Harvest Party

Kace made our beautiful pumpkin!


At the end they were all wiped!


Our Kace man as Daniel


His Lion.


We played the Lazarus game! Lots of fun!!



A Shepherd (supposed to be moses, but the 10 commandments was too sleepy). He had fun though getting his face painted with a dino!

We didn't win the costume contest, how can you beat the lepers? But we were the lucky recipients of the 1200 count jar of M'n'M's as luck would have it! What are the odds? My kids were very content with the outcome, as they could have cared less about the judging! We had a great time, first time any of them even dressed up since we don't do Halloween.

Have a great day!!

Politics, Activism, and the Gospel

I recieved this in my email this morning and thought it amazingly pertinent to the church at this time. If you don't receive grace gems click here.

(By John MacArthur, October 19th, 2008)

With the nation focused on the November elections, we thought a post on politics might be appropriate. The point of this article is not that we should abstain from any participation in the political process, but rather that we must keep our priorities straight as Christians. After all, the gospel, not politics, is the only true solution to our nation’s moral crisis.

We can’t protect or expand the cause of Christ by human political and social activism, no matter how great or sincere the efforts. Ours is a spiritual battle waged against worldly ideologies and dogmas arrayed against God, and we achieve victory over them only with the weapon of Scripture. The apostle Paul writes: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

We must reject all that is ungodly and false and never compromise God’s standards of righteousness. We can do that in part by desiring the improvement of society’s moral standards and by approving of measures that would conform government more toward righteousness. We do grieve over the rampant indecency, vulgarity, lack of courtesy and respect for others, deceitfulness, self-indulgent materialism, and violence that is corroding society. But in our efforts to support what is good and wholesome, reject what is evil and corrupt, and make a profoundly positive impact on our culture, we must use God’s methods and maintain scriptural priorities.

God is not calling us to wage a culture war that would seek to transform our countries into “Christian nations.” To devote all, or even most, of our time, energy, money, and strategy to putting a facade of morality on the world or over our governmental and political institutions is to badly misunderstand our roles as Christians in a spiritually lost world.

God has above all else called the church to bring sinful people to salvation through Jesus Christ. Even as the apostle Paul described his mission to unbelievers, so it is the primary task of all Christians to reach out to the lost “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me [Christ]” (Acts 26:18; cf. Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9).

If we do not evangelize the lost and make disciples of new converts, nothing else we do for people--no matter how beneficial it seems--is of any eternal consequence. Whether a person is an atheist or a theist, a criminal or a model citizen, sexually promiscuous and perverse or strictly moral and virtuous, a greedy materialist or a gracious philanthropist--if he does not have a saving relationship to Christ, he is going to hell. It makes no difference if an unsaved person is for or against abortion, a political liberal or a conservative, a prostitute or a police officer, he will spend eternity apart from God unless he repents and believes the gospel.

When the church takes a stance that emphasizes political activism and social moralizing, it always diverts energy and resources away from evangelization. Such an antagonistic position toward the established secular culture invariably leads believers to feel hostile not only to unsaved government leaders with whom they disagree, but also antagonistic toward the unsaved residents of that culture--neighbors and fellow citizens they ought to love, pray for, and share the gospel with. To me it is unthinkable that we become enemies of the very people we seek to win to Christ, our potential brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Author John Seel pens words that apply in principle to Christians everywhere and summarize well the believer’s perspective on political involvement:


A politicized faith not only blurs our priorities, but weakens our loyalties. Our primary citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. … Though few evangelicals would deny this truth in theory, the language of our spiritual citizenship frequently gets wrapped in the red, white and blue. Rather than acting as resident aliens of a heavenly kingdom, too often we sound [and act] like resident apologists for a Christian America. … Unless we reject the false reliance on the illusion of Christian America, evangelicalism will continue to distort the gospel and thwart a genuine biblical identity…..

American evangelicalism is now covered by layers and layers of historically shaped attitudes that obscure our original biblical core. (The Evangelical Pulpit [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993], 106-7)


By means of faithful preaching and godly living, believers are to be the conscience of whatever nation they reside in. You can confront the culture not with the political and social activism of man’s wisdom, but with the spiritual power of God’s Word. Using temporal methods to promote legislative and judicial change, and resorting to external efforts of lobbying and intimidation to achieve some sort of “Christian morality” in society is not our calling--and has no eternal value. Only the gospel rescues sinners from sin, death, and hell.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

In celebration of Reformation Sunday I thought this very appropriate! May we never forget what so many did and sacrificed for us to know the gospel of grace in Christ


A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.


----------------------------------------------------------------

Alternate translation:

A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from every need that hath us now overtaken.
The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight; on Earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is.
Of Sabbath Lord, and there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us.
This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

The Word they still shall let remain nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain with His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Words and Music By Martin Luther

I did it! or should I say we?

