Grandma & Grandpa Warta Visit

The delay on blogging Grandma and Papa's visit is proof that I cannot do everything as quickly as I would like. I'm a week or two behind. Yuck. We LOVE LOVE LOVE having company! Here are some of the highlights of the trip.

Keeping up the with the tradition of bringing the girls matching pajamas. Mya and Emily love them! Papa read the girls a bed-time story, then gave them a "horsey ride" to bed.

The morning was spent enjoying the great outdoors. Papa showed Mya how to shoot a bow. Mya showed Papa and Grandma the "Secret Fort". Emily and Grandma were inseparable, just like Mya and Papa.
We made a trip to our neighbors. The girls tried to catch fish with their hands. They really enjoy that fish pond. We headed inside and got to see the great work of Ralph with his wooden carvings. Such talent!
We were all treated to a delicious home baked meal! We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and home made chocolate meringue pies. Emily's favorite part by far was the corn. She really took to the soda that Papa gave her as well. That's a rare event!
I've got a lot more pictures to post, but I'm turning in for the night. Good night all!

Purified

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 2:28-3:3

Denied

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:23

Today, am I denying myself or am I denying Him? This is a thought I want to constantly be asking myself. I am reminded that in me, there is nothing good. "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God." Mark 10:18

May you find yourself in Him today. Rest in His goodness and His tender mercy. May He gently but firmly remind you that we need to be seeking after Him first. His ways are far better than our own.

Soul Purpose, Part 1

I joined a Bible Study a few weeks ago that has been phenomenal. I'm surprised I waited this long to share it. There was a lot of great information, so I thought I would need to break it up into sections. What I am sharing is not the study in it's entirety, just what really spoke to me. If you are interested in knowing more, let me know. I would be happy to share!

All of these are excerpts from "Following Christ" by Joseph Stowell.

Followers don't cut deals with Christ. They just follow. It is a relationship that confronts the uncertainty and fear with unflinching trust.

...had it ever crossed their minds (the disciples) that there may be more to life......

We, too, are looking for something or someone above and beyond ourselves to give meaning and purpose.

Jesus summons men to follow him not as a teacher or a pattern of a good life, bust as Christ, the Son of God. While following Christ does not always mean-as it did for the disciples-leaving our careers, it will mean radically altering our view of them.

...in the end (the disciples would) rather follow Him than their own dreams and aspirations-at great personal cost.

A true follower should ask the question, "What would Christ have me do with the skills he has given me?"

As a result of their commitment to follow, they are having an incredible impact for Christ.

Christ offers a fresh view of life and new hope to all who will follow Him.

He will fulfill all your inner longing and establish stability in your world.

Christ no only fills the emptiness with significance but also leads us in life ways that, unlike the pagan paths, are stable, certain, and successful.

His offer of life is far deeper and more expansive in every way than piles of possessions and the fleeting pleasures of life.

Christ never measures life by the benefits but rather by the essence of life in the long view. And the essence of life and the long view demand that we have Christ at the center of life as the singular pursuit of existence.

Perhaps our struggle to fully embrace Christ as leader related to the fact that we feel that we are, in effect, merely "grandstand Christians." While Christ has indeed done spectacular things for others that validate His claim to lead, He really hasn't done all that much for us. A cognitive, ritualistic, distant relationship with Christ rarely cultivates good soil for followership. It's the real encounters with this Leader that make Him so compelling. It's His personal touch that convinces us of the value and worth of this relationship.

He is more than just a piece of their lives- He is the compelling reality of their existence.

And just in case you think that He hasn't done anything for you lately, remember how active He is every day, keeping our anything that would be more than you can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).

Putting our heads on the pillow at night should be an exercise in ecstatic gratitude for the fact that Christ and His angels have been busy on our behalf, guarding and guiding us all the way through the day and guaranteeing that we cannot be fatally damaged by an adversary who seeks to destroy us.

As we have noted, following is simply a matter of unqualified obedience to the incarnate God of the universe. If benefits alone were the motivation, the followers of the first century would have bailed out immediately, since for many of then, to follow meant being marginalized, maligned, and somethings martyred. Both Christ and His cause were so compelling that they were followers regardless. This is the kind of followership to which we must aspire.

...it is still unconditional followership that Christ both demands and deserves.

Followers in the fist century were not above the temptation to follow Christ for all the wrong reasons. Scripture relates that after the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd followed Christ across the sea the next day to see if He would feed them again. He sternly rebuked their stomach-first motivation for following and refused to do anther miracle to satisfy misplaced affection.

