God's Icebox

Oddly enough, since I said I probably wouldn't be blogging much from now on, I've actually been fairly regular!

A "divine moment" happened after lunchtime today, and since I cannot get away from thinking on it, I want to share it with you. I was simply serving my girls some ice cream, their one dessert for the day (and a few spoonfuls for myself), when something struck me. "The ingredients that make up this ice cream would not taste at all like ice cream if they weren't frozen" I mused. The sugar, cream, and vanilla in their room temperature would be nothing like the treat my girls were enjoying. I pondered this concept for a few minutes. How did this apply to me? (You may be laughing, but I truly do think like this. It must be how God wired me!) The freezer, or more poetically, the "ice box" was preserving this item in the form my girls were enjoying so much. But, if I had served it to them melted, at room temperature, unpreserved, they would not have responded with the happy faces I was seeing. They probably would have said "no thank you, mommy!"

The more I thought about all of this, the more I saw what God was leading me to see. He has preserved me, in an "ice box" of sorts, of His grace. Inside His shelter, I am kept in the state at which is most truly enjoyable, both to me and to others. If I were to be outside His care...living like the world, I would not be what I am. I might look the same, have the same abilities and talents, but they would look very different and be used in pointless venues. I would be less than what God could make of me, for with Him, all things are made beautiful and used for good.

This is especially poignant for me right now. You see, just last week, we were out with friends who lovingly asked, "If God keeps you where you're at, what would or do you fear the most?" I replied, "Wasting my life. If my life were a million dollars, I'd want to invest it in the most strategic, high-yielding way. I don't want to have regrets of how I spent my life." They lovingly reminded me that God is in charge of how my life is "spent." And they were right.

But today, I believe God is pointing out to me not just that my life is not being wasted, but that it IS being used to the fullest, because it is God who is preserving me, keeping me at my most fruitful, effective "taste"--both for Himself, for others, and for me. If I were not God's possession, my life would look much different. I would not be doing most of the things I am now. I would not be homeschooling my girls so that they grow up seeing all truth as God's truth, supporting a husband in his service to the local church, helping to lead a young adult care group in their pursuit of God, or any of the other God-ward things. What would I be doing? I really don't want to imagine, because it wouldn't be bringing God glory or bearing good fruit. I hope you can relate to me today. If you belong to God, please see His amazing preservation at work in your life. You are effective for His kingdom, because He makes you so. That is something I can savor, long after the ice cream is gone.

Reflections

OK, OK, the protests from loved ones and friends over my last entry (saying I probably wouldn't be blogging much) has hit me right on target! I will try to arrange my schedule more strategically to get entries in. So I have 8 minutes right now before I give the girls breakfast and start school. Here goes....

Last night at the Planks, Doug asked to take our picture (along with the Hannas) for the church website...young adult Care group leaders, etc. I always Looooove having my picture taken (NOT!), so it was a tense moment in my heart. Add to that the new haircut, and the struggle I've had lately with feeling old, and you get a woman who wishes the camera was out of film or something. But in these days of digital, that just isn't the case! So pictures were taken, none of which I was pleased with. (There is a reason why photographers always tilt your head down before a shot....so your face doesn't look extra wide!) But I knew God wanted me to humbly accept my picture looking as it did.

It strikes me this morning that if Scripture is to be a mirror for our inner person, our souls, than what we see there should be massively more important that what we see on the digital camera screen. And hopefully, as time progresses, instead of disliking what we see more and more, we should see with joy, all the fruit God has brought about in us, and have hope for all the rest. Yes, we will see ourselves in light of a perfect image...Christ, and that can bring godly sorrow as we see our failure to match Him. But, there is not condemnation there, but rather, hope, that God "Will be faithful to complete that which He began in us." I'm asking God to forgive me for being more consumed with dissatisfaction over my outward image than my inward. And to give me more grace to be walking toward Scripture's ideal over the outer-worldly ideal. Have a great day!

The Long and the Short of it....

Amazingly, I hit this date almost smack-dab on the 1 month mark! August 13th was my last entry, and here we are on Sept. 12th. Well, here's the Long and the Short of it....

The truth is, life has simply gotten "kicked up a notch" for the Buntings. It is by far a much busier schedule than a year ago when I began this blog. I still long to write and keep this "diary" of sorts that our friends and family can read, but I can't let it become more important than my primary roles and responsibilities. That being said, if you can endure never knowing from day to day (or month to month) if there'll be a new entry, please keep checking on me here. As time allows, I will find my way up the two flights of stairs to this attic room to blog, providing none of my three angels are on Webkinz, or Horseland, nor my husband on the church website, itunes, or weather.com.

In the spirit of www.girltalk.blogs "Friday Funnies," I have to include this comment from Kara, 7, said yesterday. The context: as an American history study, we watched some of the coverage of the 9/11 memorial services on the news. The comment: "Mommy, that man looks like daddy!" (Kara) "What man?" I ask. "That one!" Kara replies, pointing to our president, George W. Bush. I laugh. "You're right! He does kind of look like daddy!" I say. Then, turning to Keaton, I say "Wow, I look like George Washington and daddy looks like George Bush!" (Must see my blog entry entitled "I look like George Washington" to understand this.)

I love the Savior. I love spending quiet time with Him daily. I love myhusband. I love my kids. I love my extended family, and trying to have phone conversations with them. I love Crossway Church. I love our Young Adult Care Group. I love my friends. I love teaching kindergarten, second, and fourth grades to my three children. I love driving my girls to ballet, choir, and waiting on them to come back out to me. I love cooking for my family and anyone else in need of a meal. (I don't love grocery shopping for it!) I love cleaning my home. I love laundry. (answer to prayer...see last year's entry on that) I love running errands that keep our home functioning properly. I love catching up with old friends via facebook. I love date nights, and babysitting for the other family when they take their date night. I love Thursday movie night with my husband. I love family worship nights and dance parties with my family. I love when friends and family come to visit for the weekends. I love chat sessions with young adults in my living room. I love having our neighbors over for dinner, and other friends. And I love blogging. But, if I'm not blogging, I am probably doing something else from the list above. Life is full. God is gracious. See you next month, or maybe before!