Daniel, Week One

Last Wednesday, I started a Bible study called Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy by Beth Moore. I have done a couple of her other studies and read a couple of her books. I cannot say enough good things about her. God is using this woman! Each time I hear her speak, I want to stand up a cheer... Not for her, but for the mighty God we serve!

I will be going back again tonight to start Week Two, but I thought I'd take to opportunity to recall what really jumped out at me from Week One.

Session One covering Daniel 1 (the video): Choices to Make

• We are living in our own Babylonian culture (self-absorption; self-will; over-indulgence; obsession with youth, beauty, intelligence; an over-abundance of choices). How can we live in the midst of it and not be defiled and corrupted by it?
• Will we influence the world or will it influence us?
  
• Will we become indoctrinated by the world or will we indoctrinate it?

Day One: Not Just a Tale of Two Kings

• "Our primary goal in part 1 of our series is to join [Daniel] as individuals who can live in an extravagant, excessive culture without being poisoned by it."
• "Nothing is more dangerous than friendly captivity. Over and over we'll discover that Daniel resisted her poisonous charms on purpose. So must we."

Day Two: Ties Between Past and Present

• Jeremiah 6:15 says, "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." Eek! Sounds an awful lot like our society.
  

Day Three: The Power of Training

• "Whether or not we are conscious of it, you and I are daily being indoctrinated and 'trained' by our culture."
• "God wants us to recognize the critical priority of deliberate training in godliness."

Day Four: Renaming and Resisting

• Daniel ("God is my judge") was renamed Belteshazzar ("Bel will protect"); Hananiah ("Yah has been gracious") was renamed Shadrach ("inspired of Aku"); Mishael ("Who is what God is?") was renamed Meshach ("belonging to Aku"); Azariah ("Yah has helped") was renamed Abednego ("servant of Nego"). Bel, Aku, and Nego were false gods of the Babylonians.
  
• "God originated the concept [of renaming]. The world system with the enemy at its helm could not resist offering its own counterfeits..."
  
• "How do we resist the world's titanic pressure? The same way Daniel did. We resolve."

Day Five: Resolve

• "Bone-deep resolve doesn't develop by going to church every Sunday morning or going to Bible study every Tuesday night. Important opportunities like these encourage us in our resolve, but they aren't enough to create and sustain it."
• "Godliness is never accidental. Neither is victory coincidental. Both stem from up-front, daily resolve."
• "Satan never wastes a fiery dart by aiming at a spot covered by armor."
• "[Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah] read the language of their culture with the lens of God. Thereby, they became culturally relevant without becoming spiritually irrelevant. Against all odds, they retained a God-centered worldview so that ultimately the world could view their God. Amazing."

I loved the first week of this study and look forward to the next!

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark word and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

--Ephesians 6:10-18

"Satan never wastes a fiery dart by aiming at a spot covered by armor."

--Beth Moore (Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy)

Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

--Phillippians 4:6-7

Here is what I love about this Bible verse: It doesn't say, "Present your requests to God, and He will fill the order to your specifications." Nope. It's better than that. It promises that He will grant you "the peace of God." I don't know about the rest of you, but when I am crying out to God, what I really need more than my own way, is some peace in this crazy, messed up world. I am so thankful that I serve a God who is willing to give it to me! And I know through my personal experience of trusting God in the past that His plans and ways are far better than my own. He knows and wants the very best for me. In my weak humanity, I can't see beyond this very moment. I can only guess about what will happen next... what tomorrow will hold. Yet, God doesn't have to guess. He knows. Psalm 139:16 says that, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Now that gives me a great sense of peace.

Valentine's Day

Jason and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday by putting the girls to bed early that night and getting Carrabba's take out. It's sort of a tradition for us at this point.

On Valentine's Day, Jason brought home a pretty bouquet of flowers for me. They are like a little preview of Spring and I love them!


We had breakfast for dinner that night (which I love to do). To make it fun and festive for the girls I made:

pink pancakes

pink scrambled eggs (yes, they are a little bit orange)

and pink milk.

They thought it was fun and are already looking forward to St. Patrick's Day so we can have green food!

FamilyLife: The Art of Marriage

Last weekend Jason and I attended a marriage conference at our church put on by FamilyLife called The Art of Marriage. We really enjoyed the time we got to spend together just focused on each other and our marriage. These are the top two points that I took away:

1. Christian marriage is the gospel message for a watching world.
2. God will not protect you from something that he can perfect you through.

