Preparing for Easter

Yes, I know it's still two months away, but after finishing one of the books on my list, Treasuring God in Our Traditions, I was challenged by the wisdom of Noel Piper. Preparing for Easter means preparing our hearts "remembering the lowest points of sin and the highest peaks of what God has done for us through Jesus." (Piper, 91) Yes, Easter is a beautiful celebration of our King Jesus overcoming death. It's a time to worship our living God and our eternal  life with Him. But, in preparation for the celebration there must also be a time remembering that it was me (and you) that put Him on the cross. This Lent season I pray is a time that my dependency on God is renewed, and my life is purged from anything (i.e. sin) that strains the intimacy of our relationship.

I have been known to fast during Lent from facebook, television, sweets, and cokes over the years. Although it brought much discipline in my life during that season, I think I've missed the point. It's not simply turning away from the bad, but running towards what is good, holy, and perfect. It's filling our hearts with the Gospel.

The Lenten season begins this Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), February 22. I'm still praying about what I might fast from, as I celebrate the Creator and not the created. Jeff and I are also discussing how we can prepare our hearts together as a family.

I've read several great things about A Place at the Table and the Village Church Lent guide as devotionals to use during Lent.

I hope you will join us as we prepare our hearts for the risen King!

Snow Day

We didn't get much today, but isn't waking up to fresh fallen snow just magical? No class or school cancelled here, but if it's going to be below freezing it might as well look pretty, right?

2012 Book List

My whole life I've been an avid reader. My claim to fame in elementary school was being the student with the top AR points in 4th grade. Impressive, huh? Sometimes I won't let myself read because I tend to get caught up in the characters and plot and lock myself in my room until I finish. My latest bout with that was when I read the Hunger Games. EVERYONE was talking about them, so I knew it had to be good. Four days later I emerged with the finished books...


We received a Kindle Fire for Christmas this year (thanks Mom!), and both Jeffrey and I have read several books on it. Books are so much cheaper, and I don't have to wait to get it in the mail.

After getting some recommendations from friends, here is my reading plan for the rest of the year. I'll mark them out as I finish. Maybe I'll even do a synopsis (if you're lucky).

Fiction/Memoir

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Loving by Karen Kingsbury
• I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith
• A Symphony in the Dark: Hearing God's Voice in Seasons of Grief by Rebecca Rainey Muntz and Barbara Raine
• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
• Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis
• The Pioneer Woman: From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drumond
• 11/22/63: A Novel by Steven King

Wife/Mothering/Home Books

• Treasuring God in Your Traditions by Noel Piper
• Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
• The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine

Ministry

• Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft
• Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support by Brad House
• A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller
• When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett
• You Can Change by Tim Chester (started this last year, hoping to finish it!)
• Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker
• Instrument in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp

Social Justice

• Not for Sale by David Batstone
• The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales
• Adopted For Life:The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches by Russell Moore
• The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek

Saturday Snap

Pinterest Project - Valentines Edition

They aren't too excited about pinterest

The finished projects