Suppertime...
(discussing nicknames)
Peter (13): You can just call me Boswell
Later...
Mom: Deborah's in the bathroom so you can't brush your teeth right now
John (13): It's okay...when I can't use my toothbrush I just use my t-shirt and rub my teeth. It works.
Me: That's gross. Stop!
Peter: When I can't find my toothbrush I just use a right-angle grinder :D
Mom: We'll have to call you "Fang"
Me: "Fang Boswell" - has a nice ring to it.
And later still...
(Mom and Deborah (9) discussing a phone message Deborah gave to a neighbor lady. She wasn't really supposed to give the message - she was just repeating what she heard mom say about the situation)
Mom: What?! You said that? I hope she wasn't upset!
Deborah: Oh no, she seemed quite calm.
:) :) :)
Oh, and news of the day...my uncle Danny and his wife Heather had a baby girl today! It was supposed to be a boy, so this is a surprise. :) But baby and mommy are safe and sound so that is happy. :)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Like sister...like sister
Deborah and I had fun with the camera yesterday. She's been a joy to be with this week. I love how she's grown up. When I went to school I was just a bossy older sister and she was an annoying younger one, but now God's changed my heart toward kids and I actually realize that they are beautiful little people who need just as much love and attention as older people do, plus, Deborah has been growing up as a beautiful girl and we connect much better now than we used to. I love it a lot. She's my look-alike and my personality-alike sister. If she were 24 we could pass for twins, I'm pretty sure. But it's a good thing we're 15 years apart, because I'm not sure the world of 2010 could handle two of us at the same time.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Real Love
"Let love be genuine." Romans 12:9
This phrase has been on my mind for the past couple of months. What does it really mean to love with genuine love? Paul wrote that he could be the best speaker, the most faith-filled mountain-mover, and the most giving servant, but still not have love. That threw me when I realized what he was saying. Sometimes it's easy to look like the best Christian person around. Mostly because it's not really a sacrifice to give up or do certain things so that you have a good image.
That's because love is sacrifice. Genuine love means giving up legitimate rights in order to put others before yourself. Sometimes it's easy to give up those rights because you really like the person you're trying to love and want them to be happy. Just because it is easier to love those people doesn't mean that your love isn't genuine - it really can be. Sometimes, though, it's hard to like people because of their weaknesses, or the way their personality clashes with yours, or because they have hurt you. That's when showing genuine love is hard.
"Let us each please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.'" Rom. 15:2-3
Learning to love with genuine love is part of the process of becoming like Jesus. I can't barter my way out of this one. Saying "I love you," isn't enough. I need to lay myself aside and really sacrifice for others. That includes holding my tongue, giving people space, digging in and helping out with the most menial jobs, praising people and listening to people, choosing not to do certain things because they frustrate the people I'm around, etc. And even when it's hard, God's grace is enough.
This phrase has been on my mind for the past couple of months. What does it really mean to love with genuine love? Paul wrote that he could be the best speaker, the most faith-filled mountain-mover, and the most giving servant, but still not have love. That threw me when I realized what he was saying. Sometimes it's easy to look like the best Christian person around. Mostly because it's not really a sacrifice to give up or do certain things so that you have a good image.
That's because love is sacrifice. Genuine love means giving up legitimate rights in order to put others before yourself. Sometimes it's easy to give up those rights because you really like the person you're trying to love and want them to be happy. Just because it is easier to love those people doesn't mean that your love isn't genuine - it really can be. Sometimes, though, it's hard to like people because of their weaknesses, or the way their personality clashes with yours, or because they have hurt you. That's when showing genuine love is hard.
"Let us each please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.'" Rom. 15:2-3
Learning to love with genuine love is part of the process of becoming like Jesus. I can't barter my way out of this one. Saying "I love you," isn't enough. I need to lay myself aside and really sacrifice for others. That includes holding my tongue, giving people space, digging in and helping out with the most menial jobs, praising people and listening to people, choosing not to do certain things because they frustrate the people I'm around, etc. And even when it's hard, God's grace is enough.
Friday, May 7, 2010
When God opens a door...