They placed all their hopes and dreams for their future in His hands without negotiation. Although they were at times imperfect followers, they nevertheless remained undaunted in their commitment to continue to follow Him.

An entire civilization was forged that for centuries would be based upon Christ's ways and reflect His justice and righteousness in its law.

A lesson I wish I didn't have to teach

I found out the other day that it's really tough to explain to a 4 year old that our dog she's known all her life has cancer, and we would have to put him down. Gus had a large tumor in his mouth and the time came last week to put him out of his misery. It was a very sad day in our house. We've gathered some of the pictures we have of the happier times.

We miss you buddy.

First day of school

September 10th was Mya's first day of Preschool. She had been looking forward to that day for many months. She woke up early and was such a big girl with doing everything needed to leave prepared. Although a note requested that children be sent in "play clothes", Mya wanted to be a "princess" for her first day of school. Being the social butterfly that she is, she never had a twinge of reluctance when heading in. Before Matt and I were ready to leave, she was telling us good-bye. She loved it!

Ohio visits New York

Kids take a drive in an old firetruck at the farm.

The beloved swings.

Emily being silly with Uncle Joe.

Mya excitedly takes her first pony ride.

Love this picture! These girls love their daddy.

Sarah, Joe and Zeke.

Watching the goats.

Emily sleeps through the nibbling goat at her leg.

The search for the best donut. Mya of course wanted the pink one.

Auntie Sarah was thoughtful, and brought Mya a bunch of makeup. I made her wait until after church to put it on. So, of course, she starts putting it on in the donut shop. She thinks the more the better. Poor child had bright pink and purple on her eyes, in no uniform order. Then, there was the lipstick..... Emily wanted to have some as well. Mya was kind enough to share a little bit.

For Labor Day weekend we had the joy and privilege of Joe, Sarah, and Zeke visiting. They arrived late Thursday night and stayed until Monday morning. It was a wonderful, long weekend with them. We did the usual stuff when we have visitors. We played Settler's, took walks, went to the farm, to the park, and introduced them to our wonderful neighbors, Ralph and Coletta. It was the first time we were able to have them at church with us. That was really cool! We all enjoyed donuts after the service. Yum! Talk about sacrifice though. They traveled 6 hours each way to come to our house. Whether traveling is enjoyable or not, that's a long trip. Enjoy the pictures!

Don't stop

Today I was doing a study on "What is a Disciple?". A disciple is someone who follows after, learns, and wants to become like the person they are coming under. For the first time, it hit me. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed Him. Matt. 4:19-20

I am called to be a "fisher of men". Living a good life is not what it is about. If I am not actively bringing people to Christ, I am not living out what I was created to do. Fishing was the disciples' life. It was everything! To become fishers of men meant that they were going to devote all their time, energy, and resources to doing such. I find myself in that picture thinking, "Yikes. If I am to be a fisher of men, and that's it...... I'm failing. I am not giving it priority. I'm leaving it to convenience ." It hit me really hard.

Something we hear a lot of is, "What does God want?" and, "What would it look like if God did what He wanted?" I ponder this question. God wants every person to come to Him, that they can be saved. That they can live forever with Him. What it takes to get there is for me to do my part in my "circle of influence" to bring others to Christ by the way He lives through me. I am thankful that I have learned this lesson today. It reminds me to be "eternity focused".

Another phrase I heard that I will keep with me is: the Christian life is not one of perfection, but one of progress. I need to be continually growing. Don't stop. I am amazed at what God can do with my life when I completely surrender to Him. He is putting me in places I would have NEVER imagined. He is so big, and so good. I love that He sees me for who I am and loves me just the same. With a LOVE that NOTHING can compare to. He loves you in the same way. He knows you by name. Imagine that!

Teaching Diligently

"You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL your strength." .
"You shall teach them (the commands of the Lord) diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
..."when the Lord your God brings you into the land... to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out well which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant- when you have eaten and are full- THEN beware, lest you forget the Lord.... who brought you out of the land and the house of bondage.
"You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him...
"You shall not go after other gods, the gods of peoples who are ALL AROUND YOU...
"And you shall do what is right and good IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, that it may be well with you.....

Deuteronomy chapter 6, selected verses.

Love Him with absolutely everything you are. As we heard this Sunday, it's ALL of you for ALL of Him. Anything less than that, it just doesn't work. Parenting is a tough job. I have got some serious work cut out for me. The rewards are well worth it. Have a blessed day. Take every opportunity you have to be reminded of what has been done for us. Share it! It's wonderful news, full of hope... full of life.... full of meaning for all those who choose to believe.