Happy St. Patty’s Day from two of the cutest little leprechauns I know!
I feel so “lucky” to be their momma. During our naptime prayers, I thanked the Lord for the desire that He placed in my heart to stay at home full-time with my kiddos…and I thanked Him for allowing me to be a momma. Even on the hardest of days (and today has NOT been easy), I wouldn’t trade this “job” for anything else on the planet.
I’m the lucky one…even though I’m not wearing green.
Yesterday morning, Sawyer donned her princess dress and butterfly wings and joined me in the kitchen. She wanted to act out the Christmas story; she would be the angel and I would be a shepherd who would be afraid when I saw her. I easily obliged. She loves to pretend and act things out and I know the Christmas story is one of her favorites.
While she left the room, I sat down to feed Wryder and she soon returned. I did my part and proclaimed, “Aaagh! I’m afraid, I’m afraid! Who are you?”
She replied, “Do not be afraid! I’m an angel. A Savior has been born in Bethlehem. You should go and see Him.”
Knowing that she knew the story of Christ’s birth, I did my part to foster the conversation to lead us into the second act and allow her to have more dialog from the story…so I asked, “How will I know where to go?”…thinking she would reply something about following a star.
Nope.
She replied, in her best Dora-esque set of directions, “First you’ll go past crocodile lake.”
I about fell out of my chair! She finished her instructions and I thought, this can still be salvaged! Thinking she’d mention something about swaddling clothes or a manager, I asked, “How will I know it’s baby Jesus?” To which she replied…
“You’ll have to look closely.”
How funny is she!? You may disagree but I just have to believe that the Lord was busting a gut right along with me; her innocence was overwhelmingly adorable! I grabbed pen and paper and immediately wrote down our little exchange. These are the little things I don’t want to forget…these are the things that bless my heart.
As much as we love our cute little farmhouse, leaving Denver wasn’t necessarily easy. We have so many incredible friends (who we consider family) that we had to leave behind and that part was heartbreaking. We’re still in Colorado and we’re only three hours away, but we knew things wouldn’t be the same anymore; we can’t just run down the road for every birthday part or baby dedication or weekend get together.
We grew up a lot while we were in Denver…in a lot of different ways…
We worked hard, got out of debt and discovered the freedom that brought…
We found a church home that we loved and the Lord used it to grow us and challenge in so many ways…
I went on my first missions trip and that changed my worldview forever…
We went on our first missions trip together and learned that poor doesn’t just involve your bank account, but your spirit and mindset, too…
I left the working world to become a stay-at-home wife and mom…
We got to be involved with a huge Christian music festival that sought to make Jesus the headliner. We got to see it through from conception to actualization and we learned more than could be put into words…
We had our first baby…
I was involved in several Bible studies with some amazing women whose knowledge and fervor for the Lord forever changed my life…
We just got to do life with people who walked with us, and allowed us to walk with them, through the nasty storms of life – death, divorce, infertility, debt, unemployment, illness, infidelity…and the beauties, too – restoration, redemption, birth, life, success, marriage, freedom. Our bonds with these people were developed and strengthened and intensified and leaving them was hard. Still is…
Some days, my heart still longs to be there instead of here. There are days when the road is muddy and I need milk and I don’t want to load up two kids and drive 20 miles just to pay $5 for a gallon and then pay $4/gallon for fuel to get back home and then get stuck in the driveway and have to haul two kids and two gallons of milk through muck and mire to get to the front door. Yeah, those days, I wish I were in the city.
Or the days where I just wish I could call up a few friends, whose hearts I know and trust because they’re more like sisters, and we could meet at Starbucks or someone’s home and our kiddies could play while we talk about what the Lord is doing and how we need to adjust our lives accordingly and we don’t have to preface anything or explain anything, they just know and get it and understand. Yeah, those days, I miss Denver.
It’s hard moving somewhere new- especially to a small town, where most people are already established, and have been since birth. While we’ve met some incredible people who’ve been more than good to us out here on the plains, it doesn’t always feel the same. And maybe it won’t…ever.
