Gifts

Ladies! The Bible says you are fearfully and beautifully created in the very image of God! Pause, breathe. The image of God. Let that settle deep inside of your heart. He loves you, He created you, He gifted you uniquely, He had His hand on you in your mothers womb. He gave you gifts and talents to do the purpose He created you to fulfill.
I don’t know where we got the notion that we have to be superwoman; that we have to be good at everything, that we are an island. It’s a lie! We are all a part of a body, we each have unique giftings that are necessary for the Kingdom of God. Spend more time speaking life into other women than jonesing for their giftings. When we appreciate others more we are more content and more able to see our unique gifts.
Jealousy and comparison leads to competition. You are not in competition with other women. As we gather together and join forces we will be quite the army, a fierce enemy of our enemy!
Also, we rarely know others’ complete story. So comparing ourselves not only leads to discontentment but also foolish assumptions. For instance, J and I have a beautiful marriage and we work together and have fun together. But, if you just look at this season you miss the beginning. To get here J and I walked through 7 years of hell. 7 years of grit determination (and lots and lots of grace) to not hire lawyers and end our vows. 7 years of buckets and buckets of tears. Did you know the Bible says God bottles and counts our tears. None are wasted! There’s no telling what the person you are looking at has walked through, and you may not want to walk through their fires anyway. God has yours all ready for you.
Thank God for the gifts He has given you. If you feel giftless, that is a lie, take time to ask God to reveal your gifts and talents. And then take time to be thankful for them. Don’t hide them, put them to use.
#titustwojourney
#journeyingtogether
#journeywithme
#gifts

Truth is Truth

We are a stubborn and hard of hearing people. We like to look at the wandering Israelites and say we are nothing like them. I’m not sure I agree.
Recently both my husband and my son heard something that I have said repeatedly and suddenly it clicked. And guess who got the credit: not me. And my 1st thought was to nag and demand they acknowledge that I have been saying that for years. Breathe. Gods peace washed over me. There’s something to this whole pausing before we speak thing. So I didn’t speak, I just let them revel in their new found Truth. And you know, I don’t really care who got the credit, I'm just glad they heard it.
I think sometimes we have to be primed to hear things. Especially things that reach deep inside of us. So moms: be a broken record. Speak words of life and Truth into your kids. Speak them over and over. You be primed that someone else may receive the recognition of saying it. But also know in your heart they wouldn’t have had ears to hear it if you had not been faithful in priming their ears.
Also, don’t feel like you have to reinvent the wheel when they ask the same questions over and over. You can keep the answer the same over and over. Keep the answer simple.
My brother refers to hearing things we already know as conviction. I often think of conviction just in reference to my sin and repenting. But I like the idea of Truth being confirmed and convicted in our hearts. Truth is Truth even when its repeated. The Word of God does not change. Society, times, technology all change and evolve but Truth stays the same. It may look a little different in the nitty gritty and types of conversations we have to have. But Truth is timeless.
#titustwojourney
#journeyingtogether
#journeywithme
#truthistruth

Unchanging

We say many things about ourselves and others. We have many labels. We take for granted the one label we should wear as a Banner: Child of the Most High and instead give voice to things like: trust issues, commitment issues, focus issues, daddy issues and on and on.
If we hooked Gods character to an EKG machine He would flat line all around. He is unchanging, immovable. He is always Love. He is always Truth. He is always Just. He is always Provider. He is always Creator. He is always YHWH. He has many attributes, I encourage you to dive into His Word and find some that are near and dear to you in your current season and stand on them. My personal favorite has always been Adonai, there are seasons where I seek His other attributes but I always come back and rest in His Sovereign Lordship. It means the weight of my world does not rest on my shoulders, it rests on His.
If you hooked me (or you) up to an EKG we would be all over the place, up down and side to side. People say I am wise beyond my years, sweet and love to laugh. But, depending on the day, or the heat or the kids bickering I can make poor choices and be more prone to angry outbursts which negates the 3 attributes I used.
I have been studying the life of David for the last month and he mentions several times in his Psalms that ‘human help is worthless’. He turns to God and says ‘Whom my help comes from’. Paul tells us that in our weaknesses we find His strength.
Put on your identity (label) as a Child of the Most High, The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords and loose the human labels so you can find rest and peace for your wearied mind and body.
#titustwojourney
#journeyingtogether
#journeywithme
#unchanging

