Magnify Him with Thanksgiving

Psalm 69:30- "I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord."

How do we magnify God during Thanksgiving? I was going to write an article on the practical things we could do to magnify God this Thanksgiving. And then I realized, that was silly! What God wants most of all from me and from all of us, is our THANKS! He wants our hearts!! So, I’m laying my heart and my thanks out here today. I read a great book by Anne Voskamp this summer called “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.”  In this book she describes the art of naming what we are thankful for. This is powerful!! When we name what we are thankful for, as we go about our day, our hearts change. We become more grateful, more joyful. We start to see the gifts more, that we never saw before. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Ann in this book.

“And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me.” 

“A life contemplating the blessings of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ.” 

“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.” 

And so I encourage you to make a list of the things you are thankful for! Below is my list. I contemplated on whether I should include it here or not. But in the end, I did. My uncensored, totally honest list from my heart. So, that maybe someone who is struggling with what to be thankful for can see the wide range of gifts we are given.  Food is an obvious one, but yes it is also okay to be thankful for cute boots! I truly am! So, search your heart. What are the things that you are happy to have? Those are gifts. Give thanks for them. But don’t stop there. After you name your gifts, your heart will be overflowing. Let that flow right back to God, the giver of these gifts who purposefully made you, who intentionally showered you with the gifts in your life. Pray. Pray a prayer of Thanksgiving to God, the giver, the creator, our Lord, our Savior. I made a list of my thankfulness and then my heart automatically overflowed with a prayer. Pray your own prayer or pray the prayer I wrote below. He hears us. He knows our hearts and our thankfulness brings him joy. If you don’t struggle with making a list, great, feel free to skip my list and scroll down to the Thanksgiving prayer. That is the meat of what I wanted to post today. Would you pray with me?? Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

God, Thank you for these things:

• YOU- you saved me, redeemed me, love me, speak to me and are with me
• Family-my husband and kids
• Their kisses, their love, their gifts to me and the world
• Jeremy's patience, flexibility, friendship
• Extended family- parents and siblings- Their love, friendship, protection, advice, support, babysitting, encouragement, wisdom, FUN.
• My church- support, growth, encouragement, involvement, knowledge, fellowship and friendships
• My dear Friends
• My Bible study
• My Bible
• Books that fill our house
• My Job that I love-drama, students, the school, the staff, being part time
• Jeremy's job and income
• Mission Valley- great teachers, great experiences
• Smart, talented, serving, loving, faithful kids!
• Home- comfort, pool, location
• Our furniture
• Our Neighbors
• Our van and truck
• Christmas presents
• Nehemiah project
• Gift of writing and areas to use it
• Kids love of reading, and mine
• Income
• Clothes
• Food
• Safety
• Health
• Medical care
• Phones and technology
• Amazon
• Pictures
• Music
• Memories and happy experiences
• Isagenix
• Love
• Cuteness
• Laughter
• Ideas
• The holy spirit
• Jesus
• The Father
• Blessings and prosper for our family
• The ability to serve and give
• The If ministry
• Learning
• Crafts
• Chocolate
• Boots
• My favorite necklace
• Good hair
• Turkey and stuffing tomorrow
• Podcasts to listen and learn from
• Good teachers like Christine Cain, Jenny Allen, Lisa Terquerst
• The good friends the kids have
• Awanas for the kids
• Purple in the sky when the sun is setting
• Big round moon when it first rises
• Beautiful things to look at
• Small, cute, ticklish toes
• A kitchen table full of glue, paint and love
• Overflowing pantry and closets
• All our material provisions
• All the people who bless my life
• Everyday that I'm given to grow closer to you Jesus and to love you more and show you to my kids and everyone around me, And when I fail, you forgive me and give me another day to keep on trying.
• Your mercy

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for all of these gifts and more. Help me to never take them for granted. Help me always recognize they are gifts from you. Help me to live with gratitude for you. I don't deserve any of these gifts. But you have showered me with them anyways. I am so thankful. Thank you Jesus. For the life you have given me. Help me to magnify you this Thanksgiving by having thankfulness in my heart for you and for the gifts you give me. By having love in my heart, for you and for the people around me. Help me to magnify you to the size you really are. To make you bigger in my life because you are bigger. Help me to do that with me words, my attitudes, my actions, my everything. Give me eyes to see what you see. Help me to see the hurting and to help. Help me to listen to the sad and lonely and give an ear and give encouragement and your truth and love. Help me to serve selflessly. Help me to give my kids and family a meaningful thanksgiving and holiday. Keeping the focus on you Jesus. Loving you, appreciating the gifts you have given us, enjoying the gifts you have given us, serving others, loving others, having fun and joyfully experiencing all you want us to experience. Keep our eyes on you, our words on your, our hearts on you. And by our lives help others to see you. Jesus I love you and am so grateful for the gifts you have given us. Most importantly the best gift of all.

