Sometime back this audio was shared with me, by some dear friends. I’ve been re-listening from time to time, as there are layers of applications in my life to consider.
Whether you are red, yellow, black, normal or blue, you struggle with some part of your identity. Right now I am in the throws of raising and walking along teen age daughters and all the questions that go with growing up from girl to woman.
There are racial tensions erupting all over our country. Suicides and murders. Exploitation of girls and of boys.
Because we fail to see the value of each and every human life.
I hope the following encourages you today, to remember where your identity, where each person’s identity, comes from.
“But this is not just a normal problem, many people, normal and abnormal alike fail to see the beauty in their own identities.
I’m happy how I am, not full of pride, but proud to know I’m made in the image of God, and God is far from normal.
So if every person is crafted after Him, there is no typical human, no normal ethnic group, no matter who you are, red, yellow, black, normal or blue, there’s something Divine about you.
But
I guess you can’t know this if you don’t know the God you reflect. You’ll go your whole life thinking you’re normal or worthless, never seeing which of God’s many attributes are present in you.”
Today, when frustration rises, I will quiet it with GRATITUDE.
Today, I will be the one to be reminded to speak only what is GRACEfilled, appropriate for the moment, that will help hearts in need, and bless all others who hear.
Today, I will HUG. and TOUCH. and DRAW CLOSE.
Not to be an example, but to love the ones better who love me, flaws and all.
Share Your World is a fantastic idea from the Compassion Letter Writing pinterest board, for writing to our sponsored children. With that in mind I wrote online letters to all our kiddos about one of my favorite nearby places, Rock Ledge Ranch. It was a little challenging to choose what to include in the letter, as it is a historical site and I didn’t want to make the translation difficult!
April, 2015
Dear Friend,
Hello my friend! I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and doing well. I am praying for you, your mother and your baby brother.
Our family lives in Colorado, United States. We have many interesting things about the city where we live, but I want to tell you about a special one today. We like to visit a place called Rock Ledge Ranch. It is a historical site, with houses from 3 different time periods of Colorado history. My children often volunteer there during their summer break from school.
The Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site is a living history farm and museum that depicts life in the Pikes Peak region in four time periods: American Indian area in 1775; 1860’s Galloway Homestead; 1880’s Chambers Home and Ranch; 1907 Edwardian Country Estate.
At the American Indian area there is a teepee and a wikiup. Native American people work in that area and teach about their history.
The Rock Ledge House was built-in 1874 by the Chamber’s family. This family started the first school in our area, and the school was in their house at first.
My favorite area of the ranch is the Galloway Homestead, where a person can learn about homesteading in the 1860’s. There is often a fire in the adobe oven and sometimes the staff and volunteers cook food.
last summer my youngest daughter repaired this chair with all new weaving, while volunteering at the ranch
People who work at the ranch wear costumes that are like the clothing that people wore during the historical time periods. They get to work with old tools and do daily work like it was done in the past. It is a wonderful way to learn!
Laundry, the old fashioned way
Learning about history is very interesting to me and I appreciate having Rock Ledge Ranch nearby. There is a large garden, a pond thriving with animals and a barn with chickens, sheep, a cow and several horses. I am attaching some pictures of the ranch. I hope you enjoy learning about one of my favorite places.
Please write again soon. I look forward to hearing about your favorite place and about how you are doing.
With love,
Michelle
It is my plan to continue to write about places in our area and I hope that our sponsored children will be inspired to share more about where they live! Wanna join the letter writing community of Compassion Sponsors? Check out this blog post for more information. And click this link if you are interested in learning more about Child Sponsorship through Compassion International.
Fun mail is always a treat to receive, and look what was waiting for me when I returned from a busy day of driving kids to and fro…
These boxes from Purex Insiders always hold something new to try, and to share with others. This box was no different! Inside was a bottle of Dial Miracle Oil Hand Soap Infused with Marula Oil (it was interesting to read about this oil) . We’ve had the bottle of soap at our hand washing station near the back door. Each of us has noticed that this soap does not leave our hands feeling dry at all. That is a big bonus in our family of allergy caused dry skin and eczema!
