What a weekend! I think I’m finally rested from all the activities.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with our South Bay Church family on Thursday afternoon. We rented the clubhouse at our apartments and had an open invititation for anyone wanting to come. We divided up the traditional Thanksgiving menu items among our staff and we asked everyone that came to bring a dish too. We had about 35 people come, and needless to say, we had plenty of food- and even more desserts!
I was super nervous because I took on the job of the turkey (& stuffing, made from scratch gravy, and a couple desserts)- not 1 turkey, but 2 since we were preparing for a crowd. And no, I had never cooked turkey before. Surprisingly, thanks to Food Network, the turkeys came out great! In fact, I’m thinking of buying a small one next week and making it again cause I would like to enjoy it without the nervousness of getting it wrong.
I really enjoyed all that went into preparing the meal. I was in the kitched practically non-stop cooking/baking from Tuesday at 2 through Thursday at 4. It was a little stressful here and there, and being almost 8 months pregnant, my feet were a little swollen at the end of each day, but I had fun- especially since all the recipes came out as expected.
Here’s a few pics of the dinner- I wish I would have gotten one before the turkey was cut, but it was a little hectic and the last thing on my mind at that point. Later I will try to post the recipe for the chocoloate pumpkin cheesecake I made (I make it every year). It is wonderful!
One thing I love for my small groups to do is serve together in some capacity. Small groups can naturally be inwardly focused as we spend the majority of the time focusing on our own struggles and areas of needed growth. While there is nothing wrong with that and it is part of the reason we have small groups, I think taking some time to do something for others can help us focus outward beyond ourselves and our current problems.
Tonight our small group took a big basket filled with goodies to the local Fire Dept. in the area. All of us baked or contributed something to the basket. We had so much stuff we had an overflow bag half filled. They were loaded with brownies, cookies, pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, popcorn, hot chocolate, chocolate covered pretzels, muffins, and more.
We carpooled to the Fire Dept. and walked up as 2 of the firemen were sitting outside talking. We shared with the 2 guys that we wanted to bring them something to show our appreciation for what they did in the community. After confirming that we were at the “right” fire station, they were so happy. They made an announcement throughout the fire house that “guests from South Bay Church” were there and within minutes all 14 firefighters (12 men/2 women) came out and greeted us. It just so happened that the crew working will be the same one working on Thanksgiving Day.
Most of them hung around and proceeded to give us a tour of the station and shared some interesting fire fighting stories. They said the most common fires are kitchen fires and fires started by lack of common sense (putting a wet sock in the toaster to dry). In the middle of the tour the alarm went off and we were all looking around like “oh no there’s a emergency somewhere!”, then the dispatch proceeded to say, “Station 29 and communications welcomes the South Bay Church and thanks for the Thanksgiving goodies!!!”. Needless to say, I think they felt loved!
This week I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and so aware of how God has blessed me.
I’m so thankful for my family.
I married to an amazing man who loves God more than anything.
My girls are healthy, growing, and learning so much every day. This past week I’ve been talking about Thanksgiving with Lily & Cailyn- what it is, what it means. The depth of their understanding doesn’t go very far yet, but it’s cute to watch them light up when I start listing things we can be thankful for. Also, watching them run around saying, “turkey, turkey” is pretty darn cute too.
We are also blessed to be pregnant for the 3rd time, and am excited about becoming a family of 5! Craziness!!!
I’m reminded that it’s pretty easy to be thankful when everything is going well in our lives, and for us right now, things are pretty good. But, God asks us to be thankful no matter what season we are in, and no matter what we are going through.
So, no matter where you are or what situation you are in, find something to be thankful for. For most of us, we live in abundance, while many all over the world struggle for basic human needs.
I Thessalonians 5:18- “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
The girls and I made turkeys together last week. Here are them showing them off.
Immediately after this picture was taken, Cailyn ripped her turkey in pieces. I guess when you’re 2 it’s more about the process than the result.
Over the past couple years I’ve really come to love the blogging world. I love reading what other people are experiencing and learning. They are (usually) short, informative, inspiring, and entertaining. Reading them makes me feel connected to other like-minded people- many whom I don’t even know personally. My blogging list seems to be continually growing with currently 70 blog subscriptions and 244 unread blogs in Google Reader (the program that my RSS feeds into).
