Saturday, March 22, 2008

Dead & Buried with Him?! What?!

Just as I am today, try to read these few words with new eyes and ears, even if it's scripture you've read a hundred or not even a time before...

"What should we say? Should we keep on sinning, so that God's wonderful kindness will show up even better? No, we should not! If we are dead to sin, how can we go on sinning? Don't you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in His death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father. If we shared in Jesus' death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with Him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn't have power over dead people. As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him. We know that death no longer has any power over Christ. He died and was raised to life, never again to die. When Christ died, He died for sin once and for all. But now He is alive, and He lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God. Don't let sin rule your body. After all, your body is bound to die, so don't obey its desires or let any part of it become a slave of evil. Give yourselves to God, as people who have been raised from death to life. Make every part of your body a slave that pleases God. Don't let sin keep ruling your lives.
You are ruled by God's kindness and not by the Law."
-Romans 6:1-14

It's not something I am even close to getting, but as I rose today, I've been pondering this identification with Christ in His death and burial, as today was truly "tomb day." I pray it's something you let your heart mull over today and ask God to reveal to you just what this death to the flesh, to sin, to the world means in your life too. The whole chapter of Romans 6 gives us a radical picture of what it looks like to be dead to sin, but alive to Christ. Can't you just hear Paul's plea to the Romans above, to just KNOW that they can identify with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection power, to no longer be enslaved to the junk that just kills them, for eternity really, if they're not believers? And for us believers that still battle against the power of sin to drag our redeemed bodies down, it's just something we have acknowledge and walk in, the work was already "finished" on the cross, we now CAN walk in grace!

So, my question for me today...what areas in my life, that I keep falling prey to, do I need to reckon and acknowledge the death and victory that's already been won for me?!

Friday, March 21, 2008

It's a Good Friday indeed!

You have been raised to life with Christ.

Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side.

Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.

You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God.

Christ gives meaning to your life, and when He appears, you will also appear with Him in glory!

-Colossians 3:1-4 (Contemporary English Version)


Anything more to really celebrate in life?!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A word for all dads of prego moms...

"Week 16: It's Not Fat (according to whattoexpect.com)...
Each week we'll send you a note to share with the dad-to-be in your life. Pass it on!
Say it again: It's not fat, it's not fat, it's not fat. FAT is a four-letter word right now, and she spends every minute of every day wondering if her body will ever return to its original shape. If you know what's good for you, you will banish the word "fat" from your vocabulary starting now. If you absolutely need to reference your wife's size, memorize this scientifically correct synonym: maternal storage tissue."

Got a GOOD laugh out of this one as I read it out loud to Will just now. Thought you all might get a good laugh for the day too out of it. Maternal storage tissues, I love it! Those are my 3 new fave words! Do we ever really grow out of this "inspection" of the body, even as little girls in our "grown-up" bodies...

Friday, March 14, 2008

We do love a good laugh...

EVERY DAY! I don't know what I'd do without man that makes me-belly-laugh and even cry sometimes I'm cracking up so hard (it's an especially fine line right now in emo-prego mode, he stares in disbelief when I cross over that hysterical laughter to hysterical tears line in light-speed mode recently, and doesn't really know what to do with me. HA! Please pray for the poor guy, I seem to be doing just fine with the cross-over, it feels very cleansing and necessary for good health right now! :))
God sure came through in a BIG way when the #1 thing I asked Him for in a man was one that would just make me lighten up and laugh over life!
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us,
And we are glad. -Psalm 126:2-3



Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Just a little braggin' rights...

Yes, this is him, my Will, my Beloved and my Friend... He not only built this structure and hung the swing last weekend for me, but he also single-handedly built this pergalo over our little side deck. He is truly priceless.
Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend! -Song of Solomon 5:16

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Boys and their Toys...

I thought it was time to do a little feature on Will. He and our dear little friend Noah were rocking out today on the ipod together, to some worship music, not Megadeath like his daddy wondered b/c of Noah's intensity of listening, and it was too dear of a shot to miss. Noah LOVED the ipod and really didn't want to leave it once he got the hang of holding it up to his ear. BTW, Will can't WAIT to have one of these of his own, the child not the ipod, can you tell?
So precious...

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Our Own Little Kewpie Doll!

We got a non-routine extra ultrasound yesterday and much to our surprise we got to see our little precious who just so happened to be smiling at us at the time the image was caught! You can see the babe's eyes, little nose and mouth from the frontal view shown below in the ultrasound and it just melted our hearts to see that little joy spot smiling inside me! The first thing I thought of when we saw the sweet face were the little kewpie dolls I used to have, and I realized now have a real one of my own (which is what Nana Jan thought of right away when she saw little Kewpie too!) So here they are in all their glory!

Job 8:21...He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!

(This was the promise God gave me in the morning during my quiet time, in the middle of a prego-emo-morning mind you, and He sure decided to make good on it by the afternoon!)

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Monday, March 3, 2008

To all the mamas out there...

If you know Nicole Johnson (radical dramatist/speaker at Women of Faith) you will totally hear her voice ring through this essay and imagine her acting the following out for us on stage. If you don't, I'm sure you'll still appreciate her candid ability to speak out truth in the midst of God's light! I haven't tasted this "invisible womanhood" yet, but I'm sure from hearing the words of many friends, I will probably have "those days" very soon! Love all you mamas, but God does even more! He is truly your El Roi, the God who sees you!
Perspective: The Invisible Woman
By Nicole Johnson
It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, "Who is that with you, young fella?" "Nobody," he shrugged. "Nobody?" The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, "Oh my goodness, nobody?" I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family, like "Turn the TV down, please," and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, "Would someone turn the TV down?" Nothing. Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, "I'm ready to go when you are." He just kept right on talking. That's when I started to put all the pieces together. I don't think he can see me. I don't think anyone can see me. I'm invisible.It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not! No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.I'm invisible.Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude, but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going she's going she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read, no, devour, the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
*No one can say who built the great cathedrals, we have no record of their names.
*These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
*They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
*The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.