Category Archives: Sacred Mundane

• Candles lit.
• A truly relaxing Thanksgiving break. In Jeff’s words, the best part: “We were never once in a hurry.” Amen to that. Vacation-time is never very restful with small children, but to not be in a hurry — bliss!
• Fingerprints everywhere. Evidence of my two little miracles.
• Kids playing in the bottom limbs of the Christmas tree.
• How we’re all drawn to that corner. To light.
• Precious friends back in town.
• Quiet.
• Puffer vest and fleece-lined boots.
• Dutch & Heidi part of tear-down crew at church.
• $2 inflatable light-saber at Target. Feel like I should write a thank-you note to whoever invented that thing!
• Choosing to bless my boy — both pirate and Star Wars paper plates/cups for his birthday.
• Understanding how much my Father loves to bless me.
• Understanding how much my dear husband loves to bless me.
• Freely receiving.
• Freely giving — (or at least getting there!)
• Stoking the fire.
• Great Christmas music floating through the house.
• Turkey stock from generous friend!
• Simple meals.
• Reading a book together, each night, with my man. A favorite new tradition!
• Being challenged.
• New light cast on the Bride of Christ.
• My sweet boy reading so well!
• Early morning snuggles — all four in our bed.
• Her sweaty curls pressed onto her cheeks.
• Crawling in as she wakes, pulling her into my arms, inhaling her sweetness. Wanting to remember these moments forever.
• Family night!
• New Lego set. Daddy assembling everything — he, enjoying it every bit as much as the kids.
• Roaring fire warmth.
• Sunny afternoon, walk along the lane with light saber, searching for star wars Storm Troopers.
• Heidi calling out, “‘torm toopers!”
• Lentil soup for dinner.
• Glowing coals.
• Little boy sleeping in.
• Waking up, slow realization … Yes! It’s Friday … Jeff’s home! 
• House aglow: lamps, fire, Christmas tree lights.
• Opening Christmas cards. Seeing faces we love.
• Coming home cold from chopping the tree.
• Little hands holding hot cocoa.
• Milk mustaches.
• Visit from aunty Debra. Greeted at the steps with Light Saber and Cutlass.
• Dora undies peeking out the top of Heidi’s pants.
• Her stray curls fallen, framing her face.
• Kissing her little lips a hundred times a day.
• Our morning ritual: “Mama, pease snuggle me by the fah?” (fire)
• Heidi watching me work on my laptop, wanting her own: “Someday can you get me a ‘pooter has some buttons on it?”
• Her putting rubber bands around my toes while I work.
• Warming boots by the fire.
• A friend’s house-warming party and prayer with people we love.
• Stockings hung behind the wood stove.
• Kids making special little crafts, kept a “secret”, and tucked into our stockings.
• Origami advent calendar. It was so fun and easy, I might become a folding fanatic!
• Reading with my man.
• Our nighttime ritual: reading a scrabble on the ipad.
• My lucky 203-point word.
• Dutch & Cody’s hilarious leaf-war in the front yard. Little boys …
• Muddy head to toe. Isn’t childhood wonderful!
• Walk to the miniature donkeys. Crosses on their backs.
• Heidi “reading” the Jonah story: “It’s a GIANT fish. It’s a mommy fish.”
• Laundry done.
• New facewash.
• The feel of clean.
• Doing this thanks-list daily instead of just at the end of the week. Helps so much to daily pause and remember His gifts!
• That He hears.
• Considering the lilies …
• Knowing we need not be anxious.
• Knowing He cares.
• Snuggled down secure in His love. 

We did it last year and it was a blast!

{12 Days of Christmas: As a family you pick another family or couple or single person, perhaps who has gone through a hard time or could just use encouragement, or just whoever God places on your heart. (This would be an awesome way to build a bridge with an unbelieving family in your sphere of influence!) You secretly put tiny gifts on their doorstep for the 12 days preceding Christmas (1 candle, then the next day 2 packets of hot cocoa, then the next day 3 of something, all the way to the 12th day giving them 12 of something like fresh cinnamon rolls on Christmas day).

Each day you include a verse or something encouraging that goes along with the gift. The point is not to get complicated, but just to have fun thinking creatively about one other family and encourage them from God’s Word. It’s helpful to pick someone who lives near you since you’ll need to go by their house every day for 12 days!    You can reveal who you are at the end or keep it a secret, depending upon the situation.  Just a little idea to spark creativity as we learn to love our neighbors and celebrate the greatest gift–the Giver Himself.}

This past year, we chose a super-fun family (that always helps), who lived a few miles away. Christmas morning it was such a joy — we pulled up around 9am and their whole family came bounding out onto the front porch to “catch” us (we wanted to be caught at this point) and we all laughed ourselves silly recalling all the ways we’d sneaked around their house, how they’d wanted to catch us, and how they couldn’t figure out who it was. (They’d made a list of suspects!) They’d left pumpkin bread out on the porch and a note for the “Stealthy Ninja Christmas Angel.” 

