Category: faith

I Have Tree Questions

Diana B.Leave a comment

I am quite fond of trees. I suppose you know that already because I mentioned it in this post.

We have four trees in our yard — which is entirely too few trees in my opinion — but at least enough to attract a few robins in the springtime.

Oh, please come back soon, little robins!

Last summer our next-door neighbors planted this little evergreen tree.

 

I don’t know how the neighbors feel about it, but their tree brings me great joy each day when I stare at it through the window at my kitchen sink. 

How can a tree can be alive and green and growing despite bitter winter weather?

That’s a hardy tree.

Interestingly, Jeremiah 17:7-8 says people who trust in God are like hardy trees, too. It says,

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Four years ago in my Christmas letter, I said that said rather than growing like weeds, I want my kids to grow like those hardy trees in Jeremiah 17:7-8. I want them to be rooted and established in the love of Christ so they don’t get blown over by a storm or wither in a drought.

How do you grow strong enough to endure hardship?

Trees need water and sunshine and nourishment; likewise, growing souls need living water, light from the Son, prayer and lots of nourishment and encouragement from God’s Word.

What kind of tree am I?

What have I been trusting in lately? 

Am I helping my children to trust in God?

How can I help root my children in love?

Am I serving up nourishment and encouragement when I speak to my kids? 

Or I am just speaking in logistics? “Go here. Eat this. Put that away. Change that. Finish this.”

What does God want these children to be?

Will they be able to withstand the trials of heat and drought?

Will I notice when they bear fruit?

Will one be like an orange tree and the other more like an oak?

Okay, those were some deep questions. And we may never figure out all of the answers this side of heaven, but I had to share them anyway.

On a lighter note, Laurel has been dancing to this fun “Tree Song” by Ken Medema in her creative movement dance class. It’s so catchy. Listen and I think you’ll see why we like it so much.

 

11 Questions on 1/11/11

Diana B.1 Comment

Last year I answered 10 random questions for 2010. I thought it’d be fun to go back and answer them again for this New Year. To change things up somewhat, I added a question and modified some of the original ones just a tad. And despite what WordPress’s clock might lead you to believe, I’m publishing this in the 11th hour of 1/11/11. 

1. A Verse (or three):
What are a few verses of Scripture that you are meditating on lately?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

“All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you may also have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

2. A Voice:
What are two quotes that have inspired you lately?

“When we speak, it must be with the realization that God has given our words significance. He has ordained for them to be important… God has given words value. So we must do all we can to assign words the importances Scripture gives them.” -Paul Tripp

“Every conversation we have with another person carries this marvelous potential of passing on the grace of God.” -Carolyn Mahaney

3. A Laugh:
What are two things that have made you laugh lately?

Yesterday the girls were playing with homemade paper dolls. Linnea had made a mermaid outfit for one of the dolls. She kept referring to the top as a bra. “It’s a bikini top,” I cringed as I corrected her. A few hours later when the girls were again playing with the dolls, I overheard Linnea correcting Laurel. “It’s not a bra! It’s a zucchini top!”

Also, Dave Barry’s review of 2010 totally cracked me up earlier this month. 

4. A Food:
Link us up to a favorite online recipe!

Shortcut Stroganoff – We had this last week for the first time in quite a while. It’s so yummy!

5. A Flick (or three):
What movie(s) do you recommend renting?

Oh, I can’t list just one, which surprises me because I’m not a big movie-goer. Letters to Juliet and Ramona and Beezus were my two favorite movies of 2010. PluggedIn Online offers helpful reviews of both movies. I also really loved the HBO movie Temple Grandin with Claire Danes (also available on DVD). Temple is quite an amazing person. I helped edit some of the articles she wrote for BEEF magazine when I was on staff there. Plus, I was thrilled to see issues of BEEF magazine show up in the movie! Yay for BEEF and yay for Temple!

