Our Focus: Follow

She Reads Truth

Is my focus each day - to follow? Or do I instead focus on trying to fix the difficult situation that I may be in, or the circumstance that a friend or family member is in? Focusing on, keeping our eyes on the heavy "cross" that we are called upon to bear. Using up all our energies, and finding ourselves exhausted and used up.

Such is often the case for me as my dear hubby and I find ourselves in a very difficult, perplexing, exhausting situation of caring for an elderly parent. Helping in the care of an elderly parent brings a whole different dynamic, for we become the parent. And how do we parent our parent? And how do we deal with all the behavior that surfaces when physical losses add and magnify weaknesses?

How do we cope and survive as we spend our energies to help another?

And I am thankful ... for reminders, and glimpses to truth that God gives us along our difficult journeys. For words that leap off a printed page, and light up truth in our hearts. For the words on my She Reads Truth App this past week ... 

If anyone wants to come with Me,

he must deny himself,

take up his cross, and 

Follow Me.

(Matthew 16:24)

And I wonder - could denying oneself, mean to give up control, to give up trying to make something work. To stop focusing on it; to just release it. For it has never been our responsibility to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. 

But sometimes we try in our own strength, and then we find ourselves crumbling under the heavy load. We are not meant to carry the weight of the world, the weight of someone else's burdens, or even the weight of our own troubles. 

Of course, in this world we will always have burdens, situations that are beyond our control, and that can drain us of every ounce of strength and energy. They are our "cross", our particular set of difficult circumstances that we live with. Things that will not necessarily "go away", but that will stay with us. At least for a time or a season.

But our focus should not be our burden, our difficult circumstance. 

Our focus is on Jesus, to follow Jesus. 

Walk with Me, and work with Me -

watch how I do it.

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.

Keep company with Me,

and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

(From Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

It is not in the carrying of and concentrating on our problems - that we will find our help and our rest, our solutions to the problems.

Our rest and our help 

comes from our following, 

our keeping our eyes on Jesus.

Each moment you can choose

to practice My Presence

or to practice the presence of problems.

(Dear Jesus)

"As we fix our eyes on Jesus, He will take on our heaviest burdens and use them to transform us to be more like Him, and others will see and witness His redemptive glory." (She Reads Truth)

Thank You, Lord, for burdens lifted, as I lift my eyes to You ...

Thank You for the listening ears of family from afar, sharing in our pain ...

Thank You for unexpected, amazing gifts from You as we lift our gaze ...

Thank You for carrying our burdens, and for transforming us as we follow ...

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For more posts on this topic:

HELD SECURE: His Love in Times of Trial

The Giving of Thanks

There is always reason to give thanks, and to be filled with joy. Even in the midst of difficult times and trials. 

Gratitude isn't only a celebration

when good things happen.

It's a declaration that God is good

no matter what happens.

(Ann Voskamp)

I know this, and I am one to practice the giving of thanks ... continually, in my journal. Every day. But I have slowed down with it to a degree, forgetting it's importance. And in reality, sometimes drifting to focusing on the hard things more than on the giving of thanks. Maybe even thinking that the difficult situations need to be taken care of before there is true, whole-hearted giving of thanks. But I need to be continually reminded ...

Give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(I Thess. 5:18 ESV)

For as we lift our eyes from our circumstances, whether they be good or hard ... and we give thanks, we lift our eyes to Him. And we find that His love, His mercy, His faithfulness, is always waiting for us. Each day. Each morning. Never ending love and mercy.

For even in hard times, and especially in hard times -

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is His faithfulness;

His mercies begin afresh each morning.

(Lamentations 3:22-23)

From my journal from this past week, a glimpse into a few of my thank-you's ...

Thank You for beautiful weather - for both meals out on the patio one day.

Thank You for help from the SEND office in Japan with my father's affairs.

Thank You for a new menu planning system.

Thank You for reminders to just rest.

Thank You for a date set for kidney transplant (for our granddaughter).

Thank You that we can trust You with all the details of transplant.

Thank You for the timing of transplant.

Thank You for drinking Your cup (of suffering), so that my cup could overflow.

Thank You for being willing to be deserted (at the cross), so I would never be alone.

