Life at the Plattner Ranch. From the hum drum to the adventures, to our corny sense of humor, to my ramblings. Welcome to a peak at our world.
Tonight Jubilee was folding her laundry and asked me how to fold her shorts.
Jubilee: Like this (rectangle)? or like this (square)?
Me: Square.
Jubilee: Why not like this (rectangle)?
Me: O.K. like that. You gave me two choices so I chose one, that way is fine too!
Jubilee: I’m gonna fold it like this (square).
I certainly hope not! Last week we had a male coyote visit our dog two mornings in a row. The first day he didn’t venture too close, just sat in the lane and observed. The second day he and Jaime were chasing each other. Day three we had plans and don’t know if he returned. Chad talked to someone from work that said our dog is likely in heat and the coyote picked up the scent. I’m really hoping we don’t get half coyote puppies out of his visits! I got some video but it is too long to upload to blogger.
Our dog, Jamie, has a thing for killing small animals in our yard. This week she had the smell all over her. I was trying to eat my lunch outside and when she came by it about made me sick. I made the children hook her up and then we gave her a bath in the evening.
She didn’t like the hose, but she sure liked the many hands rubbing her down with soap!
Javan showing off his furry hands.
Jamie sat nice while being rubbed down, but didn’t wait till we were done with the hose to shake it all off!
As soon as Jamie could get away she would dash around the yard shaking as she went.
Here, she found some dirt to roll around in and finally feel like her old self again!
You might think I was being self-sacrificing to help the children wash the dog (I did help). But I will admit, I saw it as a really fun photo opportunity and didn’t want to miss it! :) It was a lot of fun and I got a couple really good shots (for me, anyway)! I’ve been reading up on photography and trying to remember what I learn about composition and light. I have a long way to go, but I’m enjoying the trip!
We spent several evenings at a friends pool over the course of the past week while they were on vacation. The water wasn’t very warm so it wasn’t very pleasant for Chad and I but the children didn’t understand why we thought it was soooo cold! You’ll get used to it, they said! Well, I jumped in, but I did NOT get used to it. I must be getting old!!!
The one trying to convince us the most got what he had coming to him. The last time we were there we found that the water got left on in the pool – big mistake! The pool was basically cold well water!!! Jesse jumped in and said it wasn’t that bad, so Javan jumped in too and quickly got back out accusing Jesse of lying about how cold it was!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
He did play in the water some, but he definitely wasn’t arguing when we said it was time to go home!
Thankfully, it was a hot day,so it felt good to have a water fight. Note: Chad and I did not get in!!! A splash was o.k. but a plunge ~ NO WAY!
Jolene learned how to get around in the pool without a life jacket. The older boys are doing a little better at swimming too.
Anyone notice anything strange about this picture?
Jubilee has a swimsuit that has floaties in it. The seam gave way and the floaties were coming out!
Can someone give this poor boy a hand?
Jonas didn’t get in the water but Johanna loved it till she got too cold.
I thought this picture was neat! I couldn’t reproduce it though to get a better composition.
It was not a staged shot!
Johanna got a hold of our veggie bowl and was trying to clean it out with her tongue!
If you are a Christian, do you REALLY have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
So often I have heard, “it’s not about religion, it’s a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Have you ever considered what that really means?
Say there is a celebrity that you really enjoy watching perform and you enroll in a fan club. Does that automatically give you a personal relationship with that celebrity? Say you read a magazine once a week that tells you what that celebrity has been up to, does that give you a personal relationship?
If you are married, would you be satisfied if once a week your spouse came to a building where a group of perhaps hundreds were gathered and that was nearly the only time that week that they took time for you? Would you have a very good relationship?
Are you making the connection here? Many people profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but when you begin to ask about what they are reading in the Bible or what God is teaching them, the conversation comes to an abrupt halt or they start making excuses about why they don’t have personal devotions. Their communication (key word here) is limited to church where they sit in a group and listen to what someone has to say about Jesus. Granted, this type of worship is real and essential to the Christian life, but if that is the extent of it we are surely lacking a much more intimate relationship.
Here are a few descriptive words we often use for those we have some sort of relationship with…
Sometimes we just say “I know of him, or I know who she is.”
Acquaintance
Friend
Good Friend
Best Friend
Mother
Father
Wife
Husband
Now, if you consider the different relationships here, what are the key factor that changes the level of relationship you have? It is communication and time.
