Real Girls

The end of this past summer, my girls and I went through a bible study called, Real Girls of the Bible. It's a devotional. In the book, you will find 16 Old Testament girls to study and learn from, and 14 New Testament girls. As I said, we started this at the end of the summer, so when school time came around, time for this particular study was limited. Plus, our family does daily devotions before school. So I definitely didn't want to "overload" them.

Last night, I wasn't feeling well so couldn't go to Bible study at church. Anytime we have to miss for sickness, I try and have some kind of lesson or devotion with the girls so we're not skipping out. So I decided to go ahead and finish out the O.T. girls...we only had 2 left to study. Our girls are 10 and 7. After I read the story, and we talk about it for a little bit, both girls are to jot down something in their notebooks that they learned from this particular girl of the Bible. Because Macayla is older, I ask for her to think of ways she can apply it to her own life, based on what the story is talking about. Some of their answers are longer, some are short, some are to the point, some tend to be on the "rambling" side...and some are confessions or ways they want to live their lives better for Jesus. That's what it's all about anyway, isn't it? Being REAL, not fake. Being open, not hiding things from others or God. Being honest, not deceitful. Being a REAL CHRISTIAN, not just saying you are but your actions show otherwise. Being a devoted follower, not just a fan of Jesus. Being REAL.

I hope and pray they have learned something from this. Pretty soon, we will start taking a look at the girls of the New Testament. One of my life goals is to raise my girls to love, to trust, to serve, to follow and obey Jesus with everything they have. After all, they are on their way to becoming a "real girl" too! I have included what they wrote in their notebooks below. Just maybe you will learn something too.

EVE
Macayla: Satan wants to attack us. Stay away from Satan.
Rachel: Don't disobey God.

SARAH
Macayla: Don't sleep with another spouse. Don't sleep with another person you're not married with. Don't start families you're not married with. Don't doubt God!
Rachel: Don't marry 2 people.

HAGAR
Macayla: Listen to God. Don't just leave your kids in the desert (I had to laugh at that one!:), pray to God instead. God's watching over us.
Rachel: Don't make fun of other kids.

LEAH (& RACHEL) (this was my Rachel's favorite one...I wonder why? ;)
Macayla: Leah wasn't pretty, but Rachel was. Don't judge a person by their outside.
Rachel: It's not good to judge other people.

JOCHEBED
Macayla: That you can always trust God. Jochebed wanted her baby to be safe. So she hid him in some weeds, and God allowed her to be with her baby even longer.
Rachel: She wanted to keep her baby safe. Ask before you ask to have her take care of the baby. :)

MIRIAM
Macayla: She trusted in the Lord. Miriam was very brave. Later she became a worship leader. She saved her little brother. She was smart.
Rachel: She helped her baby brother.

RAHAB
Macayla: She trusted God. She took a very big risk to keep those spies safe. She saw her town destroyed, but she had her heart in God still.
Rachel: She kept them safe.

DEBORAH
Macayla: Deborah was a good leader. She was an only female judge. I would love to be a great leader to my friends and lead like Jesus. I would like it if Dalton joined a church because he said they might. (Mac is a good little inviter)
Rachel: She was a leader. A good leader.

JAEL
Macayla: Jael chose to kill God's enemy, instead of keeping him safe. She chose to do something right, but I mostly do wrong because it's easier. I don't want to do wrong any more. I want to be a better Christian.
Rachel: Don't follow the crowd.

NAOMI
Macayla: Naomi had a lot of bad things happen to her in her life sort of like mine. I think I'm very mean to Rach but I don't mean to most of the time. My anger gets control over me sometimes, but I'll ALWAYS worship the one true Lord. Naomi had people die, and I've had pets die. So I can try to not be so sad that I'm bitter like her.
Rachel: She praised God. But then she was sad.

