Ten Favorite Summer Reading (repost)

1.  Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco (One of my favorite authors)


2.  Come on, Rain! by Karen Hesse


3.  The Summer Night by Charlotte Zolotow - this is one of my favorite since I was a little girl, and I read it to my kids every summer.  It's hard to find now.












4.  God's Quiet Things by Nancy Sweetland


5.  Night Driving by John Coy


6.  Oregon's Journey by Rascal


7.  Blueberries for Sal (and Make Way for Ducklings) by Robert McCloskey


8.  Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane


9.  Hide and Seek Fog by Alvin Tresselt


10.  Wind Says Goodnight by Katy Rydell

Theme Word 2015: EMBRACE

I have known for a month or two that my word should be EMBRACE.  I have had a hard year adjusting to our new life in Colorado.  I know God has us where he wants us, but it hasn't been exactly where I have wanted to be.  So, I've complained and grumbled a little or a lot.  God has made it clear to me that I should EMBRACE where I am.  So, I will.  I will look with eyes open wide for his plan for us here, not just for me but for all of us in the family.  I can already see so many reasons and blessings to be here.  I will also look for what else God wants me to EMBRACE.

What does it mean to EMBRACE?  Hold closely in one's arms.  Accept or support willingly and enthusiastically.  Welcome with open arms.  Take to one's heart.  Adopt.  Receive gladly.  Accept readily.

So, we'll hug more each day.  I will embrace where God has me.  I will embrace God's Word and strive to take it to heart and to action.

Do you have a word for 2015?

Theme Word 2014: SEEK

Last year my word was abide - the perfect word for last year.  I had a hard time knowing what was the right word for this year.  I prayed about peace, grace, steadfast, seek, etc.  I read my posts from last year.  I read a lot of scripture to hear how God might be leading me.  And I kept coming back to SEEK.

I like it because it is active.  Last year I felt like God wanted me to rest and abide with him.  This year I need to be more active seeking after Him.  I want to be Sara seeking after God's Own Heart.  Seeking after His Word.  Seeking ways to serve Him.  Seeking after my children's hearts and husband's heart.  Seeking with all my heart.  Seeking justice and peace.

I spent a quiet night last night reading scripture about seeking God.  There was much to glean! 

I will start with just one or two today scriptures and post throughout the year on other passages.

Deuteronomy 4:29
But if you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 105:4
Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

Psalm 119:10
I seek you will all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

This reminds me of when Jesus says, if you love me you will obey my commands.  (John 14:15)

and ...

Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Lord, I will seek.

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Abiding

I have been enjoying the devotional book, One Year Alone with God:  366 Devotions on the Names of God by Ava Pennington.  I got this book free for Kindle almost a year ago and never got around to reading it.  But right now it has been perfect for abiding (my theme word for this year)!

Complete Joy

I wanted to share that as I again read the scripture I picked for my theme word, Abide, that I noticed the connection between my word last year:  joy. 

My scripture, John 15:4-11.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

I love how the words that God brought to me fit so perfectly together.  I will try to abide more.

Linked with: Works for Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, Miscellany Monday, The Better Mom, Beauty in His Grip, Gratituesday, Mindful Mothering, Mop it Up Monday, Mama Moments Mondays, Mommy Link-up!, Women Living Well, Hip Homeschool Hop, Thankful Thursday, Winsome Wednesday, Courtship Connection, and Gratituesday, Only a Breath, Titus 2sdays, Teach Me Tuesdays.

Theme Word 2013: ABIDE

 

My word this year will be Abide.  Other words I thought about were contentment, focus, and peace.  But then just a day or so ago in the quiet of the morning, ABIDE came to mind.  It seems to me that all the words I had been thinking about can be found in the word ABIDE.  I believe God brought this to mind, and I'm excited to pray to see what God can reveal to me this year as I ABIDE in Him.

My scripture will be John 15:4-11.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 

If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

I looked the word up in the dictionary:

ABIDE ...
1. to remain; continue; stay
2. to have one's abode; dwell
3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship
4. to endure, sustain, or withstand without yeilding or submitting
6. to wait for; await
7. to accept without opposition or question

ABIDE by ...
1. to act in accord with
2 to submit to; agree to
3. to remain steadfast or faithful to

I will be spending time each week to focus on and ABIDE in Him.

