"Leaving a Legacy...starting a New Year"

From down the hall I saw her...

she had a smile on her face and sat in her wheel chair like a queen upon a throne.

She was a jewel in our church. A women who feared the Lord and radiated beauty. As I helped her prepare to head to the santuary she gently clasped my hand in hers and smiled. "Bless you" she said in her tender voice. She held on tightly to my hands and seemed so eager to share her wisdom. I confess this was the first time Agnes and I met personally. She sat in the pew across the isle from me. With her bible opened on her lap she was very attentive to every word our pastor spoke. Not distracted by the ones around her or the to-do's for the day. She sat and radiated beauty. There was beauty there in her fraigle body. Beauty in her tender touches. Beauty in her crown of wisdom. Beauty in that silver angel that was clipped to her pink silk blouse. I could feel her boldness as she inched closer to a time of full renewal. Her life full of grace and her heart bursting with the good news. In that moment she passed on a legacy. A legacy to fill my years with the beauty of the scriptures; meekeness, patience, forgiveness, a gentle tone, love for the unbelievers, sheparding my children with grace, and many others. As the closing comments where made I saw her hands fold and eyes close, and wondered... were her prayers full of souls needing the Lord? Were her prayers asking for more time her on this earth or contentment in going home? Did she pray for me?

Before I left that day I embraced dear Agnes Ross. A hug that seemed to give her hope. In her tender soft voice she said, "Oh how I wish I could tell you soo much. There are so many stories I can share of God's faithfullness. " I prayed silently that the Lord would stop time even for a moment. So that I could sit and fill my heart with her wisdom. But even she knew there were little ones waiting for me. I hugged her once more as I heard her whisper I love you dear.

Even though those moments were short I will treasure them always...and anxiously await for the time when I can sit in her presence again and feel her love. The sweet love of our savior.

As this new year begins I think of sweet Agnes. Will this be the year she will be with her King in glory? And as my heart reflects on my year ahead I challenge myself...to fill my heart with character qualities that one day can be a leagacy I can pass on to my children and those who are around me.

"A precious gift...a gift of a Hope Chest"


This Christmas my daughter recieved a very special gift from my grandmother...
A special trunk filled with all of her sewing supplies.
As I thought about all of those memories, and thinking of all the stories I can pass on from seeeing my grandmother use these over the years... I was caught off guard when my daughter asked me if she could use this as her Hope Chest.
See my daughter has been wanting her own hope chest for a few years now and we have been on the hunt for "the perfect one". My heart jumped with joy! To use her great grandmothers sewing chest to fill with the things she will one day take to her own home thrilled me to pieces!! The next few days were filled with me and her going through all that was inside. Crocheted snowflakes...7 containers of embroidery thread-all organized and labeled....unfinished cross stiching projects....and many patterns. I also found a pair of old antique sewing scissors and her old measuring tapes. It was a trunk filled with many memories that I had stored up in my heart of the years gone by and soon will be filled with many memories from my daughter in the years ahead as she prepares to be a mother and a wife.
It was a gift of Hope. A hope that one day she will move this into her own home and share with her daughters the story of the first day she recieved this gift. It didn't take my daughter long to find some priceless things to lay inside-(will be posting pictures of those very soon)

(My daughter and my grandmother)

"Finding Joy in My Kitchen"

~Joy by Perspective~

As we traveled through town my heart was heavy with weary and expectations, I piled my burdens upon the ears of husband. He listened carfeully and then quietly pulled out this piece of paper from his coat pocket. He read these words:


"God's provision is about persepctive...

He will bring something along your path today

that will challenge you to see it with a different persepctive."

I heard his words, words of wisdom, words that should of changed the direction of my heart. But at that moment I was full of frustrations. I continued to keep my focus on all the things that were going wrong and it wasn't untill later that day when I remembered those words again. The Lord had it all under control. Every little detail of our school days, every little detail of my kids hearts, and every little detail of our first remodel project.

On that day there wasn't much joy in my kitchen...let alone not enough in my heart.

Jesus- Jesus should be first, his will above my own. His timing above my own

Others- Was I more concerned of the others around me or myself?

Yourself Last- I needed to be on my knees...I had a list, a list that wasn't getting done fast enough. A list that didn't have a eternal soul or a heartbeat-but it my head it was superior.

At that moment I was putting myself first... others, and the Lord last.

I thought of the words my husband spoke and realized I not only needed to see this day through the eyes of the Lord but I had to look at by His perspective. Being compassionate to the needs of others around me, and being patient when his timing even if it was longer than my own.