This New product from Dial is infused with Marula Oil to bring nourishment and skin hydration to our hand washing experience. Enjoy the smooth feel of Miracle Oil as you wash away dirt and germs, and enjoy the feeling of smooth, refreshed hands afterward! I think you’ll enjoy having a bottle of this hand soap by your sink.
Check back tomorrow for a giveaway that includes a FREE PRODUCT coupon for Dial soaps!
If present relationships are not strong, we are not laying a good foundation for the future. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally (Chapter Three)
She does him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:12 Pondering how I can teach and encourage my precious daughters to begin now, to each do her future beloved, and her God, good, not harm, ALL the days of her life?
Have you ever noticed that God weaves strands of a message in various colors in our lives as He seeks to get our attention? Right now it seems to be prepare for the future by sowing seeds of goodness and faithfulness in our relationships now…to gain a more eternal, less immediate focus.
Quite a few years ago I was a single mom and a college student. It was hard, and my GPA certainly shows that I might not have been studying as much as needed. But I did try. A few less years ago I got married to a good man and gained another daughter, then we added 3 more. All the changes filled my life to the brim and I left school.
For some time now I’ve longed to go back and finish what I started, and maybe be ready to launch a “career” as my youngest daughters launch from the nest. The request has been made more than once, but each time, it just wasn’t “right.”
Well seasons change and guess what I’m doing this summer, among many other things??? You got it! I’ve registered as a student at the local community college and enrolled in one online class for the summer. I’m going to try to knock out some of those less desirable classes first, with hopefully stellar grades to show for the years of learning as a homeschool mom. This summer I plan to get up earlier than my usual early, that’s when I plan to fit in my studies, in the wee early mornings.
It is exciting to see that the credits are still on my account, but it is necessary for me to petition for them to be “active” again. Twenty years is a long time for college credits to have been sitting incomplete. Pray with me? That the faculty member who receives the petition will grant favor to a woman who took time off to raise a family and is back to knock it out of the park now? I speak somewhat boldly, despite the fact that my knees are knocking and there’s a tightness in my neck and shoulders. It’s more than a bit “scary” to be headed back to school as a grandmother!
So, I’m realizing my dream of going back to school, to finish my degree. What are you dreaming of? Does this summer look like a good time to dust off that dream and turn it into reality?
Having been prompted to take inventory of my spiritual health recently, I have realized that an important item has slid off my mornings. Scripture memory work has disappeared from my morning quiet time and it’s absence has had ripple effects! For many years I have memorized Scripture with my children, but this school year changed our mornings drastically and we have not had any consistent devotions & Scripture study together.
What I realized during this time of spiritual inventory (which was prompted by noticing my prayer life is weakening) is that I am now “going it alone” when it comes to Scripture memory. When we were a homeschooling family our mornings were started everyday with time in the Word and Scripture memory work. Now the kids are busier in their youth group and AWANA programs each working on individual memorization work.
The most notable thing I am missing from Scripture memory work is a word bank for nightly blessings. Some years ago I began choosing specific passages, memorizing them and then prayerfully blessing each of my children at bedtime. After a period of time with one passage, I would work to memorize another, and so on. These nightly blessings have become somewhat rote and lacking variety and specifics for the application to the ins and out of daily life.
There are several places where I heard about Scriptural blessings, but one in particular stands out to me. Some years ago, I watched a video of a chapel service (Compassion or Focus on the Family probably). Michael W Smith was speaking and towards the end of his time, the topic of spoken blessings was covered. I sought out his book, A Simple Blessing from our local library. Here is a related video, possibly the same one I originally watched, but I’m not sure. I do know the part about “the blessing” begins at about minute 26.
A Reason for Giving A Simple Blessing
These words are one very good reason for speaking Scriptural blessings over people: “If people would change what they are pursuing, they wouldn’t find themselves staring through the shattered window of broken dreams and torn relationships.”
If I speak audible blessings over my children, infusing words of encouragement, truth, value and understanding, seeds of purpose are sown in their minds and hearts. There is a shaping that can take place that will aid in the choices each daughter must make along life’s way. I know the curses that were spoken over me had a negative impact in my life’s choices for too long. I desire to give my children something infinitely better, in the immediate and in the future. Actually, I want to have a life giving impact on others as well, the other people in my life, our sponsored children. There is a whole big world in need of a simple blessing.
