davids, who will undermine that control. One or two of them might even be in this room, looking for all the world like good, domesticated, tamed blades of grass.

Watch out, these wondrous Scriptures seem to both promise and warn us, right now, in this room, in our own souls, unseen, are the mustard seeds, the dandelions, the unremarkable peasant boys, through whom God may renew the face of the earth."


Peace to you,
Jen

Words Within the Music

#226 in The Hymnal 1982, in the Pentecost section.

1.Come, thou Holy Spirit bright; come with thy celestial light;
pour on us thy love divine.
Come protector of the poor; come thou source of blessings sure;
come within our hearts to shine.

2. Thou, of comforters the best, thou, the soul's most welcome guest,
of our peace thou art the sign.
In our labor, be our aid; in our summer, cooling shade.
Every bitter tear refine.

3. Brighter than the noonday sun, fill our lives which Christ has won;
fill our hearts and make them thine.
Where thou are not, we have nought; all our word and deed and thought
twisted from thy true design.

4. Bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill;
rule us by thy judgement's line.
Cleanse us with thy healing power; what is barren bring to flower;
to thy love our sins consign.

5. To the people who adore and confess thee evermore,
thy blest sevenfold gift assign.
Grant us thy salvation, Lord, boundless mercy our reward,
joys which earth and heaven entwine.

Acts 2 (New International Version)
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
"1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. "

Blessings to you,
Jen

Questions, unquestionable love

I'm jealous of trees.

And the sun, and the moon and the flowers. And anything in creation that does exactly as God commanded it from the beginning of time.

I forget exactly what I was reading at the time that made me jealous of these things. But for the first time, I paused and contemplated this fact...

God spoke and the sun, moon, stars and planets came into being. He told them what to do and they obeyed Him. It's their obedience that makes our life possible on this earth.

And think of the trees. Each year, they put forth buds, grow leaves, store energy in the summer to make it through the winter, lose leaves, drop seeds and await the warm breath of spring (again made possible from the sun's obedience).

Sigh...

I wish I had that unquestioning obedience to God's voice. For He, too, called me forth into creation. I know He has a specific purpose for me. But do I go about this purpose with unquestioning obedience? Ummmm...no!

I mean, really, what if the sun or moon or trees starting questioning God's authority?...

God: Sun... it's your job to provide unceasing light to the earth.

Sun: That sounds like a lot of work God. I don't know if I can keep up that kind of pace. Is it all right if I take a little break now and then. You know, like a vacation?

God: Moon...it's your job to reflect the sun's light and to help my people determine when to plant and help the oceans know when to ebb and flow.

Moon (pouting): Why can't I provide my own light sometimes? Why should the sun get all the credit for the light? If I'm helping people and the water, why am I relegated to being a mere reflection?

God: Trees...you shall provide life-giving oxygen to all living things and help keep the air clean. Every year, you shall be subject to the seasons...there will be times of storing energy and producing seeds and growing.

Trees: That sounds like really important work, God! Thank you! However, we think there might be a better way - what if we did all that without depending on the seasons. That way, if the sun decides not to shine and the moon gives up reflecting, we can still get our job done. In fact, maybe we could be the back up if the sun and moon don't work out. Our leaves could be reflectors and I'm sure You can figure out some way for us to produce light.

Sounds kind of silly, huh? But that's exactly what I sound like when I doubt what God has told me or convince myself He doesn't really mean what He says because, of course, there is a better way.

And this led me to thinking, if God made the sun & co. to unquestioningly obey Him, why didn't He make us, make me, this way? Wouldn't it have been easier on Him?

I think I might have found the answer in reading from "The Jesus Storybook Bible." Though geared for children, this Bible, has some powerful insights for adults.

And the answer is love. The more I thought about this, the more it made sense. God created us in large part because He wants a relationship with us - a loving relationship. He could have created us to behave as robotically as the sun & co. where everything runs smoothly, where sin doesn't enter in, where He doesn't have to die for us.

But where is the fun and love and adventure in that?

Think about it...you may love your garden and get great enjoyment out of it's beauty, but can it love you back? You may love the money you make and the creature comforts it provides, but when you have an ache in your soul to be loved for yourself, to be comforted to, to hear tender words of encouragement, can all the stuff in the world provide that.

Parents...What if you had children who always did what you say, when you said it and never, ever, talked back? (Believe me, I know this sounds like a pretty good deal, especially since writing this post has been frequently interrupted by the need for me to repeatedly ask my children to clean up the room...and not hurt one another.) But take a moment to ponder this more deeply...wouldn't life become rather monotonous? What kind of adults would they become? How would you grow to be a better person if your children always did what you said? How would this prepare you for dealing with people and situations that challenge you to become less selfish?

I wonder if part of the joy God gets in loving us is when we turn to Him after struggling to obey Him. Can't you just picture Him cheering and wanting to wrap you in His loving arms when you finally get it? When after a time of questioning Him, doubting Him, rejecting Him, you finally realize that He was right all along and now you'd do anything for Him.

Oh, how I can picture that.

In fact, it's even in Scripture. Remember the parable of the lost son (or of the crazy father, as our Rector, Keith, alternatively titled it)? Maybe Jesus shared this story because it's a reminder that God can take it all and to use it as an encouragement that even in our times of disobedience, God is always there to welcome us back and bask in His lavish love.

Not that I want to turn from obeying Him on purpose. That would be ridiculous. But, it eases the strain of always trying to get it right.

Okay, so maybe I'm not so jealous of trees after all.

