Monday, April 30, 2012

Do Me a Favor?

I have been busily working on Nurture and so I apologize for my lack of posting.

Next week Sunday is Mother's Day and that is our official launch date of Nurture.  I'm so excited!  We are giving out little Mother's Day gifts to each adult woman with a card that introduces Nurture.  You won't want to miss it!

As part of this new ministry, we will have a Nurture blog. :)  It will basically be a spot to post information and hopefully create a community.

Here is where my favor comes in ... Would you hop on over to the Nurture blog sometime between now and Mother's Day and sign up to be a follower?  While you're at it, subscribe with your email to receive all of the posts directly to your email account.  I would love for women to see a bunch of sweet, smiling faces already following this brand new ministry when they check it out for the first time.

You can click on the Nurture button on the left or right here  http://nurtureatwfa.blogspot.com/ to get to the blog.

Women's Ministries is also working on creating a blog you'll want to check out, too.

Please keep this ministry in your prayers as we work on getting it up and running.  I look forward to all that God has in store for us moms through Nurture.

Thanks!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Introducing ...


I am thrilled to tell you about a new ministry at Waukesha First Assembly. It is called Nurture and it is for moms like you!

"Nurture seeks to support moms from pregnancy through the elementary years by providing opportunities to create community through fellowship, playdates, chats over coffee, Bible studies, and other activities."

Our desire is to support moms as they navigate the early years of motherhood.

The definition of the word nurture is "to feed and care for during growth." I love that!

Obviously, that is the role of a mother with her children but we would like to take that one step further and "nurture" our moms as well.

Please keep this new ministry in your prayers. Pray for me, as well, because I am heading up this brand new ministry at our church. I am super excited but somewhat overwhelmed at the same time.

As part of Nurture, I will be opening up one of our usual twice a month playdates to include all of the moms of WFA and their friends. The playdate on Friday, April 27 was supposed to be our first Nurture playdate (which is why it is so special :). Due to some timing issues, this may be our un-official first Nurture playdate. :)

We are introducing Nurture at WFA on Mother's Day and so I think Monday, May 21 will be our "official" first one.

Please do me a favor, though, and start inviting moms to the playdate on April 27 - your friends, your kids' friends' moms, moms you see at church. This ministry is based through WFA but it is not exclusive to only moms who attend there. Let's start getting the word out.

We have many other fun things planned but I will wait to fill you all in.

Thank you for your prayers and support! I really hope Nurture is a blessing in your life!!


Monday, April 9, 2012

Tears

When words fail, tears flow.

Tears have a language all their own, a tongue that needs no interpreter. In some mysterious way, our complex inner-communication system knows when to admit its verbal limitations ... and the tears come.

Eyes that flashed and sparkled only moments before are flooded from a secret reservoir. We try in vain to restrain the flow, but even strong men falter.

Tears are not self-conscious. They can spring upon us when we are speaking in public, or standing beside others who look to us for strength. Most often they appear when our soul is overwhelmed with feelings that words cannot describe.

Our tears my flow during the singing of a great, majestic hymn, or when we are alone, lost in some vivid memory or wrestling in prayer.

Did you know that God takes special notice of those tears of yours? Psalm 56:8 tells that He puts them in His bottle and enters them into the record He keeps on our lives.

David said, "The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping."

A teardrop on earth summons the King of Heaven. Rather than being ashamed or disappointed, the Lord takes note of our inner friction when hard times are oiled by tears. He turns those situations into moments of tenderness; He never forgets those crises in our lives where tears were shed.

One of the great drawbacks of our cold, sophisticated society is its reluctance to show tears. For some strange reason, men feel that tears are a sign of weakness ... and many an adult feels to cry is to be immature. How silly! How unfortunate! The consequence is that we place a watchdog named "restraint" before our hearts. This animal is trained to bark, snap, and scare away any unexpected guest who seeks entrance.

