A Month of Thanksgiving~And What Moved Him to All This?

"Oh! blessed be God that hath chosen me to be of the number of His peculiar people...and for me to be one of His peculiar people, a member of Christ's mystical body, oh! what a privilege is this! And then what moved Him to all this? Nothing but His own free grace. Therefore praise the Lord."
~Thomas Manton

Thanksgiving 2013~Do I Write This Boasting?

"Do I write this boastingly, brother? Nay, it is with tears of humble gratitude that I tell of the goodness of the Lord."
~Bapa Padmanji, quoted in Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Nothing perfect happening in our home today. But there was lots of God's goodness, an overwhelming amount of God's goodness. Oh, praise His name!

Happy Thanksgiving!

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~From the Christmas Lists of Babes

My children teach me much about contentment. And the lessons often come from their Christmas lists.

This will be a lean gift-giving year for us, and I'm already dreading the day after Thanksgiving, when the floodgates open and Christmas shopping is on!

But, the pressure I feel is my own. It's wrapped up in my ideas of what Christmas should look like for my loved ones. The proof that I'm the one with the contentment issue is here:

Chapstick! Little Elisabeth would like her own chapstick. We can do that.

And then there's one of our older children not quite knowing what to put on his list. Not because he wants so many things, but precisely because he doesn't want so many things.

Books. Pens. Play earrings. Play horses. Baby dolls. Pack of cards. Army men. A pack of cars.

The lists are humble ones.

And they leave me thankful that we've never been able to shower our children with extravagant gifts--no iPods or computers when they're 8 or 10. No car when they're 16.

That's not a judgment on those who can do that for their children. God works different ways in different  families. Rather, it's simply an acknowledgement that we might have different children had we been able to give them those things. The hedges God has put around us have forced us to be very intentional about other things. And the fruit I see in our children is beautiful.

Their stockings might be lightweights, but I believe their souls are full, heavy with the knowledge of God and His goodness. Some of us are blessed to have fat stockings and fat souls. Thanks be to God for that blessing! But, if God should only give our family one, you know what I would choose every time.

If there's a sadness about you because you long to give more things than your bank account will allow, remember the expectations might very well just be your own. Rest in His provision, praise Him for the glorious truth of the gospel, the amazing gift of Jesus, the grace of contented hearts, and trust in the good work He continues to do in your family. These gifts are priceless.

With love,
Trisha


***Perhaps your family doesn't exchange gifts. But, please, this is not the place for a discussion on whether Christians should celebrate Christmas or exchange gifts. We celebrate, and we give, and we thank God we can.

A Month of Thanksgiving~Because Hope Isn't Buried With Our Loved Ones

When a loved one dies, our life's foundation is exposed. Is our faith, our life, built on Jesus, or was it built on the one who's no longer here? I witness a precious friend fight for joy in the Lord as she grieves the loss of her son, and I witness others continuing to sink lower in a state of despair, their grief years old, but the defeat coming fresh with each sunrise. One has hope, but the others live as if all hope is gone, something that was buried with their loved ones. They have forgotten who they are in Christ Jesus. They have forgotten that He is their hope!

Here is truth given by a pastor who recently buried his infant son. As I was reading his words, I was reminded of the goodness of God in using the afflictions of others to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ and to bring Him glory!

"The sting of death was sin, but when sin has been fully paid for, there is no more sting. The sting is gone, and now death is swallowed up in victory. Death is still hard. It is like a long journey, like going into the wilderness. But it isn't loss. It isn't the end. It isn't defeat. Now, for all those who know Jesus, death is a great adventure, a new beginning. For when we die, we go down into death armed with the Spirit of the well-beloved Son, the Son back from the dead, who holds the power of unending life. For those who believe in Jesus, though we die, yet we shall live."
~Toby Sumpter

Please read the rest here:
The Gospel of the Well-Beloved Son

Praising God today for the hope we have in Christ Jesus, a hope that keeps us from being swallowed up by our grief, a hope that allows us to rejoice in the midst of great sadness.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~THIS

A Month of Thanksgiving~Oxygen for the Mother

As a new mother, I remember questioning my doctor's advice to take care of myself first if I wanted to take good care of my child. It seemed contrary to my mothering instincts. I was ready to sacrifice anything for this Gift from heaven, even my health.

