A handmade Christmas

Our goal at Christmas with gift giving has been to give something personal, meaningful and inexpensive. I think we can all agree that presents for a long list of family and friends can quickly add up. Last year, we were in the throws of mucho tight times financially and therefore everybody got a picture of Haley and a jar of apple butter from one of our favorite stops in Tennessee. Ok, not so personal I know, but it was meaningful and inexpensive.

This year I was really inspired by an idea I saw at the Shrimp Festival in October. A vendor had taken pictures of architecture and nature to bring out the shape of a letter in the alphabet. She then took these letters and spelled words with them in art. I have since learned that this was a new craze and there's even been a successful company selling these Alphabet Photography art pieces worldwide. Anyway, I got really excited when I saw these and started thinking of what word I would want for our home...until I realized they were $8 per letter. Toby pulled me aside and said, "You could totally do this yourself." He's so encouraging and that's one of the things I love about him! I quickly came up with lots of excuses, laziness and lack of creativity being chief. But in the end, my frugalness and not wanting to drop $40 on art we really didn't need won out.

The idea didn't die there. During our 90 minute drive home that afternoon, I couldn't get the idea out of my head and I began seeing letters all over the landscape. Slowly some motivation began to grow. Long story short, I spent a few hours out one afternoon while Toby played with Haley and then another afternoon while Haley watched movies in the back seat...I'd drive around town until a found a fun letter, hop out, snap the picture and then run back to the car. Honestly, for my stay at home mom self, it turned into a fun project.

So this idea morphed into Christmas presents! I wanted to offer our family something meaningful. Not just from me and Toby, but from our Jesus Himself. So I spent several weeks in prayer over our family members and God faithfully gave me a word for each person. The original idea was to write a letter to each person to explain the art and the word God had for them, but as busyness often gets in the way, the letters got put off. Eventually, His Spirit became so heavy, the letters got written just in time, and I am SOO grateful for our obedience. I wrote the letters to my family and Toby wrote letters to his. To watch my family read Jesus' words and to see His love come across their face was priceless and afterward I reflected for a long time...Who am I to deny my family Jesus' soothing words that their soul so badly needed to hear? It was a wonderful reminder that I am here to serve Him...to do His work...to spread His love. My laziness nearly cost my family a beautiful blessing.

PEACE

REST

CHERISH

I took all of the pictures myself around Mobile, the boards came from Lowe's and were painted black. The clip frames came from Quadro frames ($1.49/each). Toby attached hangers on the back and I glued the frames to the board with wood glue. Being an accountant by trade, I've always considered myself "lacking" in the creative department, so if I can do this, so can you!

Thank you Jesus for a fun, creative and inexpensive way to share Your love with our family this Christmas. Thank you for loving each of us so much that You know exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it. You continue to amaze me!

Mary, my hero

As is our Christmas Eve tradition (ok, second year in a row and hope to continue each year), we watched the Nativity Story together as a family tonight. I'm always taken aback by the emotion and life that comes from the movie...more so than from just reading the story from Luke.

I am always struck by Mary's young age, yet her mother even commented that she was married even younger. This seems so foreign and almost abusive in our culture, but to understand that her father's act of giving her to Joseph was a great gift of love, paints the situation in a new light. To see the poverty and oppression these people lived under brings to life why they were so eagerly waiting for a political leader to free them from their abuse. Mary seemed to know that the Messiah would not be that kind of king.

When the angel appeared to her, she calmly agreed and offered herself in obedience. She couldn't possibly understand in that moment all that she was agreeing to...bearing a child out of wedlock and the stigma that would follow her, likely for the rest of her life. Yet, she humbly replied, "Let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) It makes me think, "How many times has God asked me to do something for His kingdom, even something small, and my response is opposition or a pitiful excuse? What would our world be like, if we all displayed Mary's humility, trust and obedience? Sure there have been times we have been hugely obedient, but what about the small things? "Carey, I want Toby to quit his job, for you to move back to Mobile and I'll fill you in on the rest later." We were eager with this big thing, "Sure! Let's go" "Carey, I want you to walk across the street and love on the lonely single mom that lives there." "Ooo, I don't know. I don't seem to have much in common with her. I'm not sure how she'll react to my friendship. Maybe later." What is that?!? How is it that we could so easily obey with the life altering command, but now I can't bring myself to pass on His love to the very people He brought us here for? Jesus, please help me to trust You and be obedient with Mary's great faith.

So Mary receives this earth shattering (yeah, literally) prophecy. What's the first thing a 14 year girl wants to do with big news? Duh, share it with the first person who will listen! Well, this wasn't quite that kind of news. She may not have known the full picture, but she knew enough to know that turning up with a baby while engaged could quickly get her killed. This was a BIG deal and Mary knew it. I doubt she even shared this news with her mother at first. I can only imagine the thoughts going through her mind with the gravity of what had happened. Now, she went to visit Elizabeth who immediately responded to her presence with excitement and blessing (Luke 1:39-56). Our sweet Jesus knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Mary needed to talk. She needed someone who understood and someone who supported her. By God's grace, Elizabeth understood before Mary told her one word about what had happened and why she had come to visit. As we watched the movie tonight, I let out a sigh as Elizabeth embraced Mary and the weight of all that she was carrying was lifted, if only for a while. Thank you God, for giving Mary the love, acceptance and encouragement she needed during such an overwhelming time!

Joseph will always blow my socks off. He was an honorable man and could have easily (and rightfully) had Mary stoned for her apparent infidelity, but his love of the Lord and his obedience spared her life. I wonder what their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was really like. In the movie, Mary and Joseph get to know each other for the first time and he proves to be a servant of the Lord and a servant to others. He is strong, humble, caring. Perhaps their trip really went that way. God knew that Mary and Joseph had a difficult road together, and He was working, even at this rocky, early stage of their marriage, to knit them into one flesh. Thank you God for your provisions for marriage. I pray a special blessing over all marriages today, that they would be strengthened and that husbands and wives will work together, with servant hearts for the good of Your kingdom.

When they finally made it to Bethlehem and Mary goes into labor, I can only imagine the myriad of emotions that coursed through them. Their was likely the excitement any couple feels as they prepare to welcome their child, but more than that great anxiety...where to settle to deliver the baby and the actual delivery itself. Perhaps Mary had been a part of Elizabeth's delivery of John, but she was still a girl herself with no mother or midwife to help her through. Men weren't generally invited to partake in the childbirth experience and having no previous children, Joseph was certainly completely lost and overwhelmed. Even though the fear of the moment was likely enormous, I like to think that God's mercy and supernatural peace filled every inch of that stable. My motto from the last year has become, "God will never ask you to do something and then not provide what you need to do it." I have to believe the same was true for Joseph and Mary on the scary night. He provided exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it. He is so good and His timing is impeccable!

After the movie was over, I thought for a bit about how God's hand was fully involved with every single step of bringing Jesus into our world. Not only had He waited for the right time in history, but He had specifically chosen Mary and Joseph, out of all of humanity from all time, these are the two people He entrusted His son to. He knew that they loved Him, that they would be obedient to the scriptures and to His specific instructions to them, and that they would prepare Jesus for His ministry and ultimately His precious sacrifice. He protected Mary from stoning when she turned up pregnant out of wedlock. He orchestrated the census and coordinated the timing of Jesus' birth with the fulfillment of ancient prophesy. He protected the tiny baby Jesus from Herod's numerous attempts to destroy Him. God's eye did not leave that little family for one second. He had a great plan for that baby and He was going to see it fulfilled.

