How Do You Step Closer? (Friendly Friday)

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to

head to a state park and hit the trails. 

We love the being-together in the big outdoors. 

We pack a picnic and spend the day

 enjoying the beauty and the fun of nature. 

Of course, these days, it's more of a leisurely stroll than a vigorous hike

since The Princess does not like her (very pricey) pack. 

But it's okay.  It forces us to slow down and enjoy the details that

the Creator has hidden quietly amid the trees.

And as we step away from the rush and step into the quiet of the trees,

we step nearer to each other's hearts. 

It's Friendly Friday.  I ask; you answer.

How do you step closer to your family? 

Please share.  I really want to know.

How Do You Step Closer? (Friendly Friday)

He Delights in You (WORD-Filled Wednesdays)

Leaning Godward today.  Delighting in God's love for us.

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with his love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

Delight in His Word!

**Word-Filled Wednesday's hostess this week is PennyRaine.**

He Delights in You (WORD-Filled Wednesdays)

A Noteworthy Idea

Not long ago, Courtney at Women Living Well reviewed One Million Arrows, a book by Julie Ferwerda about purposefully raising our children to change the world.  I haven't read the book yet (though I plan to), but she shared an example from the book that I just couldn't wait to try.  She explains,  "One father purchased a wide-margin Bible for each of his children. Then he took two years, prayerfully reading the Bibles cover to cover. In the margin he wrote in notes, prayers, applications, and insights for his children."

This idea spoke straight to my heart, and I shared it with my hubby.  We immediately began browsing for Bibles that would allow both of us to participate.  We discovered the NoteWorthy Bible.  For each page of Scripture there is a beautifully blank page just waiting for thoughts and prayers. 

The Thinker is 10, and we have decided that his 13th birthday would be a great time to present him with this Bible.  We've given ourselves two and a half years to complete this journey.  Then we'll start all over again for our younger son (The Stinker).  We'll have lots more time, God willing, to complete one for The Princess.

I love the idea that my children can have God's thoughts and our thoughts for them dwelling side-by-side.  My prayer is that as they journey through God's Word, they will know how deep and wide and high is His love for them.  And as they walk with their eyes through our words, I pray they will also feel the love poured from our hearts to theirs.  His Word and our words.  A true treasure to cherish through the years.

A big thank you to Courtney for sharing something that would "spur (us) on toward love and good deeds."   

My hope is that it will do the same for some of you.
Parent with purpose.

A Noteworthy Idea

That Sounds Easy Enough

Some things look as though they would be easy, but they really aren't.  Kicking a little bitty soccer ball into a great big goal looks like it would be easy, but it's not.  Taking a gorgeous photo looks like it would be easy, but it's not.  Spinning on the ice looks like it would be easy, but it's not (unless maybe you're in your car and you didn't mean to).  All of these things look easy because the amazing people that have practiced it make it look so.  For the rest of us common folk, it's just not.

I learned this also applies to cake balls.  My fun-loving, red-headed friend, Anne, introduced me to delicious balls of cake at a New Year's Eve party.  They were incredibly oh-so-rich and yummy, not to mention cute as could be.  I forgot to ask her how to make them, but sometime later stumbled upon these beautiful darlings by Bakerella, the Queen of Cake Pops (and I mean that with admiration).

I looked at the directions for making them and thought,

"That sounds easy enough." 

Ahem. 

Bakerella's

Mine

Notice hers are cake pops.  Mine are balls. 

I couldn't find the little sucker sticks in my tiny town. 

They are just plain cuter sticking up in the air. 

Hers are pretty round balls. 

Mine are lumpy and lopsided.

Hers are smooth and lovely. 

Mine are . .  . lumpy and lopsided.

As I was making them and struggling with the sticky lumps of cake and frosting, I told my hubby, "I have no desire to make these again."  As the melted chocolate became messy with cake crumbs (because I melted too much at once and didn't listen to Bakerella, the Queen of Cake Pops), I told my hubby, "Did I mention I have no desire to make these again?"  As the semisweet chocolate refused to melt (and I've never had that happen), and I was really getting frustrated, I said, "I really never want to make these again!" 

But finally, they were finished and the chocolate had set, and even though they were a little lumpy and lopsided, they didn't look terrible.  Just not as perfect and pretty as Bakerella's.  But I didn't take pictures to the party to compare them.  I just put them on a pretty serving platter and set them on the dessert table at Easter dinner.  

