This last part of this week with my children was tough. Just when I was feeling inadequate and struggling to believe that I am raising my children to love God and each other, my friend called with this wonderful verse...
This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Deidra, my servant, whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘ I am the Lord's,’ and will take the name Israel. Isaiah 44:3-5
It is so hard to stay motivated when you see little fruit in your children. I know my teaching is not real eloquent. I feel like I am talking to a wall sometimes when trying to convey truth to my children. It wasn't modeled to me and so it certainly does not come naturally, but I believe with all my heart that God chose me to be the start of a long lineage of followers of Christ. I believe that He intends to bless my children with His heritage as He has done for me.
I have been praying to hear more clearly from the Lord, and I believe that it was no accident that I meditated on Isaiah 44 all weekend. I believe it was a word of encouragement from the encourager Himself!
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed. Isaiah 61:9
I may not always know the right verses to teach my children or the perfect words to say in just the right situations, I know I get frustrated and angry at times but I, like my children, am a work in progress. All I have to do right now is trust God and believe His promises. I know that one day when I look at my children and see them following God and teaching their own children to follow Him, it will not be because I knew what I was doing! It will be because God is the great Redeemer.
I really stink at this Godly parenting thing sometimes, but it is ok because 1 Corinthians says that God deliberately uses the weak nobodies like me to do His great works. God alone made it possible for me to be in Christ Jesus. He alone will make it possible for my Children as well. I will have nothing to boast about but Him.
As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done." 1 Corinthians 1:31
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Obstacle #5 Difficulty
Bob is working in Tampa this week for a TDY and since it is Spring Break the kids and I decided to come with him. This entry comes on a day when I took 3 kids by myself to Busch Gardens!! Taking 3 kids to the lobby for breakfast was hard enough!! Making it through a day in an amusement park with thousands of other people was going to be a task!
Before we left I had to get my head on straight and realize that with God's help I could do this, and I did. I only lost the 2 big kids once for about 15 minutes. Brady fell on the concrete and got 2 bloody knees and a goose egg on his head, but over all I had a good attitude all day and we all had lots of fun.
The thing about difficulties is that while the enemy intends for it to slow us down an make us weak, God intends for it to strengthen us and make us stronger. I realized a while back that I was saying way too often " I just can't do it" or "I just can't do that" The truth is, I can do ANYthing through God who strengthens me. It is time to stop being a wimp and tap into God's power and not my own. Even if we think it is going to kill us (and sometimes I think parenting just might!)it's ok.......God is an expert in bringing life from death right?? Let's let Him show how good he is. When we accomplish that "impossible" task, wee will only be able to look back and know that God carried us through it! We bring Him no glory if we just sit there and say we can't do it!
Today I will be taking them all to the mall followed by Chuck E Cheese! Tomorrow I will drive us 6 hours home by myself. Bob has to stay until Monday. Pray for me that I will trust in God's power and not my own! :-)
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. Psalm 145:3-6
Before we left I had to get my head on straight and realize that with God's help I could do this, and I did. I only lost the 2 big kids once for about 15 minutes. Brady fell on the concrete and got 2 bloody knees and a goose egg on his head, but over all I had a good attitude all day and we all had lots of fun.
The thing about difficulties is that while the enemy intends for it to slow us down an make us weak, God intends for it to strengthen us and make us stronger. I realized a while back that I was saying way too often " I just can't do it" or "I just can't do that" The truth is, I can do ANYthing through God who strengthens me. It is time to stop being a wimp and tap into God's power and not my own. Even if we think it is going to kill us (and sometimes I think parenting just might!)it's ok.......God is an expert in bringing life from death right?? Let's let Him show how good he is. When we accomplish that "impossible" task, wee will only be able to look back and know that God carried us through it! We bring Him no glory if we just sit there and say we can't do it!
