A Baptism

A couple of young men in our church were baptized last Sunday and it was just beautiful.

Here are pictures:

http://www.simpletruthbiblefellowship.com/Site/Blog/Entries/2011/8/14_The_Baptism_of_Nathan_Williams_and_Malachi_Hodges.html

One of those young men was my brother and here's his account of it:

http://nathansblogat.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-done-did-it.html

Made me want to be baptized all over again!

Thoughtful Thursday--A day late

I feel like I'm always behind. Always running late. Always trying to catch up.

And I know why. It's because I don't plan ahead and I procrastinate.

pro crast in ate |prəˈkrastəˌnāt, prō-|

verb [ no obj. ]

delay or postpone action; put off doing something: it won't be this price for long, so don't procrastinate.

DERIVATIVES

procrastinator |-ˌnātər|noun,

procrastinatory |-nəˌtôrē|adjective

ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin procrastinat- ‘deferred until tomorrow,’ from the verb procrastinare, from pro- ‘forward’ + crastinus ‘belonging to tomorrow’ (from cras ‘tomorrow’).

It's related to laziness, or slothfulness. These are such yucky words. I want to be able to use words like active, industrious, efficient to describe myself. And since I'm not naturally a proactive person, I am taking some steps that will hopefully help.

One thing I'm trying is to make some sort of schedule. I've tried this in the past and it hasn't even worked through the first day because my goals were too lofty and impractical. When you live with a family, you kinda have to go with the general flow...

So what I did was write down what our 'natural schedule' is. Then, the times and areas that needed some tweaking, I tweaked in a gentle way. Like instead of saying that I would wake up at 5:30, read the bible for 2 hours and then go jog for an hour, and then fix breakfast for everyone (which sounds impressive), I set my rising time for 6:55, and then wrote out my usual routine of making coffee, making breakfast, reading my Bible and cleaning up the kitchen. But, I would have more time to do all that, it would be quieter and it would get everything else set on a good course for the rest of the day.

The other thing is to make to-do lists. Things that must be done on a certain day, like a phone call, paying a bill or writing a blog post. And then things that I need to do on an on-going basis, like knitting or baking. I love the feeling of checking things off a list. : )

So today was the first day with this new plan. 

It has been really nice. Just getting an earlier start was lovely. 

I got up with my alarm at 6:55, heard my dad leave for work. Tip-toed out of my room and made my way downstairs. Mom wasn't up yet. Made coffee and got toast going. I usually have a smoothie, but I didn't want to wake the house with the blender. Washed a few dishes left from last night and by then toast was done and mom was up. I spread some Nutella on my toast and took it, my Bible and my journal out on the porch. Had some good 'God-time'. : )

When I went back in, Natalie and Nathan were up. Mom and I were able to get out and jog almost an hour earlier than usual and it was so nice and cool. By the time we got back, mom still had plenty of time to head up to the grocery store and I cleaned up the kitchen and played a game with Natalie.

I got our lunches ready in good time and it's just been pleasant since then. 

Now, I'm getting something on my to-do list done: write a blog post. And I really need to finish up so I can go run some errands. In the car. By myself. : D

The REAL test will be tomorrow! And the day after that and the day after that...

Good Articles

These are both for the benefit of a busy mother, but I found them applicable for big sisters as well. : )

Five simple ways to nurture your children

Cutting down on frustrations

Make-up Monday--Attitude

Attitude.

Some have more. Some have less.

Saturday, I had more.

I was just ill all day long. And there was a reason, but no excuse. I didn't feel well. I had a headache that went all the way down into my shoulders and all I wanted to do was sleep.

So instead of telling everyone that I felt bad, taking something for my headache and going to bed, I chose to pretend like nothing was wrong. Everyone was busy and I felt like I wouldn't be helping if I went to rest. But I was wrong. Me snapping and being unkind was the opposite of helpful.

If I had just told them that I wasn't feeling well and gotten out of the way, I think that would've been more helpful. I pray I can learn this lesson of communicating for next time, so it doesn't get repeated.

Being irritable is not a good feeling and it makes everyone else in the house irritable as well. It also is NOT what love is.  

