Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Worship Experience

Thursday night was worship night at our church. I had a really hard time getting all the kids ready to go (because my husband is the Worship Pastor I was on my own) and I didn't have a very good attitude by the time we got to the church. But I just knew I needed to be there. In my heart of hearts, I knew God had something for me.

The first set was good. The songs were all ones that I love and the room had a good vibe going. Our Pastor came up and prayed, and took an offering. My DH took a few minutes to read a devotion and then we had two minutes of complete silence. During this time, we were supposed to listen to God. Not pray and ask Him for things or even spill out our hearts to Him, just simply listen. Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I felt the Holy Spirit minister to my heart. He simply said over and over "My daughter, I love you. I will not leave you. I want all of your heart."

The band started up again and by this time people were sitting or kneeling to pray all over the sanctuary. When they began to sing the song "You Won't Relent" I felt a stirring in my heart to stand up and stretch my hands out into the air and receive His love for me. I hesitated, because I didn't want to disturb those around me and become a distraction.

Don't we do that sometimes, not only when we are worshiping, but even just in our day to day walk with God? We have a hard time simply practicing a childlike faith because we don't want to be "noticed." We'd rather blend into the crowd. I tell you, this child of God is done blending into the crowd! I want to be noticed for Jesus!

Priscilla Shirer talks about a young lady in her book "He Speaks to Me" that did just that. She had a child like faith that stood out in the crowd. Her name is Ryan, and she is Autistic. Here's what Priscilla had to say about her:

"She hasn't learned that her style of worship should please and impress people. Her worship hasn't been tainted with religious pomp and circumstance. She doesn't pay attention to the people around her or worry about what they might think of her. Out of her childlike relationship with her Savior, Ryan just gives Him everything she has."

We could all stand to be a little more like Ryan.

I did end up standing up and giving Him everything I had in me. I sang loud and I raised my arms as high as I could get them. I sang "Come be the fire inside of me, come be the flame upon my heart. Come be the fire inside of me, until You and I are one." And I cried. And I cry still.

Come Lord, Come.

I'm so glad He doesn't relent. Aren't you?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

I Love a Good Happy Ending!

Last night my DH had some work on the computer to do, so after the kids were settled in to bed for the night, I settled in to watch a nice "girl movie." You know, one of those movies that makes you laugh, cry, and feel great at the end when the guy and the girl live happily ever after?

The thing about a good movie, (and this one was good and pretty clean, which is hard to come by these days!) is that it hooks you from the beginning by helping you to identify with the characters. Then, it unfolds the story, bit by bit, as you root for those characters to succeed. Of course, before success, there is usually some sort of failure, or mishap, that makes us feel sorry for the characters.

Last night I saw it coming from a mile away. Oh, the heroine in the story had many unfortunate moments, because she was living a life of lies, from one small fib to the next, but eventually, it all caught up with her and she was completely humiliated. Talk about hitting bottom.

It was so bad, that I just couldn't watch. You know how some people hide their eyes when there's a scary moment in a movie? Well, I had to "hide my eyes" from her humiliation. I wanted to fast forward through her difficulty and get to the happy ending. Silly, I know.

What does this "girl movie" have to do with what matters to me? Well, last night it dawned on me how much I treat my life like I'm watching a movie. Things are going along great and I laugh, and feel good. Then, when it comes to the part where things go sideways, where my own mistakes catch up with me, or someone hurts my feelings, or I just don't get to where I want to be fast enough, I want to fast forward to the happy ending.

Instead of trusting God in the good, and the bad, I just want to skip the bad all together. At the very least I want to close my eyes and say "just tell me when it's over!" What I really should do in those times, is fix my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

How did the movie end? The girl set things right and owned up to her mistakes. She mended relationships that were broken by apologizing to the ones she loved that she had hurt. And yes, she got the guy. But she had to walk through her failures to arrive at true success.

In this lifetime, we will have difficulties. Most of the time difficult situations are lessons in life that we have to learn due to our own shortcomings. Sometimes though, we are involuntarily dragged into hard times by those around us. Either way, God is faithful, and He will stay by our side to the end.

We have the ultimate love story in Jesus. He paid the price for us on the cross. There is nothing on this earth that He won't walk through with us if we let Him. He is our happily ever after in this life, and the life to come.

