I like Francesca Battistelli's new song,"This is the stuff." It opens with this line, "I lost my keys in the great unknown, and call me, please, 'cause I can't find my phone..." I laugh because that sounds just like me! It seems like every day my phone goes missing and my keys disappear regularly (at times carried off by our dog, and once actually hidden in a shoe by little Jed), usually when we are hurrying out the door. The song continues,
"This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use"
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you
I have been a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ now for many years. I have walked through valleys and been on the mountaintop as well. Most people who know me would probably describe me as cheerful, upbeat, and energetic. Some of my friends laughingly call me "Mighty Mouse," because I am very petite and very high energy. But like anyone else, I have my times when I am anxious or feel burdened with life. We live in a fallen world, and as a result, there is often pain and sorrow in our lives. As a mother, I find that I tend to become anxious at times about my children. I have one teenage daughter, and another who will be a teenager in a few months. (Of course, there are six younger children growing up quickly as well!) Sometimes they disappoint me with the choices they make or the way they speak to me or Todd. Often they are immature, talk back, or quarrel with their siblings. I find myself becoming anxious about their futures. What if I don't do a good job raising them? What if I miss something? What if the choices they make have lasting consequences that are painful? Over the years, I have come to realize that so little of this is truly in my control. I can pour the best things into them, spend time with them, teach them, love them, build traditions for them, but ultimately the choices they make and the paths of their lives are out of my hands. My anxiety will accomplish nothing. One of the best things I can do for them is simply to pray diligently for them.
When I tend to worry, I call to mind these verses: "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." (1Peter 5:6-7) I find it interesting that in verse 6, we are told to humble ourselves before we cast our anxieties on Him. Is there a bit of pride in our worrying? Do we feel that our worry in some way will help something? We are to humble ourselves under the mighty had of God. God's hand is Mighty! Nothing we can do will ever compare to the mighty hand of God in our lives. When I am tempted to worry, I remind myself that I can cast all my anxieties on Him. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!
There have been some dark times in my life when I have felt alone and worried that things would never get better. I remember clinging to the Lord and asking Him to carry me through and show me His truth. He is always so faithful. Sometimes the answers aren't exactly what I thought they would be, or even what I prayed for, but God's ways are always higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9), and He has given me grace to see that His plans are better than mine.
Tuesdays are very busy days for me. We are running all day, going to the library, lessons and a few classes the children are taking. It can be so stressful getting everyone here and there, making sure we don't leave anyone behind (we have a couple of pokey ones), feeding everyone, etc. As I head out for my Tuesday, my prayer is that I will let go of all my anxieties today, casting all of them on Him, knowing that He cares for me, that His hand is mighty, and He is sovereign! As I watch my children grow, see how quickly the time passes, and realize how little time I am truly given with them to help shape their lives, I open my hand, and put them into His Mighty hands, praying all the while. I know that their future is in His hands.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,"
says the Lord.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than Your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes
forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void, (amen!)
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And is shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:8-11
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21
When I tend to worry, I call to mind these verses: "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." (1Peter 5:6-7) I find it interesting that in verse 6, we are told to humble ourselves before we cast our anxieties on Him. Is there a bit of pride in our worrying? Do we feel that our worry in some way will help something? We are to humble ourselves under the mighty had of God. God's hand is Mighty! Nothing we can do will ever compare to the mighty hand of God in our lives. When I am tempted to worry, I remind myself that I can cast all my anxieties on Him. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!
There have been some dark times in my life when I have felt alone and worried that things would never get better. I remember clinging to the Lord and asking Him to carry me through and show me His truth. He is always so faithful. Sometimes the answers aren't exactly what I thought they would be, or even what I prayed for, but God's ways are always higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9), and He has given me grace to see that His plans are better than mine.
Tuesdays are very busy days for me. We are running all day, going to the library, lessons and a few classes the children are taking. It can be so stressful getting everyone here and there, making sure we don't leave anyone behind (we have a couple of pokey ones), feeding everyone, etc. As I head out for my Tuesday, my prayer is that I will let go of all my anxieties today, casting all of them on Him, knowing that He cares for me, that His hand is mighty, and He is sovereign! As I watch my children grow, see how quickly the time passes, and realize how little time I am truly given with them to help shape their lives, I open my hand, and put them into His Mighty hands, praying all the while. I know that their future is in His hands.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,"
says the Lord.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than Your thoughts.
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes
forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void, (amen!)
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And is shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:8-11
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21
Monday, February 28, 2011
CLUTTER!!!!