"Imagine you're on a plane," he said. "The plane is going down, and you and your child need  oxygen masks. You must put yours on first, and then take care of your child. You're no good to him otherwise."

Yes, we're quick to tell mothers to take care of themselves first, but what we mean by that is,"Get a manicure." "Go for a run." "Read a book." "Don't feel guilty. You need to do these things to be a good mother."

However, we're not so eager to remind them to feast on the Word. We consider this too great a sacrifice. Instead, the advice is, "God knows this season. Give yourself a break. "

We tone it down because we don't want to come across as legalistic or unrealistic. We don't want to burden Moms.

I understand.

I'm an expert in mother-guilt, and the last thing I'd want to do is heap more of that on another Mama.

But, what seem like words of kindness when we encourage mothers to do everything else in the world to be a better mother except what is really needful to be a better mother, are really not so kind. We're to speak the truth in love, and truly, we can't be the mothers God has called us to be if we're not consistently feasting on His Word.

A thirty-ish woman said to me at a conference two days ago, "There's no way I can have a daily quiet time.  I have five small children who take everything I've got, and then I work every day from four to midnight."  As I questioned her, I discovered she has a working husband and almost no debts.

She stood there, weepy, overweight, and defeated.  It would mean true sacrifice for her to add time with the Lord to her exhausting days.  But until she does, she may not hear His solutions and so she'll spiral ever farther downward.

Whatever your circumstances--if you'd lived in Old Testament times you would have regularly given God a male animal or bird--whatever you could afford--that had no defects; something you'd humanly want or even "need" for yourself.

~Ann Ortlund

So, it might mean you don't have time for social media today or your favorite television show. It might mean you let go of those house-perfect expectations and live with a bit more dust. It might mean cutting back on other reading or time spent crafting. But you will have chosen what is needful. And in doing so, you'll find God faithful to give you wisdom about the rest of it.

And isn't that what our entire lives are to be....living sacrifices for His glory? As we daily rely on His grace to die to self, we'll discover how He transforms our attitudes and works in us the grace to delight in His law and see time in the Word as a joy instead of a burden or a to-do list item to be checked off.

What starts as a reluctantly-offered sacrifice, choosing to be in His Word instead of letting other things crowd this time out,  is transformed into one of the most precious times of the day. Instead of asking yourself, "How can I make time for this?" you'll find yourself wondering how you ever didn't make time for this. 

You'll be running to offer this sacrifice so you can hear His voice and know His strength and walk in the wisdom and fear of the Lord, and you'll praise Him for the privilege of soaking up His Word each day.

You'll realize that time with Him is oxygen for the mother, and you simply can't live and help your children live, really live, without it.

With love,

Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~When It Seems That No One Reads Your Blog

When I started blogging over 5 years ago, I did it because none of our family live near us. I thought it would be a fun way to share what was going on, in words and pictures.

Corey was my partner in crime, and it was delightful to have him share his wit and wisdom here. And having such a large family with children at different ages and stages meant there was always something to write about.

However, very few of my family members read here anymore. That's just how it is. But, I keep on writing because I like to, and I feel compelled to. I'm greatly blessed to share a bit of God's goodness and know that our own children will have my words here to re-visit once I'm gone.

Yet, numbers are a big thing among bloggers. You're supposed to "build" your following. We talk much of how each person matters, but we lose sight of that truth in the midst of "stats" and "hits." After all, isn't writing only worthwhile if lots of people are reading?

So, we forget the impact of one on one. We forget God's providence over even who reads our blogs. We forget that God's ways are not our ways, as we ask ourselves  "Why bother?" when it seems that no one is reading.