As I checked on my sleeping Haley tonight, I thought, "Jesus, I love her so much. I totally understand the adoration Mary had for that baby and her instinct to protect him with everything she had." I cannot fathom the thought of someone tearing into my home and killing my two year old right in front of me...a horror that many mothers in Bethlehem endured (Matt 2:16-18). The need to protect my Haley was overwhelming and physical. I couldn't tear myself from her room. Just then, I heard the beautiful, still small voice, "I love you that much. Just as I love Jesus and I had a plan for Him while He was on the earth and I protected Him all of His days, I love you that much." As soon as the voice finished, I heard a song of confirmation from Haley's stereo..."Yes, Jesus loves me." I am totally undone when I try to imagine the depth of His love for me. For ME! Carey! Of all people, I am nothing special. I'm not noteworthy in this world's eyes. I am not worthy of the love and affection of the master of the universe. But yet, He sees me. He knows every thought and He has a wonderful plan, just for me. And just as He used Mary, a nobody from a nowhere town, He can use me to change this world forever...if I would only respond with Mary's trust and obedience...."May it be done to me according to your word." And nothing more...no more excuses or procrastination. When He says "go," world changers go. They don't ask questions or complain or pout or negotiate the details. They trust the Almighty and they go.

Sweet Abba, I will never understand the depth of Your love for me. I will never understand how Your grace and mercy are never ending and You give them so freely and in such abundance. I will never understand how You were able to send your son here for me. Although I will never understand these things, please help me to never take them for granted. Thank you for sending Jesus to love me with all that He had. Thank you for loving me with the depth of love You have for Him. Help me to grasp this and trust it more each day. Help me to walk in Mary's obedience and faithfulness and to share Your love and Your mercy with every soul I encounter, without hesitation, from this day forward. I want to be a world changer like Mary. Please lead me closer to You, day by day. With all that I have to give...


Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson
This is a glimpse, please take a few minutes to quiet your soul and experience this incredible night with Mary.

You can read the entire story of Jesus' birthday below:
Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:5-2:40

Redeeming Santa

Now that we are parents and have reached the Christmas season, the question of Santa as come up again. Growing up, both Toby and I were fully engulfed in the magic of Santa and his flight around the world delivering presents. The thrill and anticipation was almost unbearable on Christmas Eve.

Now that it's our turn to set Christmas traditions for our family, we've discussed how we want to approach it. I assumed we would teach our children all about Santa, elves, the North Pole, and all the magic that Christmas entails. I was shocked the year Haley was born when Toby said, "I'm not sure about the whole Santa thing." What?!? "I just don't think I can lie to my kids like that." I thought the idea was ridiculous, but seeing as how Haley was four months old that Christmas, we decided it wasn't that big of a deal that year and so we swept it under the rug. This year, Haley is 2 and while she doesn't really get it, she understands that people are giving her presents and that is SO much fun! Again, we don't have to make the call this year, but we know next year is going to be a whole different ball game.

We recently stumbled on a article that perfectly articulates how we've been feeling...click here to read it. Did you read it? You really need to read it to understand where I'm going...go on...it's a short read.

So, now that you've read that article, what do you think? We love his point of distinguishing between pretend and dress up and lying. Just as there is nothing wrong with watching the story of Ariel, the make-believe mermaid princess, there is no harm in telling the stories of Santa. The jolly fellow our culture has created is pretend and it's a fun story to tell. We fear that the danger comes from selling this make-believe story as truth. As a parent, I would never want my children to lie to me, and as their example of Christ, I should not lie to them either. The more I've thought about this and prayed about it over the last few weeks, the more unsettled I become with telling my children a bold face lie. I just can't do it. But our entire country seems to embrace this lie! It's ingrained in our cultural make up. So now what do we do? I don't really want to be seen as one of those parents who sucks all the fun out of Christmas, but I'm not ok with going along with the fable.

Now, before you get all in a tissy...I am not saying we will not celebrate Christmas or participate in present exchanges or stuffing stockings. I simply want my children to reside in truth...related to all things. In this instance, St. Nicholas was a real person. He did wonderful, generous things and we should celebrate his life and the example he left for us. From that perspective, Santa is wonderfully giving and his generosity should be duplicated. However, we will not tell our children that the presents on Christmas morning magically appeared in the middle of the night from a jolly man who flew around the world with his reindeer. They will know that their family has provided these gifts for them out of their love for them, and honestly, I doubt that knowledge will diminish any of the fun of Christmas.

As I've pondered this whole Santa idea, I've thought a lot about how do we turn the focus from the presents and the busyness to Christ...the reason for celebrating in the first place. We have to admit that the glowing tree and abundant wrapped presents can easily take center stage this time of year. And while attending a Christmas program at church, reading the birth story from Luke and playing with the nativity scene are nice things to turn our attention to Him, they often get overshadowed by the glamour of the gifts. So, as I prayed over this, God gave me the neatest idea! On Christmas morning, before any presents are opened, we are going to give Jesus His presents first! "What present?" you ask...the present of ourselves. All He's ever asked for is our hearts, so we will take His birthday to commemorate all that we have given Him throughout the year. The idea is to start a few weeks before Christmas and gather pictures and remember times that we have served Him...with our time, our talents, our money, our love...and make a card or a book to show these gifts. In addition, I would like to remember and celebrate all of the gifts God has given us...from the basic necessities of life to miraculous answered prayers. I have visions of years to come of my kids working diligently on their gifts, and on Christmas morning, we will each (Toby and I included) share how God has loved others through us, how we have allowed Him to use our lives for His glory, and how He has given so generously to us throughout the past year.

"What if we get to Christmas and we don't have anything to share?" Toby asked. Well, I think that's where our responsibility as parents kicks in. We need to be aware, year round, of opportunities for our family to serve others. Whether it be serving dinner at a homeless shelter, sharing Christ with a neighbor, helping another kid on the playground, giving allowance money to the church or a friend in need, or simply spending time with each other and offering encouraging words. I recognize this will require a bit of organization...a handy camera to catch a loving moment, a notebook to jot down memorable conversation, and a journal to document God's guidance and answered prayers so that these events easily come to mind at the year's end.

At the end of the day, Toby and I have learned a valuable lesson in our two short years of parenting...every family has to do what is right for their family, and deserves to do so without enduring the judgment of others. This applies to all areas of parenting...from breastfeeding, to bed time routines, to discipline, to education choices, to Christmas celebrations. There are a million ways to raise a child in a loving, God-fearing home and we recognize that each child is different. In the vast majority of situations, there is no right or wrong way, no better or worse way. There's only the way that works best for each family. For us, we have decided to celebrate Christ's birth by giving Jesus our time and talents, by remembering a Godly man called St. Nick, and by exchanging a few (not a ridiculous pile) meaningful gifts. I hope you are intentional as well to develop Christmas traditions that will draw your family closer to the best gift of all...sweet Jesus!

Merry Christmas!!

A day redeemed

Last week we had a little scare with the baby. It turned out to not be a very big deal, but my doctor still wanted me to "stay off my feet" through the rest of the weekend. Seeing as how it's not very often that I am ordered to lounge on the sofa for four days straight, I did my best to be obedient.

Have you ever heard the saying, "lazy breeds lazy"? The idea is that the more you sit around, the less energy you have, so the more you sit around and so begins a vicious cycle. Well, four days of Disney movie watching was enough to set that cycle into motion. By Monday I was antsy to get moving again, but utterly crashed by lunchtime. I spent the rest of the day either dozing on the sofa again, or watching Haley play throughout the house...from the sofa. By the time this morning came around, I wanted to do nothing but sit and stare into space. The mounting to do list was daunting...laundry, clean the overflowing kitchen, run errands, bathe the dog, and not to mention the seemingly endless items in preparation for Christmas. As is my bad habit, when I get overwhelmed by my to do list, I choose to do nothing. I often find a mind numbing movie and stare into space instead of making even a little progress on my chores. It's a terrible habit, but that's where I found myself this morning.

After allowing Haley to watch videos in our bed for nearly an hour while I snoozed in and out of consciousness, I decided it was time to start moving. I mindlessly prepared breakfast and told Jesus, "I'm going to need You to get me through this day...both Your strength and Your patience." Before I knew what had happened, breakfast was finished and I had cleaned the entire kitchen. I looked around, amazed at this feat and thought back to my prayer, just thirty minutes earlier...it was happening. I also got the grand idea (aka Jesus told me) to move my errands to after nap time instead of before so we wouldn't be so rushed..."brilliant", I thought. The morning continued and I did two loads of laundry and sorted through nearly a week's worth of mail. While Haley was napping I even stole away an hour with my Beloved and read the next few chapters of Judges. That was a great lifter of my soul. After nap time, Haley and I ran errands, including grocery shopping, prepared a healthy supper, bathed the toddler and had her in bed almost on time. Then I cleaned the kitchen (again), wrote the Christmas letter I've been postponing for weeks, and even have enough energy to write to you!

