My Dinged and Dinted Body

When I first read what one Hollywood star spends each year to keep her body youthful, I was stunned. I immediately thought about what I'd do with all of that money. How shallow of her to spend so much trying to defy the curse course of aging! But there's a part of that in all of us. Every day we're surrounded by perfection as we see women in magazines or on tv or even in the supermarket. We eye other bloggers with the creamiest of complexions and the whitest of teeth, and we wonder what product we should buy next. 

Consider why Photoshop is so popular. We want to erase wrinkles and teeth stains and pimples. We'd like our necks a bit smoother and our eyes a bit brighter. Recently, one of the most beautiful pictures I've seen were of some fellow bloggers who hadn't covered their aging necks and crow's feet. I felt there was hope for me.

I know I would have been Eve taking that fruit, and perhaps I would be the woman fighting gravity if I had the means. You will find skin creams in my bathroom, after all. But I thank God for the hedges He's put around me. After having a botched up skin cancer removal and getting my first laser treatment to improve the scarring, I realized God has not given me a heart for Botox.

I lasted all of one minute under that laser and resigned myself to just living with the scar, dead center on my face. I was in tears and just couldn't imagine going through that procedure over and over. Now, I'm not a wimp. I've endured wisdom-teeth removal recovery with no pain medicine except Tylenol (the only time I've wanted to kill myself) . I've had 7 c-sections that normally begin with my saying, "I can feel that!". I've known the joy of two spinal headaches, catheters for weeks at a time, a herniated disc during pregnancy, and kidney stones. And that skin cancer surgery? Well, the numbing agent wore off at the end and the sound and feel of scissors clipping skin still haunts me.

As I was leaving the torture chamber dermatologist's office, I waited behind a woman with a thousand dollar bill for skin care procedures. She was aging, and she couldn't stand it. How strong is our hunger for youth that even as Christians we'll endure needles and lasers and more but find exercising ourselves unto godliness too much to bear.

The other day when I woke up from a nap, I discovered a new benefit of aging. I had a crease on my face that wanted to taunt me awhile. I like those other wrinkles that take a bit of time, not the ones that scream,"Elasticity deficiency! You're getting OLD! Make sure you don't sleep on your side anymore," as it disappears with a despicable cackle.

And let's add in the wear our bodies know from pregnancy and motherhood. How many women will reject the joy of giving life because they can't part with idols in the form of flat stomachs and 23 inch waists? How many mothers won't sit down to a good meal with their family because food is the enemy? How many stories aren't getting read to our babies or moments being enjoyed as a family because Mama must get her workout in and get to the tanning salon, too? How many Mamas have the loveliest manicured nails but tongues like asps?

When was the last time we heard our bodies were meant to be dinged and dinted for God's glory instead of preserved like priceless items in a museum?

"First of all, our bodies are tools, not treasures. You should not spend your days trying to preserve your body in its eighteen-year-old form. Let it be used. By the time you die, you want to have a very dinged and dinted body. Motherhood uses your body in the way that God designed it to be used. Those are the right kind of damages.

Scars and stretch marks and muffin tops are all part of your kingdom work. One of the greatest testimonies Christian women can have in our world today is the testimony of joyfully giving your body to another."

~Rachel Jankovic

Loving the Little Years

I need lots of grace to embrace my dinged and dinted body, to see it as something beautiful instead of something to be fixed or injected or lasered or peeled. It's God' s grace that reminds me I have crow's feet because I've known much laughter in my life and that I have a worn body because I've known the joy of carrying 13 babies in my womb.

It's God's grace that let's me hear, "You're beautiful" from my Beloved and not want to cringe and convince myself he's a liar. It's God's grace that reminds me sacrifice costs something, but that cost is nothing compared to the joy of living a life fully, with a dinged and dinted body but a fat soul, to the glory of God.