So, if you’re game for an adventure, do a bit of pre-planning, enlist the help of your family, and have fun doing a little secret-blessing this year.

You too can be a stealthy ninja Christmas angel. {Thank you, Alice Schwartz for sharing this idea with us last year! And thanks, all,  for reading!}

PS I know the “official” 12 days of Christmas are technically after Christmas. You get the idea. It’s more fun to end on Christmas day!

• The crazy-beautiful yellow-gold tree in our front yard. It shines brilliant autumn-light!

• Shara reading Tough Boris, Heidi snuggled on her lap. Then tickles!
• Missionary friends staying with us before heading off to Papua New Guinea in January.
• Four kids racing round the “racetrack” that is our house.
• All eight around the table. Oatmeal and muffins.
• Amazed at fellowship in Christ. After only meeting them once or twice we’re like old friends! Love how the gospel unites us.
• Savoring domesticity.
• Fresh laundry folded neat.
• Apple Cider from scratch that’s just as good as TJ’s!
• Yellow-gold leaves on the backyard birch tree.
• Chocolate-covered peppermint oreos from TJ’s. WHAT?! So good.

• Early mornings snuggling by the fire.
• Christmas shopping done!
• Looking over the sweet things waiting to be wrapped. So excited to give them!
• Finding just the right pen.
• Sharp pencils.
• New markers.
• Fresh flowers by the kitchen sink.
• Familiar words, new again.
• REST.
• Resting, abiding, trusting.
• His finished work.

• Digging with Dutch in the yard, molehills supply hours of fun!
• Kids clinging to daddy’s legs.
• Dutch talking on the phone.
• Kind cashiers.
• Gracious return policies.
• My husband who loves unconditionally. Truly, what a man. Thank you, Lord.
• That the food on Thanksgiving really doesn’t matter.
• Feasting on fellowship!
• Calendars and schedules falling into place.
• One red leaf alone remaining on a tree.
• Dutch thinking that every holiday is opportunity to wear a costume. “Mommy, what should I be for Christmas?”
• Thanksgiving small. Relaxed and restful.
• Truly a day of rest.
• My first Black Friday experience … part investigator, part participator. I only visited one store but I was thankful for the experience. Interesting!
• Pear-cranberry green salad with parmesan and raspberry vinaigrette.  Yum!
• Leftovers.
• Pancakes for dinner.
• Long naps.
• Pulling out the Christmas tote!
• Kids playing all afternoon with new “toys” — Christmas ornaments, ribbons, and lights.
• Christmas books.
• Hanging our lighted “joy” sign.
• Having joy. 
• His joy. 

Let’s face it, among the goats and cows and rabbits we purchase this Christmas, we’ll still want to buy some gifts for our friends and family. Thankfully, there are ways to buy modest gifts for those we love that show our love and share our wealth. 

So, still looking for the perfect gift? Check out these fabulous finds. And, no need to stand in a line out the door, circle a dozen times looking for a parking spot, or wake up at 2am after Thanksgiving. Such a deal!

Books:

• Revolution in World Missions by KP Yohannen. (free!)

I know, I know. What am I doing talking about weight on a site devoted to spiritual growth? Of course by now you know my mantra: Everything matters. Diapers or devotions, laundry or liturgy, weight loss or worship, the details of life are the whispers of a Savior. Isn’t Christ in the middle of our mundane?

And, I just thought I’d toss in a word or two on the topic since the issue usually hovers beneath the surface with most women. And of course tomorrow is a day devoted to gluttony, yes? Plus, my friend Joy mentioned something about it the other day that I thought was great. So, feeling inspired, take it or leave it, a few thoughts:

The world has us wrapped around its finger because we alternately worship two false gods which feed upon each other:  

One is BODY, the other is FOOD. 

These two false gods have been erected and are now the focus of women’s worship in our world. And, we become what we worship. We naturally grow toward whatever we focus on. Joy made the point that she never diets because the more we focus on food and what not to eat, the more we tend to want that very thing!  It’s true.  We’re far better off just focusing on something else!

Sin must always be displaced. That is, we cannot just remove a sinful habit, we must displace it by pounding, as with a hammer and nail, another habit in, driving out the old one.  We’ll never remove greed by focusing on greed. Only be focusing on generosity.

