Time is Relative

12-year-old Abby while shopping for new shoes today (completely seriously): "These look like they're from the olden days....like the 90s."

Me: "Ummm, Rebecca and Micah [older siblings] were both BORN in the 90s..."

Abby: "Okay, 80s."

Strawberry Season

I finally remembered to buy strawberries when they were in season.  They were at an AWESOME price at Cliff's Country Market, so I went a little crazy and bought a peck of work for myself!  $10 a flat!  So I bought three.  48 POUNDS of strawberries! But it all turned out great and it was worth all the work.  I made three or four batches of freezer jam and one batch of cooked & canned jam (which I hadn't done in YEARS!), and froze enough berries on cookie sheets to fill two gallon-sized freezer bags.  I had a little bit left over so I looked up a recipe for strawberry topping and made three jars of "Strawberry Sauce."  Totally yummy!  Now we'll get to have a taste of the spring and summer in the middle of winter.  I love it! :)

Is God's Love Reckless?

I didn't even know there was a debate over this song (Reckless Love) until I sat down to research the word "reckless" and to explore the idea of the supposed recklessness of God's Love. It has been troubling me for a while now so it was time to hash it out.  I found an article that says all the things I've been thinking about this (plus a whole lot more.) See link below.  My thoughts?  I think words matter.  Unless someone has redefined the word, I cannot see how God's Love is reckless. It's relentless, but not reckless.

reckless

[rek-lis]
adjective

1.

utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless (usually followed by of):

to be reckless of danger.

2.

characterized by or proceeding from such carelessness:

reckless extravagance. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reckless?s=t

I can see how it might appear reckless, but it's just not.  How can it be? God is Love, and God does what He does on purpose, with purpose, with care, with design, with intention.  All of these things are the direct opposite of recklessness. Do we see Him or His Love (which are one and the same) ever described in Scripture as "reckless."  I don't know.  I don't think so...

Overall, I like the song, but the use (misuse?) of that one word kind of ruins it for me. I have yet to read a convincing argument in defense of this adjective as an accurate, truthful descriptor for the love of God.

Anyway, here's a link to the article I mentioned earlier. This author says what I'm thinking better than I can say it.
https://gospelreminders.org/2017/06/19/is-gods-love-reckless/

Here's a link to the song if you're interested:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE

Your thoughts?

FIFO in the Bible?

Adam just came to me tonight with some biblical support for my FIFO rule. Then he walked away quoting me under his breath, "Put the new milk in the back of the fridge and make sure the older stuff is in front of it."

"You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new."
Leviticus 26:10 ESV

Thirty Years

Thirty years ago tonight, while I was sleeping, my life was forever changed.  For the first time ever, I suddenly and violently lost a friend.  He was 22.  His death was the catalyst that brought me to where I am today.  I don't think I'd be the person I am, or be living the life I live today, or even living in my current location if it wasn't for that horrible moment...
12:44 am, Tuesday morning, April 12th, 1988.  42nd & Smith Way, Springfield, Oregon.

I'm thankful that God is in the business of building newness from ashes and turning our mourning into laughter. (You had the best laugh!)  I'm thankful for the hope of heaven and for blessed reunions.

I can't believe it's been thirty years.  Amazing.  I miss you, John. I'll never forget.

 

 

Engagement Picture

John Cole Harris - 1965-1988 - Gone too soon

Catch ya later!

What I Found Was LOST

The postman left a package on my doorstep. When I went out to see what it was, what I found was LOST.

Happy Siblings Day

Then:

And now:

Yippeeeee!!!

My movie came in the mail today. :)

The Bible and the Coal Basket

I think about this story a lot. It helps me press on with my Bible reading even when the text is difficult to understand.

Here's the thing. As I continue to read though the Bible every year, I'm losing track of which parts I find difficult to read or hard to understand. They are getting less difficult and less confusing. I used to dread reading through the book of Numbers. I don't dread it anymore. And Leviticus is one of my very favorite books to read. I can't imagine NOT reading God's Word regularly. If I let myself get distracted and "too busy," I certainly notice it, and I regret my choice to let other things crowd out the Living Bread I need.

