Happy Four Months, Sarge!

Tonight we sat around the table and shared with each other what we love about having Sarge in our family. The answers?

"chubby cheeks"
"his dimples"
"holding him"
"he's cuddly"
"the way his eyes light up when he sees you and you know he knows who you are"
"the reminder he is of God's goodness and mercy"

Before we know it, his fingerprints will be on the walls, and he'll be saying "Dada" and getting into his siblings' stuff. But for now, I'm thankful for every bit of babyhood that's still left, and I'm determined to savor every minute of it.

With love,
Trisha

Questions We Ask Ourselves

It's always good to ask ourselves questions as part of our working out our salvation with fear and trembling and training ourselves unto Godliness. These are the questions our family is asking this year. Some questions stay the same year after year and some result from struggles we're currently having, be it in our relationships with one another or in how we're spending our time. Examining ourselves in this way is just one way to be intentional in our relationship with Christ and our relationships with each other.

There's a twist with our questions, too. We won't only be asking them of ourselves, but we'll be asking other family members to evaluate us in some of these areas. I might think I don't spend too much time on the computer, but if my five year old, when asked, "What does Mommy spend much of her time on?" says, "sitting at the computer," then I need to consider her perspective and make adjustments.

Here are the questions we're asking ourselves this year.

**What family relationship do I need to work on this year? What are practical ways to do this?

**How can I better love my family?

**How can I better love my church family?

**What bad habit do I need to break? What good habit do I need to establish?

**What is my Scripture verse for this year?

**What is my biggest time waster, and what will I do about it?

**Who will I thank for having encouraged me and sharpened me last year?

**What besetting sin will I battle with prayer and by training myself in godliness? (Let me remember "dependent responsibility"--I'm responsible to do what God's called me to do and dependent on His grace to do it.) Who will I partner with to keep me accountable? 

**What new skill do I want to learn and/or what old skill do I want to improve upon?

With love,

Trisha

A True Case of Dog-Eared Slippers

My Overly Ambitious 2013 Reading List and Our New Family Focus

It's one of our favorite things to do at the end of the year--make our next year's reading list. Our lists aren't chains that weigh us down but rather compasses that keep us going in the right direction.

There are at least four things that are true about my own reading lists:

1) I've never finished every book on them.
2) I always read books that aren't listed.
3) I tend to be very lop-sided, usually reading more from one genre than the others.
4) My personal lists don't usually include our homeschooling reads.

The oldest boys and I are tackling Calvin's Institutes this year, and thankfully, we have a reading plan to help us along. (By the way, The Envy of Eve is by Melissa Kruger. I'm too lazy to take another picture with that correction. :))

This year's Family Focus is Loving His Church. I've already added some more books to that category, including What is a Healthy Church Member by Thabiti Anyabwile, The Little Church that Stayed Home by Gary Gilley, Loving the Church by John Crotts (which I've already read), and Why Church Matters by Joshua Harris.  I know I should read Pagan Christianity and other anti-church books, but I'm not sure I'm up for the rise in my blood pressure. Maybe I can convince my Beloved or Ink to tackle those.

The only thing I'd like to add to my list is at least another biography. Any suggestions?

Much love,
Trisha

Sausage and Egg Muffins

I've shared our basic frittata recipe that we often include on our breakfast menu. These sausage and egg muffins are similar and quite the favorite in our home. Enjoy!

1 lb ground sausage
1 onion, chopped
12 eggs, beaten
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Brown sausage and onion in skillet over medium heat; drain. Combine eggs and remaining four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add sausage mixture and mix well. Spoon into greased muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Makes 22.
~from Gooseberry Patch's Quick and Easy Family Favorites cookbook

With love,
Trisha

The Psychic in Me Offers Great Books to Help Start the New Year

I haven't managed to pull together my "best of" reading list for 2012. I didn't stick to the plan, as they say, though I did muddle along. I read four works of fiction, which is quite the feat, since my book lists tend to be heavy on discipleship and theology. Ink and Jake are quite proud of me.

I finally tackled a Wodehouse book, and I'm officially hooked! Yes, he's a make-you-laugh-out-loud kind of author, whose books every Mom should keep by her bedside.

