"the gospel in her home" (God's word)

Last night was date-night.  Always my favorite.  I love not cooking, I love going out, and I LOVE talking with my husband.  After last night I felt really encouraged to stay faithful in reading scripture every day, as much as I can.  Sometimes I struggle to see any fruit in my life directly from scripture reading, so I often want to turn to books, sermons, or even house-work, just to see more immediate results.  

 My husband encouraged me to think of it like this:  Its like feeding children.  I have no idea how this works, but a peanut butter sandwich here, a plate of spaghetti there, and wow! they grew!!

(ok, mine is still on a milk diet, with a bit of bananas and sweet potatoes thrown in...even more mysterious!!) 

But the Bible is the very word of God to me, the good news of Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is changing me more into the image of His Son.  

But I have to be faithful to just. keep. reading. as if it is food for today. Because that is just what it is!! And as I'm faithful with reading (as I am very faithful with feeding my baby) I will see myself grow, even if its a bit mysterious in the way that works day to day. 

 

 I have to feast on the Word of Christ, the gospel, so that I can lay out a feast for my children as well.  So that we can all grow up in Christ.

Thank God for His word to us!!

also, go read Tiff's post and Al's post!!  

oh, and join us on instagram too (i'm @mrschhangur) by posting a picture, writing a bit about how you are seeing the gospel at work in your home, and use the hashtag #thegospelinherhome !!

ps. how did i just now notice that last week i spelled gospel "gopsel"?!?!  

WHY DID NO ONE TELL MEEEE????

"the gospel in her home" (motherhood)

Motherhood has changed me. 

The other day I was walking through IKEA and a mother stopped and chatted for a second about Annie.  She commented on her hat, asked how old she was (always everyone’s first question, right?), said how adorable she is (of course), and told me to hold on to these months because they go by so fast.  Well, I broke down right there.  My eyes just filled to the brim with tears.  Before Annie, I had no idea about this love that was going to flood my being and change me forever.  The kind of love that makes you cry in IKEA.  Caring for her is such a joy because loving her has changed me. 

The gospel has changed me.

I am so well-acquainted with my sin, that news of redemption through the cross of Christ is astounding and wonderful to me. It’s life-changing news.  It’s the reason I cry when I sing hymns and the reason that serving God can be such a joy…because the love of Christ has changed me.  It makes dead people to live, blind eyes to see, deaf ears to hear!  

And the gospel gives meaning to motherhood.  It informs my role as a mother because it has changed me.  Because loving my baby is how I can love Christ.  And I can love her only because I’ve known and been changed by this truth: 

that “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” -1 Peter 2:24

happy mother's day, mamas.
and go see allison's post and tiffany's post.

its almost may!!!

we are doing well.  

enjoying the warmer weather and being able to go for walks without heaps and heaps of blankets.  i LOVE summer and fall most...so we are coming into my favorite times of the year!!  birdie is almost 6 months old and doing so well.  

a couple little updates:

-she says "da da da", but unfortunately, this has nothing to do with mike, since we call him "papa".  

-she reaches for us (ok, sometimes.  i think.)

-she LOVES watching little kids play.  especially Tirzah, who is 2 and lives across the hall from us.  she is IN LOVE with Tirzah.

-she started staying all by herself in the nursery at church.  the most she has made it was half an hour.  the shortest was about 10 minutes.  (they text me when she gets upset...)

-she has 2 little teeth!!  woohoooo!!  so we started brushing those bad boys!  

-she is napping in her room now.  and naps are getting much better!!  

-still loves Sophie.  so much.  and Sophie unfortunately got left at church this week...

-still only breast-milk for this chick.  i give her veggies to chew on sometimes when i'm making dinner, but she just chews...i don't think she has really managed to eat anything.  we're going to start solids when we get back from TX because i really think she is ready.  

we're leaving for TX early tomorrow morning and we are so SO excited to see my familyyyy.  and so excited to have super-warm TX weather for a week...my running shoes are packed!!  

oh-and i won't be joining in with "the gospel in her home" posts because we will be out of the country, but be sure to check-out tiff and allison's blogs this week and next!! 

xoxo

"the gospel in her home" (teething babies and sleepy mamas)

We’ve had a difficult week over here.  Baby is getting teeth and mama is tired…and really, I am just going to rip off Milton Vincent again this week (giving credit, of course) because I found it an encouraging reminder of how the gospel can inform trying weeks of teething and little sleep.

