Galatians 6:4

Recently, I've been thinking about verse 4 in Galatians 6 a little bit. It says, "Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else."

There are two ways I have looked at this verse (though I'm sure ther's more). In one sense, we don't want to look at ourselves in pride, thinking that we have more and better gifts than another, more faith, more Spirit, more good works, and a more sincere heart. This leads to arrogance, a critical spirit, rebellion, and rejection of authority, which breaks down rather than builds up the church.

In another sense, we don't want to fall into condemnation or self-pity, looking at others' works and all they have done and comparing it to our own work and finding ourselves falling short. We are not to look to others as our standard or model of behavior, but to Jesus as related to us in the gospels.

God gives each person a measure of faith--these vary among all His children--and bids us to take the faith we have and do the things He has called each of us (specifically) to do. We wait upon Him, receive His instruction, and obey it. Some are called to astonish the nations with miraculous signs and wonders and prophetic proclamations, and some are called to pray and intercede for the lost. One may get more acknowledgement on earth, but the true reward comes in heaven, when we are measured against how well we obeyed God by doing what He told us to do.

The Bible says that the body of Christ has many members, just as a human body does, and each member has its purpose and is necessary for optimal functioning. Just as some parts of the human body are hidden and less "flashy," some of the members of the body of Christ are called to "quieter" ministries that receive no glory here on earth. We cannot compare ourselves to how well we think others are doing...they may do a lot for God, but it may not be what they are called to do. We may be called to do more, and we need to hear God and obey Him.

We cannot doom ourselves as failures just because we don't do what others are doing, but we have to believe in the victory of Jesus and take the power we have within us that is from God and glorify the name of Jesus throughout the world in whatever way we are called and gifted.

The Star at Dawn

The Star at Dawn

The Morning Star
bright and consuming
blinds my eyes and
burns away the drapes
closed taught across them.
Burn the film that clouds
my vision, which is no
vision but darkness and
night until that Sun of Righteousness
rises and consumes the death
that blinds me in my sleep;
then I awake to morning,
the brightest star outshining the
flecks of light that were so distant.
What once was a faint hope,
an unreachable desire,
has become all that I see
and all that I know
through these eyes transparent as
a window down to my soul.

i'm back...finally

Here are some recent photos of my two girls...Naomi Simone (who'll be 2 on the 7th) and Mae Juliette, who was born March 5th at 2:30 pm, weighing in at 8lbs. 11oz. (after only a 2 1/2 hour labor!!). They get along well and both bring so much joy and life into our home!

a tender mama & a tough baby

Today was a tough day on my emotions. This morning, Naomi was watching one of her favorite Baby Einstein videos, dancing around the living room to one of the songs in it. That girl loves to dance joyfully. Anyway, on one particular twirl, she lost her balance and hit her forehead smack on the metal-tipped corner of a trunk sitting on the floor. I saw it happen, and heard it--it was louder than usual, so it concerned me. I jumped up and went to her, and when she looked up at me, there was blood pouring from her forehead, and I saw a gash in it. My heart sunk and I was worried. I tried to hold her and calm her, while praying frantically inside my head. I took her to the kitchen and called my husband, who was right next door. After applying a rag and some pressure to her forehead, she started calming down, but the blood kept coming. Now I was praying frantically aloud. Jake came in and held her while I cleaned her up. There was blood all in her hair, on her face and clothes, on my clothes, and on the the floor.

After cleaning her up, she was a little calmer--and so was I. I asked Jake if she would need stitches, but the bleeding had stopped, so we decided to wait on it. We cleaned her wound and bandaged it, but after a couple of hours, it had bled through two bandages. So we decided to take her in to the hospital.

They quickly saw that she would need stitches, so they told us the procedure. They would numb her wound area with some gel, and then she would be strapped into basically a baby straightjacket while one person stitched her up and another held her head in place while she screamed. "She will probably scream the whole time," they said. Mostly, she did, but we tried to distract her with toys and calming words, and those helped a little. It was tough on me, though, seeing her all strapped in and scared and and sewn up. My heart melted for her, but she was a tough little girl.

