The Gift in Waiting

I sit in the quiet of the night, with the glimmering lights upon the tree.  I wait for sleep to come, but instead a gift...Here is that gift.

To the people of Israel, waiting had become a drudgery.  The prophets of God had long ago become silent.  Darkness pervaded their lives.  The Messiah they were waiting for had not come.  At first, expectation was high.  Words such as,  "He said the Messiah would come, it must be soon." could be heard.  The years marched on. Disappointment, despair, and discouragement rolled over them as the waiting continued.  Nothing happened.  No voice from heaven, no promise fulfilled, no Messiah.  Just silence.  That awful, deafening silence.  Years and years of silence.

In our times of silence, each must choose to go on or to give up.  Many of God's people had given up.  They had given up on God.  They had given up on the promise of the Messiah.  Nothing had happened.  Why keep on hoping and have those hopes dashed year after year.
Yet, others chose to linger a bit longer on the Scriptures.  The promises of the Creator God were read again and again.  Hearts were drawn upward and became strangely warmed.

For instance, the shepherds, though a poor group, had a heart still longing for a word from heaven.  The waiting seemed interminable, yet they still hung on.  The hope kindled by the promises of the bygone prophets once again did its work among this humble gathering of shepherds.  With determination, they climbed away from despair and upward toward God Almighty.

As the days and years marched on in their lives, they continued to feed the flame of hope until the day came when heaven's angels swept down to that cold and darkened hillside.  Light filled the sky, as well as their hearts.  The glorious news swept through their being.  The Messiah had come!  Hope was not in vain.  They lingered their on the hillside for a moment, as the last words were spoken and the light began to fade.  Nevertheless, the light in their spirit burned ever brighter.  With glad hearts, they hurried to Bethlehem.  There in the that lowly stable they worshipped the Son of God.  The long nights of despair and discouragement were in the past.  The promise had been fulfilled.  Their waiting had not been in vain.

This Advent Season, as we read the Scriptures each night, we hear those words spoke so long ago.  Words that can kindle the hope once again.  We know now, that God has fulfilled the promises of sending a Saviour for the world.  If He can keep promises that huge, he is still able to keep promises today, though they be long in coming.

Sometimes the waiting for that answer, for direction, for a light to fill the darkened sky of our lives is long and lonely.  The waiting seems to be all  for nothing.  Yet,  when we choose to turn our hearts back to the words of the Father, something happens within us.  Our hearts yearn to hear His voice again.  Our spirit once again longs for that inner knowledge that God does not fail.

The 300+ prophecies that involve Christ, which have been fulfilled, feed our souls.  We are astounded at all the circumstances that were ordered by our God.  In His time, it came to pass.  As this knowledge seeps into our souls, we know that God is in control of our circumstances, of our waiting time.  In his time, his work will be accomplished in our lives.

Throughout this Advent season, as we await His coming, our hearts must be awakened and our lives ready for the Saviour's dawning on our individual lives.  Grasp this waiting time as a gift to feed our hearts with the words and promises of our Faithful God.

I linger just a moment longer in the soft lights of the tree, and I thank God for the times of waiting that become filled with the hope and knowledge of His Word.  The times when discouragement is pushed back and this gift found in waiting is accepted.

Everything We Need for A Life of Excellence

"According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue."
II Peter 1:3

The word virtue in this verse means excellence. God calls us to a life of excellence. Excellence can bring many emotions to mind. We may love viewing an excellent painting, or listening to an excellent portion of music or eating an excellent meal. Those things all bring to mind something that has exceeded our expectations and has no need of change. When we think of a life of excellence can we say that our lives have no need of change. Are we living up to all of God's expectations for our life? Sadly, most of us would not be able to say that with a clear conscience.
Take heart, though because God has provided all that we need to live that life of excellence. He is ready to impart His divine power, a power that is unlimited, to each of us. Everything that pertains to this life of living for God, we have at our fingertips. We only need to claim it. Can't you even now, hear His tender voice calling me, calling you, to a life of excellence. A life that is above the "status quo" and above the mediocre. He is calling for us to live a life of excellence every moment. In verse 4 we read of the exceeding great and precious promises He gives to us. It is while we live in and on these promises that we can begin to gain ground spiritually. As we increase in our knowledge of Him we will be able to obtain His perspective in our life. When we see God for who He really is and all that He is ready to impart to us then we will be on the road to a excellent life.

In verses 5 - 7 of that same chapter we find that we are to diligently work at character building in our lives. We have to grow or our lives will become stagnant. Life will become a burden and we will soon forget all that God has done for us. Diligence---Consistency is so important in the Christian life. We have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, clinging to God's promises while we climb the mountain God has placed in our lives. It's not always easy, but God....will always be there. His divine nature will begin to shine through us more and more each day as we surrender all to Him. While we continue to climb, we become more fit for the journey onward and upward. Our life of excellence will grow and broaden as we diligently study His Word and have fellowship with Him. He wants us to live an abundant and excellent life. Let's take what He is ready to give us and move onward and upward.

