The Best

Best Book I Read:  Peace Like A River

Best Practical Decision I Made:  I Can See Clearly Now

Best Guests:  Reelin’ In The Years

Best New Recipe:  Easy No-Knead Bread

Best Daily Habit:  Meditate

Best Family Outing: Getaway

Best Getaway with my husband: here

Best New & Stretching Adventure: Group

Best Fall Ever: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Best TV Series on Netflix:  Foyle’s War

Best New Favorite Podcast:  Timothy Keller

Best Topical Study:  Immanuel

Best New Toy:  It Took Me A While


Let's head into this new year together determined to live intentionally, full of His Spirit and completely dependent on His life in us.  There is a reason we are in the places we are - God's purpose for us in these days is our goal!

So teach us to number our days
that we may acquire a wise heart.  
Psalm 90:12

I'm linking up with Kristen at WeAreThatFamily.

It sure is quiet around here

I haven’t been posting too often this month – no excuses.  But it has been busy!  This last week was no exception and I’m looking back with lots of good memories.

We had our staff Christmas party for Adoption Ministry in Puyallup, WA on Friday the 21st so Jeff and I drove up and back for the day.  I have such a wonderful job and an incredible team of people to work with.  Because I don’t see these folks every day at the office (I work at home), it’s always fun to be with them.

Lindsey, our youngest, arrived from Seattle that same night – bringing with her the dog she has been taking care of for the last several years, Ellie.  Ray, Lisa and Amy came the next day with Amy’s dog Sadie.  And just like that, our empty nest was buzzing with activity.  It makes me so happy!

 

I love dogs.  I really do.  I am not used to big dogs in the house so I need to adjust my attitude with food and water bowls on the (small) kitchen floor,  hair here, there and everywhere, dogs eagerly parked right next to me as I'm cooking in my (small) kitchen and bags of dog food and treats on many surfaces in my (small) kitchen.  A-hem!

We all went to Christmas Eve candlelight service together, which was wonderful.  Every year I look down the row and thank God that we’re all sitting there together.

My niece was born on Christmas Eve so we always celebrate her birthday with a breakfast that morning.  This year she celebrated double-digits!

We managed to eat our way through the rest of the day.  Christmas Eve is always finger food at our house – from hot super nachos to cheese & crackers to vegies & dip to chicken wings & sauce.  And there were also plenty of our traditional Christmas cookies – Special K bars – and dessert plates from the neighbors. 

Opening one gift on Christmas Eve sets us up for the family photo, with the girls in their matching pj’s.  (This was the first year no one returned them.  You can usually count on me to get the wrong size or style.)

My dad joined us on Christmas morning to open gifts and eat brunch.   I tried a few new recipes (thank you Pinterest) and everything tasted yummy (other than using too many Rhodes bread rolls for my monkey bread, leaving a doughy blob in the center).  For dinner we took a detour from our 'normal' and bar-b-qued flank steak, made baked potatoes, oven roasted asparagus and green salad.  We really missed Jeff’s mom, who had the nerve to go to Hawaii with two of her friends.

We also play games (a LOT) when everyone is home so you could often see either all or some of us at the dining room table playing Five Crowns, Bezzerwizzer, Up and Down the River, Anomia, Word on the Street or Dutch Blitz. No one in our family is competitive in the least. Christmas music played on the iPod all week long.

There was some sharing of phone apps, watching of old family videos, Wii frisbee golf playing, late nights and early mornings (remember the dogs?). There was food prep and clean up and good conversation and prayer over many meals. Three fights broke out and the guilty parties had to be separated – one in her crate and the other shut up downstairs. 

Ray and Lisa had to leave Christmas night to be back in Seattle for work but we loved having them for four days!  Amy and Lindsey stayed until Thursday evening so we had a bit longer with them. 

Anyway, there you have it!  I am exhausted but wouldn’t trade any of it!

Let's see what the new year holds!!
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Year-end lists

There is almost no end to the number and kinds of year-end lists…  fashion trends, top news stories, best and worst of _______.

So here are a few I found interesting!

Most annoying words of 2012
@thejanedough.com
Now here’s a fact you can’t simply blow off with a “whatever” or “whatevs”: the results of a new Marist poll find that Americans hate the defeatist, dismissive word “whatever” more than any other phrase, with empty “like,” unclear “you know,” and preachy “just sayin’” following close behind.

