The Memory Marker

I'm Invisible - thank you for seeing me, God

2010-01-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Correct Christmas Question

2009-12-22T06:33:00.001-08:00

My Life as a Tea Infuser

2009-08-05T05:49:00.001-07:00

In studying John 15:9 this morning, I began to think about the word

abide. Abide means to dwell, remain, continue, adhere to, maintain, to continue permanently on in the same state. As I was enjoying a cup of tea as well, I thought how much our lives as Christians are like tea infusers. Every day I am filled fresh and new with the most fragrant, sweet tasting Word of God and placed into the cup of my daily life waiting for the hot water of life to flood over me, the daily tasks of my life - pouring through me and engulfing me with its demands for attention. Did I fill myself with God's leaves today or am I empty? Do I allow the water to mix with the tea, releasing the sweetness of God's word, the kindness of Jesus bringing warmth and gooness into those who are in my cup for the day? Is there anything to give besides hot water? Is the tea sweet, is it hot enough, does it bring health and growth to those who drink it? Am I infusing today's leaves with patience and love or am I just a cold, bitter cup of water others are forced to deal with? At the end of the day, when my cup is empty - I go to the Lord and ask Him to wash out the leaves, the staleness, the sin; clean my cup and allow me to rest before being filled again tomorrow with His leaves and waiting for His infusion of love to give me wisdom and strength to serve my cup of tea.

2009-08-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

The Hope Chest

2009-08-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

On July 10th we were blessed to present Rebekah with her hope chest. This evening was so very special to us. Rebekah chose to invite very close friends and ladies who mean a great deal in her life to this event. Each person wrote and read aloud to her beautiful letters and poems, encouraging, challenging, and reaffirming her as a young lady. We had a great time of fellowship. Rebekah was truly blessed by the gifts that are now nicely packed away in her hope chest waiting to be used in her own home. This evening was one of great joy, encouragement and friendship. It was truly a blessing to me.

My Job - My Offering

2009-06-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him…. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.” Elizabeth Elliot

In this privilege of life I so often forget that the little things I say and do count. My attitude or tone of voice, my offering - is it of myself or for myself. I pray that I my job is done for Him and will not be offered in vain.

The Four Ceremonies

2009-01-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have completed writing up the ceremonies that we are currently using for our children as they pass from childhood to young adult and then into adulthood. Each ceremony is written with the idea that it designates a specific growth period and sets parameters for both you and your children.

The first ceremony is called The Challenge of Purity and was written for our daughters. We performed this with our oldest at the age of thirteen and will do this at thirteen with our youngest. This ceremony asks the young lady to recognize that God calls them to remain physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually pure for their future husband. This is also a recognition that their lives are to be pure for the purposes Christ has for them, now and in the future. A ring is given to them to serve as a reminder of their promise and the knowledge that Christ has a purpose for them.

The second ceremony is called The Pledge of a Squire and was written for our sons. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this ceremony is to be performed with our sons at age fourteen. This was the original age when a young man would pledge himself into service of a specific knight for his education and preparation for life. This ceremony acknowledges that the young man should now look to God, their father and other godly men as agents of instruction in preparation for their future lives. A ring is given to the young men as a representation of "a lady's favor" to remind them of their pledge to honor, serve and protect the ladies of the household. The ring we chose for this ceremony is black with silver edging to remind our son of the constant battle with sin and evil and the fact that God on one side and their father and other godly men encircle him and provide protection and help for him.

The third ceremony is The Hope Chest Ceremony and is written for our daughters, or course. We don't have a specific age for this ceremony, but hope to give our oldest daughter her chest this year - she will be seventeen. This ceremony involves godly women and friends writing and presenting a letter of commendation and challenge for our daughter and adding something to her chest for her future home. Everyone should also give her a favorite recipe. The current plan is for her dad to write her a letter as well and present it to her over a lunch or dinner date and for her brothers to give her a letter and perhaps her own "Joshua Stones" for her chest.

The fourth ceremony is the final ceremony for the boys. When they leave our household, we will perform this last ceremony called Honoring a True Knight. This ceremony is designed to transfer authority of our sons from God and ourselves to God alone as they establish their own household. They will be given a sword to remind them of their responsibilities as "true knights" to provide for and protect their household and family. They will be knighted and challenged with specific scriptural mandates given to them in order for them to lead and direct their family. We do not have a specific age for this ceremony and it should be left to the discretion of prayer and family preference.

These ceremonies are truly very special times that we have and will cherish with our children and we wanted to make them available for others if they are interested in them as well. If this is an area of interest for you and your family, please contact me for a price list.

The Joshua Stones

2008-12-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

Last year (or longer ) as my Connect Group was going through the book of Joshua, the Lord laid on my heart the idea of Joshua Stones. When the Israelites were crossing the Jordan River, Joshua had the men bring out boulders to erect a memorial place. This place would serve as a visual reminder to the children of Israel of God's miraculous blessings and care. Being in need of visual reminders myself, I thought that it would be a great idea to have Joshua stones in our home to remind us of God's providence and care in our lives. There are many ways this can be done. I simply took a bowl, placed a candle in the center and wrote on river stones some of the important events in our lives - for example, each child and our parents have stones with their birthdays and when they accepted Jesus into their life. Other events include Billy's ordination as a deacon and other joyful or difficult times that we wanted to be sure to thank God for. This is a wonderful teaching tool of God's love and a great introduction piece for non-believers. Whether it is Joshua Stones or other ways of remembering, marking those memories will be a blessing to you and those around you.

The Squire Marker

2008-11-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

I am, with my wonderful husband's help, finishing up on the next ceremony which will take place this Saturday. This ceremony is for our oldest son. It involves him taking an oath of loyalty and pledging himself into "service as a squire" to my husband and three other godly men in his life. I am looking forward to this significant mark of turning his "training into manhood" over to his dad and to see the growth that will follow. Billy has, of course, been training the boys all along, but this event marks a special break where David will pledge to follow his teaching, not just hear him talk. The squire theme does go along with the final cemeony for the young men of the house in which they will be knighted and presented with their own sword. I'll save those details for another post. Again, if you have special ways of marking your memories, please feel free to share.

The Memory Marker

2008-10-17T18:16:00.001-07:00

All of our precious memories mark the time for us as we pass through this world. Many times we have good markers, sometimes sad ones, and still other times none at all. This blog is about using special cermonies to mark memorable times in our lives and the lives of our children. I have put together three cermonies which mark the passage of girls and boys into young adulthood and the passage of young men officially into adulthood. (I'm working on another young lady's ceremony.) I will describe these ceremonies in more detail in the next few posts and I hope to have these completed and ready for publishing in 2009. If you have any suggestions of ceremonies please feel free to comment.