Lapis Lazuli (I heart you)

Here comes another round of I <3 U! The last edition can be found here! If you liked the format of that post, with the music and such.. here is another song that you can quietly listen to while reading Isaiah 54! If you don't have a bible with you, you can go to www.biblegateway.com and read there. Throughout this post I will be referencing NIV. I greatly encourage you to read through the entire chapter before continuing on with the rest of this post.

(I do not own this music)

Once again, this chapter is full of great promises and great hope, I can't wait to uncover it all with you. If you stop after verse 1 you could be confused, it might sound as if God is condemning marriage and mothering. But, this is not at all what he is saying. Instead of reading verse 1 and thinking that we must be called to never marry, think of it this way; God appointed each of us a period of time of singleness, in that singleness we are called to follow God as well as we can. Let's face it, if you have a husband (or wife) to take care of, or to make sure you spend enough time with, it could put a damper on your relationship with God. Only God knows when we can handle the balance between family and God. God's telling us to shout for joy with the opportunity we have to serve God with no strings attached. The next two verses tell us to open up our hearts, home, and life to God's people. To open up and let others into our lives and to care for them without holding back.

Skipping down to verse 4: "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood." If you have never been shamed or humiliated by either your faith or your singleness... I'd like to talk to you. People will shame you, they will look down on you for faith and for lack of a partner. But, God will not. The people that truly matter, will not. The second half of this verse pretty much says "you'll thank me for it later". When we get to a resting place in life, where we can look back on our youth; we won't regret not having a boyfriend or girlfriend to hang on. I've never had anyone tell me (over the age of 25) that they regretted the time in highschool when they didn't have someone to hang all over. But, that is a lesson for a different time...

Verses 5-12 are my favorite. My maker is my husband. The "bible" definition (I don't know what that is, but if you go on dictionary.com and scroll all the way to the bottom of the search page, it's there) of husband is " the "house-band," connecting and keeping together the whole family. A man when betrothed was esteemed from that time a husband (Matt. 1:16, 20; Luke 2:5). A recently married man was exempt from going to war for "one year" (Deut. 20:7; 24:5)." God is our house-band. My maker is what connects and keeps the whole family together. :) "the holy one of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth" it's like the ending of a really good book when you find out just who THAT person really was. The God of all the earth is my redeemer, husband, houseband, connector.

This post is getting a little long, so read over the next few verses and stop right after 9. If you don't know the story of Noah you can read it in Genesis 6. Long story short, God wiped out all of humanity because of their repulsive sin. "To me, this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again" (Isaiah 54:9). I was angry with you because of your sin, I HAD to turn my face in anger. But not anymore, I have a solution, I will never ever be angry with you again. I love you. Verse 10 tells us that although this earth is temporary and can be shaken "my unfailing love for you will not be shaken". God's love can't fail, it can't even be shaken. It's as sturdy as sturdy gets!

This next one is my favorite out of this whole chapter, which might confuse you a little bit. I love this verse so much, it's hanging on the wall next to my bed. "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted..." (that's us!) "I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires." We are afflicted beings, people come against us, and as much as we can say 'sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words can never hurt me'. It's not true. That's crap. We are a city lashed by storms on the right and left, but God's going to build us up. He's not JUST going to build us up. He's going to build us up with stones of turquoise and sapphire. Another word for 'sapphire' in this verse is lapis lazuli.

I did a little bit of research and the lapis lazuli (blue stone) is an incredible shade of blue. For the longest time, people could not make a fake dye that matched the deepness of this blue. It's referred to as 'ultramarine' which means 'beyond the sea'. The stone is thought of as a stone of friendship and truth. When a gem cutter cuts this lapis lazuli, they will many times turn up their nose. When the gem is cut it puts off an odour. Many gem cutters can tell the intensity of the color from the smell it puts off. When you wear the stone a lot, it could become kind of matte and dull, but no matter how matte and dull the stone gets, it can always be polished and brought back to its original beauty. This gem is one of the most expensive blue gems that is around the world today. Let's summarize: I am an afflicted city, I have many a storms coming my way from day-to-day. But, God is going to build me up with walls made of lapis lazuli, one of the most expensive blue gems of our time. In fact, one of the most magnificently colored blue gems of our time. He's going to build me up in friendship and in truth, and people will be able to tell from the smell I put forth (not literal smell) how intense my color is and how close to my original magnificence I am. But, don't worry! No matter how hard those storms hit and how dull my color gets, I can always be polished back to my original beauty by my maker.  Wow.

