The only Bible some people ever read...

I've heard the phrase all my live.  "Live your life as a follower of Christ, so that others might see Christ through you, you are the only Bible some people will ever read."

I haven't always been a good example.  I've failed.  I've fallen.  I still fail.  I still show people that I am human, but that's not what I want.

I'm on a mission.

A mission to follow Christ only.  Completely.  In everything.

I hear it all the time that people don't know how I can handle having 4 children, or how I can get done all that I do with all the kids... and there's only way I can do it all, it's because of Christ.  In Philippians, Paul told the Christians at Philippi that he could do ALL things, through Christ who strengthened him.  This needs to be me.  Why is it so hard that when people mention to me how busy I am, I get irritated with them, instead of simply saying that I can do ALL things, because of Christ who is my strength?  Yes, I get irritated, people rarely count my children and shake their head and are amazed that I ahve them all at the grocery store, unless they're having out of character moments and everyone is acting a fool for the day.  People don't seem to notice on normal shopping trips when everyone is pretty well behaved and we're having an easy shopping day.

A preacher I've listened to recently put it this way... good wine comes from good grapes, bitter wine comes from bitter grapes.  Christ told us in Matthew that we will be known by our fruit.  Galatians explains to us that that fruit is the fruit of the Spirit.. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In John 15:5-8, Christ said, "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  IF you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

So what is your flavor?  When you, as a Christian, when I, a Christian, am "squeezed", what flavor do I produce... a good sweet wine, a bitter taste, an unripened fruit?  What reaction do I have to trials and tribulations and LIFE?  How can I better show Christ to those around me.

For those who have been around when I personally have been "squeezed" and have not reacted in a Christian way, I apologize.  Please forgive me, and pray for me, as I strive and struggle every day to live abiding in my Christ and producing fruits that please Him.

Homesteading

I'm admitting it now for EVERYONE to hear, well read... I dream of owning a homestead.  By homestead, I don't mean a big house that our family for generations will call the "family home", although that's a part of my dream.  I dream of having acreage enough to raise all our own food.  A garden, livestock, horses to work the livestock, chickens for eggs and meat, hogs for meat, goats for milk... I hear it's great!, and being as much "off the grid" as we can be.  I know, those of you who have known me forever, and a few that have recently become friends think I"m crazy.  Well, I've never been accused of being sane!
  My dream really wouldn't require THAT much land... unless of course we bought enough that our children could eventually build their own houses on the outlying edges of the land and really turn it into a "family home".  I don't want a full blown farm, well, I do, but just enough of one to sustain us, not the entire town!
It's funny though, as I think about a Burch Farm... I think, well, besides the food thing, we're not that far away from it!  The people I've admitted this dream to in real life have said, "Well, you've got enough kids to work a farm" and well, that's true; and they're used to mommy's crazy chores and having to help with the family matters, not just their own.  As for getting started on our way... we already cloth diaper... I"m working on making us not reliant on disposable products, starting, and probably ending, with normal things... like not using paper towels and napkins :-), but using reusable whenever we can... I've got a decent stockpile of clothes for the kids... and mend what I can and shop CHEAP for what I can't.  It's finally cooling off enough outside that I feel comfortable hanging clothes out to dry, and not feeling like I"m baking them dry!  I cook the majority of our food from scratch, and have a decent stockpile, but I would LOVE to go outside and pick fresh produce rather than having to run to the grocery store!
Well, I know, that was really horribly written - grammatically and trying to follow my train of thought, and for that, I am sorry... but my brain is wandering and with the way I feel right now, I'm not at all going to try to make sense.

LOL and the entire reason that I sat down to write this was the realization that I haven't purchased laundry detergent in a almost a YEAR!  At least 9 months... I realized today as I though about how low my detergent was and that I needed to make a new batch, exactly how much I've changed.  I was standing, thinking about how I feel awful, but I needed to make detergent, so I did. Instead of my old self whining and running to the store for whatever I could find on sale!  I wonder how much money I really save between detergent and diapers... I bet it's a lot...

Must go rescue the house from the one year old... she's on a terrorizing spree today!

WOW.

I knew I was slacking on blogging, but JEESH! Somebody could've told me I hadn't written anything since SEPTEMBER!!  Well, then again, I guess football season really did take over.  Season's over for a while now... so hopefully there will be some time to breathe!  Here are some quick updates on life...

