The Macs

sleepy babe (who’s not such a babe anymore)

Jess — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:41:01 +0000

A few weeks ago Griffin went through this little stage of waking up from his nap way before he should have. I knew he was still tired but he would insist on getting up. I would set him on the couch and go finish up whatever I was doing. A few minutes later I would walk back into the room and find this. He is not one to fall asleep unless he is in his crib. But I’m pretty sure this happened three different times in that one week. A sleeping babe totally conked out in the middle of the mess. I was wishing I could take his place for just a few minutes.

There is just something so sweet about watching your babies sleep. Even when they are supposed to be in their crib taking a nap. I guess napping on the couch works too.

the promised one :: lesson one

Jess — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:18:01 +0000

So…how did your first week of study go?

Julie and I met with our community group on Tuesday night and it was so great. We really had no idea what to expect. We had heard maybe a few people would come but no real commitments. We wondered if we would be studying by ourselves. But pretty soon there were twelve of us getting to know each other and ready to study Genesis together. I am so thankful that the Lord brought us together this summer. I can’t wait to dive into Genesis with these women and see how it fits into the bigger story of God’s plan for redemption. Are you ready?

Do you read The Jesus Storybook Bible with your kids? It is my favorite children’s Bible. I love how at the end of each Old Testament story it always points us back to Jesus, our Rescuer. This is how it describes the stories in the Bible:

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

I feel like this is exactly where Nancy is pointing us in this study through Genesis. Here is what she says it will take for us to see Jesus:

We don’t want to read little bits of Scripture and take away an inspirational thought. We don’t want to pluck out Scriptures that make us feel good regardless of whether we’re reading them in context. We want to understand the big picture of what God has done and is doing in the world. But more than that, we want our hearts to burn with recognition that this is not just a story outside us, but a story God is accomplishing in us through Christ.

We do not want to settle for dry doctrine or factual knowledge about the Bible. We want the Word of God to do its work in us, burning away the impurities in our hearts; we want sparks of new insights to fly; we want the flames of our passion for God to be fanned into a raging fire. We want our hearts to melt at the beauty of Christ.

How will this happen? We will go to the Old Testament and read it through gospel eyes. We will ask God to open our eyes to see Jesus, to give us the ability to recognize him in the people, the promises, the stories, the symbols, and the shadows of the Old Testament.

That is my prayer for us as we study Genesis together…that we would read the book of Genesis through gospel eyes.

So here are a few questions from lesson one for us to think about…

Jesus said that the Pharisees studied the Scriptures intently, thinking that their knowledge of Scriptures and tedious law keeping would put them in good standing with God. But there was Jesus standing in front of them, and they rejected him and had him killed because he infuriated them and threatened their power. How do we keep from being like the Pharisees as we study Scripture?

As we begin this study and seek to understand the Scripture, please share what you hope to gain from the investment you will make over the coming weeks and how you want to be different after you complete it.

If you are participating in the study we would love for you to leave a comment answering one or both of these questions. Or, just leave a comment sharing what the Lord taught you this week. Feel free to respond to comments and we will do the same. We can’t wait to hear from you all!

I’m sorry I got this first lesson posted so late today. In the coming weeks I will plan to always post on Friday mornings. This week the garage sale craziness got the best of me and I just didn’t get it done. Next week, I’ll see you on Friday morning.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the summer:

June 21 – lesson 2

June 28 – lesson 3

July 5 – lesson 4

July 12 – lesson 5

July 19 – lesson 6

July 26 – lesson 7

August 2 – lesson 8

August 9 – lesson 9

August 16 – lesson 10

If you still want to join us it is not too late. The first lesson was an introduction and you just have to do a little reading to catch up. The second lesson is when we will really dive into Genesis. We would love for you to study with us! You can find all the study information here and here.

