TreasuresInTerraCotta

There are a number of things of which "Only in Arizona" can be said. -Wearing flip flops in January -The car thermometer reading 112 degrees -Wearing shorts to decorate the Christmas tree -Correctly pronouncing Tucson, Ajo, Calle, San Xavier and Fort Huachuca The list could go on and on, but this week I found something new in the grocery store that may be "Only in Arizona." Pi ñata Apples! Pi ñata Apples? Really? I was compelled to buy a few. I rationalized that I was taking them to my Grandma's house and was hoping to ask my farmer uncle if he had ever heard of them. But he wasn't around, so maybe I'll never know. They didn't seem very promising based on the texture of their skin (kinda rough and wrinkely, like an apple past its prime) and based on the feel of the knife cutting through the apple (kinda soft and spongy, like a potato past it's prime). But I sliced them up and we all gobbled them down. I found them to be crisp with a mild a...

I did this same study of Ruth last summer. I joined an on-line discussion group with women from around the world in an attempt to avoid spending a whole summer without Bible study. It should be no surprise that less than a year later this study is hitting me differently. Last summer, I remember being really touched by the concept of hesed kindness. This week as we read Ruth 2: 10-23, however, I have been pondering the double edged blessing of how "God provides us with the gift of work yet still invites us to do the work" (Day 4, p79) Maybe my vantage point has changed since I am now a homeschooling mom or maybe the view is different because of expecting a third boy or just maybe the dog hair is finally getting to me. But this concept of work seems so pertinent, especially since I can not quickly and easily define my "work" as a "career" or "job." How can I be a more diligent worker? And how can I more purposefully rest? I feel like I need...

When I became a stay-at-home mom I knew that "family" would be my priority. That is, after all, why I stay at home. I easily recognized that my kids and my husband were my primary focus and I firmly believe that they are my most important investment. As we've been studying Ruth I've been reminded of the agrarian cycle of sowing and reaping. There are times for both and both are necessary. At this point in family life I think we are primarily sowing, especially into the lives of our kids, but I have to admit that there is a lot of simultaneous reaping. What I did not fully realize five years ago was that extended family would also be a significant priority undre the header of "Family." Number "1 b)", if you will. These are the relationships that get neglected when life is crowded with work and sports and church and clubs and busyness. Grandparents, in-laws, cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles and all the "greats". Honestly, these...

Our reading and homework this week left me with a physical sensation. A mental image. A progression of postures, if you will. We started in Ruth 1:19-21 where, in my mind's eye, I saw Naomi standing boldly and shaking her fist in the air saying, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" I would love to know how you feel about Naomi's raw emotion and her accusations directed toward God. What do you think we can learn from her passionate expression? Do her words make you as uncomfortable as they do me? And why do you think that is? Then over the course of the week I felt the push-and-pull of opposing feelings and ideas. - "there's no place like home" versus arriving home bitter and empty - praying expectantly and sowing with tears - chuckling at...

My boys were playing air guitar at the dinner table last night. Chris Tomlin was on the radio singing " I Will Follow ." The lyrics say: Where You go, I'll go Where You stay, I'll stay Where You move, I'll move I will follow You Earlier in the day I had finished Session 1, Day 5 where we were introduced to Ruth as she says, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Of all the verses in Ruth, these are probably the most well known and perhaps the most beloved. They may be words you have memorized or maybe you've heard them read at a wedding. Even at our dinner table I told my boys, "Those words are from the Bible. I was just reading them today during my Bible study."...

The Thursday Bible Study group that meets in person will begin meeting tomorrow, January 6. We'll spend some time catching up, eating, praying, getting to know some new faces, passing out the Ruth workbooks and having an all-around good time. If you are joining us electronically please let us know who you are. We will all be getting to know one another over the next few weeks and months. And I can't wait to get to know Ruth and her God better as well. Yes, it involves some work but I am becoming increasingly convinced that big results require more than meager investments. I loved this phrase in the workbook introduction: [Ruth] is godliness with its sleeves rolled up... Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work? Update Homework this week; for discussion next Thrusday: Session/week 1, Day 1-5