Gifts from the Heart

Every year for Christmas, my daddy makes some special gift for all of us. One year it was birdhouses, one year walking sticks...but every year, it's something I look forward to. These gifts require his time and he thinks of each one of us and our personalities. Mom does this often, too. Last year, she made me this amazing rug which I only recently got, b/c it took so much time to finish! I really treasure these handmade gifts, because they are unique. And, love goes into them. This year dad made us all pens. I use mine every day to write in my journal. I'm so blessed to have parents who "raised us right", who were great examples, who we always knew loved us. These pens are just a small thing, but a treasure to me.

Shane's pen is made from deer antlers.

My pen is made from wood taken from Cedarmore, the camp Shane and I lived at for 4 years.

Snow, glorious snow!!!

So, God finally heard my prayers for more snow! Here we move back to Indiana-and Northern Indiana at that-and there just hasn't been much. I know some of you would rather I have not prayed this prayer, and really-I shan't take the blame or praise for it (since I cannot make the snow personally). But, I am SOOO happy with this beautiful, white powder falling from the sky. Big reminder here: I love snow from the INSIDE looking out! I like to look out my window, with a cup of hot coffee in hand, and comfy fleece pants on. I don't like to be out in it. :) However, I went out for a few minutes with my camera today...just couldn't resist. Enjoy! And, if you don't like snow, just don't let me know..I don't wanna hear it! :)

(all photos © Kari McGrath 2011)

What's for Breakfast?

(didn't take a picture of the scones, so I was browsing my old photos and thought this one was appropriate for the title!ha!)

Yesterday I made THESE cinnamon breakfast scones. I made them with gluten-free flour and had to add about 1/4 cup cream to the mixture (b/c I was out of milk, and cream just makes anything better anyways!) b/c gf flour absorbs more liquid. They turned out amazing...soft and tender. MMM... This morning I'm having a leftover scone. Pair that with coffee...nothing better on a snowy day! :)

Photography Blog

I honestly haven't done alot with my photography since we moved to Indiana, and in a way it's been nice to take a break. However, I have done a couple shoots and have put them up on my photography blog. Be sure to check them out. And, I'm hoping to finish some personal projects and put those up, too, in the near future..when I have the time. :)

Weigh-in Friday

Okay....drumroll, please....this week I lost 1.8 pounds! (note the ticker going down at the bottom of the page!) :) It's a start.

My Chains are Gone

photo © kari mcgrath 2009

"One day as I was passing into the field...this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And, methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, 'The same yesterday, today, and forever.' Hebrews 13:8. Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from any afflictions and irons...Now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God."

John Bunyan, Grace Abounding, p. 59

Weight Loss

Okay, so I'm not going to be linking this post up on facebook for the world to see, but I will share with you, my few readers! :) I've debated whether to do this or not, but it will be good accountability for me. Ugh..my struggle with weight loss! It has been a struggle for me for my whole adult life, basically. Well, back when I was..not thin, but just about right for me..I didn't know it, but since the babies came, it's been a roller coaster for me.

The past few years, I've tried this and that. I tried adding more coconut oil to my diet, which plumped me up more! I tried eating only whole foods, which did the same! I knew enough by then, from reading alot, that I didn't want to do low-fat, sugar free diets anymore. But, I just haven't been able to hold myself accountable, I suppose. (though I hate to admit it)

I have joined Weight Watchers 3 times in the past. (I should be put in "the box of shame", for those of you who saw Despicable Me!) First time I lost 23 pounds, second time ?, third time about 12 or so. Every time I thought I was smart enough to go home and do it on my own. Guess not! The past few years, I've avoided joining again..one, because I was still sure I could do it on my own, two-because I wasn't looking forward to nights of hunger. :) Plus, I always lost weight on eating 100 calorie twinkies and york peppermint patties and diet soda. But, I can't say I felt better physically, health-wise. That was my own fault, but it was what it was nonetheless.