Bringing God's Love to the surface: Faith, Parenting, and the Special-Needs Child

This particular post is one I've been trying to compose mentally for several weeks. The combination of the three topics in the title up there is more complex than it might seem at first, which has made constructing this post more challenging than others I've done in the past. It's odd that this should have been so difficult, since those three topics are deeply enmeshed in my everyday life. I have faith in God and Jesus....I am a parent...I have a special-needs child; but I am not an expert on any of these things. As with any blog post, I can only speak to my own experiences, so bear with me. Our blog editor suggested a while ago that I might write about how my faith has affected, or been affected by, my role as a parent to a special-needs child. I have to say right away that I think my faith life has been made richer and simultaneously more simple than it may have been before S.'s arrival.

When S. was born I think I was too much in shock to spend much time railing specifically at God in terms of the "why did you allow this to happen to my child" question. We had had no indication that S. would be other than a healthy newborn, so to be thrown into the NICU routine was a complete and utter shock. It was all we could do to just get through the day and stay sane enough to care for our older daughter K., who was 4 at the time. I do remember that, as ecstatic as I was at S.'arrival, I was also incredibly heartbroken. I was sad for S., I was sad for us, and sad for K. as well - this wasn't the sister we'd prepared her for! When a child is born (or is diagnosed in-utero) with unexpected and permanent medical complications, the child's parents go through a period of grieving; they grieve the dreams they had for that child, they have to let go of many if not all of the expectations and assumptions they had nurtured as to how their child's future would play out. It is a very difficult process, and it can take a while to work through. I still have moments of sadness when I consider what S. would/could be doing now as a 5-year-old if Prader-Willi Syndrome weren't part of her life.

Being the parent of a special-needs child is a complex thing. It can simplify how you feel about humans in general. It can also, once you get past the "boy do I have some questions to ask God" thing, concentrate your faith down a few key points - which is good, as you won't have time for much more. As I was preparing to write this post I did some searching on the Strong's Concordance site, looking Bible verses dealing with illness (the closest I could get to "genetic syndrome"). Well, after skipping around from one thing to another I came across this verse, Psalm 139:13:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
also this, Exodus 4:11:
"The Lord said to him, 'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?' "
and lastly this, John 9:1-3:
"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man or his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.' "

What these passages helped boil down, for me, is my belief that God is not using S.'s PWS diagnosis to punish anyone; He would never do that, and I have never felt that way. Instead I believe that even though the genetic "blip" that caused PWS for S. happened completely at random - meaning nothing we (B. or myself) did "caused" PWS in S.'s body - in God's mind it was not random at all. S. is who she is, she is exactly as God intended her to be. PWS is as much an integral part of her human-ness as her eyes or her laugh or the toenail on her big left toe. God put her together before she was even born....He knew way ahead of time that S. would be born in our kitchen with the help of EMTs (I would have appreciated a head's up on that one!)....He knew she would spend time in the NICU....He knew it all. He's in control of the situation. The verse from John, quoted above, is one I find both intriguing and comforting when I consider our lives with S.; " 'this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life' ". Wow. What will this mean in terms of how S.'s diagnosis will change everyone around her? It has definitely changed me over the past 5 years. In many respects I can only hope I am a different, better person than I was pre-2004! Living with a sister who has a genetic syndrome will most definitely affect K., hopefully in ways more positive than otherwise (this is challenging on some days). This verse also tells me that God means only good things to come from this. Obviously this is tough to believe at times...but I think the fact that I wouldn't change who S. is testifies to the fact that God has already used PWS to change us for the better!

This in no way means that I am able to just smile at S.'s frustrations and difficulties, thinking "oh, it's okay, that's God's will at work!" No, it breaks my heart almost daily to see her struggle with something, or tell me her stomach hurts when it's just her body tricking her, or see her want to do something physically strenuous and she's not yet able to. But, when I finally have a few seconds to reflect on my family's big picture, I am able to take a breath and remind myself that someday, God will explain all this to me. Someday, when my soul goes home, there will be a moment of perfect clarity where I can finally say "oh, so that's why.....", and I will be able to finally know that my sweet daughter's daily struggles didn't prevent from being happy, and instead served to bring God's love to the surface in the rest of us. Would I still be a puddle of joy if God would remove this burden from her and allow her to live a "normal" life? Of course I would. In the meantime, however, I pray for grace, and patience, so that I can remain strong for S. and be the parent and advocate for her that God is asking me to be.

And if I could ask anything of our blog audience it would be this: please pray for all parents of special-needs children out there. It is a very often a tough, exhausting, frustrating job and many parents do it by themselves, with little support. Parenting in general is challenging enough; parenting the special-needs-child takes "challenging" to a whole new level.

Thanks for reading, have a great night-

Jen

Birthday Cake Sunday and Orange Cake Recipe

During the 11:30 a.m. Coffee Hour on the third Sunday of every month, we do something special to honor all the birthdays happening during that month...sing "Happy Birthday" and cut into some cake. One of our parishoners got this idea from the church across the street and it was too yummy to resist trying out.

If you haven't been able to make it to "Birthday Cake Sunday" or are reading this from a location in the world that makes it impossible to attend :), here's how it works:

• Each month, parishoners volunteer to sign up and provide the cake
• Once a sizeable group has made it downstairs following the 10 a.m. service, we ring a bell, signaling everyone's attention
• We ask people with birthdays for that month to raise their hand and we also post a listing of all birthday persons for that month near the cake serving station
• Then, we get everyone to sing a rousing version of "Happy Birthday"
• Finally, we cut into the cake and...mmmm...take a piece

Here's the recipe for the Orange Cake prepared for April's Birthday Cake Sunday...enjoy!

3 c. flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. orange rind

1/2 c. orange juice

2/3 c. milk

Combine butter, sugar and eggs. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and add to creamed butter mixture. Add milk, juice and rind and mix well. Pour into two round cake pans and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degree F.

Variation: Mix 1/4 c. orange juice with 1/4 c. pineapple juice for a slightly tropical twist. Lactose intolerant or allergic to milk? Use soy butter and unsweetened soy milk instead of the kind that comes from cows.