Have a great weekend!

later today…

Jess — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:31:32 +0000

Good morning! We have been busy preparing for our garage sale that starts TODAY! It is amazing to me how much stuff I can accumulate. Sheesh. De-cluttering feels so good. The boys have been busy helping me too as you can see. With all this garage sale stuff going on I didn’t get my post for the Bible Study finished for this morning. I am still planning on posting…it will just be later today sometime. So make sure to check back…thanks for being patient! I look forward to hearing about what God taught you in the first lesson! Happy Friday!

dump trucks

Jess — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:41:18 +0000

One thing I love about this stage in my boys’ lives is watching them play together. There is something so sweet about their relationship as brothers. And I love just sitting back and watching their imaginations unfold. They are creative!

Don’t get me wrong. There are days when I wonder if they could possibly play together for even five minutes without fighting. Days when I wonder if they will ever learn to be kind and share. It’s hard to learn to be generous and think of others before yourself…even for me! But then there are these days when I just sit back and watch them be best friends and it erases everything else. Their conversations (Levi talks, Griffin grunts ), the things they pretend, and their little giggles are the best.

Last week we tilled our garden and all of a sudden the garden became a construction site. The dump trucks came out and the working began. They went up and down the corn rows and around the garden over and over and over. I am trying to teach them that they have to go around the plants and not step on them or plow over them with their trucks. They really do a pretty good job. Only a few corn causalities happened…I have a feeling plant casualties will just be part of my life from now on!

I think they played dump trucks for close to and hour. They were having so much fun. Thank goodness for a garden full of dirt!

Oh that face. It cracks me up every time. I will miss those determined pursed lips someday.

I never quite figured out what they were working on but they would stop and fill up their trucks with dirt, drive them somewhere else to dump the dirt and occasionally stop to work on their engines or fill up their trucks with gas. Levi was usually in the lead and Griffin just followed behind doing everything his brother did.

They did such a good job just playing in the dry dirt for a long time and then they realized that playing in the mud might be more fun. Of course mud is more fun.

I know that some moms have a hard time watching their kids get so dirty, but I think it is just part of being a boy. They need explore and they need to get dirty. And I figure I can either follow them around as they play, making sure they stay clean…which is both impossible and makes all of our lives miserable. Or I can just let them get dirty and muddy and wet and give them lots of baths and do lots of laundry. Laundry isn’t my favorite but it is totally worth it to me.

I mean…look at Levi. There is just something that brings him so much joy when he is covered head to toe with mud. So here is my motherly advice for you today…let your kids get dirty every once in awhile! It’s messy but so fun. You just might want to make sure they aren’t wearing their nice khaki shorts before you let them outside! Oops.

the promised one…are you ready?

Jess — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:24:09 +0000

Recently I was eating lunch with some friends and one of them asked me out of the blue, “What is your passion?”. I was a little caught off guard because, really…that is a huge question! What is my passion? What is the one thing that is driving my life right now? I thought I would be stumbling all over myself to answer but immediately the Lord brought to my mind something that He has laid on my heart. Something that He has been growing inside me since Cora died. A passion for His Word. Not just a passion to know His Word. But a passion to understand it and apply it to my life in a way that changes me. And I long to encourage others, especially moms, to do the same.

Don’t get me wrong. I struggle just like the rest of you. I would like to say that along with this passion has come a daily discipline to be in the Word and that I have never struggled since. I do struggle. Even just this past week I have been struggling again. I struggle to keep my time with the Lord a priority. I get selfish and lazy and allow other things to creep in and fill my time…things that definitely aren’t as important. I make excuses and listen to the excuses that others make for me. After all, I am a busy mom, right?! It is just about impossible to have any quiet time by myself, let alone time to study God’s Word. But really, I need God’s Word desperately. Especially as a busy mom. His Word is where I find joy and strength and purpose as I struggle to raise my kids and function on not enough sleep. I need His Word to guide me as I learn how to discipline my boys, and pray for them, and train them, and teach them about this God that I love with my whole heart.

