Road Trip

For the last 5 days, my mom, my kids, and I have been on a road trip. Thus far, we have been in Phoenix, and our next destination is Denver. The weather has been beautiful and clear, hovering in the 70s, with a fresh cool breeze, much to our delight. My mom has been working at a quilt show at the Phoenix fair grounds (hence the reason for the road trip), as she will be doing in Denver, having officially become a Carny. So, while she has been doing that, the kids and I have been having fun! We spent a whole day at the Arizona Science Center. Literally, five and a half hours. It was really great with all sorts of hands on things for the kids to do. Even my four year old was entertained the entire time. We learned all sorts of things, while we played and watched demonstrations, that got our minds moving and thinking. We even watched a 45 minute Imax film about migration that was really interesting and had great detailed shots of butterflies and small crabs. For lunch, we ate at City Bakery, which was excellent, albeit expensive. I got an idea for another side dish: white bean salad. It is something I would have never thought to make, but tasted great! 

The next day I took the kids to Piestewa Peak in Phoenix, determined to climb the Summit Trail. It was marked moderate, but I thought, "With a little determination, we can do anything." Well, it was steep, rocky, crowded, long, and hot! And after many breaks, a few encouraging pep talks, a mile long trek, and an hour and 50 minutes, the kids gave out on me and we started back down...with only about 400 feet to the summit. It took us another hour and 30 minutes to get back down, but we were rewarded with great views and amazed remarks from other hikers that the kids had made it so far. When we got to the bottom, we were exhausted! It was great, though, to get out and get some exercise and sunshine. It was also a great relationship builder between the kids and I. Although, we sure missed daddy there to carry and drag us all along!

Today, we got an exciting oil change! Okay, it was uneventful and took all of 5 minutes, but it could have been exciting, if you use your imagination. Then we went swimming in the hotel pool, which was a pleasant temperature, and ate lunch at Jason's Deli (a great deal).

 Everyone here is all excited about the Super Bowl, and I'm pretty sure Chipotle was giving out free food to fans with t-shirts, since there was a line of about 300 people coming out their door, all bearing Cardinal t-shirts.

We head out tomorrow towards Denver, so I will keep you posted! 

To know me...

Moses once asked the Lord, "Who shall I say sent me?" 

What he was really saying is, " How shall I label you? What box shall I contain you in?"

The Lord answered, "You can tell them, I AM sent you."

The truth is, God cannot be labeled or contained in a box. God cannot be given a title. He is so much more than that...and so are we. 

I am not a Christian, an American, a caucasian, a middle class woman, a mother, a homeschooler, or a twenty-six year old wife. None of these labels contain who I am. None of these can capture my essence. Only relationship with me will tell a person who I am, and only relationship with God will reveal His person. And when it is revealed, there will be no label, there will only be an understanding. 

So, we cannot know God through our labels for him, our sermons, sayings, or books. They cannot contain Him any more than they could contain you. So in response to who I am. All I can say is, "I am. I am just me." No label will tell you the full truth about me. And no label will tell you the full truth about God. When you ask him who he is, he just says, "I AM...I am me."    

Interesting to think...

In writing about government freedom, I began to wonder if it paralleled spiritual freedom. So, I took a piece I had written and changed the context to spirituality and this is what I got. I think there's something to it. 

Here's what I wrote about government:

For a nation to be free, they have to hold themselves personally responsible and accountable, not relying on a government to make things good or right in their lives. This is harder to do than it sounds. They cannot allow government to justify their immorality because it is legal. They cannot allow traditions and routines to be their moral compass. They must do what is right, no matter the cost or hardship, in order to maintain their freedom.

Here's what it sounds like when the perspective is changed to spirituality:

For a believer to be free, they have to hold themselves personally responsible and accountable for relationship with the Father, not relying on the church to make things good or right in their lives. This is harder to do than it sounds. They cannot allow the church to justify their apathy because it is common. They can't allow traditions and routines to be their moral compass. They must seek relationship with the Father, no matter the cost or hardship, in order to maintain their freedom in the Lord. 

This is not about Heaven or Hell. This isn't about getting the Lord to love you, he already does. This is about opening your heart to a love that is so great and powerful, that it is worth every drop of sweat, every tear, and every mocking comment. It's about a love that will set you free from the curse of Eden. Free from the opinions of man. It is ours to have, but it will not be easy. Just like anyone in America can have prosperity, if they are willing to do what it takes, so an intimate relationship with the Lord can be any persons, if they are willing to do what it takes. The Lord asks us to let go of things we hold onto, to have faith and trust him, so he can offer us freedom. We are not required to do this, just as we are not required to do this in government, but our life will be better for it if we do.