Jesus.

Wrapped in a manger. Given to the world.

Died on a cross. Freedom from death to those who accept that gift.

Raised to life. Salvation and eternal life to those who believe.

The gift of the Holy Spirit. A counselor, a friend, the power of God inside of us.

The father's love lavished on us as we enter into relationship with you.

Promises that you are with me always, that you will never leave me. That you work ALL things for the good of those who love you.

Lord I love you! You have filled me with that love. Thank you!! Thank you, for you. Amazing God. Creator of heaven and Earth. No beginning, no end. Limitless, timeless, boundless. Never changing, infinite, everywhere all at once, all powerful, all knowing, in control, sovereign. Full of mercy, protection, love, forgiveness. You take me back over and over. Your grace knows no end. All things created for your glory. All things working together for your glory. This world is yours. This life is yours. Take it. And do whatever you want to do with it, so that you will be magnified to your rightful size and place. I hand it all over to you. I trust you and follow you.

I am sorry for my sins. I am sorry for living for myself. I am sorry for not giving you the praise and love and thanks that you deserve. I am thankful Lord. Thankful that you died for me and took my punishment. I believe. I follow you. And I am oh so thankful. Help me to show my thankfulness by reading your word every day. By spending time in prayer with you. By singing to you and praising you. By teaching and encouraging those around me. By offering my life to you and walking In obedience. Your word is a lamp to my feet. Help me be in it daily and follow you. I love you Jesus.

Thank you. What small words. But from the bottom of my heart I mean them. Thank you for you. Thank you for the gifts you have given me. Now help me to live with thankfulness in my heart ALL the time. Help my life to reflect that thankfulness. Help me to experience joy in you and all that you have created and given me.  Help me to walk with you every moment of everyday. Help me to magnify you this Thanksgiving and this Holiday season in all I do, in all I say, in all I am. Help me to leave behind a trail of YOU in all the places I go and in all the people I encounter. Help me to smile, and laugh and love and enjoy this gift of life! In your amazing name Jesus, I lift these words to you.
Amen

Psalm 69:30- "I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord."

It's ALL about Jesus!

It's the coolest thing when suddenly you realize how everything in the Bible, and everything in the world, points to Jesus. Every page in that big book. Even in the Old Testament before Jesus's birth on Earth, it still ALL points to him! One thing that really helped me realize this was the family devotional we did last Christmas called the Jesse Tree. 

This devotion has been around for quiet a while. But last year was my first experience with it. Our family loved it so much, we vowed to do it every year. And for the last few weeks, the kids have been asking me every single day if its time to start it yet! We loved it so much, and it was such a great experience and growing experience, that I want to share it with every parent and friend I know! So, I'm going to share a few links and few pictures with some basic instructions in making the most of this experience. But first, a few questions answered: 

Who is this project for? It can be adapted for any age. Literally 1 years old to adults. It is for you, if you are willing to spare 5-10 minutes a day during the month of December. If you want to do something special this Christmas season to help keep your eyes and heart on the gift of Jesus. If you know nothing about the Bible, or a lot about the Bible, this devotion will take you through the line of Jesus and help you understand and see God's promises and plan in a new and clear way.

What is the Jesse Tree? The Jesse tree represents Jesus' family tree. The name is taken from Isaiah 11:1, in which Jesus is referred to as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, the father of David. There is a daily reading from the Bible and an ornament to represent that reading. The ornaments on the Jesse tree tell of Jesus' ancestors, and of the events leading to Jesus' birth.

How would I do this Jesse Tree Devotional?? 

