Life Abundantly

A few days ago my children and I were sitting in the living room reviewing some school work. It had been a long, rough day. The kids were fighting amongst themselves, and, being sulky and snappish towards me. Truth be told, I wasn’t responding the best, either. We were in the middle of a Bible verse when my son responded with a particularly sullen remark to my correction. I stopped. We could not continue in this vein. It wasn’t making our relationships with each other any better and it was surely not pleasing to God.


Calling my son and daughter to sit next to me, I began to talk to them about the harm bad attitudes and responses cause to our spirit. It was during this talk that I felt God give me a little nudge of inspiration; and, of course, as is often the case, by the end of our conversation I felt I had been ministered to as much as either of my children had been; perhaps, more so.


Our conversation went something like this:


Our spiritual person and our physical bodies have a lot in common. They can both be hurt and wounded. Our body may be wounded by someone or something. Usually our spirit is hurt by someone; sharp words and bad attitudes are like little knives attacking and wounding us. How we take care of our wounds determines how healthy we are both physically and spiritually.


If I get a cut on my arm, I can go to the medicine cabinet, get antibiotic ointment and a bandage, clean the wound, put salve on it and a band-aid, and move on. If I keep the cut clean and well cared for it will probably heal well and I will be able to move on with my life and will possibly one day even forget I had a cut.


However, let’s imagine for a minute I decide the band-aid is not something I want. I take the band-aid off and go outside into a messy, germy world and go about my business. Germs are able to get into my body from the cut. It gets infected. I could still at this point stop and take care of it properly, but the healing is delayed and may even be harder to come by than it was at first. It will also be more likely to leave a permanent scar, making it harder to forget.


Let’s say, for whatever reason, I choose not to stop and take care of the infection. Eventually, it is going to travel from the wound to my bloodstream. Now, my body is going to get sick. I will probably have to go to the doctor and get special medicine and treatment to heal what was originally something easily treated. It is even possible that if I let the infection go for too long no treatment will be possible; and, what was originally something quite small will end up killing me.


There are times when someone or something comes along with a mean spirit or wrong attitude, and my own spirit ends up feeling cut or wounded. Sometimes this is deliberate and others times it is an accident, but either way, how I respond to the wound is what matters. I can take my hurt to the Lord and allow him to cleanse, salve, and bandage my spirit. If I let Him continue to care for my wound, eventually it will heal, I will move on, and one day I may even forget there was ever a wound.


The healing of a wound takes time and care. Jesus wants to handle our hurts and offenses. We can let him, or we can decide to go it on our own into a sinful world. If we choose to turn from His care and tear off the bandage he has placed on our spirit, the “germs” of this sinful world will infect our cut and infection of the spirit sets in. Even now we could turn to God and allow him to doctor us, but sometimes we choose to roll down our spiritual sleeves and ignore that there is a cut there. A person can hide a hurt and an infection for a long time, both physically and spiritually, but eventually it will make its presence known.


The infection gets worse and eventually our entire spiritual being is in a place of compromise. Even now it is possible for the power of God to resuscitate us, but the process is long and hard, and often impossible to forget.


Eventually, if we continue in our refusal of treatment our wound will end up being fatal to our soul.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This conversation has played itself over and over in my mind since it happened. I truly believe God gave me the analogy to communicate a great truth to both my children and to myself. We can let the hurts of this life wound us, infect us, and eventually destroy us, or, we can turn to the Great Physician and allow him to heal us. Sometimes, it takes many treatments on a daily, or even hourly, basis for the healing to occur.


We always have the choice to walk away and refuse His ministrations at any given time, but the end result, if we do, is spiritual death.


In John 10:10 (KJV) Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”


Let’s determine to have, not only life, but life abundantly.


May God’s blessings and peace be with you all,
Tamara

Memory Lane

Take a walk with me today, a little stroll down memory lane in honour of the fact that 4 years ago we had been home from the hospital a bit over a week and were learning all about juggling the needs of twin daughters. They were tiny, couldn't regulate their own body temps well, and were close to clueless about the whole eating process, but, they were so precious, and they were all ours.

