First, I rarely write on this blog anymore, because I have recently become the author of a wonderful new outlet for me. The blog is entitled “Song of the Field: Cultivating Joyful Hearts in the Home” and you can more regularly keep up with me there if you’d like. This blog is much less family updatish, and meant to be a more literary and thoughtful in content as I grow as a wife, mother and lover of Jesus. Add me to your RSS feed and leave comments! I’d love to hear from you.

Second, we are still here at the International House of Prayer for the foreseeable future and so thankful to be here. Matthew works in the Grounds Department in addition to his role as an intercessory missionary, and loves to get dirty riding tractors, chopping firewood and being an all-around handy-man. And today is my man’s 28th birthday, and we love him like crazy. He’s so good to us, and I bless the day he was born. Happy Birthday, Babe!

Third, winter is upon us once again with the fourth round of snow, and though it looks beautiful and we are cozy inside, I think my boys are officially struck with cabin fever. Looking forward to Spring!

Lastly, I have three delightful children that are growing like weeds, and beautiful like flowers. Here’s a couple snapshots I just took today of their sweet faces.

Not sure when I will have a chance to post on here again, but until then, God Bless and thanks for keeping up with us these last few years!

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She Loves Well

Hidden away in her secret garden
Pleasing her husband, raising her children
Singing her song while she’s cleaning her kitchen
She loves well

She’s finding her way, finding her treasure
Keeping her home has become her pleasure
She knows her success is only measured
By how she loves well

Invisibly picking up the toys off the floor
Hospitably willing to open her door
To welcome the weary, the sinner, the poor
She loves well

Beauty is judged not by image or charm
But by a gentle and quiet fear of the Lord
Secretly earning eternal rewards
See how she loves well

If the world only valued simplicity
If greatness was found in humility
Who would the highest honor receive?
The one who loves well

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How fast you grow, my boy! How did you go from this tiny bundle of joy,

to this romping delight (one year) -

to such an affectionate buddy (2 years) -

to this affectionate and thoughtful big brother?

Happy Birthday, Levi Guy!

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In a hasty decision, Matthew and I decided to make the cross-country trip back to our home state to be with family and for him to work on his uncle’s farm for the busy harvest season. What an adventure we had! Our days were spent living life to the fullest: full of the joyous experience of watching our children bond and make memories with their grandparents, aunties and uncles – and also full of the challenges that come with little time together during the long hours of harvest, lack of familiar environment and routine that our children normally thrive on, and frankly, just trying to figure out how to be parents of three children under three in the process! It was all so very worth it. Here’s a little sample of our lives the last few months:

The 1700-mile, 3-day car trip to Seattle with three babies. This says it all.

Stopping at Wall Drug for some crazy photo-ops…and then followed by Levi getting the stomach flu the day after we arrived. Fun times.

Followed by a four-day camping trip with my side of the family. There were some great moments, and awesome pictures, but well, we left a day early. ‘Nuff said.

Followed by a fantastic July 4th celebration at my maternal grandmother’s house on Vashon. Wonderful!

My cousin Alyssa and I, holding each other’s babies – born eleven days apart!

Followed by our new life residing in the great city of Walla Walla, living in with Matthew’s delighted and generous parents while he made the hour-long daily commute to his uncle’s 5200 wheat farm.

While my in-laws took a road trip vacation for a car show, I took the kids for a mini-trip back to the Westside (yes, all by myself. I’m very proud.) to visit my sweet grandmother and introduce her to Ayanna for the first time, and also to attend the funeral of a very dear old friend, Elisa Sherrill, who died suddenly at the age of 23. May she rest in God’s eternal peace and may her family continue to feel His great comfort in the midst of this tragedy.

Four Generations!

Back to Walla Walla with my own mamma and my Grandma Marilynn. They stayed for five days to help me out and also take a tour of the farm. Isn’t it a beautiful place? And the cute couple you see down below is Matthew’s Uncle Eric and Aunt Elizabeth. Growing old and still in love. So cool.

A tour and ride in a World War II B-17 bomber. Actually I didn’t get to go up, but I snuck in the cockpit for a quick shot anyway!

The Lexington Ladies

The boys spent lots of time enjoying Auntie Kristen, Uncle Ken and their horse, Lucy.

Our FOUR YEAR anniversary! What an adventure we are still on – and more in love than ever. We also took some rare time that weekend to go on a picnic with the children.