There are are so many options out there! You can choose the best option for you based on the ages of kids, your personal preference and the amount of money you want to spend. Here are some options:

1.  You don't need to use a book outside of the bible. You can simple follow the reading plan and read the passages straight from scriptures. This would be a good way to go with teens and adults. A plan of what to read each day is on the second page of the document found on this link:

Bible reading plan for Jesse Tree

2. Here is a free printable devotion also better for teens and adults:

Printable Jesse Tree Booklet

3. If you have kids from birth to 10 years old,  one great way to do this is to follow a reading plan from a children's bible titled The Jesus Storybook Bible. This is such a great Bible that I recommend every family read from all throughout the year! So if you don't already own it, it's a good time to get one! The schedule of what to read from this Bible can be found here: Jesus Storybook Bible Advent reading plan

4. This next book is brand new this year and I am SO excited to use it for our reading during our Jesse tree Devotions. It's a beautiful book written by Ann Voskamp titled "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift:A Family Celebration of Christmas." The pictures are captivating and the stories are beautifully written and really draw the readers focus to the amazing love of God. I just can not wait to go through this book as a family! I think it will be a book and a tradition that my kids will always remember!

Once you decide how you are going to read through this plan with your family, if you have children, you'll want to prepare your tree and your ornaments ahead of time, so that you can hang one each night. Some people are very crafty and make beatiful and adorable felt or wooden ornaments. You can search pinterest for ideas from those crafty people! I am not one of those people :) So, we made a felt tree and have printable ornaments that we velcro to the tree every day during advent. 

Here is what we did to prepare our tree and ornaments:

1. Print the ornaments you will be using. 

If you will be using Ann Voskamp's devotional plan, you can print free ornaments that go along with the book here: Free printable ornaments for Unwrapping the Greatest Gift

If you will be using the plan with the Jesus Story Book Bible, print here: Jesus Story Book Bible free printables

2. Have your kids color the ornaments you print. 

3. If you can laminate the pages, that will help them last for years to come. If you can't, glue them onto some cardstock for extra strength. 

4. Cut the ornaments out.

5. Put velcro on the back of the ornaments to stick to the felt tree.

6. Cut your tree out from green felt. The green felt can be found at Hobby Lobby or Michaels for 4.99. Hang up your tree in a central space in your house. It's fun for the kids to see the tree throughout the day!

7. On December 1st, start with the scheduled readings! Read your first story, and after the reading have a child hang up the first ornament. Add the corresponding ornament to the tree each day during the month of December. Have kids take turns hanging the ornaments. 

8. On December 25th, the day Jesus is born, hang up the bright shining star to top the tree! We cut out a star from some yellow sparkly foam from Michaels. 

9. On December 25th you will see the complete tree. You will know the people that God used, the miracles he did, and the stories he wove together to bring about his amazing plan, all planned out from the very beginning. You'll see the love he poured out to bring us the most amazing gift ever. The gift of Jesus. And your kids will have this experience and this visual to help them understand the gift of Jesus and the love God has for them and the whole world.

Jesus is the very best gift we have ever been given, and no words could truly express the greatness of this gift. But more than anything, I want my kids to spend the Christmas season (and every day of their lives) thinking about Jesus. Thinking about about how God loves them so much that he had this plan from the very beginning to rescue them. To save them. To bring them to him. And he gave up his own son to do that. More than anything I want my kids' hearts' to be touched by the love of God. I want them to see Jesus and know Jesus and celebrate Christmas BECAUSE of Jesus. I want them to be filled with love for God because he first loved them. And I want that for your kids too! I hope you can join us this December in going through this Jesse Tree devotional! I'm excited to see what God teaches us and shows us our second time around! When we get in his word, he opens our eyes and our hearts in miraculous ways! Jesus. What an incredible, indescribable gift!

Colossians 1:15-20

 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

More on Family Devotions-Why and How???

Proverbs 22:6-Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I previously shared the experiences my family has had with our family devotion time. It's been a great experience that has completely changed all of us. I would love for every believer to make this a part of their family life! The ultimate goal of family devotions, as well as everything we do in life, is to bring glory to God. By setting aside time to learn God's word and pray to him every day as family, we are disciplining ourselves and our children to put God in his rightful place.

The place where our busy schedule does not come before God. The place where we as a family can honor God with our time, affection and attention. The place where we seek to know him more and love him more.

We can certainly teach our children lessons from scripture throughout the day and trust that God is using and blessing that time to shape and mold them. However, it is also critical to be intentional with our children. Nothing is more powerful than the word of God. It is alive and active. And opening up the word of God, reading and it and memorizing it as a family is POWERFUL. It helps each person to see the importance of putting God first and living to know him above all other earthly tasks or reasons.

We as parents are given a responsibility. The responsibility for the spiritual instruction and vitality of our families. Wow, what a weighty task! But God's grace is great and if we are seeking him, will cover all our shortcomings. So seek him. In the morning when you wake up. In constant prayer as you go about your day. And in your bed as you fall asleep. But don't seek him and leave your family out. Seek him WITH your family! Open up the Bible with your children at a consistent time every day.

