You are ALL too Calm!

Ok, I'm loosing it. My youngest is graduating and its feels really weird! It feels as if I'm "letting her go" I'm weepy, happy and scared all at the same time....and this is not supposed to be about me! Arrgh! I know this is what parenting is about but, whoah!
Lord, please give me wisdom and peace.

New Attitude 2007

Just wanted to say that I downloaded the FREE audio files of the main session messages from New Attitude, and although I've only listened to 2 so far, I would recommend them.

The theme this year was "Discernment", and Josh Harris began the conference talking about what discernment is and why we need it. I then listened to CJ Mahaney's talk on "Discerning Your Heart", which is very good.

Andrea attended the conference and was encouraged and challenged and refreshed.

To the envy of all . . .

Our Steffer, homemaker extraordinaire. This woman does it all. Dearly missed at our last posse meeting, we had to settle for Marie's pie. What a pity! In case there is any question, Steffer adds incredible insight and wit to our discussions, as well.

It's true.

Where's Joycey??

All right. I haven't seen Joycey of late. That means I'm going to pick on her. I must be feeling better. Yup, I think that's what it means . . .

So, Joycey, what are you up to, girl?

We've gone to the dogs today...

From the midwest to SoCal, this is Tyler. We rescued him from a nonprofit animal shelter two years ago. Taken to the rescue without identification of any kind, he was named "Skeeter" -- a very lame tag to hang on this full-blooded cocker spaniel. Renamed by me on the ride home, Tyler fits him well. He has become Daddy's boy. I am not used to such treatment and have threatened to find a dog that knows me as the Queen I truly am.

Will we be hearing from Cosmo and Bailey today??

A Dog's Life

Since Beth showed you my pack, I'll share with you one of my favorite dog photos. This is Mason, the "middle child"; he's the only male and should be listed in the dictionary beside the words "couch potato." This dog can sleep in more positions than any animal in the history of created animals, and this picture shows him at his best.

Aren't they cute?

Here they are -- Jennie's three -- the Midwest Menagerie.

Think of it: 12 feet, 3 long tails, 3 inquisitive noses, 6 beautifully expressive eyes, 6 perky ears, and 3 hearts that beat wonderful notes of love. All of this adds up to. . .

Much challenge as Jen works hard to keep the house "showcase ready" as they prepare to sell and relocate.

It's me again...

Yes, it's me again. Whiny little me. (Aren't you glad I joined this blog??)

And here's my question for the day: Why can't God sanctify us by a more pleasant means?? Why are trials His means of grace in my life to make me more like Christ? Why couldn't a week on a beach do the same thing? Is there no eternal change possible from a really good cinnamon chip scone and a venti decaf, non-fat white chocolate mocha??

Instead, I have to interact with real estate agents who ask for the moon...and show them the love of Christ.

I am called to wait graciously in line while the person in front of me decides what to order, changes her mind, adds a dessert, and THEN begins to look for her wallet in her oversized purse to pay...and I'm called to think lovingly of her all the while.

I must anticipate the arrival of plumbers and electricians without a skepticism that would inwardly accuse them of a lack of integrity and desire to rip us off.

I am called to be a helpmate day by day and hour by hour to my husband as he wrestles with the pressure of a job and the ultimate responsibility for our home...and I am to reflect my Savior in all that I say, think, and do as a wife.

And through it all, I must struggle against the arrogance in my heart that leads me to think, deep down, that I can do all this in a strength other than His.

Sigh.

You know what brings hope? That His grace is sufficient. That through Him I can do all that He's called me to do. That with God nothing is impossible.

Those words are true for the next five minutes of my life...and the five after that...and the month after that...and the decade after that.

Glory be to God. I WILL overcome because He overcame.

(...and thanks be to God that He was kind enough to make someone smart enough to create scones and mochas.)

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

looking out

How do I prepare?

Lord, would you please tell me what is going to happen next?

I feel as if there are so many things "in the wings", just waiting to happen.
I am sitting in the audience. There is so much going on "behind the scenes"
All I can do is observe – and wait. I have never been good at waiting.
The anticipation is starting.
Michelle having her baby... Katy's future and Katy's Future.
Mom living with us, for how long?
Dad declining...sometimes quickly. Chris coping.
Did I leave anything out?