The ultimate result is a well-guarded, highly respectable, uninvolved heart surrounded by heavy bars of confinement. Such a structure resembles a prison more than a home where the tender Spirit of Christ resides.

Jeremiah lived in no such dwelling. His transparent tent was so tender and sensitive he could not preach a sermon without the interruption of tears. "The weeping prophet" became his nickname and even though he didn't always have the words to describe his feelings, he was never at a loss to communicate his convictions. You could always count on Jeremiah to bury his head in his hands and sob aloud.

Strange that this man was selected by God to be His personal spokesman at the most critical time in Israel's history. Seems like an unlikely choice - unless you value tears as God does. I wonder how many tear bottles in heaven are marked with his name.

I wonder how many of them bear your initials. You'll never have many until you impound restraint and let a little tenderness run loose. You might lose a little of your polished respectability, but you'll have a lot more freedom. And a lot less pride.


**Deepening Your Roots (You can click on the link below to go right to each Bible reference)



{ Branching Out }

When's the last time you cried?
If it has been months or years, ask God to bring something your way this week that could be the catalyst to cause tear drops to form and flow from your eyes.

Have you ever cried alongside someone else as he experienced grief or joy? Ask God to make your heart tender enough to hurt with others and free enough to cry with them.

If you find yourself crying this week, don't try to hide the tears from those around you. Tears are beautiful to God! And to God's people.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

April Playdates

I hope you are all enjoying your Easter weekend!

I wanted to fill you in real quick about our April Playdates.

First, on Monday, April 16, we will be meeting at Sara Waltz's house at 9:30 am. I will send out an email with her address and directions. Please let me know if you are planning on coming.

Our second playdate is on Friday, April 27 at 10:00 am at the playground at Frame Park. This is going to be a very SPECIAL playdate that I will share more about next week!

Have a blessed Easter!

Friday, April 6, 2012

My Life As a Working Mom

This month I would like to introduce you to my friend, Jessica, as our guest blogger. Jessica is a busy mom of 3 adorable kids and still finds time to be a caring friend and a beautiful person - inside and out.

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Balance

by Jessica

I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, 3 beautiful kids, a new home, a great job and much more. However, I still find it hard to balance everything I have going on in my life.

My days start at 4AM. I wake up, hurry and take a quick shower and get ready while listening to the baby monitor praying I can just get ready in peace quick before someone gets up.

I then get my 3 year old up, drag him out of bed (literally) and try to get him dressed. This task usually ends in a full blown temper tantrum as he wants to wear his Spiderman shirt that he wore 4 times already this week. I am too tired so I give up and give in. I get him breakfast and occupied while I get the baby up.

When I wake her up, she is all smiles ear to ear and my heart melts all over again. I get her dressed, make her bottle, feed her, pack her diaper bag and get her ready to go in the car seat. She hates the car seat so is now screaming. My son is also screaming at this point as he wants to put his shoes on himself and doesn’t want to wear a jacket - again, another temper tantrum.

While both of them are crying, my husband comes downstairs to take the little ones to daycare. At this point, he has completely no idea how stressed I already am and it's only 6AM.

They leave, and then I get my oldest daughter up. She too doesn’t want to wear a jacket, wants to wear a skirt and sandals and it's still cool out. I again give up and give in.

Time for me to go to work! After a long day of work which often times includes travel, I come home to make dinner, do homework, do laundry, give baths, make lunches for the next day, put kids to bed and fall on the couch dead tired.

All to do it again the next day.

Something I've been working through lately is balance in my life. I feel as though I run at 150 miles per hour throughout my day and at the end of the day, I look back and think wow, I really missed some of those special moments with the kids or my husband because I was too worried about what was going to happen next or folding the laundry or trying to count calories (which is another story in itself).

The point is, I don’t want my life to pass me by. We need to learn to stop during our crazy busy days and just enjoy those special moments that God has placed there. Whether you are trying to balance kids, work, relationships, etc - I've learned that all that "stuff" is always going to be there and it's our reality. I'm working on balancing my work and home life and all the other things that come with it.

