Christmas anticipation!

As a mom of 4 boys (10 and under), there is great excitement and anticipation as we near Christmas. My boys make Christmas wish lists, see boxes arriving on the porch from gracious grandparents and... and Amazon ;) While we decorate our tree, string lights on our home, and unpack our treasured nativity sets, I want to help my boys see and savor the real reason for our celebration. As we were driving in the van yesterday, I heard the song, "Mary, Did You Know?" on the radio and while I've heard this song dozens of times before, this line captured my attention and my heart leapt with the magnitude of this truth...

"Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.",

The same Jesus who spoke creation into existence, who had perfect fellowship with God the Father, and was constantly praised and adored by angels, chose to step down from His throne in heaven and join us on earth in the form of a babe. Wow! That's amazing LOVE! I want my boys (and myself) to stand in awe of Christ, this season and every day. Here are some of the books, devotions and traditions we do every Christmas season to open our eyes to the mystery and majesty of God coming down to us, in Christ's birth.

“Because some years you desperately don’t want a Christmas that can be bought,

or a Christmas you have to produce.

You want a Christmas you can hold.

A Christmas that holds you,

remakes you, revives you.

You want a Christmas that whispers: Jesus.”

-- Ann Voskamp

Ann Voskamp, author of 1000 Gifts, writes the most awe inspiring words. Her book, The Greatest Gift, truly unwraps the full love story of Christmas. These daily readings walks through the lineage of Christ with Scripture, prayer and devotions that help us set our gaze on Christ as we prepare to celebrate His birth.

Our boys LOVE going through Ann Voskamp's Jesse Tree Devotional and putting one of the coordinating ornaments of the tree. The Jesse Tree also goes from Creation/Adam through the lineage of Christ. My boys LOVE this advent devotional and preparation for Christmas! I have a Jesse Tree devotional in a Word document and will happily send it to you! Just as I got together with group of about 30 women and exchanged Jesse Tree ornaments a couple years ago, I hope to get a group together to do this next year!

At a Family Ministry Conference 2 years ago, Josh and I heard from Sarah Cunningham, the author of The Donkey in the Living Room. This sweet children's devotional tells the story of each of the characters that were present at the birth of Christ and includes wooden characters to assist with storytelling.

Last year, we started reading The Biggest Story with our boys and were challenged by the in depth devotions and discussions in this beautiful book! Kevin DeYoung is one of Josh's favorite authors and he didn't disappoint in this book that helps kids' take classic stories and connect to Scripture’s overarching message about God’s glorious plan to redeem his rebellious people. Awesome book for everyone!!

Every Christmas Eve, we read several stories out of the Jesus Storybook Bible. There are even free videos to enjoy! Here are several other books and ideas for Christmas gifts in this post I wrote a few years ago.

The majority of our Christmas decorations revolve around nativity scenes... some from around the world (Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Nicaragua), as well as adorable kids' sets. Our boys enjoy acting out the Christmas story with the many nativity sets around our home. Their first and favorite was Veggie Tales nativity set! They enjoy playing with Daddy's old PlayMobil nativity set and the Little People set and I love hearing their sweet voices talk of the miraculous events that surround Christ's birth!

I would love to hear how you prepare to celebrate Christ's birth! What are your favorite family traditions?

Good reads

Many of you know that I am very intentional about what we put IN our bodies (organic/real food) and ON our bodies (essential oils, natural products), but I also realize there is much more to us than what we consume and touch. My boys are growing up quickly; my oldest devours a novel a day and wants to read anything he can gets in his hands! I want to be careful and intentional about the things we are putting in their hands and minds. We want the things they read, listen to, and watch to produce spiritual fruit, grow their minds and imaginations, and encourage them to follow Christ. Over the past few years, I have asked older and wiser parents for suggestions and help. Here are a few of our favorites...