As soon as the P.A. finished sewing her and the nurse let her head go, Naomi said tearfully, "All Done!" Yes, we were all done, and she got a sucker and stickers for her bravery. Afterwards, she was completely fine, as if nothing had happened. But still, when I think about all of it, I get tears welling up. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant, but I think I just love her so much that it hurts to see her in pain. I guess mama's are made to be so soft.

worship to help lead you into God's presence

I wasn't sure what to post about this week, and I haven't a whole lotta time to say what I'm gonna say, but here it goes.

I'm one of those people that when I sit down to be still before God, I can physically relax pretty easily, as I'm six months pregnant and training up a little girl of 18 months at the same time. It is comforting to take time to sit still for an hour or so while Naomi is absorbed in her stuffed animals, blocks, or books. My mind, on the other hand, is still a high-speed motor racing along to catch up with the rest of me and getting ahead by making mental to-do lists. Needless to say, quieting my mind to hear God's voice nears impossibility.

I have found a way to make the transition easier. Although it is recommended by many to "fast" from entertainment, noise, and culture periodically, I find certain types of worship music just the remedy for a mind tempted to distraction by these things. One of the most helpful groups I have found that lead me into God's presence with their worship is Enter the Worship Circle. A mostly acoustic style of worship music, this band is not your ordinary worship. They use many types of hand drums and percussion instruments to add a world-music kind of flair to their songs. There are both male and female voices, some calm and reflective, others passionate and jubilant. I love how they put many of the Psalms into their own words, adding music that will neither put me to sleep nor distract me from seeking God.

If you have trouble quieting yourself in God's presence--or if you get too quiet and tend to fall asleep--try Enter the Worship Circle to help focus your mind on God's wonderful love and mercy. They have a myspace page and a website at www.entertheworshipcircle.com. They have several CDs available and have even begun a new Chair & Microphone series featuring just one voice accompanied by one instrument--very simple yet powerful worship.

Herbal Remedy Teas

Here's a totally different topic for my blog, but it's something that I've been researching and trying to learn more about lately: medicinal uses for herbs. I'm going to post a few recipes I found that might be useful to anyone out there reading. Some are for kids, so if you aren't a parent yet, be sure to note them anyway, since you may have kids someday. Enjoy!

To make sun tea:
Fill a jar 1/4 full with dried herbs. Fill it with water, and set the jar in the sun for 6 or more hours. Strain the tea; add lemon and honey to taste!
To make regular tea:
1 oz. of dried herbs for 2 cups of water. Pour boiling water over the herbs and steep 15 minutes. Strain and add lemon/honey to taste.

Here are some useful herbs that you can use in these recipes:
Lemon Balm: It's very mild and safe for the whole family. Useful for colds, cough, fever, whining/crying in children. It makes you sweat to help break a fever.
Chamomile: This is a very mild tea useful for indigestion & stomach aches.
Echinacea: A natural antibiotic useful for bacterial infections, fever, colds, teething.
Licorice: It's great for sore throats, laryngitis, congestion, poor digestion, low energy, and a calming effect in children (do not drink if pregnant).
Raspberry Leaf: This is a widely used herb for women. I drink it daily as a pregnant woman, because it is useful for toning the uterus and preparing it for childbirth. It is also useful for women experiencing painful menstruation.
Plaintain: This tea can be used for kidney and bladder infections.

Other useful herbal tea recipes:
Tummy Ache Tea: 1 tsp. lemon balm, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 2 tsp. chamomile steeped in boiling water.
Breathe Freely Tea: 1 tsp. mullein leaves and root, 1 tsp. elder, 1 tsp. wild cherry bark, and 1/2 tsp. licorice root to 1 1/2 c. boiling water.
Children's Happy Tea: Use for restlessness, insomnia, crying, colic, teething, & sadness. 1 tsp. lemon balm & 1/2 tsp. chamomile in 1 c. boiling water. Strain & sweeten. Serve with gentleness and prayer.