With love,

Trisha

A Good Time to Use Your Cell Phone in Church

My children were aghast when they heard the click of my cell phone camera during worship. But I stand firm on my belief that this is one time it was justified. :)

Sometimes you have to put a fire under Christians to get them to lift their hands, yet our infants and children do so naturally. Does it not warm your heart to hear those little voices say "Amen" or watch them lift their hands to heaven? There are seeds being planted, and even now we're beholding the marvelous fruit.

"The Lord has today--I know not where--some little Luther on his mother's knee, some young Calvin learning in our Sunday school, some youthful Zwingli singing a hymn to Jesus."
~C.H. Spurgeon

Haunting Ideals

**picture from Yahoo Images

It had "boy adventures" written all over it. My first thought when seeing the big tree with the strong branches extending heavenward was that our son would love having such a climber's paradise in our backyard. 

In fact, my ideal backyard would include a sturdy, wind-proof play set, several rows of raised garden beds, and lots of trees for shade and climbing. It would even have a lovely patio area for dining out on warm summer evenings.

Our real backyard, however, is full or stickers and weeds. The play set we had years ago was demolished in a wind storm, while the trampoline blew into another county. The raised garden beds still haven't gotten built, and a patio area is far down on the to-do list.

Whether it's an ideal backyard or an ideal homeschool day or a generalized ideal life, everyone of us battles the haunting voices prescribing the ideal. The voices can be in our head, on our computer screen, in a magazine, or simply the fruit of our sinful hearts.

It was in my ideal homeschooling plan to put Ink through a writing course. It never happened, but in spite of that, he loves to write, and he's quite good at it, and I have no doubt he'll continue to fine-tune this craft of putting thoughts to paper. 

It's an ideal thing to train our daughters to effectively care for their homes. We aim to cover all of the bases and teach them well. But, did you know that when I got married, I couldn't make rice, didn't know how to fix coffee, and messed up a lot of housekeeping tasks along the way? Yet, here I am a Mom of 8, and though I still battle procrastination, I plan and make delicious meals and manage the laundry and homeschool our children and delegate quite well. 

My ideal kitchen would have granite countertops and new flooring. There'd be a fancy rack overhead for hanging pots, and we'd have lovely matching chairs around our table. Instead, I wipe down worn white laminate every day that's curling up in some spots. We shove pots in a cabinet too small to fit everything well, and we sit on a mishmash of weakened wood and fold-up metal chairs. In spite of all that, we laugh and cook happily in our small, aging kitchen.

Ideals often give us direction. They can offer worthy goals to aim for. But they can also paralyze us or cause deep discontentment. Ideals all too often push us to reach for perfection instead of strive for godliness. 

As women, we're very good at storing up ideals in our hearts and our heads. When those ideals aren't met, we're left frustrated or disappointed or fearful, but we can't resist the temptation to continue to chase after them. Ideals lead us to the Land of If-Only, far away from the truth that godliness with contentment is great gain. They keep us focused on tomorrow or someday and rob us of the joy of this day.

Resting our lives on ideals is building on shifting sand. The ideals will never be satisfied. You'll have to keep feeding them and doing one more thing or buying one more thing. Ideals shift with the seasons, and they tempt us to be glory-stealers, taking what belongs to God and giving it to ourselves. Ideals blind us to God's provision in every trial and every moment of our lives as they whisper that God's providence is merely an interruption to our perfect plans. Ideals rob us of seeing the beauty of His grace that takes the impossible and makes it possible. Ideals convince us we're self-sufficient instead of God-dependent.

Just look at your life. Like I do, you stand amazed at the wondrous things God has done. You're in awe how He's made something beautiful out of a mess, how He's given a selfish heart a desire to serve others, how He's worked all of your trials for good, making you more and more like Jesus every day. And none of that happened because you had the ideal Quiet Time, the ideal parenting method, or the ideal schedule. It happened because of that amazing gift called grace.

