Today was hard. Not the entire day. Actually, it has been a great day (thanks for the swift change in perspective Lord!)....
As the kids awoke before 6, I had a choice. I lay in bed, trying to decide if I should get them up, tell them to be quiet for one more hour (might have worked with the dude- no way with the girl :) ), or wake Mark up and ask him to get up with them. As I lay there debating in my head, the Lord was gracious to bring a creative idea to my mind- get up and make them something special! As tired as I was, as cozy as my bed was, I got up (quietly, as not to let the munchkins know I was awake yet) and went downstairs and quickly threw together some "breakfast cake" (coffee cake). I put it in the oven, then went to retrieve my happily chatting kiddos from their beds. Markus was so excited to have "breakfast cake", and I was thrilled to enjoy some special time with my babies. Markus said to me while he was eating "Thank you for making me a special breakfast mommy. I love you." What I would have missed had I laid in bed, choosing myself over my kiddos! Thank you Lord that you reminded me what a blessing it is to give of myself, yet once again, to serve my family.
Onto the hard part of the day. I was blessed to be able to take the kids out to be with some special people in their life today. In the midst of some fun times, a conversation began that had the potential to be explosive, ugly, and hurtful. I had shared a decision Mark and I recently made in regards to Markus, one that a particular individual did not agree with and swiftly let me know. I immediately was heartbroken, and the enemy moved right in, dangling the bait of discouragement, frustration, doubt and fear right in front of me. Praise the Lord I heeded the Holy Spirit instead and was equipped to answer a harsh word with a simple "I would love to discuss this more, but I don't feel like this is the time. Can we find a time to discuss it later?", all the while claiming the truth of God's Word in Proverbs 15:1 in my heart- "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
I excused myself and went to the bathroom to pray for a minute. While I was praying, still working through the doubt, fear, anger, etc, I was reminded again of what it means to truly worship God. I committed all of those emotions to Him and chose instead to celebrate His mighty work in my life and praise Him for His faithfulness to me, regardless of what any outsider may think. After returning home, I did a quick study to claim a verse that I could store away in my heart for times when I am tempted to be swayed by man's opinion in the face of what I know God is doing in my life and what He has called Mark and I to-"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe" (Prov 29:25). Lord, thank you that you prove yourself over and over to be so worthy of all of my trust. Please forgive me for being tempted to question that in the face of a fallen world. I claim safety in you today.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Romans 12:1
I am currently reading "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. I am not finished with it yet, so I am not putting my official endorsement stamp on it, however, what I have read thus far has been amazing, challenging, biblical and encouraging. I am pretty confident I will be putting my stamp on it when I am all done :).
I have had Romans 12:1 memorized for years. "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual act of worship." I recently read Sally's take on this verse in her book, and God has used it in MIGHTY ways over the last 5 days to challenge me. Here is an excerpt from her book: "To fully experience our fulfillment in Christ and fulfill His will for our lives, we must come to the point where we give our whole selves to Him- our freedom, our time, our bodies, all of our possessions and gifts- trusting Him to show us how to use all that we are for His glory. To sacrifice means to give up or surrender something of value. We are living sacrifices, which means that moment by moment, out of our worship of Him, we are to surrender our own needs and expectations for the greater value of pleasing our Lord."
I had a difficult situation arise this weekend, and God immediately brought this passage to mind. I had a choice- to become embittered, frustrated and angry at a situation that was completely out of my control, or turn my unmet expectations into an act of worship to my God. I was challenged in a very real way to give up my desires in a way that would honor God and acknowledge Him sovereign over every aspect of my life. It took some work, and some tears, but I was able to come to a place where I fully accepted God's plan for me that day (despite the fact that it was drastically different than what I wanted, and I totally didn't understand why God wasn't allowing my plans to happen that day) and turned my sorrow into worship of my Heavenly Father. After spending a few minutes alone in prayer, thanking God for being Lord over every aspect of my life, for knowing way more than I ever will what is best for me, and asking for ways to celebrate what He had given me that day, I read the Bible to Markus and Halle Joy and then we had a dance party to some Chris Tomlin. I spent a precious morning with my kids (whom I would have been away from had I had my way) and was greatly ministered to through my time with them. And you know what? Two hours later God blessed me by creatively showing Himself through some dear friends and I was in fact allowed an oppotrunity to attend the worship seminar with Mark for a few hours- the one I thought I was going to be missing out on that day.
Being a mommy means giving my all- my time, my expectations, my desires- to serve my God by serving my kids and my husband. Sacrificing my all- especially those things that I value deeply- is my act of worship. Lord, may I walk in a way that says I choose to give my all to you. Even if it means I will have to give up what I think is best. Thank you that you carry me through and that You show Yourself to me over and over again in fresh, new ways. May I delight in Your will and Your will alone for my life.
I have had Romans 12:1 memorized for years. "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual act of worship." I recently read Sally's take on this verse in her book, and God has used it in MIGHTY ways over the last 5 days to challenge me. Here is an excerpt from her book: "To fully experience our fulfillment in Christ and fulfill His will for our lives, we must come to the point where we give our whole selves to Him- our freedom, our time, our bodies, all of our possessions and gifts- trusting Him to show us how to use all that we are for His glory. To sacrifice means to give up or surrender something of value. We are living sacrifices, which means that moment by moment, out of our worship of Him, we are to surrender our own needs and expectations for the greater value of pleasing our Lord."
I had a difficult situation arise this weekend, and God immediately brought this passage to mind. I had a choice- to become embittered, frustrated and angry at a situation that was completely out of my control, or turn my unmet expectations into an act of worship to my God. I was challenged in a very real way to give up my desires in a way that would honor God and acknowledge Him sovereign over every aspect of my life. It took some work, and some tears, but I was able to come to a place where I fully accepted God's plan for me that day (despite the fact that it was drastically different than what I wanted, and I totally didn't understand why God wasn't allowing my plans to happen that day) and turned my sorrow into worship of my Heavenly Father. After spending a few minutes alone in prayer, thanking God for being Lord over every aspect of my life, for knowing way more than I ever will what is best for me, and asking for ways to celebrate what He had given me that day, I read the Bible to Markus and Halle Joy and then we had a dance party to some Chris Tomlin. I spent a precious morning with my kids (whom I would have been away from had I had my way) and was greatly ministered to through my time with them. And you know what? Two hours later God blessed me by creatively showing Himself through some dear friends and I was in fact allowed an oppotrunity to attend the worship seminar with Mark for a few hours- the one I thought I was going to be missing out on that day.
Being a mommy means giving my all- my time, my expectations, my desires- to serve my God by serving my kids and my husband. Sacrificing my all- especially those things that I value deeply- is my act of worship. Lord, may I walk in a way that says I choose to give my all to you. Even if it means I will have to give up what I think is best. Thank you that you carry me through and that You show Yourself to me over and over again in fresh, new ways. May I delight in Your will and Your will alone for my life.
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