Thought I would post this years Thanksgiving decorations so I can remember what I did and what I would do different. This wreath greets those who enter my front door. The back of a different wreath on the inside is showing through the window. May need to rotate the outside wreath to cover that up. Funny how you notice things in pictures that you don't see otherwise.

This is on the table to the right of the front door.  I am not pleased with the look of this arrangement at all. Although I love the white ceramic vases,  the contrast between the carved wood and them is too much. The gourds would look better in an wood or organic bowl rather than the blue ceramic that I put them in. Will be rethinking this area for next year. 

These pilgrims decorate the fireplace. I would like to add a bow the the candle holder next year. 

Every table needs a centerpiece and this is on my kitchen table.

This is the centerpiece for the table in the sun room. This table can seat up to 12 people. For next year I would like to add a table runner to connect the table with the centerpiece better.

These Indians are beautiful.  The candle needs a small wreath around it and I think I would remove the pumpkins. 

Wreath on the back door on the inside of sun room.

My yard pilgrim, made by the kids second grade teacher, welcomes all the back door visitors.

So that the Word of God will not be dishonored.

Today we memorize why. Why our behavior is important and why we cannot live to please our self. 

Here is our beautiful seamstress telling us "sew that".  So that

Here pictured is my Bible open. The Bible is the word of God. So that the Word of God......

Have you ever been disciplined by writing I will not....whatever over and over again?  I am hoping that this will remind us of the words "will not". So that the word of God will not.....
The picture of the bee reminds of the word be. I used a upside down crown in between laurel leaves to symbolize dishonored. I thought about a soldier having his metals of honor removed but could not find a picture of it or the difference in having them removed and put on. What would you have used to picture dishonored? So the word of God will not be dishonored.

 Do you understand why?

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior,

 not malicious gossips 

nor enslaved to much wine, 

teaching what is good, 

 so that they may encourage the young women 

to love their husbands, 

to love their children, 

 to be sensible, 

pure,

workers at home, 

kind, 

being subject to their own husbands, 

so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Into Thy Hands I Commit My Children

This morning I watched a son walk out the door, get into his packed-to-the-brim car, and start out on an 800+ mile drive that would take him into the next stage of his life.  Different friends have asked, "Isn't it hard for you to have your children live so far away?"  It is true that I do miss being able to see them regularly and be a part of their daily lives, but this is what we raised them for- to live their own lives before the Lord.  My desire is for them to be who, where, and what God wants them to be.  If they are in the center of His will, I must let them go- whether it be a 10-minute drive from my house, or half-way around the world.  Though I am not with them physically, the Spirit of God is.  The Lord Himself has promised to never leave them nor forsake them.  And I can always surround them with my prayers.  

I have always loved Psalm 84:3- "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young- even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."  I can learn a lesson from these little birds.  The very best place for me to place my children is before the Lord.  The altar is a place of sacrifice and offering.  Our children have been given to us as a gift, a stewardship, that we might offer them back to the Lord.  May He use them for His glory.  

Being Subject to Their Own Husbands

I have not posted since we left for vacation so I let us review Titus 2:3,4,5 we know so far. If you are just joining us the you can see the other pictures here

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, 

not malicious gossips 

nor enslaved to much wine, 

teaching what is good, 

so that they may encourage the young women 

to love their husbands, 

to love their children,  

to be sensible, 

pure, 

workers at home, 

kind, 

To day we add "being subject to their own husbands,". I start with a picture of a bee (sometimes it stings to be subject to our own husbands) and add ing. 

This text book labeled subject 2 reminds us that in order to be subject to our own husbands we need to be a student of our husbands so that we may act in a manner consistent with their desires. We also study God's Word so we can act in a matter consistent with God's desires.

Being subject to their own husbands,

In order to remember "their own" I found this beautiful picture by Valarian Warrior of a roan horse which we are labeling "The Roan". "The Roan" sounds like their own.

L

Roan is a color created by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body of an animal.  We are using "The Roan" horse to remember the words “their own”. Can you remember "The Roan”?

Being subject to their own husbands, 

Mentally place a picture of your own husband here. Those who don't have a husband picture the qualities that make a good husband. 

Congratulations one more phrase and we are finished!

Picture review

Service with a Smile

So many times I perform my daily tasks with a grimace or a sigh. That’s because I forget whom I serve.  I am not merely serving those around me- who may or may not appreciate, or even notice, what I’m doing.  

Colossians 3:23-24 tells me where my focus should be:  “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”  


So look past those around you and see the Lord Himself.  Do your service for Him.  He notices and He appreciates all that is done for Him.  He assures us that “…whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to     Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41)  

What a kind and loving God we serve.

Look at His face and catch His smile as you serve Him with a right heart attitude.  

Reflect that in your own countenance. 

We really do serve the best of masters!  