“More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them.  For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me.  When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad.  I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials.  The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day provides a lens through which I can view my trials in this way and see the true cause for rejoicing that exists in them.  I can then embrace trials as friends and allow them to do God’s good work in me.”

(Buy the book for yourself here!! Its super good stuff.)

If the gospel is our ultimate truth, our “one great permanent circumstance”, then I want to see all things in my life, even teething, in light of it.

Now, go and see how Allison and Tiffany are seeing and applying the gospel in their homes.

"the gospel in her home" (godly grief)

I woke up one morning this week feeling discouraged and weighed down by my sin, and I immediately said to my husband that I was feeling “condemned”.  He, being very wise and gracious, reminded me that there’s a “godly sorrow that leads to repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10) and he challenged me to look at the gospel and to discern how it would inform my feelings.  At the time I felt lazy, and I wasn’t really interested in thinking it through all that much.  But it’s worth it to think these things through!!  Not only should we be counseling our own souls with gospel-truth in these moments, but we need to be growing in our understanding and ready to give wise counsel when a friend or our husband or one of our children is in a similar soul-struggle.  Gospel-centered counseling doesn’t mean that we give away endless amounts of “get-out-of-jail-free” cards to every discouraged mom we encounter or that we should discourage ourselves from ever feeling grieved over our sin. 

The gospel is a glorious truth:  that my debt has been paid, that my sins have been forgiven, and that I get Jesus’ righteousness and inheritance freely.  But it doesn’t stop there.  There’s more to it.  This free gift had a price. The Son of God had to be given over to death for my sake.  Jesus paid the price with His own blood.  And so now, I don’t take lightly the riches of the grace and kindness of God.  My sin was/is so serious, it required the sacrifice of a sinless, spotless lamb.  And so my sin doesn’t condemn me.  It doesn’t pronounce judgment and wrath on my life.  The gospel tells me that in Christ, my sin is removed as far as the east is from the west, and that I am forgiven and free.  But it also tells me that the price that was paid for this forgiveness and freedom was great; and as I continue to struggle through my sin, I can be led to godly grief and repentance by the kindness of God extended to me.  1 John says “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  Amen!!  The gospel helps us to look with a godly grief at our struggle with sin, but not to despair!!  We have hope.  We have an advocate with the Father, and to Him we run.  He is our hiding place.

I want to grow and have a rich understanding of the gospel in this way so that I can wisely counsel myself, my children, and my husband.  I don’t want to cheapen the grace of God by “making a blank check out to grace” (little phrase I snagged from the girl talk blog!), but I want to hold up the high price of Jesus’ death on the cross, the gravity of sin, and the abounding grace of the Father to us. 

Don’t forget to visit Tiff and Allison’s blogs too!! 

xoxo

5 month Annie update.

this lady.

(i am realizing, i really need to video-record more often.

and take out my good camera more often, too.  

because all i've got for you today is instagram photos.)   

but anyway, annie turned 5 months old on april 6th.  

oh, she's just so lovely.  a joy!!  

some highlights for you and for us, so we never ever forget!! ;)

-annie has really been doing so well with sitting up on her own.  i can actually leave her on the floor (soft surface, of course) and let her play with toys.  she doesn't let me sneak away for too long, because she really likes to have my full-attention at all times if she can get it.  

-she sits in her high chair while we eat meals and watches really closely.  she's super-interested in food, but not getting any just yet!  ;)    

-she can roll over, back to front and front to back, but doesn't do it too often.  she prefers standing and chatting.  

-she loves smiling.  big, open-mouth, super-expressive smiles.  and she loves to smile at people, but she turns crankster when we hand her over to anyone else.  she prefers mama or papa at this point.  she has actually done this since she was 2-3 months old.  this is why we really haven't left her with anyone just yet; however, grandma is coming into town for a visit this weekend, and we are thinking we're gonna give it a try!  woohooo!!  

