Indescribable gift!

It seems I have gotten into the hustle and bustle of this season. Not only that, but I have been, well......let's just say I have been emotionally unstable for about a month now. I have let myself get too frantically involved into what I should get my kids, hubby, and family that I forgot the most precious gift of all. The birth of my Savior! Oh, and thank heaven for a Savior! Joseph and I watched the Nativity story last night on TV. I have heard the story many, many, times, but for some reason I watched it even more intently. Mary was chosen by God, she was found "favorable" in his eyes. I somehow couldn't stop to think if I, at this moment in time, was considered "worthy" or "favorable" by the way I have let this holiday season take over and forgotten what it truely means. As I watched scenes of the movie I couldn't help but think how Mary must have felt being young and pregnant, but with the Savior of the world!? Sitting there I felt my little baby kick inside me and I was immediately humbled, imagining how Mary must have felt, feeling the Savior of the world kick inside her. She knew ultimately of what would happen to him, but she embraced it. Thinking of how she must have felt, I lovingly grabbed my stomach and cradled it tight, then enthralled by the moment, grabbed Joe and gave him a hug. Could I be seen as favorable with God?
Mary had the King of the Kings born to her in a stable. A dirty, filthy stable! Somehow my mind kept thinking of how I look at my own life and wish, "if only I had this many square feet" but the Savior didn't mind. Jesus' whole life from the time of conception to his death tells the story of his humbleness and humanity. I'm so thankful for his life and the many valueable lessons He teaches me, if I take the time to listen. His life was full of sacrifice and humility. Not only is he our Savior but also our teacher. We can learn from Him on how to be lowly, meek, loving, humble and kind. Now, more than ever I feel the need of a Savior in my life and I'm in awe of this most precious, indescribable gift!! So, my gift to Christ this season is my heart. I want to please Him in every way that I can and I want my children to have this same hunger; and they do. After the movie last night Joseph looked up at me and said with tears in his eyes, "mom, this is such a beautiful story, I know I don't deserve His love, but that's why He came, huh?" and I looked back at him with the same tears in my eyes and I told him, "yep, that's what humanity needed."

I haven't written anything in a while, due to my inability to put two sentences together that make any sense. Plus, while my brain seems to be re-covering from the semester, it also has been overtaken by pregnancy hormones that seem to blow every little thing in my life way out of porportion. So for now, while I would love to blog about my life, pregnancy (yes, I'm excited), and other such news, I'm afraid I might say something that could be taken in a wrong way or just not make any sense at all. I would hate it if you thought I was really, in fact, retarted!

I hate celery

I'm sure glad that God looks at the heart and not the outside. I wish I could get my emotions under control, but alas, I'm human too. Love, where is your fire?

Thoughts about Nicodemus

Jesus was more hard on the religious people of His day than any other! These people confessed to love God and to know the Torah, yet God told them that their hearts were unclean. They professed to be righteous on the outside (their works for all to see, maybe hoping that others would find them righteous) but on the inside they were wicked. How many of us do that? How many of us list off the things we have done in our day hoping that maybe someone will find us godly or spiritual? However, this is one (of many) of the things that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for.
I find the story of Nicodemus comforting. Not only was he a Jew but a teacher who professed to be skilled in the Torah, yet he shows us a glimpse of his weakness. You see, Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, yet he went to hear Jesus teach. But not only did he listen to Jesus' teachings, he professed Jesus' teachings to be true! I love the way Jesus treated Nicodemus. Jesus knew his heart was different than the others because of what Nicodemus asked Him saying,"Rabbi (here Nicodemus acknowledges Jesus as a teacher, something that the other Pharasies would never say), what must I do to enter the kingdom of God?"(big statement for someone who knew the Torah). Jesus never rebuked him like he did the Pharisee's of his day. Jesus simply responded," Unless one be born again, he can never see the kingdom of God."
Then the dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus becomes more intense, with Nicodemus revealing his hunger for truth. Note that John 3:16 was quoted from Jesus to Nicodemus. Now skip to verse 17, "For God did not come to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." You see, Jesus never rebuked (condemned)Nicodemus like he did the other religious leaders. The difference here was that Jesus saw Nicodemus' heart and his hunger for salvation. He knew why Nicodemus was willing to stay and listen to His teachings. Nicodemus had the hunger for truth, this hunger could not be filled in the Torah but only in the salvation of Jesus Christ! Nicodemus knew that you could not be righteous on the outside by doing spiritual things, He knew that righteousness only came from redemption! In another part of the scriptures Jesus said, "apart from me you can do nothing." How befitting it was that Nicodemus was the one who later defended Jesus before the Sanhedrin and purchased a hundred pounds of spices to be placed between the folds of the cloth in which Jesus was buried.

What a beautiful story for us to behold! I am so thankful that my knowledge of who I think Christ is, the words in the bible, and what I consider to be spiritual means nothing if I do not have Jesus. And what does that mean? It simply means that I have received Jesus as my Savior and I am willing to love people in the same manner that I love myself (remember God "is" love?)- even if they despise me and ridicule me for not being as spiritual as them. Each of us is on a journey with God, no two paths are the same. Therefore, I cannot approve of one's "method" as being spiritual, nor can I look for the approval of others hoping that they might consider my path to be more spiritual than theirs- or at least the same. God is the only one who can know the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

He leads me beside still waters...