And you haven’t heard much from this little lady. Mostly because she is usually perfectly quiet and sweet! 3-month old adorability!!!

She loves to listen to her mamma play the piano. This is a blessing to me, since my other two as infants mostly just squalled whenever I would attempt to sit them down and play. She’s my little songbird

And getting to know the woman that they can now call, “Auntie Kelly” who became engaged to Matt’s older brother James during the last week of our stay. Welcome to the family, Kelly! A beautiful couple, aren’t they?

And having some goofy fun with their Uncle Mike – or should we say “Mr. President” of Whitworth University He got to spend a few days with us before he headed back for a crazy-busy senior year at college. Go ‘Nug!

The weekend before we left, we were blessed by a visit from my family (G’pa Jack, G’ma Jackie, Auntie “Lulu” and Uncle “Jo-Jo”) to see us one last time before we see them again during the Christmas season. This was probably the highlight of my entire summer, as we enjoyed fellowshipping with both sides of our family at once. Such a sweet memory.

On the return home, the boys did unbelievably well, and we decided to reward them with one last adventure: a day at the Omaha Zoo – rated 2nd best zoo in the nation. They loved it!

HOME SWEET HOME!!

So hopefully, you’ll be hearing more from us in the days ahead. You never know what could be next with a family like us! Stay tuned…

Love from us all,

Matti & Song

Levi, Isaiah & Ayanna Shalom

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The afternoon of the 19th, as I was one day overdue, I had my midwife strip my membranes to see if we could get anything started. I went home to take a nap and awoke to some small contractions. My sister and doula, Jenny Rose, suggested we go for a walk around the neighborhood to really kick it into gear, and that really got things going! To be sure it wasn’t false or early labor, I lingered at home until we finally decided to leave for the hospital at around 7pm. (My mom convinced me after saying, “Honey, if you have to moan through a contraction, I’m pretty sure this is real labor” She was right. ) I arrived at the hospital and was dilated to 6cm and progressing very quickly.

After giving birth twice naturally (both of which went very smoothly), I decided this time around to try an epidural if possible. But with all the time it took to get my labs back, I nearly missed my opportunity. By the time the anesthesiologist got it in and working, I was at 9 1/2cm. and went complete moments later. Those glorious drugs came just in time to push my baby girl out, and “Wow” – am I a fan! She came out in just four contractions and no tearing (a BIG answer to prayer). As they put her in my arms, I was overcome sobbing with joy over the miracle of life once again. She was the most breathtaking vision. What a beauty! We have a daughter, a baby girl of our very own…

I had a phenomenal “labor team”. My sister was awesome for the second time, thinking of every minute detail that could possibly ease the pain and provide more comfort. My mother, who finally made it for the whole process (she arrived just in time to see Levi crown at the tail end of his delivery, and five days late for Isaiah’s very early birth) was also incredible as she  quoted scripture from memory throughout the transition phase…I can’t emphasize enough how critical this was for my heart to stay calm. Hearing those scriptures at such a vital time filled me with so much faith! And of course, Matti once again wins the World’s Most Amazing Husband Award for his contribution coaching and comforting me from start to finish. What a blessing to have such a team!

But most importantly, the LORD made Himself closer still throughout the entire experience. And He was also close to Ayanna, protecting her life. When Ayanna came out there was a very tight knot in her cord, which in many cases can cut off oxygen to the baby and result in still-birth. But she is healthy, rosy and strong – a testimony of God’s hand over her life! I too, felt His hand of grace, because right after delivery my uterus would not contract down and I hemorrhaged pretty badly. With how aggressive they needed to be with my tummy to remedy the problem in my uterus, I think this is where the epidural actually really counted – I didn’t feel anything!

I have since recovered very rapidly (especially without any tearing) and our family has rejoiced to weave this tiny bundle into the fabric of our lives. The boys positively dote on their little sister, and even Zaya, for whom I was most concerned in this transition, has overcome his clumsy roughness to gently nuzzle her face and give her kisses. We are praying they will grow up knowing how to honor, love and protect their sister, patiently walking beside her to help her along as she grows through each new stage of life.

So thus begins our journey to raising three children…all under the age of three! We definitely have many adventures to face, as each one requires much attention through their various stages of discipline and development, but we are happily up for the challenge!

