I have many roles on this earth. Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Granddaughter, and those can be broken down even further. But I what I want most is to be, Follower. Not a follower in the world's standards, but in God's eyes. I blow it every day. I'm human. I pray that God reveals sin in my life and then when I identify those things, I try to work on them. I am by no means perfect, but I feel I'm at least a work in progress...pushing and fighting to be more like Him.
What pains my heart is to see the blatant wickedness on this earth. Yes, I know evil is here. I know the enemy slowly and methodically breaks down any good here. I know the Word prophecies that the end will be people who are lovers of self and hate anything true and right. And we will be persecuted. I can't help but think we are close. I can't help but plead with you to be teaching your children the Truth of the Bible. I think they need to understand and know that possibly in ours/their time, Jesus will return. And what that looks like is imperative to them being able to stand firm.
The freedom, not of religion, but to be a follower of Jesus Christ is becoming hated. People are killed all over the world because of it. If you stand for Truth, you will be hated. We came to this country to escape persecution and now we have almost come full circle.
What I encourage you with, is to stand firm. Keep your eyes open...your hearts ready. Don't be caught sleeping or oblivious to the signs. Watch and Be Ready! Jesus is coming soon! That is what we have to look forward to.
If you want to read more check out Matthew 24-25, Mark 13
We've been singing this song in our church for a while. It's my heart's cry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHcvJhc6Pk
Friday, September 11, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Joy
I woke up grumpy. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks. It's one thing or another throughout the night. One decides to sleep and the other two need their blankie or a drink, or had a bad dream, or a fever...the list goes on. I'm tired. I woke up thinking...this is gonna need strong coffee. Then I pleaded with the Lord to help me make it through this day. He responded with, "you are gonna need a strong devo...a strong time with Me." Ouch. I had first wanted coffee and to mindlessly scroll through my Facebook feed. Okay Jesus, if I am gonna make it through today I have to do what I know I must. So I dragged myself out of bed and sat at the table. Read a bit, prayed a lot, and started the day. I'm not going to say it has gone perfect, because that would be a lie. But, I can say it has gone better than it would have. I have been more patient this morning. I have not yelled as much as I could have. Just a sweet time in His presence helped me be a better mom. Without Him, the enemy gains his foothold and I am condemning myself at how awful of a mother I am.
I'm a negative person by nature. I naturally see what's wrong with the picture. I have to work at being positive and finding the good. Small things put me in a bad mood. I'm a perfectionist at times. BUT I know, and I can see that the Lord is refining those things in me. He's helping relax more. He's helping me not sweep the floor 100 times a day. (it's a sickness) He's helping me let the toys sit for a bit longer. Enjoy these small babes. I'm learning to look for the gifts each day. He's always working out something in us. Mine is the struggle to see the joys.
Today's joys...
The sound of the boys playing instead of fighting
Arabella asking me to hold her like a baby
Bella telling her daddy he can't leave without a kiss
The quiet of the schoolroom when they are working on making their fingerprints
Those are a few from this morning. I challenge you to get a journal and record a few gifts each day and then look back and see the little blessings...the ones that make your heart smile.
I'm a negative person by nature. I naturally see what's wrong with the picture. I have to work at being positive and finding the good. Small things put me in a bad mood. I'm a perfectionist at times. BUT I know, and I can see that the Lord is refining those things in me. He's helping relax more. He's helping me not sweep the floor 100 times a day. (it's a sickness) He's helping me let the toys sit for a bit longer. Enjoy these small babes. I'm learning to look for the gifts each day. He's always working out something in us. Mine is the struggle to see the joys.
Today's joys...
The sound of the boys playing instead of fighting
Arabella asking me to hold her like a baby
Bella telling her daddy he can't leave without a kiss
The quiet of the schoolroom when they are working on making their fingerprints
Those are a few from this morning. I challenge you to get a journal and record a few gifts each day and then look back and see the little blessings...the ones that make your heart smile.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Who will you be?