Well, I've promised to blog for the summer, so I'm starting now. I'm going to work on writing again this summer. Being in school has a way of making me forget that I have certain things I like to do besides study, teach, or talk with people. One of those things is writing. There are a few others, which I'll probably talk about at some point on this blog, but for now, suffice it to say that in this blog I don't just want to say "Today I did this and this and this..." but rather actually write stories and devotional notes. I'm not planning on having a lot of time to spend online, but I want to utilize well what I do have.
The Lord has opened wide the door for me to spend the summer in Littleton, CO. I will be living with a Christian family there and going to Littleton Bible Chapel. The church has ESL (English as a Second Language) classes as part of an outreach to the people in their community, and, since I am certified to teach ESL, from Emmaus, I'll be helping out there with the classes, getting some experience working with the believers there. God also provided a part-time landscaping job for me while I'm there, and a 2001 Honda CR-V to drive all summer. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. Admittedly, I've been dragging my heels to leave Dubuque, because that's where I feel most settled now, with my church the Great Adventure Church, and all the people there, but since I'm not staying there for the summer, I'm glad that God has given me such a great way to spend my summer, in Colorado.
This Kansas farm girl will be living in the suburbs of Denver for the summer. It's a rather interesting concept. I'm pretty sure there won't be wheat fields or combines driving on the roads in Littleton. But recently I was in Chicago for our end-of-the-year school trip, and I was thinking about how I've always wanted to live in a city like Chicago, and it occurred to me that I can be happy wherever God sends me, because life is happy and beautiful when you know the Lord, and when you choose to accept His will for you. I'll miss certain things about a Kansas summer, but I'll get to experience amazing things about a Colorado summer. Most importantly, I'll get to experience knowing the Lord more and more, because that's what life is all about. I love growing and changing and can't wait to look back in August and see how He has stretched me this summer.
God is good! Keep pressing on to know Him more!
The Lord has opened wide the door for me to spend the summer in Littleton, CO. I will be living with a Christian family there and going to Littleton Bible Chapel. The church has ESL (English as a Second Language) classes as part of an outreach to the people in their community, and, since I am certified to teach ESL, from Emmaus, I'll be helping out there with the classes, getting some experience working with the believers there. God also provided a part-time landscaping job for me while I'm there, and a 2001 Honda CR-V to drive all summer. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. Admittedly, I've been dragging my heels to leave Dubuque, because that's where I feel most settled now, with my church the Great Adventure Church, and all the people there, but since I'm not staying there for the summer, I'm glad that God has given me such a great way to spend my summer, in Colorado.
This Kansas farm girl will be living in the suburbs of Denver for the summer. It's a rather interesting concept. I'm pretty sure there won't be wheat fields or combines driving on the roads in Littleton. But recently I was in Chicago for our end-of-the-year school trip, and I was thinking about how I've always wanted to live in a city like Chicago, and it occurred to me that I can be happy wherever God sends me, because life is happy and beautiful when you know the Lord, and when you choose to accept His will for you. I'll miss certain things about a Kansas summer, but I'll get to experience amazing things about a Colorado summer. Most importantly, I'll get to experience knowing the Lord more and more, because that's what life is all about. I love growing and changing and can't wait to look back in August and see how He has stretched me this summer.
God is good! Keep pressing on to know Him more!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Your face, Lord, will I seek
Yes, Susannah sister dear, I do realize that it has been 4 months since I last blogged. :)
I've been wrapped up for the past few weeks in Hebrew word studies concerning words found in the books of Job and Psalms. My favorite is pānîm , from which the English word "face" is almost exclusively translated. The metaphor for face is overabundant in the Old Testament.
Read:
The word pānîm is translated face or presence most often in the OT. Other words are translated “face” but this one has a wider range of emotions. “Pānîm is the most common word in the OT for ‘presence’ in a broader sense than just ‘face.’”
It is used in connection with entering or leaving the presence of a superior (Yahweh included). “The face expressed a full range of emotions to the Hebrews” – a fallen face meant anger, to fall on one’s face indicated obescience, a lifted face is the opposite of a fallen face, meaning acceptance or approval or the granting of a request.
“’To see the face of a king’ indicated having an audience or entering his presence directly, and not being permitted to see his face indicated the absence of such an audience.” “When the king, or God, with whom one has an audience recognizes the person, he turns his face toward the person. This is a way of expressing the king’s attention and usually his positive response. Turning away the face, or turning the back and not the face, is a lack of attention and response; it is normally a sign of rejection. Hiding the face normally has a similar meaning...Also, one response of mankind to the presence of God is to hide the face, usually out of fear."