Then the compliments started to roll in.  They were good.  Really good.  A little lopsided maybe, but tasty.  Isn't that what really counts after all?

  

So, I've started to think that maybe all that I need is a little more practice.  And some sticks. 

That Sounds Easy Enough

A Sacred Journey? (Book Review)

Maybe it's because I've lived on a farm most of my life and apparently wanting to live on the land makes me like Cain.  Maybe it's because I've talked to birds without suffering from dysentery on an exhausting journey after sleeping in mangy beds.  Maybe it's because it's a supposedly Christian book with so many references to the goodness/sameness of other religions.  Maybe it's because of the smugness in the assertion that pilgrimage is necessary to spiritual growth and others not inclined to do so right this minute are somehow less than seekers.  Maybe it's those things that made me have reservations about this book.

In The Sacred Journey, Charles Foster explores the history of pilgrimage and how it relates to Christianity (which is a name he dislikes.  He prefers Jesus Freaks.  A rose by any other name smells sweeter to him, I suppose.)  The book is well-written, interesting and sometimes picturesque.  It was quick reading for me because I was intrigued by it, but I can't recommend it. 

There are many points I did like in this book and agreed with.  First of all, I learned some things.  Learning is good.  I also appreciated Foster's emphasis on sincere seeking.  He stressed the importance of fellowship and real relationships, of stepping outside our comfort to an adventure in following Jesus, of avoiding Gnosticism (the belief that matter is bad, and only the spirit is good).  I agree with him that there is something special about Jerusalem.  God attaches importance to it, and perhaps it is a "thin place," as he refers to it. 

But it's the other assertions that cause me to exercise caution in recommending the book. 
     1.  His sweeping statements, such as "God hates cities."  Really?  (I'm a country girl, but didn't we just say that Jerusalem was a special, holy city?) 
     2.  His belief that God prefers nomads.  I believe God has a preference for people who will be dependent on Him and will sacrifice to follow Him.  But He led His people to the Promised Land.  To settle it, not to wander (they wandered in the desert . . . as punishment.  Moses missed out on the Promised Land . . . as punishment).  
     3.  He says that God is a nomad.  Well, yes, His Spirit is moving through this world.  But He has a dwelling place.  Heaven.  And someday it will be with men . . . in a city. 
     4.  I feel he misapplied Scripture.  He points to Jesus sending out the disciples as a "how-to" of pilgrimage.  But they weren't on a pilgrimage, they were on a mission.  Not to find self, but to tell others about the kingdom, and to heal and minister to others. 

By all means, seek God.  Seek Him wholeheartedly through prayer, through His Word, through giving, through fellowship, through meditation, through various other spiritual practices and if you like, through pilgrimage.  If visiting Jerusalem is on your heart, find a way to go someday.  But I personally wouldn't seek Him through The Sacred Journey. 




*I received a complementary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through http://www.booksneeze.com/.*

A Sacred Journey? (Book Review)

What Will You Celebrate? (Friendly Friday)

Easter dazzles the eye and delights the heart.  It's the old, old story about new life.  It's the Ancient of Days sacrificed to be born anew in your heart.

We keep the old tradition of dying eggs.  We skip the bunny but celebrate the colors and the artistry and the fun of creating. 

And we try a new-to-us tradition.  Resurrection Rolls.  Introduced by a friend at church, we loved the sweet symbolism of the empty tomb.

It's Friendly Friday.  I ask; you answer. 

What old or new tradition will you be celebrating this Easter?

May you be blessed by them!

What Will You Celebrate? (Friendly Friday)

Refuse to Be Scorched Earth

Scorched earth.  Blistered, bleak and barren.  Left ruined by an enemy with a burning desire to completely destroy everything beautiful and useful and good.

Image by snagglepat

Hear this.  The Enemy has been crushed, but he continues to devastate everything in his path because his humiliation and his hatred run as deep as his heart is black.  He is at the root of injustice, despair, greed, jealousy, deceit, pride and all other evils.   

Hear this.  The Hero is triumphant.  Christ heals and restores and gives life to all who walk His path because His love runs as deep as His heart is pure.  He is light, life, truth, hope, joy and the Only One who is good. 

Let Him be your refuge, your victor, your shield. 

Refuse to be scorched earth.

There is life after death.

Image by nota

That's what the Resurrection is all about.

Refuse to Be Scorched Earth