A crazy Wednesdays in the Word

I wish I had a Bible study to share today, but I don't
because the craziest happened...
but it does involve the Word. : )

Apparently, I wasn't very wide awake when I did laundry this morning and I WASHED A BIBLE!

How does that happen?!
We figured out that a certain son had it on his bunk bed last night and dropped it into his laundry basket below when he was done with it, then I tipped the whole basket into the washer this morning! Ahhh!
Somehow I noticed a pair of jeans with money in them but not an ENTIRE BIBLE, go figure!!!

Hubby called as the shock was wearing off and I was starting to clean up a million pieces of the WORD.

He is so funny!
He said:
"This gives a whole new meaning to
  "washing of the water by the word." Eph. 5:26

And "Papier-mache anyone?!"

Papier-mache indeed!

One of the kids looked at their jeans and said "I don't think I can ever wear these again. They are covered in the Psalms." ; )

To quote one of the boys: "RIP NIV."
What a morning!

~Becky

Happy Birthday to Andy

Andrew is 16 today! We celebrated with a family party on Saturday after he and Joy got back from Busch Gardens

and then he and Zac headed off to a Copeland concert!!!
 It may have been the fastest birthday party ever, but it was the only time we could get everyone together! : )

He got that electric guitar pedal he wanted! Yay!

And we did an Andrew word search!

-And since Tiffany was working, Hubby joked that someone else had the chance of winning! LOL  (that girl can do a word search in no time flat!) ; )

And we answered these questions:

What was our earliest memory of Andy? 

What Christ-like qualities does he have?

What skill or quality of his, do you wish you had? 

The great thing about having to write these things down and read them out loud, is that the birthday person ends up hearing some really sweet things about himself from his siblings that he may not usually! ; ) 

Hubby actually felt able to try standing at the grill and making everyone's favorite chicken! Hooray!

 We are so thankful for Andrew! He is such a kind and compassionate guy and has such a heart for God and his kingdom! I can't wait to see what the Lord has planned for his life.
 Happy Birthday, Roo! You care for us and keep us laughing! We love you!

~MOM

Purity symbols and another 16 year old

Our youngest is turning 16 on Tuesday!!! 

How did that happen already?! 

When our kids turn 16 we give them a purity ring or other symbol of their choice. 

This post mentions what our older kids chose.    

(the "geeky but elegant ring mentioned there, ended up needing to be sent back once we realized Joy was allergic to sterling silver! So, she's on purity ring#2!) 

Andrew and I joked that what he would REALLY like is a purity PEDAL. 

LOL 

As in, an electric guitar pedal. We had lots of laughs as he was trying to come up with a way to connect purity and electric guitar. ; ) 

He has chosen a watch for his symbol and we plan to have it engraved with a verse on the back.

 

And today it hit me what verse that should be:
Matthew 26:41!!!

"Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation." LOL
 How great is that?!

WAY back when, I had a purity necklace. I posted a bit of our love story here several years ago. : )

Have a great weekend!

~Becky

A party, pain and Panda

Early last week, Andrew asked if he could have 11 people over to watch a movie on Friday night.
But then he cancelled it.
And then, on Thursday, it was on again...

But this time it was not to watch a movie and with way more than 11 people! : )
It was tons of fun! -Love those young people!

We had been keeping an eye on what we thought might be a spider bite or something on Andrew's leg and on Saturday morning the swelling and redness had doubled across the width of his shin, so we were off to the doctor.
 -And we've been going every other day since! (3 trips and counting!)
Guess what will make you wish your child had a spider bite?
When the doctor mentions the possibility of MRSA!
 But, thankfully the labs showed it wasn't that, and it is SO much better now. Not as well as they hoped, but better. They have had to lance this cyst 3 times! Poor guy!!! All that to say, I have definitely seen my quota of blood and pus lately! Blah!

So, I've had two patients this week and both on pain killers! Hubby has been doing well, but last Thursday he seriously OVERDID it by doing WAY more than sitting at his desk at the office. (he climbed in a client's attic) So, he has been in way more pain than he usually is.Then today, he OVERDID it again, lifting some wood, and had to come home due to the pain it caused in his chest. I'm wondering if chaining him to his desk would be a possibility?! ; )
Bless his heart, it is SO hard to be in this seemingly unending recovery mode.

In the midst of the craziness, the sweetest thing happened yesterday! Joy and Andrew said that they were taking me out for a 'surprise' during our (homeschooling) lunch break! Joy drove and they surprised me with a flower and a card that they had hidden in the glove box! Then they bought me lunch at Panda Express to thank me for all that I have been doing for them lately!
-Melt my heart!

~Becky

One lengthy edition of Wednesdays in the Word

I love this verse:
"Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord his God." ~Ps. 146:5
It intrigued me that it wasn't the God of Abraham or the God of David or somebody a little more awesome than Jacob listed here. ; )

Jacob usually just reminds me of a guy whose name meant 'deceiver' who ended up reaping what he sowed over and over.
What I didn't realize before, is that God actually 'met' him 6 times and helped him in his greatest times of need! I love that!