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So arefree video poker how to play backgammon no deposit bonus online casino 888 no download casino play roulette craps game black jack download american roulette play video poker baccarat free casino game no download online casino free money on line casino wagering roulette online online casino betting free online casino slots free craps best casino roulette gambling internet casino gambling uk best casino online full pay video poker no deposit casino code best craps game black jack tournament best online casino site craps online game newest online casino free slots no download play blackjack online free dueces wild video poker black jack gambling online video poker game free casino cash no deposit video poker tutorial play free video poker how to win at black jack casino roulette casino guide how to win at roulette rules of craps casino game online real money backgammon baccarat casino online free video poker game play free video poker video poker odds video poker tournaments the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” (Psalm 127:3-5).

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Well, I didn’t go into labor over the weekend as I thought I might. But I did have a wonderful Mother’s Day! (These are a few pics my hubby took to commemorate the occasion. ) So, while I am resting on the couch like a beached whale (my sister is kindly entertaining the boys for me!), I thought I may as well make good on my promises to continue with my series on Godly Womanhood from Titus 2. Continuing from the last post, one more point burns on my heart: We Love Our Children…

3) Through Faithful Training & Discipline

” ‘For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.’
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons” (Hebrews 12:6-8).

God, our Ultimate Father and perfect example of parental love clearly correlates love with discipline, and actually implies that true love toward our children is not possible to attain without it! I grow weary of statements I have heard from parents that say “I just love my child so much, I could never hurt him/her!” A godly parent must understand this critical truth: The Father God loved us so much that He sent His own Son to bear the punishment for our sin. And in saying “Yes” to Jesus, we also take up a cross of suffering and surrendered obedience to the Father – that others might come to know His salvation by how we reflect God’s love for them. True love is painful; but it is also perfect.

It is my prayer that I would model this Love to my children, and train them how to do likewise through faithful discipline. It is so important to me that my kids learn obedience to their parents – not for my own sake, but because this childhood season is their optimum training season to learning how to listen to and promptly obey the Voice of their Heavenly Father. I am filled with the fear of the Lord over the fact that as fathers and mothers, we are our children’s earliest and most significant representations of God that they will encounter in their entire lives. And equally important to their understanding of God as a joy-filled Father of tenderness and compassion is their fear of God as their King and Judge.

God’s love and justice are intimately intertwined. His Love IS Justice, and His Justice IS Love. That is why our sin must not go ignored or unpunished, and also why through the blood of Jesus, we can likewise stand blameless before God. But children must understand both. And they cannot in their little minds grasp the power of God’s merciful love without appreciating the gravity of sin – and that is why we discipline them. Just as God disciplines us.

So practically, how do we lovingly discipline our children? The Bible is pretty clear on this:

“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Proverbs 13:24).

That word “promptly” has also been translated “early“, “diligently“, or “carefully“. All of them bear our consideration.

-Early or young in the life of child, will yield great fruit down the road. Matthew and I began training our children to understand and obey our voice from the time they were under one year old – and we’ve been astonished at tremendous fruit we are now seeing from those early labors.

-Diligently or consistently is equally essential in discipline. Consider this: if we say “No” one minute to our children and don’t back up that word when they disobey that command, or if we say “No” one day and the next day the forbidden action is permitted, we have essentially lied to them. We have said that our word doesn’t really mean what we say. We have taught them that it is okay to disobey and that we don’t really expect them to know what the boundaries are and follow them. And, as representations of their Heavenly Father, we have taught them that God is equally as careless with what is True and Righteous.

-Carefully is another important word. As parents, we are called to deal thoughtfully and deliberately with our children when they disobey or rebel against our authority. This means we are very careful not to discipline in angry outbursts or with thoughtless threats or hurtful insults. Every response toward our children should be carefully weighed and administered with confidence in the righteousness of our action.

Now obviously, not one of us is going to respond perfectly to our children 100% of the time. We are sinners just like our children are, and we are in need of the grace and discipline of God just as much as they are in need of ours toward them! For the record, I fail almost daily by reacting angrily or raising my voice harshly or saying things in a wrong spirit to my children…and my kids are just starting out! I sometimes feel futile in my efforts to control my own emotions and the selfish actions of my carnal inner man. But, praise God, He can turn my mistakes into teaching moments for my children as I take those opportunities to humble myself before my children, and ask their forgiveness for my sinful response – thereby demonstrating a model of repentance for them to follow when they sin or disobey.