Missionary biographies

The boys and I just finished Nate Saint's biography and all I can say is WOW! I've read several books on Jim Elliot and other missionaries, but to walk through that story with my boys was incredible! I loved seeing them on the edge of their seat wanting one more chapter, hearing their excitement as they built paper model airplanes, and seeing them process the missionaries' sacrifice of their lives. I pray the Lord will give my boys a heart for the nations to know Him, as we read these biographies!

Some may think it's too violent or sad for their kids to read stories of missionaries or martyrs. However, this generation seems to be old enough to process the battles in Star Wars and video games; let's give them examples of a real and worthy spiritual battle on the mission field. 

Hero Tales  and Missionary Stories with the Millers are great compilations of short missionary stories with great lessons!  Window on the World is a great book that discusses people groups and how to pray for each of them. We also like the Trailblazer books, by Dave and Neta Jackson. My boys are already excited to start reading about George Mueller next week! 

Bible

We want our kids' favorite story, to be the story of God's love and redemption in Christ! We desire them to know God, love and follow Him, So, we desperately need God's Word! Here are a few of our favorite Bibles, from infant to older boy.

Toddler - The Gospel Project Big Picture Interactive Bible for Toddlers, consists of two board book Bibles, an Old Testament and New Testament. My husband reads this Bible to our 1 and 3 years old boys each night. 

Preschool to Young Elementary - The Gospel Project The Big Picture Interactive Bible Storybook. My 7 year old loves keeping up with what he's learning in Sunday morning small group with this Bible! The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great Bible for a wide range of ages! We've read through The Jesus Storybook Bible several times and love it!

School age readers - NIV Adventure Bible My 8 year old loves reading this Bible on his own!

Books and CDs

My older boys have enjoyed Adventures In Odyssey audio stories for years. We love the Bible Eyewitness set that takes listeners back in time to experience each Bible story.

Jonathan Park is another great audio series for kids!

My oldest discovered the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station novel series last year and can't get enough! We love the books because they take him on a reading adventure back in time to different significant historical events. He's learning history while enjoying a great adventurous book! 

A few other favorite books are Little Pilgrim's Progress, Kingdom Tales, Chronicles of Narnia Series, and The Boxcar Children, Magic Treehouse. Other fun books our sons have really enjoyed are: Origami Yoda series (Inspired by this series, my boys have made over 100 origami Star Wars characters!), Frog and Toad Series (lots of funny voices and laughs), I Love You, Goodnight, A to Z Mystery Series, God Found Us You, and Geronimo Stilton books and videos. We gave our oldest son The Dangerous Book for Boys for Christmas this year. 

I would love to hear about great books and resources 

you are using with your families!

A seven year old's love for the Word

I was blown away, challenged and incredibly blessed by prayer time with my boys tonight...

There were only three of us praying together, since one of the babies really needed to get to sleep. My six year old prayed, then my seven year old prayed and I finished in prayer. I noticed my seven year old, Evan, was in a different position from when we started and was laying on the ground. 

After prayer time, Evan said, "I prayed in 3 different ways." He then demonstrated

1. Standing with his hands raised

2. Kneeling with head bowed

3. Face down in prayer

I asked him where he learned those ways. He responded, "I read about it in my Bible."

1. Daniel kneeled down in prayer

2. After Moses was angry with the Israelites, he fell on his face before God

3. Paul told, I think, the Galatians to lift their hands in prayer (actually 1Timothy)

I was blown away, blessed, challenged, and thankful for the love God has given Evan for His Word! I pray God will continue to give him and his younger brothers (and me) a love and hunger for His Word! I pray God will grow our boys and use them mightily for His glory!

The gift that grew my kids imagination... and love for God's word

As a mom of 3 little guys, I'm often looking for great gift ideas... for gifts that don't just clutter every room of our home, but actually inspire creativity, grow little imaginations, and develop in my boys a love for our Lord.   Over the past few years, a few gifts have fit into this rare category. 