2012 Search Trends
@google.com
Includes search phrases, images, athletes, events, hashtags and more.  A revealing look at our world and its focus!

List of countries by population
@wikipedia.org
Both official estimates and census results

Best Inventions of the Year 2012
@techland.time.com
Truly weird and some truly frightening.

Yule Laugh, Yule Cry: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Beloved Holiday Songs
@entertainment.time.com
Not really a year-end list but still…

Top 10 News Stories of 2012
@christianitytoday.com
This won’t be the same list you’ll find in the mainstream media
but these events significantly shape evangelical life, thought and mission.

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The perfect Christmas

‎"Who can add to Christmas?
The perfect motive is that God so loved the world.
The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son.
The only requirement is to believe in Him.
The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life."
Corrie Ten Boom

May you celebrate the gift He has given you.

May you choose joy.

May your heart be full of thanksgiving.

May you know Immanuel – God With You.

Merry Christmas!

Immanuel

I told my husband today that I’m pretty sure this is the most ‘un-stressed’ I have ever felt in the days leading up to Christmas.  Well, unless you count when I was six.  Then my greatest worry was if my brother would fall asleep on Christmas Eve night and I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to while I spent that whole night wide awake.  My parents actually resorted to giving me a few sips of wine in hopes it would konk me out.  Don't tell anyone.

I have a long history of sweating the small stuff and often missing the meaning.  I wanted to have eace and a heart focused on Him but always, always came up short.

I’ve been trying to figure out what my problem actually is.  I can think of a few contributors… I didn’t want my kids to feel disappointed.  I always make everything from scratch.  I didn’t let people help me very well.  And what’s at the root of all of that?  Pride.

Ugh.

For the month of December I have been spending my morning time in the Word focused on Immanuel – God With Us.  When I started on Dec. 1st, I wondered how God would keep me on that topic for 25 days.  But it has but a little bit like an onion – each day I find a new aspect of God’s presence to meditate on.

Immanuel means
His nearness to us.

Over and over in the Word God promises “I am with you.”  He is close.  We are never without His presence, His strength, His help.  Never.

Immanuel means
God Himself is with us.
The Wonderful Counselor.  Mighty God.  Everlasting Father.  Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

The all-powerful, all-knowing One who loves me with His life.  He is the One who is with me.  Don't ever forget who He is.

Immanuel means
With us and with those we love. 
He is not far from each one of us… for in Him we live and move and have our being.  Acts 17:27-28 

In the scary circumstances, in illness, in rebellion, in dark times – He is there.

Immanuel means
The fullness of His presence is what I need the very most – even when I don’t realize that’s the answer.

Though the economy doesn't improve
and the world seems to be overcome with evil,
though the relatives don't change
and the tension remains,
though there are no answers I can see
and no hope in the world,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (paraphrased)

If all the circumstances of my life disappoint me, I can still be joyful in God my Savior.  

Immanuel means
He is at my side when it might seem like no one else is.
No one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.  2 Tim 4:16-17

Disappointed?  Hurt?  Let down by someone important?  Sometimes being ‘without’ in people ways brings me closer to God and a realizing that He is really what I need and all I need.

Immanuel means
I can remind myself, Lord You are with me.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me
Psalm 23:7

Do you tell yourself the truth?  Rehearsing who He is and that He is there. It's way better than rehearsing 'what if's' or 'what about that's.

Immanuel means
God occupies me!

My life, my body is where He lives.  I am a living vessel of His presence and He can express Himself through my life.
We are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.  2 Cor 6:16

Wow!

Immanuel means
As His dwelling, I belong to Him.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.  1 Cor 6:16

It's not my body.  Not my time.  Not my life.  I'm His.
So that means my problems are His.  My children are His.  My marriage is His.  My future is His.  Not my own.

Immanuel means
He intends to have rulership in me.
But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you.  Rom 8:9

The whole reason Immanuel came was to live in us and reign over us.  He doesn't want for me to be defeated over and over by my weakness and pride.  He wants me to live in authority over those parts of my old nature, ruling over my mind, my emotions and my will by His Spirit.  (Lord, show me what that means day to day!)

Immanuel means
God wants His presence to mark my entire life.
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you.  Joshua 3:7

What is the most recognizable characteristic about me?  I want it to be God’s presence!