Let's use those ideals properly, to motivate us or give us direction. But let's hold on to them loosely, realizing they'll never satisfy us because we weren't designed to live out an ideal, but rather to bring glory to God and enjoy Him forever.

With love,

Trisha

Now It's Thursday

Remember when it was only Tuesday? Now it's Thursday, a week later, and I'm blessed with a bundle of Ebenezers, amazing displays of God's mercy and provision.

Here's the culprit that was blocking Elisabeth's eardrum. The visit to the ENT was a success, and our dear patient amazed everyone with her great patience. To God be the glory!

When Elisabeth was enduring the many efforts at the pediatrician's office to get this stubborn airsoft pellet out of her ear, I asked her what she might like as a blessing. She said, "A ring." My first thought was, "Where am I going to find that?" and after receiving a pack of gum, two lollipops, and some stickers at the doctor's office, the ring was forgotten. 

The next day, while enjoying dinner at a Red Robin and celebrating God's kindness to us in this adventure, Elisabeth and I encountered a lady in the bathroom who had found the ring pictured below. She was even washing it! She asked us if it was ours and told Elisabeth that if no one else in the restaurant claimed it, she would give it to her. Right before we were leaving, the woman came by and dropped off the ring. Yes, I know it's just a piece of plastic, but it was a lovely reminder of God's provision of the smallest of details, of so much of what we want in addition to what we need. I told her to look at the ring and remember how God has provided for her every moment in this trial.

My experience with Sears is that they normally get to you in a week or two. I was happy to find a local repairman, a kind, older gentleman who still calls the ladies, "Honey" or "Babe." :) He showed up last Friday and promptly installed a new heating element. Our 9 year old got quite the lesson and was fascinated every step of the way. I did about 7 loads of laundry Saturday, and my heart was so full of gratitude for God's provision and the privilege of taking care of my family's clothing.

This is a shingle. Shingles belong on roofs. Our shingles like to blow away in the harsh desert winds and land among the stickers and weeds. We've needed a roof for some time, and what a blessing it was to have someone suggest checking with our insurance company to see if they'd cover any of the damage. We prayed God would bless us with even half of the money to fix our roof. Imagine our delight when the adjustor said he was approving the replacement of our ENTIRE roof! Yippee! This good news came in the middle of the week and was a welcome encouragement. What a mercy, such a mercy.  We just have a little bit to pay out of pocket since we're going with a metal roof, and once again, we thank God for His kindness.

Consider the truth that it's His grace that works gratitude in our hearts! I'm so deeply aware of the truth that we don't deserve any of these deliverances. If God based His provision on my behavior, where would I be? And yet, he encompasses the righteous, made righteous by the blood of Jesus, with mercies at every turn.

It wasn't just these physical provisions, but all of the growing in godliness that comes along with each trial He gives us. There was self-control in my daughter, trust in all of us, humility and repentance when you consider His kindness and our sinfulness, and on and on.

I praise God for those Tuesdays that bring the Thursdays when we stand still and marvel at all He has done, every good gift that has been bought with the blood of Jesus. 

"Oh, what comfort it is to taste the sweetness of Christ's love in every enjoyment! When we can say, 'Christ loved me and gave Himself for me that I might enjoy these blessings,' oh, how will this raise the value of every common mercy!"

~David Clarkson

With love,

Trisha

I'd Like to Dance But It's a Bit Crowded in Here

Sweet Baby Boy wouldn't reveal his face to us on Monday, but we did capture his cute little legs. To my surprise, the ultrasound tech also got a glimpse of him trying to dance. Remember, he really doesn't have much room, but I think he gets an A+ for trying. :)

What a gracious gift from God to give us a just a peek of His creating hand working wonders in the womb. May those precious feet be beautiful ones that carry the life-giving truth of the gospel wherever they go.

Easy Hamburger Curry

"Savor the moments you spend at the table surrounded by 

people you love. Commit them to memory--

store them deep in your archives--so that you can 

relive them at will, because 

these special days are the jewels in life's crown."

