Simply Delightful!

What a BEAUTIFUL DAY today! We decided to have a picnic at a near by park and before you knew it, the wind began to pick up. So we improvised and had our picnic inside on our living room floor. It was a lot of fun especially for Lena!

Our indoorsie picnic is what we called it! It really is the simple things in life that can go a long way! So glad we took time to do this.... Lena was ecstatic to be sitting on the floor and enjoying something quite different.

Love this facial expression of Lena! She enjoyed her sandwich and so did I. :)

Explaining herself away!

Lena telling me what we ate at our picnic.

A gracious reminder!

Even in the midst of a chaotic morning, the Lord, who is so gracious met me, in spite of all the chaos. I had one of those mornings where I wanted to scream, pull my hair out and just run, far, far, far away. YIKES! Well, I was quite overwhelmed with my to do list and when being pulled in every direction, it kind of makes you become a tad bit crazy. Can anyone relate??
After preparing dinner, making sure lunch was packed for work for my hubby, feeding lena lunch, picking up the living room, and so forth.... ...... ...... I walked into my daughter's room about to go insane. My daughter's room was turned upside down. It was an absolute mess! Feeling extremely overwhelmed, I began to pick up her toys one by one. As I knelt down on my knees, I leaned across her bed to gather some toys and before you knew it, I realized I was positioned as if I had kneeled to pray.
At that point, it was brought to my attention, I could pass this up and continue in my nasty attitude cleaning her room but rather I found myself calling out to the Lord. ( I LOVE those moments to where God is faithful towards his children and felt like he had something to say to me and he did.)
As I started off with such a grumpy attitude there was indeed a time of confession and repentance. Of course, I could feel the Lord extend his grace towards me. With a sigh of relief the Lord gave me of a couple of scriptures to meditate on:

Job 37:14 KJV
Hearken unto this, O Job:
stand still, and consider the wonderous works of God.

Felt the Lord telling me
Listen O Rose my precious daughter,
Give ear O Rose,
Pay attention O Rose,
STAND STILL and
Understand,
Consider with full attention,
Ponder,
the Marvelous works
the Amazing works of God.

Reminded me to stand still and to not let things take me out of walking in a manner that is pleasing to God but to set my mind on His wonderous works and all that He has done for us.

Psalms: 37:23-24
The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong.
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

The Lord knew I was on a breaking point and in spite of myself, he was faithful and met me where I was at.

Reminded me that I shouldn't forget to kneel down sometimes and seek the Lord. He delights to meet with me and You!

Now listen, I know that this might be a little petty to some but for me it was a good reminder,
No matter what you may be going through the Lord loves you and desires for us to meet with Him. There is no doubt He wants to meet with you daily. I do tend to forget that.
So be encouraged my dear sisters in Christ!

In Him,
Rose

It's Sneak Peak Time!

Lately, I have been inspired to start a little hobby. May I add that indeed this hobby is a beginners hobby and a really small one at that. Taking Baby Steps! :)

I recently took some pics of my dear friend, Angelica Carmona, here are a couple that I wanted to share. As my dear friend, Lizzy Grant would say..... "here is a sneak peak" Very Excited!

What's new!

It's definitely been a while since I've blogged. Where have I been? Since I love to write, whether it may be journaling, blogging, writing notes down during a good message, I've come to realize that it is very therapeutic for me to do just that. So, I am not to sure why I have not been writing but I know that I should be consistent with it, especially if I like to do it.
Let's see, What's new????

Changes are a happening at the Lantz home. We are going through a series at my church called, Living Lives of Mercy and Justice. Incredible! Here are a couple of points that were discussed in our Wednesday night study:

A. We are called to give-generously
1. A lack of generosity is not just stinginess its covetousness......
2. To whom do we give
B. We are called to 'Balance' our wealth

So, just by reading this you get the glimpse of what is being taught and may I add, it's been good to hear and our prayer (Micah and I) is that we allow God's Word to continually change us to be more like Christ and to not only be hearers of His word but doers as well.