Hopefully, this will be useful! I haven't tried all of these, so if one works really well for you, please share the results!

Family shots

Some recent family photos. In no particular order: our car loaded up for the Colorado 2006 trip, jake and naomi doing some hiking, and me and naomi at Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park. See Jake's blog for more great CO photos.

Quiet in the Presence of My King

Carve me a seat

in the wall of Your room

and there I will sit,

tucked away listening

to whitewater melodies

of a tongue sharp

and sweet like honey.

I could sit here content

never to utter another sound

but if you would permit

me to sing,

there is a sweet song welling,

a simple chorus of

uncompromising devotion

to my gentle King.

thoughts on a herbert poem

The Altar, a poem by George Herbert (1633)

A broken altar, Lord, thy servant rears,

Made of a heart, and cemented with tears:

Whole parts are as thy hand did frame;

No workman's tool has touched the same.

A heart alone

Is such a stone,

As nothing but

Thy power doth cut.

Wherefore each part

Of my hard heart

Meets in this frame,

To praise thy Name.

That, if I chance to hold my peace,

These stones to praise thee may not cease.

Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,

And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.

Our hearts, before they are changed by God are hearts of stone, hardened by sin, rebellion, separation from God, and immersion in an empty world. But when we surrender ourselves to God, hard hearts, souls, body, emotions, and thoughts, He transforms us. Ezekiel 36:25-28 says, "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them...you shall be my people, and I will be your God."

When God exchanges our hard hearts for softer ones, we become more vulnerable to hurt and pain, but we no longer have to build up walls of our false security to protect ourselves, because God is our Rock and Fortress who covers and protects us. His Spirit is within us, pointing us to obedience, holiness, freedom, and praise for our Father!

If we don't give praise to God, everything inside will want to explode until we cry out in worship. We were made to worship God, and when we cease doing this, something within us burns to do what we are called to do, and we cannot be satisfied until it is done. We must cry out to God to purify our hearts and tune them to sing His praise no matter what.

God is awesome and amazing, full of mercy, compassion, love, and gentleness! He wants to see us changed and softened and free of the world's burdens that weigh us down and harden us.

why is there a big empty space?

hmm...just checking

earlier than expected

I went this evening for a visit to the doctor to have THE ultrasound, the one that would tell me my estimated due date based on the baby's current size. Yep, there is only one baby and his/her due date is February 25! Wow, nearly a month earlier than what I was expecting. That would make me over 11 weeks pregnant already (9 weeks of actually being pregant; yeah, i know, it's weird how they measure that). I pretty excited even though it's sooner than I thought, because what's a month in the whole scheme of things. Naomi's gonna have an awesome bud to play with, and Jake and I will not have forgotten what it's like to care for a newborn. I'm really praying for an awesome pregnancy and delivery, and so far it's been great. I've only had the regular fatigue, but hey, I'm almost through the first trimester, so that should be easing up soon! Then I only had about 3 weeks of nausea, but no sickness!! Amen! Thank you Jesus! Thankfully, I didn't get too sick with Naomi either. So, it boils down to...I'm gonna be mama x2 in about 6 1/2 months. It's going to go so quickly, I know. Being pregnant is such an amazing thing, and I'm so excited to have my baby belly again! It's so fun to know there's a living human inside of there moving and sleeping and eating and doing other fetal type things. Pray that everything would turn out well and that we'd have a healthy baby (that loves to sleep)! Thanks!

Big Sister

So I just found out that Naomi's going to be a big sister! Jake and I are going to have a second baby next spring sometime, so we're pretty excited. I had been figuring for a couple of weeks that I was pregnant, because I had so many telltale signs: nausea, fatigue, lotsa peeing, food aversions, cravings for meat, hungry all the time, thirstiness, and bloating (yeah, it sounds real fun, huh?). Actually, being pregnant's pretty cool...your body just KNOWS what to do even before you know what's happening.

