I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Galations 2:20-21
Knitting Socks
at least trying! pj's for all American Girl Doll clothes and bedding curtains, tablecloths and chair covers for the schoolroom, eating nook and sewing room
~ Family Read Alouds~
Danger!
~Blessings~
~Join the Fun~
Apr. 27, 2008~ Mark 4:3-8 ~
I am studying the parable of the seeds right now. You know the one, about the seed falling on good soil or bad soil. It is Mark 4:3-8 if you want to check it out. I know that most of us have heard this over and over. I know that most of us think that Jesus was talking about the saved and the unsaved. Maybe he was. But maybe he was talking about Christians.
We should be hearing God's voice. If we are a Christian then this should be the norm- not the out of ordinary.
Several things that could hinder us in hearing Gods voice-
1. Attitude- I must repeat that ATTITUDE- sorry I was yelling. Can this issue get any bigger??
We need to have an attitude that is eager and receptive to hearing God. We should have our ears tuned in to hearing His voice, His whisper. This means that we need to cultivate an open mind to Christ.
A pastor of mine once said that he trained his children to not wander farther than they could hear his whistle. And when he whistled he expected them to come running. He can whistle very loud and he used this to call his children to his side when they were in the neighborhood playing. He would only whistle once. His children's ears were tuned to hearing their father's calling, even while being occupied elsewhere.
Is this just the greatest illustration of how we should be tuned to hearing God(our Father) speak to us (His children)
The soil in the parable is my heart and mind. Is my heart and mind cultivated to receive the voice of God?
Why can't I hear God? Is my soil good? Or is it like the hardened path that the seeds fell on? Those paths walkways, everyone used them to get from one field to another. The more space for the path the less area could be planted so these were very narrow. Because they were so hardened and trampled down the seeds would fall and stay on top. The birds would be able to easily pick up the seeds and carry them off. The poor were able to come along and gather any that they found on the path without disturbing the fields that were prospering.
Pride the definition is- arrogance, a sense of superiority, an I don't need you attitude?
I am bigger than YOU.
Fear- afraid God will request things that I am not able/willing to give. Psalm 118:6
Fear of losing a lifestyle, $$$, our pride. Fear of our inadequecies.
Bitterness- this shuts everyone out. This is a cancer that causes death to our souls. Resentfulness.
Is my soil like those of the rocky places? These were bedrocks of limestone. Very shallow soil- like a shallow heart/mind.
Could this be those mountain top experiences we can sometimes have? Like when we were in youth group and we would go to camp. It lasted about a week and we were going to change our lives forever. We were going to have a devotion every day, pray morning and night, do some of those little rituals that would remind us of how our hearts had been touched...One maybe two weeks later it was all forgotten. This is shallow soil. Hearts and minds that are not used to hearing Gods voice that hear Him briefly yet do not have the focus to follow through. No roots.
How can we get roots? Roots that are deep and healthy?
Set aside time.
Slow down- spend time with God. Allow Him to teach us. Work on our commitment to God.
Eliminate distractions- Is your quiet time in front of the TV? Is it only half hearted because your mind is really making lists of things you should be doing? Get off somewhere new, unfamiliar. Close your eyes. If you fall asleep don't worry. God spoke to many an Old Testament guy in dreams. When you wake up spend some awake time with Him, you were probably just over tired.
I have so much more that I have been learning. I will share more later, you have a great day!
Here is a parting thought.
Don't let your distractions be your weeds. Choking out the time for God. By the way, choke means to suffocate and strangle.
Practice hearing Gods voice. Do one thing this day that will enhance the soil of your soul forever to be able to hear Him clearer.
Remember, as children of God it should be the norm. to hear your Father's voice.
Thank you for listening to God Pastor Terry Marrow. God truly speaks to me through you!
Trials-- what a HUGE word!
It seems that trials sometimes pound at you. Like the waves on the shore, one after the other, barely letting you catch your breath before the next one is upon us.
Why is this is? I don't know. It does not matter. God knows and the only thing that matters is our relationship with Him. It is so easy to be the glowing christian while on the shore watching others get pounded by the waves- while we sit in our lounge chair , sipping our drink, soaking up the sun, sitting near the umbrella so if it gets too warm we can be comfortable quickly. It is during the difficult times that our character shows through and becomes refined.
Have you ever thought of that song Refining Fire? Have you ever really thought of what you are asking God when you sing this song?
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold
Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You my Master
Ready to do Your will
If you look up 'refine' in the dictionary there are several definitions-
1. to reduce to a pure state, as with sugar, metal, or oil
2. to free from moral imperfection
3. to improve by pruning or polishing
4. to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth, as with a refined person
When the Bible speaks of "refining," to which of these definitions does it refer? Just one of these? When I look at the definitions I cannot pick just one of those- they all would apply to my life.
What does the Bible say about refining?
