Hobb(it)s bound for Mexico!

I'm re-posting a letter I recently shared on facebook (for those of you not part of the world of fb).

Friends and family,
We're excited! Jesus is inviting us to join Him in a ministry to orphans, as well as humanitarian outreach to squatters living near the orphanage. We'll also be doing some construction on a building on the orphanage grounds.

Daniel and I have been privileged to be involved in God's work around the world at various times in our lives, both as singles and as a couple. This however is the first time God has flung open the doors to our whole family. Being the third-culture-kid I am, I've longed for years to introduce our children to another culture (outside the various cultures we've enjoyed here in the U.S.). It seems that now is the time!

We'd love to invite you to join with us in prayer and financial needs as God prompts you. We have no doubt that what God orders, He also pays for.

Pray for God to bring together the entire team of people who need to be part of this endeavor.

Ask God to bring together the prayer support we'll need before, during and after the trip.

And if God asks you to give, well, give and rejoice! :o)

My passport needs to be renewed and the children all need passports. Tack that cost onto the cost of the trip itself and we're looking at $5150. If you want to give and need a tax deductible receipt you can make your check out to Palmyra United Zion Church.

Otherwise, you can send checks to Daniel Hobbs.

Checks can be mailed to Daniel and Carol Hobbs. (Call me if you need an address!)

We'll try to keep notes coming to let you know the status of the trip as God brings the team together.

Thanks for sharing in our joy!! Blessings, Carol-- for the rest of the Hobb(it)s

drops of faith

It’s Sunday morning. A cold, snow blanketed, church-has-been-cancelled Sunday morning. And I’m distracted by God’s Word. Again.

The last week has been a struggle.

Chronic pain is miserable, but when the chronic suddenly gets worse, the miserable gets worse too. I’ve had shoulder pain for nearly 9 years. Reaching into the back seat of our mini-van to help two toddlers during a pregnancy caused the initial strain. Then I developed calcific tendonitis. I’ve had a cortisone shot in that shoulder and weeks of physical therapy. The pain diminished for a time, but then returned. Not a permanent solution. Now it’s moved to a frozen shoulder.

Pain does something to me. And let me just say here that I’m always a little afraid that I’m being wimpy and whining about nothing. But during a massage earlier in the week, the massage therapist said, “Doesn’t that hurt???” “No. Keep going.” She remarked that I have a very high pain tolerance. And that’s coming from someone who causes pain on a regular basis. :o)

Back to the pain doing something. . . I’m finding that it’s causing me to have a deeper compassion. I’m loving my children more. I’m caring on a different level.

Another thing I always think about is: What will happen to my faith?

When I was in my late teens I had a severe trial of faith. And when I reflect on it nearly 20 years later (no, I’m not 40 yet, although my hair might cause anyone to question that statement), I wonder if I even passed that test. I was angry at God. It seemed He’d abandoned me. Through the passing of time God has brought healing to my heart and helped me to understand His presence. But it seems every time I walk to the brink of a new chasm of difficulty I wonder if I’ll pass the new test. Will I have the faith to trust that God will carry me over the chasm? Might He build a bridge for me? Will He part the rushing waters? Perhaps an eagle to ferry me across? And, if this is the “valley of the shadow of death” and I must pass through it, will He be there with me?

So often as I stand at the chasm of the latest difficulty, the demons of doubt and despair and mistrust and fear rush up behind me threatening to drive me over the edge. I doubt the greatness of His love and wonder if He’ll even care enough to show up and rescue me.

Standing at this chasm of pain God’s word to me has been “wait.” I don’t know yet what His healing will look like for me. I don’t know when it will come. But somehow at this chasm He’s given me faith to know that He is listening to my pleas for help. He sees the tears I cry. And He’s giving me endurance.

Today I’m made aware of the fact that faith doesn’t often show up in great ocean waves. It’s more like the drip of a leaky faucet. One drop at a time. A little here. A little there. Just when I need it to keep me moving forward.

Nope. My pain is not gone. I’m learning from it. I want to embrace it and be able to articulate the lessons to my children. My amazing husband has been so loving and helpful and caring during this season of pain. The children have been helping with everything from cleaning to meals to helping me comb my hair (something that is currently impossible). I think perhaps they’ll learn a new measure of compassion and care as well.

So, when I think I can’t handle another second of pain God lets loose another drop of faith. And grace.

And I’m humbled to recognize that I can’t even have faith on my own. Everything comes from Him.

Even my drops of faith.

So, do you want to know what distracted me? Check this out from the Message: Psalm 20.

"God answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.
When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!
That clinches it—help’s coming,
an answer’s on the way,
everything’s going to work out.
See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we’re making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
Make the king a winner, God;
the day we call, give us your answer.

May God shower you today with extra large drops of faith. . .

pure Canadian humor. . .

I have no idea who gets the credit for this movie clip. If I did, I would mention their names. And then proceed to tell you how crazy I really think they are.

Papa Hobb(it) laughed until he nearly cried. And he's not even Canadian.

Enjoy.

How can God do that?

It’s happened again. Here I am. I’m supposed to be studying for a Sunday School lesson. No, I’m not the one teaching, but I like to stay caught up on the reading and know what’s going on. I like to be a student who is informed.

But I get distracted. Easily. I adore Quickverse on my mac. Strong’s Concordance is at my fingertips. As well as Thayer’s Greek dictionary. I can check words and their meanings. I can dig deeper.