Think about that. "Why bother?" That question reveals much about our hearts. Now if we're writing for fame or to make a living in the blog-world, then that question makes sense. There are moms who bring in a helpful amount of money from their blogging, and so it's important for them to build their "business." But, for most of us, blogging is not a business, which means we ask different questions. We guard against pragmatic blogging.

Our pastor recently announced that we'd still be having a Christmas Eve service, even if only one family is there. He's the kind of man who invests the same amount of study and prayer whether he's preaching to one person or to thirty. You see, our pastor knows that "one" matters.

And "one" matters where you write, too. Today, one lost soul might hear the gospel for the first time because you wrote. Today, a murmurer might be encouraged by God's goodness to you and be reminded of His goodness to her. Today, one struggling Christian might be exhorted to put off that sin and put on that which reflects who they are in Christ. Today, one heavy heart might laugh because you told that funny story or posted that silly picture. Today, one homemaker might decide to invest a bit more time in making a Christ-centered environment for her family. Today, a grieving heart might be uplifted because you reminded her of God's fatherly love and tender care. Today, one theologically-weak sister might be encouraged to know what she believes, to dig deep in the Word, because you were sharing the vast riches of Scripture. (And let's not forget the many ways your own mind and soul are being shaped because you've written.)

Praise God for "one" and the the possibilities and influence that are beyond our imagination, for that "one" will influence "many" around her, and your words just might be one of God's many means of making His gospel known and making His chosen ones more like Jesus.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Where Are Those New Mercies?

God is an inexhaustible fountain of mercy, the Father of mercies.

~Matthew Henry

I've lived in this desert for over 15 years, and I never tire of watching the sun rise here. Those mornings that find me peeking out the door, waiting for God to finish painting this glorious sky, find me in wonder, too. Can you imagine looking at THIS and walking away without a thought of the One who made it? But every day, lots of us do, and every day, lots of us pass right be those mercies He has given us. Those new mercies for a new day.

What wondrous grace it is that opens our eyes to see our Creator's Hand in everything around us, to call out to Him as our Father because of what Jesus has done for us, to know that He is liberally bestowing His goodness on us, that He is actively doing us good.

My sister is tasting these mercies with a greater appreciation. Praise God she is now home from the hospital! The doctors determined she had a stroke (yes, my same sister whose husband just died a couple of months ago). While she was in the hospital, I spent much of my time in prayer and in tears, and I was so blessed by listening ears and compassionate hearts that encouraged me and prayed for her along the way. We were amazed at God's providence, truly sitting on the edge of our seats, watching it unfold and leave us thankful, so very thankful. How glorious is the truth that He knows our frame and has pity on us and because of His mercies we are not consumed!

After being in a sick room for almost a week, my sister counts it a mercy and a joy to wake up in her own bed, to take a walk outside, to vacuum her rugs and dust her shelves and wash her dishes and hold her son and shop for groceries and sort through her mail and drink a cup of tea and listen to music and read her Bible and ponder anew what Christ has done for us and how much God loves us. And even though she didn't have many earthly comforts while in the hospital, the presence of the Lord could not be taken away or the truth of the Word or the comfort of the Spirit or the prayers of the saints.

"That God's compassions fail not; they do not really fail, no, not even when in anger he seems to have shut up His tender mercies. These rivers of mercy run fully and constantly, but never run dry. No; they are new every morning; every morning we have fresh instances of God's compassion towards us...when our comforts fail, yet God's compassions do not."
~Matthew Henry

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Time to Be Quiet

No, I haven't been wanting for anything to write when it comes to giving thanks to the Lord! My mind and my heart and my records of His provision are overflowing.

