aching

I love blogs. I love to read them; I love to write mine. But they can sometimes get me in trouble. How, you may ask, does it get me in trouble? (Even if you weren't asking, I'm going to tell you...) It's not really in the area of wasting time...I'm pretty much good about only letting myself bunny-trail around if I have the time to do so, otherwise I stick to my 5-10 minute routine blogs. It's because I find myself comparing myself to those wonderful people who seem to be doing, and doing well, all the things that I want to/think I should be doing. The same goes for websites. That's my problem tonight...I've been visiting church websites. Some of them look so good, I'M ready to join...and I'm one of the leaders of MY church!! (JUST KIDDING, by the way, all you Koinonia-ers...I truly do love our church). But seriously, lately I've been contemplating our church planting experience, and church planting in general. There are so many ways to do it, and none of them are easy, I know, but I must admit, I have been asking God a lot lately why He asked us to do this. (Actually, to be perfectly honest, I haven't really been asking him, I've more just been wondering...I guess I'm not sure I really want to know what his answer would be if I asked him directly.) It's easy to look at everyone else and think how great what they are doing is, and I feel so insignificant. And yet, as a dear friend pointed out to me this week...every person at our church has been impacted in some way by Koinonia House and its existence. They have been touched in a way, grown in a way, that they could not have if we had not stepped out to plant. Mostly I lose sight of this, but I am thankful for friends who can point it out to me...not because it has anything to do with me, but because it reminds me that God has a plan for every individual, and my part might be touching a lesser number than other bigger, more "successful" (read: thriving kids programs, multiple ministries, nicer buildings, etc.) churches, but the value of those fewer numbers who might have gotten lost or never made their way to those big churches is just the same. When I stop and think of our church in terms of individuals instead of numbers or programs, I really do see God's hand at work, and my heart is so full.

I guess part of me is still going through a process of what was a tidal wave of changes that happened in my life in the past few years. We planted a church (which meant leaving a church that I really did love, and several people who I loved, and still do, but don't get to see as much), moved, left a job, lost my dad, returned to a job, etc., etc. New people came to the church, some old ones left. All this in the past 2 1/2 years, after living a fairly steady, unchanging life for the previous 12 or so years. I can't help but occasionally feeling a sense of loss. Not because what I have now isn't good or right - it is. I'm certain we did what God wanted, He is in control, and I am blessed beyond measure. I'm not complaining in any way; rather, I'm trying to process this sentimental sadness that occasionally comes over me. It's like I long for things to be the way they were, and yet, I know they never can, so I can't allow myself to stay in that place too long. Even if I went back to some things, some places, they really would not be the same. Because life keeps on going...nothing stays the same. But I profoundly miss some people, and it's an ache that I wish would go away, and yet at the same time it's part of who I am and where I came from.

I'm glad that I am not in control of time...that God keeps it marching forward. Otherwise, I might've decide to move us all back about 3 years and just keep playing that time over and over like a favorite old movie. The funny thing...at that time, I know my life had frustrations and imperfections. I know I now am looking back through rose colored glasses. But in a way, it's nice...God and time have healed those hurts, and all that remains is fond memories. And I find that brings me full circle...because it gives me hope that maybe in 3 years from now, I won't remember so much the occasional sadness or struggle, but will be filled with warmth from all the good that God is working in the midst of this day, month and year.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful...

1. that grocery shopping and library day are over!!
2. for sunshine (yeah!!)
3. that I ran into my good friend Kate at the grocery store, who I've been thinking about so often lately (can't wait to get together, Kate... *hugs*)
4. for kids that are big enough to help carry groceries
5. that we have a new place to meet for our Sunday Celebration services
6. that that place (#5) has a closet for us to store all our stuff in and it won't all be sitting in my family and laundry rooms any more!!!
7. that my kids do not have the same inhibitions I always had/have (though there are days that I wish they were a little bit more inhibited!)
8. that my sister and I are trying to buckle down and do better with tightening our budgets and meal planning at the same time...we always do things better together! :)
9. for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers!
10. that God's mercies are new every morning (I need a fresh start daily!)