Today I will be taking them all to the mall followed by Chuck E Cheese! Tomorrow I will drive us 6 hours home by myself. Bob has to stay until Monday. Pray for me that I will trust in God's power and not my own! :-)
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. Psalm 145:3-6
Monday, April 7, 2008
Obstacle #4 Conflict
Being in conflict with others is another way we can stunt our growth and be kept from moving forward. I have to admit. I am stubborn and can find it very hard to not hold a grudge sometimes. Especially when I have been wronged!! I can do it with my own husband as easily as I can do it with a lady in the check out line. Keeping a check on my attitude toward others can be hard, but if I take my complaints to God He will often times help me to forgive, even if I have not been apologized to! That is really hard to do, but it brings us so much freedom and allows us to move on and quickly get our eyes back where they should be…looking forward and moving ahead.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mathew 6:14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mathew 6:14
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Obstacle #3 Looking Back
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, Philippians 3:13
It is so easy to get distracted in our walk by our past. Whether it be good things in our past or bad. In order to grow in our faith we have to have our eyes looking forward and on Christ.
Those of us who lead a life of sin before being called by God to a new life can easily be entangled by looking back at our past. It can rob us of our confidence, our security, and our hope if we let it. In the past, I would struggle when around other Christians, because I did not want them to know my past. I would lie or hide things, because I thought that what was in my past made me less of a Christian. The truth though, is that my past sin brings God great glory now because my new life shows how truly amazing God’s grace really is. If He can pull a wretch like me out of a pit, He can pull anyone out. The enemy wants to use my past to bring guilt and condemnation to me, but God means for it to show His power and salvation. On occasion I will be plagued by a thought of my past that makes me sick to my stomach. Instead of giving into shame and discouragement I immediately have to rebuke it and praise God for His great salvation before the thought becomes a stumbling block for me.
Just as easily as I can become entangled by negative thoughts of my past, I can also be just as affected by good things in the past. Being in the military and moving so often, I always miss my friends at my previous base. I left New Mexico almost a year ago now, and I still miss my friends there so much. It is hard at times to keep my eyes on God’s plans for me here rather than looking back at how much I enjoyed my time there. I can do the same thing in my marriage or with my children. Who wouldn’t want to go back to those days when our husbands where ooog-a-lee eyed over us and lavished us with love notes and red roses. Do they love us less now than they did back then?? No, of course not. How they show it has changed, but I know that my husband’s love for me (and mine for him) has only grown and matured. I could look all day at sweet pictures of my children when they were little and wish they were so small again. Instead, I am to be thankful for who they are now, and how God has grown them and me, as they continue to move into new stages in their lives.
We may always remember our past, but we should use it to see how much we have grown and then look forward to how many more wonderful things God has for us ahead.
It is so easy to get distracted in our walk by our past. Whether it be good things in our past or bad. In order to grow in our faith we have to have our eyes looking forward and on Christ.
Those of us who lead a life of sin before being called by God to a new life can easily be entangled by looking back at our past. It can rob us of our confidence, our security, and our hope if we let it. In the past, I would struggle when around other Christians, because I did not want them to know my past. I would lie or hide things, because I thought that what was in my past made me less of a Christian. The truth though, is that my past sin brings God great glory now because my new life shows how truly amazing God’s grace really is. If He can pull a wretch like me out of a pit, He can pull anyone out. The enemy wants to use my past to bring guilt and condemnation to me, but God means for it to show His power and salvation. On occasion I will be plagued by a thought of my past that makes me sick to my stomach. Instead of giving into shame and discouragement I immediately have to rebuke it and praise God for His great salvation before the thought becomes a stumbling block for me.