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

When I find myself being irritable or cranky, if I look at what my focus is, it's always me. When I'm too focused on myself and making myself happy, I'm not thinking about the others around me and how my actions and decisions will affect them. And when one of those is a three-year-old, it gets multiplied...

Sanctification. 

I think that's what this is all about. 

I read an article by a mother of several children. She talked about when she was a teenager and all the time she had for bible study and prayer. She thought she was doing so well with her sanctification. She compared her sanctification process to a rock slowly being smoothed by a gentle flowing stream. But then she got married...then she had a child...then she had another. And before she knew it, God had thrown her into a rock tumbler of sanctification! 

I loved that image of a rock tumbler. Your rough edges don't get worn down gently over time, they just get knocked off and it's anything but gentle. Every time baby sis gets whiny and needs attention and I have to put aside what I'm doing, I'm getting a rough edge knocked off. Every time I think I know better and my parents tell me otherwise, I'm getting a rough edge knocked off.

If I could only see these 'irritations' as the blessings they are.

If only I could see the opportunity for growth in front of me.

My agenda needs to change. Instead of thinking of ways to keep myself happy at the expense of others, if I will just seek to serve the ones around me, I can find joy in that. Much more joy than in serving myself.

O Lord, only through Your Spirit can I do this. Teach me to love sacrificially, little bits at the time. Help me to recognize the opportunities. I know there will be one first thing the morning...

Check these out!

Hop on over to Blane Jr.'s blog and look at these great videos! Thanks for posting them Blane...

I have an excuse...

Yes, I know it's Thursday and I didn't post anything thoughtful. But I did make a huge batch of whole wheat vanilla wafers that are better than any you can buy in the store. (Thanks to Heavenly Homemakers)

So yummy when dipped in Nutella!

I'm pretty sure the recipe made about 100 cookies.

I won't be available next Thursday either, so maybe I'll do a Make-up Monday. How's that sound?

Two quotes

I read these two quotes today and they really resonated:

‎"To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by One who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise appointment." ~Elisabeth Elliot

‎"Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next." — Elisabeth Elliot

I think I shall add Elisabeth Elliot to my reading list. Any recommendations for a first pick?

Thoughtful Thursday--Getting Answers

I love getting answers.

Don't you?

To be able to ask a question of someone and for them to answer clearly.

I like it even more when I can ask God something and get a clear answer from Him. He doesn't have to answer us. He is in no way obligated. And if He does answer, He can just say, "Because I said so." like a lot of parents do. (That's such a non-answer though.)

But how does He answer?

There are many examples in the Old Testament and the New. He spoke with an audible voice to Moses, Samuel, Elijah and others. Sometimes He has spoken to His people in their hearts or minds. He has used dreams, visions and angels. Other people have been used as His mouthpiece and even through controlling circumstances He has made His will known.

I personally have always been the type of person that loves to be told specifically what to do. Give me directions in how to do something, I'll follow them to a 'T'. But tell me to 'go do something', and I'm lost. Now I've gotten better about that, but I still much more prefer being given directions. I guess that's why I've loved reading the Epistles so much. There are actually sections of those that are like checklists. : )

Anyways, all that to say, I've always wanted God to speak to me clearly and audibly, so that I would know exactly what He wanted from me. I realize though that this can and probably does come from laziness. I just want to be able to lay back and wait for directions and if I don't get them, 'it's not my fault'. 

That's why when I was listening to a Pastor at church making the point that most of God's will has already been written down for us, I was blown away. It was like I had an epiphany. That's a thought I have treasured ever since then. 

If I want to know what God's will is, I just have to look in His Word. Understanding how it applies to my specific situation is a challenge sometimes. That's when other means of God speaking to me comes in. 

Over my life, I guess the most often used communication has been through circumstances. Other times, I have sensed what God was trying to tell me in my heart. It's hard not to, but I find that when you get those nudges, it's best not to question them too much. I mean, make sure they don't go against scripture, but don't second-guess. There have been many times that I did, and ended up regretting it.

There was one time when God spoke to me in my heart and it was almost audible. I was eleven I think and I was dealing with the normal upheaval that comes around that age. I was anxious and unsure sometimes and just needed assurance. I was looking at the stars and God said, "All this could go away, and it will, but I'll always be here." I think that was a turning point in my ability to trust God.