Read over the rest of the chapter yourself and look at how God says he will protect us and how he shows that he created the people who will come against us. Although he did not create the evil that will come out of them, he created them and knows them as well as he knows us. I really am unsure of how to end this post, but if nothing else, take the knowledge about the lapis lazuli and treasure that in your heart.
~ Jessica



It's clearly NOT friday!!

So, we missed Fridays Top Five.....didn't give you anything fun for your weekend, we didn't even sing praise and hallelujah with  you on Monday (well we did, we just didn't share it here)!!  Friends, our weekend was b.u.s.y.!!

Friday morning we joined about a hundred other women for a Good Friday Women's Breakfast!!  It was delightful.  The breakfast was delicious, the company was superb, the speaker(s) were fabulous and it was a wonderful way to celebrate all that Jesus did for us on that day.  Following breakfast we (Jessica and I) went back to my mother's for much needed haircuts (and color, ahem).  It was a long afternoon and as we headed home, with dinner in hand, a part of my exhaust system fell off the car and was dragging on the road!!!!  I couldn't get ahold of my hubby right away, so daddy to the rescue!! 

Saturday was full of busyness as we prepared our hearts and home for the hosting of around 30 people on Sunday for Easter Dinner.  I love that when we host holidays, the entire family takes part in the work!!  I had my boys working on a plastic egg garland project (saw it on-line, don't remember where) but here's a few shots of ours:

We cleaned and decorated, played and baked.  Fun was had by all!!  The girls were in charge of "cutting the cheese" (you're giggling, I know -we do it everytime)!!  With each new type of cheese, they'd have a taste test first - it was sweet.  I was wishing that I lived with a camera around my neck, because I missed capturing so many sweet moments with my kids that day.

Sunday morning started bright and early for Jessica and I.  We were a part of our church choir and were due at the church by 7:30.  We sang along with about 20-25 other people from our congregation, but it sounded like so many more.  God's annointing was truly upon  us that morning.  What a blessing to help deliver such a glorious message and praise!!!  He's Alive, Alive, Alive, Hallelujah!!!!  We were there from 7:30, stayed and sang through three services and were back home around 1:00 or slightly after to jump into the pre-dinner rush!!  Our guests were due to arrive at 3:00.  While we were at church, my wonderful hubby set up two additional tables and even ironed the linens to put on them!! Impressive, I know <3

We set the tables, plated the appetizers, made eveything picture perfect and waited!!

We had some extended family members join us and that is always a treat.  The bonds of a family, direct blood related or not, always overwhelms me (in such a beautiful way).  We love to open our home to everyone, but especially family.  Now, most of the family I see regularly, I am blessed to live in the same county as most of them.  But it's still a treat to open the door and gather around the tables and just eat and talk and laugh.  I don't even have to be a part of any conversation, I just like looking and listening and seeing the love of family in my home.  For us, it's a way to give back, it's also a chance to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus and we strive to serve our family in the most beautiful way that we can.

I pray that you had a blessed Easter weekend!  How awesome that we can move forward from Sunday and say He's Alive Hallelujah!!!!!  May you feel the love and the presence and the strength of our Lord and Savior in your hearts and lives each and every day!

God Bless <3 Lorraine

Complexity

This year, in school, I'm studying biology. But, not just any biology, the course I'm using is a christian-based curriculum which means everything that I'm learning is backed up by scripture and involves constant revelations about the indescribable glory of God. The section that I'm in right now is all about cellular reproductiona and DNA. I'm constantly amazed at the complexity of God's creation and how harmonized it is. So, in honor of that.. check out this super awesome video by Louie Giglio! While this video doesn't have anything to do with the DNA aspect of creation, it shows how complex our life is and how complex our God is. If you want to check out more of his videos, I highly recommend it. His sermon on laminin is really awesome! But, without further ado....

I know that  it's a long video, but it's truly astounding if you have the time and attention span!
 - Jessica

Words........