However, my dear sister was recently hospitalized, and I've felt it is good to be quiet for a bit. Prayers for her recovery are greatly appreciated. And may the Lord pour out His grace on you that you would be overwhelmed by His greatness and goodness.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Daily Blessings For God's People

"You do not praise God, indeed, unless you want others to do so. It is a mark of sincere thankfulness that it desires others to assist it in the expression of its joy. ...Do your utmost to be the means, in God's hands, of bringing others to praise him. Tell them what he has done for you. Tell them of his saving grace. Invite sinners to Christ. Let it be:—

"All your business here below
To say,"Behold the Lamb!"
and in this way you will be setting other tongues a-praising God, so that when your tongue is silent, there shall be others that will take up the strain."
~C. H. Spurgeon

The entire sermon is linked below. It's most encouraging and a powerful reminder of God's goodness!

Daily Blessings for God's People

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Gratitude Grounded in Doctrine Or Not: A Review of Shauna Niequist's Cold Tangerines

I recently finished Shauna Niequist's book Cold Tangerines. I'm a sucker for these kinds of books. Gratitude. Celebrating the everyday. And who can resist that lovely orange cover? It just screams, "Read me!"

So, I expected to love this book. But then I read these words, and I realized that the author and I weren't going to get along too well.

"I'm not a doctrinarian, mostly because for me, doctrine is not the thing that God has used to change my life. I'm a reader and a storyteller, and God chose literature and story and poetry as the languages of my spiritual text."

But, when our lives are not built on sound doctrine, we distort a host of things, including forgiveness and gratitude. Our lives reflect our doctrine, and certainly a gratitude not grounded in sound doctrine is a me-oriented gratitude instead of a God-honoring gratitude. How do we live a life that is poured out for His glory if we have so little understanding of WHO He is and what He has done?

Here are some of the ways Niequist's low regard of doctrine works itself out:

"And I still have to keep letting her off, every day, sometimes several times a day. Not for her sake, but for mine, because I want off the hook. It's hard work, and I don't want to do it, but I keep doing it. I keep letting her off the hook, because when I do, I can breathe again."

"So now, out of desperation, I'm back to prayer. I'm back to prayer, sheepishly, because I couldn't make my life work without it. I pray out of sheer lack of options."

"To borrow a phrase, I don't really care about preaching to the choir. They've got lots of good preaching coming at them already. I really, really care about women like me, like my friends and students who can't find themselves in a really traditional religious environment, even though they love God or at least want to understand more about Him. So being called, essentially, 'not Christian enough' doesn't really bother me. It's a different conversation."

"...I flew to Chicago, because one of my oldest and dearest friends was getting married and asked me to officiate the ceremony."

"Last winter, I did a study of Exodus. Not the kind of Bible study I'm used to, because I usually do the kind where a bunch of friends meet at someone's house or a coffee shop and occasionally we do the actual study but mostly we talk and tell stories and pray at the end."

"One look at a baby's fingers and you just know that those little bundles of flesh and tiny bones are more sacred, more spiritual, than any thought or idea or theology could ever be."

"Because it seems like that's what God is saying to us, over and over. 'What can I do today to remind you again how good this life is?"

I enjoyed much of Niequist's writing, but I can't ignore her disregard for sound doctrine. But, Trisha, you're just being a curmudgeon, you say. No, I'm not. Niequist has an obligation to speak the truth since she claims the name of Christ, and it's because she claims His name that she's held to a greater accountability. There's a flabbiness to Niequist's theology, and it often sounds like she's proud of that.

Does doctrine matter? In the words of my friend, Norma, yes it does.

"Yes. The more you study it, the stronger you foundation will be and the harder will be to fall, although you will fall. You'll have a greater understanding of His love, mercy, grace, patience, goodness. The more you dig deeper into the Word, the more you will love Him and the more you will want to live for Him. Your view of Christ, His sacrifice, His atonement, His life, His resurrection, His priesthood, His sovereignty, His glory, His holiness, my wretched condition without Him,  prayer, mortification of sin, my dependence on Him, the role of the woman in her house, at church, with her children, with other women, all these will come into place. It will be easier to spot lies from truth (no matter how sweet they may appear) because you will know the truth. The truth will be your daily bread, and the lie will quickly taste as food not prepared at home. You will identify it with God's grace."

