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Contentment

23 Apr

Is it too much to ask for matching sheets?!

All I want is FIVE minutes to myself, without interruption.

I’d be happy with two vacations a year, that’s all!

I want just one night of uninterrupted sleep.

I wish my house was just a bit bigger so I could have more space to entertain.

If I were married and had children, I’d be able to serve the Lord much better.

Maybe you can relate to these thoughts? I don’t know why, but somehow in my attempts to be “eclectic” I always try to find different sheets, bedspreads, etc., thinking that I’ll come up with a unique combo and I fail. My room looks like I rummaged through three different eras to find what people were sleeping on and came up with some sort of mismatched combo of unsightly bed linens. Right about now you’re probably thinking, what does this have to do with contentment? Or my life in general? Stick with me! Well last week, I was cleaning my house and making my bed, to once again realize that my sheets don’t match. I decided that all I needed to do to feel better about this domestic failure was to head out to the mall, spend $100.00 and pick up a good, decent, eye-pleasing combo. Then, surely I’d feel better! Then, surely when people come over and glance in my room, they’ll think “How beautiful!”. Yes. This is what I thought. I don’t always think this much about sheets (I promise). I usually think about normal things like how much better of a mood I’d be in if I’d slept through the night, or how all I want is for my daughter to not throw her pancakes on the floor and finally learn to obey my directions in that regard! Sometimes I think of other normal things like how nice it would be if my whole house was new with no problems. The list goes on.

If we could reassess each day and think about the thoughts that pass through our heads, I bet we’d find that a lot of them centre on things we wish we had that we don’t. Whether it be something material, relational, or spiritual, a lot of time is spent thinking and talking about things we want to possess that aren’t in our grasp. Then we spend even more time planning ways we can get the thing that we want. Or we spend time upset about not being able to have it. Or we feel pity on ourselves that everyone else has it and we don’t. Maybe we’re looking to find contentment in things that are blatantly sinful, like pornography, drugs, or getting drunk. Whatever it is, there are numerous ways in which our minds tend to be drawn to seeking after something that we want to obtain.

I’m not talking about our need to find ways that we can improve, to set goals for ourselves, or the desire we have to want good things like obedience from our children, a clean house, or the ability to get up earlier and spend more time with the Lord. Even wanting things like a new pair of shoes or any other number of desires are things that are not bad or wrong in and of themselves. The issue is a one of contentment and idolatry. What are we looking to for satisfaction? Do we believe that if we only had ___ we’d be happy today? Or if ___  just changed, life would be better? If so, then we’re believing in a lie. None of these things will ever be able to satisfy us. Not only will they not be able to satisfy, but if they go unchecked, and continue to fester and take control over our hearts, we are building up little idols (or big ones), that are becoming a form of worship to us. We are seeking to find contentment by appealing to our desires and putting our efforts and into fulfilling them. Sure, a new pair of shoes feels great, and so does a clean house, but neither will bring lasting contentment. We were made to find fulfilment for our longings, but if we are looking down these bottomless wells, we are going to keep coming up dry. The good news is that there is one well we can go to to find satisfaction from, and it will never empty up.

Isaiah 55:1-2

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread, and your labour on that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

We need to eat and be filled. But every meal we take in is just a reminder that the last one wasn’t enough. And we’re still going to have to have another one in a few hours! If this isn’t a metaphor for our need to be filled, then I don’t know what is. In this passage in Isaiah, the prophet is speaking God’s word to the people of Israel. We read here the reality that exists for us all. Our money, our labours will come up as empty pursuits if in the end, all we are doing is looking for things other than God to satisfy us. What do I mean when I say that God satisfies us? It means that we can find real contentment in knowing him, through his word, and being in a right relationship to him because of the Gospel. And what kind of a deal are we getting here? Can you believe that it says that we don’t need money, and we don’t need to work to be satisfied? What is that! That is completely against the grain of our natural inclinations. We all live in a world where things operate based on the amount of money we have, and how hard we can work to get what we want. But God is offering us some kind of underserved grace in this passage. He says that we don’t have to have a cent to our name to find and eat what is good, to delight ourselves in rich food. Only, we must listen diligently to Him, and stop spending our hearts on things that won’t satisfy.