Icing:

1/2 c. butter

1/8 tsp. salt

1 lb. icing sugar

1/4 c. orange juice

Combine all ingredients until well mixed.

So in love...

...with this children's Bible because has made me fall more in love with God.

After reading this post by Angie Smith at "Bring the Rain," I just had to get The Jesus Storybook Bible. I had tears in my eyes and a tug in my spirit after reading just the introduction!!!

The Bible presents Scripture in a way that's different from other children's Bibles that I've encounted. It's focus is on love - specifically that the Bible is God's love story to and with each one of us.

It reminded me of some of the insights I'd received from reading John Eldredge and Brent Curtis' The Sacred Romance (a book and workbook I highly recommend). These two authors, present the concept that the Bible is the greatest adventure book/romance novel/fairy tale ever written and helps us to think about how God might see the whole picture.

I don't think I'm doing either of these books justice...if you check them out for yourself, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just leave a comment with this post. :)

Happy reading!

Post-Feast Recap - Andrea

This was kind of a weird time for me. Since coming to Christ several years ago, I usually approached the Lenten season with much anticipation and prayed that God would specifically show me the type of fast to do from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. Though challenging, the fasts I went through, greatly freed me from the things of the world which tend to cloud out God's voice in my life.


Last year was the first year I experienced a kind of "ho-hum" attitude toward Lent - I knew I should be excited about it, because it meant alot to me in the preceding years, but somehow I didn't get a clear sense from God as to what I should be fasting from. In fact, I wondered if He wanted me to fast at all. At the last minute, I decided I should do a fast and chose to abstain from meat (mainly because it also was what my parents and sister were doing).

Pause...after writing that last paragraph, I totally realize I've gone wrong somewhere in my thinking, but I'll hold back from going off on a major tangent to psychoanalyze myself...at least for this post. :)



Back to the fasting/feasting...

This year, I'd been thinking for a while as to what to do for Lent and felt (decided?) that doing a fast from all recreation reading and feasting only on God's Word was the way to go. I'd done this a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The difference this year, was feeling like it would be fun to get my family on board and others who felt drawn to the idea.


And, it did feel good to have my family involved and I really enjoyed reading only Bible stories to our children. In fact, the house even felt lighter after I put away all the non-Biblical material.


On a personal level, though, this fell a little flat for me. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE God's Word, especially when God uses it to speak directly into my life. But, somehow, I found it hard to get focused on the Word and accomplish the goals I set for myself in reading. This was especially annoying to me, since I have no problem devouring a magazine or work of fiction in record time. So, why did I find it so hard to get into the Word?


Maybe it's because God's Word isn't meant to be sped read through. Maybe it's the lack of quiet time and sleep that happens when you have three small kids and another on the way. Maybe the enemy was more successful in his attacks that I was at recognizing and fending them off. Or maybe God was trying to teach me something different altogether.


It's funny what this feast/fast turned into for me. I felt led to pray more and be in free conversation with Him. I felt drawn to read smaller sections of Scripture at a time - sometimes only a verse or two. My desire to write, both in blogging and private journaling also diminished. In a way, those 40+ days were more about being in thought with God, rather than reading large volumes of His Word.


I'm not exactly sure how this feast/fast grew me spiritually. I'm more aware of how reading too many things at once, or at least in a short space of time, creates a lot of mind noise that makes it harder to hear God's voice. It's also made me more aware that I can't simply will myself to read and study the Bible. I might have all the desire and time in the world, but God is the One who gives me the understanding and stops me in my tracks. Maybe God is trying to free my from tendency to focus more on accomplishing the goal, than experiencing the journey.

Whatever He is up to, I pray that I would be better attuned to hearing the lessons He is trying to teach me and that this year's Lenten feast/fast was in some a step to helping walk in freedom with Christ.

I'm baa-aack!

Whew! The 40 day (technically 40+ day) Bible feast/fast from recreational reading, apparantly turned into a fast from blog writing as well! Unintentional, but I'll share more on that in a post I'm working on related to my experience with the feast.

In the meantime...I'm grateful to Jen for keeping things going with the blog. It was so encouraging to read (now that I'm rec reading again) how God used this experience with her. The thing that struck me most, was the apprehension she felt about diving into the Word. I am so praising God that He showed Himself faithful and that His love shone through His Words. At times, I, too, have been afraid to see what God has to say on a particular matter. Sometimes, it's kept me from looking into His Word when I have a question or am seeking guidance. But, thanks to some great wisdom, from a sista-friend, I am learning that this is an attack from the enemy. For God does seek to correct us, but it is always with love. He NEVER seeks to condemn us. Hmmm...maybe this is a topic for a future post?

I wonder, too, how many of us refrain from reading God's Word because we are either afraid of what He will say or because we assume we already know what He has to say. I've fallen into the assumption trap as well - especially when I was an athiest. My biggest mistake was assuming that because I had attended church as a child and knew a number of Bible stories, that I knew what God was all about and what was in the Bible. What a wake up call it was when I actually read His Word for the first time! Yes, there are some things in His Word that make me squirm.

But growing us to be like Him isn't supposed to be a comfortable experience...He demonstrated this for us when He took the flogging, mocking and nails for us on the cross (probably why we get the word, "excruciating" from the crucifixion experience). And, if we remember the end goal - to make us perfect in Him because He loves us, well, that makes it all the more worth it. I still need to be on guard against assuming I know what's in His Word. Thankfully, it is written and He bestowed His wisdom upon His servants to create things like a concordance!

Now back to what I really had intendend to write about before the Spirit took hold of me :)...

I wanted to share this link to Angie Smith's post - it's about the best insight into the whole point of Easter that I've come across in a while.

