BRF -- Joel

Joel is an interesting book, full of flavour and imagery. Its also a little scary and really exciting. It made me want to be Jewish and terrified to make the same mistakes the people of Israel made. It is both terrifying and wonderfully amazing to see how God has the control of the nations in His hands.
How often do I forget? How often do I just not see that God is in control? I go about life. I may even be praying that I will be obedient to the Lord and to be doing everything to His glory... but do I see Him at all? Do I see that he holds the nations in check, raises up and causes leaders to fall, blesses whom He will and punishes those who He loves and complacently ignore Him?
Nope. I alternate between "loving" Him by studying His word and praying and doing my best to live for Him, making "good" decisions and thinking I'm ok and... messing up... complaining, losing my cool... all of it, good and bad with not a true view of who God is.
There is no way to know all of who God is.
He is infinitely beyond the capabilities of my reasoning.
He is in charge of everything and everyone.... everyone on this planet... and those in the spiritual realm as well.
These Israelites forgot about God.
They were just like me, going about their daily business, doing the right things outwardly maybe, but not quite touching their hearts.
Ch 2 vs 13 says "Rend your hearts, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. (14) Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him -- a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God."
Lets take some time and interrupt our everyday lives.
Lets take some time and remember who God is.
Lets take some time to rend our hearts for our complacency towards our God.
Lets take some time to rejoice in the Lord our God.
Look who He is!!!
Look what He has done!!
In His great love, He shook them from their complacency. In His love, He utterly removed them from everything they knew to remind them who He is. To bring them back to fellowship... real fellowship with Himself.
Then... at the end... the blessings on those of the house of Israel. The amazing blessings that are still to come to them. I am a graft on the vine of the house of Israel. Do I deserve the amazing blessing showered upon the land and the people of Israel in the last days? No. I am not in the family line.. but I am adopted into the family.
Reading the end of Joel makes me want to relocate to Israel. I want to be there when their enemies are miraculously turned back and destroyed because of what they have done to the chosen ones of God.
There are amazing things in store both for the children of Israel and the children of God.
We need to wake up and take notice that our little worlds are not the end all and be all of God's plan.
We need to remember who God is... vast, unchanging, righteous, true, loving, forgiving, full of mercy, holy.
We need to remember what God is not... tolerant of sin, ok with being 2nd or later in our lives, complacent, politically correct or asleep.
We need to be watching what is happening in the middle east right now... and be praying for our prime minister as he stands up for Israel regardless of what the pundits in Ottawa are saying. Yes, we need to be a little bit political and pray for our nation. Will our nation be strong if we turn our backs on the chosen ones of God? No.
God is also in control of our nation. It will rise and fall because of the people of God in our land. Will we humble ourselves and pray? Will we take our responsibility to pray for our leaders seriously? Will we ask forgiveness for the sins of our nation? Do we? Are we teaching our children to?

How Can I Keep From Singing??

Last night and this afternoon we did the run of the thrift stores. I really needed some new (to me) maternity clothes. Caitlyn was once again getting to tall for her britches and we love to not worry about how much something costs. If we love it... we buy it. I'm not going to go on about all the deals we got... except for the perfect maternity jeans that were in my size which NEVER happens and the sweet little tote bag for the Kay Arthur conference in less than 2 weeks from now!!!
The really cool thing happened on the way home. We were listening to our local Christian Radio station and Chris Tomlin's "How can I keep from singing" comes on. Justin starts singing along... in tune... not with words, just humming and aaaahing. It was so beautiful! We all just were in awe of our little 15 month old singing praises to God.
He kept on going with the other songs that came on and loved his little concert.
Most of the other kids sang before 2 (except Jack and Connor who danced to music, but didn't start singing until they were 3), but this is early for our family.
I can't help but be glad he's on key... at least we know he is really "singing" what he hears.
I'd better get these kids bathed so I can post my BRF, a day late again!!

