Cooking Up a Storm

Over the last month or so we have been trying to eat better for several reasons, not the least of which is that we are trying to diagnose some possible food sensitivities in one of the kids.  So we've been avoiding all things dairy and soy.  Most of us are still eating stand-alone dairy products, but anything prepared for the whole family is now milk- and soy-free, unless you count rice milk or almond milk as milk! 

As it turns out, every packaged food in the universe has either milk or soy, or both.  So this has pointed out to me just how much of that stuff we used to eat. I would have said it was not that much, but now that I have been forced to read every label I have noticed that is simply not true.   Even the foods I would not consider to be junk are full of junk.  I could not find a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread that does not have soy of some type; the few that do not, have milk.  Most have both.

Oh Boy...

We are in a season of birthdays here, with two boys' birthdays in a week and another coming three weeks after.  (And no, we didn't plan it that way!)  It's a fun time, though often hard on the diet (more cake and celebrating than we're used to).  This year we decided it was a good time to buy a group gift, for all five kids, a trampoline!  Yesterday afternoon was spent putting it together (after worship and a nice Sunday feast), which was just enough inspiration to get the four out of five kids who were sick off of the couch.

We each had a short turn jumping on it, and finished the construction phase just in time for those of us who were able to get to evening worship (a bit late).  So now it begins - we have a trampoline in the back yard.  It's a bit scary to me, although I personally have always wanted a trampoline.  I do find myself wondering who will break a bone first.

For everything there is a season...

What a week in the life of one small congregation!  One family lost a dear little one far too soon; another is rejoicing in the birth of a healthy baby, after a similar loss not two years ago.  All that following an Easter celebration coinciding with the anniversary of yet another loss of little ones.   God gives and God takes. We rejoice and we mourn.

And really, when you look around, you see that this goes on all the time, all around us. Some are sick and some are well. Some are too anxious to deal with life, while others are moving along happily, even if the two lives are not that different from an objective point of view. Some are too busy to rest; others are bored and desperate for work to do. One person begs God for something, while the next begs Him for the opposite. Only God knows which prayers to answer. Only He knows how those answers will mold us and shape us into His will for us. 

God does all His holy will for His own glory.  The sovereignty of God is what comforts me.  I am sure I do not know what I would do without that knowledge.  God has taken care of me all the days of my life, even the ones that rank as the worst.  He has given to me and taken from me.  And joy really does come in its time.  When I have gone through hard things it has seemed that life will never settle, will never be happy.  Yet time passes, and God's plan marches on.  The hard things are not forgotten, but our view changes over time. 

God has given me joy, and for that I  am so grateful.  But looking back over hard times I see that He was giving me joy then, too.  I have been blessed to have the joys and sorrows mingled in such a way that this many years later I can look back with joy.  Not everyone handles grief in the same way.  To some a much harder road is given.  We don't know why; only God knows His reasons.  But we know that He loves His children.  And I know that He loves me because of the way He has taken care of me, moving me along both in joy and in sorrow. 

To God be the glory!

What He Must Be...

We have enjoyed the book, now you can win a DVD of the conference!

What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. is good for parents of girls, but also ones with boys. The boys will, afterall, have to be fit to marry a nice young lady one of these days, and we have to raise them. And it's never to early to start thinking about what kind of young men and women we want our children to be!

Jasmine Baucham is the oldest daughter of the author, and blogs at http://www.joyfullyathomeblog.com/. I enjoy reading it. Click on the links to have a look around and enter the contest!

Joyfully At Home: Next Tuesday

Ain't no valley low enough...

It seems like it has been a while since I have written a real blog post. And I am running out of old stuff to fill in with! Life is moving along; the grass is green, even if the trees are not yet. We had no snow in March. NO SNOW IN MARCH! Some of you can’t imagine what a difference that makes, but it is huge. Last year we had no snow in April and I was very excited about that. This year, spring came early, with temperatures in the 50’s, 60’s, and even the truly rare 70’s. Amazing. After the highest snow piles we had seen in a while here this winter, I was very grateful for an early end to it. It appears there is no more winter in sight, with each successive ten day forecast filled with 60’s and 70’s. I’m pretty sure it won’t snow again if we get to May. I guess this is the week I can safely clean out the coat closet, and wash and put away the snow things.

If there is one thing I have learned over the last 12 or so years of living in Minnesota (Let’s not mention all the moving in and out, shall we?), it’s that the weather affects my attitude. It never seemed to before, and I have wondered why. Here’s why: I lived in Alabama and Florida before, where the weather is nice most of the time. I happen to like hot weather, so that didn’t make me depressed. And when the cold weather came it seemed like a novelty and then moved on quickly. But not here. Here we get a beautiful fall that is in full swing in early October, and then a few weeks of brown. This would be extremely depressing if it were not leading up to Thanksgiving, with the hope of Christmas right after.