2010 in Pictures

Kregg and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Alaska!

Fishing in Kerrville

Caleb jumping into the Medina River in Bandera.

Mackenzy in her little cocoon in Kerrville.

Elizabeth and Socks

July 4th at a patriotic concert overlooking Lake Dillon in Colorado

The kids climbed Buffalo Mountain in Silverthorne.

Downtown Bandera

Mr. Ben, trying to keep his swimming trunks up.

Elizabeth with her latest catch.

Hope spring eternal in the hearts of fishermen.

Rebekah atop Enchanted Rock

Caleb playing with Josh and Ben

Our homeschool

Caleb graduated from high school

Getting ready for hunting season with a new blind.

Joshua's baptism

Kregg on a deep sea fishing trip.

Kregg has been enjoying his new game camera.

I went to San Diego to be with my sister and brother-in-law after his stroke.

The kids learning they are going to be aunts and uncles!

On our property in the Texas Hill Country

Kregg and Caleb fly fishing in Colorado

At Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving

Trying to get a good shot for our Christmas cards.

Caleb and his Cousin militia all "packing" their air soft guns.

Our two youngest Scouts

Caleb making his move on the court.

Kregg, Josh and Ben planning their attack.

We celebrated lots of birthdays.

Mackenzy and some of her artwork.

Another shot from Alaska

I hope your 2010 has been a year filled with the growth of your soul. May 2011 be filled with a fuller revelation of just how much you are Loved by your Heavenly Father. 

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17b-19 

Spoken Blessings

Okay, I know I already chose a "theme" for 2011, but can I choose an additional one? There's still time! (:  

Theme #1 is Being. Theme #2? 

Blessing.

The Lord has been teaching me so much about our spoken words. I wish I knew how many times He has had me tell people who are struggling with things to speak Truth out loud. To declare the Truth. It changes the "battle" when we say it out loud. Our spoken words are incredibly powerful. For good or evil.

The fact that words are so important shouldn't be a surprise when Christ, Himself, was The Word.

John 1:1-5 says this:

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

The Word was used to create everything. God spoke everything into being with The Word.

As we go about our days, taking care of all the things on our list of To Do's (meals, laundry, hugs, bills, putting band-aids on boo-boos) it can all seem so "physical", so "seen". Does that make sense? For me, I can be so very aware of my physical surroundings, needs, etc. that I forget what is truly real.

As physical beings, we sometimes forget that the physical world is not our true dwelling. C. S. Lewis says:

                    “You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”

 

And in the realm of our true existence, our words are incredibly important. Incredibly powerful. Not only are our words able to shine Light into the darkness, to do battle in the spirit, but they are also a tool we use to build. We have the ability to use our words to build up unseen places in the spiritual realm. 

 

We all understand how certain words spoken to us as children remain with us throughout our lives. Each of us, I am sure, can point to a place in our past where either a curse or a blessing was spoken to us or over us that still ripples through our spirits today. The speaker of those words may not have understood the impact, lifelong impact, the words they were speaking would have on us, for good or evil. But there is no question that those words had a power in them that we still feel today.

 

Knowing that, we must be intentional. Especially as parents, but in all our relationships and encounters with others we must weigh carefully the import of our words. 

 

James 3:9-12 says:

   With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 

 

Ephesians 4:29 says:

  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

 

If that is our standard, then we need to take it seriously. How do we only speak words that are helpful, that build up others according to their needs? 

 

We learn to speak blessings. 

 

The Power of Spoken Blessings by Bill Gothard is a wonderful tool to learn how to use this powerful gift, the gift of blessing those around us. It's only 85 pages long, but it has shown me so much. It is filled with stories, which I always love, about how words impacted lives. It shows, over and over again, how words changed lives. Sometimes they were words of cursing that destroyed the future of the person they were spoken over. Other stories tell how a single comment spoken in blessing over the life of a child changed the entire course of that child's life. Imagine. A single sentence of blessing.

