I Don't Want a Crystal Ball

How gracious God is in not letting us see all that a new year might hold for us. Instead, He teaches us to trust Him one trial or blessing at a time. 

I would have been overwhelmed if God had shown me ahead of time how 2011 would unfold. I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the daily gifts He poured out on me for fear of what was around the corner. I wouldn't have understood the perfection of God's timing and provision in all things. I wouldn't have learned even more to walk by faith and not by sight.

Some of us will know great joy in 2012. Some of us will know the deepest sorrow ever. Some of us might know both. Whatever trials or blessings God gives us, may we all know more of our Savior, and may we both suffer and rejoice for His glory.

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us — looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!" Hebrews 12:1-2. Look only, look always, look intently, to Jesus; run looking, work looking, fight looking, suffer looking, live looking, and die looking — to Jesus, who is at God's right hand in glory. Oh, look, look, look to Jesus!

~James Smith, A New Year's Motto

Happy New Year!

With love,

Trisha

Thankful Thursday~A One Way Ticket

I thought having my Mom with us would be good for her as she faced her first Christmas without my Dad. But, in this past week that she's been here, God has made it abundantly clear to me how much I've needed her.

It has been a delightful week of laughing together, remembering and crying with one another. I'm so thankful to cook for her and encourage her in the LORD and just love her as a family should.

She's seen the good, bad, and the UGLY (maybe one day I'll share about our Christmas light tour adventure....), and she loves us still and even wrote nice things to me in the many BOOKS she gave me for Christmas! :)

And, I heard the words I didn't think I'd hear when she asked, "Do you think it would be more expensive to get a one way ticket next time?" What? An open-ended return date?? That would be lovely, Mom. Absolutely lovely.

"Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences."
~J.R. Miller

With love,
Trisha

Homemade Kettle Corn

I'm not a kettle corn expert, so I can't tell you how this homemade recipe compares to store bought versions. However, it's been a hit around our house this past week, offering a sweet and salty alternative to traditional popcorn.

Clean-up is super easy. Just be sure to listen for those last pops, so you don't burn the popcorn!

Homemade Kettle Corn
1/3 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. popcorn
salt to taste

Heat oil and sugar in pan (make sure you have a lid that fits this pan before you start). Stir and add popcorn. Cover with lid and shake vigorously until popping stops. Spread on cookie sheet and lightly salt. Break apart when cool enough to handle. Eat warm.

Enjoy!

With love,
Trisha

Merry Christmas!

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Alleluia! Alleluia!"

Merry Christmas!

Much love,

The Poff Clan

Life in Pictures~Almost Christmas Edition

The weather outside is now frightful, even though it's so delightful. I've lost count of how many snow storms we've had.  I think it's 4 so far this month. 

There are cars stuck on the road, and my Beloved almost didn't make it home last night. He had to drive another route and then fight just getting in our driveway. The men of the house will be building more muscles as they shovel lots of snow today.

I can't believe it's just a couple more days until Christmas. Tonight we're supposed to enjoy our annual "drive around and look at Christmas lights" event, followed by our traditional hot chocolate and french fries. :) But, we might have to postpone that activity until next week. Hopefully, we'll still be able to enjoy our amazing Christmas Eve service.

There's been quite a bit of snow cream in our home this month. Have I mentioned Ink is a master at whipping this stuff up? If you're not looking, he might throw in a bit of maple syrup. I think that's to make sure he gets to eat the entire bowl of cream by himself.

We've been enjoying Behold the Lamb of God for our Advent readings. Are we behind? YES. Am I upset? NO. 

Advent chocolates are like socks around here. They mysteriously end up missing. Nonetheless, it's been a sweet way to mark the approach of Christmas Day.

Oh my. I've been the recipient of the kindness of a couple of friends I've met through blogging, and their thoughtfulness has been overwhelming.  This friend sent bookmarks for all our the ladies in the house, paperweights for the writers in the house, a homemade checkers set, the only kind of mouse I like--a stuffed one...for Cap'n to enjoy throwing around, and lovely washcloths and scrubby for my Beloved and me. Everything except the rocks was handmade!

This sweet friend sent me a cookbook (I'm a collector of them) AND chocolate! She knows me so well. :)

Both gifts left me teary-eyed and very thankful and so humbled that these sweet friends would spend their time and money and talents to bless our family.  Thank you!!