-i also think i'm going to start trying to leave her with the sweet ladies in the nursery at our church.  we'll see how that goes. 

-she prefers being held while i get things done around the house.  so i either get things done with one hand, or she goes in the wrap for an hour and we cook and clean together.  she so enjoys this.  she will watch me chop vegetables and measure spices for an hour without a single peep.  

-she usually sleeps for about 12 hours, with maybe 1 wake-up before we get to bed, and then 1 more wake-up before mornings.  they are short little night-time visits, which i'm thankful for.  just long enough to get a little milk and rock and snuggle and go back to sleep.  and sometimes, if i'm extra tired (or there's an extra wake-up), she joins us in bed for a bit and then goes back to her crib until morning.  

-oh, and she has a crib now!  (yay!!)  and her own room!  such a big girl. and this is going really well!!

-she naps in her stroller.  always.  she is totally ok sleeping in her crib at night, but every time i put her there in the daytime, she immediately wakes up.  so instead, i lay her to sleep in her stroller.  she will wake up as soon as i put her down but with the stroller, i can push it back and forth a bit to get her back to sleep.  morning naps are very predictable.  she wakes up around 7 and is almost always ready to sleep again by 9.  but afternoons are more difficult.  if i can't get her to sleep again by 1 or 2, a walk for coffee or to the store will usually put her to sleep.  and this is a good break for mama too! :)   

-her little bald head is growing some FUZZ.  haha.  and its blonde.  marrying mike, i never thought i would have a blonde baby, but i think she might surprise us!!  

well, that's all i can think of now.

she is a delight and we praise God for her.

"the gospel in her home" (Easter)

The hope of the entire world is wrapped up in what happened on Easter.  We sang this song at church on Sunday: 

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heav’n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless Righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

(It's a modern hymn by Sovereign Grace Music. You can listen to a version here.)

We are celebrating this weekend "the risen Lamb, my perfect, spotless Righteousness".  

And really, my role as a wife and mother is to be a life that is "hid with Christ on high", to be constantly looking upward to see the one that "made an end of all my sin" and purchased my soul with His blood.   I pray that my family would be so sure that this is my only hope, and my very highest joy.  

see Al's post here.
see Tiff's post here.
and have a very happy Easter!!

TO

We are in Toronto!!  We live here now.  We are officially Torontonians.  And so far, we love it.  It’s huge, and super-diverse, and there’s tons of traffic everywhere, and there’s great shopping, and Mike got a good job, and we scored an apartment right across the hall from some dear friends of ours (and it’s 2-bedroom, woohoo!!)…but the biggest pull to Toronto: a church.  Sovereign Grace Church Toronto. 

It goes like this: for the past 2 years, we have been planning and praying and working toward moving to Brooklyn, NY to be a part of Sovereign Grace City Church.  The plan was for Mike to do a pastoral internship there.  The process to apply for the visa for Mike was started last May (I think) so we’ve been living in Ottawa ready to basically “pick up and move at any time.” We knew once August rolled around and we didn’t have a visa, that we would stay in Ottawa at least until January so that Birdie could be born in Canada.  January came and we still didn’t have a visa, but we expected to hear something soon.  In February, just as we were about to take a leap of faith and put in our 2 months notice to terminate our lease in Ottawa (we were gonna go for it and hope the visa came!!), we found out that the visa was denied.  Not to worry, Mike isn’t banned from the states or anything like that.  It was simply that there were requirements with this visa we could not make.  A big one was that our church that would be sending us was not directly affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries (the family of churches the Brooklyn church is a part of), and there was nothing we could do to change that.  This was so sad for us.  We had dreamed of living in the city, being close to our good friends Zac and Mel, and helping to build the church in Brooklyn.  And so naturally, we still hope this will happen…someday!!

