Beauty of Creation

"The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."(Psalm 19:1)

Sometimes in the midst of changing seasons, it's nice to take a few moments and reflect on the amazing beauty that God uses to bring forth new life. I was in our front yard playing with my kids when I realized the tiny white flowers that had blossomed in our tree. The ones on the top have already come, served their purpose, and have died, but I happened to catch a picture of some of the ones still hanging on... I found this small clump of buds to be breath taking! I think the flowers sing the praises of God where I so often fail...

"And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

Perhaps I have found my life's verse...

Soon after I completed my time in college, I ran across this particular set of verses in Ezekiel. At that time they had such a profound impact on my life.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules...and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. (36:26-29a)

For a season of life, I had walked so far away from God that my heart had become like stone. In so many ways I was unable to see past my goals, my accomplishments, my struggles, my feelings, my life, and my mistakes, that my heart felt as hard as stone. I let nothing and no one in, and never let anything out. But, through God's constant pursuit of this saint, He began to break down the walls of my heart so that the heart of flesh, that He Himself has once placed in me, was able to hear His truth. How powerful the words "And I", "I will,""And I will,""cause you,""give you,""And I will be," and "I will" were to my soul. I was finally beginning to realize that it was by no work or merit of my own that could change the reality of my sinful state. It is only through the merciful work of God that I can be transformed. What a beautiful promise he lays out, "And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses." What an undeserved gift that Christ is the one that is looked upon by God, not me in my utterly sinful state. So, for a season, that was my life's verse.

But now, as I have reflected over the past months of how blessed I am in this season of life, I realize (in a very humble and joyous way) that I could be at the height of "physical blessings" in my life. The health of my husband, children, and extended family is good. Our house is more than we ever could have imagined. The church has surpassed all expectations and continues to do so. The love between Ryan and I gains passion and depth each day, and I could go on... So, in desperately desiring not to put my faith, my hope, or my trust in these earthly things, I look forward with great anticipation to the promises of the following verses:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We are not promised an easy life, in fact we are promised the opposite. It is through the struggles that we experience in this life that we grow in our "praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7)." So my prayer is that I will welcome with boldness the future, all of the blessing and the trials, in hope that one day I will gaze on the things that are eternal...

Being Pure

Within Carolyn Mahaney's series A Fresh Look at Titus 2 she tackles the hard topic of being pure. In this talk, she challenges our approach to what we watch, read, think about, and even our intimate relationship with our husbands. It is absolutely worth your time to listen! Here is a link to the free download! "Being Pure" The other 6 parts to the series are worth the time as well!

Am I Willing to Offend?

As I have journeyed through the Christian life, I have been presented with many opportunities to point both believers and nonbelievers toward Christ. However, I think that more often than not, it is just as difficult to proclaim Christ and the way we are called to live to the believer as to the nonbeliever. If I am perfectly honest with myself, I know that in hopes of being an encouragement or even liked, I am unwilling to point out sin in another persons life. I realize that my hesitation is rooted in my fear of man and my unbelief that God will do as He has promised. I was reading in the twelfth Chapter of Luke the other day and it struck me how many times Jesus commanded "do not fear, do not deny, do not be anxious, fear not..." and the list goes on. All of these commands come in a string of teachings which all have the same point: Man can do nothing less than destroy the body, only God can control the fate of mans soul.

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. v. 4-5

And it hit me. What reason is there to fear man? I might be laughed at, made fun of, mocked, ignored, shunned, called judgmental, made to feel uncomfortable, cut off from communication, or even (and face it, no one likes this one) disliked. We all live in a world where we think the approval of man is the be all and end all to who we are. In the same chapter Jesus asks:

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. v.51

I am coming to the conclusion that as believers we are to be constantly holding one another accountable. Pointing one another towards Christ even if it risks offending another believer. We should be willing to be cast aside by someone if it means pointing them towards their eternal good. I know that I avoid these situations because I worry that perhaps I will not know the correct things to say, or maybe it's not my place, but Jesus says:

And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God...do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. v.8-9,11b-12

I don't believe these verses apply to the proclamation of the Gospel alone, but rather to all things that are "...good, acceptable, and perfect." (Romans 12:2d) So, I am realizing that perhaps in my unwillingness to interfere with the lives of others, am I not in fact denying who Christ is before man.