While I still fail all the time, I get tired of hearing so many people make excuses for me…for moms. That it is just impossible to make time to study the Word at this stage in our lives. That reading a verse here and there and praying is good enough for now. I agree, some days it does seem nearly impossible to find any alone time. But somehow I manage to find time to do a lot of other things (you know, like instagram and reading blogs) that are far less important than filling my life with God’s Word. It seems like we are minimizing the power of God’s Word when we live out these excuses…myself included. Moms, we need the power of God’s Word in our lives.

Today at church our pastor taught from Nehemiah 8. Building on the Word of God was his theme. We have to hear the Word, respond to the Word, and apply to Word to our lives. Without the Word of God we can’t build anything that counts. I wrote down this quote from Dr. B.B. Warfield,

The Bible is the Word of God in such a way that when the Bible speaks, God speaks.

I love that. I want God to speak into my life and into the lives of my children. That won’t happen by wishful thinking or by just reading a random verse here and there. I need to be in the Word…reading God’s very words to me. And I need to allow His words to transform my life.

A good reminder for me as we plunge into these summer months.

What about you? Are you needing some accountability to be in God’s Word?

We are starting our online Bible study, The Promised One by Nancy Guthrie, this week. It is a study that has grown out of this passion that I have been talking about. A passion that I am so thankful that my friend Julie shares with me. So, will you join us? Grab a friend to do the study with you. There is still time to get your book. You can find it on Amazon here. You can find all the Bible study info here and here. The first week is mainly reading and discussion questions. We will dive into studying Genesis the second week.

If you are joining us you can grab our Bible study button that my friend Katy designed for us (thanks Katy!). I tried to figure the whole scroll box thing but I could only get this gray box to show up. Technology is not my passion. But I think you should be able to grab the button the same way by copying the html code in the gray box. I am so excited to study Genesis together this summer and be changed by God’s Word!

a trip to the pasture

Jess — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 04:21:56 +0000

In the spring Joel always takes cattle out to the pasture to graze. Anytime he asks the boys if they want to go out to the pasture with him they get so excited. I wish you could see their faces. I know I say this all the time, but they have the best daddy. It’s true.

The boys have been several times before but this was my first time to come along. A family trip to the pasture…kind of like a family date. Joel had to take mineral out to the cattle. Levi told me they were giving the cows their vitamins. The boys got off at each stop to help put the mineral in the feeders.

When you go out to the pasture you also get to see the cows up close and personal.

Well hello there, cow number twelve.

The boys act like it is no big deal. Those huge animals creeping in closer and closer. They are true farm boys already. Oh, and they really like riding on the four wheeler.

I know that I am going to blink my eyes and my two baby boys are going to be big boys driving ME around on a four wheeler. Let’s just pretend that won’t ever happen.

I wish I could remember what Levi was telling the cows. It was so funny. He just kept talking and talking like they were his best friends.

We stopped by the pond before we left the pasture. The boys love throwing rocks into the water. I’m pretty sure they would have stayed there for hours.

Griffin would hold open his hand and grunt. The grunting meant please put another rock in my hand so I can throw it…over and over and over.Levi got his own rocks. He tried to find the biggest ones he could lift. He is a pretty strong little guy.

I loved going out to the pasture with my boys. We decided that we would have to take a few more trips out there this summer…and maybe have a few family picnics by the pond too.

#themacboys2013 :: may

Jess — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 19:48:48 +0000

May was a very full month. It started with a road trip to Ohio. Our longest family road trip yet! The boys did great and we had fun celebrating their Aunt Ivy’s graduation. When we got back it was finally warm enough to start working in the garden. The boys loved digging in the dirt and have been dirty ever since. They have been checking cattle, going for tractor rides, picnicking in the flint hills, going for walks, riding bikes and playing in water whenever possible. Let’s just say we take a lot of baths in this house. In between all the mud messes we celebrated Mother’s Day, celebrated Memorial Day, and Griffin had a quick little stay in the hospital for surgery. A busy month for sure. A month that I have been thankful for warm weather, sunshine, and two healthy boys. Now it is time for the real summer fun…hello June!