Anyhow, whenever Shane saw me struggling with one plan or another, he'd say "you know honey, the only thing that's ever worked for you is Weight Watchers." After two years, I decided I was out of other options. :) So, Merry Christmas to me, I joined WW online. (because it's cheaper) This time, however, I have been determined to do it eating regular foods (focusing on whole foods as much as I can..or want to). I am determined not to eat low-calorie, nutrient lacking foods, just eat less of what I normally cook or ingest. Anyhow, the whole WW program has been re-vamped anyhow, and it's alot easier now to do for some reason. (I think the fact that fruits are free helps me alot!) I don't feel deprived at night anymore. (maybe b/c I'm making better choices with more satiating foods..and being gluten free knocks out my "100 calorie twinkie options anyhow!) :)

So, I invite you to join me on my journey or help me (push me) along the way. :) I joined a few weeks before Christmas, lost 1.8 lbs, then gained it back over Christmas/New Years! Tomorrow is my weigh in for this week. I have hope I have lost something. WW wants me to lose 40 pounds. Ugh. That number just kills me and feels so far off, it almost seems impossible. Let's just say, I haven't weighed that number since I was 20! But, I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I feel okay, not great, but okay with where I am right now. (usually) I realize now that I will not be a super model when this is all over. I still may not like my thighs or hind end or feel "skinny." However, I want to be healthy for my family, and stop this before it gets farther than it's already gone.

Okay, that's my story. I amost don't even want to post this. But, what do I have to hide? So, here I am laid bare (well, you know what I mean). There's a new weight loss ticker at the bottom of my page. I'll try to keep it updated and keep you all updated. Appreciate your prayers. I know some of you share this struggle, some of you don't (I still love you). But, I think this will be good accountability for me.

What's for Dinner?

(picture courtesy Nourished Kitchen, one of my favorite Foodie blogs)

So, what's for dinner over at your house tonight? At ours, it's Cottage Pie with Mashed Yams (recipe here) and broccoli. This is a YUMMY dish I've made before. I can't wait to dig in! :)

Just me and my boy in the sunshine!

I get MANY, MANY pictures each day drawn just for me! For Christmas, my parents and sister got my son TWO whole reams of white computer paper all for himself..and believe me, I feel like all I do is pick up white paper all over the house these days. :) While I hate to admit that many of these end up in the trash can..come on, I cannot possibly keep them all AND my sanity...once in a while, one will just melt my heart. This was one. :) I am so blessed that I am so admired that some one would want to draw picures of me all day long, besides the fact that I look so tall and thin. hee,hee...

Happiness?

photo © kari mcgrath 2008

I have been re-reading what I consider to be one of the best books I have ever read...Spiritual Depression by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This book is a collection of sermons he preached on consecutive Sunday mornings at Westminster Chapel in London, where he was preacher. He was also a medical doctor. D Martyn Lloyd-Jones retired from Westminster Chapel in 1968 and died in 1981.


I have not been reading through it chapter by chapter this time, but rather just referencing it at various chapters. These sermons cover such topics (dealing with depression) as temperaments, feelings, false teaching, being weary in well doing, dwelling on the past or the future, chastening of the Lord, trials, contentment and everything in between. He goes over reasons a Christian may be spiritually depressed and then gives you ways to deal with that particular area of struggle. It always culminates in preaching the gospel to yourself, rather than listening to yourself. I highly recommend this book to anyone, whether you struggle with depression or not. My temperament is such that I do struggle off and on with mild depression. I am very introspective. It's been a great help to me at various times in my life and one I'm sure I will reference for the rest of my days.


This morning I read the chapter on "Feelings." I leave you with these last few paragraphs from this chapter:


"...If you want to be truly happy and blessed, if you would like to know true joy as a Christian, here is the prescription-'Blessed (truly happy) are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness'--not after happiness. Do not go on seeking thrills; seek righteousness. Turn to yourself, turn to your feelings and say: 'I have no time to worry about feelings, I am interested in something else. I want to be happy but still more I want to be righteous, I want to be holy. I want to be like my Lord, I want to live in this world as he lived, I want to walk through it as He walked through it.' You are in this world, says John in his first Epistle, even as He was. Set your whole aim upon righteousness and holiness and as certainly as you do so you will be blessed, you will be filled, you will get the happiness you long for. Seek for happiness and you will never find it, seek righteousness and you will discover that you are happy--it will be there without your knowing it, without your seeking it.


Finally, let me put it this way: 'Do you want to know supreme joy, do you want to experience a happiness that eludes description? There is only one thing to do, really seek Him, seek Him Himself, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. If you find that your feelings are depressed do not sit down and commiserate with yourself, do not try to work something up but-this is the simple essence of it-go directly to Him and seek His face, as the little child who is miserable and unhappy because somebody else has broken his toy, runs to its father or its mother.


So, if you and I find ourselves afflicted by this condition, there is only one thing to do, it is to go to Him. If you seek the Lord Jesus Christ and find Him there is no need to worry about your happiness and your joy. He is our joy and our happiness, even as He is our peace. He is life, He is everything. So avoid the incitements and the temptations of Satan to give feelings this great prominence at the centre. Put at the centre the only One who has a right to be there, the Lord of Glory, Who so loved you tat He went to the cross and bore the punishment and the shame of your sins and died for you. Seek Him, seek His face, and all other things shall be added unto you."


