The might of the Lord

Our sweet little Tegan was born on December 27th and has brought her parents and us more joy than I could have imagined possible. When I see her, I am so overcome with love that I feel like I'm filled up from my toes to the top of my head, so full I could pop. She's the most precious thing, and I think the world has become a little better place just because she's in it. While Tegan's mom was in labor, I was looking for some parts in the Bible where God answered the prayers of some women, and gave them such miracles. He was as faithful in the past as He is in the present:

Let's start with the first of the women and one of the most fascinating for this to have happened to... Sarah.


Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him...." Genesis 17:15-19

And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son."
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid.
And He said, "No, but you did laugh!" ... Genesis 18:10-15

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac... Genesis 21:1-3

Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." Genesis 21:5-7



Next is Rebekah. One of my most favorite stories of the Bible is the one where Abraham sent his servant to go and get him a wife for Isaac, and everything that transpires with Rebekah, and then especially the first time she sees Isaac. I hope to write more about that one of these days, because it is important to me. But this is about what comes after that:


Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. Now Isaac pleaded with with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?"
So she went to inquire of the Lord.
And the Lord said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger."
So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them... Genesis 25:20-26



Now this one is probably the sweetest one, in my opinion, and I think Hannah is a woman who should be made more of an example, because her humbleness, and faithfulness to the Lord is a trait every woman should have. Her joy is just contagious. I would just suggest that you read it yourself sometime, but sometimes we have good intentions that don't pan out and it's really worth reading, so I'm going to write one and a third of the first two chapters of 1 Samuel because it will conveniently be right here... and it is very fascinating.


Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.
Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!"
But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now."
Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him."
And she said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the Lord."
Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever."
So Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word." Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, "O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord." So the worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1


And Hannah prayed and said:

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.
"No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.
"Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.
"The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.
"The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
"For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed."

Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

Somewhat of a Rambling Musing

Life. One minute it seems to be sitting utterly still, and the next it is speeding by without warning or the slightest hesitation to let those of us who want to get on... get on. As these weeks shift by more swiftly than sand in an hour glass, I am surprised to find the seasons of life changing rapidly. It seems like everyone from my childhood is getting engaged, getting married, having children... And all at once, too.
Last night, Christmas night, we got the phone call that our cousin, Jonny, who was one of my sole playmates growing up and who is only twenty years old, just proposed to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. This is both exciting and a little hard for me, since I was engaged for five months last year when the whole thing went kaput, as I mentioned in the previous post. But this isn't about that. And please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to complain. God's got grander plans and I'm perfectly content with waiting to see how they unfold, but somehow it makes the sprouting engagements that are popping up all around me feel just a little bit like thorn-pricks from a rose.
Anyway, Jonny's older brother Justin and his wife just had their first baby girl on December eighteenth. I don't know why that feels like such a shocker! I guess I'm just stunned to realize that the first baby coming from our generation has just been born. She's the first of the next generation of cousins. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I keep trying to make it more of a reality in my head. All I keep thinking is, "He's one of the boys. How can he possibly have grown up and become a father?"
But he is. He's a father and a husband. Not the twelve year old boy Shalea and I used to spend hours playing games with that were on a more epic scale than Lord of the Rings (at least in our young minds). You see, there had been something of a fall-out in our family nine and a half years back, the year that we moved, and we didn't see much of the boys during the rest of our growing up. So now here is Justin, a husband and a new daddy. Jonny, an NP who just got engaged, and I find myself feeling a little dizzy that life is expanding so rapidly.

And grandly.

This isn't the only news and big changes. Brian and Shauna are at the hospital tonight, and by God's grace our little miracle, our long-awaited baby Teagan is going to be born tomorrow! Mom just got off the phone with Brian. They're on the elevator... on their way up. There's a chance that she could go into labor tonight, as it is. I'm so overwhelmingly happy with this little life coming into our world. She has no idea how much she is already adored. And how much her coming is blowing my mind!