If you don't slow to count the gifts in the moments,

God in the moments -

when exactly will you taste and see that the Lord is good?

The losing of every battle begins when there is no time to taste 

and see and savor that the Lord is good.

(Ann Voskamp)

Lord, may I never lose my sight of giving thanks, of slowing to see Your gifts. On the good days, and especially in the hard times. Help me to keep my eyes open each day, watching for Your love, Your mercies, and Your gifts to me.

Linking up with:

Coffee for Your Heart

Another Freezer Meal Session

It's always fun to have Freezer Meal Days with my daughters who live nearby, and we usually try to set aside several days a year to prepare freezer meals for each of our homes. But it has been awhile since we have had one. We finally had a mini-version of one the first Saturday in March. 

I had planned to prepare some freezer meals for Amy to have on hand for her family when she is gone to TX for transplant, and also for her to use when she returns home from being a kidney donor for her niece (and our granddaughter).

Sara offered to come over and help me prepare the meals for Amy (plus some for her freezer and mine) ... such a treat for me to spend that time together with her. Jake & Cole were willing helpers in the kitchen for part of the time, as well. I am so blessed to have family live nearby ... 

I picked recipes for three easy-to-grab meals for days when Amy's family needs quick and easy meals. They are all recipes that we've made before for the freezer, and know that everyone loves them.

Pizza Loaves

Crescent Chicken Bundles

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

It's fun to see various Freezer Meal plans on blogs, with printable recipes and plans to use. When I have the time, maybe I'll post some freezer meal plans in the future. This combination of recipes would make a great freezer meal plan to use over and over ... filling our freezer with these three sandwich type meals. Easy to prepare, and easy to heat up for a quick and yummy meal.

For more posts on our freezer meal days, including some recipes:

Freezer Fare

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Linking up with Jessica sharing how I use my Fringe Hours ... taking time to prepare freezer meals with a daughter ... and later, scrapbooking the memories!

Be Still

Just one short sentence. 

Words that could change the whole focus

 of a new week, a new day. 

If you are like me, it is easy to wake up on a Monday morning with our minds filled with things that need to be done. The lists are endless. And as soon as we accomplish one thing, there are multiple more that make their way to our list of things to do.

It is so easy to forget that we are human beings, and not human doings. We forget that Jesus modeled a life of rest and of trust. Trusting His short life to His Father. With unending things that He could have done, multitudes and multitudes of people to love ... He kept a steady gaze on His Father, and He walked one step at a time.

And He made it possible for us to be the same. He says to us ... "Be still." And He reminds us that He is God.

All the things on our minds ...

The concerns, the tasks.

Those we love,

those we are praying for ...

These are not to be carried as burdens,

they are to be trusted

to GOD.

For more posts on this topic:

FIRST LOVE: What We are Made For

Linking up with Bonnie at:

Reflections on Spring and on Mothering

It's always a joy to welcome the month of March. For it signals the coming season of SPRING! Beautiful, fresh spring ... a favorite of mine.

Capturing the memories of the first week of March with digital scrapbooking, and pondering the variety of roles that we as women have. The first week of March certainly was filled with variety for me as a woman. We are the ones whom God created to come alongside man, to complement man, to be life-givers, to be nurturers. To be a reflection of the very character of God, made in His image.

For 35 years I was a blessed mother with children in our home ... six children spread out with seventeen years between the oldest and the youngest. And now that I am in the "empty nest" season of life, the life-giving, and the nurturing continues. And I am blessed. It is who we are as women ... for our God, in whose image we are made, is a giver of life, loving and caring, and always desiring for His children to experience all that they are made for. 

Whether we are married or single, mothers of birth children or adopted children, or with opportunities to mother and care for others in our lives, and also with a wide variety of situations at home or in the workplace where we can infuse life and creativity ... we are blessed to be women. Made in God's image, to reflect His love and life to those around us.

Even my first week of March captures the many facets of this life as a woman.

