Wednesdays in the Word: The role of man

    
      This week, I am studying the role of a man, from Kay Arthur's precept In and Out study, " A Marriage Without Regrets". I think it is going to be difficult for me to actually write this blog post today because I am obviously not a man. However, I am married to a man, and am "one flesh" with that man, so I have some biblical reponsibilities to support him in the great role and responsibility that he has. I am going to discuss my perspective on the role of a man woman, and more specifically how I can support him in his role.
     I have been studying several stories from the Old Testament this week, specifically the account of "The Fall in The Garden" from Genesis 3 and also Abraham and Sarah's relationship throughout several places in Genesis. I had never thought of the parallel between the two events before: Eve telling Adam to eat the apple and Sarah telling Abraham to sleep with Hagar, her servant. In both instances, the wife was giving advice to her husband (in a somewhat controlling way) and the husband followed the wife's advice instead of submitting first to the Lord. There is also an example that seems to contradict the other examples from Genesis 21:8-13, where the Lord actually tells Abraham to follow Sarah's advice.   I think the point is not that men shouldn't follow the advice and or words of their wives........but their first priority is to be in line with the will and ways of God.  
      The roles of men and women have been revealed to me in greater depth through this week's study. The husband has a huge responsibility placed on him of first and foremost submitting to the Lord in all things, as well as the other roles of providing for his family, nurturing, caring, and providing unconditional love to his wife. The believing husband's relationship to his wife is designed to reflect Christ's relationship with the church. We haven't even discussed the role of man as a father yet, but that will add another important layer of responsibility to the man.
      With all this in mind, what does it mean for me? I think the answer lies in something I wrote in my blog last week. Submission was the topic I covered last week and I gave a list of what that looks like from a biblical perspective. In order to fully support my husband in the huge role that God has given him, I need to keep on submitting with a quiet and gentle spirit (which believe it or not, does not come naturally to me), an attitude of respect, and not trying to control things. I need to continually seek to serve my husband and find favor with the Lord in this way. This can't be done on my own though.....only though the power of the Holy Spirit in my inner being (Eph. 3:16)
     It's not about my feelings or happiness and bliss in our marriage. I do believe when we are living in a marriage the way God designed for it to work, we will experience blessings and happy times. But I also feel like this is going to take work and a constant submitting of myself and my selfishness to my Father in heaven as well as to my husband. I am looking forward to digging in deeper in the coming weeks and finding out some specific applications and things that the Lord can change in my heart and in my life. 
     I am so thankful beyond words for the gospel, which is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Rom 1:16).  I am thankful that God loves me and did the work of salvation for me......not anything I could've done on my own.  I am thankful that in him we have, "redemption throuh his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with he riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Eph 1:7-8)  I am saved by grace, but out of love for God, I desire to have a marriage that models Him and finds His favor.
      

School Adventure Tuesdays: School in our pajamas?

        "Do you get to do school in your pajamas?"  "I could never have the patience for doing school with my kids."  "I don't have a teaching degree" "I have been waiting for 5 years to get a break...how do you do it?" "My child and I are too much alike..........that would never work." These are just a sampling of some of the phrases I have heard in the last couple of years as we started figuring out what it would look like to do school in our home.  I can't say I haven't ever asked or said one of those phrases to myself, but I can say the Lord is supplying our family with the tools, patience, and stamina to do school at home.  I never imagined that I would be excited to go to homeschool conventions, or do to science experiments and math work with my 5 year old, but it is happening so I think I will share about it with others :)  I hope I can encourage someone who is on the fence of school decisions, just like I was a couple of years ago.  The following pictures were posted to encourage anyone that they can do homeschooling if that is what they choose for their family.  I personally think there are many good options for schooling, but this is just what we have chosen.
         A big lesson I have already learned is that I CAN'T DO THIS ON MY OWN.  I have to completely fix my eyes on Jesus each and every day through prayer, dependence on the Lord, and being in His Word on a regular basis.  Everytime I try to do "school"  in my own strength, I always fail and end up causing everyone in the family to feel miserable and frustrated.  When I allow God to show me His agenda for our family, instead of creating my own, we get much more enjoyment out of learning and growing together.  I am a task oriented type of person, so this is a struggle at times.  The Lord is patiently teaching me how to balance our school days and teach our children through the power of His Spirit within me. 
         There are many other lessons I am learning as we walk this journey, but for now I will share the pictures of our humble schoolroom.   We just use our dining room which is right off of the kitchen for the majority of our school time.  We also love to cuddle up together on the couch for our reading times  and history lessons together.  Sometimes when it is nice outside, we can even sit on our back porch.  Studying Science outdoors is wonderful too, but not as of lately. :)