And so often the Spirit Himself shows up. Today I’m in Acts 24:49. Checking the words “promise” and “send.” And then I checked “Father.” A pretty ordinary word, father. Pater it is in Greek. Could be anybody’s dad.

But this time it’s not just anybody’s dad. It’s Father. My Father.

Here’s what Thayer had to say: of Christians, as those who through Christ have been exalted to a specially close and intimate relationship with God, and who no longer dread him as a stern judge of sinners, but revere him as their reconciled and loving Father.

*sigh*

But the part that really caught my eye and led me on this “chase” in the first place was this: the Father of Jesus Christ, as one whom God has united to himself in the closest bond of love and intimacy, made acquainted with his purposes, appointed to explain and carry out among men the plan of salvation, and made to share also in his own divine nature.

“Made to share in his own divine nature?” Really? Of course it’s talking about Jesus sharing in the “divine nature” of God the Father. But we are “heirs with Christ?” Right?

So then I had to check “divine nature.” Obviously “divine nature” was used in a definition and not as a Greek word. But I knew I remembered that phrase from somewhere in the Scripture.

The chase is on.

Up popped II Peter 1:3-4. Check this out.

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Whoa. Seriously?? A partaker of the “divine nature?” Me?!

Then my brain remembered that I am made in the image of God. And that Jesus really is my brother. And that one day I will rule and reign with Him. And that this is not Home. Home, my real Home, comes later. This is just earth.

So often I forget that I’m part of a much larger Story. I forget that I may “become (a) partaker of the divine nature.”

Especially on those days when school goes extra long with the kids. Or I put a zipper in a dress and it’s wrong. Twice. Or when the sweet potatoes I toiled over in the garden rot for no apparent reason. Or when I look around at a dirty house and wish I had time to clean. Or when there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Or when I’m grumpy, the kids are grumpy and Papa is not here to straighten us all out.

Or even when I can’t figure out what God’s up to. The story isn’t turning out like I thought it would. I was sure God was doing something else. But here I am. To me it looks like God skipped a chapter. But He didn’t. Because really, it’s not my story at all. I’m only part of Hi(s)tory. And somehow in the middle of all this, He thinks it’s ok for me to have His “divine nature.”

How can God do that??

Just because He is. Or rather “I AM.”

It’s not your story. It’s Hi(s)tory. And He’s offering His “divine nature”, if you’re interested.

Do you ever get distracted while reading Scripture?

about girls

It's been so long since I've posted pictures that I forgot how irritating it is that blogger uploads the pictures in exactly the opposite order in which you select them. Nuts. I could complain loudly, but I really don't think anyone would listen.

Our girl's tea time has been seriously falling by the wayside. Daughter 1 wrote me a very sweet note asking if we could have tea again soon. One night while Papa Hobbit was at EMT class, and two smallish Hobbit boys were too tired to stay awake, we girls had tea.

the spread :o)

As you can see, the girls were already in their PJs, so the affair wasn't a particularly elegant one as far as clothing goes, but I'd baked some special bread, and we lit as many candles as we could find so we could turn the lights off and it all came off wonderfully. They love the attention and the chance to just talk girl talk. I usually have a little bit to share (I've been using the study guide for "The princess and the kiss") and then they ask questions and we pray together.

One of the great events of the summer was the baptism of daughter 1 and daughter 2. They were so very excited! Papa Hobbit enjoyed the privilege explaining the whys and wherefores of baptism as their papa and also as their pastor. We've been watching them grow in their maturity as followers of Jesus and are excited to answer questions as they explore the Scriptures for themselves.

And so ends this little post. . . about girls. Hopefully back sooner rather than later.

about longings

Sometimes someone else just says it better. That's all there is to it. I could have tried to say the very same thing, but wouldn't have communicated it very well.

Check out Carlee's latest blog post about "Longings" here.

about brownies

It was a great weekend. We spent Saturday night at camp with friends from church. Saturday night supper was a healthful diet of fire roasted hot dogs on white buns with plenty of ketchup and mustard, potato chips, green pepper slices (I tried. Really, I did.), and the famous smores’. Oh, and pink lemonade to drink. Very healthful.

Then today our congregation gathered at camp for our morning worship service followed by a fantastic BBQ chicken dinner with yummy side dishes. Everyone brought desserts to share. Eldest daughter made brownies. Mmm. Again, very healthful. Butter and sugar are good for you, right? And vanilla? Eggs? Flour? Cocoa?

So today upon returning home I surveyed the remaining six brownies left in the pan. Yes, I’m with you. I’m surprised there were ANY left. But there were. Someone was thinking healthful thoughts and passed by the brownies. Those must have been the people who decided instead on apple pie or the lovely cherry cheesecake or the rice crispy squares surrounding the brownies.

What to do with the brownies? I had to find a home for them. Ah! There were some chocolate chip bars left from the other day! I’ll just add them to that container. I pop open the Tupperware and here is what I find:


Hmmm. Wonder who took the last one. Wonder who took the last one and didn’t bother to add the Tupperware to the stack of things-to-wash.

Seems that food just doesn’t hang around this house very long these days.

And here’s hoping that my great friend Jo, over at Jo’s Kitchen Table, has some really great hints on healthful eating. I’m counting on you girlfriend!!


Parting shots:

The boys LOVE to hang out with the cows. One day last week I looked out my kitchen window and saw eldest son lying there just looking at the cows. He said the pavement was warm (it was a chilly day).

p.s. post about girls coming soon!