In our kitchens we can do many things;

~Train our children in manners

~Make memories as we cook together

~Use Hospitality

~Open our hearts as we sit together

~Cook meals that bless others

~Shepherd our children (after all doesn't this happen in every room of our homes?)

~Spend alone time with the Lord (I find this easy as I cook or clean up)

~Bless our husbands

I am sure each one of us can think of a list of many things we do in our kitchens that can bring us JOY. My challenge to you my dear friends is to pass that JOY along. And if you are struggling to find Joy in your kitchen take moment and look at your time spent there through Gods perspective.

...continuing on towards Joy

Dawn

"Finding Joy in your Kitchens"
...by giving Joy to your husband

Today was full of Joy... laundry getting caught up, housework mostly done, getting time to spend with a new friend at a local tea house, seeing the contentment as the kids play with some of the blessings from Christs' birthday. It was a day of calm, and peacefulness. It was a day when it seemed easy to see the joy and to give the joy to others.

As evening approached my dear husband made a request for a fried chicken dinner. Excitedly I got the ingredients ready-the chicken was already thawed- and planned to have a big meal at our new table (posting pictures soon of our finished remodel). An hour later I found myself leaning over the stove wondering why the oil still wasn't hot enough. The kids were getting hungry...the joy was slipping

I had a choice...I could complain about our stove (which seems to be having problems lately), and let the guilt of another meal going unplanned bother me....or I could find Joy. . I can keep my words few...gentle....and positive.

I stopped for a moment and prayed. "How can I find joy in this Lord?"

And then I heard him whisper-"Find the joy in giving your husband joy." My husband. The one I love dearly and and so blessed to have. Give him the Joy. I could look for joy in fullfilling my husbands request, work as hard as I can to get the oil just right, and guarantee him a wonderful supper (after I gently ask if he was ok with having it a little late).

As wives there are many ways we can give our husband Joy. Does he have a favorite drink? Make sure its available (for me that means keeping the pitchers of tea and lemonade filled) Does he try to help you out, but you seem to find he doesn't quite do it your way? Why not praise him for what he has done and find ways to let certian things go. For me that means not keeping the silverware going the same way. A silly thing I would get so frustrated with, and yet I missed out on seeing his willingness in putting dishes away for me. Does he have a favorite meal or dessert? Try and make it just because. And when things don't go as planned keep the joy in your voice. A womans words and tone can determine the mood of her household and the moods of others around her. Give him Joy with your words.

The kids are all tucked in, their tummys full of leftovers, again. The chicken is almost done. Soon I will see it....Joy! Joy in sitting next to my beloved and enjoying a fried chicken dinner. Joy in knowing its his favorite.




**Join me tomorrow as I post on "Perspective and Joy" the last in this series "Finding Joy in our Kitchens"


Many Blessings
Dawn

"All I Want For Christmas"

(I am breaking my mini series on finding JOY in our kitchen to add this Christmas wish...and a link to a wonderful friends blog.)

The tree is up. The stockings are hung. The house is decorated, and each kid has a small bin in our room with their name on it. The wishing has begun. Soon traditions will fill our home as we make the treasured family cookie recipe, hang cranberry and popcorn strings on our trees outside, having a big christmas morning breakfest, and "secertly"decorating our table christmas eve night leaving a special gift for each one by their plate to open when its time to eat...

But you see this year is going to be different....a few days ago a sweet family at our church has challenged us (through her blog) to ask a simple question this holiday season..."What if..."

What if.....
~The ornaments on our trees reflect God's Grace in our family?
~We took the time to explain to the kids how they can be the light of the world whenever we see christmas lights?
~We redifined our traditons to reflect MORE of Christ and LESS of the culture?
~What if our holiday traditions and everyday life radiated the love of Christ to all who came in our home or met us as we "walked by the way?"
~What if we became radically in love with the things God loves and use our time, energy, and resources for His kingdom?

What if......

My family and I have many things on our to-do list in the next few weeks and many things on our wish list. Thinking of these questions has helped me evaluate both. There are many things I wish for my kids to focus on this holiday season....things I should focus on as well. Here are just a few from my friends blog....(These are questions I am asking myself)

(you can find the full article over at http://www.growinggraciousguys.blogspot.com/ )

"What if my children love others more than things and learn to start browsing the Compassion and World Vision gift catalogs in November so they can choose what they give on Christmas morning to children in poverty?
(What if my husband and I did this also)
What if the department store catalogs made my children sad rather than greedy?
(What if I stayed away from those and was content with what I have)
What if my husband and I forgo what we would normally do for our children and instead bless others in their names?
(What if our kids were just as excited about THOSE gifts and not sad about the toy they didn't get?)
Pretty sure someone out there is yelling that I'm sucking all the fun out of Christmas. But what is Christmas? The celebration of the Greatest Gift. We've been given freedom, salvation, sonship, power, grace, mercy, justification, redemption, eternity! Our response: give as it has been given to you. "
(What if we didn't care about what others thought and decided to be "Set apart?")