The time that works best for your family may be different than what works best for mine. Night-time has been the best time for us and has been an easiest time to to keep consistent with. Dinnertime or morning may be a better time for you. There will be NO perfect time. We are busy creatures with what we fill our days with. You may have to make some hard choices. You may need to let go of an activity or something that is overfilling your schedule. Those are the choices that give glory to God, showing that HE is the most important to us.

Those are the choices that show your children that JESUS is more important than everything else. 

Do you feel ready to make a choice like that? To make a choice to Honor God as a family. To bring your kids up to know him, to love him, to seek him, and to put him above all else. If you feel like you are not ready, guess what? Do it anyways! If you feel that you are too busy, or your scared that your kids will not be interested. Guess, what? Do it anyways! Just step out in faith and give God what you have. He will show up in ways that will AMAZE you. He will work in the hearts of your family. He will work with the little we know, the little we have, and do HUGE things because that is what he does! His strength is in our weakness, and he blesses our obedience. So, trust. Make the hard choices, carve out the time, sit down with your whole family and an open bible and TRUST. Trust that God will speak and move and show himself to you.


Here are some Bible verses that show us the responsibility we have to spend this consistent time with our family learning about him and worshiping him together. 

Psalm 78:5-7: “He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, thechildren yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.”

Deuteronomy  6:6-7
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”

Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

Clearly, the family is central in passing along the faith. 

What are the benefits of Family Devotions?

• Glorify God
• Bring Joy to the home
• Effect change in the world

What should we do during Family Devotions?

• Read
• Share
• Pray
• Memorize

Where Do I start with Family Devotions?

Ages 4-10

If your children are ages 4-10, see my previous blog entry titled Our Experience with Family Devotions. I have a list of children Bibles and devotions we have used and grown greatly from. 

Ages 10+
If you have kids older than 10 or just ready for more, see the link given below from the Radical website. There is a specific reading plan for family worship and an organized schedule and plan that is very helpful. 

Family Worship Guides From Radical


Ages Birth-4
If you have kids from birth to 4 or 5, I recommend a lot of music. Songs are a great way to hide the word of God in the hearts of little ones. Below are some great CD's as well as some helpful books.










This is NOT just something that I think is a good thing for some families to do. I think it is something that as believers we MUST ALL do. 

Carve out the time to teach your children to walk in his ways. 

God gave us children and families for a very specific reason. It is not just to raise good kids. It is to raise kids who KNOW and LOVE HIM and will show the next generation the LOVE and TRUTH that only comes from knowing Jesus. Huge responsibility, but don't forget the huge grace that covers us when we walk in faith! 

Jeremiah 29:13

 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalms Reading Plan Printable

Psalms Reading Plan

I've been reading through the book of Psalms this month. I found this reading plan from Zondervan Publishing and it's a great plan! I made this printable to help keep track of the reading and to share with others who may want to use it. Psalms is a great book for learning more about the Character of God, and has welled up so much gratefulness and worship in my heart for who God is and what he does for me. I hope it may be helpful to someone else as well! Just click on the image and print. Enjoy! 

Our Experience with Family Devotions

Our Experience with Family Devotions

Okay, the very best thing I have ever done as a parent (other than love my kids unconditionally, ofcourse)  is implementing a family devotion time. About a year and a half ago it all started and it was not even planned. My girls got a children's bible as an end of the year school gift. At that point, we had many children's bibles around our house. We would pull them off the shelves every once in a while and read a story here and there, but nothing consistent. But when they got that Bible, it looked short enough and easy enough to read it all the way through. So, I asked them if they wanted to read a story each night with me and read from front to back until we finished. They were excited! And so it began. As summer began, so did our journey as a family to a place that was unexpected and unplanned. With about 4 minutes of reading each night, we started our daily bible reading. And it grew from there. Our nightly prayers turned from a 10 second shallow list of requests, to deeper, more in-depth prayers filled with thanks and praises and requests that were aligned with God's heart. As we began to read the stories in order, the girls' understanding of the Bible as a whole grew more and more. They were filled with great questions and started understanding how the stories in that book applied to their own lives. As they read about Abraham being able to give up his son for God, they were filled with wonder at his faith and started holding on to their own possessions less tighter. As they saw the beauty of Esther, they wanted her boldness. As they saw the bravery of David, they realized that they too could do anything with God on their side and they had nothing to fear. I was amazed at what God was teaching them as well as what he was teaching myself! 

