Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
God as Faithful Husband
This past spring at the small Bible conference I attended in Texas, Barbara Mouser mentioned a prayer idea which intrigued me. She told the group of ladies attending the conference that on the day of her daughter's wedding, she prayed that the Lord would "show her the Bridegroom."
Many times in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom who will someday come to get His Bride, the Church and take her to Heaven to be with Him forever. Godly men, although still sinners, reflect Jesus and His attributes (this idea is thoroughly explained in the Five Aspects of Man Bible Study by Bill Mouser). Godly women also reflect Jesus' attributes, but in different ways than men.
Weddings are special events which we most of us don't attend regularly. It was with this fact in mind that Barbara prayed her prayer. She wanted to see Jesus reflected in her son-in-law, the bridegroom that day. She asked God to give her glimpses of Jesus the Bridegroom and He was faithful to do so. Barbara caught one of those glimpses on the dance floor at the wedding reception, when her daughter and son-in-law had their first dance together. Jesus is crazy in love with us. It is with great joy that He will come to claim His Bride at the end of the age.
So with this thought in mind, I prayed the same prayer Barbara prayed when I attended the wedding of our friends in June. God answered my prayer in a different way than I expected, but He did answer my prayer.
Truth be told, I didn't see a whole lot of the bridegroom, Jason, that day. I was preoccupied with making the beans for the reception and also with keeping track of my children. However, at one point during the reception, the leader of the band asked all the married couples to congregate on the dance floor.
As Matt and I danced, I caught a few glimpses of my friend, Mrs L. Mrs. L was in the Five Aspects of Woman Bible study the first time I took the course three years ago. Mrs. L is a woman my age with young children. She has Parkinson's disease. Throughout our Bible study sessions, her body would move uncontrollably. Mrs. L's insights into Jesus and His Word were incredible. Everyone in our group was so grateful for her, so humbled by her, so awed by the grace which God had freely given her and which she so freely gave to all of us.
When I saw Mrs. L at the wedding, I was grief stricken. It had been a year since I'd seen her in person and her physical condition had deteriorated even more. At times she couldn't even hold up her own head. Yet, there was Mrs. L, with her devoted husband holding her up on the dance floor. Just as Matt twirled me around, I saw Mrs. L's hubby lean into her ear and say, "I love you."
Later, as we drove home, I began to reflect on the day. I said, "Lord, I didn't see the Bridegroom." As I continued to pray, the Lord pointed out to me that He had shown me another side of Himself, the Faithful Husband, through Mrs. L's husband.
No matter how broken I am, no matter how weak, how battered by sin and its effects, God still loves me. He doesn't ever leave me, even when He has to hold me up. That night the Lord said to me, "I will never leave you or forsake you, Melissa Macduff."
My friend gave me a book to borrow this past July. It's called Creative Counterpart, by Linda Dillow (BTW--a highly recommended read for women.) In it, she writes about Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." She explains that in the Greek language, "there is what's called a triple negative. It is used when the author wants to be extremely emphatic. This is the only verse in the New Testament in which this triple negative is used, and literally translated it reads: 'I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you, nor relax my hold on you, assuredly not.' "
My God is with me, no matter how difficult my circumstances, no matter how hard my sojourn here on this earth. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He won't ever relax His hold on me. What comfort this knowledge brings me. Praise be to You, oh Christ.
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
Isaiah 54:5
(Mrs. L. will be undergoing brain surgery in October in an attempt to relieve her very severe Parkinson's symptoms. I know she'd appreciate prayers from anyone who feels lead to pray for her.)
Many times in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom who will someday come to get His Bride, the Church and take her to Heaven to be with Him forever. Godly men, although still sinners, reflect Jesus and His attributes (this idea is thoroughly explained in the Five Aspects of Man Bible Study by Bill Mouser). Godly women also reflect Jesus' attributes, but in different ways than men.
Weddings are special events which we most of us don't attend regularly. It was with this fact in mind that Barbara prayed her prayer. She wanted to see Jesus reflected in her son-in-law, the bridegroom that day. She asked God to give her glimpses of Jesus the Bridegroom and He was faithful to do so. Barbara caught one of those glimpses on the dance floor at the wedding reception, when her daughter and son-in-law had their first dance together. Jesus is crazy in love with us. It is with great joy that He will come to claim His Bride at the end of the age.