Also, we have approached our favorite season and we are excited. Micah and I have always loved this time of year....maybe because so much takes place during this season. Let's see we have a little list going on:
Of course, fall has gotten started and then we have our birthdays in November, thanksgiving, christmas and our wedding anniversary, plus we get ready to start a whole new year, and before you know it, it will be Lena's third birthday. It's fun for us! Lena is thrilled that "Merry Christmas Tree" is coming. :) That's what she calls Christmas right now. Silly girl.

Micah has been keeping busy with brewing and I am loving it. I sure do enjoy all the beers he has made. That's been fun to watch and get to taste. (FYI: I will be posting a blog about my husband's beers very soon, I personally think you will find brewing beer quite interesting.)

We are in the process of getting Lena potty trained and yet while we will be very sad to see her transition from diapers to underwears, it will be very nice not to have to buy diapers any more. Also, since my daughter has gotten back from her three week trip from Ohio, her vocabulary has increased immensely. It blows me away to see her having conversations with me. Lena is growing too fast and so I get reminded of that saying my Pastor always shared with us, "the days are long and the years are short"....so true!

This might be a little scattered about the things that are taking place in my life but so very thankful for God's faithfulness and the different seasons that we go through. I am very blessed to be apart of a wonderful community and looking forward to all that God is doing and will do and has done.

In Him,
Rose

Moment by Moment and Day by Day

These past couple of months have been to me a whirl wind of emotions. So many things have come up and issues that seem to have shifted the direction I once thought I was going. When my plans get interrupted and my real motives began to surface it's kind of hard to press and go forward. Through it all, I must remind myself that "moment by moment and day by day I need to meet with the Lord". That's so easy to say but yet so hard to do sometimes.

I had a dear friend over recently and we shared our hearts and each of us had been totally blessed and encouraged by each others testimony of what the Lord was doing in our lives. Listening to my dear friend share I was brought back to the need and importance of being connected to the body. For whatever reason God has been laying that so strongly on my heart lately. I came across this paragraph in "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I wanted to share:

In the Christian Community thankfulness is just what it is anywhere else in the Christian life. Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things. We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for daily gifts. We think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has given to others, and we consider this lament and pious. We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things? If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.


This seemed to have struck me straight in my heart when I read this passage. I have caught myself forgetting to give thanks for the small things within the body of Christ and really trying to grasp hold of the big things that God may or may not have in store for me. So, if things are not going according to my standards, desires are not being met, plans are being interrupted, should I then not give thanks even when there is plenty of redirecting and shifting being done in my life that I assume shouldn't be there? Of course not! But oh how easy to do!
When I don't give thanks my heart begins to be filled with my wants and needs rather than laying my heart before the Lord, giving thanks and desiring His perfect will to be done in my life. I completely allow myself to hinder what God wants to do through me to help edify and grow with the body of Christ. I forget the BIG PICTURE! I forget that God is in control and that my steps are ordered by Him.

In saying all of this, when things may not go my way and my real motives are up front and open, it is then when I should be reaching out and asking for prayer and wisdom. I am NOT GOD! Oh how I tend to miss the mark on that one! My pride tends to get in the way and I began to work on my own strength, forgetting that's why we are connected to the body.

The simple truth: Is that we are in need of one another!

Having my friend over was so refreshing and wishing I would have done that a lot sooner than later. If so, maybe I could have taken those emotions and handled all that might have been going on a lot differently. I believe I would have responded better in so many ways if I'd have sought to be thankful rather than a complainer to God. Thankfully we are connected to a loving, gracious and understanding Father who knows our weaknesses.
Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.

Just because things may not be going according to Rose's Plans...no need to fret because it is God in whom my heart belongs to....my life is in His hands and I shall walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.