Ask yourself, what have I been discontent about lately? Are there ways that I am looking to fulfill myself on what won’t satisfy? Maybe take some time today before the Lord and just start by asking for forgiveness for believing that __ will be better than Him. Ask him for grace to be content in whatever situation you find yourself in. If the apostle Paul had any reason to complain after multiple beatings, imprisonment, and hardship, he didn’t. He had found the secret to contentment (and I don’t mean “The Secret”). He said “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in ever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”- Philippians 4:11-13 His contentment was found in Christ, who strengthened and fulfilled him. God give us the grace to show the world the same thing- that our longings are not in things that can be bought with money, and our hearts and not set on things below but on those above.

Now, if only I had bought an alphabet set that had names of animals I could pronounce, I’d be happy 😉

What I’m Reading

10 Apr

Happy end of the Easter long weekend to you all!

Over the past few years, since I became a wife and mom, I have found myself hungry for resources to use to help me learn about my new vocation. Any new employee needs to be taught and trained, and the same goes for being a wife and mother. I think it’s easy to assume that once you get married or have a baby things will just come naturally. But there’s really a lot we don’t know that we need to become knowledgable about! If foundationally we begin with the knowledge that God has a high calling for women, and places specific responsibilities on all of us, single, married, mothers, widows, then we must want to firstly go to his word to find guidance, and then to good resources that can help us grow and learn more about what God has called us to do in our specific role.

I thought I’d share a few links to relevant books, sites, and videos that have been a tremendous source of encouragement, challenge, and help to me over the past few years. This week I’ll begin with my library.

Devotionally:

The Valley of Vision: A collection of puritan prayers. This is a MUST for any believer, not just women. The language that these writers employ is so powerful, so biblical, and so encouraging. I use this to help me direct my thoughts in my prayers.

Morning & Evening by Charles Spurgeon: This daily devotional has a short passage for morning and evening, and if you’ve never read Spurgeon, again, this is a must. He is called the Prince of Preachers for a reason. His ability to show the way God’s word shines from so many angles is unbelievable and I find that reading these short pieces is such a blessing to my day.

On Marriage:

The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace: This was huge for me this past few months. There is a ton of helpful guidance and relevant scripture that Mrs. Peace uses to help wives understand God’s role for them. The chapters on the heart, submission, and the home were particularly helpful for me, but this is one book I would read and re-read. It’s written in a very accessible way and she uses helpful charts and images to convey ideas.

On the Home:

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edit Schaeffer:

Georgie bought this as a gift for me last year and it’s fantastic! If you start to read and feel like she’s suggesting things like making your own furniture, building a rocking horse for your child, or baking homemade rolls every week, and you start to feel a bit ill because it just seems so, I don’t know, archaic? Don’t quit! This book was the eye-opener that enabled me to start thinking grander thoughts about what the home could be, if you opened your mind and heart to all the possibilities. The suggestions and ideas are very practical and very creative. Maybe I’ll never get to accomplish all of them (don’t think I can manage the rocking horse), but even if I take some grains out of this one, it’ll have been worth it. There’s a call to all women in this book that calls us to revisit an art that really has been neglected.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper:

This little book is a quick read but one that will help inform the “why” behind celebrating and tradition. If the Gospel must inform every area of life, then we must think through why we celebrate things like Christmas and Easter and birthdays, and how those special occasions are to be used to point us to the Savior.

On Motherhood:

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic:

I think this was my favourite read of the year! If you haven’t read anything from the Femina girls, you need to. Rachel blogs along with her mother, sister, and sister-in-law, and I have been hugely blessed and taught from their writing. This little booklet is a collection of short pieces that are so insightful. Her giftedness at using metaphors and images to help her own children understand God’s truth, are so helpful to me as well. I found myself laughing out loud at her stories, and just being plain encouraged by all the ways which it is evident that God’s grace flows through the hands of struggling mothers and parents, who are not the wisest, or most organized, or most creative. He has a plan and purpose for mothers and embracing it wholeheartedly will bring God glory, will bring you joy, and will bless others.

