One more year, ready to be launched

One more Christmas picture where we almost caught everyone smiling! (and it only took about 30 attempts--amidst groans, guffaws, hilarity and "We have enough, already! A big discussion was if the boys should put their hands in their pockets or not! :))

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life."Psalm 39:4

I have put one more Christmas to rest and now another year is upon me. I see more clearly, the older I get, that life is indeed a passing story where I have the opportunity to live in such a way that my story can be one of pointing to God's goodness, His faithfulness, His kingdom, His ways. But to live a story well, I must make choices every day, to live that as my integrity and love to be intentional in my commitments.

This holiday season was one of the best I remember for a while. Seems all the kids have snuck into adulthood while I was busy and they have become strong and established in their own personhood. It is sweet tasting to my heart and soul to see them love each other, prefer each other, want to be together and affirm each other in our presence. If I ever wondered that all the work of training, loving, correcting, serving my children was in vain, I now know that it made a difference--that God was indeed at work using a small vessel like me to fill and form their souls. (And yes, throughout the years of fussing and tension that existed in normal life, I didn't know they would end up such great friends--Simply amazing and wonderful--take hope!)

Just this morning, a phone call from a grateful child and  filled my heart. "Mom, you cooked and cleaned and served a lot this Christmas--but we were all watching and it went deep into my heart. The messages you shared and the devotions we had while we were home penetrated deep places and I just wanted you to know your labor has not been in vain. I love you and appreciate you more than I ever have."

A sweet salve to my heart and an unexpected surprise after working and serving this season.

Some thoughts have bubbled up during their time at home......

Discipleship is never over. In the midst of the busy days, I was sequestering each child by themselves to pour in vision and encouragement and words of life and exhorting, because I know more than ever how short my time is--and I know that they all have many voices in their pathways vying for attention. And so I remind them, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, but His delight is in the law of the Lord" and then over coffee and laughing and sharing hearts, I remind them again to seek the still small voice and the holy way above the other noises of life--and to seek to see His fingerprints and heartbeats.

Another thought is how my family fills my cup, and lives a reality that blesses me and renews my own courage and faith, as I want to be strong because they believe that I am strong.

Sometimes when I am exhausted, like now, and have lived through a looonnnnggggg year of trials, I am tempted to compromise my ideals--just a little here and there without noticing.

But that is not His way, and I do not want to capitulate to the ways of weariness. And so amidst serving them, I was called to a higher standard just by hearing them talk and dream and idealize--those I have served are now serving me and exhorting me to hold fast and stay the course!

And so, the next few days, I must follow the advice I gave to them, for myself. I will leave the internet, go away by myself for 2 nights and 2 days and be before the Lord.

What work do you have for me this year? How can I serve your purposes? What do I need to correct? How can I better serve you? Show the light of your life onto all the hidden places of my heart and let me give all of them to you.

 I want to hear Him, His voice, His priorities.

I have found over the years that many people seem to know "God's will" for me and are free with advice. But I want to hear Him, follow Him and please Him. I am feeling the rumblings in my heart to pull back further from culture and expectations of others to have more time intentionally to invest on those areas that are on His heart and to make sure I have time with real live people to be personal and focussed in my love. But before I make any decisions, I must go to Him to hear His voice.

I would so appreciate the prayers of friends as I go into my vortex to seek Him, that I would be still and know that He is God, and please pray I will truly know how to follow His priorities and do what He wants, no matter what the other voices say.

And so, today, I wish you not only a happy new year, but a blessed year, a time when you can see His love and commitment to you and hear His voice of wisdom and compassion.

And along the way, may you have a lot of fun and enjoy this life He has placed into your hands.

Be blessed, my friends.

De-Cluttering your Soul—the Secret to Peace and Rest!

My Home Town--Pikes Peak

Snow blew through our whole area today and it gave me some time at home to begin my yearly tradition of planning my priorities, commitments and goals for a new year. Each year I write about how God has led me to de-clutter my heart, mind and soul. I hope it will encourage you to do the same!

There is something uniquely good about January 1. It marks a new year, a new beginning, a new possibility. It also marks, for me, the reentry into simplicity. I don’t know if there is a more satisfying feeling for me during the year than when we put all of our Christmas things away, the decorations, the remnant of cookies, the clutter. We did that in my home, today. I have also been revisiting an article that I rework every January 1, as it is a pattern I seem to keep needing to learn.