~Doris Christopher

I can hear you now..."I needed something for dinner tonight, and this is perfect."

You're welcome. :)

The first time I used curry was for this meal. And that was just several months ago. This dish comes together quickly, and it's a favorite of even some of the pickiest eaters in the house. Serve over white or brown rice, and add Indian Fry Bread for a perfect meal.

Easy Hamburger Curry
Saute in skillet:
3 T. butter
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Brown in same skillet:
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
Drain off excess grease if needed.

Add in:
1 T. curry powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
dash each of: black or red pepper, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric
2 c. diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
2 c. diced potatoes
2 c. frozen green beans or English peas

Cover and simmer 25 minutes.
(from Martha's Family Cookery Book)


With love,
Trisha

**a dash is equal to 1/8 tsp.

20 Weeks and We're Having A....

**I have so much to share, but it's late, and I'm tired. :) Now you know that we'll be swimming in blue again. We're delighted that God has added another boy to our family and has given Jedediah the joy of having a little brother to one day pal around with.

With love,
A very grateful Mama

Disinterested in the Gospel and Tired of the Church

I can't help but feel that lurking beneath the surface in much of the current disillusionment with the church is a dis-ease with the traditional message of salvation. People are passionate about the poor, the environment, and third-world debt. But they seem embarrassed by a violent, bloody atonement for sin, let alone any mention of the afterlife that hangs in the balance. Everyone, it seems has a vision for the church that Jesus talked about in Matthew 16:18--the church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. Many people read this today as a word about the church's role in liberating the oppressed, bringing shalom, or storming 'the authority structures and control centers of evil.' But the reference to the 'gates of hades' is a Jewish euphemism for death (see Isa. 38:10, which uses the Hebrew term sheol). Jesus' initial description of the church focused not on changing the world but on the hope of eternal life.

My observation is that as people grow tired of hearing about the atonement, salvation, the cross, and the afterlife, they grow tired of church. Because the more that sin and redemption and heaven and hell recede into the background, the more the church becomes just one among several options for making a difference in the world.

So as much as the church as been nothing but a holy huddle at times and as much as I admire zeal for good works, there is a danger in much of the missional literature that the gospel of God's grace toward sinners gets swallowed up in urgent calls for world redemption and cultural transformation. There is a danger of centering our churches on adopting schools and offering parenting classes instead of being centered on the message of a heavenly Father who adopts unworthy children of wrath through the work of His Son on the cross. There is a danger that we find our unity in doing good missional deeds for our community and not in the good news of the gospel. There's a danger our Christianity becomes all imperative and not indicative, all about what we need to do with God and little about what God's done for us. There's danger that when people get disinterested in the gospel, they get disinterested in the church. And once they leave the church, they've left the only institution whose mission aims for eternity and whose gospel is truly good news.
~Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church

The Winners of The Mystery of Providence Giveaway

Congratulations to Josh and H.E.R. Impressions! You've each won a copy of Flavel's book. Please send me your full name, mailing address, and phone number. (My e-mail is listed on my "about" page.)

The Proper Care of Doughnuts

A Woman's Need to Know

I recently finished a wonderful book full of much wisdom. One of the author's cautions regarded a woman's "need to know." Any wife who's asked her husband, "So what's going on?" after listening to her husband talk to a friend or family member, and then hears, "Nothing," knows what I mean.

You know there was something going on. Otherwise, why were they on the phone for 20 minutes? Did little Johnny break his arm? Did someone get a new car?

The author was asking if knowing any of this is helping our families grow in godliness. Of course, she made the distinction between praying for others and mere gossip, and her point was a good one.

This made me think of how well the "need to know" stays fat and happy in the blogosphere. There's plenty out there that we can get caught up in "knowing." There's a danger there of neglecting our families while our heads are swimming in a sea of meaningless (to us) details about the lives of many people we've never even met.