The main school storage area....a repurposed dining room hutch:) An endless and accessible supply of markers, colored pencils, crayons, paper scissors, stickers, glue, etc. has been very helpful.



A sampling of our "timeline cards" from history. Makeshift string for now, but hope to make it better in the future:)

Bumblebee Kate. :)  We were working on some grammar, which can be a little boring at times.  We tried to get a little creative as we were disussing verbs yesterday.  We talked about animals and action words that accompany them.



Kate's narration of "Strangers and Saints in Plymouth" from The Story of the World., by Susan Wise Bauer.  I read her this story and then she  wrote this narration after she drew the picture.  She LOVES learning about history, and so do I. :)  Generally her copywork for handwriting is neater than this, but I was trying to just allow her to get her words out with writing for this paper.  She is really starting to enjoy writing, but I could use some ideas on how teach creative writing.



Some of our favorite books we use on a regular basis.

            I have so much to learn and we are really just beginning this journey.  I am thankful for the opportunity to train my kids at home and be involved with them while they are young.  There are days when I just want a break, or to talk to some adults, or to go join the gym and have time to work out all by myself, etc..................but I remind myself that I can't get back these days with my young children.  I look at my kids' faces and know that I have a responsibility to train them up in the Lord.  With all humbleness, I believe this is possible through a multitude of schooling options, so I am not writing this article to say that school at home is the only way.  I just know this is a clear calling for our family right now.   If homeschooling is something you want to do, or are considering, then it is possible.   I can tell you that it will be hard and there will be some suffering involved, but God will give you what you need........this I know.  

Recipe Mondays: Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies & Tortellini Soup

Happy Monday, everyone!

I love to cook and bake, so I am very excited to share some of my favorite recipes with you. I am not a gourmet chef by any means, but I really do enjoy being in the kitchen. I also enjoy having my kids involved with cooking as much as they want to be.

First off, I am going to share a recipe for Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I saw this on a Facebook post a couple of weeks ago and got the recipe off of a blog called:  http://www.beckybakes.net/    Here is the recipe from her website.

www.beckybakes.net/2011/01/20/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/

You will love Becky's beautiful pictures. I will include my pictures as well, and I guarantee that some of you are going to want to make these right away this week. They seem like they would be over the top on sugar, but they are very delicious. I first made these a couple of weeks ago for a church function, but I never got to try one....so I had to make them again for my family yesterday for the Super Bowl. I got to eat one last night, and they fantastic......slightly crunchy on outer layer, followed by a soft and chewy cookie dough with Oreo goodness in the middle (I used double stuff Oreos too). I liked them best warm out of the oven with a cup of coffee, but they are just as delicious later on in the day! Now I am starting to wonder what other kinds of stuffed cookies one could make..............

Here is a picture of the cookies I am sending far away from my house. I will freeze them and use them as part of a meal I am taking to someone later in the week. When I bake, I try to give part of it away, because my kitchen seems to make goodies disappear quickly (and I am usually the cause for the disappearance).

Next recipe I would like to share is a recipe for tortellini soup.  I have no idea where this recipe came from and it is not something I created myself.  I got it from a facebook message with a friend.  She says she was grocery shopping and called up her sister in law on the phone, who quickly rattled off the recipe from her head.   I like this recipe for dinner because it is really easy and hearty.  It tastes delicious too.  Here is the recipe:

3 cans beef broth

2 cans petite diced tomatoes

3/4 cup salsa

1 tsp basil

1 chopped onion

1/2 tsp garlic

1 pkg frozen cheese tortellini

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes.  EASY!!  Makes great leftovers too. 

