Making the Most of Every Opportunity

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...

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 ...

We have a lot of traditions in this one day, but I love each of them SO much. It's so refreshing to take the day and just be excited about Jesus beating death and the precious gift that is to those of us He calls His own!  Here's our day: 1) I get everyone up before the sun rises and we go watch it together. Our old home was blocks from the beach. That was our favorite spot, but last year we watched from our hotel room window. -Getting up to go is not easy, but it's so exciting to cheer and clap and sing HE IS RISEN as the sun rises. As the boys get older, we're adding a little more (Andy reading the Word, Jimmy picking a song to praise God to, me praying, etc...) I'm praying it's a sweet family worship service we enjoy for years to come. What a beautiful gift from God. 2) We race home to see if Jesus is still in the tomb we made . I decorate the table and it's fun to look for Jesus who is no longer in the tomb, but has risen again (and is hidden in ...

"God... saved us and called us to a holy calling... which he gave us in Christ Jesus... who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel..."  - 2 Timothy 1:9,10 One tradition we have to do each year on Easter week is to make a tomb. I read about it in Noel Piper's book "Treasuring Our Traditions" a few years ago. We have so much fun mixing the dough and baking it. You can decorate it or leave it plain. We use the tomb for our kids (Jimmy started at age 3) to tell us the Easter story .We take a family walk and collect sticks while we are out (to be used as crosses). Then we come home and mix our dough (you could just use pre-made play dough if you prefer.) Check out Noel's blog post  for her recipe and pictures. It does take a bit to cool. we usually make the dough into the mountain on Thursday night , so we can let it sit overnight and use it Friday morning. Then we put a picture of Jesus on the cross on our cross and ...

I think it's important to talk through Scripture my kids are exposed to, see what they are learning, and explain concepts I think may be hard to grasp.  When Jimmy was 2 1/2, he was fascinated by the cross in the middle of the entryway at our church and often asked me to tell him about why Jesus had to die. I was sharing how those who believe in Christ’s death and resurrection by faith can live forever with God. Then I said, “Have you ever heard people say that Jesus gives us eternal life ? Because Jesus is eternal, through Him now we can be too”  After a minute of silence (where I assumed I went too deep and he lost interest) Jimmy spoke up and said, “Mommy, Jesus is NOT a turtle!” Ha! I guess “eternal” and “a turtle” do sound alike.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”- John 1:5 I adore  Noel Piper 's traditions and we use many of them in our homes to point to Jesus. One we are starting this year as a family this year is her  "Lenten Lights" . It's a good way to sober our hearts to look at our own sin, repent, and turn to Christ and to prepare to remember the horrible death of Jesus. THEN, we will celebrate that He rose again and brought life for us. The Pipers light 7 candles and then each week during the lenten season they read  a family devotional  and snuff out one light, leaving the last to be snuffed out on Good Friday. Here's a quote from  "Lenten Lights" : Your seven candles symbolize the Light of the World—the Light that was God’s glory and that illuminated God for us—the Light that, in the end, seemed to have been darkened. As we move through the season preceding Easter, the candles are snuffed out one by one, until all are dark on Go...

Andy and I agreed early in our marriage that the focus of our family traditions should always be to stay our hearts on Jesus. But there are some traditions I grew up with and loved that aren't Christian. And many traditions our kid's friends have aren't Christian either, but could point to Christ... if we're intentional. Easter eggs are an example. Eggs really have nothing to do with Jesus, but I grew up hunting for them and love that memory. Family Life created an outreach to use Easter eggs to teach the gospel story to children. They are called resurrection eggs and we LOVE them! Jimmy, age 3: "Jesus died to pay for our sin, but he beat death. So, if we ask, we can beat death too." So our kids hunt for eggs each Easter, just like many kids in America. But these eggs each have a toy inside to help prompt each part of the gospel. It has a small booklet that gives the specific Bible passages and a short summary of each story. Jimmy, age 4. "Loo...

My favorite songs are the ones that are packed full of Biblical truth. These encourage me and remind me of the gospel- pointing me to Jesus. Sovereign Grace music continually does this. This Easter, they have released a celebration of Christ raised from the grave. You should consider buying it (and others by them). Check out their store for song samples, free downloads from past albums, and to purchase.    "He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” These words, spoken by an angel to the women at Jesus’s tomb, changed history forever. Christ’s resurrection was more than a display of raw supernatural power. It was the single event that assures us that his payment for our sins has been accepted. God’s wrath is satisfied. Death is defeated. The powers of darkness are overcome. Sin’s dominion has been broken. And the life of the age to come has dawned. The songs on this album celebrate these realities, experienced and enjoyed by all who place their faith and hope in Jesus C...

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."- 1 Corinthians 15:1,3 Easter is by far my favorite holiday to celebrate. I love  this time to remember Jesus' death and resurrection. It's so sad how quickly I forget and drop my gaze off of Jesus. Sometimes winter feels so long, I put my mind towards the details of daily life, or I even pour myself into striving (ouch) to live out His Word and I lose sight of His great love. I need to have regular seasons where I'm pointed back to the good news of Jesus Christ. And Easter is always so timely. I'll share in the next several blogs what Easter looks like in our home. Our biggest emphasis is on Easter week itself, but here are some ways we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus...