But I also thought of the blessing of "needing to know" when it comes to that small group of faithful blogging friends who do care about your daughter's fifth birthday or the your joy of feeling your baby move.

When I shared about the crazy, but God-ordained, events of our week so far, my heart wanted to declare the wondrous works of our LORD, and I wanted to encourage another heart. I blinked, and I found so many good words and prayers in the comment box, sincere and encouraging.

My heart overflows with thanks for every one of you, and this is another kindness from the LORD that humbles me.

Women are relational. It's often the small details of our lives that bind our hearts even closer together. Of course, there's a balance in it all. We have to guard ourselves from letting the "need to know" take over, or perhaps just letting it be a "need" at all. We have to stay away from blog hopping that resembles the traveling from house to house and getting the latest gossip that Paul speaks of in 1 Timothy. We have to remember the danger of pursuing on-line relationships at the expense of knowing those around us.

But praise God for the ones who rejoice with us and weep with us, fellow Christians who have never met us in person, but who, we know, are praying for us and encouraging us to fight the good fight and finish the race well.

This is something truly good to know.

With love,
Trisha

It's Only Tuesday

This is my week so far.

My Beloved spent almost all of Sunday in the ER with our 9 year old. Yesterday my clothes dryer broke. Today, what was a visit regarding a speech delay turned into a major unsuccessful excavation to get an object out of my daughter's ear. Oh, yes, my tooth pain has returned. Maybe it's not gingivitis after all. And every day the rest of this week, I'll invest several pretty pennies to get to doctor's appointments in town. Gas for a 12 passenger van isn't cheap.

I admitted to a friend that at this point I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. A quiet, cushy corner I can cry in with a bit of chocolate thrown in, too, might be nice. 

If the above was all I told you, you might even join me in that corner, and we'd have a grand ol' pity party together. But there's more to those stories.

1) A Day at the ER: Our nine year old son has a rash that could stay around for the next month. He has joint pain and swelling, too. He's miserable throughout the day, but there's good news, too. He was tested for rheumatoid arthritis and that came back negative. We have medicine to give him for the discomfort. His breathing hasn't been affected. And most importantly, this trial is making him more like Christ.

2) A Broken Clothes Dryer: I admit I find this very inconvenient. We do laundry every day, and I don't have a clothes line because, well, dirt blowing into drying clothes just doesn't work out well. And there's a lot of blowing dirt in my part of the desert. Still, at least my washer isn't broken, and other than figuring out how I'm going to dry all of the towels and washcloths, the rest of the clothing will do just fine hang-drying. The bonus is that there's actually money in the bank to get one of my favorite appliances repaired. 

3) There's a Bead in Your Ear: While my four year old was being evaluated for a speech delay, the pediatrician discovered she has an object in one of her ears that's completely covering the ear drum. The excavation included ear numbing drops, water flushing, and super-glue attached to a large q-tip. In the midst of this adventure, she got her shots. I prayed that entire time for God to be merciful and let that doctor get that green bead out, quickly and without much trauma. It wasn't His plan, though. 

However, His plan did include an amazingly patient daughter who handled everything like a trooper. It included a Daddy who was praying and texted, "Tell her I love her." It included another friend as well as all of her siblings who were praying, too. It included a very kind nurse and doctor, a miniature stuffed bear, two lollipops, a pack of gum, and a yellow necklace (without any snide comments about not putting the beads in her ear. :)) His plan also provided an appointment with a specialist tomorrow. And the great news is that there isn't any physical reason for her speech delay (maybe it's just the bead? Goodness, that bead would have to have been in there a long time!) which means her speech delay shouldn't be hard to correct.