The first time was in a dream after he deceived his father for the blessing that was rightfully, Esau's, and everyone thought it would be better for him to leave home. He went to his Uncle Laban's in search of a wife and a new life.
God met him in a place that became so special that Jacob named it 'the house of God' or Bethel. God spoke a promise of his destiny to him and a promise of protection for him. How great is that when you are starting a new life in a new place?! 
He learns that his descendants will be "as the dust of the earth" and that "in his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." "I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go...I will not leave until I have done what I have spoken to you." Now that, is reassuring!
(I get a kick out of the fact that Jacob was still a guy with a lot of nerve and makes the Almighty a conditional pledge in return. "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on....then the Lord shall be my God." -Alrighty, then!)

The next time God met Jacob was in a dream when he's been used and abused by his father-in-law, Laban. God spoke comfort to him and gave the next steps in the plan for his life. He said "I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. (Love that!) I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. (I guess it was more than a pledge after all -LOL) Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family."

The approaching reunion with Esau, took two heavenly encounters for Jacob to get through it. ; ) Genesis 32:7 says that he was "greatly afraid and distressed."
On his way, "the angels of God met him" and when Jacob saw them he said "This is God's camp" and named the place a word that meant "Double camp."
That night, at another location, the famous heavenly wrestling match took place. Jacob wrestled with all he had within him for a blessing from God. God gave him a new name and a blessing! The 'deceiver' became a 'Prince with God.' He said 'you have struggled with God and with me, and have prevailed." And "He blessed him there." Then Jacob named the place Penuel, which means "Face of God."

Encounter number five happened at a very low point in Jacob's life. His family members had succumbed to idolatrous worship. His daughter had been raped and in retaliation, his sons deceive, murder, and plunder an entire city. God told Jacob to go back to Bethel! He's told to basically get his family right with God and they do. Then God blesses Jacob, reaffirms his previous promise and reaffirms his new name! (probably a needful reminder that God still had a plan for his family)

The final time, God 'met' with Jacob was at the end of his life. Everything that took place in his son, Joseph's life, (as a result of being sold by his brothers) had just been revealed. The brothers had been forgiven and Joseph was second to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. Joseph planned to take the entire family to live there so that he could continue to provide for them during the famine. - It can't be easy to move to a foreign land at the age of 130. ; )  So God graciously spoke to him again and said "I am God...do not fear to go down to Egypt." Then he reaffirms that 'great nation' promise and says the best news of all: "I will go down with you to Egypt..."

You see, all along his life's journey, I don't think that Jacob realized that 'heaven' was going WITH him, as promised! He seemed to think he just happened to stumble into these heavenly places! (as evidenced by the names he gave them)
We see that at every twist and turn in Jacob's life, God met him and reassured him of who he was, and what the plan was for his life. And we see that with that plan, came God's protection, provision and best of all His presence! Hallelujah!

So, I get it now: Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help. Amen!

~Becky

Wedding dress shopping

We had the best time last night going with Tiffany and her parents and bridesmaids to look for her wedding dress!

It reminded me of the weekend one summer when she, Joy and Moriah couldn't get enough of the show, "Say Yes to the Dress!" I wrote this post about it way back then! : )
Who knew that just three years later, we would be living it out! (although not a Kleinfelds- LOL)
I got choked up when she was trying to decide which dress she thought Zac would like best. What mother of the groom wouldn't? So sweet!
There were two dresses that we all loved on her and she had us take a vote. It was so hard to decide between them.When she announced THE one, the store had her ring a bell and make a wish! Too cute!
 (I have pictures that I, of course, can't post!) : )
She and her mom shed some happy tears about it all and then her sweet dad wanted to take us all out to celebrate.
I felt like quite the party animal being out past 10:00 PM on a Monday night, eating yummy food made by this guy! ; )

How fun are: young love, purity, sweet friends and loving family members!
Not to mention, wedding dress shopping!!!It is a blast! : )

~Becky

A list of loves

1. My favorite happy place of all is the beach, and last night we caught a sunset!

We apparently have no talent when it comes to taking sunset selfies though! ; )

2. I don't know where I heard about this website but I like it. It is a free service! First, you take a survey of the kinds of books you like and then Bookbub will send you a daily email letting you know what ebooks are free on Amazon that day. (or at the most -$2.99) I love books and I love FREE! : )


3. These cookies are healthy and YUMMY. My kids aren't convinced that their cookies need to be healthy ; )  but to my utter surprise, they loved these. They are gluten free too!

Peanut butter cookies:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup of coconut sugar  (I'd never heard of such a thing but apparently it is made of the nectar of coconut flowers!)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Bake at 350 for 10 min and eat!

4. Trader Joe's is another one of my happy places! I love it!!! And these are one of my favorite things there:

And every time that I go in there and don't buy them, I'm so proud of myself. LOL (its been ages!) What I always do buy are their flowers. Isn't this a whole lot of happy for $3.99?

5. Hubby and I LOVED this movie! 

See it when it comes to DVD, if you are like me and love it when the underdogs win!

