Honored Time

I am beginning to understand why families are so worn out at the end of the summer! We have been in a season of GO-GO-GO for weeks, often with just barely enough time to finish a load of laundry between events. Don't get me wrong, they have been awesome events and we marvel at the work God did this summer, but whew! We're tired!

Okay, since our last chat, Jarrod's parents came to visit and the Es enjoyed some (ahem, a ton) of spoiling. We are so thankful for times we can all be together! This trip involved King's beach at Tahoe, many a house project and getting unpacked. *Side-note, these two have earned their gold star parenting badges... they've moved us, A LOT. Thank you!*

Then began the crazy trip back to Florida with an unexpected stay in Denver. God graciously gave us good time with our families there too. And in true Florida fashion, we saw an alligator get captured off my mom's dock! 

E1 getting to do the VBS dance

Then the VBS sprint. Between our church and the mission to McDermitt, I know of 7 new believers in the Lord! Please join me in praying for their fledgling faith to be nurtured and a love for God's Word to develop in their hearts. I had the awesome privilege of teaching preschool at both VBS-es. In all honesty, there were moments where I wasn't sure there was much of a point. the kids were unruly, hyped up on sugar, and some had so little Bible-background that the stories were hard for them to grasp. I could have chosen discouragement, but instead God kindly provided insights. One little boy came to me at church the following Sunday to tell me he "still remembered his verse!". Another grandparent shared that her granddaughter was sharing the Bible stories we learned in class with her non-believing parents at home! Little missionaries! I was reminded that in preschool especially, we plant seeds. We water. It's the Lord who does the growing (1 Cor 3:6-9). Only His Holy Spirit can wake up a sinner's heart, can draw some one to God. What an awesome opportunity to be included in His work!

And now for the confession....
In all the busyness, I have not made time to study Scripture. I chose tasks I thought had to be done (even church tasks), instead of spending quiet time, one on one, with the Lord. I still prayed, I still went to church, I still upheld my responsibilities at home. But it wasn't the same. To be honest, there was very little joy in it all. I cringe saying all this out loud, a pastor's wife should have this one figured out, right? Not me, I face the same temptation to "get busy", to let my time be stolen away by things and tasks and errands. And the sneaky thing is they're all "good" things! Playing with my kids, cleaning the house, grocery shopping. None that I could look at and say, oh if I only stop doing that I will have plenty of time to study the Bible. And yet, I was spiritually starving. What's a girl to do?

So this morning, I sat after the kids finished breakfast and opened my Bible to Psalm 119. I wasn't sure of my day's plan, but I knew I needed time with the Lord. I love the Psalms, especially this one, because they encourage me to view God's Word as beautiful, precious, treasure, and life-giving. They remind me that it is the Lord who sustains me. Most of them being written by David, King of Israel, (probably a super busy guy, especially when he was on the run for his life), they take away my excuse of having too many pressing things to do to spend time reading Scripture. 

Psalm 119:165-168(NIV)

Great peace have those who love your law,

    and nothing can make them stumble.

I wait for your salvation, Lord,

    and I follow your commands.

 

I obey your statutes,

    for I love them greatly.

 

I obey your precepts and your statutes,

                          for all my ways are known to you. 

And you know what, today has gone on. The kids were fed, errands and chores have been done. My heart is different - I've been joyful. My eyes have been opened to opportunities to make teachable moments with the girls. God didn't have to do that. This day could have been just as chaotic and stressful as the days past, but part of me thinks this is a gift from Him for making the decision to honor Him with my time: to show I believe He is worthy by choosing Him over other things. I'm not sure what the weekend will hold, if our family will experience another crisis or have hard decisions to make or if the dishes just don't get done, but I will commit to choosing time in Scripture and allow God to speak into my life that way. 

Be encouraged that yes, we all can easily get busy. And busy with good things at that! But for your heart's sake, choose time with the Lord. Allow Him to fill you with joy and love for Himself and others through Bible study. We need it.

Till next time,

the Reeds

Don't you dress up like this to get the mail?

Summer time = ice cream truck!

Teaching her in true Nevadan fashion

One Week In

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing - Zephaniah 3:17

Hooray! We made it through our first week. To say our days have been full is an extreme understatement. The Lord was kind and brought our stuff here safely and we had many, many kind hands from the church to help unload. Downsizing from the Florida house to an apartment here meant every room was piled waaayyy high with boxes. Jarrod and I looked anxiously at each other wondering how it would all fit. 5 days of unpacking later, we have a living room! Most things are finding their places and the stress levels are greatly decreasing.

It hasn't all been work.... We took some time to satisfy E1's desire to see snow! Mt Rose is just a short drive away. The verdict was split among the kiddos... E1 thought it was great and literally dove right in, E2 seemed pretty convinced the snow would eat her. E3 slept through it all, so the tie-breaker will be decided next time :) We are excited to go on more adventures as a family.

