Making the Most of Every Opportunity

I'm amazed at how many strong opinions there are on natural birth, hospital birth, and csections. I never planned or hoped to have a csection and yet, several weeks after my oldest was due, when I still had no signs of labor, I had my first csection . It put me in a humble place at future baby showers and I noticed, maybe for the first time, just how strong we can hold a preference. Sometimes saying hurtful things as a result towards others who don't do things our way. As I walk through the early childhood years, I'm learning that there are SO many areas the Bible doesn't speak clearly on that we tend to get overly passionate about on: Santa or no? public, private, or homeschool? potty training early or waiting? discipline, "clean" eating etc... Truthfully, we all are prone to judge each other in areas we are passionate about even though the Bible really never addresses them. I'm no less guilty than the ladies who have judged me, so I need to look inward...

I'm in count down mode for baby number 3. Only a few precious days until we meet him. That also means that in just a few days I will have major surgery #3. My last csection was pretty scary and things didn't go well. It was so bad that when they asked Andy (who was told to sit down and that he may be asked to leave) if he'd like to go with Caleb, he said "no" and stayed with me. I cried. A lot. It was a scary experience first as I reacted badly to the anesthesia and then later as I laid on the operating table seeing my blood squirt up, and wondering if I'd be ok. It brought out a heart of fear that I battle. Though being with Jesus face to face sounds AMAZING, I'm still afraid of the actual dying part. I see how God has lovingly spurred me towards Himself in my struggle. It was after that day that I really started praying that He would give me a heart that is full, at peace, and resting in Him all my days. I have been asking Him to ease my fear and ins...

I shared yesterday that we aren't giving each other any presents this Christmas. Not even stockings. And we are thrilled to do it. You can read more about how God lead us through our 6 year old's discomfort at receiving gifts on Jesus' birthday in my last post ... but here's where we left off: How can we give Jesus gifts on His birthday??? Though there's an obvious celebration we have as we eat cake, sing, read his birth story, remember Him, and seek hIm together, what about giving a gift? Here's the answer God gave Andy and I as we sought Him:  “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when...

This year, we aren't giving each other any gifts. Not even stockings... Not one wrapped present for us to open Christmas morning...  and we're SO excited!!! Want to know why???? ‎"The aim of God at Christmas is to make the goodies of the world lose all their attraction in comparison to the surpassing glory of the divine Name. The essence of Christmas purity is not what you stand against, but what you stand in awe of, the glorious name of God."- John Piper We have been floored by a simple question Jimmy asked and it’s literally reshaping Christmas for us. Here goes “Mom. I love getting presents, but I don’t feel right getting them on Jesus' birthday. Shouldn’t we be giving to Him?” The wisdom of that kid hit me like a brick. At first I started sharing how our gift giving is out of love for each other and reminds us of THE gift of salvation that came because Jesus came to earth as a lowly human baby…  But I couldn't shake his logic and then I started readi...

Repost: How can we teach"earning vs. receiving" theology? One way we like to bring it into our conversation with our children is during the times of gift giving (birthday, Christmas, and Easter morning especially) We don't want our kids to think they can earn or lose good gifts. Gifts are given out of love, not earned. (In the same way, we know that obedience only comes out of love. When our kids know Christ, they will want to obey, not the reverse.) We show (and explain) that "unearned free gift" teaching in all our gift-giving with the ultimate hope that our kids will see that though they don't deserve God's love,  God gives that undeserved love and forgiveness freely through Jesus to all who call upon Him to be saved.  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" - Romans 3:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God...

Last year, I shared that we'd be trying an advent tree. It consisted of 25 daily Scripture readings, each symbolized by an ornament we hang on a felt tree to help set our hearts on Jesus during the busy, Christmas season. We had three weddings in three weeks in three different states, and as a result, traveled so much last December. Having this small, foldable, easily stored felt tree to pull out at each stop brought a little consistency to our trip and gave us our own little tradition that carried through each different place. We hung it from hotel lamps, on a nail near our friend's back door, on a dresser drawer knob at grandma's, and finally, on our living room wall at home. We loved it and are doing it again this year (though without the travel), so I thought I'd post some pictures of it: day 25 ornament is a gift, and there's the Scripture card several ornaments and their cards Day 1- Holy God and sinful man. putting the last ornament on the...

I'm praying through what to share this Christmas season and thought it might be good while I'm processing all God's showing me to just take today to link to last years series... You can see -our advent calendar -Christmas Eve / Day traditions - my thoughts on Santa -a good book/dvd/Christmas craft list -ideas for sharing Christ with family -and a clip from the Jesus Storybook Bible...: Read them all HERE at last year's Christmas season posts .