6. A Family:
What’s your best home-building tip?

Don’t reserve special meals just for times when company is coming to dinner. Treat your family to the extra-special stuff, too! Lighting candles, lowering the lights, using the fancier napkins and playing soft background music during dinner makes everyone feel especially loved.

7. A Chore:
What’s your best house-cleaning secret?

Pretending to be Cinderella’s step mother allows you to (A) amuse your children (B) get away with speaking in grouchy voice while ordering your children to do housework and (C) share the house-cleaning workload with those small people you love. (If only it worked with my husband, too!)

8. A Shop:
Sell us on one of your favorite online stores!

I am totally digging Two Peas in a Bucket — mostly for their digitial scrapbooking kits and fonts. Love them! (Thanks for the tip, Kate!)

9. A Prayer:
What’s one thing that you’d like blog-readers to pray about today?

Pray that we would fix our small eyes on Jesus, that we would allow Him to transform us, and that we would look for the beauty of enormous things in 2011.

10. A Product:
What’s one great product that you’d like to tell the world about?

For Christmas I got a Savvycents wallet, and I LOVE it! Its super-nifty tab dividers make me feel so organized! Dave Ramsey may or may not agree that it’s fashionably frugal, but I’m willing to bet his wife would agree! (Thanks for the tip, Alice and Chris!)

11. A Song:

“What Love Really Means” by J.J. Heller inspires me to love my loved ones simply for who they are.

May God go with you in 2011!

Words I Can’t Edit

Diana B.Leave a comment

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
   sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

– Proverbs 16:24 NIV

As a writer and a former editor, I am very much a lover of words. I am enamoured with books, fonts, thesauruses, logos, notebooks, pens, libraries, storytellers and book stores all because of words.

Earlier this week I blogged about writing God’s words on the wall, and typically I post my own words on my Facebook “wall” once or twice a week. Those and the words I put down on paper are all thoughtfully and carefully shared. Chalk, pencil and keyboard make controlling these words rather simple. Erasers, back space keys and delete buttons serve me well.

The words that depart from my mouth, on the contrary, are much harder to edit and revise. Once they are said, no eraser can remove them. Perhaps that’s why I struggle with them. I can’t bully them into being eloquent. I can’t make them behave. I can’t make them sound right. Afterwards, I can only stew over them, fret about what else I should have said, or play editorial games with myself — like how I would have worded something differently if I could go back in time.

Especially with those people I love the most, I’ve been struggling with my spoken words lately. 

Deep down I want all my words to be sweet to the soul and healing to the bones, especially those spoken to my children and my husband. That’s a God-given desire I am sure.

But more often than I like, my feelings of frustration or annoyance or irritation season my words with bitterness instead of sweetness. I hear them and almost don’t recognize my own grumpy voice. As they echo in my head, I wonder, “Did I really just say that, like that? What’s wrong with me?” 

Operating in my own strength, I certainly can’t control my words and attitude. But the fruit of Spirit includes self-control. What’s more, I can ask God for specific help.

“Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.” -Psalm 141:3

As He promises in 1 Corinthians 10:13, God always provides “a way out” when I am tempted to speak unkind or harsh words. It’s my responsibility to act on that exit strategy, of course!

This week God has also led me to three excellent resources on the power of words and significance of using them wisely.

The first is Watching Our Words from the mother-daughter team of Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre at GirlTalk.

Secondly, in today’s broadcast over at Focus on the Family, speaker Florence Littauer shares the power of encouraging words. I listened and was encouraged!

And last, Steve Murphy at HOMESCHOOLING TODAY magazine chimed in with this article, World-Building by Words.

May these words encourage you also!

Word Up! It’s the Writing on the Wall.

Diana B.5 Comments

When I was a small child, I loved to play quietly, all alone in my bedroom. Sometimes I’d play there contentedly for hours. My mother used to say that’s when she would worry about me most. Evidently, sometimes I was “up to no good” all alone in that pink room at the end of the hall.

