A Year Later

I am reposting something I wrote last year. With the one year anniversary of Sandy Hook, I know personally of many families still dealing with deep pain. My sister-in-law's nephew was in the room where all the kids were killed. He watched his best friend Jack die. He was 6 years old. My daughter turned 5 last week. The question I seem to always ask God when I see and question these things is "it seems so unnecessary". Below is what I wrote a year ago. I am reposting because it is the anniversary of the shooting and two, the timeless truth of God is constant: He alone is our great hope. He is very much a God who is calm and unshakable.  My prayer today is that Christ's peace as grown in the heart's of those with so much grief.

Grateful for the God of Hope,
Leeanne

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December 15, 2012

As I was getting ready to publish a post yesterday regarding fun advent activities to do with our children during this season the world erupted with news of this shooting. This time it was personal  because a little 6 year old boy from my extended family was sitting in the class when the shooter walked in and started firing. He saw his teacher and friends die. He ran and praise God was safe. 

How do you process this? More eloquent people than me will come out with better explanations so all I can offer today is this:  Our Hope is in Jesus. 2000 years ago Jesus came and fulfilled the hope of the scripture. He is the hope of the past, the hope of the present, and the hope of our future. Only in Christ will we be able to find hope in the middle of all this chaos. Yet, I'm reminded over and over that Jesus calms the storm with His very breath. We may feel chaos but He is most certainly calm. We beat our chests and cry out "why" but Jesus quietly says, "be still  and know that I am God." Right now, I rest in His hope. Without hope we can't find peace. 

So today, I thank the Lord he protected the sweet boys in our family and I pray He will comfort the families who lost their sweet children. I am grateful I can grieve we hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Jesus is a great light in the midst of a dark place. 

With HOPE,

Leeanne

Our Peace

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me  one who is to be ruler in Israel,whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth;then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace."

Micah 5:2-5

English Standard Version (ESV)

"Here in a dark cave as a flickering torch casts high shadows of long-horned oxen on the rough-hewn logs, there is no sound but the munching of hay by the cattle.  In the midst lies the young mother, forgetting for the moment her discomfort, for in her arms lies the Babe, her baby boy.

Who would dream that He is the Kings of kings and Lord of lords?  Those chubby little hands that clasped the straw in His manger crib were soon to open blinded eyes, unstop deaf ears, and still the troubled seas. That cooing voice was soon to be lifted to command demons to depart and teach men of the Way, and to raise the dead. Those tiny feet were to take Him to the sick and needy and were finally to be pierced on Calvary's Cross.

That manger crib in remote Bethlehem became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God. From that manger came a Man who not only taught us a new way of life, but brought us into a new relationship with our Creator. "

Billy Graham, Christmas the Father's Gift p.24

Advent Readings

There are several advent books I have bought over the years that I read during this season. In addition to reading through the Christmas story in the Gospels, I especially like to read verses from the Old Testament that point to Christ's coming as well as verses about who Jesus is. Here is one advent reading plan I have been following for years:

