Maggie's Cup

I have a confession to make. This is the first time in our lives that our boys have played a competitive organized sport. Don't get me wrong - competitive sports are a way of life around here, but the whole Parks & Rec. thing I have put off until now. I have another confession to make. I love watching my boys play on their little baseball team. Almost equally, I love watching Jason help the boys learn to be godly atheletes. He is having so much fun! All three are on the same team which is a great conversation starter (and ender) with the other moms. "Which one is yours?" "Number 8, number 9, and number 10." "Oh my! How old are they?" "The twins are 8, Israel's 7." "You must have your hands full." "Yeah, but it works out great for organized sports." Actually, I am enjoying the opportunity to connect with ladies outside of the church. I anticipate it being an evangelistic opportunity. I'm really praying God will continue to open doors for the gospel. Well, everyone came to the boys first scrimmage game. My mother, Jason's parents, my sister and her kids...we had a whole cheering section! Somehow afterwards we had a conversation about athletic cups. My mom was saying that when she went to my cousins little league game the week before, it was mandatory that the boys wore protective cups. She said all you could see from the bleachers were these enormous cups on these little kids. Her and my aunt got a real kick out of it. Then Jimmy said something about being traumatized by his first athletic cup experience...he went with my mother (enough said). Anyway, back in the van the boys asked what a cup was so we told them. Maggie pipes up and says, "I had one of those before!" We laughed and laughed. She said defensively, "at the doctors!" Apparently, she had to pee in a cup one time and thought that's what we were talking about. Well, the adventure continues. We are loving baseball.

We're Together For The Gospel Too

My husband is privileged to be at the Together for the Gospel Conference. I am following along as often as I can through Tim Challies' live-blogging. One thing I noticed in his account of Mark Dever’s opening comments are the references to the things the leaders of this conference are not together on. It’s funny. Here’s an exerpt:

Dever explained that these men are not together on what to wear, on what pulpit to use or on what songs to sing or on what music to play. Mark suggested that if any Sovereign Grace guys are present, they be given access to the aisle seat so they can move around a little bit. They are not together on applause or on "amen's." The Sovereign Grace folk will surely be vocal in letting you know their agreement, Baptists will mumble a polite "amen," whereas Presbyterians believe that silence is consent. Neither are they together on how to introduce the speakers. Mark encouraged us to make a game of this and during the week keep track of all things that these men are not together on. "Together for the ___________ [fill in the blank]."

But isn’t it amazing that there is one unifying truth that these pastors are together on: the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This conference glorifies God in its diversity, but even more in its unity. How exciting to know that there are so many pastors gathered declaring with one accord: we are Together For The Gospel. Wonderful! I’m not in Kentucky. I’m here in my little house with four little children, but we are also together for the Gospel. We aren’t together on homeschooling (the boys don’t always find it as necessary as Mommy does), but we are together for the Gospel and homeschooling provides all sorts of reminders and applications of our need for a Savior! We aren’t together on how to have a good time (the boys preferring sports, Maggie preferring tea party, Mommy preferring reading), but we are together for the Gospel and because the Gospel tells us that Jesus laid down His life for us, we are able to lay down our lives for each other during play time. We aren’t together on the housework that needs to be done (though they seem to be together about un-doing it), but we are together for the Gospel, and Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve makes it possible for us to do the same. My prayer is that today I would remember that all “differences” we encounter today are to bring us together for the Gospel. I don’t want to miss the opportunities to enjoy and apply the Gospel as a family: Daddy in Kentucky, and the rest of in the kitchen.

Wish I Had a Picture

We are a bit of a spectacle under the normalest of circumstances, so imagine how this must have looked to outside observers. A family of six arrives at their condo around 9 pm with much to get from the minivan to the room on the eighth floor where they will stay for the week. Not only are there suitcases, backpacks, blankies, and the like; there are multitudes of little white bags laden with the week's groceries purchased from the Food Lion across the street. Somehow, there are no available luggage carts. The kids are excited and tired (a rather dangerous combination), but enthusiastically offer to help mom and dad carry stuff from van to elevator. Everybody is wearing backpacks and carrying at least two grocery bags. I wow my husband with my ability to carry more bags than he imagined possible (don't all mothers learn that trick?), and even little Maggie is loaded up. I can only imagine what this looked like to our co-vacationers: A moving mass of bodies, blue bags, suitcases, and backpacks all racing to get to the elevator and be the first one to push the button (huge novelty for kids, apparently). So we finally get to the elevator, push the button, load in - I should say wedged in. We push 8. It doesn't light up. The door opens and the same group of people we left gawking in the lobby are staring at us. The door closes. We push 8 again. It doesn't light up. The door opens. We are officially the latest freak show attraction at the Carousel. A brave man joins our family. He pushes 7. It lights up. We move up to the seventh floor with much relief. He leaves. We push 8. It doesn't light up. We push 9. Yes, it seems that every floor is accessible via elevator except for the 8th floor. My kids are groaning under the weight of their bags and backpacks (but hey - at least everybody had a chance to push the button). We have no choice. We have to take the stairs. The kids were excited at first, but when we opened the door to the dark cement staircase they were a bit freaked out. What else could we do. We all carried all of our stuff down the steps. Jason and I, laughed so hard. This is so typically Reyes! Anyway, it made for a great memory. Not just for us, but all of the entertained guests in the lobby.

