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I am thankful for the Christmas season.

I've been listening to Christmas music, making hot cocoa with whipping cream on top, buying/making gifts, beginning to pull out the Christmas decorations, and this weekend we're going to go out and get our tree!  We will be staying home for Christmas this year, but we will be so blessed to have different family members come to visit us all month.  And of course, its wonderful to remember & teach our kids the TRUE meaning of Christmas.  =)

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I'm thankful for my husband. 

He is such a good dad and such a good husband.  He's really patient with me.  =) 
Lately, I've really been appreciating how he can fix things or do things that would take me a really, really long time.  He put up our Christmas lights the other night and they look great!

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**First, I apologize for the weird highlighting colors... I don't know what's wrong and can't figure out how to make this look normal!!!

I am thankful for salvation.   I love the demonstration of the gospel through the Roman's Road- the good news shared by using verses from the book of Romans...

Romans 3:23  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

 We were all born under the power of sin's control, and are unable to live up to the standard of perfection that Jesus lived.  Nobody is innocent.

- Admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 6:23a  "...The wages of sin is death..."

Sin has a consequence or punishment.  The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!  A spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity.  

- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.

Romans 6:23b  "...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Salvation is a free gift from God to you!  You can't earn this gift.  Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Once our sins are atoned we can spend eternity with God.  Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

- Ask God to forgive you and save you.

Romans 5:8,  "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"

When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and on the cross when He took all the sins of the world on Himself, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death!  He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!

- Give your life to God. His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and eternal life.  His love bought you out of being a slave to sin and paying the penalty of sin.  His love is what saves you, not religion, or church membership. 

Romans 10:9-10  "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting  in salvation."

Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins, and we will be saved!

-Believe!

 

Romans 10:13  "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord  will be saved!" 

Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

- Call out to God in the name of Jesus and you will be forgiven & given new life!

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I am thankful for our home.

On my way to the mall at 6am on Black Friday there was a message on the radio about being content.  Great timing.  The pastor was sharing about a mission trip he went on to Africa where the people were living in mud huts and literally had nothing.  Children were naked and starving.  He said he shared the same message on being content with the African people, and they received it better than the Americans he first shared it with when he returned to The States.  It reminded me of the mission trip to Mexico Jonny went on after our freshman year of college.  He built a 500 sq ft stucco house for a family of 12 who were previously in a house as big as a bathroom.  They were so thankful and excited about their new big house.  I felt sick to my stomach thinking about the gross uneven distribution of wealth in our world.  As a family of five living in a 1100 sq ft home (barely!) we are SO BLESSED!

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I'm thankful for my mom.

The title MOM entails so much.  It's quite a job, and she did it so well.  After doing this year's Thanksgiving meal, I realized how much work goes into it!  Now that I am beginning to experience all the things she has done for me, it makes me so much more appreciative.  She has had a never ending list of responsibilities throughout the years and is such a hard worker.  It seems like every year I become more and more thankful for my mom. She has taught me so much.

She's knows how to have a good time too.  =)

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Do you have a signature food item for your Thanksgiving meal?  Jonny's mom always has these little jello dishes next to each plate.  I decided I wanted to do something unique that my kids will grow up having at our holiday family meals.  I looked around and decided on THIN MINTS!  Yum!

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I'm thankful for my THANKSGIVING DAY! 

We had a blast just us.  We started the day by going down to Eugene so Jonny could run in the Turkey Stuffer again.  Then, as a special treat, our whole family got to go swimming in the indoor water park- where the race was located.  After that, we headed home to get busy cooking!  This was the first Thanksgiving meal I made all on my own!  (Okay, well, I called my mom about three times, my grandma once, and requested the help of neighbor Nona quite a few times, but, hey, mostly on my own!)  

This was our Thanksgiving menu:

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Garden Salad

Fruit Salad

Yams with marshmallows

Roasted Green Beans with garlic & bacon

Peas

Rolls

Home Made Pumpkin Pie

Blueberry Pie

Then Nona added a few more things:

Home-made biscuits (SO GOOD!)

