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Saturday, 19 September 2009

SUMMER!!

Life is going by so quickly

Hardly a moment to rest

Some stuff fun, some not

There's much going on:

I ripped my calf muscle in August (I'm finally able to walk better now)

Elizabeth started college

Valerie is loves to take pictures

Julie is becoming an amazing artist (and a good cook!)

Gracie is taking guitar

work has been steady for Steve

my cholesterol dropped 90 points without medication (diet - down to 184)

Elizabeth attends my counseling classes with me

Val hit her head at the end of July and has been having headaches :(

Julie is learning to play bass

Gracie is turning into a little woman

I have lost some weight!

Steve is hoping to get these Wellsfargo jobs that will keep him busy for probably two years

Elizabeth is looking for a child care/nanny job

Valerie teaches two ballet classes

Julie keeps reminding me she will learn to drive next year

Gracie is in junior high this year

I am almost finished with my biblical counceling classes (will get certified soon)

Elizabeth has been writing more music

Valerie and Julie are taking singing lessons

Gracie is learning to be more independent in schooling.

This week the season turns to fall

although here in so Cal we are having indian summer (81 right now at 4:30pm)

Looking forward to cold nights and fires (indoors)

and hopefully some rain (we need it bad).

I'll leave you with this:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

~Di

Monday, 20 July 2009

Good.

I read something today that was interesting. In talking about the God causing all things to work together for good (Rom 8:28). I think sometimes when things go "wrong", I tend to pop up this verse in a kind of talking myself into God is good. As in, "I need to remember that God does all things for good - so this is for my good, even though I don't understand it". Kind of like "good" is something that I can't understand because His ways are not mine. So good is some term that I won't be able to comprehend until I see the whole picture or see how it works out perhaps not even in this lifetime, but in heaven or something like that. I guess I was more or less holding that thought as a truth of God that I do believe, but don't have an answer for.

But this devotion I was reading today was great because it defined what "good" is.

God has one goal for me: to become conformed to the image of His son. Although I already knew this to be true, I don't think I really have thought about it in relation to "Him causing all things to work together for good."

Everything in my life, everything that happens -- each blessing, trial, joy or tragedy -- all are because He is sculpting me with His all-wise and loving hand making me into "a beautiful reflection of Himself." Therefore everything is good because that "thing" happening is God's loving, good hand, sculpting me to be more like Christ.

He who as begun a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. I have this confidence. And now when things go "wrong", I can confidently say, "This is good because in this God will make me more like Christ." -- Wow -- that's an amazing thing to be able to confidently say...
---------------------------

Ok -- life has been a blur. I've sat down several times to update, but..... obviously not.

Here are some highlights from the last couple of months:

My oldest daughter, Elizabeth turned 18.

She also is graduated high school this year!   Here are some of her grad pictures that her friend Bekka took:

Here are some pictures from our school's promotions/graduation ceremonies.

Elizabeth is on the worship team. They lead us in Shout to the Lord.


Gracie recited Scriptures that help her sleep at night.

Her class being promoted from 6th grade to 7th

Valerie performed worship hula.

Her class being promoted from 10th grade to 11th

Julie graduated from 8th grade. She played guitar and sang a song.

Her class being promoted from 8th grade to 9th.

We go to say a few words...

Elizabeth sang a song and played guitar also.



Also in June, Gracie won Sportsman of the Year in Awana. And also got her Timothy Award for completing 10 AWANA books (something like over 700 memorized Scriptures).

Gracie also turned 12!!!

I threw in these last two just because I like them...

I got soaked taking this one!!!!

That's all for now. Sorry it's been so long since I updated.
~Di

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Dang!

I've fallen off the face of the earth again. I really want to be sharing some thoughts in my head, but time is on the fast track heading towards graduations and year end madness. Over the last two weeks I've made 19 ballet costumes, and I still have two more (terribly difficult) I need to get done by this weekend (cut, but haven't started sewing). My daughter's 18th Birthday Party is Sunday night, and my niece College Grad Party is Saturday night, and we always have a pool party here on Monday, Memorial day.... Then it's into Youth ministry stuff and planning for Graduations on the 6th. I have two graduating: Julie graduates from 8th and Elizabeth graduates from high school.

So, I probably won't be saying much until some time in June! But I'll probably try to post some pictures.

However, I do read my subscriptions and even comment here and there. Just didn't want ya to think I was ignoring you all.
~Di

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Vocations: Restless Hearts

...Continued from last post…

"You are where you are, doing what you are doing, connected to whom you are connected, under given authorities, not because you have put yourself there in order to find fulfillment, but because God has put you there for His purposes."

Psalm 138:8 says, the LORD will fulfill his purpose for me… God has a plan for my life and for my vocation.