I suppose it's hard for everybody to comprehend when the first of these changes come around. Brian, practically my brother and one of my heroes, is having his first baby. Tonight. Tomorrow night. Only God knows.
My childhood buddies/cousins are getting married and starting families.
Plenty of the young people I know are running off to college and the altar faster than you can say A+ or I do. It sort of feels like a baby boom. In Hollywood last year it seemed like every star was humming Brahms' Lullaby as they shopped at exclusive baby stores for their pricey bundles of joy. Now, I don't keep up on the famous people, but even I couldn't help but see on just about every magazine cover while waiting at the busy check-out line that Brad and Angelina were on their tenth kid, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were having the baby of the decade, Gwenneth Paltrow was naming another new child after fruit or something, and the liberated CIA agent from Alias was glowing with maternal joy for her and Ben Affleck's surprise package. It seemed like every where you turned there was the whisper of baby on the air. So, to make a long example short, this change of life as we have known it for so long feels very similar to the baby boom. Everywhere I turn children I knew are becoming spouses, parents, college majors, and moving into dwellings with pennies, nickels and dimes as every new couple does (the best portrayal of that is Jimmy Steward and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life).

But now I feel like I'm jumping right into the middle of a story only a very few know anything about... Last night we were all sitting up around the table reading about this guy's life-story as he told it in his blog. His grandma had been encouraging him to do it for quite some time, because his life (in the surprisingly short amount of twenty-five or six years) is incredibly fascinating! People just don't live that way anymore... But hearing about his story made me think about mine and my family's. Maybe it's not terribly fascinating with near-death experiences and torrential floods, and pet crows who will sit on the handle bars of a young boy's bike while he rides around wild territory reading a book and being a human perch to other doves and pigeons.... but we and several others that I have known, have considered our life story to be amazing enough to write about. We've always said we should write a book about the things that we have done, but nobody's really started that great task. In any case, I feel like I should start from some kind of beginning instead of jumping right up to the forward-marching present. Which beginning to pick, I don't know, but I will take some time to think of where to start and when I come back I'll write about some of our very many adventures. And... in the meantime, I'll keep a careful ear on the updates about the newest coming delivery of the family!

God is so good for His precious miracles.

~Brianna

Bored? Should that be in my vocabulary?

I live on a farm. There are a hundred and twenty acres to roam around in, and about a thousand things that I could do, but would you believe that today I've found myself bored? Growing up, Mom's reply to such a dilemma would be to offer that sink full of dishes, or to brush the dogs outside, or vacuum the tumble weeds that they leave all over the house... So many things to be done, and yet I still wind up feeling more bored than a 2x4.
One of the problems that happens when I'm bored is that I seek some form of entertainment to satisfy the niggling desire to destroy the boredom. And one of those outlets turns out to be sitting down at this flickering computer screen with the whole wide world at my fingertips. Of course, it has to be the utmost cheap version of anything in the world, which brings me to this pathetic realization that computers impair our sense of adventure and ambition. I mean, if given the choice, would you rather sit at a swivel chair with empty lunch dishes crowding a nearby surface while you watch twenty variations of Pirates of the Caribbean music videos on Youtube? Or would you rather find ways to work harder and save a little nest egg for an unforgettable trip to a tropical island where you can actually touch the sand, feel the palm leaves, smell the ocean and taste the breeze on your face? Okay, it's really a no brainer, but more often than not that ugly little voice inside says: Okay, that's a dream that's way out of your price range, and besides, who wants to go to the effort to do work harder than you already do for something you can't have now?

If I think about it, I know the answer: I do.

But if I do... then why today did I spend hours sitting in old lounging clothes watching the cheap version of big adventures? Really seems pathetic, doesn't it?
Okay, so maybe I didn't need to go make some extra money for a trip to some secluded Bahama getaway, but there was a list that I had written myself this morning of all of the things that I needed to do. And did I do them? I mean, really, they weren't even chores. My list consisted of getting in touch with some very dear friends about several different important things. One of my friends really has been needing an ear to listen to the rough time she's been having in her life. Another I haven't seen in months, practically, and have neglected to call her back for five days after I said I would. My best friend really could have used an email to encourage her, and make sure she knows how much she means to me. My aunt, Shauna, could go into labor at any time now, since she's not even three weeks away from her due date, but instead of sending an email or giving her (or Brian) a quick call to ask how everything's going, I sat and watched a pixilated version of a place I've never been before.