Adventures in Odyssey cd collection

 My all time favorite gift from my parents to the boys is Adventures in Odyssey Bible Eyewitness Collector's Set. Any of the Adventures in Odyssey audio dramas are wonderful, but we especially enjoy the Bible Eyewitness series that takes the boys imaginations right into the Bible stories!! I love hearing my boys play and act out Bible stories with their toys!! 

Recently, my 5 year old came up to me and asked, "Mommy, do you know the story of Onesimus?" "You really should read it." This evening at bedtime, the boys asked my husband to tell them Bible stories they had not heard before (which is not an easy task;) Thankfully my husband also has a great love for the Word of God and told the boys the stories of Shamgar, Mephibosheth and Nehemiah. While talking about Shamgar, my husband explained the judges in the Bible. He told them about how God's people would love and worship God, but then they would turn and worship idols. He talked about how other people would come and hurt God's people, and how God would send someone to fight for them; he reminds them of Gideon and Samson (Bible characters the boys are familiar with). My 5 year old son responds, "Oh like the Amonites?" I am constantly blown away and challenged by my sons' knowledge and love for the Word of God!

Jonathan Park is another great audio series for kids. My boys enjoy learning about science, animals and listening to adventures in the Amazon and Galapagus Islands, while also hearing about God's creation and Bible principles.

Jesus Storybook Bible

I'm also really thankful for the Jesus Storybook Bible, a gift from my sister. The boys enjoy reading story after story and have grown such a sweet love for God's Word at a young age.

My oldest son, when he was 8 months old, reading his Bible.

Our little 5 month old is not quite old enough to enjoy Adventures in Odyssey and the Jesus Storybook Bible yet, but we will be introducing him to Veggie Tales pretty soon! A couple of our favorite board books are Veggie Tales, Oh Where is My Ducky and God Love You Very Much I look forward to seeing another little guy grow in love and knowledge of the Lord with these great resources and gifts!!

What are YOUR favorite gifts?? 

I would love to hear other resources/gifts that inspire creativity, 

grow little imaginations, and develop a love for the Lord!

Faith of a child... I am overjoyed!

I was just eavesdropping on my 4 and 5 year old boys playing together in the corner on our classroom floor. They were having the sweetest story time together; my 5 year old's "toy" was telling a story to my 4 year old's "toy"... the story of Jesus. As I began listening, I over heard him talking about the disciples together at the last supper. I heard him say, "Take this bread, this is my body broken for you." My 4 year old then asked, "what about the drink?" Evan responds, "This is my blood, do this in remembrance of me." He continues telling the story of how Jesus then went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed, telling almost every detail of Jesus dying on the cross. He went on by talking about the resurrection, and who Jesus appeared to... with details of the room of disciples, the men on the road to Emmaus, and when they recognized that it was Jesus. 


I am overjoyed as I see my son's love for the Lord, his love for the Bible, and his love for telling the story of Christ to others! Lately my 5 year old has been talking a lot about when we're missionaries... it's amazing to see God giving my son a heart for the nations so early in life. 

Jesus Storybook Bible

Lord, I am overwhelmed and overjoyed! You are so good, gracious and faithful. Lord thank you for the work you are doing in my boys! Thank You for children that love You and point to YOU. Thank you for salvation. I have prayed for You to bring salvation to our home and You are faithful, as always. Father please continue to bring salvation.... show us the depth of your love.

Knowing the Love of our Life - Attributes

“Even though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know TRUE things about God…

all that Scripture tells us about God is TRUE”[3]

Read Psalm 139
What does this passage reveal about who God is, His qualities and attributes? Psalm 139:17 – How precious are God’s thoughts to us? If they are so precious to us, would we not meditate on them day and night, just as we would if they were a love letter from our truest love? (Psalm 1, Psalm 119)

I’ve spoken of God’s “attributes”, but what are “attributes”? How do we confuse God’s attributes with the acts of God? Give examples. When speaking of God’s attributes, these are qualities that distinguish who God is, not what he does. However, God’s attributes (who God is) directly affects God’s actions. God’s attributes are true for all the Persons of the Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These differ from properties, things that each Person of the Trinity does. God’s attributes are permanent and intrinsic; they are inseparable from the being and essence of God.

