Do I have to ALWAYS have it together?
I feel like lately I NEVER have it together!
But what is having it all together anyways?
Does it mean that my house is spotless, my kids well-behaved, everyone prim and proper looking? No! It should mean that no matter what I am doing that my heart is focused on what is truly important which is Jesus and all that He means in my life. If I'm scrubbing toilets, I should be thankful that I can bend and clean it and thankful that I don't have to bear my bare bottom on the side of the street in a ditch because we don't have indoor plumbing. When I am picking up the clutter for the millionth time this week I should be thankful for the abundance of "stuff" that we own and that I have 4 healthy children and a wonderful husband who use all this "stuff".
My Savior has given me everlasting life. I think that I can give Him time out of every day to spend time in His Word and also helping those He puts in my path who need a helping, compassionate hand. This week it is a friend from our small group who had surgery and has 3 little ones. Last week it was helping out a neighbor who needed me to watch her child while she did a job. The week before that it was to encourage a dear sister-in-Christ that in time she will heal and be ok because I have walked in her shoes.
God gives us ample opportunities every day and every week. If we are in tune to Him then we will have it all together. We will be ready, willing servants for the greater good of bringing people closer to the one who gave us all a chance at eternal life.
Heavenly Father, thank you for opportunity and thank you for your grace in my own life that I can share with those you put in front of me today. Help me to see through your eyes who it is you want me to love for you this day.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Because He Lives
I am always in awe of the wisdom and direction God gives. Why it surprises me I still don't know, but it always seems to pleasantly do so. I am so thankful for a God who is my friend and confidant who walks beside me and holds my hand through this journey called life. What I would do without Him in this journey on earth is beyond me. I love that I have a hope eternal to look forward to. I was listening to David Crowder today as I made dinner and the hymn "Because He Lives" came on. Listen to the words some time again. What peace and assurance it brings to my very soul.
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives."
Oh sweet assurance......
The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy, but amidst my chaos my Heavenly Father holds my hand and guides me through the muck and mire and sheds light on all that is truly important.
#935: time spent with a dear sister in Christ who encouraged me in my mothering and wifely duties
#936: progress in our family unity
#937: God showing me clear direction where my son's health is concerned
#938: opportunities to share my journey with others
#939: chances to encourage others in their walk with Christ
#940: messes everywhere.......reminders of what is truly important in life
#941: parents who love to have their grandchildren spend time with them.....a blessing to all
#942: healthy children who play hockey and do dance with all the passion they have in their bodies
#943: a man who loves me unconditionally and supports me in all my duties
#944: the reminders all around me that this is not my home
#945: the examples of those who have gone before us
#946: neighbors and friends who bless us with "old" furniture that we need and they no longer do
#947: witnessing spiritual growth in our small group
#948: safety of a friend who went through surgery last minute yesterday
#949: good deals at a thrift store to help out with our food pantry
#950: God's provision at work
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives."
Oh sweet assurance......
The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy, but amidst my chaos my Heavenly Father holds my hand and guides me through the muck and mire and sheds light on all that is truly important.
#935: time spent with a dear sister in Christ who encouraged me in my mothering and wifely duties
#936: progress in our family unity
#937: God showing me clear direction where my son's health is concerned
#938: opportunities to share my journey with others
#939: chances to encourage others in their walk with Christ
#940: messes everywhere.......reminders of what is truly important in life
#941: parents who love to have their grandchildren spend time with them.....a blessing to all
#942: healthy children who play hockey and do dance with all the passion they have in their bodies
#943: a man who loves me unconditionally and supports me in all my duties
#944: the reminders all around me that this is not my home
#945: the examples of those who have gone before us
#946: neighbors and friends who bless us with "old" furniture that we need and they no longer do
#947: witnessing spiritual growth in our small group
#948: safety of a friend who went through surgery last minute yesterday
#949: good deals at a thrift store to help out with our food pantry
#950: God's provision at work
Saturday, January 14, 2012
God's Graces
OK, so here I go again......I have felt the proddings lately to write on here again. I have been counting God's graces since last summer and it has changed my life. My perspective is no longer on my woes, but on my WOWS!!! They can be huge, but mostly they are the simple every day things that God blesses my day with.
Like:
#916: family gathered to celebrate the growing lives of my twin boys
#917: a husband who works so hard to provide for our needs
#918: a husband who calls our boys to manhood and to step up to their responsibilities in our home
#919: my little girl and her cousin having such a sweet relationship....I pray it lasts forever
The list goes on and on each and every day. Some days I have to look far and some days they are glaring me in the face and daring me to complain. How can I when I see how God is constantly pouring out His grace into mine and my family's life? He is soooo good!!!
