The Fear of Forgetfulness 12/30/13

During this past Christmas season I found myself very distracted by the busyness of the world. Consequently, I felt panicked and depressed and joyless for much of this year's season. I would have told you that I was focusing on the Lord because I had enough "Spiritual activities" mixed in there to make me feel that way, but my overall demeanor and mood was truly reflecting what was going on in my heart. I had abandoned reading my Bible and praying for Christmas shopping and event planning. As a result, I was not focused on the Lord.

About two weeks ago, I knew this turmoil was going on inside me, and I called a good friend to ask her to pray for me about it. In the absence of reaching her in person, I left voicemail messages for her describing what was going on and asking for prayer. She responded in kind. My friend reminded me that my state before God was not dependent upon my actions. God had not changed. God was the same today as He was yesterday. My condition before Him was not then nor had it ever been dependent upon my actions. I stand in relationship with God because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for my sins. I am righteous before God because of His righteousness and not my own. She urged me to remember that and to read my Bible out of gratitude for that truth and not to miss the blessing of who God is by neglecting reading my Bible and praying to Him.

As I finished listening to my friend's messages, I was on my lunch break from work and had arrived at my destination. I hung up the phone and stepped out of the car. I was in the parking lot of a local grocery store. I immediately crossed paths with an elderly lady (approximately 80 yeas old) leaving the grocery store. She was being followed by a grocery store employee who was carrying her bags for her. Upon looking into this woman's eye's it was obvious what was happening at that moment. She didn't know where her car was parked. I spoke with her briefly as the grocery store attendant helped her hunt for her car. I assured her that forgetting where you parked your car happens to people all the time of varying age groups (myself in particular). But, I could see she wasn't comforted by my words because she had moved into feeling panicked. I could see the panic and fear in her eyes and it communicated much, much more than her words did. I could see all the lies and mixed messages that are in one's head when you give into the fear of forgetfulness. Irrational thoughts such as, "I will never find my car again." "I am doomed to live in this parking lot for the rest of my life." and "Everyone here knows where their car is, and everyone knows I forgot where mine is." I also saw real concerns in her eyes such as, "I can't believe I did that." "I have absolutely no recollection of where my car is parked, and I'm afraid."  and "Is this the beginning of losing my memory forever?"

After about 20 minutes passed and the pleasant elderly lady was reunited with her car and returned home, I was heading back to my car to return to work. As I did so, I realized that God had just given me a very real picture of what it looks like to forget what you know, to forget truth. The fear I saw in that woman's eyes was the fear and panic I was experiencing for the past several weeks. I was reminded of the many, many times God urges us in the Bible to "remember" ("write it down, tell it to your children, build an altar to remember what God has done for you, do not forget the LORD your God"). God knows we are a forgetful people. He knows the kind of fear that is produced by not remembering (and resting in) who He is.

I stared "the fear of forgetting" in the face that afternoon, and it was heartbreaking. Now, in the afterglow of once again remembering God's promises (and in gratitude for His faithfulness), I join with the psalmist and say,

"I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate."
Psalm 145:1-5

Merry Christmas 12/25/13

Merry Christmas from the Oseids!

May you know Christ and treasure Him as the greatest gift now and through the coming year. 

Cookie Baking Night 12/16/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. We made Christmas Cookies tonight: One-Eyed Susans and Sugar Cookies with cream cheese frosting.

We interrupted our regularly scheduled chapter from Sammy and His Shepherd this evening to read from the Bible. We read passages about the birth of Jesus. We read from Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-14. 

The children also helped me put a few ornaments on our Christmas tree (as Greg and I hadn't completed decorating it yet). 

Ethan (at 10) is already taller than I am, so he was able to put some ornaments near the top of the tree.

This year, I finally completed a project I've had in the back of my mind for several years. I made ornaments for the tree that have Bible verses about Jesus on them. The children (Ethan and Carissa) took turns reading the Bible verses aloud, and then they (Ethan, Carissa, and Alli) would hang the ornament on the tree. 

The verses are as follows: 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

 He was in the world, and the world did not know him. He came to his own people And his own people did not receive him. John 1:10-11 

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

 She will bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 

 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited us and redeemed His people and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his 

 servant David. Luke 1:68-69 

 But made himself nothing taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:7 

 And being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 

 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high Hebrews 1:3 

 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 

 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14 

 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25 

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

This was our last Cookie Baking Night for 2013. We'll resume in the new year. As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Niece and Nephew Christmas Party 2013

Today was our 10th annual Niece and Nephew Christmas Party. In attendance this year: Kylie (14), Emily (13), Ethan (10), Carissa (8), and Alli (3). In Minnesota, you never know what winter will bring. Last weekend we had no snow, and it was about 40 degrees. Today, however, on the ground was a foot of snow we had received earlier in the week, and the temperature was a balmy -1 degree F (at noon). The temperature gave us a few moments of pause as our planned activity was a hay/sleigh ride at a local park/stables facility, but being the hearty Minnesotans that we are, we told the children to bundle up, canceled the scheduled campfire for after the sleigh ride, and proceeded with our plans.