Happy cooking to all of you!! Let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think. If you have any recipe ideas you would like to contribute, I would love to hear them!! Check back next week for a recipe of black bean tacos and Mexican yogurt dip.

Baby Henry has a blog!

I have mentioned this special baby a couple of times this week, but now I have more detailed information to pass along if you are interested in reading about God's care in this little boy's life.

http://www.henryhaack.wordpress.com/

This is his blog, and I especially love the article from today.
www.henryhaack.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/17     I love how Henry's dad emphasizes that God is wiser than us as we pray to the King on the throne.  I also like how he specifically outlines how we can plead to the Father in our prayers for Henry.  Please keep praying for the issues his Dad mentions at the end of this article!!  

My favorite paragraph of this article is when Henry's dad discusses how they are receiving the good and bad news:  with thanksgiving, no anger towards God, and a deeper dependence on Him.   I am challenged and encouraged by their testimony.

Thanks for following along this story with me and please keep on praying, faithful ones!

Chicken pox what???

It has been a different sort of a weekend. I don't need to tell you every thing that has occurred, but it has been a weekend of sickness, doc visits, changing plans, and snow. Our youngest has an ear infection and is also dealing with a reaction to the chicken pox vaccine she had last week. She has a mild case with small blisters on her face and trunk, but also some in her throat. She has been pretty miserable, and having difficulty eating and drinking. She is definitely a "Daddy's girl" so when my husband was watching me try to get her to drink tonight, he drove to Dairy Queen and got her a slushy to try to soothe her throat and give her some fluids. I thought that was so sweet and thoughtful!! I desperately want to take away all the sickness from her and see her normal energetic and cheerful personality. It is just so sad to see that something is bothering your baby, but they have no words to express the hurt. I am sure so many of you can relate to what I am saying.

I am also getting a little bit tired of the snow, yet I think it is beautiful to watch it falling from the sky. Today, the falling snow was actually helpful to our family. K-lady and W-man got to have their first day at a Winter Woods Day Camp at our local park district. I dropped them off after lunch and picked them up at 3. The snow made for a perfect wintery woods day for them. They got to hike, sled, make crafts, and do all things winter. I will have to post a couple of cute pictures tomorrow. They had a great time and it was nice for them to get some physical activity in this season. We didn't hear one peep from them when they went to bed tonight :):)

I hope you will be able to read more of my blog in the coming weeks. I am already looking forward to posting a couple of recipes on Monday, so stay tuned for more!!

It may seem like it has been a sad weekend for our family, and in ways it has. But it has also been a weekend of continuing to learn how to trust God and let go of things that are beyond my control. I won't lie.....I am looking forward to brighter days of no sickness and abundant sunshine, but I also don't want to miss what God is trying to teach me through these tougher moments too. I just wish I wasn't such a slow learner at times.

Family Fun Fridays: sinuses, suprises, and sweet blessings

The Neti Pot



There is not much "FUN" in our house to write about today.  I wish I could share something really amazing we did or a great field trip that we took.  Like many of you, our family has been fighting some germs and viruses over the past couple of weeks.  As the mom of the house, I thought I was immune to all of their little "kid germs" but realized this week that was not the case.  I got my first full blown sinus cold of the year this week.  

 It's not really blog-worthy to write about my cold, but I decided to share because I have had a first time experience this week.  I have heard raving reviews on the little plastic device pictured above, so I decided to give it a try.  I am on day #2 of using it, and I am definitely feeling better.  It is nice to have some relief of all the pressure in my head :)  I put a "status update" about this on facebook yesterday, and it was hilarious to read all the comments from people regarding their experience with the Neti Pot.    I think I have found a new little friend when I have sinus trouble :)

We got to enjoy a fun little surprise in the middle of our day.  The kids and I had just finished up lunch, I had put little A down for a nap, and in walked K (my husband).  He doesn't take lunch breaks at our house because his work is just a little too far away for that convenience.  We were shocked to see him home in the middle of the day!!  Apparently, he had a meeting outside of his office, so he decided to eat lunch at home.  It was a great surprise for today, since we have been feeling a little sick this week.  I snapped a quick picture before he had to head back out the door.