Ever since I redesigned my blog, the one thing I haven’t done is add a blog roll. I’ve been wanting to get to it, but because I read so many, I lose the motivation to do it whenever I think about it- I’m sure I’ll get to it sometime. So, I thought I’d do a few posts and share some of the blogs I read and why. Maybe you would like to read them too- if you don’t already. Oh, and just wanted to mention that no one is paying me to do this.
First up…drumroll please…Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff. After I read today’s post I just had to give the first post to him. Today’s post- Arguing about whether heaven will serve Chick-fil-A or In-n-Out (Part 1)
I’ve been reading this blog for about a year and a half or so. This blog makes me laugh out loud all the time! He writes about things that go on in the church world, and having grown up in the church, I can relate to so much of what he writes about.
A few favorite post…
#269. Understanding how metrosexual your worship leader is. (A handy guide)
#113. Booty, God, Booty
Kinky Lingerie for Missionaries or Remix #303 – Donating Junk to the Church
This week we discussed the last verse from the Lord’s Prayer.
Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ (NIV)
When we ask God to keep us from temptation, He will give us the strength to abstain from it, but we must also do our part in choosing to live a life of obedience to God. Romans 6:15, tells us “Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.”
Some of us need to make tough choices regarding our lifestyle to keep ourselves from temptation. Placing boundaries in our life can help us when we are faced with temptation. So often we want to do everything we can up until the line of sin. Notice the verse says “lead us not into temptation”. Being tempted is not a sin- Jesus was tempted, but he did not sin! This verse is asking for God to help us from even being tempted. We should strive to stay as far away from the “line” (whatever your weakness is) as possible to remove the temptation from our lives. For example, if you struggle with excessive drinking, a bar is probably not a smart place to go. That decision would be an instant temptation for your weakness. Instead we should avoid situations where we would even be tempted.
Jesus Understands
Believe it or not, Jesus understands what we go through and our struggle with sin. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that Jesus came into this earth in human form, and in verse 18 says, “Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted”.
Hebrews 4:15 also emphasizes this by saying He, “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin”.
Jesus Chose Obedience
Hebrews 5:8 “So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”
I never really thought about this before, but Jesus had to choose to obey God while on this earth. He wasn’t exempt from the decision. He had to choose what was right over what felt good at the moment.
Matthew 26:36-41 describes the anguish and pain Jesus went through in accepting the suffering he would have to go through. Jesus was asking for a way out, he didn’t want to go through it, but he desired God’s will above his own. This gives me hope and comfort knowing that Jesus understands how I feel when I don’t want to go through pain and suffering- He felt the same way.
Jesus emphasized prayer as a way to escape our temptation. When he was in the garden praying, he said to his disciples in Matthew 6:41, “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!”
By living a life of prayer, God will keep us from temptation. He helps us in our weakness as we choose to obey Him and put His desire for our lives above our sinful desires.
I can look back at times in my life where I was not content with my circumstances. During these times I would look at people and the culture surrounding me and think if I just had their clothes, car, phone then life would be good. During these times, I worked and focused so much attention on getting what I wanted. The crazy thing wasn’t that I focused on it so much, but that I usually got whatever it was I was pursuing. Living in the American culture, with just a little determination and a decent work ethic, you can pretty much get what you want. Oh, and if you got credit even better, right?!
This past summer, Filipe and I had to decide where we would continue living. We had a two bedroom apartment, but with another baby coming, needed to expand a little. Looking at our options naturally made me think about houses and the possibility of buying again. After only minutes of looking at a newspaper, it was pretty evident it wouldn’t even be a possibility for us right now. We live in one of the most expensive places in the country- I mean really, what does a mortgage on $8K- $1 million even look like?! Something inside of me was feeling a little weird about it, a little depressed even. Our culture pressures us and creates the feeling that buying a house is a basic human right- a financial goal for every growing family. For us, the first five and a half years of our marriage we owned the homes we lived in (two total), and renting felt like we were taking a step backwards- financially speaking.
Over these last few months, God got a hold of me and shifted my thinking. He helped me see that having a house doesn’t really matter- it didn’t equal happiness. My attitude about living has drastically changed, and I have so much peace in our new three bedroom apartment- which is not too shabby I might add! Having a place to live is enough. In fact, it is quite freeing about not having a mortgage or any (ZERO!) debt.
The past couple weeks, I’ve noticed an overwhelming sense of contentment within myself. It’s not something I was necessarily working on, but I think came as an overflow of my relationship with God lately and feeling like my heart is more connected to His. God has blessed our family with more than enough, and I can rejoice in that. Contentment will never come in pursuit of more. A life of contentment is far more enjoyable (and much less stressful) than the constant pursuit of more.
“… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
This week’s small group lesson was based on FORGIVENESS and the following verse:
Matthew 6:12 “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” (NLT)
Forgiveness can be a tough subject to talk about because of the hurt and pain often associated with it. We have to confront our own sinfulness and those of others being willing to ask for forgiveness and also extend forgiveness to others.
Receiving Forgiveness
Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites went through a continual cycle of rebellion/repentance/restoration. Judges 2 describes an example of one of these cycles. Reading through this we can be quick to judge the people and see how they often took God’s grace and mercy for granted.
Do you ever take God’s forgiveness for granted?
It can be misleading to think that because God forgives our sins; our sin isn’t a big deal.
Sin is a big deal to God. Sin separates us from God. It was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. It was because of his sacrifice that we can have forgiveness of sins. Never take that for granted!
*Something to remember: Just because we are forgiven doesn’t mean we escape all of the consequences of our sin. Read about Moses’s disobedience and his consequences because of it in Num. 20:1- 13 & Deut. 32:48-52.
The good news is God does forgive our sins!
I John 1:9- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
I went through a time in my life when I had a difficult time accepting God’s forgiveness. I grew up in the church, so I knew in my head that God forgives, but it’s completely different when I have to walk through it. I had to come to terms with my own humanity, my own sinfulness, and realize my need for a Savior. No matter what you have done, God is willing to forgive you, but you must repent of your sin and be willing to accept his forgiveness for you. It’s not easy- especially when you feel like your sin is a BIG sin, but God will help you. Ask God to help you accept his forgiveness so you can walk in freedom with Him.
Extending Forgiveness
We are all sinners in need of a Savior. When we understand our own sinfulness and how much we have been rescued, then we are able to extend the same to those around us. Our ability to forgive is directly related to our own realization of our need for forgiveness. At first I didn’t have the word “realization” in the sentence above, but I think some people have a need for forgiveness but don’t see it. Because they can’t see it, they struggle truly forgiving others and “not keeping records of wrong” (I Cor. 13:5).
Following the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 is another mention of forgiveness. It looks as if Jesus wanted to put great emphasis on this.
Matthew 6:14-15- “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Our inability to forgive becomes our problem, not the one who wronged us. We should not seek out revenge- no matter how bad someone hurt us. God will deal with them and their sin just like he deals with you and yours.
Mark 11:25- “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Have you accepted that God forgives your sin?
Is there someone in your life you haven’t been able to forgive?
A couple weeks ago I received an email asking to submit some articles to a website about small groups & leadership. The website is called Small Group Trader and is an awesome website for small group resources- I’m thrilled just having found their site since they are helpful for me as a small group leader too! They are connected to Bluefish - a website that I have used resources from for a few years now.
After checking out the website, I was thrilled/honored/overwhelmed for the opportunity! This type of thing couldn’t be more perfect for me. It involves three of the things I’m passionate about: writing, small groups, & leadership.
Over the weekend I submitted my first article and it was published yesterday! The title is: “How Do I Handle the Constant Talker?”
If you’re a small group leader out there, I’d love to here how you handle the constant talker.
Monday was Cailyn’s 2nd birthday! I can’t believe my baby is already 2 years old!! To celebrate, we invited close family & friends over for her birthday dinner.
What is every 2 year old’s favorite food? Black beans & rice of course! At least this Brazilian girl! Cailyn’s not usually a picky eater (most of the time!), but she will eat a bowl of beans & rice better than pizza or the other “kid-friendly” foods. So, we had a Brazilian style dinner complete with Guarana followed with Minnie Mouse cupcakes- yummy!!! The entire cupcake is edible w/ mint chocolate cookies for the ears, fruit by the foot for bows, and m&m’s for the polka dots.
We had a lot of fun with her and she has really enjoyed playing with her new toys! It’s so much fun watching her learn new things.
Our trip to NYC happened to be on Halloween weekend so I was a little sad to be away from the girls when they were all dressed up in their princess costumes. The girls stayed with Filipe’s parents and they took them to a couple Halloween events around town. The first one had a little too many scary things for Lily so they left early and went to the mall where they had a great time.
Here’s a few pics of us in NYC & the girls in their costumes: Lily was Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty & Cailyn was Snow White.
