weekly gratitude

Ponemah Vacation Bible School

Churches Unite!
Cottonwood Community Church College Group meets up with E-Free Sr. High of Thief River Falls to minister to Native Americans in the Cass Lake Area

The mosquitos have located me and if I don't type fast, they will be sure to carry me away. I am sitting outside of a McDonalds--Thank you kindly for your free internet McD's--and feel as though I should encourage you by sharing a snap shot of my incredible week.

I will not share a whole lot now, but I will say that God is working mightily and we are humbled and excited to be a part of it. We have been working with two Native American Reservations and it has been a huge blessing in many ways. We have made some incredible friends that will carry us through life to be sure and we are excited to see many coming to know Christ or coming to a better understanding of His love.

With that, I will ask you to pray. Tomorrow (Friday) will be a huge day for the Ponemah community as we are having a community picnic. I am eager to share more!

Blessed.
tiffany

weekly gratitude

Father's Day at Itasca State Park;
Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Dick Beardsley Half Marathon and 5K
after 35 years of smoking, my dad quit and went on to run his first...then second 5k's.
Way to go Dad!

What a week!
J and I have been married for nearly nine years and when I look back it is hard to believe that we were so young. We were engaged at 19 and the world thought we were nuts. I had no quams what so ever. I knew we had only negative dollars to our names and a whole lot to learn, but we wanted to learn it together. There were a lot of things I didn't know, but I did know that together, God would do great things through us and would sustain us.
Father's Day was a special day as we talked through this, reminisced and looked at our growing family in awe of where God has brought us and the amazing amount of blessing He has undeservedly bestowed upon those two ignorant teens hopelessly in love and willing to follow Him.
It is always great to start a week off with celebration and abundant gratitude.
It has been busy though. Our week has been full of hard work, fellowship with great friends, hard work, preparation, meetings and the sweetest kids imaginable.
It has been fun to watch my kids enjoy one another as I realize that they are indeed growing up and they are understanding how to relate with others on a deeper level. We still have a lot to learn and if I had a dollar I uttered, "Oh Sweet Jesus...meet me here and give me wisdom I pray!" I would be set for life.
But, even in the midst of the chaos, growing kids, mistakes made, late nights, early mornings, forgotten deadlines, missed calls, and the ever looming To-Do list, God is ever present and ever gracious. He has sustained us and given us hope. With that, I will share this week's weekly gratitude....

~my husband and the Daddy he is

~my own dad

~the day of sunshine we did have this week

~lemonade stands

~generous people that take the time to stop and spend 50 cents on lemonade and banana bread

~sisters-in-loves

~pony tails and a husband that thinks they're sexy

~good friends

~shopping carts

~a growing garden...weeds and all

~employment

~closet doors

~two-wheeled bikes and running shoes

~free wi-fi

~knowing that there is nothing God is not aware of--past, present or future--and knowing that when we walk with Him, His hand of blessing and protection covers us even if it may be through means or methods that we don't understand. 

I will be leaving Sunday with a group of senior high kids from our church to serve on an Indian Reservation for a week. We will be building relationships, sharing the Gospel and encouraging the believers as well as one another. Please pray for safety in travel as well as in ministry. Please pray for the deliverance of the Gospel and the hearts of those that hear, that they would recognize their need for a Savior and receive the Gospel with great joy and gratitude for what Christ has freely done for them. Pray that we would be challenged and that God would use this time to speak truth to our own hearts as well as grow our faith in Him and our love for others, even when it is difficult. Pray also for me as I lead this team. I am going into the unknown and feel a great weight of responsibility for these kids. I am the only adult sponsor from our church and although it is a bit unsettling, I know that God knew of this trip long before I was even conceived and that He is faithful in all things. Pray for wisdom, protection and boldness. I look forward to sharing God's work and provision with you!

May His face shine upon you. May He bless you and keep you. May your life be lived as an offering of praise and gratitude for all He is even when you are unaware. May you see Him in the moments of joy as well as the moments of pain. May His hand be in your moments of frustration and moments of celebration. May your heart be inclined to His and you walk through your life this day and the days to come. 

peace. 