You can check out the past months here:

I am @jessmcclenahan on Instagram if you want to follow along!

Q&A :: the promised one {summer Bible study}

Jess — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:05:57 +0000

So, it was really clear in my head how I explained the Bible study…but apparently there was some confusion. Sorry about that! Let me clarify a few things and answer some of your questions.

Q: Is the Bible study meeting at your house?

A: I would love to invite you all to my house…but…no, the Bible study is not meeting at my house. The community Bible study that I am leading (along with Julie) is meeting at a different location on a different day. If you happen to live in the Whitewater/Elbing area we would love for you to join us for our community study! Please email me for more information if you are interested.

Q: Is this a real Bible study or on-line Bible study?

A: Both. Like I said before, we will be meeting each week in our community. But for those who don’t live in our community we would love for you to grab a friend or someone in your own neighborhood and do the study along with us. I will assign a chapter each week and on Fridays starting June 14th we will discuss the assigned lesson here on the blog.

Q: How will the on-line study work?

A: For those of you joining us for the on-line study, we will discuss the first chapter here on my blog on Friday, June 14th. That means as soon as you get your book you can start reading! Each lesson is divided into three parts: Personal Bible Study, Teaching Chapter, Discussion Guide. You will decide how you want to do this depending on if you are studying independently or with a group of friends. What we will be discussing here on the blog on Fridays will be over the lesson as a whole (all three parts).

Q: Do I purchase my own book?

A: Yes. If you are doing this study with us online, go ahead and purchase your book. You can find it here on Amazon: The Promised One (single copy) $14.39 + shipping

Q: Is this study available on Kindle?

A: Yes. You can find the kindle version here on Amazon: The Promised One (Kindle Edition) $5.99

Hope that clears things up a little! If you have any more questions feel free to email me or leave a comment. The information on the poster below is for the on-line study only…hosted on Fridays here on the blog (The Macs)! Don’t forget to let me know if you are planning on joining us!

summer…do you have a plan?

Jess — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:19:53 +0000

I don’t know about you, but so often when the fun and crazy days of summer rush in, my discipline in studying God’s Word rushes out just as quickly. I hate that. BSF ended a week ago and as we broke for the summer my leader challenged us to make sure we have a plan for the summer. Be ready for it. Know that without the accountability of Bible study it will be easy to let that discipline slip. Don’t get to the end of the summer and realize that you didn’t make any time to spend with Jesus.

So, what about you? Do you have a plan?

If you are wondering what to study this summer and are needing a little accountability…keep on reading!

My friend Julie and I were talking about what the Lord has been laying on our hearts…both of us feeling like we were not sharing the gospel outside of our homes, especially with the people living in our communities. We both live in the country and it is very easy to come and go and not connect with the people God has placed around us. We live out in the middle of nowhere for a reason, right?! It is way too easy to stay comfortably within our Christian circles. But we want our hearts to feel broken over the people we encounter each day who don’t know Jesus and we want to do something about that! So…we decided to stretch ourselves a little this summer and host a community Bible study, inviting those that live around us (the country girls!). We have no idea how many people will show up…or even who will show up. We are just praying that God would draw people from our community and that we would grow to know Him and love Him deeper together.

Do you want to join us?

Obviously you probably don’t live in our community (if you do live in the Whitewater/Elbing area, you should come!). But you can still grab a friend or group of friends…or even better, reach out to a neighbor or someone in your community. I love blogging and the on-line community but it is not a substitute for ‘real-life’ connections. We need people who see us everyday…the ugly and all…to hold us accountable. We need people who can stand by us when we can barely stand on our own. We need people who are there to rejoice with us in our victories. And we need people who can be honest with us when there is sin to be conquered in our lives. Real people.

Our desire is that we would connect and study God’s word with real people that we ‘do life’ with and then come together on-line to discuss each chapter and further encourage each other here. But if that is not an option for you…of course, feel free to join us as you study on your own.

