This thing is so annoying.

The reason it is soooooo annoying is that my children all love it and do a great job of copying it. It sticks in your head. The worst part is that on church on Sunday I found myself walking down the hall singing ding, ding, ding to myself. ARRRRRRGGGHHHH!

If Money was No Object

If money were no object this is what I would like for my birthday. I will be thankful for whatever I get, as long as it isn't fireworks:) It is still nice to dream every once and a while. There is also a cruise that I would get TODR for his birthday, if we had the money as well. It involves a Ligonier Conference and Alaska. Maybe one day we will be able to afford these things. For now I am looking forward to time with TODR-just him-even if we are grocery shopping. My kids can dress up and we will go to The Big Bottom Blast on July 4. I guess I could dress up too. Most folks look at us funny anyway...

NO FEAR

I honestly don't believe NO FEAR is the best. I think we need to fear God and not man (or what man can do to us). I read an interesting article. It definately put some things in perspective if you are feeling slightly worried about the Swine Flu thing. I do not agree with the evolutionary outlook in the latter part of the article, but for the most part it is pretty good. Whether we actually ever see a major epidemic/pandemic or life goes on as usual God is in control. A wise man I know said that if we get the Swine Flu tomorrow we are wasting today by worrying about it (he is cute too:).

Redneck Garage

We don't have a garage or shop. We do have rain. So here is TODR's makeshift shop to keep the bil and himself dry while they fix the brakes on our truck. Woo-hoo. A truck that doesn't have to be stopped a la Flintstone style. Wonderful!

He's Alive

This is dedicated to the Ole Daddy Rabbit. Love you!

A Tidbit for Bucca

I learned a new word today. I love new words! I know Bucca likes new words too so here it is....

Cerebration: (noun) brain action, conscious or unconscious; cerebrating; thinking.

Preparing for......

SUN!!!!!!



Many are familiar with the story told in Facing the Giants about preparing for rain. Here in the Pacific Northwest we are always prepared for rain. The sunshine is iffy. So here we are....

We have a work party we have planned at my mom's house. Hosting it and providing the food is our gift to her for her birthday that was in April (back when it was still SNOWING regularly). The weekend looked promising with the weather. Now we have put out the invitation, folks are planning on helping, plants are purchased and food is planned. The weather is predicting sunny for Friday and partly cloudy for Saturday. We are praying for sun. My faith is kind of shakey at this point. I find myself in that situation again of thinking that God wanted me to do something and now I hear the question: Did God REALLY say?....And my answer is I DON'T KNOW!

On another front I am looking at the reality of camping with our family this summer. Due to past issues (read bad attitudes on the part of many) I am seriously torn. I remember camping as a child. It was one of those rare and happy memories for me. I also remember the "camp conditions" of my mission teams and the happy comraderie that those times forged in us. I know there have been many changes for the good in everyone in our house. There are just some fronts that I am not willing to give up on. And I just don't know if those are hills to die on or my sinful selfishness taking over and they need need to die....I JUST DON'T KNOW. We need to get some more things for camping. We have some basics, but we need some more decent sleeping bags and cots/mattresses/soft things for kiddos to sleep in. We have one air mattress and 4 real sleeping bags. That is real as compared to the $14.00 ones we purchased a few years ago not at CABELA'S. The supposed down is now in horrible clumps in non-warming areas of the bag. They make great tents in the living room though. We do have friends that are "serious as a heart-attack" to help us get going camping since our kids absolutely love it.

I am trying to prepare for the sun. I just don't WANNA. So if you WANNA...be praying for sun.

A Deliberate Family

I was reading an article written by a very gracious lady. She talked about becoming a "deliberate family." That struck my husband and me. The dictionary defines deliberate in three ways; Planned or intended, careful and slow, or (as a verb) to consider something carefully. In this day and age family is under attack more and more.

I don't think it matters if you come from a "traditional," home or a "fractured" one, or some where in between. We all feel the tug to be selfish. We are reminded daily, in our culture, that it is all about YOU. The wise pastor that did our premarital counseling said that he believed 95% of divorce and marital problems stemmed from selfishness. (You might ask what the 5% was...good question...I don't remember.) He also said that if marriage didn't bring your selfishness to the surface, children would! How true!

