HOME FELLOWSHIP CHURCH

We did it.

 

HE did it.

 

We hosted our first home fellowship style church service yesterday and it was a sweet, sweet time.

 

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 18:20

 

A couple years back, we had friends who hosted a family church in their home. It ministered to our hearts in a dear and nostalgic way. We loved their ministry and learned much from our time with them. They have since moved out of the state,

but the seeds they had planted in our hearts to appreciate the age old practice of a family worship service remain.

God has cultivated the soil of our hearts and watered those seeds. He's taken us through a season of learning and

even wounding to bring us to this place of embarking upon a home fellowship church of our own and we're grateful.

 

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Colossians 3:16

 

We don't know how long this season will last. It could be a few more Sundays...It could be the rest of our lives.

But, what we do know is that this is what we've been called to do right now. There's peace in that.

 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Matthew 6:33

 

Yesterday, 36 grown ups and children came together in our home.
Yesterday in our living room, children and parents worshipped the Lord together in song. 
Brodie shared his testimony and the gospel. Families shared a fellowship meal after.
It was a very special time.

 

Some of the older kids and cousins are forming a worship team.
Even the midweek practice gets to be a special part of worshipping the Lord in community.

What a JOY to see them all using their gifts and talents to praise the Lord!

I am SO excited for next Sunday!

 

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!"

Psalm 95:1

 

Today, I'm thanking the Lord for the fellowship that warmed the heart of our home yesterday. It was precious to me.

Prayerfully, our gathering was a pleasing aroma to our Father God as we offered ourselves to Him.

We're eager to serve, encourage, and LOVE His body in this way as long as He should will.

 

By God's grace, may we glorify Him each Sunday as we set out on this new venture, 

worshipping Him together through the blessing of home fellowship church.

 

"Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation."

Joel 1:3


MAKING IT WORK...BOYS BUNK PROJECT

We love making it work in our home.

 

As long as we continue to feel that this house is where we belong, we're determined to maximize our space the best we can.

 

In our home, we have a boys bunk room and a girls bunk room. Even if we had a HUGE house with multiple bedrooms,

that would be our preference. We all love snuggling in and bunking up and sharing rooms and space. It's great for the kids' relationships and grooming for their hearts to cooperate and meld in their bedrooms. We love it!

 

As our family has grown (and our house has not), what we've realized is that we can make the most of our space with a few tweaks here and there. It's fun, educational, and cost effective...especially when we can sell a once-loved possession in order to buy supplies for the next...as was the case with the boys bunk beds.

Here's to documenting our latest space maximizing project:

 

This is the boy's bunk bed space before...all spare and ready to sell.
(We're sad to see it go.)

 

 

Since Boden has slept with Mommy and Daddy most of his life, that trundle bed has had a desolate existence.
Knowing he is ready for a Big Boy Bed was part of our motivation to swap out our bunks, as was our need for more
storage space in the room for clothing and necessities. The plan is for the new bunks to take up less space while
adding a 4th bed (you never know...) and also dresser drawers which the boys have been needing for a while now.

So, we sold our beloved old bunk bed and used the $ to buy what we needed to complete the new project.
(I'd say 9 out of 10 times this is how we fund our "make it work" projects...the beauty of recycling!)

The framework begins:

 

 

What a blessing that Brodie can take a vision and make it a reality,

because my head spins just thinking about how to build something like this!

(Thanks for your willing heart Brodie!!)

 Slats and a ladder provide stability and accessibility...starting to take form:

 

 

 Time for railings and paint:

Trundles serve as dresser drawers...finally room enough for everyone's clothes and PJs!
 

Here's where I pause to appreciate the individual reading lights installed by...me.
Ummm...if I had that to do over, it's safe to say I'd wait till Brodie was home!

Lastly, we added one more middle drawer and our same bedding to finish the project!

(I had at one time bought 4 duvet/sham sets when we thought we were expecting another brother...so that worked out!)

Thank you, Brodie, for another job well done with a joyful, serving heart.
Your efforts are such a blessing to us all!!

...especially your boys this time around.