The days when I start questioning or feeling frustrated or lonely or nostalgic, I have to go back to the summer of 2011 and remember His oh-so evident hand in this and it’s there that I find peace that this IS where we’re supposed to be. That’s one of the beauties of obedience…I have the pleasure of understanding that we know that we know that we know that this IS where the Lord called us to…this IS His doing. We were obedient to His urging and calling so we can stand on that. We did what He asked us to do…
When we obey God, we can trust that He will display His goodness and love to us. And He has. Oh, He has…and will.
Luckily, the Denverites still call and come visit and invite us out and our new friends do the same. One of His blessings, indeed.
We tossed the sheets in the wash, locked the doors and headed eight hours south to Booker, Texas. One of our good friends from college worked as the head cattle buyer at the plant and had told the owners about Wrex. With the drought hitting so hard in Texas, they knew cow numbers would soon be short and that they’d need to expand their buying circle. They wanted to get a northern buyer trained and in place, but weren’t in just a huge hurry to do so; they wanted it to be the right kind of person. Unfortunately, the cow buying business has it’s fair share of crooks and traders and this company had worked been working for a few years on cleaning up their buyer staff.
There are several owners and shareholders and only a few of them live around the Booker area. As the Lord would have it, Wrex got to meet several out of staters, including a fellow Nebraskan. That pretty much sealed the deal! HA! Kidding…but I’m sure it didn’t hurt. Those Huskers gotta stick together… It wasn’t a formal interview, but he was there most of the morning; a good four hours or so. We ate lunch, said our goodbyes and then continued on to visit my side of the family.
For years, we’d talked about the possibility of him buying cows for an outfit; it’s a job that he’d been groomed for his entire life. We didn’t have any doubts that he’d enjoy the work and he felt like things went well, but we left not knowing exactly what they were thinking.
We had a good time seeing my parents and brother and then traveled further south to see my mom’s extended family. We don’t get down there often enough just because of time, money and distance, so it was nice to be able to have a few extra days with them. It’s hard to have “time off” when you help run a farming/ranching operation so this was, by far, the longest visit we’d had with them since we’d been married.
They were all so sweet and were scurrying around trying to find Wrex a job down there, which would’ve been a-ok with me, bearing I could hack that heat and humidity. I have gobs of incredible memories tied to their little area of Texas. At the time, my grandma had already been moved into an assisted living facility and her house was on the market, as she wouldn’t be going back. We got to stay there for what would be the last time – an incredibly bittersweet thing for me. Talk about memories being bound to a place…we spent every Christmas and summer there since I was born and Wrex and I were married on their acreage. It was hard to leave and at the time, every fiber of my being was just screaming for a job there so we could buy the house and keep the place alive, but it wasn’t meant to be. I’ll always cherish that piece of our trip and I most definitely view it as a sweet little gift that the Lord gave me in the midst of an erratic time in our lives.
Once in Oklahoma, the Lord was so faithful! We were really beginning to wonder what our next move was. We knew we had to go back to Colorado for a few days, but then what? He just showed us time and time again that He wasn’t absent from the process. From people calling with words (rhemas) for us or the message at church we felt led to attend one Sunday morning that was titled, “What to do in the time of transition.” Yeah. That was us…and He was with us.
That Monday, Wrex got a phone call that ended in a job offer from the packing plant in Booker; they wanted him to come on as their northern cattle buyer. He’d train in Texas for three months and then move up north and establish himself…somewhere. They would give him a set of barns he was to buy in on a weekly basis, but he would be able to determine the specific community in which to settle.
After a day’s worth of prayer, we felt full release for him to take the job! It felt so right and like a huge, heavy weight had been lifted off of our shoulders. They settled on a start date, we hit the road back to Colorado to tie up a few more loose ends and grabbed a few little necessities out of storage – like a crib and a bed and a kitchen table – so that we could make ourselves at home in Texas….again.
****Part 3 is my favorite – stay tuned!****
Sawyer has always had a pretty intimate prayer life, especially given her age. She is always quick to pray if she knows someone is sick or needs help or if she’s feeling really grateful. As a parent, it’s been an incredibly cool thing to watch and foster.
This past week, she’s gotten to witness the Lord answer two prayers – how cool is that?!
