A Veritable Bath of Icing

I love a blank, white sheet of paper.

So many possibilities!

So much room for creativity!

The only thing better is when it's an edible:

Enjoy that whiteness now, because here comes some 

COLOR!!!

LOTS of it.

--Oh, and to those who may wonder, this is NOT Hope's birthday cake. Those are on a different camera, and I kinda forgot about them. 

Later. 

This cake was for a friend's daughter.--

Kept away the sugar monster with a tall cup of water...

Followed by the necessary cup of tea...

Now I know this looks strange...

And that it appears to be a smurf-sorta-creature with alien eyes...

but trust me, this was planned!!

Bubbles and polka dots.

Don't worry, if you're puzzled, you aren't alone. 

Oliver couldn't figure it out either.

TA DA!!

A Christmas version of THIS "spa lady" cake from sweetartbybecky.com.

I personally loved the cucumbers.

There are just some cakes I would never think to invent.

:)

Fuzz

Introducing the newest member of our family!!!

Oliver the Ragamuffin:

Excels at being all that an adorable fuzzball should be. 

The Perfect Wisdom of Our God

 

Another good one from the Gettys. :) 

The Perfect Wisdom of Our God

 

The perfect wisdom of our God,
Revealed in all the universe:
All things created by His hand,
And held together at His command.
He knows the mysteries of the seas,
The secrets of the stars are His;
He guides the planets on their way,
And turns the earth through another day.

The matchless wisdom of His ways
That mark the path of righteousness
His word a lamp unto my feet
His Spirit teaching and guiding me
And O the mystery of the cross
That God should suffer for the lost
So that the fool might shame the wise
And all the glory might go to Christ!

O grant me wisdom from above,
To pray for peace and cling to love,
And teach me humbly to receive
The sun and rain of Your sovereignty.
Each strand of sorrow has a place
Within this tapestry of grace;
So through the trials I choose to say:
“Your perfect will in Your perfect way.”

--Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness

My heart is filled with thankfulness

To Him who bore my pain.
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again.
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me with His light;
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow'r upon my heart.

 

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside.
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly.
Whose every promise is enough
For every step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

 

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who reigns above.
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace
Whose every thought is love.
For every day I have on earth
Is given by the King,
So I will give my life my all
To love and follow Him.

 

--Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

Word Searches

You have given me the shield of Your salvation, 
and Your gentleness made me great." 

(2 Samuel 22:36)

- - -

Isn't that a pleasant little verse? Just because I had some extra time this morning, I decided to drag out my Strong's Concordance and do some word searches. Sometimes my findings are just what I anticipate...a word means exactly what I think it does. Other times? Just WOW.

This was a "Just WOW" kinda morning, as I dug into this little verse.

 Had to share. :)

First of all, this Psalm of David is in two places. Recorded in Psalm 18 as well as in this chapter of 2 Samuel, are King David's pourings-forth of praise to God for deliverance from the hands of all his enemies. Talk of a shield in the verse above makes sense! And here David proclaims that HIS shield was God's salvation.

Shield, let's look up the word shield! 

SHIELD--"meginnah"

"a shield (i.e. a smaller one or buckler); 

figurative: a protector; 

also the scaly hide of the crocodile."

I really like that last one. :) God's salvation wrapped around David like scales on a crocodile, protecting him from harm--which is odd because you think of "salvation" as an outcome rather than a defense:

e.g. "I was in trouble, and then he saved me."

But no. David speaks of God's salvation AS his greatest protection--even before being literally delivered. God had promised him salvation, and David had believed God, strapped on the promise, 

and used it as his greatest defense against the enemies of doubt and fear. 

God's promise of salvation was as good as accomplished salvation.

- - -

The next little piece is what really blew me over, though. 

 "Your gentleness made me great."

THIS is what originally made me stop and do some extra word studies. What does God's gentleness have to do with David's greatness? It's just not what I would have expected to read there.

Are you ready for this?

The word "gentleness" is used only 4 times in the Bible. Used with a slightly different connotation each time:

--"Sweet reasonableness" (2 Cor. 10:1)

--Goodness expressed in action (Gal. 4:22)

--"Divine condescension", aka. clemency (Ps. 18:35)

aaaandd...

hey wait a minute. 