I've always wondered when I look at my children and their completely different personalities, what they will be when they grow up. Will they choose you, Lord? And then a good friend of mine told me that I could pray that the Lord would reveal or give me insight into their lives. So I began to pray, "Lord, show me what they will be. Show me how to push and hold back in different areas of their lives so that I can teach them what you would want them to know." I feel like the Lord has given me bits and pieces and spoken little things to me, and those things I have put in my personal journal so that I can look back and see if I was totally crazy, or if the Lord was speaking. There's little things about each one that I watch and see their strengths. If you see those in your kids, encourage those strengths.
I can't help but think that Brody will one day be a pastor or evangelist of some kind. Even though he tells me he wants to be an engineer and build iron man suits...which is a wonderful thing...his discerning and soft spirit tell me otherwise. He has no fear of speaking to strangers. He loves to sing and memorize the Word. He's a different kind of kid. Last night while the storms were all around us, he decided we should sing, "I am, holding on to you. I am, holding on to you. In the middle of the storm, I am holding on, I am!" He sang it for a while and then the storm calmed down. He praised God and said, "He's listening. He loves me mom. He did that for me." Then after a bit the storms came again, and I could hear him in his room singing that song til he fell asleep. It made me think of Paul in jail praising the Lord despite his circumstances.
This morning we were talking about families and choices and how every choice we make has a consequence. Then I sat down to drink my coffee. Bella was on my lap. He walks over and lays his hands on her and asks if he can pray. I said of course. He prays, "Lord, help Bella to choose you Lord. Help her to make you her Savior. Help her to follow you." By the end, I was bawling. He looks at me like I'm crazy. All I can say is, "Thank you buddy."
I don't know what the Lord has for His life. I don't know who he will be. But I do know God has a great plan. And He does for you too. God can still work and is working and you have the choice to follow and be who He has you to be.
Right now, the Lord has called me to be the mother to 3 littles. To raise them in the best way I can and teach them their schooling. To show them how to live in a world that doesn't choose Him. When they are gone, I suppose I shall be asking myself, "What now Lord? What will you have me to be now?" And He will again have another plan.
I can't help but think that Brody will one day be a pastor or evangelist of some kind. Even though he tells me he wants to be an engineer and build iron man suits...which is a wonderful thing...his discerning and soft spirit tell me otherwise. He has no fear of speaking to strangers. He loves to sing and memorize the Word. He's a different kind of kid. Last night while the storms were all around us, he decided we should sing, "I am, holding on to you. I am, holding on to you. In the middle of the storm, I am holding on, I am!" He sang it for a while and then the storm calmed down. He praised God and said, "He's listening. He loves me mom. He did that for me." Then after a bit the storms came again, and I could hear him in his room singing that song til he fell asleep. It made me think of Paul in jail praising the Lord despite his circumstances.
This morning we were talking about families and choices and how every choice we make has a consequence. Then I sat down to drink my coffee. Bella was on my lap. He walks over and lays his hands on her and asks if he can pray. I said of course. He prays, "Lord, help Bella to choose you Lord. Help her to make you her Savior. Help her to follow you." By the end, I was bawling. He looks at me like I'm crazy. All I can say is, "Thank you buddy."
I don't know what the Lord has for His life. I don't know who he will be. But I do know God has a great plan. And He does for you too. God can still work and is working and you have the choice to follow and be who He has you to be.
Right now, the Lord has called me to be the mother to 3 littles. To raise them in the best way I can and teach them their schooling. To show them how to live in a world that doesn't choose Him. When they are gone, I suppose I shall be asking myself, "What now Lord? What will you have me to be now?" And He will again have another plan.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Ready
Angry, sad, disappointed...how I felt yesterday as I read the Supreme Court ruling about something that goes completely against God's Holy Word. All these questions flooded my mind. How could we go from a country seeking religious freedom to a country against God completely? How am I going to teach my children Truth when the government totally goes against that Truth? And feelings of confusion on loving people, but hating sin...and tolerance and intolerance...