I was only 8 weeks along when we found out our number of children would be doubling. Emalea, our oldest, had been praying for twin siblings so that she could be like her best friend Alyssa. Alyssa's mommy had given birth to boy/girl twins in August, and for the previous months Em had been petitioning God. So, there we were in March discovering that we should never underestimate the prayers of a 3 year old!

Our girls, as we discovered at 15 and 17 weeks, grew well and I did my best to stay healthy and eat lots. My Dr constantly reminded me that with my height...or lack thereof...I was at risk of an earlier delivery. She lectured Michael about what I was and was not supposed to be doing, and generally did a good job of putting the fear of God in our lives over the well being of our little treasures. Emalea and Michael Jonathan were just excited that they would *each* get a baby.

And throughout the long hot summer, I grew. I was determined to hold out to 36 weeks. After all, if my good friend Karen, whom we discovered was also carrying twins, could deliver healthy 7 lb, 36 weekers then so could I...right?

Apparently, that wasn't the plan...at 34 weeks 5 days Michael and I found ourselves in the emergency room and then the operating room. At 4:19am on September 7, 2005, Caitlin joined us at 5lb...and just a couple minutes later Elizabeth completed our family, weighing in at 4lb. 9oz. Absolutely fantastic weights for their gestation, but still so very tiny.

An itsy bitsy hand and knee.

NICU was stressful, but thankfully didn't last long. Four days after delivery, we were able to leave the hospital together, much to everyone's surprise...all thanks be to an awesome and powerful God!

C in the back, E in the front.

Elizabeth on the left, Caitlin on the right.

And I have no idea which baby they are each holding.

There are so many stories and pictures that cover the next 4 years, but I'm sure you all have lives and a walk down memory lane that would last 493 hours is probably not in anyone's schedule...so, I'll just share tidbits now and then. For now, here's a brisk jog (and lots of pictures)...

Jackson, Elizabeth, Caitlin, and Kendall (5weeks and 2 weeks)

Elizabeth and Caitlin (3 weeks)

Our Family, Dec. '05, girls are 3.5 months (C,E), MJonathan is 2.5 and Emma is 4.5.

April 2006 - 7 months (E, C)

1 year old! (Elizabeth, Caitlin)

18 months (Elizabeth, Caitlin)

Elizabeth (2), Emalea (6), Caitlin (2), MJonathan (4).

Easter 2008 Elizabeth and Caitlin 2.5.

A visit from Aunt Mimi. E & C, 2.5.

At the Patch, October 20008. MJ (5), Emalea (7), Caitlin & Elizabeth (3).

NICU Reunion, Summer 2009, Caitlin and Elizabeth (3.5) with mommy.

September 7, 2009 - Caitlin and Elizabeth (4).

Happy 4th birthday my sweet girls. You have been a blessing and I thank God daily that He saw fit to give you to us. I love you!

Be still my heart....

It's official....I'm in love!

With take-out containers....oh, and bakery boxes....and itty bitty panettone papers. Hooray! My life just got easier and my husband is going to faint away at the amount I want to charge to his credit card. That, or just get really still....and quiet....and stare at me as though I have lost my ever lovin' mind.

Seriously, though, have you ever tried to take multiple baked items to point B from point A without lovely bakery boxes? It's a tragedy waiting to happen, and, no, Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake does NOT look good decorating a sidewalk. Not that this has happened to me yet (it was actually strawberry jam) but in my nightmares I can totally see this happening. Hours and hours of labour down the drains....or splattered across an otherwise lovely cement walkway...all for the lack of a box.

Now, I realize there are likely a few naysayers out there that will remind me how completely possible it is to drop a bakery box. In the face of all that logic, I am here to remind you: It's a whole lot easier to scoop up and eat Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake from the inside of a box than off a sidewalk.

Plus, you won't have to worry about all the extra grit.

Yummmm! Already thinking about the holidays!