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

fond memories

These are just some fun pics from Laura's wedding back in October that I just got - and love! Good times for everybody - maybe with the exception of Lukey - who looks sad that he just lost his 'Arla' to another Luke... ;)


Dancing with one of my men...Kate with her best bud...
So handsome (both of them!)...
Awww...love lost to another...
"Cousins...identical cousins..."


The lovely bride and groom...awww, aren't they cute...


MY best buds...


Luke & Laura and 'the gang'...


Good times, good times...

come on, spring...

My plan was to head out to the grocery store first thing this morning, but as I sit here checking my email, I am listening to the wind WHIPPING around outside...it makes me think that surely we can make it another day... PB&J for lunch, spaghetti for supper...yeah, we'll survive without heading out today....

(I HATE cold, and even more so when it's windy!!)

I guess I should at some point go see what is blowing and banging around on the patio though... ugh.

How many days is it til spring?!?!?!??!

alarming scenario

This afternoon Lukey came up and asked me to find his Superman suit and cape for him. Not too long after that I hear Bryce's voice from the basement...

"Kids, don't try this at home...we're professionals."

Hmmm....think I should be worried?!?!?

too freaky!

Ok, so Beth got creative and thought this would be
even scarier....and it is!!! Funny...

twins

Kinda scary - huh?

7 weird things

Bri tagged me and asked me to post 7 weird things about myself, so here goes (and I'm warning you - you're about to get a dose of the true me, so consider yourself forewarned of my minor psychoses):

1. I always dry myself after a shower with the seams of the towel inward and the tag to the bottom, and if I don't my skin gets a weird feeling and I keep thinking about it for the next few minutes (the feeling passes by the time I'm dressed)
2. When I was little, numbers always had personalities in my mind; like for instance, 7 always thought it was great, and wanted to hang around 8 and 9, and thought it was too good for 6. But 8 and 9 were much more mature, and didn't really want 7 hanging with them. (Anybody want to try and analyze that one?
3. I love small spaces (this one you may already know from an earlier 'tag' I had done); I love feeling 'cocooned' - I like sleeping bags, and think an MRI would be an enjoyable experience.
4. I cannot stand nail files - well, more specifically - emery boards. Hate to have to touch them or pick them up, cannot possibly use them! (I have found that the spongy, multi-sided nail files are usable for me.) I cut and shape my nails with a clipper 99% of the time.
   
5. I LOVE pens, and pencils (if they are mechanical) - I love getting cool new pens, and I love to write - with the cool pens! (On the flip side, I HATE cheap, crappy pens, and having to use them grates me like fingernails on a chalkboard!) I believe this fascination started in 4th grade when I got those pencils that you could rotate the points (anybody know what I mean?) That's my earliest memory of beginning to crave new writing instruments, and collect them, and write with them - even if only my name over and over - just to use them!
   
6. I almost always read a magazine from back to front.
7. Brussel sprouts, and the mere smell or thought of them, make me gag!

Gee, I could probably go on and on (guess I'm weirder than I thought!), but instead I'll tag Betsy, Laura and Kristine, and anyone else who happened to read this! I love finding stuff out about people!! If you have a blog and are taking the tag, leave a comment and let me know so I can be sure to check it out. If you don't have a blog, post your list in my comment section!!

feelin' better & comin' back!

Thanks for the prayers everyone...we are, thankfully, getting better. Today was still rough, but better than last night, and I'm hoping that tomorrow will find all of us (Luke seems to be fighting the same cold) even more on the mend.

I couple people have asked me about the pics I post, so for any bloggers out there, here's what I do.

First of all, the things on my sidebar (the devotions one, and the 'beloved' one are from the Christian Women Online site. You can go there, and they have different 'buttons' to choose from, and the code typed out below it. You can copy and paste it in the template widgets on your blogger dashboard.

