Pressing Onward

Most evenings or early mornings, when my sleepy head finally hits my pink pillow, I sigh and the last words from my lips are a prayer that God will redeem time that was lost today.  Now, this is not out of a feeling of failure (on most days!), but rather for me, it is a cry of my heart to rely solely on the power God holds to transform my family.

I cannot do it all or have it all.  Yes, I said it out loud.  I cannot do it all or have it all.  My day is full of choices and when I make one choice, I leave behind the other.  Philippians 3:13-14, "One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining forward toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Although, I am fully aware of the magnificent grace and mercy of God to allow us second chances in life, I am always teaching by young men that they have ONE chance to do it right and do it well.  My prayer is to instill in them the mindset to always put their best foot forward in all they do.  After all, it is for God they work and not men. God isn't looking for the fancy, but rather for the faithful.

Today is a special gift all in its own right.  I will not get a do-over and no other day will be like today.  So I wake up in prayer before my feet hit the floor, crying out to God for the wisdom and patience I will need to maneuver through the elusive "to-do" list.  I must be in sync with His leading voice, so I can walk in the way He has prepared for us.  Time can be redeemed by His power, however, I would like to be found faithful to the call the first time. 

As a I watch my boys write a paper and fill it with sentences that leave much to be desired, I learn that the process is part of the journey.  The process is important to work out all the kinks. They love the sentence because it's hilarious, not because it is the most well-written. But then, as I help them choose better words and format, it develops into a well written and hilarious sentence.  And my eyes are a little clearer to see that I too am not always in the best form, but as I bend my will to His, He fills in the gaps and allows me to be at my best for them, through Him.

As I move through my day, I can forget what is behind me and continue pressing forward to the ultimate goal.  I can find successes in day 13,590 of this marathon I am running. I can keep pressing forward toward the goal. 

Perhaps my prayer at the start of each day should also be.... "Oh Father, redeem me in today's process and journey."

Good Intentions

A Wise Woman Builds Her House....

Well, it appears that I am in the habit of posting once a year, around this time!  I always seem to have "good intentions" of blogging more and getting back in the groove, however life enters and here I am one year later.

I came across the above FB page and Proverbs 14:1, just happens to be one of my favorite verses..."The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands."

Now again, we are here at the idea of intentions.  None of us wakes up in the morning and purposely intends to tear down our own house. I love that this verse speaks to the inner, hidden part of me~ my heart.  God knows my heart and He sees my thoughts and knows if I am intentionally aligning them with Him or if I am haphazardly going through my day on my own "good intentions."

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Matthew 12:34b

I didn't intend to speak quite so harshly.  I didn't intend to anwser e-mails for that long.  I didn't intend to get caught up in the phone conversation for 45 mins.  I didn't intend to forget to take out the meat and now have to pick up something quick for supper on our way there.  

 Please don't hear me saying that occasionally we forget or some things must temporarily take priority over others.  I am trying to communicate the importance of being intentional with my intentions and aligning them with God's purpose for me each day.  He has been incredibly gracious in giving me a husband and three sons to care for, serve and love each day.  In this calling,  I long to do well and glorify God. Therefore, I must be checking my heart and what motivates me.  I should be finding my love for God at the top of the list, along with my desire to serve and love my precious family.

We are a busy people, filling up our lives with nearly anything that comes knocking on the door.  I think about women of the early 1900's and how much they were required to do in order to just simply provide the daily needs for their families.  I also think about how they did not have near as many distractions.  They did not have blogs, FB, Pinterest, twitter, Bunko club, shopping, the fitness club,  etc...

They woke up with the purpose of meeting the needs of their family.  In Genesis 2:18 God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." Survival in that day kept them from being distracted by self-fulfilling enjoyments.  I am assuming that each woman fully walking in the will of God was fulfilled by living out her God-given purpose of meeting the needs of her family. Of being that suitable helpmate...

