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

---

[1] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 152.

[2] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 153.

Mardi Gras King Cake

this year's king cake

 It is king cake time again!! The past couple years, my boys and I have enjoyed making king cakes together. I received this incredible King Cake recipe from a high school friend a few years back... it always gets rave reviews!!

my excited helpers & tasters!

 I'm a New Orleans native and grew up eating king cakes and going to Mardi Gras parades. I'm happy to pass on this New Orleans tradition to my little guys... who absolutely LOVE this treat!

my little man 2 years ago

king cake from 2 years ago

Several people have asked for the recipe... if you try out this recipe, I would love to hear what you think!

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

---

[1] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 149.

[2] Ibid., 149.

[3] Ibid., 151.

Nesting time: Meal prep

Every pregnant Momma goes through some type of nesting... this go around my nesting has included sewing and food prep (my back is too sore for it to be cleaning:) Since this is my third boy, I want to make sure all of my big boys (hubby included) stay well fed while I am on the mend. Here are a few of the foods/recipes that I'm prepping ahead of time to make life as a family of 5 (and life after C-section) a little bit easier.

My 4 and 5 year old boys love muffins! I decided instead of stocking up on the cheap muffin mixes, I would prep my own (a little healthier) muffin mixes. Hoping to make breakfast a little easier on my hubby, Granny, or my frazzled postpartum self, I put all of the dry ingredients together in storage bags with the instructions for preparation.

Cinnamon Oat Muffins

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup oat flour + 1 cup bread flour)

1 TBSP baking powder

1 cup sugar (or splenda/sugar mix)

Note in bag says:

Preheat oven to 350

Mix 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup applesauce (or oil). Add dry ingredients to mixture. 

Pour into greased muffin tins and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 15 minutes.

I have made several larger meals and frozen half of them: meat sauce for spaghetti, BBQ crock pot beef, and  roasted turkey w/gravy. I will also be roasting 2 chickens and making several meals with the chicken, such as chicken spaghetti, chicken lasagna, and chicken tetrazzini. I'm baking several loaves of bread and freezing them for my bread loving boys! I am super thankful for my mom who is doing the same thing at her house in Mobile, AL. When she comes up to help with baby, she's bringing us frozen home-cooked meals!!

What are some ways that you have prepped and prepared for life with a new baby?

Merry Christmas!!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Fun Fall Pics!

We are really enjoying this Fall weather! The boys LOVE playing and exploring in our new backyard...especially the bamboo forest!! 

 

 My sweet boys!!

Also thankful for trips to the ASU Farmers Market and fun days with my guys:) 

We're trying to get organized in our new home (moved in less than 2 weeks ago...it's a process:). The homeschooling room is coming together!

We have been blessed to move into a great neighborhood! Our street had a costume parade and chili and s'mores this Monday. We really enjoyed meeting our new neighbors... and my little superheroes loved getting candy!

Tough issues... surrender ALL

One of the issues that I've seen come up among friends and many believers is... family planning/birth control/pro-life/pro-choice issues. I begin this by saying that I am unashamedly a child of God, follower of Christ and completely pro-life (because God is pro-life).

I have seen so many people wrecked with grief over their own infertility... yet years before had told God they didn't want children (through actions of taking pills that would cause "temporary infertility"). I believe it is very dangerous to say to God (verbally or with action) "I don't want children, I don't want children, I don't want children"... and then flip the switch one day and say, "OK God, I want children NOW". Who are we to take away God's role as Creator?? Who are we to decide WHEN God will bless us with children?? Are those actions really displaying God as Lord and Master over every area of our lives? These are tough and personal questions... questions I'm thankful that women of God challenged me with years ago.

I am so thankful for people in my life who opened my eyes to the realities of what birth control is and does to our body (Thanks Hollie Farr!). Today's birth control does not always prevent the fertilization of an egg. Rather, it can and does prevent a fertilized egg (baby) from implanting in the uterus. When I was newly married, I had no idea that a birth control pill I was taking could cause me to unknowingly abort my baby. This "low dose" type of birth control is called an abortifacient. Since I'm completely against abortion, I immediately stopped taking birth control pills and began charting my cycles (becoming aware of my body and cycles). I'm also thankful to Carla Sibley (the wife of our pastor in Watkinsville, Georgia) for challenging me even further in trusting the Lord with our "family planning" and giving that role back to God, our Creator and Lord. I hope that I can be a light to others, as these women were to me.

When we confess Christ as Savior and LORD, we surrender our lives and decisions over to Him and follow Him and His authority, which He has made clear through Scripture. I can not give only parts of my life to Him and pretend to still acknowledge Him as Lord and Master. I have to surrender ALL of me. Through that surrender, I am absolutely blessed to find myself in the loving and wise hands of our Sovereign God. Trust Him in and with all things, you will be blessed beyond belief!!

Another issue, is abortion. It's a shame that even many who call themselves Christians would justify the murder of an unborn child due to circumstances such as rape. When do two wrongs ever make a right??? How would killing a child in the womb ever right the wrong of the crime, or bring healing to the victim of the rape? While so many people are against taking away that women's choice and making that decision for her, someone needs to be the advocate and make the choice for that child's life.

"If God wants us to care about the orphan who is endangered because his parents are dead... then how much more should we care about the child who is endangered because his parents want him dead?" --David Platt, regarding Abortion

FYI about my family: My husband and I have been married for 8 years, are thankful to be blessed with two boys, are pregnant with boy #3 and are also in the process of adopting a sweet child.

UPDATE (6/2/15)
FYI about my family: My husband and I have been married for almost 12 years, and are thankful to be blessed with 4 boys (3 biological and 1 adopted).