At first, when I had my suspicions, I was pretty worried. I prayed that God would change my heart and make me ready and help me have a good attitude about having another baby sooner than I thought was ideal. I was thinking 3 years apart, but 2 years is really pretty normal. Now, I'm super excited and would have been kinda disappointed if the test turned out negative (and wondering what the heck was going on in my body if not baby-making).

I guess God prepares us for whatever He has in store for us. It's so weird; Jake pointed out to me the other night that new changes often prompt disappointment in me at first, but then I ususally end up pretty excited in just a short time. It's weird. Guess I should just give into the fact that life is full of unexpectedness and that I should greet it all with more positive attitude. I'm very black and white and too often see the black before the white. I'm learning...

up, up, and away

sooo, naomi commenced her lifetime as an upright person a few nights ago. tuesday, june 26th, she took her first, all-by-herself steps over to me. it was about 3 feet in all, but she's trying to lengthen that each day. oh, all the new training and supervision she'll need now. i'm a little nervous for when she gets it down pat, but i'm sure it'll be fun! she's pretty ho-hum about it all, while i'm cheering her on and clapping. guess it's just a normal part of life--nobody cheers me on when i get up and walk across the room; i s'pose she doesn't need fanfare either. it's still pretty cool, though!

What are you seeking?

You rarely meet a person in life that says he or she is seeking misery. Most people want to find happiness and fulfillment in life; this is not a bad thing. A lot of people avoid trying to find their fulfillment in God, because they think He requires too much of them, that He would make them give up all the things they think bring them happiness and meaning, that being a Christian--or follower of Jesus--means no fun.

But check out all these cool things about Jesus in the Bible: He is anointed with the oil of gladness above all His companions; He came that we could be abundantly joyful; He calls us His friends if we follow Him; He came to set the prisoners free, heal the sick, and raise the dead; He came so that we could live and not die! Jesus is the most glad, joyful person that ever lived, and yet He knew what His end would be: torture, suffering, pain, rejection, and death for a whole bunch of people who hated Him.

So back to the idea that God requires too much work from us people. All He requires is this: that we die. I don't mean that He wants us to kill ourselves, but we must completely stop in our tracks, turn from our route of rebellion that leads to destruction, and begin following Jesus. If we truly fall in love with the One who taught us what it means to love: to lay down His life for His friends, then to stop doing all the things that destroy us is not so agonizing or disappointing. As we trust in Jesus, we change our mind about those things, and the feelings will follow. When we throw ourselves completely at the mercy of the Father and decide--choose--to follow Him and seek Him forever, then He takes our heart of stone away and gives a soft heart, a heart of flesh, ready to love abundantly everyone around us and God Himself.

Following Jesus is the most exciting, adventurous, wonderful, spontaneous, consuming, passionate lifestyle that ever has and ever will exist. It's more fun than going out partying every weekend, than dancing the night away in the clubs, than taking off and driving cross-country, than anything you could think, do, or imagine. If you've never know a person that felt this way about Jesus, you haven't met anyone totally radical, sold-out for Him. I'm still working on it in myself, but it's surely my life goal to be passionate for and all-consumed with Him. I'm wild about my husband and crazy for my baby girl, but there's something even more fulfilling and and life-consuming about chasing after the One who made me and died for me so that I could live forever!