Cranberries

Fruit Jello

Apple Pie (Jonny's fav!)

At the start line.  SO many people- I think it was 1,000!

Siah looking cute while waiting for Daddy to finish his race.

Here he comes!!!

Improved his time from last year by a minute!

Indoor water park!!!
     

Yeah, I'm cute!  Check out these splashes!!

Jonny held Siah boy for me, so I was able to have lots of Noah time.  I love that white headed monster!

Somebody has discovered his voice, and BELIEVE me, it can be pretty loud, especially when he's waiting for Mommy!

I don't do well with meat.  I could easily be a vegetarian.  I got a little freaked out, so Nona came over to help me get started.  We baked our turkey in a bag, and it turned out great!

Eli helped me roll the dough for our pie.

Big brother feeding baby brother while Mommy is busy cooking.  Eli is such a good helper!

Noah helped me mix the mashed potatoes!

There he is.  My man.  He thought it was great fun, biologically speaking, to carve the turkey.

FEAST!

Dinner time.  We are so blessed.

While I was distracted with meal preparations, Noah got bored, found a black Sharpie and decided to do some artwork.  It was really, really quiet, and I turned to Jonny and said, "Its too quiet.  I think Noah is up to something." ............

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I am thankful for new, fun ideas to do with the boys!

Neighbor Nona shared this idea with us- making chicken noodle soup from a carved out pumpkin!  The boys thought it was so cool, and it was super yummy too!

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I am thankful for my grandma.

My grandma is one of the sweetest people I know.  She is so loving and kind.  I've never seen her angry.  I love to hear her stories from growing up on a farm in Wisconsin and attending a one room school house.  She has a great sense of humor, and she also is a fun game player.  My grandma is also a phenomenal cook.  Whenever I am at her house she feeds me SO SO good!  She is probably my biggest fan.  She LOVES me and my family.  I have a message from her saved on my cell phone from about a month ago crying as she tells me how much she loves and adores us.  She's a great grandma and I'm so thankful to have her!

She loves to hold her newborn great-grandabies!

She is so patient with Noah trying to ride a toy motorcycle.

She'll even push her great-grandsons out of a hole... push them so hard she'll fall down seconds later!  =(

 

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I am thankful for these three little faces.

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I am thankful for the power of our testimonies.  

Our Women's Minstry Leader, Cindy, encouraged us to write out our testimony a four years ago and I did.  She said they are so powerful because nobody can refute what you've lived & experienced.  Two years ago I made some changes to my typed testimony, & it was even more long and detailed.  In our house church, everyone is getting a chance to share their testimony &I was picked to share the first night.  I condensed my testimony down, so now its just long instead of really, really, really long.  :)  Here is the gist of what I shared...

My testimony begins before I was even born.  I have to share a little background on my parents to give the appropriate idea of what kind of family I was born into.  I was born in Santa Barbara, California.  My parents were not believers and did not come from christian homes.  They both came from petty rough back grounds with alcoholic & abusive dads.  Both of their parents divorced when my parents were around 12.  My dad was married before my mom, so I have two sisters & a brother from my dad's first marriage.  That's about where it started.  That's the family I was born into.  Your typical American dysfunctional family!  But don't you know it; over & over & over again God's word shows us that by His grace He chooses to work & show himself mighty in impossible, dysfunctional situations.

  

My parents had my sister, Becky, just 13 1/2 mos after me.  When we were babies my mom wanted us to have better childhoods than she had.  She thought the answer was to go to church.  The Lord sovereignty placed us next door to a christian family that wasn't currently attending church.  My mom asked if they wanted to go.   They did and my mom was radically saved.  She became best friends with our neighbor, Patty.  I have many childhood memories of the two of them discussing the things of the Lord.