I can't help but wonder how life would be different if we didn't own any one of these three computers or the TV, DVD/VCR, or the PS2. I would actually write letters again and offer people my quality time, and there's no telling what else could be accomplished! (I'm already feeling more creative just thinking about it.)

Tonight at the dinner table Shalea brought a couple of pages printed out from a guy's blog that she's been reading. He lives in North Dakota and has lived an incredibly fascinating life, from the stories she's related. But tonight his post was about what he would regret when he's 102 and thinks back on his life. I was going to try to tell it like I remember, but my memory and my mouth (or in this case my fingers) don't always keep up with each other. So here's a part of what he wrote:

I started thinking about regrets, what am I going to regret when I am an old man?I probably won’t regret missing out on watching the latest movie out or driving the newest model car. I would regret missing out on spending time with a special friend or spending time with family. I know I would regret not having learned how to play that particular musical instrument I always wanted to, or harvesting that 100 bushel wheat crop or building that tire swing for the boys. I don’t think I’ll regret missing a business meeting, not driving to work every weekday or the fact that I didn’t have a college education. I’ll regret the times when I drove by the elderly neighbor’s place and didn’t stop in to cheer their day when I really did have time to do it, and I’ll certainly not regret the times that I do stop in. I know I would regret not telling someone I appreciated them when that was true, not saying how I liked someone’s work when I did, or saying I love you when I meant it. You often can’t go back and say those things when you would like to.

I think when I'm a hundred and two (if the Lord doesn't call me Home before then), when I remember December 13, 2007 I will probably regret that I spent it so poorly when there was so much else I could have done. Besides weakening my eyesight, and very needlessly watching at least a dozen versions of Pirates of the Caribbean modified to as many different songs, I missed the opportunity to do something memorable. I did end up doing the dishes, I wrote two more pages of the book I'm writing, I took a long walk in the woods with my dog Tucker, I called up that friend that needed an ear, but except for writing those two pages, those things were only after 4 o'clock in the evening when it got too dark to do much else. And I know in my heart of hearts that today could have been much more pleasing to the God who is watching me waste all this time. For somebody who has longed for adventure and meaning for as long as I can remember, today sure was a big waste.

Now, I don't mean to get negative, but I'm really kind of irritated at myself. Shalea has got such a better handle on making the effort to really live. She works 2-3 days a week in town, but when she comes home she practices her piano, she teaches herself how to knit, how to spin wool into yarn, she'll make half a dozen loaves of bread, and I've seen a scattering of her latest library books about learning some lost arts (not mystical ones) like candle making, wood carving, and tons of other interesting stuff. Now, for goodness sake, you would think that with all of these opportunities around me I would have found something better to do than what I did all day!

Oh, well, it is a day I can't go back and change, but tomorrow is one that I can. I'm setting my alarm for 7 and I'm not letting another minute of daylight get away from me. I really need to find ways to beat the cabin fever, and do something that I won't regret. Who knows, maybe there are a few jobs I can find around here so I can start on that little nest egg. ; )

I guess the thing that really gets me is that I have the God of the Universe right here, and I didn't take the opportunity not to miss spending time with Him.

~Hoping for a better day tomorrow,
Brianna

Spinning Venture

Last night, as my mom was reading a book to my sisters and I (another tradition around Christmas time, but also something she has done since we were young) I was knitting for the first chapter, and then spotting our spinning wheel across the room, decided to spend some more time at that. I have a brand new bag of wool that was given to me by the woman we just got our Shetland ram from. But I wanted to finish what I was working with before I started with a new batch of wool.

For many years I had wanted to learn to spin, so I've taken on that new project for about a year now. Years ago, someone sold to us a nice Louet spinning wheel, which we had proceeded to somehow put in our storage (a semi trailer that is filled with the things from our move that we still have not brought into the house. Seems to me, if we have done this well without those things for these nine and a half years, we would probably do very well to get rid of most of it). But last year, I finally went out and brought it in. My mom had thought it was broken, so I got it out to see what exactly the problem was and if it could be fixed. To my pleasant surprise, we found it wasn't broken, the treadle just was not attached correctly. We had wool from the sheep we had years ago, but it was still in bags and I didn't think it would even be very good quality anymore, and we had not cleaned or carded it. And the sheep we have now were to be sheared in the spring, but it was winter. So, just to start, we bought some wool online that was prepared and ready to go. I had loaded up on books from the library and even a video to assist in my learning. I think it was last December when I started that. And throughout the year, I have only occasionally pulled it out to work on it a little more. Partly because I don't know anyone who spins whom I could learn from, and partly because this year has been such a busy one (though not a very good excuse for my not getting on it), I just haven't put myself into really learning more of it.