Faith.
We've found our church.  We will be joining Community Baptist Church in Sebastian.  It's a small church with a big heart and not only for missions, but for each other.  We missed this Sunday because I was sick, and I seriously feel like I missed out, like there's something missing from me this week.  It's great to have that feeling...

Family.
We're gearing up for Leaky's 8th birthday.  Yup, I said it, my second child is turning 8!  I'm not ready for this... Everyone is growing so much, except for Bubba... he's staying mostly the same... lol.

Gratuitous cute kid and daddy picture... since I can :-)

We're also gearing up for the Holiday Season!  My favorite time of the year!!  If you're local and need some baking done for you... please use this form to order your favorite baked goods :-)!

It's crazy all the things I do now that I thought I'd never do... have kids (I really don't have any patience...), bake (for our family and for others), cloth diaper (ewww! LOL), make my own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent, meal plan, cook 90% of our food FROM SCRATCH... it's nuts to think that I was the girl in High School who wanted an education and a career, and never really thought about having a family, much less a LARGE family and dreams of a homestead with farm :-)!

Football.

Our seasons are over.  Bubba's team lost in the first round of playoffs... it was quite the game.  I"m not a proponent of every kid playing jsut so they get playing time, but I got in a fight with the hubby on the sidelines, because Bubba wasn't in the game, didn't get any playing time, the game was in the 4th quarter and the team's biggest problem was that the child playing the position that Bubba excels at, was playing like CRAP!  Ugh.  Yeah, 3 quarters of the center (who wasn't Bubba) snapping over the head of whoever he was snapping to (this is youth football after all, so direct snaps happen more than you'd think ;-)) and this momma bear got TICKED OFF!  So I finally said something about it, to Hubby, who was on the sidelines, which finally got the attention of the head coach... who finally (in the 4th quarter) put Bubba in the game at Center... and HOLY CANNOLI! The offense was finally able to put some yards on the field!  I guess I should have said something in the 1st Quarter if we wanted a chance to win the game!  BUT, what's done is done, and that season is over except for the End of Season Party and Award Ceremony.

The High School season did not end on a high note... but one of my favorite players broke his 1,000 yard mark on the season, so that counts for something!  Those kids have become like extensions of our family too... it can't really be a bad thing for our girls to have that many Big Protective Brothers?!  RIGHT?!

Well, I guess that's about all the update there is!

Esther with Beth Moore - LifeWay Church Women's Bible Study

An Overview of Esther

At our Mom's Matter Too Bible Study... we're starting to study Esther.  I'm posting those studies here, so that you can read along, so that we all have a reference point... and maybe someone that needs something that God had us go over will receive that message from Him through these words.  I do not take any credit for the words I am typing here... This "study" while we are doing it without a workbook, without videos, etc... is mostly based on and borrowed from Beth Moore's study on the book of Esther, Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman.  I wish I was as eloquent and well versed in the scriptures as she is, and am blessed to have been able to participate in the video course and learn something from her that I can now share with some of my favorite moms.  Other information was gathered from Webster Mirriam Dictionary, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Word Biblical Commentary, and my NKJV Woman's Study Bible.

Esther an Introduction
Background.
 - Written in the late 5th century B.C.
   - Ahasuerus = Xerxes reigned 486-465 B.C.
 - Esther & Mordecai lived in Susa (Hebrew - Sushan) in current day Iran near the Iraqui border
 - Diaspora story - Diaspora is a scatter population with a common origin in a smaller geographic area.
 - The traditional purpose for the book of Esther is to explain the Jewish holiday of Purim - a celebration of deliverance.  The reading of Esther (the Megillah) is the central rite of the observance of Purim and attendance is mandatory, even for women.
 - Fro Christians, the book of Esther is an important reminder that God is never absent.  Even those living in a world hostile to the Christian faith may not always be aware of presence, but He is always there.

