I am a Christian wife of one man who loves the Lord. A Worship Leader. I am a homeschooling mother of two. I am a piece of clay, a branch, and a sheep in need of a Shepherd.
Tonight I am busying myself with what's worth it; I'm preparing this next week's Science lessons. We have switched to a different curriculum just for variety's sake, and I am enjoying trying out the crafts and notebooking activities in advance of teaching the children.
So, the glue bottle, the markers, and index cards freshly inscribed with vocabulary to broaden the way to learning lie about an already crowded desk. The paper scraps, gluey fingers and the one-hole punch should be cleaned up, cleaned off, and put away. Would my Heavenly Father take this kind of time? For me, yes. For you, yes. For them, yes! He is my role model. He's my favorite teacher. And I tell them as He would tell me, "You're worth it!"
I'm taking time out to hear from my Maker. Would you agree to pray with and for me? Because I am so blessed through the relationships I have through blogging I want to say that I will pray for you too. May our King and Saviour have His way in all of our hearts and lives.
For a new twist on contemporary culture's love for cooking shows I bring to you, "The Eye of the Stove: Cooking Failures Worth Mentioning." Today's story: Taco Tires Go Flat! Is this a one of a kind story? A one of a kind meal? One can only hope. Photography is not my thing and it's just as well. I don't even want to hear the story of 1000 words such pictures would paint! No, I'm not a great cook. But you gotta hand it to me, I try.
I thought, what can I do...surely there's a creative way, some appealing way to reach the depths of a 6 year-old boy's tummy, and touch his boy-heart while I'm at it. I had the brain storm of fixing bagels like tacos. You've seen it done before I'm sure. But was I satisfied with that? NO. I had to go and give it some clever name to appeal to the guy I just know is going to be a car fanatic: chrome wheels, fast-shifting gears and a spoiler. "Taco Tires." Yes, the perfect name!
So I scavenge the freezer for that select package of frozen "cow's destiny gone bad", and pop it in the microwave. Too long. Nothing that a package of taco seasoning won't fix, right? Taco tires. Sure. What are tires made of??? Rubber! That's right, rubber. What could taste better than Taco Tires? Taco Tires without the meat, for starters. (Yes, this post is loaded with puns!)
Here's what I finally came up with for the recipe for Taco-Bagels a.k.a. "Taco Tires" : Bagels, cheese sprinkles, diced tomatoes, chopped green onions. Pop the wheelie under the broiler for less than what you think it should take, and wa-la! Taco Tires. Add the Sour Cream for the white-wall effect and enjoy. Whew. I wasn't sure how this was going to end. Now, let's take this recipe for a test drive!
Monday, September 14, 2009
This prayer, attributed to the great explorer Sir Francis Drake, was read during our service Sunday. We would do well to echo these well-formed words of long ago.
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars. We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain, Who is Jesus Christ.
Danny at The Bumbling Genius has written a post documenting the work and history of Pastor Bill Wilson of Metro Ministries in New York City.
Danny and I have had the privilege of seeing Pastor Wilson speak a couple of times, and I don't know of many willing to sacrifice as he has and does for the sake of the gospel. Please click on the link and view the videos. They're about 18 minutes in total length and every second of them will minister to you and challenge you.-KATHY
Here is a brief post I wrote to our Worship Team. I thought I would post it here too. Have a wonderfully prepared day with the Lord tomorrow!
Sunday, September 13
At the end of a very full and tiring week I find myself thinking, " Oh, I need to pray more!" "Lord, Am I really ready for this?" And then my usual question when I plan, "Lord, What do you want to hear this weekend?" I know that may sound like a crazy question, but it's one I almost always ask.
Actually it's a good question, and I think He's often answering before we even ask. How many times is He trying to tell us an answer but we haven't asked the question? So, ask Him. Ask Him how He wants you to worship whether or not you're even on the platform. (I recommend giving the blog a read even if you're not scheduled-see it as a prayer list for the weekend!).
Perfect list? No. Perfect style? No. Perfect band? The answer is still "No." However, there is a pure heart devoted to Him that catches His ear and His eye every time. Be that. We sing, "Prepare Ye The Way" as we will do tomorrow. Tonight, let every heart prepare Him room.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Often times a song has the greatest impact on me when I first read the lyrics. I love the message of THIS song, and I encourage you to scroll down, read the words, and then listen. Blessings, and LET US PRAY!
Now is the season for healing Deeply we need to see, God's mercy revealing Where we have fallen from his ways For we know he gives hope to the humble, gives light in the darkness, and grace when we stumble Let us, call on His name, together, knowing he will say
If my people pray and reach for me with hearts, that are broken I will not forget what I've spoken Come and seek my grace Heaven will rain, rivers of my grace, overflowing Night and day my ears will be open... If my people pray
Now is the day to awaken, to pray with conviction, for the souls of the nation (So) let us, call on His name Whose faithful, promise still remain
If my people pray and reach for me with hearts, that are broken I will not forget what I've spoken Come and seek my grace Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing Night and day my ears will be open... If my people pray
Let us not grow weary as we wait for the day When the Light turns our night into morning All we need is to call your name As we lift our hearts to Heaven Knowing You will say...
