miscellany monday {april matters}

1. Idleness, gossips and busybodies

Nancy Ann Wilson, wrote an article that really challenged me titled, "Daughters and Boredom."  

 "And we need to see the value of keeping our little girls busy too. Boredom and idleness lead to grumpiness and annoyance, and make fertile ground for fault-finding and tattling. Little girls who indulge in the sins of tattling and tale-bearing can grow up to become gossips and busybodies." Read the rest here.

First it challenged me as a woman to not be idle and to not be a busybody. My natural tendency is to be lazy, so this was a great reminder of what we are called to do - namely, being faithful with our time. I am also thankful to be reading it while my daughters are still young, so that I can set a good example for them and encourage them to be hard workers. But even if your daughters are grown up, or you don't have any, Wilson also encourages grandmothers in this as well.

2. Motherhood in the little things  

My friends and I have been talking a lot about this article that Rachel Jankovic (Nancy Ann Wilson's daughter) recently posted. She hits it on the nail again when it comes to being a mother in the little things. I encourage you to read it! 

"Organization and dishwasher running are not the only things that are little about motherhood. Your days are full of little questions, little answers, little puzzles, little problems, little concerns. Little disobedience. Big disobedience over little things. This can be very discouraging to any mother. What have I ever done that was important? What, in the course of my regular day, matters? Is this hot new system for containing playmobil really as big of an accomplishment as I think it is? What happened to me that I think this is important?"

Read the entire article here.

 3. Speaking of not being idle  

I am totally nesting. And I love it. I bought a bunch of fabric and have caught the sewing bug. I made these for a friend who is having a baby boy soon. My only regret was that she was the guinea pig and they came out okay, but definitely could have been done better. I didn't take a picture of them, but I did take a picture of the ones I started my baby girl. Below is the source and then next is part of what I have done so far.

  

via pinterest

 

4. Cutting for Stone

I am currently reading Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese and am nearly finished. I have enjoyed it for the most part. It has been a little slow, but it's held my attention, which is saying a lot in this phase of my life. And I don't know if it's because my life is going to radically change in July, but I have been wanting to read more than I have in a long time. So I am really excited to pick up a copy of The House at Riverton that my sister-in-law, Laura, recommended. Another friend recommended, The Kitchen House, but I haven't been able to locate a copy of that one yet. If you have one, could I borrow it? Also, if you've read Cutting for Stone, I would love to hear your thoughts!

5. Traditional Easter pics

 

Happy Monday, y'all!

 

   

A Picture Post

I recognize that some of you, namely family, just check my blog to see if I have posted pictures of my adorable kids. So this post is for you.

In true southern girl fashion, I present to you my daughters in matching Easter attire. 

 

We had a great time celebrating with each of our families over the Easter weekend. Whatever you think about celebrating this holiday, I love whenever our families get together. I love any excuse to get all of the cousins together. They have 4 cousins on Patrick's side and 3 cousins on my side. This post is mostly for family so I am just going to post a bunch of pictures and not say too much. Enjoy!

He is Risen indeed!

I pray on this Resurrection Sunday, that we will all celebrate like we do every Sunday. That we will celebrate because our hope is in Him who died on the cross and rose again the third day. Our hope is in a Savior who humbled himself to the point of death. Who took upon Himself the wrath of God so that we might have life, not only in the life to come, but also in the present. His kingdom has been ushered in, and for those who believe, it is to be experienced now. He is in the business of making all things new. Of redeeming lives that have been broken, all the glory of His name. There is hope for the weary. For those that know they need Someone to rescue them from themselves. Praise be to God for sending His Son! God bless you on this day as you remember what He has done!

CHRIST HAS DIED. CHRIST IS RISEN. 
CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN!

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

Philippians 2:1-11

~cheryl~

The Hard Love {5 Minute Friday}

1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing or tweaking.

2. Linked up over at The Gypsy Mama

3. The topic is:

 The Hard Love …

GO

Isn't most love hard? 
Hard to accept.
Hard to give.
It's a choice, a commitment.
To love someone is to choose to love the hard parts of them. The ugly along with the beauty.
When Christ chose the cross, he chose the Hard Love. He chose to separate Himself from His own Father so that we might know His love for us. He chose the wrath of God over His own comfort.
Love is Hard because it is a decision.
But like anything in life, when you love someone through the hard times, it makes life that much more beautiful. 
Hard Love has depth. It has meat on it's bones.
Hard Love is love in its truest form because it didn't back down.
It fought and came out on the other side.
The Love that Christ offers is hard to believe. 
He loved us while we were still sinners. 
He loved us when we hated Him.
He loved us before we loved Him.
I'd say that's pretty hard. 
But thanks be to God for that Hard Love.
The Love that took away the wrath of God on this Good Friday.


