Bond of Peace

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3

I read this verse and was determined to live out the “bond of peace” part.  All day while the normal things that would have rattled me and given me the “right” to raise my voice at our kids, I chose to remember those three words, “bond-of-peace” and act in a more peaceful manner.  The result was a more tempered momma, less stressed kids, and the unity of the Spirit.

The dictionary defines the word endeavor: try hard to do or achieve something.  Well when we invite the Lord to work in and through us to endeavor[ing] to keep the unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace we don’t have to try so hard—just let Him work through us!  He will remind you of His peace as He did me!

Bedtime is supposed to be 8pm but this night it was going on after 9:30 and I was still being asked to put cream on mosquito bites and letting them know that there is no reading in bed by the light of the little lighted Christmas tree in their room.  I felt the Lord with me like a loving coach as I handled the moment.

May we strive to keep this bond of peace in our homes as we cheer on our kids to live walking worthy of the calling with which they are called. That they would do this with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, as they endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in their lives.

No Voice to Yell

When you are sick and have “NO VOICE TO YELL,” what do you do?  How do you get your kids to do anything?  I recently found out.

Back when I was a brand new mom I heard another more seasoned mom talk about how the only way she could get through to her kid was to yell.  I thought that was ridiculous and that she must not be as mature as I was… HA!  Little did I know that a couple years down the line I’d find myself in that same rut.  For a while now I have been struggling with this pattern of yelling I had set as the communication method – mom to kids.  How did I get here and how do I get out?!  Yes, I know there are tons of books about the issue but I didn’t want to read them nor did I have time to. 

My Ah-ha! moment:  The other day a friend was counseling me about how to handle a situation with another adult and she said, “don’t let what is going on in the other person’s life take your peace away from you.”  Then she said these brilliant words, “you keep your peace.”  DING!  Wow, I sang blessing songs to her over the phone because she solved my yelling dilemma – KEEP YOUR PEACE MOMMA. 

It dawned on me that I needed to get my peace from the Peace Maker Himself.  Like I say all the time, our kids are watching.  Let's set a pattern of going to the Peacemaker and practicing some good ole' self-control.  Our kids will learn how to be self-controlled themselves reducing frustrating moments.  DING! 

"and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15

“Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.” Psalm 119:165

“He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat.” Psalm 147:14

“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah 54:13

Peace be with you.

Life is Hard

Many, Lord my God, 

are the wonders you have done, 

the things you planned for us.

 None can compare with you;

 were I to speak and tell of your deeds, 

they would be too many to declare. 

- Psalm 40:5

Life is busy. Life is hard. Life is complicated. Life is overwhelming...until I bring my crazy before the One who calms storms. As I look at the crazy in my life, I must also look at the "calm" as well. Those things that bless my life and make it much sweeter. I  must find my focus there...on those "wonders" the Lord has done.

Praise Him for the "wonders" in your life. Allow those blessings from Jesus be where your mind rests and resides. Cultivating an attitude of praise effects our outlook and interactions with others. What can you praise Him for today?

“God is most glorified in us 

when we are most satisfied in Him” 

― John Piper

“What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” 
― Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer

“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, A Chance to Die

“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.” 
― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Anxious to Help

I went to my first Unmasking Anxiety class the other night at our church.  Our speaker covered a lot in two hours so when I went home I had a lot to talk about!  But one of the main things I learned was that we have the power to change what we are thinking.  God made our brains able to direct the rest of our bodies to do some amazing things like have the strength to give birth (or go through c-sections).  He also allows us to think thoughts that will send messages (via chemicals*) to our bodies that allow us to feel anxious, scared, or sad (for the proper times).

For homework we were asked to research verses with the word “thought” and I found Proverbs 12:5, “The thoughts of the righteous are right”.  That goes along with Philippians 4:8 which has helped me a lot when I think of something that prompts anxiety in me.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”  Philippians 4:8

Then I read another interesting verse in Proverbs, “But counselors of peace have joy” Proverbs 12:20b.

The day after my class I had the opportunity to share with our son how he can choose a different way of thinking.  We were at a park with a carousel and he didn’t want to go on unless I was sitting with him in the seat because he was NOT getting on a horse, of course.  J I was armed now with Scripture and with a tiny bit of sensible knowledge.  Just set your pattern of thinking to be healthy rather than something poisonous like, “something is going to happen to me!” or “oh I will be afraid”. 

Let’s stir each other up to think TRUE and right thoughts.  We will help our kids to set those habits that will help them throughout their lives to thrive in Christ rather than wallow in worthless thinking.