On one such occasion, I was up to no good with my crayons, happily drawing pictures and letters on my bedroom wall. I thought I was decorating it beautifully. But when Mama found me, she spoke in quite an irritated tone, with her hands perched squarely on her hips and her jaw set back in an underbite. “WHAT do you think you are doing? Why are you writing on the WALL?”

Though startled by her reaction, I replied quite confidently, “It’s my wall. I can do whatever I want to it.”

My confidence sounded a bit sassy, I suppose. That’s the day I learned that my bedroom actually belonged to my parents. They had paid good money for it, and while they generously allowed me to sleep there, those four walls actually did not belong to me. That’s also the day I learned that we only color on paper. It’s a good household rule, and it’s typically upheld in my current home, for which my husband and I are paying good money.

Those pictures and letters I wrote on the pink painted drywall of my childhood bedroom were erased somehow. My daddy probably had to paint over them, and I never did write on those walls again. But my urge to write on the wall was never erased. And thankfully, there seems to be an exception to this household rule. Sometimes it’s okay to write on the wall. At least, sort-of on the wall.

A few years ago for Mother’s Day, my husband and children painted three large canvases with black chalkboard paint and hung them up on our dining room wall. Now, to my great joy, I get to write on the wall!

And what’s more, I have the confidence of knowing that Scripture encourages such behavior!

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Okay, so a wall isn’t exactly a doorframe, but it’s the same idea. Writing on the dining room wall is a wonderful way to get God’s Word up in my house and uppermost in my thoughts. It’s really a tool for Scripture memorization. As I sit at the table with my children, three times a day, I can stare at those words just like I used to stare at the back of the cereal box. I study them. My daughters study them, too. Typically we have three verses up each week — the one I am memorizing and the two my children are memorizing for Sunday School. What a handy way to review these verses with them!

Of course we aren’t memorizing Scripture simply to please our Sunday School teachers. I want those words planted in my heart and their hearts for good because I firmly believe hiding God’s Word in my heart pays big benefits. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” And as Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

I love that Scripture memory allows me to pray God’s Word over my children, use His Word to fight the enemy’s lies so I can resist the temptation to sin against God, and meditate peacefully as I drift off to sleep.

What’s more, two of my earthly heroes have much to say about what we, as believers, are to do with the Word of God. First, Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience offers these three lovely posts on the significance of words and God’s Word: Living into a Good Story, Why Your Words Matter Most and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Bible Memorization.

Also, John Piper offers this post on the Why and How of memorizing Scripture. And he preaches in the video below on why we need to take up the Sword of the Spirit and diligently commit it to memory.

http://seg.sharethis.com/getSegment.php?purl=http%3A%2F%2Fstarlightwriter.wordpress.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D3448%26action%3Dedit%26message%3D1&jsref=&rnd=1327812647945

5 Star Links for New Year’s Eve

Diana B.Leave a comment

What do you do on the last day of 2010? Here are some words — ideas, thoughts and encouragement — to ponder for the coming year.

1. The Vision Forum’s How to End the Year gives three important things to do.

2. Wendy at Proverbs 31 Ministries offers this New Year’s Prayer devotional.

3. Consider joining one of these clubs at GirlTalk to help you grow in spiritual discipline in 2011.

4. Resolve to memorize Scripture in 2011 and find encouragement and accountability from the lovely Beth Moore.

5. Ask yourself, where will I live in 2011? Then join Ann Voskamp in The Only Place to Really Live.

Happy New Year!

10 People Who Inspired Me in 2010

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 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” – Hebrews 10:24 NIV

About a year ago, I shared in this post how friends of ours had spurred me on toward love and good deeds. As I reflect on 2010 and continue to thank God for their friendship and encouragement, I thought it’d be fun to share some other sources of encouragement and inspiration that might just inspire and encourage you, too.

