really good books

one of our favorite things to do as a family is read.

read, read, and read some more.

we get stacks and stacks from the library and plow through them with vigor.

i love love love to read aloud to my children. now that it is getting dark so much earlier, we have been reading even more, especially after dinner.

we eat and do a quick clean up of the kitchen (the big kids help, whether they want to or not!) and then they all run and get their pajamas on.

do you remember how Malachi has blanket time? well, during reading time, he has blanket time and gets his own stacks of books. all the other kids decided they wanted to sit on their blankets, too, while I read. So there we are, all spread out, each one on his own blanket.

precious.

so tonight, Caleb read to his little siblings (without the blankets, too late tonight) and it hit me that you are likely to love these books as much as we do.

So, quick, go to the library as quickly as you can and get these:

the first

the second

the third (for Valentine's Day, but so excellent any time of year!)

and her newest, one I have not read yet:

Enjoy!

thanksgiving 2011

He brought me to His banqueting table, His banner over me is love.

Uncle Evan with Malachi

this thanksgiving was a time spent reflecting on God's table, His feast, His lavish grace, His overwhelming love, His banner over me. amazing.

recently our pastor was describing a feast he attended where every delightful food you can imagine was on display for all to enjoy. He described how awful it would be if, upon seeing such beauty, the host said to you, no, this table is not for you. You are not allowed to dine with me.

But God does not do that. Instead He sets the most beautiful table, beyond our wildest dreams, and invites us to come, eat, rest, receive.

He brought me to His banqueting table, His banner over me is love indeed.

getting ready

today is a day for the kitchen.

a day for different.

a day for good smells.

a day for giving thanks.

the school books have been put away, not to be seen again for several days.

the hymns are on, the washing machine is doing its last load for a few days.

we took naps.

we watched a movie.

and we cooked. and we cooked. and we cooked.

I tried something new. I had one helper per dish instead of six helpers for six dishes. It went much better that way, once everybody understood they would all get a turn.

big days like this are such a good time for reflection for me. the fact that last Thanksgiving, two of my children were orphans, alone, without brothers or sisters or parents or grandparents or cousins is enough for me to say, you know what? my cranberry sauce can come from a can this year.

because it just doesn't matter.

no turkey crafts, too much baking soda in the pumpkin bread, messy rooms.

it is the perfect year to say no to perfectionism, isn't it?

yes, it is.

two orphans-no-more around my table this year.

we are ready to pause. we are ready to give thanks. we are already giving thanks. deeply.

do what it says

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.

Do what it says."

James 1:22

This morning my three year old didn't do what I asked, even though he clearly heard what I said. I called him over to me, and just as I was about to begin the disciplining process for not obeying, he said "Wait, Mom. We didn't talk about it."

The same is true in my relationship with God.

There are many things that God has asked me to do that I wanted to "talk about"
first—things such as sharing the gospel with my neighbors, humbling myself when
I have been wrong, caring for unlovable people, saying no to material things that easily entangle and distract me. I have delayed my obedience—or worse, I have said "no" outright, or I have just plain ignored His voice, hoping He wasn't really talking to me.

Perhaps this is why the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:7-8 three times in two chapters: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

God's people had hardened their hearts, gone their own way, rebelled, said no. I am one of them. I am deceived into thinking that just listening to, or being challenged by something means I have obeyed. It seems so radical when obedience actually costs me something. I am so content with easy, cheap obedience.

Thank You, Father God, that You speak to Your people, that You ask me to do hard, uncomfortable things for Your Name's sake and for my good, that I am able to hear Your voice at all. I do not deserve to hear Your voice. I have ignored it so many times. May I learn what obedience really is by keeping my eyes on Jesus, the One who sacrificed everything even when the cost was so high.

God, I pray that my hard heart would awake to Your Voice alone, that I would have ears to hear what You are saying to me, and that I would actually do what You tell me to do.

halloween

Superwhy!

Starring Kate as WonderRed

Elizabeth as Princess Presto

Ezra as Superwhy

and Malachi as AlphaPig

to the rescue!

(thanks, Mom, for the costumes! the kids LOVED them!)

also starring

me, a Ravens football player

Joel, some guy who just got off work

and

Caleb, wait for it....a Ravens football player

and Marie, who was Kanani, the American Girl doll of the year