God Can See You!

As an inquisitive and often naughty little 4-year old, my son, Jonathan,  often questioned me about the Lord. When he was inquisitive, I told Him Bible stories and wonderful qualities of the Lord.  When he was naughty, I reminded him that the Lord could see his sin and that he couldn't hide anything from Him.

Little Jon had been evidently pondering this for quite awhile and thought he had come up with a loophole.

 "Can He see EVERYONE in the whole world," he questioned, posing dramatically and eying me with a curious smirk on his face, "even if they're all in their houses?"


I assured him God could not only see all these people, He knew all their thoughts before the words were on their tongues.

His challenge answered, he commented with subdued respect, "Wow! He must have a lot of eyes!"


We moms love to give  awe-inspiring answers.  Beka once was admiring my wisdom about drying fingernail polish and wanted to know if Mommies had to go to school to learn all the things Mommies have to know to be good Mommies.

The reality is, these simple answers often smite our hearts with conviction.

We love to teach our kids that the Lord is watching them and teach them how to respond in a way that pleases the Lord.  We want them to love the Lord, honor Him and serve Him, even in their youth.

But, when I remind my children of how the Lord is watching them...


....I am also painfully aware that He is watching me.


And I know, He issn't always pleased.  When we are disappointed in our children's behavior, it gives us a great idea of how the Lord feels about us at times....those times when we fail...

and yell
or throw something
or make a nasty comment
or aren't thankful for effort
or don't listen
or don't speak kindly
or react in anger
or use a rude tone of voice.

Those very things that we drill in our children over and over and over...

...the Lord is trying to drill into us.

Our children fail over and over, because we do. They have the same sin nature - ours.

Do we give up because living righteously seems so impossible? 

No.

We just keep taking our own advice. 

We love to hold our distraught children and assure them that the same God they sinned against by biting their brother or stealing gum from Mom, is the same God who longs to hear their prayers of confession and forgive their sins?  We love to tell them the good news that Jesus died for their sins and though their sins be as scarlett, they shall be as white as snow. We are thankful we can tell them they can boldly approach the throne of grace.

1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

We need to keep our behavior to a standard HIGHER than we expect of our children, and give them an example to look up to.

Because, as Mommies, we know that God can see us.

Even when we are in our houses.



As I begin a new week, I am reminding myself that God can see me.  I want to please Him as I serve Him as a wife and mother this week. Click over to Making Your Home Sing Monday to get inspiration from other moms who are trying to start their week off right.

Prove the Liar is a Liar

Job 1


9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”


12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”


So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

 

We need to bring the Lord glory when we suffer  to prove the Liar is a liar.  Satan's accusation against Job was that if his blessings were removed, he would no longer bless the Lord. 

But, we that have been bought with a price, serve Him for what He has done for us - removed our sins as far as the east is from the west, made us whiter than snow - not for what He has given us.

At our lowliest, lost estate He reached down and brought us up.  Our hearts should rejoice, first and foremost, in that.  Yes, all good things come from the Father above, but good things are on loan for our service to Him.  Our spouses, our children, our homes, our cars.....all really are His to do with as He pleases.  And if it pleased Him to bruise His only Begotton Son, truly sometimes it does please Him to bruise the ones that were adopted into the family as well.

 In those times, we must look to our earthly example, Job, and our Heavenly example, the Lord Jesus Christ, to submit to whatever the Lord allows, and prove to the wicked one that we are His and we will bring Him glory.  Let's prove the Liar a liar and bow our knees to the smiting Hand that belongs to our Father.

 Job has just lost all his wealth and all his children.  The blows came hard and fast, striking his sustenance and  those dearest to his heart.  His immediate reaction to the Potter's Hand?

 Verse 20, "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped."
 He worshipped.  He purposely and respectfully bowed in surrender and worshipped the One who had blessed him tremendously.  But, Job's response wasn't concerning the gifts, but the Giver.

Verse 21, "And he said:  Naked I came from my mother’s womb,  And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;  Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Oh, that we might bite our tongues and bow the knee when the trials and tribulations first come!  What a blessed lesson to learn, to not chafe against the yoke.  May our eyes always be on the Lord and His dealings with us, trusting and obeying His character and bringing Him the glory due His Holy Name.  May we be like Job.

Verse 22  "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."


What we feel we need to say to God about our present situations, we need to say in prayer and humility.  We cannot not sin against Him and prove the Liar true - that we bless the Lord only because of what He has given us in physical aspect.

In all this, may we sin not, nor charge God foolishly.

'Cuz the Liar is a liar, and we worship in Spirit and Truth.

The Toothless Wonder

An apple a day,

keeps the doctor away.

But losing a tooth a day,

keeps the apple away.

Beka just wanted to eat an apple.

She was missing many teeth and some remaining ones were loose...

...so she gnawed and gnawed and tried to break the skin.

Back to the right side.

