Gifts

34. freshly mopped floors

35. hearing please and thank you

36. red garden tomatoes fresh off the plant

37. summer sunshine streaming inside

38. supper of fresh garden veggies

39. purple okra

40. lazy summer mornings

41. coffee perfectly hot

42. water park fun

43. unexpectedly running into friends at the park

Children

I love Sally Clarkson's book, The Mission of Motherhood. It is such a wonderful book to pick up when I'm feeling discouraged about parenting. It is so easy (at least for me) to get overwhelmed by the daily duties of being a mom...the laundry, the dishes, the toys, the breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks, the grocery shopping...not to mention the correcting, the intervening, the training, the disciplining! The bigger picture can easily get lost amidst the daily chaos. I reach the point of burn-out when I am focused on the daily. It feels like it will never end...this parenting. It feels like I cannot keep up and there is always something that is falling through the cracks. Just when I feel caught up, I realize there is something else that I have entirely neglected (on a good day!).

Sally Clarkson has become this sort of beacon for me...reassuring me of my calling as a mother and pointing me back to God's design for motherhood. In the introduction to her book, she says the fundamental mission of motherhood is: "to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully."

And obviously we were never meant to do this on our own! Hebrews 13:21 says that God will "equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever." And Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

God created us in Christ to do these works that he has called us to do, and he does not leave it up to us to accomplish them on our own. He prepared the works, and he equips us for the works. And he continues to work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ.

That brings me back to the whole pisteuo/trust "issue." Our whole relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, is one of committing ourselves to trust him. It's a daily walk of putting our faith in him and trusting him to guide us, to equip us, to give us what is needed for that day's work. I cannot get so focused on the daily minutiae that I lose sight of what my calling is as a mother and who is equipping me for this work.

I love Sally Clarkson's hopes for her children, because it encompasses that bigger picture that I don't want to lose in the daily grind.

"I don't just want my kids to be moral. I don't just want them to know all of the biblical rules for behavior. I don't just want them to make it through my home with good grades, no drug addiction, and no premarital sex.

I want them to leave my home with a hunger and passion to know God personally and to be used by him to accomplish great things for his kingdom. I want them to personally hear God's voice and have his Spirit's gentle touch and impression on their hearts as they read the Scriptures and struggle with the issues of their lives.

...If we are wise, we will keep this goal ever before us-- to keep us focused on what really matters, on the ultimate purpose of our activity as parents." (p. 80)

Gospel Truth

I've been reading several books lately by John Piper that have brought together more pieces of the great puzzle that I am apparently working on! As I have been working with middle school youth, I've time and again come back to the basic question of, "what are we calling them to?" As I talk with my own two kids, I come back to the same question of, "what am I calling them to?" It's not a set of rules...it's not to look a certain way...it's not a to-do list. It's about a relationship.

John Piper hit the nail on the head with what I've been trying to put into words in his book God is the Gospel. He asks a challenging question (p. 15):

"If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?"

No one knows exactly what heaven will be like. We cannot begin to fathom what God has prepared for us. Yet, we have our ideas, our pictures, or expectations. But, would we be satisfied with all of the good gifts and no Christ? Of course, heaven will not exist without Christ. But it is a challenging question nonetheless, because I fear that much of what is presented as "gospel" is the gifts without the Christ.

Piper later asks,

"But then we must ask why they want to go to heaven. They might answer, 'Because the alternative is painful.' Or 'because my deceased wife is there.' Or, 'because there will be a new heaven and a new earth where justice and beauty will finally be everywhere.'

What's wrong with these answers? It's true that no one should want to go to hell....In heaven we will be restored to loved ones who died in Christ, and we will escape the pain of hell and enjoy the justice and the beauty of the new earth. All that is true....What's wrong with them is that they do not treat God as the final and highest good of the gospel. They do not express a supreme desire to be with God. God was not even mentioned. Only his gifts were mentioned. These gifts are precious. But they are not God. And they are not the gospel if God himself is not cherished as the supreme gift of the gospel" (p. 45).