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt. 6:19-20
We returned home this past Thursday from a ski trip to New Mexico. The week before we went skiing, I was in North Carolina for the weekend visiting my sister and her new baby. I came home to a houseful of sick children and a rather sad and disturbing episode with one of our Longhorn cows that ended in her having to be put down. We spent the week with each person in the family eventually catching the stomach virus, and everyone (including my husband and myself) feeling miserable for a couple of days at a time. When I left for the Wholehearted Mothers conference that Friday, two children were still sick and the house looked like a tornado had struck! I was filled up and refreshed at the conference, however, which was much-needed! Upon my return Saturday evening, I had less than 10 hours to sleep and re-pack for myself and our 3 youngest children so we would be ready to leave early Sunday morning for our ski trip. Needless to say, our house was not the cleanest place when we left for our trip. I was just glad to have managed to pack in time and that everyone seemed to finally be healthy!
Upon our arrival home on Thursday, I determined that I was going to "disinfect" the house and get things back in order. The problem is that with 8 children, the farm, and the business of life and homeschooling, it can be difficult to feel like I accomplish much at all towards the goal of cleaning and organizing our home.
We moved to our little "ranch" 4.5 years ago, from a 3500 SF house into what was planned to eventually be our garage. This place is 1800 SF with very little storage/closet space. You realize when you remove the contents of a large home, place everything in storage and then try to cram it all into a home almost half the size just how much clutter you have! We thought we were getting rid of things when we moved out, but in reality, much of our stuff is still in boxes in the storage shed we built or in the new garage we built when we decided we would wait on building the "dream home." So, God has been teaching me a LOT about clutter and the hold it has on my life. Almost everywhere I turn, there is something I feel I need to clear out of our home and our lives to make things more peaceful. Clutter and messes are distracting, and I believe they can be used by Satan to defeat us in this life. Friday, while I was cleaning and disinfecting our house to rid us of the germs of our "sick week," I decided we were going to really dig into getting exess STUFF out of our home so we can focus and live more peacefully day by day. We cleaned out the girls' closet upstairs, and took out a whole slew of dolls and doll clothes that no one really plays with anymore. When we were finished, their closet was actually very neat and organized! I kept hearing these verses in my head:
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..." Hebrews 12:1-2
The clutter in our homes is so much like the clutter in our spiritual lives--sin and distractions that keep us from living a life focused on God. Cleaning my home and ridding it of the clutter and piles of unnecessary distractions has become almost a spiritual mission for me in light of this revelation this past weekend. I am not beating myself up over it, but I am praying that the Lord will help me be less of a hoarder and more of a GIVER, blessing others with the things I am holding onto that simply entangle and trap me instead of blessing our family. Likewise, I pray that God will help me rid myself of the clutter of comparisons, discontent, and self-focus that keep me from fixing my eyes on Him and living my life in Joy before my family.
We sang this familiar song in church yesterday, and it blessed me so much in keeping with these thoughts:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace..."
May you have a Jesus-focused day!
We returned home this past Thursday from a ski trip to New Mexico. The week before we went skiing, I was in North Carolina for the weekend visiting my sister and her new baby. I came home to a houseful of sick children and a rather sad and disturbing episode with one of our Longhorn cows that ended in her having to be put down. We spent the week with each person in the family eventually catching the stomach virus, and everyone (including my husband and myself) feeling miserable for a couple of days at a time. When I left for the Wholehearted Mothers conference that Friday, two children were still sick and the house looked like a tornado had struck! I was filled up and refreshed at the conference, however, which was much-needed! Upon my return Saturday evening, I had less than 10 hours to sleep and re-pack for myself and our 3 youngest children so we would be ready to leave early Sunday morning for our ski trip. Needless to say, our house was not the cleanest place when we left for our trip. I was just glad to have managed to pack in time and that everyone seemed to finally be healthy!
Upon our arrival home on Thursday, I determined that I was going to "disinfect" the house and get things back in order. The problem is that with 8 children, the farm, and the business of life and homeschooling, it can be difficult to feel like I accomplish much at all towards the goal of cleaning and organizing our home.