Praying we all know the depth of love that holds us together,
Andrea

The words within the music

Have you ever been listening to a well-loved song and had the lyrics suddenly become very clear, and thus make a whole lot more sense? Over the years I have come to find that my favorite music, both secular and religious, affects me more because the lyrics come to seem more a poem set to music, rather than simply a melody with words thrown in. I thought of a parallel that works when thinking about reading the Bible: the Bible itself is the melody, but to have it really sink in, it helps to slow down and really listen to the words. This is what we do on Sundays, when we listen to the first and second readings and the Gospel. The sermon helps those readings - the lyrics, so to speak - sink in as it expands on the readings' messages. I hope reading these lyrics will help you, as it helps me, to slow down and listen to God's message.

The song today is from a hymnal we happen to have at home, called the "Pilgrim Hymnal", and it is one that used to be used by the church B. attended as he grew up and where we were married.

"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy" Frederick Faber, 1814-1863 [First Tune]
There's a wideness in God's mercy, like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice, Which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth's sorrows Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth's failings Have such kindly judgement given.

For the love of God is broader Than the measure of man's mind;
And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple, We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine In the sweetness of our Lord. Amen.

Have a peaceful weekend,
Jen

The Bible Feast...Jen's progress report

Greetings to all.....

When I first read about the "Bible Feast" activity in the Fisherman's Net, I was immediately interested in the idea. I am an avid reader, with wide-ranging interests, and the Bible has always been on my "to be read" list. However, since late 2007 I have felt compelled to actually commit to reading the Bible; in addition, around that time I began reading a handful of blogs written by actively Christian parents whose faith lives both inspire and challenge me. Several of those blog authors would include verses from the Bible in almost every post, and while I know it is a simple thing to do a quick internet search and find the appropriate verse, still I was intrigued, impressed, and challenged by their ability to consistently relate the Bible to their daily life.

And so, a few short weeks ago, along comes this idea from A. and D. to read only the Bible during the 40 days of Lent. Hmmm.....this would be quite a challenge. This meant putting aside any other "recreational reading": newspapers, magazines, books from the library whether fiction or non-fiction, and any news-based websites. For me, this also included not reading the several blogs I would check in on daily, and also refraining from listening to any recorded books, both in my car and at home. I did check out a book-on-cd recording of the Bible from the library, and even though the Old Testament was read by James Earl Jones and so is probably an excellent "listen", oddly enough I have not felt tempted to play it. Still, there are piles of books all over my house, and many books in those piles have yet to be read. I am on the computer several times a day, and it is a serious temptation to just click over to one of the blogs I had been reading daily. Even my MSN homepage is a temptation, with its news bites about celebrities and such. So, definitely there is a great deal of other "stuff" constantly around me by which I can be so, so easily distracted from reading the Bible (not to mention the ordinary distractions of everyday life!).

Another source of some caution was the fear of feeling "convicted" by reading the Bible. After all, what human out there can sit down to read this book without coming upon multiple examples of how they have obeyed their human impulses, with negative consequences, instead of attempting to live a wholly Christian life searching out God's will?? I wasn't exactly looking forward to 40 days of feeling like an awful person. But, of course, it has not turned out like that. So far I have managed to read Acts, Romans, and Corinthians 1 and 2 - and feel inspired and hopeful instead of "convicted" and hopeless. After all, who knows better than God how to reprimand lovingly, and reaffirm His commitment to us humans in the process?

Just a few days before beginning the Bible Feast, I was straightening up a pile of books and came upon one called "100 Favorite Bible Verses", a book which was a birthday present and one which I have not yet read. For whatever reason, I opened the book to where the ribbon bookmark held a page, and read the entry for #12, Hebrews 4:12: "God's word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feeling in our hearts." The explanatory entry for this verse goes on to say that "the Bible is not a reference book to teach you about God. The Bible is an invitation to connect with God in a personal way - and to learn more about yourself in the process. The more time you spend reading the Bible and meditating on how God wants you to apply what you've read, the more you'll learn to recognize the whisper of God's Spirit in your life and to see his hand at work in the world around you."

Well. Basically I had, just by chance, picked up this one book and felt led to open it - and came upon an entry that spoke directly to my thoughts and anxiety about going ahead with the Feast! Now, let me say here that there is nothing wrong with reading all that other "stuff" - the blogs, books, newspapers, magazines, etc. etc.; I am a huge fan of public libraries and reading in general and I will continue to read all of those things after Lent is done (although maybe not as much...but, that's another post in and of itself!). I guess the thought that kept nagging at me, as I pondered the Bible Feast exercise, is this: if I am going to call myself a Christian, shouldn't I also have read the entire Bible? If I desire a closer, more vital relationship with God, isn't reading His Word a good way to start? And by this I mean reading the whole thing, cover to cover, for myself - taking it in more often than in church on Sundays. In addition, so many things have changed in my life over the past 6 years; I am in a place I never would have envisioned 6 years ago, and I find myself asking those age-old questions "why?" and "what is this all about?". Of course I am not expecting that reading the Bible will completely answer those questions for me! But, I am hoping and praying that spending time with the Bible...with God....will bless me with grace, hope, and perseverance for the road I'm on, as it is at times a frustrating one.

That's my report from the field. Thanks for reading, and have a great night.
Jen

A bit of poetry

Greetings all,

I found this poem a few months ago, on another blog . Unfortunately, since I surf so many blogs sometimes, I now forget where exactly I found this. The first line caught my attention, since my mother weaves and we both (along with several of my sisters) love hand-crafting with yarn/fabric/thread...the imagery in this piece sheds at least a little light on God's mysterious ways. [Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways» says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts..."]

The Weaving
My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me,
I may not see the pattern, but He knows what it should be;
Most times I do not understand and in my foolish pride,
Forget God sees the upper, while I the underside.
Sometimes He weaveth sorrows which seemeth strange to me,
But I'll just trust His judgment and work on faithfully;
'Tis He who fills the shuttle, He knows just what is best,
So I'll just weave in earnest and leave Him with the rest.
At last when life is ended and I with Him abide,
Then I shall see the pattern upon the upper side;
And I shall know the reason why joy with pain entwined,
Was woven in the fabric of life that God designed.
The dark threads are as needful in the Creator's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.
But not 'til the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the fabric and show the reason why.--
Author unknown

Have a peaceful night,
Jen

Greetings to all!