Buck Fever

Joshua, my 15 year old shot an eight point buck tonight. My boys are dreaming of fried tenderloin, jerky, and venison roast. Caleb will go out tomorrow with renewed perseverence now that his older brother proved there were deer on our property. He has said, "There's no deer down by my stand. All I saw was one squirrel and a coyote across the creek. That's just not fair!" On the other hand, Josh has seen 12 deer from his stand in the two days he went hunting. Being the kind and generous brother that he is, Josh has agreed to let Caleb hunt from his stand tomorrow. (He's feeling great, now that he shot his buck.)

Fall is good

While we were camping, Melody wrote this about fall.

Fall is good

Fall is when the leaves turn colors

yellow, yellow and orange.

Those beuteful coloers.

I love to catch the leaves

and stand in the wind.

Signed

Melody

I thought she did a good job for just starting 2nd grade, in spite of the misspelled words.

Our Camping Trip

We went camping at Lieber State Recreation Area.  It is located above Cloverdale, IN off of I-70.  We filled the days of October 1st - 3rd with many memories of yummy food, hikes, horseshoes, basketball, football on the beach, wading and much more.
On Saturday we went to Terre Haute for Pioneer Days at Fowler Park.  The girls made a corncob doll which they were delighted with since they had recently finished reading the Little House on the Prairie Books.  Those of you who don't know, Laura had a corncob doll. 
The following pictures are a few of the memories we made.  I'll be soaking up those days  in the months to come.

My Boys and I

Campsite Memories

Fishing and Football

Sunset

Cagles Mill Lake at Lieber State Recreation Area

Mother and daughters

                              

Sandy beach, cool breeze, blue sky, family= Wonderful Day

 Moriah

Melody

To Trust is to Rejoice

On a beautiful fall day, my joy of living seemed to have dissolved. Dissatisfaction and despair seemed to surround the day. No seeming reason for those doldrums to have set in. My husband takes the kids and leaves for a short excursion together. The house is left quiet. My thoughts jumbled, desperately trying to find my way out and above the feelings of dissatisfaction that had colored my day. Finally, leaving the housework behind I hurried into the woods. My heart was crying out to God to speak and show me the way. Slowly, the stillness began to sink in, and as I sat looking into the leaves drifting down from the trees above, I became aware of the problem I had. A problem that is a worldwide struggle. Fear of the future. Fear of what is to come. I needed to give the future and the present back to God.

I heard the wind as it moved through the trees, saw the leaves as they danced in the breeze, and realized the beauty of God's creation in the blue sky above. I longed for my heart to dance as those leaves high in the trees and wondered why it wasn't. God seemed to speak, "You're afraid of what is to come." You're not accepting of the gift you have now." As I thought on that, I realized how true it was. My heart had fled onward, past the glory days of autumn to the stark, bare days of winter. I didn't want my leaves to fall. I didn't want those good days to end. I wanted to cling to them. I didn't want my heart to be once again bereft of leaves, lifeless against a cold, winter sky.

The joy had fled, the heart's golden days of autumn were gone because I was clasping them to myself, not wanting to move on, scared of the possible barren winter days ahead. I lifted my eyes once again to the trees, where the leaves were dancing with beauty and abandon. When their time came to gracefully fall to the ground, I didn't see the leaves reaching back out to hold once again to tree that had nourished them these past months. No, the leaves tumbled down preparing to provide joy to those leaf gatherers. Those children that rake and gather together leaves. They then jump with abandon into those gaily colored piles. What joy! NO fear of the future. Enjoying the gift of today. Taking the moment with gratitude and enjoying it to the fullest.

As I headed back home, I determined to savor the moment. Trust the Father for the day, as well as the future. I wanted my heart to dance as those leaves, with beauty and abandon until their turn to let loose and fall to the ground below. If winter bares her teeth, once again in life, I must keep looking to the Father to find the beauty He has given for that moment in time. When we can trust our future to God, the joy comes. We can then bring joy to others through our trusting heart.
"FOR OUR HEART SHALL REJOICE IN HIM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TRUSTED IN HIS HOLY NAME." PSALM 33:21

(pictures were taken in Colorado-October 2008)

Anderson Apple Orchard

We get together with another homeschool family to do field trips together. We went to the Anderson Apple Orchard last week with the Smith family. The Orchard is located outside Mooresville about 2 miles. It was a beautiful day. They have a beautiful orchard and wonderful apples.

Photos at the Orchard

My seven year olds. They can sing "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" No, one is not taller than the other.

Moriah and Joanna

Abigail and Melody

Kid Clusters

While we were at the orchard our kids were usually clustered in three groups.  Here they are.

Forever Friends

Best Buddies

The Three Stooges

1st Day of School--Nature Day

School began officially for the year with a Nature Day at McCormicks Creek State Park. We literally spent the day there. "A day to spend." So many choices of what to do. Here is some of how we spent the gift of this day.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt

Carving

Two types of Indian fish hooks

A Full Day