Thursday, May 31, 2018

Recent Recommendations

Here are 7 articles, blog posts and podcasts I've been edified by recently

1. 9 Ways to Pastor Single Christians Longing for Marriage by Matt Smethurst 

I love that this topic was addressed by Matt Smethurst because I believe the church and christians alike need to grow in this. 
"One of the best ways you can love someone desiring marriage is to help them see that God is always sovereign and wise and good to his children—and he’s not about to stop with them. He knows what’s best for them (wise), he wants what’s best for them (good), and he will bring about what’s best for them (sovereign). Charles Spurgeon put it beautifully: “Remember this: Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.”
To be sure, you’re called to lead your church in honoring marriage (Heb. 13:4). But take care not to do so at the expense of singleness—a stewardship entrusted to some of us now that will characterize all of us forever.
As Allberry puts it, “The key to contentment as a single person isn’t being content in singleness; it’s being content in Christ, as a single person.”

2. What White Evangelicals Can Learn from Frederick Douglass by Ryan Hoselton

I so appreciate this post, especially after my eye opening experience at the MLK50 conference in Memphis. 
"It seems we have come to a point where American evangelicalism’s engagement with issues of race could make or break the movement. As we stand at this crossroad, one path is to avoid problems of race in our churches and society. The other road is harder. It calls us to adapt to America’s ever-increasing diversity and become agents of reconciliation among ethnicities. It summons us to offer the nation and the world a unified cosmopolitan witness to the transforming power of Christ’s grace."
3. Twelve Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age by Tony Reinke

This is a helpful and necessary read if you are parenting or care anything about understanding and investing in the next generation. We are in the throws of this!

4. 6 Questions College Students Must Be Ready to Answer by Cameron Cole

A brief but very helpful (with several links attached) list of questions college students must be ready to face as they head to campus.
"The research is clear: One of the best ways to prepare students to sustain their faith throughout college is to force them to answer hard questions. While some apologetics are timeless, it’s vital for churches and parents to monitor the most prominent current questions and challenges Christians face on college campuses today."
5. What Must We Do about Foster Care? by NR Symposium 
This is a recent issue that has become heavy on our hearts as God is leading our family to participate in foster care. This is a hard read but an inspiring one. I agree that this "urgently deserves attention."



"May is National Foster Care Month. These types of things tend to come and go, but, especially given the unsustainability of the foster-care system due to the opioid crisis, it urgently deserves attention."
6.It’s Submission, Not Subjection by Tim Challies

Great post by Tim Challies on a consistently needed topic for all of us: submission. 
"The Bible has a lot to say about submission. It’s a theme, a command, that appears with regularity. Christians are told to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). Wives are instructed to submit to their own husbands (Ephesians 5:22). Church members are directed to submit to their pastors (Hebrews 13:17). In summary, we are all to submit to God in every way (James 4:7) because all authority ultimately flows down from him (Romans 13:2). It turns out that our submission to people is indistinguishable from our submission to God."

7. Are You Truly Pro-Life by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

 A lot of people who claim to be pro-life actually promote a culture of death. Great listen on a much needed topic. Pro-life is much broader than just abortion and she does a great job unpacking that.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Consider the Lilies

My family, and anyone who knows me well, knows how much I adore plants and trees and flowers! One of my favorite hobbies and daily activities is to visit my plants around the house. I'm consistently enamoured by God's creation as I watch things grow! It never gets old watching leaves sprout out of dead looking branches or greenery pop up out of the ground and rapidly grow and produce beautiful flowers! Simply amazing!

So when I read Luke 12 I was newly struck by verse 27.
"Consider the lilies, 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, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" - Luke 12:27-28

We are told to consider the lilies, how they grow! Yes! Consider them! Why? To see how much more God cares for his children! The charge here is to grow in our faith! Trust the Father! It is God who makes the lilies beautiful! We ought to consider them and worship the Father and remember Luke 12 and know and trust and rest in His great care for His children!

I love how Solomon is compared to lilies. "Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these (lilies)." This is a big statement when we consider Solomon. 1 Kings 10 tells the story of the queen of Sheba visiting Solomon after hearing of his fame.

"And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her." - 1 Kings 10:4-5
Wow! The lilies are arrayed and more beautiful than this! Do not be anxious about your life.

"Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you." - Luke 12:31


Tuesday, May 29, 2018

One Thing is Necessary

One Thing is Necessary
Luke 10:38-42

"Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." 

This passage of Scripture is a familiar one. Yet, I was freshly challenged when I recently read it.  