I read an awesome post on one of my favorite marriage blogs,  the Romantic Vineyard  about Christmas during a season of lack . They are going through a series on hindrances at Christmas and shared really openly about their own season of lack and God's provision for them in it. It was so sweet for me, because I know Christmas when money is tight or when we have no paychecks. We have had many of them. In fact, our last 4 years have almost always included short or no paychecks in October/November. This year, though we are able to pay our bills, we are once again in a season of financial lack as we look right past Christmas and anticipate paying for my csection and the arrival of our precious third son a week or so later. God has met me in such incredible ways and lavished His grace on me as I've confessed my fear (that it'll become more than a season and could lead to debt) and my dependence and trust in man (we receive any pay based on churches and individuals who give...

One new thing I wanted to add into our school day this season is a weekly advent event/craft/ reading to engage in looking back at the prophets who proclaimed the Messiah was coming and show how Jesus fulfilled that and to look forward to when He'll come again in full reign on earth. I needed simple, since we're in kindergarten, but engaging, because I'd like it to become a tradition in school years to come. My friend Virginia Knowles has a wealth of knowledge and love for Christ and does an awesome job pointing her kids to Jesus. She shared many of her Christmas traditions on her blog and I found our weekly "look back and see Jesus" time there. She shared an awesome and simple  4 night family advent blogpost . You could do this in a four day period or once a week over four weeks. We just did #1 this week- learning about Immanuel, "God with us" and being reminded by the Christmas lights in our neighborhood that Jesus is the light that pierced through...

I've heard several friends mention that they make a "Jesse Tree" each Christmas and i had NO clue what that was. Ha! So I looked it up. The tree gets it's name from a passage in Isaiah:   “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.”-   Isaiah 11:1-2 So, it's a tree that points to Jesus as the fulfilled Messiah. People do all sorts of different versions and it's fun to see how families remember. Some people find cute toys/trinkets that remind them of certain aspects of Him (like a small toy fish to remember His miracles, toy tools since he was a carpenter, nails and a cross to remember His death, etc..) Others have a more formal tree with actual glass ornaments and different Scripture painted on them. This year, we are doing one that just seemed ...

  "To submit and give up everything truly is radical and terrifying. However... walking in my own wisdom, contrary to the Spirit's leading, is even more frightful."- Francis Chan  

Another Repost: How I learned about Squanto!!! As Jimmy and I were reading through  our favorite Thanksgiving book , he asked how Squanto knew English. I had no clue. He clearly thinks through things at a deeper level than I do. So I looked online and  Justin Taylor  (a blog I highly recommend) did know!  He recommended a  biography of Squanto  written by Eric Metaxas. Did you know that Squanto was sold into slavery to a Spanish Monk? Or that Squanto was a professing Christian (I never heard that in school)? Or how it took 10 years, but God used an Englishman to help Squanto come back (hence his knowledge of the English language) to his homeland only to find that his entire tribe had died?  His story is such an incredible example of how God is always present in our lives and there is such good, even in hardship and trials, as HE draws us to Himself and uses us to impact others to His glory.  Squanto genuinely loved and cared for the pilgrims and...

Some thoughts on Job 1:20-22 as I read it: Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head - Job just received the heartbreaking news that all his animals and even his children are dead. All of them. And he responds by mourning. I'm thankful his pretty words of faith are accompanied by pain and sorrow. What a reminder to me that grief is right and good and it is ok to mourn loss. ... and fell on the ground and worshiped. - Wow. In His grief, He immediately seeks God and worships. What  an example. This has not always been my first response, yet I pray God may give me the grace in seasons of great loss to remember His goodness and worship Him, the TRUE gift and Giver. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away ; blessed be the name of the LORD.” - I'm SO thankful for this chunk and learning from Job. He got it. He knew that everything not only came from God but was STILL His to take away as ...

A friend posted a facebook status that has just SO amped me up to live for Jesus fully. I wanted to share her wisdom with you (bold/underlines are added to highlight my favorite parts): ‎"Self-love, self-acceptance & self-promotion. Love yourself. Be true to yourself. Live to yourself..."...we live in a culture that so lacks balance...we preach this message to thousands of women who are starving themselves, surgically enhancing themselves and desperately trying to fit the far-from-realistic model of altered "feminine beauty" our culture promotes.  This message brings only momentar y solution to their intense sense of insecurity... because it is not  how the Bible tells us to view ourselves. We are precious to God, and adored by Him...But we are not him...   We are called to deny ourselves (Mark 8:34) Die to self (Gal. 2:20) to do everything not for our own recognition but to bring praise and glory to God! (Phil 3:4-10) You want to know the secret to be...

God is so good to answer when we seek Him. I'm learning that even in my time alone with Him I tend to hold back or do some things traditionally. He's so gently opening my heart to experience Him in new ways through His Word and prayer. This quote just fit so perfectly with where I'm longing for my heart towards Him to stay always: Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart. - Luther Praying for you as you seek Him as well. May He open our hearts to Him and radically change our lives to live fully in Him, excitedly meeting with Him and sharing Him with all as we look forward to seeing Him face to face for eternity!

