How Deep the Father's Love for Us

Sunday I sang on the worship team at church. We sang this song right before communion. It moved me to tears. I thought I would post the words.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)



AMEN!! Thank you, God, for your vast, deep love for me. Thank you, Jesus, for paying my ransom. Thank you for seeing me, a wretch, as your treasure.

The Flood

Last Saturday morning I woke up to my husband yelling. It was an urgent enough of a yell that I didn't even consider whether or not I should get out of bed. (It was 7:30am on a Saturday, after-all!!) He had walked into the kitchen to a HUGE pool of water. It seems as though the ice-maker decided to keep pouring water out for several hours overnight. I guess we didn't apologize to the ice-maker enough. It always groans and make strange sounds after you get ice out. My dad always says he is sorry to it. I didn't get a good picture of the wetness until after we had it mopped up. Here is a bit of the wood floor. Needless to say, the floor is ruined and needs to be replaced.

We never really liked the light color, so now we get to choose something we really like!

The next place to check was the basement. Here you can see the wet carpet and a ceiling tile. There were several tiles damaged.


I called the insurance company while Pete and our pastor worked on cleaning it up. They contacted Service Master (a company who cleans up after water damage and fires, etc.) They did a great job of getting things dry. We had a total (upstairs and down) of 8 industrial fans and two industrial dehumidifiers going in the house for 48 hours. IT WAS LOUD!!! But it did the trick of drying things out.Wednesday a restoration company came and replaced all the ceiling tiled in the basement and painted the finished ceiling where there was some water staining. Today we got the floor measured and hopefully will get the flooring picked out this weekend. Oh the joys of home ownership!! Ugh.

Another Book Report. Please Don't Fall Asleep.

I have finished reading Sacred Thirst by M. Craig Barnes. Finally. It was a very thought provoking book. I hope that by writing some things out here that struck me I will remember what I read. (I wrote another "report" on this book here.)

In the last chapter of the book, the author was talking about making choices in life and how we try so hard to discern God's will. He quoted a verse from Ecclesiastes 9:7.

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do.

And he goes on to say:

This wonderful, but typically overlooked, verse ought to be remembered when we are begging God for direction but hearing nary a word from Him. Maybe He has already approved our choices.

The author talks about people coming to him to talk about some momentous choice they are facing and make it clear they are seeking God's will. He says:

After we finish praying, there is usually still no burning bush or burning conviction. As these folks leave my office, I often wonder if perhaps God hasn't put His hands in His pockets, shrugged His shoulders and said, "It really doesn't matter either way, because I love you."

If God wants us to get to a certain place in life or have a certain companion along the way, we won't be able to miss it. Remember, though, God is a lot more concerned about WHO we are than WHERE we get to, or even who our companions are along the way. His invitation to us is to spend a lot more time praying to know His heart than His will. Of course, as we draw close to His passionate love for us, we are changed - which is after all, always His will. Everything else is a free expression of gratitude.

It doesn't matter where we work, or with whom we establish a relationship, or how we try to package our lives - it all belongs to the Father anyway. It still gives Him enormous joy when we eat our food with joy and drink our wine with a merry heart, simply because He delights in our delight.

When we have become convinced that we are the beloved of the Father, the whole world opens up to us as an opportunity to express our gratitude. Our many choices about jobs, relationships, and ministries are never more than ways of selecting wrapping paper for the life we present as a surprising gift to God. It just doesn't matter much how we choose to make the gift. What matters is the identity of the person making the gift.

Have you embraced your identity as the beloved - the Father's gift to you? That's what matters. That's the "will of God." And it is the only thing that will satisfy your thirst.

I recently watched some home movies from 11 years ago. It was the Christmas my kids were 7 and 10. Both of them had made me presents. Megan had drawn pictures (or as she wrote: pickturs) and made the pages into a book. Caleb had woven something in art class at school. It didn't really matter to me that the gifts were not perfectly made. What thrilled me as a mother was the excitement in the kids' eyes as they presented their surprises to me. Their hearts were wanting to please me. I "delighted in their delight."

I remember 25 years ago this month a wonderful man I was in love with asked me to marry him. I remember laying in bed that night, praying, "God is this your will?" And I heard, "Whatever your heart desires, my child." This was God speaking Psalm 37:4 to me! I am so humbled that my great, powerful God sees me as His beloved. The gift of Pete to me is far beyond what I expected.

Cookie Recipe

I thought I would post my very favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. But I must give some credit to Alton Brown. I got the recipe from one of his DVDs and then tweaked it a bit. They are soft and chewy and have oatmeal in them. Sometimes I add pecans. Yum.

So, start with these things:

And yes, I am a bit obsessed with the Tupperware. Or at least I was in the '80s & '90s.

Then you use one of these Mixers of Awesomeness to mix it all together. (Don't worry, the list of ingredients is below) My sweet husband gave me one of these mixers last year and I Love It!

Next, use a BIG cookie scoop. Alton also introduced me to the wonders of parchment paper. I am a fan. So easy, and no more washing of a bunch of cookie sheets!


After baking ..... YUMMY! Caleb says these cookies are addictive. I must agree.

Here's the recipe:

2 sticks (8 oz. each) unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups oatmeal

Melt the butter. (If you don't use unsalted butter, cut back on the salt.) Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. (The bread flour makes a difference because of the gluten level in it.)

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and oatmeal.

Chill the dough. Bake ate 375 degrees for 14 minutes or until golden brown.

The recipe was without the oatmeal, but I just added it and it turned out great! I'm sure you could add nuts too.

Enjoy!

My Son the Reporter

My son is working on a degree in Journalism. Here's the picture that's on his college paper's website: And here is the link to his page. There you can find more links to the articles that he has written:

http://www.kansan.com/staff/caleb_sommerville/

He is a good writer and I always enjoy reading his stuff.

The Other Side of My Family

And here are pictures of on Pete's side of the family:

The Whole Gang

Front Row: niece Hannah, niece Aimee, mother-in-law Charlotte, husband Peter, daughter Megan, niece Nicole.
Back Row: sister-in-law Kathy, brother-in-law John (Pete's brother), father-in-law Jim, me, son Caleb, sister-in-law Susan (Pete's sister), brother-in-law Dave




Sister-in-law Susan

A painting we had done for my in-laws' 50th anniversary. It's of their beautiful backyard garden that my father-in-law labors on every summer.




Cousins! Nicole and Megan




Father-in-law Jim, mother-in-law Charlotte. This is from last summer when we celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary

Brother-in-law Dave, father-in-law Jim

World's Easiest Quiz

(Passing requires 4 correct answers)

1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get cat gut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI's first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?


Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass.

Check your answers below .

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ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years

2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador

3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs

7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert

8) What colour is a purple finch? Crimson

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand

10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange (of course)


Let me know how you did! (What do you mean, you failed?)