Gary Ezzo said, "In our home, family ties were never optional for our children. They were a mandate based on God's genius...Each member knows the team is counting on all the others to stay committed to the code of ethics that represents the family."

It is amazing how much a family is like a military unit. The hard part is changing our mind set from civilian to military thinking. Do you remember that children's song? I may never march in the infantry, ride in the calvary, shoot the artillery. I may never fly over the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army-yes, SIR! There is some great doctrine in some of those oldies (Jesus Loves Me is another example).

The captain of the Heath family is deliberately leading us to be a deliberate family. The funny thing is...I don't really remember what it was like to be a civilian.

May God bless us with wisdom to be a deliberate family. It makes me question; Where am I being selfish? How am I not deliberately following where the Lord would have me go? Unfortunately, the answers are very obvious. Maybe it is a blessing that they are obvious. It means He is working. What is God asking you to deliberate on doing deliberately?

Some Men Are Their Jobs

My husband has many interests from theology to mountains, but may we never forget that he works at a STUD mill! We are thankful that he does still have a job. I am thankful to be married to this wonderful man. We have much to be thankful for.

A Few LIttle Tidbits

-It was finally warm enough for some water sporting at our house. The second son washed Oma's car and the girls found a hole in the hose. They all put on their bathing suits and danced and ran through the water, even the smallest fry. Here is a picture of our bathing beauties.
-Number 2 son has decided to study Greek. He has me making worksheets for him and he has been wandering around singing the Greek alphabet song. He is a funny duck, but very fun.
-Our pastor was making a point Sunday. The point was being sold out completely to God and not "trying God" like He was some kind of a shoe to try on. The pastor remarked that he was going to get arrested at Walmart one day because he had a razor blade and he was going to take those "Try God" bumper stickers off of folks' cars. He said he would leave all the other stickers there. Now most of us knew he was not serious, but our oldest boy obviously didn't. He offered to go with him when he did it. Now I am not too sure if we should be proud that our son is on board enough to back his pastor's play or if we have some talking to be doing:)
We Heaths may be strange, but we have never been accused of being boring.

Random

Here is just a random post. Short, sweet and to the point. The sun is shining, my house is relatively clean and we are actively working together. So there it is. Praise God for today for it is a new day full of promise with no mistakes in it.

Maundy Thursday

My children used to wonder what Monday/Thursday was...
So we did some research...
It comes from the Latin word "Mandatem." We get our English word mandate from it. The term was coined in the early church to refer to the last supper when the Lord modeled communion for us. He gave us an old/new thing to observe. A new mandate, if you will. It was old in that it was from the traditional Passover meal that he drew from to institute communion. It was new because it represents the new covenant in His blood and body.
Our church celebrates communion every Sunday after not celebrating it at all for so long. There was a fear that familiarity might breed contempt or apathy. There is always that factor to consider when we do something often. It has become such a vital part of our church. I saw that the one Sunday our pastor took a much needed rest. We didn't have communion prepared. It was so vital to those there that we all jumped into getting done.
As I raced home to mix up some communion bread I was overwhelmed with the thought of Passover. That is why the Israelites didn't use leaven! It took me 30 minutes from racing home, mixing ingredients and a finished product. If it was "normal" bread it is a 1 and 1/2 to 2 hour process. They were to get ready. They were to eat and go. They were not to leave anything, even burning the leftover meat. They were to use the blood to paint their doorposts so the Angel of Death would PASS OVER them.
Now every communion preperation is not that dramatic. I see the symbolism in marriage though. We are intimate with our spouse on a regular basis. If we aren't we need to address the reasons why. It usually means something is wrong or there are bitter feelings on one or both sides. The same way-we have communion-it is an intimacy with our Bridegroom as well as an intimacy enjoyed with other members of the Bride.
We are coming up on a BIG celebration: RESURRECTION SUNDAY. This Easter we will go to church and enjoy communion as well as a potluck put on by the menfolk (they even have a theme-I am afraid, very afraid:). Just like in our married life we often times make a big deal out of our anniversaries. Just like in our married life we consummate our marriage again. Let us have these temporal things point towards heaven as we taste again the bittersweet beauty of our Lord's death and resurrection on Sunday. We should celebrate it every day, every moment, and every time we get a chance to celebrate our love. It is extra special this Sunday as we remember what Christ did for us. We also may celebrate that this is just the beginning. One day we will feast forever. This is just a foretaste. Let us enjoy every moment of it. I, for one, am looking forward to Sunday with eager anticipation.