I know longer have any desire to do all the bad, self-and-other-destructive things I used to do--none! I know those things are wrong, not just because I might hurt myself or another person, but because they steal glory and attention and honor away from the Beautiful Creator.

pictures, pictures

Here we have Naomi post-bath, Naomi just-woke-up-and-made-a-new-friend, and Naomi peeking-out-the-door-at-daddy. Check out the curls! Unfortunately (or fortunately...time will tell), she inherited her mama's frizzy, curly hair.

out of the mouths of babes...

yeah, yeah, i know everyone just wants to see pix of nay-nay, but i just haven't had time to upload them to the computer and am waiting on some from my folks to put up here. anyway, our babycakes is starting to make intelligible (barely) words! her first word is, in english, "what's this?" but she pronounces it "whaths" complete with a spattering, drooly tongue. she also has added "baby," "uh-oh," and "picture" to her vast vocabulary. she calls jake and me both dada, so i don't know what's up there.

but for now, everything is "whaths?" accompanied by a finger pointing to the object in question. my new job is to name everything for her many, many times a day. it's cute, though, i like to see her curiosity and excitement to learn.

btw, she knows a couple of baby sign language phrases, too, that have come in pretty useful: "all done" and "more." very helpful during mealtimes

and, as always, she's the most beautiful, pretty flower in the land! she gets called "gerber baby" pretty often! if only those folks could see the little temper tantrums our pretty flower throws when her way is DENIED! oooh! yeah, we're working on curbing those.

being chill and chillin'

i read a lot...i'm almost addicted to books, but i know i could quit if i wanted (yeah, it sounds like a typical addict in denial, but i'm serious). i love to read, and i think it's a good thing. naomi's favorite toys are her books and her blocks--oh, and her babies, ya know, stuffed animals. so, lately, i've been reading a lot of books on being like Jesus, thinking like Jesus, loving like Jesus, etc. I guess you get it that I want to be like Jesus; duh, I'm a Christian, which means "little Christ." I follow Him; that's my life. Well, something that keeps popping up in these books, which seems to go along with many of the Bible verses that pop out at me lately, is the peace and joy and freedom that surrounded and filled Jesus.

Jesus was a wanderer and a chill guy. He walked everywhere and just hung out with anyone who would talk to Him. He spent time lounging at tables eating meals with the low class and the high class. He spent time on mountaintops chilling out with God when He needed a break. He had a motley crew of men and women that followed Him around everywhere. There were fishermen, tax collectors, revolutionaries, prostitutes, and praying women. I'm sure if they hung out so much, they probably joked around, told stories, prayed together, laughed together, cried together, and so on. When I think about it, it sounds a lot like what when on in the Jesus People movement of the 60's and 70's.

Sometimes I get into this works-based mode of trying to earn God's favor and love. I feel like if I'm not gritting my teeth in prayer and wailing and laying prostrate on the floor for 3 hours groaning and sobbing before God at 2 a.m., and if I'm not fasting one weekend a month, and if i'm not grabbing every person i pass to preach to, then i'm not being a good christian and, therefore, out of God's favor. i know i've missed the point when i start feeling condemned and discouraged with life.

ecclesiastes says that there is a time of war and a time of peace. yeah, there are times when the Spirit of God comes upon me with a burden to cry out in prayer for those i love who don't know God. i pray, and often cry during these prayer times, until i feel release. when i think about the fate of those who have not heard the gospel and don't know Jesus, i feel burdened, so i pray. and Jesus even said to his disciples that sometimes prayer and fasting needs to precede a healing or casting out of a demon. there is time for spiritual warfare, but there is also plenty of time to be at peace.

God has a peace that surpasses all understanding (philippians). i don't think he really gets uptight as much as we think, or at least as much as we do. Jesus tells us to chill out with God, to abide in God so God will abide in us. Somewhere in Jeremiah (i can't remember where now), it says that God knows we are made of dust, so He will not stay angry with us forever. we do a lot of stupid things that could really irk God and set Him off on a rampage against all people, but God is slow to anger and quick to show love and mercy.