Just as easily as I can become entangled by negative thoughts of my past, I can also be just as affected by good things in the past. Being in the military and moving so often, I always miss my friends at my previous base. I left New Mexico almost a year ago now, and I still miss my friends there so much. It is hard at times to keep my eyes on God’s plans for me here rather than looking back at how much I enjoyed my time there. I can do the same thing in my marriage or with my children. Who wouldn’t want to go back to those days when our husbands where ooog-a-lee eyed over us and lavished us with love notes and red roses. Do they love us less now than they did back then?? No, of course not. How they show it has changed, but I know that my husband’s love for me (and mine for him) has only grown and matured. I could look all day at sweet pictures of my children when they were little and wish they were so small again. Instead, I am to be thankful for who they are now, and how God has grown them and me, as they continue to move into new stages in their lives.
We may always remember our past, but we should use it to see how much we have grown and then look forward to how many more wonderful things God has for us ahead.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Obstacle # 2 Comparison
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:20-22
Looking to the right, looking to the left......another obstacle for me! Where should I be looking?? Straight ahead! At Christ and where He wants ME to be. What a stumbling block it is in our growth, when we compare ourselves to others. Yes, many friends and other Christian women can be of great influence to us. They can serve as wonderful Godly examples, but when it becomes a problem is when when we are looking so much at other people that we are missing what God has for us. We can do this in different ways.
We can stunt our growth from the insecurity that comes with thinking God has blessed someone else greater than us. I believe that a lot of times the enemy intentionally uses jealousy and comparison to distract us from from running with our eyes fixed on Christ. He can also use it in the very opposite sense. He can tempt us to be prideful in thinking that we love Christ more than others, or that we are closet to God than another fellow Christian. Either one is looking to the right or the left, and either one is destructive.
I can at times get frustrated or bitter because another person seems to have it easier than me. How does it make us feel when that other mother's baby is sleeping through the night and your baby is still up every 2 hours, or when your 4 year old is struggling to learn the alphabet when your neighbors child is reading already? I know I have been prone to comparing the behavior of my children quite often to others. I have even said to myself before....."I just wish her kids where like mine for one day so she could see how it is!!" I hate it when I walk through Walmart and see another mom with a child that sits so quietly in the cart and never makes a peep! My boys have SO much energy, and NEVER seem to slow down OR quiet down! The bottom line is, we can get so frustrated when others don't seem to have to go through the same struggles that we do, but what we we should be doing is keeping our eyes on our own cart. God has given each of us our own struggles, and every single one of them is to get use to stay close to Him. I know for a fact that my exhaustively active boys and my sassy 12 year old daughter, keep me on my knees every day.
Lord, help me to always keep my eyes on you and what you want for me. Let me press on through the enemies attempts to make me stumble by looking to the right or left and comparing myself to others.
Looking to the right, looking to the left......another obstacle for me! Where should I be looking?? Straight ahead! At Christ and where He wants ME to be. What a stumbling block it is in our growth, when we compare ourselves to others. Yes, many friends and other Christian women can be of great influence to us. They can serve as wonderful Godly examples, but when it becomes a problem is when when we are looking so much at other people that we are missing what God has for us. We can do this in different ways.
We can stunt our growth from the insecurity that comes with thinking God has blessed someone else greater than us. I believe that a lot of times the enemy intentionally uses jealousy and comparison to distract us from from running with our eyes fixed on Christ. He can also use it in the very opposite sense. He can tempt us to be prideful in thinking that we love Christ more than others, or that we are closet to God than another fellow Christian. Either one is looking to the right or the left, and either one is destructive.
I can at times get frustrated or bitter because another person seems to have it easier than me. How does it make us feel when that other mother's baby is sleeping through the night and your baby is still up every 2 hours, or when your 4 year old is struggling to learn the alphabet when your neighbors child is reading already? I know I have been prone to comparing the behavior of my children quite often to others. I have even said to myself before....."I just wish her kids where like mine for one day so she could see how it is!!" I hate it when I walk through Walmart and see another mom with a child that sits so quietly in the cart and never makes a peep! My boys have SO much energy, and NEVER seem to slow down OR quiet down! The bottom line is, we can get so frustrated when others don't seem to have to go through the same struggles that we do, but what we we should be doing is keeping our eyes on our own cart. God has given each of us our own struggles, and every single one of them is to get use to stay close to Him. I know for a fact that my exhaustively active boys and my sassy 12 year old daughter, keep me on my knees every day.