4) I think I have a toothache: After getting great relief from the magic mouth wash for what seemed like a case of gingivitis, my tooth pain has returned. My dentist is soon going to mark "difficult patient" on my chart if my phone calls and visits continue. But, he's humoring me, and I'm thankful for a kind office staff that has worked me into the schedule for an x-ray. I'm thankful, at 19 weeks pregnant, I can even have a dental x-ray. I'm thankful should there be something wrong with this tooth, we might be catching it early.

5) It costs how much to make a trip to town? It's not pocket change to drive 40 miles to town for appointments...and back again. But praise God for a dependable vehicle and for gas money. Praise God for eye doctors and ear doctors and dentists who are available and for a flexible homeschooling schedule that makes everything a bit less complicated.

To top all those blessings off, God blessed me with the DELIGHT of feeling baby move today! What an indescribable gift!

Too often our eyes only see the trials come rolling in one after another. We think, "It's only Tuesday," forgetting there is something to praise Him for in the midst of every affliction, small or large, and that every affliction comes from His hand with a gracious purpose.

Few of you really need to know about my son's rash or my daughter's ear problems. Most of you aren't moved by my broken dryer story or the fact that I have a toothache. But maybe one of you is at the end of this week's rope when this week has only begun. And maybe reading of my blessings from the LORD will remind you of the truth that you'd never be able to fully count your own, even if you tried. But you should still try.

Ask for eyes wide open to see not just the afflictions, but God's provision for every one. Not only does He give us extras like chocolate-chip mint bubble gum or next-day appointments, He gives us the grace to give Him thanks and adoration and see His loving hand in every detail of our days. To God be the glory!

Much love,

Trisha

Bits of Sunshine Biscuits

You've been warned. You really won't be able to stop at eating just one these bits of savory goodness. They're great with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The name alone makes one smile, and at just four ingredients, well, this recipe is almost perfect.

Bits of Sunshine Biscuits
~from Gooseberry Patch


1 c. butter, melted
8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 c. self-rising flour


Combine butter and cheese; set aside to cool for a couple of minutes. Add sour cream; stir in flour. Fill greased mini muffin tins 2/3 full; bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

(Using regular sized muffin tins, I was able to make 19 muffins.)

Enjoy!

With love,
Trisha

When You're Part of That Peculiar Class

There are times when someone else perfectly puts into words what you often think of yourself...

"He seems, in fact, to have been a type of that peculiar class of men who have the faculty of getting things into their heads, while they are unable to bring them out again---mighty at heaping up knowledge, but impotent at spreading it---clever at accumulating literary treasure, but utterly incapable of spending it."
~J.C.Ryle describing a biographer of the great Puritan William Gurnall


:)

Friends

Peek-a-Boo and 17 and Very First Signs of Spring

"Personal experience is ever the master singer. 

Whatever Thou art to others, 
to me Thy mercy is most notable."

~C.H. Spurgeon

There's not a day that passes in which His mercies don't fail to amaze me!

~Praising God for a lovely Easter celebration at church, as well as a delicious Easter dinner.

~I'm thankful that while at church our son noticed the nail that was lodged in our van tire, and we were able to get it repaired. (I know...I have mixed feelings about that one, but it got fixed, and I'm thankful we didn't need a new tire, etc.)

~I'm thankful my precious friend's son, who was at death's door, was released from the hospital and was able to celebrate his 17th birthday this past Sunday! Please pray for Austin, that the heart meds he's taking will be effective. Pray for God's grace to be poured out in great measure on him and his family.

~I'm thankful for Peek-a-boo

~I'm thankful for 17 years with Ink and for sons, big and little.

~I'm praising God for signs of spring where we live. I love hearing the birds singing in the morning, and these first buds are so lovely to me.

~I'm thankful for napping buddies.

~I'm grateful so much of what I worry about doesn't come to fruition. What I thought was a badly infected tooth that might require a root canal turned out to be a gum infection. You've never seen a pregnant woman so delighted to have a gum infection!!

~I'm thankful for 18 weeks and three days and a great report from the doctor this week. I'm thankful for every pregnancy symptom and discomfort. What a privilege to carry this life within me. 

