Vagabond

vag·a·bond [vag-uh-bond]

1. wandering from place to place without any settled home;

2. leading an unsettled or carefree life

Beer

Why don't I drink beer?



I have been faced with this question countless times and it has often led to confrontation and misunderstandings. I think Tim Hawkins has answered the question with grace and dignity....especially the part about his rear.

Sweet enough to eat!

23 Days Old

The Days Are Long...

....but the years are short.

Oh have mercy, these past 13 years been short! I cannot believe that we are celebrating Hannah's 13th birthday today. (no comment on the stranger in the loud outfit and kinky hair)

Hannah is growing into such a lovely, kind, sensitive young lady with a heart that is being shaped by her maker. I still feel completely inadequate as her mother. Thirteen years ago, I was inadequate at caring for an infant and felt such anxiety and worry over things that now seem so trivial.

Today, I feel anxiety and worry over my example as her mother. Am I daily reflecting Christ as a wife and mother, so that I can model for her what biblical womanhood looks like? This is such a greater burden.....but God is good. He is sufficient where I am not. He carried me through the unknown waters of all-night colic sessions and He will carry me through the next very impressionable years in my daughter's life. I trust He will guide Chris and I through the unchartered territory that marks our future as her parents.

As she enters into the years that many parents dread, I don't have fear about what our culture says is inevitable.....that she will withdraw and we will drift apart. I do not embrace the mantra of "teen rebellion" or the "mother-daughter" battles that seem to be the norm through the adolescent years.

The only anxiety or fear that weighs on me is the incredible responsibility and mandate that has been set before me in His Word. Still, I take comfort in the absolute truth that God is sovereign over her life....her future....and her heart. He has already shown grace in her life and it is evident as she is drawn closer to Him.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You are a blessing to our lives and a precious gift from God.



Today, I will open her blog to visitors so you can catch a glimpse of our sweet spirited daughter. Feel free to leave a comment. It would make her day!

New & Improved

Benjamin is not the only addition to our home. Finally, all the construction is complete!

Remember this?


After several months of and several mini-strokes accompanied by nervous breakdowns, we have this.....


We call this room the "playroom" but it functions as a family room. We are thrilled to have such a large beautiful space where we can hang out together!




The playroom has a new bathroom with a shower so our guests will have more space.


Remember this?


Now look!!! Originally, this space was going to stay unfinished and we were going to use it as storage, but after we saw how big it was we decided to go ahead and finish it out. I am so glad we did! Now baby Benjamin has his own room :)


I would love to share my wealth of wisdom about home improvements, general contractors, sub-contractors, drywall mud, the sound of construction of 6:59 a.m., and cost of your sanity that accompanies a project like this, along with any other bits of little known trivia from the world of building.....but rather than bore you with the sordid details I will leave you with one more picture.....

The tiny little baby who wore this itty bitty bracelet is three weeks old today!

Beg

Here I am
One more day of not
Loving Him the way He asks
In fact my heart is singing praises to
the things That make me feel alright

So I'm sinking fast like a stone heart should
And on the way down
I've done what I could
To try and try to turn this stone to flesh

I'm haunted by my God
Who has the right to ask me
What by the nature of my rebellion
I cannot give.

So I beg for you to move
I beg for you to move
I beg for you to break through

So here I am
Got my deeds for the day
All my cute little words about
How I am saved

Am I saved?

Could I love you with my mouth like a church kid should
At the end of the day
My words get burned as wood
Oh, but I was good.

I'm haunted by my God
Who has the right to ask me
What by the nature of my rebellion
I cannot give.

These songs are noise
In your ears
A clanging drum
You want my love

Song Description:"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And He said to them, 'You SHALL love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment'." (Matt 22:36-37)

This is A LOT of love! Is it even possible? "God has the right to COMMAND of me what, by the nature of my profound rebellion, I cannot give." (John Piper) I WANT to love Him, like he asks. But I don't. So... I beg." - Shane Barnard

Benjamin...The Movie

Dog Doctor, Lots Wife, & Laser Tag

We've been doing other stuff besides birthing babies around here. I had some of these pictures saved in my drafts with much more elaborate posts than this one. I decided to merge them together in the spirit of multi-tasking (which is the theme for our life these days).

Welcome to complete randomness, otherwise known as.... "January".

We made a baby chain and counted down the days until our baby would come. I think it helped me as much as the kids to be able to see a tangible difference as we made progress towards THE DAY, because quite honestly there were days where I saw no end in sight.


