Category: faith

Counting to 1,000 (221-250)

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“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” -2 Corinthians 4:15

 221. tulips springing forth, the color of sunshine

222. explorations with mosaics

223. swans in the neighborhood 

224. the bald eagle soaring high, reminding us that strength will rise when we wait upon the LORD (Isaiah 40:31)

225. how they rejoice with dancing and signing as they sing along to “Today is the Day”

226. swans flying overhead in pairs

227. Lincoln’s stories about Real Life

228. a Saturday afternoon date at DQ

229. hot fudge sauce

230. driving little boys and girls on the “art bus”

231. new dresses that arrive just in time to wear to the concert

232. sparrows and house finches gathering at the backyard feeder

233. the arrival of the newest, tiniest member at church – Micah

234. little girls in pretty party dresses, celebrating birthdays

235. the sweet friend who serves up the best-ever hot chocolate at Mocha Monkey

236. peeking into the windows of the original, 150-plus-year-old Scandia Church building

237. girlish giggles caused by their own April foolin’

238. more swans — flocking in the wet fields nearby

239. the first sight of the entire backyard in five months

240. little girls dancing the caterpillar dance and flying off as butterflies

241. feet sinking into mud as I tramp eagerly through the field

241. hundreds of trumpeter swans — finally, finally caught by my camera — as they gather in a farmer’s flooded field

242. the majestic trumpeting of the swans as they fly overhead

243. the feathers that remind me of the One who covers me (Psalm 91:4)

244. hands stretched high, reaching for Him

245. sweatshirt weather with sunshine, too!

246. clothes warmed by the dryer

247. aisle seats so little ones can dance in the aisles

248. youths that grow tired and weary and fall asleep in exhaustion (Isaiah 40:30)

249. the strong daddy who carries his sleeping daughter

250. the strong, Everlasting, Abba Father Who carries His trusting daughter  

Counting to 1,000 (192-220)

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“I will remember the deeds of the LORD… I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds.” -Psalm 77:11-12

192. the welcome stranger who sings that spring is here

193. playful robins in the freshly fallen March snow

194. the kind neighbor with a snowblower

195. pink fuzzy slippers

196. a bubble bath on a cold night

197. the successful surgery for a little friend

198. music that prepares our hearts for Easter – Happy Day! – forever we are changed

199. a fresh batch of library books

200. tiny pieces of paper scattered everywhere – because she’s creating

201. watch-them-grow moments

202. the timeless joy of making paper dolls

203. how she pays such close attention to the details

204. paper doll houses

206. puffy pink clouds at sunset

207. dreams  

208. the sound of his voice on the other end of the phone line

209. all-around sillyness while playing in the ball pit

210. busy hands preparing the house for his return

211. lemon meringue pie — a special surprise!

212. heartfelt homecoming hugs

213. how that  precious two-year-old says, “Pizza!” and “Eggs!” with so much enthusiasum

214. pom-poms swishing as sweet little girlfriends all cheer together in the living room

215. how she helps her daddy memorize Scripture

216. another afternoon spent sharing and hearing testimonies

214. homeschool moms helping each other

215. her twirls and tiptoes as she shows off her new dance costume

216. new towels for the bathroom

217. warming up another little hand in my coat pocket

218. spring jackets that fit just right

219. hearing her heart as we study God’s mighty acts in creation together

220. a good night’s sleep

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” -2 Corinthians 4:15

Counting to 1,000 (168-191)

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2 Corinthians 4:15 – “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”

168. starting a journey through all 66 books of the Bible

169. big hands showing little hands how to tie shoes

170. the smile that says, “I did it! I did it!”

171. the sweet friend who generously shares her sewing talents

172. the pink and purple reversible bag they made together

173. tulips and daffodils peeking through the soil

174. the bird chirping in the tree top

175. frosty white tree branches

176. hot water

177. finishing book one of 12

178. little girls in black peacoats swinging their Bible bags

179. the patio that emerges from its snowy cocoon

180. foggy mornings

181. rainboots

182. pink bicycles, pink scooters, pink helmets and pink cheeks

183. holding her hand while we sing

184. Sunday naps

185. robin sightings in the neighborhood

186. finishing a good book

187. walking with her to the mailbox

188. her excitement in finding a Lincoln Brewster CD in the mail

189. how she remembers and paints about smashing rotten tomatoes last fall in the neighbor’s garden

190. how she remembers and paints about butterfly meadow   

191. the sweet Papa who mails us hope for summer — a life-like butterfly in a jar!