1 Corinthians 7:17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him…

Pay careful attention to the wording of 1 Cor 7:17 -- lead the life that the Lord has assigned him – not lead the life that we think we have chosen.
We need to keep reminding ourselves that God has chosen our path and our response is to glorify Him in it.

We also need to see the value in the mundane tasks in our callings (otherwise our hearts become restless). Take my calling as a wife for instance. Ephesians 5:22 says Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. As I take care of the seemingly meaningless tasks associated with being my husband's wife (laundry, shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc), I am fulfilling the first and greatest commandment (Matt 22:37-38), loving and bringing glory to God, and fulfilling the second one like it (Matt 22:39), loving and serving my neighbor as well as providing a picture of Christ and the church.
But so often we find our hearts restless, wanting to find some fulfillment outside of the mundane tasks we do – whether that involves being a student and doing homework, being a mother and cleaning the counter for the 400^th time in a day, being an employee and listening to your boss drone on or doing tasks you’d rather not do, etc.   Christa put it this way, "Our hearts naturally seek after adventure, lust for the "happily ever after", and scorn the seemingly meaningless tasks which often comprise our day."

Knowing that – that this is what my heart will naturally do, I need to be skeptical of my restless heart -- we all need to ask -- what are we seeking after and why?
So how do we quiet that restless heart? We must resist the impulses of our heart and learn to think through what we are feeling biblically by fighting the good fight (1 Timothy 6:11-12) with contentment and perseverance!
These following paragraphs are just some of my personal notes after studying this, not necessarily what Christa shared.
Contentment grows out of having God’s perspective on life. (back to the little quote the Christa wanted us to memorize from my last post and the top of this post). Contentment grows out of humility and trust in God and devotion to Christ and eternal values. Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
A heart of thankfulness is the key to contentment – because – as soon as you are thankful (taken from “Thankfulness – Even When It Hurts” by Susan Lutz)

·        You enter the presence of God

·        You start to see your life differently, through God’s eyes

·        You defeat Satan’s efforts to control your interpretation of reality

·        You begin to link your life to God’s promises

·        You start to see not only your situation but yourself – your own heart – through God’s eyes

·        Your human relationships get healthier because they are shaped by faith.

God is in control, as Jeremiah 29:11-13 states, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

And the definition of perseverance: to continue to do something in spite of difficulty; refusing to give up; persist. We need set our minds to just keeping on doing the right thing. Galations 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

We need to apply this biblical thinking to all situations. We need to be asking ourselves: How does understanding the doctrine of vocation give significance to the boring, small, routine tasks associated with one of my vocations?

… to be continued ...

Saturday, 11 April 2009

Vocation for Validation -- NOT!

We went on our women's retreat a couple of weekends ago. I don't think I have ever gone on a retreat so thoroughly grounded in and overflowing with God's Word!! It was refreshing! And the speaker was a Nouthectic counselor, so for me, as I am studying to be one, it was invaluable to see solid biblical foundations applied to every situation.

Over the next few posts I am going to attempt to pass along some what I got out of it.

The topic was vocation...all the different callings in our lives. Things like: mother, friend, congregant, daughter, sister, student, youth group leader, etc, etc, etc... the complete list is different for all of us.

One of the first points Christa, our speaker, made is that our vocation isn't for validation.

So much of the time, especially as homemakers, we might fall into the trap feeling my "job" is unfulfilling; it's just the same thing over and over and over. This may lead to a tendency to want to search after other things that seem more fulfilling, but which compete for our attention in some non-negotiable jobs we have. For instance, if I join a bible study group (or offer to lead one) to get out of the house 4 days a week, but my chores aren't getting done or my house is in disarray.

So somewhere along the line we lose God's prospective, and we start thinking that our vocation is sought for self-fulfillment.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says: So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever -- not glorifying and enjoying ourselves. We tend to miss this because we are constantly looking to being fulfilled.

Christa shared: "It is a wrong understanding of vocation to spend a lifetime of chasing after something that never exists [fulfillment apart from God] while missing the purpose and calling that encompasses our lives TODAY" [in either our non-negotiable vocations (motherhood, student, daughter, wife, etc) or our negotiable ones (homeschooling, serving at church, working, etc)!]
Every relationship we are in, every job we do, the place we live, our neighbors, our church, etc, etc, etc, God has specifically placed us by His wisdom, for His purposes and glory. And for our good!!

She encouraged us to memorize this:

"You are where you are, doing what you are doing, connected to whom you are connected, under given authorities, not because you have put yourself there in order to find fulfillment, but because God has put you there for His purposes."

I find that I am needed to renew my mind to this -- renewed to the fact that God placed me exactly where I am to glorify Him in everything I do.
When we truly comprehend that, seeking our own fulfillment will fall by the wayside.
...to be continued...