Growing Like Jesus

I have been MIA for awhile. I was trying to get caught up on everything before baby Cooper Lane made his appearance. He is now here! He was born on December 21, 2009 at 5:39 pm. He weighed in at 8 pounds 11 ounces. A whole pound larger than his big brother. I am so glad that he is here. He is the perfect addition to our family.
Christmas Morning

As this year comes to a close I have been thinking about my goals for next year. However, I was challenged to also think of goals for Max and Cooper as I am "training them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6)." In the new issue of Mom Sense magazine that I got in the mail there was the perfect article about this very thing!

Luke 2:52 is a great verse for this time of year. "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men." The article challenges us to examine four different areas where we can grow too: intellectually (wisdom), physically (stature), spiritually (favor with God) and socially (favor with men).

Will you take the Luke 2:52 Challenge? Be intentional about challenging your children to grow in all four areas. Make and use a chart to keep track each time they do something to grow like Jesus did.

"Growing My Brain"-some fun age-appropriate intellectual goals might be to teach your child which colors mix together to make other colors or to help him learn to count in another language.

"Growing My Body"-choose a physical goal such as trying a new fruit once a week or teaching her how to pedal a tricycle or bicycle.

"Growing My Faith"-A spiritual goal could be acting out a Bible story together each week or teaching your child to pray out loud by repeating after you at bed time or meal times.

"Giving to Others"-Social goals for your kids may involve meeting new neighbors and scheduling a play date or regularly making pictures to mail to grandparents or other relatives who live in a different city.

There are many options to stick in each quadrant. I am challenged to use these four areas to help train up Max and Cooper.

Mom Sense Magazine-January February issue pg. 16

Is My Jesus Enough?

by Lysa TerKeurst

I was stopped in my tracks the other day as I was mindlessly singing a beautiful praise song. I say mindlessly not because I wasn't focusing on God. I was definitely lifting up my heart to Him. But the mindlessly part came when I realized I had no clue of the weight of the words in this song. Did I really mean what I was singing? The song said this: "(Jesus) You're all I want. You're all I ever needed."

Really? Did I really mean those words? Is my Jesus enough? Ultimately the question should be: Is my relationship with Jesus in such a place that if He was truly all I had today, would I still stand and sing those powerful song lyrics?

My husband Art is flying on a small private plane today. You know the ones you hear about that crash with no survivors... yes, that kind of plane. As I kiss him goodbye in a few minutes can I send him off with full confidence that no matter what, Jesus is enough?

My son Jackson just got his driver's license and will be driving to a friend's house to watch the football game in a few minutes. His friend lives less than five miles from our house. But don't the statistics show that most car accidents happen on the roads we are most familiar with, closest to our homes? Will I be able to smile, tell him to be careful and let him drive down our driveway with full confidence that no matter what, Jesus is enough?

I don't know what kinds of twists and turns might come during my life journey. But, I know the only way to travel with a joyful peace is to settle in my heart the answer to this question once and for all. So, today, I declare Jesus is enough. Before I even know in what way this declaration will be tested, I've made the decision to say it, believe it and settle it.

Jesus is enough.

I think this is why one of my favorite portraits of a godly woman in the Bible says, "she can laugh at the days to come," (Proverbs 31:25). She was filled with such incredible joy not because life was perfect but simply because she had decided to make laughter, peace, and true happiness the hallmark of her life. Proverbs 31:30 goes on to say this was a woman to be praised because she so reverenced God in the shrine of her heart that she knew without a doubt, He was enough.

Lysa TerKeurst is a wife to Art, mom to five priority blessings and a nationally known speaker. She is an award-winning author of 11 books including her latest, "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God." She has been featured on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Good Morning America, Woman's Day Magazine, "O" Magazine and on the Oprah Show.

Monday's Mothering Moment

Week 4 of the Deceptively Delicious Challenge!
The Testers for this week: The Beach Family
I met Autumn this year through MOPS and have so enjoyed getting to know her (she is so fun to be around). We both have two year old boys, so we have a lot in common!