Building Her House by Nancy Wilson: Nancy Wilson’s short collection of essays is excellent. Again, this is a book I’ll read and read again. I so appreciated all of the commonsensical wisdom. Chapters like “Mac & Cheese”, “The Postpartum Mother”, and “Mother-in-law” are examples of topics that she approaches from a fresh and very helpful perspective.


That’s enough reading material for now! Next week I’ll follow up with sermons I’ve been listening to that have also helped me in these areas. Have a great week and go on and buy some of those books and get reading! Any other suggestions of good reads? I’d love to hear what’s in your library.

A Birthday Prayer

26 Mar

If this isn’t a Psalm for reflection on one’s birthday, I don’t know what is!

Psalm 39: 4-8

O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! 

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is nothing as nothing before you.

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Surely a man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

If I can claim your attention for just one minute on my birthday, I’d love to share a few things. Birthdays and special days are occasions that give us a chance to remember. We think back over the year and focus on regrets, successes, ways that we want to improve. We pray that the coming year will be better than the last and that we’ll be able to make better use of our time, our resources, our lives. But within that, do we stop and think that like this Psalm says, “my lifetime is nothing before you [God]”? Do we really know “the measure of (our) my days”, or that “all mankind stands as a mere breath”? In a world that encourages us to focus on ourselves, to have “your best life now”, and “be all we can be”, how would a dose of wisdom from this Psalm put silence to thoughts like that? The fact is, if we’re honest with ourselves, we won’t be here for long. Maybe with all the talk of health, prosperity, better living, and whatnot, we feel like things are just going to keep on going forever, so we better enjoy the ride. But they won’t! Lest you think I’m being unnecessarily downcast on my birthday, hear me out for a bit longer. It matters that we live with feet grounded in reality. The reality that is found in the truth of God’s word, which says that life here does matter, but not because this is all that there is. We will one day pass from this life into eternity. There will be no more birthdays or special occasions for reflection, contemplation, and planning on how we can do better next time around. Just like the tag line for our blog says, “Only one life, ’twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

We have the chance to live here, in the light of then. We can stop, and realize that the word of God is true when it says that “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). If today, you feel alive because you have breath in your lungs, have you stopped to think who put it there? If today, you enjoy a meal, will you stop and think about who created it? If today, you’re for a moment amazed at something genius some person wrote or said, will you attribute that power to think to the God who made the human mind with all it’s complexity?

If a birthday is anything, it’s a moment to stop and take stock of who you really are. You, and I are just a breath. We will not be here in a hundred years (maybe much less!). And what will remain? Will you have come to believe before it is too late that true life (physically and spiritually) comes only in knowing Jesus as your Saviour? Will you have passed from death into life? Will you realize that although we are nothing, and we are like grass that withers and fades away, God has made you for a purpose and has given you today to come to Him and enjoy the hope that comes from knowing that life does truly matter and finds it’s meaning in Him?

My prayer is this. That we may all know Him, and in knowing Him know ourselves. Then, each of can live life, numbering our days and remembering that one day we will pass from this life to the next, and that what will matter won’t be the wealth we acquired, our personal accomplishments, whether or not we were popular, well-like by others, or successful in the eyes of the world. What will matter is that we would come to know Jesus as our only hope. Then, if He grants us one more day, one more year, we would seek to have a heart of wisdom that truly numbers it’s days and can say with the Psalmist, “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.” That will be peace and joy enough to go on with direction and purpose, and live in a way that truly matters and truly realizes that although we’re a breath in this life, He is our hope and we wait anxiously for the day that we’ll be with Him. I want to be ready for that. Do you?