Every year for the past few years, I have pondered and written about de-cluttering my soul. I hope you will be blessed by these thoughts. I am pulling away for a few days, once again, to see what needs to stay and what needs to be cut. I am sending Sarah off to Oxford tomorrow and Nathan back to Hollywood and then we will get back to normal. And so I am deliciously excited to take time alone to get back to my soul.

I love the celebration of life and the traditions and the fun and the beauty of special times spent with my children, husband and friends. But, there is something deeply satisfying to me about getting it all put away and getting back to normal.

Perhaps it is because my normal responsibilities of caring for my family’s needs demand so much of me—cooking nutritious meals, organizing our schedules, cleaning and organizing on a daily basis, homeschooling and add to that ministry—these are enough, but holidays put on that extra load. Routines go by the wayside and so the clutter and demolishing of the house, slowly takes over.

I am not a person gifted in handling details—too much mail, too many catalogues, too many emails, too many options, too many things. The more there is, the more I become responsible for, the more work there is to be done, and so, the more anxious I become. Same with activities. The more I commit to, the more I say yes, the more I have to drive, the more my house gets into a mess, and the more anxious I become, the more hurried we feel, and the more weary I become. When I am not at peace, nothing in our home is at peace.

We can all see how too much clutter and too many piles causes us to feel overwhelmed with life. Consequently, slowly, I have learned to declutter as often as I can—throw away unnecessary stuff. Clay is really the master at this. He helps me get rid of things, organize things and put away things. Yesterday, he decluttered our pantry—threw away chip bags that held little but took up space, cleared out empty water bottles, bad, junky Christmas candy that had been given to us, but would never eaten; baskets that had fallen off of their nails, groceries that had never been put in their place. Now, if someone came into my pantry, they would mistakenly think that I am an organized person. (Thank goodness for Clay!) It made me feel good just to open the door and to see that all was manageable again.

But, I have also come to realize that my brain and heart can be the same way---cluttered with worries, responsibilities, duties, children’s future, finances, time constraints, expectations, disappointments, critical attitudes, resentment. All of these added together, can tend to create soul piles and mind clutter. If I don’t take the time to sort the piles of mind clutter, my spirit becomes a mess and my heart becomes overwhelmed and weary.

It is what awakened me at 4:00 a.m. this morning-soul clutter and worry. It is another reason I like January. It gives me an opportunity to make a new plan, to simplify the mind messes and to start off a whole new year well. In the same way that throwing away stuff and clearing out closets brings me relief, even more, soul and mind cleaning and decluttering brings me rest.

So, as I begin a new year, and head into my conference season, a very busy time for our family, I resolve to deal with my soul-clutter, so that I may have strength to face each day in peace. I come to the place where I know I will find the help that I need. I come to my Father and ask Him to help me, His child, to show me how to make get rid of the junk that is unnecessary, and to help me clean out and organize my soul.

He speaks to me gently.

It was in writing my book, Dancing with My Father, that I have learned so much about finding joy--and peace. In Him, with Him, by Him all the moments of my busy day. His voice leads me to what I long for--but I must get rid of all that causes me to fret, worry, criticize, control. There is a way....

“In quietness and rest shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15 You need to come to me and give me all those things that are weighing on your heart. Resolve to seek rest and peace.

“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

I listed all of my issues this morning in my journal (and there seem to be multitudes of clutter piles in my soul--worries, attitudes, bitterness, weariness, fear, sin and a few more!) These are issues that will suck me dry and my energy dry if I do not notice them in order to clean out my soul!

The Lord prompted, "List all of your issues, give them over to me, don’t hold on to them. I am capable of taking them from you and being responsible so that you will not be weary or carry what you are not capable of carrying.

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. “ Psalm 37:7

Focus on resting in me—sit in my lap, so to speak, rest in my arms. Let me carry you. I love you.. Wait for my timing. Don’t force things or beg me to hurry up. I am in control.

“Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:2

Give me your attention and get control of your spirit. Be quiet. Be still. Recognize my sovereignty and transcendence. Remember what Jesus said, “Our Father who art in heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus modeled his understanding that my will is what you need to rest in. I am in heaven and I see all things—the future, the past, your children, your relationships, --all your clutter. Give them to me. Quiet your soul and rest in my strength and power.