Lord, help me to always keep my eyes on you and what you want for me. Let me press on through the enemies attempts to make me stumble by looking to the right or left and comparing myself to others.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Obstacle #1 Fear
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
I have been writing this week on revelation and what I think can also be called God's Wisdom. We should always be seeking it and always listening to hear it.
From the time we are set apart as God's children until the time He calls us home, He is working in us and making us more and more like Him. Little by little and one revelation at a time, we should be constantly straining forward (v.14)
The word straining tells us that it will not always be easy. Yesterday I said that I wanted to write about 5 obstacles we have to "press on" through in order to reach that prize that Paul is talking about. Today I will look on #1 which so happens to be a huge struggle for me!!
1) Fear: Fear= unbelief When we are fearful, we are telling God that we do not believe He has the power to handle it. (what ever our IT might be)
Philippians 4:19 says God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus
God raises Jesus from the DEAD!! That is some kind of power! If he has that kind of power, why do I not believe that He has the power to meet what ever need I have.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the Lord, who remains faithful forever. Psalm 146:6
There is not a day that I do not look at this big earth and this seeming endless ocean that I am so blessed to live by, that I do not awe in the creator of it all. I think that is partly why I love to travel so much. I will never forget the day my family hiked to the top of a mountain in the beautiful Island of Hawaii and looked down over the entire island. It was the most beautiful site I had ever seen. If you have ever see the Grand Canyon or the Smokey Mountains, you can relate to the "awe" I am talking about.
Romans 1:20 says For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Knowing God's great and divine power I don't have any excuse for not trusting Him. Fear is an obstacle I MUST "press on" through.
I have been writing this week on revelation and what I think can also be called God's Wisdom. We should always be seeking it and always listening to hear it.
From the time we are set apart as God's children until the time He calls us home, He is working in us and making us more and more like Him. Little by little and one revelation at a time, we should be constantly straining forward (v.14)
The word straining tells us that it will not always be easy. Yesterday I said that I wanted to write about 5 obstacles we have to "press on" through in order to reach that prize that Paul is talking about. Today I will look on #1 which so happens to be a huge struggle for me!!
1) Fear: Fear= unbelief When we are fearful, we are telling God that we do not believe He has the power to handle it. (what ever our IT might be)
Philippians 4:19 says God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus
God raises Jesus from the DEAD!! That is some kind of power! If he has that kind of power, why do I not believe that He has the power to meet what ever need I have.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the Lord, who remains faithful forever. Psalm 146:6
There is not a day that I do not look at this big earth and this seeming endless ocean that I am so blessed to live by, that I do not awe in the creator of it all. I think that is partly why I love to travel so much. I will never forget the day my family hiked to the top of a mountain in the beautiful Island of Hawaii and looked down over the entire island. It was the most beautiful site I had ever seen. If you have ever see the Grand Canyon or the Smokey Mountains, you can relate to the "awe" I am talking about.
Romans 1:20 says For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Knowing God's great and divine power I don't have any excuse for not trusting Him. Fear is an obstacle I MUST "press on" through.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Responding to revelation
I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Galatians 2:2
Before I went to the Beth Moore Conference I said to a friend of mine "I am expecting a revelation this weekend." The night after I made that statement, I thought about it all evening. I asked myself..."am I really expecting a revelation??" Not just hoping for....wanting.....?? Finally I said to myself...No, I am expecting one.
Well, I about fell out my chair when one of the first things she said to us the first day was....."Girls, I sure hope you all came here expecting a revelation from the Lord!! Cuz, I believe each and everyone of you is gonna get one!"
Yes, I was expecting it, and yes, I got it!
