Diana B.

Counting to 1,000 (#718)

July 18, 2011July 18, 2011 Diana B.6 Comments

718. Linnea’s baptism — following her profession of faith a few years ago

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, Linnea.

We have heard you tell of your faith in Christ Jesus, and we have seen the love you have for Jesus and for others.

Faith and love spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven, and you have already heard about this faith and love in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

Since before you were born, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

And we continue to pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

-from Colossians 1:3-14 and 3:1-4

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5 Star Links: For the Church

July 15, 2011July 18, 2011 Diana B.Leave a comment

My oldest daughter is getting baptized this Sunday in the lake! Oh, what joy! As parents, my husband and I are thrilled beyond words — and of course she is pretty excited about it herself.

Our church traditionally does baptisms in the lake during the annual church picnic. I think that’s a grand way to baptize folks — and much more sensible than the way the church did it years back. According to our pastor, our church used to do baptisms in the lake year-round. Now I understand the theology of suffering for the sake of the gospel, but can you imagine a full-immersion baptism in February? In the lake? In Minnesota? Evidently they cut a hole in the ice and went right ahead as usual. Yikes!

Speaking of church, I think we’re over-due for a 5-Star Friday, and this time around, I’m presenting links with a church-related theme.

1. 5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church — The title alone hooks ya on this very convicting list by Thomas Weaver.

2. How Even Church Picnics Relate to God — Whether we eat or drink or picnic or whatever we do, we are to do it all for the glory of God, and in this article Pastor John Piper of Desiring God Ministries explains why church picnics matter for eternity.

3. Top 10 Reasons Not To Join a Church Plant — Church plants fascinate me; my husband and I have been members of two different “plant” churches, and this article by Justin Buzzard really nails it.

4. Young Children in Church — The “All is Loss” blog offers insight and grace for parents juggling small children in the pews.

5. A few months ago I purchased the Church History ABCs for my youngest daughter. We all enjoy reading this excellent introduction to key characters in church history. Augustine, Calvin and Vivaldi are our favorites so far. Here’s a great review of the book — and be sure to check out this site that has several activity sheets to go along with the book.

Counting to 1,000 (677-717)

July 14, 2011July 14, 2011 Diana B.Leave a comment

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.”

–Psalm 69:30

I’m a little later than usual in posting additions to my list of one thousand gifts. I’ve been off unwrapping gifts this week and last. Our family enjoyed a special trip to our “happy place” up north, delighting in God’s wondrous creation, boating, canoeing, hiking, enjoying each other, delighting in time with some extra special friends, and just being still for while.

Thanksgiving has been especially meaningful to me lately as we have been dealing with some scary health issues in our family. Putting down planks of gratitude day after day does indeed build the bridge of trust in God, Who is carrying us across this season of uncertainty. Praise Him for His all-sufficient grace, enduring love and faithfulness.

Today is bittersweet — it would have been my mother’s 65th birthday. How thankful I am to have had her the first 17 years of my life. So many of the things on my list remind me of her because I know she would have considered them gifts, too. (Number 677, #694, #698, #700, and #710, just to name a few.)

677. chocolate chip cookies right from the oven

678. July 4th sponge bomb wars in the backyard

679. red, white and blue

680. sliding wildly down their monstrous, home-engineered slip-and-slide

681. seeing church friends on the lake as we sail the evening away

682. how she finally enjoys the fireworks this year without shrieking

683. laughing with friends as the fireworks explode overhead

684. how the stars shine in the late summer sky — God’s stellar creation contrasting the short-lived, man-made fireworks

685. the sudden downpour followed by a huge rainbow stretching across the sky

686. their prayers for my sore pinky finger

687. that God forgives much (Luke 7:36-50)

688. lessons in forgiveness from Col. 3:13

688. the pinky finger that is healing because He is Jehovah Rophe, the Lord Who Heals and Restores

689. the wisdom of Proverbs 27:6

690. DeYoung’s series on the gift of friendship

691. quality time with godly friends who sharpen us

692. cucumber sandwiches

693. cheerful daisies scattered happily along the roadside

694. tall lupines adorning the roadside in majestic shades of blue and purple

695. cool, sweet sips of peach iced tea

696. Betty’s Pies and Beth’s Fudge

697. s’mores and smiles that welcome us to our happy place

698. a comfy chair for reading near the roaring fire in a quaint cabin on a lazy, rainy Saturday

699. a pontoon joy-ride at sunset and the mama loon with her two fuzzy, grey babies in tow