Facing the Giants

I'm not usually a person to recommend movies. Quite frankly there aren't many out there worth recommending; however, we saw "Facing the Giants" this weekend and I'm recommending it. Not only was it entertaining, funny and enjoyable for the whole family, it was also a Christian movie with a wonderful message... NOTHING is impossible with God.
I love asking Molly (4), "What is impossible for God?" She answers with, "Nothing, coach!"
Don't ya want your kids to see the movie now?
Amazing... I had 3 paragraphs here that just disappeared...
The part of the movie that hit home to me was the story of 2 men who prayed for rain. They were in a drought and needed the rain for their crops. One man prayed and one prayed and then prepared his crops for the rain. Who expected God to answer.
I have been praying, but expecting God to say no.
Mark 11:24 says "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
I need to pray believing and prepare for rain.
This is what I did Friday night.
I prayed for a blessing and changed my attitude to excited anticipation.
What would God do? How would he move? What would happen in the morning?
First of all, my husband thought I needed a break and didn't wake me up in the morning.
I didn't get up until 11:45 am. For those of you who can't sleep in, borrow my babies for a few nights. You'll be amazed at their nocturnal prowess and sleep when you can!!
That would have been enough.
I was rested enough to be productive and enjoy playing skip-bo with the kids.
Then I got a phone call from Aunt Anne. Aunt Anne and Cousin Angela asked me if I wanted to come visit and attend a Kay Arthur conference with them next month in Ontario. Of course I would love to, but its not possible for me financially to do that... but Kay Arthur!! Angela knows Kay Arthur is one of those women who has taught me much about how much Christ loves me and pushed me to know God better... through her wonderful Bible studies! As I'm declining I'm dreaming inside of how wonderful it would be to just be able to fly up to visit for a few days... then Aunt Anne is still talking ... "and I'd pay for your plane ticket and get you into the conference. Ang and I are going and we just think it would be so much fun if you were there too." After discussing it with Dave, he realized he had nothing pressing at the office and could his work from home for a few days and I'M GOING!!!!
I'm so excited. God chooses to bless when we prepare our fields for his blessing. I was preparing for His grace to sustain me when things were tough... and He marvelously sent His sustaining grace down. Now I'm ready for a blessing.
Jack, Molly and Justin are playing sweetly after a little veggie tales marathon here. They are singing the SUV silly song and the Busy, busy song from Flibber-o-loo and I'm seeing the blessing there too.
Molly what is impossible for God? "Nothing, coach!!"
She is now singing "Every step I take ... sha na na naaa na na"
Life is good!

BRF -- Mark 9-12

Have you ever tried to tell someone something that is important to you and they just aren't listening? This happened to me about a week ago. The first time I was interrupted, I figured she just didn't hear me. Since what I had to say was important I tried again. Again she looked everywhere but at me and changed the subject. The 3rd time I was quite bold... "Hey, are you listening to me? I have something to say here. ...." Again, blown off. I wasn't really thrilled, but figured she'd figure this out on her own. Someone else could tell her, or not I didn't care anymore.

How do you think Jesus felt. He had something weighing heavily on his mind. I'm finding it brought up purposefully to his disciples 4 times and then put in a parable for everyone. What did the disciples just not get?? Jesus was going to die, and then rise from the dead.

If my friend said that to me I'd be asking some questions? Did I hear that right? What can I do for you? Why is this happening? How do you know? Lots of good questions.

What do Jesus friends do? The first time Peter takes Him aside and rebukes Him for it.

The second time they didn't understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it. Maybe because Jesus yelled at Peter the time before!! Maybe they didn't care enough.

Right after He told them the 3rd time, James and John asked Jesus for a favor they had no right to ask for. "Yeah, yeah, you're gonna' die. We get it. Can we sit beside you in Heaven?" These disciples are classy guys. Are they even listening??

Again He tries to tell them... Can you drink the cup I drink?? .... Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Are they cluing in yet that He's going to die?

