Useful Vessels

I've been reading a short biography of Martin Luther for Reformation Day. It's been interesting to read it in light of our own church struggles. One thing that has stood out is how God uses all sorts of people. You don't have to be perfect for God to use you. God uses everybody; we are all vessels. But the more sin we each bring to the table, the more messy the process becomes.

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." 2 Tim. 2:20-21

One of my prayers is that we would be useful vessels right now.

My Big Girl

Lily made me so proud this weekend. She was very excited for her birthday, but she was still a good friend and a good sister. We were going to have her friends party at Chuck E Cheese, but we had to switch it to McDonalds at the last minute. She didn't even cry. We also ended up watching some boys from church on Sunday during the party. She was a bit confused at first when I told her they were coming, but she totally accepted it and ended up having a lot of fun with them.

It's so wild to watch her grow up. I can totally see God's hand on her, and I marvel at His kindness. She is a gift to this family. Here she is showing off her favorite present from her friends party- a slap bracelet.

Cake

At the friends party we had cupcakes, but at the family party, we had cake. No birthday is complete without cake!

Lily enjoyed showing Abigail how to eat cake with her new birthday play set.


Lydia was not able to come to the family party as her baby brother is likely to arrive any time now. But Brenna came (along with her parents, both grandparents, and Auntie Jenn), and she and Lily had a great time together.

Lily's Friends' Birthday Party

Birthday Prep

Jenn's Photos

We enjoyed seeing Jenn's pics on Facebook from her phone camera during her trip out west this fall. But now she has some of the ones from her nice camera on her website. They are amazing!

I finally joined Facebook

I've resisted joining Facebook because of its consuming nature. But I decided to finally join- or at least contribute- by starting a page called Persistent Widow. It's my little effort to encourage prayer for Sovereign Grace churches.

I don't have a lot to say. I just want to offer regular reminders to ask God for reconciliation- He wants to be asked!

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning." Ps. 130:5-6

A scene that makes my mama's heart smile

Headbands

Lily got new headbands, and everyone had fun trying them on. Well, Bingley didn't enjoy it too much, but we enjoyed watching him. I had a headband on too that day, so I tried to get in one of the pictures. You can't see my headband, but I thought it was still cute.

(BTW, Abby's bib says, "I'm NOT a Boy!" Unfortunately, the NOT is in yellow, and so most people miss it, which totally defeats the purpose of the message...)

God wants to be asked

"The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do...?" Gen 18:17

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart...And the LORD said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"" Luke 18:1,6-8

"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit." James 5:17-18

Name Tags

Lily's into name tags these days. She had made name tags for everybody's chairs at the table a while back, and they've all peeled off or gotten ripped. So she just made new ones for us. She needed help with the spelling, but I thought her letter knowledge and fine motor control were pretty good for not-quite-four.

Prairie Baby

I guess I'm making up for lost time with all these Abigail pictures.

Auntie Jenn got Abby this bonnet, and I just thought it was adorable.

Doesn't she look like Carrie Ingalls?

"The Force is strong with this one."

At the Playground

While the men worked, I tried to keep the kids out of the house as much as possible. We went to the playground for some of the time. Here's Abigail's first ride in a playground swing.

DIY

Eric got together a team of guys to re-roof our garage this weekend. Saturday they got three layers of shingles off and began replacing plywood. Today they replaced the rest of the plywood and put on all the paper and drip guards and cleaned the gutters. He hopes to get the new shingles on before it rains later this week. Quite impressive for a computer guy!

Pics from Mom and Dad's 40th

For those that don't have facebook, here are some of Vanessa's pictures from Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary party:

Speaking of Prayer...

I've been trying to introduce gospel concepts to Lily over the last few months. At one point this summer, she asked about going to heaven, and if everyone gets to go, and I explained how you have to ask Jesus to forgive your sins. "But we haven't done that yet!" she said, laughing. "I have, and Daddy has," I replied. We talked about it some more, and she said, "I'm not ready yet."

