Kimberly Farmer

 by Kimberly Farmer

The Best Sacrifice

In Bible times, animal sacrifices were made at the altar to worship God and to atone for sin. The animal they brought to the altar was spotless or without defect.  They didn’t bring the scrawniest lamb they could find, or the sick doves, they didn’t bring the next to nicest calf they owned, and they didn’t bring their neighbor’s goat – they brought their best acceptable animal to God.

Because Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, became the perfect sacrifice for our sin, we no longer make animal sacrifices; we receive our forgiveness of sin by directly talking to Jesus and repenting.  But we do still bring our best to God.  Our heart’s desire should be to praise God with all of our being, to serve Him with all of our heart, and to give Him our best in private as well as in public.
When you read in your Bible or are challenged at church to give the “sacrifice of praise” or to “come to the altar”, remember to bring your best to God. Singing the lyrics of a song in your church worship service without musing on the meaning of the song and upon God himself, just isn’t your best – it isn’t an acceptable sacrifice. Walking to the front of the church to pray at the altar, but getting up and returning to your seat before you have finished your talk with God just because the person next to you returned to their seat, just isn’t your best.  It’s time for God’s people to stop being apathetic and lazy in their “sacrifice to God” – it’s time for us to go all out for our Savior and give our best.  Our best is what God demands, and when we give it, we will reap the rewards and God will receive the glory.
Hebrews 13:15 
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.”
Romans 12:1,2
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
 by Kimberly Farmer

Wanna-be Chalkboard

At present, Ava doesn’t have a chalkboard on which to draw and scribble, but we do have black construction paper and pastel crayons… it may not be quite as fun as the real thing, but it is less messy.

 by Kimberly Farmer

Love Garland

A few minutes before scrambling out the door to begin a 2-hour car ride, I grabbed soft yarn and doilies left over from our Valentine cards. While Tim drove and Ava slept, I mindlessly laced the doilies. It took longer than I expected, but it turned out really cute. The next day, I hung the garland while Ava was taking a nap. When she awoke and saw it, we got lots of “Oooooo!”s. To get young children involved, you could try one of these variations:

  • Cut hearts out of construction paper and then hole punch the edges. Little fingers can then lace the hearts with yarn/ribbon/string, and you can join them together later.
  • Instead of joining the hearts together to make garland, make ornaments to decorate a “Valentine Tree”. Just leave the ends of the string at the top of the heart and knot them to make a loop.
  • Make the garland to give someone who is sick and could use some cheer in their hospital room or nursing home room.
  • With a colorful marker, have your child write on each heart the name of someone they love.
If you have other variation ideas, feel free to leave a comment below!
 by Kimberly Farmer

Nutritious Snack Recipe

Here’s a snack my mom made when my brother and I were at home. It’s healthy, it’s easy, and it’s a great recipe for getting little hands involved.

Peanut Butter Wheat Germ Candy
(Ok, so it’s not really “candy” – but “candy” sounds good)
1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup honey
Measure all ingredients into a bowl & stir well.
Form into bite-sized balls.
Set balls onto cookie sheet/plate/wax paper and refrigerate.
Eat up!
 by Kimberly Farmer

Suffering for Christ

“It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him…” -Philippians 1:29

This verse really stood out to me this morning as I continued my new Bible study (see post below). The first half of the verse about “believing on Christ” was easy to read, but I had to dig deep to admit that I don’t really know anything about “suffering for Christ.” Paul certainly did. He was facing intense persecution when he wrote these words to his Christian brothers at the chuch at Philippi. Throughout history and today, our brothers and sisters in many other countries are persecuted for the cause of Christ and even die. Many Christians in America who take action to exalt God in our country face persecution and suffering for Christ. But what about me?

Yes, I have sacrificed for Christ. I have given up my will to accept His, in very big ways. But sacrificing isn’t the same as suffering. Also, “suffering” (as in disease, personal loss, etc.) isn’t the same as “suffering for Christ.” The bottom line is that I have not suffered for the cause of Christ.

I cannot imagine a more incredible display of adoration for Christ and commitment to Christ than suffering for Him. How could I not be ready and willing, even eager, to suffer for Him after He paid the ultimate price to save my soul for eternity? I am a soldier in a war, and I have the greatest cause – to glorify God and to see people saved. I want to go home (to heaven) with battle scars and wounds that testify that I was fighting, and I was courageous, and I gave my all for Christ.