In my individual posts, I usually just do an image search, like in Google images or on Flickr. com. When I find one I like, I right click on it and choose 'save image as' and save it to a file I created just for my blog photos. Then, in my actual post, I click the 'add image' button and upload it there. After that, you can move it around or whatever for where you want it to land it your post (this can be tricky).

That's about it! Have fun!

down for the count

Not having a great weekend... At the moment I'm wearing 2 sweaters, 2 blankets and 3 pairs of socks...

When I was looking for a pic to put with the post, Kate lovingly volunteered "Do you want me to just take a picture of how bad you look...er, um, I mean how sick you look... um, I mean..."


Yeah, I get it...I look as bad as I feel. Hope to be back soon...

(Oh...all prayers for the Clemmer household are welcome...Todd is just as sick as I am!)

Thankful Thursday ( a little late...)

Well, it's a little late (since it's after midnight), but this is the first chance I got to actually sit down! So this is what I'm thankful for this Thursday:

1. Had a delicious dinner with friends tonight (and fun too!)
2. Got a great pair of jeans SUPER-CHEAP on clearance at Gap this week (I've needed them for a while but refused to pay full price at Old Navy when I was looking right before Christmas...glad I held out!!)
3. Mom is pretty much settled into her wonderful new apartment (it's so cozy!)
4. Lukey's curly brown locks
5. God walking me through deciding what to do for different situations in my life
6. Holding my precious niece Eva while she slept when I babysat on Tuesday
7. Some really neat people I've gotten to know through blogging
8. My house getting warm again after I accidentally hit the emergency shut off switch for the heater before we left this evening! (oops...)
9. My church family and them sticking with us through all the turbulent, trial & error of church planting
10. Chocolate!!!! (yeah, not doing so good with the "Eating Better in the New Year" thing...)

they found out...

Today was a dreaded, fateful day. I'd hidden this information from my sons so well, for so long, but today they found out. They saw pictures...asked questions. I figured they'd find out someday - maybe from their friends - but certainly I had no intentions of telling them. I mean, sure, it was something I did when I was young...but that was a long time ago...no sense they had to walk in my footsteps. But now...there's no turning back. I'm sure I will be inundated with questions; if I tell them it is forbidden, they will only throw back in my face the craziness of my youth. It's a can of worms that's been opened, I tell you! What, you may ask, is this dreaded 'thing'??




It's THIS!
Yep - the Creation festival (what were you thinking??) The scorching heat during the day, freezing temps early in the morning, getting up while still dark in order to get seats, long lines for to use toilets, and we won't even talk about the whole showering dilemma!! Yes, from the time I was 12 til I was in my early twenties, this was my idea of an ultimate good time. And now...well, I guess I'm just getting old. Because today, as my boys grabbed the flyer and screamed out band names like "David Crowder Band!! Kutless!! Switchfoot!! Hawk Nelson!!" I just groaned within. Maybe not this year, maybe not next, but sometime, probably not too far off, I imagine I will find myself camping on a certain farm in Mt. Union, PA once again. But this time around, instead of the carefree teenager, I will be one of those Moms, packing drinks and dragging kids... Oh, I'm torn...I really want to be one of the cool, fun moms - but oh, the price!!

Well, given my boys personalities and interests, it seems inevitable, so my only choice is to embrace it! I can see it now... my van - "CREATION OR BUST!!"

definitely a rain event...

Yeah, definitely a rain event...


I think I'll make a pot of chili while I pray for my hubby's safe arrival home.

rain event??

OK, I'm getting pretty annoyed at the weather forecasters... mainly because I'm still hoping for at least one BIG dumping of snow this winter (if it's gonna be cold, you might as well have snow!), and then I'll be ready for spring. Anyway, last week they forecasted snow for our area, and we got nuthin. Today they assured me that what might start as a mix would quickly change over to rain - "it will just be a rain event" they said. HA! This is what it looks like at my house right now!

spinning plates

Do you ever have trouble stopping the swirl of thoughts, ideas and emotions in your head? I do. Especially when I have lots to do, and decisions to make. I feel as though something is hanging over my head.

