A beautiful day...

Yesterday was a hard day.  It was a good day--because I had the privilege of experiencing God's grace in ways that I wouldn't have appreciated on an easier day.

Yesterday was one of those days where nothing came easily...

I made a bunch of fresh salsas and dip for supper and chopped up a few jalapeno peppers.  Have you ever gotten jalapeno oil way up in your nose and it burned so bad you had to call the poison control center?  I have...  Not yesterday though, thankfully.  Nope.  Yesterday I was gonna be very sure that didn't happen again.  So, I made a mental note NOT to touch myself anywhere because I planned to take a shower first thing when I was done.  Yeah, that was interesting.  Coulda been worse...  Reminds me of another brilliant idea I had one time when I bought...well...that one probably isn't blog material come to think of it.  Some of you may have heard that story, and for the rest of you, ask me sometime if you're married and female...  ;-)

Well, after my exhilarating shower was over, I headed to Rochester only to discover that I had misplaced my purse.  Now, that particular incident was not my fault...but anyway...  Found the purse, but proceeded to lock my keys in the van and my hubby had to rescue us.

Got our errands done and ended up at home where we did school in the afternoon.  Nothing. came. easily. in school.  We spent over 45 minutes on one page of Math and then just put the book away because one of us was in tears and the other was pretty close...

Well, anyway...  That was the kind of a day that I had yesterday.

Today, I felt spoiled....

I woke up to beautiful sunshine.  It would appear that some of the "storms" (not the weather kind) from this weekend have passed.  Beth slept in so I had lots of time to myself in the morning.  We played a round of disc with Mike mid-day and spent some time at the park.  Everything in school went incredibly smoothly, and Elizabeth spent most of her spare time in the sunshine.  And I even got to treat myself to a date alone tonight while Mike and Elizabeth went to an open gym for basketball.  I had an abundance of time when there were no demands on me whatsoever and I got to recharge...  And I found myself laughing today.  A lot.  And it felt really good.

I'm thankful for this day.  But I'm thankful for yesterday, too...because those days make days like today seem so much sweeter.

In His presence is fullness of joy

Wow, another week has passed since I've blogged--or even looked at my blog, I think... Time is going by so crazy fast around here. Days have been coming and going and my time and my heart have been full. I think I'm going to have to get the hang of scheduling my blogs because it seems like I only ever have time to blog on the weekends, and then I'll put out a cluster of posts and not look at my page again until another week has passed us by.  But I'll have to get caught up before I do that because if I'm already a week behind, and then I schedule my blogs for the following week, it's going to be old news by the time it gets posted.  I'll get the hang of this eventually. I've still been plugging my way through "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  Not to sound like a broken record, but if you haven't gotten your copy yet, go for it.  It really is full of life-changing truth.  So much so, that I find myself working my way through it slowly.  I hear so many people saying they couldn't put it down and they devoured it in a day...and I think that's great.  Somehow, where I am in my life right now, my heart isn't ready to embrace gratitude every day.  It really has been a journey for me.  It's something that I want.  But I also find myself very much wanting control...and I can't have it.   In Ann's book, she says:  "Why do I lunge for control instead of joy?"  I've read that sentence so many times.  Isn't that what we do?  With fists clenched tight and knuckles white, we hold on...as if our feeble attempts at holding on made a difference somehow...  Why is that our natural reaction?  When we claim to believe in a good God who is always in control, why do we instinctively try to force our will instead of looking for Him in our circumstances?   So, this is a life lesson that I desperately want to learn.  Some days are better than others as I continue to try to be thankful in the little things. Yesterday was a hard day.  It seemed to drag on forever.  After a couple restless nights this week, I was beat, and by the time our Bible study rolled around I felt completely spent.  Usually, it only takes a short time before I'm so caught up in company that I forget I'm tired, but that wasn't the case last night.  I was one of those nights when I was thankful to have people in my home, and glad they were having a good time, but I really did want to tuck away alone, and that feeling didn't go away.  I found myself thinking, "I will be so thankful when I can cuddle up next to my hubby in our warm bed."  This morning, when I was getting ready for the day, I thought back to last night and I was so disappointed.  I realized that by the time we finally got to bed last night, it was nearly 1am, and I guess I just crashed.  I had forgotten to be thankful...and I was so disappointed that I had forgotten to take the time to thank the Lord for the much needed rest that I had looked forward to all day yesterday. So, this is good to see that at least my heart is really wanting to see God's goodness and be thankful. It's so important to be thankful.  I'm convinced that when it comes to gratitude, there really is no middle ground.  If you're not thankful, you will eventually become unthankful, and then bitter, and if you go too far down that road, I really think you will grow blind to the many good things that God gives. Well, I'll leave you with another quote from the book:  "If I am rejecting the joy that is hidden somewhere deep in this moment--am I not ultimately rejecting God? . . .  In His presence is fullness of joy."  