We pound out greed by giving. 

We’ll never remove anger by focusing on anger. Only by focusing on patience, love, abiding in the grace and gentleness of Christ. When we worship and focus on Christ we become like Him. Make sense?

So back to the idols. Our culture has made idols of BODY and FOOD. We obsess about having celebrity-figures and yet we also obsess over FOOD. Look at our magazines? What’s on the cover?

Naked bodies and food.

Right next to a scantily-clad Angelina is a chocolate pie or a salad (or Kelly Ripa, right, holding Christmas cookies you better believe she’d never eat). Go ahead, look at all the women’s magazine covers. You’ll find BODIES and FOOD. 

So, knowing those are our idols, it’s a no-brainer to realize that we are bound to a life of frustration. Why? Because to have the one we can’t have the other and to have the other one we can’t have the other. AGH!  Or, more accurately, we either tend idolize one more than the other (and it shows). We look like what we worship. When we idolize body, we look anxious, striving, frustrated. When we worship food, we look overweight. When we worship both, we’re some mixture of the two. But always, always defeated. When we worship something that’s empty, we lose our vitality.

But what if instead we worshipped Christ? 

Instead of focusing on the pumpkin pie tomorrow, what if we focused on the Savior?! Instead of every family traditions centering on food, what if it centered on praise? YES, there is a place for feasting (God commands it!) but we were never meant to worship His gifts, only the Giver. If we worship food this holiday season we will gain 5 lbs and lose a lot of joy. If we worship the Savior, focusing on Him, obsessing about Him, planning about Him, seeking Him — We’ll come through the season with weightier lives, lighter hearts, and happier days.

Truly, the secret — we become like what we worship. 

Let’s FIX our gaze this Christmas on our beautiful Savior. 

{Thanks for reading.}

• Blue sky and bare branches.
• Sweet, simple things.
• Early morning snuggles by the fire.
• Coming home late, crawling under covers of each sleeping bug.
• Kisses on still cheeks.
• Cold bedrooms, crawling under icy sheets, waiting for warmth.
• Wood fire crackle.
• Wind rattling windows, trees swaying. Watching the storm from the warmth inside.
• Falling in love again.
• People who listen.
• Friends who edit. 
• Being a family of barracudas.
• Merciless tickling.
• Peals of laughter, that light in my boy’s eyes.
• Full, full days. Good.
• Crockpot.
• Introducing people and having them click.
• How God coordinates, orchestrates.
• Her sweaty curls when she wakes up.
• Pillows patched together with great-grandmother’s quilt squares. I love old things!
• New boots via a generous gift. Probably the nicest clothing item I’ve ever owned. Not sure if I should wear them! (But very thankful.)
• Candy Cane Lane green tea.
• Headaches persisting. Able to take the hint: Rest.
• Voice gone. Able to take the hint: Rest.
• Tired, achy. Able to take the hint: Rest.
• Blue whales and polar bears. Documentaries are amazing!
• The wonder of His creation. It all declares the glory of God!
• Soft, warm, lamplight.
• Voucher-payment for guest blog posts. Love that!
• Stocking up on Dr. Bronners.
• Mentor group — these ladies amaze me. Honesty, courage, humility, maturity, grace. So blessed.
• New faces.
• Old friends.
• Jeans worn through in the knee.
• Seeing fruit of the Spirit in my boy!
• Lacey’s pics.
• Finishing our busy season!!  Exactly 2 months filled with a house sale, move, 14 speaking engagements between the 2 of us, 2 retreats, Bible study, 2 weekly community groups, and a sprinkling of other joys. God was faithful and we rejoice!
• Celebrating the new quieter season with an afternoon of ironing. Sweet domesticity!
• Sewing pillows.
• Puzzles pieced together.
• Kids silly.
• Dutch, my boy like a baby deer. He skids and stumbles, his growing legs slipping and sliding everywhere as he darts through the house. He runs into walls, doors, bangs into open cupboard doors, trips over his feet. I laugh until I ache, that crazy boy.
• His birthday request: A Pirate-StarWars-Polar Bear party.  Trying to figure out what the cake would look like for that.
• Glimpses into people’s hearts.
• Seeing people find victory.
• Seeing He is stronger.
• Daytime date with my man.
• The Paskins.
• New job for a dear friend! Celebrating!!!
• Few leaves hanging on for dear life, clinging to the branches out the window.
• Branches bare.
• Last red leaves close enough to touch, outside our bedroom window.
• The notebook that holds all the pieces of my life.
• Voice coming back!
• Her, shirtless and in bluejeans, curls cascading down her back, bouncing as she runs around, a baby polar bear on the loose.
• That He manages to use us, broken as we are. 
• That He makes us new.

