Just because....

Evelyn Hope..... You are so much fun!!!!!!! :-)

Taking God at His Word-book review

I was so very honored to receive an advance copy of Kevin DeYoung's new book for review, entitled Taking God at His Word.  It was refreshing, to say the least, to read a book with such a high and lofty view of God's Holy, written Word.  DeYoung describes the purpose of his book:

     "“The goal of this book is to get us believing what we should about the Bible, feeling what we should about the Bible, and to get us doing what we ought to do with the Bible”

(Excerpt From: DeYoung, Kevin. “Taking God at His Word: Advance Reader Copy.” Crossway. iBooks. 

This material may be protected by copyright.)

   I love this goal, and I do think DeYoung accomplishes what he set out to do.  In an easy-to-read, down-to-earth format overall, the author takes us through the doctrines of the Scripture, as laid out in...you guessed it! Scripture!  Everyone can benefit from a higher and grander view of God's Holy Word.   We have an invaluable gift, and this book serves to remind us of the true purpose and treasure, and in fact, our absolute NEED for the Word of God in every aspect of life.  In DeYoung's own words:

     “No one makes it far in the school of holiness without hours and days and years in the word. You and I simply will not mature as quickly, minister as effectively, or live as gloriously without immersing ourselves in the Scriptures.

We need the Bible if we are to be competent Christians. The Bible will build us up so that we can endure suffering. It will give us discernment for difficult choices. It will make us strong enough to be patient with others and patient enough to respond with kindness when others hurt us.”

(Excerpt From: DeYoung, Kevin. “Taking God at His Word: Advance Reader Copy.” Crossway. iBooks. 

This material may be protected by copyright.)

     For me personally, I found difficulty in the approach that says God only speaks to us through His Word. Period. There was no discussion of Jesus' words when he told his disciples, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7).  I agree wholeheartedly that God's Word is the final authority on all things! But, God reveals Himself to man.  That is who He is, it is His character. The fullness of His deity is shown in Christ.  And yet, Christ said it was better for Him to go, that He would send us the Holy Spirit.  This does not diminish my view of the Scripture, but it elevates it!!! I cannot rightly discern the leading of the Holy Spirit without rightly dividing the Word of Truth.  In our family devotions, the question was asked, "Why is it so important to read God's Word?" And my answer, among many other things, was that without knowing God's Word, I cannot rightly recognize His voice in any other ways He may choose to speak to me.  When I feel the Spirit say, "Go here." Or "Do this."  I must know God's Word, because it IS the final authority on all things.

   That being said, I think every Christian can benefit from the high view of the Scriptures as expressed and rightly defended here in this book.  

More pics....

Your special birthday necklace!

Cake!!!

A new tie and dress-up shirt!! (Which, as a side note, you wore a dress shirt and tie with your black rain boots to the zoo. It was fantastic.)

Look out world!!!  Here he comes!!

Judah Sean-3 years old!!

Oh Judah Sean. You are such a sweet little boy.  You have the biggest smile. We have had so much fun celebrating your third year of life.  We went to the zoo on Friday, and you got to ride the train with Daddy!

We had our family lunch at Pizza Guru, with soda!!!!

And then we had family movie night at home where we watched Promised Land, a surf movie set in Israel.  Last night we got to celebrate with cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  You were so surprised when you saw the Spider-Man ride-on toy.  (The pictures are on daddy's phone, but I hope to post them soon.) 

After each card from your cousins you would ask, "Mom, do I get to keep this?"

And then of course, when you opened your markers and said, "Oh, these are just the ones I was wanting."

You are an amazing, bright, cuddly little boy.  When we asked you what you wanted for your birthday, you said, "Well, I'm thinking about it..."

Oh Judah. We love having you as part of this silly, crazy family.  You teach me all the time with your precious ways.  I pray that you will always take the time to "think about it."  That you will carefully watch and learn the ways of our God, and then follow hard after Him.  Your name means "praise God who is gracious."  May we all spend our lives praising Him, who is so gracious....may we think carefully about His kindness and goodness to us, who gave us all things in Christ.  And may we live with the "full joy" that Jesus came to provide, and that I see so clearly in your big smile.

I love you Judah Sean.

Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full-Book Review

This is an amazing, Gospel-filled, encouraging book for moms!!  Reading this made me just want to befriend the author and sit with her over tea.  From a mom who is "in the trenches", Gloria Furman uses tons of Scripture to call our eyes back to Christ and the wonders He has for us as mothers.  The only reason that I didn't give this five stars was because for the average, sleep-deprived mom, there will be parts that are a little difficult to read.  Those same portions are well-worth the effort, however, and the mom who is willing to persevere will be rewarded--not only with deep theological truth, but with fun and down to earth stories about the author's family life along the way.
I would enthusiastically recommend to all moms, especially those with young children.  I received an advance copy of this book to review, and I think it would be an excellent choice to use in a small group study of moms.  The chapters are short enough to get through quickly, but packed full of Scripture, truth, and encouragement for connecting our day to day mothering with the beauty of our Savior.

The State of our Affairs....

Here's a picture of Emma and Evelyn's room in its current state:

Yep. That's real. Long story short....major plumbing issues....Ben was able to take off some time from work and save us thousands of dollars by doing lots of hard manual labor by himself. Well, Caleb helped too. We have been so blessed by a friend of the family who has been heaven sent to help us through the process. So. For now, Emma is in with the boys, and Evelyn is in with us. It's cozy! But as of tonight, we have working showers and toilets, so we are better off than last night. :-)

Exploring Grace Together- book review

This is a new devotional for families by Jessica Thompson, co-author of Give Them Grace with Elyse Fitzpatrick.  I had the opportunity to review this book for Crossway, and I'm so glad I did. In short and sweet little chapters, Thompson gives a key verse of Scripture, followed by a "case-study", so to speak. A child is struggling with something, and the corresponding truth from Scripture shows clearly how the truth of the Gospel defeats the lie that is preventing the child from experiencing the grace and truth of Jesus Christ's lovel.  In closing, each chapter offers a few questions for the parent to ask, interacting with their own child, and finding ways in which they might relate to the what is being discussed in the devotional.  Overall, it would be very easy for a family to implement this useful tool, and I would consider it most beneficial between the ages of 5-8. 