There's been a lot of this going on this month....watching for snow and watching the snow.

For those tough guys who are still too short to survive mountain snow drifts, there are always the famous green army men. Daddy threw in a few M&Ms, too, because he felt sorry for Cap'n.

Clairesy enjoyed the snow for a bit, but she's still waiting for her snow boots to arrive. If they've been shipped FedEx, it might be a while before we see them. 

Views like this in Albuquerque made Christmas shopping all the more fun.

There's something special about the sunrise after it's been snowing.

We've spent our days watching sleeping baby, too. That's never a waste of time.

I've made lots of comfort food...soups and casseroles and yummy hot drinks. 

Our original plans to get a real tree this year fizzled, so we stuck with our artificial tree. It's a humble one that provides endless fascination for the Littles. 

We had fun buying ornaments this year that reflect Christ and the story of our redemption....a piece of fruit to remind us of sin entering the world, a cluster of grapes to remind us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches, a sheep to remind us that He is our Shepherd,  and a star to remind us that He is the Light of the World. We'll continue to add more each year, and this is my favorite "new" thing we've done this Christmas.

There's always lots of reading going on. It's exciting to watch Ella read to her little sisters now. The girl is unstoppable! Here she's reading from The Big Picture Story Bible, one of our favorites.

Storytelling and handiwork make a perfect pair for snowy days. Emma is finishing up a cross stitch kit she started when Grandma was here, and Luke is sharing adventures from his many readings.

It was wonderful to watch him get into the part of a Storyteller and to hear his captivated sisters say, "More, more!"

Yes, lying on the back of the couch is allowed during story time. :)

We attended our annual Mountain Man Christmas party. Lots of good food and a great bluegrass band. There was even a drunk woman who offered her comments about the size of our family. "Wow. You've been busy." "You need to get a tv." It's ok. I stopped her from sharing her more explicit thoughts, and she was later escorted away from the party. The whole scene was an opportunity for our children to be reminded of life without Christ and to pray for her.

This gets my "Decoration of the Year" award! Isn't is wonderful? WE ALL FIT!! Our names never fit on anything.  The personalization stops at 6 people on most everything. Yes, Elisabeth is misspelled, but she's quickly getting over any psychological trauma.

Cap'n has been battling our "Jingle Dog." The stuffed pet sings Jingle Bells and causes quite the fright for our little guy. Yesterday we caught Cap'n throwing Jingle Dog across the room. We're thinking they're finally becoming friends.

Clairesy tries her hand at covert ops. Because we'd never notice her trying to play an electronic game under a pillow.

I never knew little white lights could bring me such JOY. I love having these hanging throughout the house, and I'll probably be leaving some of them up throughout winter. They are such a simply way to get COZY. Cost: less than 12.00. 

This is how things look this morning. Remember this tomahawk stand has much longer legs. :) And it's still snowing.

And finally, I'll leave you with this little ditty from my heart:

FedEx, FedEx, where are you?
Yes we know that out there it's a mess
FedEx, FedEx, where are you?
To get the job done, you should hire UPS.

Much love to you all,
Trisha

Children and Explicit Sermons

When you have your children worship with you, there's sometimes a concern about how a Pastor might approach those passages of Scripture that, as parents, we might edit and explain according to the child's maturity.

I remember when our church was interviewing potential pastors how varied the approaches were to having various ages listening to the sermon. One particular candidate obviously forgot there were children in the audience, or perhaps just didn't think that meant he should change what he said. It was the first time I'd hoped our children had been distracted during part of a sermon.

I'm the parent who actually previews certain popular ministers' messages because I know they'll get a bit too detailed. I was starting to think I was crazy since no one else I knew seemed bothered. It was as though those with older children had forgotten what it's like to have younger children listening in on a sermon.

Then I heard Carl Trueman's account of his having shared a bit too much from the pulpit one morning. His wife reminded him that such terminology was inappropriate when children were present. He said he never did that again.

It was just one more reason to like him.

Thankfully, the pastor God gave us shows much discretion in this area. He remembers our church family includes a wide range of ages and maturity, and this Mama's heart is especially thankful I don't have to wish our children had missed parts of his sermons. If you have a pastor like this, you should thank him for it. If you don't, you should consider the value of children hearing detailed accounts of  perversions or the intimacy that should only be part of marriage.

