Becoming Childlike

Her middle name is Noel, meaning Christmas.  We prayed and chose this name for her because we were thrilled to find out on Christmas Eve, eight years ago, that the Lord was blessing us with a second child.  Giddy with the excitement of it and so thankful for the gift of a new baby, we told no one that night.  Instead, Josh and I cherished our news quietly and joyfully between the two of us.

She sold some of her toys on Craig's List this past week.  I thought she would keep the money, maybe save it up for something special.  As I handed her the bills, neatly folded, she turned to me smiling wide and said, "Mama, can you take me Christmas shopping, please?"

Tannah's gift for her daddy

Each time we were out this past week, Tannah has picked up a few different gifts for those on her Christmas list. Weighing each of her purchases in her mind, she will carry something around the store for a bit; possibly purchase it, possibly put it back on the shelf deciding that it is not quite right for the person she is gifting it to.  Each evening she carefully retrieves the wrapping paper, scissors and Scotch tape down from the top shelf and sets to work in her bedroom wrapping, choosing her own bows, tying them on and customizing the labels.
 
This sweet little girl holds within her a gift of a generous spirit and a heart of love.  Her hands and heart are more open than anyone I have ever known.  It has been this way since she was very small.

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 18:3

Abba ~ Change my heart this day and make me as a little child.  Soften the hard places found in me.  Open my hands and heart that I may hold nothing but you.  In the name of Jesus ~ Amen.

Enjoy today,

Rest Easy

Ben, our 6-year-old dog

"You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in You."
~Isaiah 26:3

Good morning, friends!  On this sun-soaked morning, our sky is full of blue.  The leaves outside my window are in full-change mode; most on the ground, brown and crisp, while the more persistent of the bunch still cling tightly to the trees.  Their colors are all shades of the spectrum of fall hues.  And inside our dog Ben cozily sleeps in his favorite chair, resting peacefully.

It is Friday.  An end to another week.  Where is your mind, your heart?  Are you able to rest them, to lay them still and dwell in peace? 

"In Him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in His holy name.
May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you."
~Psalm 34:21-22

The God of all creation desires that you find rest today; peace.  He is calling you to draw near to Him, to rest in His lovingkindness which never fails and His mercies which are new every morning.  Call out to Him in your times of trouble and unease.  Call, and then trust. 

He is faithful.  He is good.  And He is ever caring for you.

Enjoy today,

Share Yourself

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."  ~Romans 12:4-5


When we were in Colombia, South America this past summer, each member of our team was asked to prepare a Bible lesson to share at individual times.  My assignment was the slum church gathering.  I was terrified.  Praying heartily before our trip and beseeching other dear sisters and brothers in Christ to pray with me, I went. 

 
In a poverty-stricken barrio nestle in the heart of South America, I shared the story of Paul and Silas and how they sang in prison.  I was ready, I thought.  My lesson had three main points and a few illustrations sprinkled throughout.  I was quite pleased that the three points even carried a bit of internal alliteration with them.  Which, if you think about it, is pretty humorous considering the fact that the lesson was interpreted into Spanish, and all English play on words was lost in translation.

The lesson went well enough; but I believe strongly to this day that more than me bringing anything new or wonderful to the barrio, God met us there.  I simply went, opened the Word of God, and shared.  And for my friends' in the slum part, they came and shared.

 
I was so struck that evening at how God is everywhere.  How HE moves, in His ways, in His times; it is truly nothing we do or can accomplish, it is all His Spirit in us and through us. 

Since then, I have sought to show up.  To be available whenever and wherever God leads.  In every moment.  To share the Word of God, to pray with and for others, to encourage, to fellowship and to be completely open to God moving in and through me.  And it has flipped my whole perception on how this whole service for Him thing works. 

Share yourself today in the name of Christ and for the glory of God alone.  He designed you with unique abilities and gifts that are for this moment, for this brief snapshot in the frame of eternity.  Open your heart and hands to Him, ask Him for direction and let your feet follow where He leads.

Enjoy today,

Sunshine and Blue Skies

It is forecasted to be another gorgeous fall day here in Virginia.  Yesterday was sublime; sunshine, blue skies and a day full of fall garden work.  My children and I spent the afternoon hours out in the backyard putting the garden to bed for the winter.  We pulled old plants for compost and raked pine straw into neat mounds over the garden beds.

There is so much joy to be had right in your own backyard!  Caleb constructed a refrigerator, an icebox of sorts, using a method he had read about in his "boy camper" book.  He dug a hole in the ground, lined it with aluminum foil and topped it with Styrofoam for cover.  At one point my 7-year-old Tannah raced by me yelling, "I am full of adventure!"  I smiled at her but had a good chuckle to myself about it.  To be that alive and full of adventure that you just have a need to announce it to the world?  Well, that's just plain good stuff.

We are planning on heading out again this afternoon for some more good fall fun and work.  Picking up pine cones, raking more pine straw and weeding are on today's agenda.  And of course, giggling and laughing the whole way as we enjoy the moments that pass ever so quickly.

An area of my garden that desperately needs some tending!  (However, I tend to love wild places best...)

 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  ~James 1:17

Enjoy today,

A Witness to Beauty

He slowly hobbled down the teal-carpeted church aisle, leaning heavily on the worn oak cane in his grasp.  She was at his side, a sweet stooped older woman with her mass of gray curls spilling every which way out of her black "for church" hat.  They lowered their weary bodies onto the padded pew, right there in the very front, facing the pulpit.  

courtesy: Bing images

It was one of those exceptional moments that gave one pause in an otherwise ordinary Sunday.  There was nothing unique about this particular Sunday, except for the fact that our church family had been hosting a group of homeless citizens overnight in our church building for the week to help keep them out of the cold elements.  This couple coming in to join us lived in their car.  They had slept there through the night and came ready to join us in worship to the Lord that morning.
 