Recipe: Quesadillas

Ease of Recipe: I will give this recipe a 3. I found the prep work to be somewhat involved – cooking the chicken and pureeing the butternut squash. Lots of clean-up, too. But once the prep work was finished, this recipe zipped right along! You basically just make a tortilla sandwich and bake for five or six minutes. Also, this was my first experience with pureeing! I found it quite enjoyable, as did my two helpers. Who knew pureeing was fun for the whole family?

Child Rating: I would say my two-year-old son would rate the quesadillas a 1. He hustled to the table eager to try mommy’s experiment. Picked one right up and took a big bite. However, his enthusiasm ended at that. No other bites were taken, and when I asked him if he liked it, his response was “no”. But at least it looked good enough to try that first bite!

Adult Rating: My hubby gave this dish a 2. I, unfortunately, have to agree. However, add some salsa, and the quesadillas are muchos better. I would even bump them up to a 3.

Additional Comments: Keep in mind, I live with two of the world’s pickiest eaters. So, other children/husbands may enjoy the quesadillas. I didn’t think they were too bad considering butternut squash and navy beans were involved.

Issues, Issues, Issues!

In week three, day 3 of Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild we are looking at "Speaking Truth to Your Issues!" We are looking at the circumstances of the woman in Mark 5:25. Who is that woman you may ask...well we do not even know her name, but we can learn a lot from her thought closet, because it was full of wisdom.

One thing that all of us have in common on this earth is that we all have issues. Issues like illness, financial troubles, insecurities, relationship conflict, fear, and sadness. Our thought closets are filled with a lot of tricky things. As we look at the woman in Mark 5 we see that "this woman had a single, insurmountable issue, and she had endured it for 12 long years. It had challenged her physically, strained her emotionally, drained her financially, and ostracized her socially."

She had been dealing with the same issue for 12 years. I'm sure some of you can relate to her as you may have endured or have been in the middle of a particular issue for many years. Take heart, daughter of God, and lets look at what this issue laden woman did in Mark 5:27-28. "When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." She practiced some soul talk. "She encouraged, counseled, and advised her soul. Her wise words prompted her action. With that brush of homespun cloth across her fingertips, her great need ran head-on into His limitless provision. In that instant, her courage met His compassion; Her hope met His holiness."

We see in verse 29 that the blood was dried up and she was healed of her affliction. "The most important thing isn't that she talked to herself. It's what she told herself that matters. She didn't mouth a bunch of happy talk of feel-good phrases." The key is that "she spoke words of wisdom and truth to her soul. Wise soul talk helps us overcome our issues."

What brought her healing you may ask; Mark 5:30-34 holds the answer. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well. Rothschild remarks, "Jesus never said her soul talk made her well. He said it was her faith. Her faith invited healing. Her soul talk contributed to her faith, but it didn't replace her faith. She spoke truth to her soul in the same way you and I need to speak truth to our souls. By faith we receive truth. By faith we believe truth. And by faith we act on truth." It is important to remember that "soul talk can never substitute for faith. The woman could never have talked herself into healing--not in a hundred years. But she did talk herself into seeking Jesus, and that was what she needed. Soul talk is faith's companion, not its replacement."

This days ends with a story,

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a desperately unhappy woman who talked to herself.
She might have said any number of things. She might have told herself to cheer up, to walk on the sunny side of the street, to whistle while she worked, or to simply accept her lot in life. She might even have told herself that her problems were illusions; she was really healthy and whole.
But those aren't the sort of things she said when she spoke to her soul. What she did say led her to an act of faith more daring than anything she could have imagined. When this woman talked to herself, it initiated an encounter that brought immediate healing to her body and soul. It was all because of what she had in her thought closet during one of the most important conversations of her life. She told herself the truth, and that led her straight to Jesus. May you be that woman."

