A Wonderful Christmas

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season.

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

I have usually only heard the first part of Psalm 46:10 quoted. Be still and know that I am God. Yet when read as a whole it has much greater power in my opinion. I have to confess that in the past when I heard "Be still and know that I am God" quoted, it was always a little confusing to me. I always felt that the first part (quoted on its own) requires blind obedience, but God doesn't call us to that is this verse.

Just hearing the first part makes you think that God is calling us to sit and contemplate the fact that He is God and that is it. We are told to quietly sit and contemplate the fact that He is God but that is not all! We are told to sit quietly knowing He is God and has the power to accomplish all His holy will! Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

God is not sitting around fretting that Christians are not doing their jobs well enough. He does not worry that the world will forget Him and become a huge Sodom and Gomorrah (I do, and what that means particularly for my babies). I am not saying He doesn't care, He does or He wouldn't have sent His Son, but He isn't helpless in the situation. He is the Lord over it! And He doesn't call us to feel helpless in the situation either. What an encouragement it is to read this verse in its entirety! Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Be Thou My Vision, Selah

Be Thou My Vision

(English Versification of the English Translation of the Old Irish Text)

by Eleanor Hull, 1912

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

naught be all else to me, save that thou art;

Thou my best thought by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word,

I ever with thee and thou with me Lord;

Thou my great Father, I thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, sword for the fight;

Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;

Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower:

Raise thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

Thou mine inheritance now and always;

Thou and thou only first in my heart;

High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O Bright Heaven's sun!;

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Melt My Heart

Sitting in the nursing mothers room with Calvin, I was upset by having a disruptive three year old at yet another Sunday morning church service. We were sitting in a rocker. He was struggling to loosen my grip as I struggled to hold him still, trying to make being taken out of the service a more boring experience than sitting through it. Discouragement began to set in and I searched for ideas on how to make the struggling stop. "What color are my eyes, Calvin?" I asked. He stopped struggling and looked at me. He brought his nose within an inch of mine, looking deeply into my eyes. "Um, pretty," he said.

Park Classes

I am having fun taking my babies to the preschool classes at the Metro Parks. This is a series of photos of the Windy Ride at Sharon Woods on Good Friday. I scheduled the ride thinking about what a beautiful Spring ride it would be around the park. But I forgot that I live in Ohio. So that Spring day turned out to be windy and raining with a high of 48 degrees. On a good note, Craig was able to come. He saved me. I don't handle to cold well, and I don't think I would have lasted through the ride and crafts with both babies by myself.

Calvin and I ran to the car when I could no longer stand the cold, and Craig stayed behind to help Ebie finish her wind socket. I think Craig enjoyed himself, and I think Ebie had a good time too. You can always tell how much fun a kid has by how messy they are.

By the looks of her, she had a blast.

Beautiful Evelynn...

My beautiful Evelynn Louise celebrates her second birthday today. I don't know where the time has gone. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was holding the prettiest newborn little girl I had ever seen in my arms. The bonds we made on that first day have only gotten stronger these two years. I pray that they will grow even more as the years go on, and that she will never know a day when my love for her is doubted. She is so precious to me. Thanks be to God for choosing Craig and me to watch this beautiful little girl grow up.

Calvin

Just plain cute!

Getting Ready to Plant My (portable) Garden

The heirloom tomato plants I purchased for this summer are sitting in the front window waiting to be placed in their permanent portable home.

Nothing is being planted in the ground this season, because I would like to take the fruits of my labor with me if we move. We have tomatoes, peppers, carrots, herbs, zucchini, cucumbers, and beans all to be planted in portable planters, so we can still enjoy fresh vegetables in the midst of the uncertainty of things.



This is the one I am really looking forward to, an 1800's purple tomato!

Bird Nests

Calvin and Ebie have been attending preschool classes at the Metro Parks here in Columbus. Classes are held at many of the different parks and the subject matter is usually about whatever animals you would expect to be active in that certain park, or just in the season in general. For instance, it's spring so one of the classes we attended was about birds and their nests.

The naturalist spoke a little about birds' nests, read a picture book about nests to the kids, and even showed them real nests that had been collected in the park. We sang a few songs as a group about birds' nests and then at the end each child got to fill a baggy with materials that some birds might use to build a nest. They were told to put the materials in a mesh bag and hang it in a tree in their yards. It might take a few weeks for the birds to find it, they were told.

Ours has been hanging in the small tree in the back of our yard waiting for the birds to find it for about 6 weeks now. It has been close a few times. Once we even put tortilla chips in the bag with the material to help things along. They ate the chips and left the material. But it still hangs there. Every so often, when we're outside Calvin will go up and check on the bag. He runs up excitedly, and when he sees that all the materials are still there his shoulders drop and he sighs. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do something about this.

Liberty Cabbage

There is sauerkraut fermenting in my kitchen cabinet. Through my research into healthy diets I have come across a book called Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. Mr. Katz writes about our bodies' need for traditionally fermented foods. Foods that have been fermented without heating hold on to their nutritional value and aid digestion by cultivating good bacteria. Commercially canned food is basically dead, he says. Yes, it gives us calories, but that's about it.

So I am making my own sauerkraut, Katz style. I chopped up a head of cabbage, and sprinkled salt on it each time I added some to my big glass bowl. I also added a little pepper and some onion powder. Then I punched it down with my fist, and set another bowl on top with two pitchers of water inside to weigh it down. The next day as the "brine" (or water that the salt had pulled out of the cabbage) had not covered the top of my cabbage, I added some salt water as per Mr. Katz directions. Then I set my sauerkraut on the counter to ferment. It is supposed to take about a week.

