31 May 2011

Crafty Stuff - Kleenex Holders

So I just wanted to share these super cute, and super easy kleenex holders. They only take about 15 min to make and there a great way to keep your travel size tissues in your purse and would also make a great little gift to share with a friend.


Here is how to make these...(I did it on a machine but you could totally hand stitch no problem as well.


Outer fabric 61/2 x 5 3/4 in
Inner fabric 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 in

Sew (right sides together) both 5 3/4 in edges
Flip right side out and press where inside fabric is showing evenly on each side (it's about a 1/4in). Fold inner fabric meeting in the middle and press again (you will not see outer fabric).
Sew short edges with 1/4in seam and then zig-zag stitch to prevent unraveling. Turn right side out and press!

27 May 2011

Begrudging God's Generosity


I was challenged this week by a passage I came to in my study of Matthew. The story is the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20.1-16.  The words of Jesus in verse 15 really stopped me in my tracks…

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

I was recently confronted again with my current status as a single.  Yet another acquaintance was saved from the ranks of single women and I was left wondering, questioning, judging, and even crying a little.  My temptation is to tell you all the details surrounding this situation and reasons why I think it may not be God’s timing or His best and so on.  But I know that in reality that would just be my attempt at justifying my own sin. First and foremost my sin is idolatry, desiring something, ANYTHING above God. Second, and what this verse spoke to, is begrudging God’s generosity.

In this passage the laborers could not even be thankful for their own wage because they were so angry others, who did less work than they, received the same wage.  How often do I, do we, become ungrateful laborers for our Lord because we are so concerned over what others receive? How many times do I begrudge God’s generosity in other’s lives? Do I become bitter when single friends get into a relationship? What about those of you who want children and see others not considering the blessing of their own children? What about when others are blessed financially and I am struggling? Do I begrudge God’s blessings on others ministry when I am not seeing fruit? When I begin to really reflect on this particular sin, I am pierced by how often I begrudge God’s generosity in others lives.

The ESV Study Bible says it so well…”A disciple of Jesus should not measure his or her worth by comparing it with the accomplishments and sacrifices of others, but should focus on serving from a heart of gratitude in response to God’s grace…God’s generosity is more abundant than anyone would expect: all the laborers except the very first go more than they deserved.”
I cannot, we must not, compare our blessings with that of others. Instead look at how abundantly God has poured out his generosity.

Thank you Father for your ABUNDANT generosity. You have given me far more than I deserve. Forgive me for begrudging your generosity in the lives of others. Forgive me for not finding my joy in you and recognizing ALL my desire is fulfilled only in you.

18 May 2011

GREAT is His faithfulness!

"Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
~Lamentations 3:20-25

At our wedding, Chris and I declared the Lord's faithfulness to be our anthem. We spoke and sang of God's past faithfulness to us both as we waited on His perfect timing to bring us each a godly mate. We sang with enthusiasm and hope, knowing it was only the Lord's lovingkindness that brought us together and that the catalyst for moving forward in our new life together would have to be His mercy and faithfulness.

On that glorious summer day, we had no idea of the dark days that loomed ahead. Days in which we would have to cling to the memories of God's past faithfulness because they were the only shreds of evidence that God is who He says He is and our faith in Him is real. We could not have fathomed in those first few moments of marriage how important it would become to mark every glimmer of hope or glimpse of God's hand as "encouragement for today" while we strained to keep our eyes fixed on the Faithful One.

To some it might seem overdramatic to term these trying times as "dark days" because we have been blessed with a marriage that is rock solid, continued health, and we have not lost any loved ones during this time. But, these have been days of great financial difficulty and of feeling a bit battered and bruised by a lack of clear direction and purpose. These days have been spent trying to make out the shadow of God's face in the midst of the daily challenges He has allowed us to encounter. We have been learning to trust the Lord in new ways, and like any sort of suffering, there are moments of soul-wrenching darkness, when it is at best difficult to understand what the Lord is doing and at worst challenging to know He is there at all.

In the midst of a particularly gloomy day, Chris and I realized we were both falling into the pit of spiritual despair. To combat that temptation, we began talking about our "encouragement for today". Really, we just started making a point to recall God's past faithfulness and present glimpses of His work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Here is the list, in brief, of how God has been faithful to us so far:

• Salvation--He gave us Himself. We've come to realize anything above and beyond that is just over and above what we could ask or imagine and out of the lavish love of the Father for us.
• Each other--we could not imagine walking through this without the blessing of each other, but we know that God's faithfulness would still be the same if we were still single...again, His lavish love at work.
• Our precious son, Zachary--his name says it all...the Lord remembers. He is our daily reminder that the Lord has not forgotten us!
• Daily bread--throughout this very lean time of financial struggle, we have never once gone without.
• His Word--it truly has been water to our thirsty souls, especially the Psalms.
• Creative provision--while God has kept His promise to provide for our every need...it certainly hasn't looked the way we thought it would. It's come in the form of: 3 part times jobs for Chris, government agencies like WIC and Medicaid, the continued generosity of our parents, friends--old and new, unsolicited monetary gifts in the mail, from people we don't even know, and over and above what we would ever dream people would give to us.
• Answers to prayer--sometimes on the very day that we asked the Lord about something
• Our church home--The pastors and people at the Summit have loved us and prayed with us and challenged us to continue walking with the Lord and trusting in Him. We could not have made it through this time without their faithful support.
• Opportunities for leadership and service--Since Chris is so busy working and taking class and I am taking care of a new baby, it would be easy to pull in the flaps when we have down time. Instead, God has allowed us the privilege of serving our local body and a small group of believers.
• Hilarious giving--even though we have not had any true "extra" for a long time--the Lord has enabled us to continue tithing regularly and to give to missions. He has provided such generous gifts from others that have enabled us to be the kind of givers we desire to be, which has been so much FUN!