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A Little Insight

19 Mar

One thing I’ve really enjoyed at past Resolved conferences is the Q&A’s. For those of you who don’t know what Resolved is, click on the link. NOW. And maybe come join us this June? Actually, I am still a maybe but I sure hope that it works out.

If you read, listen to, or have benefitted in some way from the ministries of some of the greatest reformed preachers of our day, then listening to these men and their families share a little bit of their personal lives is so encouraging. For me, hearing people like John MacArthur talk about his struggles and difficulties in the ministry, for some reason serves as a great encouragement. I think it’s easy to assume that people who have very public ministries, and are such strong examples to other believers, don’t go through regular pains and suffer through difficulty. This makes them all the more personable and brings a sense of fellowship and commonality that might be missed otherwise.

I watched this clip of the Q&A at this year’s Shepherd’s Conference and Phil Johnson did a wonderful job of asking some very relevant and insightful questions. Take a look!

And finally, I stumbled upon this great interview with Mary & Katie Mohler, Al Mohler’s wife and daughter. This is a great listen for women more specifically. Especially if you happen to be married to someone in the ministry, or are just interested in learning more about this family, this Q&A was quite enjoyable.

Happy Monday!

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One more surprise guest?

16 Mar

Hello! I’m kind of cheating because I’m not supposed to post today, but it wasn’t fair that all the other ladies got intros and not our next guest who will be joining us to make the team a group of five!

I’ll let her do her thing but I just wanted to say that my good friend Dina is someone who I love and respect and have been so blessed to get to know over the past few years. We have had the pleasure of serving alongside one another at Grace Chapel, seeing to it that wedding decor gets set up and taken down (thanks D!) at ungodly hours of the night, sharing lots of laughs, and just doing all sorts of fun things. But Dina is not just fun- she’s deep. Hence “Digging Deep with Dina”, which I hope she’ll explain at a later time 😉 Seriously though, she’s got a lot of wise advice to share, lots of funny stories, and is just a great friend who loves the Lord, and loves the people He’s placed in her life. I hope you come to love her just as much as I do!

Welcome to the team-blogging world my friend!

Pragmatism vs. Principles

12 Mar

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 2:12 

Pragmatism vs. Principles

 –       We’re leaving the church because there is no children’s program

–       Teens won’t listen to “just” the Bible being preached- they need stories and personal anecdotes to make it relevant!

–       We don’t have very much money coming in these days so we just won’t give any offering

–       How could we not both work? There’s no way we can give up my benefits or extra income. This city is just too expensive to live in to even consider giving up one job to stay home with the kids

–       I know how our money should be spent so even if my husband [wife] disagrees with me, I’ll just keep pushing until I get my way- after all, it’s for our family’s well being!

–       If I confront my friend about that issue, I’m worried she’ll be upset with me so it’s best just to avoid it rather than stir things up.

–       As long as I’m being a good example to my friends in the workplace, it’s not that big of a deal if I don’t share the Gospel with my words. I wouldn’t want to make things awkward. After all, didn’t someone once say “Preach Christ, and if you must, use words”?

–       I can’t make it to evening service, AND prayer meeting every week. What do they expect of me, I have a baby and it’s hard to get out of the house with her or find someone to watch her for me!

I have to include a disclaimer before I try to tease out this thought I’ve been wrestling with. Every point above (except for maybe one or two), are things that I have personally struggled with. Personally as in, “I’m the one dealing with the issues”, not “I’m the one looking at other people dealing with the issues”. Although, I do think these are common things that people generally struggle with.  And the list isn’t exhaustive; I’ve just tried to come up with a few that happen to have been issues over the past few years. So what is the problem with answering questions in the way I’ve suggested above? The problem begins with the types of questions we’re asking, and the place we’re going to find the answers.

That word pragmatism has a positive connotation that’s usually associated with it. If a person is pragmatic, they’re looking at ways to practically make decisions with the information they’re given. So if a principle is by definition a “basic truth, law, or assumption” or “A rule or standard, especially of good behavior”, then how do we practically make decisions based on principles and avoid going down the road of being pragmatic at the expense of our principles? We need to go backwards a few steps in our thought process to get to the heart of the problem.