Oh my, it has been a while since I've posted last! Alot has happened since. I will try to tell, in order, the things that are going on in my neck of the world. First off, I'm pregnant! We have been patiently waiting for over a year for this. Today I'm exactly 20 weeks! Next week we will be able to find out the sex of the baby. We couldn't be more excited and blessed!

Tobby has had some changes in his job. He was working at a Heating and Air Conditioning place for the last year, however, business became slow, paychecks became lesser and we had to trust that God would provide a job that would allow him to finish his degree AND allow him keep pastoring. After alto of calls, resumes, and prayer, he finally found one! He has been working at a local food processing factory where he was able to start out with more pay than his last job, plus amazing benefits and a 4o1K. He has been working there for the last 3 months. Over the last two weeks,with the training Hubby got at the college, he was able to put in "bids" for various jobs that the company was hiring for. We thought about how much our family needed to make without counting on my earnings, which soon will be nothing because of the baby comming, and found a job he could apply for. Now, I must say, going into this I did not want to get my hopes up because I have been there done and done that, ending up disappointed and frustrated. What I mean by that is I did not want to put too much faith in God hoping He would grant Tobby the impossible. (I had forgot the scripture about the mustard seed)
Nevertheless, despite all the other people who were also "bidding" on this job, He decided to give it a go. That was two weeks ago. Friday I got a call from hubby telling me he got the job!! God is so faithful, umm, MORE than faithful! He starts in two weeks, in the meantime, he can finish working where he is.

Another area in my life that is changing is our housing situation. You see, for some time now I have been feeling the Lord tell me to get boxes and start packing. I am hearing him say that we won't be in this house much longer. It's a very strange place to be. I absolutely LOVE the house we are in right now. In fact, I wouldn't mind if I spent the rest of my life here, but that is just not possible with a growing family. Part of me....actually, most of me is greiving because we have put so much love and hard work into this house. My daddy re-modeled both baths, literally tore out my old front door with his bare hands and installed a new one for us, then did the same to our back door- his fingerprints are all over this house and it makes me sad to think that I will have to let it go. I don't want to. I feel if I do I will have lost a part of him. Oh man, it's tearing me up right now thinking about it! But, like I said, it's just not big enough for us anymore so we are making plans to move. We don't know when, or where, but we do hear His voice and just like the many times before, if we just follow His sound, He will lead us to the right place.

Ode to Jofus

Here is an incredible dessert that can be made for potlucks and BBQs. Warning: This is an extreme dessert and not for wimps. This is dedicated to my son, Jofus. His aunt came up with it when she was thinking of him.
What you need:
2 dozen glazed doughnuts
1 gallon of vanilla ice cream (there will probably be leftovers and these you can eat all on your own)
1 large bag of M&M's
3 bottles of Magic Shell ice cream topping
What you do:
Cut the doughnuts into cubes and layer a thin layer of them in the bottom of a triffle bowl. Spread enough ice cream to make a 2 inch layer. Drop the M&M's ontop of the ice cream until the ice cream is all covered. Then drizzle the Magic Shell over the top to cover the M&M's. Repeat these steps until the triffle bowl is filled. Place in freezer for 1 hour and serve immediately. To garnish: Take a doughnut hole and stick a tooth pick through it and then skewer one M&M of your favorite color on the top of the tooth pick. Center on the triffle. Enjoy!

"Come Butter Come"

Yesterday was art day for my kiddos, that being said, we did art! We made homemade butter! It was so much fun. First, I read to them a story about Johnny Appleseed. Unfortunately, it was a LOong story of all the various things he did in his life time. To me, I found it very interesting, however, the look of my children's glazed-over eyes signaled to me that they weren't enjoying it as much mother was. After the story was finished I decided to make butter, with hopes of demonstrating to them how one can experience joy in being resourceful. Like Johnny Appleseed, who wore a coffee sack as clothing and a pan-with-a-handle for a hat, we also used the materials we had at home to make butter. This is the recipe and trust me, it's GOOD!

Materials Needed:
*Whipping cream or heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
*Salt
*Wide mouth quart jar with a tight fitting lid...(any jar with a tight fitting
lid will work)
*Colander

Instructions:
Allow the cream to sit at room temperature for a few hours. Fill your jar half full with cream and screw the lid on tightly. Holding the jar by both ends, shake it vigorously for about 15 or 20 minutes. Extra shakers could be a big help here (i.e. family members) could be a big help here! After a while the cream will begin to separate and the butter will come. When you are finished, the butter in the jar should be about the mass of a baseball (remember to not go past 20 minutes).

Pour off the liquid (this is the buttermilk which you can save-my children loved drinking it), and rinse the butter curd in a colander under cold water to remove any milk. You should rinse until the water runs clear. After this, I highly recommend that you add a pinch or two of salt for flavor. Mold your butter or pack it in a small cup and refrigerate. You now have homemade butter to enjoy, and everyone gave their arms a workout in the process.

In past generations, the job of turning the butter fell to the children. As they worked, they would often invent rhymes to make the process more enjoyable. The rhyme which follows is actually a very old churning rhyme which children long ago chanted.

Come butter come.

Come butter come.

Peter standing at the gate,

waiting for a butter cake.

Come butter come.