You may have an acquaintance at Church and through communication you find that you have something in common. That draws you into a closer relationship and the more you communicate, often the closer you become. The more time you spend with someone often determines the closeness of the relationship. I have become friends with people that originally I wasn’t very fond of, usually because I was afraid of them because they had an outspoken personality. As circumstances brought us together, I learned to understand them and not be afraid of them anymore but enjoy being with them and perhaps even laugh at their sharpness.
I was close with my siblings and my parents and often miss them and wish we could be together more often. We spent a lot of time together and that drew our hearts together. My parents took time to do things with us, from playing catch, to going swimming at the lake, to racing us to get back in line for our favorite roller coaster. My parents spent time with us and in return when my friend asked me at an amusement park once, “when do we ditch your parents?” I was astonished; it wouldn’t be as fun without my parents! I probably wouldn’t have had that attitude if my parents didn’t take time to be with us and develop that relationship.
The most intimate relationship is between a husband and wife. I have found that when we are really busy and don’t make time to spend together communicating and just enjoying fellowship that I am less concerned about what he cares about and more likely to do my own thing even if I know what he would prefer me to do. When we are spending time together, it is easier to overlook my own will and seek to do things that I know will please my husband. (It is the same with my relationship with Christ!)
I think I’ve made my point. It takes communication and time to develop a personal relationship with someone. And the more time you spend the closer you become; and the less time you spend the farther apart your relationship seems to go.
Of most of my old friends I can say I enjoy seeing them again but don’t really have that feeling of loneliness when I think of them. My family would fall into the loneliness category, the amount of time we spent together drew our hearts together and I still miss them when we are apart. If my husband is gone even for an evening, I get lonely for him. We are a unit and when we are separated for any unusual length of time, I feel it.
Now, of all the relationships that I mentioned, which does the Bible use to compare the relationship between Christ and the church? It is the closest relationship we have, that of a husband and wife. When our marriage reflects what the Bible says about marriage it is a beautiful close relationship. Likewise when our relationship with Jesus Christ is in order with the Word of God it is a beautiful close relationship, it truly is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!!!
Here are some snapshots of how my relationship with Jesus Christ affects my life.
Here is an example of how God is working in my life. I used to struggle with anger. When I was tired, we’d be behind so the house is a disaster, the children were dawdling or just plain not doing what they were told, I would tend to get angry and yell at my children!!! That is sin! Why you ask?
Galatians 5:16-25
(16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
(17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
(18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
(20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,
seditions, heresies,
(21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is
against such there is no law.
(are these fruits being displayed to my children when I am yelling at them in anger?)
(24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
(25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
By God’s grace I have mostly over come my anger, but I still need His grace because it is easy to get irritated instead of asking God to help me with the situation. If God is in control and I’m walking in the Spirit it can be a character building lesson for us all; if I yell it just tears down relationships and does not help to remedy the situation at all AND it teaches the children to yell instead of using good character and seeking God to help remedy the situation. Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
It is not my goal to sound like I’m “holier than thou.” I sin and come short of the glory of God just like everyone else, but for years I didn’t understand what it really means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is my goal to give a glimpse of what a close relationship with Jesus Christ might look like and perhaps help someone that doesn’t know how to get beyond the prayer of faith they made.
My question for you today, what category would your relationship with Jesus Christ fall into? Can you honestly say that it is a Personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you be able to share what Christ is doing in your life?
If you can’t, please seek Him today. If you study God’s word and ask Him how to apply it to your life He will show you how He would have you to live!!! He will truly transform your life!!!
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
A couple days ago I told someone something that wasn’t the exact truth out of fear of what they would think of me if they knew the whole truth.
It was just a slight exaggeration, a white lie, not a big deal! Right???
I t would be easiest to say it’s not a big deal, but the Holy Spirit had something different to say about it and impressed upon my heart my sin and that I needed to make it right. The peace that I found in Jesus Christ my Lord was no longer there.
You see, when I was 23 I turned to the Lord in genuine repentance. It was more than a prayer; it was a seeking to be at peace with God and learn to follow His will for my life. I was encouraged to search my heart and see if there was any sin in my life that needed confessed or if I needed to make restitution with anyone.
Through prayer God revealed things in my life that by His grace I went back and as much as I was able made right. Over time God granted me a peace that I never knew before.
