giving thanks

As we sat down to lunch today (leftover homemade pizza--our Thanksgiving meals are coming on Friday and Saturday!!), I asked everyone to write down at least five things they are thankful for, and then we each prayed and thanked God for His blessings. Here are our responses:

Josiah
gymnastics
Thanksgiving
stockings and Christmas trees
milk
Micah, Rachel, Mommy, and Daddy

Rachel
foxes
horses
my brothers
food
hamsters
Mom and Dad

Micah
God and His blessings
My family and friends
Food and clothes
Shelter
Entertainment

Leah
God's grace to me through Jesus Christ
a new pastor for our church
finding Feingold for Josiah and seeing who he really is because it works
health and life--that we didn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning last January!
family and friends

Eric
Jesus
Family
God's provision in work, food, and shelter
friends
sour cherry balls

We finished the meal with homemade cinnamon rolls and to be honest, I don't think anyone was missing turkey. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

what difference does Bible study make?

This month marks the 10-year-anniversary of joining a community Bible study. When I got the call from my leader that a space had opened for me to come, I was a young mom 7 months pregnant with my second child, and had my hands delightfully full with a toddler. I thought I knew pretty much everything I needed to know about God, about parenting, and about how life works.

I remember the way this Bible study was first explained in an introduction class, and thought for sure the woman leading it was talking to people who didn't take the Bible very seriously. What I didn't realize at that time is I was one of those people. God had some humbling to do in my soul, a humbling that did not come easily but was necessary if I truly wanted to know Him like I said. In fact, when I began to discover the holiness of the God of the Bible, I nearly gave up on Christianity altogether. This from someone who thought she took the Bible seriously!

Thankfully, the Lord pursues His own and kept me securely in His hands. I almost wept later when I read John 6: 67-69, "You do not want to leave, too, do you?" Jesus asked the twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." There is a preciousness in knowing my Savior that will never fade, no matter how long my life will last.

However, it is a love that is constantly fanned into a flame through the careful study of the word of God. This month I have been reflecting on this question: what difference has it made to spend 10 years in systematic Bible study, which has spanned such books as the Pentateuch, two of the gospels, all of the minor prophets, part of a major prophet, many of Paul's letters, and other books I have delved into on my own to study and share with others? What lessons have I learned along the way?

1. We really are no greater than our view of God.
A small view of God translates to small living--often for selfish pursuits. A high and lofty view of God gives way to a life that manifests Christ--for God's glory and the good of others.

2. The best way to study the Bible I have found is to first look for what it says and reveals about God, and then how He would have me respond.
The Bible is not primarily a rule book for life. It is primarily about God and His activity in human history culminating in the redemption of man. The more I understand God and His character, the more my rebellious heart is exposed to be dealt with before a holy God. And the more I see my need for a Savior, and my love for Jesus grows.

3. The Bible has one message, and every part rests on the whole.
It is impossible to understand the gospel without seeing God's wrath on sin. The Old Testament is fulfilled in the New. God is pictured both as a broken-hearted parent and a holy Judge. Everything points to Christ. We must contend with every part of Scripture to truly grasp the character of God and His purposes in dealing with man.

4. Daily prayer and Bible study is the key to growing in my relationship with God.
There are no shortcuts, and I need a steady intake of God's word and time with Him more than I need daily sustenance. In ten years of practice, it has become an unbreakable daily habit, but it is so much more than that. It is communion with God. How can intimacy grow without it?

5. The Holy Spirit is a person of the Godhead, and not an "it."
We can go through our Christian lives completely oblivious to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. However, if we miss His work, we miss much.

6. God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
When I started studying God's word, I was so shy I could hardly look a stranger in the eyes. I rarely started conversations and had no idea how to draw people out in them, nor did I care to do so. However, my weakness is the perfect showcase for God's strength to be manifest. Inexplicably, God has given me the privilege of sharing the gospel with complete strangers and see them come to Christ. He has also allowed me to shepherd around 200 women in the past 8 years through various Bible studies, and to witness lives being changed through belief in His word. Yet I feel like I am only beginning to learn the skills it takes to truly love, speak with, and disciple other believers. Truly nothing is impossible with God, and it is all about Him!! There is no greater joy than to be His instrument and see glimpses of His work.

7. The greatest threat to Satan's schemes is one saint on her knees.
Not because of what she is doing, but because God has chosen to work through prayer. He hears and answers. Christ triumphs over evil--is there any greater spectator sport than seeing answers to prayer?