Oh yes, and now you can see our little "galley kitchen" in the background of this picture!

Finally, I wanted to write about a sweet blessing.  The sweet blessing is something to share from my "church family", instead of our "family of 5".  I don't know if you read my prior posting from Monday, but my friend, Rachel, has a nephew in the hospital who was born at 27 weeks gestation.  His name is Henry.  We have been praying fervently for him in our house this week, as well as in our church.  The sweet blessing is that God's hand is on this baby boy's life!!  His parents might even get to hold him tonight for the first time!!   He almost didn't survive the day he was born, which was almost one week ago.  He continues, though, to make big steps and improvements each day and we know that the Lord is showing favor in the life of this little baby boy.  Will you please keep praying for him and his family with me? 

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!!!
Sarah

          

Adoption love

I am beginning to imagine how nice it would be to have a certain topic for my blog on each day of the week. I don't want to make this too structured, but I think it would be great to have a framework.  I am completely open to suggestions and ideas on what topics you would like covered.

This is what I was thinking:
Mondays: Favorite recipes of the week
Tuesdays: Homeschooling confessions
Wednesdays:  The Word on Wednesday
Thursdays:  Adoption love & hair care
Fridays: Fun Fridays with our Family

Maybe on the weekend, I could share about the Lord's work in our church plant at Covenant Creek Community Church or even share what I am learning through this.

I would love other suggestions too, so please leave me a comment!!!  I am so new to the blogging world, but am excited to share what I know and learn in humility from others. 

Since today is a Thursday, I will share a picture from this week that makes me smile. :)  The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways through the life of this sweet little girl.  I would love to share our story, and maybe at times I will share parts of it with you.  But it is mostly her story that God is writing for her life.  I want to let her share what she wants,  as she grows older.  I know the Lord has a great plan for her life and I am just thankful He has allowed us to be her mommy and daddy and that He has joined her into our family forever.  We will also always have great respect for her birthmom.   K-lady loves to do "girly things" with Little A.  This week she decided to dress her up and take pictures of her.  This picture was taken by K-lady. 

We love you so much, Little A!!!

Glimpses of our day

Here is a glimpse of my children's happy faces today, as we are snowed in once more (iced in might be more like it).  I love it how they are completely joyful, happy, and carefree.  They don't care that we are spending another day in the house.  I love their attitudes.  In these pictures, they are taking turns playing the keyboard (thanks again Jonelle.......you have provided us with hours and hours of entertainment) and dancing with each other. 

Here is one glimpse of our backyard from the ice storm last night.  I am guessing that many of your backyards have the same appearance.  I am so thankful that we have electric in our house and that nothing appears to be greatly damaged.  The Lord's power is amazing when witnessed through the extreme weather elements.

     The final glimpse I will leave you with today, is from my current Bible study by Kay Arthur, called "A Marriage Without Regrets".  My husband and I are doing this study with our small group from our church.  We have only been studying this for three weeks now and it has been transforming to inductively study God's Word on the topic of marriage.  This week, I have been particularly grateful for learning more about my role as a woman, and specifically as a wife.  I just wanted to share what I have learned about what submission means after studying Christ's example of submission and also from studying 1 Peter 2:18-3:6, as well as Titus 2:3-5. 

This is the list I came up with about what submission really means:

* may involve suffering

* done out of obedience to the Lord, not for my personal happiness or to change my husband

* it involves a quiet and gentle spirit- no threats, reviling words, deceit or manipulation

* it requires respectful behavior to my husband

* involves entrusting myself, my husband, and our kids to the Lord and not trying to control things in my own way

* it finds favor with God, it is precious in His sight. 

I have a lot to learn in actually applying this, but I know through the Spirit within me, this is possible.   If anyone has any good suggestions or things they have learned personally in the area of submission, I would love to hear from you!!  I am excited to continue this study and share glimpses with you of what God is teaching me.

The great exercise attempt

I honestly did not go looking for an eventful day, just so I could write about it on my blog post. That kind of a day just found me.........