Wow! Today is the best I've felt in a week, and I know it's because Jesus poured His supernatural strength on my tired bones and allowed me the resolve and patience to chip away a few items on my ever growing to do list! Thank you Jesus for redeeming my day! For allowing me to be productive, to invest time in my daughter and to see Your handiwork...and for my day not to be stolen away by staring aimlessly into space, as was my desire when my eyes opened this morning. You are so good, and so concerned about my pitiful woes. It never ceases to amaze me.

...........................................................

I know some of you are concerned about me "doing too much" as my pregnancy continues, but please trust that I know my own body. The fatigue that has come with this first trimester caught me offguard...I had forgotten the extent of it, but I do know when I need to sit and rest. Like I said, it's not very often in life that we have such a wonderful excuse to rest...I don't plan on wasting it! You should also know that Toby has been so wonderful over the last few weeks. He has been helpful around the house and with Haley, despite his mounting schoolwork. He even took Haley to Wal-Mart (with coupons in hand) one day last week so that I could rest and we would still have the necessary groceries to make it through the weekend. He makes me feel so special. Rest assured, as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight, I'll be out like a light! On that note...I'm pooped. Good night, all.

He inclined to me and heard my cry

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

When I was a little kid and people would ask, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Mommy" is all I could ever come up with. I have always imagined myself with a house full of little ones running around with happy laughter filling the air. We were beyond thrilled when God blessed us with our precious Haley in 2008. Soon after she was born we moved to Tennessee for Toby's job and I stayed home to play with Haley. With two mortgage payments and one income, our finances got really tight, really quick. In that season God taught us so many wonderful things about how to steward His money and how to be more resourceful, but our hearts broke as we made a commitment to not have any more children until our rental house in Alabama sold and our finances freed up.

From February to August of this year, God took us on an incredible journey that culminated with us living in our little rental house in Alabama. If you haven't had a chance to read that story, please take the time to...it's incredible! (Go to the blog archives and scroll all the way to the bottom and work your way back up.) During that six months, God poured lavish blessing after lavish blessing on us. The most recent being the joy of my heart...we are finally expecting another baby! Haley will be a big sister! The icing on the cake was that we found out this incredible news on Toby's birthday a few weeks ago.

I am currently nine weeks along and baby number 2 is expected to arrive on July 8. With the exception of a small issue this week resulting in a small placenta bleed and four days of bed rest, everything is going wonderfully. The baby looked to be perfect at our ultrasound last week.

Baby 2 at 9 weeks gestation

I apologize for the poor picture quality as I am having issues with my scanner. If you look really closely you can see the outline of it's head and an arm. So tiny, yet so perfect. The baby measures to be almost 2 cm long, and to think most of it's vital organs have already formed or are close to being finished. I am amazed at such complex life on such a small scale. Our God is an amazing creator!!

Just as we prayed for Haley during this time, our prayer for this baby is perfection! I know that my God can deliver a perfect baby and I also know what an incredible miracle a perfect baby is! We are also praying for God to instill, even at this stage, a sweet spirit that is sensitive to His voice and His promptings. A spirit that will be fun and full of life and joy. Please join with us in praying for this new life, and you know I will be happy to keep you posted as the weeks go on and it's arrival gets closer.

We have told Haley that she will be a big sister. She seems excited, but I think she's mostly reflecting our excitement. When we ask her where the baby is, she often points to her own belly. She's so sweet and precious, and I know she will be a wonderful big sister!

One bad dude (Joshua)

I've told you a million times that I grew up in church and have heard Bible stories all my life, but HELLO, they were holding out on me! Most of my knowledge (to date) of the Old Testament was gained through popular memory verses, the occasional OT sermon, or happy Sunday School stories, aka the felt board. If you have ever stepped foot in a third grade, Southern Baptist Sunday school class, you know what I'm talking about. As I read through the pages of Joshua over the last few weeks, I was blown away at how skewed my understanding was of the Promised Land...whoa baby, hold on to your hats!

At the end of Deut, Moses taps Joshua to lead the Israelites on his way to be with Jesus. From my calculations Joshua was pushing 90 and boy was this geezer handed a big assignment! It was time to bust into the Promised Land. The land God had been talking about for generations, hundreds of years. It was finally time to stop talking about it and start taking it and a 90 year old man was just the man for the job.

Joshua had lots of military experience...funny how God prepares us along the way, isn't it? In fact, we first met Joshua when Moses charged him with leading the battle against the Amalekites, not long after they crossed the Red Sea. As Joshua fought, Moses stood atop a hill and held the staff of God high. When his hands were raised the Israelites prevailed, when they lowered the Amalekites prevailed. Remember, Moses was no spring chicken by this time, so naturally his arms got tired. (Don't judge, you try standing there with your arms up for hours on end...P90X's got nothing on that workout!) Anyway, Aaron and Hur came to his rescue...they brought him a rock to sit on and they each held up an arm...all, day, long. At the end of the day, Israel won and I'm sure Moses was one exhausted dude. But anyway, this was Joshua's first taste God's military faithfulness (as far as we know anyway). (Exodus 17)

Next, Joshua was included in an elite group that got to meet with God. No, no, I'm not talking about a Tuesday night prayer meeting...MEET. WITH. GOD! "and they saw the god of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank." (Ex 24:10-11) Now, I would like to think physically seeing the God of the universe and sharing a meal with Him would have some kind of lasting impact on a person. God knew what He was doing, Joshua was being shaped and molded for the enormous task that lay decades ahead. Joshua had a taste of the real thing, and he couldn't get enough. "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent." (Ex 33:11)

Later, Joshua was selected as one of twelve men sent on a spy mission to check out the Promised Land. The men came back and reported to the people of the amazing land they had seen, but they quickly coward and were afraid of the strong people and fortified cities. Joshua and Caleb were the only two of the twelve confident that God would provide what He promised..."The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us - a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." (Num 14:7-9) Can't you just hear the dun, dun, dun drama music? I wonder if Joshua had any idea that he would be the one to fulfill those words...40 years later.

So, here we are. Israel has wandered, seemingly aimlessly, throughout the wilderness for four decades. Their beloved Moses has just passed on and Joshua has been tapped to take them in. It's about 1400BC. Just a side note here, I was curious as to what else was going on in the world around this time and it just so happens that King Tut died about 60 years later in 1343BC. Now, why do we hear so much about the young king and his bling and rarely hear about one of the greatest military conquests in all of history? I wonder if Tut had heard of Joshua's conquests? After all, it was just one generation later and you know how a good story will last. Nowadays, people are still talking about where they were the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Hmm...food for thought.

Anyway, back to the story. The book starts with Joshua's charge. God tells Joshua, "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." (Josh 1:5) Then He told Joshua to "be strong and courageous" not just once, but four times in the first chapter. Um, hello? Is there something scary ahead?

The first targeted city is Jericho, just to the west of the Jordan River. Joshua sends two spies to check it out and report back to him. Somehow they meet up with a harlot (that's Bible for prostitute) named Rahab who takes them in and hides them. Now, let's think about this. Why did they need hiding? Did they stand out that badly? I suppose forty years of wilderness wandering would leave one without the current fashion, not to mention the nation of Israel may have had distinguishing physical features. Either way, Rahab spotted them but then protected them? Well, why did she do that? Word had traveled through these cities about the Israelites. (Josh 2:8-11) How God dried up the Red Sea, how they had amazingly defeated the Amorites and Og (I'm sorry, I think the phrase was "utterly destroyed"), and that God had given their land to them and now they were coming for it. Funny...how did they know all that? Well first, it's probably not too difficult to spot nearly 2 million people wandering, especially after they'd passed by a few times. Also, I'm guessing the Israelites traded with or interacted with people over their 40 year stay in no man's land, either directly with these residents or with traveling traders or such. Just a hunch, but either way word had gotten around, Rahab had heard it and had accepted that theirs was the one true God. Long story short, Rahab hides the spies and helps them get away, Israel spares her and her family during the attack, and she, a harlot and a foreigner, is blessed by being added to Jesus' lineage...talk about an inclusive God! (Matt 1:5).