Isn't this 2 Samuel passage a re-quote of Psalm 18? Shouldn't it be the same word? I certainly thought so...but it's NOT. Are you ready for this last definition of "gentleness", as used in our nice little verse up there?

GENTLENESS--"anah"

affliction

painful treatment

discipline

Wh-wh-WHAT?!?!

Okay, who wrote this dictionary? Those sound like antonyms to me.Who even thought to translate that word "anah" into gentleness, in both the ESV and the KJV? I don't get it! Why can't it be:

"Your sweet reasonableness made me great"

or even

"Your goodness made me great"?

But even as I puzzled and puzzled--I realized it's actually really really effective. How humbling that David could be so submissive to what had the appearance of very harsh dealings--and be able to see beyond the pain to God's goodness, and call them "gentle". Affliction from the loving heart and active kindness of God that must sometimes appear harsh in order to produce the kind of heart He desires--one that submits to and even blesses the rod!

The making of a truly great man indeed!

- - - 
"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, 

and those who find it are few." (Matt. 7:14) 

Narrow and hard, not to discourage any from walking it, but because it must be to produce the steadfast, sinewy disciples Jesus wants. Few find it because few see God's good "gentleness" in suffering, and don't recognize it as the way to Life. Christ bore God's wrath...will we complain over the suffering that is gentleness by comparison? Jesus is the way, the truth and the life--and to walk with Him means to participate in both His joys and His suffering. Oh, how we must wrap ourselves up (like a crocodile in its scales!) with the promise of His final salvation! This isn't easy stuff.

But generations of the faithful tell us--
it is good.

- - - 

"The hill though high, I covet to ascend;

The difficulty will not me offend;

For I perceive the way to life lies here:

Come, pluck up heart, let's neither faint nor fear.

Better, though difficult, the right way to go,

Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe."
  
 --John Bunyan 

"Strive to choose, not that which is easiest, but that which is most difficult. Do not deprive your soul of the agility which it needs to mount up to Him."

 --St. John of the Cross

Followin'

"'If any man would come after me, let him deny himself.' The disciple must say to himself the same words Peter said of Christ when he denied Him: 'I know not this man.' Self-denial is never just a series of isolated acts of mortification or asceticism. It is not suicide, for there is an element of self-will even in that. To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self-denial can say is: 'He leads the way, keep close to Him.'"

 

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Childhood Reflections

As bright and shiny as I wish my track record were, I am here to tell you today that there have in fact been times in my life when I have embarrassed my mother.

The particular story brought to mind today is one that (for some odd reason, unknown to myself) frequently comes up in our household: The day--surely more than 20 years ago--when we were visiting the Pastor's family.  A fun-filled afternoon in their basement, playing with toys far more fascinating than my own, in the company of my little friends! I was, no doubt (?), a perfect angel the entire time.

Until it was time to go.

When called upon by dear Mother to clean up and get ready to go, there was just no way I was ready to give up my fun. I glowered up the stairs where my mother and the pastor's wife were standing, clenched my little fists, stamped my foot and hollered "NO!!!"

Yes, I do believe that is one day my Mom could have lived without.

- - -

Thanks to proper discipline and training (not to mention a few years to grow up) I can assure you my mother and I are on much better terms now than on that afternoon. In fact, I have given up foot-stomping altogether. When it comes to appropriate behavior, I at least get it right far more now than when I was an undisciplined, selfish little child. No longer do I shout "NO!!!" to my Mom when she asks me to do something that doesn't tickle my fancy. I've learned all those lessons, right?

Ummm.

Today I learned that something precious to me is to be outwardly taken away in the next few months. A friendship not dissolved, but made physically distant--in the midst of a huge project we were beginning to work on together, that had so many hopes in it for the future. Wanna know how my heart was tempted to respond?

"NO!!!"

"I don't LIKE this plan of yours!! I want things to stay how they have been!!"

Ah yes, that rebellious little child is yet residing in this 23-year-old. Still needing to be dealt with. But between the years of then and now, Someone called the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in my heart. I may not like or understand something my heavenly Father doles out for me...but I know who He is...

