Philippians Chapter 4

Well, here I am on chapter four! I love that this bible study is dragging out...every week it seems someone gets behind or even starts the bible study for the first time and I keep having to go back and add people's links to the Bloggin' Bible Study page at the top of this blog as they get their study completed! That just tells me that we're all a little bit rebellious and "deadlines" are just suggestions here! Love it. ;-) Keep your thoughts coming and nevermind if you're behind or on a completely different chapter! Jump in where you left off.

Buuuut, since I started this thing I'm doing my darndest to be on time! So here are my thoughts on chapter 4.

The first thing that stuck out to me was about Euodias and Syntyche. ( verse 2). Ok, nevermind that these ladies made the cut into the Bible ( its not like they lived to see that happen). But can you IMAGINE how it must have felt to have your names read aloud at the gathering of the church ( probably in someones home, everyone crammed into the living area, probably eating a little bread, having some wine....listening with eagerness to Paul's letter to them...). And to have Paul CALL YOU OUT.

Oh. Snap.

So, immediately identify. Maybe because I probably need calling out so much of the time. To be perfectly honest, some of the people I have the hardest time getting along with are Sisters in Christ. Ladies who I should be working along side, ladies with a common goal. But instead I get hung up on little things. It needs to stop.

In the book of Ephesians 4:2 it says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Wow, what beautiful verses that have a lifetime worth of change in my heart listed. I do not want to be a Euodias and Syntyche.

And now to the big guns!!!! I think just about EVERYBODY that did the overview of Philippians the first week mentioned these verses. They are just that good. I've been looking forward to getting to them this whole study and now that I'm hear I read them:

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And then let the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

What can I add this go around? What more can I glean from these verses that I even have memorized I love them so?

I think its the "And then" part.  I'm like a big ol'  "prayer and petition" girl...because lets be honest, I'm also an "anxious" girl...and so I get that part of the verse right. I immediately start quoting this verse in my head, "Do not be anxious about anything..." and then I start praying...and I basically start complaining/pleading with God. But, I forget about the connector, the "with thanksgiving" which I  think just might be the key to the "And then..." part which talks about the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.

Because THAT'S THE GOOD STUFF!! I'm telling you, there is nothing more wonderful than having the peace of God, that you cannot even EXPLAIN to people when they wonder why the heck you're so calm, or so happy or so peaceful when faced with ....well....let's be honest....life.  And so what's the key? I think the key is the thanksgiving part.

I think its being able to thank God for all that He Is. All that He Does. All that He WILL Do. All that He Has Done. And yes, I just used a bunch of capital letters incorrectly. I guess I'm just lacking in the ability to describe what Praise and Thanksgiving are. But I definitely know they are lacking in my life right now.

I have GOT to find a way to have some peace and quiet ( there's something about quiet for me...) in my day, its definitely not happening while Ransom's awake that's for sure, so I don't know....I need to reevaluate my time.

Alright, I should also talk about verses 8 and 9 because they are also totally fantastic and speak to me a lot...but dang it, I'm probably already going on too long and I'm running at risk that you're already bored. *sigh*

Maybe I'll just sneak it in next week when I do my Philippians: RE-CAP. Which is basically when I just re-read philippians. Look back over the key things I've learned and then tell you guys how AWESOME its been reading all your thoughts...so stay tuned for that next week. :-)

Till then...Chapter 4? What do ya think?

Back up plan.

Sometimes I totally doubt that things aren't going to work out. Sometimes I think about Brett deploying and what I'll do when he does. 

However, I really need to remember this truth.... When I envision the future I always leave out a very important factor: The GOD factor. 

Like, today for instance. Last night Ransom took two tiny steps. I immediately texted Brett to tell him the exciting news, but at the same time my heart hurt for him! There seemed NO WAY that I'd be able to capture first steps on camera for him to see, and he's always always at work. But, then, this morning after our usual walk my friend Miranda and I were standing in the front yard-SIDE NOTE: ( we'd actually just got back from driving our walking route because we'd lost a blanket from Ransom's stroller some where on the way and had to drive a windy way around our neighborhood till we found it. Good times.).

 And I was trying to get Ransom to take a few steps again. But he didn't. Instead he started for REALZ walking...like, ALL OVER the front yard. And so, because Miranda was there to make sure Ransom didn't face plant...I was able to play camera woman ( and crying mother). 

See? I couldn't have guessed that would happen. It was not the perfect perfect way ( as in Brett and I were there together to cheer on Ransom), but in some ways this is more perfect. This is the life God has given us, and He helps us through it....

On that same note, Brett is headed off into the field tomorrow for 15 days. The cool thing is I'm headed to Texas the day after. The extra cool part is that my family was planning a little "family reunion" that weekend anyway, without even asking what our schedule was ( they always just assume we won't be able to make it.) so it turned out wonderfully that while Brett is gone Ransom and I will be distracted for 10 days by wonderful Texas Family! 