tiffany 

need

A friend said to me once, "Tiffany, sometimes I feel as though I don't exist. Molly is gone and only Mom, Wife, and Homemaker exist. I have gotten lost in the endless needs around me."
I remember nodding in agreement as she spoke, fully understanding that feeling and wondering if Tiffany existed anymore either.
Tonight we pulled into the drive with five amazing children passed out in the back of the family truckster (as my dad affectionately refers to our Suburban). We were able to get the front door open in spite of the mess that lingered just beyond its hinges, but the mess screamed at me as I made my way over the piles, around the strewn items and up the stairs. The pets followed in hungry anticipation of a meal that was overdue and my husband asked where I set the keys...as if I could remember--it was all of two minutes ago! Looking around for keys that had been in my possession just minutes ago served as yet another reminder that I was no longer in control, but the mess was controlling me. The needs at that moment felt like unrelenting weights crushing me slowly and breaking me down, bit by bit.
the lawn needs mowing.
the dishes need washing.
the pets need feeding.
the kids need bathing.
the mail need getting.
the Suburban needs unloading.
the floors need washing.
the laundry needs folding.
the shower needs scrubbing.
the thank you notes need sending.
the phone calls need making.
the husband needs loving.
the blog needs writing.
the house needs tidying.
the boxes need unpacking.
the carpets need vacuuming.
the e-mail needs responding.
the list needs making.
the birthday card needs sending.
the pictures need printing and the album needs filling.
the new neighbors need greeting.
the fridge needs cleaning.
I could go on and on...can you tell?

As I have been reading through Luke I am reminded over and again about Whom and through Whom I live and move and have my being. In Luke 9, Jesus looked at His complaining disciples and said, "You feed them." You see, it was getting late, Jesus and His men had been all over the country, teaching and healing in the name of God Almighty. It was now getting late, and undoubtedly the disciples had some grumblies in their tumblies. (that's toddler lingo for you...) There was one problem however...there were still more than 5,000 people hanging around and the disciples didn't even have food for themselves. Their compassion had a limit and this was about it. They had just spent the day healing but there had to be a limit to God's ability and generosity...right? The disciples' solution? Remind Jesus of the desolation around them and give Him the best plan of action: "Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get food, for we are here in a desolate place."
Hmmmm. I hear a lot of Tiffany in that statement.
Evaluate the situation around me.
Disregard the God that is right next to me.
Remind God of my ever limited resources and draw my conclusion from there.
I love Jesus' response here. He looks at His disciples (if he was sinful, there would have definitely been annoyance in His voice) and told them to do the impossible: "You feed them."
Ha. Hadn't they just told Jesus they were in a desolate place and didn't even have food for themselves?
Why would Jesus ask them to do what was impossible to do?
Because there is no such thing.
God has no limitations and there is no end to His resources and mercy.
What we see as inconvenient, overwhelming and impossible, God sees as a beautiful opportunity to manifest Himself.
Jesus turned it on the disciples to remind them yet again, that yes, you do have limitations and yes, there is an end to your resources and ability and compassion.
But not Me.

As I look around and see all that needs to be done, God is reminding me of the same thing:
"Tiffany, I understand there is an end to your resources, but when you draw upon Me, there is a limitless supply of all you need....starting with peace."
If the disciples would have had the ability within themselves, they would have never experienced the miraculous provision and generosity of God.
So it is with us.
If we had everything within ourselves to accomplish and provide,
there would be no need for mercy or an all encompassing God who Himself is all things.

Today...
may the sheer joy of God's presence in your life be all you need to sustain you and give you peace.
May you behold the mountain of needs before you as an opportunity to see God at work.
May your spirit echo the words of Apostle Paul, "It is not I who lives, but Christ who lives within me."
Claim His strength today. Claim His victory over all things temporary. Cling to the eternal.
And watch in amazement as He not only sustains you, but uses you to be a blessing to more people than you cold ever imagine.
Thank God for your limitations and inability as they create the backdrop by which He does great things.

Blessings,
tiffany

weekly gratitude

"all we like sheep have gone astray..,."

cousins reunited.

I know it may be hard to believe, but I am still alive.
It has been exactly two weeks since I have posted and a lot has happened in that time. For example, we mowed part of our lawn. Unless you are a neighbor or someone that drives past our house, you are probably wondering why this even sort of matters, but trust me, it is exciting. The grass is long enough to support cattle. In fact we are even thinking about adopting a goat and naming it Mower...

Anyway, it is hard to articulate or even sum up the last fourteen days...the last three months...of my life, so I won't try other than to say that God is faithful and someday, I will be normal again. (I say this to myself at least 47 times through any given day.)

We now have drywall, painted drywall mind you, although I swear the colors are different than the ones I chose off those little one inch paint card things. I now have a sofa that occupies a space other than my kitchen floor (and does not have green stripes!) and a piano in my living room rather than in the middle of my dining room. I was interviewed for a position at my church, which I was totally freaked out about (the interview...not the position) but made it through. We spent some much needed get-away time at the lake with my good friends and have enjoyed some sweet late night, early morning conversations with my sister visiting from California. We have spent a lot of time talking about where we should both live so we can see one another more than twice a year. I love dreaming.

I have laughed and cried. I have worried and prayed. I have thought I was at the end of my rope and I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. God has been faithful in spite of myself. It is life giving to know that God's faithfulness and character is not dependent upon me and my stupidity or feeble attempts  to submit, rest and trust.