And one of the most important things I've learned lately, is that I cannot do it on my own! I often try, but God has really reminded me lately that I don't need to - I can rest in Him! That is so amazing and he wants to take the burdens from us, we just need to let go and let Him
!

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Thank you for sharing, Jessica! I think those are important words for every mother. We don't need to go it alone. God wants to walk along beside us as we go.

Thank you to every mom who has shared over the past few months! I have really enjoyed getting to know each of you a little better. :)

As always, if you would like to share your story, let me know!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Resurrection Story Cookies

I posted this recipe 2 years ago and thought I would share it again. :)


Resurrection Story Cookies - A Real Recipe
What a wonderful recipe to share with the children. These cookies are made the evening before celebrating the Resurrection, and are cooked in a warm oven overnight so they will be ready on Easter morning.
You need to preheat the oven to 300 degrees (this is important--don't wait until you are half done with the recipe!)

3 egg whites
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. Vinegar
A pinch salt
1 cup sugar
A zipper baggie
A wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Resurrection morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Resurrection, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9

**A few tips from Jamie: don't wait until too late at night to start them, look up the scriptures ahead of time (it's not so easy when your hands are sticky :), and don't use an airbake cookie sheet. Our cookies didn't turn out exactly like they should have.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Teach 'Em How to Fish

"If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime." -author unknown

I've been thinking about this quote today except my version looks more like this:

"If you put your son's shoes on for him, he's set for the day. If you teach your son to put on his own shoes, you'll be set for life." -Jamie

Ok, not quite as poetic as it was in my head but I think you get my point.

It has suddenly snuck up on me that my 5 year son is having me do all of these things for him that he really should be doing himself. I try really hard to make my kids be fairly independent. But somehow in the hustle and bustle of life, I've hiccuped somewhere.

I know what it is. My girls, as most girls are, were very independent and wanted to do all sorts of things for themselves. I wasn't allowed to help them. My son has flown under the radar and allowed me to still do as much as I was willing to do for him.

Just recently, though, I've woke up and thought "Hey, you're 5, kid. You should be brushing your own teeth and putting on your own shoes."

Especially as we prepare to send him off to Kindergarten in the fall, we need to teach him how to be more independent. It really is what is best for him - and me! With the arrival of baby #5, I am not going to have as much time.

So now the hard part comes. Instead of taking 30 seconds and putting on his shoes for him, I will have to take 10 minutes to convince him to put them on himself followed by another 10 minutes of watching him struggle to put them on (and we're talking velcro here, folks). But eventually he'll become a pro and we won't even remember these shoe struggles.

As long as I'm thinking about it, I think there are things that my girls can definitely start doing for themselves that I have been doing for them, too (like helping with dishes and laundry and cleaning).

It's time to teach them all how to fish.

The more independent they are, the more time I will have for other things - like changing diapers and rubbing orajel on teething gums and kissing sweet little baby toes.

There really is nothing wrong with teaching your little one at any age to be more independent. From the time they can walk, they can "help" fetch their shoes (or diapers) and pick up their toys. Taking a little time today will save you lots of time in the future.

So, if we're even later than usual to church the next few weeks, you'll know the reason why. :)

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Kidtropolis Easter Eggstravaganza


Kidtropolis Easter Eggstravaganza
Saturday, April 7th
2 - 4 pm
at
Waukesha First Assembly
1314 S Grand Ave



Easter egg hunt with 10,000 eggs filled with candy
Games and Inflatables
Popcorn and Cotton candy

Bring your kids for a fun time!

Monday, April 2, 2012

You Are Important

There is only one YOU.

Think about that. Your face and features, your voice, your style, your background, your characteristics and peculiarities, your abilities, your smile, your walk, your handshake, your manner of expression, your viewpoint ... everything about you is found in only one individual since man first began - YOU.

How does that make you feel? Frankly, I'm elated!