(p. 117-118, Spiritual Depression, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Suffering as a Christian

photo © kari mcgrath 2008

"..It was no exaggeration when [John] Bunyan wrote, 'Our days have been days of trouble, especially since the discovery of the Popish plot, for then we began to fear cutting of throats, of being burned in our beds, and of seeing our children dashed in pieces before our faces.'

What, then, would he say to his people to prepare them for the probability of their suffering for Christ? Would he say, with the old-fashioned liberal, 'I believe that pain and suffering are never the will of God for his children?' Would he say with the modern day open theist, 'Christians frequently speak about 'the purpose of God' in the midst of a tragedy caused by someone else...But this I regard to simply be a piously confused way of thinking?' No, this would have been biblically and pastorally unthinkable for John Bunyan, whose blood was 'bibline.'

He takes his text from 1 Peter 4:19, 'Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their soul to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.' Then he explains the text with these observations:

It is not what enemies will, not what they are resolved upon, but what God
wil, and what God appoints, that shall be done...And as no enemy can bring
suffering upon a man when the will of God is otherwise, so no man can save
himself out of their hands when God will deliver him up for his glory...We shall
or shall not suffer, even as it pleaseth him...God has appointed who shall
suffer. Suffering comes not by chance or by the will of man, but by the will and
appointment of God.' "

(from The Hidden Smile of God, John Piper)

Merry Christmas!!

"...Oh, how surprised angels were, when they were first informed that Jesus Christ, the prince of Light and Majesty, intended to shroud himself in clay and become a babe, and live and die! We know not how it was first mentioned to the angels, but when the rumor first began to get afloat among the sacred hosts, you may imagine what strange wonderment there was. What! was it true that he whose crown was all bedight with stars, would lay that crown aside? What! was it certain that he about whose shoulders was cast the purple of the universe, would become a man dressed in a peasant's garment? Could it be true that he who was everlasting and immortal would one day be nailed to a cross? Oh! how their wonderment increased! They desired to look into it. And when he descended from on high, they followed him; for Jesus was 'seen of angels', and seen in a special sense, for they looked upon him in rapturous amazement, wondering what it all could mean. 'He for our sakes became poor.' Do you see him as on that day of heaven's eclipse he did ungird his majesty? Oh, can ye conceive the yet increasing wonder of the heavenly hosts when the deed was actually done, when they saw the tiara taken off, when they saw him unbind his girdle of stars, and cast away his sandals of gold? Can ye conceive it, when he said to them, 'I do not disdain the womb of the virgin; I am going down to earth to become a man?' Can you picture them as they declared they would follow him! Yes, they followed him as near as the world would permit them. And when they came to earth they began to sing, 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.' Nor would they go away till they had made the shepherds wonder, and till heaven had hung out new stars in honor of the new-born King. And now wonder, ye angels, the Infinite has become and infant; he, upon whose shoulders the universe doth hang, hangs at his mother's breast; he who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation, hath now become so weak that he must be carried by a woman! And oh wonder, ye that knew him in his riches, whilst ye admire his poverty! Where sleeps the newborn King? Had he the best room in Caesar's palace? hath a cradle of gold been prepared for him, and pillows of down, on which to rest his head? No, where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the manger, there the Savior lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty!....

...Oh, Son of Man, I know not which to admire most, thine height of glory, or the depths of thy misery! Oh, Man, slain for us, shall we not exalt thee? God over all, blessed for ever, shall we not give thee the loudest song? 'He was rich, yet for our sakes, he became poor.' If I had a tale to tell you this day, of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasant like herself, ye would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale; but when I tell of God concealing his dignity to become our Savior, our hearts are scarcely touched. Ah, my friends, we know the tale so well, we have heard it so many times; and, alas, some of us tell it so badly that we cannot expect that you would be as interested in it as the subject doth demand. But, surely, as it is said of some great works of architecture, that though they be seen every morning, there is always something fresh to wonder at; so we may say of Christ, that though we saw him every day, we should always see fresh reason to love and wonder and adore.."

(C.H.Spurgeon, "The Condescension of Christ", Spurgeon's Sermons)

Saving Money with After Christmas Sales

Good article HERE! Of course, I'd have to add that the best way to save after Christmas is to stay at home! :)

A Few of My Favorite Things....

Recently, Shane asked that we turn the TV off Monday-Wednesday nights, when the kids go to bed, so that we can just read.

It's gotten us both back into reading more, and I will tell you..it is something I look forward to lately. When the days are long, and I'm tired, I know respite is coming!