**The book of Esther is unique - there is a NO reference to God.**

Why Study Esther?
 - The book is an integral part of God's Word to us.
 - Psalm 138:2b I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. - God's name may not be in it, but it is ALL OVER it.
 - It offers hope.
 - It reminds us of the providence of God.
  - Merriam Webster - providence - divine guidance or care; God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human DESTINY
  - Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary - "God attends not only to apparently momentous events and people but also to those that seem both mundane and trivial --- Indeed, so all encompassing is God's attention to events within creation that nothing --- happens by chance."
 - Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
 - Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
 - The Title bears a woman's name.  - It's tough being a woman, in another woman's shadow.
 - The emphasis on human responsibility.  According to Word Bible Commentary, the God inspired author of Esther lays on the stress on human contribution to the divine-human synergism (combined or shared energy).



Next week... We'll focus on Esther Chapter 2 :-)

Ruth

Ruth –

Ruth 1:1-5 Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

Elimelech and his wife Naomi and their two boys headed for Moab to find food during a famine in Judah.  While they were there, Elimelech died, his two sons married Moabite women and then the sons passed away; this left Naomi in a foreign land responsible for herself and her widowed daughters-in-law.

Ruth 1:6-22 Naomi Returns with Ruth

Naomi heard that the famine was over in her hometown of Bethlehem and had to head home where she could be cared for.  Remember that in this time, women couldn't just go out and get a job and take care of themselves.  She told her daughters-in-law to return to their families, that their commitment to her and her family was over following the death of their husbands.  At first, both women said that they were going to stay with her.  After some urging, Orpah returned to her family but Ruth refused to return to her family and returned with Naomi to Bethlehem.  Her words, found in Ruth 1:16-17, were, 

"Entreat me not to leave you,

Or to turn back from following after you;

for where you go, I will go;

and wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people,

and your God, my God.

Where you die, I will die,

and there will I be buried.

The Lord do so to me, and more also,

if anything but death parts you and me."

What a promise of loyalty!!  A note from my Bible... (Women's Study Bible by Thomas Nelson Publishers 2006)

Gratitude on the part of one awakens loyalty in the heart of the other.

Selflessness on the part of one demands unselfishness from the other.

Bitterness in one gives opportunity for creativity in the other.

Interest from one is rewarded by responsive communication in the other.

Counsel from one bears fruit as accepted and honored by the other.

Ruth 2:1-23 Ruth Meets Boaz
Ruth 3:1-18 Ruth’s Redemption AssuredRuth 4:1-12 Boaz Redeems Ruth

Boaz was a rich person in Bethlehem.  He was of the family of Elimelech.  Naomi told Ruth to go to Boaz' fields to gather the left over wheat that was dropped by the pickers to provide for their little widow family.  When Boaz saw her gathering and knew who she was, he instructed his people to make sure that they left enough behind to provide for her and Naomi.  In those times, a man's family was to take care of the widows of their men and if their was a suitable male among them, to marry the widow and continue to bear children to increase their family line.  Boaz eventually married Ruth and they gave birth to sons, importantly, they gave birth to Obed.

Ruth 4:13-22 Descendants of Boaz and Ruth

Boaz and Ruth had a baby, Obed.  Obed was father to Jesse, Jesse was father to David, who became King David.  King David is in the human lineage of Christ.  I for one am quite glad that Ruth followed Naomi back to Bethlehem for the ultimate purpose of giving birth to the humanly lineage of Christ.

Where Does the Time Go?!

Life is BUSY!!  and in the mix of all the things that are "have to do"s and the "need to do"s and the "want to do"s.... some things get pushed by the wayside... Like blogging :-(.

I really do enjoy writing, and this is one way for me to get my thoughts/feelings/ideas on "paper" and done floating around my mind.  So... here's a short update on our BUSY lives.

Faith...
We've found a church... we think. We've been attending and worshipping and enjoying every Sunday with a local congregation.  September 15th is National Back to Church Sunday... have you been to church recently?  Get up and go!  National Back to Church Sunday is a great day to begin attending again.

Family...
I cannot believe that Hannah the Hippo turns a year old in 11 days!!  This time last year I was looking kinda like this...

... that's my big ol' belly... and Layla curled up between me and the couch next to her daddy... and Pixie the dog keeping me company. always. That stinking dog wouldn't leave me alone!!

Football...

Bubba is playing well.  He loves it.  His second game is this weekend... against what some would consider the local standard of youth football teams.  We'll see how it goes. And well, we do a lot of laundry for the High School team...

Until next time... I have laundry to fold!!