Right now there are lots of changes going on for us, including moving our Sunday Celebration service to a different location (and learning what that all will look like and mean for us), Seth asking (pleading, in fact) to go to school next year, and not the least of, being my hubby returning to his old job full time (which means a minimum of 40 hours, usually a bit over 40 in addition to what amounts to about 5 hours drive time to and from work weekly). Yeah, that would be in addition to pastoring. And yet, I believe it's where God is taking us right now. That I do have peace about.

But all of these changes has made me take a look at my life, my schedule, and my priorities. Somehow I feel like there are several things that I want to do, can do, am supposed to do...and yet I seem to have trouble keeping all of them going - and going well - all at the same time. People have said to me "I don't know how you do it all...", and to be perfectly honest, I don't either, and most of the time, I think, in reality, I'm NOT doing it all - or at least not doing it well. It seems like I can focus on being homemaker, and I can clean and organize, and make good meals...but school doesn't get done. Or I focus totally on school with all the kids every day, and by the end of the week the house looks like a bomb went off, and I haven't done any of the church stuff that I want to get taken care of. Or I can focus on the church responsibilities and ideas I have, but school gets my half-attention and we eat...well, whatever I can come up with in 10 minutes or left - like hot dogs, pancakes and spaghetti - or pizza. It frustrates me to no-end that I can't seem to get a rhythm to life where I can keep all the plates spinning at the same time!

So right now I think I've got to enter a season of serious prayer about what God is calling me to do. Yes, there are a million things I could do, but what is He saying that He wants me to do. Otherwise, I'll burn out myself, my family and have nothing to offer anyone. And I'm pretty sure that's NOT His plan.

So, if you think of it, I could use a few prayers for clarity, grace and...well, some good organizational skills would be helpful too! :)

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday, so here it is:

1. My mom's great new apartment
2. My heater not making wild monkey sounds (as it did all day on Tuesday!)
3. My husbands jobS, and God's grace for this season
4. Dance, Dance Revolution!!
5. Kashi cereal and crackers (I love it when something is healthy AND tastes good!)
6. My snuggly Sethy
   
7. My sisters
8. Drums that Bryce can use to practice - yeah, he's that good that I actually ENJOY listening to him play!
9. My very girlie-girl daughter...my saving grace sometimes in a house overflowing with testosterone!
10. Hearing my kids laugh hysterically together (even if it is right before they get in trouble 'cuz they're supposed to be sleeping! It still makes me giggle right before I put on the 'mean mom' face and go in to bring the smack down!)
    

immeasurably more

It's been a few days since I posted, because I've just been too busy, but now I have a backlog of thoughts in my head. So there might be a posting-flood here...I need to unload my thoughts in order to help me process them, and make room in this 'ol cranium for some new ones!

First of all, I am just so ecstatic about a new development in my mom's situation. As you may remember, we have her house listed for sale, and while we've had lots of showings, so far there's been no bites. While this has been, and continues to be, a burden financially, she's also been struggling emotionally being there, and really feels like to continue moving on with her life she needs to be out of the house...get a fresh start, so to speak. Well, we'd found a perfect apartment, still in Boyertown (only about 1 block from my one sister's place), which she really liked, included heat, trash and - one of her biggest concerns - snow removal. (The thought of any snow at all, and the fact of having to deal with shoveling, fighting for parking - as there's no off-street parking where she lives, and the general nastiness it brings out in the neighborhood would nearly bring her to tears). The only problem was that the apartment was available immediately, and she could no afford to pay rent in addition to the house (obviously). The owner had originally said he'd be willing to hold it for 2 months if we put down a security deposit, which we were able to scrape together and do.

