New Traditions - Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving! I love the time with family, the yummy food, the football, and the kick off to the Christmas season. But most of all, I love that it's a Holiday that centers around gratitude and thanks. I love that there are no presents or characters that distract from the meaning of the holiday (that is not to say I don't also love Christmas and all other holidays!)
We felt that even in the UK, it was important to celebrate this time of thanks! And the thought of not having some of our favorite foods the one time of year we enjoy them, was too much to bear! So we planned on it! We also decided to invite two families who we had met to come and join in the feast, after all, there was no way we could eat all of that food by ourselves! The 5 kids had a blast running all over the house, making paper turkeys, and playing. I think our one child was easily the loudest! Eva and Tanner were the hams of the group!
We had a blast laughing and sharing stories with everyone! We introduced sweet potato casserole, cream cheese mashed potatoes, garlic butter green beans, stuffing, turkey, rolls, apple cinnamon cheesecake, and a pumpkin roll! They were delighted, all except Tanner who refused to eat anything except cereal and dessert! What's wrong with this kid? One of the new traditions we started was taking a picture of everyone who came to put in a Thanksgiving Memory book along with everyone's name and what they were thankful for!

Tanner Turns 2!

November 11th was Tan the Man's 2nd birthday, and I haven't gotten to share the many blessings he received on this side of the pond! As his birthday approached I found myself wrestling with the knowledge that he doesn't really understand birthdays yet and doesn't need a whole lot of hoopla, yet the mom in me wanted his birthday to be special nonetheless!
We were in Scotland, actually leaving the day of his birthday, so in lieu of presents I thought he would just have to wait until we got home, but a friend of ours in Scotland saved the day by giving him two gifts. He was ecstatic about his racing cars and play dough. Then on our way home, friends gave him a "Tommy book" - a Thomas the tank engine book. I'll have you know the child has memorized the train behind every flap. That night we took a huge Costco cake to the kid's club for everyone to enjoy. Tanner loved being sung too, and he LOVES cake! He also got another present there from a dear elderly couple who run the mission.
The gifts just didn't end! At church that Sunday, he received another gift, as well as the following Wed. night! This kid got a birthday week and a half, and we were blessed to see people love on him.
Saturday night we had friends over for Chili and cake! We just couldn't let his birthday go by without a Bob and Larry cake. Tanner loved them! Every day he asks for some "Bob cake." Don't ask us why, but he especially likes Bob and Junior from Veggie Tales! He also loved being the center of attention all evening with all adults (only a few more weeks to enjoy this!)! He's a manipulative little booger - always grabbing someone's hand and asking them to come and walk with him wherever his heart desires!
Oh and he's been thrilled with his new train set! Pictures of that will have to follow!

Faith

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

How is your faith? How do you measure or assess your faith?

My faith is rather weak. I'm content to live by faith for a few minutes or even a few days, but when the test of faith lasts or things don't seem to work out the way I expect, I begin to question what God is doing and I begin to worry and stress. We are missionaries with a faith-based ministry; and I should be the first to place my trust in the Lord's provision. We've seen Him work in amazing ways throughout the world and in our own lives; we know God is trustworthy and good, but I'll be honest, while I love to see how God works, it can be a very scary place to be at times. I know I can trust the Lord and He has a perfect plan for us, but I admit I feel much more comfortable when there are few unknowns.
Today the pressures and fears of the unknown began to press in and create that nagging sense of doubt and uncertainty, but in spite of my weak faith, the Lord strengthened my faith today through my time in His Word and His impeccable timing.
We received two gifts today - one in the form of an encouraging e-mail and the other in a box we received from our church in the States (THANK YOU WEBC! We loved it!) The e-mail came literally right after I was sharing with John about how scared and discouraged I felt (Praise the Lord!) and the box about 15 min. later! It was so exciting to sift through our box and read the encouraging words of our friends, see the cans of pumpkin and flavored creamer, and be blessed by gifts both to our coming baby and Tanner that reminded us of the support, prayers, and love from the body of Christ. Tears filled my eyes as I realized God knew what I needed in spite of my lack of faith.
Then His Word - you know how there are days when you just know God leads you to certain passages just to remind you of where your focus and confidence should be. His Word was another gift today...
Hab. 3:17-18 - "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines. Though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, YET I WILL EXALT IN THE LORD, I WILL REJOICE IN THE GOD OF MY SALVATION."
Ps. 46:1-3 - "GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE. Therefore we will not fear though the mountains slip into the heart of the seas, though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake of its swelling pride."
James 5:7-11 - "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9 Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

A couple of thoughts - My initial thought was shame at all of my doubt in light of God's goodness in my life and the real suffering that people endure in the persecuted church, poverty, illnesses - things that are much more difficult than anything I am facing. But, I also know I needed to be reminded again and reflect on God's truth.
If everything were taken away from us, I mean EVERYTHING, would we stand with Habakkuk and say, Yet I will exalt in the Lord?
God IS an ever present help and our refuge and strength - God ALONE! Do I trust that and cling to that?
Notice James' many references to patience! We are to be patient and have confidence that God is compassionate and merciful ALL the time! How is my patience?
And finally - Praise God that in spite of my lack of faith, doubts, and fears, He gives His peace and encouragement through His Word, prayers, e-mails, and boxes!