So it's Monday
and I've got nothing to say;
nada, zero, zip

Am I uninspired?
Am I not trying hard enough?
Am I not living slowly enough to let life sink deep?

It's Holy Week,
there should be plenty to say about that.
But the truth is, I find it hard to live among
the spiritual truths that this week offers.

Don't get me wrong,
I have the best intentions
and if you ask me for ideas of
how you can get the most out of this
week, I'll give you sound advice.

But the busyness of life
always wins out, calling ever so
gently until it reaches a scream;
stealing my attention, my life.

Yet He is there, amidst the busyness,
the screaming, the flatline that is my life.
All this running and doing and it represents
naught.

Dirty dishes, laundry, kids calling
my name endlessly, financial decisions,
homeschooling, Easter dinner, this need and that
all amount to nothing if He is not my central
focus. 

Maybe I should slow down to barely a crawl
lower my voice to barely a whisper, what would
truly change?  There'd still be dishes and laundry,
school and work, money, bills, etc.

But maybe, just maybe I'd be able to hear His
sweet, soft voice, calling me ever so gently.

I have entered your heart and you applaud me;
things have not gone your way and you've departed me.
I carried the cross, the burdens I bore,
so that I could call you mine
and you could call me yours.
No matter where your road leads you, the story
remains the same.  I hung on the cross, so that you wouldn't have to.

He invites us, this week; every day, to come to the cross, to lay down the burdens that this life always offers us, those we struggle so hard to let go of, and to simply just rest there.  Rest in the fact that He carries our burdens, He fought the battle, the victory is His.  All of this crazy running around, busyness that represents our lives is futile.  It won't add one day to our year, it won't grant one grain of peace.  No mercy lies in the hands of the enemy that deceives us.  You can simply stop and be still.

Take in the events of this week, let them penetrate you deep.  Allow it to change your life, forever.

Friday's Favorite Five # 7

Friday's Favorite Five #7

Happy Friday!!!!  This edition of Friday's Favorite Five, I am sad to admit, is super last minute and will be written entirely by me, Jessica. So, that may either make you want to finish reading or stop right here.. consider yourself warned! :D

1. Craft

 

This is more of a recipe than an actual craft, but how cute would these be at a tea party!! Check out the recipe at http://sandrakavital.blogspot.com/. If you can read French, that is. Otherwise you can probably just make simple butter cookies and dip them in chocolate!

2. Music

'You Lie' by The Band Perry is a super catchy song! My dad has always loved this band and my mom and I are just catching onto The Band Perry train! Their whole album is great!!

3. Blog/Other

 

As this has nothing to do with a blog, it would fall under the category of 'other'! I realllly love this seat, how cool is it?! You can find more information about it here!

4. Scripture

 

This is really reassuring to remember, as long as we trust in God, things will turn out A-Okay in the end!! This verse isn't saying that we'll land that perfect job or all of our debt will magically vanish, it's saying that we don't have to worry about all of the harms of the world, because we have our God and nobody can take that away from us!

5. Quote

This is really hard to remember sometimes, but oh so necessary!

Thanks for joining us and looking at our favorites for the week!

~Lorraine and Jessica

Our Redeemer... (I heart U)

I'm happy to bring you the second installment of "I <3 U"! If you haven't read the first one, or simply want a reminder of what the series is based on check out The Start of a New Series. I'm going to ask you to go read Isaiah 49 before you continue reading (I'll be referencing NIV). If you don't have a bible or just don't have a bible around you, you can go to www.biblegateway.com. While reading, if you would like quiet music in the background, you can look at the video beneath... then skip to the next paragraph when you're done!

I know that Isaiah can be a very difficult book to understand and chapter 49 is no exception, but hopefully you perservered and finished the chapter. It is laced with awesome reassurances and promises from God. I'm going to start down at Isaiah 49:5 where God tells us that we are "honored in the eyes of the Lord and ... God has been [our] strength". God honors us. The definition of honor is as follows: "high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank". Let me say it again, God honors us. God has a high respect for us. He sees us as high in worth, we are valuable in his eyes. I don't know about you, but there are many times when I most definitely don't feel valuable. I break out for no reason, I feel bloated, or maybe I just feel guilty. But God STILL sees us worthy and honorable. Think of some people that you see as honorable: people who fight for our country, maybe a family member who dies to theirself everyday, that's how God sees us.