So a few weeks ago, when we had loaded up Dakota (the ram) and visited with the very nice lady and her husband, I was greatly encouraged to continue with it, and she showed me some things that I didn't know, including her whole system which filled her basement, and I was able to ask her some questions that I had.

One of things though that I forgot ask her is one of the things that has been perplexing to me about what I have learned in spinning so far. The woman in the video I had watched showed to pull the wool out into separate sections, loosening it to be able to spin it properly. But I shortly found that it was tedious, or more so, not very productive, and took a long time to spin a fair amount of yarn. It wasn't how I remembered seeing it done, when I'd see someone spinning, either at reenactment or at the fair, and I wherever else I had seen it. It seemed to go so smoothly and consistently. I couldn't remember ever seeing someone have to stop every thirty seconds to pull out another section of wool; it just went from the source, the gathered wool, onto the wheel in a steady flow. But then, I hadn't seen it done very often, so I tried to work with what I had learned.

So last night, as I was listening to my mom read, I got comfortable spinning again, and perhaps it was because I was more focused on listening to the story and my fingers were just moving at a methodical rhythm, so I wasn't paying specific attention to the details of what I was working on. I don't really know how it happened, I think part of the roving in my lap perhaps somehow caught onto what I was working with, because suddenly I found that it was working! As I treadled, the twisting wool pulled gently out of the main roving, albeit with my careful assistance, but it went nonetheless, producing a nice even strand of wool. That was the problem I had been experiencing; the yarn had been quite uneven with my having to stop and add a new section every little bit. But now, it really did work to just use the whole thing and let it pull from there. I was so excited, my exclamation put quite a pause in the story as my mom and sisters tried to understand what was so very exciting about it. It is perhaps a silly thing to be excited about, but I'm happy about it anyways. So excited in fact, that I decided to write a post about it! :)

I'm also learning now how to knit. Also something I've been wanting to know how to do for a long time. And yet another thing library service has greatly assisted me with. I think they know me by name there now, and I don't even live in town! I appreciate that, though. It never would have happened in the city, even as small of a city as we used to live in. Neighbor-like friendliness is something that is so lost these days, even among neighbors. That stands out to us in stark clarity whenever we go back to our old town in Illinois to visit relatives. I suppose I've become so accustomed to the laid back nature of the country. Even if people in this area don't live in the "country" per se (and rather in the towns near us), they are generally friendlier. It's a strange thing to me now, when we go to the city, to give a friendly smile and receive a scowl in return. Yet another reason why I am always so happy to return home after a trip like that. But I miss our family so much. That fact alone makes every trip worthwhile.

I am looking very forward to attempting to knit with my trial yarn. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out! Though I'm thinking I may save that first bunch as a keepsake and to remind me how my first attempt looked, to see if I can progress and make it look a little more like yarn. :)

~Shalea

Did the stars shine more brightly?