 You are loved beyond comprehension.

Happy weekend and  thank you for reading.

My parents maintain that they’ve only had one fight in their 41 years of marriage.

When Mom changed the family diet without warning.

“We’re now eating fruit every morning for breakfast!” She announced cheerfully. I don’t remember it (thankfully), but apparently Dad about blew his top. You see, the man loves his sausage and eggs, his oatmeal, his hashbrowns. The man don’t want no fruit for breakfast if you hear what I’m saying.

She quickly learned that changing the family’s traditions needs to happen slowly.

Now, the question I hear so often is this:

“How do you make your family follow along with your new giving priorities?”

That is, when you are newly burdened with a desire to give to poor, and you want to change your holiday-habits, how on earth do you do so without disappointing everyone else? What do you tell your kids? What about grandparents? Do you forbid them to buy your kids toys? What about Christmas morning? The question pertains to one particular day, but the principle can be applied to every day:

How do we establish new gospel-centered traditions?  

I’m certainly not the expert, but here are a few thoughts:

1. Go slow. Guaranteed, if you all of a sudden declare that there will be no more gift-giving or holiday shopping ever happening again, you will have World War III in your home. No bueno. Consider making small steps over the next five years. You’ll have much better results. (That same can be said with establishing new eating habits, as my mom learned!)
2. Make it fun. Over the past few years, my family has done more and more giving through Gospel for Asia. We buy pigs, goats, rabbits, Bibles, clean water. But we keep it fun. One year I gave my brother a rubber chicken and a stuffed bunny rabbit from the dollar store (symbolizing the gift we’d given in his name). Another year I gave hard-boiled eggs to everyone (again, chickens). Last year my brother gave Jeff an old Bible (sent Bibles to unreached people) and gave me a bottle of water (he drilled a well in my name).  There’s all sorts of creative ways to celebrate and keep it fun without heaping up more and more junk that we really don’t need. Get creative!
3. Let others be free. Personally, I feel that I am only responsible for the people under my roof. I’m not going to tell my parents, Jeff’s parents, or our aunts and uncles what they can and cannot do with their money. Plus, for heavens sake let grandparents be grandparents. Wild horses couldn’t keep Jeff’s and my parents from spoiling their grandkids. So we let them. We personally do not buy our children gifts. We do for their birthdays but not for Christmas. However, it’s wonderful that their grandparents do!  We’re free and so are they. (And I appreciate their amazing generosity!)
4. Never say, “We can’t afford.” Sometimes it’s easy to pull a cop-out and tell people or our children that we can’t afford certain things. But this communicates that we’re victims, which just isn’t true. Some people in our world are victims of absolute poverty. We are not. By saying, “We choose  not to buy those gifts this year so that we can bless some people in need,” we communicate an important truth. We believe that poverty-stricken people matter. We are choosing them.
5. Keep it real. Showing our children pictures of other children in need is so helpful in teaching them compassion. Daily look at pictures of children in need. When doing the Operation Christmas Child boxes, look at children in the age-group and talk about who might receive the box.  Help them see how real need is, and their hearts will be quicker to follow your new giving-traditions.

Isn’t it crazy that overnight the stores shelves went from Halloween costumes to Christmas lights?

The Word says we live “from strength to strength” but the World says we live “from shopping season to shopping season.” Guaranteed the minute the Christmas lights come down the Valentine chocolates and teddy bears will line the shelves. Not that I blame them. Truly, if we didn’t have the joy and wonder of Christ to celebrate of course we’d have to buy stuff to celebrate!

But we have something so much greater to celebrate, don’t we? And don’t we also have to be intentional every single year, to actually honor Christ at His birth instead of being swept along in the sea of consumerism and forgetting Him altogether? I know I do. And doing so doesn’t mean we can’t have a Christmas tree or bake cookies or give meaningful gifts, but it means preparing our hearts to honor Christ’s birth. 

How can we do this?

We’ll look together at just a few of the innumerable ways. And please, I would love to hear from you how your family prepares to celebrate Christ in the midst of Christmas. So feel free to leave a comment with your idea.

To kick it off, I’d love to share this video with you, from one of my favorite missions organizations, Gospel for Asia. GFA is a truly remarkable organization, and if you’ve never read it, I highly encourage you to read Revolution in World Missions (click here for a free copy!). But only if you want to be ruined for regular life. 🙂

For today, will you please watch this video (all the way to the end!), and share your thoughts with us. Let’s prepare our hearts together … {Thanks for watching, and reading.}