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one little child like this receives me.” Matthew 18:3-5

Come to me as a child—even as your children, in their innocence and sweetness of heart, know that you will care for them and meet their needs because you are a loving parent who cares for them, so I am your Father who will take care of you. Leave the burdens to your father and take your rightful place as a child. Humble yourself and trust me. Enjoy me. Delight in the beautiful moments of this day. Notice the little miracles. Live as an unfettered child. Accept your little and big children and receive them as a gift from me, and your will indeed receive me into your midst.

“ ... a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” I Peter 3:4

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about so many things. But really one is needed and Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10 41-42

Don’t worry and fret and stew and stir up unnecessary dust. Choose simplicity—just one thing I require—that you give it all to me and love me. I will take over. Even as I gave and provided a Sabbath in which all of my children should have rest from their work, so I want you to live in my Sabbath rest for your soul. Rest from your striving and labor. Take time for naps, for pleasure, for joy. This day you have to receive as a gift--I can't promise what tomorrow will hold. But today you can love, give peace, speak kind and wise words, dance in your soul with my secret pleasure that comes from knowing that I love you.Simplify your life, don’t make choices that will complicate or add unnecessary pressure or cause you to sin or grumble. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,” as Paul said.

So, as I yielded my lists into God’s hands and de-cluttered my troubled soul, I left feeling that even as my house has been coming to order, after we cleaned and straightened it yesterday, now my soul is moving in the direction of order.

Rest, rest, rest—in quietness and rest will be your strength every day, every year, until you see me face to face. I love you, my sweet girl. Don’t forget that I am with you each moment of today. Your doting and loving Father.

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So many have written and left comments about the Webcast coming up a week from today. I hope you can join my sweet friends and me as we welcome the new year with encouragement and vision for 2015 as we share our own struggles, dreams and intentions for Owning our Lives and living intentionally for Him. Register HERE.

A moment of your time, please?

I KNOW YOUR TIME IS VERY VALUABLE, AND SO HUMBLY ASK, AND I WOULD SO APPRECIATE IT IF THOSE OF YOU WHO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LETTER WOULD TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO READ ABOUT THE DREAMS AND WAYS GOD IS WORKING TO REACH FAMILIES ALL OVER THE WORLD!  Many of you know that Clay and I started our ministry, Whole Heart Ministries, almost 20 years ago, by faith. Our hearts were to inspire, train and Biblically educate parents how to build a godly home, and to help give instruction and materials and encouragement to help families complete this task.

Understanding that when marriages and Biblical vision was strong, families would be strong. When Mothers and Fathers undertand the foundational call to build a godly legacy in their own homes, righteousness will be passed down from generation. When righteousness prevails, nations will be strong, and families, cities and nations will flourish.

However, when families are falling apart and broken and marriages end, and children souls are not built, cities will lack righteousness and nations will become corrupt. A nation is only as strong as the families that make up that nation. And so the needs have grown and we are more serious and committed than ever to see what God would have us do to build a message in these areas.

We have been amazed at how the Lord has worked, as we stepped out in faith and began to work.  We lived almost 5 years without a regular salary, and began to write. By God's grace, we have written over ten books, have our books in 6 languages, have hosted mom's conferences for 13 years, and spoken all over the world, and had the opportunity to train leaders, produce training and encouragement over the internet, and work with many people in many countries.

As Clay and I ponder, Lord, in the next 10 years, how can we do more to help families and to strengthen them so that they might build godly generations? We are so excited to see what the Lord is doing as our vision is growing and we see many people coming on board to help us in this task.

And so, I interrupt my blog schedule to pass on the heart of our ministry, and to share our dreams with you, our readers. Would you mind taking a minute to read our end of the year letter and let us know what you think, and keep us in your prayers. We are most grateful for all of you who have helped our ministry grow and who have served, reached out and ministered to so many thousands all over the world. Please know that we cannot continue to move ahead without you, our precious and cherished friends! BELOW IS OUR END OF YEAR LETTER. THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING TIME TO READ IT--IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME!