8. Hell is a real place and I deserve to go there.
The more I know God, the more I see myself for who I really am. As the Holy Spirit makes me aware of my thoughts, attitudes, and actions, sin still has a hold. Truly I am an object of the grace of God.

9. The best gift I can give my spouse and children is my relationship with Jesus Christ.
They are not the center of my world--He is. I pray that He would be the center of their world as well.

10. Joy is not dependent on circumstances.
It is an attitude of my heart no matter the circumstance, because the Lord Jesus Himself IS my circumstance. My heart bows to Him no matter what may come, and I know that He can be trusted.

So much yet to learn, to forsake for my Savior, and I still don't take the Bible as seriously as I should...but I can't imagine where I would be without the Lord intervening in my life through the study of His word.

Luke 13:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

maiden voyage

It's now official--no more pretending. Happy fourth birthday, Josiah!!

The aircraft carrier was a hit. So much so, all three kids have been gathered around it for much of the day. It does look like a lot of fun, and I just might have to take my turn when they are all in bed!

Happy Birthday, Josiah!!!

Tomorrow is Josiah's birthday, but we had a family party today. He couldn't figure that out.

"I'm four, Mommy?" he asked after opening presents, after hearing the happy birthday song, and after eating cake.

"No, not yet, tomorrow," was always my reply.

"Today is my pretend birthday," he finally decided.

An aircraft carrier birthday cake...this was easy but fun to decorate!

Josiah could not keep his fingers off his cake.

Present time with some special cousins in the background. He was opening a present from Aunt Ghlea--airplanes and helicopters--which he absolutely loved. On the back of the box was an aircraft carrier.

Can you guess what we got him for his birthday? Stay tuned...he opens our gifts tomorrow.

sometimes answers only lead to more questions

The good news from our visit with a doctor in Chicago: Rachel does not have any medical conditions, autoimmune disorders, etc.

Now: we have to figure out how to deal with what we have. There are some things that are resolving, but some things we still have to work through, like joint pain that seems to have no medical basis but is still quite real to this 9-year-old.

Sounds like a place for prayerful dependence on the Lord. That is always the best place to be.

it's not what you think...

I've made a list, and checked it twice... for corn sweeteners and gluten-free, casein-free items, and I'm ready to go.

To Trader Joe's.

It will be nice to have a few more choices for things to eat around here! There are even key ingredients we've been doing without for four months. I'm hoping to find a few of those things, too.

For over a week now, Josiah's been reacting to something we can't quite figure out, so I'm remembering I need to be a bit cautious about new foods, too. (I think his reaction was to the non-organic milk we tried. Yes, we've switched back, but it took a few extra days for me to remember it was also in the homemade waffles he's been eating every morning for breakfast.)

I will go to sleep tonight dreaming of having hot dog buns again.

update on Micah and Rachel

Micah is scheduled for a little outpatient surgery on Dec. 2. He's had nosebleeds since he was a preschooler, and the ENT is going to cauterize his nose so that doesn't happen anymore. Hooray!! That will also allow some more treatment options for his sinus issues, and hopefully less sick days from here on out.

Rachel is going to a diagnostic clinic at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Nov. 19. Her pediatrician would like to make sure we're not missing something like an autoimmune disorder, and the Dr. there specializes in hard-to-diagnose cases.

We're praying for healing and answers, and thankful for the direction we've been given so far.

chicken noodle soup

This recipe is super-easy, delicious, and can be made gluten-free. Enjoy!

3 1/2 c. chicken broth (2 14 1/2 oz. cans)
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 c. broken (1 inch pieces) spaghetti or fettucini noodles (4 oz.)
1 c. cooked, diced chicken

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine broth, basil, oregano, poultry seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add noodles, cover and cook for 6-8 min. or until the noodles are soft. Discard bay leaf. Stir in chicekn and cook until chicken is heated through. Serves 4.

Optional: Add 1 c. mixed veggies with noodles, and/or use 2 c. cooked long grain rice in place of noodles.

celebrating the little things

Today I saw Josiah's social worker, and she asked how he was doing. "Awesome!" was my reply, and I meant it.

It used to be that getting Josiah to even hold my hand was a battle. I dreaded the parking lot when we ran errands.