*I am not a medical professional.

Wisdom from above

James 3:17-18 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

I have these verses written on a note card on the fridge right where I fill up our cups with water – a million times a day.  This time I was filling up a canister to make our daily Tang (a staple in our household).  Since I was there a while I read the verses and thought, “Am I displaying the wisdom from above in these ways?”  Immediately, I was convicted, yet with the conviction came the marching orders for the day – “Lord, please help me to rely on You so I can be these things in my mothering.  I desire to display this wisdom from above today.”

There’s so much more I could say (and would love to go into) about these amazing verses but I will leave you with one of my favorite pastor’s sayings.  Pastor Don Dukes used to lead the prayer meetings at our church and he would give us a benediction that went something like this: “Tonight you came in here in pieces, but now you can leave in peace.” 

This is our prayer:  May the peace of God rule in our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we ask for this precious wisdom so we can model the very characteristics of God to our children today.  May our kids glorify and praise the God who made them and offers them this peace.  We need Your help, Lord to carry out the calling on our lives today.

Praying Boldly For Our Kids

The following blog link is written by Lysa Terkeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her blog is encouraging, empowering, and convicting at all the same time...a must read! Believe and know that God chose YOU to be the very mother of your children. He chose you specifically for them. We experience his peace and his glory when we walk in our calling as moms with faith rather than fear. Read on...and be encouraged. :)

Praying Boldly For Our Kids

Reactionary Parenting

“Ahhhhhh! Everyone just shut up!” Yes, that actually came out of my mouth towards my little ones. I am not proud of it. I was tired. No scratch that; I was exhausted. I was spiritually and emotionally fatigued with my kids: whining, slow obedience, settling disputes between my boys, consoling my teething baby, making meals, cleaning up after meals, taking my toddler to the potty…the list goes on and on. Let me say it again, I was exhausted.

As a result, I lost my cool. What should have resulted in a simple, direct, loving, but firm consequence was traded for an emotional outburst on my part. Mommy needed a time out. Mommy needed to go to a different room and talk (out loud) to God. I needed to do three things:

1. Cast my cares upon him, and ask for his Holy Spirit to fill me up.
2. Pray for my kids, and ask for forgiveness.
3. Disciple on!

Moms, God’s word declares that we are supposed to cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. God already know what we are thinking, so we might as well tell him, ask for his peace, and leave the situation with him. Instead, I think we often run around mentally fatigued because while we are multi-tasking our minds are in several other places trying to figure out other problems that are totally unrelated to the many things we are currently working on. Whew!

We also need to ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us each day. So many days I get up and proceed with the affairs of the day and training up my kids for him without putting on the full armor of God described in Ephesians 6. I sometimes feel like the Holy Spirit is the forgotten third party of the Christian faith because we so often forget to ask for his help. There is a reason why the Jesus told his disciples not to go out and spread the Good News into all the world until they received the promised Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, all the wiring is there, but the electricity is not on—he is our power source.

Next, I needed to pray for my kids—not just a change in their behavior, but a change in their heart. I want them to embrace truth. I want to feed their character. I needed to model the character I am trying to instill in them (eh hem…self-control being one of them). Soooo, I also needed to ask God and my kids for forgiveness.

Lastly, I needed to accept God’s grace and disciple on, realizing that effectively discipling my kids meant that I would need to be purposeful and intentional. I needed a plan. My husband and I had to regroup and pray about precisely what consequences would follow certain negative behaviors. We need this plan to keep us focused on the mission of discipleship without being exasperated by our kids. We needed to be lovingly consistent. We needed to be proactive versus reactive.

A reactive parent simply responds to a kid’s actions based on their feelings at the moment. This could often lead to unintended and harmful results because we run the risk of letting our emotions carry us away. Being a proactive parent, however, is intentional, thoughtful, and self-controlled. This type of mom (or dad) is not easily swayed by a rebellious outburst, but remains in control of herself. I want to be that kind of mom, don’t you?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

You are the perfect example of a loving parent. You care for us so much. You are so intentional with us. You know our thoughts from afar. Please fill us with your Holy Spirit. May we model you to our kids. May we thrive as parents because of your great grace, and may we be full of the fruit of your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Verse to consider (and apply): But the fruit of the Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. Galatians 5:22 (NLT)

Passage to read: Ephesians 6:10-20

A Place of Refuge

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27

Life moves so quickly these days. We bring our babies home from the hospital one day and it seems like they are riding a bike the next. I think kids, in general, tend to make time go by quickly. There are schedules, practices, school work, play-dates, games, recitals, and a myriad of other events. But on top of that, we live in a fast-paced, grab-n- go culture where things are accelerated by modern technology and our desire to have the ‘latest and greatest’…(outfit, shoes, phone, TV, etc.). Linda Anderson, the teacher of our Mom to Mom study, stressed that we are living in a society of overworked parents and overscheduled kids. Linda doesn’t suggest that we withdraw from all activities, yet she suggests that we intentionally balance our schedules. In this blog, I am going to share with you a few of the treasures I received from my Mom to Mom group…treasures that are too valuable not to pass on.