 

How careless I have been. How unaware. I have not always used my words to bless. Thankfully, He is teaching me now. I want to be someone who speaks only words that are helpful for building others up. So, in addition to focusing for the year on the word Being, I also want to focus on the word Blessing.

 

May He, Who is the Source of all Blessings, fill your new year with Himself. May He be revealed everywhere you turn, in every thing you do. And may His richest Blessings be showered over you and those you love. And may you learn to speak blessings into the lives of all you meet.

 

Part II of this post will give more specifics.

 

(For some unknown reason, Blogger decided to double-space the last half of this post against my will. I tried to "undo" it, but Blogger is firmly convinced it should remain. Sorry. I'm not smart enough to outsmart Blogger.)

 

Next Posts on Spoken Blessings:

2. Spoken Blessings, Part II 

3. But How Do We Actually Speak Blessings? 

4. Unexpected Benefit 

5. Chapter 6: Blessing Our Children 

6. A Light Bulb Flips On 

How's That for a Conversation Starter?

Caleb, our 18 year old son, walked in for dinner a few days ago and asked me, "Why did God create Lucifer?" He went on to explain his thoughts. "Some people would argue that because He chose to create Lucifer, in effect, He created evil. But, then you have to ask yourself if there was not evil, could there be Good? Just like there isn't really any such thing as darkness, it's just the absence of light." 

Just chit chat, right?

Caleb has always had a special heart. When we found out we were expecting number 3, I was pretty much overwhelmed. Our first two, Hannah and Mackenzy, were very, very difficult babies. (I do adore you, girls) I wondered if I could do it. I remember praying for the new baby to be healthy and praying for this one to be calm. I think the Lord knew it was time for Caleb. I remember feeling very strongly late in the pregnancy that his middle name was supposed to be Christopher (Christ Bearer) instead of Kregg's middle name, Alan, as we had planned.

As he was growing up, he was burdened with a need for personal holiness. I know that sounds odd, but he was compelled to keep his conscience clear. He would come and "confess" anytime he felt he had done something wrong. When he was about five (I have mentioned this before) he told me he believed he would probably die as a martyr in China. Now it must sound like all I read to him as bedtime stories was Foxe's Book of Martyrs. But that was not at all the case. He came to us from the Lord like this.

Things changed during his teenage years. At first, it wasn't anything alarming. But, there was just a difference in his spirit. He seemed to be adrift. His anchor had pulled free and he lost his bearings. He grew moody and sensitive. He was struggling with personal holiness. He, who had always been an open book, withdrew. Kregg and I talked and prayed and wondered what had happened. What had changed? Had we missed something? 


Caleb had been specially gifted by the Lord, but he had never really been tested, tempted, or tried. It was hard to watch. It was hard not to be afraid for him. He stumbled and fell, he still does. But it was necessary for his faith to be hardened through testing. He had to come to the point where what he knew in his heart became real for him in life, in his day-to-day walk. It had to become his worldview, his lens through which he sees the world, and his place in it. 


What he knew had to become who he was. Who he is.

He came through to the other side and is now truly himself again. But better. More mature. Filled with the power of the Spirit. He is, once again, an open book. His heart is transparent. What you see is what you get. He is so filled with Joy. He is so much fun to be around! He is consumed by the Lord. He hungers and thirsts for Him day and night. I awoke early the other day to find him on his face in the den. He was just spending time with the Lord. He is spending hours in the Word. Studying the original languages. Wanting to know Truth. 

For Christmas, his entire list was books. He is hungry to see the sanctification process of great men of God, so he asked for biographies. Hudson Taylor, John Newton, William Wilberforce. 

I am in awe.

In awe of the Lord's Mighty Hand on my son. Our son. Our precious little boy who was called early to be holy before His God. Who is growing up to be a man who chases hard after God. A man who understands the schemes of the evil one and how he is bent on destruction. A man who knows he is completely unable to stand on his own, but in the Lord, he can stand.