I think because my mom was head over heels in love with the Lord & His Word, there was a lot of overflow that was poured out on me & my sister.  Her hunger for God was affecting our family life.  I don’t remember the day, but I do remember believing at a very young age that Jesus died on the cross for my sins & because I believed that I would get to go to heaven when I died.  As a little girl I had a very sensitive heart & a strong conviction of right and wrong.  I believed that the bible was God’s true & living Word and have never felt otherwise.

Tragically, at age seven my parents divorced.  I don't know how else to explain it in an appropriate way for blogging, than to say they were of two different worlds.

Left as a single mom with two kids & no career, my mom went back to school.  She worked (hard!) for a degree in physical therapy.  During this time we lived down the block from those original neighbors.  My mom was fervently living for Jesus.  We attended an Assembly of God & for a brief time also went to a Presbyterian church.  My mom learned how to play guitar and wrote worship songs that the three of us would sing to the Lord.

After a couple years my mom decided to start dating.  I hated it when she dated.  I felt like I was competing for her attention, even though the truth is that Becky & I meant the world to her.  This was the start of a respect issue that would have toward my mom until my late teens.  It was sin on my part.  It was not until early college that my heart was cleaned from that disrespect, and I began to honor and respect my mom as God's Word says I should.   

When I was 11 we moved to Klamath Falls Oregon for a physical therapy job my mom got.  I started going to the same middle school as Jonny Oelkers. When I was in 9th grade I started going to youth group with my friends.  I met the Youth Pastor's wife, and she will always be so special to me.  I loved her!  She was only about six or seven years older than me but what a good example of a godly woman.  I prayed with her every Wednesday night, and she sincerely cared about me.

A month into my freshmen year of high school our old neighbors from CA moved up to Klamath.  They moved to Klamath the day before I started dating Jonny.  They started going to the same church Jonny and his mom went to.  Once I got my driver’s license, I drove myself to that church. 

Today Jonny doesn’t consider that he was a Christian, but back then he said he was & he was more moral than most boys and that was spiritually deep enough for me.  By the end of tenth grade my mom met Mark, my step dad.  He was (& is) a very nice guy.  By this time, I didn’t really care about her dating.  I liked Mark good enough, but mostly I was wrapped up in my own life.  Or more accurately put, I was wrapped up in Jonny.  Not exactly very healthy...

In high school I probably would have been labeled a goodie-goodie.  I didn't do anything 'really bad' by the worlds eyes.  I was a good, moral girl who went to church.  Although I did have a relationship with the Lord, it was very immature & shallow.  There was big compromise.  I was a people pleaser rather than a God pleaser.  Although I was very remorseful about sin & would often come to the Lord to tearfully confess my sin, I’d find myself sinning time & time again. 

By my junior year of high school I was regularly praying that I could marry Jonny some day.  Oh my!  Jonny was often more important than God and what God’s Word said.  Our relationship was not fruitful or glorifying to God.  I cried out to God over & over.  For some reason 16, 17, & 18 year old Jonny had a grip on me!  I wanted to be with him forever. I knew it would be sin to marry Jonny if our relationship wasn't right before God.  My response was to pray for Jonny.  I prayed that the Lord would make him a godly man.   I prayed for him every single night.  Looking back, I know it was the Spirit prompting me to pray.  I don't even think I have ever prayed for him & his relationship with God as fervently as I did in high school.  

God answered my prayers.  At the end of our senior year, Jonny, out of the blue, started changing.  As a result, our relationship began to change.  During the summer after high school, Jonny was given a supernatural desire to read his bible.  He was reading more than I was.  He’d read it every night!    (There is a whole other story to share about something God spoke to us that summer, but I'll have to share that in a different post...)

There was still some work that needed to be done in Jonny's heart.  Jonny went away to college that fall & I stayed in Klamath.  My plan was to stay in Klamath, attend OIT for two years, and then transfer to WOU to get my teaching degree.  Have you heard that quote, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans?  =)  

There is a whole bunch of awesome things that happened to Jonny in the first month he was at college- things that can only be recognized as the fingerprints of God.  One night in October, Jonny gave his life once & for all to Christ.  After Real Life, Calvary's college ministry, he bowed his knee in the bathroom floor of his dorm room and asked God to forgive him of his sin and save him.  Jonny was delivered from some major bondage & grew tremendously in the Lord.  He caught so hot on fire for the Lord; it freaked me out a little.  

