Hello! My Name Is...

As a child, I took in my surroundings, the circumstances and situations I faced and defined them or named them as best my mind could comprehend. This is normal. I have worked with a lot of children, including four of my own, and they all do this. They have to understand, have to explain what they are encountering. The problem is that my childs mind could not distinguish the truth from the lies.

Teacher yells and I think I must have done something wrong. Mommy cries and I think I must have hurt her in some way. Little brother gets hurt and I think I must be responsible. The truth is, teacher is caring for a sick parent and is stressed and sleep deprived. Mommy just learned an old friend has died. Little brother got a splinter from the piece of wood he was playing with. But my brain can not process all this information, so I take all this on myself. I allow these situations to label me, to name me.

I took on names like failure, not good enough, stupid. I allowed these to penetrate my being and identify me. Now the truth is, I am a precious child of God. He has made me perfectly with everything I need to accomplish His purpose for my life. Together we are victorious. He fills me with all wisdom. He is my "good-enoughness" and my perfection. Every situation and relationship are already covered and we are a blessing to everyone we encounter.

But it took years as an adult for me to come to face these truths, and honestly, some days I still believe the lies. I learned a technique for allying myself to change my mind's perception to help me better see reality and truth. I am using this concept with my children, hoping to prevent some of the lies from taking root. When mommy gets upset with a tiling project or a phone call or (fill in the blank), I take a deep breath and share the truth with the children. When they do something that upsets mommy (like breaking something special to mommy) I can share truth, yes mommy is upset and disappointed and needs to process the loss, but I love them and cherish them and nothing they do can ever change that.

I have recently found this song and absolutely love it! What ever the names we've taken on, we can choose truth! Hello, my name is Child of the One True King (formerly known as failure, loser, not good enough) but I've been saved, changed, set free!

These are the voices, these are the lies
And I have believed them, for the very last time
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, and I have been set free
“Amazing Grace” is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King

So, what are the names that you took on? Are they truths or lies? "...Old things that once defined you are totally removed from you. Whatever is given to Christ as a result of his keeping covenant with God is now true of you as well. You are one with Christ..."*



*(The Ultimate Journey Phase 3, Lesson 2, Group Affirmation #4)

Snow Adventures

We were so blessed this winter with lots of snow, enough for snowman building and sledding!

...oh, yes, and throwing snowballs at mommy!

Snow No More!

Hooray! The snow is finally melting and spring is, well, springing! To celebrate this change of seasons, I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from this winter, our first in the new house.

Snow blowing across the road.

Gorgeous sunrise! One of many viewed from my kitchen window.

A unique sunset through the blowing snow. (from the living room window)

Early sunrise while making hubby's breakfast one morning.

Icicles hanging off the roof. I love the fun angles they created.

Heavy frost on a branch.

Beautiful view of a neighboring farm. We had not been able to see this farm through the trees before the storm knocked so many of the trees down.

Picture a Month (April)

I am getting some energy back, as illness is leaving us and warmer weather is finally arriving! I am spending some of this energy on the house as cleaning took a back seat while we were down. But I am spending a lot of it on quilting again. I have two quilts I really wanted done by the end of the year before illness first hit our household. I now also have a quilt for my niece from her family blessing last month. I pulled the machine out this past week and have been blasting through these projects! So much fun!

April 2013

Quilting at my machine

Super Suppers - the J edition

The kids are excited to start a new Wednesday tradition...super suppers! Each week, one of the kids gets to select the menu, write up the grocery list and make dinner as much on their own as possible. This past week our oldest chose to make homemade pizza, including making the crust from scratch. He mixed and kneaded the dough, spread it on the pans, covered them in sauce, toppings and cheese and baked them. He did an exceptional job! Yummy!

Easter Joy

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! 
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! 
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! 
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Happy Easter from our family!