    

Democracy

Democracy is one of those things that is hard to maintain. You can declare freedom, write a constitution, fight wars for it, and sing songs about it, but you cannot control it. You cannot make people want to be free. You cannot make a nation act a certain way, because if you do, it becomes something other than democracy. Democracy requires a people that will take responsibility for themselves and their actions. It requires a certain amount of self- control.

I was reading “Little Town on the Prairie” to my kids, and came across a paragraph describing this. It reads:

She [Laura] thought: Americans won’t obey any king on earth. Americans are free. That means they have to obey their own consciences. No king bosses Pa; he has to boss himself. Why, she thought, when I am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and there isn’t anyone else who has a right to give me orders. I will have to make myself be good. …This is what it means to be free….The laws of Nature and of Nature’s God are what endow you with a right to life and liberty. Then you have to keep the laws of God, for God’s law is the only thing that gives you a right to be free.

Right now we are facing a problem. Too many Americans have decided that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of them, to make their life good. It is the government’s responsibility to take care of and educate their children. It is the government’s responsibility to make sure they are healthy and fed. It is the government’s responsibility to make moral decisions for them. They have forgotten what freedom is.

Freedom comes with a price. When you are free, it means there is no one to blame but yourself. It means you no longer have someone to fall back on if you screw up. It means that you will reap what you sow. There is no floor and no ceiling. You can fall as far as you let yourself, and you can climb as high as you want.

This is exciting to those that intend to work hard and make something of their lives, but this is discouraging to those that want hand outs and unearned success. This feels right to those that want to do good, but wrong to those that are looking for excuses to be immoral. It feels great to the person that wants to take responsibility for how their children turn out and how much they learn, but it feels condemning to the parents that want to blame someone else if their children aren’t smart or behaved. It feels right to the retired couple that had delayed gratification when they were younger and saved for retirement, but it feels hopeless to those that spent every dime they had. This feels great to the family that didn’t take on a house loan for more than they could afford, but terrifying to the family that just foreclosed.  

The person we elect for president will not determine the fate of this country. The people living in it will. Unless our society decides to start taking responsibility for itself, we will head to the only option left. That option is having our freedom taken away for the sake of preservation. If our country cannot function because of the people, then the people will lose the right to decide.  

So on this election day, vote for freedom, not government control. The government will not save us. We have to save ourselves.    

-Tara Schiller

The movement of the Lord

I realize, especially after I read my last post, that I am a bit dramatic. However, I am not ashamed as God is dramatic too, and I really believe he enjoys me more for it. Anyhow, some major things have happened this past week. First, our renters informed us that they are breaking their lease and moving to another state. This has lead us to put our house up for sale. Second, our landlords apparently haven't been making mortgage payments for the past six months, so two days ago we got a certified letter stating that the house we are now living in will be sold at auction in 20 days. Not a lot of notice, but enough to find a place. So now we are packing and looking for a new house. When the Lord moves, he moves quickly! We will be moving farther north to be closer to DH's territory and save him about an hour and a half to two hours worth of driving a day. This means meeting new people, joining new groups, making new friends. I am excited about all of this, believe it or not, as it means a lot of positive changes for our family. We won't be able to live in as nice a neighborhood, but I think that's part of God's plan. It's a part of us letting go of our consumerism and the"keeping up with the Jones' syndrome." I'll keep everyone posted on what's going on. 

The Day of Atonement

I find it extremely coincidental that on the Day of Atonement (today), I would feel the true cost sin has had upon the human race. My heart feels as though it would burst with grief from the constant separation from the Lord. I long for his return. I am tired of this Earth and all it's sin. I am tired of the constant struggle to find joy; the everlasting pain to stay connected with the Lord. I wonder if there will be ebbs and flows in heaven or if we will always be in perfect communion with our love. Whatever the case, there must be more than this. There must be a place safe from the enemy, where all we know is love. A place where there is no fear, no failure, just grace. A place where joy is everlasting and peace is normal. A place of truth. 

There is no such place here on Earth. There is no such place in this life. The Enemy will always contend. He will always hunt. He will live on in an ever present flowing force until the day the Lord destroys him forever. Is this why Jesus came? Is this what he is saving us from? Will he mend the brokenness while we are still here on Earth? Will he touch our hearts in an everlasting way? Or will he lead us on in a torturous relationship of coming and going? He comes and steals our heart and then leaves and allows the enemy to attack. What kind of lover is that? What kind of lover is that? 

Oh the day that my heart is free. That will be a day worth living for. Today is no such day.

Wanted: Foodies

I need some volunteers that can help me with trying out some of my recipes in their own kitchens. I am in the process of writing a cook book using whole, healthy foods. I would like to have a test crew that feeds the food to their families and gives me input. I also need to know if my instructions are clear enough. Let me know if you'd like to participate and I'll do a yahoo group to discuss on. Thanks so much!