Today I made a pot of Veggie Beef Soup for dinner. That got me thinking about the changing of the seasons....well, sort of...I live in Texas so there aren't exactly 4 different seasons, but in the next couple months we should go from hot to cool, sooooooo.....

Thinking about soup made me think about the coming cooler weather, and thinking about that led to thinking about Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.....and all the delicious yummy foods that go with those holidays (I am explaining the thought process here because from time to time my leap from one thing to another has been known to cause whiplash) and thinking of that (the food, not the whiplash) reminded me of Southern Living.

I love Southern Living. The food, the travel information, the food, the pictures, the food...oh, and did I mention the food? They have some of the best recipes to be found and most of the time said recipes are fantastic. I try hard not to dwell on the not so fantastic times. It can be rather traumatic. There have been times when my family was very thankful we have a Pizza Hut in town. Actually, come to think about it, there have been a few times I have been thankful there is a Pizza Hut in town, but I digress (I do that so easily, *sigh*.)

I decided, in honour of the coming holidays, I want to share some of my Southern Living favorites with you. Here is the first. Hope you enjoy. We did.

Southern Living’s Black Bottomed Pecan Cheesecake Pie

½ (15oz) package refrigerated pie crusts (I admit I made one...I'll share that recipe later.)
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
3 Tbsp whipping cream
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla, divided
¼ tsp salt
1 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ cups pecan halves
Chocolate syrup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Unroll piecrust; fit into a 9” pie plate according to manufacturer’s directions. Fold edged under and crimp.
3. Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a small glass bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until morsels begin to melt. Whisk until smooth, set aside.
4. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into piecrust, spreading evenly. Pour cream cheese mixture over chocolate layer.
5. Whisk together corn syrup, melted butter, remaining 3 eggs, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and remaining 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in pecans; pour over cream cheese layer. The pie plate will be very full.
6. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until set, shielding pie after about 45 minutesto prevent excessive browning. Cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle each slice with chocolate syrup if desired.

Mmmmmm.....

Happy Birthda, Emalea! (6/4/09)

June 4, 2001 was a momentous date in the lives of my husband and I. That is the day we became more than just a married couple, that is the day we became parents to our very first child: Emalea Lynn Boatman...and our lives have never been the same.

This year marked Emma's eighth birthday, and if you read my previous post, you already know how strange that is for me to dwell on...being the mother of an eight year old...so I won't go into it all over again (yes, I hear those sigh's of relief!), we'll just get straight to the celebration! (And TONS and TONS of pictures, don't say I didn't warn you! =oP )

Ever hear of The American Girl dolls? They are awesome, high quality, can I add insanely expensive, dolls that have more accessories and furniture than I do (something is very wrong with this picture!). The Galleria in Dallas has a store that is a near Mecca for lover's of all things AG. Two stories of pink, pink, and more pink and all the dolls and accessories a girl's heart could desire. They also have a yummy bistro on the second floor, so with Em and two of her dearest friends, Emalee and Alyssa, (and her father, brother, twin sisters, Nonnie, and Granddad) we set out for a day of eating, shopping, and fun, but first....

We had to make a stop in Terrell at Starbucks. Yum! What would a trip to the city be without a stop for a caffeine hit? Have you ever seen young children after they have been given large amounts of caffeine? We have. The results of a two year old who finds Daddy's chocolate covered espresso beans and refuses to sleep for 257 consecutive hours is not pretty. So, needless to say, Mommy and Daddy got the caffeine...the girls had hot chocolate, vanilla milk, and girlfriends to chat with. =)

(No worries Jenn and Jules, I did not corrupt your children....much.)

After several arguments over whether those overpasses and 72 story sky scrapers really indicated that we were nearing "The City"...we finally arrived...they had to lift their mouths off the floor when we walked in. Wow!

(Alyssa and Nikki, Emalea and Samantha, and, Emalee and Mia)

Of course, since Starbuck's was an hour prior, re-fueling was at the top of the list.

There's room for each girl *and* special seats just for her AG doll.

