Unpacking Christmas: Books

5 Dec

Unpacking Christmas Books for the Heart

A thoughtful, well illustrated book is a gift that continues to resonate long after “the end” is read. Last night we read a few Christmas books before bedtime and one happened to be a scratch and sniff book by Joan Walsh Anglund that I received as a young girl over 25 Christmas’ ago.  The real surprise…you can still scratch and sniff the pepper-minty pie, pepperoni pizza, and beautiful fir tree that Mary and Willie prepare for their Christmas party guests!

Below is a listing for the youngest to the oldest of readers to enjoy within your home this Christmas. I hope you experience the true meaning of Christmas in a fresh way this year and every one thereafter as you unpack these Christmas books in the years to come.

A special note to my readers without little children in this season of life, the last five books are for you. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

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Here By Design

15 Nov

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 Create…design…

These are terms that most all people would throw about when talking of crafts, woodworking, interior decorating, or art. However, insert the terms created and designed into a conversation about the earth and its beginning, and we will immediately bring a battle of worldviews into the discussion.

Your worldview is the lens through which you view life. Your worldview is your paradigm, your philosophy, pertaining to the reason we are alive, how the human race was born, and the origin of time, space, and matter. Additionally, your worldview affects all decisions that you make and the value you place upon human life.

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People operating from a Christian worldview look at all of creation as a work of God Almighty as outlined in the Genesis account. First, we view man superior to the animals because he was created in the image of God. Next that man is now fallen, a sinner, as a result of his initial disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Finally, we preach the redemption of sinful man through Jesus Christ alone by the forgiveness of sins. Our sins are forgiven through the spilled blood of God’s sinless son, Jesus, on the cross of Calvary over 2000 years ago.

Creation, Fall, Redemption, the divine narrative of the Author of Life.

Let’s take a look at the predominant counter worldview I would propose is pursuing the minds and souls of people today, that of naturalism, or an evolutionary worldview.

An evolutionary worldview holds that man evolved over millions of years from a series of natural processes under the chance of macroevolution. This suggests a large scale change in kind with the change being progressive. Catie Frates, a biblical scientific creationist teacher refers to evolution as “the ultimate frog to prince fairy tale.”

Evolutionists preach macroevolution although it cannot be tested nor proved by the scientific method. It is neither repeatable nor observable. In fact, ask any evolutionist to point to a change in kind from one species to another and they will not be able to give you even one example on the level of macroevolution. Sure, they can provide various examples of microevolution; what we could call adaptations to environmental change, but no change in kind. Moreover, they cannot determine the origins of the first proposed amino acids that would have kicked off a form of living organism on earth in the first place.

Further disheartening to evolutionists is the fossil record supports only fully formed fully functional species with no transitional fossils. They don’t have a leg to stand on… pun intended.

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Dr. Henery Morris of Institute for Creation Research puts it this way:

Since there is no real scientific evidence that evolution is occurring at present or ever occurred in the past, it is reasonable to conclude that evolution is not a fact of science, as many claim. In fact, it is not even science at all, but an arbitrary system built upon faith in universal naturalism. (Henry M. Morris, 2013)

Dr. Morris continues to explain:

The fact is that evolutionists believe in evolution because they want to. It is their desire at all costs to explain the origin of everything without a Creator. Evolutionism is thus intrinsically an atheistic religion.

Did you catch that? Evolution is a religion…not a science but a religion.

Some may prefer to call it humanism, and “new age” evolutionists place it in the context of some form of pantheism, but they all amount to the same thing. Whether atheism or humanism (or even pantheism), the purpose is to eliminate a personal God from any active role in the origin of the universe and all its components, including man. (Henry M. Morris, 2013)

It is imperative for each of us to understand that evolutionists and creationists are faced with the same scientific data. The difference lies in our interpretation of the data and the causation of the earth that we see around us today.

Evolutionists need millions and billions of years, plus a good deal of imagination, to explain merely the topography of the earth today. Creationists explain the same data as a result of a catastrophic world-wide flood as the Genesis account teaches.

