Come. Rest. Worship. Learn. Lighten.

On our Chalkboard this week:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”


In this house of six, Sunday mornings are hectic. We have substantially improved the situation over the last few years as the kids get older but still, the reality is that six people trying to have a lovely breakfast, get into their “Sunday best” and get hair and faces presentable can be challenging. Then there is always a missing shoe, socks, Bible…I am sure you know what I’m talking about. Everyone is sweating before we even leave the house.

One particular morning, all of the above had been accomplished and we were heading up the highway to the hall where we meet with other Christians on Sunday. I was tired after a very busy month of April; non-stop evenings; working full time; as well as the typical responsibilities of mothering..... it was all catching up with me. I sank into the seat of the truck, silently wish-whining that one of these days I could just stay home for a few consecutive hours, and finish something……anything. Reflexively, I opened my iPhone, flipped to my Bible app, and saw that Matt 11:28 was waiting for me. I read His words “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

An invitation. Maybe not what it was meant for, but I horned in and I took that invitation for me. Come, tired ones and worship, you will find rest in the worship. Here, join me in this yoke and it won't be hard because I am with you, sharing all your burdens.

I wonder how I could ever resist that or consider it chore-like to worship and hear others worship this gentle, lowly King who in John 15:15 calls me friend. What a friend Jesus is, the King, telling me to learn from Him, the ultimate mentor who promises that His burdens are light and then incredibly, He invites us to worship Him.

I hope you are finding His burdens light. If you are not, you may want to dig deeper, are they really His burdens or are you weighing yourself down with pressure to follow a path that isn't truly from Him. We need to be aware and wary of extras that He hasn't asked for. They aren't part of His yoke, he hasn't promised that they will be light. We can't complain that being a Christian is hard when we read this verse, it's a promise from the Lord that it won't be hard. He saved us from the heavy man-made loads. Imagine getting this invitation and saying "no, Lord, I've got this awesome load of stuff that has made me look great, sound great for years now, I can't let that go. I'll just carry these burdens, thanks though!" Thank God for a lowly, gentle Savior, inviting us to share HIS yoke, what a privilege for the grace-cleansed sinner.

See

If I light up your sky this bright- can you see me now?


I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13:6

Look beyond the trees blown bare- see me there?


I'm practically shouting to you! I'm saying "I see you!". Do you see the stars in the sky right now? They are there even though you don't see them. But I know each one of them by name. I will remind you of this tonight, just watch as I call my star-flock out, one by one to shine for me. I'm sending them tonight as a reminder to you. You'll see.


Isaiah 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.


You aren't missing. You are one that I have named and I am calling you out today. I'm calling you because I know you, I know your name and I know your heart.

I sent an extravagant sunset to brighten the inside of your house on a late Sunday afternoon- drawing children to the windows, you with your camera. In those frames did you see anything that reminded you of promises I've kept before? Those trees. I allowed them (you) to take trees and with evil hearts create a cross for Jesus. My living creations cut down to create a death frame. It was all part of my promise to you. I saw you then.

Reminded in a beautiful and gentle way of his constant awareness of me, my soul is satisfied. He sent the light right into my house, lighting walls and floors in a warm orange glow- and my heart leaps because he sees me. He wanted me to come and look- and I am so glad I did.

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God.
I Chron 17:16,17

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day. 

We start off so scared. 

I can remember the fear that overwhelmed me when we brought Adam home from the hospital.   I couldn't believe the nurses were just letting us go home with this baby. I loved when the visitors came during the day because it meant I wasn't the only adult at home. I dreaded night time; and during the day I called Gordie on the phone at work begging him to come home at four pm because I was afraid being alone with my poor baby. 

But we are hopelessly smitten. 

The smell of the baby, the precious weight on your shoulder when they fall asleep. How I have loved my babies. Falling asleep holding a sleeping baby on your chest  is one of the most relaxing feelings known to mother. 

