With Thanks for My Girls

Happily, none of the in-law jokes apply to my dear daughters-in-law. Brent married Becky over a decade ago, and their Little Stuff will gain a baby sisiter in a few weeks. Stacey celebrates her birthday tomorrow and will hopefully, soon not experience morning sickness all day long! Bryan finishes the soccer season here in Miami later this month and will fly to Honolulu so he and Stacey can celebrate their seventh anniversary together on March 1. They expect their first child in August. I know how graciously the Lord has dealt with me, and I give HIm thanks.

As I've read through the burnt, grain, fellowship and sin offerings described in Leviticus, I looked at Lev 22:2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord." In very practical terms, how do I treat with respect these lovely women the Lord brought into our family? For me, part of the answer to that parallels my personal growth as a believer in Christ. Colossians 2:6 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Too often, family strife erupts when our own spiritual life languishes. When we concentrate on growing up into Christ, we pray instead of meddle. Remember the Genesis foundation for marriage, that a man was to leave his parents, cleave to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? That means our children's marriages are theirs. Don't stew about decisions that the next generation makes. Pray for their ever-growing relationship to Christ and to each other. Pray for selfishness to be less important in our lives rather than telling family members they should be less self-centered. Recite to the Lord His gracious promises about the strengthening our faith provides. Finally, as per Col 2:6, overflow with thankfulness. Keep looking for the things that make you overflow with thankfulness rather than reciting a litany of grousing.

So Happy Birthday, Stacey. Thanks to you and Becky for giving me a waterfall of thankfulness as my daughters-in-love.

Birthday Blessings

Birthdays and family go together in my mind, so living so far from each is often hard for me. Yet in 2009, I got to spend my birthday with Brent, Becky and Little Stuff. Today, Dave and I are celebrating my birthday in Miami with Bryan. We're also here watching the guys' soccer team at Westminster Christian. They won their district championship on Friday and play in the regional quarter final game on Thursday. While Maryland digs out after the snow storm, Bryan, his dad and I can enjoy the overcast skies but 70-degree weather. The gift of family and friends outshines any other gift. 

After worship together today, seven of us, including friends from Bryan and Stacey's small group, went to lunch at the Titanic, a Miami microbrewery, similar to Ram's Head in Annapolis.  We know all these friends and enjoyed a great lunch after church.

My personal reading for today took

me to Psalm 21-25.  In addition to the beloved Shepherd's psalm and the psalm of Christ's agony on the cross (22),  I honed in on Psalm 25. "Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old." That seems like a great birthday card from the Lord. I ask that this year the Lord may continue to show, teach, and guide me. The beautiful assurance I have from asking Him lies in the hope He gives me in His mercy and love.

Happy Turkey Day!

"Thanksgiving Spirit" doesn't have the Madison Avenue ring of "Christmas Spirit," and for that, I am thankful! Yet Thanksgiving Spirit has a warmth that will, hopefully, escape the advertising mogels for years to come. So Happy Turley Day, as Little Stuff's dress proclaims. Count God's blessings all day!

Our son, daughter-in-law, Dave, and I all had a hand in the food today. Austyn Grace's taste buds resonated most with our traditional monkey bread and fruit breakfast, and the pumpkin cake recipe I got from a Pillsbury Bake-Off contest years ago. Considering family favorites, we cook both a turkey and a spiral ham, and make mashed potatoes and a sweet potato casserole. A neighbor on Bearfoot Road had sent something new, a great compote of cranberries, apples and oranges; the girls liked it; the guys passed in favor of stuffing -- no surprises there!

Calls to and from Hawaii and Massachusetts allowed us to extend "thanksgivings" with other family members. Football, some Christmas decorating, as well as coloring, stickers, play-doh, and naps occupied most of our day together here. Meanwhile, the Hawaii branch of The Wolfe's Den enjoyed scuba diving. The thing that resonanted in each activity, each verbal exchange, was a sense of abiding peace coupled with an overwhelming knowledge of God's blessings in our lives. These showcase His grace, not any worthiness of ours. Our children, their spouses, their in-laws -- all know Jesus personally. III John says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." (v.4) No wonder the cornucopia defines Thanksgiving to me!

Early in the month I started to list specific items for which I gave thanks this year... the free gift of a motorized scooter; a loving husband who plans, but really trusts our finances to God in the midst of the economic downturn; God's kindness in having Stacey assigned to Hawaii instead of the expected Okinawa base; the richness of solid reformed preaching from the pastors of both the church in Severna Park and the one in Oakland; the gracious neighbors in both locations; Becky's good health as she carries the baby girl expected April 1st; the joy of travels to spend time with family; the excitement of Brent's first book coming out in December; the pain killers that help me function day to day. My list goes on, but the idea I want to purse this coming year involves thanking God more on a daily basis. Since Thanksgiving hasn't been packaged yet, this could stay our secret for a while. Happy Turkey Day!