Multilingual

Even if you've never read Dr. Gary Chapman's book (like me, though maybe one day I will), you've likely heard of "The Five Love Languages."

Dr. Gary Chapman contends from his years of experience in counseling: "Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch."

I wonder what language Dr. Chapman would say is the one I identify primarily with. And I wonder if his premise "we ALL identify primarily with one of the five" is correct.  Maybe we're all suppose to grow at expressing love in a myriad of ways.  Whenever the topic of 5 Love Languages comes up, I tell my husband he married the full package deal.  I want it all.  And I like to give it all.  So does he.  Maybe if I read the book I'd be able to identify my ONE language, but for now I am just plain thankful I am married to someone who is multilingual in the languages of love.

I am NOT an engineer

You can add "engineer" to the list of things I am not.  I am not an astronaut, check.  I am not a mechanic, check.  And this year confirmed it by way of double witness, I am not an engineer, check.

Last year we attempted to make a gingerbread house from scratch.  We had a jolly good time and you can read about it here if you like.  The fact is though, our house would have been condemned by an inspector immediately due to a more than saggy roof and other unstable conditions.  Our wee family decided on the spot to try making a village of smaller houses next year, which is now this year, and here is how it went:

 

Previous to pictures being taken, we made dough 

and designed our houses-to-be by creating cardboard cut-outs.

Then we began the two day adventure of making the pieces. 

Here is Paul showing us how to roll out the dough.

The three kiddos took turns rolling out dough and then cutting the various pieces.

The next day our friend Hannah came to be part of the fun.

More rolling and cutting

candles burning

Christmas music in the background

lots of laughter and visiting

After baking the pieces, they needed to be trimmed. 

We called these pieces our "crunchings and munchings."

Anyone who has read the Prydain Chronicles will understand.

If you haven't read them, they are a wonderful read-aloud series.

And because it has been brought to my attention recently 

that I NEVER 

post pictures of just me, 

here is one MJ took to remedy that situation.

Yesterday morning we constructed the houses and let them set in our cold garage to stiffen up. And last night, we set them up on the kitchen table...

Armed with many different kinds of candy for decorating,

we were ready to begin.

So far, so good.

Having a good time together.

Looking pretty...

we even had little snow men 

(made from yogurt covered peanuts and raisins)

The photos may be a little bit misleading.  Truth be known, we had saggy roof problems again this year on three out of five houses.  We rolled with the punches and got creative and just kept going.  The music still played.  The candles still burned. The laughter increased (which is way better than if tears would have started to be shed).  All in all we had a grand time.  But it is plain to us all that I am not an engineer.  At least not yet.  Hmmmm...what should we try differently next year?

Proverbs 24:16 "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity."

"Sweet" jewelry giveaway

Susannah, over at Life is Too Short Not to Wear Red Shoes, is doing a fun giveaway.  She'll be giving away a couple pieces of  "sweet" jewelry.   This one is my favorite:

She'll be closing it next Monday, December 13th, at 11:59 PM so hop on over to her blog and check it out for more details asap. 

St. Nicholas Day

A few nights ago, a friend and I were driving home after a birthday party we had gone to together and we were chatting about how there are so many things we have changed our minds on over the years.  Santa fits in that category for me.  I used to be anti-Santa anything and everything.  It's true.  I thought he represented and could only represent materialism and that he was a distraction from any thoughts of Christ a person could have in a season when celebrating Christ's coming was what the season was all about. 

The friend Melodie, whose birthday we celebrated, was key in shifting my mind's view on good ole St. Nick.  My children were key also because it became very apparent after my oldest was about 2 years old that we had to do SOMETHING with Santa...what were we going to teach our kids?  They were being bombarded in the public arena with questions like "what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas?"  We knew we abhorred the practice of telling children Santa lived in the North Pole and drove a sleigh and slid down chimneys to deliver gifts to good little boys and girls only to have them find out years later we'd been lying to them.  I haven't changed my mind on that point.

We stumbled upon a little book titled Santa Are You for Real? by Harold Myra that we've come to really enjoy and it is now tradition to read it together every year, as well as incorporating other resources we've come to find along the way.  About 6 or 7 years ago, Melodie invited us over for a gingerbread cookie decorating party and introduced us to the practice of celebrating St. Nicholas Day (which is Dec. 6th).   After some discussion and further thought, our family began to celebrate in a similar fashion the following year. 