I think a big part of hearing from God is spending time in His Word to learn what His voice sounds like. I don't do this near enough! 

I think it's so beautiful when a brand new baby hears it's mothers voice and turns toward the sound that it has learned to recognize over nine months in the womb. That's kind of what it's like for us. Right now, the sound is muffled, but we can learn to recognize His voice and one day, we'll be in His presence and hear Him directly. Oh happy day!

Another part of hearing from God I think is keeping distractions to a minimum. I don't have a very busy life, but I do turn to entertainment more than I should. Even reading 'good' books can be a distraction...ouch!

So, I'm still working on my afternoon 'God time' and now I see that I need to focus on learning God's voice and taking time to hear it.

Lord Jesus, please help me to listen for Your voice. Amen.

That's me

I stole this from Blane Jr. because I totally identify...

Now, I do realize the importance of words, but sometimes they just wear me out.

I'm working at it though : )

Announcing...

My brother Nathan has started his own blog! *fanfare* I think you all are in for a treat...he has a better sense of humor than me. Check it out here.

Also, I just noticed that my blog, It's always Sunny at Star Hill, has caught up with my family's blog, Reflections from Star Hill. 50 posts each! Guess I should update the family blog soon...

Thoughtful Thursday--More Philosophical Jogging

I've spoken before about how conversation can get kind of philosophical between mom and I on our daily jogs. Well, lately, it's just been too darn hot to think and jog at the same time. But this morning it was cool(er) and breezy. 

Mom had done a little weeding while she waited for me to get my shoes on, so I guess weeds were on her mind. On the jog, we came to an area that is particularly grown up with weeds and she said, "You know, this is all the result of the Fall." My brain was someplace else, so I said, "What is?". "The weeds. The work required to tend good plants for food. It's all because of the Fall." I agreed. Before the Fall, man was given the job to tend the Garden. But the punishment for disobeying, besides being banished from the Garden and spiritual death, was that there would be thorns and thistles and man would eat by the sweat of his brow.

 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19

But also, now we have spiritual weeds to deal with. Sins. All the different manifestations of the wickedness bound up in our human hearts. You know them-- Pride, Hate, Greed, Lust, Jealousy, and the list goes on. 

With the Holy Spirit helping us by revealing these things and convicting us of them, we have got to continually be weeding them out. When you realize you are thinking better of yourself than you ought, it is time to pull that baby up. Admit your pride, repent of it, and ask for forgiveness.

But, it goes farther than that. Weeding is only half the job. The other half is tending to the plants which you want to stay there. They can start growing kind of wild if left on their own while you're busy with weeding. Once you pull that weed of Pride up (yet again) it's time to tend to your Humility. To humble yourself and make sure you have a proper view of yourself.

Now, I'm focusing on Pride because I feel like that is the one I'm dealing with the most often. I don't make a habit of bragging about myself, but often I find myself thinking I know better, and I have the answers, and I'm doing it all right. Then I do something, or say something, or something happens and I'm reminded that I'm no better than anyone else. I'm simply forgiven and the only reason I know anything is because of what Christ did for me. 

It's humbling just admitting that.  : }

So, I did kind of get off topic for this week, but it's what I was thoughtful about today.

Piece of cake...

Finally, I am a licensed driver! 

I got a different person this time, a woman, and I actually had hoped I wouldn't get the same person. So that was good. She was very no-nonsense, but not mean. I turned into the correct lanes each time I made a turn, I stayed right on the speed limit, I performed the backing, braking and three-point-turn flawlessly and we arrived safely back at the DMV. After I parked, she said, "Alright, very good. Let's go get your license!"

What took so long? 

It wasn't needed.

It wasn't necessary.

It just wasn't time.

But I feel very good about the timing of this and I am looking forward to using my new freedom in a responsible and helpful way. Such as...running errands, driving myself to work, possibly going to my piano students' homes if needed....

But also it will be fun to maybe go meet a friend for coffee, go antiquing, do a late-night ice cream run....these are just some fantasies of mine : ) Last night I was really craving some M&M's, now I can go get some!

Now, if only I had a car like this!