Our first response isn’t always the best or right response. A good friend of mine named Amy 😉 once told me that the first thoughts we think in any given situation are often wrong and if we stopped to think about why we want to do a particular thing, or why we’re thinking a particular thought, we’d see that we are not thinking rightly. Every day we are faced with choices to make. What should I eat for breakfast? What car should I buy? Where should I go on vacation? How should I spend my paycheck? Probably the majority of our choices are ones that are fairly inconsequential, but there are many decisions we need to make that will have serious affect on our lives and the lives of those around us.

The problem begins when we don’t want to think things through or when we want to think them through primarily based on the way our situation appears, rather than what God’s word says. By default, we assume that our thoughts are the right thoughts or our ways are the right ways. But isn’t that the way sin is? Just like in the garden when Adam and Eve were presented with choices to make, they believed that choosing their way seemed best, in spite of what God had instructed them. Rather than thinking of His word to them first, and believing it and applying it to their situation, they believed themselves. That verse I started off with from Romans should be a sort of compass that helps us think about the direction we need to go everyday, every moment, with all our thoughts. If we start out on the basis that our minds need to be renewed because they don’t think the right way and they don’t understand everything clearly, then we will have a starting point at which we begin to make choices. Rather than decide to do something because “it works” or “everyone else does it that way” or “I can’t think of any other way that this could be done”, we would begin by saying, “What does God’s word say?” It is easy as Christians to say that we believe God’s word is perfect, God’s word is true, and God’s word is sufficient. But, I think that we don’t always live that way in the choices we make. Our culture promotes and encourages self-reliance and conformity to its ways. And avoiding conformity to the world isn’t just adhering to clearly marked out dos and like “do not get drunk on wine”. There are many subtler, and maybe even more dangerous ways that we begin to make way for sinfulness when we don’t realize that the word applies to every situation and decision. There are choices we need to make that require wisdom and discernment, and when we are unwilling to think through the impact, consequences, or implications of our choices and what they say about what we believe, then we’re walking a slippery slope downwards to disobedience. Just because a choice we have to make doesn’t scream “WRONG!” or “SIN!”, it doesn’t mean that it might not stem from a wrong understanding of scripture, or lead to a bad outcome.

If we begin by believing that the Bible teaches that our hearts are deceitful and wicked, and that in order to walk pleasing to God, we need to know what His will is, and so we must go back to the book. We must everyday be asking ourselves the same questions. Will my decision in this situation bring God the most glory? Am I doing what He wants according to His will, or according to my way of making choices? His word is what will ultimately transform our thinking and enable it to be pleasing to Him, and bring about the most good and blessing in our lives.

The story of King Uzziah in 2 Kings 14 is a telling one. The king had experienced numerous military successes. He was loved by the people and had built up for himself a strong kingdom. And then, one day he decided that he would act as a priest and enter the temple to offer sacrifices. This was a proud, arrogant assumption of a role that God had clearly commanded no one except the priests to fulfill. But he decided that his way was best. I’m sure he had lots of reasons to justify that choice. Maybe he thought that God had shown him favor in the past, or that he had earned the right. Either way, he decided to do things his own way, rather than God’s, and he was struck immediately with leprosy. The point of this passage is to illustrate that God’s word is given for us to obey, not for us to choose which points suit our circumstances and situations. And if he’s called us to do something, He most certainly will enable us to do it. This doesn’t diminish the fact that He is gracious and forgiving to us in spite of our bad choices, but it does highlight that we need to obey and we need to do it to honor Him, to show that we believe and trust His word, and to do it for our good. This also serves to remind us that we need to be wary of pride and confidence in our own understanding of things- like I said, often our first response (or even our second or third!), isn’t the one that would be most honoring and glorifying to God.

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind”- it’s an ongoing, continuous, life-long command and process; one that we need to be consciously engaged in, not passively assuming that it’s already happened. Why? So that we can know what God’s will is, remembering that it is GOOD, it is PERFECT, and it is PLEASING. And that’s what will enable us to then make the right choices and keep us from conformity.