I'm still smitten, 13 years later. I watch him standing in the kitchen talking to me about going to Toronto. I drink in the sight because he's leaving me for the weekend. I want to remember him standing right there, by the end of the island. Because I know how much I am going to miss him. And I miss the way he used to call me "Mumby". 

After 10 years, I am still smitten with a quiet baby who has grown into a quiet yet precocious young man. At 10 weeks I wrote in his baby book "Wake up Davy, so we can get to know you." He just ate and slept, and got very fat. Now he's lanky and smart and hates to sleep. 

And after 8 years, I'm still smitten with a dark haired beauty who took my breath away when they finally got around to telling me the baby is a girl. Who-hoooo! Sometimes when she is talking to me I feel my breath catch and I realize how blessed I am to have this daughter. A very sweet and precious daughter. 

And after 4 and half years, I'm still smitten with a little blonde boy that we all went crazy for the moment he was born. His impact on the family reverberates each day as he arises and each night as he lays down. 

In hindsight,  I see how quickly those initial fears dissipated, reborn as fear of dirt bikes, bullies, immoral societal standards and Internet. 

But most of all I fear that I will misrepresent to them the One who gave them to me in the first place. I know that if I don't teach them about Christ, they will learn that He isn't important and I fear that. I fear them not following Him. Not depending on Him. I fear them falling into a trap of having it all look good on the outside but not taking care to make sure that their hearts are His. I fear bringing them up in a "christian home" rather than a "Christ-centered home". It humbles me to be a mother. God is gracious, so gracious. 

*********************

I really miss my MOM!! 

Yes, I just blog-shouted that. 

We had Mom, Dad and Maria over for Mother's Day. We were joined by TimBob, Betty and Gene. As usual, good times. 

Gordie made the dinner which consisted of Veal Roast; Salt Lick Potatoes, broccoli, salad, Eggplant medallions with Caprese Salad and I made Elsie's famous German Apple Cake for dessert.

As a way to pay Mother's Day homage to my late grandmother, I used my china which she had bought me as a wedding present. That's right- 10 place settings were bought by her. It is called  "Albany" by Royal Doulton and I am as in love with it as I was 19 years ago when I chose it. 

I used my two pitchers from my Mom, the little round one that makes people nervous when they attempt to set it down again, and the green Jadeite pitcher. 

Roses from my hubby and kids: 

We came home from meeting to see the oven door wide open. Which would be alarming, yet fine, on any other Sunday. But today, a veal roast was supposed to be roasting inside that oven. In fact, the roast had cooked partially so we aren't sure what might have happened. Dad R. found this yellow cinch that saved Gord from holding the door shut for another hour. 

The Eggplant. Gord was up at 6 am making this stuff. So delicious. Eggplant sliced thin, breaded and sauted, a slice of fresh mozzarella, balsamic glaze, fresh tomato, kosher salt! Can we rewind back to 2pm and start eating all over again??

Loved my day, love my peeps and YOU, for even reading this far :)

A Living Prayer

Alison Krause- "A Living Prayer"

Click to watch the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLZAWtdFhio

What's love got to do with it?

Speaking of Martin Luther.......
click here for an interesting read:
Martin Luther's Sermon on Christian Love

The greatest of these is LOVE....love trumps all other virtues according to the Lord. This is not a mystery or something that is or should be controversial. It is just truth.  My message is not to say that "there is no love"- this is not the point I am making here. As with any good thing, we can not get enough of it, really- we can't love "enough". We would all agree that "Needing more Faith" is a ministry and personal study subject that we will always need- yet love is considered by the Lord as even more important. When a Christian points out that we need to love more, he/she is only borrowing from the Lord's teachings! This leads to me my question: Why is this concept mocked and belittled from the ministry platform, the Bible readings, and in conversations among Christians? I truly am curious! Why don't we want to love more and be more obedient as respects love? I am really struggling with this because I have heard the mocking attitude for a few  years now and the more I try to understand it, the more the odd it seems. Leave a comment if you have any pearls of wisdom for me on this. Thank you. Friendly, loving comments of course :)