This is JUST LIKE the last time Brett was in the field and our friend Tabitha came to visit. A trip we'd planned long in advance and had no idea that Brett would be gone that week. And there it was. Once again a perfect distraction and company to help me through the lonely times! 

I know that there are a lot (lot) of tough things in our future. But I also can not begin to imagine all the ways the Lord will help us through them. 

Now, check out my kid truckin' it across the lawn...would you guess these are this 3-20th steps ever?! 

Philippians Chapter 3 ( part 2)

Ok, so where were we?!? Taking a tiny breather and moving on...sometimes I find that if I read too many of these posts all at once my mind gets BLOWN and I need to eat a cookie or something to help my blood sugar levels ( hehe. any excuse for a cookie).

Anyway, continuing on with Philippians 3....

Next I would like to talk about verse 13-14, because its always been a favorite of mine:

...forgetting what lies behind and striving forward to what lives ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)


I personally really liked the "Basic English Version" of this too:


..one thing I do, letting go those things which are past, and stretching out to the things which are before..


I like the word choice of "letting go" there because we all know that we usually don't actually forget our past, but I think we can all get a little something from the idea of letting go.  How hard it is at times to let go of the past, the things hanging over us, whether
 guilt, shame, fear, even sadness and grief. They often hang there and do not let me move forward to a closer relationship with Jesus....but I love this verse! A reminder that the only way to truly press forward and "win the prize" ( as stated in verse 14) is to look ahead! I guess its encouraging to know that that's what JESUS actually wants me to do! He wants me to stop dwelling on what is already done and move forward! 
I liked what I read in Barnes commentary:

Backward, we see everything to dishearten and to humble. Our own unfaithfulness; our coldness, deadness, and dullness; the little zeal and ardor which we have, all are fitted to humble and discourage. He is the most cheerful Christian who looks onward, and who keeps heaven always in view; he who is accustomed much to dwell on the past, though he may be a true Christian, will be likely to be melancholy and dispirited, to be a recluse rather than a warm-hearted and active friend of the Saviour.

So, I am going to look over my day to day thoughts and see if I am holding on a little too tightly to anything from the past and if so, I'm going to try to sort those things out...

Philippians Chapter 3 ( part 1)

So here we go...next chapter and oddly enough I think my application for this week comes for verse ONE!

"Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord...." 


I looked up the word "rejoice" in the greek and it its original meaning here is something along the lines of "be conscious of his grace."  Nice. I definitely have not been doing that enough, and thinking about my prayers lately the are mostly if not completely requests. Sometimes I'm thankful for prayers that have already been answered, but I've definitely been spending ZERO time just rejoicing in God for who He is. For the grace that He bestows continually...something I want to do more, especially as we enter into the Thanksgiving season ;-)

oooooo...there's so much in this chapter and I think I could write about something from every verse, but I'll just do my favorites...

in verse 3 ( ok, so I didn't get much further! heh) it reads:
"For it is we who are the circumcision ( meaning Jews, or God's chosen people), who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh-even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh." 


So, this could be a bit confusing if you don't know some background key "bible back story". Basically the Jews are God's chosen people as decided by their great great great (great) granddaddy's relationship with God ( Abraham). Then through Moses, God gave these people the rules to live by "The Law" ( which includes but is not limited to the ten commandments) ...and so, as Jewish people they had a lot of (rightly to some extent) confidence in their heritage and there relationship with God. However, and what Paul is talking about here, when Jesus and died on the cross came he did away with the Law...he got rid of all the hoops and bells and whistles that a person once had to jump through in which to get "in good" with God. He also did something marvelous ( in my opinion) and got rid of the whole "having to be a Jew" thing and basically gave EVERYONE the right to become children of God ( John 1:12) . And so here Paul is reminded the Philippians of that fact. And here's where I stopped to ponder....

 Do I sometimes put my confidence in other things, other than in Jesus and what He's done for me?

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, Jeremiah 9:23

Do I often put my confidence in my own heritage ( after all, I am lucky enough to have a pretty amazing family ( both blood and not) who have good relationships with Jesus and who's faith is strong ( BUT THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!) and afterall, I am a good person- even though I have really really wanted to yell at my downstairs neighbor ( yes, the ones with the naked little boy sign out front) for waking Ransom up from his nap TWICE this week..I haven't=good person. And I volunteer, and give to the poor and I exercise and eat right and take care of the environment ( we drive a Prius!!) (ALL OF THESE THINGS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!) . I also read my Bible every day, and do Bible studies ( like this one!) and I pray and I try to help others grow in their relationship with God! ( NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!). Yup, bottom line. I should not be putting my confidences in any of these things, but instead realize and delight in the fact that all of this is not important. The only thing that is important-" the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." ( verse 7) . 

Jesus wants me to KNOW his, and have a RELATIONSHIP with Him....and He wants me to quit putting all my trust ( aka. my worries, my time, my energies) into things that are not as important. Sure, all those things I listed above are part of it, but they are just that-PART, the toppings, the condiments...they are not the juicy goodness that is the bottom line: A relationship. With Jesus.