As I've sought to explain the gospel...the "good news" of Jesus Christ...to my 4 and 6 year old and to 11 and 12 and 13 year old girls, I've been challenged to really examine what I am calling them to. I grew up with the ABC's of the gospel (admit, believe, confess)...a sort of ticket to heaven mentality. There's more to it.

I've gone back to John 17:3 time and again lately, "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." "Know", used in this verse, means to know intimately as in the intimate relationship between a husband and wife. So, eternal life is that we might intimately know God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. That is relationship.

And this is where I love what John Piper says...

"The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel" (p. 47).

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."

That's why Christ came and died for the world...to save us (sozo...to bring wholeness)...to remove every obstacle between us and God the Father. And we receive this gift of salvation through faith (pisteuo) in Christ...putting our faith in the historical facts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection and committing to trust the person of Christ with our life. And through that faith, we receive forgiveness, are justified, and are made righteous...our spirits are made alive and we are called the children of God...we will live forever with Him in heaven and are equipped for every good work, which He has prepared for us to do here in the present age...the gifts of the good news.

Noise

28. water and summertime fun

29. excited little voices, "Mama! Daddy!"

30. no cavities, clean teeth for kiddos

31. thirty minutes to read in the dentist waiting room

32. kids playing on the boat with wild imaginations

33. great friends we've met this school year

Gifts

22. a surprise anniversary gift

23. cup of coffee in a quiet house

24. running errands alone with

my husband

25. mango frozen yogurt with raspberries, mango, and dark chocolate crisps

26. a day to explore

27. catching up with missed friends

Return

All things seem to start with good intentions...and then life gets in the way! Shortly after I decided to blog this journey through One Thousand Gifts, my computer was zapped in a thunderstorm and spent several weeks in the shop. That seems to be the story of my life...good intentions laid out, life happens, and I fall back again. But that is precisely why I want to commit to doing this. I long to slow down...to live in the now and not get caught up in the rat race of life! I long to engage in life with my kids and to focus on relationships above to-do lists and to see the beauty in the now. I don't want to always be looking for the next stage of life and that elusive moment when life will all come together and I can rest and breathe easy. I do believe that will happen one day when I am in Heaven! So, I am choosing to slow down...live in the present moment...and see the beauty that God graces me with each day.

In reading One Thousand Gifts, something really stuck out to me that has been further confirmed in other books that I have been reading lately (always a clue to open my eyes and ears!). Ann Voskamp takes the story from Luke 17 of Jesus healing the ten lepers and one returns to thank Him. Jesus tells the man in Luke 17:19 "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." He already physically healed the man, but now He tells the man that his faith has made him well. The Greek word for "well" used there is "sozo" and the KJV version says "made thee whole." This same word is used in John 3:17 where it says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Voskamp writes, "Sozo means salvation. It means true wellness, complete wholeness. To live sozo is to live the full life. Jesus came that we might live life to the full; He came to give us sozo. And when did the leper receive sozo -- the saving full, whole life? When he returned and gave thanks."

Jesus came and died to save the world...to save us from the brokenness and hurt and wrath. To offer life and wholeness. And the verse just before says that "whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Believe in that verse is the Greek "pisteuo" meaning faith, belief, knowledge or assent to, confidence in, trust, commit to trust. It's more than a simple head knowledge of the facts that Jesus came, died and rose again. It's putting one's faith in the historical facts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection and committing trust in the person of Jesus Christ today.

And Paul offers in his letter to the Romans...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow." (Romans 15:13)

This is the same trust/pisteuo...as I believe in, put my faith in, commit to trust God the Father...who sent His Son to save/sozo the world, I will not perish, but have eternal life. And by that same trust/pisteuo, I turn to the God of hope and am filled with all joy and peace, so that I may overflow. That is sozo/salvation...that is wholeness and life! That is what I am longing for now. That right here, right now, in the circumstances of my daily life, I will live in all joy and peace and will overflow to others.