Let me share a quote for you that I read the other day in "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. "Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life." Wow! How can I NOT see Him involved in every detail of my life?!? His grace flows through every moment of every day of my life and all the craziness and calmness of my days. He is in every single one.
I am very grateful for a God who doesn't sit up there on His throne watching from afar, but instead holds my hand and guides me step by step around each new pothole in the road. He will not let me go! Praise the Lord!
Like:
#916: family gathered to celebrate the growing lives of my twin boys
#917: a husband who works so hard to provide for our needs
#918: a husband who calls our boys to manhood and to step up to their responsibilities in our home
#919: my little girl and her cousin having such a sweet relationship....I pray it lasts forever
The list goes on and on each and every day. Some days I have to look far and some days they are glaring me in the face and daring me to complain. How can I when I see how God is constantly pouring out His grace into mine and my family's life? He is soooo good!!!
Let me share a quote for you that I read the other day in "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. "Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life." Wow! How can I NOT see Him involved in every detail of my life?!? His grace flows through every moment of every day of my life and all the craziness and calmness of my days. He is in every single one.
I am very grateful for a God who doesn't sit up there on His throne watching from afar, but instead holds my hand and guides me step by step around each new pothole in the road. He will not let me go! Praise the Lord!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Laugh at your mistakes
Have you ever chosen to find humor in your situation instead of the negative? I chose that today. We have had little black flies in our house and they have multiplied exponentially over night! This morning Dylan said to me that they were on the basement floor at the bottom of the stairs. They had mostly been in the bathroom and kitchen windows up until now. Well, I went down to get a box of mac n cheese for Kelsey at lunch time and they were EVERYWHERE on the floor dead down there!!! Weird, I know! So I decided to not just check with the internet on this one(I had looked last night and tried what they suggested to no avail) but instead called Terminix. We have them spray 4 times a year for pests outside(we rarely get any type of bugs in our house because of it). The woman on the phone said they were termites after we talked a bit and said that we could get a free consultation later today. I decided I wouldn't tell Brian until he got home.
After I picked up Bradley I had to run to the Post Office to mail our Young Adult service flyers. I left Bradley in the van with it running to stay cool and Kelsey and I went in. Well, you might have thought it was Christmas the line was so long and there was only one lady working. So finally he got tired of waiting and came in. I asked him where the keys were for him to say in the van. I said but it is running, what if someone steals the van? It's ok mom, he said, I locked the doors. Now mind you, you can't lock the doors on the driver's side when you get out and the van is running, but apparently you CAN lock all the doors from the passenger side when it is running because it assumes someone is still in the driver's seat!!! Crazy technology! So I had him go check and see if he could get in any of the doors. But mom, don't you have the key in your purse. No, the keys are in the ignition, the van is running! You don't have an extra one?!? No honey, go check the doors. Nope, nothing.....so now what?!? It is 3 o'clock and I have to pick Dylan up at 3:10 at the Elementary school. My mom had just called me from home on my cell phone, but I was at the window so didn't answer it. I called her and asked her what she needed. She asked if I had heard about the tornado warnings....yes I had. Are you free to go grab Dylan at the E. School? Yes. I am stuck. Where? At the post office, my keys are in the van and the van is running and all the doors are locked. So mom to the rescue!!! :) Bradley was beside himself at this point and I couldn't help but to laugh. It was funny....why get upset? There was no changing our circumstances. So we called the police dispatch because another woman in the Post office has it on her phone(apparently her days are eventful also). They sent fire duty officers over. Well, it just happened to be someone we knew.....one of Bradley's friend's dad and another man. The other man asked what happened and I told him that Brad had locked the doors so noone would steal the van and he said that was good thinking. :) Needless to say after little wait and no pain at all, we were back in and on our way. And, a great lesson was learned on all parts...Bradley that you don't lock the van when the keys are in it and it is running and also to lighten up when bad things happen.....you can't change the circumstances but you can choose how you react to them.