(That 4th bunk looks awfully lonely. Hmmm... :))

"Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."
Ephesians 6:7



READY...SET....LEAP!

It's a leap of faith moment...

 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Hebrews 11:1

 

It's been brewing for a while (as in over a decade) but it seems a ministry opportunity we have been waiting for may be here.

 

As in right HERE in front of us.

 

For years we have searched and prayed and prayed and searched and wondered if God was leading us into ministry. It seems He is...just not internationally as we had expected, even hoped for. But, here we are in our own home town, primed and ready to stay.

{For now, at least.}

 

Confirmations. JOY. Excitement. PEACE.

 

Just one step at a time, flashlight at our feet style, we're stepping and leaping with blind faith into the unknown and it feels...right.

 

So, ready or not, here we go. The time has come to LEAP!

 

"And [Jesus] said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'"

Matthew 4:19


SUNSHINE

Who knew Sunshine could be so much fun?!

 

 

Elka's "lifelong dream" of having her bird perched on her shoulder has officially come true.

She's put her time in with training every day and her efforts are really paying off.

 

Leave it to Brodie to get Legos involved...Mr. Lego himself:

 



 

He too has become quite the bird trainer...following in the footsteps of his dad, but of course!

 

 

Olia, who at first shrieked at the idea of Sunshine perching on her finger, has a new friend:

 

 

Even India has gotten into the action!

 

 

Soooo...I'd say little miss Sunshine has brightened many a day around here.

 

 

She's a keeper.

 

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

Matthew 6:26

OPEN

Over the course of this year as we've prayed for direction for our family, tides have turned,

things have changed, doors have closed...and opened. We find ourselves available.

 

Open.

 

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
 Proverbs 3:5

 

There have been moments of confusion, moments of perfect clarity, and moments of blind trust despite both.

 

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Proverbs 3:6

 

What we seek more than anything else in our lives is to glorify God in all that we do.

This is our first priority in life and ministry, eating, drinking, things like that. 

 

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31

 

We love Him most and ask that He would love others through us with His LOVE.

 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 

This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-39

 

These are our hearts desires as we delight ourselves in the Lord daily, seeking Him for guidance.

 

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."

Psalm 37:4-5

 

Still before the Lord, we're waiting patiently for Him...He knows the plan. He leads the way.
He's given us glimpses of what may be, but time will reveal His will.

For now, it seems that our part in this season is simply to be...open.

 

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."

Psalm 37:7





QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

-Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

 

(Who knew Dr. Seuss could be so encouraging?! Here's to caring...a whole lot.)

PRUNING

Woah...I'm wondering if these past few days fall into the "careful what you pray for" category??

 

Earlier this week I wrote about the victory God gave me in an area of stronghold in my life.

I praise Him for how He came through for me that day...and I've been determinedly prayerful that He might
continue to rid me of my specific history-driven fear of loss. He's responding...and I'll be frank. I don't love the process.

 

What I've come to accept in life is that God doesn't zap us with attributes like patience and faith.

No. He grows and grooms Himself into us through a pilgrimage. It's different for us all.

 

For me, this area of struggle which finds it's roots in the seemingly premature loss of my mom when I was a teenager, it rears it's ugly head in my life when I find my own life threatened. My heart aches and bleeds and grapples to protect my loved ones that they wouldn't endure the pain I've known, the loss I've grieved. I don't want heartache like that for them.

 

Yet, the losses of my life have been the very glue that's bound my heart stuck solid to my Savior. These pangs and scars, they've taught me to know the Lord. I must accept God's will and trust Him no matter how pruning the process might be.

 

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away,

and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

John 15:2

 

And so, this past weekend as I've seen my life flash before my eyes through medical problems that have proven to be too much information for my sensitive mama heart, I've come face to face with my worst fear. God, in His great love for me (I accept this as true), has taken me captive in His grooming process, kicking and screaming, I'll admit.

 

If I want to learn trust, will the Shepherd zap me with trust?
If I ask to know peace, will He snap peace into my heart just like that?

If it's faith like a child that I long to embody, will that faith spontaneously appear?

