We are hosting a fundraiser to help get us to the National Bible Bee Competition in November, held in Sandusky, Ohio. Amelia & Ephraim competed in our local Bible Bee competition this summer and qualified for Nationals. There are three divisions (Primary, Junior and Senior) and only the top 120 contestants from each division around the nation are invited to go to Nationals, so we are very honored that they are going and they have worked hard—and continue to do so!

For this fundraiser we are hosting a FINAL Cards for a Cause Fundraiser—final because they are discontinuing this opportunity at the end of the month! 

Available are two collections of 30 beautiful, hand-crafted cards each, and one collection with 50 beautiful holiday cards. All the cards also come in a cute organizing box to keep them neat and tidy! These boxes of cards would not only be great for personal use, but also as gifts (especially for Christmas—it's coming...faster than we think!!) :)

The cost is $30 per box (that is just a $1/card). The general pricing for cards nowadays is $3-$5 and sometimes up to $10—crazy, huh? With tax the total is $32.07 per box. This makes it a fantastic deal.

Even better is that we will receive 43% of the profit from these boxes of cards!

We will be taking orders now through September 25th—but don't delay, as certain varieties of cards are in limited quantities! 

Interested in helping out and getting some great greeting cards? Simply click the button below or this link to fill out the form. 

If you would like them shipped directly to you, there is that option with an additional charge to cover that. 
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​Have any questions? Let me know! 
~paisley for all the Boones 

When we heard this song last year at the Sing! Conference in September, it instantly became an anthem for our family and a reminder of who God is and what He will and can do in our lives if we will let Him. Singing and listening to it now, I am overwhelmed to realize just how faithful He has been in these past 10 months. 

God has laid on our hearts for many years a desire to help and serve those in need, especially in areas where care is most needed. Being a family of seven, it can be difficult to find inexpensive housing on the road to help others when traveling, so God gave the vision to have a self-contained motor home where we could all live and minister from. 


Seeing that God was bringing us to a place where this could be a possibility for our family, and a need due to health constraints, we began praying earnestly in October that the Lord would provide a “MV” (Ministry Vehicle) for us that had enough space to fit all seven of us. In December we began also asking that it would come before the next Sing! Conference. 


By January the search began in earnest. Looking for listings online that would fit our parameters, then going and looking at ones we thought might be a possibility. Some it was obvious when we saw it that it wasn’t for us, others fell through, and another that we thought was a good purchase was sold to another. Miles were driven, states were crossed, but even in these disappointments God was leading, encouraging my heart with a gentle, “Not yet. Wait, and soon I will bring you one that is near you.” 

A question that I commonly deal with is who I am. So often I define myself by what happens to me, or what I do. Is that really who I am? 

If we place our identity in the things of this world, we are letting ourselves rest on a slippery foundation of sand. Why? Because our circumstances will change, and everything in this world will eventually pass away. Instead of trusting and defining ourselves by these things, if we define ourselves by who we are in God and what He calls us, we will have a firm foundation to stand upon no matter the storms that assail us. 

Instead of focusing on my illness, I remember that God has made me exactly the way He wants me to be. (Psalm 139) 
Instead of viewing myself as unlovable, God sees me as beautiful and lovely, made in His image. (Genesis 1:26) 
Instead of feeling vulnerable and alone, God watches over me and never leaves me. (Proverbs 15:3, Deuteronomy 31:6) 
Instead of focusing on my weakness and fear, God promises His strength. (Isaiah 41:10) 
Instead of feeling worthless, God views me as so valuable that He died to rescue me! (John 3:16) 

As Kristyn Getty puts it in the lyrics of the song “Christ is All in All,” 
“See how He loves us
Children of God
Now let us love each other
If He has called us
Children of God
That’s who we are, His chosen and beloved”

That’s who you are, His chosen and beloved. 