~Talking About Doctrine

Praise God for thanksgiving that flows from sound doctrine.

With love,

Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~The M Files

"But home conversation needs more than love to give it its full influence. It ought to be enriched by thought. The Saviour's warning against idle words should be remembered. Every wise-hearted parent will seek to train his household to converse on subjects that will yield instruction or tend toward refinement...the whole effect upon the family is elevating and refilling."

~J. R. Miller, Home-Keeping

*****

The M Files. Short for The Miscellany Files. This is my collection of topics and articles to discuss at dinner. I gather them from news sites and blogs, as well as from my current reads, and it's proved a profitable means of redeeming the time and lingering a bit longer around the table.

Here are just a few of my favorite sources for filling my M Files:

Student News Daily
Afterthoughts (Brandy has a great weekly post of links on Sundays)
The Ink Slinger (Ink also posts a Flotsam and Jetsam a couple of times a week)
Desiring God

The sources are endless. Just keep your eyes open.

And if you have just younger children, your M Files might simply include jokes or catechism questions or stories about heroes. Customize the time to the season of your family, and remember to keep it enjoyable. You're making memories around that table of yours, good or bad, so make the best of your captive audience and give them more than just food for their bodies. Feed their hearts, minds, and souls.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Life of Hearing Sermons

"...we ought to see our relationship to preaching as a lifelong relationship. To be sure, it is good to consider each Sunday how the truth we have heard that day should shape our lives right away, but there is more to it than that. Each of us also ought to be storing up a deep reservoir of biblical convictions over the course of his life. Those convictions may pay off down the road in ways that you never anticipated.

Let us all be reminded of the good counsel that the Westminster Larger Catechism provides about hearing sermons:

Q. 160: What is required of those that hear the word preached?

Answer: It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God; mediate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

Notice that language, 'hide it in their hearts'. The Christian life is, among other things, from start to finish, a life of hearing sermons, and it is vital that we hold on to the truth we have heard. Who knows what the circumstances will be in which you will have to bring forth the fruit of the things you have stored away?

...No disciple is too young to start hiding the truth in his heart. Maybe when he is twenty-eight--or younger--he will find out that he has cancer. That is not the time to start thinking about the goodness, wisdom, and power of God. Far better for him to have those truths already deeply rooted in his soul, thanks to years of faithful preaching and listening."

~Paul D. Wolfe, My God is True

A Month of Thanksgiving~The Annual Family Photo

Many years ago an acquaintance's husband died. It was sudden, and he was young. One of the wife's biggest regrets was that she had no photos of their whole family. There was a picture of him. And one of him and her. And some of him with the children. But there were no "family" portraits.

For years now, we've made it a practice to trek to a lovely spot in the mountains and take family photos. It's not an easy task with so many of us. Matching outfits have never been in the budget, so we work with what we have and make the best of it. Sometimes the weather isn't ideal, and sometimes it takes twenty or more tries to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time. Sometimes that doesn't happen at all. BUT, every bit of effort expended is worth having pictures of us as a family.

 October  2013

October 2013

And yes, Mountain Man and I always include ourselves in a picture with our children, no matter how much we're tempted to step to the side. We are a family, and that includes Mom and Dad, too.

Praising God today for the gift of family and the photos that capture just a bit of His goodness to us.

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes."

Frank DeFord

With love,

Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~He'd Be Proud and Thankful

When I was making wedding plans, my Dad said, "You're getting married? You can't even make a pot of rice, but you're getting married?"

I certainly wasn't Susie Homemaker when I walked down that aisle. I've learned much along the way.

And learning to cook was a delightful way to prove my Dad wrong. Whenever he'd come visit us, I would thoughtfully prepare the menu, making sure it included comfort foods he'd love. You couldn't have given me a million dollars for the times I heard him say, "Mmm. That was good. I'll take more of that." No. His compliments were priceless, and it pleased my heart to know I had given him a bit of joy at the supper table.