(Elizabeth with her Bitty Twin "Elizabeth" and Caitlin with her Bitty Twin..."Caitlin". So original, I don't know where they come up with this stuff!)

The AG Bistro charges a flat rate per person ($14.50) and the girls loved the fact that they got to pick whatever appetizer and entree they each wanted...and portions weren't exactly child sized, lol, Caitlin thought her Fresh Basil and Tomato Bread was a personal pizza, and Em went back to her bunny roots with delight over the Veggie Tray...and those were just for starters. Other choices included a bowl of tomato soup with a star crouton, a warm, soft pretzel with cheese dip and mustard, and cheese fondue with bread squares.

Each napkin ring was printed on the inside with a virtue: loyal, honest, brave...etc., awwww....

Pink Lemonade was the most popular drink of choice, but Emalee and Alyssa caved to the temptation of a Fresh Strawberry Smoothie.

And speaking of temptation, not one of the five girls could resist the utter cute-ness of a miniature hamburger and hotdog with curly fries...

...and a fruit skewer shaped in hearts and stars.

While the girls were indulging in all that pinkness, the guys were having their own brand of fun:

On the ice....

And at the 5 Guys Hamburger joint (btw, they have awesome burgers and fries.)

But this post is about a certain 8 year old's bday, soooo...

After the lunch we ladies commenced to do what we do best.....SHOP!

We started at the American Girl store, checked on the guys, made our way to Godiva (ooooohhhhhhh, and free samples of chocolate covered strawberries!), and also managed to hit up Bath and Body Works, and Williams Sonoma (okay, so I snuck that last one in there just for me.)

And afterwards everyone just HAD to relax at the play area on the top floor,

Wait....we're missing one...

Ah, there she is, whew!

......oh, and stop by the family restrooms to check out the kid sized lavatories (no worries, I left the camera outside for *that* one.)

And finally, after hours of fun, laughter, and fun we made our exit...and our way home.

Happy Birthday, my girl!

Summer Laziness

The heat of summer is upon us and with it there seems to have come a complete slacking off on my blogging. Terrible, terrible waste of perfectly good internet space...what *have* I been thinking?

Several fun and exciting things have happened in the last month.

1) Emalea turned 8! I am the mother of an 8 year old...hold on a sec while I freak out over that thought...8...years...old. My first baby is 8. So weird. I remember being 8. My mom must have been old. I mean, to an 8 year old anyone over 12 is like an adult and over 25 is simply ancient! How can it be that I am now the mother of an 8 year old? Wow. I *will* be getting pics posted of her special day. We went to Dallas with a couple of her friends and shopped at THE AMERICAN GIRL store, but I need to stop talking about it now or I won't have anything to blog about when I get her pics uploaded.

2) We have a new quarter theme in Sunday School. This quarter is Old Testament Heroes. Sound a little dry and dusty? Well, let me tell you that Word Aflame has touched things up a bit and the guys in my class are extremely excited over this new theme. I'll post later regarding the decorating...I made a brick wall for the room...just wait...but if you can't seem to get excited over Old Testament Heroes, start thinking about a big, well-muscled guy named Timehunter, a couple kids he pulls in to travel through various Bible days and teach life lessons to, a time spear, a universal language translator that looks like a bluetooth thingy, and some odd scary things chasing them through time, and it's all done comic book style...should get rrreeeeaaaaallllllyyyyy interesting!

3) Michael is starting back to school. Post-grad stuff. He's going back to Stephen F. Austin State University for his Master Math Teacher's Certification, and in the process the classes he is taking will be applied to his actual Master's degree. Hooray! It's pretty intense, though. They are covering 2 semesters in around 5 weeks. That's two and a half weeks per semester, 8-9 hours a day. Today was his mid-term and it's only his 7th day of class! Go, baby, go! is all I can say...they are getting into major Calculus stuff...I start checking out as soon as he starts in on derivatives....or was that anti-derivatives...numbers make my head spin. I'll take words over numbers any day.