We then picked up Dylan at my mom's and Nicholas at the Middle School when soccer was done and came home to the Terminix guys. They looked around and thankfully they are not termites! :) He said he thinks they look like moisture bugs, but why we have so many and all over the place is another question. He took a couple of live ones to be tested by the bug guy and I will get called in the morning. Hopefully they can get rid of them, but if not, we will laugh through this one too. Life goes on.....laughter makes the moments lighter and reminds me to be thankful for the simpler things in life. Like, mom lives right in town and is great at rescuing us when in need-thanks mom!!! :) ; Firemen are there to help when needed, they really were my heroes today! :) ; laughter taught my son to not take himself, his mistakes, or life too seriously(on that note, my dad's office manager showed up at the post office while we were waiting outside and said that she had done that before-so he wasn't alone, that and my mom dropped her keys down a sewer drain once when we were in Derry and needed to get my brother at soccer practice soon-it all worked out); and I learned that even with bugs in the house I can be thankful that I don't live outside with the snakes, mosquitoes, and other creepy crawly things. :)
Learn to laugh and lighten up a bit. It makes the days less stressful when the trials come along. :)
After I picked up Bradley I had to run to the Post Office to mail our Young Adult service flyers. I left Bradley in the van with it running to stay cool and Kelsey and I went in. Well, you might have thought it was Christmas the line was so long and there was only one lady working. So finally he got tired of waiting and came in. I asked him where the keys were for him to say in the van. I said but it is running, what if someone steals the van? It's ok mom, he said, I locked the doors. Now mind you, you can't lock the doors on the driver's side when you get out and the van is running, but apparently you CAN lock all the doors from the passenger side when it is running because it assumes someone is still in the driver's seat!!! Crazy technology! So I had him go check and see if he could get in any of the doors. But mom, don't you have the key in your purse. No, the keys are in the ignition, the van is running! You don't have an extra one?!? No honey, go check the doors. Nope, nothing.....so now what?!? It is 3 o'clock and I have to pick Dylan up at 3:10 at the Elementary school. My mom had just called me from home on my cell phone, but I was at the window so didn't answer it. I called her and asked her what she needed. She asked if I had heard about the tornado warnings....yes I had. Are you free to go grab Dylan at the E. School? Yes. I am stuck. Where? At the post office, my keys are in the van and the van is running and all the doors are locked. So mom to the rescue!!! :) Bradley was beside himself at this point and I couldn't help but to laugh. It was funny....why get upset? There was no changing our circumstances. So we called the police dispatch because another woman in the Post office has it on her phone(apparently her days are eventful also). They sent fire duty officers over. Well, it just happened to be someone we knew.....one of Bradley's friend's dad and another man. The other man asked what happened and I told him that Brad had locked the doors so noone would steal the van and he said that was good thinking. :) Needless to say after little wait and no pain at all, we were back in and on our way. And, a great lesson was learned on all parts...Bradley that you don't lock the van when the keys are in it and it is running and also to lighten up when bad things happen.....you can't change the circumstances but you can choose how you react to them.
We then picked up Dylan at my mom's and Nicholas at the Middle School when soccer was done and came home to the Terminix guys. They looked around and thankfully they are not termites! :) He said he thinks they look like moisture bugs, but why we have so many and all over the place is another question. He took a couple of live ones to be tested by the bug guy and I will get called in the morning. Hopefully they can get rid of them, but if not, we will laugh through this one too. Life goes on.....laughter makes the moments lighter and reminds me to be thankful for the simpler things in life. Like, mom lives right in town and is great at rescuing us when in need-thanks mom!!! :) ; Firemen are there to help when needed, they really were my heroes today! :) ; laughter taught my son to not take himself, his mistakes, or life too seriously(on that note, my dad's office manager showed up at the post office while we were waiting outside and said that she had done that before-so he wasn't alone, that and my mom dropped her keys down a sewer drain once when we were in Derry and needed to get my brother at soccer practice soon-it all worked out); and I learned that even with bugs in the house I can be thankful that I don't live outside with the snakes, mosquitoes, and other creepy crawly things. :)
Learn to laugh and lighten up a bit. It makes the days less stressful when the trials come along. :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
My sin is like a stinky pot
So I went to wash my dishes this morning after neglecting them for several days. I boiled chicken in my large pot Saturday morning. It is now Tuesday morning.....EWWWWW. :) Can I just say how aweful the stench was when I opened the cover this morning to wash it. Now don't judge me. I am learning to let go of certain expectations in my life to focus on the more important things in life like health(both physical and spiritual, as well as the health of our family unit). The doctor ordered it, but also it is a Biblical principle as well. Think of Mary and Martha. Mary had chosen the wise "job" at the moment which was to worship. Martha was too busy "doing" to simply enjoy being in the presence of her Savior. Now I realize that isn't an all the time choice. There has to be balance, but none-the-less God used my stinky pot this morning to teach me a Spiritual lesson. And here it is......
I have been teaching my children about confession and how that you can be reading your Bible each morning, but if you aren't confessing your sins to God daily then your relationship with Him can be wounded(mind you, I struggle with this as well). God therefore used a very distinct odor this morning to remind me. I realized when I smelled that foul stench that that is what God smells when we don't confess our sin to Him. When we just let it sit there and fester for days, weeks, months, years on end that it begins to have a foul odor. I then used a new principle that I am learning through a book I am reading "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I chose eucharisteo(thanks) for that foul smelling pot to remind me of this principle of short accounts with my sin with God. Proverbs 28: 13~"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." So like that pot that I covered and left, our sin too will smell after not too long. I John 1:9~"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Don't get like that stinky pot. Go to God each day/every moment you sin.