Changing times

It was 491 years ago (Oct 31) that Martin Luther nailed his first thesis to the door of the church in Wittenberg. THAT was the beginning of change, people! That was change that really mattered for generations to come. We are looking at change now in our country. I admit that I  welcome the change from the current mess, however I am finding it a little hard to wrap my mind around what changes may be coming for our national security; moral values; taxes and most importantly, the spiritual health of the country. I'm praying that I will be at peace with this change and let go of my tendency to "play God" and think of all the reasons why this is the wrong choice for the country. 

thedailyverse.com

I get an email everyday from the TheDailyVerse.com. It's always a short meditation on one verse and it amazes me how sharply it speaks to me every time. It is always reassuring me of God's unmistakeable presence in my care and concerns. There are situations that bother me deeply and it takes discernment to know when to "obey and act" and when to "obey and be still" - being careful not to be taking things into our own hands.  This verse and meditation hit close to home today. God is so real and present.

Here is the text of the email:
You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
Luke 7:46
Each of us have things that are precious to us. When we're willing to take those things that are so important to us, and put them at the feet of Jesus and leave them there, that is when our heart is in a place of humility and openness to allow Him to decide what's important and what's not.

A Prayer for the Church

found this in my book, "Taste and See" by John Piper:

“O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at my church:
Who don’t love the world more than God,
who don’t care if they make much money,
who don’t care if they own a house,
who don’t care if they have a new car or two cars,
who don’t need recent styles,
who don’t care if they get famous,
who don’t miss steak or fancy fare,
who don’t expect that life should be comfortable and easy,
who don’t feed their minds on TV each night,
who don’t measure truth with their finger in the wind,
who don’t get paralyzed by others’ disapproval,
who don’t return evil for evil,
who don’t hold grudges,
who don’t gossip,
who don’t twist the truth,
who don’t brag or boast,
who don’t whine or use body language to get pity,
who don’t criticize more than praise,
who don’t hang out in cliques,
who don’t eat too much or exercise too little;

But
who are ablaze for God,
who are utterly God-besotted,
who are filled with the Holy Spirit,
who strive to know the height and depth of Christ’s love,
who are crucified to the world and dead to sin,
who are purified by the Word and addicted to righteousness,
who are mighty in memorizing and using the Scriptures,
who keep the Lord’s Day holy and refreshing,
who are broken by the consciousness of sin,
who are thrilled by the wonder of free grace,
who are stunned into humble silence by the riches of God’s glory,
who are persevering constantly in prayer,
who are ruthless in self-denial,
who are fearless in public witness to Christ’s Lordship,
who are able to unmask error and blow away doctrinal haze,
who are tough in standing for the truth,
who are tender in touching hurting people,
who are passionate about reaching the peoples who have no church,
who are pro-life for the sake of babies and moms and dads and the glory of God,
who are keepers of all their promises, including marriage vows,
who are content with what they have and trusting the promises of God,
who are patient and kind and meek when life is hard.”
-John Piper


How I wish I had read this when I was much, much younger. It is very convicting. Just to pick one line out of it, who are fearless in public witness to Christ’s Lordship, Yesterday in our Bible Reading, an older man (well known for his gift of public witness) shared that as he gets older it's easier to resist doing the things that were formerly important elements in WHAT WE DID FOR CHRIST. Just one of the things he mentioned was being a public witness for Lord and getting older he sometimes feels like it's not worth it because of the world's attitudes, and not feeling like he has the energy to respond to some of the arguments like he used to. I was sitting there thinking "I thought that would come EASIER as I get older!" It's very convicting, can I let days slip away without sharing the greatest love there is to share!? It's about self denial, getting past our pathetic comfort zones and living for HIM, without thought for ourselves. Prov 28:1- ".....the wicked flee when no man pursueth but the righteous are as bold as a lion" Why bold, some of us don't have that personality- bold because of Christ, bold because He bought and paid for us- what are we afraid of!? I'm preaching to myself, but wanted to share the above prayer with anyone I could :)