Just a repost from last year as a reminder of a fun tradition we have as we set our hearts in thankfulness towards God this month: Here are some pictures of our  "Thankful Tree". This fun and easy tradition carries through the entire month of November. We know many families who do it, but we adapted it from a  family we used to work under (thanks Jeff and Lisa Highfield). It’s a paper tree on wall decorated with paper leaves (Jimmy helped cut this year). We write a specific thing we are thankful for on each leaf. Every morning we lift our hands and say “Praise the Lord for…” and share one leaf to add to the tree. We also include a few of them in our Jacobson Journal prayer letter sent to our supporters.  Everyone who visits our house during the month gets to participate. It's fun to see what everyone is thankful for. And really neat as a Mom to watch Jimmy write his own and get excited to praise God for who He is and how He provides. These pictures were from the...

Have you ever read a passage and suddenly it makes SO much sense? I'm pretty positive I've heard sermons on John 9 that brought out the same things, but as I read through the story of the blind man's healing, I was struck by God's purpose in His blindness. Here's the aha verse: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life ." -John 9:2-3 He did nothing wrong, yet he was blind. It reminded me of Job, who was actually praised for his fear of God and upright lifestyle and then chosen to suffer deep loss to show faithfulness to God (Job1-2). I'm reminded that God is purposeful. I'm not saying I think God chooses to harm us and punish. I'm saying that I believe the truth that God is purposeful in all He does. He is glorified in our suffering and it is for our good (Romans 8:28)...

‎"Don't worry about crying in front of me, and don't be afraid that you'll make me cry. Your tears tell me you care, and my tears tell you that you've touched me in a place that is meaningful to me- and I will never forget your willingness to share my grief."-  Nancy Guthrie, Holding On To Hope  Sometimes I'm baffled at how we miss opportunities to care for each other. I love reading in the Bible how friends would come and mourn and grieve with friends who experienced great loss. Yet we seem to rush each other through pain or fear bringing up obvious hard trials friends are going through because we don't want to "make them cry". Nancy Guthrie shared that in her deep hurt and loss, the friends who cried with her were such a gift that it felt like they actually carried the burden with her of her grief and tears. Jesus himself is a beautiful example of that (John 11). I saw both in my darker days. Friends who sat with me or heard my stories...

Spending today looking back and thanking God for the incredible gift of our firstborn son. He waited two extra weeks beyond my due date and only came because the doctors went in after him. He cried continuously for weeks. He was a projectile vomiter. And yet the JOY he brought into our lives is indescribable. How was this 6 years ago? I'm so very thankful for our solid helper. Our always smiling, incredibly tall, son with gorgeous eyes. The kind hearted big brother who leaves his friends to be sure his little brother has a playmate. The quality time guy who thanks us for playing games and reading books with him and tells us he knows we love him because we do. Our silly, funny kid. The boy who asks hard questions and does not jump quickly as he seeks for himself to see if he believes that God is the loving, true Savior that we've taught him He is. Oh what a joy and privilege to be his Mommy. Thank you Lord for this good and perfect gift from you to our family.

A few people have asked how much time I take to blog weekly. Since my heart in blogging is to pour Christ into my home and out to others, I feel really strongly that I need to guard my time here. I hate how poorly I manage my time on facebook (I'm once again committed to moderation there). So here, I purposefully guard my time by blogging ahead. The answer is, I don't spend time blogging weekly at all. I make a list of a few months worth of ideas (which are added to pages worth of ideas I came up with before I ever began this blog) and save links to posts I've read that I want to pass on during naptime when I see one or think of it. Then, on the first week of the month, I blog during naptime for the entire next month . I blog enough to publish two posts per week that I schedule to release automatically on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have flexibility  built in for anything that I may want to add in as the month goes on during weekends. That's it. I don't blog any ...

Next week we will celebrate our firstborn's 6th birthday. I have so many fun memories of my own birthdays growing up and some traditions I still follow (like my yellow cake with chocolate frosting), so I knew I wanted our family to really enjoy celebrating God's good gift of each other on our birthdays. Here are our main traditions: 1) Cake- each of us pick out what cake we want and get it on our birthday. Andy likes ice cream cake, Jimmy wants fun cupcake designs, and Caleb is still young enough that I make whatever sounds fun to me! 2) Notes with specific things we love in that person. Andy and I write them on small index cards for each boy (and each other on our birthdays) and we have them tell us what they love about each other and write out one from each of them. We try to do this in cards we send to family far away on their birthdays as well. 3) Party Favor/Present hunt- Since birthday parties go by quickly and sometimes we can miss the favors and presents for our ...