In closing, the hopeful promise of scripture for us is this:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

God’s Word promises that the momentary pain we inflict upon our children and the diligent effort and time it takes to teach and train them in the virtues of the kingdom will yield eternal fruit! This encourages me to love my children best by teaching them how to love and obey a good and perfect Heavenly Father.

Well, this is by no means a comprehensive article on this enormous topic, but it’s an introduction at least. If any are interested in investigating this topic in more depth and would like a helpful resource from a biblical perspective, my husband and I highly recommend THIS BOOK for your reading, prayer and consideration. Blessings!

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So yeah, I’ve totally neglected this blog. Sorry everyone! We are alive and well – just very busy getting ready for the birth of our “beautiful blossom of peace”: Ayanna Shalom! Each day passes with greater longing to see her little face and hold her tiny body in my arms. We are awaiting her arrival with great anticipation and joy. The Lord has done much in my heart to get me ready for this third birth experience, and I am truly coming to a place of peace and strength as I prepare for labor.

One thing we’ve done in preparation for this next new season is go away on a “Baby-Moon” for 24 whole hours by ourselves! We traded places with some close friends of ours who graciously watched our children for us and prepared a romantic atmosphere in their own home for us to stay. We had a wonderful time and actually slept for nearly TWELVE hours straight! Unheard of! I don’t think I’ve done that since college. The greatest thing about it, however, was the opportunity to truly thank the Lord for our family of four as we prepare to become a family of five. This thankful “mourning” of one season as we transition into another has really helped us in the past to joyfully embrace all that God has for us next. We are ready!

The boys are ready too. Levi totally gets it this time around – and loves to talk about when “Anna-Salome comes home!” Isaiah doesn’t really understand, but as he’s been around other infants, I’ve been encouraged at how excited and gentle he is around them. He really is still my baby, so there may be some challenges trying to balance out the attention factor, but it helps that he pretty much wants to follow in his big brother’s footsteps for most things, and Levi is so tender towards babies.

Getting ready has included a lot of projects in the last month. We are currently in the process of a major landscaping project, by a friend’s company, Outdoor Transformations. They are building a large retaining wall and filling in our very steep, rocky, root-infested backyard slope into what will soon be a beautiful backyard lawn for our boys to safely play on. This was Grandma Mary and Grandpa Jim’s brainchild and gift to our family, and we are so thankful and excited!

“Gramary” (as Levi calls her) also had the opportunity to visit us last week, giving me some much-needed rest from the endless chasing/picking up after/feeding/cuddling/disciplining routine with the boys. I don’t get around quite as well these days, so I was glad for a little reprieve! And boy, does my mother-in-law get things done! While she was here she also helped Matt paint the nursery and clean our carpets, as well as doing laundry and housework, and still found time to take us out on several outings.

The week of her visit ended with a beautiful baby shower thrown by my very dear friend, April, and attended by many more of my dearest friends here in KC. These awesome women blessed my heart so greatly as they read scripture, prayed and prophesied over my unborn daughter. I was amazed and encouraged by their love and wisdom for our family. True friends are such gifts of God!

So now, we wait. Ayanna is not due till the 18th, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she came early, as is my history with both my sons. A Mother’s Day baby would be very special, but my own mother would be very bummed out if she missed it (she gets here on the 13th)! I have a few things left on my pre-baby to-do list, but nothing imperative. Mostly, I’m focusing this week on obedience training with the boys and resting when I can. God is so good to us!

I still have much on my heart for the Godly Womanhood Series (this has also been on my to-do list), but it may or may not have to wait until after the new arrival. Keep checking back! Love to you all – please keep us in your prayers!

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Creation Minute is an exciting series hosted by Eric Hovind that explores the creation worldview using cutting-edge visual effects and digital technology. Each episode challenges the evolution theory and gives evidence of the Bible’s historical and scientific accuracy.

Love is again the phileo love with which we cultivate a tender, friendship love with our children. Cultivating tenderness in our children’s hearts toward us requires first that we as parents remain tender toward them. Hard to do on bad potty training days, lemme tell ya. So how can we cultivate this tenderness? How can we have a friendship with our children?

A few things come to mind.

