Four-Wheeling--and A Place of Refuge

A couple weeks ago Jonathan had a job near Salida, three hours away. His guys worked two weeks building a pergola of logs.

That week, different ones of us took turns being up there or being home at work and keeping the chores done,

so we could spend evenings and Saturday four-wheeling.

It was a way to work in a little bit of vacation along with the job in the mountains.

Below, the kids are taking turns drinking from the mountain stream through a life-straw that filters the water.

While four-wheeling, we saw these ancient bristlecone pines, weathered by decade after decade of storm and wind.

It was amazing how sturdy they were, like this one, whose roots are still clinging to the rock!

 I don't know how some of these pines got so twisted, but it was an interesting scene.

I read a devotional recently from Desiring God,  about how God is a refuge for us, using the following verses.

• None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)
• He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)
• Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)
• The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7)

"We do not earn or merit anything by taking refuge in God. Hiding, because we are weak and need protection, is not a work to commend our self-sufficiency. All it does is show that we regard ourselves as helpless and the hiding place as a place of rescue.

"In all those promises I just quoted, the condition of great blessing from God is that we take refuge in him. That condition is not a meritorious one; it is the condition of desperation and acknowledged weakness and need and trust."

"Desperation does not demand or deserve; it pleads for mercy and looks for grace."

-John Piper of Desiring God

Who Wants to Do Dishes When You Can Be a Missionary?

 As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.”

When I saw the title of the article containing the above quote, I felt it was straight from heaven for me personally.

The title was, "Motherhood as a Mission Field," an article by Rachel Jankovic, guest contributor to DesiringGod.

She wrote, "If you are a Christian woman who loves the Lord, the gospel is important to you. It is easy to become discouraged, thinking that the work you are doing does not matter much. If you were really doing something for Christ, you would be out there, somewhere else, doing it. Even if you have a great perspective on your role in the kingdom, it is easy to lose sight of it in the mismatched socks, in the morning sickness, in the dirty dishes.

" It is easy to confuse intrigue with value, and begin viewing yourself as the least valuable part of the church.

There are a number of ways in which mothers need to study their own roles, and begin to see them not as boring and inconsequential, but as home, the headwaters of missions.

At the very heart of the gospel is sacrifice, and there is perhaps no occupation in the world so intrinsically sacrificial as motherhood. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live the gospel. Jim Elliot famously said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Motherhood provides you with an opportunity to lay down the things that you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field."

"When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be."

*******

I was so inspired and encouraged by that article.

I hope it is a blessing as I share a little of it. 

We don't usually have trumpets blown before us regarding our work as moms.

We just do the work--

the laundry, the cleaning, the organizing for outings, the vacuuming of cars and van and trucks and motorhome, 

the reading of bedtime stories for the littlest ones.

I need to cherish these times with  my littlest ones still.

My older children are getting jobs, going to college, serving as a volunteer fireman,

(Sam rushed off on a call regarding a woman who had fallen on a knife today) 

and otherwise growing up. 

It's been hard to reconcile my missionary call as a young girl with the life on the prairie that I've lived the last 16 years--

until I read the article above.

And the Lord opened my heart to peace.

I also was blessed by reading aloud some stories from this book to the family in recent months as we traveled to the wedding or wherever.

The author shares stories and recipes from her mother, the wife of a Swedish pastor.

In this sweet book, companion book to Papa's Wife,

one catches glimpses of a mother of a large brood dedicated to serving the Lord 

by serving her husband, children, and church. 

I loved the simplicity and order of her life.

So I am sharing these little tidbits with you.

Boutineirs, Boots and Bows on Poodle Tails

Weddings are so fun!
There's everything from boutoniers to pin on sons or groomsmen,

to flowers to pin in girls' pretty hair.

And to think that in less than two weeks is another wedding--my niece Annette Barth,
Dorcas's oldest daughter!
If it weren't so far away in Vermont, and if we weren't scheduled for Mission Helps trips, we might be going.
I thought Jed's bride Rosalie's grandfather was so cute the way he went around collecting money for the bride and groom's honeymoon, carrying the bride's shoe.

I also got a kick out of the different footwear at that wedding.
Everything from fancy boots--

to clogs!

Weddings are fun, but so are walks.
Weddings are once in a lifetime, but walks are something you can do almost every day--
with your poodle if you have one!

And really, it is walking that is so important.
A wedding is necessary--that is the beginning of a lifetime together,
just like trusting in Christ for your salvation is a once-in-a-lifetime experience
and something that you must confess with your mouth as a witness to what is in your heart.

But our walk with Christ, like married life, is a day by day experience.

The small things and the big things lumped together,
the sad and the happy,
the hurtful and the joyful--but it's all about a relationship with God, or each other.
It's a blessing when we see people who have been married many years,
like the Sturtevants, when Jonathan and I went to Nebraska a few weeks ago for the Arms Around the World board meeting. 

Sis. Sturtevant and I spent time together while the men were in board meeting.
We talked about prayer and grandchildren and babies and birds!
She loves to watch birds in her pretty yard surrounded by a white picket fence.

I asked if I could take pictures of a few of her decorations that I loved.

I want Timmy to  make me something like this below.