700. the sun’s last rays tickling the rippling water

701. smiley faces in happy places

702. the hard eucharisteo, the bull’s-eye rash on her face, signaling Lyme’s Disease

703. the antibiotics already prescribed and administered for 10 days, and the doctor who listens closely

704. kind, godly friends who pray with us for peace and healing

705. the faithful God in Whom we trust

706. lessons in inner peace, genuine humility and deep compassion

707. how the morning light glows behind the curtains

708. tall, tall trees that bravely reach the sky and generously scent the air

709. the testy turtle that tries to top the tree trunk but t’was not triumphant

710. her scrumptious blueberry cobbler

711. how they linger to witness the popcorn piling up like snow

712. a quiet spot where even the buzzing humming-bird pauses to be still

713. bottles overflowing with cool, refreshing spring water

714. the day that would have been my mama’s 65th birthday — 7/14

715. more prayers sent up on Linnea’s behalf

716. blue skies and sky-tinted waters

717. their courage to go and our courage to let them

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Counting to 1,000 (645-676)

July 4, 2011July 4, 2011 Diana B.7 Comments

“I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.”

–Psalm 35:18

Happy 4th of July! Let’s thank God today, not just for the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S., but also for our freedom from sin. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we are no longer captives to sin. What freedom!

Continuing my list of one thousand gifts this week — #645 is the best gift so far!

645. her meeting with the pastor about her upcoming baptism (Oh! What joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord!)

646. the two free books earned from Barnes & Noble — because they love to read

647. new friends at swim camp

648. a picnic lunch on the patio at the Arboretum

649. sunny, 70-degree weather

650. water lilies and tadpoles

651. how she longs for her sketchbook and colored pencils

652. catching the rose garden at peak bloom

653. girls in white dresses

654. her fascination with finding sticks

655. the smooth, curved edges of the oak leaves

656. the mighty oak that stretches its branches so far and wide, giving us shade

657. just breathing the sweet, intoxicating smell of the roses

658. roses, roses and more roses

659. little girls in the rose garden

660. a second, same-day trip to the rose garden, with camera and sketchbooks in tow

661. how wild they run in the lush grass

662. the sunlight that turns hair and grass and everything golden

662. watching and learning from sisterly love as it blooms

663. a short wait and a wise doctor at urgent care

664. medicine and insurance and the healing that comes from Jehovah Rophe, the Lord Who Heals and Restores

665. the little one who diligently prays for her big sister to recover

666. air conditioning on a hot, humid day

667. news of Annie’s birth

668. God’s faithful protection over him as he launches the sailboat

669. shelter from the severe wind storm that brings in cooler weather

670. how the clouds glow after the storm passes over

671. the first sail of the season

672. a 5-year-old’s prayer for wisdom

673. captivating clouds at sunset

674. lessons in contentment and God’s provision

675. reading John 4:7 after giving water and popsicles to the men working hard in the heat

676. hydrangeas blooming on the patio

Fireworks on the Lake

July 2, 2011July 2, 2011 Diana B.Leave a comment

This is where we’ll be watching the fireworks. Maybe we’ll see you on the lake, too? Happy 4th of July!

Of Stars and Camping Stripes

July 1, 2011July 1, 2011 Diana B.Leave a comment

Going camping this weekend? Here’s a fun re-post from the archives of last June… Happy 4th of July!

I have a confession: I’ve never been wild about camping in a tent.

Something about it just makes me feel like a Boy Scout. My older brother has always been waaaaay into camping, so perhaps that’s why I developed an aversion to it early in life. But nonetheless, I do have some fond memories of camping more times than I can count in the spacious backyard of my childhood home.

One time I camped out with my dear friend Aimee during a sleepover when we were about 12. That experience involved rain and some sort of catastrophic tent collapse around 4 a.m. Sadly, I was so traumatized or lacking in sleep that I blocked out the details. All I remember is laughing about it later until our sides nearly split open.

Like it or not, camping out is one of those outdoorsy things that everyone must do now and then. And recently I realized — in a small fit of mommy guilt — that neither of our daughters had ever spent the night in a tent!

Well, actually, there was that one time… When Linnea was 3, Michael tried a father-daughter backyard camp-out with her. She bounced and fidgeted in excitement for several hours, waaaaay past her usual bedtime. And then finally around 10:30 p.m., snug in her sleeping bag, Linnea was just drifting off to sleep when ka-boom! The fireworks began. It was the 4th of July. Seriously, whose grand idea was that?

