How Deep the Father's Love

Yesterday I ran to get groceries by myself while the boys were napping.  I found myself weeping as I listened to this song.  It was so timely to hear it right before Easter. Do you know the Father in this way?  Do you feel the depth of what He sacrificed for you?

Easter Fun

In the midst of the craziness that has been our life lately, I have been praying about and searching for ideas to focus our Easter celebration on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  I haven't been able to invest near the amount of time that I did during Advent, so I am praying for meaningful, clear ways to share the Easter story.  Here are a few of the things I have planned for this week!


Easter Egg Hunts: We will be hunting ALOT of eggs this week!  I love looking back at the origin of traditions and the origin of the Easter egg had nothing to do with a bunny (that never made sense to me anyway)!  They were meant to be a symbol of new life.  So we will hunt lots of eggs and talk about the new life we have as believers in Jesus Christ.  For our egg hunt on Easter Sunday, I am going to print and stuff the eggs with these cards and candy from Desiring Virtue.


Resurrection Eggs: I have seen these for several years and I love the idea of them, but I am not in love with all the little pieces inside!  I found this great printable on Pinterest.  It gives you the story without the pieces and the expense. :)

Hot Cross Buns: I am going to attempt making Hot Cross Buns on Saturday morning.  I love the idea of this being a Saturday morning before Easter tradition for years to come!

Empty Tomb: I also saw this on Pinterest and loved that it was so similar to what we did with the Nativity at Christmas.

Resurrection Cookies: We will be spending most of Easter weekend at my in-laws house.  I am excited to make these resurrection cookies at their house on Saturday night/Sunday morning since my mother-in-law is the one who first told me about them!


Since celebrating Advent this year, I have been more excited than ever for this Easter season.  I love the renewed excitement I feel about my Savior.  I love focusing on the truth that we serve a Savior that is ALIVE!  I am praying that each of you grasp the importance of that this week as you serve your families!

What To Do With The Rest Of The Year?

“Momma, where are you putting baby Jesus?” Drew asked, as I put away the nativity.  “We will put Him up and bring Him back out next year.” I replied.

“Momma, let’s listen to Christmas music,” he asked as we pulled out of the driveway.  “How about Veggie Tales instead?” I asked.  “No! Christmas music ... for baby Jesus’ birthday!”

Goodness have I been challenged by my little man over the last few weeks.  Have you tried to explain to a three year old why we only leave the nativity scenes out for one month of the year and why we don’t listen to “Silent Night” the other eleven months?  As I wrapped baby Jesus and put Him in the box amidst his questions, it hit me.  Is that how often I dwell on the birth of the incarnate Savior?  Once a year?  

Not only am I challenged by the amount that we focused and talked about Jesus in the month of December, but it has also caused me to stop and take a look at how much I am really teaching him about the Bible.  It is easy to use the excuse that he is three, but that just won’t work anymore.  As I put away the Christmas decorations, including the felt board we had done, I asked him to tell me the story and he did.  Granted, it was in the words of a three year old so every little detail wasn’t precise.  But he got it.  He knew that an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would have a baby.  Then he put Mary on the donkey and told Joseph they had to go to Bethlehem.  He then placed Jesus in the stable and brought the shepherds (who take care of sheep) and the wise men to see Jesus.  He then said, “Today in town of David, a Savior been born. He is Christ Lord.” Luke 2:11  He got it ... on a three year old level, but he got it.  And so did his momma.  These years are precious and they are few and that mind is a sponge.  What am I putting in it?

Mary on the way to Bethlehem.

So we will focus this year.  Focus on training and teaching.  My good friend Kim who did a lot of Advent activities with her boys is going to focus on a different story each month.  I am thinking we may tag along with that and keep up the felt board fun.

And we will listen to Christmas songs all year long if that is what he would like to listen to.  Besides, it will really never get old to hear him sing “Gloooooria, in exces e deo” from the backseat.

12:17 PM

Happy Birthday Jesus!

25 Days of Christmas: No Stress Zone

Just for today: stop planning, stop preparing, and stop running around.  Stop ... and focus on the Savior today.  I have thought a lot this year about how tempted we are to over plan and end up stressing during the month of December.  I have resolved that I don’t want my boys to see me stress about anything having to do with our celebrations.  I want them to see the joy that this season brings.  It may mean that I have to get up earlier or stay up later to get things done, but my prayer is that this season each year for our family will be one of anticipation, joy, and celebration!

25 Days of Christmas: Silent Night ... Holy Night

Turn off the TV and turn up the Christmas music!  Create your own station on Pandora or put on your favorite iPod play list.  Remember this season by worshipping all day long as you listen to Christmas music that reminds us of Christ’s birth.  Chris Tomlin's Christmas album, Glory in the Highest, has been my favorite this year!

25 Days of Christmas: Behold the Lamb

We are over half way through our 25 Days of Christmas series!  Most of it has gone according to the plan I had put together with a few curve balls thrown in.  Today is one of those curve balls.  Last week at the women's Bible Study I attend through my church, we were asked to bring something to share in regards to the Christmas season.  My new friend Brittany shared with us from a post she had put up on her blog several years ago.  I was BLOWN away by this information.  Oh, how marvelous and thorough and complete the mind and plan of God is!

