Thursday, June 23, 2011

What Summertime is REALLY About...











 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Every season is God’s season. But summer has its special power.

Jesus Christ is refreshing, but flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched. At first it may feel like freedom and fun to skimp on prayer, and neglect the Word. But then we pay: shallowness, powerlessness, vulnerability to sin, preoccupation with trifles, superficial relationships, and a frightening loss of interest in worship and the things of the Spirit.

Don’t let summer make your soul shrivel. God made summer as a foretaste of heaven, not a substitute. If the mailman brings you a love letter from your fiancĂ©, don’t fall in love with the mailman. That’s what summer is: God’s messenger with a sun-soaked, tree-green, flower-blooming, lake-glistening letter of love to show us what he is planning for us in the age to come—“things which eye has notseen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Don’t fall in love with the video preview, and find yourself unable to love the coming reality.

Jesus Christ is the refreshing center of summer. He is preeminent in all things (Colossians 1:18), including vacations and picnics and softball and long walks and cookouts. He invites us in the summer: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This is serious summer refreshment.

Do we want it? That is the question. Christ gives himself to us in proportion to how much we want his refreshment. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 11:12). One of the reasons to give the Lord special attention in the summer is to say to him “We want all your refreshment. We really want it.”

Peter’s word to us about this is: “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is not just turning away from sin, but also turning toward the Lord with hearts open and expectant and submissive.

What sort of summer mindset is this? It is the mindset of Colossians 3:1-2, "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

In the summer the earth is very much with us. And it is God’s earth! But it is all prelude to the real drama of heaven. It is a foretaste of the real banquet. It is a video preview of the reality of what the eternal summer will be like when “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). So, you see, the summer sun is a mere pointer to the sun that will be: the glory of God. Summer is for seeing and showing that. Will we have eyes to see? Do you want to have eyes to see? Lord, let us see the Light beyond the campfire.

-John Piper

Originally published in A Godward Life (Multnomah, 1997). 
Setting Our Minds on Things Above in Summer 
Thoughts on Colossians 3:1-2

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz....Cuts

ANSWER: 1. Abe 2. Ben 3. Judah :)
Summer cuts are in full swing around here which is great for drying off after each of our 23 impromptu water play activities each day. Not so great for telling who's who just off the cuff anymore.
Think you can tell who's who?

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Chama Fun

Throwing rocks into the lake
Staying up wayyyy too late
  Marshmallows for a bedtime snack
Exploring trails while on horseback
Dinner on our favorite deck
Time for another mountain trek
Sneakin' up on some drinkin' Elk
Sure! Have another cup of chocolate milk!
Falling asleep in Nana's arms
And Grandpa bought you Lucky Charms! 
Trips to town for Lowes and the train
Ben driving the burb' up Buckman lane
We love our Chama time, yes we do!
Even if the boys treat all six acres as their personal loo!
And even though apples, the barn and rides are a ball
We love our Grandpa and Nana time most of all.

Missing Chama {and YOU GUYS!} already!




Friday, June 10, 2011

Keepin' It Real

1. I stayed in bed until 8:10 and justified it with the fact that I could hear B&A playing in the playroom and all the doors were locked. Then when I got up, I drank two 3 cups of coffee while all of the boys watched Micky Mouse Club until I couldn't stand the chorus of, "Hot dog! Hot dog! Hot diggity dog!" one.more.time. 

2. While still on the floor after changing Ju's diaper, I dusted the entertainment center with a  {clean} baby wipe. I was quite pleased with the results.

3. I took my children to two different grocery stores. I bribed them with chicken nuggets and popsicles if they behaved. They totally did.

4. I had a 44oz sweet tea for lunch. 

5. I thanked the Lord that His mercies are new every morning and that our daddy will be home tomorrow. 

6. That's all.

Happy weekend! I'll be catching up on a thing or two {or seventeen!} around here! See you next week after the dust clears :) 

Monday, June 6, 2011

One Thousand Gifts

Pistachios 
Water play every single day
Watermelon before 7:00 am
Cowboy boots with jammies
Just cause bouquets
Inviting a friend to lunch
The baby covered in his first peanut butter and jelly.
Summer haircuts
The husband reading of Transforming Grace
Burgers on the grill and corn boiling on the stove
T.V.-less nights
The smell of cut grass blowing in through an open window
Meeting neighbors
The first cobbler of the summer
  Brother play
A hatched Robin's egg in the grass
Clean sheets
Celebrating our Nana's 89th
Grace. Marvelous, wondrous, amazing Grace.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Self Titled

Imagination
Overflowing with grandeur
Pours out "Snail on Skates"