STOP


~cheryl~

A Poem on Palm Sunday

This poem was on the Desiring God blog today and since it is Palm Sunday, I thought it was a perfect poem to reflect on at the start of Holy Week.

How awesome is that day to me-
O day of hallowed history!
Set time in God’s determined plan
To sacrifice the Son of Man.
What famous work that day was done
By Jesus Christ, His Perfect Son!
The Second Adam, sent to save,
Humbly obeying to the grave!

How savage is that day to me-
O day of pure brutality!
When Christ, the Son of God Most High,
Was fiercely whipped and hung to die.
And O the horror of my sin,
Seen there in His appalling skin!
For God struck down- as meant for me-
The sinless One, at Calvary.

How precious is that day to me-
O day of purchased liberty!
In Him, a freeman now I live;
My sins, through death, did God forgive.
No wrath at length looms o’er my head,
But lovingkindness there instead.
His righteousness, my guilt replaced,
And Love, this ransomed soul embraced!

O awesome, savage, precious day-
‘Tis God the Savior on display!
What peerless, holy, gracious Mind
Would fashion such a Grand Design?

Written by Kevin Hartnett who was selected in 2003 from a thousand candidates as the “Poet of the Year” by the Fellowship of Christian Poets.


How are you preparing for Resurrection Sunday?


~cheryl~

Victory for the Self-Conscious

Saige and Meadow 2008

This picture cracks me up. The attempt at getting a cute picture from a 19 month old holding up a 4 month old is comical at best. But the matching dresses are the key here. This morning the kids and I met my mom at the mall. She had graciously offered to buy the girls their Easter dresses again this year. Patrick is not a huge fan of matching them all the time, because he wants them to be individuals. And I get that, I really do. But there is something in me (and I believe in most southern moms) that wants them to matchy-match on holidays. So I am more than happy for my mom to buy them matching outfits so that I can blame her on their matching cuteness, when Patrick gives me that look. {I wonder how many times I can say the word match in this post?} 
Anyways, I pulled into the parking lot at the mall and texted my mom to let her know exactly where I had parked. Two seconds later, she called. I answered it and she said, "Umm... did you forget me?" "Oh, Mom! I am SO sorry!" Yeah, I totally forgot the matching benefactress at home. Awesome. Off. to. a. great. start. She graciously told me, no problem and that she would meet me up there. So I started to get the kids out and when I went to pull the diaper bag out, I realized . . . yep, you guessed it . . . NO diapers.  
I pulled a Jamie. I said a quick prayer under my breath about Reed not having an explosion like our little friend Max did in the church nursery this past week. Wow. It was major.ly. disgusting. But he is majorly adorable, so it was okay. Kind of. 
Okay, back to my story for the millioneth time. We went in the mall, my mom met us and we shopped for the cutest dang dresses we could find. And we found them. They are so adorable and I am so excited about them. And you'll just have to wait until the pictures are up and I promise, you'll agree.
But can you believe that's not the point of my story? Shocking I know. My point is actually what happened at the food court. I don't venture to the mall much. I have never been a big shopper and when you have 3 kids, there isn't much motivation to go there if you can't get groceries as well. Hence my love affair with Target. (If you have the same problem, and I'll assume you do since you're human, you should read this post over at The Mommy Therapy — absolutely h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.) 
Anyways, I was surprised at how many mommies were there. There were strollers everywhere and the line at Chick-fil-a was a mile long. I felt right at home. As we were eating our lunch, I couldn't help but notice an ADORABLE mom with 4 cute kids — 3 boys and a girl. She was that mom. The one that looks like she is still in college — her hair pulled back in a pony tail, no makeup, t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. The simple flip-flops like from J-Crew (or Walmart, but whatev). She was super cute.
This is where the self-conscious part comes in. I used to would have looked at her and been totally intimidated. I would have thought things like she is so pretty. I wish I looked like her. I wish I was thin like her. She is so cool and would never be my friend. Blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.
BUT, if you've been reading my posts, you know that I like to keep it real and if motherhood has taught me one thing it is this: we are all just doing this mommy thing the best we know how and that there is no room for those insecurities anymore.
So I told my mom that I was going to go say hi to her and tell her that her kids are precious and see if she needs a friend.
So I did it, y'all. I walked right over to her and told her that this may be strange, but I just had to come tell her that she had a precious family and that they were all so well-behaved. I asked her what it was like to have 4 and we talked about the ages of our kids and how fun it is that they are so close in age. And then I asked if she was from around here and she said NO. Ding, ding, ding. My heart did a little leap. She could probably use a friend. And I rambled on like an idiot about welcome to Texas, does she need any friends, where does she go to church, and well you get the point. We exchanged phone numbers and finally our names (I forgot to introduce myself. awesome.)
As I was driving home, I played out these two scenarios: 

1.  She is going to meet all my friends, she is going to thank me later, we are going to laugh about the awkward exchange at the mall and we'll get Best Friend necklaces and I'll have the BE FRI and she'll have the ST ENDS. I always wanted the BE FRI part.
2. She is driving home now and calling her husband to tell him about the crazy lady she met at the mall and that she hopes that I never call her. Ever. Because she thought I was a total dork.

