Category: Faith

Home

posted by Chelsea

Our little tip of NE Oregon. It’s always been home to Buck, but only for the last 6 years has it been to me. When we first moved here I had just finished college and had moved 7 times between leaving home and moving here. When we packed up and headed this way, I knew we were probably going to live here for awhile, but it took me more than a few months to settle in and call this place “home”. In fact, it wasn’t until the summer before last, when I drove “home” after being gone for a few days and I topped the final hill that gives you a bird’s eye view of our valley and our mountains, did I let out a big ol’ sigh of relief and say “Ahh… I’m home”. This recently happened again and I’m grateful that we’ve settled here and are raising our family in this beautiful place. I love coming home.

That to say, this whole idea of coming ”home” and how good it feels to be where you belong has been heavy on my mind this last week. The feeling of “coming home” in this world is just a taste of what we’ll experience when we “come home,” spiritually speaking. The kingdom of God is something we can experience, should experience, in the here and now. We can get little tastes of “coming home” even while we walk on this earth. I’ve gotten little teases– enough tastes to want more– to crave more. And yet, I know this life is but a breath and quick exhale and it’ll be over.

Another thing, that’s related, but won’t seem like it, is the labor I have ahead of me. While I’m wrapping my mind around the thought of doing that again, I’ve still been a bit apprehensive. Let me rephrase that- I had to excuse myself from the childbirth class I was teaching a couple of weeks ago. In the midst of trying to explain a few things to my class of eager first time parents, I started sweating and my face got flushed. I couldn’t seperate myself from the explanation I was giving them and therefore needed to exit the room. They were impressed or scared or something. Then, Aunt Jean reminded me that labor is really just a little blipp in time. When it’s happening, it feels like more and obviously it’s a significant blipp in time, but nonetheless, it doesn’t last forever. Just like life– we’re here for just a brief time and it feels like we’ll be here forever, but really we won’t.

So, now my kiddos are awake and I need to sum this post up. I guess my point is this, just like at the end of labor when I get to say to our little man “You’re home!” So we’ll hear at the end of this life, this breath, this blipp in time, “You’re home!”

An Ode to God’s Amazing Creation

posted by Donna

Everyone has a Mom; it’s plain God planned it that way.

For He created our innermost being when He knit us together in a mother’s womb that day. {Psalm 139:13}

The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden

but He knew it would take someone special so that his heart would not harden. {Genesis 2:15}

He decided to make man’s helper so God used organic matter like dirt and the very rib from one man’s side,

and for a helpmate, He chose the latter. {Genesis 2:19, 21}

And whatever man called a living creature, that was its name

but bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, this woman he would never tame. {Genesis 2:19, 23}

That’s because from this point forward, God knit people together there;

deep within the womb of woman and in due time, life she would bear. {Genesis 139:13}

Yes, God took us from our mother’s womb because He, too, did not want to be alone.

Each life so very different; His pattern He refused to clone. {Genesis 139:14}

Sons are indeed a heritage from God, children a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, children are a gift from the Lord. {Psalm 127:3, 4}

So take this day we set aside to thank your Mom or another,

because in all the world there is no one as special as Mother. {John 19:27}

Dedicated to my Mother ~ Marie Florence McLeod Arsenault

A Cup of Tea

by Charlotte

Won’t you sit for a bit and have a cup of tea (or your beverage of choice – me, I’ll have lemonade)?

So, maybe you’ve noticed that my clan has been branding a lot lately and maybe that I haven’t had too much to say here other than about that. I’d like to claim the all American excuse “I’m busy”. But truth be told, we all have time for what we make time for. I am a “feeling it” kind of girl. I don’t like to do things unless I’m “feeling it”. I don’t like to clean unless I’m “feeling” a need to clean. I don’t like to exercise unless I’m “feeling it”. I don’t like to redecorate unless I’m “feeling it”. I don’t like to be disciplined in my quiet time with God unless I’m “feeling it”. I don’t like to cook – well, I pretty much never like to cook, but you get the idea. So clearly I haven’t been “feeling it” to blog.

God set seasons in our natural environment, but I also think He put seasons in our hearts as well. A natural ebb and flow of things so that we don’t get stuck growing only in one direction. We need to branch out and grow in all directions – and we need pruned to help encourage more growth. Sometimes we “feel it” and are excited about what God is doing. And sometimes not.

I’m in one of the times of not. I want so much more of life. For myself and for my family. But I’m not really “feeling it” to do the work to get there. Take my latest area of “feeling it” – fitness. I see figures like this . . .