So as I move forward with boldness (hopefully) I will cling to this promise of Jesus:
"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (v.32) I pray that the promise of God's kingdom would be enough for me to risk the possibility of be disliked. And I realize this means a willingness to accept others views on my actions as well. May we all be humble enough to grow in Christ.

I'm An Aunt!!

I am so beyond proud of my brother Aaron and his wife Becky! They just had their first baby! A little girl named Regan Marie! Now I just have to figured out when I can get out to Arizona to see them! How amazing is God's grace that he allows us to be a part of bring life into this world!

Can my sweet baby girl really be a sinner?

Is it possible that this sweet little girl who are rarely cried during her first six months of life could be born a sinner? Lets take a look shall we?


Although Micah was being generous and letting Lydia play with his toys, she still thought it necessary to pick on him!


Lydia has decided as of late that she will pick the food she wants to eat and the location in which she will eat it. Apparently she has decided that her seat isn't good enough! So I guess to the high chair we go...

Conclusion: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 I am seeing what a glorious and overwhelming task it is to be one called to "train up a child in the way he should go." May God grant me the grace to get out of His way. He will guide and reveal Himself to my children if that is His will. So for now, I plead and pray that they will be ones that belong to Him. For as fallen as they are, I would be the same if it were not for my hope in Christ. I pray that within their lives I may be a vessel of honorable use, one that is useful to the Master.

Living Life As If There Is a Therefore

I often put links on here to different messages or sermons that have had an impact on my life or my view of God and hope that they will do the same for those who see them on here, but I fear that not many of them are listened to. So, I have taken out a section of quotes that I think can be life changing if we allow them to be.

So we say, “Because of God’s mercy revealed in Christ, therefore, I do this and not that. Because of God’s mercy revealed in Christ, therefore I speak this way and not that way. Because of God’s mercy revealed in Christ, therefore I cultivate this kind of emotion and put that kind to death. Because I exist to glorify the mercy of God in Christ, I live this way and not that way. Christian living is built on something!

The somethings he is referring to here is the grace given to us through Christ. God in His infinite grace chose to save us from our utter sinful state, therefore, we should live as if there is someone who is worthy to be glofied in our whole being. The reality of the Christian walk is to be different than that of the world because we are built on something greater than those of the world.

One application: Parents, teach your children that the behavior and attitudes you expect from them are built on something! Don’t say, “Just do it.” As they get older help them see that the standards of thought and attitude and action and entertainment and ministry and mercy are all built on the mercy of God in Christ. Help them see that Christian living is not a list of do’s and don’ts, it is a way of showing the glory of God and Christ. Help them see that Christian living—for children and teenagers and adults—is built on the gospel—on the beauty of Christ crucified and risen and reigning. The question is not mainly, “What’s wrong with this music or this movie or this party or this dress or these drugs or these friends?” The question is, How can I act and speak and feel so that I help my friends see the worth of Jesus above all music and movies and parties and friends? How can I live to show that Jesus didn’t come into the world to help me party better but to help me love better and die better? -Build Your Life on the Mercies of God

I have learned that in my own life, but especially with my children, that I need to be teaching them that they are to do or not do, act or not act, talk or not talk in certain ways because their life is to be built on something greater than just them. Their, or my, momentary happiness is nothing compared to the eternal majesty and glory of God and His mercies toward us through Christ.
So, I have to realized that those who see me will only know the worth of Jesus in my life by my priorities, my decisions, my actions, my attitudes, and my willingness to be different from this world. Because of God's mercy I will rejoice in all seasons of life, for Christ should be the only value I need to bear and I will praise Him each day for the blessings in my life that are so undeserved.