The letter below was sent out recently to our limited physical mailing list ("snail mail"). We are also sending it to our full email list for those who do not receive our mailings but might be interested in knowing more about or supporting this ministry. Thank you for reading. December 27, 2011 Re: Where We Are, Where We're Going in 2012, and How You Can Be a Part Dear Friends of Whole Heart, We hope your Advent and Christmas season in your home has been full of grace, peace, and joy in Christ. It seems fitting, but also humbling, that the time of year when we remember the birth of the one who humbly came to meet all our needs, is also the time of year when we typically share our needs as a ministry. Christmas keeps our needs in perspective! That’s why we’re humbled to look back and to thank God for all the generous friends of Whole Heart who are the real reason we have come this far. What we have envisioned for so long is finally in the process of being birthed. We can see it beginning to happen. However, we can also see that we are still short of the resources we will need to see it through. We’re long on vision, but short on resources. So we come to you as we near the end of 2011, humbly and joyfully, with a vision for ministry that God will not let us let go. In a way, we are simply continuing the ministry that began with the Messiah in a manger—offering light, life, hope, and joy in Jesus to families and mothers around the world. Would you prayerfully consider a financial gift at this time to help us press on in 2012 with this ministry? One Generation Behind Us…Many More Yet to Come For eighteen years we have pursued a single ministry purpose—to help Christian parents raise wholehearted children for Christ. The culture in which we all live and minister has changed radically since 1994, but our vision to strengthen families and build Christian homes has stayed the same. Yet we know that how we accomplish our vision for ministry must change if we are to continue to be fruitful. By modern demographic standards, eighteen years is one generation. We’ve given our hearts to be effective in this ministry for a full generation now. But that’s not enough. We are committed to adjusting to cultural change in our generation so we can continue to change culture for Christ in generations to come. We want to complete the task God has given us to do. After 35+ years of ministry, we know realizing that goal will take three critical components: vision, commitment, and resources. We have clear vision—we know what God has called us to do. We are fully committed—we will pursue that vision for as long as God allows and enables us to do so. But, we need resources—we are a faith ministry, which means that we trust God for our needs. We need your financial support. Pressing On in 2012 with Vision and Commitment Every aspect of our ministry—publishing, conferences, communications, media, sales, teaching, training—is being affected by cultural change, but we are pressing on in 2012. By faith, we have hired two new part-time staff members to help us move forward. Our new Whole Heart Ministry Assistant is helping with office-centered computers and technology, and developing blogs, audio, video, ecommerce, and more. Our new Mom Heart Ministry Assistant will work with Sally and a Mom Heart Leader Team to oversee development of Mom Heart online ministries, social media, online conferences, and more. We are thankful for the gifts that enabled us to hire for these critical staff positions, but now we are trusting God to bless their invaluable contributions to the ministry and secure their involvement for the rest of 2012. Here's where we're headed: Whole Heart Ministries is ready to move strongly into digital publishing. We will still publish books in print format, but we will also expand aggressively into e-books so we can reach the digital and connected generation. We will continue to expand Whole Heart Online to provide a digital platform to reach the world with an improved and expanded Whole Heart Store, a blog for wholehearted parents, additional resources and downloads, and much more. Apologia Press will publish our homeschooling titles, and Whole Heart Press will publish our biblical, faith-building resources for Christian families. Mom Heart Ministry is our next-generation small groups ministry initiative to help restore moms’ hearts to God’s heart for motherhood. Our plans for the Mom Heart Online website include a database to see where Mom Heart Groups are meeting, video training for group leaders, downloadable small groups resources, and a forum for group leaders. The Mom Heart blog will provide daily insights and inspiration for biblical motherhood from a community of mom-hearted mom-bloggers. Mom Heart Conferences will continue to encourage and inspire women to be mothers after God’s heart. Sally will continue her ITakeJoy blog for Christian women, write new books on motherhood and Christian living, and move into writing e-books for digital distribution. We hope to expand Mom Heart internationally. We can see it all. We just need your help to see it happen. Pressing On in Faith…with Your Help As we near the end of another year, we are asking God again for new Whole Heart Partners to help us move forward into the new year. We are grateful to those who have given, and continue to give, to this ministry. If you can help Whole Heart Ministries financially at this time, you can donate by check to the address below, call our offices to donate by credit card or check draft, or donate online at www.wholeheart.org/donate. All gifts are fully tax-deductible and will be acknowledged with a receipt and an appreciative "Thank you." We are so thankful to God for our Whole Heart partners in this ministry. In whatever way you are able to give or pray, you are an encouragement to us. Thank you for sharing our heart for Christian parents. Grace, peace, and joy in Christ to you and your family. Wholehearted blessings in Christ, Clay & Sally Clarkson Click below to donate now online: DONATE NOW ONLINE Our ministry mailing address is: Whole Heart Ministries P.O. Box 3445 Monument, CO 80132 You can call us at: 888-488-4466 You can send us an email here: http://www.wholeheart.org/contact-whole-heart/ Thank you!