OH MAN! I haven't even gotten past verse 3!!! And I've said so much already!

How bout we call this part one and I post part two a little later?!?

New Recipe time!!!

So, as I have said before...I'm a little bit addicted to Pinterest. But, unlike past addictions this one is a KEEPER! I currently have a cute fall wreath on my front door, a fun fall centerpiece on my table and I'm working on a wine bottle vase right now....and don't get me started on the recipes.

Well, actually you SHOULD get me started because you have just GOT to try some of the yummy things that have been going on in my house lately.

First of all, Sunday Waffle Day is something everyone should do. I mean, if you need to make it Saturday Waffle Day or Sunday Pancake Day that's ok too...the point is. Breakfast is a lost art in my house most of the time...but I'm LOVING bringing it back and making it "special" again.

So, we tried a truly awesome recipe a few weeks ago and I've already made them again! PUMPKIN WAFFLES! ( I adapted my recipe from this link ...its pretty much the same I just save you a little on how many bowls you need to use-seriously. Who likes to do dishes?!?)

•  1/4 cup light brown sugar
• • 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• • 1/2 tsp. salt
• • 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• • 2 tsp. ginger
• • 1/4 tsp. cloves ( I have yet to have this on hand...still turned out yum!) 
• • 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• • 2 large eggs
• • 1 cup whole milk
• • 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.
2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and whisk to blend.
3. Separate eggs: yolks go into dry ingred. bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.
4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks.
5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form – about 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Set aside.
6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/milk/pumpkin mixture. As you pour, use electric mixer to mix everything together. ( This is why I do the egg whites first..so I can use the same dirty electric mixer...)
7. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.
8. Pour into waffle iron. ENJOY!

No time for the internet?!?!

Seriously. That's how life has been lately. But it's time for a genuine catch up so here goes:
 Ransom's been wanting to walk all over the house. Which he could TOTALLY do without me, but its SO MUCH BETTER ( according to a recent poll of one) if he's holding on to my index finger....so that takes up time.

And then there's hosting various visitors and guests in our home. ( our friend Christoph just left this morning. I hadn't seen him in ten years and Brett hadn't seen him in seven, but he's one of those totally awesome people that you can be comfortable around IMMEDIATELY. We loved having him in our home, I just hope he enjoys watching a one year old exclaim about cars driving by...because that's about the height of excitement around here....)
Brett's working at least 15 hours a day and some during the weekend for good measure. You just don't notice all that your husband does for you until he's not around ;-)....but when we DO get to see him luckily our time is filled up doing Army related activities. Examples: Last week we went and saw a play that Brett had to attend, and on Saturday we all went to the teeny tiny town of Lumpkin and enjoyed there Street Fair. I will say, on the Street Fair note, I'm almost glad  we were "invited" to go, since I would have NEVER gone otherwise...and I would have then missed out on the 4 piece marching band.

And speaking of....  I'm getting a ROOT CANAL. Which is AWESOME.  I literally have ONE cavity in my WHOLE HEAD and it turns out to need a root canal?!?! Doesn't that seem fishy?!?  So yes.

I know, I know, this post paints a dreary picture, but its really not- Fall is my absolutely favorite time of year and I refuse to have it ruined. Next week Ransom and I are headed to Texas for a week ( wooo!) and I'm currently digging an AMAZING Bible Study series that we're doing with some friends of ours...its called Experiencing God ( please ignore the scary looking Moses on the cover) and I have literally had all sorts of misconceptions about God ( and myself) blown out of the water almost daily. It's THAT amazing. I've also been making some rockin' recipes lately that I plan to share with you all in a few posts so staaaaay tuned!

Philippians Chapter 2

613 miles....that's the distance that Epaphroditus had to travel from Philippi to Rome. NO WONDER HE ALMOST DIED!! Across modern day Turkey, Macedonia, probably part of Greece ( I'm no historian here)...and then cross the Adriatic Sea and then over Italy to get to Rome.
THAT'S what E ( I am getting tired of slowly spelling out his name every time..and besides if we were in a real live Bible study right now I'd be calling him "E" because I can never pronounce names in the Bible anyways...so this makes it way more realistic), so that's what E had to do to bring some money to Paul in Rome.

I think after I had read the whole chapter and then did my research on E's travels it totally changed everything I was going to write about the chapter. It just became a lot more REAL. Paul talking about putting others before ourselves. Reminding his readers of the Example of Christ-who came to SERVE not to be BE SERVED ( Mark 10:45), who gave His very life for us all...my favorite "Easter" verses in this chapter being: (7-8)
rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!


then Paul's reminder to the Philippians to not grumble or complain about doing good works ( this is no accident!! As soon as you start telling me to be selfless and humble, all the arguing and bad-attitude-ness in me starts bubbling over and I'm guessing its the same for the Philippians too!
And then Paul brings it back to talking about his own feelings towards them where we get to this verse:
(verse 17)
Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you..." 
Which when I thought about what that MEANS:
Ok, so a drink offering in my limited knowledge was basically pouring out some wine on to the ground. Now, its kind of a cool symbol of giving something up to God because-have you ever tried to scoop up a drink when you've accidentally spilled it ( let's say something precious like baby formula)?-its pretty well near impossible. So, the picture Paul is painting is here is that he's willing to literally spill out his life, "waste" it, not get it back, give it up completely for the Philippians. Wow.