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The Four A.M. Frenzy

9 Mar

So is it just me or do things become waaaayy more serious after midnight? It’s like a steep hill down with your thoughts and musings. The outlook is grim. Today was just a mess, and well tomorrow, let’s not go there. I can already see the problems piling up like that mound of laundry that sits, eyeing me in the corner of my bedroom. I’ve been having these after-midnight moments over the past few weeks where life just feels a tinge hopeless, and when I think about the hopelessness, I begin to despair.

Take for example the other night as Serge and I were going to bed. He’d had a particularly long day and was just wiped out. I could see him fading quickly, but thought it would be the right time to put on my sad/pensive face so that he could lovingly ask me what was the matter. And he did. Cue the weepy violins and there I went.

Serge: “What’s wrong, you look sad.”

Me: “I am.”

Serge: “Why, what happened?”

Me: “I don’t know, I’m just feeling down.”

Serge: “Why?”

Me: (In my head I’m thinking, “Don’t you just know? Can’t you understand all the things that I’ve gone through today?”) “I just feel sad that I have been busy during the day. I’m not spending enough focused time with Emma. It’s like, I am cleaning, and cooking, and then I have to catch up on business emails, and, it’s just so bad. Like, I haven’t even gotten to do important things with her, like finger-painting, or go to the petting zoo.” (I’m telling you, tragedies are happening in households across the nation, every night after midnight! It’s not just me, I swear!!)

Serge: “What? What are you talking about?”

Me: “I don’t know, I just feel so bad, like I want to do all these things and I don’t have time!” (Then the thoughts start coming about how I am behind on Emma’s developmental milestones, and how now that I’ve not done the fingerprinting she might be a little behind in a few years when she starts kindergarten)

Serge: “I don’t know, maybe you just need to manage your time better.”

Me: “What? What? I am managing my time, I just don’t have enough!!!” (then, the anger starts mounting and I’m thinking to myself “How can he say that, he’s sooo unaware of all the things I have to do in the day. We’re going to have to talk about this too. This is a new issue that we’ll have to deal with before the night is over.”)

Me again: “Serge, I feel like, if we’re so busy and we don’t spend enough time together as a family, then we are just going to be such a bad example to Emmy. Like what is the point of having a family if we’re not being a “real” one?” (I don’t know where I got that line “a real one”. Things get really deep after midnight)

Me again: Some more talking, and then some crying, and then a bit more talking, and then a pause…. “Serge?”

Serge: Silence. Deafening silence. And a little snore.

Me: Oh my gosh… How could he have done this to me? (some more crying for about a minute, and then, I fell into a deep sleep)

K, so I’m replaying this conversation for you to illustrate how awful things can get when you’re tired. You know the kind of tired I’m talking about. You had a million things to do during the day, many of which didn’t get done, and now you’re going to bed thinking about all the ways in which you’ve failed individually, or as a family. You’re kids are dead. They’ve just got no hope now that you haven’t introduced them to the wonders of farm animals and free-play with paint.

It’s bad isn’t it? My point in all this is just to say that, often times we make major issues out of minor things. Things that, if we took time, when we were well-rested to assess and think through, we’d realize weren’t that big of a deal. And even if they were big deals, we’d have a little more wisdom and energy to figure them out. Four a.m., or any time when you’re tired for that matter, is not a good time to try to sort out life lessons, reorganize family goal setting, assess the state of your marriage, or feel guilty about not getting to the petting zoo. Thank God for rest and the way it recharges your batteries. It isn’t a good idea to do the heavy mental lifting when you have no gas in the tank. Fill her up and then consider what to do with the issues that arise. You’ll probably realize that most of the things that were disasters looming on the forefront are things that can be dismissed as really not that important. Or if they are important, you can deal with them in a reasonable way, not in a tragic, self-pitying, apocalyptic way.