(Source:)

. . .and think, “Wow, that’s what I want.” But when it comes time to exercising and saying no to a doughnut (or two), I’m not “feeling it” at all. I don’t want to do the work. I’m “feeling it” to have the results of the work, but the work to get there – not so much.

I want a full life. A life spent laughing and working with my family. A life of peace and order. A life of spending time with people, because let’s face it – people are all that we can see here on earth that are eternal. Nothing else will be in Heaven with us. No dirty dishes, no funky new hair styles, no stalls to clean, no make up to put on, no pinterest, just God, His celestial beings, and people – in the new Heaven and the new Earth.

“What are you going to do?” you might be thinking to yourself. Well, this . . . pray. I’m going to pray that God will change my heart. That He will give me the courage to start making the small changes until the big changes are made. That He will set my actions into motion. He created the universe, it will not be a problem for Him to change my little, stone heart into a heart of flesh. He knows the desires of my heart and the tendencies of my habits, but they are no obstacle for Him. Prayers of desperation. Prayers of desire. Prayers of hope. Those are the kind of prayers He delights in answering. The ones where we cry for help to do what He has shown us He wants us to do . . . I just have to get out of the way and wait on Him (easily typed – no? Not so easily done).

Well, my lemonade is gone. I hope you have a great day. And remember, He delights in you (Zephaniah 3:17).

Winter Requests

posted by Chelsea

Yesterday, I had a funny analogy brought to my attention. My friend, Heidi, and I went out to coffee. On the way, my girls declared their flavor requests for “italian sodas”. As we got closer to our coffee house destination, I reminded the girls that I knew what they wanted and would order when we were inside. I asked them to sit down and not come running up to me REMINDING me over and over about what they wanted and how they wanted it. This is particularly hard for our three year old- she’s pretty sure, that in the midst of her eager anticipation…

…I need to know what she wants 431 times before she stops asking.

Yesterday, both girls managed to sit down and only remind me only once or twice what flavor it was they preferred. I was happy with the progress we’re making :-)

Heidi and I laughed at the situation. Then she said, “I wonder if that’s ever what we sound like to God…. we pray for something then we keep making sure He remembers just exactly what it is we were asking for… constantly reminding Him… it was cherry! I wanted a cherry soda! With whip cream! Cherry- did you hear me?! I want Cherry! With whip…”

Keeping that in mind, back in November, when we brought the cows home, I wrote THIS POST. I re-read it last night, while sitting up on the couch with a heating pad on my too-sore-to-sleep-lower-back and thanks in part to the pregnancy hormones running through my veins as well as a little dose of tiredness, and a hefty dose of thankfulness, I teared right up.

In the post, I included our summer-worries-turned-prayer requests and how God had graciously answered our list of concerns. Then I included our list of winter requests. I’d like to share them with you today:

1.*that the snow would hold off as long as possible
2.*that every cow is pregnant (?!)
3. *that every last calf will be born healthy (?!)
4. *that the water will run all winter
5. *that we’ll find more time for fence building
6. *that the tractor will run all winter (?!)

Amidst winter worry, some “reminding” God just exactly what kind of ”italian soda” it is we needed (if you will), I would like to tell you just exactly how things have turned out.

1. The snow held off amazingly- we didn’t have to start feeding hay until January. UH-MAYZ-ING!
2. We’re not through every last cow, but in conjunction with number 3, I can tell you that thanks to 3 sets of twins our calf crop right now, is over 100%.
3. see #2, and also know that we had to tube a few chilled calves with colostrum and one of the twins with milk replacer for awhile, but otherwise did not doctor a single calf.

4. We had and still have more than enough water.
5. The fences we needed built are built… and the fence building goes on forever.
6. Only $236 for one minor repair and the tractor ran like the well-oiled machine that she is and has been for the last 70 years.

We’re humbled and amazed. Looking ahead, the summer can appear daunting, especially this year with a new baby on the way and the same amount of work to be done. But being reminded of God’s faithfulness makes the whole thing seem less heavy and more do-able. I’m going to start making my list of prayer requests now, so come fall I can look back and be amazed. And during the summer when I wonder how it’s all going to come together, I’m going to try my best not to keep reminding Him, “It was cherry! I wanted cherry! With whip cream!”

Cream Rises 26 – Stephen

Posted by Donna

Psalm 31.5

Into Your hand I entrust my Spirit;

You redeem me, Lord, God of truth.