Merry Christmas (not "happy holidays")~from Brianna,

To run with the theme of snow and Christmas, I will follow up my sister's post with a similar one of my own. :)
In complete agreement, I have spent several of my teenage years drawing more and more towards the warmth and dryness of the house when that blanket of winter snow comes a falling. From my perspective, it has usually seemed much more enjoyable to watch Jack Frost paint our windows, and Suzie Snowflake dance in her snow white gown, from the comfort of the recliner under a blanket. In days past I would have rather been bitten by a bug while snug in a rug, than old Jack Frost chomping at my nose...
But... like my sister, my view this year is very much altered, and part of it has to do with that winter of 2005. It's needless to go over the details again, but now I'll add to the story. 2005 was a wondrous Christmas season that Narnia could not outdo for another couple million dollars. Sadly, Christmas of 2006 didn't follow up quite so breathtakingly.
In November of 2006 I became engaged to the young man I had been smitten with since I was fifteen. Our families had been friends for years, so almost everyone was in agreement that it was unimaginable that there could be a better match for either of us. We had been courting for six months, and I guess he saw that it high time to ask me to marry him. I said yes, and to me the coming Christmas meant the first of exciting, endearing and wonderful ones to come... However, the fanciful idea of combining both of our families for Christmas with joy brightening every one's spirits turned out to be quite... unlikely. When reality struck, I found the turmoil of two very different families colliding in a very unpretty sort of way. Instead of two families becoming one for Christmas, we were two families split in half. Celebrating and revering Jesus for His birth into this world sadly turned into stress, anxiety, and many, many hurt feelings. And to my regret, my Savior was somewhat forgotten by me-- at least put on the back burner... a place He should never, ever be.
Winter of 2006 compared to winter of 2005 couldn't hold a candle, and looked pathetically malnourished in comparison. Little did I know then that in four months there would be no wedding, that God would present me with a choice, and that the future groom would find that life of singleness and Bible camp was much better suited for him than marriage. But that is a story best saved for another day.
In a nutshell, it was never meant to be, and something that was seemingly sweet in the beginning turned very sour. The Lord mercifully intervened before two of His children could make one miserable life together. In the course of this year, I have gone through a season of brokenness, and finally-- now that winter has come full circle again--a season of healing. There is something restoring about finding that a year has swallowed up what could have been. I see the world through new eyes, as though I have shed the skin of who I used to be, and what used to look like a harsh, cold season only meant for making us love summer all the more, I find in winter a beautiful, pristine calm meant for restoring a year that I lost loving my Savior.
I am filled with a sweet, childlike delight as the trees grow bare, as the world wakes up covered in a garment of white, and I find as much wonder and mystery as winter of 2005, but doubled because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. His presence is purer and more magnificent than the delight one can find in any earthly source of happiness, and His majesty is more fulfilling than any gift of earthly love. I am looking so forward to this Christmas, and hope not just to remember but live through the precious gift the Heavenly Father sent us in offering His Son. There is nothing else that compares.
The winter of 2005 in our cabin tucked up in the woods on the hill, wrapped in an atmosphere that felt like it belonged to a different world... that was a holy and peaceful experience. The Lord really touched my heart then, and created a yearning in me that would stir even through the confusing and heartbreaking time of letting my fiance go. Winter of 2007... I want to say will be the very best yet, and top 2005 in ways that I could probably never shrink down to human words. And now, winter of 2007... the presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, seems to be sweeping through, and stirring every living thing to life. Even the trees, these dead branches covered in thick, glittering snow, and the shining stars above, they must be singing and crying out His majesty... for this is the season that we celebrate His birth, and what a magnificent birth it was!

I recently read in the book Fourth Dawn, by Brock and Bodie Thoene a fictional portrayal of Jesus and a healed blind man at a wedding; I love to believe it's true: "Yeshua threw His head back and laughed a huge laugh. Why did the stars not spin like tops at such a laugh? ...His laugh! Oh, such a laugh. Did the stars shine more brightly when Yeshua laughed?"

I believe this earth cannot help but worship the Lord; it obeys His command, and knows its Maker. And maybe that's why the stars sparkle like they do, and the wind blows hard as it does, and the snow dances to the ground, and the trees move, reaching towards Heaven. Many of us are waiting for the return of the King, and in the meantime I like to imagine maybe the earth resonates from a past day when it heard the laughter of Jesus... Maybe the stars did shine more brightly when Yeshua laughed.

Whoever is reading this, I wish you a very merry Christmas, and may the Messiah's presence come alive in your home this year as it never has before...