Do you have a word?

Linked with: Works for Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers, Miscellany Monday, The Better Mom, Beauty in His Grip, On Your Heart Tuesdays, Mommy Link-up!, Women Living Well, Hip Homeschool Hop, Thankful Thursday, Winsome Wednesday, Courtship Connection, and Gratituesday, Only a Breath, Women in the Word.

Gentleness and Kindness

My word for the year is JOY sprinkled with GENTLENESS, and  I decided to tie that to KINDNESS.  We are practicing in our family so that it will be evident to all.  Mostly, I am hoping to grow in speech and spirit and to help my kids do the same - maybe just by practicing our polite manners all the time - to start.  Here are some verses as my encouragement:

Galatians 5:22-23   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Philippians 4:5  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Colossians 3: 12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
1Peter3:3-4  Your beauty should not come from outward adornment ... Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Ephesians 4:2  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Proverbs 15:1  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

And now for KINDNESS ...  Came across this from Mom's Tool Box and thought it sounded like a good idea.  New assignments/challenges every Sunday. 

Operation Intentional #Kindness Week 1 Assignments:


(Choose at least 3 of the following to do this week. I’ll post a new assignment list each Sunday.)

1. Put quarters in and then tape more coins on a vending machine with a note. (Thanks, Robyn, for this kind idea)
2. Race ahead and hold the door for someone… or linger and hold it for someone who is waaaay behind you.
3. Compliment 2 people you don’t know who look a bit down. (Don’t mention that they look down, just share some love.)
4. De-cluttering? Donate gently-used books to your local hospital, school, or library fund-raiser.
5. Take some treats or a fruit and veggie tray into the office, or send it to your spouse’s office, kid’s school or doctor’s office. (There must be someone you can surprise!)

Theme word for 2012: JOY!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12

I have been praying about what to focus on this year.  Since I was hopeful last year, I thought I would follow that up this year with JOY!  Joyful in hope because I am still hopeful.  It's funny how God adds to what he teaches us each year.

So, I then decided to look up some other verses on joy as I prayed about a word.  It seems that joy and hope are often found together.  And I decided to look up REJOICE because isn't that what you do when you are full of joy?


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:2b-5.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance.  Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:2-3, 12.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

And one of my favorite verses: 

Philippians 4:4-8  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

**GENTLENESS.  Let your gentlenss be evident to all.  I know I am not as gentle as I would like to be.  Maybe that should be my word too.  I feel convicted by God as I write this to make this a focus this next year.  I'll have to follow up with another post as I pray about gentleness!

One last scripture I wrote down was Psalm 37.  I wrote it down because I was looking up the word DELIGHT!  A friend of mine said she was going to try to delight in her children more this year.  I like the word delight.  Doesn't delight mean to take great pleasure or JOY?  When I looked up delight in my Bible I found that it referenced delighting in God's law, delighting yourself in the law of the Lord.  It made me think of the song  Trust and Obey.  I've always loved this song.  Here are the lyrics:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be HAPPY in Jesus, but to trust and obey.


So, I will be JOYful and hopeful, REJOICE always, DELIGHT in the Lord, be HAPPY in Jesus, and  hopefully grow in GENTLENESS too!  I think this year I will regularly post a JOY UPDATE - and maybe a GENTLENESS UPDATE!  That will help me see how God uses joy and gentleness in my life to show me more of Him this year.

Reflecting on HOPEFUL!

The last couple of years I've been picking a theme word to focus on for the new year.  Last year was HOPEFUL!  The year before that was PATIENCE!  As I reread my post, I am amazed at how faithful God is.  How he pursues me, grows me, disciplines me, loves me.  I am still hopeful this year for all the things last year, but I know there's more that God has to show me. 

I thought I would repost as I am praying about my theme word for 2012.  Do you have a theme word?

2011:  HOPEFUL

I am so HOPEFUL for the next year. So excited to see what God has planned. Last year was incredible! We began the year wondering how our adoption would go - our first birthmother had changed her mind in the fall. Brad's job was not stable, and there was great concern and stress, especially for Brad. In all of that God was leading us to get involved with Compassion and several other organizations. We followed His leading. Brad kept his job, and soon we were matched with Cody's birthmom! An amazing year. I loved living every moment looking to God.