I think its the idea that its "wasteful" which I kind of talked about in my last blog post. I seem to put way to much importance on whether its "worth it" not whether its just something that would honor God in doing it. Something to think about.

Anyway, back to the chapter. Like I was saying, after seeing the living example of this guy "E" I think I understand what verses 3 and 4 mean a lot more:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interests of others.
613 miles.
So what's my application for this week? First let me tell you about this last week....I think that I was able to encourage someone else, in fact, God was very cool and allowed me to help someone on a particularly awful day: Army Packing Up All Your Stuff Day. So I was grateful for that answered prayer. And I was also able to tell someone who's been an encouragement to ME, "thank you"...but honestly it was not as well as I would have liked. It ended up being over text message and that's about as special as toast. But I'll try to do better on that one.
Ok, so this week...this week I feel like the study as shown me a lot about just HOW un-servant like I am. And that deep down, I am CONSTANTLY counting the cost rather than just diving in headfirst to love and serve others. So, this week I'm going to specifically do something that gave me a bad attitude all last week! More of my time ( and sadly money) to Brett's work environment. I'm going to stop there with the details because I don't really want to talk about it much here, but that should be enough for you to keep me accountable to doing it!!

Alright! What did you guys think of Philippians 2? And those of you who didn't write up a chapter 1 study...no biggie! Would still love you thoughts on either chapter just link them up here! :-)

Philippians Chapter 1....again

So, before I get started on Chapter 2, I have to share with you something that I got from my chapter 1 study this week...sometimes I'm a slow learner and I have to ruminate on things for longer than just a week-which is why I'm digging this study so much! No time restraints! Go at your own speed! It just all about reading the Bible and thinking about it a little more deeply! ( how many more exclamation marks can I use in a paragraph?)

So, last we I mentioned that I went and read Acts 28 which gives kind of the surrounding story of what was going on in Paul's life when he wrote the letter to the Philippians-anyway, it says in verse 30 that "He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him..And now thinking back to what he wrote in Chapter 1 he says that he was rejoicing in his circumstances as long as it meant that the Gospel got out to people! So I just now connected the fact that he was not only in prison, and not only still preaching from prison ( which had to be limiting to say the least) but he was paying for it OUT OF POCKET!
Ok, so lets talk about money for a second because its here that I need some altering of mind. Basically, I think I could almost be as chill as Paul about his circumstances being less than stellar until I realized that I was going to have to pay for it! Sad but true. I would have started complaining immediately. And in realizing this, I am realizing that I may not be trusting God with our finances as much as I would like. Especially finances that we give away.....key word "away". As in no longer under my rule. I need to be ok with God deciding to use that money ANY way He sees fit...even if its something unpractical like paying for a prison sentence that seemingly limits ones ability to get around and preach...yeah. That's a good example of it not making sense in human terms but making perfect sense in God terms. In fact, after going back and re-reading this paragraph-I need to let go of my "rule" of ALL our money and resources! I am waaay too controlling!

Stay tuned for Chapter 2....

Take a moment

This morning Ransom woke up with a runny nose. A seriously runny nose. And whether its allergies, teething or a real live cold we all know that where there's snot there are germs and so I had to sadly cancel my afternoon plans with some lovely lovely ladies ( and their daughters).
A serious BUM. ER.

And I was all pouty and such and when I put Ransom down for his nap instead of dusting and sweeping like I TOLD myself I would...I plopped down to blog read.

And I read today's blog post by a lovely lady Jeanne who I have known my whole life....( you know when you get older and you realize that your childhood playmate's parents are really cool and you wish that they'd like you and be friends with you too? Anyway, that's how I feel about this lovely lady.) And she shared a video that she had done for Mikeschair's new album.
Now, let me just say this, I remember being a little kid and hearing what was happening to her son, I remember the prayers, the tears. But it resonated all over again today. I sat on my couch and cried.

Friends, we live in a fallen world, a world full of sorrow and sometimes things happen that are SO mysterious that the only place to find an answer is at Jesus's Feet. I loved how Jeanne shares how she realized the only way to get through what was happening was to go to the One who had let it happen in the first place...wow. As soon as she said it I remembered back to our own Heartbreaks and I knew exactly what she meant. Its probably one of the HARDEST challenges of my life, but I am so grateful for the beauty that such sorrows have taught us. Please watch this video. Currently words are failing me. I pray its an encouragement today!