1. My husband, Michael, always inspires me, and for so many reasons. In August I blogged about 15 reasons why I love Michael. I should also note that in the first three months of 2010 Michael lost 65 lbs., and he has kept them off! Yay! But of more significance than his weight loss are his spiritual gains in 2010. He has clearly grown closer to the Lord  — through prayer, Bible study, and Scripture memory — and that truly inspires me! What a blessing to have a strong spiritual leader in our household.

2. Our pastor, Steve Anderson, is a wonderful, encouraging pastor, as well as leader of the small group in which my husband and I participate. In November while he was serving as a short-term missionary in Nicaragua, I blogged here about how thankful I am for Pastor Steve and his lovely wife Sharon. They are truly wonderful people who bless us each week. When he returned from Nicaragua, Pastor Steve told us an amazing story about handing out baseballs and Beanie Babies to the children there. God performed a miracle that day! You can listen to him tell the story if you click here. It starts at 19 minutes into his sermon “Whose Stuff is All This Anyway?” By the way, you can find out more about short-term missions and adopt-a-pastor opportunities in Nicaragua by visiting Repairers of Broken Walls.

3. Andreas Custer is the Student Ministries Director at our church. He’s a great guy, and while our family doesn’t yet have any students in his ministry, his contagious passion for the Lord and inspiring manner spills over and touches our family regularly. After visiting Gettysburg and other Civil War battlefields this fall, Pastor Andi preached this really dynamite sermon about fixing our eyes on Jesus in the same way soldiers fix their eyes on their battle flag. The key Scripture passage he used was Philippians 3:7-21, and he explains that those who have their eyes set on earthly things, in contrast, are enemies of the cross.

4. Karen Wistrom at Family from Afar is a working mom with four children, two biological and two adopted, and is a child sponsorship coordinator for Children’s HopeChest. Besides raising money for all sorts of orphan-care projects, she traveled to Ethiopia this fall — for the third year in a row — to minister to orphans at Kind Hearts, where our sweet Dawit is. Thanks to Karen, we were able to put together this little care package for Dawit in August, and then a couple of months later Karen sent us pictures of Dawit receiving it. Yay, Karen! 

5. Samantha at Little Goody 2 Shoes is an 11-year-old who is selling bottle cap necklaces to raise money to buy shoes for orphans in Ethiopia. We bought a few of them that say Kind Hearts, and they are so adorable! To date, Samantha sold 314 necklaces and raised enough money to buy 103 pairs of new, custom-made shoes for orphans at Kind Hearts and two other orphanages in Ethiopia. Way to go, Samantha!

6. My own daughter, Linnea, at the ripe old age of 7, decided to donate 11 inches of her hair to Locks of Love in February. She was so brave and so passionate about giving to a little girl in need. That was a lot of hair!  

7. Author Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience is a farmer’s wife, homeschool mother of six, and an amazingly gifted writer. She faithfully uses her gift for God’s glory. I am so eager to read her latest book, 1,000 Gifts, which will be released Jan. 25.

8. Writer Holley Gerth at Heart to Heart with Holley is another writer whose words transcend into the spiritually inspiring realm. She also faithfully uses this gift to point others toward God.

9. My beautiful and sunshiny friend Alice, who recently moved to our little town, totally inspires me to be a better mom and to more intentionally play with my kids, especially while they are still willing to play with me! Alice is outgoing, full of life, and truly a fantastic cook and baker. All those traits come in handy as a stay-at-home mom to three handsome and energetic boys, all under the age of 5! While the girls and I were over for a visit last week, Alice gave us all flashlights, turned off the lights, and asked us to hunt for stuffed animals that had been hidden around her kitchen and living room. This “jungle-safari” version of hide-and-seek was great fun! Thanks for being so wonderful, Alice!