1) My Reactions & Speech
I will address this topic more in depth when we come to the command to be Discreet, but it bears emphasizing as we seek to love our children. Proverbs 15:1 saysoptic “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Oh Lord, help us! I never thought prior to getting married that I would ever have occasion to be angry with my husband and I never thought prior to motherhood that I would ever have occasion to raise my voice in anger at such a darling little bundle of innocence. Husbands and children both have a unique way of exposing those secret areas of sin in our hearts! Maybe some of you can relate . But regardless of the offense or inconvenience, I am learning that anger is not a helpful or godly reaction to my children. It quenches tender love, inspires fear, causes regret and can even encourage abuse in word or deed.

The thing that helps me the most when I am tempted to yell or speak in bitter anger is to pause and ask myself how my Father in heaven responds to me when I am childish, disobedient, disrespectful, whining, impatient, cruel or selfish. Yes, indeed the Lord does become angry at times. But His anger is just, and always filtered by purest love and tenderness toward us, His children.

The problem is that angry reactions are just that – reactions. They are not premeditated, thoughtful or considerate responses to difficult circumstances. Sadly, our reactions reveal very much the true condition of our hearts, when we feel mistreated, misunderstood, violated or infringed upon. So how online casinocan we respond rightly to our children when our angry reactions seem so instant, careless, out of control? I like the advice Carolyn Mahaney gives: “Our speech and actions are shaped by our thoughts. Therefore, we must make every effort to think Psalm 127 kinds of thoughts about our children. Thinking of them as a heritage, a reward, and a blessing will alter our attitude and provide the fertile soil for our tender love to grow” (Feminine Appeal, p. 57). Put another way, this is setting our minds on “things above” (Colossians 3:1), thinking about things that are “excellent or praiseworthy” (Phil. 4:8) about our children, and thereby slowly transforming the way we respond and speak to our children in moments when we are caught off-guard.

2) Being a JOYFUL Mother

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (3 John 1:4)

Of course, anger is something we will always deal with as moms, but anger can only thrive in a joyless household. By far, my best memories as a kid are when my mom was doing some kooky dance or singing cheerfully around the house. The saying is so true: “If the Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” And obviously, the reverse is just as true. We moms are the mood-setters of our homes. Is your husband moody? Are your children fighting with each other? Are their faces reflecting a sour attitude? If so, take a look in the mirror and check your own face. Too often we can become overwhelmed with everyone else’s emotions and let them rub off, when it should be the other way around. The only joy children understand is not the mystical, inner joy that we suppose we have because we are saved – it is the kind of joy that they can SEE. Laughter! Dancing! SMILES! I have personally been the cause of much gloominess in my family, but I am also learning that it works to tickle my hubby out of his grumps, laugh my children out of their funk and use a soft, cheerful voice to encourage them all to love and honor one another during times of strife. Joy is indeed a contagious disease of the best kind.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance [in our children],
But by sorrow of the heart [their] spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13)

One of the greatest perks about joy is that it is so attractive. Kids can’t help but gravitate toward the smiling face and sparkling eyes. They may have been spanked five minutes earlier, but if they see joy and delight in their mother’s eyes, their little hearts will quickly mend and melt into love for their mommy. And it sows a garden that will bear fruit for years to come. Of course, I only have little ones now and have not the testimony older mothers may have. But I do have a wonderful mother myself, who in part by her joyful delight over us children, is seeing much fruit from her labors – and throughout my childhood, high school, college and married days, has always been considered one of my dearest friends. Surely Joy has something to do with loving our children the phileo way.

I actually have two more points on this topic I’d like to write about, but it’s my bedtime, so it will have to wait. Stay tuned for Loving My Children, Part II! In the meantime, comment away! I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

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I think it can only mean that we are nearing the “time of the end” spoken of in Daniel 12:4, when “knowledge shall increase.”

Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly!