So… that is helping me every single day to put things in perspective.  How I need His priorities, His love for people, His forgiveness.  I have all of those in His presence alive in me.

We are made full and complete by Christ,
who fills all things everywhere with
Himself.

Ephesians 1:23

Amen

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(Thank you for listening in on this sermon to myself.)

It took me a while

When we lived in California I used to walk a few times a week with a good friend and she would often ask me (very kindly) – When do you think you and Jeff will get cell phones? 

We don’t tend to jump on the latest ‘trends’.  I am married to someone who thoroughly researches every consumer item for price and quality.  Thoroughly.  THOROUGHLY.  So it was quite a few years after most people we know had cell phones when we finally got ours.

We could have made a grave mistake and jumped into the cell phone era too early!  We managed to avoid looking pretty ridiculous.  This could have been us:

No way did we want that to happen!  By doing so much research, we even managed to avoid the time in cell phone history when there was an antenna you had to extend in order to get good reception.  

I felt pretty cool with my clamshell flip phone.  And I didn’t have to borrow a phone from one of the girls on the team when I got lost driving to an ‘away’ volleyball game (major embarrassment for my daughters, I know). 

Then I moved up to this very cool Walkman model.  I took this one to Ethiopia with me and listening to worship music saved me from turning into a blob of overwhelming fear.  I am not kidding. 

When we moved to Oregon we switched phone providers so I got this full keyboard LG – when texting was becoming one of the primary ways we communicated long-distance with our kids.  I wanted a QRTY keyboard for that!  I still have to chuckle because one of my nieces asks me all the time if she can have this phone – she says it looks just like a tiny laptop!

So on cyber Monday (did I hear you say DEAL?) we somewhat belatedly moved into the smart phone era.  Remember, I dropped my phone into a cup of coffee and it has never worked quite right since.  When Jeff’s started to die, we were forced to make a decision (hooray!).  Now I can talk-to-text, find the cheapest gas station nearby and if I needed to get to a volleyball game in Wildomar, CA I could do it!

Remember, I had some real concerns about becoming a smart phone addict.  So I’m trying to use it sparingly and wisely.  I don’t want to have to worry about constantly checking my phone for updates or emails or texts.  And, did you know that smartphone theft accounts for 1 in 3 robberies in most major cities (over half in cities like New York and San Francisco)?  I don’t really want to have to think about that when I’m out in public with my phone.  Plus I might be texting when walking down a sidewalk without padding installed around the lampposts, as in London:

 source

So, watch out world.  And get ready dear blog readers for a few tech-y app recommendations now and then on the blog. 

It may be a long time until I get another phone.  I’m holding out for one of these:

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On my nightstand

Here’s what I’ve been reading lately…

La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith

This is a wonderful story by the author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books – very unlike those but just as well-written.  Set in WWII England, a young woman’s husband leaves her for a woman in France so she moves to a cottage in a small town and starts an amateur orchestra to boost morale during the war.  If you want a book that’s engrossing with a touch of romance, one you don’t want to put down, this might be it!

A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison

Here is a fictional story of a very grim reality all across our world – sexual slavery.  A young lawyer takes a sabbatical from a prestigious law firm to work with a non-profit group in the red-light areas of Mumbai.  He becomes personally involved in rescuing two sisters entrapped in this horrible trade after they are orphaned because of a devastating tsunami.  This is another one you won’t put down, though it's painfully raw and eye-opening.

You Lost Me by David Kinnaman

The subtitle reads:  Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church… and Rethinking Faith.  The author looks at the latest Barna research which shows that 18-29 year olds are leaving the established church in unprecedented numbers.  We all know that.  The thing I like about the book is that he not only shares ways he thinks the Christian community has failed to equip young adults to live ‘in but not of’ the world.  He also offers specific ways for us to pass on a vibrant, lasting faith – whole-hearted pursuit of Christ.  If you’re like me, you can easily get discouraged at what’s happening in our American culture.  This book challenges me to be a source of hope.  I read it with my small group of young women in mind for sure.

Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon

I had to include this one – I read it every year at Christmas.  If you’d like a sweet story with very endearing characters and a wonderful message of the true meaning of Christmas, you'll want your own copy of this one.  Jeff and I have read it aloud to each other for a few Decembers now – we always laugh out loud and there might be a tear or two as well.

Do share your own book recommendations in a comment!
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