6. These glasses from Ross are the cutest and they came with the chalk! Now my kiddos can't tell me that forgot what glass is theirs and get a new one every hour! : )

7. This book by Jack Hayford is awesome. It is about the things Jesus said on the cross and how they can give us hope and inspiration in troubled times.

Have a great weekend!
~Becky

Wednesdays in the Word

Loving Psalm 146 this week! I want to commit it to memory.

"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God
while I have my being.

Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom
there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish. 
(so true!)

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
(I love, love this! It made me do a study on the life of Jacob and his encounters with God -more on this next week!)

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
(This reminds me of my kids marine bio classes! So much in the sea that they were clueless about back then but that we marvel at today!)

Who keeps truth forever,
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow
(AMEN)
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
(Look out!)

The Lord shall reign forever-Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, Praise the Lord!
 And have a great Wednesday!
~Becky

First job, take two!

This girl got a job here:

Whoo-hoo!!!
What is kind of fun is that it was one of our favorite places to eat when Hubby was going through chemo and radiation because it was so close to the cancer hospital and it felt like comfort food. It was also the first place we ate after he was healed from surgery and able to eat again. I'd say we are fans.

This isn't exactly her first job. She did an internship and got a job at a cute little bakery/cafe, but since they wanted to pay her under the table, she quit, pretty much before she got started. God bless her.

We love that she will never have to miss church to work on Sundays! -This will probably help me to remember not to try and eat there n Sundays, which I've tried to do twice in recent months. LOL
It also means I will be spending a lot of my time in the car as she works to earn her own car...and I will be trying really hard not to go through the drive thru. ; )

~Becky

Bridesmaids!

Tiffany had a party for her bridesmaids on Saturday night. She surprised them all with this beautiful party and asked them to be in her wedding! So sweet!
Her decorations were just gorgeous:

 And here's a little photo bombing by her dad. LOL

There were gifts! 

T-shirts for all and monogrammed tumblers! 

 And some great food cooked by Zac!

The future bride and her bridesmaids! 

The moms! 

 The special day will be on September 10th!

~Mother of the Groom! 

Happy Resurrection Day!

Hubby started taking an annual Easter photo with the kids and I back when there were only two wiggly little boys to photograph. 

Today we realized there's going to come a day pretty soon when Andrew and I will be the only ones in this photo. LOL

Hubby got this picture of all of us at lunch. We were a tired bunch due to lots of fun and ministry that took place over the weekend.  

And because of all that,

 there is a ham and lots of side dishes waiting to be cooked another day! ; )

Happy Easter. He is Risen! 

~Becky

An empty chair

Hubby has often said that he won't feel like he's healed until he is back at work and climbing a 32 foot ladder! And bless his heart, that is a ways away due to his strength level.
As you can imagine, sitting in his chair day after day has been at times, rather depressing.
But the greatest thing happened today! PTL! -His company created a position for him working in the office and he can start tomorrow!
It is right up his alley, doing things he excels at. And he can "leave if he gets too tired or put his feet up on the desk and take a nap" on the spot. How sweet is that?! I could cry! Seriously cry!

We are so excited! Not because it means he will get paid. Because this amazing company has been paying him the entire time he's been unable to work! (and the reality of that often does make me cry!) We are excited because he so desperately wants to work and be productive.

After having him home for six months, it is going to be weird to see his chair empty tomorrow.
There were months that he could barely speak due to the pain in his esophagus and so he didn't. He just sat silently in his chair. Then there was a month or two when eating or drinking made him cry out in pain from that chair. But there have been many more months, thankfully, when he felt semi OK and he made the most of his time by engaging our kids in conversations as they passed by his chair. Beautiful, helpful times, when he spoke into their lives. He helped Joy figure out what it was she wanted to do after graduation. He helped Zac with proposal plans and the wedding venue search. He and Andrew talk Bible or guitars constantly. And he has theological discussions late into the night with Nate when he is home or by phone.
Just today, the homeschooling mom in me had to remind him
that the kids have schoolwork to do. LOL
And he ignored me. ; )

After all we've been through, we know that this was a special time and season we lived through together.

And tomorrow begins a new season in this ongoing recovery process,
 but it is one that does not include his chair. : )


In awe of God's goodness,
~Becky

Wednesdays in the Word

Sometimes I think that as long as something ugly, unkind or negative doesn't come out of my mouth, then it is all good. But unfortunately, even though I forget this often, this just isn't the case.
My prayer needs to be "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Ps.19:14

Reading these verses this morning reminded me of how very important the state of our heart is because all kinds of evil starts there FIRST:

"What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the HEART of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, coveteousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
(I have no idea what an 'evil eye' is but I'm sure I don't want one) ; ) Mk 7:20-21

This explains why the guarding of our hearts is so important. "Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life." Prov.4:23

Jer. 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Which makes this prayer a necessity:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Ps.139:23-24

And this prayer for good measure on a regular basis:
"Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; Keep watch over the door of my lips." : )  Amen!
 Ps. 141:3

~Becky