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." 1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT

**Update**

A few girls (Ok, everyone who has read this) have asked what the name of the above mentioned movie is. I didn't mention it on purpose, because I didn't want to take away from the lesson God was teaching me. But now that you've read this far, the name of the movie is "Confessions of a Shopaholic." It's rated PG for some mild language and "thematic elements", whatever those are! I only raised my eybrow at one scene, which suggested (nothing was revealed) a couple was doing something they should not do outside of marriage. I laughed my head off and it had some really deep, great lessons in it about both finances and honesty in relationships. I definitely recommend it if you need a good laugh/cry!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Hair Matters...A Donation of Love

Today I am finally getting around to posting about my daughter's first major hair cut. She is five, and we have trimmed her hair, but never cut off any substantial amount. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time. Her hair was just about the full length of her back, which caused struggles both in washing it, and brushing it. Most days she would wake up from nap a tangled mess. We tried braiding it while she slept, but she's a mover in her sleep, and that turned braids into knots.

Here are a couple of before pictures:










The first thing we had to decide was what length we wanted her hair to be. When my older daughter was this age, we did a really special thing together. I took her in to a salon, and we gave her hair (which was equivalent in length to this) to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

I discussed this idea first with my husband, and then told LR about the program to let her decide. When she heard that her sister had given her hair to some little girl who needed it, she, of course, wanted to do it too! So we set a date, and off we went.

Once we got to the salon, the hardest part was convincing LR that the sweet stylist was NOT going to spray water in her eyes! Boy was she nervous about leaning her head back into that sink.

When that was over, the woman parted her hair and divided it into two ponytails. Then came the fun part...


SNIP, SNIP! LR was so delighted...she giggled the entire way through. After talking with the stylist about how long she had been at this particular location, we determined that she was the very same woman that cut my oldest's hair three years ago. Imagine that!

She gave LR a cute bob, just long enough to still pull back in a short ponytail. LR kept leaning a bit to the left, so it was difficult to tell if it was even, but I think it's perfect.

When all was said and done LR said "Mommy, can I always give my hair to a little girl that needs it when it gets long?" I was so proud of my little girl. Her sister is currently growing out her hair to give away for the third time. Perhaps we have started a tradition, and next time, the two of them might donate their hair together.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Humble Matters

As I was reading in my bible this morning four words stuck out to me. "I cannot do it." They stuck out to me because of what followed. "But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

To really understand the boldness of this situation, I need to back up a bit and give you a little more information. Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, raised to a high position because the Pharaoh recognized God was with him, then thrown in prison because Pharaoh's wife accused him wrongly, and that's where he is now. The Pharaoh needs a dream interpreted so he sends for Joseph.

Picking up in Genesis 41:15 - Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

Way to go Joseph! Right answer! "I can't, but God can." Even when his life was on the line and he knew that this could mean freedom, or back to the dungeon for him, he was clear that it was God, not him, that had the power to interpret the dream. Joseph was only the vessel that God was using to do so.

Joseph goes on to interpret Pharaoh's dream and because he did, Pharaoh restored him to an even higher position than he was in before he was sent to prison.

Genesis 41:39-40 - Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

Did you see that? Pharaoh's response was "Since God has made all this known to you..." Because Joseph humbled himself and gave credit to God right from the start, Pharaoh had to also give God credit for the interpretation of the dream!

How many times have I been in a situation where I should have given God the glory, but took the credit for my own? Too many.

What a great lesson Joseph teaches us here. "I cannot do it...but God will."

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Friday, January 15, 2010

Company Girl Coffee "A Clean Sweep"

This week, over at Home Sanctuary, Rachel Anne walked us through creating a "Real World" Housekeeping Schedule. It was good to review and revise my schedule to fit my current needs. Having a reliable system that I can manage to keep up with keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.

This morning as I pulled out of my driveway to take the kids to school, there were two trucks moving slowly along the curbs, sweeping as they went. This really baffled me. Why two trucks? Is one truck not good enough to do the job? Can they not get a "clean sweep" with just one pass?

From there I got to thinking about my children. (Bear with me, this is how my mind works!) I try to teach them to do a job right the first time so that they don't have to go back and do it again. You know, the old saying "A job worth doing, is worth doing well." Sweeping is one of those chores that my kids gripe about when it's their turn. They know that if they don't get all the crumbs from the dining room floor the first time, I'll make them go back and do it again.

What I am trying to get at, is sometimes it takes two or more passes to get it really clean. Now I am speaking literally about cleaning, but this analogy could also be applied to the state of our hearts. Ultimately, when we accept Christ into our lives, we are cleansed by His blood.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NKJV)

Once we have received Christ into our heart, we must continue grow to be more like Him. This takes effort on our part, but not without help from God.