*The Birth of Jesus Advent Verses

December 1 - Luke 1:30-33

December 2 - Luke 1:41-42

December 3 - Matthew 1:20-23

December 4 - Luke 2:1,3

December 5 - Luke 2:4-5

December 6 - Luke 2:6-7

December 7 - John 1:14

December 8 - Luke 2:8-9

December 9 - Luke 2:10-12

December 10 - Luke 2:13-14

December 11 - Luke 2:15-16

December 12 - Luke 2:17-19

December 13 - Luke 2:20

December 14 - Luke 2:21

December 15 - Matthew 2:1-2

December 16 - Matthew 2:3-4

December 17 - Matthew 2:5-6

December 18 - Matthew 2:7-8

December 19 - Matthew 2:9

December 20 - Matthew 2:10-11

December 21 - Luke 2:28-32

December 22 - Luke 2:38

December 23 - Luke 2:40

December 24 - Mark 1:9-11

The Coming King Advent Verses

December 1 - Genesis 3:14-15

December 2 - Genesis 22:18

December 3 - 2 Samuel 7:13

December 4 - Isaiah 7:14

December 5 - Isaiah 9:6

December 6 - Isaiah 9:7

December 7 - Isaiah 35:3-4

December 8 - Isaiah 40:3-5

December 9 - Isaiah 40:10-11

December 10 - Isaiah 42:1-3

December 11 - Isaiah 52:13-15

December 12 - Isaiah 53:1-2

December 13 - Isaiah 53:3-4

December 14 - Isaiah 53:5

December 15 - Isaiah 53:6

December 16 - Isaiah 53:7-8

December 17 - Isaiah 53:9

December 18 - Isaiah 53:10

December 19 - Isaiah 53:11

December 20 - Isaiah 53:12

December 21 - Jeremiah 23:5-6

December 22 - Micah 5:2

December 23 - Zechariah 9:9

December 24 - Luke 1:31-33

"Jesus Is..." Advent Verses

December 1 - Revelation 22:13

December 2 - John 6:35

December 3 - John 8:12

December 4 - John 10:7,9

December 5 - John 10:14,15

December 6 - John 14:6

December 7 - John 11:25

December 8 - John 1:1-2

December 9 - John 1:3

December 10 - John 2:4-5

December 11 - John 1:35-36

December 12 - Luke 3:21-22

December 13 - Romans 5:1-2

December 14 - Ephesians 2:14a

December 15 - Ephesians 2:19-20

December 16 - Hebrews 9:15

December 17 -Hebrews 1:3

December 18 - Hebrews 4:15-16

December 19 - Isaiah 9:7

December 20 - Isaiah 11:1-2

December 21 - Isaiah 11:10

December 22 - Hebrews 7:25

December 23 - Philippians 2:5-8

December 24 - Philippians 2:9-11

*from Celebrating Advent, by Norma Weekman and Susan Walker, Holidays Fit for the King, 2008

My kids and I are also doing a "name of Jesus" each day. More on that tomorrow!  My favorite traditions I do with the kids are Christmas books and a new nativity set each year. This year I went crazy and bought 3 new ones. I have 40+ Christmas books my Mom collected over the years and she so graciously passed them down to me this year. I treasure them!!  

What are your traditions?  

With JOY and ANTICIPATION,

Leeanne

Beginning Advent

"Is not my word like fire, says the Lord" Jeremiah 23:29

"And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,  and you shall call his name Jesus. he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Luke 1:30-32

I love Advent. As I get older I realize the deep need I have to devote more and more time in worship and prayer to Christ during this season. I awoke extra early this morning for prayer and study time and as I pulled out my special "advent journal" I began reading through the past few years and was overcome with one thought -- He is faithful. As I read the pages I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude for His faithfulness. Prayers I wrote in 2009 to prayers I wrote just last year. Jesus Christ is the same and His word is a comfort to me when nothing else satisfies. His word is like fire.

I feel an igniting in my heart for His word lately. As I prayed, I wrote this out in my Advent journal. It is word for word and exactly what my heart is reflecting for the season. I wanted to share it with you:


2013 - December 1

Lord, a new advent season is here. Lord, let You be my great joy this season. Let me not fall into comparisons or trivial things that make me view my/our advent as less. Let my jealousy be only for YOU!  Give me bright eyes for your glorious jewels and let me not fall into any form of legalism this season on the whens, where, how, do this, memorize this, create this, draw this, craft this, study this....

Let it be season where I draw deep into your well and drink over and over and over and over. May I leave Christmas far more deeply in love with you and desiring to dust of all the world says it can offer.

May my affection for You not be overshadowed with even good things. My heart Lord can get too caught up in what I should be doing because that is just "what you do". Will you make my advent and the family's advent exactly what WE need as a family.

Lord, give the kids a heart for You, your word, Your goodness, Your vision, Your salvation, Your hope, Your glorious joy, Your love, Your peace, Your great gift of Jesus.

You are all we need this Christmas. You are advent. You and you alone will make this season spectacular.

You are El Roi. The God who sees me.

Search my heart and remove anything that interferes with You.

In the Only Name that saves,
Amen


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This advent Jill and I will be posting in anticipation of "the coming" . May your great hope in Christ be renewed as we remember, watch and prepare.

Family Devotional
The Name of God:  El Roi "The God who sees me"
Attribute:  His kindness (or favor like he spoke to Mary)
Reading:  Matthew 2:1-14

Personal Devotion
In my personal reading I read John Piper devotional from his 2013 advent book and then I add in the verses below.

http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/5544/DG_Advent_eBook-2013.pdf?1384881563

The Birth Of Jesus Advent reading:
December 1 - Luke 1:30-33

Jesus is...  Advent reading:
December 1 - Revelation 22:13

The Coming King Advent reading:
December 1 - Genesis 3:14-15

"One Another" Advent reading:
December 1 - John 13:14


Monday, December 2:

Family Devotional
The Name of God:   Adonay "Lord, Master"
Attribute:  His Joy
Reading: Luke 1:46-55

Personal Devotion:
John Piper's advent book
http://dwynrhh6bluza.cloudfront.net/resources/documents/5544/DG_Advent_eBook-2013.pdf?1384881563

The Birth Of Jesus Advent reading:
Luke 1:41-42

Jesus Is... Advent reading:
John 6:35

The Coming King Advent reading:
Genesis 22:18

"One Another" Advent reading:
John 13:35

(My friend Norma Weekman composed these verses a few years ago and I have treasured them). This week I will share what we are doing for the season. I have a few things I have put together along with other ideas from different people far more talented than me!)

With Great JOY,
Leeanne

Walking in Thanksgiving

As we embrace the season of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a beautiful devotion by Spurgeon. I love when he says "mercy abides forever."