It may sound crazy and ignorant to say “I want to suffer for Christ,” but that was the heart of Paul. When he was persecuted, he said “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This life isn’t about getting through it the easy way. This life is about glorifying God, and a heart that truly loves God delights in glorifying Him. Lord, help me glorify you no matter what the cost.

 by Kimberly Farmer

Paper Plate Pouch

Supplies:

Paper Plate

Stapler
Stickers
Crayons
Yarn/String
This is an easy craft for toddlers. I cut a paper plate in half and stapled them together to create a pouch, then I made two holes for the string that would eventually tie around her waist or through her belt loops. I needed to get some work done in the kitchen, so I just sat Ava in her highchair with the pouch, a couple small sheets of stickers, and three crayons. She took it from there, and I got a lot of work done. Part of the fun for her was getting the stickers off the sheet, and it occupied more time. Every now and then, I turned the pouch over and encouraged her to decorate the other side. Later, I tied the pouch around Ava, and she toted small objects around the house (for a little while, anyway). This pouch could also be a little tool belt for boys or a purse for girls or I guess Ava could pretend to be a marsupial!
 by Kimberly Farmer

Studying the Bible with Gusto

The Bible is the most important and amazing book. After all, it’s alive. It’s written by our Creator, and it is perfect. Unfortunately, because we are not perfect, sometimes the Bible can be so power-packed that we miss it completely, and three chapters later we aren’t really sure what we just read. We have to take our time and absorb the Scriptures – not fly through them like we might fly through a yellow traffic light about to change.

For me, the best way to absorb the Scriptures to both my memory and my heart has always been to keep a notebook near my Bible. Anytime I read, I almost always jotted down particularly meaningful passages, and I also added my own thoughts on the Scriptures. This has been a good practice for so many different reasons. Since the beginning of the year, I have been wanting to apply a little more structure to my studying. Sometimes I just need to change things up a little. I told the Lord this and asked Him to give me a new enthusiasm for reading the Bible, and He did.

Yesterday, I found a very simple and useful approach to studying the Bible. It’s just the structure and motivation I needed to delve back into the Word with gusto. It is called the S.A. method, and you may have heard of it. I just began using it today, and I think I’m going to stick with it for a while. The “S” stands for “Summary” and the “A” stands for “Application”. The idea is simple – read a chapter of the Bible, and then in your notebook, summarize the chapter in a couple sentences and then in a couple more sentences, write down how the chapter applies to your life. This way of studying makes concentration on the Scripture much easier, and I find that the application part naturally leads into prayer time, which is where true change begins.

If you are in need of a new way to study, this may be a good one to try. I began going through Philippians today, and instead of working on an entire chapter at once, I am tackling a section at a time (going by subheadings). Whichever way you choose to study the Bible, I hope you find it effective and reviving. May God bless you as you seek Him.

 by Kimberly Farmer

Valentines

Ava made Valentine cards this year for the sweeties in her life. I think I had more fun than Ava on this one. I focused on making things pretty with felt, ribbon, and scissors, and Ava’s role was to color, decorate with stickers, and her new favorite – use the glue stick! The inside of the cards are filled with Ava’s special touch (for the recipients eyes only :). We took all our stickers, ribbons, and other goodies over to Ava’s friend Sofia’s house and spread the love by making even more Valentines. You just can’t have too much love!

 by Kimberly Farmer

A Wonderful Book

Congratulations to Theresa Lee from Billings, Montana!  She won my drawing for the book A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George.  Thank you to those of you who entered the drawing.  I really appreciated your interest and participation.


The Book
I love Elizabeth George’s book A Woman After God’s Own Heart. It was recommended to me a couple years ago by my friend, Lori, and after having read the book and worked through the study guide, I am still profiting from the inspiration and challenging that I gleaned from that book. I want to now recommend it to you, because I enjoyed it so much. It is written for any woman (single, married, retired, with or without children, etc.) who wants her heart to be more in tune with the Lord as she makes her daily life count for Him.
The Drawing
I would love to just give a copy of this book to all the ladies in my life whom I know personally or who read my blog, but of course that’s just not feasible. However, I can and would like to mail a copy to one of you. So, I am having my own little drawing to determine to whom I will give it. Whether I know you very closely or we have never met, I would love for you to have this book.
To enter, just email me  with 1) your name, and 2) your favorite Bible verse. At the end of January, I will draw a name, contact the winner for their mailing address, and mail the winner their wonderful book for free. I will also post the winner here. Easy enough, isn’t it? Guys are welcome to enter, too, and give the book to a special lady in their life.

 by Kimberly Farmer

3-D Paper Plate Window

My mom told me about this idea over the phone last week, and although Ava’s a little young for this project, we tackled it anyway. When she is older and can contribute more to the ideas and artwork, we’ll do it again.

Supplies:

2 Paper Plates
Scissors
Crayons/Markers
Paper/Stickers
Tape
String (optional)
Clear plastic/Freezer Bag
Steps:
1) Decide on the scene you want to see through the paper plate window. I chose butterflies, because I had lots of butterfly stickers left over from Ava’s 1st birthday party. Mom said the version she saw was made to look like an aquarium with fish inside it.
2) Create the background for your scene. Decorate the entire “eat-on” side of one of the paper plates all the way to the perimeter. In our case, we colored the sky and then Ava stuck small (so they would look far away) butterfly stickers all over.
3) Create the 3 dimensional layer. This can be done a couple different ways. One way is to hang objects (cut out stickers, paper, etc.) with string attached to the top edge of the p
late, so the objects can swing a little when it is complete. Because Ava’s so little and less likely to be gentle, I decided to make the butterflies stationary. I just glued strips of paper (colored to match the background) to the back of the objects (in our case, larger butterfly stickers) and then attach the paper strips to the plate. I put each of these butterflies on slightly different lengths of paper strips to add to the 3-d effect.
4) Make the window opening by cutting out the center of the second paper plate. Tape the plastic (I cut open a freezer bag) to the inside of the window opening. Line up the window paper plate with the other, and attach them together with tape/staples/glue.
 by Kimberly Farmer

