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

A Month of Thanksgiving~A Nib for Your Pastor and Lots of Prayer

One year for Christmas, we gave our pastor a fountain pen nib with a pledge to faithfully pray for him, along with a note explaining the symbolism of the nib. The gift was inspired by this story told by Charles Spurgeon:

"There is a sermon by old Matthew Wilks about our being epistles of Christ, written not with ink, and not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart; and he said that ministers are the pens with which God writes on their hearts' hearts, and that pens need nibbing every now and then, and even when they are well nibbed they cannot write without ink--so he said that the best service that the people could render to the preachers was to pray the Lord to give them new nibs, and dip them in the ink afresh, that they might write better than before. Do so, dear friends, do not blot the page with your censures and unkind remarks, but help the preacher by pleading for him even as Christ prayed for Peter."
~Spurgeon, The Preparatory Prayers of Christ, emphasis mine

God has given us the privilege of interceding for those who shepherd us. How important this is, to pray for the Lord to keep them, to preserve them, to strengthen them! Not praying for our pastors is just one way of many of taking them for granted, of being ungrateful for this gift from the Lord.

Gardiner Spring puts it this way:

"Nothing gives a people so much interest in their minister, and interest of the best kind, as to pray for him. They love him more, they respect him more, the attend more cheerfully and profitably on his ministrations, the more they commend him to God in their prayers. They feel a deeper interest in his work the more they pray for him; and their children feel a deeper interest both in him and his preaching, when they habitually listen to supplications that affectionately commend him to the throne of the heavenly grace."
~A Plea to Pray for Pastors

Perhaps at the core of many a church's disillusionment with their pastor is their failure to consistently and fervently pray for him. When we find ourselves becoming increasingly critical of our shepherds, maybe the first thing we should ask ourselves is if we're praying for them. Truly, how often do we send our ministers into the pulpit without once having prayed for them during the week, and then we roast them over Sunday dinner and make of list of the many ways they displease us? Oh, God forgive us for neglecting this duty, this privilege.

Today is the perfect time to make a commitment to regularly pray for your pastor. And go one step further--let him know you're faithfully praying for him, be it by packaging up a lovely fountain pen nib or just sending a note. And what shall we pray?

Thomas Brooks, in his book Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, asks his congregation to pray in this way for him:

"That ye would pray for me, who am not worthy to be named among the saints, that I may be a precious instrument in the hand of Christ to bring in many souls unto Him, and to build up those that are brought in in their most holy faith; and 'that utterance will be given to me, that I may make known all the will of God' (Eph. 6:19); that I may be sincere, faithful, frequent, fervent, and constant in the work of the Lord, and that my labour be not in vain in the Lord; that my labours may be accepted in the Lord and his saints, and I may daily see the travail of my soul.

But, above all, pray for me, that I may more and more find the power and sweet of those things upon my own heart, that I give out to you and others; that my soul may be so visited with strength from on high, that I may live up fully and constantly to those truths that I hold forth to the world; and that I may be both in life and doctrine 'a burning and a shining light,' that so, when the Lord Jesus shall appear, 'I may receive a crown of glory which he shall give to me in that day, and not only to me, but to all that love his appearing.' (John 5:35 and 2 Tim. 1:8).

~Thomas Brooks

Of course, that's just a start. There are many prayers to pray for our pastors. The important thing is to just do it and do it faithfully.

Thanks be to God for our pastors and for the duty and privilege of interceding for them before the Lord!

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

Beautiful Thirteen

  (courtesy of resident sign-maker, Luke)

Happy 13th birthday to our dear Emma!