The Breeding of Discontentment

Discontentment. Again the other night, I felt the Holy Spirit's prick of conviction as I sat in the relentless cycle of comparing my life to others, then feeling guilty for feeling discontent in the face of all the blessings I have been given. Familiar thoughts of why can't I have..., why isn't my life like this, why does this have to happen to me...followed by the overwhelming guilt of I have more than I should want, all I need is Jesus, others have so much less, I'm not trusting God is good, I deserve is death and eternity without God...This vicious cycle attacks without warning, spinning me from dissatisfaction with God to self-loathing and wondering how He could ever love me. Obviously these are lies that I buy into believing. James tells us, "Every good and perfect gift is from above" and John tells us we have abundant life in Christ. We know also that God loved us while we were sinners, and there is nothing we can do to gain more of His love or separate us from His love - He already demonstrated it when we were at our worst. But what causes this discontentment and how can I begin to conquer this sin and say with Paul, "For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." ?
For me, the causes of discontentment come from several "portholes."
- Comparing myself to others
- My plans and desires being unfulfilled
- Insecurity in who I am
- Disappointment
The discontentment comes when I focus on these things rather than choosing to believe that God's way is best, good, and always done out of love for me.
How can I keep from getting on the cycle that just ends in more grief? First, I need to keep praying about it. Second, I want to not only be in the Word daily, but study what God's Word says about contentment and meditate on God's character. Thirdly, I need to limit my time comparing myself to others. For me that partly means limiting my time on Facebook, where I have often found myself wasting time checking statuses and neglecting more profitable things. I need to focus less on what is going on in everybody else's life and find joy in what God called me to do in my home and family. Fourthly, I need to practice praising the Lord in ALL things.
These are incredibly obvious in working on any area in our lives, not to mention clearly mentioned in the Bible (it is the guide for how we should live our lives after all), but so often we just keep getting on the cycle because we never take the steps to get off.
What are your breeding grounds of discontentment and how do you keep from getting there?

"Your sense of security must not rest in your possessions or in things going your way. I am training you to depend on Me alone, finding fulfillment in My Presence. This entails being satisfied with much or with little, accepting either as My will for the moment. Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive. Cultivate this receptive stance by trusting Me in every situation."
I know I quote Sarah Young quite often (probably more than I should based on good blogging tips), but if you do not have one of her devotionals, you are MISSING OUT!

Praise the Lord today!
Shannon

How You too can Win the Best Mom in the World Award!

So this actually happened a few weeks ago, but in honor of us being back in Scotland and almost having a repeat yesterday, I just have to share.
Well, a few weeks ago we were staying in a flat in Scotland, and I needed to take a shower (seriously, I needed to feel like a person and sometimes that means just feeling clean - know what I'm saying?) I looked around the flat and thought "Okay, I can hop in the shower for 5 min. and there's nothing little man can get into." I know, I know this is dangerous, and believe me I can still hear my mom's voice in the back of my head saying "Don't you know, you can't ever leave a toddler unsupervised"...but I really needed a shower!
When I got out, I heard...NOTHING! Now that either means he's not screaming in pain, he's gone, or he's into something. As I rounded the corner, there he was sitting in the middle of the living room happily munching on Tums (these are a necessity for this mom in our household these days), with a beautiful pastel rainbow of drool on his shirt. He had eaten A LOT of them! What do you do? What any mother who has no idea what the number for poison control might be here in the UK, I googled TUMS and tried to find out if I had indeed just poisoned my child (who I might add was still smiling and running around as happy as could be over his little snack!) Thankfully, I couldn't find any horrendous side effects, just that I shouldn't give him any more milk products (go figure!) And Thankfully, I saw my friend Laura that day (she is a nurse!) and she reassured me he should be fine, but I may have an unpleasant diaper to change.
Now just in case you think I'm really not quite with it by not only leaving my child unattended, but also leaving a bottle of Tums lying within reach, let me just reassure you! The little turkey had climbed on the bed to reach the tums that were on the high dresser. And he tried again, by the way, climbing on the bed on top of the dresser to reach them on the mirror's ledge. It's an obsession, I tell you!
The Best Mom award, by the way, definitely was well deserved, or maybe you could consider it my punishment, was in having to clean the massive blowout that occurred later that evening while we are eating dinner at a family's house and I ran out of wipes and I had no extra clothes for my poor child and he immediately had a horrible diaper rash all over his bum and leg and I had to ask this sweet woman if I could not only borrow her son's clothing, but if I could also stick him in the bathtub (and I know this is a run-on - it's an intentional one for any of you who are wondering ;-) ). It was quite a day, and one we almost (thankfully we didn't) repeated yesterday, when my dear husband left the bottle of tums on our bedside table! OBSESSED I tell you!

The Heart of Worship

I sat in the nursery alone with my son, tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of missing worship...AGAIN. Around me he played, delighted at the fun new toys, the "choo choos," the shape sorter, the books - all of it was so exciting to him. And I felt utterly alone, at a new church, new people, a new way of doing things...it's not only a feeling of being alone, but of feeling lost - not knowing the way things run at the church, not knowing who to ask or what to expect.
My heart longed to worship My Savior, to hear the Word, to fellowship with believers, and yet here I was again alone in the nursery with a toddler who just won't sit still or stay quiet in church. "Why, Lord?" my heart cried.
Slowly, I am realizing, that worship is more than praise songs, hearing a message, being with believers. Those are all wonderful, God-given gifts to us for us to experience Him more deeply and together. However, in this season of my life, God is teaching me to worship Him solitariness, learning to see Him all around me, to bask in His presence no matter what my circumstances are. This season of my life is about embracing the wonderful relationship I am able to have with God through Christ. It is recognizing that He is my most essential need, and He has already and will always meet it. As, I see this time as a precious gift, instead of a frustration, I am more thankful that God is using this time to turn my heart to Him, learn contentment in Him, and love Him more deeply.