~paisley 

This was originally published as a guest post on Katerina's blog, www.beautyinthepainblog.com. 

~~~~~~

Suffering. What do you think of when you hear that word? Some words that come to mind include pain, hardship, sorrow, and rejection. If these are what characterize suffering, how can we have joy during the Christmas season, or any time of the year? 


Do we have our definition of joy wrong? For myself, I often find myself confusing happiness with joy, but for the follower of Christ we are commanded to "Rejoice always" (1 Thessalonians 5:16). How can we rejoice when we are suffering? 


The answer lies in the events of Christmas. The reason Jesus came to earth as a baby on Christmas was to die in our place, to cleanse us from our sins, so that one day we can live with God forever in a place with no pain, suffering, or sorrow anymore! As Revelation 21:4 beautifully states: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 


This is the reason that we can have joy, no matter the circumstances, because we can trust in a God who has redeemed us and promised us that one day all things will be made right. This is the hope I cling to in the midst of my own suffering and sorrows, so that I can "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." (Philippians 4:4) 


Here is a song that I have been meditating on for the past few months and has been a comfort in reminding me that the Lord cares for His children. 

~paisley 

(All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version)

Decades ago when I was just a teenager, a friend asserted disparagingly that Christianity was only a crutch. At the time, I wasn’t sure how to respond. Now that decades have passed and days upon days of joy and sorrow, difficulties and opportunities have come and gone, I have a greater grasp on how to answer such an assertion. 


Following Jesus assures a person that they will experience trouble and hardship, persecution and pain. In John 16, Jesus spends time teaching His disciples about the troubles to come as well as comforting them, “”I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” (John 16:33 ESV) Not only has Jesus overcome the world, but He invites those who follow Him to exchange our burden for His. Perhaps we might imagine that the burden of the King of Kings is too much for us to bear. Many things in the Lord’s eyes different from our presuppositions, this is no exception. In Matthew 11, Jesus Himself explains, “”Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)


“Come,” is a theme throughout scripture. Often it references the thirsty coming to God for living water. All humans have thirsted like the Samaritan woman at the well recorded in John 4. She thirsted for water so she went to the town well. She also desired peace, so she went at the hottest part of the day when she knew she would be alone from judgmental eyes. There were things about her life that were shameful and she didn’t want that kind of attention. That day she met Jesus. He knew everything about her and wanted to save her from her sinful life. He desired to give her such water that would cleanse and quench her thirst. She wouldn’t need to continue running to man after man in an attempt to fulfill her deepest longings. Finally, she would follow Jesus and her heart would find rest from her burden of sin. Would all her other troubles melt away? No. Jesus told those who followed Him that they would have trouble! The world would hate them (even as it hated Jesus). There would be trials. Charles Spurgeon stated it well, “From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory, the language of Christ to you will be, "Come, come unto me." As a mother puts out her finger to her little child and woos it to walk by saying, "Come," even so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall hear his animating voice calling you after him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, his sweet words with which he shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be—"Come, ye blessed of my Father."


So, is Christianity a crutch? If a crutch is something a person needs when they are weak and injured or in trouble, then in a way, yes. No one ever disparaged little Tiny Tim in Dickens’ Christmas Carol from needing a crutch or even catching a ride on his father’s back.  We need help through this thing called life.  Christianity is the name given by humans for a religion that follows Christ. Those who follow Jesus could be called Christians, but we have a relationship—not a mindless one-sided meaningless interaction.  This relationship with the Creator of the universe, Who was born as a baby, lived as a perfect man, sacrificed Himself for our sins and rose from the dead is vital! Now His Spirit lives in us and gives us peace and hope.  In spite of the troubles I face, I can certainly take heart because Jesus is with me!

Do they make marathon courses with a massive hill at the end? Not being a runner, I had no idea. So, I did a tiny bit of research on the friendly internet and found that indeed, there are flat marathon courses as well as those considered hilly. Many runners actually flock to the easier courses to qualify for a more difficult race where they desire to compete. I landed upon on an informative article written by a professional trainer who helps runners prepare for races. She uses the example of a runner who excels at the hilly races, but needed some refining as he prepared for a 56 mile race full of 5-6% inclines. Her number one rule to remember was it’s about “effort, not pace.”  Trainer Jenny Hadfield writes, “There are many benefits to running by effort, but during a hilly race, the value is in having a strategy that allows you to efficiently manage your energy no matter the grade of the hill, the temperature, the wind, and any other variable.”