I could have written more about specific instances of God's faithfulness; this is just the tip of the iceberg. But, the main point is that God has been faithful and will continue to be. We want to boast in His great faithfulness to us and encourage others to trust in Him as well. His mercies and lovingkindnesses indeed never cease or fail. It is the Lord who is the giver of faith and the sustainer of it. And sometimes, He gives us opportunity upon opportunity to exercise that faith. Our responsibility during those times is not to grow weary in doing good and to REMEMBER His past faithfulness. It is in recalling His past provision that we find confidence in the Lord in our present circumstances and hope that He will continue to remain faithful to His Word. Faithfulness is inseparable from God because it is part of the very essence of who He is. He will continue to demonstrate His faithfulness to His children...it just might not look the way we think it should. Nevertheless, our boast and our hope is in the Lord for great is HIS faithfulness!

The Tenderness of Jesus

Matthew 14:9-21

I love how Matthew allows us to see so many different facets of Jesus' character throughout his book. Matthew depicts Him as the Sovereign authority, all-powerful, and mighty to save, but we also get to know Him as sweet Savior, tender and compassionate toward those He longs to rescue.

In Matthew 14, we see a very gruesome, violent murder (John the Baptist, the herald and forerunner for Jesus' kingdom was martyred by Herod), the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus walking on the water. I had never noticed that the feeding of the 5,000 occurs in the wake of Jesus receiving the news about John's death...

Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself...

Jesus was grieved by this news and He wanted to be alone to mourn the death of John, who was not only His cousin, but also the one preparing the way for His own ministry. And yet, Jesus had garnered such a tremendous following that He couldn't even be left alone to grieve...

and when the multitude heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities...

The crowds wanted to be near Jesus, to hear from Him, to be healed by Him even in the midst of His grief and desire for solitude. And most spiritual leaders, pastors, most anyone would have become angry at the crowd for intruding on this private moment. But not Jesus. I love what Matthew says happened next...

And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick...

My heart is full to bursting with love for this Savior who is so tender and compassionate for the needs of the multitude even in the wake of such loss! It is such a clear picture of Jesus' love for us and a poignant reminder of the way we should treat the "multitudes" of our own ministries.

Certainly there is a time and a place for mourning privately and for seeking solitude, and we see Jesus model both for us in other passages of Scripture. In this scene, though, He set aside His own emotional needs and exhaustion to meet the immediate needs of others. Likewise, our compassion for the multitude, the lostness around us, should supersede any weariness or emotional pain we are experiencing personally. It is in these moments we must choose to...

have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

We need to empty ourselves into the multitude during times of great heartache and personal tragedy just like Jesus did. God, in His Sovereignty, might also choose to use our own hurt and sadness to enable us to better relate and communicate with the multitude. It might be in our personal tragedy or emotional vulnerability that the multitude is best able to see and hear the gospel.

By meeting the needs of the lost people around Him, Jesus was the gospel to them. We need to ask God to give us a heart of tender compassion for those around us who need a healing touch, and who, more importantly, need to see the gospel in action.

Lord Jesus, please make me more like You, who humbled Yourself for the sake of bringing the gospel to the multitude, emptied Yourself out for us, and for the joy set before You endured the cross, despising its shame. Thank You for the beautiful picture of tender lovingkindness we see displayed in your attitude toward the multitude, as You sweetly and kindly met their needs and healed their sick. Oh, how I adore You, Sweet Jesus!
Amen

10 May 2011

A Steadfast Gaze

We all know the story of Jesus walking on the water, Peter getting out of the boat and sinking fast. I read the story again this morning and was reminded of a truth I already knew but needed to hear again.

And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come."  So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."  ~ Matt. 14.28-33


First, and foremost, this passage shows that Jesus is, in fact, God. He has authority and control over creation.  He is more than just a healer, prophet, miracle worker, etc.  Jesus is God Incarnate.  The Lord had some other things he wanted to remind of through this passage as well...

I was first reminded how easily I forget God has complete control and authority over EVERYTHING. He not only has control of all creation, but he is also in control of EVERY circumstance in my life.  Like Peter, I often start out putting full trust in the Lord with a certain situation and step out confidently, eyes fixed on him.  I pray with confidence, trusting the Lord's plan and care for my life.  Then I notice all that is going on around me.  I begin to worry and my prayers become anxious ramblings before the Lord.  I may even avoid time in the Word altogether, because I have to 'fix' whatever problem I am facing.  I let my fear and uncertainty overwhelm my trust.  I begin to sink....

Jesus immediately reached out his hand...


The Lord then reminded me that he is faithful when I am not. Though I may remove my gaze from him momentarily, when I call to him he WILL answer.

When the tempest of life rages all around me, I MUST set my eyes on Lord, the Sovereign God of the universe.  If it seems as though the winds will overtake me, that is when my gaze MUST remain steadfast on him.