This week I am purposefully immersing myself in all the Psalms of praise and thanksgiving. He is so very very worthy and because of Christ alone we are transformed!  

Walking in Thanksgiving,

Leeanne

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Thanksgiving with Spurgeon

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1

It is all we can give him, and the least we can give; therefore let us diligently render to him our thanksgiving. The psalmist is in earnest in the exhortation, hence the use of the interjection “O,” to intensify his words: let us be at all times thoroughly fervent in the praises of the Lord, both with our lips and with our lives, by thanksgiving and thanks living. Jehovah, for that is the name here used, is not to be worshipped with groans and cries, but with thanks, for he is good; and these thanks should be heartily rendered, for his is no common goodness: he is good by nature, and essence, and proven to be good in all the acts of his eternity.

Compared with him there is none good, no, not one: but he is essentially, perpetually, superlatively, infinitely good. We are the perpetual partakers of his goodness, and therefore ought above all his creatures to magnify his name. Our praise should be increased by the fact that the divine goodness is not a transient thing, but in the attribute of mercy abides for ever the same, for his mercy endureth for ever. The word endureth has been properly supplied by the translators, but yet it somewhat restricts the sense, which will be better seen if we read it, “for his mercy forever.” That mercy had no beginning, and shall never know an end. Our sin required that goodness should display itself to us in the form of mercy, and it has done so, and will do so evermore; let us not be slack in praising the goodness which thus adapts itself to our fallen nature.

—Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David 

Victory

As a Christian, there’s always that fine line of sheltering your children from the world and what it has to offer and exposing them to the world and giving them the tools and strategies to handle it and be an effective witness.  I teach at a very small school that my children attend.  It is a blessing in many ways.  They are getting a great education, there are many Christian families and other families who are just good people.  The Bible says to make disciples and go out into the world and share the love of Jesus.  It says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20) I want to teach my children to be His ambassadors.

Not too long ago, my middle child, who is in 1^st grade, came to me and was appalled by what she saw in a science book from her room.  It showed pictures of evolutionism.  From an early age, we (along with my neighbors) have taught my children that the Bible teaches that God created us.  We have read books to them, watched videos and given them all kinds of important facts to support this view.  My daughter was passionately explaining to me why this was false from the book and also shared the same to another student.  On the way home, I took the opportunity to tell her how proud I was of her sharing her beliefs as it is part of her.  I also told her that we can pray for those who do not believe this.  

However, once she has shared God’s Truth it is up to God to do the rest.  We cannot be disrespectful of other’s views and beliefs.  She understood.  She asked if she could bring her Bible to school and share from God’s Word why she believes God created man and woman. 

I was in awe that my little seven year old would be so bold and evangelistic.  I thought about how ignorant I was at that age.  This is important to her.  Her life’s path and choices will indeed be so different from mine in my childhood because she has Truth and wisdom. I was choked up and crying on the way home that day from school.  One of my kids noticed and said, “Mommy, what’s the matter, why are you crying?”  I simply replied that I was so proud of my children and Truth that they live by.  

Warmly,

Jill

The Birds and The Bees

  

It is inevitable that our children will learn about how babies are made and the intricacies of sex.  As a child, I vividly remember getting my sex education on the bus in 2^nd grade as I listened to the older kids.  I would not say it was healthy or an accurate depiction of the way God intended it to be.  I was well taken care of by my parents, but communicating these types of topics were ignored and uncomfortable.  I remember when I was fourteen and I got my period.  I told my mom while we were on our way to softball practice, she almost hit a tree on our street. 

I made a conscious decision that no matter how uncomfortable it was going to be, I wanted to be the one that gave my children God’s perspective on love, sex and baby making.  My oldest daughter has always been emotionally mature.  So, I knew the day would come sooner than later.  However, I did not expect it when she was seven.  She has always been inquisitive and whenever she asked questions that centered around babies and where they come from I told her that God gave us each one of our children out of love for each other.  That was enough until she started to put two and two together when one of our dogs got neutered.  How was it that he could no longer make babies? 

I took a deep breath and brought her into the guest bedroom at my parent’s house,  as we were visiting there over the summer.  I explained to her body parts, what they do and how a baby is conceived.  She asked questions like, “Do you and daddy still do it?”  I went on to explain that God intended it to be an act of love shared between a husband and wife, although some people in the world abuse it and do not do it out of love.  I told her  that daddy and I did because we loved each other.  She asked some other mature questions and it turned out to be a great conversation.  Until…my mom and I were putting all three kids to bed that night and my daughter looked at my mom and said, “Do you and Papa still do it?”  I fell on the ground laughing and I think my mom was speechless.  So I quickly recued her and said, “Remember I told you it was an act of love.  Nana and Papa still love each other.” 

It made a great story to tell and laugh about.  I am grateful that God was preparing my heart to share this with her.  My other two children are not quite old enough and emotionally mature enough to handle that conversation.  But, I’m ready when they are. 

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  Hebrews 13:4

Warmly,

Jill