Wild Goose Chase

I have just begun to read Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Already I am challenged to examine my own life as he calls me to look for my own spiritual adventure. Mark Batterson starts the book by talking about a name the Celtic Christians had for the Holy Spirit - An Geadh-Glas which means "The Wild Goose." So his book is about pursuing the Spirit's leading in your life, and he compares it to chasing the Wild Goose, going by paths you never knew existed, a great adventure. Mark says that he believes that you don't really start living until you have something worth dying for. God gives us passions worth dying for. So what are my God-ordained passions? What are your God-ordained passions?
Batterson says that to identify your God-ordained passions you need to identify what makes you sad, glad or mad. It is the thing that gives you Wild Goose bumps. I am going to be looking in my own life for these God-ordained passions. How about you?

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve is always a time for looking back over the past year, and looking ahead to the year to come. 2008 haas been a time of change for me.
Change #1: Last January I found out that the school I had worked at for 13 years was being repurposed, and the employees were being moved or let go. I was one of the ones to go. The Lord gave me a job at a new school in a new district, but I've always felt that it was to be short term. I found out today that my new district will be closing two schools at the end of this school year, so most likely I will be out a job again.
Change #2: I turned 50 years old this year. A new decade of life.
Change #3: This was a year of graduations. My son, Jeff, graduated from college last spring and moved into the business world. This December my daughter, Carrie, graduated from college. So my husband and I are entering a new phase of life - we are done with helping our children go to college. It means that they are all old enough to be completely on their own. We are truly empty nesters.
Change #4: Carrie leaves January 2nd for Guatemala. She will be teaching there at least through October. Now I know this change technically doesn't happen until 2009, but she and I have been preparing for it for the last two months: shopping, planning, packing, etc. I have had to come to terms with the fact that my daughter, (who, except for my husband is my best friend) will be living farther away. The only thing that makes it easier to say goodbye to her is the fact that I know- I absolutely, positively believe- that God is leading her to Guatemala. She must go.

So, how do I handle these changes? I have to turn to the One who sees the beginning from the end, who knows me better than I know myself, whose master plan is so much more perfect than mine. I need to ask God to continue to lead me, and wait for Him to show me the adventure He has waiting for me.
How was 2008 for you? What are you looking forward to in 2009?

Need a pull?

When we bought our house these handles were on every single cabinet in the house. I am not a big fan of gold handles, so I have been replacing them. So now, what do I do with the old ones? I probably have over 30 gold handles. Does anyone want them - should I donate them to Salvation Army? It doesn't seem right to throw them away. Help!

Winter Wonderland

Here's a million dollar view I'll be enjoying on Friday at the cabin.

My Cabin

This weekend we are going up to the cabin. I am so excited because we are planning to do some woodwork on the inside. I love using power tools and seeing the finished product. I think we are going to work on our entry way, putting car siding on the walls. I don't have a picture of the entry yet, but I'll take before and after pictures and post them next week.

Here's our unfinished living room:

And here's our dining room. I am bringing up some thermal curtains to hang, to help keep out the cold.

I have so many decorating ideas for the cabin, but we haven't had the time or the money to finish it yet. So I keep dreaming and planning!

Fightin' A Headache

I have had a headache for 8 days. When I take ibuprofen or Tylenol it goes away for a while - for about 4 hours- but it keeps coming back. Now I am used to having headaches. My sinuses are terrible - they don't drain well or something, so I get sinus headaches around my right eye quite often. But the headache I've had this week has been different. It hurt most in the back of my head, from one ear to the other.
So today I went to the doctor to findout what's up. After asking me some questions(like does light bother me, have I had trouble thinking clearly, etc.) the doctor said that he believes my headaches are tension headaches. He said that I have to basically get rid of the pain completely, and then it wouldn't come back. So he prescribed a greater amount of ibuprofen ( 4 pills, 3x a day) and some vicadin at night. Hope it works!

Christmas Past

It is December 26 - and another Christmas has come and gone. The cards have been sent, the presents bought, wrapped and unwrapped, menus planned, food bought, meals prepared and enjoyed. The dishes have been washed. And everyone has gone home. Christmas is over - but is it?
The message of Christmas - the gift of Jesus - is a gift we can keep unwrapping and enjoying all year long. At the Christmas Eve service we went to I heard this message- God gave us the gift of everlasting life(John 3:16)... but it's more than that. God gives us the gift of abundant life (John 10:10)... but it's even more than that. It's Christ living in you (Col. 1:27). So God' gift to us is not just for the future, but also for now. It's not only external but internal. We are given the mystery of God, Christ in us. It reminds me of a line from a hymn "Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow." (Can you name that tune?)