~ Yesterday was the 6 month anniversary of Michele's home-going. I'm thankful for the healing God does in our hearts over time. Boy, I miss her, and yet, His grace sustains me, and it's a blessing to see how it's especially sustaining her daughter.

~I'm thankful for God's moment by moment preservation of me. How little I comprehend what He keeps me from, i.e. dominion of sin, being drawn out of the narrow way, horrible heresies, being overcome by Satan, departing from the living God, etc. How amazing is His grace! (Thanks to A.W. Pink for this beautiful reminder!)

~I'm thankful for the incredible opportunity for Ink to spend three weeks with this godly family this summer! (He got his passport in a little over a week, which I think is amazing.) This will be an awesome opportunity for him, and I praise God for the love and kindness of the saints. Becky, you make me cry!

~I'm thankful for two Grandmas who have pledged to send us barbecue Fritos, and maybe even read and comment a bit more often...and who both have a great sense of humor! I love you!!

With love,

Trisha

To the Grandmas

Dear Grandma and MeMaw,


I overheard Mommy say that if you don't start reading and commenting on the blog, it might self-destruct. 


She puts a lot of time into making sure you see awesome pictures of us. She invests blood, sweat, and tears in perfecting her prose. (um...I'm just trying to help her out a bit here.)


I remember when my binky first got lost. I didn't know what a good thing I had until I didn't have it anymore (even though it was just missing for 5 minutes). But, sometimes we don't notice things until they're not there anymore.


I'm just warning ya. Even at my young age, I've learned that pregnancy makes a Mama a bit unpredictable. We're trying to keep her fed with chocolate, but sometimes that's not enough.


You might want to encourage her a bit by leaving comments about how cute you think we are. I just know that will keep her pounding away at the keyboard and spending so much time posting pictures.


Love,
One of your cutest grandchildren ever


P.S. I'll gladly take a big lollipop for giving you heads up. Those travel well in the mail. Oh and maybe Barbecue Fritos. Remember, we can't buy those here in the desert.

Leftovers

A whole new world of adventure opens up when the Cap'n realizes a mere plastic step stool will take him places he's never been before.

Places like, "Leftover Land," with access to all that cinnamon sugar that didn't quite make it on the breakfast toast.

Forget the fried chicken. This is what's meant by finger-lick'in good.

There are benefits to being the eighth child. Mother has matured and lightened up. Instead of worrying about a fall from 4 inches off the ground or cleaning up sugar-coated fingers, she goes into Mamarazzi mode and grabs the camera.

Besides, one's cuteness is a genuine life-saver.

The Mystery of Providence

It was what seemed like an eternity before I was able to hold our fourth child for the first time. Needing attention in the NICU, he was whisked away, and I went to the recovery room. I didn't get to see his sweet baby face until the end of the day.

I still had to stay with the other Moms on the maternity ward. I sat in my room crying while I listened to the new Moms laugh and rejoice over their babies. It seemed a cruel thing to do to a Mom whose baby wasn't with her. I cried so much, and I guess so loud, that strangers would peek in the room, asking if they could help me.

It was a hard providence, and I had about a tablespoon's worth of understanding of God's sovereignty. That ignorance made my not having my baby with me and the others mothers having theirs torture. I was mad. Why me? Why not them?

It's a mystery to us all:
Every day we live out the mystery of God's providence. We enjoy a happy mercy while others face suffering and disappointment. We hurt and suffer while others rejoice.

While I was celebrating Ink's 17th birthday, a precious friend was wondering if her teenaged son was going to see his 17th birthday.

While suffering from the pain of a miscarriage, I had to give a baby shower for a sister in Christ. My heart was mourning while everyone else was rejoicing.

While I was watching my Dad take his last breath, another Mom was watching hers play with her children.