(This research from the Anchor Bible Dictionary)
Think of what a person's face means. If you were only to ever see a person's back, you would be able to pick up on their behavior, some, perhaps of their mood (by their body language), who their friends are, where they go, etc. But to see a person's face is to read their heart. You can tell my emotions, whether joy, apathy, or despair, on my face. In my eyes you see my passion, my contentment, my earnestness, my sarcasm. You really get to know a person's heart by seeing their face. This is how this metaphor is used often of the Lord in the Bible.
Job cries out to the Lord, "Why do you hide your face?" (13:24). His heart is breaking because he feels a breach in relationship with the Lord that he doesn't understand but desperately wants to grasp. I'm writing a 10-12 page paper on this subject.
But I've been thinking on the flip side of this as I've been studying some psalms for my homiletics class. I'll be speaking for 10 minutes on Psalm 27 this Tuesday and for 30 minutes on December 10 on Psalm 11, Lord willing. In Psalm 27, David says,
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, "Seek my face."My heart says to you,
"Your face, LORD, do I seek."
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.
David wanted to know God. He wanted not only to have a vague idea that God was "up there somewhere," but he more desperately wanted to know God's presence with him. He wanted to seek God's face - to know God's heart - to feel God's favor in his life.
William VanGemeren writes in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “Little consensus exists on the meaning of the verb ‘seek’...It is probably that he was looking for a divine word or action that would satisfy the longing in his heart. The desire for God’s presence arose out of a need. The psalmist is not an escapist, for he wants to hang on to God until he is fully assured of his glorious presence.”
David was forsaken by men. He was pursued by enemies. He probably often felt alone and afraid. But he chose to seek to know God in His fullness and as he pursued God's heart, his confidence in the Lord grew. Psalm 27 is a joyfully confident expression of David's faith. He says,
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
When things are hard, I want to seek the Lord, not people, to help me and secure me. As I seek His heart, I know He will satisfy me with His presence. I can confidently say with David,
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
I've been wrapped up for the past few weeks in Hebrew word studies concerning words found in the books of Job and Psalms. My favorite is pānîm , from which the English word "face" is almost exclusively translated. The metaphor for face is overabundant in the Old Testament.
Read:
The word pānîm is translated face or presence most often in the OT. Other words are translated “face” but this one has a wider range of emotions. “Pānîm is the most common word in the OT for ‘presence’ in a broader sense than just ‘face.’”
It is used in connection with entering or leaving the presence of a superior (Yahweh included). “The face expressed a full range of emotions to the Hebrews” – a fallen face meant anger, to fall on one’s face indicated obescience, a lifted face is the opposite of a fallen face, meaning acceptance or approval or the granting of a request.
“’To see the face of a king’ indicated having an audience or entering his presence directly, and not being permitted to see his face indicated the absence of such an audience.” “When the king, or God, with whom one has an audience recognizes the person, he turns his face toward the person. This is a way of expressing the king’s attention and usually his positive response. Turning away the face, or turning the back and not the face, is a lack of attention and response; it is normally a sign of rejection. Hiding the face normally has a similar meaning...Also, one response of mankind to the presence of God is to hide the face, usually out of fear."
(This research from the Anchor Bible Dictionary)
Think of what a person's face means. If you were only to ever see a person's back, you would be able to pick up on their behavior, some, perhaps of their mood (by their body language), who their friends are, where they go, etc. But to see a person's face is to read their heart. You can tell my emotions, whether joy, apathy, or despair, on my face. In my eyes you see my passion, my contentment, my earnestness, my sarcasm. You really get to know a person's heart by seeing their face. This is how this metaphor is used often of the Lord in the Bible.
Job cries out to the Lord, "Why do you hide your face?" (13:24). His heart is breaking because he feels a breach in relationship with the Lord that he doesn't understand but desperately wants to grasp. I'm writing a 10-12 page paper on this subject.
But I've been thinking on the flip side of this as I've been studying some psalms for my homiletics class. I'll be speaking for 10 minutes on Psalm 27 this Tuesday and for 30 minutes on December 10 on Psalm 11, Lord willing. In Psalm 27, David says,
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, "Seek my face."My heart says to you,
"Your face, LORD, do I seek."