The kids go to bed, the Christmas tree lights are on, with light music playing in the background, drinking hot tea, and reading on the couch with the man who thrills my heart....it's become one of my favorite things.

A Few of My Favorite Things....

One of my favorite things...my boy in his favorite blue and yellow striped pajamas. :)

(sigh...can I just keep him like this?)

Merry Christmas week (almost!)

Wow! Christmas is next week! How did this happen? This Christmas season has FLOWN for me! Sorry I haven't written in awhile. It's been busy around here, and at times in the past few weeks, my mind has been distracted.

We still haven't sold our house in Kentucky. I realize this is God's will for us, and we continue to trust our God, that He has a greater purpose for us in NOT selling it at this time. This causes us more and more to rely on Him and humble ourselves before Him. He is in control. We trust that. At the same time, we are weak and frail and struggle through it, reminding ourselves daily of who He is and that He changes not. However, He has given us peace and we know He has good in all of this for us. I'll keep you updated!

This has been a simple Christmas season. And, I'm thankful for that. We haven't been bombarded with 'hustle and bustle.' It's a simple "giving" Christmas..which means, we're not giving alot to our kids and family! :) But, we realize this is good for them. :) So, I really haven't been running here and there buying. So, I guess that's kept it low-key.

We had a some sweet new friends here loan us one of their Christmas trees. Shane brought back four Christmas totes from Kentucky last time he went as a surprise to me. :) He just kind of randomly grabbed a few and made sure to get the ones with our stockings (the only thing I asked him to bring back). He surprised me with our manger, however he left "baby Jesus and His family" back in Kentucky! :) ha!

We decided just to put up some white lights on the tree, a fabric garland I made years ago in California (when we had no decorations!), and make paper snowflakes to keep it simple. I found some green burlap I had bought last year and used as a table runner and used that as our tree skirt. However, I think it's one of my favorite trees we've had. :) Simple is good. I guess it just felt "homey" to me, somehow. With all the snow coming down in Northern Indiana, it's been a very comfy Christmas. We are home. We have each other. We have Christ. I couldn't ask for more.

1000 Gifts (166+)....

166. not one, but FOUR free Colts (vs. Dallas) tickets. Hubby gets to take the kids. They'll never forget that. Thank you to my Lord and our very giving, kind new friends.

167. patient, gentle husband, who leads me in the ways of the Lord

168. that the dark days are gone and for now I see light

169. snow, glorious snow!

170. a great 24 hours with our dear friends, Jacob and Jama, and sweet boy, Isaac

171. that God is bigger than my pride or jealousy or discontentment

172. a pantry and fridge/freezer full of food

173. that all of our NEEDS are met

174. a free (to borrow) Christmas tree, that fits our living room just perfect! Thank you, J.H.!!

175. for paper snowflakes

176. salvage grocery store...helping me save lots

177. christmas movies

178. knowing you're not alone when you struggle

179. that God knows the plans He has, and His ways are not our ways, so even when we don't understand, we can TRUST

180. the Jesse Tree Advent, reminding me of the whole story

181. that He chose me before the world was formed, in spite of who He knew I was

182. for family...ones that are close, ones that are not-so-close right now (emotionally, physically)..we are thankful for all of them, and love them all dearly, and pray for them all

183. the anticipation of Christmas morning

184. children...I realize that any holiday wouldn't be as fun without them

185. restoration

186. little boy cheek to rest my cheek on...ahhh

187. church is tomorrow

188. freedom from the need to overspend this Christmas season

189. homemade deep dish pizza that hubby loves...I love making him happy

190. clothes on my laundry room floor..means we have more than enough

191. a clean kitchen (thank you sweet hubby)

192. good books

193. my new ESV study bible..thank you honey, merry christmas to me!

194. the freedom to homeschool my children..even when it's hard..especially when it's hard, because it pushes me to grow past my impatience and selfishness

195. encouragement

The Gospel and my relationships

"By preaching the gospel to myself each day, I nurture the bond that unites me with my brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, and I also keep myself well-versed in the raw materials with which I may actively love them in Christ."

(Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians)

The Gospel and my sanctification

"..Hence, it could be said that 'sanctification' is merely the lifelong process wherein I joyfully surrender myself to God's imputed righteousness and then do whatever this righteousness directs me to do. Indeed, God has clothed me with his righteousness. Now He wants this righteousness to master me. "

(Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians)

The Gospel..not just for new Christians

photo © kari mcgrath photography 2009


"...On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God's unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and not mine."

(Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians:Learning to see the glories of God's love)