Looking for the meaning of Easter at Wal Mart

Lyrics

The song that went along with the video I linked to in the last post had lyrics I felt were worth sharing on here.  So,  if you were interested in knowing the words here ya go.

Sunday by Tree63

Nothing’s sacred, the days are cheap
Truth is thin on the ground
Still our prophets are crucified
Nobody believes we’re stumbling
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming

Someone’s saying a prayer tonight
For hungry mouths to be filled
Someone kneels in the dark somewhere
And darkness is already crumbling
It’s Friday, but Sunday comes

Sunday – Hallelujah – it’s not so far, it’s not so far away
Sunday – Hallelujah – it’s not so far, it’s not so far away

Broken promises, weary hearts
But one promise remains:
Crucified, he will come again
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming

Sunday…

the zoo, zoo again, more zoo and then one more time

This week is spring break and we have been to the zoo 4 out of the past 6 days! We didn’t plan it that way, but it sure worked out nice.  We got zoo membership a while back, but it has been so cold we haven’t been in quite a while.  So when I was thinking about what to do this week, the first thing I did was look at the weather. It looked like it would be nice most everyday so we decided to hit the zoo Monday and had other ideas for the rest of the week.  We met up with a friend we hadn’t seen in a while.  It was great.  The kids did wonderful and Eli and his friend played as if they saw each other all the time.  They just picked up where they left off.  Toward the end of our trip we pulled out the map and Eli was all about looking at it and figuring out how to read it.  When we left he was sad that we had not seen all the animals, so I casually mentioned that he could mark which animals we missed on the map and we would return to see them.  He totally took me serious and made sure to have it ready to go the next day.  So, we met up with another friend Tuesday afternoon.  As if that wasn’t enough zoo for one week, we made plans to meet some other friends on Wed.  Each day the kids were just as excited as the day before.  We took a break from the zoo Thursday and Friday and then last night Nathan mentioned that he would like to go with the kids to the zoo since he had missed out on the fun during the week, so where did we head this morning?  You guessed it, LR Zoo.  Oh my!  That’s a lot of walking, stinky smelling and beautiful animal watching.  We are definitely loving having a zoo pass!  Here are some pictures from some of our time.  One day I let Eli and Lucy put the camera around their neck and take pictures from their point of view.  can you guess which ones they took?

hand me downs

The other night I thought it would be fun to try one of my dresses from childhood on Lucy.  I was telling her that I used to wear it when I was her age and Eli immediately asked if there was any clothes that used to be daddy’s that he could try on.  Well, it just so happened that we had a sweater that I believe Nathan AND both his brothers wore at some point.  It is a very unique sweater in my opinion.  I think you might agree 🙂  They both giggled and jumped around like I had just given them a bucket of candy.  Then when I pulled the camera out they both posed together, not just one, but both of them!  Such a fun night and sweet picture.  Thank you Nana Patti and Gramma Gari for keeping up with these, it sure is fun to hand’em down to our kids.  Look out Caleb, I see a horsey sweater in your future! (for those of you who don’t know who Caleb is, it’s Eli and Lucy’s cousin that will be here real soon!)

the other one

www.thejourneyofthejames.wordpress.com Our Journey to Know Crazy Love

So I did it.  We now have another blog to share about our fostering experience.  I figured out how to make it private, but haven’t done it yet.  For now the post isn’t specific to any one person or case, so it’s public.

12/31/03

**So apparently wordpress didn’t lose my post! It just seemed lost at the moment.  I was delighted to see it in my drafts

A little over 6 years ago a quote I read stirred in me and I wrote the following in response. I was attending a church at the time that had a message board on it’s website and that is where I originally shared.   I felt compelled to share it again here on the ol blog.  The Lord’s timing is really something.  I have had so much bubbling and brewing in my heart and head.  I just haven’t figured out how and what to share on the blog.   In time, He will make it clear.  Until then, hear are my thoughts from 6 years ago, which actually were good for me to read, especially on today.

some thoughts………..

I came across this quote today and it got me in such a way that I wanted to share…..

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t” Thomas Edison

When I read this quote it really caught my attention for some reason, it caught me off guard really.  My mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts.  It occurred to me that if I spent as much time seeking the Lord’s face, our Father’s will, as I do presenting Him with what I see as the only option, seeking out my will, trying to “convince” Him (even though I don’t think that’s what I am doing) and basically asking Him to okay it, ive me “a peace” about it, make me feel okay about what I want to do, foolishly thinking that I know what is best for me, ………………….ugh! How intimate of a relationship I could have if I redirected that energy to seeking not only His hand, but even more so His face.  What a thought.  In hard times it is human for out thoughts to cave inward….”Surely He doesn’t want me to hurt”, “I can’t glorify Him when I am so unhappy”, “God wants me to be happy!”……………..but let’s really think about this.  We all have these thoughts and feelings and always will, but look at the reoccurring theme………….me, my life, my happiness, my wants, my needs………..Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that we are called God’s children??  Not God’s adults, but His children.  Each one of us a child of God.  Think about the relationship a father has with his child……..if a child made all the decisions for their lives they wouldn’t go to school, wouldn’t brush their teeth, would probably skip bath time, at junk all the time, etc.  Those are the type of daily activities that in a child’s mind aren’t important and they don’t get why they have to do it, they will even fight their parents on these thinks, but it is in their best interest.  Sure, there are probably times when it would be easier to skip brushing their teeth, maybe they hate it and therefore don’t feel like they should have to do it putting up a fight, throwing a tantrum in effort to not have to do it, but as a parent they know that by letting them avoid this it would lead to cavities, rotten teeth, sore gums, bad breath, etc.  The child wants to escape this simple discipline because they can only see the here and now, but the parent is able to think beyond that and knows that they must look out for their child’s best interest over there current “happiness” even if it means letting the child be “unhappy”, or so the child thinks.  Okay, so that is a simple example, but I hope it  gets the point across that I am trying desperately to convey, I’m struggling with putting these thoughts into words.  Praise Jesus…….Each of us has are own battles that we fight daily.  Some might be looked at as bigger than others, but all in all they are struggles.  What is the correct response in trials?  Do we look for a way to cut them off? No, in fact the bible tells us in James to rejoice when faced with trials! Crazy! Why is the body builder happy to work out, sweat and strain day after day?  Because he enjoys the pain?  Because he likes to sweat?  Most likely it is because he knows that he must endure those things in order to be the best body builder he can.  so it is with our lives and trials.  We pray for our relationship with God to be strengthened and we want to be better people, but when trials come along we view them as roadblocks when really they are our gym, it is in this gym that we become stronger.