All this leads me back to knowing that it is a necessity for me to get back to Scripture memory and blessing writing, blessing giving. It would be a joy to have you join me in this discipline. If you are interested in joining me in Scripture memory and blessings, let me know in the comments. Here’s a blessing to start with:
May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, and one day share it with a world so in need of hope. (from Romans 15:13)
These Moments, which are just a snapshot of truly delightful day full of family and friends celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We attended morning services, full of celebratory music and teaching from Hebrews 9.
Enjoyed a mostly gluten free meal (something that has been a real struggle, but I’m learning!), followed by this gluten free Empty Tomb cake made by Mae, with family and friends.
Spent a couple of hours at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, taking advantage of our brand new membership.
feeding the giraffe
This day was truly a delight to my soul. It is quite hopeful to me, that maybe I’ll learned the secret of being able to enjoy a family gathering or day of celebrating. Saturday I spent most of the day preparing “cold foods” for Sunday’s celebration. We used paper plates, and most of the foods were served in the dishes they were stored in. Score! Another bonus…the natural gathering place in our home is now the kitchen. It is big enough, after the remodel, to hold anyone and everyone, so even when I was washing a few dishes or putting away food, I wasn’t tucked back alone in the kitchen. All of those pieces made the difference in my being able to fully enjoy the day!
linking with Amanda and Jessica as I remember and celebrate a beautiful Easter Sunday.
Quick snacks are a must all the time with growing children, but add the warmer weather and those kids get even hungrier. And a house full of teens doing bigger and more things… even more so!
Warmer Weather
Spring has sprung, and the temperature is rising to lovely 60+ sunny degrees most days. A little higher, a little lower, it doesn’t matter. The kids are out the door running, bike riding, heading to the park. And all that fresh air and activity? Makes them hungry. I’ve been pulling out my hair just a little with all the “what’s for…” “when’s dinner” questions. Noon to 6 is a long stretch once the kids head outside so I began thinking about heartier snacks and healthy lunch fillers.
Mini Pizza
We often have home made pizza for lunch or dinner. Recently I doubled the dough recipe and ended up with enough pizza for dinner, with dough left over. Dividing the dough into 3 portions I rolled them out and made 3 personal size pizzas. These pizzas were then loaded with pepperoni and cheese.
After cooling, each pizza was wrapped in parchment paper and slid into a quart sized ziplock bag. The next day when people wandered into the kitchen looking for something to snack on, I pointed them to the fridge in search of those bags. The pizzas were gone in a snap, but they were a hit! One or two heated the pizzas, the other ate it cold. So I do plan to take a few hours in the next week to make up a double batch of dough and turn all of it into mini pizzas. Usually I put things like this into the freezer, but I really doubt that is needed or helpful in this season. The turn over rate in our fridge is pretty high!
This is the recipe I currently use for pizza dough. Normally we have bowls of chopped bell peppers, black olives and green onions, as well as pepperoni, turkey or ham to use for toppings. For sauce I often use Classico marinara sauce, a jar goes a long way in pizza making! This sauce is often on sale and when it is I stock up.
I’m looking for more fresh ideas for hearty quick snacks and simple, healthy, filling lunches. The house is now full of strong, active teens and while they don’t eat a lot at one time, they do wander into the kitchen OFTEN looking for something to eat. Surely I’ll get back into the groove, but for now, I need some ideas!
What ideas do you have for simple, healthy and filling snacks for these warm weather days?
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the deep of the valley was bright
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, “Glory, the Groom is alive”
So long, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
At high noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow
Now the demons, they danced in the darkness
When that last ragged breath left his lungs
And they reveled and howled
At the war that they thought they had won
But then, in the dark of the grave
The stone rolled away
In the still of the dawn on the greatest of days
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When Jesus took in that breath
And shattered all Death with his life
So long, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
High noon in the valley of the shadow
Let the people rejoice
Let the heavens resound
Let the name of Jesus, who sought us
And freed us forever ring out
All praise to the fighter of the night
Who rides on the light
Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, “Glory, the Groom is alive”
So long, you wages of sin
I said go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
All praise to the king
The victor of the battle
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow
Copyright 2003 New Spring Publishing, Inc.
By Quiet Waters 