Happy, Happy!

Happy, happy day here, it is! Allie, the lovely young woman Ink is courting, arrived today.

If The Lord Gave You Nothing But Troubles

If the Lord gave you nothing but troubles, then, I think, there might be some justification in dwelling so much upon them. But since there are so many mercies, would not it be wisdom to tell your friends, sometimes, all about those mercies with a sparkling eye and say, “They were manifold mercies. There was fold upon fold. See the goodness of the Lord in this thing. He sent that mercy just when I needed it—just when I most required it—and it came to me in such a beautiful way, too, and it was delivered to me by the very person that made it most acceptable. The way in which the gift was bestowed so sweetened it that I do not know how to praise the Lord enough for it.”

Oh, if only I heard Christians often saying one to another, “Have you heard what the Lord has done for me? Sit down a little while and let me fill your ears with the sweet tale of His loving kindnesses and His tender mercies.” Is not this justice? Bare justice? If you will harp on your sorrows, you should, in a better sense, harp on your joys and bring out the best harp with all its ten strings—and touch all those strings with praise to Him who has done so much for you!

~C. H. Spurgeon

The Art of Living

"The art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."

~Havelock Ellis

We've been soaking up the joy of having so much snow, and we're enjoying cozy days at home, thankful for God's provision of heat and good food and many answered prayers.

And we are thrilled to announce the courtship of our dear Ink and his lovely girl, Allie. Such an exciting season of life this is for them and for us, and we are deeply grateful to the Lord for this amazing gift. 

So much living going on here. So many seasons of life intertwined. It makes me all the more thankful that God is good, and God is great.

 Claire so happy after Emma braids her hair.

Corey and Allie. Their story is so magical to me. Maybe one day they'll share how God brought them together.

 I never tire of seeing the sun rise or set here in the desert.

 Elijah's "I'm so excited!" look, after he noticed the presents on the table.

 Hugs...

 That Baby Animals book was simply shocking.

 I love finding little army men in the oddest places.

 These feet just keep growing.

Claire's in there somewhere. How thankful we are for so much snow in the past few weeks!

 One of our resident bunnies.

 Cozy home and comfort food

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~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~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~Let's Storm This Place

Anyone who regularly reads this blog--or even semi-regularly--knows that I think our lives should be trumpets of praise. There is so much to thank God for that is should be our business, our joy, to do so every day. By His grace, I have a heart for remembering His mercies, though I fail so often at it. I am too easily discontented.

But here it is the month of November, a perfect time to do this:

"Let's storm this place with images of all the mercies we receive from His hand."
~Becky Pliego

Isn't that an awesome way to say it? My precious friend was referring to Instagram, but I know she'd agree that this is one of the best uses of any kind of social media.

And it's time for me to spend a month in sharp-focused thanks-giving. I have been sick for almost 5 weeks now. I'm finally seeing the end of my antibiotics, and I'm encouraged that maybe I'll be feeling completely normal soon. Maybe. In case you're trying to imagine just how sick I've been, here's a picture to sum it up.

Five bars of Chocolove goodness? What does that have to do with anything? Well, a dear friend sent me SIX of these goodies right around the time I started to get sick, and there are still FIVE of them left. That tells you something. Because anytime Chocolove bars last this long in my house, there is something seriously wrong. To not have an appetite for chocolate is to be seriously ill. :)

And these past several months have been a spiritually dark time for me, as I have felt like Christ has "left the room." To have Him withdraw His presence is a deep grief, but it's one that is hard to understand unless you've been through it. I had always read about it, but now I have tasted it, and that whole trial has made me so grateful for the difference that His presence makes in each moment of our days. It's a difference we easily take for granted.

Praise God for the privilege of sharing His goodness, of "storming this place" with words and images that speak of His many mercies. Every one of us can do this, and every one of us will always have something to say.

"And every time we speak and live out our thankfulness here on this very temporary base of operations, we join our voices with the grand chrous of gratitude that wells up before the throne of God, and we prepare ourselves for what we'll be doing throughout all eternity, glorifying and thanking Him for all He is and all He has done."
~Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude

With love,
Trisha

A Bit of a Mom Brag and Why Men Should Read Fiction

My Corey has written a delightful piece for The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I'm so proud of him!

