There's a Lesson In This

While so much fun seeing all of our families, this Christmas season was long and tiring.  After traveling three weekends in a row we were all so ready to be home where the kids could play with their new toys and we could all sleep in our own beds.  And then on our second day home the littlest wakes up with a stomach bug, followed by the oldest, then mommy.  :(  Not exactly how we planned to enjoy our new toys and time at home, BUT there's a lesson in this . . .

During our driving this holiday and in the days leading up to the New Year, I took some time to sit and consider what I wanted out of this new beginning.  I put in some extra prayer time and Scripture reading and while many were coming up with words for the new year, I felt like God placed this little phrase in my mind - work smarter, not harder.  You see, I'm from the mindset that in order to expect big things (and really feel like you're doing anything worthwhile), you have to work hard and put in the time.  Unfortunately, this mindset has left me strained, stressed, and overwhelmed.  Not to mention feeling like a failure in many areas of my life.  God's gentle instruction opened up a whole new idea.  Slowly He's been showing me to put Him first, follow where He leads, and do only what is needed in each area without going overboard (I often dive in head first and want a years worth of work done in about an hour, just ask my husband!).  

While my children have been sick, I've done countless loads of laundry, cleaned furniture and carpets, snuggled sick babies, and worked only in the few minutes I can each day.  And you know what?  I haven't been stressing.  In fact, I feel as though I've been more successful in my endeavors because I haven't pushed.  I haven't had time to overthink.  And I've been trusting the Lord so much more.  Trusting that He will lead me in the direction I need to be and not trying to do something beyond that.  Accepting that He has good things for me, even if they don't look like what I thought.

He has confirmed this to me in a couple ways over the last 24 hours.  First involved an incredible book I'm reading called Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington.  In my reading she talks about our God-given purpose and our need to be obedient to that purpose, knowing He can do so much more through us when we follow the plan He has.  The second was through an audio teaching by Priscilla Shirer. I have a devotional CD of hers that plays whenever I'm driving and in this particular message she talks about hearing a prize winning tomato farmer share how important pruning is to producing the largest, ripest fruit.  She goes on to talk about how sometimes we have to prune good things in order to grow better things.  It's funny because they also both point out various times in Scripture where Jesus Himself reminds the people why He came.  For example, after healing many people, the whole town came out to where Jesus was staying and attempted to keep Him there so He could continue to heal them.  This was His response:

But He said, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."  - Luke 4:43

Both ladies pointed out that Jesus didn't just come to do the Father's Will, but that He did the Father's Will and nothing else.  It would have been good for Him to stay and heal them, but that's not what He was called to do.  Just as I am not called to work myself ragged in every area, trying to trudge my own path and force everything to work the way I want under my control.  I must work smarter, not harder.  For me, this means spending more time with the Lord, listening to His guidance, and being obedient even when I don't know how it will turn out.

I'd love to hear if God has given you a word or phrase for this new year.  Or perhaps He's in the midst of teaching you a new lesson.  I'd love to hear that too!

Be Strong and Courageous

Y'all, it has been a month!  Haha!  After traveling three weekends in a row, we are all so thankful to be in our own home for the foreseeable future.  While seeing family and friends is wonderful, there's just something about being in your own space where I can let the kids roam and know there's nothing they can really get into!

If you've ever read one of my posts, you know that I try to be as honest and transparent as possible.  Well, here we go again!  I am, in general, a very anxious person.  I have a habit of overthinking decisions, rethinking decisions, regretting decisions, and oftentimes just being overall nervous about decisions I make.  Take for instance today.  I needed to place an order online.  It took me hours to figure out what to purchase, not to mention the taking things out of my cart to add others in only to take those out and go back to what I had before to finally taking everything and only purchasing what I originally planned on doing!  Ok, get the picture?  So here we go . . .

I work for a direct sales company and, therefore, can run my business however I so choose.  That is both very freeing and also nerve-wracking for someone like me.  I get anxious about whether I've made the right decision, if I'm planning as I should, if I'm being too salesy with friends, etc.  It was starting to really get out of control so I took a moment after the kids fell asleep to read some Scripture and pray.  Here's the verse I found myself meditating on:

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  - Joshua 1:9

It's a pretty common verse, but as I thought about today I realized there's really two parts to it.  I am not to afraid or discouraged because God is with me.  But that requires that I be taking time to listen and obey where He leads me.  Joshua was also instructed many times to follow the Lord's commands.  He didn't have to be afraid because he knew that where he went is where God called him to be.  It didn't mean things would be easy and, if you've read their story, it wasn't, but it did mean Joshua didn't have to be anxious or afraid.