“An attribute is true of ALL of God in ALL of His being” (Stan Norman). 

·        Incommunicable verses Communicable Attributes of God–

o       Incommunicable: We can’t “catch” these attributes, they are the attributes less shared by us (eternity, omnipresence, omnipotence)

o       Communicable: We can display and attain these attributes to an extent…not perfectly. (goodness, love, mercy, holiness, justice)

·        Sometimes people say that heaven sounds boring. How does the fact that God is incomprehensible, yet knowable help to answer that objection?[1]

Ø      Read David's words in Psalm 139:6 – we will never be able to know “too much” about God

- Thus, we will never tire in delighting in the discovery of more and more of His excellence  and the greatness of His works!

Ø      People think they will find out all of the unanswered questions and mysteries of the world and of God in heaven—is this really in accordance with God’s incomprehensible character?

Ø      Read Psalm 145:1-3

·        Do you want to go on knowing God more and more deeply for all eternity? Why/why not? Would you like sometime to be able to know God exhaustively? Why/why not?[2]

·        If God is incomprehensible and we will never know enough, shouldn’t we be continually growing (day-to-day, our entire lives) in our knowledge of God?

·        In view of knowing God, would you describe your present relationship to God a personal relationship?

·        How is it similar to your relationships with other people, and how is it different? What would make your relationship with God better?

Think about how well we think we "know" different people in the social media... whether it is a facebook/twitter/blogger friend, a celebrity/athlete, or a historical figure we've studied extensively. We have a far greater privilege than just knowing facts about who God is – we can speak to God in PRAYER, He Speaks to us through His WORD, We can commune with God in His PRESENCE, we can sing His praise, He dwells among us and within us to bless us (John 14:23)

John 17:3

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, 

the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches,

24but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

Romans 11:33 Doxology

33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom andⁱ knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

34“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”^j

35“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?”^k

36For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Join me over the next few weeks/months for a study on the attributes of God. Several of the attributes will include: God's unity, independence, constancy/unchangeable, eternity, omnipresence, omnipotence, power, sovereignty, knowledge, wisdom, truthfulness, faithfulness, goodness, providence, holiness, wrath, love & mercy, righteousness & justice
Main resources include: Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem, Attributes of God, by A. W. Pink, Systematic Theology notes from my favorite professor, Dr. Stan Norman

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[1] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 152.

[2] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 153.

Knowing... the Love of our life

Women seem to be drawn to love and romance. We desire to be loved and cherished, as well as truly love in return. We invest so much of our time getting to know possible suitors and possible mates, because we may crush on someone we don’t know very well, but rarely love someone we know little about. When we do find a worthy man, we want to know all about him! We delight in telling out friends about all him wonderful characteristics…from the color of his eyes, to his hobbies and profession, to the way he looks at and treats us. When we do fall in love with someone, we want to know that person so deeply and intimately. We delight in the pursuit of knowing our love! We hang on our love’s every word and pour over any letter or card they’ve written because we delight in that person. Each new day seems to find more opportunities to explore, adventure, and know our loved one.

When my hubby and I were dating, I made this small box for him and wrote all of the attributes I saw and love in him on the box. He still keeps this box on his dresser:)

In Christ, we are truly seen, sought after, and loved perfectly. Yet, do we really KNOW this Lover of our soul… do we know the depth of His love, do we really know all about Him and His characteristics, and do we know how to love Him in return? God has given us numerous pages of letters, notes, and descriptions about Himself and His love for us. How much time to we pour over His words? How much do we delight in the pursuit of knowing Him? Can we really love an unknown God? In order for our hearts to follow and delight in Him, we must know Him intimately!