Santa doesn't have to represent materialism and be a distraction after all.  Our Father really sent Jesus and He came (amazing!), and through His life and sacrifice we have been brought near, given new life in Christ, and been made true children of God (astounding!).  In heaven, a crowd of witnesses cheers us on in this life, rooting for us to run the race of faith with endurance, assuring us any price we are called to pay is worth seeing Jesus face to face.  And though Saint Nicholas isn't mentioned in the Scriptures like Abraham or Moses or David or the saints of the New Testament, he was still a man whose life was made new by God and as he cheers us on, we can learn from him.  He was orphaned early and instead of being bitter, he rejoiced in his Savior.  Instead of being self-absorbed with the wealth he was left with, he was a cheerful giver.  He lived a faith-filled life of service for the glory of our God. We can look to his life and see how Jesus was made known through the grace given to him...and we can be cheered on to make Him known in our lives through grace-empowered, faith-filled service for His glory. 

We have loved the fruit of this practice.  The joy of the season is spread out as we open stalkings on December 6th.  Our children are equipped to be winsome for Christ when asked about Santa in the stores.  We have found that the example of the real jolly ole St. Nicholas has not distracted, but aided our focus upon Christ.  And the contrast between the real man and how he is represented today helps us consider the fallen nature of mankind and our need for our Savior.

 

 

We hope you and yours had a lovely St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6th). 

We did.  

Thanks for stopping by.

A Fragrant Home

Music playing, candles burning, yummy snacks, lovely scents filling the room with people shopping and visiting and generally having a jolly good time working together to help two families get closer to being able to adopt...that has been largely what the last couple of days have been like.  My niece Leah is leaving her Party Lite business behind as she looks forward to welcoming her second child, and as a bon voyage of sorts we decided to throw a two day open house fund raising event.  What an amazing two days of tasting and seeing the goodness of our Lord in a fragrant home! Want to see some pictures?

The lovely hostess, my niece Leah (in the middle):

with my daughter MJ and niece Carrie 

The two soon-to-be Mommies

Amanda Marl on the left and Angie Shubin on the right

These are two beautiful, Jesus loving people and I'm honored to have them as friends.

 

Leah had a lot of stock to sell off at great prices:

 

We had some yummy dessert...at least I was told they were yummy

 delicious cider...this I personally had more than one mug of

 and children to show the grown ups that food is as fun as candles
in case we didn't know :-)

Anyone ready for the "what scent is that" game?

Leah set up a raffle.  

Basket One was donated by Bob's Red Mill

Basket Two was a Party Lite assortment.

Also shown on this table were the donation jars my girls crafted.

A beautiful nativity scene just like this one came home with us...

thank you dear husband of mine :-).

All three of my sisters came to shop...yeah for sisters!

Linda on the left, my MJ in the middle, and Patti on the right.

and my sister Mary (on the left) with a friend she brought...yippee for friends!

Our dear friend Brenda,who just returned from living in Europe for the past few months, was hugged on by all when she showed up...so good to have you home Brenda!  I LOVED getting to hang out and visit with everybody who came.

Leah also made up these party favors for each guest, filled with candles and candy and a note encouraging the receivers to fill it with change and return it to either the Marls or the Shubins.

Leah and her brother Josiah worked together to create these lovely yule logs to raise funds specifically for the Marls.  There is a limited number of these homemade goodies available still for sale at Exodus Books (which just happens to be owned by their brother Eli and is a wonderful resource...check out his store...I believe he also carries the advent books shown here that were written by our good friends Doug and Amy Hayes.)

Angie and Melita modeling "simply love" shirts 

which Angie is taking pre-orders for...

see her blog for more details

Those of us involved in putting this sale together are enjoying a day of rest and worship today, and our hearts are filled with gratitude to God.  The final totals are not calculated since any internet sales cannot be seen until tomorrow, but we already know from what we can count that our expectations were exceeded once again.  This is not always the case in fund raising, as anyone who has ever done it probably knows, but when it does, there is a grace-filled humbling that comes with it, not to mention excitement and general feelings of elation, and we're thanking the Lord who orchestrated this in its every detail.  