Since we were here at home this Memorial Day weekend, I coaxed Michael into buying a six-man tent and pitching it for the girls to play in. They had a high old time indeed, pretending it was their house, playing with their rag dolls, and tracking in grass and other pieces of nature to litter the tent floor. You never saw two kids more eager for bedtime.

We have really long summer days here in the Frozen Tundra, so it’s still broad daylight at 9 p.m. Yet both jumped into their jammies around 7 p.m., hours before the sunset.

To cap off the evening, s’mores had been promised. Unfortunately, it was super windy that evening. Too windy for a fire in the backyard fire pit. At least, that was the conclusion of the former Boy Scout in our family. Since I had all the ingredients and I didn’t want unhappy campers, I decided to do the unthinkable.

I made s’mores in the microwave.

Strike that. I tried to make s’mores in the microwave.

If you haven’t tried this at home, please don’t. The graham cracker box is misleading. You really can’t make s’mores in the microwave. Sure the marshmallow puffs into its gooey, sticky loveliness, but the Hershey bar…

It wasn’t pretty. Laurel’s pajamas took the brunt of the s’more chocolate disaster. And our patio furniture also fell victim to the devastation of dripping chocolate loss.

By 7:30, my three happy campers were ready to call it a night. I kissed them all and headed inside, looking forward to a nice, peaceful evening alone in a quiet house, snuggled up with my laptop. Aaaah. Peace at last.

Some things are too good to be true.

I jumped when the phone rang. Laurel’s sweet little voice was on the other end, on her daddy’s cell phone, begging, “Mommy, will you please, please come outside with us and watch for the stars come out? We miss you.”

Who on earth could deny such a plea from their 4-year-old?

I did the right thing. I shut the laptop, changed clothes, and headed out to watch the stars.

Two hours and lots of giggles later, we were all still anxiously waiting for the first star to come out. Napless Laurel didn’t dare stop moving her mouth or else she’d fall soundly asleep. She talked, talked, talked. Full of endless questions. After a while, that just made Linnea giggle, giggle, giggle. Pretty soon, we were all giggling uncontrollably as Laurel tried so hard to stay awake for the first star.

Eventually the first star did come out. And then another. And another. By the fourth star, Laurel was sawing logs. It was well after 10 p.m. And that’s about when Michael informed me I couldn’t leave because I’d let in too many mosquitos. So I was trapped. In the tent. For the whole night.

At 4 a.m. I awoke, freezing and feeling rocks that I am certain arose underneath the sod just while I was laying there. Ugh! I sneaked back inside my quiet house and into my warm, soft bed. I left my three happy campers sleeping soundly.

Aaaah. Peace at last. For a few hours anyway.

UPDATE A YEAR LATER: Now we know: To make s’mores in the microwave, place marshmallow on graham cracker and microwave until the marshmallow puffs up. Remove promptly. Then, and only then, pile on the Hershey bar and second graham cracker. The hot marshmallow sort of melts the chocolate, but it doesn’t get drippy.

Counting to 1,000 (608-644)

June 27, 2011June 27, 2011 Diana B.1 Comment

“The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise.”

–Richard Sibbes

Likewise, Colossians 3:17 says: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

My list of one thousand gifts continues to grow — so much grace He gives us.

608. reassurance from Colossians 3:12 that I am chosen, set apart, and dearly loved

609. God’s kindness, which leads us to repentance

610. her beautiful fish painting, the Smurf-blue paint between her toes, and how she excitedly explains her truck painting

611. one-on-one time with a chatty and helpful 8-year-old

612. comfort given the crying 2-year-old after a scary fall in the kitchen

613. the friends who are such good, strong mamas, even on the hardest days

614. the goat’s milk soap that smells like geraniums

615. their backyard chipmunk trapping adventure

616. Tuesday morning playgroup at the park

617. holding baby Dorothy as she naps

618. the gentle pitter-pat of the rain

619. an unseasonably cool June day

620. how they delight in playing with the neighbor girls all afternoon

621. a re-organized drawer just for my tea party stuff

622. a little pie packed with fresh peaches

623. a cool glass of ice water

624. the dear, sweet friend who hosts a very lovely belated birthday breakfast for me

625. the Spiderman picture he drew just for me

626. the picnic table under the mighty oaks — the perfect spot for studying Colossians on a gorgeous June afternoon