Wheat Oat Bread makes 5 loaves

1/2 c warm water

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In the garden of a child’s affection,
Tendered in showers of joy with smiles of love,
A father plants deep within its soil
Seeds of another age, the knowledge of Christ,
The hope of the resurrection sent down from above.
Unable to spoil, by His Blood they have been priced

Drinking in soul-nourishing proclamations -
Acceptance, security, identity, affirmations -
Roots grip, relentless in black unknowns and endless holes
Bursting forth, sprouts unfurl in desperate sunlight search
Bountiful harvest-shouts of silenced, forgotten generations
Will be heard again as floods of overflowing souls
Stream to join themselves to their Christ and to His Church

No problem, right? Sounds easy. I mean, of course we love the guy we married! But why would Paul specifically command this as something that must be taught to the young women? There must be more to this phrase than the surface-level meaning we derive on first glance…

To begin with, it is important to note that the Greek word for “love” here is phileo. This kind of love denotes cultivating a tender, affectionate friendship with another person. For those women out there married for more than a year or two (and especially if you have children), you know this is no easy or natural task! Perhaps this is because as wives and mothers, it is almost easier to act in the agape form of love – that of sacrificing unconditionally for our spouse, even if we are not particularly happy with the way we are relating to one another. On the whole, women are actually pretty good at just doing what needs to be done in sacrificing our own comfort or desires for the sake of our families…but not necessarily with a tender, joy-filled heart – which is what Paul is addressing here.

Let me put this in the negative form first:

To love our husbands in this phileo way means that we do not become embittered by his unloving actions toward us (whether intentional or not). We do not grumble or speak poorly of him in our speech to others. We do not continually complain or nag when he does something we don’t like. We do not allow ourselves to become emotionally or physically distant, or resort to the “silent treatment” when he says or does something hurtful to us. We never give into vindictive or manipulative behavior. And knowing that words and behavior stem from our thought-life, it means that we must intentionally avoid entertaining negative thoughts about him. In short, loving our husbands means avoiding any thought, word or deed that would feed a bitter, calloused heart in relationship to the man to whom we have pledged our vows.

Still sound easy? Not easy – but beautiful to God. Let me cast a vision for what this love can look like in the positive sense:

Loving with a phileo love means reminding ourselves daily of all the wonderful things about our husbands that caused us to fall in love with him in the first place. It means actively looking for new things about him to think well of, commend and verbally encourage in him. Our mouths are used only to edify and strengthen him, and when correction or conflict needs to be addressed, we choose to speak with the same sensitivity and tenderness that we would personally desire to be addressed in the same circumstance. It means running with our kids to welcome him home with a smile on our face. In fact, smiles and laughter are never far, because our joy-filled thoughts toward him throughout the day make us light-hearted, and we have purposed ourselves to become his happy, lifelong playmate. Loving him means actively showing interest in the things that interest him (even if they would not interest us normally). It means supporting him in his decisions or new endeavors, and being patient and understanding with him when he fails. It means speaking highly of him whenever you speak of him to others. Basically, this tender love is cultivated by daily showing him our deep appreciation and delight through our words and behavior, which again, start first in our thoughts about the man we married.

I’m sure I could make that list go on forever if I just sat here long enough. But let me just say that a wife who does just some of these things even in small measure, will undoubtedly earn her husband’s tender affection and friendship in return. I firmly believe that even a hard, mean, self-centered man would succumb to the potion this honoring, appreciative, joyful-hearted woman offers.

I am inspired by the fact that the very first quality describing the woman in Proverbs 31 says, “the heart of her husband safely trusts her, so that he will have no lack of gain.” Do you want your husband to entrust you with his feelings, thoughts and ideas? Do you want him to cherish you, deal kindly with you, listen to your heart and ask you for your input and perspective in decision-making? Ladies, we can gripe all day long about how he is supposed to “lay down his life” for us as Christ does the Church, or how he’s supposed to be the “head of the home” and lead in a more godly, loving way. But it won’t cause tenderness, affection and friendship to grow between man and wife. And it will not transform our marriages to be something beautiful and glorious to God. Love alone has that power.

In closing, I want to qualify all I have just written by saying that as I look over this description of phileo love, I am more convicted than ever of my own failures in several of the areas I just listed. But I am also happy to report that I have a wonderful friendship with my husband by having practiced just a few of them well…and let me also add that I cannot remotely take full credit for this precious friendship growing between Matthew and myself. I am blessed with a husband who has been very long-suffering with me, and shown me much love when I was very unlovely.

Right now, I feel convicted the most in the area of my thoughts – and those are probably the most difficult to identify and overcome. But for all those unlovely, glaring flaws that seem impossible to subdue in my flesh, I have hope. By the grace and strength of God with His Spirit at work within me, I can do all things! I am trusting in Jesus to “renew my mind” (Romans 12:2) and alter those spiraling negative thought patterns heavenward – toward that which is “true”, “noble”, “right”, “pure”,  “lovely”, “admirable”, “excellent” or “praiseworthy”. Think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Well, I almost feel like I could start a series just on this one topic, but I think I will call it quits for now and actually practice what I’ve just preached! Time to go love on my best friend…

May the Lord bless and strengthen you all in His perfect Love! Amen.

