Believers Baptism

My heart is full and my cup overflows. July 2014 Jacob made the decision to be baptized. His favorite verse is one that he clings to as he walks this journey. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." The door is open to all that put there trust in Christ Jesus, and all we have to do is ask. Praise God!

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Baptism

“Baptism is faith in action.”  ~ Watchman Nee

 Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
 
After accepting Christ into his heart a couple years ago, our oldest was baptized today in an act of  public obedience to God and what He calls us, as believers, to do.

Before he was baptized he quoted one of his favorite verses. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My heart is full and my cup overflows. I am so proud of the young man that Noah is and cannot wait to see what God has in store for him. 

I Choose Joy! Counting 1,000 Gifts (271-300)

271. Uncontrollable laughter.

272. Fun school.

273. Hot tea.

274. Praise music.

275. New recipes.

276. Hersey Nuggets.

277. Clean garages.

278. Sisters who encourage me to be better.

279. Husbands that take charge so I can rest.

280. Good friends.

281. Ice skates.

282. New days with new blessings.

283. Quiet house.

284. Bright shirts and new belts.

285. Kids excited to worship.

286. Being at home in the warmth without having to go anywhere!

287. Birthday cake and ice cream.

288. Carmel rolls.

289. Homemade thank you cards.

290. Homemade dill pickles (and the garlic at the bottom of the jar = yum)!

291. Wild grape jelly that oozes in all the cracks of my toast.

292. Our dogs excitement over the mail carrier.

293. The smell of clothes drying.

294. Thick lotion on dry hands.

295. I love you hugs after rest time.

296. Boys that love to put what they have learned in school into a drawing (Vikings Ship).

297. Head lamps.

298. Hot apple cider.

299. Unsolicited "I love you" from brother to brother.

300. Sketch books and pencils.

Advent and Christmas

To say our family LOVES Christmas would be an understatement. We love everything about the month of December. The lights, music, giving, volunteering, service projects, craft projects, bible reading, singing, food, gathering with friends and family, worship services, cards, and JESUS it is all wonderful. 

This year was not an exception. We loved Christmas! We cut back on the presents this year for ourselves and the kids and focused more on giving to others in need. You know you can buy a sheep for a family in need for just $80?!

Here are a few photos of our fun from advent and Christmas this year. I wish I would have gotten a photo of the boys serving hot chocolate (we were surprised to see it was captured in the local paper). They gave out 100 free cups to people downtown. It is amazing to see the surprise in people faces when you remind them that Jesus loves them and give them something warm, free and with a smile.  Jesus would defiantly be giving hot chocolate in the cold streets on MN!

Ringing the bell for the Salvation Army

 

  Advent activity night at church - frosting cookies!

Donation drop off at the Ronald McDonald House for their kitchens.

















Sledding fun on the luge track!

Bible Reading

 Brother love!

 

 

Cousin Love!

 Game Time

Fun to have uncles that play with the kids! They love them and cannot get enough time with them!

 More Cousin Time

Praying that you spent time with Christ this Christmas. He left his perfect place in heaven to come as a baby, grow into a man, and be crucified on the cross and die for our sins.

John Piper reminds us of the awe and wonder of the Son of God.  As Piper puts it, “You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the Son of God.” Space thrillers of our days like Star Wars cannot hold a candle to the real living Jesus Christ.

“But these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

Take time this year to learn more about His perfect love in the Bible. 

Faith Journey

I grew up in a Christian home, on a farm, near a rural town as the youngest of four girls with amazing parents. Our family attended church and Sunday school each week. I went through confirmation classes with the rest of my grade could recite almost the entire service responses by heart, 10 commandments, and other bits of information when asked. However, at that time I did not think about salvation or having a relationship with God.

Everything changed for me in high school when I attended summer bible camp. I had been to camps before but not one like this. It was the first time I had heard that you need to ask God for salvation (a gift that is freely given) and you have to invite God in. As it turned out God wanted to have a relationship with me. That was the summer that I gave my life to Christ. I came home on fire for the Lord, sharing his love and reading the bible.

Over time, I did not keep this discipline of scripture reading up and fell into my own selfish sinful nature. Over the course of the following few years, I would have said that I was a Christian, but didn't not show that by the way I lived as well as the lack of time seeking God. Don't get me wrong, I still considered myself a "good" person, but just wanted to do things my own way.

I had a boss that told me one day that she did not believe in God, just a higher power and if you live a good life you will go to heaven or a better place. She started asking questions and challenging me on what I believe. The alarms were going off in my head. Of course there is a God. This was a wake-up call for me to once again seek God in my life, beg for forgiveness, and help her and others see that they need Him in theirs as well. God was calling me. I had spent to much time conforming to this world. Romans 12:1-2 says "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." I was done conforming. It was time to make a change.