When the first note was played, the man raised his hands with a broad smile and began clapping loudly and joyfully.  As the service continued,  his body would gently dip down with the beat, then his hands would lift ever so slightly as he would play the air guitar.  Giving all he had, he lost himself in the music.

Some twenty minutes later during the sermon I glanced over again.  There he sat, listening ever so intently as the preacher brought the word.  Eyes focused clearly in front of him, he appeared to be absorbed in the moment.  I watched as he looked over at the woman seated next to him; the sweet little lady who had trekked in with him.

He lovingly reached over and swept her little black church hat off her head.  Underneath she wore an old knitted purple cap pulled tightly about  her crown.  The little black church hat was almost swallowed up by his large tired hands.  He held it in a gentle caress, turning it round and round.  Every miniscule piece of lint his eyes found, he plucked off in one swift move.

Source:  Bing Images

Facing the hat toward him, he examined the rhinestones adorning the front of it.  He turned one here, adjusted one there, until at last he was satisfied.  Smoothing and straightening the brim, he carefully positioned it back upon her head with as much honor as one would crown a beautiful and rare princess.

You see, she is God's princess.  His beautiful created child.  And that gentleman with his dipping and swaying before the throne of God is infinitely dear to the heart of our Abba.  The two of them, they have value beyond any riches to our Heavenly Father.

This day, may you know through the fullness of the grace of Jesus Christ your infinite value to God; and may you extend that same value and love through Christ to others.

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter."  ~John Keats 

Enjoy today,

Open Eyes

"Finally, the pilot and a couple of Waodani and I unwrapped Aunt Rachel's shroud and lifted her body from the plane into the simple plywood box that would serve as her coffin.  It seemed appropriate for this old Saint who had never worried about luxuries or her own comfort.  Its rustic simplicity matched her house, which sat just a hundred yards down the trail."  ~Excerpt from "End of the Spear", by Steve Saint


Source:  Bing Images

This woman described above, Rachel Saint, had lived almost 40 years of her life in the Ecuadorian jungle, ministering to and with the Waodani Indian tribe there.   She died at the age of 80 after a good, long life fulfilling God's purpose for her.

The people she loved so dearly for God's kingdom, the Waodani, lovingly called her "Star".  Engraved on her grave marker in Ecuador are these words spoken by by one of her Waodani brothers, "Teaching us to walk God's trail, Star came."


Source:  Bing Images

Here is the thing.  God may call you to a distant land you have never been to; to a far-reaching place where no airplane has ever entered, to a people who are unreceptive and possibly even openly hostile toward the gospel. 


Source:  Bing Images



Or He may call you to stand up, walk out of your front door and bring a plate of cookies and a smile to your widowed  next-door neighbor who believes no one cares for her anymore. 



Wherever He is calling, will you go?  Whenever He calls, are you ready?  See, He is always calling.  He never stops.  Every moment of every day, His Spirit is there, quietly whispering, "Go."  "Go."  "Go."  He nudges, He prods, He gently leads.  But the fact is, He doesn't stop.  For our time is very, very short, and this world He loves is desperately in need of Him.

Abba Father,

In the name of Jesus I ask that every follower of You, every person who proclaims the name of Jesus Christ and wears it branded across their heart as belonging to You, would this day rise up and open their mouths to proclaim Your glory alone. 

You tell us that the fields are ripe with harvest.  That the workers are few.  This day, open wide Your floodgates and may the workers be many. 

Open our eyes wide to see Your glory.  Tear the scales off our eyes that we may see people, Your dearly loved people, all around us, everywhere; and respond.  Remove all fear from our beings and may we trust You and You alone.  Give us Your words to speak and the boldness with which to do it.  Cloak us in love.

May we make little of ourselves and much of You.  For You alone are holy.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Enjoy today,

Spotlight On: Citrus Clove

Today I would like to highlight for you our delicious citrus clove bar.  I have found over recent weeks that it has turned out to be a very popular bar, particularly during these fall months as the air turns chillier and thoughts turn toward Thanksgiving and the holidays.  It is a cozy bar, with the heady scent of cloves to warm up those brisk mornings; while the fresh citrus twists of orange, lemon and grapefruit complete the package.


Citrus Clove

 

As with all of our products at lavame clean, we use only natural ingredients to build our soaps. You will find in our citrus clove bar: olive oil, coconut oil, pure water, 100 per cent pure essential oils of clove, lemon, orange and grapefruit, and a dash of ground cloves.

Source:  Bing images

Over the years, cloves have been found to have antiseptic properties. Cloves are also reputed to possess aphrodisiac qualities, as well as being an excellent stress reliever. Its woody fragrance adds a nice spice to this soap.

Citrus essential oils are known to both uplift and refresh the mood. Citrus oils also help support the immune system. Invigorating in nature, they give a quick burst of fresh life to your shower or bath experience.

All of our essential oils are always 100 per cent pure essential oil. We never use artificial fragrance or coloring in any our soaps. The beautiful coloring you observe in your handmade bar of citrus clove soap is derived completely from the sprinkling of ground cloves added in. We lovingly handcraft each bar of soap in our own kitchen; at which point it is delivered to you, from our hands to yours.

Enjoy today,