In fact, the day started out quite perfect.......I was able to sleep in until 7 AM, which is a rare occurrence for me. Normally, I like to be up and ready for the day by the time the kids get up, so I usually get up around 5:30 or 6 AM. It was really a blessing to be able to get some extra sleep because I seem to be coming down with a nasty head cold. I was able to sleep in because we did not have our normal homeschool group on Tuesday due to the ice storm. We also had piano lessons postponed, which meant a whole day at home......our own pace.

To make the day even better, my husband decided he was going to work from home, which is also a rare occurrence. The kids were thrilled by the fact that Daddy would be so close, especially since he is working longer hours during tax season. We got to start the day together as a family with breakfast, eat lunch together, and the kids got to have Daddy hugs whenever they wanted throughout the day.

We did our semi normal routine for the day and felt blessed with getting some great school time in with the older two kids, while the youngest, Little A, took her morning nap. I was feeling very cheerful today, even in spite of the dreary, icy weather outside. We had some fun times of playing after lunch and read some great books. Little A has become particularly fond of books lately and it is always fun to let her choose books and cuddle up together on the couch.

Well, I hope this hasn't made any of you too bored yet so just hang with me if you are ready for a good laugh. I can't believe I am going to embarrass myself like this but maybe you will feel better about yourselves after reading this next paragraph......

By the late afternoon, we were starting to grow restless from being indoors all day with little physical activity. While the youngest was sleeping, W-man and K-lady agreed to exercise with me. I have really been struggling lately to make time to exercise. It is always really hard for me in the winter with the hours that my husband works and not being able to get outside as easily. Since we had some extra time today, we were going to break out an old Billy Blanks Tae-Bo video until I realized our DVD player was broken. Plan B: I had the bright idea to just make up some of our own exercises. This is when the day started to go south very quickly. After doing some lunges, mountain climbers, etc. I decided to do some "stair climbing" on our fire place ledge. K-lady and W-man were amused and trying to mimic what I was doing. We were all laughing and having a good time when I got a cramp in my foot. I grabbed onto the mantle ledge and was commenting how I needed to get my shoes on when.....CRASH.....the mantle ledge popped partly off and tipped forward. Thankfully the kids were completely unharmed, but a lot of other damage occurred. Everything on the ledge flew off and landed or shattered somewhere on the floor. You can imagine the sight of a large plant tipped upside down with soil all over the floor, ceramic figures busted, and picture frames bent up. The worst part of it all was a "snow globe" type thing. Not only was this very special to me (because it celebrates Little A's adoption finalization day) but it created a huge mess. I am so sorry, Mom, if you are reading this, because that was such a special gift from you. I am very sad that it got destroyed today by my clumsiness and ignorance. There were glass pieces, sparkles and water everywhere. My husband had been out in the garage when this all occurred, so you can imagine his shock to walk in and discover us in our exercise clothes with a MESS all over the place. Somehow I actually just laughed.....don't know how, but I did. I honestly didn't know that the mantle was just sitting up there unattached. It is a huge piece of some kind of wood and I always thought it was firmly adhered up there. I quickly wished that I would have just started dinner prep instead of attempting to exercise.

Well, you would think it ended there, but not quite yet. I wanted to fix a nice meal since my husband was home to eat it with us, and I started making a taco salad. I was even making my own taco seasoning instead of using a packet, so I was quite pleased with this. Well, just as my husband came out of the office area to check on us, I was opening a new bottle of cumin. Somehow the lid popped off in a very ungraceful way and half of the cumin went all over the front of me. I inhaled some of it and was coughing too. Nice!! I tried to joke that I was wearing a new perfume, but inside felt like a huge klutz. Well, the end result was worth it all........here is a picture of the salad. It was very yummy!! Here is the recipe I used:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Daisy-Brand-Taco-Salad/Detail.aspx

I think I will use black beans next time instead of pinto....otherwise it was a keeper!!

Hopefully, I will have some more uplifting and encouraging posts to come. Just sharing some reality too :)

Free audio download

I loved this book "Adopted for Life". There is a free audio download today if you go to this link. Check it out.......

http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore


Happy reading!!