In whom I Delight: March 2013

[good friday]

wow. what a day. to reflect on Jesus and to be thankful that he laid His life on the cross for us. i have had this song in my head all day and then my grandmother also sent me this great video from youtube with it in it. so i thought i would share the lyrics...

Lead me to the Cross

Savior I come

Quiet my soul remember

Redemptions hill

Where Your blood was spilled

For my ransom

Everything I once held dear

I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross

Where Your love poured out

Bring me to my knees

Lord I lay me down

Rid me of myself

I belong to You

Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I

Tempted and trialed

You are

The word became flesh

Bore my sin and death

Now you're risen

To your heart

Lead me to your heart

our friends, the loverin's, host this beautiful celebration today call the Feast of Remembrance. i loved everything about it. where a bunch of friends come together to share a meal much like the passover with specific items

lamb: the sacrifice to spare the homes of israelites in Egypt

bitter herbs: remembrance of slavery in Egypt

unleavened bread: the israelites left egypt quickly so they did not have time to make with leaven at their first passover

we also shared trials that the Lord has brought us thru in the last year and where He is leading us

it was such a great reminder to look back to see where he has brought us as his "chosen people" but also individually. i know for us a year ago tim and i were in a really weird transition in our life. we had been attending resurrection church here in grand rapids, mi for 4+ years had no friends and had two kids. we both felt lonely, unsupported, and a little lost. we were brought into this bible study were we met many other young families, starting attending new church called crossroads bible church which we LOVE. started making so many amazing connections. the Lord is so good and has brought us so far as a family.

What has the Lord brought you thru this past year? i would love to hear your story...

-ray

1:35 PM
2 Comments

[little faith]

home

i find myself anxious and stressed about so many things. i am realizing more and more how much i struggle with control not just in myself but with others, especially the ones closest to me, my husband and children. i can't just let my husband throw a load of laundry in... no no no of course not, i have to micro manage every step of the way to make sure its done exactly the way i would do. i can't just let the kids put stickers on a piece of paper how they want; they have to be right side up. oh my!!! what am i doing? do i have little faith in my husband and children?

lately, i have been stressing about all the things coming up both this summer and fall. caleb starts kindergarten. joy starts preschool. a very intense israel trip. and the list goes on & on. i have started doubting decisions we made a while ago. how are we going to make all this happen? i was talking to tim about everything that was weighing me down. he says, "do you not trust me? do you not have faith that i will figure it out or better that God will provide?" wow. i never thought of it as not trusting him. i quickly replied to him saying, "i do trust you", but when i honestly looked inside i knew i was doubting him and most importantly God. i felt like i was Peter on the boat looking out at Jesus walking on water saying, "command me to come out to you" i started to walk on water until the winds blew & then i started to sink - "Lord save me". he grabs me and says, "o, you of little faith, why do you doubt?"[Matthew 14:22-33]

if you are like me i feel like i have to remind myself of the following passage frequently...

***

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

***

i am so far from perfect & i have so many struggles, but i am so thankful for a God who takes on my burdens for me. who is beyond sufficient for me. thank you Lord that i don't have to worry about tomorrow!

7:23 PM
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[white as snow]

home

so... i am not a big fan of snow except when i was a child. i would play for hours with my neighbor friends making forts and sledding. of course, the best part was when we came inside and my mom already had hot cocoa waiting for us. but back then, i was living in durham, nc where snow wasn't guaranteed every winter season. i now live in the cold state of michigan. i do feel like there are pros & cons to be here. i can't think of any... just kidding. okay. so i'm just going to list the pros because that is probably better for me to think about anyways.

1.you see snow every year

2.they clear the roads fast

3.people don't freak out about the word flurries or snow

4.when summer does arrive there is a festival every weekend

5.there is an abundance of farmer's markets around

6.the summer weather here is quite amazing

i will be honest, it is about this time of the year when i fell myself wanting to live in the south again. partly, because its still freezing... and a blanket of snow has covered my yard yet again. this is when i want to be seeing sweet daffodils popping up, birds chirping, and open my windows to let a nice breeze clean the air in my house. now i could have the mind set that i am trapped in my house or i could look at it as an opportunity to sit down, snuggle in a warm blanket, and play a couple of games with my children. which would you choose?

today, i was reminded that much like my yard has been covered in snow, i too have been washed white as snow by our Heavenly Father. how thankful i am that i have a God who sacrificed His own son for me. to take on not just my sins but all of ours. when i read thru matthew 27 & 28 about the brutality Jesus went through, all for me, i can't but fall on my knees in thankfulness. i have a God who loves me so very much!!!

"come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18

what do you do on your snowy days?

were does your mind go?

ray

12:59 PM
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[green breakfast smoothie]

dine-in

i LOVE fruit & veggies. so much that i have been eating raw for the last month and a half. i'm hoping in the next couple of weeks to post some of my delicious finds and some of my raw inventions. now i'm sharing this really quick and easy recipe because i have so many friends who don't have a juicer and still want some thing green to drink in the morning. all you need is a good blender.

ingredients:

1-2 oranges peeled

1 cup fresh pineapple (also try substituting for blueberries)

1 frozen banana or fresh (just a add a little ice to your blender)

couple handfuls of spinach

Just throw everything in your blender and blend on a high speed until it looks smooth.

i'm so thankful that my kids love fresh juice or smoothies.

10:38 AM
2 Comments

[ finding stillness in the chaos ]

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as a mom i feel like you are pushed into a crazy schedule. its no longer about yourself but about your kids. mine wake me up at 6:30am - i head to their room to find clothes for the day - then downstairs for breakfast - many morning i have to make sure everything is ready for caleb to go to school. i have just enough time to throw on some clothes give my son rowan a bottle and get them in the car. for some, this is probably not a big deal. i definitely had to let go of looking nice all the time and having everything in its right place. yes, i was one of those mom's until i had my third child. i now feel like everything is everywhere and most morning i'm running out in my sweatshirt and jeans.

i'm so thankful that the Lord knows what i need. Through out the day i'm always searching for that little piece of quietness just to gather my thoughts, composure, a word of prayer...anything that will give me a tiny boost of energy to face my loud children. and lately, God has been so gracious to give me at least an hour of all three kiddies taking a nap at the same time. now this doesn't happen every day but maybe twice a week. i'm realizing how important that hour is that i can refocus my attention on the Lord. i'm not going to lie. its not always the first thing that i want to do. i look at my house and see the pile of clean clothes that need to be folded or the dirty dishes that need to get washed; and think that it is more of a priority to get done. so that when tim, my husband, gets home he sees i haven't been doing nothing. but he reminded me that it is way more important to seek time with the Lord. the house will always be here to clean, but quiet time is short. building any relationship takes time. where would my relationship be going if i just gave Him a few minutes out of my day? not very far.