Well, it's been 2 months already, and so far the house has not moved. But in the meantime, she's had other contact with the landlord, who happens to be a Christian, and they've gotten to know each other a bit. Earlier this week he came in to the office where she works with the key to the apartment, and told her that he and his wife had discussed it, and they wanted to help her any way they could, so they decided to give her the key and allow her to move in to the apartment awhile...RENT FREE...until her house sells. What an AMAZING blessing! This will most definitely help make the transition smoother, as well as allowing her the opportunity to move on with her life somewhat while we still wait on a buyer for the house.

God has faithfully taken care of her time and time again in the past year and a half since my dad died, and yet I stand amazed each time.

So we'll be busy over the next several days getting her moved and settled in to the new 'digs'. We are all so excited, including the grandkids (which is something I was really unsure how they would respond). God is definitely at work...now if he could just QUICKLY bring the buyer for the house so we can experience some more closure in this process - and I know that he will - in His timing, which I should know by now, is perfect.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

he'll always be my baby

Time sure flies, doesn't it? This is what I was doing 3 years ago yesterday...



And this is him today. Three years already! I think my baby is officially not a baby anymore. :(

Which means - I guess I'm out of the baby years of parenting! How exciting and sad, all at the same time.

I need a change

The past couple of days I've found myself very antsy and craving something new... I get urges to go shopping, move furniture, paint the house (I've picked a new color for my bedroom...). I think I need spring. I'm the type of person who likes change...it's not that I want things that are necessarily big or expensive - just different. I always loved hand-me-down clothes (and still do) or getting a good deal at an outgrown shop. I love changing my decorations and planting flowers in the flower beds in the spring because it just make things seem fresh. I love season changes - all of them - because I'm just so ready for something new by the time the warm -or cool- sets in. But I'm not always the best just smack in the middle of stuff. Projects - I start strong and finish strong, but in the middle I tend to drag just a big. Mid-winter I usually get a bit down in the dumps, and mid-summer I usually find myself sick of the heat/humidity and wanting to stay in the air conditioning a bit more.

So here I am, in the doldrum. Don't feel any excitement urging me to clean (like I do when the anticipation starts building to throw open windows and let the fresh air surge through), and I don't feel the warm-fuzzies of looking forward to the holidays. I'm just blah... So I'm looking for something new and exciting to spur me on to productivity, and get me over the hump of the mid-winter blues. I'll let you know if I come up with anything fun! (I definitely think there's going to be some furniture somewhere moved...)

survey says...

I'm taking a poll here...

As readers of this blog, do you prefer that I do or do NOT have the automatic music feature. I was putting together a compilation of some of my favorite music, and the thought did occur to me that someone might prefer NOT to have music start playing the minute they hit this site... Like for example if you are surfing the net while having a sleeping child next to you or something...

So let me hear from YOU!! Keep the music? Or embrace the silence?

(Don't forget, you can comment anonymously if you're too chicken to own up to your opinion!)

Just kidding about that...

And, oh, yeah...if I don't hear any feedback I'll just do whatever the heck I please! :)

what to expect

For those of you who have had babies in the past, say 15 years, you might be familiar with the ever-helpful "What to Expect When You're Expecting". Well, they now have a new book entitled "What to Expect Guide to a Healthy Home" and you can order or download a free copy on their website (click image to go to the site).

Elvis impersonators

My guys were dressing up and playing Elvis this morning...here's their impersonation shots.

Then they went downstairs to play 'band'; the words to their first made up song were:

"We were born to have great hair!"

No lie...

Thankful Thursday

1. Getting back into a routine after the holidays
2. My kids growing up (being able to play together and not having to be watched every single minute...)
3. My kids still being little (wanting to climb on my lap to hear a story, snuggle in bed before we get up)
4. My washer/dryer (I talked to a few people this past week whose broke! What a nightmare that would be in my house!)
5. Cars that work and really haven't had many problems in the years we've had them
6. Friends that will be honest with me - even about stuff they know I don't want to hear
7. Both the people that gave us huge scares with some serious medical problems just before Christmas are both finally home and on the mend
8. My husband's strong character and wisdom
9. Healthy kids
10. God's patience with me
    

cleats

Don't have much time to post as I am off to have my devotions...part of my personal goal is to spend more time in the Word than blogging...and I haven't had my devotions yet today (but I must say, reading through Genesis again sure does raise lots of questions and discussions I'd like to bring up with God when we are face to face. TONS of weird stuff in there...)