RUTH
Macayla: Ruth left her hometown. Ruth was faithful to Naomi. I want to be faithful with my family too. And also be a great friend too like the verse said.
Rachel: She went with Naomi and cared for her.

HANNAH
Macayla: Hannah had a pure heart. Peninnah made fun of Hannah for not being able to have children, but she did. Later, God blessed her with 4 boys and 2 girls. I gave my life to the Lord by getting baptized, like Hannah kind of did to her son.
Rachel: She "telled" the truth. ;)

ABIGAIL
Macayla: Abigail saved her husband from being killed by David. After she made it right, she went home and found her husband drunk. I want to be like Abigail and do the right thing. (She also wrote...I have a cousin named Abigail or Abby!) :)
Rachel: Stepped in and it's good that Abigail does the right thing.

HULDAH
Macayla: Huldah was a prophet and had courage. I could listen with my ears and heart like Huldah. Huldah means weasel which fits her very well. (An example Macayla gave in her own life is she gave back a Russell Stovers coupon b/c she already had one. Her teacher gave her one, but Macayla was honest and told her teacher she already had one, so she gave it back.)
Rachel: Huldah was a prophet that knows what God wanted to say. King Josiah was eight when he was the king.

VASHTI
Macayla: Vashti means lovely. Vashti is a Queen too. Vashti got her crown, home, and all her privileges taken away because she took a stand for what was right. Sometimes I don't do what I'm told, then I get my privileges taken away. Ex.'s: DS, Computer, T.V.
Rachel: Vashtis name meant lovely. Vashti was a Queen.

ESTHER
Macayla: Esther means star. Esther took a BIG risk of being killed when she went to talk to the King without being invited. Esther told the truth when it was the right thing to do. When I tell the truth, I won't care if it's painful to tell.
Rachel: Esther's Hebrew family had been captured and exiled to a foreign country. Esther means star.

So which "Real Girl" are you? Which of these can you learn from the most right now in your life? I would love some feedback! :)

Can they really compare?

Well, back by popular demand...blogging. I know I've left it alone for quite some time, but other things became more important. I will do my best to keep 'em coming. I couldn't let today go by tho' without sharing this video with you. Some of you may have already seen this before...and that's ok. Because it should touch you again. If it doesn't, well, that's really too bad.

We all have a lot of wounds in our lives...some of those caused by our own sin. Many other wounds come from other people. And let's be honest, some of those wounds done to us are to intentionally hurt us. They aren't for good, and are not of God. Our Heavenly Father is a good Father...not wanting to bring harm, but good. We blame Him sometimes, don't we? For the wounds and the hurts done towards us? I've been there. But I don't like that place. It only hurts me and my relationship with God. And watching this video and listening to the words of this song make me realize that my wounds, my scars that may possibly never go away in this life...well, they just really can't compare. They don't compare at all to the wounds that Jesus endured because of.....me. And you. They just really don't. In fact, they are not even on the same level.

So quit your whining, stop your complaining about your wounds, stop thinking how unfair it is (I'm preaching at myself here). As you watch this, and reflect on all that our Savior Jesus suffered through because of us, if this doesn't bring you to your knees in repentance...well then, I don't know what will.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-8QdOxzh5Y

Rachel's Colorado Pics

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My Mother's Day Blessings...

My loving and kind husband and special little girls made my Mother's Day a very good day! Thanks guys! Here's a couple of highlights that I want to share...
1) The four of us ate at Chili's for lunch today, and after we paid and the waitress was leaving, she said to me..."Happy Mother's Day". I said, "Thank you". As the waitress walked away from our table, Macayla looked at me and said, "That was nice...but how does she know you're a mother?" I laughed out loud at this one...I mean, isn't it obvious since I was sitting with my two girls?
2) The girls bought me some new pajama pants at Old Navy today. Rachel went in with me to try them on. I noticed she just kept staring at me. I smiled at her and asked, "What?" She said, "I just love staring at your pretty face!" Yep, THAT made my day!!!