John 1:16 – “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

100th Day Lesson in Thankfulness

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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 has been numbering days since September, and we recently 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.   

Since I have been counting to 1,000 myself (inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts), I decided to add a Bible lesson to our 100th day lesson plans. 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, this week I’ll be posting more photos and downloadable materials from our 100th day, so check back often!

In the meantime, check out these other posts on giving thanks to God.

Counting to 1,000 (139-167)

Diana B.1 Comment

Psalm 66:16 – “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”

139. the glorious sky all pink and purple at sunset

140. “smushy” chocolate oatmeal cookies in Mama’s old tupperware dish

141. a tearful afternoon spent sharing testimonies

142. meaningful walks with dear friends

143. my Grandma’s 91 years

144. health insurance

145. the 5-year-old who is a very cooperative patient

146. the 8-year-old who loves babies

147. gentle new moms with tiny babies

148. early morning snuggles

149. spring-like songs sung by birds

150. the encourager who inspires young artists

151. moments to ponder citizenship in heaven

152. peace that overcomes worry and anxious thoughts

153. the new Children’s Ministry director

154. muffins in the morning

155. the very literate 5-year-old reader of billboards and signs

156. little legs exhausted by gym class

157. a break from school work

158. Psalm 91:1, 4

159. bumping into homeschool friends at the library

160. books that tell of the Almighty

161. healing of those mysterious hives

162. the little ears that love to hear stories

163. the liveliness of sisters re-telling silly stories about “Ponies!”

164. the hope of spring

165. the 11-year-old preacher

166. smiling new faces in familiar old places

167. a gentle push outside my comfort zone

John 1:16 – “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

Encouraging Words

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It’s the second Wednesday of March, and that means it’s the first-ever Encouraging Words Wednesday!

Check out Renee Swope’s excellent devotional over at Proverbs 31 today, and then read all about Encouraging Words Wednesday on Renee’s blog.

Who can you encourage today?

Counting to 1,000 (116-138)

Diana B.Leave a comment

Note: I recently read the book One Thousand Gifts, and now I’m making my own list of one thousand gifts. As they accumulate, I post them on Mondays and keep the running list on this tab, titled All is Grace.

116. the bread man who appeared right along with my new breadmachine

117. storybook characters that help shape our character

118. soft tissues with lotion to keep runny little noses dry

119. rest found in unexpected places

120. hands that can fold and cut and create

121. overlapping circles of friends who encourage and inspire

122. little hands that help with ministry work

123. a steamy cup of ginger-peach tea on a cold afternoon

124. butter smoothed onto freshly baked honey-wheat bread

125. sisters’ made-up silly songs and dances

126. the trio playing “Your Love, O Lord”

127. her little hands strumming an electric guitar

128. her little hands dancing across the piano keys

129. their own little lists of 100 gifts

130. Psalm 100

131. the 100th Day celebration for pre-K

132. strawberry crepes

133. m&ms

134. special friends visiting church

135. young hands eager to serve

136. four Lincoln Brewster tickets!

137. a restful night that helps restore my health

138. the little lips so eager to tell others about Jesus

5 Star Links for Friday

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It’s 5-star Friday! Yay! Time for me to share some links to great online reading and/or listening.

1. Heart Condition (by Kasey Van Norman at Mentoring Moments) explains why the condition of our hearts is of greatest concern to the Lord.

2. Understanding the Unfathomable: God’s Unconditional Love (by Pastor Andreas Custer at Oakwood Community Church) reminds us how deeply God loves and encourages us to love one another.

3. The Most Needed Peer Pressure (by Wendy Alsup at Desiring God) urges us to love unconditionally when bearing with a loved one’s struggles.

4. 8 Tips for Talking to Your Kids about the Sermon (by Pastor Joe Holland) tells how little folks sitting in the pews retain more and understand more than you think they do and how we, as parents, can follow up with them after the sermon. Great tips!

5. Gaining Clarity on Women’s Roles Part 1 and Part 2 (by Leanne Popeko at CBMW) explains some key aspects of God’s lovely design for women in the church.