10 months??.....

Well, she can't possibly be almost eleven months, right? Wow. It has just flown by. This little munchkin is such a gift of joy to our family. She is feisty! For sure! She loves to crawl, pull up, cruise a bit, and has stood on her own for a few seconds before sitting down. :-)

She just started waving when grandma left our house and she practically leaped out of my arms. Isn't is amazing how they just instinctively know that Grandma's house is the place to be!?

Oh, Evelyn Hope, we enjoy you so much and are so thankful for you!!!

Valentina's Day dinner

So sweet!!! Emma and Caleb made dinner for Ben and I on Valentine's Day. It started with a beet salad, with goat cheese and walnuts, dressed with balsamic  vinaigrette (thank you Jen Lehr for teaching me that trick!!!!), gluten free pasta with vegan sausage and marinara, and a vegan blueberry cobbler!!! Everything was fantastic!!!!! I told Ben, what am I doing!?? There's really no reason I should be cooking anymore. ;-)

Hester craft day!!

We had so much fun!!!! We made loom bracelets and para cord bracelets (and necklaces). It was a super fun afternoon as a family. 

Legoland!!!!

All day, people would stop us to say how cute we were in our matching shirts. I always thanked them and explained that this is survival, people. 6 kids and 2 parents means I gotta know what I'm looking for.  My sincere apologies to the two unfortunate kids who happened to wear blue and black stripe shirts to Legoland that day, only to be chased down by a crazy, middle-aged blonde.

JUST KIDDING, people!!!!!

Being a family of 8, we took up two boats. We sent these four on ahead of us....

We brought up the rear.

So sweet.

Driving!

Ezra behind the wheel....

Judah and I on the helicopters (I was actually there!)

The log ride!

Caleb and Noah....

Emma and Ezra....just before they soaked me.

An awesome playground!!! The kids had a blast. Ben and I did race up this net....it was a little too close to call, I think. ;-)

They loved this slide!

Sweet baby girl....

This was a fun ride!

It was such a fun trip. We are just so, so thankful to have been able to go.:-)

Found in Him--book review

Found in Him, by Elyse Fitzpatrick, unfolds for the reader some of the often overlooked truths inherent in the incarnation of Christ, and our union with Him.  

Part One of the book, which includes more than half of the book, is devoted to examining aspects of Jesus' taking on flesh-His becoming like us in every way, that He might be able to fully sympathize with our weakness.

The second portion of the book then looks at how the intricacies of Christ's identification with humanity impact our union with Him.

This is a great reminder for us all to stop, and pause, and really meditate upon the work of our Savior.  True to the gospel, Fitzpatrick refuses to hand out "to-do" lists for obedience and transformation.  She relies fully upon the work of Jesus Christ to produce change in us, and encourages us to meditate and drink deeply of how the work that Jesus has already done on our behalf is actually what changes our hearts.

I really enjoyed the reminders of particular aspects of the incarnation-the transfiguration, His temptation by the devil, even His growing up.  And perhaps what impacted me most in this book came in the form of the appendices- one being devoted to the Creeds of the early church, and the last being devoted to a chart by Puritan William Perkins, showing the ways in which Christ's work on our behalf brings about transformative work in us.

The chapter comparing our union with Christ to a bride and her groom might be a little difficult for men to stomach...Fitzpatrick acknowledges this in a discussion on the masculinity of God.  This is the only portion of the book that I could see being difficult for the reader.

All in all, it is a good reminder for those who would want to meditate on the incarnation of Christ, and how we are found in Him.

Make Way for Ducklings....and our field trip

"It was a great responsibility taking care of so many ducklings, and it kept them very busy."

❤❤❤❤❤

I was reading "Make Way for Ducklings" to Judah yesterday and ran across this line. It was so sweet. I thought...this needs to be up on my wall somewhere--especially on all those days where I mistakenly think that I have tons of extra free time with which to overextend myself. *big cheesy grin*

We recently did a fun field trip to the Natural History Museum. They were having a free homeschool day!!! We had such a great time and it was such a privilege to hop into the car and make the adventurous drive down to L.A. with all my "ducklings".

Ambree came with us which was a big treat. 

Judah had just been learning about "D" for "dinosaurs"....The dinosaur reminds us that "big and small, God made them all."  So it was perfect timing! The top of the picture shows the huge, long neck of a dinosaur!

Emma and the polar bear

Judah and his antlers....

So cool!

The "Nature Lab" had lots of fun things....least of which were rats running through clear tunnels just above our heads. Ew!!

How a rattlesnake sees you....

A jack screw! We had just been reading about this in history, so this was sooo fun!

The printing press!!! We read about this last year!

Lady Evelyn in her carriage...with her thumb

Scary!!!! Hahahaha! So much fun!

All done!!!

Ezra did it!!! He finished the entire Sing, Spell, Read and Write program. He got an "A" on his test. This is the fourth child that I have had the privilege of taking through this program. And although the stories, songs, and games are getting a *little* old....seeing your child's world open up and their confidence in reading blossom never does.

Great job Ezra! We'll be having an ice cream date soon to celebrate!!!!