"Give This Christmas Away" Music Video Amy Grant and Matthew West -VeggieTales Bonus Song

I am always so excited when it is time for Operation Christmas Child. It is such a great organization. I have participated several times and just love going to shop for what I am going to put in my shoe box. We are so blessed and receive so much, it feels great to give especially to kids who this may be the only present they receive. Last year Max and I helped get all the donated boxes boxed up. It was a great way to start showing Max even at 18 months how to give back to others and serve. Get involved, you won't be sorry! Here is the link to Samaritan's Purse. You can find a drop off location near you. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

The Rich Home

By Sharon Glasglow

"Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions." I Kings 10:1 (NKJ)

The Queen of Sheba was rich and beautiful. She had everything a queen could want - gold, silver, ivory, precious jewels and servants taking care of her every need in the palace. What more could a woman want?

She heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the Name of the Lord. Even though her people had many gods to worship, none penetrated her heart as the name of the Lord God of Israel. Her heart was so moved by His name that she decided to take a 1,400 mile trip across the desert sands of Arabia to visit this man who knew this God personally.

The trip would take her approximately six months each way with camels being able to travel around 20 miles a day. She took a great caravan of servants, loads of spices, gold and unusual wood to give as gifts. Her heart and soul longed for riches that she did not have, and she sensed they would be discovered through Solomon. Finally, she arrived. It was the grandest palace she had ever laid eyes on. But her purpose wasn't to see the most beautiful archeological place ever built, it was to find a secret treasure.

The secret entrance to the wisdom of the One and only God of the Universe would be worth a year of travel. She talked to Solomon for hours, asking him deep questions about God. She was exhausted, but satisfied by his answers. She found what she had longed for and she said, "Blessed be the Name of Lord."

Jesus mentions the Queen of Sheba in Matthew 12:42. He honors her desire for His wisdom. The Queen of Sheba took great pains and trouble to find wisdom, yet the wisdom available to her at that time was the lesser wisdom of a man. The wisdom we have access to through Jesus far out shines that of Solomon. If the Queen of Sheba would travel six months to find truth, how much more should we search for wisdom by opening our hearts to Him who freely gives wisdom, truth and the secrets of His heart?

When people travel to our home it is not the seasonal decor or the cleanliness that will ultimately impress our visitors. It is not the perfectly sculpted yard or the new car in the garage. It's the pearl of spiritual insight that they will be drawn to through the Holy Spirit living through you. They will be full and satisfied when they have departed, and the richness of the visit will live on forever when you impart to them the riches God has placed in your heart.

Your home is where your heart is. Ask God for wisdom. Spend time getting to know Him and you will not only be spiritually rich, but those who enter your home will find treasures that people have traveled the whole earth in search of.

Our Thought Closet Recap

Wow! Our first week of Bible study really packed a punch! The introduction video to Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild held so much good information for all of us as we begin our journey to cleaning out our thought closets!

Women have an inner dialogue of 150-300 words per minute. This totals 41,000 to 51,000 thoughts per day. Now, most of these are harmless thoughts like, "Don't forget to get milk at the grocery store." However, we have to be careful of the damaging things we tell ourselves because if you do not control your thoughts, your thoughts will control you. We must monitor what we tell ourselves!

We learned that our thought closets are divided into these six areas:
Cares and Concerns-our responsibilities (as a mom, daughter, and wife), worries, thoughts are we doing a good job?
Likes and Dislikes-who we are, preferences, what we like and don't like to do
Objectives and Goals-dreamy plans, travel, house
Secrets-What we really think about certain things, secrets we have kept inside
Eternity-designed for eternity, eternal matters
Treasures-reflect where your heart is

When looking at which of the closet sections gives me the most problems I realized that I need to place more of God and less of me in my thought closet.

Jennifer also said that our thoughts lead to our destiny. This is why it is so important to have good and true thoughts! We learned that...if you sow a thought, your reap an action, if you sow an action you reap a habit, if you sow a habit, you reap character, if you sow character you reap a destiny! You can trace your destiny back to your thoughts. What is in our thought closets is what we clothe ourselves with.

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 KJV

Up this week: "What's In Your Thought Closet?"