In the Trenches

Published by Nancy Ann on March 7, 2010 in Family Stuff. 5 Comments

So what have the femina girls been up to lately?

All three have kids at Logos this year, for a grand total of nine cousins who must be ready to go, dressed in their uniforms, with their lunches packed by 8:10 or so each morning. Their parents have signed their kids up for quite an array of extra-curricular activities. Are you ready for this? Hunter safety (yep, you can get a hunting license in Idaho at age 12 if you’ve passed hunter safety, and Knox passed with flying colors), basketball, art class, singing school, piano lessons, ballet, and hockey.

Bekah is a room mom, so she just made a big cardboard sled for last week’s class play from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. One side is white for the white witch, and the other side is red for Father Christmas. It’s splendid!

Rachel is six weeks out from delivery of #5 whom they affectionately refer to as Pinto (named while still a little bean). Besides enjoying the constant entertainment supplied by two two-year-old’s, a three, and a five year old, she keeps knitting like crazy, and now has broken in her new serger by making the three little girls matching skirts. But blogging requires a different part of her brain, and it cannot be spared right now. The twins are full time funny business, and they are trying to convince their mother that they are no longer in need of a nap. Rachel has other ideas.

Heather’s day is comparable. Little Marisol, her newest little beauty, has strong opinions about being set down. She smiles and coos and has lots to share, especially with her mama. Rory just turned eight yesterday, and Heather and I had fun in the kitchen making him his favorites: strawberry-rhubarb pie and apple pie, two of each. Oh, they were delish. (I’m sorry we did not take photos. But trust me on that one.)

In the trenches. That’s where my girls are living these days. That’s where the action is. And what are they doing down there? Making big cardboard sleds, skirts, and pies.

Good News

Published by Nancy Ann on March 7, 2010 in Commonplaces. 0 Comments

How typical and characteristic of him! He did the same thing on the cross itself,  you remember, even after they had driven the cruel nails into his hands and his feet. There, dying on the cross, he had time to speak to that thief dying by his side. Bearing in his own body the sins of the world, he had sufficient compassion and love and sympathy and understanding to turn to the wretched man who was there being crucified with him….That is Jesus, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ whom we preach. He is the center of this New Testament message and gospel. He is the one who, though he is the Son of God himself, is ready and willing and able to meet us exactly where we are.

from Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

Principles Without Grace

Published by Nancy Ann on March 7, 2010 in Practical Christian Living. 8 Comments

The Bible is full of commands for us to obey, but without the grace to do them, we just load ourselves up with impossible to-do lists accompanied by large doses of guilt.

For instance, we are to rejoice always. How can we do this when we don’t feel like rejoicing? We can pretend until it gets too hard, and then we can snap at the kids. The Bible tells us to love our  children. How can we do this when we are tired and the kids need our attention and patience? Patience wears thin quickly when we are looking to our own resources and clamping down on our own annoyance.

If we think that we can live the Christian life merely by having lots of high-sounding biblical principles, then we are guaranteed a face plant. And when we face plant, we can thank God that He has kindly shown us our weakness, so we can turn to Him for strength. We are needy creatures and we need a Savior. When we look to Christ and ask for His strength, He freely gives us all we need. This includes a cheerful spirit, even when we don’t feel like it, love for our neighbor when our neighbor is unkind. Jesus carries our burdens, comforts our sorrows, refreshes our spirits, raises us from the dead with Him.

We must not simply reduce the Christian life to a list of rules about courtship, marriage, and childrearing. No matter how many books we read or how many seminars and conferences we attend, if we are not looking to Christ, it is all a bunch of nothing. But if we have grace, then good teaching will point us to Christ over and over again, and we will become more like Him with each new principle that we learn and apply. This is our sanctification. Being and doing are two different things, and the one must precede the other. First we are to be attached to Christ; then we do what He commands. This is how we work out what He has worked in.

Our Homeschooling Friends

Published by Nancy Ann on March 4, 2010 in Mothering. 6 Comments

My friend Eileen Lawyer has written a nice little piece on homeschooling that is here if you would like to check it out. And the blog hosting her article belongs to one of our party-goers (from Mexico City), so it’s possible you have found it in your blog party going.  Though Doug and I did not homeschool our own kids (he started Logos School instead), we are certainly friends of homeschooling.  In fact we are attending a homeschooling convention next month in Cincinnati where Doug will be speaking. Anyway, Eileen has homeschooled their one child, and she is a great encouragement to many other homeschooling moms. And I’ve noticed from reading your blogs, a whole bunch of y’all are homeschooling moms too. I think I spot a trend in my readers!

Heavenly Provisions

Published by Nancy Ann on March 3, 2010 in Good Preaching. 7 Comments

My husband has been preaching through Romans for some time now (48 weeks and he’ll be  in chapter 13 next), and each week has been such a feast that it has been hard to pick out a bite to put up here on Femina to share with you all. But I’ve got one for you from this past Lord’s Day: What God commands, He gives; and He gives what He commands.

In other words, did God command us to not worry? Yes. And He gives us peace. Did He command us to love our enemies? Yes, and He will give us that love. So as we exercise our faith in obedience, we are not left to find the resources within ourselves. What a disappointment that would be! But He enables us to obey Him by giving us all the resources we have in Christ. It’s as though He fills our cupboards with heavenly provisions, and then tells us to open them up and help ourselves. Think about this one for a while! I have been finding it helpful all week.

A Lovely Lot of Blogs

Published by Nancy Ann on March 2, 2010 in From Me. 7 Comments

How can I write a blog post when I have been using up all my computer time reading all of yours? It has been such a fun tour, and I’m not quite done. Just taking a quick time out to say that I am very impressed by what a lovely lot of blogs you have.  Your creativity, your families, your fun and funny stories, and the unforgettable pictures have really been a great trip and inspiration. Keep blogging away! And I’ll be leaning on my femina girls to get a few posts up soon. Bekah has a hot one in the shoot, today is Heather’s 9th wedding anniversary (happy, happy) so she is celebrating with Nate, and Rachel is tired but knitting anyway (and doing a hundred other things). Me? Rejoicing that you sent in over a hundred comments sharing your blogs! I think that might break Bekah’s record. By the way, I did get her a prize for that distinction. After considering some of your suggestions, I got her an hour-long massage at a nearby spa. She loved it! Only problem is, I think she needs another one! But I must take off now to write a lit test for my friends in 9th grade for tomorrow. Signing out!