So every day we find things to brighten our days,
days that are often full of the mundane--board meetings and travel and phone calls to find volunteers for Mission Helps projects, or just plain, dull work,
like planting garden,

cleaning up the property of stuff leftover from remodel jobs,
filling the trash trailer,

sorting what is to go to the garage, what to the trash, and what back to Home Depot or Lowes.

Are you like me and sometimes feel like a lot of life is just trying to deal with trash?

I mean, how many bags of trash do you have the trash truck pick up each week?

There is so much we have to continually get rid of and de-junk from our homes and properties
in these days.
So in the midst of laundry and cleaning and dishes and ironing and de-junking, 

 I sit down to sip some coffee (with lots of goat cream) and read my Bible--

or blog.

Blog about walking quietly with Jesus,

feeling or no feeling,

thankful He is there,

and loves me.

And I love Him, too!

My New Rocking Chair--and Sitting at His Feet

Last week the girls told me there was a community wide yard sale nearby, so several of us went.

I returned with this pretty white rocking chair that I got for just $20!

I absolutely loved it, especially with that little blue heart-shaped rag rug on it.

I also got a few yard decorations and planters like this cute pitcher which only cost $3.

Boy, I am just about keeping up with Heather Dickinson and her bargains!! :)

I had found hanging baskets of flowers at Lowes for just $5 each.

I was just so happy to spruce up my porch and deck with flowers and this decor.

And Jonathan and I worked two or three evenings recently in the back yard building this raised bed with the rocks that have been lying about the property.
Rose helped plant some of the lilies, delphinium, and columbine we had bought.
I want a bird bath yet, and a little bridge over our dry creek, and a trellised arch.

Somehow even just a few of these things help me, a Pennsylvania girl at heart,
to manage to keep making it out here on the lone prairie
where my back yard has just been a patch of dirt, sand, and weeds.

After hanging load after load of laundry,

or spending most of a morning with Crystal helping me defrost a freezer and restock it,

and other such household chores,

I sometimes take my plate of lunch or supper out and eat on the porch or deck

where Rose set a jug of sunshine mint tea last week.

I can't get over how having just a few points of beauty help me be content.

Just like focusing on the positive helps us breathe thankfulness instead of complaints.

Just last night, I was sitting in this rocking chair,
 waiting for Jonathan to also come home after a meeting,

and rocking softly in the darkness.

A lot of stuff was going through my mind,

many things to process,

and much as I was bringing my feelings to Jesus, I couldn't hear back from Him.

In tears, I told Him I was sorry that I couldn't hear His voice.

It was "probably because something was wrong with me."

But I had chosen to just sit at the feet of Jesus for a little while, waiting to hear from Him.

 It is easy to find that His voice is blocked--

perhaps because of inner emotional pain,

from things others have said or done, your own mistakes or failures, or from lies in your head.

It's not always easy to go to Him for comfort and find that He is right there speaking to you.

Sometimes you have to wait until the inner turmoil settles down until your heart is quiet,

and then you can hear His voice.

For me, it was once again a verse of Scripture applied to my heart after feeling like as usual I didn't amount to anything, didn't have any value, and didn't measure up.

So when I suddenly heard from the Lord, it was very precious.
It was this that was from the Lord:
"You are of more value than many sparrows."
I know--I've read, heard, and told that verse many times.
But last night it was so personal and so precious.
I told the Lord, "If I was only worth one sparrow to You, it would be enough."
And even though the night was almost sleepless,
I wasn't as torn up as I often have been--because of the word He spoke to me
while at His feet.

When You Go Out on a Limb

One day a couple months ago, I went out on a limb--and was rewarded.

I had been driving Carrie to work month after month, and every time we went, we would pass this property where there was a big tree blown down in the big storm this winter.

I thought it would make nice firewood, and also it appeared the folk who owned the property maybe needed help to get it cut up.

 So I got up my gumption one day and stopped to ask about it.

The daughter promised to give our phone number to her parents, but it was months before we heard back.

However, the owner finally called us, and yes, he wanted the tree gone!

So Thursday evening while Carrie and Rose were at their last night of Bible Missionary Youth Camp,

the rest of us were sawing up the fallen tree and cutting down the half that was still standing.

In the picture, Jonathan is getting ready to fell the huge tree half still standing

while Sam is fixing his chain saw.

The fallen tree had knocked over a utility post, and there was also a wooden cross there!

The owner of the property told us that every year one or more vehicles end up careening onto his property from the slippery road. 

There were car parts and a scar on another tree from various disasters.

There were umpteen holes in that tree, and we found pine beetle larva and live pine beetles! 

So when we brought the wood home, we had to keep it far away from our pine trees.

 Pine beetles easily infect other trees.

We also found termites at the base of the tree.

Perhaps there were reasons this tree broke in the storm.

Father in heaven, keep the beetles of bitterness and the termites of trouble

from eating away at us until we become more susceptible to the storms of life.

Keep us strong, healthy and whole, we pray. 

Below, the sun is setting in the west, and you can just barely make out the outline of Pikes Peak.

We got home after dark, so it was the next morning before we could unload all that wood.

There were some mambo chunks of log, and I am so thankful for all  my strong sons,
although Crystal and I did our share of helping and loading the night before.

I loved these action shots!

And this one!

I am so thankful that for the last several days, due to eliminating gluten and grain from my breakfasts and limiting it other times of day, I've had more energy.
Praise God!