It took me a bit to digest and understand what she meant. How that plays out for a runner is that he (or she) is always putting forth effort, but the pace doesn’t remain consistently the same. The trainee “walked many of the steep uphill sections to keep his effort at a relatively steady, easy level for the entire marathon. This takes patience and faith in the strategy, but it pays off.”
(https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20803506/the-best-way-to-run-and-race-hills/)


This season of our lives as a family has felt like a marathon. A hilly marathon full of ups and downs. Tremendous struggles and overwhelming blessings.  Laughter and smiles and heartache and tears. Prayers of anguish and confusion intermingled with prayers of praise and thanksgiving. 


This week as I pondered yet another project to cleanse our house of mold, I felt like we were so close to the end but here we were climbing another hill. I realized that I was trying to sprint up the hill, but lacking the mental, emotional or physical energy I could.not.go.another.step. I thought crazy thoughts like: “my family would be better off without me”, “I’m just causing more trouble for so many people”, “I think maybe I’m crazy!” and other ridiculous thoughts that I know aren’t true. I prayed, knowing the lies that were circulating in my head and camped on what I know to be true. God has a plan. Part of His plan is to continually teach me to deny my own strength (because He brings me to a place where it’s obvious even to my thick head) and to teach our family. If His plans are perfect, I don’t want to miss the rest of this lesson. No matter how complicated it may be or how inadequate I have to admit that I am! There’s a mile marker here at this point in the marathon. I don’t know the number because it’s kinda fuzzy, but the name of this course is named after the author of it—“Faithful and True.”  Revelation 19:11 says, “ After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse [appeared]! The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True....”




I don’t want to run any other race but this one!  It’s Jesus’ Way, Whom I love and can trust. Why would I want to veer off course or question His path for me when He has been so loyal and steady thus far? Whether I enjoy the hills or not, His route is purposed for my good, not my comfort. A runner doesn’t train to win greater races by running only running flat tracks at sea level. Flagstaff, Arizona at 7,000 ft has seen plenty of international athletes who train here because of the terrain and altitude. I suppose I am spiritually training at high altitude! Uncomfortable? Yes. Worthwhile? Yes. This Faithful and True Course is a testimony to my Trainer. I’m overwhelmed by His goodness and consistent presence. Exodus 33:14 reminds me that He has promised me that He will go with me AND give me rest.  He’s also given me 6 amazing teammates in my household and plenty of folks to encourage Team Boone along this path.

This Memorial Day, as usual, I see much making of and thankfulness towards the men and women who have served and do serve in the cause of freedom for our great country. I also am extremely grateful for their service and what it means for me on a practical basis of living life. I think of the memorials our family visited last fall in Washington D.C. and how impressive they were in thanking these men and women and countries that came together for the cause of freedom. Ultimately though I wonder if in our spirit of patriotism we forget the real reason that we are free and the true freedom that we can have. 


Firstly, God brought the first explorers from Europe to what became the United States centuries ago--they literally stumbled upon a land they didn't know existed. It seems they had a desire to find wealth and riches for their purses, but He had something greater in mind. Less than two centuries later, God-fearing people ventured across the Atlantic Ocean to seek freedom in worship and the blessing they believed God had for them in America. Through much trouble and tribulation, ultimately that freedom of religion was realized--and 400 years after the Mayflower landed in America, we know what religious freedom is (and what it looks like to have it threatened). 


But what is true freedom? Is it the ability to worship as we desire? There are countries all over the world where governments feel threatened by religious people and lock them up or kill them for their faith in one god or another.  Are those people experiencing true freedom? The early Christians in the first century AD faced great hatred and persecution by the religious Jews of the time and later by the Roman government. Ultimately, Christians have faced persecution throughout the centuries following Christ's death and resurrection around 30 AD.  If we go by the ability to worship as we please as the standard for freedom, then Christians would not as a general group have experienced freedom since they began following Christ two thousand years ago!