Then last week she brought up heaven again and how Grammy's doggies died and went to heaven. (That's always a tricky subject!) We talked more about forgiveness and how sin is disobedience to God and Jesus took our spanking so He can forgive us. She asked, "Do you have to pray?" I told her, yes, you talk to God about it. I heard her whispering quietly for a little bit, and then she told me she prayed. When I asked what she prayed, she said it was a secret. She was tired, so I wasn't sure if her tears were from God or simply exhaustion.

Then this morning she brought it up again. "Who is God?" she asked out of the blue. We reviewed who God is and how He loves her. Then she told me that "yesterday" (which means any day in the past) she prayed very quietly and told God she forgave Him. I tried not to chuckle. "You mean you asked God to forgive you?" I asked. "Yeah." "What did you ask Him to forgive you for?" She was quiet for a long time, and then, a little teary, she said, "Because I disobeyed Him." We talked about how God forgives us when we ask.

Then the next thing she said just about ripped my heart out: "I wonder why William hasn't done this." (William was in tutoring, so he wasn't there to be asked.)
"I don't know how to explain it to him, honey. You know how William has a hard time understanding words; I don't know how to tell him so he understands."
She said confidently, "Only God can do that."
"Yep, you're right," I said, marveling. "I keep praying and asking God to show me how to explain it to him."
"Do you want to pray right now?" she asked me.
And so we prayed together- so sweet, so heart-wrenching. My dear daughter verbalized the prayer I've had on my heart for years.

Painting Pumpkins

The kids did a pumpkin craft at school yesterday. When I asked William about it, I could tell he didn't know what it was suppose to be. So we stopped at a road side stand on the way home and picked up some pumpkins. We decided to paint a couple of them last night. Lily kept talking about how William was painting his all blue. Finally, William explained, "It's Thomas!"

God's Steadfast Love

Larissa Murphy does such a great job of putting into words the experience of walking with disability while trusting God. Her latest post five.years. is worth reading. She retells the story of how "who ian was for 21 years was left in the car that was towed off the highway." Then she recounts how God has met her in the trial that began that day five years ago. She ends by saying, "...and i see that our lives our full. they are sad and exhausting, but they are full. and god is the one who has filled them."

My First Appeal

As the conflict in Sovereign Grace Ministries continues, I can be tempted to think I've done all I can do to help. God graciously reminded me last week that that is not true. I still have multiple things I can do: I can pray, I can fast, I can humbly appeal to authority. My temptation is to take that last action point and run with it. But I think trusting God means starting with an appeal to Him first and foremost.

The idea of fasting can seem undoable as a nursing mom, but the more I have prayed and talked to Eric about it, the more I realized partial fasting is very doable. It can be as minimal as no desserts, or it can be no meat (like Catholics during Lent), or just fruit and veggies, or just veggies. It can be one day a week, or one meal a day, or just one meal a week.

Not that I want to discourage anyone who feels called to completely fast. But for those who feel too daunted to even try that, maybe you could start with something smaller like this, and let God build your faith as you move along.

The Mahaney ladies have encouraged fasting on their blog for years. Isn't it appropriate for us to return them the favor and fast on their and their men's behalf now?

If you are part of Sovereign Grace or a friend at least somewhat familiar with what's going on, would you consider joining me in praying and fasting for our group of churches and our leaders? Maybe you already are- Thank you!

Being Her Cute Self

Nutritional Supplement

For some reason William didn't want to eat his pizza at dinner tonight. So later I walked into the kitchen to find this.

Sleepover at Grammy's

Ever since Ella got back from Africa, Lily's been asking for another sleepover with her at Grammy's house. This Saturday she finally got one. Wow, was she excited! She was kind enough to let William, Abigail, and I stay too. =) Here the girls are watching a movie- probably Strawberry Shortcake.