1. Metal is refined and purified in a furnace; the Lord purifies and tests the heart. (Read Proverbs 17:3)
2. We must be refined before our offerings are acceptable to the Lord. (Read Malachi 3:2-4)
3. The Lord's people will be tested in the furnace of affliction (or great suffering). (Read Isaiah 1:25, 4:4, 48:10 and Jeremiah 9:7)
4. The Lord examines your heart and mind. (Read Jeremiah 17:10)
5. Those who survive will be refined and tested by the Lord. (Read Zechariah 13:9)
It is so amazing that once we have gone through a trial we can see fairly clearly the lessons that were taught, the truths that we came away with, the understanding that God was refining us in a particular way. It is just in the midst of the trials that we can lose the ability to know God is doing a wonderful work in us.
We are Israelites! We do forget so easily- this is why we need to have that support system surround us, pray diligently and read our Bibles. All these will show us how God is such a great God and loves us so immensely. There is NOTHING He allows in our our life for vain.
I am preaching to the choir. I am talking to myself. I needed this little lecture. So self, here is the conclusion of my thoughts-
1. Remember, refining does not come from listening to sermons or reading the Bible. It comes from being exposed to difficult situations and enduring affliction.
2. It is what we do during the difficulties that build our character
3. Pray to recognize the hand of the Refiner in difficult situations.
And most of all remember self- your life verse--
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
Well, one more thing to check off of this weeks 'Go Greener' things to list. I have officially started using my own laundry wash- I am not calling it soap or detergent because it is not. I recycled 3 glass jars I have had floating around here for a while and an old tupperware scoop. Into each of these jars I put borax, washing soda, and baking soda. I then labeled each jar with the product and how much to use of each for each wash cycle. In case you are curious the ratio is 1 borax, 1 baking soda and 2 washing soda. I also set up my jar with softener and sponges near them- It looks so nice! And feels so good!!!
This pay periods list- set up laundry wash
start plants for garden get 4 recycle containers
buy grocery green bags
So, one of my first ’go greener’ things on my list was to buy those little bags. You know, the reusable ones at the grocery store. Well, I walk in to Yokes, ask if they have any in yet-they have been out for several weeks. The manager said no, they were still out and had no idea when they would be getting any in. He then proceeded to explain to me why. ALL the greener grocery bags are made in one factory in CHINA! I was really not thrilled about this. It is not that I do not like China, I am sure that the money helps better that country.But this was a very purposeful venture- trying to help our environment AND buy local to help our businesses.
We tossed around the idea of making my own bags...but this is just not cost effective...and the material is probably shipped in from China as well! I decided to just bite the bullet and buy them knowing that it will still do more good than harm.
The conclusion to this story would be that I am thinking I need to find a new homeland so that I can support it! Where would that be...I don’t know...maybe China!
As I stated in an earlier blog our family has decided to do some things that make us, well, more earth friendly. I hate to sound like a tree hugger because it can get so out of control. But so can societies wastefulness. I just want to do what I can to take care of the home/environment that God has blessed me with.
Here are a few things that I am doing this week to make a difference.
1- make my own laundry soap using baking soda, washing soda and borax. (Thanks Dana) This will be much easier on my septic system and friendlier to the table waters. I will get a few containers and scoops this shopping day to start this project.
2- recycle. I know I should have been doing this all along but since we have moved to WA-which is known to be such a 'green' state- their recycling programs stink!!! So I have been on a quest for the last week or so figuring out the best place to turn my things in ( or I will drop at my friend Sarah's house), how to sort all of it and how many containers I will need. My next step is to get the containers. I hope to do that this week.
3- Buying local when possible. I would love to jump in and do this 100% but I can't. So I am taking baby steps. This week I will visit the mexican market and buy some things I need there (like tortilla that they make right there!) and see how it will fit into my budget. I also am planning on visiting one farmers market.
Now here is one more thing I am doing. I decided to get my food in a organized condition. So , when I shop this week I will buy a few containers to put sliced carrots, diced onions, chopped peppers, grated cheese, refried beans and rice in. This way I can have those things very handy for snacking and cooking.
By the way. In all my researching I found that I can buy recycled food grade containers at one of my local recycling centers. Rick is also going to stop by costco and see if we can have some of their 5 gal. bucket containers with the lids that they get some of their bakery items in. This way they may be free!! I feel very good about this plan.
How much stuff is enough? How much stuff is too much? That is the question I find myself pondering. I know I have plenty. I know I have too much if you use certain standards. I know in other standards I do not have enough.
As I have been reevaluating my mission of cutting back and doing more for my environment (my household is my direct environment) I have come yet once again to a quandary I have been struggling with for years. Let me lay it out for you.
I want to be less controlled by things- by controlled I mean I am tired of finding places for things, I am tired of cleaning things, moving things, storing things.
Yet I want to be super frugal.
The quandary- you must either toss things and then later buy things as needed OR store things to have on hand when they are needed.