He is good.

He is wise.

And His promises is that:

"The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of Thine own hands." (Psalm 138:3, KJV)

All the things in my life, including dear friends and dear plans, are gifts--works of His hands. Not something that belongs to ME to do what I think best with. I must let go and trust that not only will He not forsake that work, He will perfect it according to His mercy!

Just as I couldn't know as a little girl why my Mother was needing to leave (nobody else could fix our dinner!), I can't know even now what work my Heavenly Daddy is doing. But just as I was trained to trust my Mom and to obey joyfully...so my Father is teaching me to trust Him. And to submit even to the things that hurt, or that I don't understand.

And in that sometimes painful submission?

So much peace.

Contentment

"Contentment is grounded in the confidence that the Lord has and will provide all of your needs."

--Timothy Witmer

Holy Bread

"Holy Bread"

ruminations of 1 Samuel 21:1-6 and

2 Timothy 2:21-22
- - -

Hungry, hunted

Alone, in need,

"O Priest! have you five loaves for me?"

"I have, but 'tis

Of holy make

For holy vessels--men stainless, meet."

"In glorious march,

Or journey plain,

For all my men 'tis one the same!

"Kept free of sin--

Pure and holy

Consecrated, serving wholly.

"So on this day

When need is great,

Much confession I need not make.

"These hands are clean,

My heart is right,

In holy bread, I may delight."

Priest gave the bread

And too, a sword

To David, chosen of the Lord.

- - -

And so to you

The offer stands

Of holy bread and sword in hand.

Not because

Of your own deeds--

It's not your work to cleansing leads.

But on the cross

The High Priest bled

And fed you with His holy Bread.

To clean the vessel:

Body, soul.

In word and deed, to make you whole.

So that you

Before Him be

Soldiers, holy, chosen, clean.

In glorious march,

Or journey plain,

Found in Him without a stain.

Defending truth

With Truth's own sword

No more in need, fed by the Word.

Ascribe

"Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;

worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness."

(Psalm 29:1-2)

~ ~ ~

One meaning of "ascribe" is to "give" or "write up" a character trait to someone. We might ascribe genius to Einstein, courage to Lassie, undiscriminating justice to Atticus Finch. But in man, these traits are all displayed or held with imperfection. The world can only ever measure man against man, and say one has more of a certain admirable quality than the others.

But with the Lord? Rather than He falling short of the traits we ascribe to Him, our words fall short of Him! They can never even begin to describe His character in its perfection. 

Though we're welcome to try. :)

However, there's a second meaning of the word "ascribe"! It is:

"to credit or assign, as to a cause or source".

For the Scriptures to ascribe something to God means that not only does He display these qualities, but that He is, in fact, the root source who causes these things to exist, and to be good. Yet for those of us whose eyes have been opened to His glory and beauty, we must become not only speakers, but living illustrations of the truth and beauty of His character, displaying in our lives those qualities which are a direct result of drawing Life from its source.

Is He the most glorious being in existence? 

Let us not be enthralled by anything or anyone less than He!

Is He strong? 

Let us throw the weight of our burdens upon Him alone and trust Him to carry us through the storms and troubles of life--full of confidence in His ability to deliver and keep us.

Is He holy? 

Let us live lives of holiness and godliness by His power and in His strength, because He is holy. 

Let's not stop at "ascribing" characteristics to God through Scripture, let us follow it with true worship--the living sacrifice of lives lived in accordance with who He is"in the splendor of His holiness" !

~ ~ ~ 

"And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts....

"For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 

(2 Cor. 3:3; 4:5-7)

For the Sugaraholic...

...yet another birthday cake! 

Though thankfully the last one in the back-to-back line-up of 4 family birthday, Tyler's cake is always takes a bit more thought than the others. Why? Unlike those sisters of mine who request a horse or teddy bear cake every year...Tyler's must be utterly unique! 

So behold, the 10th Tyler cake...

take a good look, and then come help me clean up if you please. 

:)

 Yes, isn't it amazing.