But you know what? It doesn't matter. Either way, I went out on the awkward limb and asked her if she wanted a friend. That is the victory. That is me not giving into the teenage drama that plays out in my head. Praise the Lord for redemption from those awful years. And just a little shout out to all my real-life mommy friends who don't give into the drama either - you know who you are. I love you. And we should all get BFF shirts made or something. I don't know. Just a thought.


~cheryl~

      

Ash Wednesday

For the past several years, our church has observed Lent. While I did not grow up participating in it, and thought that it was what my Catholic friends did, I have enjoyed observing it as an adult. For me, it has brought about an intentional walking with Jesus to the Cross, leading up to Resurrection Sunday, and it has made that day all the more glorious. It's a tradition, and as such, it is not essential to our faith. But I think there is something to be said about the Church fasting and anticipating the death and resurrection of Christ. As believers, we need to reminded again and again of what Christ did for us "lest we forget." The gospel needs to be preached daily and I think observing Lent is just one more tool to draw us into closer communion with the Father. What do you think?


Below was written by our pastor, Chad Karger, in the weekly church email. I would encourage you to ask yourself the following questions as well. Chad put these on his blog and added a bit more to it, so if you are interested in reading that, go here.


"I realize that not all of us grew up observing the season of Lent and you may have some ambivalence about doing anything related to the fast. Lent is the period of fasting during the forty-some odd days leading up to Good Friday and, ultimately, the celebration of Christ's resurrection. It has been abused, misconstrued, and misunderstood. So if the next forty days are just forty more days for you, so be it. If you are going to participate in the "fast," let me remind you of what Jesus said about fasting: Keep it to yourself (my paraphrase). That is, be cautious about going here and there and telling everyone you meet about your Lenten fast." 

Whatever you decide to do during this time, I'd like to offer the following questions. I have offered these questions to us in the past. They seem to be helpful during this time.

    1. What people, possessions, and/or plans are threatening to upstage God and God’s plans in your life? Another way to ask the same question: What provokes your imagination, your worry, your sleepless nights, or your brain space?

    2. What expectations and results have organized your life so that even God becomes a means toward these ends? Some of these may seem good, noble, or acceptable from a purely human perspective.

    3. What is the tangible fruit of your faith in God? Conversely, what areas of personal sin have you grown accustomed to and are harboring so as to grant the Enemy a foothold in your life?

    4. Are you aware of social issues whether near or far in which the poor, the weak, the helpless, the sick, and/ or dying are being exploited? If you are not aware of such realities, why is that? If you are aware of such injustices in this world, what are doing about it?

    5. Where are you able to simplify your life right now? TV? Buying? Eating out? Toys? Luxurious travel? Cars? Homes? Gadgets? Eating? Drinking? Music? Where could your life become less packed, less noisy, less consuming, less filling, or less luxurious? 




Leave me a comment if you have time. I would love to hear your thoughts on this tradition. 


~cheryl~

Plow in Hope

I have always struggled with discipline. I believe most people do. I have always struggled with pushing through something even if it wasn't fun. Ever since I was a child, I would procrastinate until the very last minute.  On one occasion, in the 8th grade, the assignment was to collect 50 different bugs and stick them on a display board. I knew that this was a huge portion of my grade and I recognized that it was important. But I hated bugs. I remember thinking, "Are you serious? There is no way."  I just couldn't bring myself to catch them, much less stick pins through them. So I kept putting it off, and putting it off and putting it off. I didn't want to deal with it. I just wanted to ignore the whole situation, because I was overwhelmed by the task. So I put off the dreaded bug collecting until the night before it was due. My gracious father went outside with me and helped me catch them, all the while, reminding me that I can't do this again, that I needed to learn to do things ahead of time, and that this pattern had to stop. I turned in the assignment the next morning, probably got an A, and once again "pulled it off."  I was one of those students, you know, the type that got good grades without much effort.  Annoying, right?  It is annoying, because I honestly don't think that served me well in life.  I never really learned to hunker down and just push through something that was difficult.

And now that I am 31 years old, a wife and a mother, I am still trying to learn that lesson.  My pastor, gave me two books to read about 8 months ago - The Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster and The Spirit of The Disciplines, by Dallas Willard. Those two books, along with John Piper's When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy, have radically changed how I view God, Scripture, following Jesus, loving my husband, loving my kids, being a homemaker, exercising; you name it, it's changed.