Hello! This is my first post on this blog, so let me provide a quick introduction. My name is Jennifer, and I have been married for almost 14 years to B., and we have two children: K., who is 9, and S., who is 5. In an effort to preserve a bit of their privacy, I won't be using their full names when they happen to be a part of my writing.

Our family began attending St. Peter's Episcopal Church in 2003; my husband did an internet search on Episcopal churches close to our neighborhood and found the St. Peter's website. I think we were instantly drawn to this particular church for two reasons: its traditional service and music fit my husband, and the service itself is similar enough to the Catholic mass that I felt at home. We both felt it a good choice to raise our children (I was pregnant with S. at the time) in a religious experience that allowed us both to participate in the life of the congregation; as B.'s home church is United Church of Christ, he felt prohibited from taking communion within the Catholic mass.

I have to say that being led to St. Peter's has been such a blessing over the past 5 years! Almost as soon as we began attending services there regularly, it seemed that every week the sermon spoke directly to some issue occurring in our lives at that moment. This became especially noticeable, for me at least, after the birth of our second child S., who was born with a rare genetic syndrome. We had no suspicion during the pregnancy that anything was wrong, and when we did receive the diagnosis it basically took the deck of cards which was our life at that moment and tossed them into the air. We have been able to "reassemble the deck", so to speak, but being the parents of a special-needs child carries with it difficulties, challenges, and also rewards that make for a very unique experience. Over the past 5 years, I have heard or read more than once that God "sends" special-needs children to special people whom he has chosen for specifically that parenting challenge. In that case, He sent us a great blessing along with the challenges; S.'s place in our lives has thus far served as the refining tool for our character and soul (although of course she doesn't know this!).

I will pause here, and wait until my next post to write about my experiences thus far with "The Bible Feast". I will say it has been both interesting and quite rewarding!

Thanks for reading,
J.

To Keep with the Biblical Theme...

Since we're focusing on getting better acquainted with God's Word during Lent as part of the 40 Day Bible Feast, I wanted to share a great resource available through Lakewood Public Library (our other local libraries may carry it too, but I'm not sure) that we stumbled across while looking through the kids DVD section.

It's a 5-part series of DVDs called the Kids 10 Commandments (or, K10C) and is an animation of the time when God gave Moses the big 10. We've borrowed these countless times and I finally purchased our own set because the kids enjoy them so much. In each part of the series, two of the commandments are highlighted and incorporated into the story line which features a boy, Seth, as the main character, along with his mom, best friend and animals. Each segment lasts about 30 minutes.

The best thing about this...it's helped me remember the 10 commandments and in the correct order (at least 80% of the time :) )! As I mentally go through them, I can picture what happened in each episode along with the corresponding commandments.

In Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Day One!

Here we are on day one of our journey!

I thought the best place to start out would be to share how each of us are planning to feast upon God's Word. That way, we can encourage one another and perhaps "dialogue" if some of us are reading the same books or passages.

Here's what I'm planning to take on:

• Finish reading the Book of Deuteronomy
• Read the Book of Job
• On Sundays, read from the epistles in the New Testament
• Since I love doing biblical word studies, I want to hunt up Scripture passages around the themes of day, night, trusting God/waiting, pride and I still have one more to figure out :). I also want to pray God would lead me to specific passages which I can turn into prayers for my husband and children. I'm praying that God would grow my prayer life as well as grow me in knowledge of Himself through this exercise.
• I'm thinking of also reading at least one of the Gospels. I haven't quite figured out if I'll read paralell passages in all four of the gospels or read The Message's translation of them (I'm kind of leaning to The Message, but still need to purchase that Bible :) )

I think the overall theme for my feast is looking at God's Word in new ways or rediscovering it for new truth.

Now it's your turn...where are you feeling led to begin? Do you anticipate any challenges along the way? If so, what might they be and how can we support you?

Upward in Christ,

Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Preparing the Meal

Two days to go! Let's start cooking.

1. Prepare your work area: This may involve recycling or boxing up magazines or other reading materials which may tempt you to deviate from the real Feast (think of them as "fast food"). If you subscribe to a newspaper, consider canceling or holding the subscription for the next 40 days. If you get your news online, consider removing the bookmarks from your favorite sites to remove the "one click away" factor. How radical you get with the preparation is up to you, but sometimes a little preventative maintenance can help us through the times when our desire and self-control is at its lowest. Remember, the enemy does not want to see us reading God's Word, much less committing ourselves to read only His Word for 40 days. Be on guard for attacks of temptation.

For me, the hardest thing will not be reading the blogs of people I've come to know and pray about (pray for my accountability here!). It feels like it will be abandoning them, but I need to keep reminding myself I can still pray for them even if I don't know what's going on in their lives and that God won't abandon them.

To enliven the preparation with some fun, consider whether you want to designate a special room, area or chair in your home for you to read the Bible or maybe even a special (quiet) place outside your home. Think about what you might like in place to create the atmosphere (such as keeping the candle or prayer shawl/blanket nearby which I referenced in the last post)

Since we're involving our small children in this, we'll be packing up the children's books which aren't biblically based. This may sound extreme, but I'm believing God to work through the "out of sight, out of mind" principal. To help them get excited about the 40 days, we're countering the boxing up of their books by bringing in some new bible-story books for them to read.

I'm gathering Scripture passages to study and possibly memorize. To help me with this, I found some small journal books at Target for $1 each - I like to be organized and get excited about filling blank pages with the Words God gives me.