It was a strong reminder for me to put my decisions in His hands.  Ask Him how I should run my business, raise my kids, spend my time, and then take a moment to listen and see what He says.  I don't mean an audible voice (although sometimes that would be lovely), but where I feel my passions leading, where I feel peace, where I feel challenged.  God speaks to us in different ways, but if we are quiet and still enough to listen, we will hear His voice.

As my little man would say, "Be strong and courageous, God is with ME!"

For The Weary Mama

In a season of feeling stressed and overwhelmed with two little ones, a new (to me) ministry, and a small business (not to mention typical household chores), I have truly recognized my need to get back into the Word regularly to gain clarity, strength, and wisdom.  After my daughter was born in mid-February, it was a steep learning curve figuring out how to accomplish anything with two under two in the house.  I had to figure out what worked so I could make dinner, fold laundry, get through the grocery store (!), and, not surprisingly, how to do it with limited sleep!  I'm sure many of you can relate.  So here's me trying to get in a better rhythm.

My plan of action is to focus on the book of John (I just needed somewhere to start without something else to think about each time I sat down!).  I'm probably a week into this idea of reading a chapter a day and just finished John 4!  But my tired, weary, anxious mind got a lot of encouragement today as I read these familiar stories.  Things I never noticed before seemed to stand out.

Let's start here, " . . . tired as [Jesus] was from the journey . . . " (John 4:6b).  Did you catch that? Jesus understands how it feels to be tired!  He can relate to me!  It may seem small and I've rushed past it many times, but when you get so stressed you feel as though you're failing daily, there's encouragement in knowing Jesus knows how tired I am and what that feels like!  Phew!

Here's some more encouragement for the weary mama - just a few verses later, Jesus says to the woman at the well, ". . . the water I give him will become in him like a spring of water . . . "  (John 4:14b).  It renews and refreshes itself.  And we have this spring (the Holy Spirit) within us!  How often I forget that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within me (Romans 6)!  I have become very aware of a little mantra that runs through my mind (and out of my mouth) when things get tough.  You might recognize it, it goes like this, "I can't!  I can't!  I just can't!"  The truth is, He can!  While there is some truth in that - in and of myself I can't - it's not the whole truth.  Enter God! I can't, but He can and His power is at work within me.  This gives me hope.  Will I remember this truth every time I get overwhelmed?  No.  But the more I remind myself, the more quickly this truth will come when the moments become too much.

It's not much, but hopefully these passages encouraged you as they did me.  And remember, mama, you're doing GREAT!

My Heart Breaks

I sit down to watch the news to find a special on the Syrian refugee crisis.  As I watch them pan the camera around a huge room full of cots I spot an infant climbing on one of the beds and suddenly I'm transported there.  This is my child, my reality.  Just a few months ago things got so bad I had to grab a backpack and decide which items in my home were of most importance.  What would give us a higher chance of survival?  I pack up items for my infant child and figure out how to carry all of this and leave my home.  I don't know exactly where I'm going, but all I know is anywhere is safer than here.  I pray we will find food before what we have runs out.  I hope there will be a place where we can find water along the way and maybe even a place to get out of the elements.  All I know is anywhere is safer than here.  I walk and walk for hundreds of miles carry the single bag we could hold and try to comfort my son only to find myself denied access to go any farther or get any help.  Or perhaps I do make it into a refugee camp and find myself gated into a room where I have generously been given a cot, some food, and water, but what kind of life is this for my child?  At least he's alive and, for the moment, safe, but where do we go from here?  Is this our life?  Relegated to a room full of cots?  And just like that I'm back in my living room sitting on my couch watching the news and weeping.  My son is safe and I am sitting well fed and hydrated with a roof over my head, but what of that woman's child?  What of her life?  What of her husband who looks at his family and cries inside wishing he could provide more for them?  I pray earnestly for them and can't even express the physical weight I feel at the thought of what those families are facing.

With all of this heartache I turn on social media only to find so many people saying such hateful things and expressing a desire to deny these people any peace, protection, or future.  And, yet again, my heart breaks.  This time not for the physical needs of people, but for spiritual needs.  Many of those I see fighting to keep these refugees away are Christians.  I read them and think, Have they forgotten?  What does God's Word say?  Has He ever commanded us to ignore those in need?  Quite the opposite!  Verse after verse, word after word commands us to love, show compassion, offer food, give shelter.  We are even told to pray for our enemies!  So how can we justify such hateful responses while still claiming to follow Christ's example?  (You do know Christian means "little Christ," right?)