"They looked to Him and were radiant, 

and their faces were not ashamed."

(Psalm 34:5)

What Motivates YOUR Service?

Another excerpt from the writings of Lilias Trotter:

Parables of the Cross and the Christ Life

       "The return is to Him as we see in parable with the plants.  They show us a love that seeks not her own; no one knows whence the seeds come when they reach their journey's end; no glory can possibly gather round the plants that surrendered their lives to form and shed them.  They just give and give, with no aim but to be bare stalks when all is done.  Everything is loosed without a shade of calculation or self-interest.

       'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory', they are all saying in spirit; they teach us absolute indifference as to whether our service is appreciated or even recognized so long as the work is done and the Lord is glorified, for God cannot get His whole glory as long as man gets any.

      So no matter if we never see the full up-springing on earth of the Spirit-seed scattered.  It is all the more likely that God will trust us with a great multiplying if our faith does not need to witness it.  He can grant us spiritual harvests out of sight of which only He gains the glory...for there is no limit to what God can do with a man, provided he will not touch the glory."  

My prayer:

O Lord, You know my heart.  It is true that my service for You is hardly ever done from pure motives.  You know that I crave recognition and desire to be appreciated for the things I do.  Put within my heart the desire for Your glory, rather than my own.  You are worthy of it all.  

"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, 

because of Your mercy, because of Your truth."

(Psalm 115:1)

True Servanthood

                                           

Do you consider yourself a servant?

Then consider the words of Richard Foster:  "We must see the difference between the choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant.  When we choose to serve we are still in charge.  But when we choose to be a servant we give up the right to be in charge."  

A servant does whatever the master asks of them, regardless of how they personally feel about it.

Two of my children are working as counselors at a secular day camp this summer.  They have younger counselors-in-training assigned to work with them.  The CITs' job is to do whatever the counselor asks of them to help the day run more smoothly.  There is one CIT who would continually ask my daughter, "What can I do to help?"  When my daughter told the girl what needed to be done, the girl would then make the decision as to whether or not that task was to her liking.  If it wasn't, she would not do it, but would again ask my daughter, "What can I do to help?"  I'm sure this girl feels like she is being a servant because she is continually offering her service- but is she a servant?  

My daughter also teaches a Sunday school class at our local church.  Right before Sunday school, the children are to gather in a larger room for a time of singing before they are all dismissed to their various classrooms.   This gives the teachers time to set out their materials and make sure they are ready before the children arrive.  There is one girl who comes to my daughter's room instead of going to singing and says, "I'm here to help you.  What can I do?"  Then she proceeds to look through the teaching materials, write on the board, etc.  My daughter tells the girl that everything is under control and reminds her that she needs to go sing with the rest of the children.  "No," the girl replies, "I'm here to help you."  This little girl is there to serve- or is she?

Unfortunately, this attitude is not found only in children and the unsaved.  Even as believers in the Lord Jesus, our hearts are still very deceitful.  We can fool ourselves into believing that we have a servant's heart, when in reality, our "service" is doing what we want to do in the way we want to do it.  

Our attitude towards service needs to be that which the Lord Jesus exemplified.  He very clearly states His motivation in John 6:38- "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me." 

 Being a servant basically boils down to one thing- obedience.  

And yet, serving the Lord does not have to be drudgery.  For those who serve with a right heart attitude, the Lord has great reward- "Enter into the joy of your lord." (Matthew 25:21)  What a blessing, since in His presence is FULLNESS of joy!

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things 

which you are commanded, say, 

'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"

(Luke 17:10)

Statement of Purpose

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, 

not malicious gossips 

nor enslaved to much wine, 

teaching what is good, 

so that they may encourage the young women 

to love their husbands, 

to love their children,  

to be sensible, 

pure, 

workers at home, 

kind, 

being subject to their own husbands, 

so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Titus 2:3,4,5

We have memorized all of Titus 2:3,4,5 except the last two phrases. I wrote out the complete verse set so we could see where we have been and where we are going. 

These verses have become my statement of purpose for my life right now. This is not a statement of who I am but of who I want to be. The other night while wrestling my youngest daughter for couch space I said out loud, "Is this reverent behavior in an older woman?". We laughed even harder because what we were doing seemed so ridiculous. 

Do you have a statement of purpose? What question do you ask yourself if you find yourself wondering if you are doing what you should be doing? 

In these verses I see 13 questions that we could ask ourselves.

1) Is my behavior reverent?

2) Is this gossip?

3) Will this lead to desire in me or others to drink too much?

4) Is this good?

5) Does this discourage a young woman in what is right?

6) Does this show love for my husband?

7) Does this show love for my children?

8) Is this sensible?

9) Is this pure?

10) Does this make my home a pleasant place?

11)Is it kind?

12)Is this what my husband would want?

13)Is God's Word being dishonored?