There was a lot of other great information, but those are the two things that have really stuck with me.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

I'll be honest, most people who read this blog probably already know. For those who do not, I'll let you in on our little secret: we're having another baby! Above are pictures of the newest Nye at 11 weeks. Today I am 14 weeks, which makes this baby due right around August 14, 2011. It should be nice and toasty when we welcome this little one into the world! Chloe and Sophie are so excited to be having another sister or brother! Charlotte sort of understands... She puts her face on my belly and tells me, "I love your baby." Jason and I are so thankful for this gift from God!

Science Fair and SPCS Open House

Thursday night was busy, busy, busy for us! I picked Sophie up from school at 3:15, ran home to get her changed for basketball, grab a snack, and do homework. We were back at school at 4:15 to take Sophie to basketball practice and pick up Chloe from the Science Fair presentation and judging. Basketball practice was over at 5:00, so we went to dinner, then back to school for the Science Fair awards at 6:30 and the Open House at 7:00. I am glad we don't have to do that every night!

Sophie with her artwork for the open house

Chloe with her artwork for the open house

Charlotte had no artwork since she is not in school yet, but she wanted her picture taken as well. Too bad she wouldn't stand still!

Nate on stage with his Science Fair participation ribbon

Chloe with her ribbon... and her friends Elizabeth (left) and Kathryn (right)

Chloe and her Science Fair board

Sophie in her classroom with her snowman project

Chloe in her classroom with her map of Indiana (fourth grade social studies is all about Indiana history)

The Children's Museum

On Wednesday morning, we met Amy, Ryker, Katie, Chaney, Tucker, Paislee, Raendra, Clayton and Collin at the Children's Museum... and I forgot to bring my camera! So, if you want to see pictures check out: Katie's blog or Amy's blog. We started off with a ride on the carousel (some of us had to ride twice) and let the kids play in that area for a while. We also visited the Barbie exhibit, Dinosphere, Fireworks of Glass, and the new Dora & Diego exhibit. Charlotte really likes Dinosphere and was asking about that before we arrived, but she had a great time in the Dora & Diego exhibit too. There were so many great, hands-on things to do and play with. She slid down the slide over and over and over again. She enjoyed putting the stars in the constellations, making her way through the rain forest, and putting the coins in the bank on the pirate ship. We had a wonderful time playing with our friends and getting out of the house for the day!

Snow Bunnies

We survived the ice storm, and then on Saturday morning it started to snow. And snow, and snow, and snow! The original forecast was only for 1"-2", but I think we ended up with more like 5"-6". The girls were eager to get out and play, so Saturday afternoon we turned them loose in the backyard. Our neighbor, Brian, brought his little boy, Clayton (who is Charlotte's buddy) out to play as well. They threw snowballs, slid down the slide, swung on the swings, played with large chunks of ice they found on the swing set, and ate a little snow. Chloe and Sophie even got buried in it. They all had a great time, and Charlotte had to be dragged back indoors.

Ice Storm 2011

The first wave of the ice storm started Monday night and was followed by a second, larger one on Tuesday. UIndy closed their campus on Tuesday and Wednesday, so Jason was home with us (which was very nice). The girls' school was closed Tuesday through Thursday, and opened with a two-hour delay on Friday. However, Chloe caught the virus that everyone seems to be passing around, so she was home sick on Friday as well. I have to admit that I enjoyed having the girls at home and not being required to go anywhere for three days!

The ice covered tree tops in our backyard.

You can see the sheet of ice on the roof of the shed and some icicles.

It looks like the backyard is covered in snow, but it's actually all ice. Pupcake ran out when I opened the door to take pictures. I was not about to venture out there to chase her. Luckily, she came back on her own.

This is my weeping cherry tree by the front door.

The river birch in the front yard.

One of the bushes in the landscaping out front.

This is the two inches of ice on our driveway. I am slowly chipping away at it!

Science Fair 2011

It's that time of year again: Science Fair time. I didn't like it when I had to do it in school, and I don't really like it any more now. Last year was the first year that Chloe had to participate (and she won first prize for 3rd grade at her school). This year her project was: What will happen to hamburgers over time? (I thought it might be interesting. I had seen a woman on a TV special who had a three-year-old hamburger from McDonald's that looked the same as the day she bought it.) Well, let me tell you what happens to hamburgers: they mold. The scary thing is the rate at which they molded. The homemade and Burger King hamburgers molded very quickly. The McDonald's burger took a lot longer. The Wendy's burger... Yikes! It did eventually mold, but you have to look very close and squint at the picture to see it. (So, that woman on TV must have freeze dried her McD's burger or something, and maybe she should be taking a look at Wendy's instead!) The Science Fair was supposed to be this past Thursday, but because of the ice storm it was postponed. I'll let you know how it goes!