The Apostle John records a conversation Jesus had with some Jewish people who had believed in Him. Not understanding that they were enslaved to sin in their lives and not truly free, they argued with Jesus--not understanding their lack. They needed to be set free by Jesus! They needed to abide in Him and the Truth of His Word and He would set them free from their enslavement to sin. He told them, " 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' " (John 8:31b-32 ESV)     


This freedom is not contingent upon our circumstances, our government's position on religious freedom, nor our own perceptions or emotions. The Apostle Paul wrote regarding true freedom, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4 ESV) This is true freedom. Knowing that Christ, by His death, has set us free from sin's eternal effect upon our soul. If we accept this Truth and walk now according to God's Spirit, we have true freedom. 


This true freedom brings real peace in the midst of life's storms. This true freedom brings comfort even when persecution is on every side. This true freedom brings hope when the foreseeable future seems grim.


Let us cry out like the psalmist, "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is at my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is at my side as my helper...." (Psalm 118:5-7a ESV)  In Him, we are truly free. Let's set a memorial stone for that!

~meredith 
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(This photo was taken at the very impressive WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. the end of November. Our memorials of places or things we've witnessed is to take a picture of all the feet that experienced that spot together. This was with some sweet friends from the area--hence the 11 sets of feet!)

Earlier this week, in a spirit of camaraderie and wanting to be encouraging, I told a lie. A sister was bemoaning how difficult it was to work full time AND help her son with his online school. She said he only had 2.5 weeks left and I declared, "You got this!" 


Ummmm, no, she doesn't "got" it! She had just finished telling us on the other end of the call that it was overwhelming. What she was doing was incredibly difficult and it wasn't sustainable (my paraphrase).   


Why did I tell her such a falsehood? I think I was buying into the lie of the world we live in...that when things are difficult, we just need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, give ourselves a good positive pep talk and get after the challenge. Hence the "we got this" mentality.  I can find several places in the Bible where being lazy is placed in a negative light, but I can't find anywhere teaching that by relying on oneself a person can muscle through a tough time and bring glory to God. Certainly that person's friends may admire him, but that leads down the slope of pride and arrogance.  


We are to be diligent and faithful through difficult seasons and days, but how can we do this when we are so weak/tired/busy/overwhelmed/________________(fill in the blank)? 
In the Apostle Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, he is encouraging them who they are as Christians, how to live, how to relate with others around them and what it means to follow Christ. This is a difficult calling! Towards the end of the letter he gives the secret to actually doing these things, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Ephesians 6:10 ESV) What he doesn't say is, "Work really hard and you can do it! You got this, Ephesians!" No! Be strong in the Lord! He's the One Who is strong. Not you or me. We obviously are weak--even though we may try to do some great things and impress our friends along the way.  


Bringing Tucker home from the hospital on Sunday I knew that this week would be full of the unexpected and that I'd need to be strong in the Lord.  I know that I'd need to take Paul's advice in the verses that follow.  I realized that I'd need to, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11 ESV) Realizing something and actually doing it well aren't synonymous.  I did it, but got busy and fell back into an unconscious, "we got this" mindset until 5.14.20 came. That changed everything.  Now I was visibly reminded just how independent I try to be and exactly how strong I am. I had no strength. I had no wisdom. I had nothing left at one point except for deep sobs of regret that I couldn't seem to get the lesson that I must rely on Christ for everything. As we literally cried out to God during the day of incessant nausea and vomiting, He showed us how utterly dependent we are upon His mercy. His mercy to cover our sin for eternity and His mercy to carry us day by day.  I once had a friend in high school tell me that Christianity is just a crutch for weak people. I agree that I am weak. But with Paul, I will say, "But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." This is not a crutch. This is a reasonable faith in the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of my soul and a ever deepening love. My soul longs to know Him and see others know Him too! "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)


In other words, what would be real encouragement is, **"God's got this!"**


I’m so sorry I fall into the independent trap and would attempt to encourage someone with such a falsehood. Thanks be to God, His Mercy is More! This song is probably one of my all time favorites. 

~meredith​