*giving care to my 93 year-old father (it seems that my role with him has changed to mothering him during this season of life he is in now with many and multiple needs), 

*caring for a sweet granddaughter (giving Carrie a day to use as she wished and having "grama" time with sweet two year-old Eva), 

*helping Amy out with a need for her children (and time with Levi and Ali after school one day), 

*a freezer meal day last Saturday with Sara (as we prepared freezer meals together for Amy who anticipates being a kidney donor soon) and her two boys (Jake & Cole had fun helping us in the kitchen), 

*being a companion and encourager for my sweet hubby as we live life together and serve together in Cru ministry, 

*building into the lives of our part-time Cru staff couple as we hosted them for a meal and meeting,

*gathering for prayer with other Cru staff (encouraging each other and praying for each other),

*meeting with our CityGroup over a pizza meal out together as we shared and prayed for each other,

*and multiple other opportunities - phone calls with other family members, and more ...

I admit sometimes I am overwhelmed with the fullness of life. Though "empty nest", it is a "full life". Sometimes it feels almost too full, but then I am reminded that I am so very blessed by this full life with all the opportunities to love and nurture, to reflect His Love. And I am thankful. So blessed to be a woman, made to reflect God's character and love to those around me.  

Pausing to reflect and to give thanks.

And thinking of you, too, as you share His love

as a woman with those around you.

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For more posts on this topic:
FOREVER CLOSE: The Heart of a Mother

Morning Maple Muffins

Morning Maple Muffins - you can't go wrong with these satisfying muffins any time of year. They are one of my favorite, made extra tasty with maple syrup included in the ingredients. 

I made them again recently when our CityGroup (small group at our church) had a breakfast theme for our Saturday evening meal gathering. Of course, I doubled the recipe so that we could put some in the freezer for breakfasts at home. Together with the Blueberry Muffins that I also made the same day, we're well set with muffins to pull out for our breakfasts for awhile.

Morning Maple Muffins

Source: www.tasteofhome.com

Course: Breakfast

Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min
Total Time: 30 Min

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• TOPPING:
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine milk, butter, syrup, sour cream, egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.


2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. For topping, combine flour, sugar, nuts and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.


3. Bake 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.


4. Serve warm. Yield: 16 muffins.

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What are your favorite muffin recipes?

Is Repentance a Lost Practice?

Maybe sometimes we need to be reminded of where life comes from. For we can find ourselves reaching for all the wrong things to find peace for our souls. 

Maybe instead of trying to fix things ourselves and find our own answers to our problems, we need to live our lives with an attitude of repentance. An attitude of humility before God. Of acknowledging that He knows best, and we do not.

Maybe we need to pray this prayer. Not just once, but every day ...

Search me, O God,

and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends You,

and lead me along the

path of everlasting life.

(Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)

And as we continually, day-by-day, live out a life of repentance, and surrender ... we will find that we are on a pathway to freedom. And to real life. 

Finally, I confessed all my sins to You

and stopped trying to hide my guilt.

I said to myself, "I will confess

my rebellion to the Lord."

And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

(Psalm 32:5 NLT)

Instead of living a life of defeat and of guilt, we experience life on the best path.

The Lord says, "I will guide you

along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you

and watch over you."

(Psalm 32:8 NLT)

Thankful for these words and thoughts as I am reading through She Reads Truth: Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, leading up to Easter. I needed to be reminded of repentance. Day by day repentance. 

(Credit to SRT for the photo above - 

and click here to read their whole devotional on repentance.) 

Welcoming a New Month

There is something so refreshing about welcoming a new month! And something as simple as turning over to a new page on our family calendar, or opening up a new clean page in my planner always gives me a feeling of joy. A new month brings with it a sense of new beginnings, new opportunities ... new life. And this new month of March also brings the new season of spring - a favorite of mine.

Besides the new calendar or planner pages, there are also the beautiful desktop displays to anticipate each new month. Click here for a beautiful desktop display for the month of March. I discovered this site last month, and enjoyed the display for February ... and the March display is beautiful, as well.

The months fly by so quickly, which is one reason that I love to capture the memories through digital scrapbooking ... recording the stories that God writes into our lives. Our month of February started out with an amazing nine-day trip to Florida for a conference and also a few days of vacation on the Atlantic coast (recorded here) ... and a few of the happenings from the last weeks of February are recorded on these two pages ...

Thankful for God's presence through the good and the hard days of last month, and for photos and digital scrapbooking to record the memories ... and looking forward to a new month filled with new stories of God's faithfulness.