The spies return to camp with the necessary information and Israel packs up to head that way. One problem...there's a huge river between point A and point B, and no Golden Gate bridge waiting to assist them. So God, for the second time, dries up a massive body of water for the entire nation, livestock and all, to cross. And mind you, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who got to see the Red Sea split first hand. The rest of the nation had heard about it all their lives and now they were seeing their own miracle. Pretty cool. So why does God perform these miracles, even today, (besides the physical need of crossing said major water system)? "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever." Joshua 4:24 (Uh huh, so that they will know that I am God...sound familiar?)

They set up camp a few miles from their target city, Jericho, and received the battle plan from the Lord...march in circles around the city, blow your horns and the walls will fall down. Really? Seriously? That's your big plan? You see, cities during this time had enormous walls all the way around them and often only had one gate for people to go in and out. These walls would be several stories high and many, many feet thick. We're not talking about a center block retaining wall here. This was a fortress. And God told them to yell at it and it would fall...riiight. But Joshua never wavered, never questioned or doubted. He followed God's instructions to a T because he'd seen Him do great things before and he had absolute confidence that He would come through again.

So here's where my felt board education has failed me. My vision of this event climaxed with 25 men standing outside the huge city gate, they gave a yell, "Ah," more like a football cheer than a battle cry and the walls fell and everybody came out with their hands up. Well, close but not quite...actually, not close at all. I need a visual. Have you ever seen the movie Troy?

The great war between Troy and Sparta (Helen of Troy, Trojan horse, you with me?) happened around 1200BC. Joshua took Canaan around 1400BC. Troy was a great fortified city with a massive wall surrounding it, much like Joshua's first target, Jericho. Being only 200 years difference in ancient history, I'm guessing the military equipment and tactics were fairly similar. God told Joshua to strategically circle the city in silence over the course of seven days. We're talking thousands of warriors marching around the city walls. Jericho was already petrified of Israel and had closed themselves inside the city. On the seventh day, the warriors followed the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, not once, but seven times around the city. At the end of the seventh lap, the priest blew the rams' horns, all of the warriors shouted and the massive walls of this fortified city came crashing down.

Ok, so Joshua didn't have soldiers facing him outside the city, but get a load of those walls!

Now, let's talk about this shout. I always pictured an enthusiastic yell, but that's so wrong. First of all, we're talking about thousands of warriors. In these battles, there were no snipers or computerized spy planes or fly by missiles for cover. This was man to man combat. Kill or be killed. Swords flying, blood flinging, men dropping like flies and being stepped over by a thousand others. The adrenaline pumping through their veins was incredible. Israel had marched around Jericho for six days in silence...talk about intimidation. On the seventh day, they circled the city seven times. That's a long time to get phyched up! By the time they heard the ram's horn, they were lit! The roar that came out of their mouths was more likely beast than man in full on survival mode.

The walls of Jericho fell, each man plowed straight ahead into the city and they "utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword." (Josh 6:21) Later the city was burned. The silver, gold, bronze and iron were put into the Lord's treasury and only Rahab and her family survived. (Joshua 6)

Joshua continued from Jericho, strategically taking one city after another. His command was "you shall not leave alive anything that breathes" (Deut 20:16). Several cities banded together to fight Israel, but they too fell and were utterly destroyed. Throughout these battles, God continues to remind Joshua to not be afraid...no doubt renewing his strength. Remember, we're talking about a 90 year old man here! But never once, did Joshua question or doubt God's instruction! He obeyed the Lord to the letter, fully expecting God to make good on His word...and He did, every time. At the end of the day (well, likely years), Joshua and his army had defeated thirty-one kings (Josh 12:24). Each one a complete victory. No easy undertaking, but with God all things are possible!

Now, here's where a lot of people struggle with our "all loving" God and make claims against the "mean God of the Old Testament." I too have questioned, how could such a loving God so brutally wipe out so many people? Well, we'll have to look a little closer at these people to understand this. The Canaanites (general term for many nationalities who previously occupied the Promised Land), were a sick and twisted group of people. In fact, when we get all in a tissy about how the world is "going to hell in a hand basket" these days, we need to take a look back at these guys. In a lot of ways, we've come a long way. (Now, don't get all worked up...of course there are MANY things that need to change in our world, but that's not the point here.) God clearly reminds Israel before they ever even crossed the Jordan that they were not receiving this land as a reward for anything they had done. He is giving them this land out of faithfulness to the promise He made to Abraham and because of the extreme evilness in those cities. (I can't find the reference...it's late and I'm tired, but I know it's there...I'll get back to you on that.) These people not only tolerated, but actively worshiped their imaginary gods. Said "worship" included child sacrifices of the most disturbing order and disgusting sexual activities, among many other things. Wiping them off the planet was actually an act of mercy. As if God stepped in front of Satan and yelled, "NO MORE! You can not have one more child or torment one more woman. ENOUGH!" For the children in that society to be killed and sent to the arms of the Lord was far more merciful than allowing them to be tortured, abused and murdered by their own parents. God did not wipe out the Jones' or Leave it to Beaver...these were some sick, nasty people. Whew, that was rough, but needed to be said. So, please do not think of God as "mean and vengeful" in the Old Testament. He has never and will never change. He was the same loving God then as He is now. Remember, He showed great mercy and blessing to Rahab simply because she trusted Him to be the true God. That offer was available to any other Canaanite who wanted to take it...too bad there weren't many others.

After the land was given rest from war, Israel divided up the land between the 12 tribes. Two and a half of the tribes chose to have land east of the Jordan (conquered earlier) so they returned home, and the other nine and half tribes began setting up house in their new diggs..."land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant." (Josh 24:13)

After many years of battle and faithful service, Joshua prepares his last words to Israel...primarily a strong warning to remember what God had done for them and to always serve and obey Him. Despite his desperate pleadings, Joshua knew they would eventually turn their backs on the Lord. I can't imagine the pain that must
have caused him. He gave them one last charge, "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the rivers, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh 24:15) Joshua is saying that we were all made to worship something. We will all devote our attention and our affections to something...that's how we were designed. Today we could rephrase this verse, "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether your job and your bank account; or your football team and your social status; or you can choose to serve the Lord."

We were all made to worship something. Joshua worshiped and served the Lord with everything he had at every opportunity he was given. What an incredible example of radical pursuit of the Lord...the only one worthy of our praises!

A day of thanksgiving

I am thankful that our country takes one day a year to focus on the endless blessings that abound here. I have been so encouraged to see nearly every Facebook status reflect a thankful heart this morning. All too often we (myself included) get so caught up in the craziness of life that we bypass all we have to be thankful for.

This year, I am thankful for a deeper relationship with my Jesus. He has pursued me and taken me to new places, and I know that I've only tasted the blessings He has prepared for those who love Him.

I am thankful for my precious Toby. Twelve years ago yesterday, November 24, Toby asked me to his house to play pool. We were juniors in high school and I was beside myself with excitement. The last twelve years have been a blast. We have grown up together and learned about life together. I have watched our jealous God turn an all-American teenage boy into a man after His own heart. It's been an incredible ride.

I am thankful for my beautiful Haley. After joining the mommy world, I learned just how many things can go wrong during pregnancy. The fact that Haley developed perfectly through pregnancy and has never been sick, to speak of, is something I will always treasure. She is growing and learning every day and each day she steals a little more of my heart...and to think, I didn't know there was more of me to give.