*cough*

 You knew better than to think that was it, didn't you? Oh my. Three more hours of work, my friends!

 First some construction work! After the previous cake adventure (!!), you'd better believe I used a lot of THESE:

And it worked...what do you know? Planning ahead and taking precautions against the gravitational pull pays off!

Take a pause here, and sing with me!!

"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 

Let the earth hear His voice! 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! 

Let the people rejoice!"

 Now for some sparkling water,

tall evergreens,

rich, spongy grass,

and colorful river stones!

 I won't rush you all...you know you want to explore!

Go over it!

Go under it!

 Hide behind it!

 Soak in the peaceful river that somehow flows off on either side of the cake without running out of water...

 By all means, read Isaiah 58:11!

  But enjoy the peace and quiet while you can...this deliciously rich and beautiful place won't remain undiscovered by others for long...

  Whatever else it may be...I'm always kinda glad the only goal is "unique". :)

Newton and Birthday Cake

 Time for a science lesson, kids!

 No worries. 

I'd tell you it'll be a piece of cake...but I don't do puns.

Seriously--this doesn't look so bad, does it?

I didn't think so either! I thought "Hey!! I can turn this lamb mold [below] into a HORSE!!!" Without a single thought in the direction of the laws of science.

 Because see? It was going great!!

 My mistake.

 The law of gravity states that: "every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportionate to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them."

Ummm...in other words, the earth is big, my cake is small. 

When improperly supported, said cake is attracted towards the earth in such a way that is extremely undesirable.

 I could only stand by and watch as a faulty theory of cake and frosting fell apart before my eyes.

 The price? 

At least 5 toothpicks to the head and a fork up the throat.

But you wouldn't have been able to tell if I hadn't told you, would you? :)

Have I Not Commanded You?

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9) 
-------

Almost everything that COULD have happened to intimidate Joshua had happened. He'd seen how rebellious the people were. His leader Moses had died, leaving leadership on his shoulders. The land was yet to be taken, and was filled with some pretty big, very bad folks. No doubt he was far from feeling full of strength and courage.

But look at the word God uses:

"Have I not commanded you?"

Joshua was not necessarily expected to feel strong or courageous. Nor are we. We are simply commanded by God to BE. Not to "feel", but to live based on what He tells us is true: "The Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Feelings of courage may or may not follow. Our insides might be shivering the whole time we're obeying. I don't know about YOU, but I prefer the appearance of victory before I feel brave or strong. But then...there's God, commanding it before we've had victory, and while the enemy is still barreling straight at us. The promise of His presence has to be enough for us to take action, whether we feel able or not, lest the battles never be fought and the land never taken.

Obedience to the Word and deliberate action based on the character of God (even when terrifying) promises prosperity and success in the things God has called us to do. It may not be what we would define as those things in a worldly sense. Christ's victory was in His own death. But it is not to earthly prosperity/success that we're called. We are to fight the good fight, keep the faith, and finish the race, even as our very life is being poured out. Through obedience, we can enjoy Christ's strength, courage and peace, knowing that whatever comes is God's victory, and that the One who is worthy will get the glory.
--------

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." 
(1 John 5:4)

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)

My God

Psalm 18:2

"The LORD is my rock 

and my fortress 

and my deliverer, 

my God, 

my rock, in whom I take refuge, 

my shield, 

and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold."

~~~~~

Blessed words as Dad and I prepare to fly across the world tomorrow.

And for my dear Mother who will be entrusting us to His care on a higher level than usual!

So thankful for an "all-present" God...who can be every place at once, with His eyes on each loved one, surrounding them with His angels, doing for each one what is best!

How wonderful that THIS is my God!

Texas: Wedding!

 So I only had time for a few family pictures during my cousin's wedding, but these people are so special to me!

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Will

 My cousin Andrew and his "short and sweet" fiance, Laura :)

 Cousin Danny and his sweet wife, Kelli

 Cousin Will and his new wife Andrea!

Had such a fun time re-connecting with so much family on this trip! Good times. 

Family twice over: by blood and by the Spirit. :) A blessing I don't take for granted!

And so ends the Texas adventure. On to the next one!