Kind

To be kind is to be courteous, gentle, friendly, generous, warm hearted, sympathetic, and understanding. In the picture below a young woman is bringing an older woman a tray of food, the act of bring the food is thoughtful but her inner attitude is what makes this act kind. When I was a child I was often in the hospital, nurses would bring me a tray of food but some of them were not kind. More often than not I do my work at home with an attitude of resentment rather than an attitude of kindness. This is wrong and does not please the LORD or my family. 

What do you think of when you hear the word kind?

God of all comfort

The Shunammite Woman

And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.  So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, the Shunammite woman!  Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you?  Is it well with your husband?  Is it well with the child?'"  And she answered, "It is well."  Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away.  But the man of God said, "Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress." -2 Kings 4:25-27

The Shunammite woman had just lost her only child to death.  Her husband could not help her.  Elisha’s servant could not help her.  There was only one who could.  She went straight to the man that represented God. 

Sometimes there are things in our lives that are so heart-wrenching that no human agent can comfort us.  But there is One we can go to.  We have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.  So let us hold fast to Him, for He is a high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.  He knows our anguish, and He cares. 

In March 2001 I received a telephone call informing me that my three year old nephew had been killed in a car accident.  I lay on my bed sobbing.  All I could do was cry out, “Oh, God!  My God!”  

Sometimes the hurt in our lives is so deep that we do not even have the ability to formulate the words to express our agony of soul.  But in those times, God is there, and He has already made provision for us.  “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

That day the Lord proved Himself to me to be the Comforter.  He held me in His arms like a little child.  When hard things come into your life, go straight to the Lord.  Let Him comfort you.  He is the God of all comfort.

Workers at Home

The next thought we want to remember after "pure" is "workers at home". My daughter got a hard hat last summer to wear where she worked at a gas plant in Wyoming. I put it on with an apron and took my picture with the tools I use to work at home. Of course there are many other tools that we use as we work at home but I am hoping these will remind us of the words...workers at home.

Let's review again!

Reaching Children with the Gospel

Do you have a heart to reach children in your area with the gospel?  
Then you need to go to where they are.

This past school year, I was blessed to work with one of my sisters-in-law teaching a Bible club that meets in a public elementary school.  We do it under the auspices of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).  CEF is a Bible-centered ministry that reaches out to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with children throughout the world.  The goal is to see children brought to faith in Christ, and then discipled and established in a Bible-believing local church.  

Did you say public school?  Is that legal?  
Yes, I did, and yes, it is!

In 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School that Good News Clubs can meet in public schools in the United States after school hours on the same terms as other community groups. Children attend Good News Club only with their parents' permission.  (Excerpt taken from Child Evangelism Fellowship website) 

Good News Club is the name of the after-school Bible clubs affiliated with CEF which meet after school hours once a week in the public schools.  To help in a Good News Club, some training is required, but I found it to be extremely beneficial and personally encouraging.  

During the club time, the children sing songs which teach doctrinal truths, are taught and work on memorizing a Bible verse, have a Bible lesson (using CEF materials, which I have found to be very well-written), and then play a review game to reinforce what they have learned.  

Working with these children can be physically and emotionally draining.  It can be heart-breaking as they share with you some of the situations they deal with in their homes on a daily basis.  But it is an opportunity for you to share the love of Christ with them and to let them see, through His Word and through your own life, the reality of who He is.  

If you have any questions as to how you can start, or be part of, a Good News Club in your area, check out the CEF website for more information at www.cefonline.com.

"Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; 

for of such is the kingdom of God."

(Mark 10:14b)

Great Expectations and Disappointment

It has taken me way longer than it should have, but I have learned something that helps me to be happy. It seems like an obvious conclusion, but it wasn't apparent to me for a long time.

Are you ready for the big reveal? Okay so it's not that big of a deal, but I have learned that when I have expectations of how things are going to go, I am often disappointed.

    I am especially susceptible to expectations of grandeur when going on road trips. I guess I've watched too many movies of families on vacation with windows down (no one ends up windblown), smiles on their faces and fun travel music being sung by all. They never have to stop along the road for a bathroom break five minutes after an official break at a fabulously clean gas station. No one squabbles over where to sit. No gets cranky after being in a car seat for hours on end. There aren't any random bits falling out when they open the doors. The truly romantic life.

   My reality isn't like that. And when I expect it to look like the movies, I am disappointed. It's not that our travel hasn't been fun. It's just that life isn't a hallmark moment. Life is real. I need to embrace the good parts and get over the not so wonderful parts.

   The truth I need to remember is that life isn't about me and my expectations. I am here not to have a wonderful, fulfilling life the way that movies and hallmark like to portray it. I don't find happiness and fulfillment looking for perfection. I find it when I give up my selfish desires and allow myself to be blessed by the little imperfect moments.

Pure

To remember pure we picture a glass of water.  

Let's review again!