Okay, first would like to give a shout out to the wonderful person who invented the amazing carts that carry more than one child! And have a boy-friendly theme. Also to the people that understood that cookies at the grocery store--free of course--was a good idea! Now I can say that earlier this week, all five of us actually made it to the grocery store. WOW! I think most people assume I am absolutely crazy to have so many kids--not that it really is that many in my opinion--but I assume others are flabbergasted. I seriously walk through the store with everyone staring at me with incredulous looks on their faces. Praise God that I am not struggling with fear of man over this or I would not even go out! But we went in, were done within 20 minutes (it was a trial run after all!) and then got out and back into the car. WHEW! It wasn't so bad as I thought and so I repeated it with Walmart this time, except with all their decent prices Wally doesn't have good carts, bummer!!

Here are two pictures of my brood-- I wonder how much a brood actually is? I might be misusing that classification! But lest you think it was absolutely uneventful, check the second photo where they are fighting. They simply cannot stop man handling one another.

In Spite of Me....

Father God,

Lately I am aware of all the areas that I fall short so often. When my sin creeps up and is so apparent and obvious to those around me and especially to myself. I see so clearly my immediate need of a Savior and cannot understand why I am so obtuse and inconsistent. I look at the roller-coaster ride that Motherhood often is and I see how much I have to grow. I see where I loose my temper and discipline in anger. I see how little I am accomplishing--my boys don't know their ABC's, my 20 month old isn't potty training, my baby isn't sleeping through the night. I think about how much I want to accomplish more then the laundry and dinner each day, how much I want to be doing crafts and park visits and even going to the grocery store. I know that my children aren't memorizing a new catechism yet after the last one, they haven't been adding any new memory verses, and I see where I am dropping so many balls because I am simply incapable.

Then I see how I am not able to save my children. I cannot be nor do I desire to be their Savior. Although that is how I am acting. Please forgive my unbelieving heart that doesn't trust in your justification alone. I am so bound by my personal standards of perfection that I loose sight of your glorious salvation. I forget that my boys will be saved because You show favor on them and You are pleased to redeem them out of the pit. It has nothing to do with how well I perform. It has to do with Your character, You will and do save in spite of me.

I believe that You will redeem my children because of Your goodness and mercy. I praise You that my salvation, nor the salvation of my children, is based on my performance as a mother. You will be gracious and sovereign in spite of me. I am so thankful that you are constantly standing in the gap, being the Savior I so desperately need every moment of the day, not only for me but for my children also! I pray, believing that, You will see fit to draw my four charges unto yourself and You will receive the glory and praise, because truly it will clearly be a work of grace done in spite of my weaknesses and sin. How glorious is your salvation that it has anticipated my desperate need throughout this calling of motherhood. It so often teaches me where my need for growth is, reveals sin and selfishness, and grows my love of these little people daily. I thank you for the mercy You have shown in making me a mother and in seeing my need and making me like Your son, it is all because of Christ.......Amen

confessions of a closet list maker...

I make lists. I suddenly realized that I was a serial list maker while doing some work on the bible study I joined in June. I make lists about everything:

Books I should read,Books I have read, Dinner menu lists, Prayer lists, Organizational lists, Chore lists, To-Do lists, Crafting lists, When we have the money lists.

You name it, I have written it out in list form!

I am certain many of you are laughing right now, since you probably never guessed that Larissa makes lists. Everytime I get a pad of paper or a day planner or a prayer journal I end up with lists inside. I like to have a chance to check stuff off, I love that sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing I have completed something. But where did it go terribly wrong? I took my passion for list making, not an error in and of itself and then morphed it into a tool for righteous living and personal holiness.

If my prayer life is lagging--make a prayer list and pray through it! If my personal study time isn't makeing the grade--make a list of books of the bible I should read to compensate. Wanting to be completely honest, I looked through a few of my journals and found a list of requirments for potential mate. Luckily I had a faithful friend who encouraged me to let God be God (Thanks Juju!). Lists have truly bound my spiritual life for many many years.

I am not saying that making lists is inherently wrong or sinful, but it certainly isn't a path toward holiness for me and cannot even slightly be confused with the spiritual disciplines. I am afraid that so often I equate accomplishement with godliness. Godliness can only be attributed to His work in my life, His justifying work, His holy and salvific nature. I quite frequently forget the facts that "by grace I have been saved..." and if it is by grace I have been saved then it is also by grace that I will be able to reflect His image, it is by grace that I grow in maturity, it is by grace that I persevere to the end. His work not mine, no matter how many lists I make and how many accomplishments I am able to check off.

How often am I personally reminded that I return to the law so quickly? Only to realize that of Him, to Him, through Him are ALL things, therefore to Him be all glory and honor and praise! I am so thankful that I am insufficient in every area because He is enough....grace is enough for me and for you, too!

Update

May Just be gas, but it is beautiful gas!



Kace is the only kid I know who lines up his animal crackers at snack time!



Three of the crazies!



We went to the park the other day, which is on the Missouri river and this HUGE turtle was crossing the road! Will had to have a picture.



Gresham has been teething pretty badly lately, he was feeling so peaky that he got his blankie and then flopped on it on the floor and went to sleep, he looked so sad and cute at the same time.