Vacation Photos

Playing "Tag" with ocean swells Swimming in the indoor pool Riding in style on the Ocean City Boardwalk Racing go-carts for the first time Ice skating at the rink located right in our condominium Beholding the glory of God through creation

Beautiful Everyday Life

I had a wonderful vacation. I will be sure to post a few memories and pictures - some planned, others totally unexpected making them all the more memorable. Even though we came home Friday, we spent Saturday and Sunday with family both catching up (my Mom was gone before me, and it had been almost two weeks since I had seen her)and celebrating Resurrection Day. Monday was spent out of the house running errands, so normal life was delayed....until today. I went to bed last night with dirty dishes in my sink, every room with at least three things out of order - some rooms with only three things left in order. To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed. In addition to the housework, I had homeschooling hanging over my head. We took the first two weeks of the quarter off (one for standardized testing; one for vacation), so even though I planned for it, I feel the lag in momentum. God is so patient and gracious. I went to bed in unconfessed even undetected unbelief. God could have ended my life while I slept because of my sinful pride, but instead He woke me in the morning and encouraged me with the words of David and Solomon. From Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. From Ecc. 5:18 Behold what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. God gave me strength and help to not just get back into normal life today, but to truly find enjoyment in the "toil" God has given me. I am overwhelmed by His mercy toward me. Vacation is great. It is a blessing provided by God. But I have to say, I love my beautiful everyday life even more! So glad to be back.

Making Memories

I am blessed to have parents who made memory-making a priority in our lives. I have so many fond memories of various vacations, holidays, beloved family rituals, and isolated special events from childhood on up. My husband has a similar history. This convinces us to do the same for our children. I am also blessed to have the Mahaneys' example of intentionality with regards to...well, to just about anything. From sports and the first day of Spring to Sunday morning and significant birthdays, this family is serious about investing both fun and faith into their family. We are going on vacation this week. Kind, generous friends of ours are allowing us to stay in their condo at Ocean City, MD. By God's grace we hope to follow the example of our parents, and the Mahaneys and make the most of this unique opportunity. If you think of it, would you pray that we would be able to carry out our simple plans to bless our children this week.

Abby's Testimony

What a privilege it is to have a sister in law who is not only one of my closest friends, but is also part of my growth group for the leader's wives at Chesapeake. I can honestly say that the following testimony oozes with the humility that is truly characteristic of Abby's life. Enjoy! And be inspired!

Having Faith in My Faithful God Before I get into my testimony, I want to say that my desire tonight is to tell you about how the Lord has made Himself greater in my eyes, and how He has given me a new understanding of His grace and love that I have never experienced so deep or recognized up until this point in my life. This testimony is truly about my God and His heart for His children. Here’s just a glimpse into my life and a taste of how He has shown Himself strong to me. Here goes… Looking back on my life, I can see how such a big sin area for me has always been laziness and my own desire for comfort. As a result, a desire for sleep became stronger and eventually an idol in my life. I wanted it too much and many times sacrificed my personal time with the Lord in order to have more of it. In my blind pride, I did not see the seriousness of this sin of selfishness and I had little to no desire to change or give up my comforts. Once I had children, this area was slightly shaken up a bit only because of their sleeping schedules and need for my attention, but I still fought having to give up my own comfort and slowly my quiet time became inconsistent or squeezed in when there was time for it. Not having a set time or a plan to meet with Him was not helping me to grow in my love for the Savior. Also, I was becoming very self-sufficient and was trying to live the Christian life without God’s grace as my means to obey. Let me just say that it was not fun and I was constantly failing and feeling condemned. It is a horrible way to live and it is not what God wanted for me. Well, back in January, Jimmy and I went to the Marriage Retreat held in Hershey, PA. When we arrived, I was feeling very self-focused and wished that this time away could just be for Jimmy and me to be together and have a vacation. Well, that was not what God had in mind. He was beginning to convict me for my hard heart and lack of desire to join in with the spiritual aspects of our time away. In my pride and arrogance, I kept fighting the conviction of the Holy Spirit because I did not want to change or admit that I really needed to repent and ask the Lord for grace and help. But praise God that even when we run from Him He does not let us go too far before He reaches out and gently brings us back to Himself. Jimmy graciously began to draw me out and ask me hard questions to try to help me see my need for change. The Holy Spirit began to convict me and show me that by neglecting spending time with the Lord on a daily basis I was becoming dull to spiritual things and taking on a very worldly mindset. Even though I began to see this clearly, I was still resisting the idea of changing. I was coming up with one excuse after another and wanting to be excused from having to wake up early. I would think things like, “My children are so young, it’s not really realistic to get up so early and have a quiet time…truly God must understand. It’s just this season I’m in.” Well, I left the conference aware of the Lord’s work, but not yet willing to obey in this area of my life. You see, Jack, my almost 3 year old, for about a year has been waking on an average of 4 times a week as early as 5:45. What would happen is he would come into my room and wake me up. Although not outwardly visible, inwardly my heart was very angry. It was such a shame that God was using my son to try to help me to “GET UP!” and I was so proud that I was blind to it. I would even share with my growth group and ask them for input, but all I would ask them for was how I could get Jack to sleep longer. Thankfully, God kept pursuing me. One night at my growth group, Daryl had one of Carolyn Mahaney’s blogs printed up for us to read. It was entitled, “The 5:00 Club”. That title definitely scared me, but I wanted to hear what it was about. Basically what the blog boiled down to was that Carolyn and her 3 daughters wake up at 5:00 each morning (or earlier) and will call one another to hold each other accountable. In our group, we were kind of laughing and joking about the thought of waking up that early, but at the same time, God began to stir in my heart faith for change. All of a sudden the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and I saw so clearly that the solution to my change was to wake up before Jack and spend time alone with the Lord. It was almost like I needed to know that other people in the world actually did this and that it was possible by God’s grace. Laurie told me that she wakes up at 5:30 and that she would call me if I wanted her to. I was so grateful that Daryl brought that blog and wanted to motivate us to press in to all that God has for us in this area. That was 2 months ago, yesterday, and by God’s grace, I have been getting up each morning and spending time with the Lord, reading His Word and praying. Let me just say that my life has been changed ever since. I have experienced God’s grace in a way that I never thought I could. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been able to say no to sin, and He has given me faith for change in my life. He has used His Word to convict and encourage me each day and I believe that my heart is softer than ever and I am more in tune to His Spirit in my life. By His grace, I will never go back to letting a day go by without spending time with my Lord. Not because I want to “earn” favor from God, but because I need Him so much and recognize that only He is truly my sufficiency and my joy. So my heart for each of you is that you will be willing to obey God in whatever way He is calling you to. It may not mean getting up at 5:30, but it might mean making small sacrifices in your life in order to make Him your passion and priority. Do not fear letting go of an area in your life that you’ve been holding on to, but take that step of faith and believe that God is ready and willing to turn your world upside down in an amazing way.