Just Us

We took a group picture the other night at church with all the kids. There were 12 children and one adult in the picture. As we were snapping the pix, my dear friend noticed that they were ALL our kids-hers and mine. A couple of hers were missing too. I remember a few years ago when we had a visitor for Vacation Bible School at our church...There were a handful of us pregnant at the same time....He asked if that was the pastor's church growth plan. The answer was, "Yes, it is slow, but effective." How true. Those just happened to be the kiddos at this assembly. We have more than that attend our church. It was quite a "Kodak" moment.

I was so proud

We went for a walk the other day. I even remembered to bring the camera. Our oldest girl patiently helped her two sisters ride her big girl bike home. Here is the picture I snapped of the three girls while they were unsuspecting. Sometimes when they are bickering and fighting I despair, but at times like these I know that they are on the road to true friendship.

Nothin' Like It

I am sure that there is nothing like getting a welcome phone call with good news, no-GREAT NEWS! I am sure we have all experienced those late night phone calls that bring a big sinking feeling to our stomaches. We are glad that we can be the ones folks can count on to call us when in need at those hours... On the other hand it is so much better to get a call announcing something wonderful. To be a person that some one will share their joy with. I got one of those phone calls this morning and I feel so good, great, wonderful. I am sure nothing in comparison to my dear friend that called. I think she feels pretty euphoric!

This dear, sweet friend has been through some heart-rending things. She was due 9 days ago. Yes, I know that feeling. It is no fun. I felt for her. I had been praying for her. I pray for her and her family every day. Last night, though, I was genuinely worried about her and her baby. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit. My sweet, sweet oldest daughter prayed, we prayed as a family and I prayed every time I got up last night. I wondered why my kids all seemed to have problems. I was up several times dealing with nightmares, potty accidents....I prayed every time. I get up earlier than the kids so I can have some time with the Lord in the mornings. I prayed...

Then this morning as I was fixing breakfast I got the wonderful call! That precious BIG baby finally arrived this morning. Everyone is doing well. I am excited. Excited that my friend has a beautiful (I haven't seen him yet, but I know he is) healthy baby. Excited that she is on the other side of labor and doing well. Excited that my children and I got to see God's immediate answer to prayer. Excited that getting up with my children not only spoke to them about God's love for them and His comfort, but was a fruitful time of prayer. I usually can be grumbley (is that a word?) after too many ups in the middle of the night. I am learning to pray when ever I have the opportunity.

What a wonderful, exciting way to start the day. Now I get to call some folks and pass on the blessing:)

Waiting

Patience has never been one of my strong points. I am being constantly amazed, though, at the wisdom of God. I am getting older. It is apparent in the hair on my head and the state of my waistline. I am learning to be less anxious and I think that is a telling sign of age as well. I remember waiting FOREVER for so many things. Now those things have passed and they seem to be FOREVER ago.

Our pastor seems to be stuck in the idea of "all we have is today." It is a good way to live, a good place to be stuck. The Bible tells us that we should be taught to number our days. I am learning more that all I have is now. Do I really want to waste in on busyness with no purpose (yes, that is busy-ness, not business:) ? The idea is not, live life to the hilt fore tomorrow we die. It is to appreciate every season, every moment God has us in. I only have this moment to savor. Everything changes. Yet when we stop and savor we hear the echoes of the future. The future when we will hear the whole compostion instead of just catching strains of it throught the veil.

Dedicated

This song is really wonderful. I want to dedicate it this morning to my husband first of all. I know you love this part of the movie. Stay fighting the good fight, you are doing it. Remember when you fall off the horse get back on!

It is also for my lovely sisters that are waiting in the Lord through some tough stuff. For Bucca and for Sharon. Remember that you are loved and prayed for constantly.