 
After Jonny was saved, I started living to please my King more than I ever had before.  What a testimony of flourishing under the authority of a godly husband!  (Even though he wasn't my husband yet...)  I know I would not be where I am with the Lord if Jonny had not been saved.  I cringe when I think what would have come of my life if I married a man who was not living for God.  Again, God's grace!   Right after Christmas of 2002 I moved up to the Willamette Valley & we started attending Calvary Corvallis together.  January 11, 2003 we prayed together for the first time.  March 27, 2003 he proposed to me.  (Another awesome story!)  Our relationship completely turned around.  We’d spend time reading & praying together.  My life was full of joy & I had a hunger for God like never before.  The Lord used Jonny's salvation to change me, bring me closer to Him & live a more fruitful life.  

We both blossomed in our faith through the teaching at our church.  The college ministry was amazing.  We soaked up all we could.  Sunday morning teachings by Rob were so rich & edifying!  I learned more about God's word in one year at Calvary (all glory to God!) than I had my entire life spent at church. 

I craved the Word.  At that time I was a float teller for a bank.  I would drive all over- Eugene, Lebanon, Albany, Corvallis, Salem..  During my lunch breaks I would eat lunch in my car, read my bible and then take a nap in my back seat with my sleeping bag.  =)  It was my date time with the Lord.  I craved His Word.  I gobbled it up like candy!  It was all so fresh & new & alive like I'd never heard it before. 

After we got married (6 1/2 years ago) life sped up! We both graduated from OSU, moved four times, had three kids, had skin cancer, open heart surgery, almost moved to Casper Wy., (another story) and bought our first home. 

The transition from college life to becoming parents was huge.  It was a big deal for Jonny because it was also the same time he was starting his graduate program... but that is his story to tell.  For me, becoming a mother was amazing.  I was day dreaming about being a mother and what I would name my children at age four.  It was the best thing that has ever happened to me.  The change was such a sweet time for me too because I had just graduated.  My mind was missing that sharpening.  I wanted to be learning something.  I decided to study the most important thing anyone could ever study- God's Word.  I started listening to all of Rob's Old Testament teachings online.  When I got done with those, I started with Jon Courson.  I smile whenever I think back to that sweet time- just me and baby Eli sitting on the floor of our apartment listening to teachings.  =)  

When Eli was four months old I started going to the Women's Bible Study at church.  That was such a good way to get plugged into a different ministry after college ministry.  I am SO edified and encouraged through the teaching & fellowship that come from WBS.   

Our hearts changing toward the idea of moving to Klamath Falls is another story.  Needless to say, Jonny got a job here in the valley.  

The Lord teaches us more every year to trust Him & His perfect will for our lives.  I’m continually growing more & more in love with the Lord & His Word.  I am still a mess, in need of His holy, refining fire.  The more He draws me closer to Himself, the more refining He wants to do in me.  I’ve learned to recognized the bright fog light He shines in the dark, grimy corners of my heart, as the work of the Holy Spirit convicting me & wanting to cleanse me of my sin.  It’s those darn, dirty sins lerking & hiding in the darkness of my heart that are the most painful & difficult to get rid of. But He is so patient & so loving & so forgiving & so faithful.   

I guess my testimony is summed up by one of my favorite scriptures, 
"For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."  Titus 3:3-7

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I'm thankful for fall.

I'm sad that its almost over.  The Willamette Valley is gorgeous in the fall- so many luscious colors.  And oh, the smells of fall!  The freshly cut alfalfa, chimney smoke, rain, turkeys baking, apple cider, pumpkin patches, cinnamon candles burning, school supplies, apple pies, and cookies- mm intoxicating!  Definitely a great time of year.  Especially for me, it will always remind me of when I first became a mother.

OSU is BEAUTIFUL in the fall!