Dad took Emma on a date to the Richmond Boat Show. Emma who is obsessed with Webkinz and ballet flats from the Limited Too absolutely loves fishing. It's a strange combo but I'm sure her future husband will be pleased as punch.

The girl not only knows who Roland Martin is, but actually sought him out at the boat show. Her daddy couldn't be more proud.


These are salt dough creations of Lot's wife. Please note the oh-so-shocked expression on their faces and the well-coordinated movements of their limbs.


We made 847 15 or so bagel birdfeeders to hang in the woods behind our house. Note to self: Birds fly south in the winter. By the looks of the 847 15 or so birdfeeders that have dried out and are still hanging in the woods....we no longer live in the south.






Samuel got this awesome doctor kit for his birthday and it has been a hit for the whole family. He diagnoses his patients (his sisters) with serious conditions about needing to remove their teeth and concerns about their bladders migrating to their brains. When the girls tire of hearing about dirt in their blood (???) he moves on to his next willing victim patient....








The girls were invited to a Laser Tag birthday party and I came along to supervise. I wish that I had a photo, but since I don't you will have to let your mind wander and imagine a 9-month pregnant momma strapped down with Laser Tag gear and guiding her five-year old through a precarious and dark maze while being targeted by some very mean spirited 10-year old boys. I told them every time they shot me that their points shouldn't even count because what a pathetic target I was and they were being a bit rude.

Apparently, 10-year old boys aren't too worried about "rude".

After about a minute and a half Samuel realized that the gear was far too heavy for him to carry and passed it on to me. His pregnant mother. Who was extremely close to a heat stroke.

Maybe it's a good thing there are no pictures after all.


When we got our scorecards after the game, I realized that my very own son had shot me more than anyone else.

Talk about rude.

I am working on a slideshow with "Birth"day pictures and a little ditty about how that whole process went. It might take some therapy a while because I want to be sure and forgive my doctors get the facts straight.

I will say this to all the ladies who are still in the childbearing days of their lives.

DON'T FALL FOR THE WHOLE "Walking Epidural" HOGWASH.

IT'S CODE FOR...."THE EPIDURAL THAT DOES NOT WORK"

Benjamin's First Bath

I have kept up with reading my favorite blogs, and I have enough posts whirling around in my head to keep me typing day and night, but time just doesn't permit!

Until I can carve out a few minutes, pictures will have to do. Here's our favorite peanut getting his first "real" bath...

Gigi was here for a long visit and we are so grateful for the time she was able to spend with us!






Baby Love...

First Days....

This baby has added such special joy to our family. I joked before he was born that he might never spend time in a bed but so far it has proven true! He has been cradled in someone's arms 24/7 until yesterday when he needed to spend some time working on his tan (to lower his bilirubin levels).

Baby Benjamin

The Baby is Coming!

Hi, this is Hannah reporting in for my mom (Kim). It is Tuesday morning at 9:23 a.m. She is now dilated to 4 cm and having some contractions. Her water has broken and she is on schedule.

I'll continue with updates as often as I can.

Father and Son

Preaching The Word...

I have found myself sharing bits and pieces about my church and I would be remiss in my description without stating that it centers on the preaching of God's Word. Most churches would claim to do the same.

I have written a bit about why expository preaching of the bible is the best way, but John MacArthur makes such wonderful points here about why full proclamation is the "only right way".

I love absolutes.

Pulpit Magazine
(By John MacArthur)

For many reasons, faithful and full proclamation of the Word is the only right way to preach. First of all, such preaching lets God speak rather than man, because it declares God’s own Word. And it is an incredibly thrilling privilege to give voice to God!

Second, preaching the Word is the only right way to preach because it brings the preacher into direct contact with the mind of the Holy Spirit, the author of Scripture. It is for that reason that the preacher of the Word finds the process of study and discovery to be even more rewarding than the preaching that results from it, gratifying as that can be.

It is tragic and puzzling that so many preachers who recognize Scripture to be God’s own Word spend more time investigating and interacting with the limited and imperfect minds of other men than delving into the infinite and holy mind of God. Part of the reason, of course, is that many hearers do not really want to delve into the depths of God’s righteousness and truth, because it exposes their own shallowness and sin. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warned his son in the faith about the danger of those who hold “to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). Later in that same epistle he would warn again that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;. . . and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim. 4:3–4; cf. Acts 20:29–30).

Third, preaching the Word is the only right way to preach because it forces the preacher to proclaim all of God’s revelation, including those truths that even many believers find hard to learn or accept.