Some of us struggle regularly to make our income match our expenses while we watch friends never give a second thought to what they can afford.

Some of us battle chronic illness while others enjoy a health they only take for granted.

Some of us know intense loneliness day after day while others are surrounded by love and affection and fellowship.

A life-changing truth:
The truth of God's providence is life-changing. Though it remains a mystery in many ways, there's enough we can understand about it and process deep down in our souls. Accepting the beautiful truth of God's providential care over us moves us from fist-shaking, tantrum-throwing whiners who cry, "That's not fair!" at every turn, to submissive, humble-hearted servants who ask, "Why me?" in the midst of an easy providence, and "Why not me?" in the midst of a hard one.

John Flavel and The Mystery of Providence:
Every time I read a Puritan writing, I stamp it with "must read" status. John Flavel's The Mystery of Providence is no exception. There's a lot of marginalia going on in my copy, and Flavel's words encouraged my heart down to the last sentence.

This book is for the Christian who has no clue about God's providence and buys into the lie that there are things that just happen by luck or chance in our lives.

This book is for the murmurer who can't see a speck of green on her side of the fence while she stomps her feet over the lush fields that belong to her neighbor.

This book is for the heavy-hearted, discouraged soul who has seen one hard providence after another and sees no purpose in it all.

This book is for the one who has embraced wholeheartedly the truth of God's providence, for it will open your eyes anew to God's mercies and make you weep afresh at His goodness.

Dare I disagree with a Puritan?
I'll first say I might be misunderstanding Flavel's points in a section of his writing I took objection to. In fact, based on everything else in his book, I'm hard-pressed to think I'm not misunderstanding. However, when Flavel speaks in the beginning of his book about being thankful we weren't born severely disabled and that he can't think of any purpose in this providence other than to show God's sovereignty, I disagree. It might still be a mystery to us, but God has formed us and made us who we are, and even the most disabled children are instruments of profound blessing.

You have to remember them:
Flavel's passion for remembering God's mercies is infectious. It was reinforcement for me to keep recording His mercies, to keep celebrating them, to keep speaking loudly to our children of them, to make a BIG deal of them!

The truth is our memories aren't reliable, and, as Flavel observes, past mercies are often diminished by new ones, and we lose the awe and wonder of previous deliverances.

So, write His mercies down! Encourage one another with them. Encourage your own heart and the hearts of generations to come with the truth that God is faithful and sovereign and orders our lives perfectly.

I'd love to bless two readers with a copy of one of my favorite reads thus far this year. Just leave a comment letting me know you want to be entered. US only, please, and be willing to share your address and phone number to I can ship directly from Amazon. :) I'll announce the winners on Friday, April 20th.

"It is the great support and solace of the saints in all the distresses that befall them here, that there is a wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion, and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues. And indeed, it were not worth while to live in a world devoid of God and Providence."
~John Flavel

With love,
Trisha

Welcome, April

"Frost and snow come from Him, and therefore 

should lead our thoughts and meditations to Him 

who does such great things, past finding out."

~Matthew Henry

"As we cannot command a shower of rain, so we 

cannot command a fair day, without God; so necessary, 

so constant, is our dependence upon Him."

~Matthew Henry

"Both summer and winter will have their course. God can change them when He pleases, can make the spring cold, and so bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, and the winter warm, 

and so loose the band of Orion; but we cannot."

~Matthew Henry

"Nothing is more uncertain than what weather it shall be, 

nor more out of our reach to appoint; it shall be what weather pleases 

God, not what pleases us, unless, as becomes us, 

whatever pleases God pleases us."

~Matthew Henry

"It is a marvellous change that passes over us every morning by the return of the light and every evening by the return of the darkness; but we expect them, and so they are no surprise nor uneasiness to us. If we would, in like manner, reckon upon changes in our outward condition, we should neither in the brightest noon expect perpetual day nor in the darkest midnight despair of the return of the morning."

~Matthew Henry