I think the teachers of the law and the elders got it in chapter 12. Jesus gives a parable of the tenants and how the tenants killed off all of the vineyard owners servants and then even killed his son. They knew Jesus spoke the parable against them. They knew they were plotting to kill him even then.

I know there was a lot in these 4 chapters to talk about. There is giving all we have whether its a lot or a pittance to follow Christ. There is the loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself. The importance of paying taxes and recognizing the authority of the government. How God hates divorce and remarriage after divorce is adultery. How Jesus loves children and we had better watch to make sure we aren't causing any to stumble (a message for mom's as we have what it takes to crush or encourage our children's spirits). Not to mention squabbling over who is better than who and what Jesus thinks of that.

I was mostly impressed though on our denseness as followers of Christ. Not to be mean, but do we pay attention enough to the words of our Lord? Is His message resonating within us or do we brush it off, argue with Christ, nod and agree without having a clue what He really is saying or just rush through what He says (Bible reading) so we can say what we have to say (prayer).
I have to say most of the time I'm like the disciples. I rush through my reading and then feel I can say what I have to say without even cluing in that this is GOD talking to me. Instead of listening to His voice properly I'm waiting for the lull in the conversation so I can put in my 2 cents worth. I'm an idiot. Look at all the valuable learning time I have callously tossed away.

It took a good friend (usually) being a rather poor friend (one day) and not paying one bit of attention to what I had to say at all to help me see me in this passage. I'm not one bit happy with myself.

I love the verse "Be still and know that I am God"

Maybe because I have a hard time being still this verse has seemed so beautiful and other worldly. I need to be still more. I think for awhile its OK to even pray less fervently and just listen. He knows my heart and needs. I don't mean quit praying altogether ... like I could if I tried!! Just relax and let His words sink in. Reading the same passage over and over is helping though.

On to chapters 13-16!!

Amy's survey

Every now and then I feel the need to complete a survey. I have no idea who Amy is, but I'm hoping this will help her!! I found this on Shannon's blog. I don't know Shannon very well either.. never in person or even on the phone... but I do know Shannon's sister and brother-in-law!!

How long have you been married?
15 1/2 years

How long did you and your spouse really know each other before you married?
6 months

Looking back, how prepared do you feel you were for marriage?
almost enough... not quite

If you have kids, how long did you wait before starting your family?
We didn't really wait. We wanted them whenever God wanted us to have them. Caitlyn was born 2 1/2 years after we were married. We had a miscarriage when we were married 14 months... on Christmas Day... in Calgary when our family was in the Maritimes... hard year.

How many children do you have and what are their ages?
We are expecting #8 in July. Caitlyn is 13 next month, Matt is 10, Connor is 9 today!!, Courtney is 7, Molly 4, Jack is 3 and Justin is 14 months.

What challenges have you faced at this stage in your marriage?
We have both babies and puberty here. I'm tired and they aren't. We are always looking for Christian friends that believe the Bible is the final authority and not our feelings. Much tougher challenge than we thought especially when our kids are reaching the ages where they are interested in other views outside our family.

If you have kids, has your relationship changed since you've added them to your family?
yes

If so, in what way(s)?
We have a real need to work together for our family. When we don't spend the time we need together WITHOUT THE KIDS we work at cross purposes at times which can cause real stress.

What resources or support systems do you have that benefit your marriage?
I read a lot. I depend on women such as Elizabeth George, Anne Ortlund and Nancy Leigh DeMoss for their wisdom, honesty and at times a good kick in the behind... all from the pages of their well written books. I have been longing for a wise Titus 2 lady to mentor me for years and never found one. Someday I hope to be a good resource or support for another young struggling mom... or more!
The Bible of course is the best resource I have. If I can be the wife the Bible has outlined for me, life would be so much better. When I am struggling to make myself my husbands Holy Spirit, I make a mess of things. Being the "weaker" vessel is a wondrous blessing for my husband, children and myself.