I made my first homemade pie on Sunday. Apple, of course. It turned out wonderfully. I surprised myself, and I couldn't help thinking of my Dad and how much I wish he could have tasted this little wonder. I think he would have been proud...and maybe even have given me some tips.

There are lots of things I'm sure my Dad worried about when it came to my life. His enthusiasm waned a bit more with each baby announcement. Would I be ok? Would we all be ok? Could we manage?

But I know my Dad's biggest concerns were whether we'd faithfully be part of a church. Whether we'd stay grounded in the Word. Whether we'd honor Him with our lives. And that concern didn't come from a man who lived perfectly. It came from the heart of a man who knew well the struggle of doing what we don't want to do and not doing what we should.

Today is his birthday, and it's a good gift to have memories of my Dad around my dinner table. Memories of him playing chess with Ink and Jake. Memories of his laugh. Memories of his leaning over his Bible with a lighted magnifying glass just so He could read the Word each day. How sweet to have used that very tool last night to get a splinter out of Little's Bit's foot.

It's tempting to romanticize our memories of a loved one who is no longer with us. But for some of us, waxing sentimental over the past only diminishes the amazing power of the Gospel. My dad was a great sinner who needed a great, great Savior. He saw up close that horrifying truth that our hearts are desperately wicked, and unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and changes our hearts, we are hopeless creatures.

Yes. I'd love to have my Dad around my table one more time, to have him taste the work of my hands and a gift from my heart, to hear him say, "That's good." But what would be even more beautiful is to have him sit with us and see how good the Lord has been to us, how He has kept us, kept us living upon His grace moment by moment, kept us faithfully walking in His ways and in repentance, kept us in the love and fear of Him as He shows us we can do none of this on our own.

I think he'd be proud, and I know he'd be thankful.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Seven of My Favorite Books For Cultivating a Thankful Spirit

1) The Bible: Of course there's no comparison to the Bible, but how often do we run to other writings while neglecting the very words He has given us? Regularly feasting on His Word, witnessing His glorious plan of redemption, meditating on the magnificence of the Gospel, is the best way to cultivate a thankful and contented spirit. Oh, what a marvelous work He has done in redeeming us and then providing us daily soul food with His Word!

2) The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs: I like that Burroughs is a man who repeats himself. He knows what stubborn and forgetful creatures we are, so he drives his points home very well with repetition. Burroughs defines contentment and then address the mystery of contentment, how Christ teaches contentment, the evils of a murmuring spirit, the excellence of contentment, the aggravations of the sin of murmuring, the excuses of a discontented heart, and how to attain contentment. Read this one!

3) All Things for Good by Thomas Watson: If we are ignorant of this truth, that He is working all things for our good, that our lives are not masses of silly happenstance, but wisely woven stories of His providence, then we will constantly fight discontentment. Take off your boxing gloves and settle down with this book and find yourself in awe of His goodness. Don't forget the kleenex.

4) The Greener Grass Conspiracy by Stephen Altrogge: I was skeptical about this one, thinking it was a dumbed down version of The Rare Jewel. So, I didn't read it for the longest time. BUT, I loved this book. I read it aloud to our children each morning at the breakfast table, and this was during those recent months when I was experiencing that dark night of the soul. I was encouraged and convicted  and so blessed by Altrogge's sense of humor and love for the Lord and tender concern for the discontented soul (in spite of the few times I disagreed with Altrogge) and found this to be an excellent read.

5) Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss: Giving thanks should not be a novel idea to the Christian.  It's nothing new.  But, giving thanks is a "cool" thing do these days.  Stores abound with gratitude journals and books urging us to have an attitude of gratitude.  Search for "gratitude" on Google, and you'll come up with more links than you'd ever be able to read.  Some are based on the Word, but many come from a New-Age, mystical perspective that Christians should be on guard against. And, as Nancy reminds us:

"You see, gratitude is a lot more than jonquils and journaling pages. Gratitude is a lifestyle. A hard-fought, grace-infused, biblical lifestyle."