Let me introduce you to Stephen. Following Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, Stephen swung into action alongside the disciples and the growing number of Christ followers. In Acts 6 the disciples chose 7 individuals to minister to the widows who were being poorly cared for in Jerusalem. Stephen, the first chosen, was described as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” We’re also told “Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.” (Lucky people) But this quickly infuriated groups of unbelievers who tried to “catch” Stephen in lies and defame his activities and beliefs. (Sound familiar? It should. Matthew 26:59 tells us “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so they could put Him to death.) So those evil men sought out individuals who would make false claims against Stephen, that he disavowed Moses and even God. Just the opposite. Stephen was a true man of God. But they dragged him before the Sanhedrin, the powerful Jewish authorities.

Stephen rose to the occasion, testifying in their court. He spoke to his critical audience, reviewing the whole history of the Jewish people, beginning with Abraham and progressed into accusations that these men and their forefathers before them had hurt and killed all the prophets whom God had sent to help them, including the most recent killing of Jesus, the Righteous One. (Compare this to Luke 11:47 when Jesus told the experts of the law: Woe to you! You build monuments to the prophets, and your fathers killed them.) This infuriated the people, the elders, the scribes and the Sanhedrin. Jesus had called them “whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead man’s bones and every impurity.” And He claimed they said, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophet’s blood (Matthew 23:30). But Stephen begged to differ. He called them, “you stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears.”

The text in Acts 7 tells us “they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him. Gnashing of teeth is likened to a sign of violent rage, like an animal bringing its teeth together when it is biting at its prey in anger, pain or hatred. We’ve all seen it: a dog that grits its teeth looking like it will tear you apart or an animal who feels threatened and has to put up a good defense. Even humans who clench their teeth and let out a groan in certain dire situations. ”But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

If only the story ended there and everyone retreated and went home and Stephen moved to the next evangelistic encounter. Not to be. ”Then they screamed at the top of their voices, stopped their ears, and rushed together against him. They threw him out of the city and began to stone him. And here’s the part where it ties right in with Psalm 31:5. Here’s where the cream rises:

“They were stoning Stephen as he called out: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin!’ And saying this, he fell asleep.” True story.

Easter Rising

posted by Donna

Miracle of Death Afterword

UP from the grave He arose

with a mighty triumph o’er His foes.

He arose a victor o’er the dark domain

and He lives forever

with His saints to reign.

He arose.

Hallelujah, Christ arose!

Ooooo, that’s Good News!

Death could not keep Him down.

The Miracle of Death.

Jesus’ death first

then death to death

death to the Enemy

death to separation from the Father

death to sin

death to sacrifice

death to pain and heartache

death to darkness.

and as we die to all those human conditions,

Divinity rises.

The miracle of life.

Jesus is alive.

And so are we!!!

Happy, happy Easter!!!!

Easter Suspended

posted by Donna

The Miracle of Death Prelude

How many times have you heard the expression “the miracle of life’? A baby is born or someone witnesses the birth or perhaps a woman long barren holds a newborn of her own.

The Easter story is as much about the miracle of death as life. Jesus made a habit of raising people from the dead:

restoring Jairus’ daughter after death (Matthew 9:25)

a widow’s son raised to life (Luke 7:15)

bringing Lazarus back among the living after 4 days (John 11:44)

Miracles of death, but the greatest miracle, the miracle to top all miracles, the miracle of death so gory, cruel, prolonged, definitive, unjust, and final, was the death of Jesus on the cross. Every moment, as He died, encompassed excrutiating pain.

Take a healthy, strapping young man. Is HE perhaps your brother’s age or your son’s or your husband’s?

Watch Him

betrayed with a kiss

arrested

tied up

dragged before Jewish religious leaders

interrogated

slapped

bound

betrayed by

handed over to Roman authorities

flogged

crowned with thorns

mocked

scoffed at

stared at

insulted

crucified

finally,

DEAD.

On the Road to Easter

posted by Donna

Sometimes being a follower of Christ is like being in a physics class at Harvard……when you’re 10.

Take the story leading up to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus told His disciples He’d be returning to Judea, back to the place where the Jews had stoned Him. Because, when they insisted He tell them plainly if He was the Messiah, He told them plainly He was the Messiah. Then they stoned Him for blasphemy. (John 10:24, 25, 31)

So imagine being a disciple of Jesus when He announced they were returning to hostile territory. What on earth was He talking about? They must have been so confused when they heard this declaration: “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up. (John 11:11) After all this time with their often-puzzling Leader, they still didn’t “get” that Jesus had His own language, the language of the Kingdom. So He translated: “Lazarus has died. I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him. “(11:14)

Oh ya. That makes it crystal clear. Clear as mud, as my mother used to say. I think the disciple, Thomas, spoke for all of us in that Ivy League physics class in Galilee: “Let’s go so that we may die with Him.” Clear as mud, huh, Thomas?