Philippians Chapter 1

So, to set the scene. I have a headache. I found out today my babysitter had an accident has two torn ligaments and a sprained femur....and has to have surgery next week. ( and of course my first thought was THERE GOES MY DATE ON SATURDAY not to mention all the other sitting jobs I have lined up with her).  Ransom continues his crazy nap schedule today by only sleeping 45 min. ALL DAY....and I'm WORN OUT.


And that's the state that I entered into Philippians 1. Awesome!! But, seriously, its at times like these when my head is ANYWHERE but the right place that I NEED to be running to my Bible. This is the time for me to have some Jesus-work done....

So the first verse that "popped" for me was verse six:

⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began^(H) a good work in you. will bring it to completion at^(J) the day of Jesus Christ.


Incidentally, I copied that straight from Biblegateway.com where I can literally click on the cross references and they take me right to other verses in the bible on the same topic. Sweet!

Which, I really liked this one:

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Ps 138: 8

I think I've always found oddly comforting in verse 6 of Phil 1, because it puts in blunt terms that which I am already very aware of: "I'm not done yet."
If I were in the oven, you'd want to stick me back in.  The older I get the more I realize just HOW much grace I still need from Jesus ( case in point: me thinking about myself and not my poor sweet babysitter with the messed up knee.)  BUT there's a promise there. A promise that God is at work in me ( as long as I let Him!) and He's gonna stay there until His work is done!! I am so grateful that He does not give up on us, that while He does, indeed, know just what kind of awfulness goes on in my head, He's fully capable and willing to help me become a better person...to become more like Him. 

The next verse that struck me was verse 12:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 


This read through I actually went and read specifically about Paul's imprisonment in the Book of Acts:
 Chapter 28 and how Paul lived in Rome ( under house arrest) for two years at his own expense talking to anyone that would come and visit him and talk to him about Jesus. I think it helped give me greater perspective. I know it might be a bit geeky but it helps me to get the "story" behind what Paul's writing his letter.  And I think what reeeeally stopped me in my tracks was what he said about how him being imprisoned there had caused the Truth about Jesus to spread-sometimes because of people being sincerely inspired to share and other times because of some other mean-spiritedness in the person...either way Paul was happy that the Gospel was shared. Ummm...wait. Hold the phone!! You mean to tell me Paul didn't care what the motives of a person where as long as the Truth was shared?!? And this is how I need to be too?!?
Well, then I've wasted a LOT of energy in the past trying to figure out if the people around me were sincere or not!! I've also wasted a lot of energy judging others on how they like to tell others about Jesus, or how they show love...I'm a judger-mcjudger-pants.
The bottom line is if I cared a little less about what other people are doing and saying ( and thinking too..if I could some how figure that out) and spent more time trying hard to share what I know about Jesus and what He's done in my life with people. Well....yeah. That'd be better.
I am sincerely humbled by how little amount of credit Paul wants for himself ( I'd be all like, look at me and how God's using me! ME! ME! ME!) and how He give ALL glory to God.

And now on to verse 21-26:
For to me to live is Christ ( meaning sacrifice and suffering) , and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh ( as in on Earth), that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain (here on Earth) is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. 


I love these verses for several reasons. First once again, it shows Paul's devotion to the people in Philipi  that he was willing to keep on going because he knew that it would be better for THEM. The other great thing here is Paul's obvious desire to be with Jesus. 
I don't think I think about Heaven enough. But, really, the thought of being with Jesus is an encouragement and puts everything of today into perspective.....


I actually had to take a break writing this post last night because some things came up, and then in the middle of the night, the guy staying with us got up to take a shower and head to the airport...but left his phone alarm that had woken him up ( at 2am) on...and so, I spent a good ten minutes around 2:30am trying to find a guys phone in the midst of all his stuff while it goes off SO LOUDLY you could hear it in our room...all while he's happily in the shower. 
I tell you that, because I am in desperate need of perspective. My thoughts, my priorities they are all very "worldy". They have so much to do with just getting through today, when really I should have my heart and mind so transfixed on Jesus that that stuff is but a blip. I mean, don't get me wrong. I feel sure that even Paul would have been annoyed by that cell phone. ( haha!) but I think he would have used that hour or so after when he was lying in bed, heart still racing, to pray and spend time with his Best Friend....I want to be more like that. 


Ok, so this is getting super long! But I've got ONE MORE thought, and this one is where my application comes into play!! 
Its from verses 27-28,  ... that I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your. 
 opponets...


I realize more and more just how SUPER IMPORTANT it is to have at least one person who you're walking side by side with it does indeed help you to stand firm and to keep striving and to not be frightened by things that come up against you ( even if its just the day to day stuff...) and so while my first thought in how to "apply" this particular idea to my life was to just in a very general way, I want to make sure its something I can quantify to you next week. So, instead, I've decided to specifically tell someone who's been of a particular encouragement in my Faith lately just HOW much they've encouraged me...and then I will also meet up with someone who I know I've neglected in the same way and hopefully I can be an encouragement to them!! I'll let you know how I do! 

Twwwoooo moooore daaaays

Hey peeps.