All I want for Christmas this year is redefine normal....redfine my reactions to the simpliest of things like the christmas ornaments, lights, and the crowds. To the more complex things like how many presents do we give each child, what will those gifts be, what kind of gifts to give others.

This year we are starting a few new tradtions-ones that focus on the eternal and the needs of others...and not soo much on the deals, and wish lists. Again I was challenged by my friend..."How do the little and the big things we do around the holidays share our unspoken values to our children?" We are not going to take away all of our holiday traditions but refocus them on Christ. Look at them through the eyes of the Gospel and see if there needs to be any change.

Some of the new changes I am excited about are starting this year are "The Jesse Tree Devotional" which you can find over at Ann Voskamps Blog. (you can find the printables at the end of her devotional here: a http://www.holyexperience.com/free-advent-devotional. And we are going to open up the World Vision Catolog and find some ways we can give. We are also going to have a prayer tree...one that we hang prayer requests on to keep our focus on others' needs this year. This tree is simple to make (using sand, a vase/container,and a few sticks in the yard) and will sit in the middle of our kitchen table. These "new" tradtions I hope to continue on throughout the year, keeping our focus on others' needs as the prayer tree will continue to stay, doing a in depth study on the lineage of Christ (as the Jesse Tree emphasis'), and keeping our eyes on Compassion and World Vision catologs so we can give throughout the year. I am hoping our tradtions will not only add to our holiday season but will continue in our home and hearts throughout the year.

All I want for Christmas this year is to fill my childrens hearts and our home with more ways we can love the things God loves.

I leave you with one more quote from My friend," The goal is not to get rid of all the traditional Christmas practices but to redeem each one in a distinctly Christ-honoring way. "

I pray as you go about your day crossing off your to-do's and looking over your wish list that you will take time to pray and see if maybe, just maybe, God wants you to redeem the season, in a small way, or a big way.

What if......

"Evaluating Tradtions"

"Finding JOY in your Kitchen"

As I search through a few more ideas on posting in this series I came across this post by a sweet friend of mine and was really moved. I know Christmas is coming very soon and we all will be in our kitchen planning all sorts of holiday foods. (I know our home will soon be filled of the smells of freshly made sugar cookies.) So I propose a challenge to you my readers...as we search to find JOY in our kitchens can we find JOY in giving others the gift of food for their own kitchens? Tomorrow my children and I will look through World Vision's magazine for the first time and I wonder what will move their hearts...they are not restricted by dollar amounts or budgets. Their hearts are so full of pure compassion. If you would like to join me and my dear friend Krista in the search to bring JOY into our homes please visit her blog post here: http://growinggraciousguys.blogspot.com/ under "Evaluating Traditions"

"A Quiet Heart"
Today my family and I broke a 5 year tradition. A tradition of joining the excitement and choas of the Black Friday lines. As I went about my day, picking up toys, folding laundry, doing dishes and cooking meals I realized.... We are blessed...blessed beyond measure. There are so many things we have to be thankful for. So many things! Each toy out of place, each dirty dish that was once filled with food-hot and warm to our tummies. Each warm sweater I folded and clean Pjs. It seems those pile of dirty dishes and laundry are much to be thankful for. My mind thought of the recent orphans we prayed for as a family and the missionary families hanging on our refrigerator. I wonder what they would say they were thankful for today?
As the thanksgiving holiday rolls past and the Christmas holiday approaches I pray that I can focus, and teach my children how to focus, on being thankful for what we have and finding more ways to give those things in much abundance to others in need. I saw this quote over at http://raisinghomemakers.com and it really summed up my heart. May this be my prayer and yours everyday!

***A Thanksgiving Prayer***
“Lord, we give You thanks for all that You in Your mercy have given us to be and to do and to have. Deliver us, Lord, from all greed to be and to do and to have anything not in accord with Your holy purposes. Teach us to rest quietly in Your promise to supply, recognizing that if we don’t have it we don’t need it. Teach us to desire Your will – nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
(Elisabeth Elliot, Keep A Quiet Heart, pg. 126)