Thank God for the weekend, and especially thank Him for Sunday! That one day of the week, that we are called to rest. We rest because it is, of many things, a practice for the day when we will be with the Lord and have true rest in His presence. With that in mind, I hope you get some sleep. Stop panicking about whatever you’re panicking about and try to sort things out in good time.

Oh ya, and make this pie. It’s really good and REALLY easy. Thank you to my cousins’ grandma Melva, we can all enjoy a slice of Trackside Pie (don’t ask about the name, I don’t know why it’s called that!) with very little preparation! I’m excited for you if you can’t tell by all the exclaiming. I’m not kidding, you don’t need to make crust and the ingredients literally involve a little measuring and mixing, nothing fancy.

Until Monday,

Maja

Welcome Back- Day 1!

5 Mar

Well hello to everyone who came back in anticipation of the Monday surprise!

I have the pleasure of being the first post of the week and giving a short explanation as to what exactly is going on. I had mentioned in last week’s post that a few friends would be joining as regular contributors, and for the next three days you’ll be introduced to each of of them. You’ll be hearing from… wait for it… Stacey! Georgie McDonald! and Amy! I’ll let each of them introduce themselves but I just want to say that all of them are women whom I have personally learned from and have been greatly blessed to know. They all come from different walks of life, different backgrounds and experiences, but the common thread between each of them is that they all love the Lord and look to know him and serve him better. I can’t wait to hear from them as they share the exciting, boring, and regular things that happen in everyday life and bring a heavenly perspective to it all!

This week is all for introductions so I’ll begin with re-introducing myself. I am 27 going on 28, a Torontonian by birth, wife to The Real Estate Guy, and a mom to one super-fun little package of joy. I share a little more about myself in the “About Me” section, which I’ll add to once my friends post their bios.

Basically- I just enjoy a lot of things. God is the giver of every good gift, and I love enjoying Him, and all that he has made! Especially food- I like good food. I love my whole family (immediate and extended), and thoroughly enjoy all the time I get to spend with them. I love my church, Grace Chapel of Markham, where I have had the privilege of being for the past 3 years. And, I love to learn. I love all sorts of learning- whether it be about history, literature, or cooking, I find it a joy to be able to see more of God’s hand in all of life. Mostly, I like to read on theology and books about the Christian life. I hope to share some of my findings in future posts!

That’s all for now and I hope you continue to read on as the week progresses to hear from the rest of the blog authors.

Until next week,

Maja

 

One more thing…

29 Feb

Just one more thing I came across today. A good read, shared from my good friend Amy via Tim Challies’ blog.

Is it wasting your life/career to stay home with your children? More on this in future posts!

The Relief of No Career

Blog Relaunch!

29 Feb

It’s true! The rumours can now be put to rest. Folks- I know you’ve all been waiting in anticipation- the blog is re-launching! And, I’m excited to say that it will be back with a bang. I can’t share all the secrets with you now, you’ll just have to come back next Monday and see what exactly is going to go on, but just as a teaser… It’ll involve 3 wonderful, insightful, funny, friends of mine that are joining the blogging world via This Passing Life. Who are they?? Well, just wait and see! Enough exclamation points for now!

I don’t want to see this blog die, which is what has been happening, in spite of my good intentions. I haven’t watered this plant every day which is why it’s withering, so now I hope that with a few other gardeners on board, you’ll see and hear a lot more. That’s all I can say for now, so please come back and see who my secret friends are that will be regular contributors to this little slice of a blog.

And, just for fun- can you check out this sneaky little blog that has made it’s way into my home? My mom found it and shared it with me because well, that’s just what good moms do when they find good things that others will enjoy- they share them! If you like to cook,or like to cook fun things, then check out Spook Fork Bacon.

WOW is all I can say. Kale & blood orange salad? Banana & bacon cookies? Roasted strawberry shortcake shakes?? I’m just gonna go and start making some of their baby chimichangas right now while you head on over there and start to drool while getting inspired to whip up something exciting for dinner tonight!

See you Monday for the re-launch!

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