2. Slicing, dicing and stirring the ingredients. Hmmm...this is going to stretch my imagination a little more. Let's see if this works with the analogy - writing out a goal of what you want to read each day or week of this feast can be helpful. The purpose in writing it out is not to stress you out if you aren't able to read as much as you intended, but to provide a little structure to keep you motivated to stay on track. I'm constantly amazed how writing something down helps increase my motivation and it feels more real than if I keep things in my head. Also, if you're planning on reading through a longer book of the Bible, slicing it into smaller pieces might help it feel more manageable. I'm going to be mixing things up quite a bit, so keeping track of the various "dishes" I'll be sampling will help keep me organized.


3. Cooking it up. Whether it's on the stove top or in the oven, cooking helps blend the flavors, join the ingredients together and (as in the case of a cake) make for a tastier confection. This is where prayer comes in. Spending time in prayer over the next couple of days will help solidfy all the preparation you've put in place since feeling led to take on this challenge. Some things to pray about:

• That God would continue to increase your hunger and thirst for His Word and that you will know the satisfaction of being filled when you do feast upon His Word.
• That He would help you in the final preparations - in your heart, spirit or physical environment - before the Feast begins.
• That He would continue to bring people alongside you/us to join in the Feast.
• For each of us who have committed ourselves to the Feast - that we would find the strength in God to bring us through the 40 days and have the ability in Christ to cast down any temptations thrown our way.
• That God would grow in us perservance and we would see the fruits of the Spirit manifested in our lives, especially the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, faith, and self-control. (Galations 5:22-23)
• That we would emerge from the 40 days knowing what it means to have the crown of life (James 1:12) bestowed upon us.

That's it, my friends. I hope to "see" you back here Wednesday for the first day of our feast. While I won't be reading blogs during this 40 days, I will be writing some posts as God leads and enables and I hope you will feel free in the Spirit to share how you are doing as well.

Love in Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Gathering the Ingredients

This is cutting it a little close to the wire (only 5 days to go!), but I'm going to squeeze in this post and one more as part of the series in preparing for the feast.

To continue with the food theme begun in this post...

Once the menu is set, the next thing we usually do is take stock of the ingredients we have on hand and make a list of ones we need to purchase.

I'm going to guess that most of us participating in the feast have a Bible already on hand (the staple pantry item :) ). But if not, no worries. Now is a perfect opportunity to stock your pantry and purchase God's best seller!

Since we're that subject...even when we do have a well-stocked pantry, there are times when we need to evaluate the quality and freshness of ingredients. Although spices may not come with an expiration date, they do lose their pungency after a while, and even canned goods and non-perishable items have a set time to expire for good reason.

The Bible is the "honey" of the pantry (the only food to never go bad or expire). However, if you've found it a challenge to read your Bible in the past and felt it difficult to understand exactly what God was trying to say through His Word, investigate whether a different version of the Bible speaks more clearly to your heart.

Think of it this way - God's Word, no matter the version or language is always tasty. But some flavors, or versions, of the Bible seem to agree better with the unique set of taste buds God bestowed upon each individual. The NIV (New International Version) is the Bible I use 90% of the time when I read God's Word as it resonates with my spirit. However, God has shown me over the past couple of years the value of reading other versions to gain additional clarity or understanding.

For example, when our Bible study group was reading Romans, one of Paul's more challenging epistles, we often turned to The Message to gain a different perspective on what God was trying to say. I'll also frequently check the New King James Version to see if a particular passage strikes me in new ways.

In this 40-day feast, ask God to whet your appetite anew for His Word. Consider taking a field trip to a book store well-stocked with many versions of the Bible. While perusing the shelves, listen closely to hear if God is whispering for you to make a particular selection. Whether this is His will for you or not, it's eye opening to see how many ways the Bible can be presented (did you know there are chronological Bibles, ones that have 2-3 versions side by side and ones that have the original Hebrew or Greek language alongside the English?!)

One last thought before I move onto purchasing additional ingredients...a study Bible, regardless of the version, is a helpful format to have on hand. Most study Bibles contain the following: notations on the Biblical text, a Concordance, maps, introductions to each section and other commentaries to provide understanding.

Moving beyond the pantry and into the grocery aisles...

Depending on how God leads you to partake of the 40-day feast, you may feel led to supplement the Bible reading with some helpful tools. The Internet has many free resources for you to access, which is a blessing to your pocketbook. :) Check out this link to access some online versions of well-known Bible study tools. When I'm doing a word search in the Bible, I frequently use this link as my concordance as it's more complete and I can see how different Bible versions present the same passage(s).

Since it would make this post much longer than it already is, I'll hold myself back from writing about each of these tools. However, if you have any questions about the tools or how to use them, please email me at bea813@cox.net.


Some non-Biblical purchases which may feel essential for your feast:

• A journal to capture how God is working in your heart and to dialogue with Him about where you struggle or rejoice in His Word
• Index cards if you feel led to take on memorizing Scripture. Beth Moore, one of my favorite Bible study teachers is a huge advocate for this. Check out her blog and do search under "scripture memorization" if you want to learn more.
• Special candle to light each time you sit down with the Bible (sometimes, setting the mood helps increase our anticipation)
• Prayer shawl or blanket to keep you warm (since we are in winter, at least in Lakewood!) as you wrap yourself in God's Word

If you have any ideas you'd like to share on ingredients you've found essential for your feast, please leave a comment with this post. Check out the blog Monday for the last post in this series.

Love in Christ,
Andrea

40 Day Bible Feast: Preparing the Menu

Since the title of this 40-day challenge suggests food, it seems fitting to go with that theme as we begin to prepare for those 40 days. If this is the first post regarding the 40 Day Bible Feast that you are reading, please click here for the background.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the importance of approaching the Bible feast like I would any other much anticipated culinary gathering (think Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter). Though turkey and gravy won't be on the menu, we will be dining on something much more satisfying.