I know this doesn’t give you much time. If God is bringing someone to mind as you are reading this or you are feeling a nudging on your heart…GO! Let’s expect God to do a changing work in our hearts and our communities this summer. Nothing you have planned for this summer is more important than reading and studying God’s Word…nothing! I need that reminder too.

So, here is our plan…

Julie and I will host the study here, beginning June 14 (that is the week we will be starting our community study as well!). The study will run for 10 weeks and we will discuss a chapter each week here on the blog. We will use the comments section of each post to discuss things we are learning or questions we might still have.

There are a few ways you can purchase this Bible study on Amazon:

The Promised One (single copy) $14.39 + shipping

The Promised One (10 pack for Bible study groups) $75.88

The Promised One (Kindle Edition) $5.99

You can find a few answers to your questions about this study here:

Q&A with Nancy Guthrie about The Promised One

If you are thinking about hosting a Bible study using this book, Nancy also has some great resources for leaders:

Leader’s Guide & Bible Study Announcement Flyer (free downloads)

The Promised One DVD (optional teaching DVDs)

At the end of the intro to The Promised One Nancy says, “I am praying, as you see Jesus in a fresh way over the coming weeks through the book of Genesis, that your love for him will go deeper and that your longing for him to come again will grow stronger.”

That is my prayer for all of us too. If you are planning on joining us for this study I would love for you to leave a comment and let us know. There might only be a few of us but I pray that we will be an encouragement to each other. Also, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

I can’t wait to study Genesis together!

vintage kitchen shower

Jess — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:39:26 +0000

Way back in January I helped throw a kitchen shower for my newest sister-in-law. I kept meaning to post some pictures, but you know how timely I am! So, here it is a few months later…a vintage kitchen bridal shower.

The sweet Lauren from Lauren Haddox Designs designed the invitations and all the paper goods. She is so great. I just send her my ideas and I always love everything she comes up with. If you are looking for party printables, go check out her shop!

Lauren also created a matching recipe card that we included with each invitation. We asked the guests to bring a favorite recipe to share with the bride.

We gave Morgan an apron and made her wear it for the shower. She looked beautiful even in an cupcake apron!

My sister and I were in charge of the decorations. We decided on a vintage kitchen theme.

The decorations were so easy and fun. We just used things we had in our own kitchens or around our houses. Wooden crates, muffin tins, cake pans, wooden utensils, Pyrex, cookbooks and vintage table clothes.

We didn’t really have a plan for the tables. We just brought everything we thought might work and put it together the day of the shower.

We decorated the mantle with doily bunting, hearts, and wooden utensils.

The background of this picture about kills me. Let’s just pretend this shower took place in an old barn or somewhere outdoors with white wooden chairs around each table. But it was January in Kansas and our church was nice and warm…and had a fireplace! So just ignore the miscellaneous things in the background. The cute love bunting was also designed by Lauren.

The shower was in the afternoon but we didn’t want to only serve sweets so we served veggies and pasta salad too.

And instead of cupcakes or cake we had a fruit pizza bar. These were so yummy!

Citrus water, strawberry water and coffee for drinks.

The bride and her mama.

My other sister-in-law was in charge of games. My sweet little niece was her assistant. They asked Morgan questions about Owen and each time she got a question wrong she had to chew a gumball (and keep them all in her mouth until the end).

My niece was so cute. She got so excited each time a question was answered wrong and would just giggle and giggle as she handed Morgan another gumball.

For favors we sent each guest home with a wooden spoon…with a cute thank you tag tied on with bakers twine.

This was such a fun shower! Morgan and Owen had a beautiful rehearsal dinner and wedding too. I will show you those pictures soon!

* * * * *

Resources:

Kitchen shower invite and printables :: Lauren Haddox Designs

Food trays :: Amazon

Wooden spoons :: World Market

All other decorations and kitchen items :: vintage or handmade