Good gifts...

It's been a good week.

Had good health...

Productive days in school...

Another good basketball practice and game for Beth...

A good night of bowling with some cousins...

Good discussion/fellowship in Bible study...

We're seeing prayers answered...

And the Lord faithfully working in hearts and lives.

I still haven't gotten into the habit of hauling my camera along with me on our family outings, so there were some blog opportunities that were missed.  But sometimes it's nice to fully live the moments rather than seeing them through the lens of the camera anyway...

We have many reasons to be thankful.

That said, we are still walking through a difficult time in our extended family.

It is what it is, and God is still good, and we know that--regardless of the outcome--we have a long road ahead.  So, it's one of those things where you just do the next thing and draw near to the Lord and make the most of the many good gifts that God gives each day.

The funny thing is that when I started typing this blog entry, I had no intention of telling you any of this! 

It's crazy how I can sit in front of the keyboard and it's as if the words just write themselves sometimes.

The theme that has risen up in our home the last couple of days has been:

E D I F Y

We studied the second half of Romans 14 in Bible study last night...

Verse 19 says:

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."

Edification means to "build up"...

It is so encouraging as a child of God to have the opportunity to come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ and do what we can to lift them up.

Philippians 1:27 was brought out in our discussion.  In the ESV, these words jumped out at me:

"standing firm"

"one spirit"

"one mind"

"striving"

"side-by-side"

These words paint such a beautiful picture of what our lives should look like as Christ-followers.

And so ends a blog entry that was supposed to be about my couch!  Ha!

Maybe there was someone out there who was supposed to read these words . . .

Enduring love...

I've had this Valentine's post in progress for several days.  So, may as well go ahead and post it--better late than never! . . . ♥ . . . The Amundson's celebrated Valentine's Day as a family this year.   Nothing fancy, but it was a special day. We exchanged Valentines and Mike took his two girls out to Noodles and Company for supper. While Mike and I--obviously--didn't compare notes ahead of time, there was a common theme in the cards that we got for each other:  Always.  It's a theme that's been on our hearts a lot lately... Mainly because, to be honest, we've been seeing marriages crumbling all around us. Sometimes I almost start to feel numb because I feel like I don't have the tears left to grieve anymore for the broken promises and shattered dreams of so many people that we've loved over the years. Love... It never gives up... Never loses faith... Is always hopeful... And endures through every circumstance. Several years ago, I went through a "sign making" phase.  I made this one to display in our bedroom: 

 At the time, it seemed like a nice little token of affection to display in our room.  But there have been several times lately when I've walked into our room and paused for a moment to ponder that thought and give thanks for my marriage...   Forever.  For always.  And no matter what. While I'm learning--over and over again--that there isn't a single marriage that is "untouchable" in this fallen world, I am so thankful for the man that God gave to me.  He is demonstrating that he is committed--for better or worse--and we've had to walk through quite a bit of both lately. If there's one thought that I could leave with all of you as we reflect on Valentine's Day...   Regardless of your circumstances...   If you are swarming with little ones in your home...   If you are short on money or going through health struggles...   If there are family situations that are making your life difficult or complicated...   Whatever you may be going through...  Make time to invest in your marriage.    Never in history have Christian marriages been more under attack...  or more vulnerable to attack.  The evil one delights in broken homes and he's on the prowl...  looking for marriages to devour.  

 

Updates coming soon...

I'm really behind in updating my blog... It's one of those things where we've been pretty busy... ...so there's a lot that I could blog about... ...but we've been too busy.  :-) So, hopefully there will be time later this weekend to catch up a little.  And I'll leave you with a verse that's been on my heart from 1 John: 



Distractions?

 

On Saturday, my hubby and I were in our bedroom closet when a hanger happened to fall on the floor.  My husband--who can make a game out of almost anything--picks up the hanger and attempts to throw it back onto the closet rod.  "Ha!  Impossible!", I teased, "Let me try!"  I took my stance and my husband proceeded to heckle at me to which I responded with the following brilliant words: 

"Shh!  Quiet!  Don't break my distraction!"