Filling your soul with beauty, truth and goodness

Sergey Ivanovich Svetoslavsky

"Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part, Thou will make me know wisdom." Psalm 51:6

If someone could see the inside of your soul, the pathways of your thoughts, the flow of your worship, the landscape of your thoughts and attitudes, what would it look like? Would it hold beauty or ugliness?

A beautiful soul is cultivated and crafted over time  by the elements that surround it and that pour into its inner chamber. One lives and pours out words, behavior, attitudes, goodness or evil from what is dwelling inside it's borders.

In the same way that if one fills a pitcher with lemonade, and lemonade pours forth, so one must be careful to fill one's soul with all that is beautiful, true, lovely. When my children were small, I always thought about the verse:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Phil. 4:8

I sought to fill the moments of our days with all that was beautiful, inspiring, noble, lovely, good, excellent. Exercising vigilance to pick out stories and books that would inspire; seeking to protect my children from insipid, empty, dark, sarcastic, or  shallow books, media, people was constant. I knew that I was laying a foundation for life. I wanted them to have such a vast amount of truth, beauty, love and goodness stored up in the deep vestiges of their souls, that they would draw from the wealth of true beauty the rest of their lives.

Such investment requires purposeful planning and active engaging in each moment of their lives. How blessed I have been to see that what I invested has reaped rewards.

My concern, today, is that many young moms, exposed to contemporary culture, don't even have a model or understanding of what is good. Christianity is mediocre and weak and insipid because the souls of believers are as empty, shallow and contaminated as the fallen culture that surrounds us. One cannot watch garbage and violence and adultery and not be effected. One cannot feed on what is shallow and not become shallow.

In the same way that cancer and diabetes are growing rapidly and devastating many lives because of the intake of what is unhealthy in our foods, products and environment, so our souls will die and become ill and infected if they are always surrounded by garbage, pollutants, contaminants.

One cannot pass on what one does not himself have, and so if we want to pass on health and beauty and goodness, then we ourselves must discipline ourselves to invest and pour into our minds and souls truth from scripture, seek out wise people, read great books and thoughts as well as protect our souls from all that is base.

Media is on occasion used for good, but it is mostly a wasteland of mind-death and soul-killing.

And so, as I ponder what I want to become more of this year, I must take seriously the cultivating of my own soul, so that when others come to draw from me, they are drawing from Him, because I have invested time in Him, His word, His wisdom, His truth and His ways. I am working on my own personal goals to choose how I will use my time, this year, to insure that I am growing in all the elements that are beautiful, true, wise, good, lovely, and I am seeking to guard my heart (and my soul.)

"Above all else, guard your heart for it is the well spring of life." Proverbs 4:23

*Seek out a time to get alone, away and consider how you would like to grow this year.

*Evaluate what are the good habits and what are the bad habits that you practice and how they influence your soul, and your heart and consequently, your worship of God, as we are commanded to worship Him in our minds.

Make a plan of how you will grow in wisdom, beauty and truth this year. What will you read? When will you have a quiet time? What do you need to stop doing?

Make a plan for all the ways you will pour beauty, goodness, wisdom and truth into your children this year. What books and stories will you read to them? When will you have devotionals with them? How do you need to change to reflect love and graciousness to them so that they will form their relationship habits on gentleness and generous love?

What do you need to do to focus more on investing instead of just passing time with emptiness? (internet, television, computer, etc.)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it of God who gives to all men liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

All of these issues I will be speaking about at our Mom's conferences this year, as I am so very concerned about what I see happening in the lives of my wonderful mom friends. Please join us if you can. The Lord Jesus will be in our midst.

Register HERE. or call 888-488- 4466 to register.