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Although I am not super happy about the construction going on behind our house, (I was hoping they'd wait another year...) I am thankful for the free entertainment.  The boys, especially Noah, are loving watching all of the construction and big trucks.

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I'm thankful for food.  It doesn't seem right that we can be so wasteful with the abundance of food we have when there are so many people starving every day.  Starvation currently affects more than one billion people, or 1 in 6 people on the planet.

Josiah likes to eat, too!

I'm thankful that I don't ever suck on my toes while eating a meal, but Siah boy looks pretty adorable when he does it!  I have to strip this boy down to his diaper for meal time because he gets so excited and swings his arms around constantly.  He sucks his toes, rubs his hands all over his face- smearing his food everywhere... even in his hair!  Needless to say, the boy usually needs a rinse in the tub after eating.  :) 

We made Thanksgiving cupcakes and Noah thinks they're delicious!

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I am thankful for friends.

I can't mention everyone by name, but I am truly so thankful to have friends.  It seems like there are different roles that each friend plays in my life.  I have friends that encourage me, laugh with me, challenge me, pray for me, love my kids, challenge my kids, listen to me, talk to me, read with me, worship with me, and on and on and on.  Some friends are close by others are far away.  Some are going through the same trials I am, while others are in a different world of trials.  Some I talk to often, others not as often.  I love them all!  Its so nice to be on this journey together.  I'm so blessed to know so many wonderful people and learn from them.

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I feel so stupid.  My post from earlier today shows my bad attitude.  I am so blessed, and I was being so selfish.  I can't sleep.  I keep thinking and crying about a poor little baby.  I can't believe horrid things like this happen to innocent little children.  I found this on my sister's blog tonight and it has rattled me.  I feel like I should do something, but I don't know what to do.  Jonny and I both feel so shaken and stirred.  Jesus said that we are to speak up and help the poor, the sick, the needy, the outcasts and the people who can't speak up for themselves.  That's who He spent His time with.  What does that look like for us????

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I'm having a hard time being thankful for anything on a day like today.

Maybe someday when the boys are all grown and gone I'll longingly look back and wish I could live today over again.  Maybe then I'd be thankful for the day even though the boys won't stop fighting with each other.  Maybe I'd be better able to handle Eli hitting Noah with the toy golf club.  Maybe I'd have a better attitude when Noah tracked dog poop into the kitchen- after I asked him not to walk outside.  Maybe I'd try to do something fun even though I was exhausted.  Maybe I'd ignore the messy house and the huge list of To Do's and just enjoy my precious gifts from God.

Maybe, Lord, You can give me strength today!

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I am thankful for morning cartoons.  

One of Eli's favorite shows is Super Why.  He's almost got the theme song completely memorized!

And speaking of Eli, look how organized he is!  Last week we had trucks in the playroom and look how he organized them!  I love that boy.

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I am thankful for my sis Becky.

 Having a sister is such a blessing.  If we ever have a girl I'm going to be so sad if she doesn't get to experience having a sister.

Becky is a lifelong best friend.  She loves my boys even when they're monsters and climbing all over her.  She loves me when I'm a monster too.  :)  Jonny thinks there is some strange thing that comes over me when Becky is around because I always laugh so much more with her. 

I love you, Becky.  Thanks for driving 9 hours to come see us.  You're a great sister!

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I'm thankful for Jonny's job.

For a christian high school biology teacher, teaching in a public school, Jonny has a GREAT job.  Four of the five science teachers at his school are Christians.  The principal and vice principal are Christians.  Approximately half of the staff at Cascade are Christians.  Its amazing!

Jonny had a meeting last week with one of the other science teachers about some poor test scores they got back from last year.  Apparently, their high school scored low in the evolution section of some standardized test, so the Jonny and Scott were trying to figure out how to go about teaching evolution as Christian teachers.  Previously, they sorta just skipped over it because nobody cared.