In my former life, I was an avid songwriter. Scarcely a day went by that I did not spend 1-2 hours just “diddling” on the piano – purely as an outlet for creative expression and worship. I cherish those memories of playing late into the night, letting my mind and fingers carry me away into another world. But many family members and friends that knew me back then often ask me why I do not play piano or songwrite as I used to. To them, I answer, “Well, mainly because right now, my kids consume most of my creative energies. They are my songs to the Lord.” Indeed they are. I honestly could not be more happy or fulfilled in that calling.

SO, ahem, as you can see from today’s artful efforts, this is clearly the case. Move over Leonardo! Levi and I are considering opening up a museum dedicated to our extremely talented Play-Doh skills.

This is Exhibit A, entitled, “In Celebration of Pets”. (However, I have already made it perfectly clear to Levi that our home with never host a snake for a pet. But some people apparently like the thrill of sharing their bedrooms with vipers…I’ll never understand.)

This is, of course, “The Finding Nemo Collection”.

This exhibit is called, “Slurping and Sipping Sensations”.

And finally, these go in our “Playground” exhibit.

Autographed prints and sculpture replicas can be made available upon request, at a suggested donation of $100 a piece. Hey, we’re in the ministry! We gotta fundraise somehow!

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

For the last few weeks, a dear friend and I have been leading a bible study in our mom’s group on the Essence of Godly Womanhood, based on Titus 2. And after just a few weeks of study and meditation, I have found this chapter to be one of the most encouraging and empowering scriptures for my heart as a wife and mother. In this passage, Paul gives a series of commands to every major group within the early church – older men, older women, young women, young men and bondservants/slaves. These commands are essential not merely to make good citizens or “nice” people, but to (and I paraphrase):

1) glorify the word of God (v. 5)

2) give no room for any adversary to find reason to accuse the Church of evil (v. 8), and finally

3) that by our godly conduct, the gospel message would be made beautiful and attractive to others.

While these commands deal primarily with conduct, it has less to do with individual behavior, and more to do with the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom in the world. This is awesome! If there’s any two goals I could have for the way I live my life it would be those two things – glorifying the Name of my Lord Jesus, and making Him known as the merciful and just God to the world. Thus, obeying the 7 precepts of the simple passage directed toward younger married women has become my life mandate.

Wanna hear what they are? Here is what Paul commands: “…admonish the young women to…

1. Love their Husbands,

2. Love their Children,

3. to be Discreet (or self-controlled),

4. Chaste (or pure),

5. Homemakers,

6. Good,

7. Obedient to their own husbands

…that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

A very simple list – but far from easy to achieve! Especially in our western cultural that glorifies the values of the feminist movement. In direct opposition to scripture, women have been encouraged (even indoctrinated) from childhood: (1) that men exist to provide us with a Hollywood ideal of romance, (2) to farm off our children while we work outside the home, (3) to do and say what feels good and best expresses our feelings, (4) dress in a way that makes us outwardly attractive (which is not usually modest) and have sexual freedom outside of marriage, (5) pursue a career to make a name for themselves, (6) dabble in all kinds of “acceptable” worldly interests that dilute the truth and defy righteousness, and of course, (7) become completely independent from men. Wow. What a contrast.

Sadly, many of these ideals are pervasive even within the Church. You and I both have them! How about the idea of being submissive and obedient to one’s husband? That one usually riles us up. Or how about being “barefoot and pregnant” -  the phrase most of us have heard describing a stay-at-home mom, or homemaker? Clearly, we have misunderstood the beauty and delight found in biblical, godly womanhood.

So, for the next several weeks I will be writing a more in-depth review of each attribute as a part of a series exploring this topic of what it means to be a godly woman. If you are interested in going with me on this journey in a more in-depth way, I recommend the following resources, that have really helped me along the way:

Feminine Appeal, by Carolyn Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries

Created to be His Help Meet, by Debi Pearl of No Greater Joy Ministries

Feel free to leave your thoughts or comments! I’d love to hear what’s on your hearts as I share what’s on mine. May the Lord bless and keep us all as we pursue the joys of godly womanhood!