In the meantime, we were left with a lease that was going to be up in 2 months and a huge decision to make. Since we had been living kind of “waiting to move” the last 2 years, we knew we were ready to really settle down somewhere.  So we considered a few options, prayed, talked a lot with our pastor, elders at our church, our small group, Zac and Mel and many others and felt confident that God was leading us to be a part of this church in Toronto.  We made our way down to visit a couple of times (and had actually been there once before a couple of years ago!), started getting to know some of the people there, stayed in some of their homes, went to services and prayer meetings…we were loving it!!  There is much I could say about the life of this church that has made us feel so confident in moving our family here.  And God provided a job and apartment so quickly; we were even able to move earlier than April 1^st. 

We will miss Ottawa: the city, our neighborhood, our apartment where Annie was born, family (especially family), friends (especially friends), familiar places, our church (especially our church), but we’re so thrilled to be in Toronto.  And it's just wonderful to know that God knew this was where we would be planting ourselves.  That "the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps".  We are confident:  we are right where He wants us. 

That's our story.

And now get ready for a ridiculous amount of random pictures from the last few weeks...mostly Birdie-girl.

xoxo

"the gospel in her home" (the heart)

We moved this past week.  Moved cities.  That’s a big deal.  We knew we would be moving by the end of March, but we were super surprised when Mike’s new employers (North York General Hospital in Toronto) asked him to start this past Monday.  (Not to worry, this move requires a post all of its own, I know!  I’ll give it that soon enough!!)  So in a week we packed up our entire apartment and moved.  That was a stressful week; and naturally I found myself being snarky, bitey (that’s my own word), quick to argue, and wanting my own way about things.   It was towards the end of the week, when the apartment full of half-filled boxes began to close in on me, that I went for a walk with Birdie to get a coffee.  I sat to read a bit and was reminded of this scripture:  “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks”  (Luke 6:45).  I was hit with the reality that my heart was full of some really bad stuff.  The week of moving and the stress that came along with it had “squeezed” me, and what came out of me was not goodness, it wasn’t mercy and grace, it wasn’t gentleness and kindness.  And as the scripture is clear in saying, the stressful week didn’t create the sin in me—it exposed it.  The stress simply jostled me a bit, and what came from my heart was sin.   It’s times like these in life when we get such a clear look into our hearts.  A conflict with my husband or a stressful situation doesn’t cause me to sin—it simply reveals the sin already in my heart. 

So is there any good news or hope in this sadly real situation?  Yes!  The good news is that Christ has forgiven me and has promised me a new heart! In Ezekial 36:26 God promises, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”   In Christ, in trusting His death and resurrection on my behalf, my old heart dies and I am given a new heart; a heart that hates evil and rejoices in the truth.  And so, I’m not left without hope.  I’m not left to try to make a bad heart outwardly conform to a law or make its actions appear to be “good.”  Instead, Christ can and does actually make me good by giving me His righteousness. 

And while before God I am perfectly right in Christ, I still find that I’m journeying toward this new nature, become progressively more like Christ throughout my life.  I am becoming what I am already. And so I can respond to these situations with thankfulness, because its through these situations that I can clearly see the state of my heart, repent, and ask Jesus to change me more and more into His image.  These stresses, conflicts, and irritations can serve as a grace in my life to point me to my continual need for the Savior. 

The gospel tells me that I’m actually more sinful than I even know, than I can ever know, but also that in Christ I am more loved and accepted than I can ever imagine.  This is good news.  This is what changes our hearts, and it’s clearly heart-change that we need.  I am trusting Christ this week to fill my heart with good treasure, so that out of it I can bring forth good—to my family and the people I encounter every day.   

 

see Al's post here. 
see Tiff's post here. 
and if you do a similar post, leave a link in the comments!! :) 
and i'll update all about our move to the big city of toronto soooooon. 
xoxo

"the gospel in her home" (my cup)

for my post this week, i'm going to share directly from one of my favorite little books called "A Gospel Primer for Christians" by Milton Vincent.  (or just affectionately called "The Primer" in our home)

"Viewing life's blessings as water in a drinking cup, I know that I could discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full.  Certainly, the latter approach is the better of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this. 