Chris and I have 3 energetic boys, Noah, Jacob and Jonah. Noah and Jacob are in swimming lessons. A couple weeks ago one of the other moms who has 2 boys in the same classes as 2 of our boys asked about homeschool. She stated matter of fact, "I cannot believe you homeschool. They seem normal."  I got home to tell Chris about the conversation and we both got a good laugh out of it. But the more I thought about it and let is settle in my heart the more I am reminded that I don't want to be "normal" I don't want our boys or family to conform to this world. I want our hearts and minds to be focused on things that are not of this world. And if that makes us seems different, Lord I want to be different!

I think about my faith journey and see that the times I am closest to God are the times when I am in the bible daily. The times when I can hear God are the times that I am still and listening. The better you know God the better you can hear God. I can feel his presence and peace every day.

When we were asked as deacons to share our faith journey, my first thought was, "I don't have a great story like some of the others." I am broken and a sinner. I feel overwhelmed and inadequate many days. Those are the times when God speaks to the quiet place in my heart and says, "Jesus died for you. He died for you." My story is not awesome, but God is. I fail him time and time again. I am a sinner and still he loves me and wants to have a relationship with me. AWESOME! The Assurance of Salvation is found in 1John 5:11-12, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  Friends, He died for you as well. Invite Him in.
Audio version from church spring 2012

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I had time to reflect this morning while out on my early morning run (you know, the one that you don't want to get out of bed for, but know if you don't you will regret it all day).  As I was running I was thinking about gifts. I thought about how glad I am to have my reflective vest. I got it from my brother-in-law Clayton for Christmas a couple years ago. I wear it several times a week. To say that I love it would be an understatement! I got a pressure cooker from my husband and boys that I will use year after year. These are the kind of gifts that I LOVE to get, and also the type of gift that I enjoy giving. They may not always be the most popular gift when opened (except by like minded givers), but I hope that the person receiving will get more than a one time use.

Guessing the idea of gifts was spurred on by the date. You see tomorrow is my birthday. It is not a date that I look forward to as I did when I was a kid. Don't get me wrong, I feel great and I love life, but the idea of getting another year older is no longer exciting to me. It is just another day. But I was asking myself, what are other gifts that I use over and over? What gifts keep giving time after time after time?

It only took a few steps when I was nearly knocked off my feet with the realization.... Of course, forgiveness. The gift is from God. You see, I am a sinner by nature. I try, and try, and I try but I just keep on failing in so many ways. No matter how many "right" moves I make I am never totally free from sin. God in His overwhelming grace keeps on forgiving me and loving me. Amazing! All we have to do is ask.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross for you and for me. Have you asked for forgiveness? Have you asked Him to be Lord of your life?  He wants to have a relationship with you if you will open the door. It is the best gift that anyone could ask for or receive. Thank you God for the gift of Jesus! Don't wait another day. Here is a place to start...

God in heaven, I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that your Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross and died for my sins. I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. I accept Jesus as my own personal Savior. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace. Transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. Amen

Fresh Starts

I finally got around to getting a new family desk calendar last week. I am not sure why I waited so long, because getting a new calendar or planner is an exciting thing for me! I am not sure why I get so excited. Perhaps it is the crisp paper or the white sheets with no scribbles/marks etc... I get to sit down with my pen, pencil, and highlighter and fill in the activities for the month and year to come. I take time to make it neat and blemish free. I love it! After working on it for a little while, the kids come over to see what mom is working on. Why is she so happy and excited about this blank paper? What is it about what she is doing that is fun?

This first time sitting down with it is the only time that it is neat and clean. I try to keep things in order, but flipping pages, changing dates, and kids scribbles make it a mess by the end of the year.

As I sit and reflect on that blank sheet of paper without blemish I think about Easter. God sent his one and only son to live among us, to have a perfectly sin free life and to die on the cross for you and for me. He is the perfect, clean, blemish free, son of God.

We can go to Him and repent of our sin and become new! Romans 10:9 "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Is that awesome or what?! It tells us in 2 Corinthian 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Maybe that is why I get so excited about a new calendar. We can be that clean sheet of paper. It reminds me of fresh starts, new beginnings, of forgiveness, of Jesus! I am overwhelmed with love for the one who gave everything so that I may live.

4 Years Later....

4 years since our last post. So many changes in 4 years! I have been meaning to keep up with the kids baby books, scrapbooks and journals, and in the end have fallen way behind. The goal for 2012 is a monthly update so here we go!

I will start with the end of 2011. December 8, 2011 Jacob made the decision to ask Jesus into his heart and be Lord of his life. His brothers and I were sitting around the table discussion salvation at breakfast when Jacob (age 3 at the time) made the decision and prayed the prayer of salvation. God is so good!



December 26, our sweet Jacob turned 4. He is the spunky one in the family (not sure where he gets that from) and gets attention with his beautiful eyes. Mom and dad love you and are so proud of the boy you are.