What advice do you have for young couples contemplating marriage and starting a family?
First of all, make your relationship with the Lord your highest priority. Being married is tough. Everyone else seems to think they know what is best for your family when the simple fact is God is leading different families in different ways. Seek the Lord together. You may think that you will automatically want to pray and search the scriptures together always, but you have no idea how Satan will try to destroy your marriage. Its work. Nothing is automatic except sin and selfish behaviour... even yours. Take responsibility for your faults and let the Holy Spirit work in your spouse to lead them to take responsibility for theirs.

AND THE BIGGY......What is/are the biggest need(s) that you have as a husband/wife at this stage in your marriage? If you can only take the time to answer ONE question, please answer the last one!
The biggest need we have at this stage in our married lives is to commit to prayer and Bible study together. My husband even went out and bought a special book for us to do about 3 months ago and we have never opened it together. It is tough to find the time... this has been the hardest winter we have had on many, many levels... and we both want to. We just have to get together and do it.

Ok, that was really honest and who knows who is going to read this!
My husband will for one thing... Hi D!!
Hope this helps Amy.
I should check your blog to see if you are a christian... this may be drivel to you if you aren't.
Oh well, you ask strangers for help... sometimes you get drivel, sometimes gold.

Happy 9th birthday Connor

Happy Birthday to Connor!! He's 9!!
He is also wonderful enough to put his party off until next weekend when (as he puts it) we'll have some time for him. His big gift of the day is no schoolwork and he's quite thrilled with that.

BRF-- Mark 5-8

Once again... late... sorry.

What struck me most about this passage was the many times that people were amazed at what Christ was doing. He did many, many miracles in this passage. Demons cast out, blind see, dead brought to life, crowds fed, water walked on, etc...

Everyone was amazed, and rightly so.

After healings and demons cast out and the dead raised Jesus goes home for a visit and HE was amazed at their lack of faith. They didn't even have faith that Jesus could do for them what He was doing for everyone else. Sad. These were the people He would have most loved to help. His lifelong friends and family and they wouldn't be helped.

I love that the disciples didn't get it when Jesus fed the 5000, so He repeated the miracle and they still didn't get it. Do I get what Jesus really wanted us to know? I can see His loving care for our needs and we don't need to worry. I also see the foreshadowing to His death. His body broken for us is more than "just" the body. After being broken it becomes sustenance for all with more left over for others. There is no end to His salvation.

Is there more? Most likely.

How wild to see your friend come running over the water!! No wonder Peter is finally at the point where He knows for sure who Jesus is, the Christ, the Son of God! The disciples have been there for the whole ride and are now ready for this amazing truth. This is no ordinary man, its God.

The graveyard, demon, dead raising thing is still really creepy for me. This is the part of Jesus that I fear... not afraid of mind you, awesome fear. This is the stuff that is so far outside the realm of my experience that I like to gloss over it. I have never liked scary stuff and shun occult activities... Christ just fights it... and wins every time. Creepy, but ultra cool and totally powerful.
I'm amazed that the Pharisees dare to test Jesus. How blind could they be? They just out and out refuse to see the truth and are missing out on soooo much. They could be chatting with Jesus and getting the answers to the questions they have always had. They could be healed and have family members healed. They could be fed in soul and body, but they refuse. They would rather be empty and unfulfilled than admit they were speaking to God. And they called Him unclean!!! ai-yi-yi!!

Whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit His soul?

Back to priorities again. I am so struggling with this. The more I am desperate to have my priorities straight the harder this road is. This must be of extreme importance as I am feeling the battle between my old nature and new one constantly lately.

I often wonder why God allows the struggle. I want to lose my life for the gospel but my life just won't die for the gospel. I know what I mean even if no one else does. This is not literal, I'm not suicidal... I just want it to be easy. I want the old man to stop breathing completely so I can do what I want... be faithful to the word and to prayer.