But, since this blog is also serving partially as a 'journal' for me of stuff I want to remember about my kids, tonight was a milestone. We registered both the older boys for little league. They were pretty excited, but the thing they were MOST excited about was revealed in conversation after they got home.

Bryce: "We FINALLY get to get cleats!!"
Seth: "YEAH MAN!!!!!"


Oh, gee...why do I see potential puncture wounds in our future?

"can you feel the love tonight....?"

Awww...what a loving bunch, right?



HA! Don't be fooled.... (this ensued immediately following the first pics...)



And so went my day...

photo collage

Need an idea for what to do with all those great holiday photo cards you got? Here's what I do with mine, and it's become quite the conversation piece whenever people come over. I tape all the photos to the family room door, collage-style. I start at the beginning of the year with all the holiday photo cards we received, and then keep adding to it whenever we get school pics, birthday pics, etc. from friends and family throughout the rest of the year (I also include the yearly photo of the Compassion child we sponsor). It's always fun to answer questions about who these folks are and how we know them, and I don't feel bad tossing the cards, that I so appreciated, but I'm not one for photo albums...so never quite knew what to do with!

(Lest you think me wonderfully creative and resourceful...this idea came from Laverne Krieder. Thanks Laverne!)

what does that make me?

Loving the new David Crowder Band CD; this song keeps rolling around my head and my heart this morning...

You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

eye-pod??

Yesterday Luke came out with this eye patch on, and announced "This is my iPod." We corrected him "You mean, eye patch." He was insistant "Nooo, it's an iPod!!". We tried to explain "No, Lukey, that is an eye patch. An iPod plays music." He promptly pulled off the patch to examine it saying "This plays music?"

saffron

Kaitlyn shared a bit of info with me today from her science lesson that she knew I'd appreciate, (and never knew before!) and she thought it would be appropriate to put on my blog.

Maybe I'm the only one who didn't know this but...

Did you know the spice, saffron, is made from crocuses? Apparently there's a small amount in each crocus, so it takes 4,000 crocuses to get one ounce of saffron...which explains why it is expensive.

Cool, huh?

impact

Had a great time hanging out tonight with our good friends, the Tavella's, and spending some time with Dustin ---------------->
while he's home from YWAM for a little bit. My kids absolutely ADORE Dustin, (we love him too!!) and God's done, and is doing, such amazing things in this guy's life that it's awesome to see, and such a blessing to have him for my kids to look up to (and his 'little' sis, Tara, too - who is also serving in YWAM). Dustin is an amazing musician, and if you'd like to check out his sound, you can hear him here.

I can't even tell you how cool it was to hear him and Bryce jamming together in the family room tonight...Dustin on electric guitar and Bryce on drums. I think Kate might have videoed a minute or two, and if I can figure out how to load it, I might try to post it tomorrow. Bryce was definitely born with a musical gift, but I'm really grateful to Dustin for encouraging Bryce so much and really playing a big part in drawing that gift out of Bryce. It was Dustin who first taught Bryce to play the jhembe, (which was very brave letting a 4 year old play with a rather expensive instrument!) (by the way, in case you aren't familiar with one, a jhembe is a bongo-type drum), and Dustin who went and picked one out for us when we were getting Bryce his own. When our friends, Luke & Laura, got married, Dustin led worship at the wedding, and L&L asked Bryce to play jhembe with him. At first Bryce was too scared, but when we assured him he'd be ok playing with Dustin, and he could just forget about all the people and just watch Dustin, he agreed. That was apparently a huge hurdle for Bryce, and he's really come out of his shell a lot since that point. (He even played with our worship team when we lead worship at Todd's parents church, and wasn't nervous. He actually said, since he played in front of so many people at the wedding, now he knows he's ok to play in front of anybody!) Dustin has taken time with Bryce whenever he could, just to connect with him, not only about music, but just in general, and Dustin may never realize how much he's impacted Bryce...but I do, and I'm grateful.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for:

