bits of sunshine

12.18.12

i thought i would write here every day this month.

i've been trying.  there's a snipit here from each day.

today, a long list, but i'm crossing things off.

these lovely ladies do wonders for my mood.

so did a dear friend, dropping in unexpectedly and wrapping me in a warm hug.

my list of blessings is so very long.  God is so very good.  {the truck is sold.  now another up for sale.  the kiddos' colds are almost gone.  we have a lovely, wild christmas tree.  and gifts.  and a warm fire in the stove.  and each other.  and i'll keep counting . . . }

this evening my kiddos have their christmas concert - it should be wonderful.  i am truly looking forward to it. 

and now, off to make some goodies.  what is christmas without sweets in the house?

12.14.12

Creation's groaning,
lost their hope and feel they always closed in
Lots to cope with, on the ropes,
wish they was in the open
This broken world is so dim,
our souls are searching, groping
For one with hope to hold us close,
and set goodness in motion

We need a hero to go in,
cause our solutions don't win
Education can't fix it,
more dough just leads to more sin
Medicine is temporary,
government seems so thin
With all these weighty problems
that ain't shrinking they just growing
Who's adequate to save us,
how about He knew no sin?

Like a G5 yeah you rushed to rescue me
Took a cross in exchange for a crown to save me
You began the work and I know you'll finish And make all things right when you come back
Cause you're my hero, you already saved the day
Cause you're my hero, and I know you're coming back for me

Follow the steps bro,
Adam sinned now we all dead so
We gotta sentence on our head like death row,
everything is wrecked
All creation is a mess,
In the fullness of time,
in steps the hero
no red cloak, He's Jesus
No flashing lights, glitz n glam, and no cameras
He came to serve needy folks, and point them to the answer
You see Him healing, feeding folks, and telling them the standard
Our most basic need is to be ransomed by Jesus
It has first place, yeah we separated in the worst ways
Even physically think how the earth quakes
Separated socially, got murder and the worst rapes
Even separated from ourselves, we in the worst state
It's so major, that's the reason that we need a Savior
Cause the root of every need is separation from Creator
Jesus came humbly to restore us to our maker
And later He'll restore all that He made, He's Jesus

God is not pleased, man, it's clear that His standard's missed
The world is running rampant with sin it's an abandonment
Man is feeling stranded, feeling hopeless since his banishment
God is angry at the distortion and the mismanagement
Evil is at work, but don't be thinking He can't handle it
He promised He would do away with all of it, dismantle it
He's put up with this damage in His world, but He's promised us
That He'll destroy all His enemies and then He'll walk with us
New Heaven, new Earth that's where all His sheep dwell
Cause Jesus succeeded in every part of life that we failed
Died the death we couldn't die, paid our price with 3 nails
Began the work He promised, in the end we all will be well
Already beat his enemies and when His Kingdom's realized
All those who oppose Him will see Jesus with some real eyes
Deliverance is offered us, the hero He is urging us
Salvation is exclusive to His people who have turned and trust

I give my gratitude 
Jesus, you died to make all things new 
My knight in armor when our world is falling 
Your love's never failing 
I find safety in your arms

{listen here}

yes, this is a rap song. 

it says what my heart was feeling on friday.

i have more to say. 
a lot more. 
it's been percolating in my mind and my heart. 
it's for after christmas, though. 

merry and bright - for some.
awful and dark - for others.
oh this beautiful, terrible world we live in.
Lord Jesus, we await your coming;
You came once to restore us to our Maker,
and later You'll restore all that You made -
new heaven, new earth, You will make all things new.
come, Lord Jesus. come.

12.13.12

not 12.12.12.  that came and went like any other day.  i was so tired this morning i wanted to cry.  but we eased into the morning and the kiddos and i got more done than i would have ever guessed we could.  reading, writing, phonics, math, piano, chicken chores, dishes, paperwork, 2 errands.  wow!  and there were tiny lego sets and 10 eggs in the coop and sunshine and coffee and hope.

12.10.12

it's a start.   and it made us all so happy as we sat at supper in the fire, candle and twinkle-light, christmas music playing,  reading,  making connections.  talking about working hard for something we want and love.  just so cozy.  wrapped in warmth and soft light and love.  we are so very blessed.

12.9.12

Ours is the God who always provides a ram in the thicket, whatever we need today, whatever is best for us, that even today the people might say, "The Father who tenderly loves His children provides us with grace upon grace, love upon love, gift upon extravagant gift."

Even His own Son.

{from Ann Voskamp}

12.8.12

and maybe all this sparkly snow is just what i need to make me feel really in the christmas spirit.  it's time to get the decorations out.  starting on monday.  hurray!  