And how does that happen? Eternal salvation happened instantly when I accepted Jesus Christ and put my faith in Him. But, I believe that the wholeness and fullness of life promised in John 10:10 happens as I daily commit to trust/pisteuo the God of hope.

Ann Voskamp furthers this point by looking at John 6:29 in the Amplified Version:

"Jesus, replied 'This is the very work (service) that God asks of you: That you believe in the One whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].'"

She says, "Then, a true saving faith is a faith that gives thanks, a faith that sees God, a faith that deeply trusts....That's my daily work, the work God asks of me? To trust."

Yes, it's a daily commitment to trust the God of hope...and in that trust I begin to live out the fullness of life that He has for me. And I am able to find joy and peace no matter the circumstances, because I know that He is in control and will provide all that is needed for this day. When I am confused, He provides direction. When I am anxious, He provides peace. When I am weary, He provides strength. Daily trust. Daily thankfulness. Daily reliance on Him.

Togetherness

17. Connecting with new friends

18. Saturday mornings at the t-ball field

19. Sunshine and laughter

20. brother and sister cheering each other on

21. Little girls hunting for bugs

Beauty in Today

7. Blonde curls and sparkling eyes

8. Dewy grass glistening in morning sun

9. Big brother giving little sister advice

10. Friends challenging me in my walk with Jesus

11. Surprisingly beautiful salmon tables

12. Spotted giraffes and bright blue skies

13. Little girlfriends walking hand in hand

14. Little girls giggling at goats

15. Clean hair

16. Big boy dimples

Beauty in Progress

Ann Voskamp writes, referencing Paul in Philippians 4:11-12, "Twice Paul whispers it: 'I have learned...' Learned. I would have to learn eucharisteo. Learn eucharisteo--learn to live it fully....Learn how to be thankful--whether empty or full...To learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty."

It is a journey...a process whereby God meets me where I am...in my brokenness and ugliness...chooses me and calls me His own. The journey to beauty begins...and I am choosing to hold on to the promise found in Phillipans 1:6

"being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

He meets me in my brokenness and chooses me...

"For you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9)

He sands away the rough edges...He primes me for His calling...

"May the God of peace...that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever." (Hebrews 13:20-21)

and I am ready for Him to turn the ugly into something beautiful...

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

I find that as His beauty begins to take shape in my life, it pours over into the lives of those around me. And I see His beauty taking shape in their lives. I realize even more the need to learn this eucharisteo...this thankfulness...this grace...this joy. I have only this one life to influence those around me.

3. creating "violet" with watercolors

4. Lego creations across the floor

5. springtime bright blue skies, lush green trees, and vibrant flowers

6. junk pile treasures

"A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit" (Erasmus)

Ann Voskamp writes..."this is nothing less than the driving of nails. Nails driving out my habits of discontent and driving in my habit of eucharisteo. I'm hammering in nails to pound out nails, ugly nails that Satan has pierced through the world, my heart."

So I hammer...I give myself over to my Creator to refine me, to turn turn the ugly brokenness into beauty...into a beauty that pours out onto those around me. And I am learning...learning the eucharisteo.

One Thousand Gifts

I've had the blessing...truly, a blessing...to read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. And I am embarking on my own journey to one thousand gifts...to the life lived fully right where I am.

I've been challenged lately to lay aside my hopes of healing from Fibromyalgia...to embrace the life that God has given me...to recognize the beauty in the now...to seek Him first above all else.

"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23

Ann Voskamp writes, "The act of sacrificing thank offerings to God -- even for the bread and cup of cost, for cancer and crucifixion -- this prepares the way for God to show us His fullest salvation from bitter, angry, resentful lives and from all sin that estranges us from Him."

I toss and turn in bed with aching joints and sore muscles as the rain pounds outside. I wake to a dark and angry sky, feeling tired, and two young children needing care. But I take up the dare to live fully right where I am. I sacrifice thank offerings that honor Him...that the way might be prepared to receive the salvation of God...the FULL life!

1. White pitchers and spring flowers

2. Sunshine after the rain