~In great love,
Brianna

We get a lot of snow here. And it lasts for a long time. Most people I know, who live here, very nearly despise the snow. And from my observations, that mindset makes for a very miserable season.
I love the snow. I didn't really, a few years ago. Partly, perhaps, because I get cold so easily; my extremities take a long time to warm up, once exposed to the frigid air. But when I was younger, I greatly enjoyed the winter months. Because that meant sledding, snow ball fights, building snow families and snow castles, flying across the field on the toboggan that was pulled behind the snowmobiles. Even before we moved nine years ago, growing up in the "city", winter was incredibly fun to me. As long as we were bundled with enough layers, hours could be spent out in the snow. There were limitless possibilities in a winter wonderland.
As I grew older and found myself in the middle of my teenage years, the idea of staying warm inside the house, wrapped in a blanket, keeping the feeling in my fingers and toes, seemed a lot more appealing to me. I suppose it was a habit I started, and not a very good one. I missed out on so much that could only happen out of doors. Winter then became a season I dreaded, because that now meant that I "couldn't" go outside for six or seven months. One year I even got what a doctor called something like Winter Blues. If I remember right, I think it was because I had gone so long without getting proper sun exposure, if any at all. And being cooped up inside for so long isn't really good for anyone.
But what I think changed all that was winter of 2005. That time of my life will always be a bearer of fond memories for me.
We live in what could be described as a temporary house/garage. We used to simply call it the garage, but after living in it for nine and a half years now, we have somehow made it more of a home. It belongs to my grandparents, who originally built it to be a garage. For years we would come up here camping before we actually moved, and we eventually upgraded from staying in a tent or our camper to staying in "the garage". And over those years, we gradually turned the upstairs into living quarters and we made a makeshift kitchen, and it just seemed like the logical place to temporarily stay in when we moved, until we could build our own house. And now nine years later, we are still in it. Every year it's "this year" or "next year" that we will build our house, but the Lord has not yet provided for us to do so. But actually, now it is very likely that next year will be the year. :)
Anyways, to make a long story very short, this place is now moving closer to becoming a house. My grandpa changed his mind on the garage plans and a few years ago, the garage door was removed and a beautiful, large picture window was inserted in its place. That was a joyous event! A few more windows were put it and the storm doors replaced with a regular and a screen door. We still have a concrete floor, but we make do with rugs.
So in the late fall of 2005, he started working on the upstairs. Prior to this, it had all been an open upstairs, and since we moved in 1998, we had hung sheets to serve as walls for our bedrooms. We actually grew accustomed to it. But now he was going to be putting in walls, and a real floor compared to the OSB flooring we had (and still have partly). He started on a room in the west end for my sisters and I. We emptied all of our furniture and things into the rest of the upstairs, and were shocked at how crowded it became. It's amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in seven years! We tried fitting where we could to sleep, on the floor, on the couch, any flat space we could find. But we all shortly decided it would be much easier, not to mention much nicer, to stay in our cabin for a while until he was done.
My parents built an early-American-style log cabin up in our woods in 2003. It was something they had dreamed of doing for years, and it was a wonderful experience to watch them build it, my sisters and I helping as much as we could. We rent it out to vacationers, and it also serves as a great retreat place for family and friends, and friends of friends.
People often ask us why we don't live in it. Here we have this beautiful cabin just sitting there and we live in a garage. Well, we actually did try it once, staying in there for a few weeks. It was nice, but at the end of those few weeks, it started to feel a little crammed. It's really great for two or three people, or more even if for just a weekend. But for a family of five to live in, even though we are very close and love to spend time with each other, there just wasn't very much room.
So, once again, under different circumstances, we decided to give it another shot. And it turned out to be one of the most wonderful times of my life. Not too long after we "moved" up there, we got our first real good snow of the season. It was....breathtaking.
The Chronicles of Narnia had just been released that month of December and of course, my sisters and I loved it. And that snow looked as if it had transformed our world into a land like Narnia. It snowed and it snowed, and still it snowed some more. Every branch of every tree was covered in sparkling white clouds, and everything was still and quiet.
Our homestead, right now, is near the middle of our field, without many trees immediately around us. So to be in the woods allowed us to experience the wonders and beauty of a true winter wonderland in all its splendor. I would walk out onto the cabin porch and, even at night, see the snow glistening all around like millions and billions of sparkling diamonds. And at night, I'd look up and see the stars through the bare trees, and every night seemed to be perfectly clear, giving us a pristine view of an expanse of breathtaking, shimmering stars. And there would be no sound, except the occasional thump of a load of snow sliding off a branch and thudding to the ground. But it almost seemed that in that quiet, the sparkling of the snow and the stars even had a sound. If it really could have had a sound, it would have been music, perhaps that only my heart could hear. It was beautiful.
Our time spent together as a family in those four months were absolutely priceless. It was so peaceful. And I think it was just what we needed. The years of '04 and '05 were quite crazy as we had some relatives move in with us. My aunt and uncle had divorced and she and the kids moved up and in with us, as did my grandma and then soon after, my other aunt. I love my family immensely, but there wasn't much peace for a while.
So it was a lovely reprieve to get away to a quiet, peaceful place for those months.
Since then, winter has been extra special to me. We haven't yet had a winter quite like that again, but each time it snows, it seems to bring with it a peacefulness that reminds me of that time. And I think it's helped even more to quiet my heart to focus less on the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and so much more on Jesus Christ and His beautiful sacrifice, especially this time of year, when He should be the focus, but is so easily overshadowed. He is so worthy of our praise and our full attention!
So now comes the end of my post on snow. :) This past weekend we got our first real snow of the year, so thus is my reason for the topic.
Now I will end this, as my family and I are getting ready to watch Holiday Inn, one of our traditions, one of the few I can actually think of. It usually takes just doing what we do to realize it's actually a tradition.
To whoever may read this, I wish you a very, merry Christmas, and may you know the depths of God's love even greater than ever.