My least favorite book this past year was Jen Hatmaker's Seven. I know. I don't go with the flow on this one. In fact, I haven't come across one negative review. While Jen had some great ideas and some substantial food for thought, her low view of the church was disappointing, as well as her admitting that spiritual disciplines are low on her priority list compared to feeding the homeless, living with less, etc. If you're going to read this one, please read it with caution, remembering that our acts of service should never replace time in the Word and in prayer and worshipping with the saints. A much more Biblically sound option to this book is The Micah Mandate by George Grant.

There's so much to read that sometimes it's hard to know where to start. But I know these are books that you will need at some point. How do I know this?

Because...

Every one of us will want to be more organized and use our time wisely.

Every one of us will battle wanting what someone else has and not wanting what God has given us.

Every one of us will be tempted to make decisions influenced by the foolishness of popular culture instead of the wisdom of the Word.

Every one of us will encounter Christians who tell us worship isn't being part of a church but rather climbing to the highest mountain and breathing in the fresh air while listening to our own inner voice.

Every one of us will be tempted to put aside the important disciplines of prayer and Bible study for the tyranny of the urgent.

Every one of us will face circumstances that tempt us to question God's sovereignty and goodness.

Ok, so it's not my psychic powers that tell me this, it's my own battle with my flesh, a battle every Christian faces every moment of every day of the year. There are ways in which all of us are very much alike.

These are some of my favorite reads for beginning the new year:

1) The Organized Heart by Staci Eastin: Who doesn't want to be more organized at the start of a new year, and yet, how many of us fail to stick to the plan by the time February rolls around? If you want to be more organized, start with this book. It lays a sound foundation for whatever method or plan you're using.

2) Shopping for Time by Carolyn Mahaney: Who doesn't want to be a better steward of their time? This book is a fun, short read that packs quite the convicting punch. I love that Mahaney doesn't compromise on our time in the Word, as many authors today are doing. His Word is essential food, and we must feast on it daily.

3) All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes by Ken Myers: I first heard of this book from R.C. Sproul, Jr. When his wife asked him how to know what she should read, he directed her to this book. You'll be surprised by how much your thinking is affected by popular culture.

4) Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney: Yes, there are some valid criticisms of this book, but it is one of the best I've read on cultivating spiritual disciplines. Whitney quotes heavily from the Puritans and maintains an encouraging tone throughout the book.

5) The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs: You will battle discontentment at some point in the year. And murmuring and grumbling are grievous sins that question God's wisdom and sovereign care of us. Reading this book is humbling and convicting and powerfully instructive in how to be content, whatever our circumstances.

6) All Things for Good by Thomas Watson: There will be something that will happen in 2013 to tempt you to question His wisdom and goodness and sovereignty. I remember sitting in a parking lot reading from this book and just weeping, weeping over my ingratitude to the LORD and weeping over His goodness to such a worm as I.

7) The Love of God, Vol. 1 and 2 by D. A. Carson: Reading through the Bible in a year or two? These books offer brief, yet deep, commentary that bring the Old and New Testaments together. It's so important to see the "big picture" of the Word and not just settle in the New Testament. All of the Word is about Jesus.

8) Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck: If we love Him, then we will love His people and want to be in fellowship with them, not just at the local Starbucks, either. In our individualistic society, we've bought into the lie that corporate worship and church membership are not important. They are. DeYoung and Kluck offer a sobering yet humorous look at the importance of commitment to the body of Christ.

Do you have a book that encourages you at the start of a new year?

With love,
Trisha

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

With love,
Trisha

A Minister Without Light and Heat (or What If Joel Osteen Was My Pastor)

Years ago, you would have found me reading books by Benny Hinn. He was kind of like Joel Osteen of today, except he threw in healings and a bit more of the Holy Spirit. He wore expensive suits and had sparkling white teeth, just like Joel, and the foundational teaching of his ministry was the same...more of ME and less of HIM. 