Jesus said in John 14:25-26 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

So then, the Holy Spirit helps us "clean house" so to speak. We must to allow the Holy Spirit to sweep our hearts and point out any unclean places. We need to pray with the Psalmist David "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:22-23)

This is not an easy process and oftentimes we must come back for a "second pass." Jesus alone was without sin while he was here on this earth. Only when He returns and takes us up into heaven will we truly have a "clean sweep."

Until then, this is my prayer: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you (and me) through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, parentheses mine)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Scheduling Matters

Today I went and spoke at my church to a group of wonderful ladies about creating sanctuary in our homes. Most of the material that I used was borrowed from what I have learned from Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary. What I realized as I was putting together my notes last night for my talk today is that I have virtually taken everything that I have learned from her about peace, order, and beauty, and adapted it to be my own.

Over the years I have read many books on organization. I've tried lots of different "systems" and developed my own methods by trial and error. What I have arrived at (at least for this season in my life) was not something I came up with over night. I spend time on it every year (at least once a year) evaluating what still works for me, and what needs to be changed.

If you're reading this and you're thinking that it's time to take some steps of your own to work out a reasonable housekeeping schedule, then I would recommend visiting Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary. Don't try to do all the steps in one day. It will just seem overwhelming. Walk through them one step at a time, one day at time. It's worth the initial time investment to arrive at a doable, "real world" housekeeping schedule.

Thanks, Rachel, for all of your inspiration and encouragement!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Puzzling Matters

I have a husband who is a puzzle addict. It started small. 500 pieces or so. No big deal. A nice family activity as we sat together and completed the puzzle in one sitting. Then, one day while he was on vacation, he came home with a 1500 piece puzzle that took over our table and lives. Honestly, 1500 pieces! Well, we finished it (with the help of some friends on New Year's Day) and it felt good. There was a sense of satisfaction when it was all done. We put all the pieces back in the box and reclaimed the table for other activities...or so I thought.

The same friends that helped us with that puzzle brought us a new one! This one had the same amount of pieces and was by the same person, only it was a lot harder. That's it in the picture...a big mesh of buildings and trees! Everything seemed to blend together with many of the pieces similar in color. But oh, we were determined.

We settled in last weekend and finally finished it last night. That is, all but one piece. See it, missing in this picture? My DH looked and looked, but it is nowhere to be found. Our friends bought it second hand, so the piece could have been gone from the start, or it could have been lost somewhere here. (I do have 5 kids, after all.)

Why would I blog about such a insignificant subject matter as puzzles? I'm glad you asked! Yesterday when we were in the final stages of the puzzle, I was reminded of a sermon that our Pastor gave one day. As we walked into the sanctuary, each of us was handed a piece of a puzzle. He explained himself by sharing how ONE piece in our hands doesn't mean much, but all of them put together makes a beautiful, complete puzzle. (No, he didn't make us put it together, he just showed us a picture of it on the overhead.)

Anyway, there we were last night, trying to make some sort of sense out of all the green pieces we'd been staring at for hours, when my husband just smacked a piece down on the table and said with humor "There! It fits!" We both laughed as he tried to force the piece into the gap. As funny as that sounds, don't we do that with life sometimes? We come to a place of uncertainty, where everything looks fuzzy, and try to make - no, try to FORCE, something to fit? Not knowing where the pieces fit in can be very unsettling.

Other times, we pick up just the right piece and presto! It fits just perfectly. Regardless of whether the pieces seem to come together easily, or take a little more time and patience, (maybe with the help of a friend and some new perspective) there is one thing that I know to be true of life. God knows the big picture before we even begin to see it. He is like the picture on the box that we have to keep looking to in order to see the final picture. Look to Him when life seems puzzling. Things will fall in place eventually. Unlike our puzzle with one missing piece, God has all the pieces. And eventually, they will all come together to make the beautiful picture that He has created just for us to enjoy.

Psalm 139:16 (Amplified Version) "Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them."

Monday, January 4, 2010

10 at 10 for 2010

I'm not really one to make New Year's Resolutions, so we'll call this one a fun mommy son activity instead. :)

After looking at my schedule and trying to fit in exercise, I decided to take 10 minutes to do some form of Yoga, cardio, or strength training on my Wii Fit Plus three days a week. My youngest son is a big fan of boxing on Wii, so I told him that three days a week we would exercise together. It's a fun way to get some of his energy out while the weather is poor, and in a strange way, it holds me accountable to keep moving.

I'll start with 10 minutes and increase the amount of time I spend from there. Why 10:00am? Because I watch a 1 year old and that's when he goes down for nap. There you have it. 10 minutes at 10:00am to become more fit in 2010.

What do you do to fit exercise into your schedule?