He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

I'm still chugging through it and faithful to it.  I love Psalm 16 and I'm not quite done.  Verse 7 says this, "I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me." Yes.  I will praise Him and yes, he does counsel me.  I often don't like what he is telling me to do or be....and his advice is sometimes not welcome.  My "yes" is in my Praise.  (Praise is easier than "yes").......lets all get good at praise so that we can sometimes manage "yes". Even at night, my heart instructs me...... Well.  We all know that nighttime is not easy here.  Tonight is no exception......sigh.  Pardon me while I deal with Precious and her flailing about.  I'll be back. .............  The good news is that we are sleeping.....if we allow the littles to sleep with us.  It's the getting to sleep that is hard right now.  But we are gaining ground.  Even at night, my heart instructs me.  I trust Him wit...

Hello.  I am Jedi.  I was a birthday gift to Isaac 3 years ago.....and the only dog in the house......until "she" showed up.  That big, furry, loud, busy Lexi.  Ugh.  She drives me crazy.  She wants to play and play and play.....and she's big and she's obnoxious and if you want to know the truth?  I don't like her much.  I don't know why she had to come.  We were doing fine without her.  Ugh.  Here's my only redemption.  I get to sleep in the bed.  She sleeps in a crate  Ba ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!

Hi.  My name is Lexi.  I am a 4 month old German Shephard puppy.  My person, Niki, decided I should join the family to be helpful.  She wants me to help with Precious Maryn when she is having a melt down.  I'm not sure what she wants me to do yet.....so I just nip at Precious and have accidents in the house and eat alot of busy bones.  Ever heard of 'em?  They are awesome.....and they keep me out of trouble for at least 15 minutes.  My person, Niki, buys them several times a week.  If you would like to start a fund for busy bones, feel free.  We also take grocery cards because I eat alot.  I like my dog food but I absolutely LOVE whatever is left on the table.  I'm only a baby puppy but I'm big enough to snag food from the dining room table!  Yey Me!  I like it here.  There are lots of people to scratch me behind my ears and throw the ball for me.  I'm glad I came to this house.....My person, Niki, wants ...

I have so many good ideas for ways to bless people.  It would be simply awesome if God, in His infinite power, would provide me with a generous fund with which to bless others.  I'm not selfish.  I wouldn't tap into it for personal reasons.....but I would love to be able to write good checks to bless good people for doing good works...... Lord?  Please?

So here is how we said farewell to 2014 and welcomed 2015.....chaos.....predictable.  But wonderful.  Pleasant places.  

Um.  Doesn't everyone let their children go out in the snow with silly string in shorts and pajamas.......?  Red glitter people.  Red glitter.  We had a different "red glitter" experience in the back porch with that dreaded silly string last week.  I was cooking dinner....it was too cold to be outside.....and I said.  "Fine.  Go for it".  Friday night I cleaned it up......wild Friday nights for me.....whoo hoo.  But.....yeah.  A broom got it off the ceiling....a wet rag off the screens and vacuum off the rug and cushions. It's all good.

Psalm 16:6.......ooh, ooh, ooh.....get ready. "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Yes. This is why Psalm 16 is one of my favorites....verse 6.  This verse could be the summation of my life.  It's not my life verse.....but it is in the top 10 for sure.  We all have boundary lines.  I used to hate the thought of that.  The free spirit in me wanted to test all boundaries, challenge all authority.....not be contained in any way. Then I grew up. I allowed Creator God to define my boundary lines and they most certainly have fallen for me in pleasant places.  I have such a good life.  It's not an easy life, for sure.  It's not a perfect life.  It's not even an inspiring life most days....but it is a good life.  He is in charge.  He sets the boundary lines.  I know exactly where they are.  I know His voice, I know His Will for me, most days....and most impo...

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure." I'm trying to strive to hope to attempt......to get in better shape.  Again.  (still).  I enjoy healthy food, and I love to exercise.....but I have a very sedentary lifestyle, meaning I sit alot.  Sit in the car, sit at visits, sit at the office, sit at home with kids, etc.  One of my biggest problems is portions.  I eat too much.  I love food.  Seeing the words that declare that God alone is my portion and my cup make me think of it differently. If He alone is my portion and my cup......He will give me exactly the right amount.  Of everything.  Of challenge, of grace, of conviction, of love, of hope, of purpose...... He makes my lot secure......no threat.  No question.  No jeapordy.  What an incredible promise.....that the Creator God makes my lot secure.  Not too much, not too little...just right.

I'm still pondering the lessons from COMPEL 2015.....and I'm still committed to Psalm 16.....but because I live in a chaotic world I deserve to break from both and just vent and reflect.  That is why I blog, after all.  The State of the Union address is happening right now and it matters.  My 12 year old will get credit at school for watching it....and it is historical. Tonight our entire family sat around the table and "broke bread" together....and a few times we broke out in laughter at something we all understood as family.....and it mattered too. Josiah sang, "You are My Sunshine" after I put on his pjs and nighttime diaper and he let me make a video and put it on facebook.....and for the bio aunties and grands and cousins, as well as for his family and friends now...it matters. Precious is doing much better on some meds for ADHD and with school and dance and kinder music and with some control over her thoughts it is clear to see how smart and sen...

