Beauty of Holiness

"Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!  Tremble before Him, all the earth!...for He is coming!" Psalm 96:9, 13a

I have had a few super blue days recently.  No particular reason...usually something triggers the dark, heavy cloud of general feeling of sadness, hopelessness, exhaustion, weariness that all is not as it should/could/would be if...I am sure you have been there.  I woke up very early one morning and the sensation of discouragement was so real I could not go back to sleep.  I picked up my Bible, crying out to the only One I knew could really meet me at that moment.  And He gave me Psalm 96.  Particularly verse 9.  I will share briefly what He showed me in those early morning hours.  I am aware I may very well be taking it a bit out of context.   This was a personal devotion, not an exegetical exercise.

"Oh, worship the LORD!"
*worship in the pain.
*worship when it's hard, not just when things are easier or brighter.
*attitude of GRATITUDE always.
*worship: verb. adoration.  make Him big.

"In the beauty of holiness!"
*what is more beautiful that a truly holy, pure, whole person?
*holiness: right living.  integrity.  clean conscience.
*He requires that I pursue a holy life full of integrity

"Tremble before Him."
*reverence.
*awe of who HE is.

"For He is coming!!!!"
*wow!  I have HOPE because THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS!!!!
*Praise Him for that!

I would love to say that everything felt just "right" after that.  It didn't but I was encouraged to get up and get going because I am so very grateful for His constant love and provision over our lives and He requires me to respond in holiness and that is a beautiful thing.  I decided to get up and tell my troubles about my God instead of the other way around!

And HE IS COMING SOON!  Maybe sooner than we think.  I think much of what our entire broken, hurting world is experiencing right now is just the beginning of His return and that is so exciting!

I will share a few pictures of some special times together as a family the last few weeks.

Hot afternoons in a dear friend's pool

A fun, unexpected gift of masks made by the loving hands of a very talented friend of ours in the Sacramento area.

Just in case you can't tell or don't know, those are small, embroidered Brazilian flags!

Noah much prefers to invent and build things than sit and do his schoolwork.  Grammie obliged him one morning this week and he and my niece, S, made puppy "Max" a dog house!

For those of you with a Brethren background you will know what this is.  For those of you who are completely lost, this is my first attempt at Tator Tot Casserole.  I told my mom it may be the least nutritious meal you may ever make but it is a glorious dinner to make with a 10 and 6 year old!  They thought it was wonderful fun to help make dinner that night!

Noah waiting for Papa to come pick him up for a Saturday morning helping Papa prune and clean up his yard!

A beautiful Mother's Day celebration 

Oh, the luscious, deep-colored, sweet fruits that are appearing in the fruit stands in Central California this time of year are simply put, AMAZING.  I never tire of this fruit.

A little nail and hair time with my girl one Sunday afternoon.

I woke up to yellow sticky notes everywhere on Mother's Day.  This was the first year my children were really INTO celebrating me on Mother's Day.  It was so very, very sweet.  I will admit, I got teary-eyed more than once!

The Thursday before Mother's Day this was put on my desk.  The children's ministry at church wanted to bless the mothers and did they ever hit it right that day!  The coffee was fantastic and the card made me all teary-eyed, AGAIN!

My first experience making cold brew.  Man, was it ever yummy.  I consumed way toooooo much coffee after I made that stuff so it may or may not have been a one time adventure!!!

Just another sweet reminder that I am loved on a particularly needed day.  I came to work and found this sweet act of love on my desk from my co-worker.  Was it ever yummy and the fact that she got up and made it for me (and she works full time and is a new mommy) just touched me deeply.  I want to touch others like that.

I cannot read this little note without crying.  She made shorts from jeans for Noah for me and returned them with this tiny card.  I will keep it forever.  Another reminder at how HE is caring for us, from the smallest detail to the largest.

In a season when we feel we are the constant recipients of so much of everything, it was pure JOY to be able to make this tiny 5 inch cake for a very dear friend's birthday.  He and his wife spent his birthday at home, just the two of them, and we were honored to be asked to make him a chocolate cake.

In spite of my mother and sister-in-law caring for my children day in and day out while I work, my mom wanted to have us all over one afternoon for a Peony Tea (the peonies were blooming and the granddaughters just love grammie's flowers).  Another sweet time of stopping in the middle of the craziness and just remembering how blessed we are and how GOOD GOD IS.

He has joined his sister in the tooth losing business.  Between the two of them, it is almost a weekly event now.

Lemon Tart makes them so happy

And crazy!  I might add here that Chloe and I have spent some special times in the kitchen the last 2 1/2 months of just being home a lot.  It has not been great for our weight watching but she is turning into quite a little cook/baker.  I am so glad and sincerely hope one day she will take on the cooking so I can do what I love most and just bake up a storm!

He is Risen!  Yes, indeed!

Our church blessed us with Good Friday dinner and a devotion to use in family communion.  Another guesture that brought tears to my eyes.  We could not spend it together but our church leadership has worked tirelessly to minister to us and reach out in spite of immense challenges of state orders and mandates.

My dad invited all the children over on Good Friday (morning) to help him make our traditional communion bread. 

The mommies hung around too.  After all, we wanted in on the fun.

Another way God has provided for us is through the free food for school children program running during the shelter-in-place season.  It has truly helped us so much in the grocery budget area.  However, the over-abundance of mini apples that come home every day has caused me to use some creativity in how to use SO MANY APPLES!  I have made applesauce, fresh apple juice, apple crisp (multiple times) and smoothies until I am not sure I want any more apples ever!

May you have a wonderful long weekend with your family and remember, worship in the beauty of holiness!  He is worthy!  He is coming back.  May we all be ready.


                                                                                  Blessings,
                                                                                          Jama