Today, we took a long walk to enjoy the beautiful Indian summer weather. Tucked in my hand was that of my son, by his choice, and it rarely left. This is no longer unusual, but it sure is special to me every time it happens.

I'm even starting to forget I ever considered Josiah to be my strong-willed child.

Hard to believe a change in diet could do so much.

it can be done!

About 2 weeks ago, I bought all purpose gluten-free (GF) flour and had my husband stir up our first batch of GF cookies. They tasted great, but turned into a crumbly mess. At that point I was a bit noncommittal to this whole gluten-free idea, but after a couple of weeks on it, Rachel seems to be making less night time trips to the bathroom. With that realization, I feel energized to give this whole idea more time, money, and attention. I have asked some questions, looked at a kids GF cookbook from the library, bought more flours, and today attempted my first 2 GF recipes.

We do have priorities and at the top of the list is a gluten-free taco shell. Rachel turned her nose up at corn tortillas, so we gave this recipe a try.

Mock Flour Tortillas

Ingredients
1/2 c. brown rice flour

1/2 c. rice flour

1/2 c. potato starch flour

1/2 c. tapioca flour

1 T. xanthan gum

1 t. salt

3 T. shortening

3/4 c. hot water

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flours, xanthan gum, and salt. Add shortening and cut with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly like breadcrumbs. Add water and stir with a spoon. Form into a ball with hands. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Press with a tortilla press or rolling pin, with lightly oiled plastic wrap on both the top and bottom of the dough. Preheat ungreased griddle to about 400 degrees, if electric, or until a droplet of water dropped on the griddle crackles. Cook tortillas until bubbles form and the bottoms are lightly browned. Turn and cook the other side.

While time-consuming, this was an easy recipe to make. Most of my tortillas did not turn out very round, but the samples we tasted were very good. Taco night, here we come! The tortillas are waiting in the freezer.

Next we tried sugar cookies. These were awesome! I could not even tell they were gluten-free, and the kids gobbled them up.

These were leaving the plate faster than I could take a picture!

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/3 c. margarine

1/3 c. shortening

1 c. rice flour

1 t. xanthan gum

1 egg

3/4 c. sugar

1 T. milk substitute

2 t. baking powder

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. tapioca flour

1/2 c. potato starch flour

Directions

In a large bowl, beat margarine and shortening together until creamy and well combined. Add rice flour, xanthan gum, egg, milk, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add tapioca flour and potato starch flour. Beat until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 3 hours. Roll out cookies and use cookie cutters, or for round cookies, place by teaspoonful on cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 min. (depending on cookie size) until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Keep unused dough in the refrigerator until ready to use.

This is not an inexpensive way to eat, so I'm also trying to come up with creative ways to save money and use less carbs for Rachel in general. Thankfully, she loves meat, fruits, and veggies. Popcorn and baked potatoes are great for snacks, too. Still waiting to see if this will help her with joint pain, but if urinary tract issues are clearing up, I have to wonder...

Rachel takes the lead by a slim margin

This tops the charts for the sickest fall we have ever had! After both kids had over 20 missed school days last year (that was each!), I thought we were a shoo-in for a mild winter in terms of illness. At this point, haven't they had it all?

Now, only 50 days into a new school year, my kids have managed to make sure at least one of them is home with me at least half the time. Micah has missed 13 1/2 days, Rachel 14.

It's been a tough fall for Micah because of allergy issues which have led to sinus infections. He finally went to see an ENT and had a CT scan yesterday. We go back for the results next week. My hope is now that everything froze, he'll be healthier. But when you've been sick as often as he has over the past 2 years, it's time to get it checked out.

The news might be a little better for Rachel. After a year and a half of tummy troubles, we think we've narrowed the culprit down to milk. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be all milk, but since we aren't quite sure what she can and can't tolerate, she's staying away completely from now on. The bad news is, it takes at least 4 days for her to get over it every time, which knocked her out for most of this week. We do meet with the Dr. next week to go over all of Rachel's issues and see where to go from here.

Josiah, who won the award for sickest baby, is now our healthy boy. I have to be thankful for that silver lining!!

Now, for that mild winter we were hoping for...

Scratch that. I'd rather learn to take whatever God gives, and lean on Him through it. Sick kids or not, I'm finding that's the best place to be.

cute video

This link dedicated to Rachel, our resident fox-lover.

we tried so hard!

Rachel is sick this morning. But we finally have it narrowed down to milk intolerance. Lesson learned: no more milk chocolate bars!