 

 

Teaching and Learning

I have such a burden for young women, wives, moms. Titus 2 tells us that we are to impart our wisdom into the generations following us. In order for that to work properly the younger generations must be willing to listen and have life spoken into them. So often we try so hard to look like we have all our ducks in a row and we don’t need advice or encouragement. That is so not the spirit of Christianity. The early church (Acts) lived in intimate community, sharing and giving, receiving and blessing. God created us for relationship, I am coming to believe that it is our greatest gift. We need each other. We sharpen each other. We encourage each other.
So, young moms, take a breath. Exhale. God appointed you to be mom to the babies/kids in your care. Enjoy them. Create structure but have room to breathe and re-calibrate when things don’t go according to plan, because they rarely do. Teach them to love our Savior. They will bless you with their simple faith and prayers and sometimes make you smack your forehead, like yeah I should’ve known that.
Make home a safe place for your family. A sanctuary from the world. Guard what comes in. Honor your man. Remember to be his friend and lover. It is your first ministry. One entrusted just to you.
There is a blessing in saying no. You don’t have to be on every committee or serve in every ministry at church. Take time to enjoy the seasons of motherhood. Sometimes you dive in and serve others deeply. Sometimes you pull back and serve your family and remember your 1st love. Its an ebb and flow. Everything doesn’t fit into every season. Your gifts and talents won’t expire because you take time during diaper season to just rock and snuggle. God grows during all seasons.

Winging It

I don't know about you, but I just wing it for so many things in my life. I get the impression that people think that I am a detail oriented, planner. However, I am not. I have this life goal that steers my ship and all the other things are just heading in that direction, but I don't necessarily sit around planning it. My life goal is to race toward the Kingdom of God and have God say: Well done my good and faithful daughter.
I have spent years studying the Word and God has gifted me with the ability to teach on the fly and take everyday things and make them relevant. But, when asked about my parenting style or how I teach my kids I usually respond with I'm winging it.
I lead this Barnabus Tribe small group and I often approach it as I'm winging it. But, that's not entirely true. The truth is I wake up way earlier than I think is a reasonable hour. I study His Word, I spend time just sitting in His presence, and I pray. When I have random thoughts throughout the week, I write them down. So while I don't over prepare for my group, I'm learning that just winging it, is not really the correct way to word it.
I definitely approach meal prep this way. And frankly, I think my family is tired of it. I usually don't know what I'm making for supper until I am in the kitchen cooking. Now that doesn't mean that I haven't mentally detailed what items are in my frig throughout the day. But, I also don't make time to find new recipes and when I do find a recipe I make it several times until my family is tired of it and somehow it replaces my memory storage of where another recipe was stored.
I remember when I first started out on this blogging adventure I wrote a blog about how I had done some research about doing blogs but that I was just going to wing it. Well, after all these years of winging it and it really just being a hobby...I think it is time to do something about it. I have been looking at domain names. I am mentally preparing myself to use a hashtag for the 1st time! I have been told several times this year alone that I need to write a book. Honestly, that scares me. Frankly, my response is: who on earth would want to read my book? But maybe that is fear talking. I mean while I get great responses (on occasion) to my blog, I don't get shares or comments or even that many likes. I have just created an IG account and signed up for a writers conference. It is time to allow God to fan this flame and stop dong things halfway. I have been looking at this quote that a professor said at Bible college, it sits on my desk: "Don't ever expect God to reveal more of His will to you, if you're already not obeying His revealed will for our lives".
I say this to say that maybe my lackadaisical approach to things is not the best way. While I don't want to have rigid 5 year goals and 5 step plans. Maybe, having a more planned, INTENTIONAL, approach to where I feel God leading me, is not worldly but falls under being disciplined. And that is something that I want, I want to be intentional and disciplined.