First, we party at the Oseid home. Every year we participate in a few traditional activities, one of them being decorating a gingerbread cookie. This year, we decorated a cookie in the shape of a house. As you can see from the pictures below, each person (from the youngest to the oldest) has their own decorating style and motives (frosting). Personalities really come out during the cookie decorating activity. That's my favorite thing about it.

Kylie and Emily

Uncle Greg

Ethan

Alli

Carissa

Aunt Katrina 

This year, our time was split up a bit. We started the party at our house, ate some lunch and decorated cookies. Then off we went to Bunker Park Stables for our sleigh ride. 

A surprising fact about Minnesota in the winter time is that we have a lot of sunshine. Often, the coldest days of the year are the sunniest days (another reminder of God's common grace to us all). Today was no exception to that rule. Several layers of clothing, a few toe warmers and hand warmers placed in our boots and mittens, and the sunshine made this event quite tolerable, dare I say, even enjoyable. 

We took a lot of pictures, and Greg even shot a few videos. 

It was Alli's first Niece and Nephew Christmas Party and her first hay ride. She liked jumping off the back and running back to the sleigh to hop on (much with uncle Greg's help, of course). 

Ethan's favorite activity was also jumping off the back of the sleigh and then jumping back on. I think he might have spent more time off the sleigh than on.

In this next video, I had no idea Greg was shooting it (I thought he was taking pictures). Part of the hay ride route is to stop half way on the trail and allow the families to climb up a large hill and slide or roll down it if they like. Kylie was preparing to run and slide down the hill, and I was trying to teach Alli how to roll down the hill. It makes for a pretty funny little video. 

When I originally scheduled the hay ride (three weeks ago), I was told it was a very busy day at the stables, and I could have one of two slots still available, so I chose 12:30. After the hay ride today, Greg asked if they had many cancellations today, and the reply was, "Yep. Everyone but your group." When I heard that it suddenly made sense why when I arrived at the office to make the payment arrangements for the ride, I was greeted with the words "Ahh, the hearty group has arrived." The park worker also told us we were the first sleigh ride of the season (they use wheeled wagons until there's enough snow for a sleigh), and we were the first group to take out this brand new sleigh--a banner day for sure. 

After the sleigh ride, we headed back to our house for a lively round of the dice game for small prizes (a favorite activity every year), some snacks, and hot apple cider or hot chocolate. 

We love our nieces and nephews, and we're ever so grateful God allows us the opportunity to spend time with them. As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Evangelism Musings/Black Friday 11/29/13

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. It's the day people all across America line up outside of stores in the wee hours of the morning in hopes of finding a good deal on a Christmas present. It's also the day my good friend, Kim, and I wake up in the wee hours of the morning with the intention of putting the gospel message of Jesus Christ into the hands of the masses.

Pictured above are the "packets" we prepared for the very occasion (the teenage girls from our church helped us prepare them a couple weeks ago). One of our young friends from church (who helped us prepare the packets), Emily, also joined us in distributing the message. It was a joy to have the extra hands with us this year. We moved through the crowd very quickly and managed to hand out 350+ packets in the matter of about 20 minutes.

Each packet contained:

• A gospel tract
• A Christmas message
• A granola bar

The Christmas message read like this: 

Christmas is the season of giving! 

Today, you stand in line waiting on the generosity of others. Today, we visit you because of the generosity of someone else. 

We celebrate Christmas because over 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ showed great generosity toward all mankind when He (God ) came to this earth and took on human form (became a man). It is a gift beyond comprehension. The Bible speaks of this gift in the book of Philippians. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-10. 

Christmas is the celebration of the day that Jesus came to earth and took on human form (was born as a baby). That thought alone is worth great consideration. 

Today, we want to give you a Christmas gift. The bag you received contains: 

• A treat (to enjoy while you’re out and about starting your Christmas shopping) 
• A gospel tract (our hope is that you will read the message in the tract and spend some time considering it 
   today).

 Merry Christmas and enjoy your day!

God has allowed us the opportunity to return to the same spot many times now, and we thank Him for it. This is one easy way to put the gospel in the hands of many people in a short amount of time, people who may never step foot in a church.