627. how she diligently reads and marks up her Bible

628. her excitement about meeting with the pastor

629. three boxes of my grandpa’s antique cameras, which cross many miles and arrive safely on my doorstep

630. shouts of glee as little feet bounce happily on the bubble wrap

631. the brave little biker who ventures off without her training wheels

632. the cheering big sister and loving daddy, so eager to help and encourage her

633. the county sheriff’s deputy who pulls her over for wearing her helmet and gives her a free ice cream ticket

634. the vibrant green grass

635. marshmallows roasting over the fire pit

636. fascinating books about missionaries

637. God’s compassion on all He has made

638. how her long, thick hair shines in the sunlight

639. the daddy who loves his little girls, prays with them and tucks them into bed

640. watching her hold sleeping Dorothy on her shoulder

641. how her hands cover her ears as we drive through the carwash

642. a late-night phone call from my big brother

643. news of my nephew’s high school graduation — Hooray!

644. cabin plans

A Day in the Homeschool Life: 100th Day Project

June 24, 2011June 24, 2011 Diana B.1 Comment

In his prayer to God in Psalm 90, Moses says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Our little homeschool started numbering school days in September, and in March we celebrated my 5-year-old’s 100th day of pre-Kindergarten.

Laurel had been carefully counting and greatly anticipating special math projects and fun activities for the milestone day, and 8-year-old Linnea was happy to join in the celebration.

This year I have been counting to 1,000 myself (inspired by Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts), and that led me to add to our plans a Bible lesson in thankfulness and God’s love and faithfulness. Psalm 100, a favorite of mine, is a psalm for giving thanks and a great one to memorize.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

After the girls and I read Psalm 100 together, we talked about giving thanks to God and counting the ways He loves us. We discussed the Israelites en route to the Promised Land and how they had not given thanks to God and had not trusted Him, even though He had faithfully provided everything they needed. We discussed how grumbling and complaining displeases God and how thankfulness pleases Him.

We also talked about how long counting to 100 days took. We did count 100 days, but we couldn’t count forever. Forever is much, much longer than 100 days, and God’s love and faithfulness endures forever. Forever!

I gave the girls this special sheet to help them start counting and giving thanks for 100 gifts from God. (You can download the PDF to use with your children if you click here.)

In Colossians 3:15-17, Paul encourages us to be thankful and to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in our hearts, giving thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

We put this idea into practice by singing praises along with Maranatha Music’s “He Hath Made Me Glad” and Chris Tomlin’s “Forever” — the lyrics of both songs include strong ties to Psalm 100.

Here’s a downloadable version of Psalm 100 to help with memorization.

By the way, I’ve included more photos, lessons and downloadable materials from our 100th Day Project in these posts:

If It Isn’t Chocolate, Why Bother? #5

June 24, 2011June 24, 2011 Diana B.1 Comment

Nope. Those aren’t tortillas. Or “breakfast pinatas” as we usually call them around here. Those are chocolate crepes.

Now, before I get too far into this I must confess, I don’t think my mother ever served up chocolate crepes. This is the same crepe recipe she used, but she served hers with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, which makes a delightful breakfast. However, this is supposed to be a recipe series only about chocolate, and because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my mom would have treasured the chocolate version of this recipe — here we go!

Mama’s Crepes

1½ cups milk
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/8 tsp. salt

You’ll also need:

about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (My favorite brand is Ghirardelli; I slip them inside the warm crepes, and they melt so nicely.)

For the crepes, combine the ingredients (not the chocolate chips, mind you) and beat with a rotary beater until combined. Heat a lightly greased 6-inch skillet. Remove from heat. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of batter, lift and tilt skillet to spread the batter; return to heat. Lightly brown one side. Invert pan over a paper towel and remove crepe.

At this point, slip a few of those chocolate chips in the middle of the crepe and roll it up tight. Let it cool for a bit. Then top with whipped cream and sprinkle with powdered sugar and a smidge of cocoa.

In our house, we use both Redi-Whip and homemade whipped cream, depending on what’s in the refrigerator and how early in the day the crepe-making happens. Here’s the homemade whipped cream recipe I use.

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a chilled bowl, combine whipping cream, sugar and vanilla. Beat with chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Serve with pie. Makes 2 cups.

Also, if your garden is overflowing with berries, I’m sure these crepes would serve up nicely with them. We especially enjoy strawberry or raspberry crepes — don’t forget the whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Be sure to check out the other chocolate recipes in this series entitled “If It Isn’t Chocolate, Why Bother?”