Mice again

We have a mouse in the ceiling over the computer. I hate the scrabbly scratching sound. We have 2 cats!!!! You'd think they would at least react to the noise.... since the kids have been watching Cinderella, and think this is great! They actually would like to dress the horrid things.
I'm not too thrilled with cats either.
We have them to kill mice... we live in the country so mice are a fact of life... but those cats sure aren't worth their salt. They do kill the mice outside.. I guess inside must be a refuge.

Caitlyn is talking to Gramma (my mom) who was given 2 big bags of dress clothes for Caitlyn. Mom wanted to know when we are going down... she asks me at least every week and I keep telling her not until May. She says that asking doesn't hurt (just drives me crazy). I asked her when she was coming up with the clothes and that annoyed her. She is busy y'know... I do know and so am I. Now Caitlyn is asking over and over when Gramma is coming up... I hope Gramma sees how annoying it is and stops asking me!!

I should ask Mom to send the stuff with Jodie.

If you want to know, just read

My husband is on the roof again!!
This is a scary time for me as the boy has a definite tendancy to fall. The snow up there is melting though and being blocked by more snow so its leaking through the porch roof. There will be some roofing done this summer!!
The snow is coming off well and I have the curtains open to save my DH in case of a fall!!
Molly and Jack are "resting", the older 4 are outside and Justin is playing at my feet. I love moments like this... quiet and happy!!!
I am soooo disappointed today. I really loved the Wesleyan church, the people, the service, the worship...
We had the pastor in yesterday.
We had 3 main issues that we cannot back down from...

- the foundation of the church as laid out in Timothy and Titus
- remarriage of believers after divorce
- women in the pulpit/deacons

We believe if the church is set up properly (as Paul so painstakingly spells out in his letters to the new pastors Timothy and Titus) many of the problems in the church will be taken care of by the godly men who are in charge.
There will never be a problem with watering down the word so it is more palatable to the masses.
It is clear throughout scripture that if a person is divorced they are not to remarry as long as the other is still alive. Too many scriptures back this up to mention... I am not interested in a debate!!!
It is also clear that it is abominable for a woman to be in authority over a man... again not open for discussion ... that is how it is worded in scripture!

This pastor feels that all these things are ok and that God's grace will cover it all. The apostle Paul would have more than a few words for that attitude.

Yes, God's grace covers any and all sin, but how can we choose to ignore what God says in His word?

Romans 6:1 "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

Can we join a church who believes in easy believism and just trust that God's grace will cover it? No. We need to belong to a body of believers who can look at God's word and say... "God says it. I believe it. That settles it." not "Yes, God says THAT but I believe....."

This really hurts as the people in this church are so wonderful! Will we ever find a church for us? Spirit and truth. Not one without the other. Love, grace, truth, freedom and joy!
Obedience is freedom. Truth is joy. Christ is love and grace.
How horrible to miss out on freedom because the word is not enough.
Dave will be calling more churches this week.
Most of em have the gospel down pat. Ok, we're saved now, let's go a little deeper!!!

Matt and the kid across the street are keeping an eye on Dave. The shoveling has stopped. Hopefully its done and the ladder can go away until summertime!

Justin has taken off.

Dave might be able (most likely can) to get permission to do his work from home. He does all his work on the internet and telephone anyway. There is money alloted from his dept to pay for his office space at work. If we can finish the house and sell it we can move.... anywhere with good internet access. He should be getting a raise soon too.
If anyone out there knows of a good, Bible BELIEVING, soldier equipping church out there. Give us a shout!!
I think there is a new one in Quispamsis that is really good, but that would mean going back to Quispam which is becoming very expensive. We'd really like to live where its not so pricey!!

Oh great, Matt's on his way up the ladder!! I'm just not going to look!!!

BRF -- Mark 1-4

This was not a great week of reading for me. After reading Psalm 119 last week and wanting a real desire for God's word, I failed. Wanting and choosing to read are 2 different things. I need to do better.

On to Mark 1-4.