Behold the Lamb- Brittany Bonner

The prophet Micah foretold the birthplace for the coming Messiah seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Micah said that the Messiah would be born in the little insignificant village near Jerusalem called Bethlehem. The actual location of the birthplace of Jesus Christ is also found in the prophecy of Micah, the location was Migdal Eder which in Hebrew is the “tower of the flock”.

“And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2

Migdal Eder, the tower of the flock mentioned in Micah 4:8, is the watchtower where the priestly shepherds would watch over their flocks in the shepherd's fields there at Bethlehem.

This tower is where they would watch over their flock from the second story and where they birthed the newborn lambs in the lower portion of the two story tower there in the fields of Bethlehem. In the lower portion of this watchtower that the birthing of the lambs would take place, ewes were brought to give birth to the lambs. In this shelter the priests would bring in the ewes which were about to lamb for protection.

The shepherds would wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling clothes to protect the body of the lambs, keeping the new lambs without spot or blemish, they would then be laid in a manger until they had calmed down.

These were not just any flock and herd.

Migdal Eder was the watchtower that guarded the Temple flocks that were being raised to serve as sacrificial animals in the Temple. The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal, that was to be sacrificed, had to be and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged, or blemished.” These special lambs came from a unique flock which were designated for sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem.

These lambs would be offered as sacrifice at the Temple just four miles away in Jerusalem.

With the establishment of Temple worship in Jerusalem, the fields outside of Bethlehem became the place where this special group of shepherds raised the lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. Being themselves under special Rabbinical care, they would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean stable for a birthing place. The Tower of the Flock was used for birthing ewes, and the surround fields were where these shepherds grazed their flocks. These shepherds customarily kept their flocks outdoors twenty-four hours a day every day of the year, but brought the ewes in to deliver their lambs where they could be carefully cared for.

It was to this place that Joseph took Mary. It was in this special stable at “Migdal Eder” that Christ was born!

The "swaddling clothes" that wrapped the lambs was also used to wrap the Lord Jesus.

These priestly shepherds in their fields near Bethlehem on that Christmas Eve knew where to go to find the newborn Messiah, Jesus Christ. He would be found where the angel had told them, wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger in the lower floor of the tower of the flock, Migdal Eder

Luke 2:8-18 records that there were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their sheep by night.

“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night … And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid: for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:8,10,11

These shepherds were none other but the shepherds from “Migdal Eder”. The angels told the shepherds that they would find the Babe wrapped in "swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." There was no need for the angels to give these shepherds directions to the birth place because they already knew. These were the men who raised sacrificial lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. When the angelic announcement came, they knew exactly where to go, as Luke 2 indicates, for the sign of a manger could only mean their manger at the tower of the flock!

Migdal Eder at Bethlehem is the perfect place for Christ to be born. He was born in the very birthplace where tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed to prefigure Him, were born. God promised it, pictured it and performed it at Migdal Eder.

It all fits together, for that's the place the place where sacrificial lambs were born!

The Lamb born at Migdal Eder was the Lamb to be sacrificed to take away the sin of the world.

You see our Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem where all sacrificial lambs were born, and our Lord Jesus died in Jerusalem where all sacrificial lambs were killed.

John the Baptist proclaimed of Jesus,

"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29

Jesus is presented in the Bible as being “in type” as a sacrificial lamb. It was not by chance but by choice that Christ identified His death with the time of the observance of the Passover.

Peter spoke of our redemption as wrought by the

"Precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" 1 Pet. 1:19

and Paul told us that

"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" 1 Cor. 5:7

Even the first fulfilled type by which Christ is to be revealed in Heaven is as the Lamb (Rev. 5:6-13). The baby grew up! He grew into a man to fulfill the plan for our salvation. He grew up to be the advocate, the intercessor, the "one mediator between man and God, the man Christ Jesus." (1 John 2:1, Heb 7:25, 1 Tim 2:5) He grew up so that He could die, thereby offering a perfect, sinless life in sacrifice for our sins. He grew up to be raised from the dead, conquering death and instilling a living hope of eternal life in all who come to Him. He grew up so that he might become “the source of eternal salvation." (Heb 5:9)

I'm glad that Jesus was born. But I rejoice even more in the life He lived, the death He died, and the accomplishment of His resurrection! While the world remembers a baby in a feeding trough, let our remembrance of His death help us to look to the Man, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the year.

Behold, the Lamb.

For Brittany's complete sources, see this link.

25 Days of Christmas: Whom or What Am I Worshipping This Christmas?

Even with a sick little man, my gracious husband let me sneak away Monday night to be able to attend the Christmas get together with the young women at our church.  We are still fairly new to this body of believers but I love the way they have welcomed us and I am crazy about this group of women.  This week we were focusing on the Christmas season.  The wise woman who leads the group asked this question: “Are you worshipping Christ or are you worshipping Christmas?”  The next thought I had was: “Am I worshipping Christ or am I worshipping the fact that I am teaching my kids about Christ during Christmas?”