12.7.12

As we continue through our advent watching and waiting, we read of the promise-keeping God who lets no word of His fall to the ground forgotten, He does everthing in perfect time, and He sends a son, Isaac, to Abraham and Sarah when it seemed impossible, and He sends a Son in the line of Abraham and Isaac, Jesus, to Mary and the world, when all seems impossible, and he invites us to be His sons and daughters, to be adopted into the line of the promise, through Jesus, when this seems an impossibility.  And Abraham laughed for joy, and Sarah laughed in relief and amazement, and we too can laugh at the impossible, that God make the improbable and the wonderful happen at just the right time.  Isaac, his name means laughter, and God wanted us to know joy and amazement, and He makes this joy and this amazement possible through His Son Jesus.   

{paraphrase from ann voskamp's day 6 of the jesse tree advent celebration}

And all those tiny trees I was making?  You can find them here. 

You can also find some very sweet bird prints drawn in pastels by Miss Maddie. 

And some very sneaky ninja note cards drawn in ink by Isaac. 

We've all been working hard, making things we love, thinking it will be pretty fun to send them off into the world, to make a bit of money, and to grace other homes with bits of sunshine and cheer.

12.6.12

i love it when the sunshine does this for me.  we are so blessed to live under this sky, on this edge of the prairie, on the banks of the river.

our ladies keep laying eggs for us.  i am so grateful!  every day, i love seeing the colors, the sizes, the shapes as we count out the eggs we find.

my kiddos have started swim team.  three afternoons a week they swim.  and they work.  and they love it.  maddie gets in first - she swims for 45 minutes.

isaac waits and watches until he can get in.

maddie has been watching missy franklin videos, and her goal is to work hard enough to do triathlons and to go to state and nationals and maybe even the olympics.

that's maddie diving in - it is a joy to watch her swim.  she just looks like she belongs in the water.  we'll see where this girl goes!  i think she's got it in her to go a long way with this!

at this point, my isaac-boy is having a lot of fun.  we'll see if swimming is what gets him going, or if it's just something he gets a kick out of doing. 

after swimming, we headed off to the cancer research center, where both maddie and isaac's choirs sang for a christmas party.  they both sang so well - fun and pretty songs - and they both really enjoyed being able to perform the songs they've been working on!  they'll sing their christmas concert next saturday, and i will be so proud to watch and hear them again.

i'm feeling more christmas-y as we thoughtfully move through these days of advent.

12.5.12

 

i got to the end of the day and realized i hadn't taken a single picture.  so i grabbed my phone and snapped some fuzzy, late-night pictures of the little trees i've been making for garlands and ornaments.  

the kiddos and i had a good day of school and a little outing for slushies and chips and just being home together.  we also brought ben some hot coffee - he was working out in the cold.

in the evening the kiddos and i went to prayer at the little church where some of our dearest friends attend.  ben would have joined us, but he was helping another friend hook up a dishwasher . . . and that took much longer than anyone wished it would . . .but the washer is hooked up and washing dishes. 

advent reflections:  God had noah build an ark of wood, held with nails, to save those who would trust in Him.  and God was going to send His Son to die on a piece of wood, held with nails, Who would save all those who would trust in Him.  even in the storms and the rain, the bow of God's love writes Jesus and hope all across the skies.  {ann voskamp, paraphrased by me}

12.4.12

we have a big cupboard.  and i love it.  it will get doors one day, but for now, it's all trimmed and finished and it's so good.  my husband rocks!

we overslept our alarms this morning, so there was just time for a quick breakfast before ben had to be out the door, but not our advent reading.  we'll do that tonight.

i finished the immortal life of henrietta lacks.  oh goodness.  read that book.  for all kinds of reasons.  read it. for the story of henrietta and her family.  for excellent writing.  for questions about the ethics of cell study and scientific discovery (in readable, interesting, story-telling).  for understanding of cells and cell growth and the study of all this.  for real people who are affected in so many ways by the choices of others.  for grace unfathomable.  oh just read it!

my kiddos read to me and did their school-work.  then off to my mom's house for their piano lessons.  from there, to choir for one of their last two rehersals before their christmas concert.

once home, i stirred up the fire, tidied up the living and dining room and chopped potatoes and onions and celery and seasoned pork sausage and made hash for supper. 

and we ate together and laughed and talked and the kiddos opened their little gifts and we prayed (and are still praying) that the truck will sell (i showed it today!) and we read our day three devotion (you can read the same one by going to aholyexperience.com and signing up for ann's rss feed, then you can download her jesse tree advent celebration {free} - good stuff, i tell you).

and i'm listening to christmas music and reflecting:  Genesis chapter 2 - we're only two chapters in.  and the whole story falls apart.  (sounds like life sometimes.)  . . . already the story's an almost impossible mess with this, perhaps the very saddest story in all the Bible.   . . . and yet, this saddest part of our story?  it sings with greatest passion of our Savior!  can you hear the whisper in the wind: Jesus!  Christmas has been coming right from the very beginning!   

{italics, selections from ann voskamp's jesse tree advent celebration, day 3}