The first was a biggie…a friend of ours from church was on a missions trip in Africa and had a pretty major health complication while he was there. The church sent out an email and our family prayed loyally for him, Sawyer included. He had a small procedure when he was there, came home early and has had follow up appointments with specialists in the area. His wife reported yesterday that yet another doctor was stumped as to why he didn’t die while he was gone. We all know why…because he had a multitude of people storming the gates of heaven for his health…and the Lord heard and acted.
On an incredibly (no really, a waaaaaaaaay smaller, less significant note) we’ve had a missing person around our house. Sawyer got a dollhouse for Christmas and it came with two infants, which she named “Girl Baby” and “Boy Baby.”
Last week, Wryder had “Daddy” in one hand and “Boy Baby” in the other and was scooting all over the house…and then…Boy Baby went missing! Sawyer had been quite distraught as we had looked for him EVERYWHERE; trashcan(s), diaper genie, wipes container, toy box, under the TV stand, under the chair, in the couch cushions, in the laundry – seriously, EVERYWHERE, with no luck.
Today, after searching some more, she declared that Boy Baby must be in heaven with Jesus and that we should pray for him. Wrex told her that the Lord knew where he was and that we would pray indeed. So we offered up a prayer of protection over Boy Baby and we asked the Lord to help us find him. (Why didn’t we do this sooner?!)
I was laying on the floor playing with Wryder during this whole scene and, I kid you not, about 20 seconds later, I rolled over and looked under the TV stand, as I really felt like that’s the only place he could be (even though we’d already looked) and guess who I saw? BOY BABY!
A lot of hollering and jumping and praising of the Lord commenced from all of us! Not because Boy Baby was just that precious or important, but the lesson learned was. He cares…even about the small things…and He will come to our aid when we petition Him.
These two things have resonated with her greatly and I know they have increased her faith, just as they have mine. Talk to Him today, friend. He IS Jehovah Shama…the God who hears.
Do you ever find yourself thinking about something someone did or said (or something you did or said) and you wonder, “What does the Bible say about ________?” I feel like I do this a lot, depending on the subject (love, sin, shame, forgiveness, etc.) As a whole, I think we tend to know a little bit about a lot of things or we may know the gist of it, but not the full spectrum of the Lord’s heart on a specific issue…and that’s where topical studies come in.
On our quest to know the Lord more intimately through Biblical study, we’ve looked at inductive studies and personalization. Today, let’s look at topical studies.
Topical study – a study about a specific topic…love, grace, prayer, forgiveness, humility, sin, etc.
It involves the same three basic steps that we saw in the inductive study…
Observation
Interpretation
Application
Topical studies can be quite vast but OH SO RICH. We have so much Biblical information right at our fingertips thanks to Bible search engines and study materials available online, that this should be an easy-peasy way to learn more about the Lord. So….hop to it! What topic is calling your name?!
One of my favorite types of Bible study is the personalization of Scripture. It takes the message of the written word of God from a epistle for everyone (which it is) to an epistle for me (which it is). For me, personalization really makes Scripture come alive and it helps me take ownership of the truth in His word. Part of the personalization process involves reading other translations and breaking down the verbage, so for a lover of words and their meanings, that part appeals to me, too.
How to personalize Scripture (for this example, we’ll look at Ephesians 6:10-18)
1. Pray and ask the Lord to teach you and to show you HIs perfect and personal word for you.
2. Read a passage of Scripture to yourself.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
3. Read it aloud.
4. Underline words or phrases that really catch your attention.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
5. Read some different versions and use them to gain deeper understanding of the text.
10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. 11 Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. 13 Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. 14 Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God, 15 And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the [a]firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness [b]produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. 16 Lift up over all the [covering] shield of [c]saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit [d]wields, which is the Word of God. 18 Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
6. Copy the text as written.
7. Re-write the text in first person.
I must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. I will put on all of His armor so that I will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. I am not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, I will put on every piece of God’s armor so I will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle I will still be standing firm. I will stand my ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, I will put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that I will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, I will hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. I will put on salvation as my helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
I will pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. I will stay alert and be persistent in my prayers for all believers everywhere.
8. Expand the text.
I must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. There is no one stronger than Him! All He possess, I possess through His Spirit. I will put on all of His armor so that I will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. It is possible to stand firm! That’s what His word is saying – it is possible! I am not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. I am fighting the devil himself.