So with this thought in mind, I prayed the same prayer Barbara prayed when I attended the wedding of our friends in June. God answered my prayer in a different way than I expected, but He did answer my prayer.
Truth be told, I didn't see a whole lot of the bridegroom, Jason, that day. I was preoccupied with making the beans for the reception and also with keeping track of my children. However, at one point during the reception, the leader of the band asked all the married couples to congregate on the dance floor.
As Matt and I danced, I caught a few glimpses of my friend, Mrs L. Mrs. L was in the Five Aspects of Woman Bible study the first time I took the course three years ago. Mrs. L is a woman my age with young children. She has Parkinson's disease. Throughout our Bible study sessions, her body would move uncontrollably. Mrs. L's insights into Jesus and His Word were incredible. Everyone in our group was so grateful for her, so humbled by her, so awed by the grace which God had freely given her and which she so freely gave to all of us.
When I saw Mrs. L at the wedding, I was grief stricken. It had been a year since I'd seen her in person and her physical condition had deteriorated even more. At times she couldn't even hold up her own head. Yet, there was Mrs. L, with her devoted husband holding her up on the dance floor. Just as Matt twirled me around, I saw Mrs. L's hubby lean into her ear and say, "I love you."
Later, as we drove home, I began to reflect on the day. I said, "Lord, I didn't see the Bridegroom." As I continued to pray, the Lord pointed out to me that He had shown me another side of Himself, the Faithful Husband, through Mrs. L's husband.
No matter how broken I am, no matter how weak, how battered by sin and its effects, God still loves me. He doesn't ever leave me, even when He has to hold me up. That night the Lord said to me, "I will never leave you or forsake you, Melissa Macduff."
My friend gave me a book to borrow this past July. It's called Creative Counterpart, by Linda Dillow (BTW--a highly recommended read for women.) In it, she writes about Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." She explains that in the Greek language, "there is what's called a triple negative. It is used when the author wants to be extremely emphatic. This is the only verse in the New Testament in which this triple negative is used, and literally translated it reads: 'I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you, nor relax my hold on you, assuredly not.' "
My God is with me, no matter how difficult my circumstances, no matter how hard my sojourn here on this earth. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He won't ever relax His hold on me. What comfort this knowledge brings me. Praise be to You, oh Christ.
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
Isaiah 54:5
(Mrs. L. will be undergoing brain surgery in October in an attempt to relieve her very severe Parkinson's symptoms. I know she'd appreciate prayers from anyone who feels lead to pray for her.)
Friday, September 21, 2012
Anniversary Present
I gave Matt his anniversary present early this year. Matt has been a wonderful husband for (almost) nineteen years. What they say about loving your spouse more and more as the years pass is really true. My love for Matt is deeper than it ever has been. This year has been a difficult one for me and Matt has been by my side for every bit of it.
So I wanted to give him something really special for our anniversary. I've desired to administer a good decluttering/organization session to Matt's home office for a very long time, I just never got around to it. Quite frankly, every time I thought about it, I got overwhelmed and decided to put it off awhile longer. The room is a "catch all" place in our home. We've stored extra dining room chairs and the kids' strollers in it. Whenever I didn't know where to put a piece of paper or a tool I found lying around the house, I'd ask the kids to put the item on Matt's desk. As a result of the lack of work space, Matt often took his computer downstairs to get his work done.
Knowing that Matt's upcoming year would need to include more time for his Bible study as well as more work-from-home days, I knew his current office situation was unacceptable. So Grace and I bit the bullet and got the job done about a week and a half ago. We spent most of a day purging items into garbage or Goodwill piles and organizing kept items. I went through a box that had been put in the closet when we moved here four years ago. I filed papers that hadn't been filed in that amount of time. Below is an "in process" picture. I forgot to take a "before" photo, but believe me when I say, it wasn't that much better.