The Bigness of God

I used to wonder about the Bible telling us to magnify God. It seemed strange to be told to magnify something that is huge. I listened to John Piper on this subject and he shed some light on it. We are not to magnify God as in a microscope looking at something small. The concept is like a telescope magnifying something in space or in essence bringing something huge and seemingly distant close. Many seem to think that God is distant and out there somewhere. Not accessible. The Bible is clear that God is all around us, just outside the physical.

God uses the created realm to whisper the truths of the spiritual. Many have worshiped the sun as a god. It is not a god, yet its existance points to the real God. God may appear to be small and distant. The truth about the sun is that it is perfectly positioned for life on this planet. The sun is huge. Something like a million earths could fit inside of the sun. The heat from the sun would incinerate us if we got too close. The same way God is huge. His holiness would leave our sinful selves writhing in agony if we got too close.

He has positioned himself close enough to us in the physical for us to draw comfort from Him. Like a cat curling up in the warm comfort of a sunbeam we can seek His comforting warmth. He gives us life and sustains us exactly as we need. He hands us a telescope of prayer. So often I use the telescope to examine my tiny little problems. They seem huge and overwhelming. The telescope is meant to magnify God. When I focus on Him and see how huge He is my problems seems very small. The thing I am learning is to recognize the sunbeams and to warm myself in them. I am learning to trust. There may be droughts and crop failures, but the sun has never failed to rise. How much more so the Creator that made such things to point to Him?

This concept is something that I need to practice. It is, by nature, foreign to me. I am a first-born people pleaser with a tendency towards perfectionism. Not only that I am a born sinner. God, however, is bigger than those odds. It is probably why he had me get married and have seven children. They are doing much to peal away those things that are truly not worth wasting my time on. I am reminded that as my husband and I age, we have to savor the time together as it is getting shorter. My children are enthralled with sunbeams and other miracles of creation that I take for granted. My husband and children in and of themselves are miracles. God is at work. We just need to look.

It is snowing.

I thought the snow had decided to stay at higher elevations. I thought we would GO to the snow...and then come back. Yet again I thought wrong.

I do love the snow when it settles in its pristine, white, glittering beauty across my lawn. It covers all the ugliness of the muddy, yucky mess out there. I am reminded how God makes our sins, that were as scarlet, white as snow. Then the children want to go out and play in it. They need to get bundled. We have to find matching gloves, or at least gloves that are the same size if not color. Then we have to find matching socks, or at least ones that are the same size. We get everyone ready to go outside. Then the little ones play for 5 minutes only to come back in saying they're cold. Then we take everything off and hang it up around the fire place to dry. All the while I am reminding myself that this time IS fleeting. My baby is 14 months old today. I try to remember that it seemed like yesterday when my oldest was that age. I would like to say that I am winning the battle against the demon of discontent, but alas and alack I am irritated at the snow and extra work it means. I am grumbling...I need another cup of coffee...I am wondering if it is not too out of line to eat chocolate and put a video on for the children...

Actually...I will get my act together, get the house warm, get school done and get dressed and all that stuff. My handsome, hard-working hubby will be home about 11:30 and I do want him to come home to a snug, inviting home. So here goes....

No Comparison

I was just updating my Expectant Mother's Prayer List. It dawned on me how all of them have either had a homebirth or are planning one. I also read some of the First Born birth stories from my facebook. I have also just been through surgery where I was just a number. It all puts into perspective how truly blessed the midwifery experience is. I had my first in a hospital with a CNM and it was a fine experience. Then I had my second with our incredible midwife. It is like the difference between gourmet fine dining with the perfect wine and McDonald's! The irony is the gourmet experience is financially cheaper! Hmmmm....Do you want fries with that #8976509867-987? That will be $689.00!(They don't HAVE to say please here). Or...Is everything to your statisfaction? May I pour you some more of this wonderful wine? Could I interest you in a fabulous dessert? (Your bill is discretely placed by your bedside or sent to your address in a lovely envelope) Total: $10.00! And a note-Thank you for letting me be a part of your birth experience.

I think most folks choose McDonald's because they don't know it can be different. After you have experienced the royal treatment, you certainly don't want to go any other way. Trust me, fast food is hard to return to.