The justification of many is they fear a terrorist will slip in through the cracks and harm us.  I understand that fear, but can I be blatantly honest with you?  If that is your thinking, the terrorists and our ultimate Enemy have already won.  You have allowed them to persuade you to turn your back on those in need (and God's Word) to fulfill the fleshly desire to protect your own at any cost.  Is it wrong to want your family safe?  Absolutely not!  But if your actions go against the Word of God, in my humble opinion, you are wrong.  Understand that everything I say I put myself in that position and wonder, could I do it?  Would I want a refugee family staying in my home?  How would I feel?  Perhaps it is the Lord's grace for me in this situation, but I would gladly take a family in, knowing this is what God calls me to do - provide shelter, food, water, protection, and love.  Would it be challenging?  Yes.  But I have chosen to trust that whatever the Lord calls me to do He has purpose for.  And He will give me the strength, provision, and protection needed to carry out His Will in my life and in my family's life.  I can only do this by placing my faith in Him alone, not on earthly securities, military power, or my own abilities. 

I typically stay away from controversial topics, but this particular one has broken my heart, both for the Syrian refugees and the state of Christianity in America.  I apologize if I stepped on any toes, but I felt it needed to be said.  And if you are offended, I encourage you to go to Scripture and let me know if I have said anything that does not align with God's Word. 

Finally, I want to encourage you to read a wonderful article put out by Relevant Magazine entitled "What the Bible says About How to Treat Refugees."  The article is simply a list of verses with a one sentence header for each summarizing what action that verse calls us to take.  You can find the article here.

Oooo . . . tempting . . .

Over the last couple of weeks I have begun reading through the Gospel of Luke.  I really felt the desire to try looking at these stories with fresh eyes, gaining insight into stories I've heard hundreds of times before . . . you know the ones.  The ones where the skim over it quickly recounting the story paraphrased in your head without actually reading the words on the page.  In taking the time to slow down and read this Scriptures as if I've never heard them before, I have heard the Lord speaking new lessons to me. 

I'm sure many of you have read of the temptation of Jesus.  You know the story.  Jesus has just been baptized and it says the Spirit led Him into the desert to be tempted by Satan.  It shares how Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and then hear comes Satan on the scene with an attempt to entice Him into turning stones to bread, jumping off the temple so they angels would rescue Him, and bowing down to Satan with the promise that Satan would give the earth to Him.  Now try reading it anew in Luke 4:1-13. 

Here's what stood out to me as it never has before.  Satan showed up after Jesus hadn't eaten for 40 days.  Have you ever noticed that the Enemy shows up strong when we're already down or stressed?  Like when you have a huge project at work or school and then you get sick on top of it all.  Or just those times when it seems everything is happening at once.  If you're anything like me you can find yourself getting so overwhelmed that your time with the Lord diminishes, prayer life seems like a dream, and fellowship - who has time for that!?  Satan loves to come in when we're vulnerable because we tend to open ourselves up more to his ploys - his little whispers that say you can't finish in time, it's not worth it anyway, you aren't worth it, it will never turn out like you want, you better get used to it because this is life, and on and on . . .

It says later on in Luke 4:13 that Satan "left Him until an opportune time."  He wasn't done with Jesus.  Our Enemy is very persistent and he knows the times we are most vulnerable to his tricks.  So what do we do?  Give up?  Understand that Satan will always have the upper hand?  NO!!!  Consider your own life - when does our Enemy most gain ground in your thoughts and actions?  Take note of those times and guard yourself.  Memorize Scripture that helps in those areas where he tends to be most effective, be sure to guard your time with the Lord - He is our strength after all (Psalm 28:7), and talk to someone about it.  Accountability is a powerful thing.  The Enemy loses ground when you have someone else to encourage, support, and speak Truth into your life.  Secrets, lies, and darkness lose their power in the Light.

We have not been promised a life of constant peace, but that we will always have the Peacemaker with us.  We have not been promised that our Enemy will never try to draw us away from God or bring temptations against us, but we have been promised that the Lord will fight with and for us (check out the Psalms)  and that there is no temptation that we cannot overcome with God's help.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23