Dig as deeply as you please in the ancient, dusty archives of Homo sapiens and you'll not find another YOU in the whole lot. And that, by the way did not "just happen"; it was planned that way. Why? Because God wanted you to be YOU, that's why. He designed you to be a unique, distinct, significant person unlike any other individual on the face of the earth, throughout the vast expanse of time. In your case, as in the case of every other human being, the mold was broken, never to be used again, once you entered the flow of mankind.

Listen to David's perspective on that subject:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous - and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book! (Psalm 139:13-16 TLB).

If I read this astounding statement correctly, you were prescribed and then presented to this world exactly as God arranged it.

Reflect on that truth, discouraged friend.

Read David's words one more time, and don't miss the comment that God is personally involved in the very days and details of your life. Great thought!

In our overly-populated, identity-crisis era, it is easy to forget this. Individuality is played down. We are asked to conform to the "system." Group opinion is considered superior to personal conviction and everything from the college fraternity to the businessman's service club tends to encourage our blending into the mold of the masses.

It's okay to "do your thing" just so long as it is similar to others when they do "their thing." Any other thing is the wrong thing. Hogwash!

This results in what I'd call an image syndrome, especially among the members of God's family called Christians. There is an "image" the church must maintain. The pastor (and his staff) should "fit the image" in the eyes of the public. So should all those in leadership. Youth programs and mission conferences and evangelistic emphases dare not drift too far from the expected image established back when. Nobody can say exactly when.

Our fellowship must be warm, but filled with cliches. Our love must be expressed, but not without its cool boundaries. The creative, free, and sometimes completely different approach so threatens the keepers of the "image syndrome" that one wonders how we retain any draft of fresh air blown through the windows of flexibility and spontaneity.

My mind lands upon a fig-picker from Tekoa ... a rough, raw-boned shepherd who was about as subtle as a Mack truck on the Los Angeles-Santa Ana freeway. He was tactless, unsophisticated, loud, uneducated, and uncooperative. His name was Amos. That was no problem. He was a preacher. That was a problem. He didn't fit the image ... but he refused to let that bother him.

He was called (of all things) to bring the morning messages in the king's sanctuary. And bring them he did. His words penetrated those vaulted ceilings and icy pews like flaming arrows. In his own way, believing firmly in his message, he pounced upon sin like a hen on a june bug ... and the "image keepers" of Israel told him to be silent, to peddle his doctrine of doom in the backwoods of Judah. His rugged style didn't fit in with the plush, "royal residence" at Bethel (Amos 7:12-13).

Aware of their attempt to strait-jacket his method and restructure his message, Amos replied:

... I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, "Go, prophesy to my people Israel" (Amos 7:14-15 NIV).

Amos was not about to be something he wasn't! God made him, God called him, and God gave him a message to be communicated in his own, unique way. A Tekoa High dropout had no business trying to sound or look like a Princeton grad.

Do I write to an Amos? You don't "fit the mold"? Is that what sent you down into the valley of discouragement? You don't sound like every other Christian or look like the "standard" saint ... or act like the majority?

Hallelujah! Don't sweat it, my friend. And don't you dare change just because you're outnumbered. Then you wouldn't be YOU.

What the church needs is a lot more faithful figpickers who have the courage to simply be themselves, regardless. Whoever is responsible for standardizing the ranks of Christians ought to be shot at dawn. In so doing they completely ignored the value of variety, which God planned for His church when He "arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be" (1 Corinthians 12:18).

You are YOU. There is only one YOU. And YOU are important.

Want to start feeling better? Really desire to dispel discouragement? I can say it all in three words:

Start being YOU.


**Deepening Your Roots

~ Genesis 37:19;Genesis 40:1-8;Romans 12:3-8;Philippians 2:1-4 ~


{ Branching Out }

Name 5 things you like about yourself that are unique to you.

Name someone you don't like or enjoy being around. Now, name three positive things about that person that says s/he is a special individual.

Write a friend and tell her three things you like about her that make her a unique person.