May we all be encouraged to humble ourselves before God and believe that He has grace to do what is absolutely impossible in our own flesh. Thanks girly, for your wonderful example!

Sweet Painful Reminder

To my shame there are days when I have thought to myself, "I can't do this mom thing all day another day." This isn't because my children are particularly difficult. This isn't because I have any ailment or disease. I'm not living under the pressure of single parenthood, or having to endure the hardship of working outside the home. No. The only reason my life is difficult for me to embrace with joy and gratitude at times is the simple fact that I am a selfish woman. I am the reason my life feels hard at times. How un-Christlike I have discovered I am. With so many opportunities to humbly lay down my life and serve these precious treasures, my children; I choose to complain, and even at times resent the constant demands of motherhood. I want to escape. Joni Erickson Tada shuts my mouth. I was freshly humbled as I read her testimony on the girltalk blog today. My life is so pain-free, trial-free. How can I read about Joni's humble dependence on God for strength in the midst of a real trial and not be convicted and inspired? God, help me to be humble and realize how pleasant the lines have fallen to me. Forgive me for complaining. Help me to realize that I am so weak, I even strain under the little weight motherhood brings. You are Joni's strength and her smile. Please be my strength and my smile.

Psalm 27:4

Psalm 27:4 "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." One supreme desire occupies the believing heart. He longs for close communion with the Lord. He diligently uses all appointed means. He seeks the ordinances which God's presence sanctifies. Such is the constant habit of his soul. It is no passing impulse. He pursues this hallowed communion all the days of his life. His eyes would see the beauty of the Lord, the lovely charm of His transcendent grace, displayed in redemption's wondrous work. His soul thirsts after fuller knowledge. His ardent cry is, "Show me Your glory." -Henry Law

When Things Don't Go Topsy Turvy, But Should

It began with me seeing a picture of a madhatter cake (also called a topsy turvy cake), and finding directions online. I have been experimenting with fondant covered cakes lately, since they're so trendy right now, and decided to try a single tier mad hatter cake for a baby shower. Fortunately, I started early enough that if it didn't work, I would have plenty of time to make another more standard cake. Well, it began fine, but by the time I put the first layer of fondant over the whole thing, it just kind of looked like a really tall warped cake covered with a large piece of cheese. Not exactly what I was picturing for Kate's shower. So I froze the cake thinking that I'd use it for Jason's birthday, and made the second cake for the shower. Then I had a bright idea. I would look online to see if I could find directions for making a cowboy hat shaped cake. Believe it or not, I found directions. I had to modify them because my hat was huge, but it helped me as a guideline. Even though it took a while, I still can't believe how smoothly this went compared to the other cake. This is a lesson in not overestimating my abilities in the world of cakes. But, on the other hand, God really blessed me with making something cuter than I thought I was capable of. There must be a profound life lesson in there somewhere. I'm too tired to think about it right now. I'm still recuperating from that party! And here's the finished product. I wish I had a picture of it while it still looked like a tall, warped cake covered in cheese.