Gut Honesty...Part 1

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Proverbs 27:5-6

My husband and I had just finished making a batch of homemade chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting. The kids helped and dashed sprinkles on them as we prepared to decorate our Christmas tree. After dinner, we all sat down by the tree to eat a cupcake with a cold glass of milk. Except I noticed one little thing…my hubby only ate half of his cupcake. Thinking little of it at the time, I said nothing.

Later, however, I asked him what he thought of the cupcakes. His response was, “They were OK. I am all about the icing, and I didn’t really like the icing.” Hmmm, I thought. He said it so nonchalantly. This may sound crazy, but….I was a little sad that he didn’t like the cupcakes, but I was totally excited that he was HONEST with me about his feelings over something so small…at a time when he could have easily cooked up a “little white lie.”

I’m so glad he didn’t. You see, honesty is something that I value greatly. It is also an area in our marriage that has not always come easy. I was so excited to see God redeem the big and little areas of honesty in our marriage from deep confessions to simple matters of icing and cupcakes.

Mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, I want to encourage you to be a woman of “gut honesty”. Be diligent to speak the truth in love, even in the small things, and watch how God will transform your relationships. Perhaps the best gift you can offer this Christmas season is a heart that is honest before God and your fellow man…or woman.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. This blog is written in honor of my friend Shannon. She has always been honest with me…even when it hurt. I am a better woman because of her friendship. She challenges me to be honest at all times. She leads by example. She is more than a friend; she is a sister. J

Your hands

Mom, your hands are very important, special and comforting.  You have some of the most important hands in the world to your little ones.  When someone asks me one of the things that makes my mom special I would say, her hands.  If “A picture is worth a thousand words”, well then her hands are worth a thousand thoughts to me.  And now as I get older and my hands are constantly cleaning, wiping, fixing, holding … my hands have become a comfort to my little ones.

“Your hands have made me and fashioned me.” Psalm 119:73a

God’s hands are comforting, forming, shaping, knitting, protecting, and guiding.  Each time I listen to an invitation being given for people to come to know Christ as Savior, I picture Jesus holding out His hand, ready to lift the person up out of their seat to “walk forward” or take that first step in receiving His gift of salvation.  Those hands have comforted me and will forevermore be comfort as they are always outstretched for us to take hold of. 

“use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.” Ephesians 4:28

I’ve seen how my daughter’s hands are being used as tools of comfort and compassion as well.  I’ve observed her playing with her dolls lately and how gentle she is.  Also whenever she sees someone crying (wherever & whenever) she goes up to them and puts her hand on them.  She loves to rub her hand on whatever skin she can get to.  Jordan has the gift of touch and if you’ve ever held her, she will rub your neck, arm, or back…all while sucking her other thumb of course.

How can your hands be used as agents of comfort and compassion today?  You have a gift, its right in the palm of your hand.  Pray and ask God to use your hands today.

Mom is the Gift!

Image found on Google Images

          I keep finding myself meditating on 
John 1: 16.  From the New International Version,  “From the fullness of His Grace we have received one blessing after another.” NAS says “…One gracious blessing after another.”

            In light of another Hallmark victory, called Mother’s Day, I am reminded how God has blessed me over and over with the privilege of being a mom.  It is His Grace to have opened up one “blessing” (or child) after another.

            However, my focus on Mother’s Day isn’t me as a mom, rather it is on my Mom.  I am ever so very blessed to have been raised by such a wonderful woman.  I am flooded with memories of her love and care for me and my brothers.

            Mom always kept things fun.  To this day, she reminds me not to take life so seriously and laugh often.  I remember riding through the neighborhood in our big station wagon. (Do you remember the ones with the “wood sides?”) Once, while riding we weren’t sure we were looking at a statue or a dog on the side of the road.  Mom’s response was to roll down the window and bark.  (We still aren’t sure who was more surprised with her barking, the dog or the kids in the car!)

Mom would always find someone else for our family to help.  Whether is was a Christmas holiday spree, a meal or a ride for someone in need, she was the first to offer her help. 

Mom loves unconditionally.  She doesn’t keep a record of our wrongs.  She has always believed that we learned from our wrongs and it would never happen again.  Mom sees the best in everyone.

My Mom is a gift of God’s grace.  I daily see how His grace is poured out through my mom’s kindnesses and love.  Mom is my gift for Mother’s Day!

Although Hallmark doesn’t always have the exact wording or pictures I would choose for my mom, God’s Word is perfect for this holiday from The Message: 

“We all live off His generous bounty gift of gift after gift.”