In Him

Rose

Christian Community

I am reading a book called, "Life Together" The classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Now many of my church family have read this book last summer and just recently the Lord put this book on my heart to read. When I asked my mother in law for this book she told me, "it's going to take a while for you to read, it's so rich, you will have to take your time and soak it all in." Well, I will say she was telling me the truth. I have just started the book and I have only read the first five pages of the first chapter and I find myself not turning to the next page because it's so full of amazing insight that Bonhoeffer shares. So as I start this book, I just want to share what the Lord has laid on my heart and what He is showing me by reading this.

A little insight of Bonhoeffer: Martyred by the Gestapo near the end of World War II for plotting to assassinate Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer left a legacy of writings that has become a prized testimony of faith and courage for Christians around the world.

Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren. ~Bonhoeffer
Oh, how I find this to be so true! I was never raised in church but how I remember clearly feeling lost so many times, and very helpless. Now that I am truly connected to a wonderful community, I know that it's only by God's grace that I am able to be apart of the Body of Christ. Nothing that I have done on my part but what Christ has done for me on the cross.

Being connected to a community of believers is so essential in the Christian walk. So many times we become lone rangers and allow ourselves to believe no one else in the world understands us, what we have gone through or are going through. It's especially in those times that we need each other and need to be connected. A passage I want to share from the book:

But God has put this Word into the mouth of men in order that it may be communicated to other men. When one person is struck by the Word, he speaks it to others. God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of man. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother's is sure.

Reading this passage indeed is very insightful. I find when I need some encouragement, who better than a brother or sister in Christ to pray with you and speak God's Word to you. We are in need of each other!

A quick story:
This past Sunday morning, I prepared to go to work rather than church. I actually needed to work a morning shift that day. I was helping with a play that our kiddos were going to perform that evening. On my part it totally slipped my mind to request that day off. Thankfully one of my managers helped me out and without any hassle switched my shift. So here we were, my husband and I heading out to work and missing our morning worship. Usually, if we do miss, it's because someone is sick or we are out of town and that's rare for us.
Well as I arrived to work and made my way to clock in and start my small shift, one of my coworkers looked at me and said, "Why are you sad?" to my surprise I had no idea I was giving out that kind of expression nor was I feeling sad. I looked at her and shared, I'm not sad and smiled at her.
Later on that evening I was sharing with my husband how I realized why it seemed as though I looked sad and in reality I really was sad. There was this great emptiness of knowing that I was not with my church family worshiping the triune God. Not being there at church was extremely hard for me and I know it was most certainly hard for my husband too.

The Physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer. ~ Bonhoeffer Amen!

There is nothing like arriving to church and being greeted with God fearing faces of people who love you and await to acknowledge you with a hand shake or a hug and ask you "How are you doing?" or "Welcome". Especially if you have children who get excited to be heading out to church. My daughter goes crazy and is filled with excitement when I tell her "Are you ready for church?" what an overwhelming feeling for my husband and I that my daughter loves to go to church and it's not because of the building but the community. She recognizes even at her young age and knows that there is strength and joy with belonging to a community of believers.

Sharing all this, I write to say that I only give such a little glimpse of what "Life Together" is about. I would encourage you to read this book. Do it and you will be blessed. I am looking forward to sharing more as I continue on.

In Him,
Rose

(Living The Life Conference 2010) Save the date!

Angel, Mendy and I volunteered last year.

Okay Ladies,

This is just for you! I got an email reminding me about the Living the Life Conference this year.

I have had the wonderful privilege of volunteering for this amazing conference the past two years and every time I must add, the Lord always blesses. I am writing this just for you because I want to encourage you to come and enjoy this years conference.

It's a wonderful time to come and take a weekend for yourself to be encouraged and equipped for whatever may be taking place in your life. You will not regret it and you will truly be blessed! Here is the link:

http://www.livingthelifecc.com/

Check it out! Most importantly see who our keynote speaker will be this year and our Theme for this years conference. Better yet, you can meet the Living The Life Team on the website as well.

So ladies, save the date October 1-2, 2010. You will not want to miss this!

In Him,

Rose