Sincerely,
Shalea

"For to the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,'

And to the downpour and the rain, 'Be strong.'

- Job 37:6

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

For you will go out with joy

And be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. "

- Isaiah 55:8-12

"Worship does not satisfy our hunger for God ~ it whets our appetite." -Eugene Peterson

Years ago, I read a book called The Unquenchable Worshipper by Matt Redman. An excellent little book filled with such inspiring truths. It's a call back to the heart of worship.

This year I've been learning more about worship. God has opened the eyes of my heart to more of His truth than I ever knew before. Worship has taken on so much more meaning to me. It's what I'm made for. It's what our King is worthy of.

And one of the amazing things about worship, is that the more you worship God, the more you long for Him. True worship opens the eyes of our hearts to see Him as He really is. Worship is an offering. A sacrifice. A gift that we bring to honor the glory of our Maker. It's humbling. It's pure. It's beautiful.

Here are a few morsels from The Unquenchable Worshipper:

The more we see of Jesus, the more we know there's still so much to be seen.

The more He touches our lives, the more we realize our desperate need for Him

to consume every part of us. . .

Every glimpse of Jesus, wonderful as it is, is just a drop in the ocean.

And the more glimpses we have, the more we begin to realize just how vast that

ocean is.

God is so much greater than my mind can even begin to comprehend. And I am so indescribably grateful that He has rescued me, from a life that would have otherwise been lived without Him, and so abundantly poured His love over my heart, filling my soul to the brim. It's easy to get distracted, though, and at times even forget Who's I am. Distractions come in the form of many little things throughout a day, vying for our attention, attempting to pull us away. A day can be filled with errands, work, to-do lists, chores, all things that seem necessary, and somehow jump to the forefront of our priorities. And as the day comes to a close, feeling as though I was just released from a whirlwind, I find myself wondering, "What just happened?"

Time flies by. It can slip through our fingers. I'm realizing the crucial importance of taking the time to be quiet and still. To come before God in the secret place and simply be with Him. To allow Him to speak to my heart, without any interference on my part. It's amazing what even a few minutes in His presence will do. There's restoration, peace, love indescribable. He calms me like nothing else. But taking that step...it's like leaping over a hurdle. To put Him first, to give Him my time, to say "wait" to all the responsibilities that seem to be tapping their feet at me impatiently. He is so much more important than anything in my life. He deserves to be my number one priority.

And I've also learned in these past years, that I cannot do that in my own strength. By God's grace, and His strength alone, am I ever able to take a step down the narrow road. And how good He is to give it!
He's just waiting for us to ask Him.

~Shalea

Lord, since the day I saw You first,

My soul was satisfied;

And yet, because I see in part,

I'm searching, more to find.

-C.S. Lewis

Little Miracles

It is always stirring to witness a miracle first-hand...

With the sweet changing of these seasons, I find that there are more changes full of greater sweetness than I have ever known in my young life. Miracles are captivating things, but especially when they come in the package of an infant...