So this year I am looking to God with expectation. I am hopeful for adventure. I am hopeful to move past some of my lingering sin. Particularly, I want to be slow to speak and speaking compassionately all the time! Even when I'm tired and worn down or my house is a mess or my children sin. My heart wants kind words to be spoken, but out of my heart other words come out. Am I building up others when I speak ALL THE TIME? Am I speaking the truth in love ALL THE TIME? I want to, but I don't. I know I may never do that all the time, but I want it to be most of the time. I want to have to apologize less for things I say. Maybe I've been trying to conquer this sin too much on my own. So, I'll pray to the Lord more! I know I need to be filling my heart more with God's word so that "out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth will speak."

I am hopeful for God to be working in my husband's life and in each of my children. I hope to be the wife and mother that points them to the Lord. Sometimes I get busy outside of my family, but I know God has given me my family as my first place of ministry. I need to keep myself reminded of this, probably daily.

I am hopeful to enjoy watching God tell His Story in our family, every detail. God is so amazing in the details! I want to enjoy my family in the ages and stages that we are. So what if I am not getting much done because I am carrying Cody around right now. It is so short. Even if my house is a mess. This is when I can get a little grouchy. But, I love Cody's smiles, his soft feet. I love Lila's sense of humor and her craving for the spotlight in our house. I love listening to Mara talk about her friends and to see her interests developing. I want to listen to Kyle sort through life as he is getting to be grown up. I already have things I would have done differently in my parenting so far. I give those to God, hopeful that He can bring good from my mistakes. I will try to press on to the future. I'm just starting out with Cody and Lila's only 5 years.. Have I learned what's important yet?

I also hope to be still with God. To be quick to learn. To be quick to obey. To follow God fully. And to pray continually

Theme word for 2011: HOPEFUL

I am so HOPEFUL for the next year.  So excited to see what God has planned.  Last year was incredible!   We began the year wondering how our adoption would go - our first birthmother had changed her mind in the fall.  Brad's job was not stable, and there was great concern and stress, especially for Brad.  In all of that God was leading us to get involved with Compassion and several other organizations.  We followed His leading.  Brad kept his job, and soon we were matched with Cody's birthmom!  An amazing year.  I loved living every moment looking to God.

So this year I am looking to God with expectation.  I am hopeful for adventure.  I am hopeful to move past some of my lingering sin.  Particularly, I want to be slow to speak and speaking compassionately all the time!  Even when I'm tired and worn down or my house is a mess or my children sin.  My heart wants kind words to be spoken, but out of my heart other words come out.  Am I building up others when I speak ALL THE TIME?  Am I speaking the truth in love ALL THE TIME?  I want to, but I don't.  I know I may never do that all the time, but I want it to be most of the time.  I want to have to apologize less for things I say.  Maybe I've been trying to conquer this sin too much on my own.  So, I'll pray to the Lord more!  I know I need to be filling my heart more with God's word so that "out of the overflow of my heart, my mouth will speak."

I am hopeful for God to be working in my husband's life and in each of my children.  I hope to be the wife and mother that points them to the Lord.  Sometimes I get busy outside of my family, but I know God has given me my family as my first place of ministry.  I need to keep myself reminded of this, probably daily.

I am hopeful to enjoy watching God tell His Story in our family, every detail.  God is so amazing in the details!  I want to enjoy my family in the ages and stages that we are.  So what if I am not getting much done because I am carrying Cody around right now.  It is so short.  Even if my house is a mess.  This is when I can get a little grouchy.  But, I love Cody's smiles, his soft feet.  I love Lila's sense of humor and her craving for the spotlight in our house.  I love listening to Mara talk about her friends and to see her interests developing.  I want to listen to Kyle sort through life as he is getting to be grown up.  I already have things I would have done differently in my parenting so far.  I give those to God, hopeful that He can bring good from my mistakes.  I will try to press on to the future.  I'm just starting out with Cody and Lila's only 5 years..  Have I learned what's important yet? 

I also hope to be still with God.  To be quick to learn.  To be quick to obey.  To follow God fully.  And to pray continually. 

HOPEFUL