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." -Hebrews 13:7 One way Andy and I like to "make the most" of our calendar year is by remembering people who we loved and loved us that have died. On the anniversary of my brother's death, we pray for my family as soon as we wake up in the morning. On the anniversary of my Grandpa's death, I email my Dad after we pray to let him know someone else remembers. We have others as well (putting a wreath on my friends grave, calling a friend's Mom, etc.) Today, we are starting a new tradition in our house. This morning at breakfast, we are taking a few minutes to remember our Gam. This is the first person Jimmy loved who has died and we want him to know how good it is to remember. Sweet Gam- You are loved and missed We're following the structure of Hebrews 13:7:   Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word o...

In my last post, we left off Christmas Eve after reading Luke 2 from Daddy’s Bible and filling out paper ornaments that shared what we love about Jesus.  When we wake up Christmas morning, the first thing we do is our stocking hunt: -Jimmy hunts through the upstairs of our house for small "stocking stuffers" that are wrapped. Each has one of the ornaments we filled out the night before in it. We read it in praise to God for Jesus. We raise our hands and say "Praise the Lord that Jesus always obeyed the Father" or "Praise the Lord that Jesus is God!" -Once the hunt is over, we slow down and Andy prays thanking God for sending Jesus. I need this small moment the most, because it redirects my heart away from "tradition" and back to the precious gift of Jesus, "The Lord Saves".  Then, we RACE downstairs to "hang" the ornaments on our paper tree and see how the house looks (remember, we decorated while the kids slept) all decorat...

Keeping Christ Central the Whole Season: Christmas Eve We really get excited thinking about Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is a great time to redirect our excitement from all the things we will get (ouch!) back to the real gift- God with us, Jesus taking on flesh to save us from our sin. One annual “must” for us is to celebrate with our church family at the children's service. There is something so special about setting apart certain times annually to gather together in special celebration of Jesus and Christmas Eve always has that feel. My favorite part has always been singing "Silent Night" in candlelight. I get tears just thinking of all of us singing "Christ the Savior is bo-orn." He IS born! Immanuel- "God with us" came from heaven to us. Beautiful. One funny memory for us will always be that Jimmy was a donkey in the play last year and continually turned around backwards to stare at himself on the big screen. Ha! Once we’re home, we continue th...

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 is eter...

“…we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”-2 Corinthians 4:8 I'm sharing a lot of the things we do and traditions we keep as I post. I just wanted to step back and remember that though we "do" a lot, it is never meant to be about the tradition itself (though I've failed here before). We places these traditions in our home to redirect our hearts away from ourselves and towards Jesus. Please know that it is my heart daily, in ALL I do to seek Christ and treasure Him. But I just don’t do it. I want to, but I seek for myself instead and wander. I’m thankful that He does not ever leave me there though. He graciously draws me to Himself even in the midst of my endless rebellion. We placed traditions in our family for fun, but mainly to remind us of Christ’s saving work on the cross . I love traditions and there are many of my family traditions growing...

My last post was long, so here’s a short one:  Here's the advent calendar I want (cute drawers to fill with candy, presents, and scripture) once we can afford it: But for now, we have this homemade felt tree and will be using it as we read through Scripture to encourage us to remain excited as we come closer to the celebration of Christ's birth! We also bought a chocolate filled one for fun to go with it (yum!).  Though Andy grew up celebrating Christ's coming through the  Advent  season, this is my first advent experience, so I’ll let you know how we like it.  As a couple, each morning we're reading from  Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas , by Nancy Guthrie, a compilation of old and new theologians to stay our minds on Christ. What an incredible season of hope. So excited to fix our eyes on Jesus throughout Advent!  In my next post will share about our Christmas Eve traditions. We LOVE Ch...

I have always enjoyed fun and traditions. I'll share some specifics about some things we do on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the next few posts, but today, here are 10 ways we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus during the Christmas Season: 1) We have a sticker chart on our calendar to countdown. Ending on Christmas with the sticker given at church that says "Sound the horn. Christ is born!" 2) We love to make fun crafts all December- paper snow flakes, ice cream snowman (this year marshmallow snowman), paper candles, foam ornaments, etc. (the snow focus gives an opportunity to talk about Jesus as pure and sinless and how His death and blood washes those who are His white as snow.) 3) We read the Christmas story broken down into weekly chunks from a children’s bible daily and act it out or make crafts to act out: (1st week- angel visits Mary and then Joseph; 2nd week- Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem and Jesus is born, 3rd week- Angels tell the shepherds -Last year...

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 we’re so thankful to know more about him! Our Thanksgiving books:  1) ...

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.   Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”- Ephesians 5:15-17 I’m starting this blog to hold me accountable to live in a way that glorifies God and to encourage other young women and moms who are daily striving to seek Christ alone and make the most of every opportunity to know Him more and make Him known. In my posts I’ll share ways our family looks for the “gospel reminders” in our daily lives and traditions. I need this because I forget. I wander daily away from the truth that I need Christ and I’m not self-sufficient. I forget how much He loves me and offers forgiveness and grace because of His love for me. This is about my journey to know Him more and how I see the gospel in fresh ways and teach it to my children through traditions and daily life. Truly Christ is the center and central theme of the Bible, in my personal...

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...