4) Since MB is in Nacogdoches for his classes, we are back and forth as well. We are staying at the farm whenever that hour and fifteen minutes drive seems like it's too much of a separation....poor, poor love-birds...yeah, yeah, I know....

5) Speaking of love-birds, June 5th was our 10th anniversary. A decade of marriage to an awesome guy. Michael and I went to Arkansas' first state park: Petit Jean. It was awesome and there is a perfectly romantic and tragic legend that goes with the park's name.

Way back when the French were exploring and claiming parts of the Americas there was a young woman who was engaged to a young nobleman. The guy decides to journey to the America's and then marry the girl when he returns. She tries to talk him into marrying her first and taking her with him, but he is worried that the trip would be too dangerous for her, so he refuses. She decides she can't be left behind, so she dresses as a boy and gets a job as the cabin boy named Jean aboard the ship her love is going on. She works this way the whole of the trip and the other sailors take to calling the cabin "boy" Petite Jean. The Frenchmen travel up the Arkansas river where they get to this particular area of Arkansas. They are amazed by the beauty and bounty of the place so they stick around a while. The natives are friendly and time goes by. Finally, they are ready to start their return voyage when suddenly Petite Jean grows very ill and feverish. Of course, at this point everyone finds out that "he" was really a she. She confesses all she did and why to her fiance...then she dies.

*sniff, sniff*....told you it was tragic. Supposedly, she is buried there...we saw the grave site.

Then we went and took pics of us sitting on some ridiculously high and dangerous rock outcroppings and I think it will be a wonder if my in-laws ever agree to watch our kids for us again. The thought that has to run through their heads when they see those pics is, "...four children. They have four children and they are risking falling down the side of a cliff. Who do they think will be raising their four children? Hmmm.....", really, I have awesome in-laws...thanks, mom and dad, for babysitting for our anniversary trip. I promise not to be so foolish again until my youngest kids are at least 18!

Besides, all that exciting stuff, I have been baking/cooking up a storm with all the fresh produce this season is bringing me...can't you just smell the chocolate zucchini bread, fresh tomato sauce, and homemade blueberry preserves? Check back for recipes that will make you want to lick your screen...yum!

When the Redeemed by Johnson Oatman Jr.

Verse One:
I am thinking of the rapture in our blessed home on high....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
How we'll raise the Heavenly anthem in that city in the sky.....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....

The Chorus:
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
Washed like snow...and free from all sin....
How we'll shout....and how we'll sing....
When the redeemed...are gathering in.....

Verse Two:
There will be a great procession over on the streets of gold....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
O what music...O what singing o'er the city will be rolled......
When the redeemed are gathering in.....

Verse Three:
Saints will sing redemption's story with their voices clear and strong....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
Then the angels all will listen....for they cannot join that song...
When the redeemed are gathering in.....

Verse Four:
Then the Savior will give orders to prepare the banquet board...
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
And we'll hear His invitation, "Come ye blessed of the Lord"....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....

The Chorus:
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
Washed like snow...and free from all sin....
How we'll shout....and how we'll sing....
When the redeemed...are gathering in.....

Tag
O how we'll shout and how we'll sing....
When the redeemed are gathering in.......

It's an old hymn, but I really love it. Especially the third verse:
Saints will sing redemption's story with their voices clear and strong....
When the redeemed are gathering in.....
Then the angels all will listen....for they cannot join that song...
When the redeemed are gathering in.....

So many times we hear stories about angels and, as humans, we admire and stand in awe of those things we hear...but imagine....there is something we have that angels can only stand back in awe of and listen to...a story of redemption.

This song has been in the back of my mind for a couple weeks now and the testimony it presents is one that I am just in amazement over: a story of redemption.

What's your story? What's mine? We all have one. For some of us the redemption was obtained years ago and sometimes we get so comfortable with that we forget the awesomeness of it. For others, that redemption is still fresh and new. For still others, that redemption has yet to happen. No matter where you stand and what your story the power is still there. Power to refresh, power to sustain, and power to redeem. Which is your need? God is able.