God, then, goes on to say that the job of being his servant and restoring his people is too small of a job. He needs us to be a light to the Gentiles. He needs us to bring his love to the sinners of the world. Now, I'm not saying that being a pastor or working with christians isn't fulfilling God's plan for us. I'm saying that even if you do work with christians on a daily basis, God still wants us to reach out to the non-christians. Our job doesn't end in the church, it starts there. If you jump to verse 7 you see this: "This is what the Lord says - the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel - to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: 'Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you." In Jessica terms: Our redeemer is speaking to, not the goody-two-shoes or the people who look good, God is speaking to the criminals, the poor and needy, the people who look as if their life will never turn out right. God says that kings will take notice of us, and that princes will respect us. But, not because of anything we do, this will happen because of the Lord, the Redeemer, the one who has chosen us.

The rest of the chapter is dedicated to how God is going to restore us or how God is going to take the criminal, servant, and despised and turn them into someone that is worthy and someone who will be noticed. Not noticed in the sense of the popular kids at school, noticed as in looked up to. It may not be in this life, or it may, but it may not be by the people we think it will be by. Down in verse 9 God says that he will "say to the captives, 'Come out', and to those in darkness, 'Be free!" God is going to call us out of the dark places in our lives, and the only way God knows that we're in those dark places is because he's there with us. Our job at that point is to respond, no matter how many times God calls, it's up to us to get up and walk towards he who is the light. 

A couple of verses later God reassures us that he will never forget us. There are many people in our lives that will forget us, but not he. "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" I <3 that verse soooo much! At the time that this book was written, Jesus had not been to the earth, it was written atleast 500 years before Christ was born. Back then, it had to be pretty cool reading that we are engraved on the palms of Jesus' hands. But now, it's AWESOME! Jesus was pierced onto the cross through his hands, we are reminded of Jesus' death through these scars. Christ doesn't see the scar, though, all he sees is us. He doesn't see the pain that we wince at when thinking of the crucifixion, he sees his love for us. Verses 22 and 23 talk of how the Gentiles, the people we're called to save, will turn around and save those around them. Those people will be saved and they will save.

I, personally, feel that this chapter shows God perfectly as our Redeemer. He is the one that will save us and enable us to save others. Without him, we would still be despised and looked down upon, but through his saving grace we can rise up in honor and worthiness to be fully His.

Lord, thank you for being our redeemer and for calling us out of the dark parts of our lives. We see that without you, we would have no purpose or hope. You are our only hope and you are our saving grace. It's still hard for us to grasp the honor that you see in us, Lord we mess up so many times. Please forgive us and teach us to forgive ourselves. Help us to strive towards your perfection and redemption in every aspect of our lives.

~ Jessica

Just call me Chicken Lady!!!

Hey friends, Happy Monday!!!  Is your day flying past you like mine is?  It's nuts, I wish my metabolism moved as quickly as the days move.....that would make so many things so much better!!!!  You know what I'm sayin' dontcha!!!!

So here's a monday tale for you, if your day hasn't brought you a hearty laugh or giggle, this just might!!!!  With hubby's new work schedule, he's up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 6:30 so that doesn't leave him the time to take care of the chickens and ducks before work.  So that means the responsibility has become mine, well actually not mine, but the boys, Joe and Jaysen.

Anyway, I went out this morning with our dog, Molly, so that she could do her thing.  I didn't grab shoes because I thought I'd just stand on the patio for a few moments and we'd be done.  Well I looked out towards the chicken coop and noticed that the gate was opened!!  Normally that would not be a problem, but since it's spring and we've already started planting our veggies (we already have asparagus and radishes up!!) I could not let those birds out of the coop!!!

All was fine, because they didn't even notice that the gate was open.  At least not until they saw me coming, to which they all ran to the gate to greet me!!! Nooooooooooooo!!!!!! Remember I'm bare footed and the grass is wet with dew and FREEZING COLD!!!  Those stinkin' little chickens, about 20 of them, took off out of the gate and I proceded to corral them all back into the gate, slipping in the mud and freezing my toes off!!!  What a sight I must have been!!!  At least I wasn't in my jammies, I was actually dressed!!! 