"I have no quarrel with non-fiction. I love reading about history and theology and philosophy and culture. I love Paul Johnson and John Calvin and Aristotle and Ken Myers. What I do not love is a reading pile that makes no room for stories about magic rings and an Earth that isn’t quite Above and isn’t quite Below but is very comfortably in the Middle. If you have no use for Elfland (as Chesterton calls it), do not take it as a reflection of your mighty intelligence; take it as a reflection of your lack thereof. Real men step into Elfland and become as children again, and they are better men for it."

You can read the rest here: Casting Out Pearls: Men and Reading Fiction

Thankful Thursday~To Know There's Work on Monday

My God, how gracious He has been! Mountain Man will have work to return to on Monday! Thanks be to God!

"Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

~G. K. Chesterton

I am happy that, for now, we aren't facing unemployment, that we've been shaken up a bit and are moved to consider other options. And I am in wonder, for God has been so merciful to us, so merciful. May He keep us from ever ceasing to wonder at His mercies.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers. Thank you!

With love,

Trisha

Such Teachers May We Be

I know aged Christians who seem every time they speak, to drop diamonds and emeralds from their lips; one could wish to treasure up every syllable they utter, not because there is anything very ingenious or original in any sentence, but because there is a sound of abundance of rain in every word; a divine depth, a sacred sweetness, a leaping of life, even in each broken utterance which is born on their lips. You say, "That man knows more than he tells. He does not expose all his wares in the window. He has been in the secret place of communion. His face shines though his voice falters." Such teachers may you and I prove in our riper years, having light in ourselves and illuminating all who are within the range of our influence. What God has led us to understand, may we be the means of communicating by our ordinary conversation, by speech easy, simple, unostentatious, yet earnest, faithful, and heavenly minded.
~C. H. Spurgeon

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, God graciously brought Elijah Henry into the world. There's a whole lot of happy going on around here today as we celebrate ONE.

(No, he's not walking, yet--but he's working on it.

 And I'm fine if he takes his sweet time.)

Exhibit E

Ink's surgery went perfectly well yesterday! Thank you for your prayers!

Here's Exhibit E--for Ebenezer, of course.

 Some information about the Nuss procedure

This wasn't an easy decision to make when we were first confronted with it. There were those who thought we were crazy to take such risks, that we were gambling with Ink's life. 

BUT GOD...I say those words a lot. But God is greater than those risks, and He's greater than my fears and doubts and circumstances. He's sovereign over all of it, and our days are in His hands, not ours. But God tells me to walk by faith and not by sight.

Three years in Ink's body, this steel bar. It's amazing to ponder it all. Really think on it. Meditate upon. Reflect. Consider.

And there was not one complication. No punctured lungs or heart. No infections. 

Oh, how little we consider how God "keeps" us! He keeps us from so many things, and we often pass by them with little thought and scanty wonder. 

So, we beg for the grace to REMEMBER, for much of the sin that we battle is there because we FORGET--forget His salvation, His goodness, His sovereign power, His mercy...I fight this amnesia every day!

What a wonder it is that this bar is part of Ink's story. It's one he'll tell his children, and the story won't start with, "Guess how brave your Daddy was when..." It will begin with, "Let me tell you about our amazing God..."

Declaring God's goodness not only brings God glory. Declaring God's goodness is a way that we love one another. I'm all for privacy, but there are many things we're not to keep to ourselves, like the display of His mercy and goodness and power in our lives. Sometimes these are the means God uses to cast that glimmer of hope into someone else's darkness.

Let me remark that if we praise God ourselves by word and life, we ought to try to bring others to praise him, too. 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.

~C. H. Spurgeon

Thank you for rejoicing with us!

With love,

Trisha

Real Men of Steel

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

~1 Corinthians 16:13

*****

Almost three years ago, Ink was under those bright operating-room lights and the influence of anesthesia and a scalpel-wielding surgeon. A steel bar was implanted in his chest, relieving the pressure that his rib cage was putting on his heart. It was an amazing procedure, so efficiently done, that unless you knew he had a bar in his chest, you'd never guess it to be true.

On a scale of 1-10, his pain was an 11, for quite some time. Immediately, his asthma symptoms ceased, though, and after a few months, he adjusted so well to the bar that it seemed to become part of him, instead of an intruding foreign object.

God has kept Ink in amazing ways these past years. Physically, there haven't been any complications. Not one. Isn't it incredible? Isn't it a wonder? To be walking around with a metal bar in your chest and to be kept from harm in ways you aren't even aware of?