If you don't currently have a way you're spreading the gospel message (forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ) to a lost and dying world, consider doing something like this. I guarantee you can do it.

May God do a work in the hearts of those who received the gospel today, and may He receive all the glory and honor for it!

Cookie Baking Night 11/18/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening Emily, Alli, and Emily's friend, Julia. Tonight was Emily's birthday choice (she turns 13 at the end of this month). As is our Cookie Baking Night/Birthday Tradition, Emily got to pick the meal and the "cookie". For supper, she chose: Hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, honey BBQ chicken wings, and root beer floats. For her "cookie" she wanted to make chocolate mousse. 

We made the mousse from scratch, so there was chocolate melting to do. 

Egg whipping. 

And of course, decorating. We put the chocolate mousse in little chocolate cups and decorated them with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Alli was in charge of the chocolate shavings. 

As you can see, we ended up with some pretty fancy little mousse cups. 

When we weren't making mousse (which took up a big chunk of the evening), we were reading from "Sammy and His Shepherd (chapter 5) and watching a little "Finding Nemo" (Emily's birthday request). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Evangelism Musings 11/15/13

During the summer and through the end of the year, our church has been foregoing Sunday evening services about twice a month to participate in what we're calling community gatherings. The idea is to spend that Sunday afternoon/evening time gathering with other people from our church in smaller groups around some sort of activity (be it dinner or an outing at a park, etc.), something that allows for friendship with others and Spiritual growth. This past Sunday, my good friend, Kim, and I invited the teenage girls of our church over to my house for lunch and to help us with an evangelism project.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, then you know that Kim and I usually line up with the early birds on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) in the wee hours of the morning. The crowds are there in hopes of receiving a really good deal on a product. We're there to spread the gospel message. We usually make up bags containing a treat (granola bar of some sort), a message about the reason we celebrate Christmas, and a gospel tract. Kim and I usually procrastinate about preparing the bags ahead of time and then recruit our poor husbands in the 11th hour of Thanksgiving Day. This time, we thought ahead. Cue the teenage girls.

These lovely ladies (Michaela, Courtney, Emily, and Allie) helped us put together over 400 bags for the day after Thanksgiving event. 

When we finished that project (in record time, I might add), we moved on to making "Christmas Packs". Kim and I also make up several of these "Christmas Packs" during the holiday season and hand them out when we run errands between the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas day (feel free to borrow the idea). 

Each pack contains a few pieces of candy, a message about Christmas, and a gospel tract, all tied up with a bow. 

We encouraged each of the girls to take some of the packs with them and seek to hand them out over the Christmas season this year. Several girls took packs with them and a few expressed interest in joining us on the day after Thanksgiving to help us hand out the bags we put together. It was a well spent community gathering Sunday. It was fun to get to know the teenage girls of our church (not all in attendance here)  just a little bit better, to enjoy conversations around the gospel, and to sharpen each other in our witness for Jesus Christ in everyday life. (I would guess you could do the same thing with a teenager near you). 

P.S. The picture below is just for fun. Kim had attended a craft fair the day before, bought these knitted flower rings, and gave us each one. It added a little extra flare to our event. 

Traveling Musings 11/09/13

Two weeks ago today I was in Arizona over the weekend. It was an unplanned visit, and a wonderfully pleasant one. Greg was working in Arizona for a week. He left on Tuesday and called me Thursday afternoon at work. He said he was staying at a nice resort in Phoenix and asked if I would like to visit there for the weekend (hmmm, let me think about that for a minute, Yes! Yes, I would). In God's providence, the weekend plans and upcoming work schedule were such that I was able to get away without being missed too much. So, Friday after work, I hopped a plane to Phoenix and returned on Tuesday morning (on the same flight as Greg). Greg was there working audio/visual production for the Arizona Jazz Festival. These out of state shows are often long hours and hard work, this one not being an exception to that rule. Greg thought it would be a good time for me to visit, though, because I could spend time within the resort and I have a step-sister in Phoenix as well (henceforth called my sister--"step" is the appropriate word to describe the mechanics of the situation but not nearly appropriate enough to describe the relationship). 

One morning, Greg spent some time showing me around his work area. I always enjoy seeing the area where he works and getting a better understanding of what he does on these big shows. 

Greg worked early morning on Friday until very late that night. I had several hours to kill before I met my sister and family for supper that evening and a rental car at my disposal, so I took a little day trip (about two hours from Phoenix) to Sedona, home of the red rock mountains. It was a lovely time (beautiful drive too). 

I had several occasions to see my sister Elan and family (every day actually). It was a surprise visit for them as well, but they incorporated me into their weekend like I lived in the area and they were expecting me. It was so good to see them. It's been far too long. Pictured above is my sister Elan, niece Julia (16), nephew Sean (14), and brother-in-law Tom. 

