Blogger Friend School #127 -- One truth...God!

This week we have a guest assignment from Libby at Deep in the Mountains

If anyone else is interested in doing an assignment please email Nancy at nking@hughes.net or Sombra at sombra.wilson@yourlink.ca. We’d be happy to have your assignment ideas to post. Also be sure to come back during the week for a Special Announcement from the BFS staff!

Memory verse:

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32

Introduction:
This is a spin-off of last week as we went searching for what “Hear” means. This is a hunt for the Truth about who we are as believers, how God views us and how we can rest in that Truth.

As before, use any Bible or Bible study tools to help you in your search. Sometimes it can be intimidating to do these kinds of studies. I was a little nervous about the last two assignments. But these assignments can be a way to learn how to do this kind of Bible study. Don’t feel you have to know it all in order to do this. We aren’t Bible professors here, but we are all in need of learning and understanding God’s message to us. God, our Abba, our Daddy, wrote this Book, the Bible, to us! Let’s see what He wants to share with us about all the wealth that is ours as His children.

Assignment: Dig around in the Word and share what you find about any or all of the following:

Who is Jesus Christ? (Yes, the obvious, but dig around, what are some of His names?) What has God given us in Christ, what benefits are ours right now? Because of Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf, what can we count on from Him in our daily lives?

If you need some ideas of where to get started check out these chapters in the New Testament and see where they take you:
John 15, Romans chapters 6, 7 and 8, Galatians chapters 2 and 5, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter are also great.

I can’t wait to see what everyone finds! Happy Digging!

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Doug said something during our family devotion time the other day which really struck me. I thought it neat that it went right along with this assignment...but then, I really shouldn't be so surprised. There are, afterall, no coincidences!

One spring day, you are walking along, not paying too much attention, just strolling down the middle of the boulevard. Suddenly, a dump truck rounds the corner and comes barrelling down on you. You are paralyzed and can't even react! Without warning, you are abruptly shoved out of the road and into the ditch. You're safe, but the guy who saved you -- let's call him Dave -- he was killed.

You go to Dave's memorial service where everyone around you is talking about Dave and what a great guy he was. A gentleman walks up to you and asks, "Did you know Dave?" How do you respond?

Would you say, "Oh, well, I didn't really know him, but he seemed like a nice guy"? More than likely your response would be more along the lines of, "Let me tell you! He saved my life! I was being dumb, and even though I knew better than to walk in the street, I did it anyway. Dave didn't even know me, but he gave his life for me. He saved me!"

When our kids began going to AWANA -- way back "when" -- the first verse they learned as Cubbies (3 and 4 year olds) was

1 John 4:10 "...God loved us and sent His son..."

I can still picture each one of my kids as they proudly quoted that verse (using hand motions, of course). But y'know what? That's not the whole verse. It's a shortened, 3-year-old version. I know why they shortened it. Here's the whole verse:

1 John 4:10 And this is love: not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Most three year olds can't even say "propitiation", let alone comprehend what it means! Many adults stumble over it and only have a vague idea of its definition.

propitiate: to cause to be favorably disposed; appease; conciliate; to pacify, placate, mollify or reconcile

Jesus was sent by God to "be the propitiation for our sins". Jesus stepped in and took the blame, took the fatal impact, of our disobedience. It's more than "God loved us and sent His son", although it really is that simple.

When we begin to realize what Jesus actually did for us, we can better respond to Him. How we respond to Jesus reflects who He is in our lives. It's a personal response and one that each person needs to work out "with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

So, that having been said, my question to you is this:

Who is Jesus to you?

Winter Furlough: Extreme North

I don't remember Oregon being so cold. To be totally honest, my feet were cold from about the time we crossed into Tuscon until we returned to Riverside the second time. I think you'd call that "acclimated". I am extremely acclimated to the weather in Mexico!

Our friends, the Powells, who came down here to stay while we traveled north ran around in shorts and t-shirts the whole time they were here. Our family, on the other hand, had already pulled out our winter clothing! I joked about bundling up in my thick wool socks and heavy sweatshirt when the thermometer plummeted to 75 degrees, but it's not far from the truth! The average daily temperature year round is about 85 and in the summer it's closer to 110. An ocean breeze added to a 70 degree day can make the "tropically acclimated" person shiver.