Jesus moved to His own drum and very few ever caught “the beat.” Mostly everyone marched out of step. Jesus must’ve been a lonely maestro. Not very many understood Him. How could they? They tried to hear His divine words, limited by human ears. Some began to, though.

Take Mary and Martha, sisters to Lazarus. They’d developed close ties with Jesus, inviting Him to dinner and keeping track of His whereabouts. When they sent Jesus a desperate message: “Lord, the one You love is sick”, (John 11:3), they never expected Him to dilly dally for 2 days. Their words must have resounded in His ears and pulled on His heartstrings when Martha and Mary mournfully cried, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

The religious leaders, the disciples, His friends, few knew. Maybe in part, but the whole remained a mystery. Even now, as I write this, His poignancy, His essence, His full being eludes me. I want to say with Mary and Martha, “Lord, if You had been here….” I’m tempted to throw in the towel with the Jews and ask, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (John 6:52) Or complain with many of His disciples and say, “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?”

But my love and dedication has more than quadrupled in the time I’ve spent with Jesus and I no longer require “proof” or signs or plain talk. The Holy Spirit does His job well. He reveals the true nature of the Son of Man to me in such a deep and mysterious way that, really, only one response is necessary. Martha spoke it first just before Jesus raised her beloved brother and His beloved friend from the dead:

“Yes, Lord. I believe You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27)

Sing Like Jesus

posted by Donna

Mark 14:26

After singing psalms,

they went out to the Mount of Olives.

What would YOU do on your last night alive? If you knew that you were going to die within 24 hours? A gruesome, painful, shameful death?

Jesus sang.

With His friends. All of whom He knew would desert Him in His hour of greatest need. Two would even publicly betray Him.

Still Jesus sang.

If we are to follow Him, we, too, must sing. And nothing would please Him more than if our songs were composed by Him, using His words.

Psalm 100:4 and 118:24

I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter His courts with praise.

I will say this is the day that the Lord has made,

I will rejoice for He has made me glad.

Psalm 8:1, 9 and Isaiah 9:6

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! O Lord, we praise Your name, O Lord, we magnify Your name, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, O Lord our God Almighty.

Psalm 57:5 and 108:5

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

Let Your glory be over the whole earth.

Psalm 42:1

As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You.

And just like Christmas songs, so dear to our hearts, Easter songs are special, too.

Songs like He’s Alive, I Believe In A Hill Called Mt Calvary, He’s Risen, The Old Rugged Cross, Because He Lives, He Arose, Christ The Lord Is Risen Today, The Resurrection Song, Amazing Grace , My Savior My God , In Christ Alone, Above All , On Easter Morning, are some all-time favorites.

So sing with renewed focus and as praise.

Sing like Jesus.

Jesus Saves

posted by Donna

Matthew 11:4,5

Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John (the Baptist) what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.”

In spite of our rebellion and immaturity and pride, our Creator still loves us and longs for that love to be reciprocated. So to reconcile us back to Him, He came to earth as a man, as Jesus, and lived as a man and with man for 33 years. His full intention was to take on Himself all our sin so that we would be freed from it once and for all. So after a 3 year ministry, healing and teaching and sharing God, He allowed the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman authorities to crucify Him, then bury Him. Make no mistake, it was EVERYONE’S sins that necessitated Him hanging on that old rugged cross.

But on the 3^rd day He walked out of the tomb ALIVE, risen, resurrected. Those who accept what He did for them, the sacrifice He made to free us from sin, that we could move past guilt and shame and live as He teaches us to live, have the Good News: Jesus saves.

He saves us from eternal separation from God.

He saves us from having to do everything for ourselves (when we can’t anyway).

He saves us from living lives of mediocrity.

He saves us from a meaningless existence.

He saves our soul so that no force on earth can destroy it.

He saves us from missing the joy and blessing that He longs to bestow on us.

Jesus saves.

And that, folks, is Good News.

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Cowgirl Clippings

Category: Faith

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An Ode to God’s Amazing Creation

A Cup of Tea

Winter Requests

Cream Rises 26 – Stephen

Easter Rising

Easter Suspended

On the Road to Easter

Sing Like Jesus

Jesus Saves

Annie’s Recipe Box

Breakfast At Emily’s

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