Pictured above is the venue where the Jazz Festival took place on day two of the event. Pictured below is the venue the day after the event ended (Greg and his boss, Dale, taking down equipment and loading the semi truck headed back to Minnesota). 

My husband works so very hard to support his family, and I'm grateful God allowed me the opportunity to see so many aspects of an out-of-town show on this trip. It increased my gratitude (and respect) for the husband God has given me. 

Well, I never actually spent any time at the resort other than sleeping, but I spent a lot of time with Elan and family, some time sightseeing on my own, and the rest of the time with Greg. A worthwhile trip, indeed, and I thank the Lord for it. 

Cookie Baking Night 11/04/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. Tonight we made turkey cookies (sugar cookies in the shape of turkeys). A lot of ingredients, a lot of work, and a lot of time go into this cookie (and we didn't even bake it tonight, I pre-baked them), but the end product is pretty cute.

Usually, we do our cookie baking projects in the kitchen, but since this was mostly decorating, and we needed to spread out a bit, we moved to the dining room tonight. To make the "turkey cookie" you'll need: flower-shaped sugar cookies, large peanut butter cups, small peanut butter cups, buttercream frosting in yellow, red, and orange, brown decorating frosting for the feet and to "glue" on the smaller pieces, candy eyes, candy corn, and small pieces of red licorice. (see picture below for how that all fits together on the cookie).

The decorating 

The tasting

The final product

We also read from our current devotional book Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. This week we read chapter 4 "He Restores My Soul". I think this week the children were finally getting the connection between Psalm 23 and and the word pictures presented in this book. After I read the chapter, I read Psalm 23 again, and I could see comprehension in their eyes. 

The older children have struggled a bit with this book because it has talking sheep in it. They've had a hard time taking it seriously (and, really, it is for younger children but I switched to it so we would have something that Alli could connect with a little more), but as we get deeper into the story and they connect the word illustrations of the sheep and the shepherd with Psalm 23, I see them getting the bigger picture. The questions at the end of each chapter are also a huge help in tying the lesson together (without the questions, I would totally lose the interest of the older children). Even with its challenges in this particular setting, this is a worthwhile book to read, and I highly recommend it. 

Cookie Baking Night was also filled with board games, books of the Bible memorization game, and lots of and lots of talking (and laughing), and many spiritual lessons along the way (for both the young and the old). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.

A Weekend With A Niece

Since tonight is an off-night for Cookie Baking Night, I thought it would be a good time to share some pictures from a few weeks ago when my niece, Emily, spent the weekend at our house. 

We busied ourselves with a few projects over our time together. We made Sesame Street Cookies (Elmo and Cookie Monster--only Sesame Street cookie cutters I could find). 

Emily also helped me fill treat bags for Halloween. Halloween is one of the best times of the year to hand out gospel tracts. I used to try to grab some candy and then grab a gospel tract as trick-o-treaters come to the door, but I've found it's easier to have it all in one bag and hand it out that way. (Because I think everything's cuter with a sticker on it, I like to put stickers on the outside of the bags. Emily says "stickers are entirely unnecessary--the kid's are after candy" but she humored me anyway).

I think the cookies turned out pretty cute!

P.S. This is where I will put in a plug for spending time with the adolescents in your life. That 12, 13, 14 year old stage can be a tricky one. Best not to waste an opportunity to find out what they're thinking as well as opportunities to share the gospel message (the good news of Jesus Christ) through the course of everyday life. So, get out there, grab the nearest 12-year-old you know (gently and with permission, of course) and bake some cookies! (or whatever it is you do in your little corner of the world). 

Cookie Baking Night 10/21/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. When we were setting up all the cookies we would make in 2013, it was decided that we couldn't skip over Pumpkin Patch Brownies in October because, as the kids told me, it's a tradition. So, tonight was the night we made Pumpkin Patch Brownies.

First, we made the brownies. 

Then we frosted the brownies and added the candy pumpkins 

Then we added the the green-frosting vines. (We always get a little vine happy, also a tradition). 

The finished product: Pumpkin Patch Brownies

Tonight we continued with our cup game that we've used to learn the books of the Bible. I called out the names of the books. Ethan and Carissa found the corresponding cup w/book title. 

And Alli ran across the room to line the cups up next to the fireplace. (A little something for everyone). 

We also read chapter 3 from Sammy and His Shepherd titled, "He Leads Me Beside Still Waters". This little book does a great job of expounding on the truths of Psalm 23. I highly recommend it. 

We ended the evening with a rousing game of Sequence for Kids. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.