Jesus told his disciples that when they left a town that would not hear their message, to just shake the dust off their feet and let the peace of God return to their own hearts. when people reject us or offend us, we don't have to get uptight and dwell on it. forgive, shake it off, and let God's peace reign. i know i need this advice. i want to be full of peace, joy, and thankfulness...oh, yeah, and love!!

long time, no post

yeah, the internet i usually use has been down, so i rarely get a chance to post. i read a really good book recently called, the importance of being foolish: how to think like Jesus. it was good stuff and shows how the wisdom of God is so contrary to the wisdom of the world. most of the world seeks security, pleasure, and power, according to the author, but we who love God should seek Him above all else and serve others before our ourselves. i won't say too much more on it. of course, as in every book, i don't totally agree with everything the author writes, but it's worth the time.

more pictures soon! naomi turns 1 on sunday, so i'll have to update you on her!

a response to becky

Hey Becky--and anyone else reading. Great questions! I'll attempt to answer them the best I can, using the best source I can, the Bible.

Becky's first question (see her comments under the "are you for real" post) dealt with the negativity of the statement that we all deserve hell, we all deserve punishment for offending God. She wanted to know why we should even try to be good if we all deserve punishment anyway.

Romans 3:10-18 states the condition of all men (except Jesus, of course):

As it is written: “ There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “ Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “ The poison of asps is under their lips”; “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “ Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Later, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

And even Jesus, in Matthew 19:17, said, "No one is good but One, that is, God." Jesus, even though he is perfect and is God, deferred to his Father as the only one who is good.

So what does all this lead up to? People suck. It doesn't matter how much good we do and how little we sin, without Jesus we would melt in the presence of the perfect, holy, and just God. Think of it in this analogy. Say you were lined up along the edge of the grand canyon with a bunch of other people and you all had to jump across. How far do you think you could make it? How far could the world record holder for the triple long jump make it? How far could your great grandma make it? Some may make it further across than others, but everyone will hit the ground at the same speed and die. It's the same with God. You may be better than the mass murderers and rapists and mean bullies and pathological liars out there, and you may be worse than Mother Teresa, but without Jesus coming into your heart and being Lord of your life, you will never make it to heaven. If you've decided to follow him though, the Bible says that he gives you the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing your eternal life in heaven. But Jesus says that YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN in order to enter heaven. (See Gospel of John.)

BUT THERE'S HOPE!! Jesus was the once and for all atoning sacrifice for our sins. He deletes our sins when we trust in him and repent for our rebellion against God and repent for living for ourselves rather than for God. Yeah, we may sin occasionally after that, but Jesus living inside us gives us the power to overcome! We are more than conquerors through Jesus (Romans 8:36-37, I think). God's forgiveness of our sins is conditional on our repentant heart. That's why Jesus is the New Covenant. Covenants are put in place by God. People have a part (repent and believe) and God has a part (forgiveness of our sins and eternal life).

As far as the Lordship thing. Jesus is Lord over all creation. It is in using our free will that we relinquish our lives to him. Even after we do this, we still have free will, but it is up to us to conform our will to God's. Romans 12:2 says that we are not to conform to the world but be transformed. Our old nature must die when we are born again. Every time the temptation to sin arises, we must CHOOSE not to sin and obey Jesus. If we have Jesus inside of our hearts, he gives us the strenth to overcome and gain the victory. If you are struggling with a sin issue like bitterness or fornication, etc, give it to Jesus. Resist to the point of shedding blood. There is no temptation that will overtake you except that which is common to all people, and God will ALWAYS provide a way out faithfully (2 Corinthians 10;14). We still must choose daily to follow Jesus. This is submitting our will to God's. But we must submit in ALL things, not just the obvious.

I'll address the children issue later. I've gotta feed Naomi! If you have more questions, lemme know! Read Gospel of John and the epistles of Paul for lotsa good stuff on this! In fact, read your Bible daily, it's awesome!

Mmm

Here's Naomi after a yummy breakfast. Actually, this is a picture from a couple of months ago, but she looks pretty similar. Note the rolls on her legs at the bottom of the photo. Soon, they will be gone, because baby girl started crawling this week! At almost 11 months old, she can crawl (and try to get into all the things she's been eyeballing for almost a year). I think since she's learned this skill, she's forgotten some others we've taughter her--like how not to whine when she doesn't get her way. :0)