Matt has always wanted a manly leather chair. Problem was, we never had a place or the funds for such a luxury. I knew I wanted to put a nice chair in his office, so I started scouting out Craigslist a few days before the cleaning project. I found quite a few uglier-than-all-get out recliners, but nothing that fit what I had in mind. I was about ready to settle for an older cloth covered Lazy Boy that was missing a button, when I ran across a dark brown leather Lazy Boy. The chair had been posted forty minutes before I saw it. I contacted the seller right away and we set up a meeting for noon the next day.
So at lunchtime, we took a break from our cleaning project. Grace and Paul figured out how to remove the back bench seat from the van and the three of us headed over to see the chair. Honestly, I wasn't even sure the chair would work until I got there. Upon closer investigation, I found that it was indeed real, not faux, leather. We measured it and it would fit in the desired space in Matt's office. Still, I played it cool (I am learning the art of negotiation after all of these years). I pointed out a couple of cosmetic flaws (ones I knew I could take care of with leather cleaner) and asked the man if he would take $10 less than the asking price. I was tickled when he said "yes." We loaded up the chair and headed home. Yes, God did provide the perfect chair for my hubby.
Grace then went to Walmart and bought some leather cleaner while I stayed behind to keep slogging through all of the paper piles. Let me just say, it is awesome to have another driver in the family. As the time neared for Matt to come home from work, it was all hands on deck to get the job done. The little kids helped collect trash and move some items to new homes in other rooms. Elizabeth set to work with the leather cleaner. We finished just in time to get dinner on the table before Daddy got home.
The kids brought Matt into his office through the outside door. The first thing he saw was the recliner. I think he was surprised. I know he was pleased. His office is now a nice quiet haven in which he can work. Part of the gift is to continue to keep his office clean, which we have accomplished so far (it's only been a little over a week). Really, it's just going to require lots of diligence on my part. But Matt is every bit worth it. Here's to another nineteen years!
So I wanted to give him something really special for our anniversary. I've desired to administer a good decluttering/organization session to Matt's home office for a very long time, I just never got around to it. Quite frankly, every time I thought about it, I got overwhelmed and decided to put it off awhile longer. The room is a "catch all" place in our home. We've stored extra dining room chairs and the kids' strollers in it. Whenever I didn't know where to put a piece of paper or a tool I found lying around the house, I'd ask the kids to put the item on Matt's desk. As a result of the lack of work space, Matt often took his computer downstairs to get his work done.
Knowing that Matt's upcoming year would need to include more time for his Bible study as well as more work-from-home days, I knew his current office situation was unacceptable. So Grace and I bit the bullet and got the job done about a week and a half ago. We spent most of a day purging items into garbage or Goodwill piles and organizing kept items. I went through a box that had been put in the closet when we moved here four years ago. I filed papers that hadn't been filed in that amount of time. Below is an "in process" picture. I forgot to take a "before" photo, but believe me when I say, it wasn't that much better.
Matt has always wanted a manly leather chair. Problem was, we never had a place or the funds for such a luxury. I knew I wanted to put a nice chair in his office, so I started scouting out Craigslist a few days before the cleaning project. I found quite a few uglier-than-all-get out recliners, but nothing that fit what I had in mind. I was about ready to settle for an older cloth covered Lazy Boy that was missing a button, when I ran across a dark brown leather Lazy Boy. The chair had been posted forty minutes before I saw it. I contacted the seller right away and we set up a meeting for noon the next day.
So at lunchtime, we took a break from our cleaning project. Grace and Paul figured out how to remove the back bench seat from the van and the three of us headed over to see the chair. Honestly, I wasn't even sure the chair would work until I got there. Upon closer investigation, I found that it was indeed real, not faux, leather. We measured it and it would fit in the desired space in Matt's office. Still, I played it cool (I am learning the art of negotiation after all of these years). I pointed out a couple of cosmetic flaws (ones I knew I could take care of with leather cleaner) and asked the man if he would take $10 less than the asking price. I was tickled when he said "yes." We loaded up the chair and headed home. Yes, God did provide the perfect chair for my hubby.