I was also thinking that it might be tempting to stop at cutting out all recreational reading during this time and filling it with other things (TV, Internet, chores, hobbies, etc.) instead of adding in the feasting on God's word part. This is where I'll pick up the food analogy.

What is the first thing we do when we know the time of a feast is approaching?
Answer: we plan the menu!

Take some time to ponder this...what are some of the emotions, thoughts and actions do you experience when planning out a menu.

[Reserved for some thought time :)]

For me, it's hard not to get excited and hungry when thinking about all the good things we'll have on the table. I think anticipating the day fuels this appetite as much as the food. (I'm seriously getting hungry just as I write this post!)

Now back to our Bible Feast...over the next 21 days, let's take some time to plan the meal for our 40 days of feasting.

Here are some questions as you plan your menu:

• Often, our holiday meals feature foods we normally do not place on our table and probably include more choices than you normally see on your plate in the everyday. I believe this adds to the anticipation. How can you apply this concept to preparing for your Bible Feast?
• The mainstays of holiday feasts are the main course, side dishes, and, of course, the desserts. If feasting on God's Word seems overwhelming because it is so broad, how can "break down" your menu so it feels more manageable and comprising myriad flavors.
• Rarely are our holiday feasts one person affairs. How can you use the idea of family or community to heighten your anticipation of the 40 day feast?

And some tips:

• Preparing menus takes careful thought. For our feast, spend time in prayer asking God to lead you to a selection of His choicest Words for you.
• Writing out our menus helps us make sure we're not overlooking any special dish or food group. Consider writing out what you would like to read during this time.
• There are infinite ways to approach reading God's Word, which is why is can seem daunting at times. To avoid feelings of overwhelm: depending on length, choose one or several books of the Bible to read; choose a theme to study based on what you are currently experiencing in your life (e.g. waiting, celebrating, uncertainty, fear, loss), choose a word or words to guide your study - you'll need a Concordance for this, which I'll elaborate on in a future post (e.g. faith, Spirit, love, mercy, life, anger, forgiveness, light), study the names and characteristics of God (if you're interested in this one, please leave a comment with your contact info and I can get you more information for this approach).

A few last thoughts...

I can't stress the importance of prayer enough when it comes to this feast. Pray God would give you encouragement during this time of preparation and in the 40 days. Pray He would guide you to specific places in the Bible that He has prepared for this season in your life. Pray that He would heighten your anticipation of this time.

To encourage the feeling of community and help us be accountable to one another, please consider leaving a comment with this post outlining what you are planning to read. God has a way of bringing others alongside us when we need encouragement, which is why this opportunity to share is invaluable.

For God's glory,

Andrea

Great Resource

I love listening to the Fish radio station (95.5 FM in our area) and occasionally check out their website. The other week, in doing some research for community events, I discovered that the Fish website has many Christian-based events listed on their site.

So...if you're looking for some faith-based events and others that are just family friendly, visit their website at http://www.955thefish.com/ and go to the "Cleveland Community Calendar" which is under the "Fish Resources" at the left side of the page.

Chocolate Fair...One Week To Go

Get ready to save some room for chocolate confections of all kinds. The 2nd Annual St. Peter's Chocolate Fair is happening next Saturday, February 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Our address is 18001 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio 44107 and you can find parking in the back of the church (entrance off West Clifton) or along the street. There will be signage to direct you downstairs to the Fair. There is no fee to enter the fair, but each station at the fair (including a chocolate fountain, hot chocolate, cookie decorating, and bake sale) will have their separate charges.

Funds raised will benefit the Cleveland Food Bank.

We hope to see you there!

Prayer Requests

You may have noticed a new section on the left column of our blog...it's an opportunity to let send us your prayer requests for yourself or someone else. Please see the Prayer Request section at the left for more information. Also, this is where we will be posting an outline of the current prayer requests. If you do send us a request, please provide us with updates as the situation changes so we can let those praying know. We hope this will provide you with a greater opportunity to feel connected to God and the body of Christ. :)

40 Day Bible Feast

It is exactly one month until Ash Wednesday...the first day of Lent, so it seems fitting to post about the Feast on this day.

What is the Feast? This year, our family is going to take on the challenge of reading only the Bible for the 40 days of Lent. That’s right…no newspapers, magazines, novels and other books, devotionals, etc. which take up our recreational reading time. We are inviting you to join us in this adventure not only for some much needed encouragement, support and accountability but also because we know God will richly bless our time spent with Him in His Word. (This also is a type of fast, since we're fasting from non-Biblical reading material, but I'd rather focus on what we're filling ourselves up with instead of what we're "denying" ourselves).

Intrigued? If you would like to take on this challenge, please sign up by leaving a comment with your name and email. By signing up, we can encourage one another in conversation and prayer through the 40 days and discuss how God is transforming our minds as we feast on the Bible. We will try to journal as much as possible about this experience on the blog, so even if you aren’t participating in the 40 Day Bible Feast, please check out how we’re doing through the blog’s entries. We also encourage you to share your experience as you go through the Feast or even your thoughts as you read about ours.

We'll post more details about what the Feast will entail closer to February 25...so stay tuned. In the meantime, spend some quiet time with God in prayer on whether this is something you'd like to take on and to prepare your heart, body and mind for this journey (for the enemy will try to dissuade us from fulfilling the 40 days).

Love in Christ,
David & Andrea

Chocolate Fair...mmmmm...chocolate!

If you like chocolate (and I imagine you do :) ), and you're in our area, mark your calendar for our Chocolate Fair on February 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be signage to direct you downstairs to the Fair. Parking is in the back of the church (entrance off West Clifton) or along the street. Spread the word! Funds raised will benefit the Cleveland Food Bank.

Organizing Idea

January seems to be a month where people take stock of what they'd like to change/do better/get rid of, maybe it's the whole New Year's resolution thing. In fact, January is designated as "Get Organized" month.