Once Jonny made up his notes, he took them to the principal to get his okay on the subject matter.  Jonny included a section on "Alternative views to evolution".  Long story short, the principal feels stirred to be a light for the Lord in their school.  He and the vice principal meet for prayer before school starts.  He doesn't feel right feeding the kids a well accepted lie when they have this pearl of wisdom and truth.  Basically, he gave Jonny a green light to introduce the idea of Intelligent Design.  If you know my husband, you know he is EXCITED about this!  This is was he is passionate about.  So cool!

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I am thankful for sweet words.

Noah's speech has been ADORABLE lately.  On Wednesday, for the first time EVER, he told me, "You pretty Mama."  It melted my heart.  Eli constantly tells me sweet things like that, but Noah is a little more rough around the edges.  He really makes you work for his affection.  He's also been saying "I wuv you" a lot more.  I LOVE those moments. 

Some other cute quotes from Noah in the recent days are:

When looking for something he asks, "Oh, my B!  Where is?"

Speaking of the crescent moon, "The moon is broken."

In the middle of being corrected or sent on time out, "But I so sad!  I try (cry)."

Lately, Noah has been loving back rubs as he falls to sleep.  This is what he requested the other night, "Do tickles on my back, Mama."  He, of course, was wanting me to scratch his back.  

Instead of going to bed, he lined his trucks up in pairs of two.  When I went in to check on him he, held up his chubby little fingers, and proudly announced "TA DA!  My tasles (castles)."  (Ka sounds always come out Ta.)

And lastly, when requesting for his bedroom door to be cracked at night or nap time, it comes out like this, "My door trut-ted."

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I am thankful for our wonderful neighbors.

They love our kids.  David is so patient with the boys riding their bikes in his driveway, crashing and then asking him for help.  They invite us over for movie night.  They offer to watch the boys so we can go out on a date.  They are so kind and generous to us.  They've given us bushes and a tree for our yard.  Nona often brings us veggies from fer garden, treats she's made, and shares recipes with me.  She also lets us borrow toys!! 

Last weekend, the boys went out to the front porch to greet Nona as she was coming home.  (Something they often do.)  Eli was in the middle of asking her how her day was when he got stung by a bee!  Eli does NOT do well with bee stings.  He freaked out- I'm talking blood curdling screams!  Nona came over to help calm him down.  She led the way back to her house to get crushed ice for his swelling finger.  They have the cool ice machine in their fridge door, so that was fun and distracting.  Then she had these hospital gloves to put the ice in.  I'm telling you, he went from whimpering in my arms to giggling and wandering around her house looking for new toys.  She just knows how to interact with kids so smoothly and naturally.

Nona also faithfully watches our boys every Thursday so we can go do our house church (home fellowship... whatever you call it.)  by ourselves.  She leaves to work early in the morning, usually before Jonny, to teach preschool all day long.  Then she goes to workout and THEN puts in an extra 2 1/2 hours entertaining our boys.  How kind is that!? 

Last week she told me about this conversation she had with Eli:
Eli:  "Why are you old?"  (She totally doesn't look old, maybe just older than me and Jonny...)
Nona:  "Because I'm a grandma."
Eli:  "You can't be a grandma.  You're my neighbor!"

And to top it all off, they love the Lord.  We seriously couldn't ask for better neighbors.  Nona is a breast cancer survivor, and I'm so thankful God decided to give her some extra time on earth to cross paths with us.  We are blessed and spoiled to have them right next door.

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I'm thankful for all the the men and women who serve and protect our country!  We are so blessed to be able to raise our children in America- land of the free! 

Today we went to the Veterans Day Parade in Albany.  It's supposed to be the biggest parade west of the Mississippi.  It was pretty cool!  I surprised myself getting a little teary eyed seeing these old guys in uniform waving their wrinkly, creased hands with a proud grin on their face.  It just hit me harder than ever how brave all our service men and women are. I'm so thankful!

 

I don't know what Eli was doing.  He kept posing like this while shooting his pencil like a gun???