This week has been totally crazy. Case in point: Two and a half hours at the doctors office. During Ransom's nap time. awwwwesome!

Luckily we got medicine and Ransom is currently sleeping it off ( I've got my fingers and toes crossed that he'll sleep longer than usual.). Ironically he's been in that horrible transition between two naps and one for a while now, and today might ACTUALLY be the best napping we've had all week. Wouldn't that be ironic?!?

Anywhos. I just wanted to remind everyone to enjoy the fine "fall" weather ( 80 degrees...that counts right?!) or whatever weather you're having in your local...and then DON'T FORGET TO DO YOUR Philippians study!!! I'll be sharing my chapter 1 thoughts on Friday and I can't wait to hear what you guys think too! ( check out the top of the blog for all the links to everyone's thoughts from last week)

Lovely lovely lovelies

Just wanted to post to let everyone know that I've added a little Page Tab at the top of my blog where you can find all the links to the Philippians Week One studies. I need to ponder how/ or if to post the ones sent to me via email. I feel like I'm the winner here since I get to read ALL the posts! You guys make my day ( and week!).


So Ransom might be in the dreaded transition from two naps to one. Either that or he's teething/sick/or just plain ornery...all that to say-we had to spend a goodly amount of time outside in the lovely fall day in the hopes that it would rub off on him. It didn't.

Nothing like some spontaneous stopping of a walk to enjoy a spot. 

You can see here in this picture that Ransom is patting his chest in his "Please" sign. That took a MONTH to perfect. Whew. 

These are all the acorns that Ransom picked up and then dutifully brought over to me. Sometimes he can be sweet. 

Intro to Philippians.

Dun-dun-dun-DUUUUNNNN!!!! We're here!! And If I could make a trumpet sound I totally would! Almost every day this week someone's jumped on board the Bloggin' Bible Study train and  I've become more and more excited about it. You guys have shown me that its NOT scary to study the Bible, especially if its in the un-scary ( hehe) realms of the internets where no one can come to your house and TP it because you didn't answer "Jesus" to every question ( that would never happen) and apparently you guys are totally willing to join in this little experiment with me and hopefully bring this particular blogging community closer together! Excellent!

So lets get this party started: 

Philippians. The background:

It was written by this guy named Paul ( read how Paul became a follower of Jesus here) . And he probably dictated it to this other guy named Timothy ( basically Paul's right hand man, quite a bit younger but had also helped Paul start the Church at Philippi ) . He wrote it while he was in PRISON ( now there's a long story, and if you don't know it...I suggest you read the book of Acts sometime) . And he wrote it to the church in the city of Philippi in around the year 63 A.D. ( whatever that means! Man, I wish I was good at history sometimes!!) .

  

Now, I got most of my background info on this book from this handy-dandy other book called "Halley's Bible Handbook"  but you could probably find most of your basic background on the book of Philippians in most Study Bibles or....the wonderful world of Wikipedia. 

Some of the things that were clarified for me by doing my background research is that, it had probably been three or four years since Paul had last been to Philippi and it had been about ten years since his first visit when he founded the church there. It looks like the church had sent this guy, Epaphroditus ( don't name your son after him...please) with some monetary support for Paul and he'd gotten really sick on the way. When he recovered Paul sent him back with this letter ( Phil. 2:25-30, 4:18). 

Major themes thoughts of the Letter (I guess I'll stop calling it a book now...) 

Without even realizing it I picked a nice seemingly "lighthearted" book to study. Which I dig. But its also a bit of a mishmash of topics and I got waaaaay overwhelmed trying to make it into any kind of outline/major themes. So instead I'll just point out some things that stuck out to me this read-through. 

~Using seemingly difficult/awful circumstances for the good and glory of God. ( Chapter 1: 12-, 27-)

 I definitely need to have this attitude more often. The attitude that even when things do NOT go my way, my prayer should be that my circumstances in some way are advancing the Kingdom of Jesus. I guess I'd call that "Heavenly Minded"...which I am not. 

~A reminder of how Christ lived( and how we should live): 

Treat each other in a servant hearted manner ( first section of chapter 2). Something I really want to do better in. Especially with the people that have been placed in my life that may not be the easiest to love. 

Remember you are a light in a world that may not know Jesus. You might just be someones only chance of meeting Him ( through you!). (second section of Chapter 2) 

~A reminder that just because Paul had 'everything together' none of that really matters for Christ has made us ALL equal in our salvation in Him. ( Chapter 3:2-11) I need to stop looking at my "street cred" as a Christian...the fact that I give money to the poor...that I volunteer...the fact that I've read the Bible...memorized verses etc. etc. as what makes me cool or uncool. Bottom line. NONE of us are "Good People" unless we have Jesus in our lives. Period. 

~Striving to be like Christ, look to others that are doing the same and look to them to help you in your growth. ( chapter 3:12-20) I really want to reavaluate and make sure that the people I'm looking up to, the people I'm spending my time with and who influence me the most are REALLY the type of people that I want to be like. aka...are they following hard after Christ?