This is not about making sex a dirty word to our children. This is about explaining it, not in the crude terms of the world, but in the beautiful way God intended it, not in a church audience, but one on one in private. There are things my children simply don't need to know at age 8, and when they need to know should be something I decide. I know their hearts, their weaknesses, their maturity.

I grew up learning my facts at school or in my church youth group. There was no sheltering or filtering done, and I was the worse for it. Yet, with our children, we discuss things according to age and maturity, and I have found an invaluable openness to discuss these mature matters, for which I am profoundly thankful.

Why is it that we think sheltering and filtering only lead to distorted views of sex?

And I think Trueman is spot on with this observation about explicit sermons and books..

Finally, I wonder if the current passion for producing books and preaching sermons on sex also witnesses to the erosion of the boundary between public and private which is all too obvious in the world around us.   Facebook, Twitter, reality TV and the rise of celebrity have each served to turn us all into exhibitionists and to make those who yearn for privacy look like weirdoes and losers.   That this is impacting the church from the top down is obvious; and it is at least worth pausing to ask whether sex books and explicit sermons are part of this.  It is surely hard to imagine Christian public figures of yesteryear such as  Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J I Packer or Carl Henry setting up a website called the `sexperiment' or giving advice on sexual technique from the pulpit.  


Read the rest here.

Mamas, God gave us an instinct to protect our children from too much information too soon. We should listen to it.

With love,
Trisha

Over the Moon

We're over the moon. Can you guess why?

I'm thankful my Mama arrived safely. I'm thankful her luggage did, too. I'm thankful the snow storm we had didn't impact her travel. I'm thankful for my Mountain Man who makes sure we get to where we need to go.

I'm thankful for the wheelchair that was available to help her make it through the airports. I'm thankful for children who practically smothered her, they were so glad to see her.

I'm thankful for children who said "thank you!" when their MeMaw treated them to fries on the way home last night. I'm thankful my Mama doesn't mind sleeping in the same room with all four girls! I'm thankful they were fighting about who got to sleep with MeMaw the first night.

I'm thankful I can make my Mama tea in the morning and breakfast and lunch and dinner. And do it all over again every day she's here. I'm thankful I have gifts that will warm her heart on Christmas day. Because I know she'll be thinking of my Dad and how he would have wanted his coffee and what he would have wanted for breakfast.

I'm thankful she'll be so overwhelmed with hugs and kisses and LOVE that she'll find it very hard to be too sad. I'm thankful our children aren't emotionally and physically attached to a phone or game boy, but can just sit and enjoy the presence of their MeMaw. 

I'm thankful that a girl never gets over her need for her Mama.

I'm thankful that God gives us good gifts every day, not because we deserve it, but because He is so gracious and merciful.

Savor those moments with your loved ones this year. Yes, the difficult ones, too. Try to live in the moment, without the distraction of technology that coats our relationships in layers of depthless interactions. Give lots of hugs and kisses and good words, and praise God for the LIFE He gives us in Christ Jesus.

With love,

Trisha

Two Desert Myths

1) There's no snow in the desert.

 These were taken yesterday. Even the UPS man forged through our blizzard-wanna-be! I was very thankful since most of my Christmas shopping has been done on-line.

This is the view I woke up to this morning....it's breathtaking, and I never tire of it!

2) We only eat lizards and snakes out here.

Not all of the time...we do eat normal food, too, like this very easy breakfast casserole and these sweet-but-not-too-sweet apple pockets. There's something about snowy days that makes me want to try new recipes even more. Both of these are keepers.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

2 c. dry chicken stove top stuffing mix

2 c. milk

1-1/2 cups cubed ham or cooked and crumbled sausage

6 eggs, beaten

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x12 baking dish. Mix all ingredients together and pour into prepared dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set.

~from Food.com

Apple Pockets

1 pkg refrigerated pie crusts (or make your own!)

3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin

1/3 c. sugar

2 T. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 T. butter

milk

1/4 c. sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon combined in a small bowl

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Cut each circle (there should be two) of pie crusts into four wedges. Toss apple slices with flour mixture. Place 6-8 mixture coated apple pieces on half of one pie crust wedge. Dot with butter and fold pie crust over top of apples. Seal around open side edges with fork dipped in milk. Slit top with a knife in a few places, brush with a bit of milk, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with rest of pie crust pieces. Bake on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet about 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Great served warm with ice cream. Makes 8.