I want to know this Lover of my soul, who created me, knows me so well, died for me, and gave me new life in Him! I want to delight in the One who redeemed me from the pit and rescued me for abundant life with Him!! Let’s pour over all of His written words to us, through Scripture, and get to know the true Lover of our souls!

Join me through this study of God's attributes... and get to know the Lover of our souls!

When getting to know people, we sometimes have false impressions or misconceptions about who they really are? What were your first impressions of your best friend? your spouse? Was there anything you were wrong about? How did you learn that these were false? Often it takes getting to know the true person, before our misconceptions can really be dispelled.

  

ACTIVITY

Ø      Think about yourself; consider all of your qualities, attributes and characteristics.

o       Which of these characteristics are more visible to other people; which characteristics are more hidden?

o       What characteristics do you aspire to attain?

o       What characteristics does the world applaud?

Ø      What characteristics are you proud of and of which characteristics are you possibly ashamed? Think about your spouse/best friend; consider all of his or her qualities and characteristics.

o       What are the characteristics that you know the best about that person?

o       What characteristics do you admire and wish to emulate?

o       What characteristics are your favorite; what are your least favorite?

o       What are the ways that you have gotten to know these characteristics in your friend?

Ø      Think about God; consider all of His attributes and characteristics.

o       What are His characteristics that you know the best?

o       What attributes of God do you tend to think or talk about; which do you tend to ignore or put on the back burner?

o       What are some popular ideas about God’s character?

o       What are some misconceptions about who God is?

o       What are some ways that we can get to know who God really is?

What are some characteristics YOU believe about God? Where did these develop … from parents, teachers, peers, ministers? I want us to set aside all of our preconceived ideas about who God is, and look at who He says He is throughout His Word.

“If we are to know God at all, it is necessary that He reveal Himself to us”[1]

Why do you think God decided to reveal Himself to us? Do you learn more about God from His revelation in nature or His revelation in Scripture?

·        The Bible alone tells us how to understand the testimony about God from nature[2]

·        Romans 1 – “they/we exchanged the truth of God for a lie”….we need Scripture

·        I pray that God would open our eyes that we would see wonderful things in His word (Psalm 119:18).

·        How does our own view of God affect our understanding of God?

·        How do we keep from limiting God to our own perspective of Him?

·        Can our perceptions of God ever be wrong? If so, how does that affect our lives bringing glory to God?

·        How can we know that what we are learning about God is true?

“Even though we cannot know God exhaustively, we can know TRUE things about God…

all that Scripture tells us about God is TRUE”[3]
Join me over the next few weeks/months for a study on the attributes of God. 
Main resources include 
Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem
Attributes of God, by A. W. Pink
Systematic Theology notes from my favorite professor, Dr. Stan Norman

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[1] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 149.

[2] Ibid., 149.

[3] Ibid., 151.

Our Journey through James... stepping out in faith and trusting GOD!

    This year has been an amazing adventure of trusting and following God, even when we don't know what the next step on the path is going to bring. We are so thankful for our All Knowing, All Loving Father, who has blessed us with the privilege to proclaim His Name in a life of ministry! God is so faithful to give us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We are thankful that God's word is living and active!! As we have journeyed through this year of stepping out as God has led, we are amazed at how clearly He has spoken through His word!!

    We are going through James with our church, small group, and college students... we didn't realize we would be studying James in every group at the same time! I participate in Bible Study Fellowship on Wednesday mornings, we are studying the book of Isaiah this year. We began sensing the Lord's leading toward adoption this Fall. While we were beginning the adoption process, God was affirming us through Isaiah 1: 16-17 and James 1:27.

"Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong and learn to do right! Seek justice, encouraged the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:16-17

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted from the world." 

James 1:27.

    We are blessed to be on this journey of adoption, and very thankful for God's continued affirmation through His word! Just an update, we began the adoption process in September and our paperwork (dossier) is now in Ethiopia. We are currently waiting on a referral for the precious son or daughter God has for our family!