For those of you who cannot come, we hope in the next year to figure out how we can stream the speakers and our messages, as we so desire to encourage you in your calling from God to be a civilizer and one who disciples your children into godly people. Pray for us to develop people and resources so that Clay and I may help encourage more precious women. Thanks so very much.

And a Merry and Blessed Christmas --from all of the Clarksons

http://youtu.be/JYwnkPwpdeo

I wonder, how does one choose the mother of God?

Alfredo Rodan

"Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you." Luke 1:28

Mary lived in a tiny, obscure village amidst a humdrum life. Wheat was ground, bread was pounded out on wooden tables, crumbs were swept from the floor, children lovingly tended, mother and father presiding over the home, the Shema was listened to every day over shared family meals, the Sabbath was kept. Mary lived in invisibility in the moments of an ordinary, obscure life, as far as anyone in her own life knew. And yet, in the living of her life, quietly, faithfully, God noticed her, God saw her and she found favor and pleased His heart.

God always sees even when no one else is noticing.

Imagine being greeted by an angel, in the midst of a normal day, when no one else knew, "Hail favored one."

And then, "Mary, do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God."

Really? She did not have a college degree or a ministry position or title and had never published a book or even spoken in the synagogue--and yet, in the midst of her quiet life, she of all women, had found favor with God. I have been pondering this.

But there are clues.Being the mother of Jesus would require a tenacious, steady, engaged faith. As his mother, her  life would be  in danger, Jesus would be  pursued by a crazy king, and at every point, people would cast doubt on her irregular, fantastical story.

 Satan would have wanted to prevent Jesus becoming savior and Mary would be his protector--a shelter from danger, a nurturer of his soul, a provider of truth, a teacher and trainer, a strength in storms--all of this she would be asked to be for God, the baby, entrusted into her hands, as his mother, a divinely appointed role.

She would have to move, put up with peer pressure of her own village, believe in the miraculous, obscure amongst the humble, live amidst despised Egyptians. Her life would be filled with stress, pressure, rejection, fear, loneliness and questions.

And yet, God had called her favored, He had seen her heart, he had noticed her response throughout her life, He had tested her willingness to obey, and she had been found faithful, and so she was favored.

Her response, ready on her lips, practiced in her heart.

"“Behold, the^]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

God looked for one who would serve Him, willingly, readily, at the moment of His impossible request, one who would respond in utter submission.

I am your bondslave--a commitment he had seen in her prayers, through out her life as she engaged her heart in scripture, He had seen her practice of worship by choosing, through all the years of her training, her response of believing and her heart consecration to serve Him, to obey throughout the seemingly unnoticed moments of her life.

Is that my response to this life He has given to me--be it done according to your will for I am your bond-servant? Even if it means sacrifice of the plans I hold dear? Even if it means being misunderstood? Rejected? Chased? Inconvenienced? Even if it requires me to have courage against fears that will assail my life?

And yet, we are left  another clue. Elizabeth, her older cousin, who had also lived above reproach and obeyed God, upon seeing Mary, responded, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary believed God. She had a ready heart to believe Him, trust Him with all that it would require of her, to await the miraculous, to live through long years of waiting and quiet and mundanity, as she awaited to see this little baby become the expected Messiah, the fulfillment of His role as a savior.

She believed there would be a fulfillment.

 She had practiced believing in Him her whole life and this, I think, was in part, what would qualify her to be the mother of the son of God, she was ready, willing to immediately respond to Him in belief--even to the impossible--even in the obscure place of dust, dishes, and duty.

And so God shined His light on my soul this early morning as I pondered Mary in His presence--am I ready to believe, to obey wherever He takes me, to await the fulfillment of His word and to choose to believe in His future fulfillment of faithfulness in my own life and in my own prayers--even if the ultimate fulfillment will take years and years, as it took Mary?

So, today, as I live amongst feasting, gift-wrapping, cleaning, sharing hearts and thoughts, singing beloved hymns at church, celebrating in the sparkle of our Christmas home, I hope that He will find me, in the integrity of my heart,  obeying, responding, bowing my knee to His will, a bondservant whose heart is ready to follow, obey, accept limitations of a world at battle for righteousness, and yet ready, in His strength, to believe.

May He prepare your heart today to worship in the quietness of your life, right where you are. May He bless you with His peace and grace.

I pray you have a most blessed and favored Christmas.