He is at the One Thing Conference right now, in Kansas City. He gathered up a group of like-minded young men. They loaded up my old 1999 Suburban and left on Monday morning to travel almost 800 miles each way. Because they are seeking His Face. There are 20,000+ young people there this week worshiping and seeking His Face. That should get you excited! The Lord is preparing His Army to do His bidding.

He texted me this morning to say this:
"Guess who Mike Bickle's (the lead pastor at the conference) favorite biography was as he was growing up?" (I expanded the "text language" a little)

It was Hudson Taylor! My favorite biography of all time, and next to the Bible the most important book I have ever read. And guess what the overall message was that I received from reading that biography? The importance of personal holiness.

He is not perfect. He still stumbles and falls. But, his spirit is so humble before the Lord that I am no longer afraid for him. Yes, he will still mess it up at times. But, I just keep praying, as we have for years and years, that he will hunger and thirst for the Lord. 

It is such an amazing gift to be his mother. As it is with each one of our children. 

I don't want this testimony to be, in any way, discouraging to anyone. The Lord has done this. Is doing this. He has such rich blessings and purposes for each of our children. 

Believe it for your child, your children!

Speak blessings over them! Daily. 

Pray for them without ceasing! As you go about your day, pray.

Ask the Lord to stir up an insatiable hunger in their spirits that nothing but Him can satisfy!

Ask the Lord to build a hedge of protection around them so that no one of evil influence will be able to deceive them. 

If they are in a dark place right now, ask the Lord to bring them to the end of themselves, no matter how hard it is, so that they will look up into His Face. So that they can see He is the answer to all their questions, all their longings. 

Pray for their future spouses, if the Lord calls them to marriage. Pray that that person will receive everything the Lord has for them, too. (It's so precious. There are already parents lobbying to have Caleb as their future son-in-law. :)

It's never too early to start praying for them. And it's never too late!! He is Able. He is Sufficient. He has Plans for them. Be bold in your petitions for your children. Ask Him to fill them to overflowing with His Spirit, His Power, Himself. 

Don't stop. Ever!

Being Versus Doing

Don't you love it when the Spirit speaks to you and, as you chew on His message, you find another and another and another who are chewing on the same thing? 

I have been thinking much about the new year, as it approaches. Thinking about the intentionality I want to live with in each moment. Thinking about how He wants to grow and refine and purify me. Thinking about the path He set my feet to all those years ago, the path of mothering and being a wife, and how through these "jobs", He Faithfully grows and trains. I have learned so much of Him in it. But there is still so much of me left. So much that muddies the reflection that is supposed to be only Him.

I have read many places lately about choosing a word to name the new year. Ann Voskamp writes here in such beauty that it makes me weep, as does most of her writing. I love that idea. I love the simplicity of it. I love having a single thing on which to focus. I love the anticipatory sense it gives as I unwrap what He has for me in 2011.

The past weeks have spoken so much to me about the need in my life to focus on Being, instead of Doing. Yes, there is much to be done in this home, in our lives, but that must not define the living of it. As I go about the things He sets my hand to, I must understand the "doing" to simply be a vehicle for Being. 

Being fully alive and awake spiritually, emotionally, relationally, instead of merely going through the motions of doing the needed things. 

I want to notice everything. 

I want to notice faces. 

Eyes. 


Smiles. 

Clouds. 

Smells. 

Sounds. 

Love. 

I want to notice every nuance of each moment. I want to be completely present in every second. I want my husband, my children, my friends, my Savior, my Father to have my complete, undivided attention. 

And isn't that where the essence of gratitude lies? In the noticing? Is that why He has been training me through my list making?

So for 2011, my word is Being.

In the "doing", let me not forget the "being".

As Rob Bell says in Everything is Spiritual, "Wherever you are, be all there."



Dear Father,
May I focus. May I not miss anything You have for me. May I learn the joy of Being. Thank You for teaching. Thank You for blessing. Thank You for expanding my vision. May I, in the midst of homeschooling, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, preparing a meal, be sitting at Your Feet in my spirit. May I love better. May I reflect better. May gratitude grow. Thank You!

