The children and I have been working on the landscaping. Well, as much as the weather will allow. The rain makes the ground pretty soggy, but everything is becoming so green and beautiful!

We had a hole in the grass where we had to dig out a small tree that was dead. I used the hole as the centerpiece for a small garden. The center will be an illusion fountain - the kind that is level with the ground. 3 sections will be grass, while the other 3 sections will be plants - mostly edible vegetables.

Chase helped by hauling stone, using a sled. (Use what you got!) Skylar helped move dirt, and Cruiz and Carmen laid bricks on the edge. Spence offered verbal encouragement. Callahan was the biggest help of all, as he took a good long nap in the shade!

It looks pretty rough yet, but it’s coming along.

I’ve also been clearing out the brush, mostly from the backyard perimeter. This house was unoccupied for a few years, and every bush, tree, and groundcovering just went crazy. I am amazed at how much patio stone I am finding under all the grass and groundcover. I think it’ll be enough to use for a whole new patio.

So, anyone want to come over and help create a shade garden and path? Or a potager, otherwise known as a kitchen garden? Set up a 6 foot long arbor? Move flagstone? Haul mulch? And on and on.

Bring a set of gloves. Or you’ll have blisters to match mine.

Tags: homelife

A mother wrote something on a forum recently that has really stuck with me. She said,

“I appreciate the reminder to try and place focus on the healing capacity of the body, rather than the ailment of concern.”

Our attitude regarding whatever hurt our child is experiencing has a lasting effect on them. While I express compassion, I try to be mindful to not fuss too much. Through sympathetic but quiet treatment there is the underlying implication that they will be okay, that I have confidence in their body’s ability to heal their “owie”.

It goes further than that. What about the words we say when administering care, medicine and/or a natural remedy? What is the focus then?

It’s a subtle and yet profound difference when we emphasize their body’s God-given ability to restore to health, instead of the therapy.

I express gratefulness for whatever it is we’re using to assist their body in healing, and not so much that it will give healing.

Think about the difference between these two approaches:

1.  Here, take this.  It’ll make you feel better.

2.  Here is something that will help your body make itself better.

We have conversations about how our body attempts to heal itself.  Fevers are killing the yuckie bugs, bleeding is cleaning the wound, and scabs are natural band-aids. These conditions or effects are not the enemy or something to fear.

We also view most complaints as messages from our body; clues to what may be wrong, and not simply problems to mask.  I like to walk the child through ‘why’ they may be experiencing something.  For example, a child with a headache may simply need to drink a glass of water or get extra sleep.

If your child consistently whines for medicine, band-aids or even candy or other treat (bribe much?) whenever they get hurt, it may be a sign that you have been sending them an unhealthy perspective of health!

Tags: health, parenting

This has been the corner of the dining room for several weeks now.

Carmen decorated with pictures that she lovingly painted with watercolors. In the past, I have displayed art for a few weeks, then disposed of it during nap time.

(Hate me.)

(But if I didn’t, we would be living in mountains of papers with only winding trails to walk through.)

But this morning Carmen noticed her beloved artwork was missing. I remained non-committal about what may have happened to it, hoping she would simply paint more. It wasn’t long before she discovered it all in the trash (gasp!) and brought it to me with a stern expression.

“Now you did it, Mom.”

I admit, I laughed. The plastic cup hanging there was the crowning touch, don’t you think? So now she is carefully cutting each page apart, making her way through the sticky tape mess.

Tags: children, homelife

While watching the latest Mars Hill Seattle sermon last night, I was a bit convicted.  Okay, a LOT convicted.  He was teaching from 1 Peter 4.  Verse 9 says

Use hospitality one to another without grudging. In the ESV it’s written, Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

I enjoy practicing hospitality.  I like having people here eating, talking, playing music or just hanging out.  Which is good, because we do it very often, several times a week.

Now, if you would have asked me about my attitude regarding hospitality, I would have said that I don’t grumble or do it grudgingly.  Because, like I said, I really truly enjoy it.

But then Mark started talking about the annoying person who comes and stays way too late.  Or the one who tracks mud all over the floor.  Or the one who does remove their shoes at the door, but then picks at their toes.