It could...but I think God writes more creative stories than that.
He squiggles the lines and blurs the road in a way that we find ourselves stretched,
sometimes beyond distention.

 

Ok, I submit. I watch myself learn from my heavenly Father.

 

It hurts.

 

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

John 15:4

I decide that I'm in and recommit to His pruning. I pray for His strength to carry me in my utter weakness.

How have I found myself here again?! Slow learner?

 

I meditate on Psalm 23 and accept His care for me in this prickly gift. I follow the Good Shepherd. I know His voice. I trust Him more with each concerning step I take, this dependent, foolish sheep I am. Why the concern? He is faithful. I know He is!

 

I seem to waiver and then stand bold. I waffle between the two worlds and thank Him for loving me anyhow.

He knows my faults and flaws and flounderings. He designed me this way for purpose. He's the Author of my story, His story.

And it's all for Him, each breath I breath. I long to know Him more.

 

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

James 4:8

A friend reminds me that it's alright to tell God when we're having a hard time trusting Him.
The psalmist did. "He can take it," she says. I believe her.

 

Like it or not, He's placed me here in this place where my fears meet my reality.

I can't turn back what's done. He's already started the ball rolling. And He is good, MY Shepherd. No matter what.

It's painful, this grooming process, but God knows what He's doing.
I trust Him, pruning and all.

 

"I am the vine; you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit,

for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

COUNTDOWN

The countdown is on...

 

And Elka is getting ready for her BIG trip to China!!

 

Her passport is officially on it's way and her China dream is officially coming true.

 

 

Ever since her dad and Aida's trip to Beijing in 2011, Elka has waited for her turn to go...she won't wait much longer!

 

Our care package made it across the sea...and it should be arriving to our daughter soon.

 

Things are happening. We're preparing. The countdown is ON...

 

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."

Psalm 37:7

WHOM SHALL I FEAR?

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:1

 

It was a spiritual battle. Call it what it was.

 

I've searched my heart and dug down deep. I've repented and asked forgiveness be mine.

If there is any fault in me, I've asked that it be gone. I've sought the Lord. I have.

 

I've asked to be free. I've asked His grace to cover me. I've begged for victory.

 

He met me in my weakest moment today.

 

JOY

 

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Exodus 14:14

Today a spiritual battle engulfed my surroundings. But, I found myself as I haven't before.

 

Still.

 

"Be still and know that he is God."

Psalm 46:10

 

This is a victory worth celebrating. He did it today for me. He won...on my behalf.

 

GRATITUDE

 

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Psalm 46:1

 

I had checked my heart at the door and laid myself bare before God Almighty...

...the One who knows it all anyway.

 

I might as well be real.

 

He knows me. He's my Friend. I'm His.

 

I'm His!

 

And today, in my weak spot...the place where darkness taunts me, God came through.

He fought for me. I felt it. I was aware of it. I knew it. The reality brought me to tears.

 

PEACE

 

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3

 

On the drive in I sang it... "I know who goes before me!"

But this peace I knew today, it doesn't normally reign so strong in these moments (which I loathe).

And God's ordained it so. Why do I push difficulty away? Why do we so despise our weakness?

After all, is it not the very catalyst to intimacy with our Lord? Is it not the very pinpoint to HIS strength, not ours?

 

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,

so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

 

But we do. We do it all the time.

We run from the very thing that draws us in and breaks us down,

releasing fragrant sweetness from the crushing we avoid.

 

Brokenness...it has it's beautiful place. It was the pinnacle of Jesus' life.

How dare I reject His craftsmanship? Why on earth would I?

 

"But [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

 

So, I catch myself in action and I real my mind in firm. I prop my measly self upon Scripture tall and strong and I'm bolstered on every side. "The God of angel armies is always by my side..." The song, it plays as I drive. And the words resound, redundant in my ears and in my heart as I await my appointed time.

 

"I know who goes before me...He is a Friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side."

 

I cannot believe that this God, so BIG, so wide,

so everywhere for everyone all at the same time showed up today just for me.

 

But He did.

 

What a Savior.

 

Thank you, Friend.