I will never understand the ways of life, or the reasons God allows what He does, like when a couple living in immorality will get "an oops" and choose to kill their child, while a couple in the loving embrace of their Savior will hope and pray for a baby for years, but one never comes.

God is not a small God, I find constantly, and now we have the pleasure to marvel over one such fascinating little miracle that proves His mystery and His tender faithfulness. We see women in the Scriptures like Hannah and Sarah, who longed and prayed for children, but it hits us with the force of incredible joy and surprise when their stories come to life before us with the women and men that we love.

From before I was born, my mom's youngest brother lived with us, being young enough to bond like a brother to my two sisters and me. We have an attachment that draws us closer than all the rest of the relatives in our big, extended family. We always knew that Brian's children would be as much ours, as our own nieces and nephews will be one day. He and his wife (now a sister-in-law to us, rather than an aunt-- *smile*) have been married three and a half years and been praying for this baby for almost all of them. With her being in her late twenties and him now thirty, they are eager to get their family started. Through the heartbreak and trials they have faced trying for a baby, we have felt dearly for them. Praying ardently, and trying hard to hold onto hope without getting discouraged, we have waited and hoped right along with them.

Just when I was beginning to wonder if God's plans do not meet up with our hopes, I got a phone call on my birthday from Brian... our little miracle has come into being. Now we are sewing baby blocks for the newest addition to the family, whose arrival will be in late December!

We are in restless and full excitement for her. She is nothing but a miracle, and will come into this world with more love and affection than any little girl could probably need! So, we are sewing blocks for her, just like the kinds we used to have when we were kids. A very sentimental gift, especially for the brother-uncle who used to throw them at us girls. (*grin*)

I am swept away by the enduring charm (unlike our deceiving human kinds) of the Father's miracles. When I see them unfold right before my eyes, lifting up the hearts of those that I love, spraying our family with the brightness of innocence, anticipation and joy... I am stirred.

~Brianna

There is a song that speaks of how the Lord is more faithful than the changing of seasons. It comes to mind for me every autumn. As I look at the changing colors of the trees, it seems that even they tell of His faithfulness.

The trees seem to come to life in the spring, budding tenderly like a newborn baby. There is a sweetness and a faint warmth in the air, filled with promise and hope. Then it gradually blooms into summer, when the trees seem fully alive. Seemingly at the pinnacle of their youth, they are full and rich.

Then comes autumn. It seems to me like a masquerade. The trees look a little bit older and seemingly wiser (if trees can appear to be wise), yet they put on their masks, knowing that soon they will be stripped away. Their masks are colors of all different shades. Some are bright and beautiful, while others are gentle and intoxicating. They form an amazing background, ushering all of creation into a season of preparation. There is such a rich, comforting scent in the air, and the leaves fall to the ground, dancing to the end they know is there, embracing it with arms spread wide as they twirl gracefully towards it.

And then it comes. The season when the trees have shed their masks, and are laid open, bare and vulnerable. They seem weak against the bitter cold, with no warmth of leaves to protect them. And then it seems that they have died, covered in a lovely white grave. But they are not dead. They are just resting. Waiting.

And just when it seems the wait will never end, the dawning of a new spring is born. The trees are awakened and come alive again, and so embark upon another adventure of the seasons. And it continues, just as it did before, and thousands of times before that. It is a faithful change that can be expected. But...compared to our Maker and His faithfulness, the seasons seem as unpredictable and unfaithful as the wind. For He is more faithful than the changing of the seasons. He is more faithful than the morning sun which rises every day without fail. But, even the sunlight can be masked with clouds, covering our view of it, hiding its brilliance, sometimes seeming like it's not there at all.

But nothing can stop or hinder the faithfulness of the Most High God.

He is faithful in full force, for always.

~Shalea

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

Your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

Your justice like the great deep...

How priceless is Your unfailing love!

I will declare that Your love stands firm forever,

that You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.

-Psalm 36:5-7, 89:2

Overture

Living in the simplicity and peacefulness of the country life, one would be surprised to hear the crazy tales we have to tell. From a curly-haired little dog who had a habit of defying death, to our deep musings about our Creator and the life He created us for, we come to share some of what He has done in our lives, and perhaps by doing so pass on some of His abundant blessings.
By His love,
Shalea and Brianna