Fourth, preaching the Word is the only right way to preach because it promotes biblical literacy in a congregation, not only through what is learned from the sermon itself but also through the increased desire to study Scripture more carefully and consistently on their own. The faithful pastor, and all other faithful believers, love to learn God’s Word because they love the God of the Word.

Fifth, preaching the Word is the only right way to preach because it carries ultimate authority. It is the complete and perfect self-revelation of God Himself and of His divine will for mankind, which He has created in His own image.

Sixth, preaching the Word is the only right way to preach because only that kind of preaching can transform both the preacher and the congregation.

Seventh, the final and most compelling reason that preaching the Word is the only right way to preach is simply that it is His own Word, and only His own Word, that the Lord calls and commissions His preachers to proclaim.

Today’s post adapted from John’s commentary on 2 Timothy (Moody Press).

So does this mean we dismiss the call to evangelize because we are too focused on preaching God's Word?

No. Preaching God's Word does not offer exemption to the church from evangelism. On the contrary....

It does mean that the "only right way" to share the gospel is by faithfully testifying to the whole counsel of God's word and that must include the depravity of our sinful soul and our desperate need for redemption through Christ. We cannot resort to our pragmatic man-centered methods.

Does it mean that we are not called to love & serve?

No....No....and.....NO.

I am so perplexed when I hear people say that doctrine is less important than loving our neighbor. What is love without the truth??? I dare say it is not love at all.

I hear this & read this countless times in the midst of growing churches today. Without God's word as the power to change hearts then the works of service are either non-existent or contrived by man. Love and service will exist where God's word is faithfully preached. I believe this because I trust that when God converts a man's heart he does not leave it the same. The man is changed and moreover will continue to change through the beautiful process of sanctification....

"Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." 2 Timothy 2:21 (NKJ)

123 Crazy Street

That would be my address.....if my address was descriptive of where I live.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Early each morning, I sit down to write a post about biblical theology, homeschool blessings, courtship versus dating, biblical womanhood, the Iowa Caucus, or any number of thought-provoking issues.

However.

Somewhere around sentence two, my doorbell rings and men arrive that are eager to fire up air-compressors and chainsaws. The dog starts to alternately bark and pee. Samuel comes running out of the downstairs bathroom with his underwear around his ankles.

And my ribs start to hurt.

I am beggin' for some mercy and because I lay my head on a pillow at night where I manage to wake up the next day, I am confident He is supplying that mercy.

Pregnancy in this stage certainly presents it's challenges. Add to that, 1/2 dozen men who are traipsing through my house with all sorts of debris on their shoes and clothes, while taking notes of my short-temper....Well, it's no great stretch of the imagination that I am a teensy bit on edge.

So. How 'bout some pictures instead of belly-aching? It is far more interesting and does not lend to my selfish desire to throw hissy-fits.

Some of these pictures are a couple of weeks old. Certainly, I will receive no grief for this. Certainly, because most of you know what's good for you.

This is what happens when Project Runway meets Spiderman:


That is not a blueberry pancake. That is my daughter's leg after missing a back-walkover on the beam. Bruises like this are viewed as badges of honor:


Singing the Veritas History song....with hand gestures:


This is where we put the dog while we eat, so he can feel tortured and deprived.
Seriously, this is where the dog "chooses" to torture himself. I couldn't resist this picture.




I took this picture several weeks ago. I have so much to learn about my camera and so it's not the greatest but I still thought it was cool.


And here are some pictures of the thorn in my side wonderful addition we are so very blessed to have being built:

This is the dining room which lead into the new family room. All of our junk valuable antiques are covered in this room to help ward off the continual shower of sheet rock. The rest of the house, however looks like it has been sprinkled with baby powder.

It's a great combination for a pregnant lady who is ready to clean and nest. (sarcasm intended)


The new family/playroom:


The landing upstairs...we like to pretend that it's summertime at the Outer Banks with all the beach towels and such:


Sweet Baby's Room:


Emma's room (a window was moved from one wall to the other)



The doctor has scheduled my induction for Tuesday, January 29th. One of the girls asked me last night at bedtime if the doctor was "making" the baby come on that day and I told her yes.

She then asked, "Why won't the doctor make the baby come now?"

And her told her....

"Because the doctor is evil and she hates me."

Since that is what I truly believe.

This post was written over a week ago and my how things have progressed! I saved it in my drafts and forgot about it.

Imagine that.