Yes, God has been merciful, and the bar has done its job well.

Has Ink known...

Superhuman strength? No.

The ability to fly? No. (Except on an airplane after making it through the metal detector.)

Extrasensory and vision powers? No.

Man of steel jokes? Yes.

Football? Yes. 

Push-ups and pull-ups? Yes.

Even Rugby? Yes.

Sanctification? Yes.

In less than two weeks, our dear Ink will have surgery to remove that steel bar. We'll have to cut out the man of steel jokes, and Ink and push-ups will continue to be the best of friends, but Ink's lasting strengths, the strengths of godly men, aren't dependent on surgeons or medical advancements or workout programs.

They can't be bought, surgically implanted, or surgically removed.

They're the work of the Spirit.

1) Contented: What an example Ink has been to us in having a contented spirit in the midst of uncertain and painful circumstances. Not once has he said, "Why me?" or murmured against God (at least not out loud). It's a grace that has left me in wonder, especially as I battle discontentment in the midst of lost socks and dirty dishes. Strong men rest contentedly under His providential hand, especially when it leads them through the fire.

2) Grounded in the Word: Strong men stand on This--in a world that continues to say, and among professing Christians who continue to say, "Did God really say?"

3) World-changers: Superman might save distressed cats from burning buildings, but we watch Ink change the world one sentence at a time. And this is what strong men do--use their gifts for God's glory.

4) Grateful: Guys aren't making 1000-gifts lists on flowery papers. They tend to show their thankfulness in everyday, ordinary ways. Doing their duties, their manly duties. Saying "thank you" for dinner. Keeping their word to their hurt. Being good stewards of God's blessings. Worshipping. Leading. Sacrificing. Honoring.

5) Self-aware: Not the self-awareness that just makes one more self-ish, that makes life all about you, but rather the self-awareness that leads to repentance and dependence and makes everything all about Him. Strong men know they deserve the wrath of God but received His mercy and grace instead. They know they can't trust themselves, but must lean hard on their Savior, every moment of every day. To use my pastor's words, they know they're "black-hearted sinners."

Strong men--godly men-- are in our midst. Praise God for the real thing!

And did I ask the doctor for the steel bar? You know, for an Ebenezer?

Of course!

With love,
Trisha



***Ink's surgery is Monday, August 26th. Prayers, please, for steady surgeon's hands, no complications, and a quick recovery. Thank you very much!

Thankful Thursday~A Crawling Sarge, Happy Eleven, and X Marks the Spot

"What am I, that the Lord should do thus and thus for me! 

O that ever so great and holy a God should thus be 

concerned for so vile and sinful a worm!"

~John Flavel

I'm thankful my temporary crown is still on! Only a few more days to go!

I'm thankful that God shines His light on the deceitful places of my heart, often using friends as instruments of His truth. I'm thankful for the good news of the Gospel, which reminds me that I am forgiven.

I'm thankful for numbing agents (even that excruciating shot to the nose that leaves you teary-eyed and wanting to leap off the table), for biopsies to rule out cancer, and for liquid nitrogen. Yesterday I saw my dermatologist and endured some cutting and freezing. I was a wimp on the table--shots to the nose are just WRONG. The good news is that the doctor did mark the right spot and then cut properly. The bad news is that the other spot she planned on freezing--well, she missed that one and froze something different instead. The good news is that it will all heal in the end. (I'm thinking that if I had to watch these procedures when I was a teenager and had been given just one shot to the nose, sun-bathing would have lost its charm.)

I'm thankful that teething is not a permanent condition, and that sleep will be in my forecast again one day. I'm thankful Sarge has done everything slowly, so that I don't feel too painfully the rush of his growing up.

 Yay! Sarge, knowing his 9 month birthday is fast approaching, decided he wanted to be on the move, so he crawled TODAY, ditching his former G.I.Joe efforts for the real deal. This is his victory smile. Sweet!

These baby feet are growing too fast, so I'm capturing them at every turn. There's something precious about tiny toes peeking out from covers.

I'm thankful for 11 years with our dear son, Luke! Yesterday he celebrated his birthday, and we enjoyed a mother/son date and then opened his gifts last night. This weekend we'll have a special birthday dinner and dessert.