This was a crammed pack 4 chapters. There is no way to touch on all of it and not be long winded. I am trying to make these shorter (ha ha!).
What a scary time period. That was one thing that jumped out at me. First of all, politically it was a mess. There was great fear of the Romans and the Jewish leaders. Then there is this weird guy preaching in the wilderness. He's like no one they've met before.. a wild man who is preaching "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" The men probably think this is great... no TV remember? This is high entertainment! But this is really kinda weird. Then this other guy shows up, gets baptized and Heaven makes itself known. Ever wonder what the voice of God sounds like? The VOICE OF GOD... SPEAKS!!
This is not normal.
This is kinda weird and scary... and cool.
Is it any wonder that Peter, Andrew, James and John took off from their nets when Jesus called them?? How could they not know what happened out in the wilderness. Most likely they were even there to see it. GOD said this was His son!!!
I'd jump and run too. I'd probably be a little freaked out, while being amazingly honored that He would choose me to go with Him!!
Here's another weird thing... He casts demons out of people and they leave with a shriek. Again, would you be scared?? I would. I think its amazing that demon possession seemed to be so normal. Is it normal now and we just don't recognize it?
Jesus job was to go around and preach to the villagers. I wonder if He was mentally preparing Himself for that guy... y'know, the one with leprosy... the one that didn't obey as well as the departing demons did. Jesus said go, get cleansed at the temple and DON'T MENTION THIS HEALING THING TO ANYONE!!! Its ok to use caps and !!!'s because Jesus spoke strongly to this particular gentleman who promptly disobeyed and Jesus life was changed forever. No more easy travel and quiet visiting. Now He was a travelling sideshow!
There were crowds everywhere!! He was able to get away early in the morning to pray. It must have been really early. Remember, there was no TV, theater, hockey games, etc... to entertain these people. They came in huge crowds to check out this novelty, this faith healer.
The Jewish leaders were getting antsy. People now wanted Jesus opinion instead of theirs. Many were there for the show, a good many were there as seekers of the truth. God had been silent for hundreds of years!! How terribly exciting that God was on the move again!!
Gotta love the family, they thought He was bonkers. The Jesus they grew up with did NOT heal and perform miracles and speak to multitudes of people. He was a quiet carpenter who they thought was delusional and they were coming to take the dear boy home!
Meanwhile, the crowds were getting so big Jesus had to speak from a boat. I always wondered at this until it dawned on me this week... there were no microphones... just one man and a big crowd! Without an amphitheater the best way to speak to a crowd was over some water. If you've ever been near the water, you'll know how well sound travels over water!! There are a lotta maritimers here... even Charlotte County ones!! who would get this concept! Jesus on a boat, crowd along the shore... He talks, they can all listen... brilliant!
What a good job to grab the guys with the boats. They either have 'em or know everyone with one around the Sea of Galilee.
I missed one of these parables. I don't reacall ever reading the Parable of the Growing Seed. It never clicked I guess. Seeds that we sow for Christ, whether we are there to take care of them or not, have a habit of sprouting. The kingdom of Heaven will advance regardless of us. Little seeds grow, sprout and are ready for the harvest and we don't know how!! We don't need to know, God knows. We cannot make seeds grow and sprout. God can.
I have heard that the only thing that matters is bringing souls to the Lord. I disagree. The only thing that matters is that we are faithful to sow the seed. We may never know what happens to it. We may never see any harvest for any seeds we sow, and feel like we have failed the Lord. I've heard of missionaries going 25, 30 years and never seeing a convert. Did they fail? NO
They sowed the seed. The harvest is up to the Lord.
I love the boat story. Jesus is trying to take a nap. The storm acted like my kids when I try to take a nap... pestered the Lord until He woke up! "Quiet, be still!!" He says, just like its my naughty kids but unlike my kids the storm obeys immediately!!!
This even terrifies the poor disciples!
What kind of person is this??
They'll find out!