Greetings from the Midwest

Hey, gals...it's me, Jennie Altstadt, from the far-away land of Missouri. I'm excited to be blogging with you! Right now in the great Central Time Zone, much is happening: Tim has taken a job at Corporate HQ for his company and we will be moving to the Kansas City Metro area in the near future. So the house is on the market, which means it has to stay clean and tidy (not 2 of my gifts). Tim is still traveling to Columbia, MO 4 days a week, which means all the talk of real estate happens over the phone during breaks in his work day or after the work day is over. We have 3 dogs (yes, 3--and yes, we know we're crazy) who are loveable and rambunctious and sometimes loud (if squirrels or rabbits are in their yard). And as soon as this house sells, we'll be off to KC to buy a home there (...and hopefully find a good kennel.) Not to mention all the other related stuff that goes with relocating to another city (and possibly another state: we may end up living in Kansas).

So what does all that have to do with a blog named CrossMarks?? All the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks has made me realize afresh how very grateful I am that my future and destiny lie securely in the hands of the One Who Made Me...and not in any human circumstance or person. Buyers for our home will come because the Lord will bring them; we will find a new home because the Lord will lead us; my sweet husband and I will be able to triumph in the midst of stress and pressure on several fronts because the Lord is sufficient. This is our moment to walk by faith, and I can rejoice in the midst of swirling activity and uncertainty because we are held firmly in God's grace and He is giving us the opportunity to grow in Christlikeness...which we trust will lead to more fruitful lives.

And isn't that what we all want? To live lives for the glory of God's name--lives that will point people in some small way to the Cross that has forever changed us.

This has been written during a lull in busyness, just as the sun is beginning to set, the breeze is beginning to die down just a bit, and it feels like the whole earth is preparing to snuggle down into night. May I be quick to remember these words in the heat of tomorrow!


As they say in Arkansas (our home before St. Louis): "'Preciate ya!"

Four Great Concerns...

(Don Fortner writes this well. May my heart's cry join with his! Beth)
****

by Don Fortner

"Enoch WALKED with God...." Genesis 5:24

My heart is motivated, driven and governed by four great concerns.

Here are four things I want more than anything in this world.

I am not an ambitious man. But I am ambitious for these four things. For the attainment of these four things I am prepared, by the grace of God, to sacrifice everything else.

I count all other things to be but rubbish by comparison.

1. I want to know Christ (Phil. 3:10). Yes, I believe that in measure I do know him. God has revealed his grace and glory to me in the Person of his dear Son. Still, I want a growing, spiritual, experimental knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to know all that he has done for me. I want to know him. I want to know him fully.

2. I want to be totally committed to Christ. I want to totally lose my life to Christ and in Christ, so that I can truthfully say with the Apostle Paul, "For me to live is Christ." I want to be committed to Christ as he was to the Father, so that my heart says to him in all things, "Not my will, thy will be done." It is my continual prayer that God will give me a heart--committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, committed to his will, committed to his gospel, committed to his people, committed to the cause of his glory in this world.

3. I want to be like Christ. My heart longs to be like him, conformed to him, made into his likeness. I want to be like him in love, tenderness, and thoughtfulness, in zeal, dedication, and devotion, purity, holiness, and righteousness.

4. I want to live in communion with Christ. Like Enoch of old, I want to walk with God. I know these goals are not attainable in this life. Yet, they are the things for which my soul hungers and my heart thirsts. I cannot be satisfied with less. "I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14).

"I shall be satisfied when I awake with Christ's likeness" (Psa. 17:15), but not until then.

"Enoch WALKED with God...." Genesis 5:24

I Thought This Was Funny...

Things Mom Would Never Say

1. "How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"

2. "Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too."

3. "Just leave all the lights on . . . it makes the house look more cheery."

4. "Let me smell that shirt -- Yeah, it's good for another week."

5. "Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day."

6. "Well, if Timmy's mom says it's OK, that's good enough for me."

7. "The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here."

8. "I don't have a tissue with me . . . just use your sleeve."

9. "Don't bother wearing a jacket -- the wind-chill is bound to improve."

On the Box for a Clockwork Toy Made in Hong Kong

"Guaranteed to work throughout its useful life."

Hey! That is exactly what I want my life to be - guaranteed to work as long as I'm useful.

Once I'm no longer useful, I want my heavenly Father to take me home.

What do you think? Will this affect the way you pray?

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Sunday School (of course!)

A Sunday school teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible: Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.

Little Rick was excited about the task, but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Rickey was very nervous.

When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

Received from Mary Rayner.

--Brought to you by GCFL.net: The Good, Clean Funnies List

A cheerful heart is good medicine... (Prov 17:22a)

The latest GCFL funny can always be found on the web at http://www.gcfl.net/latest.php

Whoa, how did that picture get in there? This is Diane.

Where's Diane?

Diane, planning her daughter's July wedding, is the fifth member of CrossMarks. She really does exist. Honest. Really, she does. In fact, I shall post her pic. She swears she wants to join us here. I think (besides a time crunch) she may be hung up with setting up a google account. Steffer, Sue, someone (!) help Diane.