Back to the left side.

It was a slightly awkward stage.

Not quite as cute as when the top two and bottom two were missing

at the same time,

but definately still cute enough

to be labeled "a keeper."

It's during these stages we call our kids

"The Toothless Wonder."

After seeing all those puncture wounds,

I did what any Mommy would do -

 -I started the apple for her.

Like a momma bird,

I just bit out a few chunks for her to eat,

and let her take it from there.

 

Kids go through a lot of different stages.

Some are easier than others to overcome.

Some stages are overcome with natural growth.

Some take discipline.

Some need more training.

All need more patience, love and encouragement

and a lot of prayer.

A Mommy's wisdom  is needed

to know when to step in

and take that first big bite.

It Was Just A Little Lump

My husband and I had just moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest with our six kids. In the midst of all the chaos my oldest daughter began suffering with daily headaches and I was plagued with a neck ache. It hurt to sleep, it hurt to stand, it hurt to sit with this nagging pain. We found a chiropractor in the new neighborhood and began going several times a week for adjustments.


In October 2004, after one of the treatments, I was massaging my relieved neck when I found it.

It was just a little lump.

Just a tiny little lump on the upper right side of my neck.




To read the rest of the story, please pop over to the newly launched blog Mothers Living With Cancer.

Although it is a community none of us planned on joining, ten moms with cancer have banded together to blog for  encouragement, friendship and support. We have various religions, geographical locations, educations, aspirations and dreams.

But, we all have cancer.

We all are moms.



Our blog states,

"Living with cancer is always a challenge.

Raising kids, while living with cancer,

is an even greater challenge.

Together, we can share our experiences, our concerns,

and our support.

Together, we are strong."

I would love to have you become a follower and support, encourage and pray us through our personal cancer journeys.  You all have been such an encouragement to me, I know you could bless others, as well.

Thank you for reading, thank you for praying, thank you for loving this mommy with cancer.

pray without ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to "pray without ceasing."

We're busy people. We have families.  We have jobs.  We have church committments. We all have houses to clean, meals to cook, laundry to wash, people to minister to.  We have our kids activities,  outings with friends, Bible studies, and errands to run.

Sometimes life is so crazy I have a hard time remembering things.

Simple, important things, like -
...people's names
...appointments
...simple names of objects
...names of my children
...where my purse is
...where my cellphone is
....where my brain is

I have a prayer list that I use to pray through during my morning Bible time, but during my busy days, I sometimes forget to pray for the things on my heart and that need serious  prayer.

During family devotions one evening, we discussed ways to help us remember how to pray for others.  As I thought about it during the week, I remembered other things people have taught me.

*Grace heard at Bible camp to pray for someone by associating an object with them.  She gave the
example of her Dad (that would be my husband) who always prays for friends Dave and Tim when he sees semis, because they are semi-drivers.  He prays for his brother, Brad,  when he sees a  Fed-Ex truck, because he works for Fed-Ex.

*Jen shared with  me how she prays about merging onto the Interstate.  With a car full of boys, she is carrying precious cargo and desires safety.  She shared this with me about a year before I moved to the huge metropolis where driving was a huge issue for me.  I hung onto this advice and when I needed it, it was there.

*Jean taught me to pray when I get in the car; she would pray even if we were going to the grocery store.

*Shannon shared with me a sermon snippit from a minister who said he prays everytime the phone rings, asking the Lord for the wisdom and the faith to handle the conversation that is about to occur.

*Scott will change his password to a name or situation that currently needs serious prayer so daily, when he logs in to his computer, he is reminded to pray.  He also told me when he sees somebody that reminds him of somebody he knows, he prays for that individual.

*Grace, a dear older woman, taught me to pray in the kitchen.  She keeps a list posted in her kitchen cupboard, so as she is cooking, she refers to it and prays as she works.  I need to make a list again!  I haven't done this for years.

*Tom and Julia, friends from college,  used to post prayer requests and memory verses in their shower with clear contact paper.


Romans 12:10-13, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;  not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;  distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.


How do you keep prayer requests on your heart and mind during busy days?  I would love to hear more tips.

And The Winner Is.....

Before I announce the winner, you have to know who the contestants are in the Contest to Cure Mindy's Cancer.

Contestant #1 - Treatment by radioactive iodine.  You deplete the patient's body of iodine through a nasty diet, then you make them ingest a capsule of iodine laced with radioactive material.  Ya' know, Chernobyl?  The iodine goes to iodine starved thyroid cells and kills them with their secret ingredient.

Contestant #2 - Treatment by surgery. Ya' know cut 'em open and hack it out.  The good ol' fashioned way doctors deal with things they don't know how to fix.  The appendix?  What's that for?  Let's just cut 'em out.  The tonsils?  Those crazy things, dig 'em out and throw 'em away.  Things with cancer?  Cut 'em out.  Who needs a thyroid anyway, it's only the master gland of the body, totally in control of all other systems.