Therefore, I will put on every piece of God’s armor so I will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. I WILL be able to resist his schemes. Then after the battle I will still be standing firm. I will succeed! I will triumph victorious! I will stand my ground; I will not waiver; I will not be moved. I will put on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, I will put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that I will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, I will hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil, because they WILL come…but can be prepared. I will put on salvation as my helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Is there a more powerful weapon than He?
I will pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. I will stay alert and be persistent in my prayers for all believers everywhere.
9. Pray through the passage.
Oh, you guys…even just taking these few minutes to run through this passage simply and quickly has sooooo ministered to my heart. Reading and re-reading and expanding and making it my own just brings so much understanding – and not just regarding the text – but about the Author of the text…and isn’t that the point? Intimate fellowship with Him as we study His word and apply it to our life = the key to Biblical study, and personalization does just that.
In college, I had extraordinary study skills; I was the girl that made money selling her notes to the other slackers less studious types. (I had a killer wardrobe several of those years. Maybe I should try that again…)
Fast forward 10 years…
When we lived in Denver, we were so incredibly fortunate to have a deep source of great Bible teachers and mentors that propelled us forward in our understanding of the Word, and thus, THE Word. I remember sitting at a weekend Bible intensive and the light bulb FINALLY flicked on in my head – study the Bible like you studied in college. What a novel idea! This is the most important material we will ever cover, so why not treat it the same way? Over the next week or so, I’ll share several different methods for doing so. Plus, what’s better than a hot cup of coffee and some Bible action when it’s -2 outside?! YIKES!
Today, let’s look at an inductive study. An inductive Bible study uses the Bible as the main source of information about the Bible. Essentially, it uses the Bible to prove or validate itself. (If you’ve ever done a Precepts Bible study, this is the method you’ve used.) It’s a way of study that has you extract, or draw out, information from the text to understand its meaning.
The inductive method uses three basic steps…
Observation – the 5 W’s and H
Interpretation
Application
Application is putting the truths you’ve discovered through observation and interpretation to use in your life. Bible study is meant not merely to enlighten or inform, but to transform us and renew our minds.
Application happens when we are confronted with truth and we decide to respond in obedience to that truth. When you know what God says, what He means, and how to put His truths into practice, you will be equipped for every circumstance of life. To be equipped for every good work of life—totally prepared to handle every situation in a way that honors God—is the will of God.
I will admit that this was never my first choice for study types but OH MY GOODNESS, I have changed my mind! I always learn so incredibly much when I take the time to go through a passage of Scripture in this way. The inductive study is leaping it’s way into my top three faves. Fickle, fickle me.
If you’ve never tried this method of study, I highly encourage you to give it a whirl. I guarantee you’ll be blessed and fed and emboldened and convicted and drawn closer to the heart of God. Let me know what ya think, k?
Dora the Explorer and I have a love/hate relationship. Sawyer used to really, really like watching her and it brought me joy because it brought her joy, but she has slowly grown out of that phase.
I mean, it’s sort of a cute little show; Map is adorable, as is Boots…they always have a goal, a place in mind that they have to get to…but I’ve noticed an increase in the number of times I have to get up and shut it off because of witches or wizards or other crazy characters casting spells. As a Bible believing family, we’re just not going to support that kind of stuff, especially in children’s programming. Same for the overly dramatic, whiny, disrespectful characters that are in way too many shows. Aint nobody got time for that!
As a parent, it is my God appointed responsibility to act as a gatekeeper for my kiddos. Our eyes and ears are two huge camps of infiltration and our babies don’t have the full capacity or discernment yet to know when something is trying to come in and inflict warfare on their hearts and minds.
Even though she only gets to watch a (heavily regulated) show a day, there is still sooooooo much stuff all around us that she’s exposed to – radio commercials, stories from other kids, loud phone conversations, pictures that pop up in Google search results (when only searching for “silly kitties”), attitudes and words from neighboring diners in restaurants, magazine racks at the checkout line, spending time with other peoples’ children – the list could go on and on.
At this young and impressionable age, if other peoples’ kids are treating each children disrespectfully (including yours) or don’t get disciplined (or get disciplined poorly or not in love) or have issues with physicality – don’t subject your kids to that! This can be so hard, especially if you really enjoy spending time with the parents of said children, but it’s just not worth it. One, they need to be in a place that feel safe and secure and if they’re getting beat up or verbally assaulted every time they “play” together, then they aren’t safe and secure. Two, they’re gonna bring that stuff home and we can’t be (or at least I’m not) willing to let that happen.