I love my Mother's Day blessings that God gave to me...not just today, but every day!

Soccer '09

I've been told she looks older in this picture than what she really is...



This is one of my favorite pics of all time! What a cute little athlete!

"Non" (Lessons from a restaurant, Part 2)

"Non"...I have used that word a lot in my lifetime. This is not really considered a frequently used word, so you may be a little curious at this point as to why I've said it a lot. After I explain, you'll see what I mean.

Any restaurant that offers a smoking and a non-smoking section, more than likely when you give the waitress/waiter your name or if you are instantly seated, they will ask you..."Smoking or Non-Smoking"? Our answer is always, "Non". (Before you read on, don't think this is a blog to slam smokers. It's not. Just an illustration I am using to get a point across. Although it's really not good for you! :)

This got me thinking a while back about how choosing to sit with the "non" group, that we are saying to the other group, "we don't want to be anywhere near you" and that "what you do bothers me". I'll be honest, I will still say that. Because for me and my family, I don't want to be around that, and it does bother me. And that's ok. I have a right to choose to stay away from that for my family. But this is where it gets tricky.

What if we (speaking of me and of you) reacted this way everytime about everything? What if, in a group of people, we had the choice of "Christians" or "Non-Christians". That everywhere we went, the question was asked of us..."Christians" or "Non-Christians"? Once again, let me be completely honest with you. I would be wanting to choose "Christians" everytime. I wouldn't be so quick to say that "Non" word this time. That's sad to me when I think about that. It appears that I think more highly of myself than I should. Or is it that "I don't want to be anywhere near them" and "What they do bothers me"? Interesting, isn't it.

Surely you remember the story about the woman at the well. If not, look it up in John 4. Because Jews and Samaritans didn't associate together, the woman was surprised that Jesus would ask her for a drink. I love what Jesus said to her in John 4:14..."but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." As Christians, we have that message to tell others, the "Non"-Christians, what it is to have abundant life. Our goal is to share that living water with as many people as we can. But we won't be able to do that if we never associate with the "Non" group. So that means that we must get out of our comfort zone and do some of those things that make us just a little bit uncomfortable. Don't misunderstand me...I am not saying that we go and take part in sinful actions, behaviors and lifestyles so that we can better associate with the "Non" group. Absolutely not! But we are commanded to love...the sinners...and by the way, that's all of us.

Just in case you're wondering, no, my family is not going to start sitting in the "Smoking" section. No way. It's not good for us. And personally, I've become fond of being able to breathe. But I do, however, have to associate with people that choose to do this. They are people just like me, and some are "Christians" and some are "Non". And those that are "Non" need that drink of water...the water that can give eternal life.

Other than Jesus, you know yourself best. What can you do to get out of your comfort zone just a bit to reach those that are really uncomfortable to reach? What can you do to befriend others that may not be just like you? No, we may not want to be around them and we may not like what they do because it bothers us, but we are no different. Because I guarantee that I do some things from time to time that really bothers God too. And yet He still chooses to associate with me and sit with me. Let's be sure that we don't have that attitude that because we are Christians, that we are better than those who aren't...you know, the "Nons".

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me", he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

47 years...thanks, mom and dad, for that example of love and commitment to each other, but also to us, your kids. And not only that, but thank you for the example that you set in your relationship with God as well. I thank God that He decided to give YOU BOTH to me as my parents. You are a blessing to many people. And now as a parent myself, I am thankful that you are grandparents to our girls. They love you a lot...we all do! So Happy Anniversary mom and dad...we hope you've had a great day! Enjoy the video!!! :) (They sing it kinda slow, sorry about that. I tried to get them to speed it up just a bit, but it was before school this morning, and you know how mornings go!)




We love you!
Matt, Jenn, Macayla and Rachel


P.S. I know the highlight of your married life was probably 37 years ago...April 4, 1972. What a great day! :)