Next Sunday, I will be leading a group of kids on a short term ministry opportunity so I would appreciate your prayer during this last week of preparation and the week we are gone. I will try to post more through next week but will not be posting during the trip itself.

Here is a small smattering of things I am deeply grateful for...

~deodorant 

~sunshine!!!

~ponytails and a husband who thinks they're sexy

~cereal

~knowing that God sustains all things and is not limited to human response, reaction or inability

~a sexy man with a hammer and tape measure

(my husband that is...)

~'new' furniture

~calls from long distance friends

~sisters

~family

~a Daddy for my lovely Littles that we have the blessing of celebrating this weekend

~my church

~God's Word

~spontaneous 'I Love You's' from my Littles

~friends that still love me in spite of my lack of communication and investment during this season of life

My heart is so full that it is hard to articulate His faithfulness and underserved kindness . 

I pray that you will be blessed by His kindness as well as just the sheer beauty of His presence in your life. 

May you be aware of Him in spite of the pain, stress or busyness of life. 

blessed. 

tiffany

weekly gratitude

I must be getting really comfortable in my own skin to actually post such a horrid picture, but this definitely captures a moment that I was truly thankful for this week. So, never mind the fact that it had been nearly 48 hours without a shower and my hat is on backwards, and pay all the attention to the sweet lady sitting next to me. The fact that I still have any friends is a blessing in and of itself!

My son came up to me the other night and handed me a small sprig of lilacs. The only thing lovelier than the lilacs was the huge smile he had spread across his face. 

E: "Mama, these are for you!" 

Me: "Thanks Buddy!"

E: "Mama, you need to smell them!"

Me: "Mmmmmmm!" as I take a big wiff.

E: "yeah, they reminded me of you because theys pitty (pretty) too."

This week, in spite of the chaos and exhaustion, there are so many things to pause and give thanks for...

~my sweet boy, his lovely lilacs and the way he loves me

~sweet friends that call out of the blue on their vacation day, offer to bring supper and swing a hammer while the kids play

~power tools

~husband that knows how to use them

~God's Word that nourishes me, encourages me and challenges me

~home renovation and the fact that there is an end of the tunnel somewhere

~our church

~the Sr. High youth group

~two wheeled bikes and my four kids that ride them

~mosquito repellant and the fact we need it

~the clear counter space that I do have

~Ashley over at the homemade life and her real life blogs that encourage me and make me laugh

~flip flops

may your weekend be as lovely as you are.

<><tce

pressed down, shaken together, running over

"Judge not, and you will not be judged;

condemn not, and you will not be condemned;

forgive, and you will be forgiven;

give, and it will be given to you.

Good measure,

pressed down, shaken together, running over,

will be put into your lap.

For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

~Jesus Christ

Luke 6:37,38

I don't know the road that you have traveled to arrive where you are in this moment. 

I don't know the measure of injustice, the degree of hurt or the enormity of grief that you have been given. 

It is easy to read verses like these and feel as though they are simply not true. As we receive what is spoken by the very mouth of our Savior, we try to reconcile them to what we know as truth and common occurance. We hear forgiveness in exchange for our forgiveness. We hear reciprocation when in response to our generosity. We hear no condemnation for our willingness to overlook hurt. Then, taking what we hear, we look at our lives and see that in many ways, it is easy to disagree. 

We see the forgiveness offered and yet the hurt continues. 

We see the condemnation of others in spite of our attempts to live a life of love. 

We see the measure we have used toward others and it just doesn't seem to jive with the measure we have been given in return. 

Was Jesus promising something that He had no intention of fulfilling? 

There are a lot of things I don't know and will never know this side of heaven, 

but there are a few things I do. 

I do know that God's Word will not return void. 

I do know that if Jesus said it, we can believe it. 

When we read these verses we can not interpret them as they relate to other sinful humans and their flawed human responses to our desires to live a life pleasing to the Lord. 

These verses go far beyond the sinful nature of earth and apply wholly to the righteous nature of God. If we want to be the recipients of the all consuming forgiveness of God, we must be willing to forgive and deny our 'right' to hurt and validation. 

If we want to escape the condemnation and judgement of God, then we too must lay aside judgement and condemnation of others. 

When we begin to see ourselves through the eyes of Christ we will become more aware of our need for grace more than ever. As a result, we will also begin to see others the way Christ sees them and our response will be that of forgiveness, generosity, mercy and love. 

As a result, 

good measure, 

pressed down, shaken together and running over

will fill our lives and free us to be the people that God is calling us to be

in spite of the hurt, 

in spite of the injustice

 and in spite of the pain. 

These things will no longer characterize our lives.

Rather, our lives will be characterized by the way Christ loved us and they way we love others in response to the gift of love that we ourselves have received. 

Blessings. 

<><tce