I probably should tell you a little about our Christmas past. We had a great Christmas! It started on Christmas Eve when Craig, Carrie and I went back to Maple Grove Covenant for their family service. This is the church we went to when we lived in Maple Grove, where our kids grew up. It was so good to reconnect with friends there, and to worship the Lord in a familiar place.
After supper Carrie and I had fun baking Melting Moments, my favorite Christmas cookie. Carrie also whipped up a batch of Puppy Chow, and one more Balvin family tradition - pickle wraps. My kids love, love, love pickle wraps. They ask for them at every family gathering. Carrie has become a pickle wrap master.
In case you've never had a pickle wrap, here's the simple recipe. Take a piece of corned beef, pat it dry, and spread it with a thick layer of cream cheese. (Unfortunately, the low fat cream cheese does not work as well.) Add a second layer of corned beef and cream cheese. Dry off a dill pickle, and wrap the corned beef around it tightly. Slice pickle wrap into bite size pieces.
Back to Christmas -
On Christmas Day we visited my dad i his apartment building. Brenton and his family met us there, and my dad really enjoyed seeing his great grandchildren. We came back home for lunch (appetizer type lunch - meat, cheese, pickle wraps, texas caviar and chips, etc.). Aaron arrived a short time after lunch. He had worked all night the night before, and had gone home to sleep for a few hours. Jake, Izzy and Drew could hardly wait to open gifts. We had so much fun taking turns opening gifts. The last gift to everyone was a devotional for 2009. I really thought it would be nice for eahc of us to be reading the same scripture each day - no matter where we are: Guatemala, Northfield, New Brighton, Emily, etc. we will be together as we read God's Word.
Craig shared some thoughts about God's gift to us, and we all recited John 3:16 together - even Jake, Izzy and Drew knew the Bible verse.
The afternoon continued with some games of Boggle and Cribbage. While Brenton and Jeff did beat me in one round of Boggle, I believe I can say that I remain the Boggle champion!
We finished off the day with an Italian supper - homemade Italian stew, lasagna (Simek's though, not homemade), french bread, and a delicious lettuce salad from a recipe in the Simply Delicious magazine.
Christmas was a day full of family - having all our kids and grandkids home together, sharing stories and memories, play and love.

The Letters

A couple of weeks ago an internet book club, the Hoochee Book club, was started by a fellow blogger, and since I love to read, I joined. The first book we read was called The Letters.

Sam and Hadley have been married for twenty years, but separated after the death of their only son. Sam decides to go to Alaska to visit the site of their son's death, while Hadley moves to an island off the east coast to try to begin to paint again. Sam begins writing to Hadley about what he's experiencing in Alaska, and about his feelings for her. It takes Hadley a while to write back, but she eventually writes to Sam about her life on the island, and ultimately, her feelings for him. Through their letters they both reveal how they each coped with the death of their son, and the problems they had in communicating with each other after his death. They became very open and honest in their letters. Through the letters they came to realize that they still loved each other very much. I know some readers thought this book was too sad, but I never felt that way. I appreciated Sam and Hadley's honesty, their willingness to explore their feelings and analyze the reasons why they had done things, and to reach back to the other for healing.

This book, though fictional, really touched my heart. It gave me a desire to begin writing letters again.There is something special about receiving a letter written by hand from someone you love. Letters are different from emails and text messages - seeing the words on someone's own handwriting, knowing that the letter is only between the two of you, and that the writer took the time to put their thoughts on paper is "priceless".

Living Rich for Less

Let me tell you about a new book called Living Rich for Less by Ellie Kay. It's a book that I am anxious to read. I probably should have read it before I started Christmas shopping - butI have not had time to read, or blog, or even get much shopping done in the last few weeks. I am putting this book on my must read list after the holidays. Do you have any tips for Living Rich for Less? Let's share tips! (AND I'll send one lucky person a copy of the book!)

Here's the publisher's summary of Living Rich for Less:
You really can be rich in every way, every day. So you want to own the home you love, make memories on wonderful vacations with family or friends, finance college educations, and help others too? You can-starting here and now.

With lively humor, proven know-how, and practical principles for financial
health, Living Rich for Less helps you stretch your dollars to realize the
lifestyle of your dreams. Ellie Kay's entertaining and enlightening examples
show you simple steps to save, spend, and give smart, and her three main
principles are undergirded by dozens of effective rules and hundreds of
Cha-Ching Factor(tm) tips that keep or put money in your pocket.

Ellie knows what it's like to be financially-strapped or struggling, wanting
to be the Joneses but feeling as poor in spirit as in pocketbook. She went,
within two and a half years, from being a new wife and mom with $40,000 in
consumer debt and seven children (and college educations) to support, to
being completely debt-free and within fifteen years able to pay cash for
eleven different cars, give away three of those cars, buy two five-bedroom
houses (moving from one to the other) and nicely furnish each, take wonderful
vacations, dress her family in fine fashion; and support more than thirty
non-profit organizations in more than a dozen different countries, giving
away more than $100,000.

Isn't that the kind of transformation to a rich life that you want?

Living Rich for Less helps anyone get there in our taxed-out, maxed-out
times. Because financial security doesn't mean just genuine prosperity, but
being able to live luxuriously, give generously, and care for yourself as
well as the others around you.

Why keep up with the Joneses when you can be them?