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the LORD will take me in.
David wanted to know God. He wanted not only to have a vague idea that God was "up there somewhere," but he more desperately wanted to know God's presence with him. He wanted to seek God's face - to know God's heart - to feel God's favor in his life.
William VanGemeren writes in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “Little consensus exists on the meaning of the verb ‘seek’...It is probably that he was looking for a divine word or action that would satisfy the longing in his heart. The desire for God’s presence arose out of a need. The psalmist is not an escapist, for he wants to hang on to God until he is fully assured of his glorious presence.”
David was forsaken by men. He was pursued by enemies. He probably often felt alone and afraid. But he chose to seek to know God in His fullness and as he pursued God's heart, his confidence in the Lord grew. Psalm 27 is a joyfully confident expression of David's faith. He says,
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living!
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
When things are hard, I want to seek the Lord, not people, to help me and secure me. As I seek His heart, I know He will satisfy me with His presence. I can confidently say with David,
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Ask in My name
At least 16 times in the Gospels, Jesus tells His disciples to ask for things. To ask the Father for things. To ask for things in Christ's name. And every time, He connects it with the promise that it will be accomplished. There is generally the stipulation, or understanding, that IF it is for His glory, He'll do it. God isn't a magic prayer button, so I want to add that disclaimer.
But just think about the fact that Jesus tells His people to ASK for things.
"Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Here's my question. What do our "whatevers" look like? When I pray for the people I love, do I just ask God to bless them or heal their sickness or et cetera? Or am I asking bigger things for them? Or perhaps, not even "bigger" things, but more specific things.
Over the past couple of years I've been learning to ask specific things. And I'm discovering that God LOVES to give me the things I ask for. Sometimes, sure, He says no, and often I even forget that I asked for those things He says no to. For instance, I may be praying for someone's salvation. That is good. But do I pray for things like:
- that another Christian will run across their path today
- that I'll have an opportunity to show them love in a practical way
- that they will come to the concert I invited them to
- that the Lord will provide money for me to take them out for coffee
- that the Spirit will convict them of their sin and not let up
- that something on the news that I hear and know will make an impression on them will make a spiritual, eternal impression on them
Do I? These are just hypothetical. What situations are you burdened to pray for in your own life? Are you boldly approaching the throne of grace and asking for the specific things that you really want?
Listen to these verses:
"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
"Yes, the Lord will give what is good."
"When You open Your hand, they are filled with good things."
And there are a plethora more.
I love it when my friends ask me for things, whether that is an actual favor that I can do for them, or something I can pray for, or whatever. I love it, and it's a rare occasion that I'll say no. If I am that way, what makes me think that the Lord is any less that way? In fact, because He is God, and so infinitely good, He loves to give so much more than I do.
So what am I asking for, today? What's the harm in asking for all kinds of things? The "worst" that can happen is that He will say no and then, oh well, at least we asked. Our prayers often are so small. Do we think creatively and ask for things in faith, trusting that He will give us what is good?
But just think about the fact that Jesus tells His people to ASK for things.
"Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Here's my question. What do our "whatevers" look like? When I pray for the people I love, do I just ask God to bless them or heal their sickness or et cetera? Or am I asking bigger things for them? Or perhaps, not even "bigger" things, but more specific things.
Over the past couple of years I've been learning to ask specific things. And I'm discovering that God LOVES to give me the things I ask for. Sometimes, sure, He says no, and often I even forget that I asked for those things He says no to. For instance, I may be praying for someone's salvation. That is good. But do I pray for things like:
- that another Christian will run across their path today
- that I'll have an opportunity to show them love in a practical way
- that they will come to the concert I invited them to
- that the Lord will provide money for me to take them out for coffee
- that the Spirit will convict them of their sin and not let up
- that something on the news that I hear and know will make an impression on them will make a spiritual, eternal impression on them
Do I? These are just hypothetical. What situations are you burdened to pray for in your own life? Are you boldly approaching the throne of grace and asking for the specific things that you really want?
Listen to these verses:
"No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
"Yes, the Lord will give what is good."
"When You open Your hand, they are filled with good things."
And there are a plethora more.
