Stay in your lane

Do y’all ever have great monologues in your head? I’m not sure who I’m talking to but sometimes I compose these great speeches in my brain...and it’s not praying. When I catch myself on one of these rants I turn it into a prayer and ask the Lord about these thoughts and sometimes they become blogs and sometimes they become cries of my heart.
Anyway, this morning I was thinking about men. My desire is to lift men up and give them a place to hold their heads high and come back to a place of honor. But, I also know my calling is not for men directly. My calling is to women. To teach the gifts of influence that we hold in our hand. Do you know how very destructive men bashing is? Going out with the girls and bashing all the men in your life, especially your husband, gives the enemy such a foothold, so much ammo to use against you. The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down (Pr 14:1).
I am not talking about having a confidant or a mentor, someone to walk with you and grow with you. It’s always a heart issue. So if you are sharing with a trusted friend and are looking for ways to solve the problems then I think you are headed in the right direction. However, when your goal is just to complain and then have a competition about whose husband is worst and woe is me with what I have to put up with. That is stirring up strife and dissension, that is not soil in which peace, honor, respect and love will grow.
In Peter he talks about our husbands being saved by our gentleness and faithfulness. In Corinthians Paul talks about love not keeping a record of offenses. In Ephesians Paul says a mans most basic need is feeling respect.
So many little pesky problems disappear when we stop complaining. Remember and seek out the things you fell in love with. Be friendly, funny how as women we need the reminder to be friendly to our husbands but we get so caught up in all the work that we forget to smile and enjoy.
#titustwojourney
#journeyingtogether
#journeywithme
#stayinyourlane

Purging the dross

This morning I was reading in Kings and Chronicles. What a mess! We like to sit around and bemoan the state of our nation and how much sin there is. But, you know, sin is not new. Song of Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun. And if you look at parts of the Bible you can see the depths of what was and the lives and sins that were already committed. 1Kings 16:30 says that the king did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than all who were before him. Sin is always increasing. It is never satisfied. Whatever crumbs you offer it will grow and inflate.
When I worked at the girls’ home we taught it as: what I do in moderation they will do in excess. I have also heard it said: what one generation tolerates the next generation will embrace. This concept is not just in the OT, it is laced throughout scripture…I just happened to be reading here today. But, this is a serious thing to me. As I raise my kids, I am constantly aware of what am I doing or tolerating that they will one day embrace. What am I doing that I know I have freedom in, that they don’t understand and could ensnare them.
I so desperately want to teach my kids to know and love Jesus. I was telling someone in small group the other day that my goal is not to have good kids, I’m not interested in people pleasers or rule followers. I’m interested in their hearts. God is interested in their hearts. David with all his flaws was touted as a man after God’s own heart. In scripture God says that man looks at the outward appearance and God looks at the heart. So, as I discipline my kids and offer consequences I work as hard as my flesh allows to balance grace, consequences and the Truth behind their behavior and it’s connection to the underlying heart issue.
Life is messy. Humans are messy. I am a mess! But! I have this love affair with the Lover of my Soul that flows over into every facet of my life. I so desperately want to pass this love affair onto my kids. I am more keenly aware lately than ever before that my kids (now 10 & 13) will have to stumble and fall to find their spiritual legs on their own. The time is coming where all the stuff that has been poured into them will be tested. The refining process will be hot as the dross is removed from their hearts and they are transformed more and more into the new creation that they are and fulfill all that God has prepared for them.
#titustwojourney
#journeyingtogether
#journeywithme

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.