Study the Word, the world around you, and the scientific evidence to date, and decide for yourself. You might be surprised to find, we are here by design.

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How I Talk to Our Children About Evolution

1 Nov

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“Hey mom!” My children greeted my return after a few hours out. “We’re watching Dinosaur Train.” Let it be noted, we do not regularly watch Dinosaur Train. Having never seen the program before, I was skeptical about the science taught in the cartoon. I hypothesized the worldview of the producers of the show would be naturalistic and teach that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.

As I greeted the babysitter and asked how the children behaved themselves, I heard the cartoon explain, “This dinosaur lived during the Mesozoic Period.” Ding, ding, ding, my guess was correct; this show was teaching evolution, likely from a naturalistic standpoint. At the very least this was communicating a worldview and philosophy in direct conflict with the Christian Theistic worldview I aim to instill and live out before my kids. With the same scientific data, creationist and evolutionist arrive at two different conclusions. It is my job as their mother to draw these differences to their attention.

Join me over atCrosswalk today to read the rest of this post. (Click here.)

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When Plans Don’t Work Out

4 Oct

Last year Ron and I traveled to the Grand Canyon with 5 other people through a ministry called Going the Distance Adventure Ministries. You must know, the trip was an unspoken bucket list item checked off. We hiked the 12 mile round trip Bright Angel Trail out to the Plateau Point. It was a beautiful, slightly challenging hike that thrilled my adventure seeking heart.

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But that is only part of the story.

Three men from our team hiked the 25 mile Rim to Rim hike…in one day. I really wanted to attempt this hike, but was slightly discouraged by the sincere questions of people as to whether I was up for the challenge. I decided that I should start with the “easier’ hike first.

The taste  of the Rim to Rim hike has been ever on my mind for 11 months now. I began working-out harder almost immediately after our return last October and even started CrossFit Workouts of the Day between 4-6 months ago. Additionally, the StairMaster plus a 15 lb. kettle bell and I have become friends. I use the term friend loosely here.

Imagine my dismay and utter disappointment when the Government Shutdown earlier this week included the shut down of all the national parks. That meant my Rim to Rim hike with GTD would have to be routed to hikes outside of the Grand Canyon.

Don’t get me wrong, the revenue loss alone is a reason to be upset about the closing of all national parks. However, consider the individual stories that are being rewritten as a result of this standoff. Wedding cancellations, war veterans meeting up with their comrades for the first time in decades are left with dashed plans, and costly family vacation plans impacted.

Sometimes our plans don’t work out.

What do we do next? Well, in my case, I consider what my plans have cost me to date. I am in better physical condition than I was this time last year, Ron and I still get a few days away, great flood geology teaching, and Sedona red rocks will be equally exquisite as last year. However, there remains a goal unmet, a dream unrealized.

You would think I would quit training, right?

Wrong! I am continuing to train.I am confident my preparation will be met with opportunity.

It is much like this blog. When I first started my readership was significantly less than the present. The audience size didn’t affect my output in writing quality and desire to do my best job every time.In fact, days before my editor over at iBelieve contacted me about partnering with them, I told Ron, “I post and write the best I can as frequently as I can so that one day if opportunity arises for growth, I will be ready.”

In the spiritual, as in the physical, we can put off training for heaven as our eternal home because we are duped into thinking this life is longer than the breath we have. However, we are to live with an eternal mindset, everyday, so that when the opportunity to step into the heavenly realm signals with the end of our mortal lives we have done the work and finished our race in top shape…with fewer regrets.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

Wherever it is that I hike in the next two weeks, I am confidant that the Lord ordered the steps that I will take, the path I will follow, and the people that I will walk it with. I am so thankful that the Lord gives us the desires of our hearts and then throws in some twists and turns in our stories as well.

What have you learned from plans that didn’t work out?

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Step Into Fall

17 Sep

Step Into Fall

Last week we looked at the changing of seasons. As you sip your favorite fall drink, or grab another pumpkin treat, here are some fall-time posts from the archives. Let’s step into fall together shall we?

Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? (Amos 3:3, NLT)

  1. Harvesting Hearts of Principle (here)
  2. Apple Picking in the South (here)
  3. To Carve Out a Light (here)
  4. Thanksgiving: To Lay Down a Life (here)
  5. Stepping Back in Time (here)

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From Wonder to the Belly of a Whale

10 Sep

Magical moments in the ocean of life, we splash and dance like the world is our playground. Other times we feel  terrifyingly small in the presence of a great and wondrous  creation that at any moment can overtake the strongest man’s strength, or shock us like an unwanted visitor. Often, we live in between the two extremes with a holy fear and a sacred desire for discovery.


Emily Beach Crab

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I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

I am so thankful that I can never get away from the presence of God.

Jonah foolishly thought he could escape from the Lord’s presence as he fled to Tarshish on a wooden vessel.

But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish. (Jonah 1:3)

Never imagining that God would send such a great storm for him to face his disobedience, Jonah sacrificed himself for the ship and men he traveled with “in the opposite direction” of God. He plunged into the farthest ocean depths and was swallowed into the belly of a great fish. Even there God heard Jonah’s cries of repentance and his pleas for deliverance.

You don’t have to be running from God out of disobedience to feel as if you have plunged into the greatest depths of the sea.

Do you utter a cry for deliverance from your present state? Do some moments, or days,  feel as if you have plunged into the farthest of the ocean’s depths and the times of dancing on the shore, of wonder, and rest seem a distant memory?

GOD STILL SEES AND HEARS YOUR CRIES FOR DELIVERANCE…and He hears mine too. Praise His great and glorious name! He hears us, friend, and he has not turned a deaf ear to those who belong to the family of Christ Jesus.

Perhaps our deliverance will come when we least expect it. Like searching in the ocean for a vacant shell and instead pulling out a huge and glorious living creature,  He will deliver us to newness of life from what now seems the mire of death and decay…our whale-belly experience.

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But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the LORD alone. (Jonah 2:9)

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New Beginnings

30 Aug

Emily first day of CCC 2

 My Dearest Emily,

This is a letter you will most likely not read for some years, yet one I am hopeful will be etched on your heart long before your eyes glimpse the words on the written page. This season of your life has been marked with numerous new beginnings. From your first loose tooth to the first day of school and a baptism in between, the winds of change haven’t ceased to blow.

Over three weeks ago, Daddy was reading a Bible account to you and the boys before bedtime, as is customary in our home. I was busy cleaning up the many pieces of creativity you had left strewn in your room. In case you haven’t noticed, Mama has some Martha-like tendencies. As Daddy was reading to you from the The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
you bowed your head in prayer. At the conclusion, of the text, you told your Dad that you had asked Jesus into your heart. To put it another way, you had prayed and put your faith and trust in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Daddy asked you to share the news with me when I entered the room and we hugged you and kissed you now our sister in Christ with joy, and I will admit, a little apprehension. The only apprehension that we both had was the question of certainty you knew the decision that you had made. Did you fully understand the gospel and what it means to be a Christ follower? Then I was reminded of the verse in Matthew 19:14:

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

We have heard your prayers prayed in the “prayer chair” (a rocking chair that was a baby gift to Emily), “Lord Jesus, thank you for taking the punishment. It should have been us that got the punishment; not you. Please be with all the people of the world. Be with those who are hurt because they believe in you. Please be with the kids that don’t have mommies and daddies. I love you Jesus. Amen.”

We pray that you will remain in Christ Jesus unto the end just as the Son abides in the Father. May you bear much fruit and walk in obedience to Jesus all your days, the same as you followed Jesus’ model of baptism as a public witness of your faith in Christ.