And I suddenly realized the many times I had grumbled in my own heart.  While I take pleasure in making a meal for the benefit of others, I grit my teeth when visiting children carry it throughout the house, dropping trails on the floor and wiping sticky hands on the walls.  I relish it when people feel comfortable enough to make themselves at home, but I hear myself sigh with irritation when there are puddles surrounding the toilet or they repeatedly eat a week’s worth of snacks in an hour.

Possessions get broken, the grocery budget triples, laundry doubles and cleanup time is, well, things are never completely cleaned up.  If I focus on that, I could quickly lose the joy that comes from hospitality.  Because the greater blessings are wonderful conversation, closer relationships, laughter, bonds of fellowship strengthening, and on and on.

My home and everything in it does not ultimately belong to me.  They are God’s.  As I loosen my grip on what I view as “mine” - possessions, time, finances, etc - the little irritations fail to frustrate me. As I seek to be completely satisfied in Christ, I am not disappointed or annoyed when things do not go as expected.

I am able to then serve through hospitality with gladness.

Tags: Christianity, hospitality

The Gospel Coalition in Chicago!

Flint Generals hockey game, another Basketball Benefit (church guys and friends vs. GrandScapes guys and friends ~ Thanks Mike and Jen!) and Gramma Great’s old waffle maker.

Tags: photos

For those of you who don’t have Facebook, Robb posted this last week.  It generated a number of responses, with some good discussion.

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As Christians we are called to proclaim the gospel to all types of people.  Both in the day of Jesus and in our day, there are two broad categories of sinners who need Christ.

1. the ‘usual’ sinners of the world
2. the ‘Pharisaical’ sinners of religion

My religious friends, upon learning that I actually hang out with unbelievers, often caution me to not “become like the world”.

So, I have been thinking of this.

While I do appreciate the warning and understand the importance to consider it, there is a question that I feel is equally important;  What about the danger of hanging around legalists and religious types?

You see, religion/legalism/moralism or whatever you want to call it, is an enemy of the gospel too. It preaches outward conformity instead of inner transformation. It is man centered, not Christ centered. Here on earth it leads to either self-righteousness or despair. Ultimately it leads to hell.

This is the type of thing that I have had to repent and turn from. I understand its appeal. I see how it has been deadly for family after family around me. It disgusts me, especially when I see it rear its ugly head in my heart and mind.  It is perhaps even more dangerous than worldliness, since it gives a false sense of security.  Those entangled in its web are bright and shiny on the outside as they preach morality, while their insides rot.

It seems like a safe bet to hang with those who hold themselves to high standards, but I know all too well the ugly natural tendency to trust in virtuous living, to compare myself to those around me, to find value in what I am doing right and ‘good’.

Warning against the dangers of lasciviousness is pretty common, and rightly so.  It is equally important for me to guard against placing my confidence in my performance and trusting in the false Savior of pious living.

So the question in my mind is not only how can we bring the gospel to worldly sinners with out becoming like them, but how we can bring the gospel to religious sinners without becoming like them?

Tags: Christianity, presuppositions, religion

There’s a new blog out there.

My Meandering Musings

Check it out.  I think this girl is pretty amazing.

Tags: blogging, children

A friend made these for me when I was pregnant with Callahan.  Oh my.  They aren’t the crumbly granola.  No, they actually firm up into moist bars - perfect for wrapping in individual portions for quick meals on the go!

This recipe will make two 9×13 pans.

Jaster Granola Bars

4 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup dehydrated cane juice crystals or xylitol

1 cup wheat germ or oat bran

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups whole grain flour

1 to 1 1/2 cups dried fruit (raisins, dates, cranberries, etc)

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup honey

3/4 cup additional honey, maple syrup or raw blue agave

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup peanut butter

4 tsp vanilla

1 cup flaked coconut

2 cups nuts and seeds (almonds, pecans, sesame, sunflower, etc)

1 cup choc chips, carob or cocoa nibs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Generously grease two 9×13 pans.

Mix dry ingredients together.  Set aside.  Mix wet ingredients.  Stir all together.  Pat evenly into the pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden.  Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.   Do not allow to cool completely before cutting, or they’ll be too hard to cut.

Tags: meals