A Sunny Day, Please

Last week, I told my mom that all these overcast skies and a child who needs more attention than ever are wearing me down. For one day, I needed a bright sun shining in the sky (all day long, please) and a child who doesn’t touch everything and who promptly obeys the command “Come here.”  Maybe you can relate?  While I was looking for some much needed mommy inspiration, I found it in Lynn Bowen Walker’s book Queen of the Castle.  So, to my mommy friends out there who may feel like me from time to time, here you are…

“There’s no escaping the fact that our children do grow up.  Though a rainy Candyland day with a preschooler may feel like it lasts fourteen years, before we know it those days are over.  The kids are in school.  They have their own friends.  They play on sports teams with their own practice schedules.  They engage in their own phone conversations, they want their own lunch money, and rumor has it, someday (soon!) they’ll have their own driver’s licenses.  Ready or not, in the blink of an eye, someday comes.  Don’t face it with regrets.  Make your children a priority.  Make loving your husband a priority.  Don’t let the opportunity slip away to show love to those God has given you, making a home that’s filled with love and laughter and warm memories.  You will never regret your efforts.”
Fortunately, the past couple days have been sunny, and while my little daughter still conveniently forgets what “Come here” must mean, I’m feeling a bit less overwhelmed and I’m taking more time to just stop what I’m doing and enjoy my little girl.
 by Kimberly Farmer

Know Jesus and Celebrate!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We were able to spend time with Tim’s parents when they visited over Thanksgiving, time with my parents and my brother when we traveled to Kentucky last week, and time just the three of us as we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home.

Each year, before peeking in stockings or unwrapping gifts, we always read from the Bible about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Meditating on Jesus’ birth is often a silent, sweet moment as we ponder the pretty picture we have in our minds of Mary and Joseph bending over the new baby. But as Tim read the account on Christmas morning, I was struck by the feeling that this is an occasion to celebrate! Our soul should be enraptured by the thought that God would send His only Son to be born a baby and live on this earth, facing the difficulties of humanity, and ultimately dying for us. What love God has for US! Every day is an occasion to celebrate. God has given us all the most wonderful gift – Jesus.

Not only is God’s gift wonderful, but we need it – We need Jesus. Each of us was born into sin. That doesn’t mean that we are “bad people” – it means that we are separated from God. Apart from God, we cannot go to heaven and we cannot experience the true and indescribable peace and joy that come from Him while we live on this earth. Jesus is the only way to know freedom. He is the only only way to experience God in our lives and in our spirit. He is the only way to heaven. Ephesians chapter 2 explains how without Jesus Christ, we are dead, but because of His great mercy we can be made alive in Christ.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts…. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” Ephesians 2:1-9

If you have not experienced Jesus Christ’s saving power in your life, I want you to know – whoever you are, reader – that Jesus Christ was sent by God to this earth as a baby, and He lived a sinless life, and after dying an agonizing death on the cross, He was resurrected by His own power. And all this was for you. God doesn’t want us to live life without Him and then go to hell when we die. That’s why Jesus died on the cross – He paid the price for us. God has told all believers to share with you His amazing and sacrificing love for YOU. God loves you. There is no greater love than His love, there is no greater mercy than His, there is no greater peace than that which He gives to those who are His, and there is no greater joy than knowing Him through Jesus Christ – your Savior. I know this, because I know Jesus. And you can know Him, too.

How do you accept God’s gift of His Son, Jesus? You just ask Him. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin and to help you turn from it. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Give your life to God. God knows all about you, He already loves you, and He wants you to know Him. He can hear you right now. He won’t turn you down.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9,10

Jesus wants you to ask Him to be your Savior and Lord, to lead your life, and to help you turn from sin. Take some time and talk to God. He is listening, and he wants to have a relationship with you. Knowing and loving and serving God is a journey, and you’ll learn a lot along the way. But God is with you, and He has given us the Bible to help us better understand His plan for our lives. It is very important that you tell someone whom you know is a strong Christian about your decision to receive Jesus Christ into your heart and life and that you find a church where you can be encouraged and strengthened in your new walk with Christ. God uses people who are obedient to Him to help others, and you will need them in your life, just as they will need you.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6,7

If you don’t already know someone with whom you feel comfortable sharing your experience with Christ, please email me. I don’t know everything, but, I am proud to say that I belong to God, I love Him, and I want most sincerely to help you know Him as I know Him. Life with Christ is an incredible journey, and eternal life in heaven with Him is certainly something for which to look forward. Every day is a day to Celebrate!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Kimberly
kimberlymfarmer@yahoo.com