If my people pray and reach for me with hearts, that are broken I will not forget what I've spoken Come and seek my grace Heaven will reign, rivers of my grace, overflowing Night and day my ears will be open... If my people pray If my people pray
On the home front: Yesterday in our morning family time we spent some time in prayer for our President; that his own eyes would be opened to Jesus. To hear our son pray in faith that our President would ask Jesus into his heart, and have devotions every day. To hear our daughter pray that he would ask Jesus into his heart touched my own heart. While I desire our children have wisdom and knowledge and understanding as they develop a Biblical worldview, I desire that those things would be accompanied by prayers for the time, place, and season God has placed us in our Nation and in our world.
The basis for prayer was in our discussion that friendship with the world is to be an enemy of God. Then it progressed to praying for our enemies, praying for those that would persecute us. For some reason, I felt like we should go into a time of prayer for our President, and so we did. I loved the children's prayers because they were uncomplicated prayers of faith. Asking, simply asking what was needed. No disclaimers, no complex theology, just praying the absolute truth: the need for the salvation of the lost. I want them and us to be like God, to hate sin, but love and pray for the sinner. I admonish us to continue in this mindset.
With all matters and concerns well-placed in the hands of our Heavenly Father, we then proceeded upstairs to begin the knowledge part of the day!
In the curious story of "Frog and Toad All Year", Frog decides to do a fine deed for Toad. He decides to rake Toad's yard. Toad gets the same idea and does the same for Frog. Of course this is a surprise for each other. They happen to choose the same day and time to do this thoughtful deed for the other. On the way back to their respective homes up comes a gust of wind and blows the leaves back through the yards they both raked as a surprise. Thanks to the wind, they didn't get to see what the other had done. They were satisfied just to do something nice for each other, unannounced, and because of the wind, unnoticed.
After our reading of this story, we decided to try this out. So, I sent Daniel upstairs to do something for Bethany, a secret, and he has to keep it a secret. He had to do it expecting no thanks in return. And Bethany the same for him. (Don't tell, but Daniel cleaned out Bethany's toothpaste drawer with all the left-over toothpaste stuck on the side. Bethany cleaned out Daniel's "put away" box by his room.) Right now they're upstairs putting their blond and brown heads together to come up with something for me! Wow! I didn't know I was going to benefit from our "kindness, expecting nothing in return" lesson.
Acts 20:35 (New International Version) "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Danny and I both love this video. Tim Hawkins is a homeschooling Dad, and has some hilarious short videos on You Tube. This is one of them. Enjoy and have a great weekend! (You'll want to stop by the Bumbling Genius for his pick of videos!)
Susan at Penless Writer wrote a wonderful post on how much rain they had received in her area this summer. Although things are not really lush and green, we have had some unexpected and much needed downpours, last night being one of them. (You can read my lengthy response to Susan's post at her blog.)
I remember how refreshing the rain was to my spirit as it was truly pouring from the sky. From what I could see (important statement) there were no clouds that should yield that kind of rain. But, my soul longed for a refreshing rain like a deer longs for the waterbrook. For me, the rain was a personal reply from the Lord to my need of the hour. It was His answer as far as I was concerned. The desert received the rain with joy as well.
Thank you for praying with me, Danny. Thank you for posting the song and for writing so well our need for a face-lift, Traci. Thank you for those great arms of yours that went about me during my listening of the song, Bethany. They seemed to seal the comfort I received.
Father in Heaven, thank You for Your careful arrangement of all those events. Carefully arranged for a Field Lily like me.
I received this wonderful "You Are Someone Special In My Life" award from Susan at Penless Writer, and I get to PASS IT ON! You will want to read about this award at Susan's blog.
Thank you so much Susan. It was received with joy, and I pass it on with the same spirit in which it was given.
I am pleased to pass this one on to Nancy at Day by Day. Nancy has become a special blogging friend to Danny and I. The toughest thing about blogging is not being able to give gigantic hugs and face to face words in person. Nancy's Mom passed away less than two months ago. I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to sit down with Nancy and talk, and see how she's doing, and just learn more about Nancy and her family. I KNOW I'm not the only one who sees Nancy as one unique girl in the Lord.
Nancy, I appreciate the way God has made you. You have a wonderful depth to your words as you unfold the scriptures through your blog. You also dot your posts with that wonderful God-given sense of humor, and I find it so easy to relate to you. Plus, you love chickens! Nancy, may the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, and give you peace. You are loved, and you are special to me and Danny.
Why are there two ribbons? One for you, Nancy, and one to pass along to someone else. I'd love to hear who that special person is. We think you're awesome!
Bethany is discovering how to make equivalent fractions while Daniel is turning his world upside down reading. I knew progress was being made because his body and his book were turned the same way. I should add that not only was his torso upside down while reading, but he threw in some contrived accent to boot. Bethany obviously has a mind like a steel trap in that she seemed to focus quite well on her adventures. Something tells me she's going to make a great Mom.