Time to time throughout my Christian life God has revealed things to me that I should not have done; usually it was something I shouldn’t have said. Always the comfortable peace is gone and that still small voice makes it clear what I have done and what, as a child of God, needs to be done to restore that peace.
I thought this would be a good opportunity to use an example out of my own life to try to explain what I believe about unconditional eternal security.
I believe I am eternally secure in Jesus Christ but I don’t believe that security is unconditional.
I told a lie; that was sin; the Bible clearly states that no liar shall enter into the kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:7-8
(7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
(8) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
So does that mean I have lost my salvation and am bound for eternal hell fire? I don’t believe so.
The Bible also says:
1 John 1:9
(9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hebrews 12:6-8 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Now, what would have happened if I refused to heed the direction of the Holy Spirit?
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I believe that just as I have an initial choice to follow Jesus, I have the choice to continue to follow Him. Just as He calls us by His Holy Spirit, and we heed to the call in humbly following Him; He continues to direct us by His Holy Spirit and we continue to have the choice to follow or to choose to go our own way.
Hebrews 10:26-29
(26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
(27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
(28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
(29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
As a mother, I have seen willfulness in my children. They have a tendency to want to do their own thing even when they have been given clear instruction. That is the same with us. We have been given the knowledge of the truth and the Holy Spirit to remind us of it. There are times that we make a poor decision in a moment of time and sin, but the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and directs us to repentance. I think the willfullness v26 is speaking of above is when we know the truth but make a conscious decision to sin anyway, or when we are chastised and refuse to humble ourselves and willfully go our own way. I don’t think we just “lose” our salvation; I believe it is a choice to walk away from it. The Holy Spirit clearly directs us, it is our choice whether we obey or not.
Following are some other verses that support my stand on being cut off or cast forth as a branch, withered, and burned.
· Romans 11:16-22 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
· John 15:1-10 I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
So what about you? Have you been chastised by the Holy Spirit? How have you responded?
If this is foreign to you begin now to ask the Lord to show you if there is anything in your life He would have you to do differently; it will draw you closer to the Him than perhaps you have been before.
We had a wonderful trip, I don’t remember ever feeling this relaxed at the end of a vacation!
Saturday was my cousin Jenna’s graduation party. Sunday was her graduation and then Sunday evening was another cousin Amy’s wedding. It was a very nice weekend. We are very blessed to have some strong family ties. So many people have broken families and poor relationships. I look forward to seeing them again in 3 weeks in OKC (Oklahoma City, OK) for another cousins wedding.
I am looking forward to getting back on an earlier routine, but… when in Rome do as the Romans or as applied to my family, when with the Brinkers do as the Brinkers do… soooo, Friday night through Monday night (or should I say morning), we stayed up till at least one and sometimes later. I had some wonderful visits with my sister, Mom, and Aunts. We got a bit crazy, especially after Cori took her pain medicine before bed and got a little loopy for which we took advantage of her for a few good laughs!!!! :) Why is it the best talking happens at night when we should really be sleeping?
We left Tuesday morning at 8 and the children and I spent part of the day with Cherie Manz in Junction, OH while Chad went with Larry to do some business. The children enjoyed playing with their children.
We left Manz’s around 4 and went to Clint (Chad’s brother) and Bethany’s (near Ft. Wayne) for supper and a short visit. We left there around 8 and within an hour of leaving Clint’s we had a blowout on our van. Thankfully we had a spare and Chad and a couple of the boys were able to change it out and get us back on the road again. 
Now to get back into some sort of routine and try to stay focused on priorities… building relationships!
I have a friend that told me her mom didn’t do much with them as children, she was always busy keeping her house in order, I DON”T want to become like that so a couple summers ago I wrote a note and stuck it to my mirror, it says…
Don’t be such a Mom!
HAVE FUN!
Get dirty!
Get WET!
So among other goals for the summer, my priority is to have fun and build relationships with the children!
Cousins and second cousins at Jenna’s graduation celebration.
Jared watching Grandma Riley water her flowers.
Jubilee and Grandpa Riley
Jubilee, Grandpa Riley, and Aunt Cori
The children had lots of fun playing with their cousins on the slip n slide on Monday afternoon.
Johanna enjoyed watching the fun…
for awhile…
Then she went exploring to see what the fun was all about! :)
Grandma Riley got Jonas a tractor for his birthday. He LOVES his tractors… Thank you Grandma!
And Jolene received a remote control truck, I think I’m gonna have to try my hand at it. Thanks Grandma!