I pray that these words encourage and inspire you as much as they did me.

Also, may I ask a favor? I recently re-wrote my personal testimony as part of an assignment in the Bible study group I attend. The new version is much shorter and employs a very different format than the earlier version, which I posted years ago. If you would read it and perhaps leave a comment, I’d be ever so grateful to you. Just click here. Thank you!

“March on, my soul; be strong!” -Judges 5:21b

Counting to 1,000 (90-115)

Diana B.1 Comment

Note: I recently read the book One Thousand Gifts, and now I’m making my own list of one thousand gifts. As they accumulate, I post them on Mondays and keep the running list on this tab, titled All is Grace.

90. starry diamonds glittering in the newest blanket of snow

91. snow dolloped like whipped cream on the trees

92. a warm little hand to hold in mine

93. busy fingers dusted with flour

94. pie dough

95. a tiny pink rolling-pin and oilcloth aprons

96. my mama’s homemade chocolate pudding recipe

97. freckles sprinkled across her nose like cinnamon on toast

98. crusts in blue pottery pans, cooling and waiting to be filled

99. their joy in made-from-scratch chocolate pies

100. the mixer’s promising hum as it whirls

101. dollops of whipped cream, freckled with chocolate

102. the first delicious slice of her little pie

103. carnations

104. shadows tangled up in the trees

105. her first batch of brownies

106. lacy piles of powdered sugar, generously sprinkled with zeal

107. the “snow kitchen” they built in our front yard

108. a Friday evening shared with very dear friends

109. his strong hands strumming that acoustic guitar

110. how she fixes my “hilarious hair”

111. the cold little glove-less hand that gets warm sharing my coat pocket 

112. snowball fights in the winter sunshine

113. the little voice that sing-shouts “Do you know what’s in the Bible?” and “I don’t know Hebrew, but if you do, I’d like to meet you.”

114. the dishwasher loader who frets, “Gravity must be really strong today…”

115. bedtime kisses and hugs 

 

Joel Northrup is a Champion

Diana B.1 Comment

Merriam Webster’s definition of CHAMPION: (1) warrior, fighter; (2) a militant advocate or defender; (3) one that does battle for another’s rights or honor; (4) a winner of first prize or first place in competition; also, one who shows marked superiority

I usually avoid discussing highly controversial current events here on Starlight Writer, but sometimes an event merits digging into for spiritual reasons.

Last week in Iowa, Joel Northrup, a high school sophomore, defaulted his first round match in the state wrestling tournament. He had been matched with freshman Cassy Herkelman, a girl, and he defaulted because of his faith. He doesn’t think boys and girls should compete against each other in the sport.

As the mother of two girls, I completely agree with Northrup. Putting high school boys and girls in this situation is entirely inappropriate, especially in a contact sport like wrestling!

I commend Northrup for doing the right thing. He did wrestle that day, though not in the flesh. Let’s not overlook the internal struggle he must have fought between doing what was honorable and biblical and doing what would possibly bring him much fame and glory in the sports world. That’s a character-building match like none other.

While Northrup forfeited the chance to advance and possibly win the state wrestling championship, he is a champion no less. He fought for another’s rights and honor that day: Cassy’s. He looked not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4) That shows marked superiority.

Two articles on this topic really appalled me. The first was Wrestling with Conviction by Rick Reilly of ESPN, who claims the 112-lb. Cassy is “as dainty as a forklift” and doesn’t need anyone to protect her because she “relishes the violence.” I argue that Cassy most certainly does need someone protecting her, especially when her own father repeatedly calls her his “son.” What a broken world.

Likewise, in Argument for Boy-Girl Wrestling, Caryn Rivadeneira suggests Northrup’s decision has  more to do with his cultural view of girls than his faith. She makes a very weak attempt to relate the boy-girl wrestling situation to how Jesus interacted with women. This piece makes me seriously question the integrity of Christianity Today’s blog for women.

Fortunately, a few other articles buoyed my own position on this issue. The primary one was this John Piper article “Over My Dead Body, Son,” which I read two years ago during a similar boy-girl wrestling scenario here in Minnesota. Albert Mohler’s article “Boys Wrestling Girls: A Clash of Worlds and Worldviews” is another worthwhile read, as is Betsy Hart’s “Men are Meant to Protect Women and Children.”