Grace then went to Walmart and bought some leather cleaner while I stayed behind to keep slogging through all of the paper piles. Let me just say, it is awesome to have another driver in the family. As the time neared for Matt to come home from work, it was all hands on deck to get the job done. The little kids helped collect trash and move some items to new homes in other rooms. Elizabeth set to work with the leather cleaner. We finished just in time to get dinner on the table before Daddy got home.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Of Krauts & Non Krauts
A few weeks ago I had the house to myself, so I decided to make and can a batch of zucchini relish. When the family arrived home, the responses were as follows:
Matt--"Whoa! It smells like vinegar in here!" (Another thing he can't tolerate is pickles of any kind).
Paul--"Whooee! What stinks?"
Grace--"Yuck! Vinegar!"
Joel--"Pew! What's that smell?"
Then in strode Lydia. My little kraut said, "Yummmy! It smells like pickles in here!"
Matt--"Whoa! It smells like vinegar in here!" (Another thing he can't tolerate is pickles of any kind).
Paul--"Whooee! What stinks?"
Grace--"Yuck! Vinegar!"
Joel--"Pew! What's that smell?"
Then in strode Lydia. My little kraut said, "Yummmy! It smells like pickles in here!"
Crackers in Bed
A couple of weeks ago, Jude was feeling crummy. He was running a temperature and his tummy and head hurt. I was feeling much the same way. So we cuddled up in my big bed together and ate soda crackers and drank ginger ale. That night when Matt came to bed, he found a few crumbs on his half of the mattress. He began brushing them onto the floor. Matt is an extremely tolerant person, but if there's one thing he can't stand, it's people messing with his bed. Ooops.
So I began singing, "You Can Eat Crackers in My Bed Anytime." Matt looked at me like I'd lost my mind. He'd never heard of the song. So I found this video for him to watch.
So I began singing, "You Can Eat Crackers in My Bed Anytime." Matt looked at me like I'd lost my mind. He'd never heard of the song. So I found this video for him to watch.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Fest at Home
I have attended the German fall festival in the small town in which my great grandparents, grandparents and now my aunt & uncle live every year for the past 35+ years. I've gone when I was so sick, I barely made it back home without thinking I would die first. I've gone when I was jet lagged from our family trip to WA DC and we literally made it into town for only the last few hours of the three day festival. Come what may, I've gone to Fest. But this year, I didn't go.
Even though multiple reasons for not going to Fest kept popping up, Matt and I still planned to take our family this year. After all, it's tradition. However, as we got closer and closer to the big weekend, we began to think through the realities of this year's situation. Matt had a meeting he couldn't get out of on Saturday morning, so we wouldn't be able to leave in time to get into town and see the parade (the kids' favorite part). Once we got there, there would be no extended family in attendance as they all were in CA for a far more important occasion, my cousin's wedding. Matt has been working on a play house project in our back yard, which he hated to leave. I'd been feeling a bit under the weather and wasn't my usual perky self.
So we decided to do "Fest at Home" this year. Elizabeth and I made cabbage rolls with plenty of sauerkraut (we used the authentic Fest recipe). Matt grilled up German sausage straight from the source, the same as what is served at the festival, complete with hot German mustard. Grace made kartoffel und kloss (potatoes & spaetzle w/ cream & browned butter). We invited some friends over and had a glorious German feast. We ate too much, just like at Fest. Once we had eaten, we headed outside for a surprise Lydia had concocted.
Lydia made a float and produced her own mini-parade for us. She was concerned that she wouldn't have candy to throw to the spectators, but I had a big bag of gummy bears that I had purchased to support our niece's basketball fundraiser. I passed out gummy bears to the parade watchers, while Lydia transformed the Radio Flyer wagon into several different floats and drove them past her enthusiastic audience.
When the parade was over, we went back inside the house to eat our Fest desserts. Grace had made kuchen (German coffee cake) and berry filled sweet rolls. The only thing missing was apple strudel, which is pretty hard to replicate at home. All in all, I'd say our "Fest at Home" event was a success. Our tummies were full, we had enough leftovers for several days and best of all, our pocketbook wasn't as thin as it usually is after Fest weekend. Priceless. (But that doesn't mean I won't be at the real Fest next year.)