The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath.  This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day.  With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude.  If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me.  That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of 'every spiritual blessing in Christ,' and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy.  As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve."

when i encounter trials (or just "empty-cup" kind of days) i want to face it full of gratitude, seeing all that God has given me in Christ.  truly, to have Jesus is to have everything!!  this is wisdom: that He is really our only true and lasting hope!!

 

 

 

"when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay!" 

 

alsoooo, hop on over to al's blog!! 

and baby lucia came this weekend.  see her here on tiff's instagram.  

she is beeeeeautiful!!  

congrats ricky and tiff and amos!!!!  

xoxo

"the gospel in her home" (gospel armor)

paul tells us in ephesians 6 to get ready for a battle. to "take up" and "put on" the "breastplate of righteousness," the "gospel of peace" for our feet, the "shield of faith," the "helmet of salvation," and the "sword of the Spirit," which he says is the word of God.  

i often think of my role as a wife and mama as pretty "peaceful territory."  not much of a battle raging in the home, at least not spiritually life-threatening.  but i think even (perhaps especially) we must heed paul's warning to arm and guard our spiritual-selves. as mothers we may face temptations to worry, compare, envy, or get angry; and these can be deadly to our souls. 

and what does paul warn us to use in guarding ourselves from such sin?  

the gospel.  

over and over, pictures of the gospel are given as armor to give us protection against the evil one.  each piece of armor we put on is rooted in the great and loving work that Christ accomplished for us on the cross.  and i'm convinced it requires diligence and intentionality. we don't wake up each day armed with the gospel, or paul wouldn't have warned us like this.  instead of obsessing each day over instagram or our child's development or home decor or shopping online, we should make the gospel of Christ the obsession of our heart. we should read it, think about it, speak about it, thank God for it, rejoice and delight in it.

how can we grow in this? 

how do you feed on and delight in the gospel throughout the day?

how do you "take up" and "put on" the gospel? 

i would love to hear your thoughts.

also, don't forget to stop over at allison's blog and tiff's blog. 

xo

a message you shouldn't miss!!

my husband preached at our church the sunday before last. 

listen here (on Feb. 24).  

he's also preached in the past.

here's another one (scroll down to Nov. 4) on prayer and providence.

bible reading

 

"let us strive, every year we live, to become more deeply acquainted with scripture." -jc ryle

i've always been really bad at "read-the-bible-in-a-year" plans.  i've actually neverrrr finished one in a year. i was asking my husband this week about bible reading, and mike sent me to this article and encouraged me to pick a book each month this year to really study.  to read it over and over (if its shorter), read commentaries, outlines, study notes, etc...  and this got me really excited!!  so i'm planning to start in march with the book of 1 John.  and the article had some other great ideas as well.  i'm looking forward to being challenged and thinking hard and asking the Spirit for insight and understanding. 
have you found any tools to be really helpful for you with bible reading?

"the gospel in her home" (hope in God)

i too often foolishly put my hope in the wrong things. 

i tend to want only "peace like a river to attend my way".
but i find when life challenges me (e.g. my baby is up all night for many nights, or i haven't swept the floor in days and company is coming over, or i haven't exercised in a week... you know, big challenges), i respond sinfully with anxiety, frustration, even despair (seriously).   and if i'm sensitive to the Spirit in these moments, it's a flashlight in the dark parts of my heart.  i can see clearly how i'm hoping in this world.  clinging to the idol of clean floors and sleeping babies.  hoping in my ability to keep it all together...  and really, it's grace that i can't.  because its a reminder, again and again, day after day, that i need a savior.
Christ is my righteousness and my only hope.
God has chosen me to be his child, by no merit of my own.  i cannot sweep floors enough to earn or  maintain his love, and they cannot become filthy enough to lose it.
"my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness"



and this is true both today, when my problems are as small as fussy babies and dirty floors,  and tomorrow, when perhaps i face true sorrow and pain. 
either way, "on Christ the solid rock i stand."

and i trust that i'm not alone in these struggles, which is why we are so excited to build this community.  we want to rejoice with you in how the gospel story is transforming our story.  so pleeease, leave a link to your own blog post in the comments.  let's celebrate the glorious gospel of Christ together!!
also head on over to
allison's blog and
tiff's blog.
xo