My perspective has changed, but if you know me, you know that I have in no way perfected those things. I have just come to understand, through reading these books and discussions with Patrick, how my lack of self-discipline plays a huge role in my sin patterns, in keeping me living in the flesh. For example, the tongue carries the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21) and my lack of self-control in that area has wreaked havoc on my life and those that I love. I believe that Christ is my righteousness. I believe I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). But about 8 months ago, I came to the end of my string, so to speak, when those didn't seem like a reality. I wanted to experience those truths in my daily life. But like Paul says in Romans 7:22-23, "For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me." I lack self-control and self-discipline because I am human. It is the Spirit within me that enables me to exhibit self-control, because it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). And while I know that to be true, it is still a struggle to grasp.

I have to fight to believe that truth. I have to fight and take hold of Truth that will set me free.  And "...because the plowman should plow in hope..."(1 Cor.9:10), I have to put my hope in Him who saves me from myself. I have to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). I can't sit on the sidelines and expect to live out my new nature without ever practicing it. Controlling my tongue takes practice; it takes work, diligence, and hope. And not because it secures my salvation, but because, on this side of heaven, I will always do battle with the flesh. I will always long for "The Far Country," like Andrew Peterson sings about.  And like the Proverb, "A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied"(13:4), I can't expect to sit on the couch and be changed and I have to put my hope and desires in the One who has changed me. I have to put my hand to the plow and trust that God, through Christ, is sanctifying this weary sinner.

I don't know about you, but I went through a phase in my life, where I avoided the spiritual disciplines like the plague. I found them to be legalistic and oppressive. But, in reality, I think that just fed my laziness.  I mean, seriously, who wants to fast, meditate, and pray in and of themselves?  Paul clearly states, "NO one" (Rom 3:10).  I believe that's why Timothy urges us to, "Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:12).  It is a struggle, a battle, to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2).  John Piper says, in his book:

"Faith is something that must be fought for, if it is to thrive and survive. This is how we take hold on eternal life—by fighting to maintain faith, with its joy in Christ. Satan seeks more than anything to destroy our faith. You can hear this in 1 Thessalonians 3:5, where Paul says, “When I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.” In other words, their faith is what Satan targets. If faith is going to endure, with its joy in God, we must fight."

Dallas Willard, in his book, discusses how essential the spiritual disciplines are in the life of a Christian and challenges the notion that salvation is a one time act. 

"Why is it that we look upon our salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God? We're encouraged somehow today to remove the essence of faith from the particulars of daily human life and 

relocate it in special times, places, and states of mind.  

More and more, we are realizing the enormity of this problem.  Upon occasion, we exhort Christians to 'take Christ into the workplace' or 'bring Christ into the home.'  But doesn't this only point to the deadly assumption that Christians normally leave Christ at the church?  

Where does such an idea begin?  More than anyplace else it originates from failure to recognize the part our body plays in our spiritual life -- and this is, of course, where the disciplines enter the discussion"(p.28).

So, I have been taking a deeper look at the disciplines of fasting, meditation, and simplicity, to name a few. And I am learning how connected my body, spirit and flesh truly are. I have fasted for 24 hours on a few different occasions this past month. And I have learned a lot, by God's grace, about what it means to, what Piper refers to as "starving sin," in his book, A Hunger For God. BUT that is a whole other post, for a whole other different day.

So those are my thoughts, for now, on discipline and how it relates to the spiritual life. This is timely, due to the fact that Lent begins this week. What are you and/or your family doing for Lent? Do you observe Lent, why or why not? In what aspects do you struggle with discipline?

~cheryl~

Easter

We celebrated Easter with Patrick's family first and then my family. We had a fantastic time both weekends and the girls thoroughly enjoyed both egg hunts. We got so much candy that I ended up throwing it all out since I was the one eating it. Maybe next year the g-parents can put in carrot sticks or something?? Or maybe cash? ;) Just a thought. Well, please enjoy the many pictures!

The 5 cousins - I love this picture!

Check out that find!

Don't they look like models in this shot? I love it - so adorable!

Laid back

Reed - 6 months

We had my parents over for Easter lunch and I used my grandmother and great-aunt's linens, silver and glasses. It was so fun to use!!

More please!

update on the vegetable garden

Here is a picture update of what we have done in the backyard. I say we, but what I really mean is Patrick. He has done so much work and I am so proud of him! The girls are enjoying it as well. They love to play in the dirt, which I believe, is so good for them.

Patrick teaching them how to plant the seeds

The girls spreading the soil

Our seedlings are doing AWESOME - this is what they looked like 8 days later!

Herb planter that Patrick built