So, we packed up all two of our warm sweaters and headed to Oregon in February. Well, some may debate the wisdom, but it was still fun!

We did get to see some snow (see the Snow Post) and when we got to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mark's, we saw more!

We girls took a morning out to go to Greater Gresham Baptist Church for the ladies' Bible study. Great time! I had been praying about what to share and really wasn't getting any answers from God, and then Doug suggested letting Sarah share. What a fantastic idea! Can I say that I was more than a little bit proud as I watched this young woman share her heart with the ladies in the study? God is certainly growing her up well!!!

Debbie had had "plans" for lots of fun things for our family to do during our time there...until New Year's Eve when she broke her leg skiing down Mt. Hood. Ouch!

So, we didn't go many places, but we certainly had a great time visiting! Uncle Harold took us to a really neat restaurant. I haven't had Thai food since college, and I don't think I've ever been to a Thai restaurant. I have to give this place two thumbs way up! Typhoon of Portland -- yummy! Here's our crew enjoying the atmosphere...

Just so you know, taking the kids to a "nice" restaurant is something that just doesn't happen often for us. Any of you who have more than 3 kids will understand why! It's a little cost-prohibitive! So when we got to this place, it was pretty exciting for everyone! Thankfully, the food didn't disappoint!

We got together with the cousins, too. These pictures speak for themselves...

We spent one evening at some dear friends' house. Ryan and Candice, who blogs over at Flame in the Darkness, and invited us over for supper and fellowship.

But lest you think that all the kids did was watch movies and play video games, I've gotta share these photos...

Before

After

Didn't they do great? And they hardly complained! ;^)

We celebrated Evie's 10th birthday while we were in Portland. You can click here to see photos of the party.

All too soon, it was time to head home. We had found ourselves beginning to adjust to the cold, wet weather -- although the wind we could do without!

So, we packed up our home on wheels and headed back down to Winston.

Tune in next time when you'll hear Sarah say, "You said I could only miss 2!"

Blogger Friend School #126 Can You Hear Me Now?

Memory Verse: Mark 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Intro: When Jesus starts his response with “Hear O Israel”, he’s referencing back to the Shema - from Deuteronomy 6-4 - Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One and Only, Blessed Be his Glorious Sovereign Name for ever and ever. Jesus says this is His greatest commandment. Like.. if you asked your child(ren) to clean a room.. and it wasn’t done.. they responded to you and said.. I heard you. What good is it if they heard you.. but didn’t DO it. So for us to say, we heard God.. but ignored his instructions.. that’s not good enough.

Assignment: What does God mean when he says HEAR.. he says it often.. if we don’t have an auditory reception of His voice. why is he saying HEAR.. what does it mean, what are we losing in translation? The word Shema doesn’t just mean Hear.. like what your ear receives.. it means more. Tell in your assignment what you think Shema means whether it’s active hearing or auditory hearing. I’m very anxious to read your thoughts on this. I hope you will all enjoy doing this assignment, as we are trying to dig deeper into the Word and have a better understanding of what the Bible really is about.

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When I read this assignment on Tuesday, I got all excited about it, because I really do enjoy digging into words and meanings. Then life began to happen and suddenly I find myself here on Saturday with a page full of notes ready to post. Phew. It's been a full week! Yesterday was our last "official" day of classes before our spring break, so now I feel like I can breathe a little easier. Maybe I'll be able to catch up on the rest of the unfinished posts I have waiting for me!!!

So, here's where God led me in this study...

The Spanish verb oír and the Spanish verb escuchar.

• Oír -- to perceive sounds, to give into the pleas of someone = hear
• Escuchar -- to listen attentively; take into account; obey = listen

There is just something about the Spanish verbs which is different. During the past 100 years, American English has undergone a few changes. Nothing which terribly changes the actual language, but the rules have relaxed (in more ways than just grammar, for sure!) and many slang words have been added. Some words which used to be commonly used in a positive way are now used in a negative way or not used at all. For instance, my daughter was commenting the other day that someone accused a friend of hers of being "descriminating". I told her that 100 years ago, being descriminating was considered a good thing. In our language today, descrimination is only a bad thing. Many words are like that. Dumb used to just mean speechless, toilet was something everyone did to prepare for the day and gay was how you felt on a spring morning.