It’s my job to protect my babies from some of the things they’re just absolutely too young to think on, and to talk through and counter the rest with the Truth – the Word of God. I’m not saying you need to shelter them their entire lives and then just throw them to the wolves one day when it’s time to leave the nest, but I am saying that we have to be intentional about what and who they surround themselves with, even at age three.
We have to act with purpose by planting the wisdom and truth of the Lord into their hearts. Unfortunately, it’s not just going to happen on it’s own. We have to take an active stance and it’s going to take some (more) of our precious, dedicated time. (Have you ever had to die to yourself so much in your entire life?!? Yeah, me either…)
But? They will be better for it (and so will we). They will be well equipped with truth to combat the hundreds of lies thrown at them by the world every day. They will have a firm foundation of the Word of the Lord so that they can begin to navigate these things for themselves. They will be filled with the wisdom and discernment that comes from being saturated in Him…and they will begin to see themselves and others through the lens of the Lord and not the the lens of the world. Their hearts and words and actions and thoughts will bear the fruit of the Spirit – it will have no other option!
Guess what all of that means for us as parents? We have to do those same things for ourselves, too. We have to be cognizant of what we’re seeing and hearing and thinking on. We have to be led by the Spirit…we have to be full of wisdom and discernment…we have to be basking in His Word or else we won’t be able to give it away to the littles.
This post comes on the heels of 1.) the Grammy’s, which I did not watch but too many of my friends and their kids did (and I wished they wouldn’t have…see above) and 2.) an overly embarrassing episode in our home last night. As I was putting a spoon in the sink, our glass, dish soap holder fell (loudly) in the sink and scared the daylights out of me! (Me? Jumpy and high strung? Never. Ahem.) Before I had even uttered anything except a small scream, Sawyer said, “Oh, shed.” Yeah. Isn’t that nice. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t referring to the little building where we store the lawn mowers. Apparently, ahem, I have a habit of saying a semblance of that lovely phrase often enough for her to notice. I mean, we don’t go too many places for her to pick this language up, so I’m gonna have to call dibs on this one.
I turned around and asked what she said and she replied, “Oh, shed. That’s what we say when we drop something.” Nice one, mom. Dora should be the least of my worries, eh?
So, we then got to have a talk about how imperfect mommy is and how I don’t always say things that honor Jesus, but that I need to work on that. We talked about how out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks and that I need to do some work on my heart so that my reactions when I get flustered or scared are more righteous.
So now that I’ve completely outed myself (embarrassed, flustered, red face, queasy stomach and all), I hope to practice more of what I’ve preached here. Lord, help me. And I’m hoping you’ll still let your kids come over – I really try to make a point not to use curse words, really, I do.
The point is, evil/vile/sinful things, thoughts and words are all around us vying for a piece of our allegiance. We have to do our best to protect the gates of our homes and the gates of the homes of our souls – our hearts. Let us love righteousness and hate sin…and watch less Dora…because that’s probably good for everyone.
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but Sawyer has ministered to us on several occasions and in several different ways. It always catches me off guard…I guess I’m not used to that quite yet…but it’s such a sweet, sweet thing.
Friday, before we left, I went to wake her up from her nap. She was already awake and I could tell she was whispering/talking. She said, “Mom, I’ve been thinking about Jesus!” (Words a momma delights to hear, let me tell ya!) And then…
She pulled me close to her and she laid her little hands on my head and just kept saying, “God is powerful and mighty. He is always with us. I love our God and He loves us. He is good and what He does is good.” Just over and over. At one point I kind of leaned up and she pulled me back down and continued speaking that over me. It was such a blessed, anointed little moment.
I assured her that what she had heard and what she was speaking WAS indeed truth and that it blessed me…immensely.
I pray that she always lends herself to the Lord…that she listens for His voice and shares when she’s supposed to share. I pray that she follows Him all the days of her life. I pray that everything that she puts her hands to will prosper. I pray that she will never feel ashamed of sharing His news, His story, His word…she can change her corner of the world by doing so.
She blesses my heart…