10. And last, but certainly not least, is Jodi, another beautiful friend of mine who inspires me to be a better mom and not neglect my creative side.  Jodi is a tea-drinking homeschool mom of five children, ranging in age from 1 to 13. She also teaches art, jazz, and tap dance lessons. My daughter is in one of Jodi’s art classes and adores every moment of it. If I were to write a biography about Jodi, I’d entitle it Everybody Loves Jodi. She is creative, encouraging, sweeter than pie, and everybody loves her! Last I checked she wasn’t sporting a red cape, but she is truly a super woman, empowered by God. 

Now I’m shutting my laptop and heading off to play Little People with my 5-year-old, so it’s your turn to share.

Who has inspired you in 2010? Do tell!

A Quiet, Simple Christmas Eve

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It’s Christmas Eve and I have time to blog because we have no family visiting this Christmas, and no relatives nearby expecting us for dinner.

Of course family isn’t really what we celebrate at Christmas anyway, as much as we dearly love all those grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins who have decided against braving a frightfully White Christmas in Minnesota.

No, Christmas is about Jesus, celebrating Him and worshiping Him. Sometimes it’s easier to remember that when Christmas is simpler, quieter, and settled comfortably in a picturesque, snowy white background.

Every year our little family of four worships at our church’s 4 p.m. Christmas Eve candlelight service. The girls love getting all dressed up for the evening. Most years my husband participates in the worship band, playing guitar and sometimes singing. This year he also played the mandolin. The music was beautiful. Reverently the service closed, as is tradition, with everyone singing “Silent Night” by candlelight. Seeing my children’s hopeful faces glowing in the candlelight, that’s my favorite gift.

Back at home, with the pot roast still simmering in the slow cooker, the girls endure posing for a few photos.

 And then they ask — for the 100th time today — if they can open presents. They typically exchange gifts with each other on Christmas Eve. Perhaps someday when they are grown and have families of their own, this tradition will continue.

At dinner we light all five of the Advent candles, and the girls eagerly lead our discussion the story of Jesus’s birth. Linnea wonders about all the many details the Bible doesn’t tell us in this ancient story. A deep thought for an 8-year-old.

Once the dinner dishes are cleared, I mix up some bread dough and tuck it under a towel, letting it rise. The girls like to think of the dough as sleeping when it is rising, so they tell it “goodnight” and blow it kisses. I tell the girls it’s almost time for me to tuck them into bed, too. Already sporting their matching striped pink pajamas, they beg for a story. Of course, I was already planning to read one. 

Tonight we read Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck. Written in 1956, the book was a gift given to us last year by my dear friend Kate. And what a lovely story it is about a son who gives his father, a dairy farmer, a gift they both treasure for years to come. Be sure to read this heartwarming tale!

Next my husband reads the story of Jesus’s birth from Luke 2 and Matthew 1. We talk about favorite Christmas memories and the best gifts ever given or received. Then we ponder together what it would have been like to see Jesus as a baby. My husband decides he’d want to see the angels that appeared to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord that shone around them. Five-year-old Laurel is still pretty sure she doesn’t want to have anything to do with angels. (Click here to read about her recent angel trauma.) Will we ever convince her that real angels help protect her?

After prayers comes bedtime for little girls, and then comes stocking stuffing, cinnamon roll rolling and gift arranging for us grown-ups. As the evening closes, the tree boasts way too many gifts beneath its boughs, and all through the house the smell of cinnamon rolls lingers. 

This is our quiet, simple Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

5 Star Links for Friday

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Below are links to some worthwhile words to ponder this weekend. Merry Christmas!

1. What Will We Do with Our Words? 

2. I Heart Big Hearts

3. 10 Things to Do on Christmas Morning When the Gifts are for Him

4. Parenting Children Who May Have Cursed God in Their Hearts 

5. The Stool

A Glorious Peace!

Diana B.Leave a comment
Merry Christmas!

The remarkably polished Minnesota Orchestra was performing “Evening Prayer” from Hansel and Gretel when some questionable subjects slowly crept into sight. The first one appeared on stage and then two more, and then another two began slinking mysteriously down each aisle of Orchestra Hall.