"

Progressive dinners that provide history

Every year for the past 5 years, our little history group, (2 other dear families and us) get together once a month for dinner, because we love and need each other. Our family doesn't have a lot of contact with our greater family because of distance or awkwardness, so we are blessed to have friends who act as surrogate family. Some of them live far away,  some live near. But really, so many of you have helped our family feel loved and cared for during this challenging year and I thank God for you.

Every Christmas, we have a progressive dinner--first appetizers at one home, then main meal at another home, and finally desert at the third home. We all take turns every year as to what we will have at our house.

All of our the older children of all of the families who live far away, try to come into town so we can all do this before Christmas. Gifts are given to most everyone--most little, but always the way we end the night--gifts, singing carols and having fun. We are all so loud and "talky" and close that it is a cherished time.

Yesterday in the kitchen, our kids said, "We haven't had the opportunity to be real close to real family, but God has really blessed us over the years with friends who make us feel like we have family and then they started naming all of the people who have loved us and adopted us. I am very grateful and thanking God for them--how they have all helped us through this year. I couldn't have made it through some of the obstacles of this year without sweet friends who have been so generous to love us.

Thanks for those who have extended love so generously to us this year. We are so very grateful.

Be blessed in His love today.

Everyone you know needs your grace, every day, today--no perfect people

The longer they are home, the more grateful I am---really. I love who my children are inside--and that somehow they are still all idealists.

Last night, after a dinner of homemade soup and a great movie, most of us were sitting around in our den looking at our computers and phones and checking to see if anyone had loved or noticed us in the last 2 hours. :)

Then we all started commenting on statuses of friends old and new on facebook. Then we started judging a few pics and choices and things that had happened to people......

Then one of my kids said, "Just look at us, we are all sitting around being petty--we need to stop being gossips and get off of facebook and just keep enjoying this great night."

He was right.

I can have a quiet time and walk out the door and be impatient with someone in my family who I love--and get angry.

I can be committed to encouraging women in the Lord and read all sorts of books and pray and have quiet times and still I am shocked at what silliness and selfishness can bubble out of my mouth without any contemplation.

Wretched woman that I am......

And then I read Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

"I came to set the captives free," He said.

I am captive to my own human frailty, my own limitations, my own small-minded self.

But he saw me in my need and decided to have compassion. He gave me grace, He came and love and lived so that I would not have to live in this captivity to my own limitations of my human, sinful self.

Today I am so very grateful that He came, He forgave, He sees me as though I am not little in spirit, but He sees me with the eyes of His love that covers my fragile state of being.

I had cancer of the soul, and He became my anecdote, my healing.

The older I get the more grateful I am,

and the more I see my need and pettiness and selfish heart,

the more I am so very grateful for His grace

and the more I receive this grace in the midst of my own need,

the more willing I am to extend His grace to others, assuming that maybe, just like me, they need it, too.

And so today, I have realized that everyone in my life means well, just as I mean to be good, but has probably fallen short, just like me.

And today, I see that everyone I know needs His Christmas grace.

A Cool Christmas tradition--Raspberry soup

Once on a hot summer's day, I was searching the streets of Budapest, Hungry, for an apartment where a Christian contact was awaiting our arrival. We called the telephone number that we had been given, but no one answered. Our instructions, as young missionaries working in a Communist country behind the iron curtain, we were given instructions to find a local cafe and wait one hour until we called again. (Sometimes if the secret police were near by, and a family was expecting us, the hosts would not answer the phone in order to warn us to stay away.) And so, my friend and I found a tiny, smoky cafe and entered to see if we could find something delicious to eat while we were waiting. We found a tiny, round table in the corner with a lovely woven traditional flowered table cloth, fresh carnations in a red clay vase and soft music wafting in the background. Seems we had found a jewel of a place.

Our waitress immediately knew we were Americans and talked to us in broken English. We asked her if they had a speciality. Her reply was, "Have you had our cold raspberry soup?"

I had never heard of any kind of berry soup, but we couldn't speak a word of Hungarian and as berries were in season, we took  a chance.

Heaven couldn't have produced better fare for us that day! Light, sweet with a touch of sour, whip cream and berries--all cold and smooth.