I am proud to say, that not one bird got a way or even got near the gardens!!! SUCCESSSSSS!!!!  It was a proud country mama moment for me!!!  Every once in a while I have one of those, usually followed by a "how in the world did I get here" thought!!  I never dreamed I'd be one day chasing chickens, my own chickens, whom I've named!!!  It's a crazy world friends!!!

So, how is your monday treating you?  Chase any fowl lately??  Yeah, I didn't think so : )

<3The Chicken Lady; Lorraine<3

p.s. the pictures were not taken today, as I don't usually plan on photodocumenting my morning routine, but perhaps I should!!

Friday's Favorite Five #6: Hunger Games Edition

Friday's Favorite Five:
Hunger Games Edition

Happy Friday!!!!  We are super excited to be seeing the Hunger Games tonight and thought that in honor of the premier, we would have a Hunger Games Edition of Friday's Favorite Five!! Enjoy!

1. Craft

This website is awesome!! Check it out at everythingetsy.com! I especiall love #19 as I <3 printable anything!!

2. Music

This song is a little eery, but still catchy! Check it out and let me know whether you like it or not! I'm still on the fence...

3. Blog/Other

 

In case you haven't seen the movie trailer, if that is the case, I really don't know what you'll get out of this post, here is the trailer for The Hunger Games!!!!

4. Scripture

So, if you have read the Hunger Games, you may know that there is no scripture references in it at all. This is a really great article that discusses the relevance between The Hunger Games and The Bible/Christianity. Also, Ephesians 6:10-20 talks about putting on The Armor of God and how we need to protect ourselves against the evil in the world. Both are very interesting and help us to think about The Hunger Games on a more spiritual level!

5. Quote

I love this quote that comes directly from the 1st book! How often do we just want to stand apart and show someone that they don't own us, or maybe you would rather just blend in and not create any waves.

Thanks for joining us and looking at our favorites for the week!

~Lorraine and Jessica

"Where you go, I'll go"

Hey gatherers - I just wanted to give you guys a quick update! I am now officially going to Honduras in October! You can see my first post about Honduras Here! I am very excited to be going on this trip with Compassion International and being able to meet my sponsor kid, Samuel. Although this trip is an awesome opportunity to be able to meet Samuel, I am very excited about the overall trip and being able to go on my first of, hopefully, many short term trips there! I started fundraising a couple of weeks ago, when I officially signed up and I'm excited to share that I've already raised about 1/6 of my goal! This is a very scary, but exciting, opportunity I have. While I'm not scared about the trip in general, I am a little nervous because if this is God's plan, doors will continue to open up in this direction and it's kind of scary to follow God's plan. While it is frightening, I know that God has it all planned out and that I have nothing to fear. I will continue to strive towards following God's plan in all aspects of life!

Friday's Favorite Five #5

Friday's Favorite Five

Happy Friday!!!!  We hope that this will help kick off your weekend activities.  Put a tune in your heart, a craft in your head and scripture on your lips to guide you through each day!!!

1. Craft

I am so excited about this one!!!  If you've read Ann Voskamp's "1000 Gifts - A dare to live fully right where you are" then you'll be excited about this too.  Not a straight up craft, but a beautiful assortment of items to craft a journal, to craft a smile, to craft joy in someone elses' life.

2. Music

I love this song from Switchfoot. Well, I really love the whole album! Check out 'Hello Hurricane' from Switchfoot if you have the chance. This specific song is great and speaks of the acceptance into God's loving arms. <3

3. Blog/Other

www.beautifullyrooted.com

This is a fairly new blog that I love.  You get to hear from different bloggers each day that share anything from photography tips to parenting, faith to creativity. 

4. Scripture

You may start to see a theme running through our scripture and quotes.  If we keep Him in front of everything that we do and think and speak, we'll notice that the trials will start to seem much smaller.

5. Quote

(picture courtesy of: www.swtblessings.com)

Remember that, friends! No matter how big the hurdle, God's plans for you are bigger!!!!  Through Him, you can step over that hurdle and into His perfect peace <3

Thanks for joining us and looking at our favorites for the week!

~Lorraine and Jessica