Only a moment earlier the conductor had cheerfully announced that we were in for a fantastic treat: puppets from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre in Minneapolis.

These larger-than-life puppets – some towering near 12-feet tall – masqueraded as angels. However, two of these so-called angels had deer heads, and two had squirrel heads. In their dream pantomime, they quietly kept watch over Hansel and Gretel as the children peacefully slept all alone, deep in the dangerous forest.

For our very sensitive 5-year-old Laurel, seeing these enormous puppet angels dwelling among us was certainly no fantastic treat. Rather than peace, they brought trouble. At first sight of them, Laurel shrieked in utter terror, hid under her coat, and then sobbed uncontrollably for the rest of the performance. Her daddy sat beside her, attempting to quiet and comfort her, but feeling trapped and helpless.

Fear Not!

The puppet angels truly terrified Laurel. And they did look exceptionally sinister.  They not only broke the rules by having animal heads and sneaking in unexpectedly from the back of the hall, but also they failed to announce what all Biblical angels know is the first order of business when appearing to humans. You already know the line: “Do not be afraid!” or “Fear not!”

Real-live angels must be quite terrifying, too. Remember the shepherds – those burly tough guys who weren’t afraid to take on any lions or bears that threatened their sheep? Even they were terrified by the angel that appeared to them and by the glory of the Lord shining around them that night when our Savior arrived.

The first angel the shepherds saw had a mission of utmost significance: to proclaim good news of great joy. Peace on earth! The Savior of the world had just been born!

One must be calm to be able to listen to such a meaningful message. That’s why the angel had to calm the shepherds with his words, “Do not be afraid.”

The spoken word is such a powerful thing – and even more so when it’s the Word of God. Clearly these words calmed the shepherds, as they soon heard the angel’s message of peace and then found the baby Jesus.

Imagine the rush of wings as a whole crowd of angels then came into sight, all praising God together and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

Find Peace

That said, Christmastime should be peaceful, right? Yet isn’t it hard to find peace when so many distractions masquerade as necessary to our Christmas celebration? Like giant puppets, distractions can trouble us and sometimes even make us want to hide under our coats.

But we have an ever-present heavenly Father – One who is always able to quiet us and comfort us in times of trouble. He is mighty to save!

We genuinely find peace when we, like the shepherds, fix our eyes on Jesus, gaze upon His divine excellence, and behold the glory of the Lord. His glory is shining all around us, too, when we look for it and let it transform us.

In the song “Everything Glorious,” David Crowder sings, “My eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things… From glory to glory, You [Jesus] are glorious. You make everything glorious, and I am Yours. What does that make me?”

We pray you embrace true peace this Christmas and throughout the new year, and we pray you join us in fixing our eyes upon Jesus and allowing Him to transform us. May our small eyes see the beauty of enormous things in 2011!

From glory to glory, He is glorious!

5 Star Links for Friday

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It’s a dull, cloudy November day. Outside everything looks brown or gray. I could easily feel gloomy today. Instead I choose joy because today, joy is reading stories to eager little ears. Joy is tickling someone I love with feather. Joy is an impromptu pizza party. Joy is sharing everyday moments with friends who brightly shine Jesus’s love.

Here are some little online blessings — 5 Star Links — that I want to share with you. I hope they bring you joy today.

1. A timely lesson for the upcoming season —  5 Keys to Christmas Joy

2. Encouraging words — a lovely printable: 10 Point Manifesto of Joy for Parents

3. Help in memorizing God’s Word: Verse Card Maker

4. Buttery, Flaky, Buttermilk Biscuits — I tried out this new recipe earlier this week, and it will make you sing. Not that you should ever sing with food in your mouth…

5. But if you do feel musically inclined, may I suggest humming this catchy song: Oh, Happiness by the David Crowder Band? I’m completely in love with it! The upbeat tune is a remedy for my Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Blessings on your Friday!