Yesterday was your first official day of Kindergarten. The good news is, there was no crying for me at the door (nor I for you) because with Classical Conversations, like Ruth with Naomi, where you go I go! I look forward to continuing to teach you at home, and I am so excited about all that we will learn in this next year. I am grateful to observe first-hand how God is preparing you to be able to defend the hope that you have in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15)

Emily first day of CCC

Dearest Emily, as with all new beginnings we focus on the good and neglect to remember that there will be days of struggle and pain ahead. The good news is, He has promised us joy in the end. Take heart, Emily, for in all your days and in all your ways, Christ Jesus is with you, He has already overcome the world. He is with you in each new beginning until the day of the new heaven and new earth. (John 16)

I love you my precious princess and sister in Christ,

Mom

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The Waters of Life

19 Aug

shell in water

Shells were created at the command of God the moment when time, space, and matter came into being. Created from the breath of God to provide a protective outer layer for sea life, they are one day discarded and many wash ashore.

Along their journey, the ocean rolls and tumbles the shells in tumultuous waves and in calm water until one day, finally, they settle in the sandy shores which beach combers traverse in search of beauty. Some shells are taken home as a memento, while others sit along the shore and eventually are bleached by the sun. Washed white in the brightness of day.

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We too are tossed and tumbled, even pummeled by the waters of life. We can be hit by crashing waves that swell out of seemingly calm waters. In the dark of night we may fear what we will find when the sun’s rays glimmer on the water we thrash in.

I have gulped for air a midst thrashing waves.; uprooted by swells of life I did not foresee coming. I have cried in the dark hours before the break of day and seen God’s Son wash white His saints that lay weary and beaten along the shores of life.

These verses bring me hope in such a time as this:

This I declare about the LORD; He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.

The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me I will answer; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a  long life and give them salvation.” (Psalm 91:2-6,9-10, 14-16, NLT)

Did you see it? Troubles and evil will come, but they will not conquer us. Night terrors are to be expected as are arrows that fly in the day.  But, we are to make God our refuge and his faithful promises our armor and protection.

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Recently our friend, Aaron Walp, D. Min, preached a sermon that I would like for you to take the time to listen to. His sermon entitled, Rip Tide, Thrash or Thrive can be found here, or simply view the link from Vimeo below. You will need the Joseph Four Step to break the grip of the rip in your life. Don’t miss out on this mighty word from God!

Rip Tide: Thrash or Thrive from Calvary Baptist Church on Vimeo.

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Waiting on the Rain

26 Jul

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How many times have I prolonged the children’s requests to play outside because dark clouds filled the skyline, only to end the day puddle free?  I have often thought I worry too much about the rain. I heed the omens of dark skies and miss adventures of the everyday.

If I am not careful, I will waste my days waiting on the rain that never comes.

Tuesday the kids and I piled into the car under clear, sunny skies. We headed to the beach for a few hours of fun. As we approached the shoreline the sheet of gray-blue cloud coverage threatened to cancel our plans. I parked our car and initiated a conversation with a mom of three in the truck next to us. “What do you think about this weather?” “I am hoping it holds off,” she replied. “The forecast says a 30% chance of rain…it looks like more than that to me,” I offered. She continued to put sunscreen on one of her boys as I made my way to the pay-station. If she was willing to risk it, so was I.

I snapped a picture of the darkening skyline and sent it with this text to Ron, “Stupidity or raising the risk?” I had already answered the question in my own mind but wanted him to be clued into our morning decisions.

We had not been on the beach five minutes when the wind kicked up, and the cooler breeze blew our towel up the beach. As the sand began to whip in the air and sting our eyes, I called to the kids to pack it up and head to the car. I mumbled complaints under my breath and picked up Little E as it was much faster to carry him than wait on him to fix his ever troublesome flip-flops.

The wind continued to pick up and the beach become desolate of people as the parking lot bustled with activity. I snapped a few more pictures and passed out snacks to the children already buckled in their seats. At least we could watch the storm come in.

That’s when it hit me. Risking an adventure in the face of rain cancellation makes for a better story.

We snacked and watched the rainstorm. It sprinkled a bit as the darkening sky now filled our 360 view. Only one sliver of the shore held any patch of blue sky. We pulled out and started our journey back to the house.

