Basketball

Chloe and Sophie have been playing basketball at Southport Presbyterian Church. Jason is coaching Sophie's team, and Uncle Lincoln is an assistant coach for Chloe's team (Nate is on her team as well). Chloe has practice on Tuesday evening, Sophie has practice on Thursday evening, and they both play at different times on Saturday. It has been quite fun to keep up with! :-) This is the third year that Chloe has played basketball, and she has come such a long way in three years. I am so proud every time I watch her play! She is athletic, competitive, and genuinely enjoys playing. This is Sophie's first year to play. We have had to spend a lot of time reminding her that Chloe is older, bigger and has played longer, so she should not compare herself to Chloe! Sophie has learned a lot and grown so much since the beginning of the season. We are so proud of her! I think she has enjoyed playing and will probably opt to do it again next year. I never played sports... never really even liked watching sports (other than tennis), but I love to watch our girls play! Here are a few pictures from their games last Saturday:

Sophie's Game:

Chloe's Game:

The cheering section:

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.