I encourage you to make Bible reading a part of your daily routine. "For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life." Deut.32:47a

In the comments, let me know your favorite verse(s) about the Word of God.

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked,

"Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.

That is the work of God in our lives.
To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day. Pray that He will use it to turn your heart and mind to Him.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." Psalm 119:9

"...that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word..." Ephesians 5:25-27

Source: https://www.crossroad.to/Victory/stories/coal-basket.htm

We've got corn coming out our ears!

My neighbor kindly gave us three bags of freshly picked corn.  There's no way we're going to eat it all before it spoils, so I'm processing it for the freezer now.  Yay! for free corn!  Thanks, Kristin.

Blog Revival...maybe

Facebook is so easy.  I log on, take a quick look.... Or maybe NOT so quick. But it's immediate.  I don't have to come up with a decent-sized post; it could just be a quick sentence or even a sound effect. Aaargh!! And the feedback is fairly immediate too.  Sometimes it becomes a chat time with somebody. BUT.... I sort of miss blogging.

I spent a few hours today dusting off this old blog.  It had broken links and other outdated features and I couldn't fix them without updating my whole template to Blogger's "new" format which is actually years old now!  So, I finally took the plunge and switched to the new template and then worked to make it look as much like the old one as I could.  Can you tell I hate change?!

In the left-hand sidebar (unless I've moved it to the right) you will see an archive of my blog.  Beside the year it shows the number of posts for that year. Notice that in 2008 there is a remarkable drop in the number of posts.  That was the year that Levi was born and I got a lot busier.  After 2008 my blog pretty much died.  Why?  I signed up for a Facebook account in December of 2008 and basically neglected my blog from there on out.  Maybe nothing will change now, but at least my links and things in the blog are current and I can make quick fixes again as necessary.

See you around.  Maybe!

What baby bump?

These pictures were taken on April 26, 2012 at 33 weeks and 5 days.  I'm 37 weeks and 4 days now.  You'll just have to imagine what the last four weeks have done to my belly!! :)

Philippians 1:6 & Lamaze

I don't really use Lamaze per se as a labor/delivery tool but I do have the "hee-hee-hoo" breathing patterns pretty firmly embedded in my psyche since first learning them almost 16 (!) years ago. It doesn't take too much contraction activity for me to lapse into some form of that relaxation/breathing technique.

I usually start having contractions fairly early in my pregnancies and sometimes I'll wake up from a sound sleep with a "heeeee-hooooo." This pregnancy, for the first time, my brain has been following up that "hee-hoo" with "began a good work in you.... ." So my Bible verse for this pregnancy is:

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Or as the Steve Green's song says, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it in you." I've been singing that song a lot too!

Cruising along D'Nile....

There are three biggish things looming ahead of me with regard to this pregnancy that make me feel really unprepared:

1. We don't have a vehicle yet that will fit our new family of 8
2. We haven't settled on names yet
3. I haven't figured out yet what to do about my doula's unavailability

I'm still working on just trusting God to sort it out and to provide what we need when we need it. I struggle with knowing what my own involvement should entail, but overall, I realize that I can trust Him!

Number 3 on my list is the hardest. I don't even know my own mind on this one. I really want to have that support person there whom I can trust to be my advocate in the hospital setting. If I were at a birthing center or birthing at home, this wouldn't be so much of an issue to me, but our situation is that we're doing this at the hospital... again. The cost of a doula is somewhat of an issue but the idea that I'd have to get to know someone new is more daunting to me. Part of me wants to just skip it this time, but I think I'd probably regret it. Meanwhile, time is slipping away and I've made no decision. I feel like I'm kind of cruising along in denial. Not my usual approach and I need to do something about that. I don't like making decisions by default. I'm praying for wisdom and decisiveness!

10 weeks and counting....