Martha
- She welcomed Jesus into her house. (v 38)
- She was distracted with much serving. (v 40)
- She questioned the Lord’s care for her, as she served alone. (v 40)
- She told the Lord what to do. (v 40)
- She was anxious and troubled about many things. (v 41)

Mary
- She sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. (v 39)
- She chose the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. (v 42)


I love how this passage shows Jesus' value and view of women! He encouraged women to study the Scriptures! Jesus himself is commending Mary for choosing the good portion, the one thing that is necessary…. close fellowship with the Lord as our portion in life! 

o  Psalm 16:5, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” 
o  Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
o  Psalm 119:57, “The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words.” 
o  Psalm 142:5, “I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 

I can be so guilty of being just like Martha! I am often so distracted with the tasks of serving….cooking, learning, grocery shopping, keeping the dishes and laundry clean, managing our calendar and commitments, schooling, parenting….etc.

I can then, like Martha, be tempted towards bitterness and feeling sorry for myself as I serve alone. I can then question the Lord's care for me which then leads to the lie that if the Lord would just cause these people around me (aka: my family) to serve better then I would be good/happy/less distracted….

I need the rebuke and correction, "Liz, Liz, you are anxious and troubled about many things…"

Forgive me Father for so often living a distracted life! Would you help me to not neglect the one thing necessary? Make me like Mary, choosing the good portion, to sit at your feet and listen to your teaching! 

It is so easy to think life is all about our doing instead of our being! It's not about the task list, or what we put in our mouth, or on our bodies, or in our homes, or the curriculum choices….etc.

Let's choose the good portion! That cannot be taken away from us!

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Kitten Adoption Day

Monday, May 21st was a bitter sweet day! It was kitten adoption day! The kittens were almost 10 weeks old and it seemed like the best time to go ahead and send them to their new loving homes.

 It has been so fun (and consuming) having these sweet little kittens in our home for the last 10 weeks. It's so amazing seeing animal instincts! We are so happy to see them go to people we know and love. And how fun it will be to see them grow to mature cats in their new homes! The unexpected emotion for me was separating them from each other. They are such a little pack….napping together, wresting and tumbling together….and the thought of taking them away from Snowflake 😭. Whew, the emotion came over me! 

Here are some pictures from adoption day!

Cam & Claire with Phoebe & Socks


Kendall and her kitty, Socks


Kendall bought the cutest collars for the kittens
Aren't they just the cutest!?


Sweet little Cub with his bowtie:) 


Spencer loving on Socks


Poor Snowflake was clueless


The Snyders with their kitty Socks


Abbey with her kitty Phoebe


The kitties with their owners


Seeing Cub jump up on Sock's carrier before she left is what made the floodgate of tears come on! Good grief, they're cats!


Abbey headed home with Phoebe

 

Here are a couple slideshow videos I made to remember this season of kittens. This first one is a 3 minute shorter version. 


This one is almost 14 minutes long.


 We are now enjoying our new normal with our 3 cats: Tiger, Snowflake & Cub. I'm finding that I can now really bond with Cub and enjoy him. I've viewed them all as such a pack that I haven't been able to enjoy our newest member, Cub! We love him!


Saturday, May 26, 2018

Oak Island, NC - Generation LINK week

We headed to Oak Island, NC after church on Mother's Day for a 4 night retreat with Generation Link interns, Summer Link directors, and area directors (and some of their families). It's always a joy for our family to participate!


My family and I on Mother's Day morning at church. What a blessing it is to be their mom!


We enjoyed seeing these huge barges go by on the water.





We enjoyed gathering together and hearing from various leaders. 


We, of course, enjoyed the beach!





It was good to see Jon and Emet at the retreat too! 


Always a joy to hang with this friend!


There were 2 downers to our time…..kids got terribly sunburned (not sure if it was just the failure to reapply sunscreen well or using old sunscreen….mom fail!) AND Jeremy lost his wedding ring! I'd like to say this is the first time….but it's not! He needs a smaller size ring! He even rented a metal detector to try and find it…to no avail!
  

I'm clearly distraught over this! I should be more compassionate.


Aside from that it was a great time and I'm so thankful for the conversations and fellowship! Such a great group of people!



Friday, May 25, 2018

A New Hike & Waterfall Adventure

While Jeremy was away on staff retreat, the kids and I went on a hiking/waterfall adventure. We drove a LONG way on a gravel road, found an armadillo on the road, and finally found the entry point for the hike. This was one of those hike that could have gone really bad or dangerous and so we stopped to pray and ask for God's protection. We were the only people out there and hiked down to the water and the kids swam and we ate our lunch we packed. They had fun swimming and exploring.













It's amazing how we find snakes every time! Carson is becoming a pro at finding and killing snakes!






Thursday, May 24, 2018

4th & 5th Grade Bonfire Party

Our girls have been begging to host a party for the 4th & 5th grader class from church. We finally got it scheduled and coordinated on May 5th at our house. I'm so thankful for all the help from the leaders of that age group. The kids had a great time hanging out, eating, playing capture the flag and roasting s'mores over the fire. Thankful for a great night of fellowship!