Cheese! I think she will have brown eyes!



All together now!

Drinking: Large Ice filled drinks, I am super thirsty these days.
Recovering: From Birth! HA!
Reading: A book about the Indian Captives of the first three centuries of our nation. Facinating!! Like a movie!
Studying: I Corinthians (Loving seeing so much I have never noticed! How can that be)
Linking: Well.....I am out of Ideas today-stay tuned!
Watching: My kids play crazy games since its rainy and we cannot go outside. Who knew that a 3 and 4 year old could actually walk on all fours...not me!!
Listening: the music on our site.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Welcome!

Okay, now that everybody knows that I am a computer-geek-wanna-be and that I am not very good at it, (although I did figure out how to crash an entire blog! Almost deleting the entire thing in the process! I hope none of you visited when it was a white page with scrambles at the top!). You all know then that I am no longer allowed to hone (muck--is what William calls it) my computer graphics skills on our family blog site! He has graciously suggested I get a blog simply to tinker with, but I think I will read next time like I had been planning to do, a blog doesn't need three columns, even though it would be cool if I could teach myself how to do it! We wanted to welcome everyone to this new site and also explain why we blog and how we hope this blog is useful.

Will is planning to write more of a formal welcome, when he actually has the time with his CRAZY schedule, but for now I hope to make some preliminaries. We are so glad you decided to visit with our crazy clan, yea we are nuts!! I hope that you let us know you were here and that you are edified by our links and encouraged toward a deeper desire to cling to the cross! We want to allow people to see our life, in all its glory at times, but more importantly the Savior who is sustaining us on an intimate level. We hope as you see our lives with our family and our other non-familial posts that most of all you see Christ and His life working though us! We are so excited to begin a new phase in the life of our site and will probably re-post some of our old blogs (the site may crash at any time with my luck!). Enjoy!!

Many Blessings!
Larissa, for all the crazies (Will, Silas, Kace, Gresham, and Petra)

Wisdom--Graciously Granted?

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, [2] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being [3] might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him [4] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Lately I have been pondering many things associated with God's grace and human responsibility. So often we believe that if we just have enough wisdom then we will be holy. If we simply seek the wisdom of God diligently enough, He is ready and willing, even waiting expectantly to dole it out like a Heavenly ATM machine (If we only can remember the PIN number). Somehow this is sitting heavy on my heart and mind simply because I know that my nature is so desperately weak and unable to stand up to even this smallest of responsibilities. I have realized that no matter what we try and accomplish on our own strength it will never accomplish what the grace of God does.

God isn't sitting on his throne thinking "Oh, Why won't Larissa just ask me for wisdom?"

Trust me! I probably would never think of it if I was simply left to my own devices. Just as salvation is a work of sovereign grace so is our pursuit of anything that is of God. God gives wisdom, it isn't something that we have to ask for in order to receive, just like salvation. Even Solomon when he asked for wisdom didn't call God to appear before him. God had mercy on the king and appeared to him and asked Solomon what he desired. It was then that Solomon said, "I lack sufficient wisdom." And God was pleased. But would Solomon have realized his shortcomings if God had not been proactive in the relationship with the king He had chosen. Had Solomon shown amazing wisdom or a pursuit of it prior to God's appearing in grace and glory?

Unfortunately I think we often mistake our own responsibility for an actual outpouring of His grace supplying us continually. I do not believe that Solomon thought after the fact, "Wow, Go me! I impressed the Lord and I pleased Him with my wisdom in asking for wisdom! Ain't I somethin'?!" No, Solomon gave the credit and glory to the Lord and was driven instead to worship and humility in a much deeper knowledge of Him who saves and does not withold any good thing from those who love Him(obviously sin later chocked out much of his wisdom).

I absolutely believe that the heart that should be inside us was reflected in the relationship between the Lord and his king. He was amazed and changed by the appearing of the Lord and the Lord gave him wisdom. Do we ever embrace wisdom before salvation? Is wisdom separated in anyway from an intimate knowledge of Christ? Paul in His letter to the Corinthian believers says that Christ is in actuallity the incarnation of Wisdom (v. 24). Know Christ and you will know wisdom. Therefore gaining wisdom and discernment is absolutly contingent on Christ's working in our hearts and minds, changing and redeeming us by His everlasting grace.

He takes silly and foolish human beings like me and says "It pleases Me to make this warped vessel into a vessel of usefulness and wisdom." And do I then respond, "Wow! Good thing I believed and sought after Him! I show real wisdom in my actions and my pursuit!" Are you kidding me???!!! I am broken! Humbled! Mournful! And more then a little aware that I am nothing without His grace saving me out of the pit without even the smallest effort on my own part, left to my own devices I never would pursue the things of the Lord, much less His wisdom! First He had to change my heart and bring me into His salvation, then I was able to see what true wisdom was and able to not only desire it, but through a growing and deepening relationship with the Author of my salvation I was able thereby to grow in wisdom and discernment. May all the praise be His alone!

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; Proverbs 2:6