I'm thankful for Luke's giving heart, for the thoughtful questions he asks, for his gift for drawing, for his inquisitive spirit that wants to know how things work, and for his spontaneous hugs and kisses!

There was a bit of muffin mania going on this week. This recipe was only supposed to make 24 muffins, and I ended up with 24 regular-sized muffins plus 24 mini-muffins plus 3 oversized muffins. It reminds me of what God does with our meager efforts, how He blesses and multiplies beyond our reason and expectations.

May you be overwhelmed as God brings to your mind His many mercies.

With love,
Trisha

Thankful Thursday~Like A Music Book

"The whole course and series of divine providence towards the saints is like a music-book, in every leaf whereof there is a song ready pricked for them to learn and sing to the praise of their God. No passage in their life of which they can say, 'In this I received no mercy for which I should bless God.'"
~William Gurnall

****

It's been an emotional week, and it's only Thursday! I'm thankful God has seen me through a dentist appointment to get fitted for a crown. Have I mentioned that I despise dental visits? My current dentist is a gem, though, and he makes the miserable tolerable.

I'm thankful for a delightful mother-daughter date with Emma.

I'm thankful for sweet moments like this...

I praise God for safe flights for my Beloved as he traveled to the east coast on business.

I'm thankful for Ella's declaration of joy in knowing her Daddy will be home tonight: "It doesn't seem like home without Daddy."

I'm thankful for the wildflowers that grow in our desert land and for the precious hands that bring me bouquets of them.

I'm thankful for my sister, who is watching her husband suffer from the horrible effects of colon cancer. I'm thankful she's crying out to God, not surrendering to bitterness, and is keeping a teachable heart.

I'm thankful for the kindness of God is exposing our sin and the sins of our children, for not leaving us "there," but rather faithfully refining us and making us more like Christ.

I'm thankful for friends and family who love me especially at those moments when I am so unloveable and who are quick to forgive me when I sin against them.

With love,

Trisha

Pagosa Springs~Part 2

One of the blessings of having children who delight in the simple things is that even when on vacation they continue to delight in the simple things. All they wanted to do every day was swim, and their Daddy made sure that happened.

So, there was lots of swimming, lots of reading, lots of game playing, lots of laughing and feasting, and my Beloved and Jake even managed to get some mountain biking in.

This is Ink's way of watching Elijah. Don't worry. This is an exceptional moment. We diligently limit Sarge's screen time, keeping it to about zero minutes a day. :)

 How fascinating the ants are. They kept Jedediah busy for a long time.

This amazing kitchen was mine for a week.

 Elijah enjoyed his first swim and loved it! (He's thinking it over here.)

 The recreation center where they swam every day.

 There was even a bit of water sport.

 Ah, yes, the hot tub.

Right after a mountain bike ride, with lots of mud!

Pagosa~Part 1

Both the matter and the grace of thankfulness are from God.

~William Cowper

While my Mom was here, we enjoyed an amazing trip to Pagosa Springs, CO. One of the blessings of not having an abundance in the bank is the humbling joy of watching God provide for you through others. Because of my Mom, we enjoyed a vacation that was truly beyond our means and imaginations.

Get this. One of our units was BIGGER THAN OUR HOUSE! I wanted to cry when I walked through those doors and started exploring this gift, this gift from the Lord.   This unit was custom made for a large family. :) It had a large living area, a magnificent kitchen, 4 bedrooms, each with their own incredible bath, a separate laundry room, a HALLWAY (we don't even have a "proper" hallway in our home), a large dining room and table, and of course, balconies with breathtaking views of the water, the birds, and the mountains.

 The balcony--a favorite place to hang out.

 The spectacular snow-covered mountains God gave us.

 One of my favorite views of my Beloved--when he's smiling.

 I beat Ink to it and got the desk. This is where I'd sit each morning, up before everyone else, for a couple of hours, reading and praying and studying and taking in the view outside.

Jedediah, aka Cap'n, in his Batman clothes with handsome Reaches Up. Feeding the birds was an adventure in avoiding goose-poop.

 This was the living area. We played cards here, read, had family worship, and generally ignored the big screen tv that was on the wall.

 My lovely Mama.

 An example of the baths.

 The children loved feeding the ducks and geese.

 Another view from our balcony.

Jake must have learned at least 20 new card tricks while on vacation. :)

Isn't the big table wonderful?

With love,
Trisha