~Chapter 4:4-6...these are the verses I quoted yesterday and that I need to seriously write on my forehead sometimes!! They are SO helpful. 

Chapter 4:8-9...very helpful to me in keeping my mind from dwelling on whatifs and fears and concerns that I've contrived in my head..they've even helped me from spending my time daydreaming and thinking about things that I WISH would happen...which can be just as detrimental. 

Final thoughts: 

One thing that reading through this whole letter reminded me of this week, is that there may just be sections that I just DO NOT GET. And that's ok too....in fact, that's one of the major cool-factors of doing this bible study with all you awesome people. So I'd like to go ahead and add that to next weeks homework: Ask some questions that you do NOT have the answer to......I think sometimes the "A-student" in me comes out and I only want to ask questions that I immediately have the answer for, but there's something really great about reading the Bible with the attitude that we do not understand everything in it...and that we can come away with new questions and answers every time we read it! again and again! 

OK, now I'm SUPER EXCITED to hear what you guys think!!  I'll be collecting your studies ( if you want to send them in!) via email and blog-link. And I'd love to share some of your thoughts here on my blog if that's ok! Maybe a little sum-up-age later this weekend? ;-) 

Preview...

I'm so excited about our bible study this week!!! So may of you have said you're going to get involved and I can't tell you how that warms my heart! One thing I know for sure and that's that I need PEOPLE. Fellowship is one of the THE most important things about my faith, the sharing of that faith with one another- sharing what God has put on your heart and then rejoicing/crying/wondering/marveling at ( even questioning) what He's said together...well, its all pretty well the best.

So, because I can't wait until Friday I'll share one of the very first thoughts I've received from one of you guys...and it was very much needed today:

Favorite verse?!? Possibly.

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7


I've got a LOT of things to be anxious about today...so yeah. Sendin' up some prayers

Daddy son time...

They are so cute together!  I am thankful that the Army never allows me to be at all casual or flippant about our times together as a family. Every minute is precious. 

Blogging Bible Study: How it'll work!

Pic I took coming back from my first Family Readiness Group meeting for Brett's new company.

Alrighty folks! I'm excited! I've been praying and thinking about it all week and I'm starting my very first  Interactive Blogging Bible Study! WOOO!  Basically how it will work is if you're also a blogger and you'd like to post your thoughts on the Bible Study please comment a link to your blog post so we can all share. ( and if you don't mind, link to mine on YOUR blog post too!) 

Since everyone seemed excited about the idea, but no one had any thoughts on WHAT we should study, I've prayed about it and decided to go "Old School". We'll be doing a "Searching the Scriptures" or STS style study of the book of Philippians.  I loooove this kind of study but it scares some people so hopefully by going through it with me this month you will loose that fear ( since if *I* can do it...anybody can!) and learn to love it too...because it will work with EVERY SINGLE BOOK OF THE BIBLE ( and that's a lot of ready made bible studies ;-)!!  ) 

So here's my schedule: 

Week One: 

Read the WHOLE BOOK of Philippians!!! Come back here on Friday ( Sept 30) and I'll be sharing my answers to the following questions: 

Background of the Book. ( who wrote it, when did they write, who was the audience.)

Main Themes of the Book ( what I think I'll be getting out of the study, things I'll be on the lookout for-no wrong answers here! I won't be going back to see if its the same answer at the end of the study...so don't hold me to this ;-) )

Post YOUR thoughts either on your own blog and link it in my comments section, or email me your answers at abigail.abt(at)gmail(dot)com. I'll probably do a follow-up post where I share your thoughts ( IF YOU SEND THEM IN!) 

Week Two

 Read Chapter 1 (again!). Come back here on Friday( Oct. 7th) and I'll be sharing my answers to the following questions: 

What does this chapter say? ( any main things that jump out at me...)

Where else does it say it? ( I'll probably do some cross referencing here-basically looking up verses that I particularly like from the chapter on awesome websites like biblos.com and www.biblegateway.com and see where the same things are talked about in OTHER parts of the Bible!! 

What does it say to me? ( How does what I have just read and "researched" affect my life?) 

What will I do about it? ( Here's the really tricky part! I would like to come up with some way I can VISIBLY apply what I'm studying each week to my life so I will come up with some way to measurably and tangibly apply the Word of God in my life for the next week....I'll be telling you guys what I come up with and hopefully following up with you the next week to keep me accountable to what I'm doing ( or not doing!) hehe!

AND THEN!! I want you guys to do the same and once again link/email me your thoughts!!!

Week Three

Read Chapter 2, come back here on Friday for the same question/answer roundup. Rinse Repeat

Week Four

Chapter 3 etc. etc. etc.

Week Five 

Chapter 4 etc. etc. etc.

Week Six

I'll be coming back on the 6th Friday to talk about my major takeaways from the Book...the things that stuck with me throughout the whole process...I'll probably also discuss this whole "blogging biblestudy" business and what I learned from it, what I'd change if I do it again...If I should do it again. And hopefully get all your awesome feedback on these questions too! 

feedback.