Enjoy!

With love,

Trisha

Mothering Like It All Matters and a Giveaway in Honor of Denise Sproul

How quickly a mother's vision fixes on what doesn't matter. Whether your daughter has the most stylish pair of jeans or haircut. Whether your son gets the latest technological wonder. Whether you have the biggest house on the block or the best homeschooling curriculum.

Wrapped up in the mix of our everyday decisions is the truth that our focusing on what doesn't matter matters. It all matters. 

It's the wise Mama who remembers that each of her decisions, each smile she gives when she's grumpy, each meal she cooks when she's too tired, each sacrifice she makes when she's tempted to pursue her own "dreams," each moment she slays self and lives out the gospel before her family, each look in the eye she gives her children instead of the classic "back turned and uh-huh" response, matter. They shape her family today and families for generations to come. And in ways I don't understand, they matter for eternity.

And yes, it's all by His grace. 

Denise Sproul, wife of R.C. Jr., is with Jesus now, and Doug Phillips reminds us that she's now free from pain and full of joy and waiting the resurrection of the dead and "the reunion of her dear R.C., children, and loved ones in Christ."

He also offers this sobering exhortation, which I remind myself of every day and which is at the heart of so much of what I post here. 

"Tonight, stop and take a really good look at your spouse. Next, look at each of your children. Look really, really long and hard. Take a moment and thank God for every whisper of a moment that God has given you with them. Thank God for the little kisses offered, the stories told, the tickles dispensed, the games played, the readings shared, the silent moments cherished, the victories experienced, the losses endured, the kind words presented , the songs sung, the glances exchanged. These moments not only count for eternity, but they will be remembered for the next billion years after you leave this minuscule moment in time called “life.” Every moment with your loved one matters. Someday they or you will be gone. Every conversation matters. Every kind deed in the name of Christ matters. It all matters." 

(Read the rest here.)

If you're already mothering like it all matters, praise God. Pray you won't lose your focus and get sidetracked by the schemes of Satan, the temptations from the world, or your own flesh. Keep yourself humble before the LORD by remembering every thing you do in your mothering to honor Him is because of His grace.

If you're not mothering like it matters, then make changes. Start on your knees in repentance. Cut the stuff out that's keeping you from living out and speaking of the gospel to your children.

Denise's children are remembering good things about their Mama. They are rising up and calling her blessed, not perfect, but blessed. None of us knows how much longer we have to mother like it all matters, but while we still have another breath, it's never too late.

"But do little ones forget? I suppose the events that we best remember in advanced age are the things that happened to us in our earliest days. At any rate, I have shaken hands with gray-headed men who have forgotten nearly all the events that have intervened between their old ange and the time of their childhood, but little matters that transpired at home, hymns learned at their mother's knee, and words spoken by their father or sister have lingered with them. The voices of childhood echo throughout life. The first learned is generally the last forgotten. The young children who heard our Lord's blessing would not forget it. They would have His countenance photographed upon their hearts and never forget His kind and tender smile. " ~Charles Spurgeon 

Mamas, let's ask ourselves.... 

What will my children remember? 

Will they remember authenticity or hypocrisy?
Will they remember smiles or frowns?
Will they remember kindness or harshness?
Will they remember patience or frustration?
Will they remember joy or despair?
Will they remember trust or anxiety?
Will they remember peace or strife?
Will they remember forgiveness or bitterness? 

Will they remember the life-changing love of Christ and the gospel lived out before their eyes? 

Help us, Lord, remember that they will remember, and let them remember Your love and grace and mercy.

We're blessed to have Denise's parenting wisdom set before us in a book she wrote called Tending Your Garden. 

I'd love to bless one of you with this treasure of wisdom. It can be for yourself or for another Mama or Mama- to- be. Just leave a comment letting me know you'd like to be entered. US only, please. I'll draw the winning name on January 6, 2012. That gives everyone plenty of time to enter and share the word even in the midst of this busy season.

And please remember the Sprouls in your prayers.

Much love,
Trisha