The Lone Daffodil
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. Isaiah 55:10-11 NASB After doing the morning “big boy” drop offs, Andrew and I arrived back home and noticed there was still some snow on the ground. We had been in California just the day before and were still adjusting to the much cooler temperatures. My focus was on getting us both in the door, turning up the heat a bit, and pouring a second cup of hot...
Read MoreChristmas Light for the World
I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. John 8:12 NASB We’ve been de-Christmasing for two days now, undecorating and un-lighting our home. It’s always bittersweet and for me, a chore best done swiftly. This year, our youngest, Andrew, had a particularly difficult time with this chore as evidenced by his consistent and heartfelt wailing about each decoration taken down. “Where my tree go? You took my tree! Where lights? No! Keep lights!” he’d say, and on and on with his little body wracked with sobs and my patience...
Read MoreTraining
Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NASB I will be honest with you. I am weary. And I found myself wanting to write yet again about tension. Particularly the dichotomy of Christmas. Here we are on the eve of Thanksgiving, the very precipice of all things merry and bright just around the corner. I have thoughts, as I know all of you do, about some of our sweet and grieving families in our very midst. The unfairness of it all. I have been thinking of writing about the innate need for home we all have and how this one we are...
Read MoreA Quiet Unfurling
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB It has been a time of transition for the Hjelmerviks this past month as it has been for many others, I know. With our oldest starting kindergarten, our middle son starting pre-k, and our youngest starting to scream at piercing levels at arbitrary times, we are all in a state of transition. Even Mark and I, with my school year...
Read MoreA Creekside Family
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 NASB I was enjoying a warm day at the park with my boys recently, enjoying the cooler air when I saw it – the Circle of Moms. There they were huddled together, two with coffees and one with a newborn...
Read MoreConfidently Humble
Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4 NIV) I tried writing about many-a-topic for this week’s FYI. I started something about lonely moms, tried the importance of intergenerational church living, and even considered something starting off talking about the crazy high grass pollen levels that make me feel like I’m perpetually floating. But alas, the one thing that keeps coming to my mind is the super popular concept of humility. I just have to write about it. Maybe this will end up being what gets posted or maybe what I actually send in will...
Read MoreRebuilding the Temple
I recently read a fantastic book called Return to Me, by Lynn Austin. It chronicles the end of the Israelites’ captivity in Babylon, from the perspective of the prophet Zechariah. The king of Persia decrees that the Israelites are free to return to Jerusalem, rebuild their temple, and worship their God, after 70 years of being held captive in a foreign city with a foreign culture and foreign gods. There was rejoicing and relief! Shouts of joy and praise! They had not been forgotten by the Almighty God! They could return to the land where the Holy God once dwelled in His temple! It’s a divine...
Read MoreAwake
Last week, Mark continued the sermon series on “the blazing center” with a specific focus on “a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.” He started off his message by sharing a vulnerable moment when he was preparing the sermon. He hit a writer’s block like he had never experienced. After some time in prayer, the Lord gently led him to the realization that he had not in fact been consciously depending on the Holy Spirit. He continued by sharing that once he confessed this to the Lord, he immediately felt his message come out like a flood. At my Bible Study on Tuesday night, we had a great...
Read MoreThe 2020 Commandment
Nine months and counting. NO, I’m not pregnant. But that’s how long we’ve been in this time of quarantine. Sure, it has varied from strict lockdown to braving hybrid “in-person” events. However, nine months is nine months, and that’s a long time to go without a birthday party. Without an in-person worship service. Without kids in “real” school. Without a cup of coffee. Just kidding, that would be absurd. But it’s been nine months. And in all seriousness, I have two questions for all of us. First, what are you worshiping? An odd question for certain, and one that I think we are either afraid...
Read MoreTime to Celebrate
A few weeks ago, I heard something about the Sabbath. Isn’t that profound? I cannot remember what it was, but I distinctly remember thinking, “next time I’m up for the FYI, I’m going to write about that.” So, here we are. At that time, I believe I was thinking about how desperate we all are for true Sabbath right now and how difficult it is to truly participate in one. With so many of us working from home, boundaries have gotten blurred more than ever. Our co-workers know we see their text messages. They know we are just at home, because where else would we be? Even though our favorite...
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