All those emotions swirled inside me last night. I woke up feeling a little encouraged as I asked the Lord how I am going to navigate these things in this sin-filled world and how I am going to help my children understand. I felt like the Lord was telling me that I shouldn't be surprised. He is coming soon and these things are going to happen. Slowly, the enemy and his evil schemes are going to infiltrate every part of this world, and Jesus is going to come back. When the leaders of this country believe it's ok to kill innocent children, marry outside the context of His Word, take God out of school, let crimes inside our government go unpunished, take away rights of parents, the list goes on far above my comprehension...the breakdown of a once God-founded country will eventually fall. I had a conversation recently with one of my best college friends about what we will be doing if in fact the things continue unraveling. Calmly we made plans of where we will be and how we have plans of surviving the downfall of America. Weird how we weren't panicking and truly felt it was necessary to divulge our plans to know of each others safety. At the end of our conversation we were in tears thinking about how we are ready for Jesus to return. In the end, it's only Him that matters.
So as a young woman who is trying to navigate this world with perspective, knowing that this isn't the end of bad decisions and the slow breakdown of our world, how do make it work? How do I teach my children right and wrong when people blatantly go against what we believe? It's going to be in our face more than ever. I do believe we are to love, but I also think it's my job to protect. Now more than ever, it will be our job as mothers and fathers who love Jesus, to teach Truth and the Word, and hide it in ours and their hearts. How long before His Word is taken away?
I do not have to accept this world's interpretation of how I am to live. I only have to accept His interpretation of living. Must I abide by the laws of the land? Yes, His Word says to do so. BUT once it interferes with what the Bible says, I must obey God over man. I will not act like it's okay to teach my children evil. I will teach them what's right. To some, I may sound like a raving lunatic, and that's okay too. The Lord says that I am to be prepared that people will think Christians are the crazy ones with their close-minded beliefs and intolerance to sin. But here is where I make my stand.
Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
All those emotions swirled inside me last night. I woke up feeling a little encouraged as I asked the Lord how I am going to navigate these things in this sin-filled world and how I am going to help my children understand. I felt like the Lord was telling me that I shouldn't be surprised. He is coming soon and these things are going to happen. Slowly, the enemy and his evil schemes are going to infiltrate every part of this world, and Jesus is going to come back. When the leaders of this country believe it's ok to kill innocent children, marry outside the context of His Word, take God out of school, let crimes inside our government go unpunished, take away rights of parents, the list goes on far above my comprehension...the breakdown of a once God-founded country will eventually fall. I had a conversation recently with one of my best college friends about what we will be doing if in fact the things continue unraveling. Calmly we made plans of where we will be and how we have plans of surviving the downfall of America. Weird how we weren't panicking and truly felt it was necessary to divulge our plans to know of each others safety. At the end of our conversation we were in tears thinking about how we are ready for Jesus to return. In the end, it's only Him that matters.
So as a young woman who is trying to navigate this world with perspective, knowing that this isn't the end of bad decisions and the slow breakdown of our world, how do make it work? How do I teach my children right and wrong when people blatantly go against what we believe? It's going to be in our face more than ever. I do believe we are to love, but I also think it's my job to protect. Now more than ever, it will be our job as mothers and fathers who love Jesus, to teach Truth and the Word, and hide it in ours and their hearts. How long before His Word is taken away?
I do not have to accept this world's interpretation of how I am to live. I only have to accept His interpretation of living. Must I abide by the laws of the land? Yes, His Word says to do so. BUT once it interferes with what the Bible says, I must obey God over man. I will not act like it's okay to teach my children evil. I will teach them what's right. To some, I may sound like a raving lunatic, and that's okay too. The Lord says that I am to be prepared that people will think Christians are the crazy ones with their close-minded beliefs and intolerance to sin. But here is where I make my stand.
Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
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