One of my big take-away messages from the Compel conference is this phrase from Jennifer Rothchild, "Who you are and how you feel are not the same thing." Who you are and how you feel are not the same thing. Let that settle a bit. For me, I often feel like a person who is always cooking and picking up and wiping noses and changing diapers and driving kids around and doing laundry......and in my spare time I have this career that involves walking with families and children.....and helping them with their burdens. Who I really am, is a child of God. I feel very tired.  I feel old.  I feel fat and frumpy and unattractive.  Often, I feel disappointed in myself. Who I am......is His dearly loved daughter. Who you are and how you feel are not the same thing. My sweet and very complicated daughter Precious needs to learn this truth.  She is constantly battling feelings that are negative and self-condemning....so I will be asking the Lord to help me teach he...

This weekend I had the priveledge of attending an annual conference that is called Compel.  I think this is the 6th year I have gone....with my mom.  Each year there is a different theme and speaker.  My dear friend Jen is the chairperson/leader of the conference.  This year, the theme was Look Up....and the speaker was Jennifer Rothchild.....look her up, people.  She is amazing.  We went last night for the evening session, slept in the hotel and then the conference continued until about 1pm.  I was inspired, and convicted, and filled and blessed and challenged.  Throughout the past 24 hours I think I had at least 2 dozen ideas for blogs......based on what I heard and saw and experienced.....so I came loaded with ammunition. Roger had all the kids with him at a basketball tournament out of town. I was quietly excited about the prospect of a few hours of cleaning before they came home, so when I got home I cranked up the music (Pentatonix.....my...

"I say of the holy people who are in the land, They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.  Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.  I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips." Please keep in mind that I am not a bible scholar.  Those who are would likely have a profound explanation about these verses.....I'm just gonna share what I think about them tonight, ok?  Take it or leave it. Tonight, when I look at these verses, I find myself comparing two types of people in my life.  There are the noble ones who delight and please me and fill my cup and inspire me.....and there are those who run after other gods......who are chasing worldly things and worry mostly about their own selves.  David is saying he is choosing to not indulge in the worldly gods by sacrificing for them or talking about that stuff.  He is turning away from that and choosing to delight in the noble ones. Other w...

"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing'."-psalm 16:2 Father God.....You are my Lord.  You are the boss.  You are the one with the final say in everything.  I can argue and I can drag my feet and I can avoid eye contact with  you sometimes.......but at the end of the day, its only You.  My lack of obedience or lack of courage to step out of the boat and walk on water come from my weakness.......and conversely whenever I get it right in your Will.......it is because of your strength. I spent a season apart from the Lord a couple decades ago.  I learned in that experiment that apart from Him I have no good thing.  Not one. Psalm 16:2 gets a Yes! and Amen! from me.

Psalm 16:1 says this.  "Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge." Safe.  What does that mean, anyway?  Unharmed?  Un-threatened?  In a pleasant place?  Immune from worry?  I want to pray this prayer, but I want to understand what I am asking the Lord to Keep me in....if I take refuge in Him, that means I run to Him. (and I do....often).   When I take refuge in Him I expect to feel safe.  Comforted.  Whole.  Well. Sometimes, the will of God is not safe.  It is not unharmed, or without threat.  It is sometimes even unpleasant.  Ask anyone who is chasing hard after God.  Even in an unsafe way.....He can keep me safe.  Maybe that is the prayer.  Lord.....keep me safe even in the lack of safety in this world....and when I run to the shelter of you....make feeling safe even safer. Huh. Maybe. I worry about health vs. illness.  I worry about bills not getting paid.  I worry about pe...

On any given day.....at any hour.....you can know that things are very crazy at this house.  Admittedly, I have condoned much of it....and added to it....but please know this.  I do not love chaos.  I tolerate it.  I have respect for it.  I even celebrate it sometimes....but I do not love it.  We have a regularly chaotic living situation.  Being a working mom, with a husband who has a rather high-demand job.....and 5 kids who are active in lots of different things...and 2 dogs, one of which is a feisty puppy.....just know that if you "drop by" (which seldom happens for good reasons).....brace yourself. Yesterday, I was in the bathroom getting ready to go to a high school basketball game.  Claire wanted to be there for the girls game and then danced at half time of the boys.  I agreed to take her (no school permit yet) and a friend....and dad would stay home with the other kiddos.  I didn't have time to shower after working out and wor...

Winter.  Here in the midwest, it starts around Thanksgiving (no matter when the calender date is....or Winter solstice or whatever.....) and doesn't end until late March.   It is only supposed to be about 3 months but it usually feels more like 4.  This is a photo from last year.  We had quite a bit of snow so I got more photos.  This year, so far, the snow has been sparse.  It's snowing now, on January 3.....and I have decided that I enjoy snow.  I may even enjoy winter but I haven't quite examined that yet.  I find that when the snow starts to fall, I get happier and it feels like anticipation.  I like that feeling.  It doesn't matter what is coming next....but when it snows, we all pay attention.  Will the roads get bad?  Will we have a blizzard?  Will they cancel school or church or evening activities?  This busy mama loves a legitimate snow storm so that we can all hit the pause button and just STAY HOME togeth...

Happy New Year everyone!  Today is the first day of 2015 and I hope it is an indicator of the year to come.  We had such a great day.  We lounged around at home until noon and I mostly just enjoyed watching Roger playing with the kids which he doesn't always get to do.....then we went to Sioux Falls and did some shopping, connected with some of Joe's birth family, and got Precious ears pierced for the third time in a year.  Hopefully third time is a charm!  Claire got to relive her childhood a bit by helping Precious choose a stuffed bear from Build-a-Bear workshop and then deck the bear out with Christmas money she had to spend.....it was sweet to see the sisters working on it together and noticeable that Claire was pleased and proud.  These are rare moments with a teen in the house!  We spent a long time in Scheels and just didn't rush which is uncommon.  Precious and Jeremiah rode the ferris wheel in the store and we did lots of trips up and ...