I am thankful for an abundance of family that loves us dearly. As an adult I have met others with family strains and distance. This thought is heart breaking. I am thankful that every branch of our family is peaceable...at least in corporate gatherings. :) Throughout the year and especially during the holidays, doors are always open and loved ones are only a phone call away. Although we are spread around the south and we don't see our family as often as we'd like, I will always be thankful for our loved ones.

I am thankful for the many friends God has put in our lives. In our six years of marriage, God has blessed us with friends who love us and love Him, friends who have challenged us to become better people and have encouraged us in our walk with Him. While our days in our new Mobile home have been fairly lonely, we have faith that He will again provide a new group of great friends.

I am thankful for our country. I will never understand the great sacrifice that so many families have made in order to make and keep our country the great place that it is. The wealth and financial bounty that floods this country is abundant. I am thankful for having everything I could possibly need. Never do I worry where my next meal will come from or whether or not I will be able to take a hot shower or turn on the lights...all things that are expected here, but great luxuries in many parts of our world.

I am thankful for all of you. While this is not something I would have ever started on my own (Jesus told me to do this) this blog has been a fun journey so far. I have been so blessed and encouraged to hear how our stories have touched you. This blog has seen hits from nearly every continent and I am constantly blown away that God is using our struggles and our triumphs for good in this world. Please feel free to share our stories and I always love to hear yours.

Let us make a daily habit of taking stock of the blessings that surround us and never take a single one for granted. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Monumental cooking

Many months ago the mentor moms at my MOPS group introduced me to "once a month cooking." The idea is to get 3 or 4 friends together, purchase ingredients in bulk, and work together to prepare and freeze 30 meals for each of you. You could do it on your own, but it's much more fun together. This weekend I have gathered with some girlfriends from college and we have decided to give this project a go. We didn't quite make it to 30 meals, but we did tackle eleven. After one day of mega shopping and nearly three days of cooking, the four of us each have at least eleven meals to take home. Our delectable treats include beef taco bake, chicken casserole, vegetable soup, lasagna, sundried tomato chicken pasta, homemade spaghetti sauce, sausage balls, pizza dough, meatloaf, squash casserole, and spaghetti pie. After doing the math, this project cost each of us $68, and breaks down to about $6 per meal. For our small families, each "meal" will feed us for dinner and even offer up a leftover meal or two.

I feel like the ultimate hunter gatherer for my family! My freezer will be full and I will be prepared to whip out a full meal with virtually no preparation...well, at least eleven times.

a freezer full of yummy meals

I have to say that I think our first go round at massive cooking went pretty well, but we have learned a few tricks that will make things a little smoother next time...we need a deeper dish for the lasagna, stacking the lasagna pans before they're frozen will likely lead to leakage, print extra and more extra labels, and the host freezer needs to be cleaned out and space maximized before the big weekend. Other than that, it was a great success and we will be doing it again.

In addition to endless hours of cooking, I have enjoyed painting my toenails, cheering on the Auburn Tigers, watching chick flicks and sleeping late, thanks to my mom enjoying Haley for the weekend. All in all, it's been a great few days away from reality and responsibilities and catching up with old friends...now I'm ready to head home refreshed and ready for the holidays!

A belly laugh is good for the soul

I was raised in a traditional, conservative church, and as such the worship was generally "reserved," for lack of a better word. In this season of our lives Toby and I have branched out a little to see what else is out there. Our church in Tennessee that we loved so much, strived to embrace a balance between traditional churches and charismatic ones, and this was really our first taste to anything outside of the conservative world (minus the TV preachers, but that's a whole 'nother post).

Having visited many types of churches lately, watching and listening to church services online, and attending different retreats and seminars, I've run across a common idea in many of them...laughter. Some may call this "holy laughter" or "drunk in the Spirit" but this whole idea was new to me...but turning up constantly. I had someone tell me recently that "it's not Biblical" and quickly dismissed the whole idea. Well, having seen this on numerous occasions and even experienced a taste of it myself, I was troubled. Maybe it is in the Bible or maybe it's not. I recognize that my understanding of theology is limited, and that I have entrusted myself to others that are close to me, but now I needed to know for myself...so I started digging and here's what I found...

In his book, Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem (1) suggests that when the Holy Spirit "falls" or manifests His presence, He brings with Him the attributes of God. Well, this makes sense...seeing as how He is God and all. I don't think any Bible reading Christian would argue that the Holy Spirit often brings knowledge and wisdom with Him. It is a common teaching in the church to ask the Holy Spirit for these things as we read the Bible and He will bring forth revelations, understanding and personal application as we study. So are we still good? Good. Another common attribute the Holy Spirit carries is love. I could tell you countless stories, both my own and those of others, where the Holy Spirit has come and taken me on a love affair with Jesus. God has revealed personal, private messages of love intended only for me. God is love (1 John 4:8) and seeing that the Holy Spirit is God, of course love will ooze from His presence. Let me point to the ultimate reference to make my point here...

"And the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."
Acts 13:52


"...for the kingdom of Heaven is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Romans 14:17


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23


"You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit."
1 Thessalonians 1:6

This word "joy" is khar-ah in Greek and means cheerfulness, calm delight, gladness, greatly and exceedingly joyful. Now, I don't know about you, but I would logically classify laughter under exceedingly joyful. So the next time you're lost in the presence of the Lord and you feel a smile come across your face...go with it! While I've never had a moment of belly laughter and rolling on the floor, someday I do hope to reach that level of exceedingly great joy in the presence of my Lord.

The more I study His Word and the more time I spend with Him, I'm learning that God speaks my language and knows how to communicate with me. He knows when I'm in a goofy mood and when I just need to be comforted. "There is a time to weep and a time to laugh" (Ecc 3:4). While He certainly deserves our reverence and honor, that doesn't mean we have to be stoic in His presence. He made me just like He wanted me to be...goofy parts and all!

I, by no means, claim to have all the answers...in fact I can barely grasp a few. I'm simply on a journey to discovering who this God is and why He loves me so much. I'm excited to share my discoveries with you and I hope you'll do the same. While we're on that note, one other thing that has been heavy on my heart this week is the importance of experiencing Him. While it is crucial to our Christian maturity to read and study the Bible, I believe equally as important is experiencing and interacting with our Holy God on a regular basis. I could read every book and magazine in print about George W. Bush, but if I have never met the man, never shared a conversation with him...I could hardly call him my friend. I would only be a student from a distance. God wants me to be his intimate friend (James 2:23), but to do that I have to come to Him. Talk to Him. Share my thoughts, my fears, my questions, my hopes and my disappointments. He will listen and He will talk back. He will give me words of encouragement, words of correction, words of wisdom and guidance, and the ability to accomplish His high calling on my life. We all have a high calling, you know...something great that only you can do to bring His glory to this earth. So don't miss the opportunity to chat with the most High God. He has lots to say to you...just to you. It may come through a friend, a sermon, a song, or His Word, but often times it will come from the throne of Heaven straight to your heart if you're listening. May we all stay hungry for more, open to a new level of intimacy with our Lord, and humble in recognizing there is still so much more to learn.

(1) Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem, pg 644.

Moses is a weenie (Deuteronomy)

I few weeks ago I mentioned that I have felt a huge call to study the Word and really dig in. I also informed you that you are now serving as my accountability, and I'm finally ready to share with you what I've learned from Deuteronomy. I know that "Deut" (Do you mind if I call you Deut for short? Great.) is an obscure book to randomly start with, but I suppose to should preface this with the fact that I started studying Genesis with my precious Boothmakers (aka ladies bible study) last August. We progressed through the Pentateuch and were wrapping up Numbers when I left Tennessee almost three months ago. Yes, that means it's taken me roughly three months to get through Deut on my own. But hey, it took us Boothmakers over a year to get through the first four books, so maybe I'm right on track? Either way, here we go...

A fair part of Deut is Moses' recap the last 40 years (aka what seems like aimless wandering) from his perspective. Some of it turns out to be quite humorous, like when God and Moses are referring to "your people", "no, they're your people" (9:12) when recounting all of the crazy misadventures they had endured. Deuteronomy was written at the conclusion of the wanderings, not long before Moses' death, and in preparation of entering the Promised Land.