Even though multiple reasons for not going to Fest kept popping up, Matt and I still planned to take our family this year. After all, it's tradition. However, as we got closer and closer to the big weekend, we began to think through the realities of this year's situation. Matt had a meeting he couldn't get out of on Saturday morning, so we wouldn't be able to leave in time to get into town and see the parade (the kids' favorite part). Once we got there, there would be no extended family in attendance as they all were in CA for a far more important occasion, my cousin's wedding. Matt has been working on a play house project in our back yard, which he hated to leave. I'd been feeling a bit under the weather and wasn't my usual perky self.
So we decided to do "Fest at Home" this year. Elizabeth and I made cabbage rolls with plenty of sauerkraut (we used the authentic Fest recipe). Matt grilled up German sausage straight from the source, the same as what is served at the festival, complete with hot German mustard. Grace made kartoffel und kloss (potatoes & spaetzle w/ cream & browned butter). We invited some friends over and had a glorious German feast. We ate too much, just like at Fest. Once we had eaten, we headed outside for a surprise Lydia had concocted.
Lydia made a float and produced her own mini-parade for us. She was concerned that she wouldn't have candy to throw to the spectators, but I had a big bag of gummy bears that I had purchased to support our niece's basketball fundraiser. I passed out gummy bears to the parade watchers, while Lydia transformed the Radio Flyer wagon into several different floats and drove them past her enthusiastic audience.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Grace is 17
Despite a crazy day on September 5, the Lord enabled us to squeeze in a nice little birthday celebration for our eldest, Grace. We splurged and ordered pizza for dinner. Grace and Elizabeth worked together to make Grace's cake. Grandma Dianne arranged for the girls to take a cake decorating class earlier this summer, so homemade birthday cakes have now fallen into their domain.
Elizabeth made a yellow cake from the 1950's Betty Crocker Cookbook and Grace made a chocolate ganache to cover the cake layers. Grace also decorated the cake. So after dinner we had cake and ice cream. The birthday girl then opened her presents. Her main gift was a serger sewing machine which I bought from a woman at church who was upgrading her machine. I haven't a clue about how to use it, but I know Grace will dig right in and figure it out, as she always does.
Lydia decided Grace's birthday would not be complete without a pinata. Since Lydia's birthday is in the dead of winter, pinatas are never a part of her celebrations. So self-serving as the suggestion was, I obliged Lydia. We went to Walmart together to pick out the perfect pinata and all the right candy to fill it. Of course the little kids were ecstatic when the pinata surprise was revealed. Even the big birthday girl was impressed. Fun and sugar highs abounded.
Lydia decided Grace's birthday would not be complete without a pinata. Since Lydia's birthday is in the dead of winter, pinatas are never a part of her celebrations. So self-serving as the suggestion was, I obliged Lydia. We went to Walmart together to pick out the perfect pinata and all the right candy to fill it. Of course the little kids were ecstatic when the pinata surprise was revealed. Even the big birthday girl was impressed. Fun and sugar highs abounded.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Jude is Four
Jude got so used to showing people four fingers to represent his age in the weeks before his birthday, that he insisted he would be turning five, not four, last Sunday. We had a nice little celebration with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jane on Friday night. They gave Jude a wallet complete with a $1 bill. Auntie Em provided additional funds to put in the wallet, which made the newly-four-year-old boy an official Mr. Money Bags.
On Sunday, Jude's godparents invited us to their house for dinner and swimming. Peggy made a scrumptious meal, as always and Floyd kept the kids entertained with his tall tales, as usual. Jude received a toy motorcycle which pops wheelies as it races across the floor. This gift appealed to Jude's desire for anything dangerous, minus the actual bodily harm factor, so both boy and parents were pleased.
Grace made a rocket cake, per Jude's request. Jude received a bicycle helmet with rockets on it from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dianne for his birthday, which has piqued his interest in all things space.
On Sunday, Jude's godparents invited us to their house for dinner and swimming. Peggy made a scrumptious meal, as always and Floyd kept the kids entertained with his tall tales, as usual. Jude received a toy motorcycle which pops wheelies as it races across the floor. This gift appealed to Jude's desire for anything dangerous, minus the actual bodily harm factor, so both boy and parents were pleased.
Grace made a rocket cake, per Jude's request. Jude received a bicycle helmet with rockets on it from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dianne for his birthday, which has piqued his interest in all things space.
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