I love it when my friends ask me for things, whether that is an actual favor that I can do for them, or something I can pray for, or whatever. I love it, and it's a rare occasion that I'll say no. If I am that way, what makes me think that the Lord is any less that way? In fact, because He is God, and so infinitely good, He loves to give so much more than I do.
So what am I asking for, today? What's the harm in asking for all kinds of things? The "worst" that can happen is that He will say no and then, oh well, at least we asked. Our prayers often are so small. Do we think creatively and ask for things in faith, trusting that He will give us what is good?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
That's trust
"O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You."
Today when I was sharing with the little girls who came to the one-day afternoon girls camp that my littlest sister and I hosted, the Lord led me to give the girls different illustrations of what trust was. We talked about meeting someone somewhere - "Meet me in the kitchen at three o'clock and I'll have something special for you." Then, about hanging off of a cliff and reaching out to grab the hand of your rescuer. Then, about trusting a chair and sitting in it. Then, tonight, when I was looking through pictures of time spent with my church in Dubuque, I saw this picture, and it hit me:
That's trust.
Little Fifi, jumping off of the wood platform 30 feet off of the ground, attached to the wire by her little waist belt and a rope. Trust comes in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it's like jumping off into the air with nothing but a safety belt to hold you. It's crazy. People around don't understand it. (I don't try to understand why people literally do that, like Fiona did.) :) But it's knowing that sure, everything will be fine because the one you trust won't let anything happen to you that will hurt you.
But it goes farther than that, at least one step. This next picture is one of my favorites of all time:
This was taken just a moment before the first picture. Fifi's expression is TRUST personified. Quiet, happy, ready to take the leap, not a fearful thought crossing her mind, just waiting and then going, full out. She didn't make a big deal out of it at all. She just did it. And then she was happy. And she did it again and again.
This morning I was starting to worry about money and relationships again, and the song crossed my mind:
"Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er..."
So true! I serve a very well-proven God! He is so trustworthy.
I fear pain. So much. The thought of being emotionally torn up again makes me recoil like I've seen a snake. But that isn't trust. Sometimes the path of trust does lead to pain. But as I sat out under the stars tonight, I decided that it was worth it, and I would keep on praying big prayers and trusting my big God to answer. I would keep on following His lead because even if it is uncertain, it's way better than failing when I follow my own wisdom.
It's all over the psalms.
"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust."
I want to trust my God. So here I go again. I'm taking the leap.
Today when I was sharing with the little girls who came to the one-day afternoon girls camp that my littlest sister and I hosted, the Lord led me to give the girls different illustrations of what trust was. We talked about meeting someone somewhere - "Meet me in the kitchen at three o'clock and I'll have something special for you." Then, about hanging off of a cliff and reaching out to grab the hand of your rescuer. Then, about trusting a chair and sitting in it. Then, tonight, when I was looking through pictures of time spent with my church in Dubuque, I saw this picture, and it hit me:
That's trust.
Little Fifi, jumping off of the wood platform 30 feet off of the ground, attached to the wire by her little waist belt and a rope. Trust comes in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it's like jumping off into the air with nothing but a safety belt to hold you. It's crazy. People around don't understand it. (I don't try to understand why people literally do that, like Fiona did.) :) But it's knowing that sure, everything will be fine because the one you trust won't let anything happen to you that will hurt you.
But it goes farther than that, at least one step. This next picture is one of my favorites of all time:
This was taken just a moment before the first picture. Fifi's expression is TRUST personified. Quiet, happy, ready to take the leap, not a fearful thought crossing her mind, just waiting and then going, full out. She didn't make a big deal out of it at all. She just did it. And then she was happy. And she did it again and again.
This morning I was starting to worry about money and relationships again, and the song crossed my mind:
"Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I've proved Him o'er and o'er..."
So true! I serve a very well-proven God! He is so trustworthy.
I fear pain. So much. The thought of being emotionally torn up again makes me recoil like I've seen a snake. But that isn't trust. Sometimes the path of trust does lead to pain. But as I sat out under the stars tonight, I decided that it was worth it, and I would keep on praying big prayers and trusting my big God to answer. I would keep on following His lead because even if it is uncertain, it's way better than failing when I follow my own wisdom.
It's all over the psalms.
"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust."
I want to trust my God. So here I go again. I'm taking the leap.
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