                            

My Hero, My Husband

Okay, I actually got myself vertical and all the way to the garage to take this picture. I came down with the flu on Christmas Eve and have been basically horizontal ever since. But taking a picture was that important. My trooper-of-a-husband, after single-handedly cooking the entire Christmas feast (fried turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, etc., etc.), getting Caleb off on his cross-country odyssey, dealing with all the children for the past three days, packing for the big hunting trip with three of the four youngest, received the following message from me this afternoon:
      The boys put a dripping wet load in the dryer. Thankfully, I smelled something. The  
      dryer won't come on. Smells burned. Clothes back in washer. Don't know what to do.

His response:
      Punt

My reply:
      I can always have them hang it all out to dry on the branches of a tree. :)

He called me and said he would go by and buy a new dryer on the way home from work. But that would have been too easy. They were out of the model he thought would be best and they won't get any in until Friday. I told him that was fine, still not knowing what to do about the huge load of wet laundry.

Well, as the picture shows, he solved all my problems. He went and bought a rope and strung it all up in the garage. Bless his heart!! I told him I was so very sorry so much had been put on "his list". Do you know what he said? "That's okay. It just makes me realize how much I depend on you for things." He is off the chart  as far as Hero points go! I am so very blessed!

He has no idea I brag on him here! He would be embarrassed. But I think everyone should know how wonderful he is!!!

Christmas Eve Flu

It swooped down and attacked Christmas Eve during our big game of Spinner. This wasn't what I had planned. Fever, chills, everything hurt. We finished stockings after the kids went to bed, then I told Kregg I was sick. Bless his heart. That is not what he had planned, either.

We opened presents Christmas morning, and that's all I remember. I was in bed, sequestered in my room praying that no one else would catch it. Sanitizer and prayers. Kregg took care of the entire feast. The entire day. He is so wonderful.

There is so much planned this week that the flu would interfere with: a huge hunting trip for Kregg and the four youngest, and Caleb driving to Kansas City today to participate in One Thing. He is driving my old suburban with several other young men, hundreds and hundreds of miles. And I love the thought of them chasing hard after God. Wanting to spend several days just worshiping, praying, learning together. And then my sweet husband has been planning this trip for weeks. Another gift he is giving to our children of "time with Dad."

So I am praying. Asking for one more Christmas Gift from the Lord. Of course, He knows. And He always blesses with His very best for us, even when it may not look exactly as I expected. He is so Faithful! He so richly blesses.

Seriously Addictive Caramel Corn

I meant to share this recipe sooner, but the caramel corn kept disappearing before I could take any pictures. Mackenzy wanted to take some to her poor fellow employees who would be working at Starbucks on Christmas morning, so I decided to try again.

My longtime friend and neighbor, Pam, has been making this for years and she shared the recipe with me a long time ago. I am not a great cook, but this recipe ALWAYS causes quite a stir and is my most requested (not that that is saying much).

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Pile 15 cups of popcorn on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. I always make a double recipe, because it just doesn't work to make any less than that. So that is why you see two cookie sheets.

In a thick pot, melt 1 stick of butter, add 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup of light corn syrup (Karo), and 1/2 tsp. of salt.

Stir constantly over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. It will be "shiny".

After the 5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1/2 tsp. of baking soda.

It will become dull and frothy.

Then pour it over the popcorn. Remember I am showing a double recipe.

Carefully toss to coat all the popcorn. It is hot and sticky and it will try to jump overboard. Just take your time and make sure it is all coated. Stir all the way down to the bottom of the pan because the caramel will try to puddle there, and you have to keep tossing to get it on the corn instead of at the bottom of the pan.

Then place the cookie sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, take it out and toss all the popcorn again. You will repeat this process 3 more times so the total time in the oven is one hour.

When the hour is up, turn the corn out onto wax paper to let it cool, breaking up any big lumps. It will try to slide right off the wax paper and counter onto the floor so be forewarned. It is truly tragic to have any of it wasted.

After it has cooled, store in airtight containers or ziploc bags. That is if you're fast enough! :)