THANK YOU to everyone who came or played a part in this event...prayers, gifts, sales, everything was worked together by our mighty and gracious God to bring two more families closer to the place of being able to graft little ones into theirs.

I'm off to make pop corn and enjoy some time of reading a-loud to my kiddos...thanks for stopping by :-)

Weight of Glory

In light of yesterday's post which you can read if you haven't already by clicking this link, this just seemed like a mighty good quote to share today:

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.”  -from C. S. Lewis' famous sermon Weight of Glory

The One Thing of any True Worth

Do you know what happens when you eat like a pig and neglect anything resembling exercise?  I'll make this personal so as not to offend on this particular point. When I eat like a pig and neglect exercise, I get fat.  True confession.  It is my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault.  And I can be a really good excuse maker as I open the next chocolate truffle BAG or nibble the next dozen cookies.  Is food bad?  No.  The food isn't the problem.  Food is a gift from God to be thankful for.  It is to be eaten for His glory ("whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" - 1 Cor. 10:31).  It is to be eaten from faith ("for whatever is not from faith is sin" - Rom. 14:23). One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control and truth be known, I don't always limit my intake appropriately.  And I can pretty much guarantee that when I'm sneaking, yes sneaking food like a regular ole white-washed tomb that wants to look good while being sinfully self-absorbed, I am not eating it from faith and with thankfulness to God for the glory of His name.  And it doesn't take terribly long for the plain truth to be evident.  It's evident once again.

The book of Judges seems to display a cycle of God's people falling into sin, God warning them, God judging them, repentance, restoration for awhile and then a new fall into sin starting the cycle all over again.  I relate.  The verse my family just memorized is Proverbs 24:16 which says: "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity."  A Japanese proverb restates it this way: "Fall seven times, stand eight."  By God's grace, I am getting up again, but before you think this post is all about some close-to-the new-year's-resolution to be a better steward, I want to shift gears.

Last night I started reading a book about the reality that there is no other way to have peace with God other than through Jesus.  He is THE WAY, the only way.  I believe that with all my heart. On THIS point, I will risk offending. The author writes with an urgency because in our day of pluralistic, I'm okay-you're okay, egalitarian mindsets, we need to be reminded that there are many yet who need to hear the gospel preached to them, and that if God has entrusted the gospel to us and made us His children, WE have a part to play in that.

So this morning as I was exercising, and remembering what it feels like to use my muscle's for something other than lifting more food to my mouth, I was listening to the music on my blog's playlist.  Songs that sing of God at work in the city, of facing giants in faith with nothing but a sling and a stone, and how our God saves filled the air and stirred my mind.  What prompted this post was not any innate need to confess to the public my recurring sin-issues with food (though now that you know, you can pray for me and that would be nice!).  I was thinking about how so many people make it their new year's resolution to lose weight (for reasons that range everywhere from pride/vanity to seeking to be a good steward for the glory of God).  And I was thinking about how a cannibal would currently find me to be a nicely marbled treat so I better start now.  But let's get to the point. 1 Timothy 4:7-10 tells us: "...exercise yourself toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come...for to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men..." Let's put bodily exercise in perspective.    Americans spend gobs of time and money and effort on dieting, but truth be known, whether we're lowered into the grave fat or skinny isn't the biggest issue...will we use the resources God has given us to plan and exert effort in exercising ourselves toward godliness? Those of us who trust in the living God have the promise of life, but what about those who don't?

Rom 10:13-17 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"   So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I joked about my potential of being a marbly treat for a cannibal, but DO I CARE about the cannibals of the world?  Do I care enough about ANYONE who has not yet heard the good news of our great and gracious King to put effort into sharing Jesus with them?  How many of us put "seek to make the most of opportunities to share Christ with others" at the top of their New Year's resolution lists? 

In Ephesians 6:20, Paul asked for prayer that "utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel."  In 2 Cor. 5:18-21 we are reminded that God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus and has given us the ministry of reconciliation...we are His ambassadors "as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  May God plead through us as He gives us opportunity in the lives of those in our sphere of influence ...may we be granted the joy of seeing men, women and children come to know Jesus as we offer them the only thing we have of any true worth, the hope of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.