My husband laughed at me--which seems to be a fairly regular occurrence at our house since, for some reason, I seem to be more prone than usual to foot-in-mouth responses lately.  Ha!

But, being me, I couldn't help but ponder the hidden meaning in my seemingly senseless statement.  I couldn't help but giggle when I imagined myself in my own little world:

  "Shh!  Don't break my distraction!  I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I'm in my own reality and I like it here."

Interestingly, over the last week or so, I was feeling somewhat "distracted". 

Not like the kind of distraction where I'm making supper and I cut a chunk out of my knuckle and bleed all over the mozzarella cheese that I'm grating for homemade pizza... Yes, that is definitely distracting...and hinders productivity in the kitchen let me tell ya!

No...like heart distraction.  Heart distractions are those things that happen on the inside that hinder productivity in our walk with the Lord.  We all struggle with different heart distractions...

Here are a few of mine:

Worry.

Yes, I worry.  I stress about stuff.  A lot.  Sometimes I find myself wandering around the house debating something (or someone) in my mind.  Is this profitable?  Hardly. 

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble if its own."  (Matthew 6:34)

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you."  (1 Peter 5:6)

Insecurity.

Insecurity is probably one of my biggest distractions.  It can be insecurity about my appearance...  Insecurity about my ability to live up to the standards that I have for myself...  Or insecurity about whether or not other people are pleased with me...  Should I be so concerned with these things?  Does it help me to focus so much on my own weakness?  No.  It only causes me to doubt.  God knows my frame--He knows that I am dust.  He specializes in using imperfect people with willing hearts.

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (1 Samuel 16:7)

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised."  (Proverbs 31:30)

"My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

"For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."  (John 12:43)

Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!"  (Psalm 105:4)

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."  (Ephesians 6:10)

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  (Philippians 4:13)

Fear.

Fear...  Fear is kind of a root of many distractions, isn't it?  Both worry and insecurity are basically fear...  Many of our "distractions" are really just a lack of faith.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  (2 Timothy 1:7)

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"  (Psalm 27:1)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

Sin.

Umm.  Yeah...  Broad category.  But who isn't distracted by sinful weights?  Sin--both in thought and in deed--hinder us daily.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  (Philippians 4:8)

"Therefore...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)

The World.

This world, with the beauty of creation, the desires of the flesh, and the excitement of possessions and new experiences, can be very distracting.  It can be so difficult to know where the line is between enjoying the simple blessings in life and loving the world too much.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 

(1 John 2:15-17)

While it can be so easy to let ourselves drift off to distraction, it is so important to continually bring ourselves back to the truth.  If we allow ourselves to be distracted, our heart can become divided.  I can always sense that internal struggle that comes from a divided heart.  While we sometimes like to rationalize our distractions--even escape to them for awhile--in reality, they only hinder our faith in the One who truly deserves our attention. 

Friday night Bible Study and Fellowship

We've been getting back into our regular routine around home.  School is back in session, and while we're still struggling to establish a civilized bedtime after Christmas break, we've managed to accomplish quite a bit during our waking hours this week.  Vacation time can be refreshing, but there comes a point where you just kinda need to do some laundry and some housework again to maintain your sanity.  :-) So, it's been a fairly busy week for our family.  Beth started basketball practice on Thursday evening and has another practice tomorrow morning.  Her first game is a week from tomorrow, and you just might get to see some pictures on the blog, so check back in a week. Our home was full of precious people tonight.  Our Friday night Bible study has been on break due to holidays and poor health, and we were finally able to meet again!  We are so thankful for the people that the Lord brings into our lives though this little gathering.   One of the things that I've learned through opening our home and our hearts to other people is that when I'm discouraged, the best remedy is to encourage someone else.  If I'm feeling weak in faith, the best thing I can do is encourage someone else's faith. This was one of those weeks where I was feeling very inadequate...very insufficient...very unworthy of putting my life on display in any way.  I've been feeling discouraged and what I really want to do is put on a comfy sweatshirt and tuck myself away in the corner of a coffee shop alone somewhere.  But this busy week hasn't allowed me much time to focus on my discouragement, and honestly, that's a really good thing...because the best way to get your focus off of yourself and your problems is to start thinking about the needs of other people and serve them.  The crazy thing about that is that I always seem to find that in serving other people, my joy is multiplied, and really...all of these precious people are serving me by coming into my home. I wish I had taken a few pictures from tonight's Bible study, because for those of you following the blog from a distance, I'd love to introduce you to some of our friends.  But...shame on me...I didn't think to get the camera out tonight.  I do have some pictures from past Bible studies though, and a few are worth posting:  

 

We usually spend the first hour or more singing praise and worship songs.  The singing time is SO encouraging....