 Then I got to thinking... speaking of freedom... Take freedom a step further.  I am so thankful for Christ's FINISHED work on the cross.  Now that is a freedom that is eternally done.  Paid for and won.  Never have to fight or work for it. Finished.

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I am thankful for giggles and baby splashes.

 

 Can you believe this cute boy is 6 mos. today!?

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I am thankful that God's word is sharper than a double edged sword.  I got pierced with conviction this morning at Women's Bible Study.  

We finished the third chapter of 1 Corinthians and started into the fourth.  We touched on the subject of judging others.  Two years ago when we started through Matthew, and studied that big section about judging, Cindy put it just the same way she did today... We are to judge the fruit of man into reconciliation NOT condemnation.  If we have the heart of Jesus, we would see someone in sin and grieve over them.  We would want to see them made right for their well being.  We would want to help them through prayer or counsel (if so led) to see them reconciled to God.  On the contrast, if we see another man (or woman's) sin and puff our chest out, (at least in our heart) look down upon them or maybe even gossip about their wrongs, we are not displaying Jesus' heart on the matter.  Instead, we are judging into condemnation and diving head first into sin ourselves.  

Ouch.  It was a good check for me if I'm going to be inspecting someone else's fruit.  I like how she prayed at the end that in our minds and hearts, we wouldn't be smashing and destroying someone else's fruit because of a little bruise or imperfection, but that we would be praying for that fruit to be used and made into a beautiful apple pie!  Just gotta love that Cindy!  :)

On the same subject of judging, a few days ago I heard someone make a comparison between our sin and a tree.  (I'm probably going to mess it up a little...)  She said that some people may have "bigger sins" just like there are bigger and smaller branches on trees, but if the tree is headed for destruction, as all sinners are (the wages of sin is death) it doesn't matter if there are big or small branches they're all going down.  It levels the playing field and makes it so that nobody can boast.  We're all sinners.  It is only by God's grace that He reaches down and saves us from being destroyed. 

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I am thankful to be a stay-at-home-mom!

Because I stay home, I get to take the boys to story time,

I get to watch my boys learn,

I get to help my boys make projects, 

Noah's says "Noah's treasure box" & Eli is showing the bottom of his.  Eli thought of three possible titles for his box.  He couldn't decide if he wanted his box to say "Eli's treasure box" or "Eli's collection box" or "Eli's collection scavenger hunt box".  He finally decided on just writing Elijah Ian Oelkers on the top.  :)

I get to take my boys to the park,

and I get to take walks and have this cute face staring up at me!

Oh, and by the way, we cashed in Eli and Noah's Acts of Kindness heart.  I decided each sticker was worth a dime.  Eli's stickers totaled $2.0 and Noah's stickers totaled $0.70.  I took them to the Dollar Tree, and their purchases really reflect their interests.  Eli bought a basketball and a ping-pong paddle.  Noah bought a monster truck. =)

thankful

Okay, I know I already did one for today, but I can't leave out how thankful I am for our family game night on Sundays!  I'm looking forward to Noah & Josiah getting bigger so we have an even bigger group.  :)

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I'm thankful that we get to learn, grow, and have fun serving in the four & five year old classroom at church.  Today was our 'day off', but here is Eli's project from last week when we read about Noah's ark.  We did a little circle time activity first.  Neighbor Nona let me borrow this magnetic Noah's ark puzzle she had.  (We call her Mary Poppins sometimes because she always seems to have anything we need in her garage!)  We had just enough magnet animal pieces to hand out to each kid.  Then when I called their animal, they got to come up and put it on the magnet Noah's ark.  They loved it!  Then for the story, we pushed two tables together for a make-believe ark and had all the kids squeeze together on top.  (I mentioned how it may have been pretty confined on the ark with all those animals!)  When I got to the part where it RAINED and RAINED and RAINED, Jonny misted the kids with our squirt bottle.  (I thought that would be a nice touch.)  Then we did a game where we pretended to be falling asleep on the ark, but then the sheep started making noise!  BAA  BAA  BAA. Okay, sheep are quiet and we're almost to sleep... oh, no the owls are hooting!  HOO-HOO HOO-HOO.  And so on and so on.  It was lots of fun and we're so thankful to have the chance to play with all these cute kids!

thankful

I am thankful for Friday Pizza Night!  Especially when there are leftovers for lunch on Saturday.

thankful

I am thankful for worship. I've been loving this song lately...