As the end of summer drew, we finished the very last page of the book. It was so bittersweet. The girls were thrilled that we had read the whole Children's bible from front to back. But we were all going to miss our nightly Bible time! And that is when I realized. I should have been doing this all along! What was I thinking? I can not rely on Sunday school to teach my kids about God. The 2 minute conversations about God here and there, in the car, or just whenever they came up would also not be enough.  I started to realize that if I didn't intentionally teach them every day, what they will learn on TV and from their friends will be their biggest influence. I needed to step it up and continue this intentional, consistent time, learning from the word of God together, learning how to live life to please him, make good choices, and know him more. 

And so, I quickly jumped on-line and searched for another children's bible to start the process again. Since that time, we have gone through more than 6 Children's Bibles from front to back. I will tell you that I have found some great Children's Bible's! I have also found some not-so great ones. Lucky for you, I will let you in on the good ones I have found and save you the money and time to stay away from the not-so good ones. The Bible is God's perfect flawless word and nothing about his word is not good. But children's story bibles were written by men and it's possible to have some theological slip-ups in there. Some of them are too complex or too simple for the ages they are intended for. Some are dry and extremely factual, while others are not factual enough. But some of them, the "just right " ones, do a better job of presenting Jesus as he really is and sets up the stories for important biblical truths to be easily seen and understood. In looking for a good children's bible the most important thing is that the gospel is preached;Jesus is the center of the Bible, and the truths of the Bible are taught so children can know and love him and understand what it means to have a relationship with him.

 In addition to our nightly Bible reading, we also added a devotional reading to each night. This helped supplement our biblical knowledge with applicable lessons in our day to day life. The girls learned about Abraham from the stories in the Children's story bible while the devotionals we read helped them really apply the lesson of faith and following Jesus in their own lives. The devotionals helped them learn the importance of praying all throughout the day, abiding in Jesus, being led by the spirit and showing the fruits of the spirit in their lives. It helped them put together some of the truths we were seeing in the bible and helped them apply those truths to their own lives. So, now our family devotion times consist of about a 3-5 minute devotion reading. A short discussion after that. A 5 minute Bible reading time and a short discussion  time after that. We work on memorizing one bible verse a week, so we practice it after our reading and discussion time. And then we end it in prayer. Our time usually takes about 15 minutes. It started at 5 and has grown to 15 as they have grown deeper in their maturity and desire to know him. So, really all it takes is 5 minutes each night to get this started. And it does not matter how old they are. Family devotions is something that should be done with the whole family at every age. For 0-2 year olds a simple song can be sung, a picture book and a prayer. And as their understanding grows, you can introduce more developmentally appropriate books and Bibles. Once they hit the 10 year old mark (earlier if they are ready for it) I would recommend using the NIV or ESV version of the Bible for family devotions. I have recommendations for different age spans. I would divide up the age spans by baby/toddler, 4/5 year old to 10 year old and 10-18 year olds. I'm going to start my recommendations with the middle period of 4/5-10. Stay tuned in the next few days for the other two age spans. I will also be including another post that explains why it is so important for EVERY family to do daily devotions and what the scriptures say about this topic. So stayed tuned for these future posts!

Since Christmas is approaching, I thought it would be a great time to post my recommendations  because these Children's bibles and devotions can make great gifts for your children or other children in your life! That is exactly how we got started! A Children's bible as a gift from a relative. And the snowball effect that one gift had in our lives is huge and is still going! So, here's the list! We have read every book on here and rate them all highly. My very favorite bible is the Jesus Storybook bible. If you are getting a gift or just starting this journey, I would start with that book first. I hope you find this list helpful. The first 3 books are Children's story bibles and the last 3 books are children's devotionals. Again, this list is recommendations for ages 4/5-10. I pray that God will use these books to change your little ones lives and your life as well! 

A Difficult Start, an Exciting Race, a Big Prize

A Difficult Start, an Exciting Race, a Big Prize 

It’s been 3 weeks now that I have stared at this empty blog page that I set up one late Thursday night.  Three weeks staring at it, knowing I need to write but not knowing where to start. It goes back a lot more than 3 weeks though; this desire in me to put words on paper.  When I pick up a pen, or when my fingers hit that keyboard, words just seem to come right out of me in ways that never flow out of my mouth. I’m not sure why. But when I write, I feel alive. It was always my childhood dream to write a book.  It still is. But my problem is in the starting. Where do I start? What do I write about? There is so much I want to say, but does what I have to say matter to anyone other than me? It does, I know it does, but will THEY know it does?  And then I realize. It’s not just for others. It’s for me. And it’s for my God. And if it happens to be any sort of encouragement, support or help to anyone else along the way, then awesome! And if it’s not, if I’m the only one that ever actually visits this blog site, then awesome! Would I love for others to come along side me in this life and run with me? Yes! Yes I do. But am I willing to run this race alone? Yep, I sure am! For the prize is worth it!  How do we run this race and what is the prize?

Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message Version) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

So, my dream, is that together, dear friends and family, or current strangers that I have yet to meet- together- we can strip down and start running and never quit! Keeping our eyes on Jesus. Who is our prize! And when we need to, which is EVERY day, we’ll go over the story again. Reading and remembering and rejoicing in what he did on the cross and what he tells us about himself in the Bible. He died for our sins. What an amazing gift. And he desires our hearts, our repentance and our lives.  So in following him we are given the gift of eternal life. Such an indescribable gift! For me, to start the race was difficult; to run the race is also difficult but also so exciting; and in the end the prize will be beyond incredible!

So that’s my dream. That others will come to this place and read and share and together we can run this race hard for him. But if that doesn't happen. If no one comes. I will still run!! And I will still write in this space for me and my God. My filled up journals that line my bookcase are filling up shelves and space in my room and collecting dust. So I might as well fill up space online instead of on shelves, in the hopes that others might run along with me.

So what will this blog be? It will be a lot of things. Just like me. Such a mix, such a mess of different ideas poured into one place. It will be my journal. There will be grammatical errors. There may be some theological slip ups. But it will be real. And it will be His.  It will be my space to work out and express the lessons that God is teaching me in my day to day life. It will be my place to share. Share lists of books I have loved and enjoyed, share messages and podcasts that have taught me something, share things I’m doing with my kids that have worked well, as well as things that have NOT worked well (because there sure are a lot of those!), share my thoughts, ideas, passions  some strategies in studying the Bible, helpful printables, helpful truths and more. I am currently learning the importance of preaching to myself. I need to hear and be reminded of the gospel ALL. DAY. LONG. And so as I preach, and maybe teach, and encourage and try to inspire on this blog, it is not because I want to preach down to anyone, it is because I need to hear it more than anyone! So, that’s what this blog is intended to be. A whole lot of words! Words that hopefully magnify him in my life and in yours. What does it mean to magnify?

verb (used with object), magnified,magnifying.

1.

to increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.

2.

to make greater in actual size; enlarge

3.

to cause to seem greater or more important;attribute too much importance to; exaggerate

4.

to make more exciting; intensify; dramatize;heighten

5.

 to extol; praise

Yes! That is what I want from this blog. That is what I want from all of my words and all of my life. To make him greater in my life and for him to be greater in yours. I want to see him more clearly and bigger. Because he is bigger than we can ever imagine! “To intensify, dramatize, heighten”  his importance and role in my life. “To attribute too much importance to,” because is that really possible? No it is not! He is exciting and he is huge and amazing and holy. But I often see him through my faulty, weak eyes. I make myself big and give him a little corner of my life to occupy. It’s a daily struggle, but I need to fight it. More of him and less of me.  What I want to do is magnify him so I can see him for who he is, and so he can be bigger in my mind, my heart and my life. I want to dig into the Bible together learning more about him. I want to take the time to see his fingerprints in our lives. So, put your seat-belts on and hold on tight. If you keep coming back to check out this place you may just see Jesus is a new magnified way.  He is bigger than we have ever imagined! So let’s journey together in seeing this great big God for the big God he is, and in giving this great God the big role he desires and deserves in our lives. Let’s magnify him! I've got some good stuff I’m planning to share in the next few days. But for now, that’s the intro to this new place.

Phew! I got the hardest over with! The beginning. And I’m going to end it with my very favorite words from my favorite Psalm. How Good Is our God that he gives us words to praise him with! So, with a full heart, and three crazy kids filling my house with noise, my heart whispers these words. And I pray that the rest of my day is also filled with these heart-felt whispers. Will you join me in surrendering the rest of your day to him? Knowing that he is God and we are his. All our spaces, all our places, all our gifts, all our fears, all of our beginnings and all of our tears. They are all his and for him; the God of the universe, the sheep of his pasture, they are all of him. Jesus.

Psalm 100  (ESV)

A Psalm for giving thanks.

 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

³ Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

John 3:30
He must become greater; I must become less