And no one can know true gratitude except for the one who knows Christ. Nancy continues:

"And though there's a sense in which anyone can be thankful--for God has extended His common grace to all--the true glory and the transforming power of gratitude are reserved for those who know and acknowledge the Giver of every good gift and who are recipients of His redeeming grace."

I love how DeMoss starts with the Gospel. 

"Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude."

Nancy shares her own struggles, but she's not a navel-gazer who shares so much that you're left with a nasty voyeuristic aftertaste. The focus is on Him not her, and her tone is encouraging and engaging.

6) My Story and Yours: You haven't written a book? Well, neither have I, but I do have a journal of His mercies. Make it a practice to record His goodness to you, for He has given you much to sing over as you review and contemplate His marvelous works in your own life. And then declare these mercies to others! Right now, as my sister continues to grieve over the death of her husband, I am deeply blessed to hear of God's provision and protection in her life.

7) Spurgeon's Treasury of David: Spurgeon on the Psalms. Do I really need to say more? Ok. I'll just say that you will never regret having this collection on your bookshelf.

And I believe that when God pours out His grace on us and gives us eyes to see His goodness in everything, then most every book we read has a part in cultivating a thankful spirit.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~He Still Thinks I'm Beautiful

When my Mountain Man and I were dating (yeah, we did that), I remember sitting in the car with him and realizing that he was just staring at me. I would shift a bit, blush, and then ask him what he was doing. And he would state the obvious with a few more words, which I won't share here because it would only make me blush again (and I know you can see that, right?), and it's a bit embarrassing, because I still look in the mirror and wonder what he's seeing.

But, he thought I was beautiful, and he told me so.

27 years and lots of gravitational-pull later, he still thinks I'm beautiful.

27 years.
13 pregnancies.
9 babies.
8 c-sections.
Skin cancer.

And he still thinks I'm beautiful.

In a world where 50 year old women often look like they're 30, where their bodies have been carefully preserved like fine pieces of china, and their souls have been neglected--no evidence of giving life or laughing much or eating one too many scones, no evidence of living a bit or living a lot--it's hard for women to see what their husbands see.

But, I'm convinced that one thing that makes us most beautiful to our husbands is simply believing that they really do find us beautiful, and then loving and responding to them with that belief.

The beautiful woman doesn't pull away when her husband embraces her or hide from him or make an inventory of her physical flaws when he compliments her. She rests in the grace that God has poured out on her marriage. She gratefully welcomes God's gift of a faithful husband who delights in her, even now.

The beautiful woman remembers that God has done a work on her soul and that work is beautiful. The beautiful woman remembers that the trials and hardships of marriage have reaped a deep and faithful connection with her Beloved that Botox or face peels or tummy tucks could never buy. The beautiful woman remembers that the wrinkles on her face and the wear on her body are the fruit of a live lived with the One with whom God has made her one.

Yes. Every day it's a wonder to me, and I question where my Mountain Man got those rose-colored glasses. I'm tempted to long for someone else's hair or skin or figure or peaceable spirit or quiet and gracious way--but the beauty our husbands see is what God has fashioned, it is a grace He has poured out, and the best response is to believe and say thank you.

With love,
Trisha

A Month of Thanksgiving~Afternoon Tea, Read Alouds, and Glazed Cinnamon Scones

It's a perfect respite in the latter part of the day. It's a way to take a breath, slow down, savor the season and the children God has given you. Make a pot of tea, bake some scones, and read together.

We don't do tea time with our read aloud every day, but it's one of my goals this year to make it a regular part of our week. There is something about enjoying tea with others and stories, too, that knit hearts together and make strong memories to last for years to come.

