Enriched.

Have you ever received a financial blessing?

A couple of months ago, we did.

A check. Out of the blue.

And it was almost two hundred dollars more than we were praying and hoping for.

WOW.

I'm in awe just thinking about God's generous heart and His miraculous ways.

Or maybe you and your family are well established financially and don't need one of those "money miracle" stories. If so, that's awesome!

But let me ask a question:

When God gives financial blessings, do you ever wonder why?

Why?

Is it so we can live comfortably, enjoying the American Dream?

Is it so we can have a kitchen FULL of food and closets full of clothes?

Is it so we have enough money to take the family on grand vacations?

It could be.

Afterall, He's our Father and He loves to give good gifts (Matthew 7:11). And as a parent, I know how fun it is to give my children things that delight them.

But what if there's a greater purpose for the resources that God gives us?

We live in such a consumer-based society where most of us have way more than we need.

I was driving through my parents neighborhood last week and noticed several garages that were packed full of all kinds of different things.

The nice cars were in the driveway because stuff had taken over.

I'm not against having stuff.

I'm against stuff having us. And I admit, stuff has had me more times than I care to tell.

Consider this promise from God:

"Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. 'For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.' And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (emphasis mine)

Promise #1 - God gives us everything we need.

When we give generously and cheerfully, God says He gives to us generously every need we have. He will always take care of us!

I love that, after the tithe (10% of our earnings), we are given such freedom in what we give to God. He basically just wants us to give from a cheerful heart. Not out of pressure. Not with a hesitant heart. Not a certain dollar amount because "Sister Sally" gave that much. Just cheerfully.

Promise #2 - Not only will God give us everything we need, when we give generously, He will make sure we have plenty of resources left over to share with others!

He gives us blessings to bless us, yes, but I think the most important lesson from our blessings is to cultivate a generous heart from our natural hearts of stone.

But it gets even better:

"As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!" 2 Corinthians 9:13-15 (emphasis mine)

So let's gather these truths:

--God will give us our every need

--He will also leave us plenty of extra resources to share with others

--Our generosity will bring glory to God

--Our generosity will prove that we are obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Do you see how generosity can be one of the greatest tools we have for bringing light into this very dark world?

We say "It is more blessed to give than to receive", but do we really believe it?

I am determined to break out of my consumer mindset and start viewing my blessings--be they home, car, money, health, time--as God's incredible tools for furthering His Kingdom and bringing glory to His name.

If I can trust Him with my eternal salvation, I know I can trust Him with all the earthly blessings He's given me!

And what better time of year than the upcoming Christmas season to generously share those blessings?

Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.

2 Corinthians 9:11

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

I stumbled across one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes several months back and I've just gotta share it.

I was craving something sweet one night (as usual) but I didn't quite have enough of the ingredients I needed to make the standard Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe.

So I went to my buddy, Allrecipes.com, and found "Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies"

These glorious morsels of sweet, chocolatey goodness take less butter, sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate chips than the recipe I'd always used before. AND the recipe calls for oats and peanut butter which means a little extra protein and fiber (anything to make me feel less guilty about consuming hoards of cookies)

**For those non-oat/peanut butter cookie people, you've gotta give these a chance. I'm pretty sure you'll be outrageously surprised.

My family LOVES this recipe and asks for me to bake them often.

The dough hardly spreads so I'm always able to fit several cookies on one sheet. I'm very impatient, so that fact makes me very happy. I also use a cookie dough scoop to achieve uniformity.

I've messed up a lot of cookie recipes but this one has been perfection every time!

If you try these cookies, I'd love to know what you think!

• Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I sometimes switch the sugar measurements. I adore brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Happy Baking!

The Sibling Bond

"To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters.

We know each other as we always were.

(Ethan looking at Emma through

the hall window of the NICU Nursery)

We know each other's hearts.

We share private family jokes.

We remember family feuds and secrets,

family griefs and joys.

We live outside the touch of time."

~Clara Ortega

I treasure these early days in Ethan and Emma's sibling relationship. I'm looking forward to the years ahead; the ups and downs, the inevitable fights, the tears, the cheers, and the deepening of that special bond called Brother and Sister.

That Name

If you grew up in a good ol' fashioned Baptist church like I did, you were definitely exposed to this song at least 57,543 times....

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know

Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go!

I joke about the number, but we sang the song a lot. And I'm glad we did. It's a cheery song about the God-Man behind the name that evokes peace and comfort. It's permanently seared into my heart.

That song came to mind Tuesday morning when I had to pull out all my mommy arsenal in hopes of soothing a screaming, panicky, on-the-verge-of-throwing-up-from-sobbing-so-hard 2 1/2 year old-boy.

It wasn't my son, though. It was his little buddy, Nate.

His parents both had full schedules that day and needed someone to watch him so I happily volunteered. Ethan loves his buddy, and honestly it's a nice break when the two get together. They keep each other busy for hours.

However, Tuesday morning Nate arrived a lot earlier than our normal playdate time. Ethan was still asleep (I think I technically was, too) so he wasn't there to welcome Nate with toy-filled arms when he arrived.

Oh boy. What a catastrophe the next 20 minutes were.

Screams. Flails. Tears. Snot. Tiny hands banging on the front door.

How my son slept through that noise, I have no idea. But he did.

I was worried the neighbors would think something horrifying was happening in our home.