God had been talking to the nation of Israel about this Promised Land for centuries...all the way back to Abraham, before there even was a nation of Israel. Now, after centuries of hearing about this land, the time had finally come to take it. One thing I've learned from reading so far is that we humans are not much different, whether we live in the 21st century or a thousand years before Christ...we're all pretty much the same. That being said, repetition is key! Moses goes on and on for 34 chapters and basically repeats himself about 15 times. Being the "simple" person that I am, if somebody repeats himself 15 times, I'm guessing he means business, so let's see what he was going on and on about...shall we?

Confidence to be Obedient
"The land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them." (1:8)
Moses references the Abrahamic covenant at least 24 times...perhaps to remind them that taking the Promised Land was not some hair-brained idea that somebody cooked up. This had been God's promise for generations and He WOULD make good on it. (7:9)

"The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf." (1:30)
Moses notes this 7 times...It is His battle to fight, not mine...regardless of how big the people look or how strong the walls appear. I just have to sit back, let Him plan it out, and move when He says move.

"For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing." (2:7)
Moses also reminds them that their clothing and shoes did not wear out, even after 40 years of hiking (8:4 & 29:5) and they were continually provided with food throughout the years (8:16). At no point over the last 40 years did God leave the Israelites or fail to provide what they needed. Now, He may not have provided their needs in the extravagant way they were accustomed to in Egypt, but their needs were met none the less.

Moses knew that entering the Promised Land and kicking out the seven nations currently living there would be no little task and that the whiny Israelites would easily become afraid. He knew they would need this boost of confidence as they were charged with leaving a monumental footprint on their nation's history.

So what's the promise we're after anyway?
In addition to the land itself, "that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess" (5:33b) and "The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow." (28:12)

Ok, sounds good...How do we get it?
First, you must "possess the land"! (1:8) I'm not sure how much more clearer Moses could have been on this one. In 34 chapters, Moses tells the nation of Israel to "possess the land" at least 33 times! Obviously, the first step in this is to drive out the existing nations and move in, but there's more to it than that..."possess" or yarash in Hebrew means to occupy, be driving out previous tenants and possessing in their place, by implication to seize, to rob, to inherit, also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin-cast out, consume, destroy, disinherit, depossess, drive out, enjoy. God did not intend for the Israelites to simply gain political control of the land and live side by side with the Canaanites...He wanted them out! Gone! And all their messed up idol worship and perversions with them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons they hung out in isolation in the wilderness for so long. Knowing they were coming from an idolatrous nation and heading into another, God needed time to clear their heads of all the nonsense and focus them on Him and His higher ways. This "possess" is not passive and it's not easy. It's active and it goes on the offensive to take back what Satan has stolen and perverted. It's high time we get off our tushes and out of our safe church buildings and start taking back what belongs to our Lord! This includes our neighborhoods, our schools, our TV shows and holidays...including Halloween. I don't know about you, but I refuse to let Satan have even one day a year to parade His nonsense around. I will not hide away in my house, I will not let him steal October 31 any more and I will not let him diminish our celebration of the fall season!

Second, you must remember where God has brought you from and what distractions are waiting for you ahead. Moses tells the Israelites to "remember" or "be careful" at least 16 times. He wanted them to establish a habit of remembering the mess God brought them from, in this case oppressive slavery in Egypt. In my case, ho-hum legalistic, box-checking religion, void of His supernatural presence. He also constantly reminds them that in the coming years they will be faced with seemingly appealing idol worship by the foreigners, but to remember the things God taught them in the wilderness. His ways are higher and better than any other option.

Next, you must "purge evil" (13:5)...no exceptions. In the last 9 chapters, Moses tells them to "purge evil from their midst" 9 times! Again, if he's going to repeat himself that many times, he must be serious. "Purge" or ba'ar means to kindle, that is consume by fire or by eating. This is also active, on the offense, and exhaustive. We must choose to do away with evil, all evil, if we want God's best. Even a little dabble can cause us to miss some of the blessings God has for us. A few years ago I heard a mom tell me about a family rule they have...they can watch a TV show or movie until the third cuss word, then they have to turn it off. To the American culture, this seems nice and conservative, but my question is why the third word? Isn't this compromising? If God clearly tells us to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, and lovely (Phil 4:8), how do using His name inappropriately, demeaning others with offensive names or simply being crude fit into this commandment? I think accepting three curse words, or supporting the idea of sex before marriage or alcohol abuse (all themes that are common place in today's entertainment world) qualify as compromises and dabbling with evil. "God, let me dabble, just a little, with what You've told me to stay away from, and You can hold back some of Your blessings...deal?" NO WAY! I do not want to sacrifice anything He has for me, and certainly not for the sake of exposing myself to a few little curse words!

Next, obeying the Lord's commandments is not for the purpose of feeding the big God's ego, but it's because He wants what is best for us. "Now Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statues which I am commanding you today for your good." (10:12-13) Moses tells the congregation to obey the Lord's commandments at least 21 times (I'm sure I missed some). Our sophisticated society has revealed the science behind why God gave some of His commands. For example, they were not to eat or handle a dead pig (14:8). While this may seem silly and trivial, we now know that pork spoils easily and He simply did not want them getting sick...it's that easy! The reasonings behind some of God's commandments are obvious, some are not and some Satan twists to try to make them look silly. For example, God repeatedly tells us to keep sex inside marriage, our culture says it's not only 'ok' but 'normal' to use it as you please, especially if the two "love each other." God's reasoning is to prevent a long list of unnecessary issues: STDs, unexpected pregnancies, drama, shame, guilt, a loss of confidence and sense of worth, relational issues with your future spouse, and the list goes on. For those that choose to obey this command, the blessings abound: unity in your marriage, no fear of disease or pregnancy, and an opportunity to experience pure intimacy in the way God designed...there is no substitute for His original intention.

Remind me again, why so much effort?
The promises and blessings waiting for those who whole-heartedly seek Him are endless. God promised them prosperity in this new land, with their crops, their livestock, their children, and their enemies. Some additional, even more exciting blessings include God's presence, aid, and love for this generation and those to come. The greatest blessing of all is having the most awesome, powerful and jealous being in all creation, the Uncreated One, pouring His love, guidance, and favor on us. That's enough for me! (4:7, 24, 29, 35, 39, 5:33, 7:9, 21, 10:17, 11:8-17, 12:28, 28:1-2, 33:29)

As "hard" as it may seem to live up to the lofty expectations of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it's doable for those willing to pour out the effort, "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach." (30:11) The question is, how badly do I want God and His blessings?

Don't get me wrong...I'm no "saint", and I've certainly got my record, but I refuse to let Satan continue to point fingers at my past mistakes and keep me in fear from stepping out, being obedient and receiving the blessings next time. Won't you? Go ahead and tell Satan where he can put that finger! All that past mess is covered in the blood and now is the time to start fresh...it's never too late!

The death of Moses
When we first started studying Exodus, I have to admit that I called Moses a "weenie." In the beginning when God first asked him to do some pretty big things, he came up with one sorry excuse after another. Frankly, I got a little annoyed with him. But now, at the very end of his life, once he decided to be obedient and trust God with the commands he was given, Moses was hailed as the greatest prophet that ever lived. To think, a murder and fugitive experienced some of the greatest encounters of any human that has walked this planet. He saw God face to face. Not just once or even twice, but so regularly that his life was marked by it. (34:10) The relationship with the most High he was blessed with was so extraordinary and intimate, that God himself buried Moses. It was just the two of them. Even though Moses was a hearty 120 years old, he was still a kicking old timer! He didn't die of natural causes, but because of his dabble in disobedience (Num 20). After an unbelievable 40 year journey and before bringing him home, God took Moses to Mount Nebo and gave him a tour of the Promised Land, by the artist himself. I can't imagine what an amazing reward and intimate moment this must have been. May it be said of me at the end of my days that I knew the Lord face to face. Now that's worth fighting for.