I continued to snap more pictures and text them to Ron. It poured as we parked our car in the drive.

Then as I unloaded the kids, the rain subsided and the sun broke through. At least we could splash in the puddles.

“Mom, it’s sunny now. Can we go to the pool?” Emily inquired. Well, why not? The rain had already come and gone. Another adventure awaited. “Why waste our bathing suits and sunscreen?” I thought. “Okay, Emily. Load up kids.”

As it turned out, we had a wonderful morning at the pool. The kids played, snorkeled, and laughed.

All because we didn’t waste our day waiting on the rain to come.

What dark skies are threatening the horizon which cause you to hesitate when He calls you to go forth? Ask yourself this question today, “Do I want to waste my life waiting on the rain that may never come?”

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Living this day in light of eternity because heaven is our home,

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Here I Am to Worship

22 Jul

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. ~William Temple

As a little girl, I attended church and Sunday School in the deep south. Each Sunday I donned a smocked dress, tights and leather shoes, topped off with a large matching hair-bow. Today my daughter wears many of  the dresses my mother spent countless hours smocking and ironing  those many years ago. She plays with the little white patent leather purse which in years past held my tithes, offerings, and chap-stick each Sunday.

Maturity has seen a change in apparel along with a change in my heart as I prepare for service…that is, at least when I purpose to poise my heart for worship.

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Addressing a few questions concerning what worship is and why it is important may help us poise our hearts for the most meaningful God-centered worship.

First, worship is a right and exalted view of God and a humbled, dependent view of man on God.

Secondly, worship is important because it opens the door to true intimacy with Christ and clarity of mission we would otherwise live without. Worship does not consist merely of singing. We can worship in various, if not all art forms, in addition to all the work that our hands set to do. Worship is a posture of praise and thanksgiving within our hearts and minds and as expressed through our lives.

The endeavor does not determine the significance of praise, rather it is the hidden thoughts and intents of our hearts. We can sing without love, but it is a clashing symbol or a gong. (1 Corinthians 13) Consider David.  God loved David no less when he worshiped Him on a lonely mountainside filled only with dumb sheep and the sound of his own harp than when David sat enthroned in his palace splendor and declared among God’s people:

“Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, Sovereign LORD, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign LORD?“What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign LORD. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant. “How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! (2 Samuel 7:18-22)

Did you notice David’s humbled view of himself and his exalted view of God? This from the man who was labeled by God to be a man after His own heart. Perhaps David was a man after God’s own heart due to his right understanding of the righteousness of God and the praise that flowed from his heart.

Similarly, in Isaiah 6,  Isaiah’s commission comes after he saw the Lord and beheld his glory. His worship of God preceded his obedience to the call of God. Once we see clearly who God is, we realize the absolute imperative of taking the gospel to our neighbor’s, coworkers, and around the globe. 

So the question becomes, how can we worship God individually so that we fuel greater worship of God corporately?  The answer lies in preparing our hearts for worship all week and the hours before corporate worship.

Below are some bullet points which are taken from chapter eleven of the wonderful book, Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster.

Daily Preparation for Worship:

  • Learn to practice the presence of God daily. Pray without ceasing. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
  • Have many different experiences of worship: Bible reading, prayers of thanksgiving, meditation on the goodness of God, singing praises, or praising God through various postures of sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate before God.
  • Have a willingness to be gathered in the power of the Lord for the good of “we” not “me.”
  • Cultivate Holy Dependency: you are utterly and completely dependent upon God for anything significant to happen.
  • Absorb distractions with gratitude. They may be a message from the Lord.

  • Offer a sacrifice of worship. You may not “feel” like worshiping but go anyway.

On Sunday:

  • Arrive to service 10 minutes early.
  • Quiet your mind.
  • Pray for the pastor and worship leader.
  • Pray for others who arrive looking burdened.

If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change. To worship is to change.  (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 173)

Try to practice the discipline of worship this week. As we do, we will find that our communion with God increases and “the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” (H. Lemmel)

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