1. My hardworking husband, who has to put in a minimal 14 hour day today
2. 2:00 pm - naptime!
3. My new fuzzy blankets for my couch
4. Great young adults in our life who are excellent role models for my children
5. A husband who believes in me, and encourages God's calling on my life
6. My new 'toasted vanilla' candles from Christmas - they look so pretty burning & smell yummy too!
   
7. My warm house (it's stinkin' cold outside today!)
8. Worship team practicing tonight - we haven't gotten together to play in a while & I miss 'em!
9. Fun new crayons, pens & pencils from Christmas to use for school
10. Homeschooling days when everyone works quietly at the same time! (Kate's not in the pic 'cuz she's working on the computer - but she's working quietly too!)

wine, anyone?

WARNING: This post may be controversial for some. I am processing my thoughts 'out loud' here, so any views expressed here may not represent or be agreed with by...well, anyone I am associated with including husband, friends, family, or church! (In other words, if you don't like what is said here, please don't hold it against them!) Discussion is welcome!


Today I'm reading Genesis 1-4, but got thinking about this topic when I was reading Genesis 3:1-3:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" (Highlighting mine)

What God actually had said was this:

Gen. 2: 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

(Notice, nothing at all mentioned about touching...)

Last weekend we had a discussion on 'drinking' with someone who felt adamantly that Christians should never drink any alcohol. The way she put it was that she just didn't understand why it Christians would think it was "fun or funny" to drink. We tried to explore how she formed this opinion; while she hadn't any particularly "bad experiences" related to alcohol (alcoholic family members, etc.) and she didn't grow up in a 'religious' home where it was frowned upon, she just felt very deeply that it was not appropriate - ever. We discussed (and it truly was a discussion - not an aruguement or anything hostile) how the Bible often refers to drinking wine and even associates it with the Lord's blessing (Ps. 104:14-14, Prov. 3:9-10). Obviously Jesus drank wine, and even provided it for the wedding in Cana (remember his first miracle?). The Bible's warnings are against drunkenness, and the love wine (Prov 21:17, 23:20).

Now obviously, there are MANY verses in the scripture that talk about wine (positively and negatively), and this is not a comprehensive discussion of all of them; my point is that clearly drinking is not completely forbidden by scripture. But what caught my attention in Genesis tonight was the way that Eve added the self-imposed rule of 'don't even touch' -when that was not God's directive. I wonder if she had made the assumption that 'touching would lead to eating' and so God must mean they should not touch either. It's kind of like that with drinking, and, depending how strictly you were raised, other things too, like dancing, and playing cards for example. Here's the rationale I grew up with...drinking would lead to drunkenness, so don't ever drink. I guess cards might lead to gambling, and dancing to fun...er, um, I mean...well, my best guess with the dancing is that it would lead to lust. (Funny, I grew up with a lot of really good cooks in my family, and we certainly never made a 'no eating' rule because it might lead to gluttony - also mentioned in the Bible!)

Now, don't misunderstand - my point in all this is not to promote drinking. My point is that I think that God wants more from us than just to make lists of 'just-in-case' rules. Clearly there are legitimate reasons for and convictions about never consuming alcohol. I get that, and I respect it. The problem lies in imposing those convictions on others when they are not actually God's guidelines (and judging others when they don't keep what we think the rule 'should be'). I think God wants us to be walking close enough to Him that we are able to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit - such as self-control, as well as using godly discernment and sound judgement. I think God is more concerned about our character and motives than our actual actions. Have you ever really thought about that? Our actions are really a result of our character and what's deep inside us . For example, lying is clearly a sin - scripture says God hates it; but what about Rahab (see Joshua 2)? Hiding spies, and lying about it! Later, James 2:25 says this act is credited to her as righteousness. Because it's not so much about the 'what' as the 'why'. Absolutely, drunkenness, lust and the like are not in accordance with the Spirit-led life. But if that is the state you end up in if you attend a party where there is wine and dancing, then I would say the issue is one of the heart much more than a need for more restrictions on what you can and cannot do. I think this is Paul's point in Colossians 2 when he says:

20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

I wonder if that is the reason that God allows temptation at all. I mean, if Adam & Eve couldn't eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil, why on earth did God put it there anyway? I'm pretty sure it has to do with relationship - God WANTS us to choose Him, to follow Him, to be close to Him, to know His heart. He wants to cultivate good qualities in us - love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. He wants to LEAD us, day by day, moment by moment, situation by situation. It's about who/what we give control of our hearts.

Okay, okay, I'll get off the soapbox now. I'd love to hear your feedback. Do you agree (or at least see my point) or did this just rock your world, and you've determined I'm a heretic? ;) Either way...it's what's going on in my head tonight - and so I thought I'd share it with you.

Who woulda thunk all that came out of 2 little verses in Genesis that I'm sure I've read hundreds of times!! Wow...

welcome 2008

I've never really gotten into the whole 'resolutions' thing, but I do love any opportunity to re-evaluate, refresh and, in a sense, start over. Actually, I find myself doing this every few months (and it seems I need to that often!) - I do it in August or Sept (beginning of school year), January (New Year), and sometime around spring, when I try to Air-Out and Clean-Out.

Last night Todd & I spent a little time praying together and asking God for some direction for us personally, and for Koinonia House. We felt that there were a few key areas that we should focus on afresh for the new year, and really commit ourselves to:

• Changing eating habits - we both could stand to lose some weight, as well as, we noticed how much better we felt last summer during our fast when we had cut out all 'meats and sweets' and tried to stick with pretty much just whole foods. AND we had lost 10 pounds...but once the fast was done we were right back to our old ways. We're tired of feeling sluggish, and having some other physical affects of our less than stellar eating habits, so we are going to make a new effort (well, other than fasting, we've never actually made ANY effort, so I'm not sure "new" is even the right word!)
• We are starting a reading plan together (Todd & I) that will take us straight through from Genesis to Revelations over the course of the year. This is something else I've never attempted before, but I've really felt over the past few weeks God was calling me to this challenge. It will take me getting more serious about my devotion time, which is really what I need. My sad, but true, admission is that my quiet time is definitely erratic. I know that as a mom of little ones I need to be flexible - and believe me, it's not like I think God is sitting there with a stop-watch, clocking my devotional time. But I think I've tended to use that as an excuse (let's get perfectly honest here!) and it's let my personal one-on-one time with God get too lax. And I definitely can sense it in my overall attitude, so I know it's time to 're-group' on this one. I think what might help act as a 'priority thermostat' is checking my God-time in comparison to my blog-time. Who or what is getting me of my undivided attention?
• Making sure that some of the family time we spend together gets devoted to Bible stories and praying together - as a family. We are going to continue with our weekly family night, but make sure that, sometime during the course of the week, we read at least 2 Bible stories with the kids.

I love fresh starts!!

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23

Thankful Thursdays

Here's one of the new and exciting things I will be doing for the New Year here on 'crocuses'. Every Thursday will be 'Thankful Thursday', which means I will do a post listing 10 things I am thankful for. I tend to be a bit of a complainer, and I think the best remedy for complaining (focusing on all that's NOT right and good in my life) is thankfulness (focusing on all that IS right and good in my life). God is so good, and deserving of all my thanks! Watch for the first list tomorrow!

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:28-29

getting closer...

As you can see, I'm still trying to work on the blog look... the header is getting closer to what I want...just gotta figure out how to expand it in width.

Anyway, have spent way too much time trying to figure this HTML stuff out (I know NOTHING about computer codes, I feel like it's trying to decipher a foreign language!) But tomorrow (or today, actually - just more like once the sun is up) I'll have more to post.