You can purchase the book yourself at:
- http://www.amazon.com/
- http://www.christianbook.com/
- http://www.familychristian.com/

Faith Story

My daughter-in-law, Stephanie posted a blog yesterday about Faith, using Hebrews 11. You remember this chapter...
By faith Abel..... By faith Noah.... etc.
Stephanie then wrote her story, "By faith Stephanie was a blessed mother of 3, honored her husband..."
I thought, what a great idea!
So here is a rough draft of what I'd like my faith story to be:

By faith Kris . . .
accepted the gift of salvation at an early age. She has tried her best to put God first in her life, with His help. She honored her parents. She was blessed with 4 children and raised them to know the Lord. She honored and loved her husband all the days of her life. She was faithful to give of her time and her finances to the Lord. She leaned on God to help her through the hard times, and tried to be joyful through all times. She tried to be the best school secretary she could be. She always was helpful and encouraging....

Hymns about Grace, part 1

There are so many wonderful hymns, words that teach and minister to our souls. Here is the first one about grace that I just love. I hope you can take time to really read and mdeitate on the words today. And if you have time, click on the link here to listen to it.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain
Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Refrain
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.


Refrain
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Refrain

Won't you accept God's gift of grace today?

Grace

Every morning I use the the Daily Bread as my morning deovtional. Today there was a story about a pastor who was driving and saw someone leave an empty bottle on the road. He said that that was a selfish sin. It could have caused someone harm, and it certainly did not help the environment. But after the service someone pointed out to him that "sin put the bottle on the street, but grace picks it up."
I wonder, how many times each day do I respond to someone else with grace? It's so much easier to respond selfishly, sinfully. Someone cuts in front of me in traffic. How do I react? How about a rude phone call, or an impatient person in the store? When my husband or my kids don't do something I would like to have done, or don't seem to understand my needs? Do I respond in love and grace?
I am so thankful for God's grace to me. (Read Romans 5: 15-20 about God's gift of grace.)
My devotional also reminded my of one of my favorite hymns. I'll put that in my next blog.

Morning Rundown

My son, Brenton, wrote about his morning so far. with 3 kids under 6 years old, his morning has been fairly busy so far. so I thought I would contrast my day to his:

5:45 alarm goes off
6:05 I finally got up
6:10 got out of the shower - forgot to put towel close to the tub, so I got the floor wet
6:20 after getting dressed I used the blow dryer to dry my hiar - had to clean up all the hair that fell out as I dried it
6:30 made bed
6:35 put on make-up. Ran downstairs to get new eye shadow I had bought and left on the dining room table. Back upstairs to finish make up.
6:40 Devotions
6:45 started packing the car to go up north after work
6:55 after 8 trips out to the car I was finally packed
6:57 put out stuff for contractor by front door
6:58 forgot something - back in to house
7:00 backed car out of garage
7:01 stopped and ran into garage to grab garage door opener from other car
7:20 stopped at Wal-Mart for envelopes
7:30 stopped at Sam's club for gas
7:50 finally got to work

Observations: I was just as busy as Brenton, but eveything was my own stuff. No kids making messes or noise, but also noone to talk to or give me hugs and kisses. Noone to take care of except myself. Noone to blame the messes on except me.
There are times when I'm happy that I am in this season of life, but there are also lots of times when I miss having kids around.

This is the day the Lord has made

Psalm 118:24 says,
This is the day the Lord has made; I shall rejoice and be glad in it."

I am reading a book called Every Day Deserves a Chance: Wake Up to the Gift of 24 Hours by Max Lucado. In this book he talks about this verse. First, he says,the verse says "this." This day, today. God gave us this day. Today. Yesterday is history - it can't be changed. Tomorrow isn't here yet. We are given today.
He goes on to make obsevations about the rest of the verse, and he ends with the phrase "be glad in it." We are to be glad during this day - "in" this day. No matter what happens during the day, no matter if it's a work day, a sad day, a terible. horrible no good very bad day - orif it's a great day, the best day ever. We are to rejoice and be glad as the day is going by. Not just as we get up in the morning, or during our bedtime prayers, but all day long - in the day. So as I am driving to work I will be glad. As I answer phone call from crabby parents I will be glad. As I relax on my deck, or weed the garden, or shovel snow again, in the good moments and the bad, I will be glad. Why? Because the Lord made this day, and He made me. And, when I am glad in the moment, it changes me. It makes me a more pleasant person to be around. It makes me more thankful to God, and helps to deepen my relationship with Him.
Every day is a day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad every moment of this gift of a day.

Happy Birthday, Granddaughter!

Today our granddaughter turned 4 years old. She is a precious little girl- she's funny, she's smart and she's incredibly courageous. She's not afraid to try anything.She already rides her bike without training wheels. She loves to ride a scooter and zips around on it. She loves gymnastics and does cartwheels all over the house. But shes also all girl. She loves playing with Barbie dolls, she loves to pretend that she's a princess or a bride, and her room is all pink.

She also loves to sing, and knows the words to more songs than me! She especially loves singing songs about Jesus.

We love you, Isabelle - happy birthday!