The flesh tells us those are the kinds of pastors we might like to hear each week. So encouraging. So positive. So "you can do anything." If you just believe more, if you just have more faith, then anything is yours. After all, what part of our flesh wants to hear about sin and brokenness and repentance and the gospel?

But feeding on such nonsense leaves you feeling as sick as a toddler who discovers the sugar bowl when no one is watching. Those first tastes are great, but afterwards he's left with pain and misery and a full stomach that couldn't feel emptier.

I found out on Saturday that my sister had been taken to the hospital the night before. She was found unconscious and was admitted to ICU and put on a ventilator. They diagnosed her with pneumonia, and praise God, she's improved since then and all looks well for now.

That news only intensified the place of mourning I was already in, not just for my sister's being so sick, but mourning for the wickedness that resides in me and for the pain and misery we all suffer and cause others to suffer because we're sinners. Anxiety and worry. Family feuds. Selfish choices. Broken fellowship. Ugly words. Grumbling spirits.

What comfort to know that when I walk through our church doors each Sunday, I'm blessed to hear the gospel truth, literally.

When my heart is overwhelmed, my pastor directs me to the Rock, not to the power of positive thinking. When adversity strikes, my pastor reminds me that this "three minutes underwater," as he calls it, is making me more like Christ and that His grace is sufficient. My troubles aren't the result of not thinking enough good thoughts or doing enough good deeds.

When I'm discouraged by my sin, my pastor doesn't encourage me to forget about it and go to my "happy place." He reminds me to fix my eyes on Christ and keep pressing on, knowing He is faithful to finish this good work in me. When I'm mourning over my sin and the sins of others, my pastor doesn't urge me to stop being so "negative," but instead reminds me that it is good to mourn and that in that mourning, I shall be comforted.

When I have sinned against others, my pastor doesn't indulge my petty and endless excuses but rather he calls me to repent and restore fellowship as far as is possible with me. When I'm tempted to surrender to my feelings, my pastor doesn't tell me to trust what's in my gut, but to hold fast to the Word of God, to train myself in godliness and choose what honors Him even though I don't feel like it.

My pastor doesn't sugarcoat this Christian life. Yes, it's full of JOY because we have Jesus and every day we have HOPE because of who we are in Him, but yes, it's full of pain and adversity and struggle because He is faithfully making us more like Christ, and making us like Christ happens more in our three minutes underwater than it does in our mountain top rejoicings. It happens in the dying to self and living for Christ, not in pursuing my best life now.

"If a minister has light without heat, and entertains his (hearers) with learned discourses, without a savour of the power of godliness, or any appearance of fervency of spirit, and zeal for God and the good of souls, he may gratify itching ears, and fill the heads of his people with empty notions; but it will not be very likely to reach their souls. And if, on the other hand, he be driven on with a fierce and intemperate zeal, and vehement heat, without light, he will be likely to kindle the like unhallowed flame in his people, and to fire their corrupt passions and affections; but will make them never the better, nor lead them a step towards heaven, but drive them apace the other way."
~Jonathan Edwards

Praise God for ministers who tell us what the gospel truth is each week and remind us they're preaching to themselves as well as to us, who have compassion on us and speak His truths in love, who desire to see us grow in godliness instead of self-satisfaction and self-indulgence.

Praise God for the merciful gift of pastors who shepherd us with "light in the mind and heat in the heart."

With love,
Trisha

**Edwards quote taken from Piper's Desiring God, phrase "heat in heat and light in mind" from Piper to describe Edwards' point

Cranberry Maple Sauce

This was a big hit last year. And it's a good thing I wrote next to the recipe, "Christmas 2011-big hit," or I might not have remembered it. I wish I had a picture for you, but since I don't, just imagine something that looks like homemade cranberry sauce. :)

Cranberry Maple Sauce

Makes about 2-1/2 cups

This sauce can be made up to 2 weeks ahead. The maple flavor will be subtle, so if you want to give it a boost, use the maple extract.

One 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
3/4 c. pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. maple extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the cranberries have popped and the juices have thickened to a light syrup consistency, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Serve chilled or at room temperature. If making ahead, simply cover and refrigerate.
~from Christmas 101 by Rick Rodgers

With love,
Trisha