(Insert wild imagination here) I go outside and all neighbors are standing in their yards with hands on hips, shaking heads, pointing fingers, yelling "child abuser!!" while I'm being whisked away in handcuffs to the local jail.

Yes, I can be pretty dramatic like that.

Finally, a breakthrough occurred. Which is a good thing, because I almost started to join in with the poor little guy.

I talked about Jesus.

And I began singing "Jesus loves me" and he started to calm. I could see his body relax. The tears stopped. And he just laid on his stomach listening to my early-morning voice crack through the song until he was completely soothed and ready to play with the Wolverine figurine I had waiting for him on a little four-wheeler. And away Wolverine went...

I'm telling you, the name of Jesus is a balm. It has soothed many of my fears along the way and it did the same thing for a sad little boy who was dealing with some separation anxiety.

I love that name.

It's the sweetest one I know.

20 and Counting

Have you heard the latest Duggar news?

They'll be welcoming their 20th child come April 2012.

And I think it's pretty cool.

I get into a dangerous position when I go to a news site and read about the Duggars. I always seem to make my way to the comments section...

Here's what happens: my blood boils at the rude and oftentimes disgusting comments. And I become incredibly defensive. It's not like they're my family, or even my close friends.

But they are a family who seeks to honor the Lord with the way they live and they aren't ashamed to do it publicly, either.

The criticism this family receives is pretty shocking at times.

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised that people are disgusted with large families considering the fact that our nation has continued to uphold the legalized murder of unwanted children via abortion. Too many times, children are seen as a burden, an inconvenience, a drain on our society and environment.

Children are hard work, yes. They are expensive. They require selflessness from the parents.

They can be loud, messy and grumpy. And they're a massive responsibility.

But the benefits of having those children? The blessings we parents receive from nurturing them in our homes? Goodness....that list could go on for miles.

Large Duggar-style families obviously aren't for everyone. Large families aren't a commandment found in the Bible. But we are certainly reminded of the blessings large families can bring.

My prayers go out to Michelle for an easy pregnancy and smooth delivery of a healthy baby. I also pray the Duggars would continue to be obedient to the Lord and shine their lights in this dark world.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. -Psalm 127:3-5

Gratituesday: The Word

A few weeks ago, my parents treated all of us kids (and our kids) to a trip to Passages, a traveling exhibit celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible.

Not exactly the most exciting trip for the little kiddos (we had our share of tantrums to control), but wow, I left with a great gratitude for the Word of God.

The most poignant moment of the day, for me, was the story of William Tyndale--a man so dedicated to the translation and distribution of the Word of God, that he was willing to be exiled and even martyred for the sake of the Word.

And that's exactly what happened.

After he was exiled from England into Germany, Tyndale was eventually betrayed by someone he had come to trust--Henry Phillips, a fellow Englishman. Tyndale was imprisoned for 500 days and on October 6, 1536, he was strangled and burned at the stake.

It is recorded that his last words were, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes."

By God's grace, the King's eyes were opened and the rest is history.

The Bible is still the best selling book of all time.

And I'm so grateful for that.

~I'm grateful for men like William Tyndale who thought of others more than of himself. What sacrifice!

~I'm grateful that I own multiple copies of the Word of God, and do so without fear of threat or punishment.

~I'm grateful that I can find all the comfort, encouragement, exhortation, wisdom and assurance of love that I need in this precious book (and so much more!)

~I'm grateful for godly parents who still, even though we are adults with families of our own, want to instill in their children a love and passion for the Word of God.

I walked out of the exhibit that day with a knot in my throat and this resounding thought: "How dare we ever let dust collect on our Bible(s)!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More so than the book itself, I'm grateful for the Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14) The Word who died to give us life. Do you know this Word?

What are you grateful for today?

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Shaken

The recent Oklahoma earthquakes have shaken more than my house.

They've shaken my heart a bit, too.

I feel as though I've been in a spiritual rut for so long. That comfort has taken precedence over the discipline of spending time with the Lord, of sharing His goodness with others, of serving selflessly for His glory.

I've got little ones under foot all day, so I'm a busy little bee. The volume of life simply drowns out what the Holy Spirit might be trying to say to me.

When the volume is lowered and the kids are asleep, I finally feel like I can relax. My hubby and I are big "down time" people. We like the late evenings for hanging out, surfing the web or watching a show on Netflix. It's a way for us to recoup from the craziness of the day.

But my shaken heart asks, "Why is time with the Lord not one of the ways to recoup or find comfort?" Not that those other things are bad, but why do I run there first and more often than the Word of God or prayer?

Now, more than ever, I feel an urgency to draw close to the Lord. To spend my time working for the Kingdom because He just might be coming back soon. And I would hate to be ashamed about what I did with the time He gave me on this earth.

"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming" -1 John 2:28

Just a few ways this busy mom of little ones can draw close and serve...

I can wake up earlier so I have that quiet time alone with Him...(which will enable me to better understand how I can serve Him)

I can serve my children with a sweeter Spirit, knowing that I'm shaping lives for the Kingdom...

I can serve my husband with a selfless heart, knowing ultimately I'm serving my Father...

I can get to know my neighbors who may not know my Savior...

I can cook a meal for a family in need...

I can "live simply so that others might simply live"....

I can spend time on my knees in prayer for the needs of my family, city, nation, and world...

That's a small list. But it's a start.

Let's allow our hearts to be shaken for the Lord.

Because we never know when He may return. (Matt. 24:42)