The evening of the second day, Craig came home to me wandering through the house trying to find a dirty diaper that had been left behind somehow. I had repeatedly asked Calvin if he needed to go to the restroom, so much that he was getting irritated with me. I had checked Evie's pants so many times, she started backing away and saying "No, Mommy!" whenever I walked by. But still there was this faint odor, and I couldn't figure it out. Craig dropped his briefcase and said, "Meg, it's your sauerkraut."

Since that second day, the house has been fine though. I put the kraut in a cabinet so it would be out of the way, and when I open it up to check it, it smells wonderful! I even made another batch from red cabbage that is currently being weighed down by the first batch. It all should be completely fermented by this weekend, so I can take it to my parent's house to share my homemade/fermented kraut with my family. I wonder who will be brave enough to try it...

The Look of Spring

It looks like spring here.

Flowers are blooming.

And it's always raining. I am impatiently waiting for it to stop, and for the temperature to warm up so we can get outside and enjoy the end of winter. Still, the view out my windows is beautiful!

Life Is Good

(Ebie drawing with chalk, on the front porch, on one of the many days it has rained here in Columbus)

Life is good here. The weather is getting warmer so my babies can go outside and play. I am planning gardens, both indoor and outdoor, and searching for the best ways to feed my family (more on that later). I am also starting new and exciting hobbies, at least they are exciting to me (you'll get to here about them soon), and restarting old ones. One of those old hobbies being blogging ;). Craig is loving his new job. Our family is growing mentally, spiritually, and at least in the case of the the two babies, physically. I see them everyday and am surprised how grown up they look!

Ebie and Me

(Ebie and me sledding at Aunt Julene's house, this is the only copy of this picture I own now)

Hi. It's been a while. Life is different here than it was the last time I wrote. Here are the main events:
1. A prayer request was granted in a HUGE way, Craig started a new job!

2. We bought a very used van on Craig's List with our tax return money. It has been wonderful blessing! I have started going to women's Bible studies, kiddie classes at the metroparks, and the grocery store during the day. It's funny, the first week I had the van, I still waited for Craig to get home in order to go anywhere. He'd ask why I didn't go during the day, because I wasn't used to that being an option!
3. Our home was broken into and things were taken. They took my laptop. I was once again thankful that my aunt and uncle gave me an external hard drive so that the majority of my pictures were safe and sound. Sadly, I hadn't backed up my pictures for a couple months. So the only pictures I have from Christmas and such are the ones that are here on MKC. I am taking this time out to tell you to back up your pictures and any other things of value to you. Get an external hard drive, or back them up online. Anything. Do it, before you wish you had.

Life is still good here though. We are anxiously awaiting spring. We get a few little tastes of it once in a while and then Ohio weather rips it away again.

Right now I am reading the "wise" series of books by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. A friend of mine lead me to them indirectly. On Becoming Childwise and On Becoming Pottywise for Toddlers are the ones on my bedside table at this point. I have been looking for parenting advice that will help me out in understanding the way Calvin thinks and how I can minimize disobedience. I am liking the "wise" series so far.

We are praying for the people of Japan.

Resolutions

(Ebie with her Christmas tea set, it is made of recycled plastic)

It is interesting to me how we go through seasons of life, even seasons within seasons. Right now I am in the "running around taking care of babies and needing the entire day just to get everyday life done".
Even though I don't get much outside of everyday chores and taking care of babies done, I have resolved to find time to read. That resolution was made at New Year's, but I reserve the right to resolve to do things after the first of the year. So far my New Year's resolution has been going well, it helps that it is enjoyable. Whoever said resolutions have to be tiring, right. So far this year I have read 41/2 books that I have always meant to read. Most of my time for reading comes when I am putting Ebie to sleep and would have to be sitting there anyway. Although when the book gets particularly good I read through her entire nap as well.

Walking every week day is another resolution I made at New Year's. That one isn't going as well as the reading, but I will not give up! No excuses will be made, although I can think of several that are pretty good.

Resolutions are very important to me. I made several resolutions in mid September of last year and only one has stuck. But the one that did stick (by the grace of God), has blessed me far beyond words. That one resolution was to have my own time in Bible study every week day. At first it was just part of my to do list, now it is a time I look forward to.

Have you made any recent resolutions?

My recent Bible studies have been about Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament covenant designs. Most recently about Him being our priest-king, in the order of Melchizedek. And being the fulfillment of God's promise that the office of priest and king (by one of David's sons) would be filled well after the time of the exiles.

I Wish There Was No Such Thing As Fish.

Calvin can't pronounce "f" very well. It comes out sounding like "b". He also has a hard time saying the "sh" sound, it sounds more like "ch". So having a conversation about fish with him is extremely painful, as you can imagine. The conversations usually consist of him excitedly telling me all he knows about the fish we are looking at, their color, what they are doing, etc. And the only responses he gets from me are the correct pronunciation of the word, and it becoming more and more emphatic as the conversation progresses.

The pain only increases in more public settings. I just want to shoot myself when we take him to the aquarium at the zoo. Maybe the shocked glances I get from people sitting nearby are just figments of my imagination, I tell myself. Maybe they realize, having children of their own perhaps, that it is just a mispronunciation. None of this lessens the pain as I try, unsuccessfully, to get my son to talk of something else while in front of a vast aquarium full of "biches".

Monsters in My Cabinets

Calvin likes to hide sometimes. But the little feet I saw sticking out of my cabinet one morning did not belong to him. "Oh no," I thought, "I have another one."

Until I realized, Evelynn was not alone.