(I found it a little ironic that the tree outside

the surgeon's window was missing a lot of limbs.)

A third possibility was a tie between Contestant #1 and #2  -  using both to try to stop the little tumors that just like to grow in my neck.

Our visit with the surgeon last week brought us some expected and some unexpected news.  I had printed out the next three months of my online calendar with all of our out-of-town company, school events, sports and travels. In my mind I had only a few windows of opportunity to fit in cancer treatment. I kinda' have this stubborn streak where I don't like to let cancer run my life.  It has to be in my life, but it can't take charge.


The expected news - the thyroid uptake body scan showed my body did not take in the radioactive iodine.  After being on that nasty low-iodine diet for 25 days and taking in a tracer dose of rai, it did not light up the tumors that were clearly evident in the ultrasound and the PET/CT scan.  As this has been the case for the past few years, it wasn't an option for treatment with cancer round #2, either.

The unexpected news - even though the process of elimination automatically brings you to Contestant #2, the surgeon did not recommend that at this time.

In his words, "You only have so many candles to burn...you can only have so many surgeries in a lifetime."

Because the neck is a tender area, and much scar tissue builds up with each surgery, each procedure increases the risk for more damage. I already have a lot of scar tissue and  some nerve damage.

He thought I should save my last few candles and light them when I really need them.


So the winner is - NOTHING!


Once you get over the shock that I have cancer and no treatment is going to take place at this time, be calmed with the words of my surgeon. 

He encouraged me to look at Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma as a chronic disease, not a typical cancer.

"You will die WITH it, not FROM it."  It isn't like other cancers, like breast, where you need to be aggressively removing and treating tumors.

He isn't overly concerned about further metastasizes into the lungs or bones, the areas common for spreading of this cancer, although this thought likes to creep into my mind on occasion.

I haven't had a follow-up with my endocrinologist, but we are feeling peace about the surgeon's recommendation.  I was dreading the side-effects of the treatment and my cancer has no symptoms at this time, so it is the easy choice for now.

However, there are three little cancerous tumors.  They can grow, they can spread.  If I think too far in the future, I could really panic.
I think at this time it is a mental, emotional and spiritual challenge.  Can I handle the fact that there is cancer in my body and treatment is not the best option for now?

As always, we turn to the Lord for peace and for direction.  We have continuously prayed for the doctors to have wisdom and for the right  things to be done for treatment. We have finally, after six years of cancer, found a team of doctors we feel we can trust and are comfortable with.  This is a huge answer to prayer for us.

When I was worrying about the possibility of the tumors growing or spreading, the Lord gave me this verse.

Matthew 6:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

My first obvious reaction with the surgeon's recommendation was relief.  I was not looking forward to the side-effects of the treatment(s), and knew it would take about a year of my life to go through the treatment and full recovery.  When treatment was eliminated, I told people, "I have my life back."  If I spend this time worrying and forcasting doom, I will be wasting the time the Lord has given me.

The verse prior to this one is well-known as well, I just didn't remember they were next to each other in the Scriptures.

33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Already, I am using the time the Lord has given me. I signed Rebekah up for softball, something we have been wanting to do but couldn't fit it in with my surgery and recovery last spring.

I started spring cleaning, something I haven't fully done for awhile.  I bought material to sew. The kids and I plan to learn to make homemade bread and grind our own wheat.

Above all, I pray.  I feel that the Lord has removed traditional treatment for a season, but we are left with prayer, a mighty weapon we have through the Lord Jesus Christ.

My goal is to have peace.

Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

May you seek and find peace from the Lord in all the trials you are facing.  Large or small, trials can bring us away from the Lord, or into His everlasting Arms. 

We just have to determine which direction we want to run.

Krispy Kreme King's Donut Recipe

My son, Jon, the Krispy Kreme King, gave me the recipe you all have been asking for.

I let my kids in the kitchen a lot.  They make a lot of messes.  Today I got slightly cranky, ok, really cranky, cleaning the stove and the fridge.  It took hours to clean inside, outside and underside.  YUCKY!

 But, they make a lot of good stuff.

Notice, nobody is asking for MY recipes? 

That's common around here.

I don't mind.

KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS

2 cups scalded milk

melt in:
1/2 cup butter

add:
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

allow to cool, then mix in:
2 Tablespoons of yeast
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4 eggs (beaten)
2/3 cup sugar (minus 1 tsp.)
3 cups of flour

mix together, dough will be sticky, then add:
4 cups of flour

knead for 5 minutes, then allow dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

roll out dough.  cut into shapes.

allow cut doughnuts to rise for 30-45 minutes.

heat oil to 365 degrees and fry 1-2 minutes on each side.

let them cool.

dip in glaze.



devour them until you're carrying  doughnut saddlebags around your hips.


(recipe from Recipe Zaar)