The key word for me in Galatians2:2 is response. There is more to it than just receiving a revelation. We studied that this weekend. We came up with 3 steps in the process and I found this very interesting.
1~ the revelation it self: recognizing that Jesus is up to something new. Sometimes I feel the
need for a new revelation and pray for it, other times he has to hit me over the head to
get me to realize that it is time for some change.
2~ comprehension: grasping what it is that God wants to do; understanding it and realizing that
you want (or need) the change
3~ Apprehension: (Here is the one I think I tend to struggle with!) This is the response to the
revelation; grasping it and putting it into action!
That last one is truly the hard part for me. Sometimes I can keep going in circles in one same area. For example I have for a while known that God wants be to work more at having joy in all circumstances. He has been trying to point out to me my tendencies to think negatively and prompting me to make a change in my daily attitude with my husband and my children. I can do really well, but then when it gets to hard, or I let in one negative thought I end up spiralling back into my old ways and before I know it I am back to where I started.
I think #3 is the area that God really wants me to work on. I know the areas of my walk that he wants to make change, I just need to press harder to achieve it and not let my feelings or other obstacles get in my way. Making changes in any area of our lives can be hard. We learned this weekend about some of the obstacles that can keep us from getting there. I hope to have the time the rest of this week to put all my thoughts together on the 5 that we came up with.
It is so good and I can't wait, but for now Brayden and I are heading out to Pump it Up to get out of the house on this rainy day!! That is another "revelation" I am trying to put into action......The house is a disaster and I am behind on so many things, but my time with the kids should never be sacrificed! What a struggle that is for me. Especially today when there are piles of laundry in the living room and dirty dished in the sink.
They will still be here when we get back right??
Before I went to the Beth Moore Conference I said to a friend of mine "I am expecting a revelation this weekend." The night after I made that statement, I thought about it all evening. I asked myself..."am I really expecting a revelation??" Not just hoping for....wanting.....?? Finally I said to myself...No, I am expecting one.
Well, I about fell out my chair when one of the first things she said to us the first day was....."Girls, I sure hope you all came here expecting a revelation from the Lord!! Cuz, I believe each and everyone of you is gonna get one!"
Yes, I was expecting it, and yes, I got it!
The key word for me in Galatians2:2 is response. There is more to it than just receiving a revelation. We studied that this weekend. We came up with 3 steps in the process and I found this very interesting.
1~ the revelation it self: recognizing that Jesus is up to something new. Sometimes I feel the
need for a new revelation and pray for it, other times he has to hit me over the head to
get me to realize that it is time for some change.
2~ comprehension: grasping what it is that God wants to do; understanding it and realizing that
you want (or need) the change
3~ Apprehension: (Here is the one I think I tend to struggle with!) This is the response to the
revelation; grasping it and putting it into action!
That last one is truly the hard part for me. Sometimes I can keep going in circles in one same area. For example I have for a while known that God wants be to work more at having joy in all circumstances. He has been trying to point out to me my tendencies to think negatively and prompting me to make a change in my daily attitude with my husband and my children. I can do really well, but then when it gets to hard, or I let in one negative thought I end up spiralling back into my old ways and before I know it I am back to where I started.
I think #3 is the area that God really wants me to work on. I know the areas of my walk that he wants to make change, I just need to press harder to achieve it and not let my feelings or other obstacles get in my way. Making changes in any area of our lives can be hard. We learned this weekend about some of the obstacles that can keep us from getting there. I hope to have the time the rest of this week to put all my thoughts together on the 5 that we came up with.
It is so good and I can't wait, but for now Brayden and I are heading out to Pump it Up to get out of the house on this rainy day!! That is another "revelation" I am trying to put into action......The house is a disaster and I am behind on so many things, but my time with the kids should never be sacrificed! What a struggle that is for me. Especially today when there are piles of laundry in the living room and dirty dished in the sink.
They will still be here when we get back right??
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