Pancake breakfast

A rainy day was upon us, so Haley and I planned to spend it at home catching up on laundry, cleaning and paying bills. Ok, so Haley has mostly played with her little kitchen and watched Woody and Buzz, while I have worked today. The point is, I wasn't in the mood for the same old breakfast.

My mom makes the greatest pancakes on the planet and she always makes them for me when I'm in town. See...she cooks from the heart too, so I know I come by it naturally. She laughs at me when I praise her pancakes and insists it's just baking mix, milk and eggs..."It's so easy. You could do this." Well, for whatever reason, I am incapable of duplicating her pancakes, so I've quit trying. They're either too runny, too thick, they burn easily or don't cook evenly. When we're at home we do waffles and I let the world's greatest pancakes be a special treat. Anyway, this morning I decided to go at it from another angle and searched for a quick pancake recipe and whipped up a batch. Oh my, they were so yummy! I think it was the vanilla in the batter, but the list of ingredients way complicates them compared to mom's, but they were so good!
The recipe had a great tip that I will be utilizing in the near future...mix up the dry ingredients in advance and put it in a zip top bag so it's ready to go when you are. Kind of like buying those pre-made pancake mixes at the grocery store, only without the high price tag or preservatives. Since I wasn't sure of the yield, I went ahead and made the full recipe which gave me 13 beautiful pancakes. Obviously, Haley and I didn't put away 13 pancakes at breakfast, so I froze the leftovers and will pull them out a few at a time over the next few days. Again, kick the breakfast freezer isle to the curb.

Click here for the recipe. I added an extra 1/4 cup of flour because the batter was a little runny for my taste. Just to warn you, they're not as great as mom's, but they're a close enough second. Enjoy! (And just for the record, I think my picture looks way more yummy than theirs...I'm just sayin'.)

Home Sweet Home

We followed Jesus' lead and moved to Mobile, Alabama 2 1/2 months ago, knowing there would be tons of adjustments ahead. One of the biggest was our home. We had a house waiting for us (cool story, click here and here to read about it), so we were grateful to skip over the house hunting headache. The problem was that our new house is about half the size of our house in Tennessee. Like most red-blooded Americans we started our marriage with the biggest house we could afford and subsequently upgraded with the next one. And what good is that big, pretty house without lots of nice things to fill it? I am almost ashamed to say that I was dreading leaving my beautiful, 2-story, 5 year old house for one that was half the size, six times the age and severely lacking many of the conveniences...snobby, I know.

In the last few weeks, God has helped me to understand that "home is where the heart is". Before this experience, I would have told you this wise Cracker Barrel saying was true, but now that I've lived through it, I can honestly say that it's not the size of the house or it's fancy furnishing that make it home...it's the love that is shared within the walls. Soon after our move here, God told us to "possess the land" and so "possess" we have done. In fact, this small, old house strangely feels more like home than any other place we've lived. I guess it's the extra effort we have put into making this house really become ours. Our previous two houses were beige...beige carpet, beige walls, beige furniture...blah. Truth be told, I hated it. But we were too concerned with resale value to actually make our house like we wanted it. This house has been different...we've painted the kitchen, Haley's room and the hall bathroom (and they're all different colors, mind you) and we've screened in the back porch so we can enjoy the outdoors all year. But even with all of these cosmetic changes, it's been the life we've lived in the last few weeks that has transformed this house into our home.

One day last week I grew a wild hair and made homemade cinnamon rolls and orange rolls. And when I say, "homemade" I'm talking flour, yeast, the whole nine yards! I love to bake, but this was my first time baking on this level, unsupervised and all by myself. I wish I could show you a picture, but my orange rolls were less than impressive looking, but oh how they were delicious! A little tweaking to account for this ridiculous Mobile humidity and I think they'll be perfect. A big thank you to the Pioneer Woman for the recipe! (recipes: cinnamon rolls / orange rolls) From this point forward when we make these rolls for guests or the holidays, they will always be tied to this sweet house.

Today, a new friend came over to make laundry detergent with me. Now, I realize that saying this out loud makes me sound like a 1950s housewife, but this is one of my favorite money saving tips! With about $4 and 30 minutes of effort, you can have a year's worth of laundry detergent stashed away. I first made this recipe last year on Halloween weekend, having been inspired by a super creative Tennessee friend, and am just now making another batch today. This is crazy easy and I hope you'll get a chance to check it out. My friend today even said she has one of those new fancy HE washing machines and her research has said this detergent will work fine with it! Please let me know if you discover differently. Thanks to the Duggars for this recipe, by far my favorite TV family. (recipe: laundry detergent)

As great as these things have been, they are still topped by the surprise my Jesus had waiting for me in the front yard last week. I pulled up in the driveway to see flowers blooming in my...ahem...flower bed. Our poor flower bed has been all but neglected over the last three years. While we were in Tennessee, a great friend kept up with the lawn and last fall gave the flower bed a face lift, but it hasn't received much attention since then. Among all of the weeds was a group of beautiful, purply-pink flowers...I wish I knew enough about flowers to tell you what kind, but my Jesus knew how much I would love them and I have really enjoyed having this little bloom in my front yard!
For those of you keeping up with Toby's schooling (aka, the reason we returned to Mobile), he got an A in his first class and his second class starts this week. This new class is "Christian Worldview" and is an undergraduate class required by all university students. My understanding is that it teaches the students to approach their professions through a "God-filter." I think I'm just about as excited as Toby. His books for this class are Think like Jesus by George Barna, How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin Schmidt, Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis and God at Work by Gene Veith. Our prayer for the coming weeks is for Toby's reading. He's not the biggest fan of reading, so tackling four books in six weeks will be a challenge! Hopefully he will only be required to hit the highlights in each one...we'll see. Thank you for your continued support and prayers in this journey. It's been an awesome ride so far...

Neighborhood Cookout

With God's prompting, we excitedly prepared for a cookout today...having invited the entire neighborhood (at least 150 houses) to attend. We had no way to know how many people would show up, so we prepared mountains of food...hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta salad, asian slaw, chips, cookies and brownies. Needless to say, we weren't going hungry.

Me and my bestie, Sara, enjoying the sunshine during the cookout

Our first guest was a great little guy, a 5th grader who Toby had seen earlier riding his bike and invited to join us. He threw the football with Toby and some other friends who had joined us and seemed to be thrilled to be included with "the big guys." As lunch time progressed we had a steady stream of neighbors grace our yard...some familiar faces that we had met before, and other faces were new. We heard repeatedly how great it was for us to organize this. Two families even mentioned that they have lived here for about 15 years and there had never been anything like this in our neighborhood. Both of these families were so precious to help out...one gave us a $25 Wal-Mart gift card toward the expenses, and the other brought a lemon cake. Both gifts were totally unexpected and a blessing to my heart.

All in all we fed and chatted with about ten neighbors and made a good start at building new friendships. Having prepared to feed close to 100 people, I have to admit in the quiet places of my heart that I was a little disappointed in the turn out. As I drove around this afternoon collecting our signs and balloons, I allowed myself to say it out loud to my Jesus. His answer was sweet and compassionate..."you did what I asked you to do." And that's all I needed to hear. We had a really fun day with Toby's parents (Pop and MiMi visiting from out of town), several friends from west Mobile who were sweet enough to help with the set up and mingling, and several new neighbors. So whatever Jesus' goal was in our hosting this cookout...it looks like we accomplished it. I'm sure He'll reveal the fruit in time and I know it will be good!

Sweet gifts from Jesus

During the months leading up to our move from Tennessee to Alabama, God showed me five houses that I was suppose to go to and begin forming relationships. You can read here to see how it went - phase 1, 2&3, 4 & 5. It wasn't long before my next assignment came clear. As I met our neighbors I observed a common theme, most of them didn't know many other neighbors...ding, ding, you guessed it...we need to remedy this. God has clearly told us to possess this land (aka our house), but that includes our neighborhood, but how would we do that if we don't know anything more about them than the color car they drive?