 This is moments before E2 sunk hip-deep into the snow.... she didn't like it so much after that!

The girls kept shouting "look momma! There's snow everywhere!"

We were blessed to participate in the Lord's Supper with GHBC this past Sunday. Jarrod's big fear was dropping the lid and clanging the plates..... He made it through! We have been warmly welcomed and "pounded" (people bring a pound of something to help stock our pantry) by the people here. We've heard countless stories of God moving mightily in the lives of believers here- redeeming them out of some tough stuff. We can't wait to be used by Him to draw others to Himself, and for Him to make us more like Jesus.


Thank you for faithfully carrying us in prayer. Here are some new requests:
- Jarrod will be leading the youth on Wednesday  nights, pray for wisdom and compassion as he engages these young adults from a variety of backgrounds
- For E1&2 to make friends. They'll be in awana Wednesday nights, pray they enjoy it.
- For E3, he seems to hate sleep. We were trying to remedy some health issues before we left FL, pray for wisdom in dealing with those here.
- Pray for the marriages at GHBC, for their protection and growth as we all learn how to mirror the relationship between Christ and the church.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue moving through Reno. This beautiful city is far from the Lord and most people we've encountered outside of church clam up as soon as "church" is mentioned. We know that our God is mighty to save, and that He is pursuing the hearts of those far from Him (Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 5:8)

Thank you all and we love you!!

The view from Mt. Rose overlooking our city.
Join us in praying for God to be glorified here.

All About E2!

In two days my little baby will be one year old. Whoa!

In celebration of this, and the fact that she survived life with E1 so far, here's a run down of facts about this amazing little girl:

-She has two teeth, FINALLY!
- She weighs about 19 pounds. Scratch that, weighed in at a whopping 17.5 pounds today. Where does all that food go??
- She took her first steps on 12/12 and has repeated the feat a few times, though she still much prefers to crawl or push the grocery cart
- She can say a myriad of words: dada, mama, yiya (E1), ba-ba (Simba... or any other animal we think),  and uh-oh which is hands down her favorite
- Her favorite food is cheese, though it's probably best to just leave it as she likes to eat. EVERYTHING
- While she lights up when mommy or daddy come into the room, the one who can really make her smile is E1. I am so so thankful for their relationship and pray they will care for and be friends with each other always.
- She loves looking at the Christmas tree. E1 often goads her into pulling ornaments off so that she can re-hang them. I foresee many interesting predicaments these two will get themselves into and E2's line will be "but sissy made me do it!"

 Happy Birthday sweet Elora!!

Surrounded

"Surrounded"-to enclose on all sides, encompass (dictionary.com)

There are times, many throughout the day, where this is a true state for me. I'm surrounded by dirty clothes/dishes/children/dog, mile long to-do lists, drivers who refuse to use their turn signals, clutter, long lines at the store...you get the picture.
But I want to take this a different way.



It's Christmas time, a season to reflect on Jesus's coming to live the perfect life we're called to and fail at achieving, dying the death we deserve and being powerfully raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father. Let the enormity of that settle on you! It's HUGE! The all-powerful, entirely set-apart, creator of all things saw fit to add to glorify Himself in rescuing rebels and making them His children. The highest of all powers chose to be born in the lowest of lows, a stable. (E1 says "baby Jesus had a stinky bed with all da aminals")
When I think of myself, all I see is obstacles making my life difficult (see list above). But when I slow down and think about Christmas, really consider the great lengths God goes to in calling us to Himself, I stop focusing on the stained t-shirts and messy table and instead see how surrounded I am by God's love. Romans 1 and Matthew 5 tells us that God shows Himself and His immense kindnesses to all people, and I can attest to many particular ways He's loving me. I challenge you, as I am myself, to make a list of ways you see God working in your life. Then, be thankful. 

Out of thankfulness sprouts obedience. 

Hebrews 12:1-2 says "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses(examples of life lived in faith listed in ch 11, the pinnacle being Jesus), let us throw off the weight that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

In light of the life and example of Jesus, endure this race. Ditch the selfishness, it only tangles you up. Leave behind the cares of this world, they'll do you no good. Avoid cultivating a critical heart, it will mislead you. Instead, dwell on Christmas. Meditate on the miracle of God's rescue offered to mankind. Walk in obedience.

Jarrod's "YAY! I survived this semester" face

So yes, I am surrounded by a myriad of to-dos and clean-ups and the like..... but more importantly this Christmas, I'm surrounded by Christ. I pray you are too.

Merry Christmas,
-the Reeds

yes.... there are 10 ornaments on two branches...