Priorities

This season has offered us several opportunities to find our priorities. So many things vie for our attention at any given time. But, so many things seem to vie for our attention on days that used to be earmarked for the Lord, set aside, not used for extra-curricular activities.

E joined Cross Country again this year and coach told him that the meets would be on Thursdays like they were last year. Well as they got into the season and the schedule was set, it turns out that almost all of the meets were on Wednesday. So, E was faced with the decision of Cross Country or youth group. He missed youth group once and then said, I don't want to sacrifice youth group. So, my 12 year old had to make a decision, we told him we would support whatever that decision was. Then he had to do the hard part and tell his coach. It actually went well and I am glad that he had to make the decision and face the coach, it is a great learning curve.

Then HG was put on the gymnastics rec team and turns out they do their meets on Sundays. Yikes! I gotta tell ya, this one was hard. There are only 2 meets a year, so that leaves 50 of the 52 Sundays free and clear. But still, there was the mental back and forth of can we support this if it invades Sundays? Are we sending the right message to HG? Are we sending the right message to the other parents? Will we be shining our light or looking just like the world?

Stretching and Reaching

As we moved my plants and trees from winter storage I noticed some things.
Some of my potted plants looked worn out. They had gotten root bound in their pots and desperately needed room to spread their roots out and bloom. Aren’t we just like that? We get stuck in our comfort zones and don’t do much reaching out. We grow complacent. But once we reach out, set new boundary lines and shine brightly we start blooming and growing. Same with my plants. After a few days in the ground and some sun and water I have seen buds and blooms.
Some of the potted trees had busted through their giant pots and the tap root had started searching for water. The Bible says that He is the source of Living water. He quenches our deepest needs with this water. John 4:14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life". When we are seeking Him we cant be contained as our tap roots reach deep and grow strong so that when the storms of life blow on us we stand firm. I have been pondering this thought recently and I imagine a giant oak tree with many, deep roots. An oak with a solid foundation. When the storms blow through, because they will, the branches and leaves may wiggle and rattle but the trunk is solid and doesn’t budge. I want to be like a giant oak, planted for the display of His splendor. Isaiah 61: 3 "...They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor".

Coming of Age: Celebrating the Journey to Manhood

This weekend the long-anticipated celebration to manhood took place. It was such a great weekend!

Did you know that the word ‘teenager’ was created at the turn of the last century and didn’t gain popularity until the ‘50’s with James Dean and Rebel without a Cause, Crybaby and later Grease. It came with the popularity of the automobile as it grew more affordable and the young adult crowd was granted more freedom to run wild. With it came an attitude that they are just teenagers they are gonna be rebellious and act out and be clueless.

Well…I disagree. I realize that as my young man grows in his walk with the Lord and as he makes it more personal that there will be trials and obstacles, poor choices and many, many growing opportunities. But I don’t plan to use the phrase “well, he’s just a teenager, of course he’s dumb”. I have poured into my son for the last 13 years, giving him quite the foundation to jump from. If he makes poor choices, there will be consequences. We have also worked hard to teach him that he is his own human, with his own sin who will stand before a Holy God one day. His choices are his responsibility. When he stands before the Lord (when any of us stand before the Lord) He will not ask about so and so, we will each give an account of the choices that we chose.

Not so long ago I sat with my son and asked him who he wants to become? Who he wants to be as he grows into the man God has called him to be? He came up with 5-character traits that he wants to possess both now and later. I had a friend turn those into a plaque and handed it to him at the party and had him read it out loud. Then my dad handed him a Damascus Sword. The Bible calls it the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph 6:17). Hubby called all the men to lay hands on my son and they prayed over him. Later he asked if he could open the cards and proceeded to read each card and after each one, he would seek out the giver and give them a personal thank you. My dad watched the entire scene and then said to E: that is not what a child or a young man would do, that is what a man would do.

I am so honored to get to be part of this amazing community that the Lord has just plopped us into. So many awesome people in our home, gathering around us and standing in to sharpen my son as he takes the next steps of his journey. So very honored to be part of a church where the children’s, youth and head pastor all came and participated.