While the meanings of "hear" and "listen" haven't changed with the passing of time, it's good to slow down and really look at their meanings. In English they are used almost interchangeably, but not so in Spanish and also not so in the original Greek and Hebrew. The word translated oír or hear is a passive word. It implies that the hearer is just receiving. Escuchar or listen, on the other hand, are acitve verbs. That means that there is work being done on the part of the receiver -- some processing or application going on.

I focused on two main verses which use the word hear. The first is an Old Testament passage, the one which Jesus quoted in the passage above.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

The second verse is from the New Testament:

James 1:22-23 ...But be doers of the word and not merely hearers...

In the first verse, the verb is the active form of the word. Take notice! Listen up!

In the second verse, the word used would be what your child is doing about 30 seconds after you begin lecturing about the state of his bedroom. He hears you, but he's checked out. He's already heard it, he knows what you're going to say, if he just looks like he's paying attention, you'll stop ranting soon, and he can get back to whatever it is that he really wants to listen to.

And that, my friends, is exactly what God says NOT to do! Don't just read your devotional book in the morning, move your bookmark to the next page and get on with your day. The woman who does that is (as the Bible says) like the person who looks in the mirror and then walks away and completely forgets what she looks like. Here's the whole passage from the book of James:

James 1:22-25 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

I hope this post encourages you to really listen to what God wants to tell you -- be an active listener, not a passive hearer!

Thirteen X Two = Fun

This post is otherwise entitled: Bad Mommy! You forgot to post about the twin's birthday!!!

Jessee and Seth are very forgiving, though! Thanks, guys!!!

One cool thing about having a birthday right after a US furlough: you get American gifts!!!

Like NEW BOOKS!!!

And American candy!!!

Thanks to a couple of gifts from some wonderful friends in Oregon, we even had an ice cream cake!!! (Thanks Aleta and Shari!!!) This was a first attempt -- and it turned out great, if I do say so myself! There weren't a whole lot of leftovers, that's for sure!

Happy 13th, Jessee and Seth!!!!

We love you!

Winter Furlough -- The Saga Continues

Well, here's the latest installment in the Furlough Novela!

Our snow trip!

We promised the kids that at some point in our journey, we would be able to play in the snow. Never mind that the warmest article of clothing that any of us had was a fleece scarf! We would do it, and it would be worth it!

We did, and it was!!!

It "just so happened" (if you believe in coincidence, which we don't) that the Douglas County Homeschoolers' Group was hosting a tubing expedition at Diamond Lake the week that we were in town. Very cool! We borrowed snow clothes from just about every family in church (not really, but it felt like it!) so everyone would be toasty. What a fantastic time!

We homeschoolers basically had the mountain to ourselves and were able to slide down the hill as many times as we wanted during the course of the day. Did I mention that it was fantastic?

I took a little under 300 photos, and only about 15 of them were garbage, so it was really hard to choose just the right ones for this post. If any of you readers happen to have been on this trip and would like to see the other 2oo+ pictures. I got good shots of a lot of the people there -- not just our crew. The pics are hosted at Photobucket.com.

Alright, here are the photos...

One thing I didn't get a picture of: Andrew and I were preparing to be towed up the hill. We were lying across the tube and holding tight to the rope. I realized that our gloves were about to be caught in the rope, so at the last moment -- just as the girl running the lift said, "GO!" -- I let go to move my hands down a bit. Apparently, Andrew let go at exactly the same moment. Suddenly we found ourselves plopped unceremoniously on our bellies, watching our tube bump merrily away up the hill. We were both laughing so hard we could hardly get up! Our friend Patrick said that it looked like one of those tricks where the magician pulls the tablecloth out from under the table setting. I'm sure that contributed to the collection of aches I had the next morning, but it was worth it!

When our fun in the snow was over and everyone was sufficiently cold and tired, we headed home to Winston. We stayed in the Roseburg area through Sunday- and on Monday we headed north to see Aunt Debbie, Uncle Mark and the rest of the family -- those who were available and not snowed-in, that is! Like I said, we weren't able to see everyone, but it was great to see those we did!!!

Next post: The Northernmost Point