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I am thankful for Rob Verdeyen- our pastor.  God has given him an amazing story and gift of teaching.  Jonny and I missed last week's teaching because we were in Eli's classroom, but we listened to it online last night and it had me smiling, gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears.  If you'd like to get a sense of our pastor's personality, testimony, humility and love for the Lord THIS is the message to listen to.  We are between books right now, but for this month he's taking a break and sharing "stones of remembrance" about Calvary Corvallis' history.  This last week started with snip-its of Rob's testimony.  I didn't want it to end, and most of the stories he shared I've heard before.  Good stuff. 

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I am thankful for Women's Bible Study.

This year we are studying through 1 Corinthians, and yesterday we were in Ch. 3 vs. 1-15.  Josiah was asleep for half of it, and played quietly with the Ergo strap for the last half, so I was able to pay attention.   The first few verses were about being mature in the Lord and not compromising the teachings of the Word for the empty cares of the world.  Cindy pointed out how it can be easy to do that in small ways- notice W-O-R-L-D is just one letter different than W-O-R-D.  It was such a good check for me.  Cindy used the phrase, "garbage in- garbage out" which I've heard before, but something about the context yesterday caught my attention.  If we're watching, reading, listening to or hanging out with garbage then that is what we'll be meditating on, and that is what will most likely come out.  In contrast, if we're immersed in the Word, taking of our daily bread, then we will be cleaned, strengthened, renewed, refreshed, and by the grace of the Spirit fruitful speech and attitudes will come from it.  It made me ask myself what I crave- godly things or trash?  It also made me think about what things or people bring out the carnal in me- I need to be bringing those things to the Lord and asking Him to put me through His refining fire.  Paul said to the Corinthians that because of their immature behavior, he had to speak to them like worldly, carnal people or like they were babies in their faith.  Can I handle solid food like a mature christian or can I only digest milk like an infant christian?
In the second half of the study, the part that stood out to me was about how believers do not belong to or follow man but God.  The people of Corinth were putting far too much emphasis and glory on their leaders.  I like how vs. 6-7 reads in my NLT, "My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow.  The ones who do the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow."  I love this reminder because God certainly uses leaders to teach and equip us, but it is He who is pulling at our heart strings.  It is He who deserves the praise and glory!  AND... it is He who does the tilling (which can sometimes be painful) to make us into a beautiful field ready to produce good fruit for Him.  

Ahh, I love the Word!  :) 

**Speaking of maturing from milk to eating solid food- look who's been trying rice cereal!

He's not too sure about it.  :)

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I am thankful for my carpet shampooer.  I shampooed our entire house yesterday.  If you come over in the next 72 hours, you'd never guess I live with all these sloppy, messy boys!!!

Video from the Harvest Carnival

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Last year I noticed a few people making FB or blog posts about something they are thankful for every day in Nov. leading up to Thanksgiving.  I decided to do that idea this year because I have so much to be thankful for and I think my attitude is better when I'm remembering all the Lord has given me.  So here we go (in no particular order...)

I am so thankful for our wonderful church where we are constantly fed the word, challenged, edified encouraged, and loved.  Our church believes that prayer meetings are the "engine room of spiritual life and ministry" which is why there is a prayer meeting every day of the week.  Yesterday our church put on our annual Harvest Carnival- a fun way to glorify God and be an outreach to the community on Halloween night.  It was awesome!  Here are some pics of our night....

our pumpkins

I

Petting Zoo inside Noah's Ark

I think Josiah is wondering what the heck we're doing and why everyone looks so funny...

Our sweet neighbor, Nona, made us Carmel Apples and Popcorn Balls!

I roasted our pumpkin seeds.  Yummy!