I have been teaching my children about confession and how that you can be reading your Bible each morning, but if you aren't confessing your sins to God daily then your relationship with Him can be wounded(mind you, I struggle with this as well). God therefore used a very distinct odor this morning to remind me. I realized when I smelled that foul stench that that is what God smells when we don't confess our sin to Him. When we just let it sit there and fester for days, weeks, months, years on end that it begins to have a foul odor. I then used a new principle that I am learning through a book I am reading "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I chose eucharisteo(thanks) for that foul smelling pot to remind me of this principle of short accounts with my sin with God. Proverbs 28: 13~"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." So like that pot that I covered and left, our sin too will smell after not too long. I John 1:9~"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Don't get like that stinky pot. Go to God each day/every moment you sin.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Closer
Closer
Shawn McDonald
"Where ever you go
Where ever you are
I just want to be there with you
I just want to be closer to you
I just want to be closer, I am yours
You can have all of me, anything, everything
I just want to be even closer"
Do you want to be closer to Him? I do. As I listened to this song this morning(at least I think it was this song) I was thinking that very thing. The funny thing is do we want the process of getting closer to Him? God's still small voice spoke to me as my heart cried out "Yes, God, that is what I want". He said to me "I am doing that right now." All the trials we are facing.....the purpose is to draw me closer to Him. It is to make me crave more of Him, because He is the only one who can truly satisfy my needs in a deep way. He knows my inner being better than I do and He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. So, when going through dark times of life(and they will come) He is the very air that we breathe. He is our all....if we let Him. So again I ask you.....do you really want to be closer to Him? It is well worth the journey, but noone ever said it would be easy. Trust in the one who has your soul's interest in mind. He is certainly trustworthy.
On a different note: I have been reading One Thousand Gifts. It has been an awesome journey learning how to intentionally give thanks always and in everything. So for the past two nights during devotions we have read verses on giving thanks and each of the kids have started a "thankfulness" journal/list. I told them that hopefully we will enjoy it so much that before we die we will get to a million and beyond! :) I pray that this shows them just how much we have to be thankful for each and every day, but also that it blesses the soul to praise the giver of all these amazing gifts! He is so good. We need to not just think our thanks but verbalize it and write it down so when we are feeling "unloved" we can go to the list and see just how loved and blessed we truly are!
I hope you desire to draw closer to our Savior tonight and that you begin a journal/journey of thankfulness. It is a great practice to get into!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
God's Hands and Feet
My heart is aching tonight. The sorrows of this world can be so heavy and yet knowing that God is in control of it all makes everything bearable. No matter what curve-ball life throws us God is holding us up with His hand. Romans 8 is a chapter of the Bible that my Aunt gave me when we lost Ethan almost 7 years ago and it has been a source of hope and encouragement ever since. I would encourage all of you to open your Bible's and read it tonight. No matter what you are facing it will lift you up and remind you that we have so much more to look forward to.
I encouraged each of my kids as I tucked them into bed to put God first in every day of their life. That without Him the trials we face would overwhelm us and leave us hopeless and empty, but with Him the strength, power, and joy that fills our lives will overflow into those around us. Even when we are in the darkest trial of our lives we can radiate pure joy! His joy! He is our strength. He gives peace that passes all understanding.
A blog I follow was talking about not always knowing what is going on in the lives of people around us. And I was thinking even of myself tonight as I left the doctor's office with Dylan that the people there would never know the pain I have faced in the past 24 hours. Sometimes we can be so short and impatient and irritable with people and we have no idea the pain that they are harboring inside them. We need to have God's love for every person we come in contact with and have His patience also. We can minister to their heart just by loving them even when they may be unloveable.
God is calling us to be a testimony to each and every person that we meet daily. How have you completed that part of His will for your life today? His hands and feet....
I encouraged each of my kids as I tucked them into bed to put God first in every day of their life. That without Him the trials we face would overwhelm us and leave us hopeless and empty, but with Him the strength, power, and joy that fills our lives will overflow into those around us. Even when we are in the darkest trial of our lives we can radiate pure joy! His joy! He is our strength. He gives peace that passes all understanding.
A blog I follow was talking about not always knowing what is going on in the lives of people around us. And I was thinking even of myself tonight as I left the doctor's office with Dylan that the people there would never know the pain I have faced in the past 24 hours. Sometimes we can be so short and impatient and irritable with people and we have no idea the pain that they are harboring inside them. We need to have God's love for every person we come in contact with and have His patience also. We can minister to their heart just by loving them even when they may be unloveable.
God is calling us to be a testimony to each and every person that we meet daily. How have you completed that part of His will for your life today? His hands and feet....
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