I am truly needing a balance-of yet I have not come to.
So, I am going to pray. Sounds silly huh? I really am going to pray over each thing as I go through my stuff. I will pray for wisdom in either to keep it, sell it, donate it, or -gasp! can I even say it aloud??- toss it.
So if you think of me while you are doing your Spring cleaning, please pray for me. This is very hard for me. I am excited! I think God is really going to do a great work in my heart during this time.
If any of you have the same struggles feel free to share-we can lift one another up.
If any of you have great solutions or suggestions feel free to share also- I love success stories!
My friend ,Dana, and I have been talking a lot about our overall excess consumption of well, everything. We have been talking about how this love of stuff has affected the way we view our overall state of well being.
She led me to a great blog called Year of Plenty. These people have spurred me on, motivated me. You need to go read their blog. Maybe you too will be spurred on to change some things you do.
So, some immediate things we are changing in our household-
recycling. We have not recycled since we have lived here. Mainly because we do not have anyone to pick it all up-how lazy is that?? So we have made this small baby step to have 3 large recycle trash cans and a trash-trash can in my sunroom so that we will easily access them. Does anyone have a great recycling system? I am up for any suggestions.
gardening. starting my own plants. I am not very good at this but I am trying my hand at it again. Rick set me up with a grow light and I am going to attempt my flowers and all my veggies.
food. I am going to need to stay home more than I have been lately for this one to work. We are going to do less store bought convenience foods. We really do hardly any now-no cookies or other snacks. But now I am going into the realm of tortillas, refried beans ( note to self- look into learning to can these) and more bread. I can only add so many things at a time and these are a huge part of our diet so this is BIG for me! Any one got a GREAT refried bean recipe? Mine are usually too bland.
Feel free to ask how we are doing in this. I love accountability!
Mar. 17, 2008~ Forgetfulness...a wonderful thing! ~
Tonight on the ride home Rick said something that made me so irritated I had to grit my teeth to help me be quiet. As my teeth were grinding I thought- when we get home we will definitely be talking about this!
But I chose to be quiet while in the car all the while NOT act mad. Rick had no clue...
We drove on and I was finally able to unclench my teeth and continue in our conversations with the kids and enjoy one another's company.
When we got home everyone got ready for bed and I went in to read my Bible while waiting for Rick. Suddenly I remembered I was going to talk to him about this thing that really made me mad in the car...but I forgot what it was.
I smiled to myself. God spoke to me then in a voice so filled with amusement I could almost hear him audibly. Why was that incident at the moment so important, I don't know. How quickly it slipped form my mind, so painlessly. What if I had chosen a different plan? Why can't I choose this one more often? Oh! I can! I have just chosen not too for some irrational reason.
Well, this lesson did not fall on deaf ears. I intend to repeat it often.
I am reading Philipians. I can not get past 1:3-6! 'I thank my God every time I remember you'.
I want that.
I want not to just say I thank God but really be thankful.
What does that even look like? feel like? Am I already? Or is it deeper?
I want to pray with joy being confident that the good works that began in others will be completed.
Do I? Do I really? Or is my understanding shallow? Do I even understand to this statement to its deepest point?
Lord, please create in me a truly pure heart. Full of joy for others. Thankful for others. Always seeing them through your eyes.
I cannot believe that so much time has passed since I have blogged.
Do you ever feel that your life needs more time? Right now there are so many things I need to be doing and sometimes just turning on the computer starts to suck me in and my time away.
I LOVE blogging and being on the computer but right now it will have to be hit and miss. I feel like there is just that list of priorities in your life and sometimes the 'fun' stuff has to take a back seat.
I have seen God work in miraculous ways this week though. My friend Jeannie, the one with the tumor, had surgery yesterday. She had to go to the Mayo. No one had ever seen a case like hers before. Her tumor started in her liver and went up to her heart and encompassed 72% of her left atrium.
The surgeons did a wonderful job. The tumor was not attached to anything other than a bit of her diaphram. They were able to get it all, rebuild some of her arteries and close her up in about 12 hours. She was already awake and talking thins morning. She has been a testimony of Gods love and faithfulness through everything. Her and her family have set the bar so high for the rest of us!
I just praise Him for this wonderful thing He did. All glory goes to our Lord. Thank you for allowing Jeannie to stay with us here on earth for a while longer.
We are a family of 9. We have home schooled since 1990. Our oldest 3 have graduated and are off on their own. So now we have a 10th,8th,6th and 4th grader. Our main goal as we have walked this path for a while now is to have a strong tight bond with our children and to have them love the Lord. We enjoy various ways of schooling mainly sticking to a Charlotte Mason path. I guess something that God has taught us through our journey is that we need to be grounded in what we know is true, yet flexible enough to grow in order to not be broken by winds of change.Until I figure out how to get pictures on here you can check us out at www.photobucket.com under garringer9 ---enjoy!
enlightened 
