Eucharisteo and the prayer of my heart

Following is a quote from One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I challenge you to ponder its meaning for you today.

"In the original language, 'he gave thanks' reads 'eucharisteo.' .....The root word of Eucharisteo is charis, meaning 'grace.' Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks. But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning 'joy.' ....Charis. Grace. Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving. Chara. Joy. A triplet of stars, a constellation in the black. A threefold cord that might hold a life? Offer a way up into the fullest life? Grac,e thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo. A Greek word... that might make meaning of everything?"

Now, pondering that, here is another quote I came by today that really moved me.

"The breaking of the alabaster box and the anointing of the Lord filled the house with the odor, with the sweetest odor.

Everyone could smell it.

Whenever you meet someone who has… gone through things for the Lord, is willing to be imprisoned by the Lord, just being satisfied with Him and nothing else, immediately you scent the fragrance.

There is a savor of the Lord.

Something has been crushed, something has been broken, and there is a resulting odor of sweetness.’

–Watchman Nee

How simply beautiful. The prayer of my heart is that I would be filled with eucharisteo and give him thanks in all things so that the sweet odor of the Lord would radiate from my life. Thank you Jesus!

Days gone by: please come again

Does anyone remember xanga? I spent an hour there tonight on my old one... who knew that some of my best writing happened on that blog? Wow.

It's left me very pensive. I wrote so often about my relationship with my boyfriend, then fiance, and the emotion and passion in those words just takes my breath away. Now that he is my husband and we have a two-year-old, I can't help but wonder- what has changed?

Being separated by 200 miles week after week during our engagement was so difficult, but we prayed together over the phone every night and grew so much in that time. Going back even farther, to our dating period, everything was so new, exciting, and we couldn't wait to see each other, or to race home after school and see if the other had posted a comment on our xanga to read. We prayed for and encouraged each other every chance we got.

How much has changed?

Now I live daily life with this best friend of mine. We have to work to provide a life for ourselves. Sometimes we wonder what motivation we have to go forward. At the end of the day we swap stories about the cute things Eli said or talk about how to make sure he doesn't do or say a particular thing again. Where is our faith in daily life? It takes such a different shape from our dating and engaged years. It means being diligent and intentional to pray together rather than watching a TV show. I want to encourage each other with Scripture again. I want to be so in touch with each other spiritually that we are growing like never before, drawing closer to our Maker with each interaction we have, like it once was.

It will require effort on both our parts and true intention to do it. And an intervention of the Holy Spirit, of course. I believe.

Mark Schultz says it so well:

I believe that He loves you where you are

I believe that you've seen the hands of God

I believe that you'll know it when

You're back in His arms again

I believe that He never let you go

I believe that He's wanting you to know

I believe that He'll lead you 'til you're back in His arms again

Toddler-struck

I was struck once again today by the beauty of children.

My friend Dawn and I visited our Nepali friend, Durga this morning. Each of the three of us has a toddler boy- ages 19 months, 20 months, and 4 years. Elisha was very shy at first, as it was a new place, new faces, and he was a little out of his element. What was beautiful to watch was his face light up when he saw Saureb, the 4 yr. old, hiding behind a semi-transparent curtain. It was as if he realized at that moment that Saureb was just like him. A little boy who loves to have fun. His face broke out in his signature adorable smile, he scrunched up his nose and said, "Funny," over and over, laughing when Saureb would come out from behind the curtain. What simple joy! Watching the boys play together was such a delight. Saureb can speak not much more than 10 words in English, and yet they had so much fun chasing each other, playing with balls, and being boys. He is getting to the age where he can actually play with other children, and it is so fun to watch. He is very attached to Aiden, the other boy his age there today- Dawn's son. They see a lot of each other, as Dawn is a good friend of mine and part of our house church group. Eli has begun crying when it comes time to say goodbye to Aiden and saying his name repeatedly. It's so fun to watch them grow together.

This afternoon I was having some "me" time during Elisha's nap and just kind of chilling on the bed with my laptop. I had heard E begin talking and knew he had woken up but hadn't gotten up to get him yet. The next thing I knew, after recalling that I had heard a small noise resembling a crash, our bedroom door was being pushed open by a barefoot toddler who looked at me shaking his head and saying, "Night night. Sleep." The momentous moment happened, friends. He got out of his crib alone. I knew it was only a matter of time, as I have caught him of late putting one leg over the edge. I'm afraid for what naptimes will look like from now on when he does not want to sleep. It will probably be time to transition to a toddler bed- hopefully around his 2nd birthday, which is rapidly approaching!

Here's to hoping the groundhog does not see his shadow tomorrow! Happy February, everyone! One month closer to springtime. :)

Thoughts on Whole Living for 2011

I received my first issue of Whole Living magazine today. I won a subscription as a reward for accumulating points from Stonyfield Farms organic yogurt products. It is very encouraging and I love it already. Here are 10 thoughts to ponder this year that I plan to post somewhere visible in our home.

1. Make this the year you follow through.
2. Invigorate body and mind: exercise until your spirit soars.
3. Other people may have opinions about where your life is headed, but only you have the power to prove them wrong.
4. The path to fearless living goes straight through the roadblocks, not around them.
5. Seek out foods that sustain, nourish, and warm you.
6. Creativity goes beyond sheer artistry; it takes courage to express your ideas.
7. Disagreements offer invaluable insights. Don't avoid them- study them.
8. To truly detoxify your lifestyle, think about what you can add to it, not just take out.
9. The coziest homes aren't merely filled with stuff; they're designed to bring people closer.
10. An ending doesn't have to be sad. It's the only way to begin something new.


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The way I see it, resolutions may last a month or two, but it is never too late to re-visit habits we wish to create. As Lynn J. states, "Instead of making New Year's the only time I reflect on my goals, I make the first of every month a new beginning. I think of a few small things I want to accomplish (drinking eight glasses of water a day, exercising four days a week) and write them on the dry-erase board on my refrigerator..." This is something I hope to pursue. How much more would we accomplish if we were to consciously remember the small ways we want to make a change in our lives and re-visit them at the beginning of every month or even every other week if need be? I think we could stay on track and achieve little goals, eventually amounting to larger ones, quite effectively.

Here's to living wholly!

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PRICELESS TODDLER TIME

Fun moments with Elisha:

It was such a joy tonight to watch him eat ice cream. He ate everything on his plate at dinner (amazing!- and probably because he refused lunch and was ravished), so we thought it fit to give him a little treat. He ate mint cookies & cream frozen yogurt with a smile and a laugh between each bite. How beautiful it is to watch children discover the simple joys in life!

A Fresh Start

I've been inspired to revive this blog. A new look and new ideas. More to come soon!