Try Again

MONDAY, MAY 7, 2007

PROVERBS 24:16

Albert Einstein once said, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." He may have understated his intelligence, but he does so to make a point: For more than any other reason, he was successful because he was persistent.

I'm no Albert Einstein, but I can also say that the success I have experienced can be attributed to this same principle.

Solomon said, "For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again." (Proverbs 24:16) When I'm missing the mark in my life -- spiritually, financially, or in my relationships -- I have to remind myself several times a day that the difference between my being a wise man and a fool ... the difference between my being righteous and unrighteous ... is determined by my willingness to get up and keep going.

Have you fallen down? Has it happened more than once? If you're like me, you might be ready during these times to throw in the towel and call it quits. But remember this: if a goal is worth one good try, it's worth 10, 20 or even 100 more. Take another look at the dream God has placed in your heart. Then get up, and try again.

— Steve May

About the Monday Memo
The Monday Memo is a weekly devotional for leaders sent out each Monday by Steve May. This is a free service. For more information or to subscribe to this newsletter, please visit http://www.aboutsunday.com/omm.htm

Keep a Fixed Eye Upon a Bleeding Christ

[Sisters, this was so good I had to post it.]

Has Jesus Christ suffered such great and grievous things for you? Oh then, in all your fears, doubts, and conflicts with enemies--within or without--fly to the sufferings ofChrist as your city of refuge!

In every temptation let us look up to a crucified Christ, who is fitted and qualified to support tempted souls. Oh my soul, whenever you are assaulted, let the wounds of Christ be your city of refuge where you may fly and live! Let us learn, in every trouble which presses us--whether it be sin, temptation, or any other evil--to translate it from ourselves to Christ! And all the good in Christ--let us learn to translate it from Christ to ourselves!

Do your sins terrify you? Oh then, look up to a crucified Savior, who bore your sins in His own body on the tree!When sin stares you in the face, oh then turn your face to a dying Jesus, and behold Him . . .

with a spear in His side,

with thorns in His head,

with nails in His feet,

and a pardon in His hands!

Oh, remember that there is nothing in heaven or earth more efficacious to cure the wounds of conscience, than a frequent and serious meditation on the wounds of Christ!

Ah, Christians, under all your temptations, afflictions, fears, doubts, conflicts, and trials--be persuaded to keep a fixed eye upon a crucified Jesus! And remember that all He did--He did for you; and that all He suffered--He suffered for you! This will be a strong cordial to keep you from fainting under all your distresses. Oh, that Christians would labor, under all their soul-troubles, to keep a fixed eye upon a bleeding Christ; for there is nothing which will ease them, quiet them, settle them, and satisfy them, like this!

Many, may I not say most, Christians are more apt to eye their sins, their sorrows, their prayers, their tears, their resolves, their complaints--than they are to eye a suffering Christ. And from hence springs their great woes, wounds, miseries, and dejection of spirit. Oh, that a crucified Christ might be forever in your eye--and always upon your hearts!

Brooks, The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures

Here I go...my first post. It took me awhile to sign up because I thought I already had!! Good job Beth!!! Hang in there with us. Thank you for this!

How So?

All mankind would have been eternally lost, had God not, of His own free grace and mercy, made a covenant of grace with poor sinners.

"They will be My people, and I will be their God."

Jeremiah 32:38

This is a comprehensive promise, for God to be our God--it includes all.

The covenant of grace is an agreement, which God has made with sinful man, out of His mere mercy and grace, wherein He undertakes for fallen man, to make himeverlastingly happy. God engages that He will be our God; that is, as if He said, "You shall have an interest in all My attributes for your good:

My grace shall be yours to pardon you,
My power shall be yours to protect you,
My wisdom shall be yours to direct you,
My goodness shall be yours to relieve you,
My mercy shall be yours to supply you,
My glory shall be yours to crown you."

"I will make an everlasting covenant with them; that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear into their hearts-- that they shall not depart from Me."

Jeremiah. 32:40

The covenant of grace is everlasting on God's part, and also on our part. On God's part, "I will never turn away from them to do them good." And on our part, "they shall never depart from Me." How so? "I will put My fear into their hearts--that they shall not depart from Me." That they shall persevere, and hold out to the end--I will so deeply rivet a reverent dread of Myself in their souls--as shall cause them to believe, love, repent, obey, cling and cleave, and keep close to Me forever.

O sirs! this is the glory of the covenant of grace--that whatever God requires on man's part, that He undertakes to perform for man!

"I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances."

Ezek. 36:25-27

Thomas Brooks, Parasdise Opened, 1675