Encouraging Deep Roots

I woke up at 3:45 a.m. to the sound of the wind and couldn't get back to sleep so I finally got up. It sounds like a freight train rumbling as it gusts to over 60 miles per hour. We have a blizzard warning here and it really has to do more with the wind than the snow. It's barely snowing and we only have a gotten a couple of inches. But it's blowing hard which makes white out conditions and we were without power and internet for a couple of hours this morning. We also lost part of the edging on our roof as there was a particularly strong gust. Our neighbor's pine tree fell over too. Crazy wind! But I'm thankful for many things today and thought I'd list them here now before we lose power again. This week I'm thankful for blessings #3,596 - 3605. 3596. A husband who puts so much time, thought and prayer into his sermons. 3597. A fun time at a baby shower this weekend. It was nice to just sit and enjoy and not have to do anythin...

I wanted to come back to the topic of my post the other day on being thankful that I stayed home with my children. The main reason I want to revisit it is that I always want this blog to encourage others and I don't want anyone to feel if they made a different choice it was a lesser one.  I struggled so many times which is why I flip-flopped with going back to work at times. But for our family and our children it turned out being a good choice. When I was working I found that I poured myself into that so much that my family suffered. I do have a tendency to plunge into things so deeply that there is no balance. I have a child on the autism spectrum who needed me. I have another child with generalized anxiety disorder. My third child has life-threatening food allergies that required so much prep work. So for us, it made sense. I can also tell you that if my husband wasn't a pastor in churches that provided us with either a parsonage or housing allowance, it w...

Throughout the years various people have called into question our decision for me to be home with the kids. Living on one income can be difficult and often the advice I was given was, "Why don't you get a job?"  And while I toyed with that from time to time and there were periods when I did work, I still had a desire to give my children the security of knowing I was there for them. We have three children who have unique needs and I wanted to be available for whatever it was they needed. I also know my tendency to become a workaholic and I didn't want that to happen. It was a choice we made and a choice that does bring about consequences. One of the consequences was that we didn't have money for many things that our friends did. Another consequence was having to deal with comments from others at times.  A third consequence is one that I'm just realizing. The blessing of having children who have fond memories of their childhood! It wasn...

Isaiah 53 ~ Who has believed what we have heard? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to? 2  He grew up before Him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. 3  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; He was despised, and we didn’t value Him. 4  Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5  But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for   the iniquity of us all. 7  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet ...

Twice a month I go to a local nursing home to lead a worship service there. A few others from our church have been coming too and it's nice to see them reach out to the residents. It can be a pretty depressing place, and it's been wonderful to bring a bit of light and Good News there! I'm teaching through the Gospel of Matthew and thought I'd share the third part of this series. I do some review at the beginning so you can catch a bit of what I shared in previous sessions. I am so enjoying studying this gospel as I teach it. It's amazing how each time I glean something new from it. The contrast between these two kings is pretty amazing. Matthew Series, Part 3 - A Tale of Two Kings

I had a surreal experience last night. A friend and I went to visit another friend who is in the hospital. Usually hospital visits can be a bit chaotic or stressful because there is so much going on. There can be other visitors or family members. Nurses are in and out of the room constantly. If there is a roommate, you are crunched up on one side of the room and then you have them and their visitors listening in. It just not conducive to an undistracted time of visitation. Last night there was no one else around and the nurses stayed away the entire time we were there. It was such a pleasant time of chatting about life, hard things, family, and church. Then we had a time of prayer together and it was sweet. As I reflected on the visit last night, I truly sensed God's presence while we were there. And those God-moments are what keep me moving forward. Those times of standing on holy ground keep me in awe of how the Lord moves in the lives of His people. They are moments tha...

Ephesians 4:10-13~ "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.    I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength." "If I get this new job, then I will be happy."   " When my husband starts trying harder, our marriage will be good."   " If we move to a bigger home, then things will be great."   " If we only have a ladies Bible study, men’s breakfast, youth group, etc., then church will be wonderful." We find all kinds of ways to be discontent, don’t we?   We gripe and complain our way through most of our day...

Day in and day out there is a rhythm to my life.  I wake up, read and pray, drink coffee, do dishes, and put in laundry. I study and write. I clean, sew and cook. Sometimes an event or meeting occurs that changes the rhythm of a particular day, but overall the pattern is the same.  There have been times in my life when I have wished for bigger, better, and more. I have longed for excitement and adventure. I wanted a wild rhythm and beat to happen. But with age comes some wisdom. My eyes have opened to the fact that there is adventure even in the slower rhythm. The adventure comes by being able to see God in the small and the mundane and the everyday parts of my life.  Excitement comes when I can look at the ordinary parts of each day with fresh eyes and realize that they become extraordinary. This occurs because God is using even these small, somewhat meaningless tasks to mold me and shape me into a woman after His own heart. As I choose t...

Twenty-six years ago my second child was born. Stephen was jaundiced and spent the first week of his life with a Bili blanket wrapped around him as we tried to get his bilirubin levels to come down. I still remember the eerie blue light that would glow at night from the bassinet. He was on the go right from the beginning and I remember a whole lot of whining until he started walking and then it was as if a switch got turned off. I think he just wanted to get places faster and was frustrated. :-)  As a child, he loved motorcycles, trucks and all things that involved getting dirty.  I'm so thankful for this young man. He has always been a sensitive soul and has a passion for social justice, people and nature. He won't even kill a spider but instead captures it so he can release it outdoors. Yuck! lol He has a good sense of humor and is often the one that comes out with witty comments in our house.  He deals with anxiety and depression and yet, is working to...

Today is going to be a hodge-podge type post since that's kind of how my week has gone. While I was productive at the beginning of the week the past two days I haven't done much of anything because I haven't felt great, and also have been very unmotivated. I spent one whole afternoon on the phone trying to get our dental insurance straightened out which didn't happen.  We have the New York state health insurance and their enrollment period goes until January 31st and then you are done until it reopens the following December 1st. There was a glitch in their system and according to them we don't have dental even though we've been making the premium payments and the dental insurance company has been paying. When we tried to talk to the dental insurance company they say it has to be taken care of through the state system. That can't happen because according to them we are past the enrollment time. Sigh. Government bureaucracy at its...

What happens when you take two people with different ideas of how things should be done, different personalities and leadership methods, and different upbringings and put them together in a marriage? A whole lot of hard work! Add to that the stress of being in ministry and it can mean that there are some tough days. Dan and I have been married for almost 31 years and have walked through some rough paths and yet, I think our marriage is strong. Why is that? Well, we've learned some basic things in our 30 years together. We aren't perfect and there are days when I think, "Wow!" "We blew that today." But overall, I'm thankful for our marriage. Here are some principles we've learned: 1. Don't bash your spouse in public. You shouldn't bash them anywhere, but it makes me cringe when I hear women or men tearing apart their spouse publicly. I've seen Facebook posts where the person is airing their grievances against their partner and ...