So we are planning a neighborhood cookout for this Saturday. It started out with an idea of inviting the five houses I was assigned to, but then it grew to the whole street and neighboring cul de sac, and then up to the entire neighborhood. I'm not sure of the exact house count, but there's likely close to 150 houses in these parts. Now, I know this may sound a bit ridiculous, but we are totally going out on faith here and trusting that God will never ask us to do something and then not provide what we need to do it. So, this week I will buy mountains of hamburgers and hot dogs and should we require more, I am trusting for frozen hamburger patties to miraculously appear in the box. (Secretly, I'm kind of hoping we run into this challenge just to see how God meets the need and takes the credit!) Last week I stuck 45 printed invitations on mailboxes on our street and today we put four signs up...the front of the neighborhood, our front yard and the two ends of our street.

On to my gifts I referenced earlier. Our dear friend and beloved babysitter from Knoxville is on fall break from school this weekend and chose to spend her time off with us in Mobile...a great honor. Nicole flew in on Friday and she has been wonderful company and help this weekend. Haley has really loved having her here and catching her up on all that she's missed and showing her around her new big girl room. Nicole has been a great help in finishing our signs for advertising our cookout. I will (hopefully) use these signs for years to come, and they will always serve as a reminder of our fun weekend together.

Nicole and Haley boasting our sign in the front yard

This weekend held another cool gift that Jesus dropped in our lap...Toby signed up at the last minute to play in a church golf tournament yesterday. Because he hadn't played in over a year and a half, he didn't expect much from his skills, but was looking forward to a day outside with old friends. On hole 7 (ahem, the number of perfection), Toby shot a hole in one. That's right...a hole in one. Toby has never taken formal golf lessons and barely plays often enough to play with dignity. He even confessed that his tee shot was ugly, but still miraculously ended up in the hole. Because of this great shot, his name ended up in the "closest to the pin" drawing for the grand prize of the day...a gas grill and tons of grilling accessories. You guessed it...Toby's name was pulled from the pot and he brought home a huge, new grill. Now, let's count up the unliklies here...1 - Toby decided to play in the tournament just before the deadline, 2 - he hit a crazy, awesome shot which put his name in the pot, 3 - his name was chosen in the drawing, 4 - we have a neighborhood cookout scheduled for seven days later!! Coincidence...of course not! So, while Jesus is certainly in the business of spiritual gift giving, He's also in the business of grill giving! He told us to have this cookout for who knows how many people may show up. We planned to use two of our little grills to meet the demand, which would have been sufficient, but here's a little confirmation and preparation. Whoa! Let's get grilling!

our Jesus grill with all the trimmings

We would really appreciate your prayers for this event in the days to come. Specifically we are asking for doors to open to build relationships with those living around us, for Toby and I to be prepared to share Jesus' love with every person who walks through our doors, for the house work, organizing and food prep required to pull this event off, and for follow up opportunities to encourage these new relationships in the weeks to come. Thank you friends...and you know I will let you know how it goes!

A call to His Word

Over the last few months, I have been feeling a great call to study His Word. In my life I've gone through seasons of "doing good" about reading my Bible regularly, but by and large, this was out of obligation and not hunger. It wasn't until my life changing weekend in Tennessee that I actually desired to read the Bible simply because I wanted to know what it said. After that weekend I started reading the Bible because I finally understood that these were Jesus words to me, not just to "all mankind" but to me, Carey. There are tons of things in there that He wants me to know about Him. So I started off on this journey to see what He had to say.

The speaker at this life changing retreat weekend, gave a great analogy that I will carry with me for the rest of my life...the Bible is kind of like a Super Wal-Mart. The first time you set foot in a Super Wal-Mart it can be incredibly overwhelming! I recognize that may be impossible to imagine for some of you younger ones, but go with me on this. Before you made multiple trips around town to the grocery store, then the fabric store, then the car repair shop, etc. But now, all of these things are here under one enormous roof. It would be irrational to expect a first time, Super Wal-Mart shopper to bust through the doors with a list a mile long and be in and out in 10 minutes. The first trip was likely more of a tourism adventure. You grabbed a buggy (or shopping cart, for you northerners) and slowly perused the isles to see what the store had to offer. Now, many years later you can zip in, go directly to the toilet paper isle, grab the urgent necessity and be on your way in a matter of minutes. Well, our study of the Bible can be the same way. There's a lot to take in on the first round, and it's unrealistic to expect to understand all of the Greek and Hebrew translations, symbolism, and prophetic fulfillment on your first trip through the pages.

Well, this is where I am. After growing up in the church, but only beginning to take the Bible seriously as a living being, I'm still on my first round through...18 months after my life changing weekend. A part of me is embarrassed that I'm not further than I am, but I know there is grace for the many days I have chosen to fold laundry or do dishes instead of spending my precious few minutes alone (aka Haley's nap time) with my Jesus. All I can do, well any of us really, is seek Him every day and soak in as much of His presence and His nature as we can during the hours He gives us.

My renewed call to the Word has two great motivations. The first being my precious Haley. It is clear to me that as her parents, Toby and I hold the greatest responsibility in teaching her about Jesus. A verse that has come across my path numerous times in the past few months serves as a constant motivator.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Now, I don't know if you caught that, but that's a lot of talking about God's Word to my Haley. I'm not sure I have that much to say. What am I going to teach her when we sit and when we walk and when we lie down and when we get up? If I'm suppose to talk about Jesus that much to her, then I need to be building my hard drive!

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." Joshua 1:8

So the key to having a "successful life" is to meditate on, speak of, and obey this book. But why? That sounds pretty legalistic, rule following and rigid.

"Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good." Deuteronomy 10:12-13

That's it! It's not about rule following. It's about loving Him because He loves me and He wants nothing but good for me! So even though I don't know all the details about the minor prophets and how their visions were fulfilled, I may not know the lineage of King Whoever and all the crazy offshoots on his family tree...I KNOW that my Jesus loves me. And I KNOW that He wants good for me and this is what I will teach Haley as we sit and as we walk, as we lie down and when we rise. I will remind her every day that I love her and Jesus loves her more. I will continue to study the Word, so that when she gets to an age to understand (which is not far away) I will be able to tell her about the minor prophets and the amazing visions God gave them and how He was so faithful to fulfill them. I will be able to tell her about generations of men and women who loved God and how they were blessed for their faithfulness.

My second motivation comes from visiting many churches. We are in a season of learning and seeing all of the "options" that are out there. Knowing that God has called us into full time ministry at some point in the future, we know that now may be the only chance we get to visit around and see how different groups worship, study and pray. This has been monumental to my understanding of "one body." We are all in this together...we are all (hopefully) loving Jesus and seeking to make His name known, regardless of the denomination that is posted on the street sign. In visiting these churches, I want to be able to decipher truth from truth that has been twisted without a moment's hesitation. I have heard things preached that just didn't quite sit right, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I call that my spiritual nose...I can sniff it out, but I want to go deeper and be able to crawl right to the root of it, point to scripture and say this is why that doctrine, statement, etc doesn't line up with truth. My goal, by no means, is to become self righteous or pompous, but rather to discern truth and avoid Satan's sneaky tricks. When he led Eve astray, he took truth and twisted it ever so slightly. I don't want to fall prey, I want to be able to sniff it out and squash it! You know, when bankers are taught to identify counterfeit money, they only study the real thing. That way when a fake comes across their path, they may not know exactly why it's counterfeit, but they know it's not authentic because they know what the real thing looks like.

So I am using you, my readers, as accountability to continue to study and to dig and learn and I can't wait to share with you what He teaches me. Will you study too? Just pick a book (I would suggest Matthew if you're new at this), read a few chapters, jot down your thoughts, questions and any sections that stand out. If there's something you don't understand or are curious about, ask the Holy Spirit to explain it (yes, He will hear you and He will answer you...you just have to be still and listen), read some other verses about it that may be noted in the margins or the footnotes. Let's dig together so we will have lots to share with our little ones so that they will always know the real thing.