We moved to our little "ranch" 4.5 years ago, from a 3500 SF house into what was planned to eventually be our garage. This place is 1800 SF with very little storage/closet space. You realize when you remove the contents of a large home, place everything in storage and then try to cram it all into a home almost half the size just how much clutter you have! We thought we were getting rid of things when we moved out, but in reality, much of our stuff is still in boxes in the storage shed we built or in the new garage we built when we decided we would wait on building the "dream home." So, God has been teaching me a LOT about clutter and the hold it has on my life. Almost everywhere I turn, there is something I feel I need to clear out of our home and our lives to make things more peaceful. Clutter and messes are distracting, and I believe they can be used by Satan to defeat us in this life. Friday, while I was cleaning and disinfecting our house to rid us of the germs of our "sick week," I decided we were going to really dig into getting exess STUFF out of our home so we can focus and live more peacefully day by day. We cleaned out the girls' closet upstairs, and took out a whole slew of dolls and doll clothes that no one really plays with anymore. When we were finished, their closet was actually very neat and organized! I kept hearing these verses in my head:
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith..." Hebrews 12:1-2
The clutter in our homes is so much like the clutter in our spiritual lives--sin and distractions that keep us from living a life focused on God. Cleaning my home and ridding it of the clutter and piles of unnecessary distractions has become almost a spiritual mission for me in light of this revelation this past weekend. I am not beating myself up over it, but I am praying that the Lord will help me be less of a hoarder and more of a GIVER, blessing others with the things I am holding onto that simply entangle and trap me instead of blessing our family. Likewise, I pray that God will help me rid myself of the clutter of comparisons, discontent, and self-focus that keep me from fixing my eyes on Him and living my life in Joy before my family.
We sang this familiar song in church yesterday, and it blessed me so much in keeping with these thoughts:
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace..."
May you have a Jesus-focused day!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Why I decided to start a blog
To tell the truth, I never thought I would want to start a blog. I have read a few blogs myself and even followed one for a while, but me, blog? I am just way too busy to dedicate time to my own blog, right? After all, I am the mother of 8 busy children ages 13 down to 17 months. I homeschool 6 of them, with the youngest 2 along for the ride as well. We live on a small, 20-acre hobby farm in Texas, which adds the element of farm life to an already busy life. Why in the world would I get myself into something like blogging?
Last weekend, I attended Sally Clarkson's Wholehearted Mothers Conference in Irving, TX. As I sat there, drinking in the encouragement, laughing, crying, and talking with other moms, I felt God stirring my heart, urging me to think of what I might do to encourage other moms. We heard from many lovely mothers at the conference, some of whom are bloggers. Many of these women are using their blogs to inspire and encourage others in their walk with the Lord. I often think that I have very little to offer. I struggle and stumble, fall down, pick myself up and keep on going, just like everyone else out there. I am just an ordinary mom. As I think about this, I hear God gently reminding me, it's not about me at all or my inadequacies and failures. It's all about HIM!!! My story is HIS story. I feel Him calling me to just share my story and be blessed myself in the sharing. As I write what He has done in my life, it is like the Israelites placing mounds of memorial stones at important places to remind them of God's faithfulness throughout their history. So, this blog will be a memorial to God's faithfulness in my life. Each post will be a new stone to add to the mound of remembrance. Its purpose will be to encourage and build *my* faith as I write and remember the big and the little things I see Him do in my life as I strive to do my best to live excellently and point my children to the ONE who loves them so much He would die for them. It is my memorial as I write and witness how He has shaped and molded me and my husband in our marriage of 16 years.
So this is my blog, my remembrance in honor of the ONE Who is faithful to give me LIFE, and LIFE in abundance!! (John 10:10) If others are blessed and encouraged through this blog, then all the better. Let the journey begin.
Last weekend, I attended Sally Clarkson's Wholehearted Mothers Conference in Irving, TX. As I sat there, drinking in the encouragement, laughing, crying, and talking with other moms, I felt God stirring my heart, urging me to think of what I might do to encourage other moms. We heard from many lovely mothers at the conference, some of whom are bloggers. Many of these women are using their blogs to inspire and encourage others in their walk with the Lord. I often think that I have very little to offer. I struggle and stumble, fall down, pick myself up and keep on going, just like everyone else out there. I am just an ordinary mom. As I think about this, I hear God gently reminding me, it's not about me at all or my inadequacies and failures. It's all about HIM!!! My story is HIS story. I feel Him calling me to just share my story and be blessed myself in the sharing. As I write what He has done in my life, it is like the Israelites placing mounds of memorial stones at important places to remind them of God's faithfulness throughout their history. So, this blog will be a memorial to God's faithfulness in my life. Each post will be a new stone to add to the mound of remembrance. Its purpose will be to encourage and build *my* faith as I write and remember the big and the little things I see Him do in my life as I strive to do my best to live excellently and point my children to the ONE who loves them so much He would die for them. It is my memorial as I write and witness how He has shaped and molded me and my husband in our marriage of 16 years.
So this is my blog, my remembrance in honor of the ONE Who is faithful to give me LIFE, and LIFE in abundance!! (John 10:10) If others are blessed and encouraged through this blog, then all the better. Let the journey begin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)