Edith Schaeffer said this about reading aloud to our children:

"Reading together is one of the most important factors in a growing family relationship. Reading aloud is a kind of 'core' for the unity of a family."

And George Grant reminds us:

"Silent reading is a fairly modern innovation. As late as the eighteenth century, it was thought that the best way to truly appreciate the classics was to read them aloud--all the better to relish the beauty of the words, the music of the composition, and the architecture of the ideas."

Now, please don't imagine a scene where the children are quietly lined up on the couch after having QUIETLY sipped their tea and enjoyed their scones. There is a season in life for that, perhaps when all of your children are over a certain age, but in our house, tea time and read aloud are usually an adventure. And you don't have to always connect these two. Have tea. Read aloud. Just do it.

Just don't assume that it will always go smoothly. No, no, no. I don't do this because it's easy or because all of our children cooperate. I do it because it is good, and it's a way to bless our family and serve our children and celebrate His goodness. In fact, most of the things I do in a day that are worthwhile, that have lasting benefits, are challenging, accompanied by many interruptions.

Right now we're reading through The Chronicles of Narnia, and yesterday we enjoyed these scones.

Glazed Cinnamon Scones

2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 egg, separated
3 T. honey
1/3 c. buttermilk

Topping:
2 T. turbinado or regular sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1-3 tsp. half and half (or milk)--enough to make glaze
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Separate the egg white and yolk, saving the egg white for brushing on unbaked scones.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey, and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Form dough into a ball on a floured surface and roll or pat out to half an inch in thickness. Cut into triangles or simply use biscuit cutters. Transfer to buttered baking sheet (stoneware is great!). Whisk egg white until frothy and then brush over tops of scones. Mix 2 T. of turbinado or regular sugar with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over egg-white-topped scones. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle over baked scones.

Praise God for the joy of hearing "May I have another cup of tea and another scone?" and "Please! Read another chapter!" May you know this joy, too!

With love,
Trisha


***recipe from Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom, with minor changes
***for our family, I double the recipe

A Month of Thanksgiving~Bounty of Friends and God's Favor

My pastor recently told me I have a good group of friends on Facebook. Not as in "a good amount," but as in "good." They're encouragers, they are.

And so are the faithful readers of this blog. And those friends that surround me right here where I live.

The kindness of friends and people I've hugged and those, too, I've never even met leaves me in wonder and so often in tears. Happy tears!

They shower me with gifts:

This from precious friends who know laughter is awesome medicine

Idaho potatoes brought back from Idaho and given to us by one of Mountain Man's co-workers

Such a lovely tea mug --perfect colors, too~ Green and pink. This cup is so ME.

The ingredients to make a meal of red beans and rice and cornbread and dessert. Shoes. Pen holders. Baby gifts. Bookmarks. Children's clothes. Lovely cards with tea bags tucked inside. A plane ticket. And more and more and more.

And I've known the very humbling JOY of having people pay good money to come visit us. And these visits have reaped the beautiful gift of dearest friends who are family to us. Even now, I'm counting down the days when my friend, Tami, and her whole family will hop on a plane and spend a long weekend with us. Yep. They paid money to do that, and it's simply amazing to me.

And then the WORDS:

"Blessings to you, sister. Praying your week is blessed. Love in Him who is faithful and true."

"Praise God for your discipline and your habits, which help you to enjoy the feast--not only for yourself, but for all those in proximity." (referring to feasting on God's Word)

"I miss your heavenly food."

"I'm praying for you."

Every time a friend gives a good word or spends time to come visit or sends an encouraging package or gives a gift or prays for me...I praise God for this bounty of people He uses to bless me and encourage me and admonish me and humble me. His favor. His kindness. His goodness. His mercy.

Look around you and consider what great gifts He's given you in your friends and brothers and sisters in Christ and the many who give of themselves to be a blessing to you.

Thank you, most gracious and generous Heavenly Father, and thank you, my friends.

With love,
Trisha