I have loved helping my family to implement new ways to focus this season on Christ and continuing the things we already have in place. We are in this unique place where our boys are still young and we can begin traditions that will build a foundation for them to see this season for what it truly is: a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to anticipate His return again one day.

Busyness is Busyness. It doesn’t matter if it is the busyness of overbuying Christmas gifts and filling the month of December with Santa, Ms. Claus, and reindeer or it is making a Jesse tree, stocking a food pantry, or building a gingerbread nativity.  I can get just as lost and caught up in the things that are supposed to focus on the birth of Christ. It isn’t about the Advent activities or the Happy Birthday Jesus parties ... it is about my heart.  Am I worshipping Christ?  Am I focusing on what the incarnation means for me? Or am I worshipping the activities and traditions that I have put in place? I can plan all kinds of activities with the right message and work until I am exhausted to make sure this month is chock full of Jesus, but in the end, my boys and all of those around me this season will see more of Jesus by seeing a heart that WORSHIPS and ADORES the SAVIOR.  Because busyness is busyness and idols are idols, I will make a choice to worship the Savior.  Oh...how much more the month chock full of Jesus will mean to my family when my heart is focused on the glory of God not the glory of Lindsay.

Forever Reign

Kristian Stanfill's version of Forever Reign has been on constant repeat for Hal and I lately.  This is one of those songs that just makes me want to raise my hands in worship! The lyrics remind us who God is and who we are in Him if we are a Christian.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Growing in Your Conversations With God

Have you ever stopped to pray and thought it felt awkward? Felt yourself saying the same rehearsed prayer over and over? Felt like your prayer time was a one way conversation? Prayer seems like it should be easy, but just like many other things in our lives we must learn how to pray and then practice prayer often.  The Bible provides the tools we need to learn how to pray and grow in our conversations with God.

My prayers seem to fall into the same pattern.  Lord, please help the baby sleep through the night.  Father, please help me keep a calm tone with D.  Lord, I pray that you would give us direction.  Lord, you get the picture.  I just name off a list of things and go on.  It is all about me and what I want or need and I often repeat the same things over and over again.   It is almost like a get in/get out approach.

I often need to remind myself that I am not making my shopping list or writing out a wish list to Santa Clause.  Prayer is SO much more.  It is a conversation with the one true, living, sovereign, creator, God.  If that doesn’t take my breath away then nothing will!

What Is Prayer?

• Prayer is how we communicate with God: get to know Him better, praise Him for who He is and what He has done.
• Prayer is a spiritual discipline we learn.  It isn’t something we automatically know how to do when we begin our relationship with Christ.  It doesn’t necessarily come natural and often can seem hard.  I relate learning to pray with my experience nursing my boys. Before I had kids, I always assumed that breast feeding would naturally be easy. Umm...that was not my personal experience. Trying to nurse my firstborn resulted in many tears for him and for his momma.  It took practice.

Why should we Pray?

• We show our dependance on God an not on our own plans or abilities when we pray.
• Scripture commands it. (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 18:1, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2)
• Confession of Sin
• We pray to lay our requests before God.  I know that seems to contradict what I said earlier, but God does want to know our desires, but we first make sure our attitude and our heart are right.

How should we approach prayer?

• Reverence and Awe: When we pray, we need to remember that we are praying to the God of the universe and approach Him with awe and reverence not with a demanding attitude or with a list of requests that we expect Him to fulfill instantly.  I know that as women we are tired, run down, and sometimes we feel like all we have is 30 seconds, but would I approach the President of the United States or the Queen of England the way I often approach God?  Sometimes we take for granted the position we have in Christ that allows us to speak directly to God the Father.  Because Jesus serves as a believer’s High Priest and mediator, we can pray directly to God.  Old Testament believers did not have that privilege.  I am not implying that there is a formality or process that you have to go through and that God can’t hear your prayers at any time and in your moment of desperation. It is the attitude of our heart that is crucial to how we approach prayer ... coming to Him not with the focus on ourselves but with the focus on Him.  
• Worship: Think of the example of Mary in Luke 10 and John 12. We don’t usually think of this scripture in light of prayer but it has a lot to say about our attitude and how we approach the King which is what we are doing when we pray! 

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (emphasis added)

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:1-8

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and LISTEN to Him in the Luke passage.  In the John passage, we see her giving the best gift she could give to Jesus. This is how He wants us to approach Him in prayer.  Not with a demanding attitude but rather with an attitude of worship and humility. Giving Him my very best…whether it be time, words, or just my heart.  

Questions to Ponder:

When I pray,  do I pray to praise the God of the Universe, to thank Him for who he is and what he has done?  Do I pray to get to know Him better or with a shopping list of demands for Him to meet?

When is the last time I sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to what He wanted to say to me?

Be Mary…sit at His feet.  Give him your best.  Lavish your love on Him as He does on you.  Praise Him for who He is and what He has done for you. Pour out your heart.