Though making New Year's resolutions has never been a big thing for me, organizing is just part of my nature. And, taking down the Christmas decorations and decluttering the house seems to invite a fresh perspective on how to simplify life and tighten the organization belt.


With three small children and increasing commitments, keeping a family calendar in a high traffic area of the house was something we needed greatly. In the past, I attempted to do this but the calendar I created to go on the fridge was more of a pain to maintain and went from being a few weeks, to a month or more behind, so I abandoned it.


Though paper calendars may work for many people, I wanted to come up with a solution that didn't cost me money each year and saved some trees...I like to be as green as can be. Plus, it had to meet my requirements of being somewhat safe from the hands-on curiosity of our kids, easy to maintain, look good and fit within the limited wallspace of our kitchen (a high traffic zone), and be inexpensive.


Here's what I came up with:

• I found a picture frame in our house which wasn't being used.
• After measuring the dimensions of the viewable area, I measured seven columns (for the days of the week) and six rows (for the weeks in one month) on white pieces of paper, drew lines with a pencil and traced over the pencil lines in black marker. Note: I made the top row a little narrower than the rest of the rows since this would be used just for writing in the current month.
• Then, I inserted the paper into the picture frame (behind the glass).
• Voila, instant customizable calendar.
• I use dry erase markers to write in the dates and activities and all it takes to wipe it off is a little water and some paper towel. So easy!
• The best thing (for me) is that is cost nothing because I had all the materials on hand.
• The great thing (for everyone) is that you can adapt this idea by choosing a picture frame size which accomodates your family's needs (bigger families would probably need a larger frame), and the choice of colors in dry erase markers can make it easier to distinguish who is doing what.

I applied a similar idea for a message board which hangs above our phone. Here's a picture of what that looks like, so you'll have an idea of how the calendar looks:

For this project, all I needed to do was print out "Messages" on an 8 1/2 x 11" paper, cut it to fit the frame and insert it behind the glass. I love this because you can customize the look of the font and, because I love Scripture, I added a verse which seemed to fit the "theme" of this project. As with the calendar, it provided something which is highly visible, re-purposed items in our home, is easy to maintain and looks classier than many memo board options.

If you have any questions about these projects or have some organization ideas of your own that you'd like to share, please leave a comment with this post.

Andrea

Editors Wanted

Since the the thing which makes a blog appealing and attracts readers is frequent posts (at minimum once per week, though once every other day or more is ideal). Since this is a huge job for one person and because we desire the blog to be diverse and about community, we are searching for 3-4 additional blog editors to submit regular contributions to the blog and provide creative input as to what the blog will contain. Each editor would be responsible for a minimum of one contribution for one week each month (if we get 4-5 editors on board). The contribution could be written or it may even be a photograph of your original work if photography is something God has gifted you with.

If you are interested in contributing to the blog as an editor, please leave a comment to this post with your email info.

Check This Out...

I was on Beth Moore's blog the other day (she's one of my favorite Bible study teachers) and she felt led to memorize two Scripture verses each month (on the first and fifteenth) for this year. Knowing it's better to have accountability in endeavors such as this, she thought to post it on her blog and see if others would like to join her. Memorizing Scripture is a great way to enhance your connection to God and it's helped me in my prayers and overcoming thoughts that are clearly from the enemy. Check out her blog at http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/ if you're interested. It's not too late to sign up. Look at the December 27 and 31 posts for details and to comment if you're on board.

Love in Christ,
Andrea

Ringing It In...

Though I've never made a big deal out of New Year's or make resolutions, there is something about reflecting on the works God has wrought in the year past while anticipating (with excitement or fear) what will come in the next year. Often we remember the big things like a great vacation, some feat overcome, weddings, deaths, births, new jobs, losing a job, moving. But these are rarer occurances when we think what usually takes place for the majority of the 365/366 days of the year...

If you have a few moments and a calculator handy, work out the following (take an average number for one day of the year and multiply it my 366 since 2008 was a leap year). For 2008, estimate the number of hours you:

• slept
• spent eating
• spent in the car
• did chores
• watched TV
• were on the computer
• took to get ready for the day
• read
• read the Bible
• prayed

For me that would be:

• 2928 hours sleeping
• 732 hours eating
• 1098 hours in the car
• 732 hours doing routine chores
• 5 hours watching TV (does not include movie watching)
• 549 hours on the computer
• 183 hours getting ready for the day
• 274.5 hours reading
• of those reading hours, about 183 were spent reading the Bible
• 183 hours praying

If you're really into the numbers thing (I'm not but this is kind of interesting and revealing), use those hours to calculate how many days in the year those activities added up to.

For me, that would be:

• 122 days sleeping (can anyone say, Rip Van Wrinkle?)
• 30.5 days eating
• 45.75 days in the car (are we there yet?!)
• 30.5 days doing chores
• less than one day watching TV
• 23 days on the computer
• 7.5 days getting ready for the day
• 11.5 days reading
• of those 11.5 days, 7.5 were spent reading the Bible
• 7.5 days praying

Well this is a major revelation! Take a moment and look at your numbers. Meditate on what they mean. Looking at these numbers, brings a few questions to mind:

What would life be like if I daily spent more time praying and in the Word than in the car?

What would God say to me if I was more awake to His presence?

Are my times spent eating, sleeping, doing chores an act of worship or something which fades in the daily background of the mundane?

What has this exercise and time of reflection brought to mind for you? Any insights or thoughts on how this might shape your living the next year? What hopes do you have for what God will do in your life? How did He speak into your life last year? Please share your thoughts in the comment section to this post and may the God of Wonders fill you with His mighty presence this year and in the years to come.

Regardless of what this exercise has stirred within you, "[Do] not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." (2 Peter 3:8 NIV)

The Editor