A lot has been going on in the Wilson household the last week or two-but what's new? However, here are some thoughts I've yet to do much with, other than voice them one or two times:

One, I'm thinking about starting an Etsy store for my Mystery Dinners. Sure. I only wrote one of them but it was such fun( !) , an I've got one or two more roaming around in my head and I'm thinking I might also offer the option for a "personalized" one too, where the buyer could tell me the theme they wanted and how many people ( guys and girls) would be at the party and I would write one specifically for their needs...  Anyway, I think it'd be fun though I'm already hearing the voice in the back of my head saying, "no one would buy that!"

My other thought is I'm really itching to do a women's bible study...and while i have one or two ladies here that I think would also be interested, I'm ALSO thinking about maybe a BLOGGING BIBLE STUDY! Anyone interested could join in and start the bible study with me, and then I'll blog my thoughts once a week in the hopes that others would also share THEIR thoughts! Anyone interested?! Any thoughts on a topic or a study you think is awesome blossom?

So those are my major thoughts the other minor thoughts going on in my head are as follows: I'm SO glad Ransom has started having an appetite again ( last week was a LONG week that included some awful puking moments)...I'm SO excited that my Aunty D is coming to visit this week...I'm also excited for all the fall premieres of television starting up soon ( Castle, anyone?!?)...which makes me feel a little bit lame, but whatevers...I've also put off cleaning Brett and my bathroom for an embarrassingly long time and I'm really feeling like a housewife failure. WILL DO THAT TODAY. I really want to make those brownies again and I'm kind of glad I don't have any more beer in the house otherwise I'd make them RIGHT NOW....oooo....I could make some and send them to work with Brett...hmmmm...there's a thought! And speaking of food, I've instituted a "Waffles Sunday" at our house the last few weeks and its really ( oddly) helped my attitude about the day. It immediately makes the day feel "special" ( since really all my days end up having the same basic schedule) and I feel like I've had better quiet times/ listening to sermons/ singing hymns and praise songs "with" Ransom times since I've started this "tradition"....

Another....winner?

So, I never heard from the Katie that wanted to win the amazing ( or at least I thought) polish prize that I gave away a week or so ago... therefore I had to do a redraw. And to be honest, I hope this person comes forward because I'm starting to think that people don't like free stuff as much as I do...and if that's not the case, maybe the stuff that makes ME happy doesn't really do it for all you folk.

Anyway.....here's the winner!! She better comment on this post in the next 24 hours or I will seriously keep my totally adorable nail polish to myself in the future ;-)
Congrats:

 Esther said...

There was even a nip in the air here this morning. Fall is definitely on it's way. YAY!
My favorite thing is definitely comfy cozy sweaters (I have a new mustard yellow one that I'm dying to wear 24/7 when it gets cold enough).

PS. I really miss you! Kiss Ransom for me (if he'll sit still long enough).

The Holy Grail of brownies.

In college I lived in a Hall called Carrington. We had an amazing chef who prepared amazing meals for us three times a day.
I ate those meals and they were incredible. I also gained SO MUCH weight during my time there that when I was 9 months pregnant I did not weigh as much as I did then...which is neither here nor there except to point out that the food was AWESOME. And I still dream about the Mud Cake. The Mud Cake was this ULTRA rich chocolate cake that was SO dense it never got a joke in its life, and it was so rich that it put the Queen to shame...anyways. It was incredible and I've spent the past 6 years (!!) trying to find a recipe that lived up to its amazingness...

And then....then I joined Pinterest and I found this little gem:

Guinness Stout Brownies.

You can find the recipe here. And you best head over there right now and make these brownies. Because they will rock. your. world. Also you will need  milk with them or at least some whip cream...possibly some simple vanilla ice cream because they are not your stand alone whimpy brownie. These babies have bite.
And I believe that the search is over. These brownies seriously take the place of Mud Cake. Holy Moly are they good....PLEASE MAKE THEM YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

P.S. Katie hasn't contacted me about her Win and she has until Friday to claim her prize or we do another "drawing"....

There's a WINNNNNNNNNNNER!

So, since Brett's in the field this week, and my dear friend Tabitha is visiting for the week SHE got the honor of "picking a number" for my September Giveaway...and she picked....

katie said...

I love the weather feeling perfect, bowls of soup, and hot chocolate. mmmmmm

So, ummm...actually its kinda funny but I have several Katies who read my blog and so I'm not sure WHICH Katie this is...soooOOOoooo...if you wouldn't mind contacting me at thebrettwilsonfam(at)gmail(dot)com that would be awesome blossom and letting me know which one you are..and your address if I don't already have it ;-) 

In other news, I've started running again. I had forgotten how much I loathe/love it. Its a terrible combo that always keeps me in a state of not knowing whether I'll actually go through with it today or not ;-) But today, today I DID. Mostly because I plan to eat something yummy this evening in honor of my friend Miranda's birthday...because I'm supportive like that.