    For the past 6 years, Josh and I have been blessed to serve in collegiate ministry at Williams Baptist College. We have seen the Lord work in amazing ways in the lives of students: students trusting Christ, students sacrificing and serving, answering the call to ministry/missions, stepping out in and following God's leading to mission fields all over the world.  Over the past year or two, Josh and I have been sensing the Lord leading us out (from our safe, wonderful ministry and community at Williams Baptist College) to a more unreached campus. This was one of the toughest decisions we have ever had to make... leaving dear friends, a job, home, a comfortable ministry, and the place where we have seen God grow our marriage and family in leaps and bounds! One of the books Josh read this year, Just Do Something, by Kevin DeYoung, also spurred us on this journey of stepping out and trusting God.

    Through God's leading, we stepped out in faith and began searching for the next place/campus God would have us serving Him, sharing the Gospel, and ministering in His name. We began the interview process with an incredible church in Alabama that has the desire to reach the college campus in their town*. One of the things God has been teaching us through our study of James is, " Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No', no" (James 5:12). In March of this year, we knew that God was leading us out to a different location/ministry. Therefore, when it came time to sign contracts to commit to stay at Williams for another 16 months, we knew our answer had to be no. We didn't know the next path the Lord will take us on, but we know that we trust the Lord who knows ALL!!

Through this decision, we were studying James 4:13-17, and once again God so faithfully gave us the courage and faith to step out and follow His leading. This year I have been studying Isaiah with Bible Study Fellowship. In the week of this big decision, I was studying in Isaiah, where the Babylonians were trusting in fortune tellers, visions, and other spirits to know the future. Our learning principle was, "don't trust in the future, but in the God who holds the future". We are learning so much about truly trusting God for EVERYTHING! We are so thankful that we serve an ALL Loving and ALL Sovereign God!!

    One of my biggest prayers in the beginning of this journey, was that God would be glorified through every step of this journey. The human side of me would have loved to have everything all neatly planned out... having a job and house lined up before giving notice to our current job. However, had we trusted in our own plans and circumstances, we and others would have missed out on the blessing of trusting and seeking God alone, and the peace that comes from trusting and knowing God as our Provider. One of the unexpected blessings is the impact our decision has had on Josh's current students. Even though we are leaving this ministry, the students have been absolutely supportive and encouraging, saying how thankful they are to see Josh acting out the faith and principles he has been teaching them! I am very thankful for my husband, who is an amazing man of God, a wonderful teacher and preacher of the Word, and an incredible example to our sons (who at 4 years old already wants to be a campus minister and tell students about Jesus when he grows up:) I look forward to more adventures on this journey alongside my husband and family!

 * Unfortunately the opportunity with the church in Alabama did not work out. Please pray for us as we seek God's leading for a new home and ministry to plant our lives.

Students are back!!!

Today is the first day of classes for Williams Baptist College... and we are so excited to have our students back on campus! I have already enjoyed getting to meet so many new faces of the largest freshmen class WBC has seen thus far! I'm looking forward to catching up with many of our students and hearing about the amazing ways our Lord used them in numerous different ministries across the globe!

We are already getting geared up for a couple new ministries I am privileged to participate in and launch! We are going to expand our faculty/staff ladies Bible study to the married student ladies on campus. April Newell and I will leading our group through John MacArthur's book, Twelve Extraordinary Women. Our study will take place on Thursday evenings in the Cove at 8pm, beginning September 16.

Another exciting new opportunity for married students ladies is our one time cooking class! Learn how to cook some easy and budget friendly meals, while enjoying great fellowship with your neighbors! We will learn to cook several meals, enjoy a meal together that evening, and send everyone home with an entire casserole prepared that day to share with their family! That is two FREE meals, recipes, fellowship, and FUN on Saturday, September 18 from 4:00 to 6:00pm at my home!

See our booth at WBC First Fair for more details on the cooking class and Bible study!