James 1:2-4, 12

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything……………..

12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

So……….I guess I have rambled enough.  I thank you for letting me share.  I love each of you dearly and pray God’s strength and discernment and wisdom for you in whatever battles you are facing today.  Embrace your trial and work through it, not around it or over it, don’t give up.  It is in these trials that we truly grow in faith and our love for the Lord increases.  Seek Him, not His answer or solution, but first seek Him.

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me

Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you . You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

1Chronicles 16:11

(NLT) Search for the Lord and for his strength, and keep on searching.

(NIV) Look at the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

(NKJV) Seek the Lord and his strength; seek His face evermore!

(Message) Study God and his strength;  seek his presence day and night

I hope this finds you well.  May God bless you and guide you for His glory.  My prayer is that this will be an encouragement to you today.

As I was coping this or retyping it here, I began to think about the people I was in community with at the time and the fond memories I have of that time.  The Rivermarket Church was so much to so many.  God showed me more in that window of my life than I know how to share.  I experienced community in such a way that it changed my whole being.  I long for that again.  I feel that I have begun to find it a little in this journey to “look after the orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27)  The crazier our life seems to get for Jesus, the more I experience community and peace and life!  The more our life seems illogical, the more it seems to make sense in a way we don’t even understand, but” See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. ” 1 John 3:1.   I am working on and praying over all these thoughts in my head that I long to share with anyone that will listen!  But for now I would like to challenge you to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8.  What is it that God has laid on your heart?  Okay, I didn’t plan on going beyond my original re-posting of the 6 year old post, but I did………

New addition to our blog

Well, I just spent the past hour working on a post only to have an error message tell me it has problems when trying to post it and then sent me to a blank post!!! I must walk away and revisit this in a bit, our sweet girl O just got home from school. Right before I tried to post I decided to “cut” part of the post and do it as a seperate post.  So, here is that post, but I promise to redo the other one that sparked something in me to share what is below.  Also, I have been saying it for a while, but I am finally ready to create a blog where I can talk about our fostering and such a little more freely.  The last step is figuring out how to make one blog private and the other one not.  Anyone know how to do this?  Fill me in.  Until then, here are the thoughts the Lord laid on my heart today:

I would like to share a little excerpt from a book I read last year that came to mind as I have been revisiting these thoughts and such.  It’s called “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan and God really used this book to speak to me.  In fact, just looking at some of the parts I highlighted I am excited all over again and just might read this again in the real near future.  I want to share this excerpt with you because I feel it is so relevant to all of us and what is on my heart to share.  By doing the things God calls us to, we are choosing crazy love.  He has given us so much and we give so little.  Now I don’t know you each personally, but I think it is safe to say that we are all challenged in the area of giving beyond comfort.  He has given so much.

“Giving that is not motivated by love is worth nothing.  Paul says from this kind of giving we “gain nothing”; however, when we give out of love, we gain much.  Giving results not only in heavenly compensation, but also gives us great joy in our lives here and now.  As we love more genuinely and deeply, giving becomes the obvious and natural response.  Taking and keeping for ourselves becomes unattractive and imprudent.

Remember the story where Jesus fed thousands of people with one boy’s small lunch?  In that story, according to Matthew, Jesus gave the loaves to His disciples and then the disciples passed them out to the crowd.  Imagine if the disciples had simply held onto the food Jesus gave them, continually thanking Him for providing lunch for them.  That would’ve been stupid when there was enough food to feed the thousands who were gathered and hungry.

But that is exactly what we do when we fail to give freely and joyfully.  We are loaded down with too many good things, more than we could ever need, while others are desperate for a small loaf.  The good things we cling to are more than money; we hoard our resources, our gifts, our time, our families, our friends.  As we begin to practice regular giving we see how ludicrous it is to hold on to the abundance God has given us and merely repeat the words thank you.

The apostle Paul addresses this issue of giving in light of the inequalitites among the early believers:

¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴At the present time  your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, ¹⁵as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.” — 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

I hope my next post will be our invitation to follow our journey to know crazy love 🙂

The book of Eli

Okay, maybe it should say “The book by Eli”  Either way, this is one of a few books that Eli has written over the past couple of months.  It is some good reading!