Friday, June 29, 2012
Today, I got a word of
encouragement from my younger sister. It was very kind and resonated with
something I’ve learned this past week in my study of Romans 4. In chapter 4
alone, the phrase “credited as righteousness” is used 11 times! As I studied
the greek word for credited, logizomai, I realized it essentially mean the God
puts righteousness in my account that I will have to settle up with him on my
day of judgment. Now, I don’t deserve righteousness, but condemnation. But righteousness
is instead imputed to me in a substitutionary manner because what I do deserve
(eternal death) was placed on Christ. I feel undeserving, guilty. But Zodhiates
says, “the imputation of righteousness whose correlative is freedom from
guilt.” Ah, yes, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.” Right after Paul’s first introduction of crediting
righteousness to my account, he quotes Psalm 32:1-2, saying those who receive
this crediting are blessed, this crediting is a blessing. But digging into the
greek for blessing, makarios, I find that means marked by the fullness from God. It means you’ve found
satisfaction from God, not favorable circumstance. So when I read, “I pray that
your family will be blessed in all you say and do,” and I know that as an
American society really, what more blessing could we ask for, I think, I don’t need to be blessed, I need to
realized that I am blessed. Lord, forgive me for finding my satisfaction in
favorable circumstances instead of from You.
1. Sun
Tea
2. Sitting
on the engineer’s lap in his “office”
3. Going
to Target field with the engineer
4. Seats
in the shade
5. Kettle
corn
6. Little
old Farmington
7. Collecting
cups from sporting events
8. Not
getting hit by the train or the car
9. Laughing
about it later
10. Ending
the date perfectly
11. Sleeping
with the sheet on because its cool enough
12. The
calculating one calling me to tell me about her day at grandmas
13. Opportunity
to have Sechler cousins overnight
14. Plans
that give Micah a hope and a future
15. Seeing
spiritual growth in the calculating one
16. Guarding
my time in the morning with God
17. Having
my girls home again
18. Swapping
Caleb for Braelyn
19. Having
to drive two vehicles because we have too many kids
20. Grandpa
Great coming to the party
21. Dar
driving him
22. The
engineer praying before dinner
23. Bean
Salsa getting 5 Stars
24. Providing
a meal for our family
25. Birthday
ice cream jello-cake in the shape of a butterfly
26. The
calculating one’s new hat and sunglasses
27. The
engineer being okay with 6 little girls in his house
28. Getting
more solar lights for the flower bed
29. Four
cousins on one air matress
30. Four
cousins in the hot tub
31. Having
a hot shower after 6 baths
32. Perfect
weather for slip & slide
33. Mom
& Dad helping with errands for the party
34. Watering
the garden
35. Carter’s
seal stunt that inspired everyone to try it
36. Saving
the cucumber plant
37. Carter
& Daniel surfing down the slip & slide
38. Watching
the dads do slip & slide
39. The
engineer burning his back because he did more sliding than he thought
40. Having
a campfire because the girls cousins got to stay
41. Watching
them roast marshmallows & eat s’mores & s’moreos
42. Timing
Braelyn while she burned her mallows
43. Cowboy
gulf with the engineer, the compassionate one and Braelyn
44. Crush,
Mountain Dew, sunglasses & four cousins posing for a picture
45. Email
from Ashley
46. Grandpa
stopping to see Micah
47. Listening
to the cousins play
48. Canny
bucks for bringing friends
49. NOT
vacuuming before the party
50. Working
WITH the engineer
51. Slippers
on in summer
52. Bakery
buns
53. Free
coupons at McDonalds
54. “Take
all the time you need”
55. Rebekah
sitting next to me in the chair
56. Hanging
out with the big 4 in the sunroom
57. Taking
six kids to the lake
58. Being
with the VanKlei ladies
59. Cousins
getting the golden heads out of comfort zone on the tubes
60. Pizza
& movie party starting at 9:30pm
61. Traci
calling me
62. Family
night board game & movie
63. Water
balloons with or without water
64. Traci
sharing Isaiah 26:3
65. “Normal”
routine
66. Where
you are…there you are
67. Visit
with Heather
68. The
Oasis
69. Humid,
hot growing weather
70. Being
an hour from Rochester
71. Micah’s
smiles
72. Bringing
the Sechler three Italian
73. The
golden heads being patient and not whining at the hospital
74. Knowing
we can bring more goodies to them
75. Texting
with mom
76. Jessica
keeping the other Sechler three
77. Quiet
4th of July
78. Ginger
Pye with the big girls
79. Meat
thermometer
80. Night
to myself
81. Coffee
ice cream with oreos
82. Able
to run 4-miles
83. Cold
shower to cool my body
84. Clothes
wet from sweat
85. Ability
to memorize
86. Golden
heads giving each other pedicures
87. Cool
down in forecast
88. Clouds
to block sun’s intensity
89. Cooler
temps for Celebrate Freedom
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