mercy

 5 minute Friday linking here on Saturday

 

http://lisajobaker.com/

 

 

Where does the practice of writing begin? Does is begin with a list? A list of goals for the day? It certainly can begin there and has in my Texas daughter's home as she begins the process of home-schooling. It did not begin for me until my twelfth year of school. That is when I learned that writing starts with reading. So today as I read this; is has become my writing (or rather copying) of what God came up with regarding mercy ....

 



What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!  For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.  For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

Where does the practice of writing begin? Does it begin with the forming of letters on a page or the typing of the words on the keyboard?

first days of school

Every year around this time I begin my first days of school.

This year I was not the only one  in my family who enjoyed the first days of school ....

here's Beckett showing exactly how I felt after my first week of school

Here's my five-year old home-schooler from Texas

 

and here's my five-year old private-schooler from North Mpls (he turned six on September 10th and we will celebrate tomorrow)

 

 

here's lunch home-school style

 

 

 

 

and here's Pru ready for Pre-School

and as for Lenny ... she often gets to hang out with the "golfer" on Tuesday mornings while I work at school ....

need I say more?

The daddy's hands that hold tight!

The Next Generation of Pederson's

My Sister in Christ, a dear friend, and a bit of a daughter ... Andrea

She and I

She is quiet and thoughtful

I am more outspoken, sometimes without thinking

She loves well and so do I

She is compassionate and caring always asking tough questions

I too am compassionate and caring but I don't always go deep enough to ask the tough questions

          She is slight in frame and light in color of hair

          I am a bit bigger and the color Grey shows I am older

She is a bit on the unorganized side but always sees the big picture

I am sometimes obsessed with being organized and

I love to write and know the details


She and I love coffee that does not taste like coffee and we both are fans of carmel although She is a bigger fan than I

We both love to read

          She is content with being single

          I am very content being married

She has a spiritual depth to her learning and is athletic 

I have a love for learning and like long walks and bike rides

A few shots

 

A Morning in the sun

 

First Vikings Game for the "boy cousins"

 

Love this "little new generation" of Pederson's

 

 

Here's a couple of the big boys and the little boys in our family

 

Uncharted Territory!

I didn't understand the why of our daughter Kelley when she came to Terry and I more than a year ago and said she wanted to be a surrogate .... whoa ... totally new territory for both my husband and I but .... like some adventures we have been on with each of our kids, this one posed new territory that created reluctance in our minds and hearts . All we could think about was: we are going to walk through a pregnancy with her and not be grandparents? Was this the right thing to do? How would this impact her 3 children? We had a lot of questions and we were not necessarily embracing this territory. Yet with all uncharted paths and decisions our adult children make that we don't always agree with we give them over and over to the Lord!

And He has done great things through this experience!

Particularly in my heart .....as I trusted all my concerns to Him especially the concern of physically carrying twins, all the complications that come with that both for moms and children and quite honestly a lot of what if's? With some fear and not as much faith I went to a good friend and ministry partner and said, "I don't even know how to pray" .... this was a surprise to me, coming out of my mouth, the one who often prays and knows what it means to pray for:

His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven 

My friend suggested I pray a prayer of protection so .... that's what I began to do over 9 months ago and He has done great things:

Bristol: girl on the left you can tell by the bow

Miles: boy and the second twin born thought

 to be bigger and even looks a bit bigger than his sister but not  

more than 16 pounds of health, beauty, and a double blessing

 

 

Here's the story of what God did a bond between a surrogate mom and a birth mom ....
you can read Kelley's story here:


http://saidkelley.com/a-surrogates-birth-story/

This writing is not mine but every so powerful of a reminder to me!

This is not my writing but ... It's Ann's over here
http://www.aholyexperience.com/

I love what it says and I wished I had written it and I want to remember this about love especially when I think about how to love the golfer well and extra especially now this month of August 2013 when we will soon celebrate 40 years of marriage!

I know I don't always show this kind of love to my husband but it is a good reminder to me that I desire to serve him as I live out the gospel daily! Really nothing is more attractive than sacrifice!

"There are no standing lovers: the only way to love is to lay down.
Lay down plans.
Lay down agendas.
Lay down self.
Love is always the laying down.
This is how to make love out of a marriage: Love lays down it’s own wants to lift up the will of another.
Love lets go of its plans — to hold on to a person.
This is the passion of Christ.
Ours is the romanced universe. For God so loved, He gave….
A good marriage isn’t about reliving a good movie, but reliving the Good News.
Nothing is more attractive than sacrifice."

The Golfer and the Oldest Grandson

 

Salad in a jar

Ok here's me in the kitchen this summer. This is my daughter's idea and it's a great one for summer and for me who doesn't always like to spend a lot of time making lunch and / or dinner.

 

 

 

As you can see I line up a total of 10 mason jars: 5 for the golfer and 5 for me. Prior to filling them I purchase a bunch of Trader Joe's boneless, skinless chicken breast. First, I wash it, poke it with a fork, and rub it with vinaigrette Italian herb olive oil, salt and pepper and sometimes a bit of bacon bacon and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Next, the golfer is kind enough to fire up the grill and cook the chicken. Then, it's time to get ready all the salad ingredients chopped and ready to put it.

Layer

dressing

broccoli slaw

any and every vegetable (no cucs or tomatoes they are too wet) you feel like adding

we both like red onions and the golfer likes mushrooms

hard-boiled eggs

cheese

spinach

romaine (pack it tight)

lid on the jar and presto

5 lunches / dinners for the week

 

 

 

1 hour later and in the fridge,

5 on top for the tall golfer and

5 on the bottom for shorter one, me ....

1 hour in the kitchen. Really.