 

Whom shall I fear?

 

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

 

 

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD."
Proverbs 21:31

 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all, to stand firm."
Ephesians 6:10-13

ENCOURAGE

 

I woke to this note on my cutting board this morning. Someone had left it last night...

 

...and sometimes it's the littlest things that mean the very most.

 

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up."

1 Thessalonians 5:11


THE BUDDY COMPETITION

There's something about a good old fashioned competition to spur a group of kids on.

 

Being an extremely non-competitive type, I'll admit I don't totally relate to the motivation at hand.
However, if a bit of friendly competition has the power to turn my children into saints, then alright...it's on!

 

So, tonight with no prompt from me, the kids decided to strike up a game.
The Buddy Competition is in full effect as I type and I must admit there's really something to this!

 

Here's the set up:

An older sibling helps a younger sibling through the bath, tidy up, and get ready for bed process...then reads a book with their buddy until all kids are done. The buddy team who has the most cooperative and orderly younger sibling along with the most encouraging and nurturing older sibling wins. Speed is not a factor. Hearts are! The winner is to be judged by me, Mom, and the reward for the winning duo is a buddy camp out in the lady bug tent in Mom and Dad's room, sleeping bags and the whole thing.

 

I've been told that I can offer honorable mentions as well (yay!) and to be honest, I have NO idea how I will be able to pick just one buddy crew as the winner! I really just want them ALL to win, especially since they're all doing so well...so...I'm devising a plan...

Here's to documenting The Buddy Competition:

First, the kids divided themselves into buddy teams.
Some teams bathed and showered while other teams were in tidy up mode...then they switched.

All of the teams chose PJs that matched as best as they could.
(There's really something especially bonding for the kids when they get to be matching. It works!)

 

 

Next, as each team finished up their routine, including teeth brushing,
they picked a book and read with their buddy in the loft bed.

(What did I do before the loft bed?!)

Then, they all eagerly awaited the big announcement...

I thought really hard about how to encourage each team, even those who achieved honorable mention, because I was astounded at how our little Buddy Competition had worked wonders! Every single child was joyful and orderly. Olia even instigated some music for tidying up. It was just how I'd hope for the bath and bed routine to feel every night (cuz let's face it, bath and bed with 8 little people can definitely get a bit hectic if we're not intentional)...It's been wonderful!

SO, I went out of my way throughout the competition to verbally praise each child. They beamed of course. AND, a few of the honorable mention children earned Jesus Act Sticks for their particularly deserving, sacrificial, and loving moments.

THEN, I began the awards. There were 3 honorable mentions:

1- Elka and India (who did outstandingly well) earned a camp out in the loft bed together!!

(Disclaimer: Elka had offered along the way to me that she would be fine with not winning the grand prize so to let another team win. This is very Elka-like, and so appreciated. So, of course, I gave her a Jesus Act Stick for her kind heart.)

Yay Elka and India!! You were such a fun and happy team!!

2- Olia and Noble (who were, and always are, such a sweet team) earned a camp out in the Lego loft!!

It was so cute that even though they didn't win the grand prize, they honestly seemed to think they had hit the jackpot!

LOVE them!!

3- Aida and Nova (who were exceptional) won a camp out in Mom and Dad's bed...always a win!

Aida had worked overtime to coordinate the whole thing from the get-go and so she too got a JAS for her helpful, thoughtful heart.

Drum roll.........

And, The Buddy Competition winners of the grand prize lady bug tent camp out in Mom and Dad's room were...

BRODIE & BODEN!!

These 2 had come from behind as they set off with a bit of a rocky start.
Their recovery was so dramatic that I felt they just had to win.

They were thrilled!!

...and look who I found in their tent in the wee hours of the morning.

Bear is one of the crew too...loving life with his family.

Me too.

It was a blessed evening and hopefully one that will encourage our hearts for many bath and bedtime routines to come.

Thanks, Aida, for organizing this!

Thanks, Buddy Competition, for spurring us on tonight!

Thank you, Lord, for my precious children.

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." 
Matthew 7:12

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord."
Psalm 127:3