We usually have three guitars...sometimes four.  Last summer we were treated to a violin at a couple of the studies.  :-) 



After the Bible study, we have a time of fellowship.  I love this picture...the guys were hanging out in the kitchen and I must have said something like, "Act natural while I take a picture..."  :-)  Sam is the big guy in the middle...I love his expression...  Ha!

Sometimes folks will hang around late.  Occasionally, the guitars will come back out for more singing.  Spontaneous games have been known to happen from time to time.  Tonight, folks just broke off into groups and there was a lot of fellowship and the opportunity to catch up with those who have been away at college and such.

Once in awhile, someone will even teach the rest of the group a skill and this was one of those memorable occasions.  Matthew was teaching us how to cross one eye--because this is something that comes in handy for those occasions when only such an expression will do. 

Here is my attempt:

Hmm...  That is disturbing, don't you think?

Well, anyway, that's just a little bit of what goes on in our home on the Friday evenings that we have Bible study.  :-)  We've been going through the book of Romans for a very...long...time.  Tonight, we covered Romans 13:8-14.  Mike brought out some very good thoughts on verse 14: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."  I was especially challenged by this verse because it can be so easy to make those little "compromises" in life.  They seem so small--so insignificant.  Maybe you're not even doing anything different, but you're allowing yourself to think differently...letting little deceptions creep into your thinking...  Seeds of bitterness or doubt may be taking root.  They seem like small things at the time, but if we could look ahead a few years down that path, we just might be shocked at how far we'd stray from the truth.  Well, anyway, I was convicted once again of the danger of making provisions for our flesh, and the importance of looking to Jesus and seeking to follow His example faithfully.

Choose.

Over the last several months, I've often found myself pondering the concept of "choice".  Since we know that God is Sovereign, and He knows the end from the beginning...since we know that from Him and through Him and to Him are ALL things...what is His purpose for allowing us to choose?  Because, while God is fully able--in His sovereignty--to intercede in a situation and cause His perfect will to be done, there are critical times in our lives where He calls us to choose.  He promises us wisdom if we ask Him (James 1:5).  He promises that His grace is sufficient and His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  He promises that He is faithful, and will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).  He has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)... Yet, it pleases Him to allow us to choose.

Last night, I decided to do a little study on the word "choose" in Scripture.  So...I'm reading through all of the results in Bible Gateway and they overwhelmingly refer to God's choosing, "...the man whom the Lord chooses..."  "...the place which the Lord chooses..."  over and over... So, I'm reading along, and then the words begin to jump off of the screen.  God is bringing His people to a crossroads in Deuteronomy 30.  The Father was calling His people, Israel, to repentance, and laying out the choice that was before them, and the blessings or consequences which were to follow as a result: 

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.  See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Then, just a couple of passages later, the words jump out once again to this familiar passage that Christians so often display on their walls:

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

Most often, you see the latter half of that verse plastered on front doors and living room walls.  It's become almost cliche, and I can't help but wonder how many people who dwell in the shadow of that verse really mean it.  To be different, I painted the first half of the verse on a board and mounted it in our living room, "Choose this day whom you will serve".  It serves, not as a proclamation to the world that we serve the Lord (although that is our desire), but as a reminder to ourselves to consider each and every day where our devotion lies. 

I love how, when our hearts are tender and teachable, God leads us to Scriptures that reinforce His truth to us...that touch our hearts right where we're at.  I love how God's word is living, and while these verses were written to the nation of Israel thousands of years ago, they are still profitable for our learning today.  Our lives aren't so very different today.  While we think that we are "unique" or our circumstances are "special", in reality, God still calls us to simple obedience.  What He calls us to do is not too difficult for us.  He still sets before us choices, each day...in the little things and in the big things.  We can walk in obedience to Him and live in His grace, strength, and blessing.  Or else, we can turn our backs on His grace and live out the consequences in our lives, and even the lives of our children.  We would like to think there is some sort of a middle ground, but there's really not.  His desire for His people hasn't changed--He wants us to love Him, to listen to His voice, and to hold fast to Him.  

After all, He is our life.  

He is our everything. 

Our time on earth is short.  The choices we make today count for eternity. 

Let's choose Him.

This I know...