I am convinced that I too will be fulfilled in living out the purpose God has called me to in serving my family with the right intentions. The intention of building my house, and not tearing it down. The intention of building up the lives of those in my home, rather than tearing them down. There are noble callings that God gives each of us that may call us out of our home, but I know in my heart that my husband, children and home come first.  Ministry can happen with my home as the hub, making my ministry linear and not a list that leaves no time at the end to serve others.  All of my life is a ministry and my home is the place in which I start and finish each day, so I long to give my best there and not my leftovers.

Isn't it tempting to give others the best and then rest on the "grace" my family offers when I give them the tired, worn-out, spread thin rest of me?  Isn't it easy to want to give the right impression to others and rest in knowing that my family loves me no matter what?  Since, my family and my home are good gifts from God, I am certain that He longs for me to give my best there also.

Too much in the world tells me to empower myself and seek out what makes me happy and fulfilled.  The job of telling me what I need to do with my time and resources belongs to God alone. Married, single, divorced, widowed, a mother, an aunt, a sister~ each of us has a "home" in which we can build and invest.  May each of us be careful to live wisely and find our fulfillment in Christ alone. I pray that building your house will be enough to fill your cup!

Collision

There are moments in life that feel like a collision.  One of those ran a red light, came out of nowhere kind of collisions.  It hits, but instead of sitting still in the silence that follows after a real-life car collision, you keep moving at a pace that doesn't seem to fit. Nothing seems to slow down. 

The collision itself should have taken you out for a bit.  It shook you and it hurts.  When you actually have a little time to think about it, the tears begin to fall.  It's real and raw, but somehow you keep finding the strength to put one foot in front of the other.

You lie in bed as the sun begins to awaken all that fills this side of the earth and you see the orange and pink rays.  You smile, thinking about the beauty created in these mere seconds before the sun completely reveals itself.  All of its glory reflecting The One who deserves all the glory.

A heaviness weighs on you in these moments of the morning.  One that feels as though it will keep you from even getting your feet to hit the ground.  The warmth and safety of the blankets seem better, maybe even easier, than what may be waiting for you through-out the day.  You linger.  You wait.  Wait to see if maybe this day can just pass on by without you.

As you close your eyes you remind yourself that actually staying in the darkness cannot be an option.  The light, THE ONE TRUE LIGHT begins to shine into the crevasse of your heart and you begin to choose the way of life.  Your heart gently says to your mind, "HIS mercies are new every morning. Great is HIS faithfulness."  

But you cry to Him, that it feels like HIS faithfulness to you is running thin.  Although, you know that is not true.  The very breath you exhale is a gift. A "just for today" kind of gift.  

Life.  It is an on-going series of collisions.  Emotions, experiences, circumstances, people, trials, questions, joys, pain.  They all collide at different moments, but you keep moving forward.  Honestly, at times this movement is beyond your own comprehension, but deep in your soul you know you move because HE is making it possible.  In and through you.  Despite you.  

The hardest part comes in the choosing.  Not so much because you don't want to choose, but just because choosing the right way seems really hard some days.  It seems that the mundane of every day life or the overwhelming reality of the trial wins at that moment.  That collision of truth and reality.  The grace of the Father and the harshness of the world.  
  
But soon you're on your feet and engaged in life, moving forward.  And HE, the ONE is engaged in every detail of your life.  He sustains when the collision takes place.  That's how you choose and how you keep moving forward.  How you find the joy and hope in breaking through the heaviness.   

You know that this too will shape you and sanctify you and it will be worth it.  You also know that it is hard and real and requires of you a choice. A trusting kind of choice in His will over yours.  

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 

That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.  Psalm 30:11-12

 

    

The Beatitudes

Following is the memory work for the Clubhouse class.  Your students/children will be reciting this in August, so please practice a little every day!  Thank you :)

Your child should also have received a nine card packet with each verse, concept and photo.  If you did not receive one, please let Mrs. Marcia Whitehorn know!