Every Christmas when I have friends over for lunch, we always have cold raspberry soup as the starter--red for Christmas and special for a unique tradition--a favorite taste of our family and a celebration whenever we eat it. So here is my recipe:

Chilled Raspberry Soup

Ingredients

• 2 bags frozen raspberries or around 18-20 ounces. I thaw them the day before I make the soup in my fridge.
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup white zinfandel or sweeter wine (if desired--not necessary) Do not use a very sour cooking wine.
• 1 cup cranberry apple juice or cranberry -raspberry juice
• 1/2 -1 cup of sugar to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground cloves
• 1 -2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 (8 ounce) container  raspberry yogurt (I use the Greek yoghurt)
• whipped cream or sour cream--depending on preference

Directions

1. In a blender, puree raspberries, water and wine if desired. (Taste to see if it is the right consistency for you--some like it thick, some like it thinner--juice or water will thin it.) Transfer to a large saucepan; add the cran-raspberry juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. (I have had sweet raspberries and some that were sour. If they are sour, they will need a little bit more sugar. Be sure it blends in.)
2. Bring just to a boil over medium heat.
3. Remove from the heat; strain if you want it totally smooth,  and allow to cool. (I grind my raspberries so much in the blender that you cannot notice the seeds, but sometimes cooks strain the seeds out to make it totally smooth.) Whisk in lemon juice and yogurt. Refrigerate long enough to cool. To serve, pour into small bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

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Every year I go to a craft store and buy up the little packets of inexpensive ornaments (the reindeer) and give them as little favors to my friends. Here was our setting this year. This is a simple treat to enjoy--we put a big dollop of whip cream on top of our soup--yuuummmmmm!! Enjoy.

PS TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS:

1. Best served cold so allow at least 2 hours in the fridge to cool off--or over night as it is so lovely when chilled.

2. As to servings, not quite sure! You can see that sometimes I serve it in these little fruit cups so when I do it this way, it goes a long way. Just figure out about how many ounces everything adds up to and divide it by the size of bowl you want it to serve. (In other words, if you do one batch and it is 32 oz of raspberries, 3-4 cups liquid (another 32 ounces) then you have 10 6 ounce servings (which would be large) or more if you do smaller bowls.

Enjoy and use as a tradition--it is a surprise whenever I serve it to people who have never heard of it and it is delicious and nutritious!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Today I am an elf.....

Norman Rockwell

Shopping at Sam's as the snow began to fall--food for the week, for 2 parties, for Nathan coming home tonight, for all sorts of fun. I love, love that my home is filled with all of my family.

Then, I shopped for 10 Christmas presents and felt very proud of my finds--I tend to get 10 of the same things for friends if I get what I like and a good deal.

Unpacked everything. I made chile for 30 people, (it will become frito pie with cheese, sour cream, cheese and fritos--a fav of the kids on cold nights!) to come for a Christmas party tonight. Joy and her friends are decorating cookies,  and having a cookie decorating contest, going caroling, and then watching Muppet Christmas Carol. We have been excited all week. So sad for some to not come but the house is filling up!

However, it is snowing outside, 6 degrees and so a few people are starting to cancel.

We have been excited all week. So sad for some to not come but the house is filling up!

Maybe we will have a make-up party for them on Wednesday night--such is the situation in Colorado.

Joel is on the way back from the airport in Denver picking up Nathan--took him 1 hour and 45 minutes for a 50 minute drive--they are still not home yet--will have to have the cookies Nathan wants when he walks in the door. Clay still hasn't made it home and people are stuck on the hill coming up to our house--oh fun---another adventure but we are all a bit used to this and happy to be partying on such a night.

Candles lit, fireplaces burning, and I am one happy mama and figuring out how I can sleep everyone here tonight if the 16 people who have come get snowed in--of course they are all hoping so!

Off to make a welcome sign for Nathan. Stir the chile. Get out the drinks........

So what are you doing today?

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So 20 people showed up and the kids caroled and caroled and were asked into a home where they helped to decorate a tree and drank hot chocolate--now some playing piano, some on the floor with feet up to the fireplace and others eating in the kitchen.

Nate and Joel got home after 4  hours from the start and we have talked and eaten cookies while the carolers were out and now the "boys"--Clay and 2 boys--doing music in basement--Nathan and Clay on guitar and Joel on piano--and Sarah and I looking for a movie to watch upstairs in my bedroom together. Still snowing--guess we will have some stay the night.

Sweet dreams!