As Linda so wisely highlighted, too often we allow our homes to become dispatch centers: a place where we meet to decide where and when to make the next move. Our homes should be a place of refuge—a place where our children feel secure and loved, a place where we build community with our kids. She mentioned that first and foremost, our children need to learn the “fear of the Lord”—who God is, who we (and they) are, and that there is a King in our house. She emphasized that it is important for our kids to learn to obey us so that they can learn to obey God.

At the same time we should make sure that our children feel loved. There is a big difference between knowing that you are loved and feeling loved. This is one of the many ways in which we can help our children relate to the everlasting love of the Father. As Courtney mentioned in a previous blog, this would require us to intentionally act instead of react to our kids—especially when they push our limits.

Our homes need to be a place of safety for our children—a place where we keep some things out and some things in. Things we should keep out are bad media influences. This can take on many forms: too much exposure to the internet, a scary part in a “kid’s show”, an inappropriate commercial, etc. And beware, although I like Disney, all of their “G” movies are not appropriate for our younger preschool children. Linda also mentioned that some things we should keep inside our home are the confidences of our children. If your child shares something with you in love and confidence, be careful not to mention it to a friend. Our kids need to know that they can trust us, and that we don’t tell our girlfriends everything about them.

I could probably go on and on about all things I learned last week, but for the sake of time (mine and yours :)), I just want to draw your attention to a few ways in which we can build community in our homes:

• Slow down and take a deep breath…there is no reason why we should feel like we need to move at lightning speed all the time…our kids can’t keep up with that, and we can barely keep up with ourselves. Too fast is too stressful!
• Eat dinner as a family as often as possible.
• Model Jesus Christ so that your kids come to understand more about Him through your example.
• Be consistent with discipline (in love), but also show mercy and grace.
• Use technology wisely, but limit its use so your kids are not addicted to your iPhone, Kindle, iPad, TV, Xbox, etc.
• Take a family vacation. Cut off the phone as much as possible.

Last, but incredibly important: Remember that too much of a good thing is still too much (i.e. sports practices, music lessons, drama, church events, etc.). :)

Have a blessed day, my friend!
Teresa

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, you are so good to us, and in your perfect nature, you have such incredible balance. You deal with us lovingly, yet firmly. You are careful to give us what we need and sometimes what we want, but never too much. Thank you for setting the perfect example for us. Help us model your son Jesus in our home, so that our children can learn to have a personal relationship with you. Help us navigate this thing called “motherhood” in a way that truly pleases you and brings you glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Verses to ponder:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

I Will Always Remember...

I think I will always remember the day I took my sweet little princess to the pediatric cardiologist. We left the office praising God for his amazing work in her life. Although she has several small holes in the bottom area of her heart, she is a strong, healthy, vibrant little girl. We are so thankful!

As I shared a little while back, however, it was also the same day that we discovered that my husband had a heart problem called atrial fibrillation. From there we had  a series of doctor appointments, second opinions, medications, medical advice, and lots and lots of waiting. We were waiting to see which step to take next. Would God miraculously heal my hubby or would we need medical intervention?

I will never forget the look on my husband’s face when he told me the A-Fib diagnosis was confirmed by an EKG. More than that, however, what he said will be ingrained in my mind forever. It was if the Holy Spirit took hold of him and calmed his fears. The fear on his face melted away and was replaced by a firm resolve to hold on to his sovereign Creator. After battling with his own emotions of fear, he looked at me and said, “I am convinced that I have probably had this for a long time. Although the doctors are just discovering it, God knew the whole time. He is the one who has sustained me this far, and He will continue to sustain me.”

Following his lead, I decided to run with that peace that he was experiencing. In such a strange way it made such complete sense. There was no need to worry because I was not in control anyway, but GOD was always and will always be in control. It is a scary, but completely liberating feeling when we fully comprehend how “out-of-control” we really are, yet how in control God is.

I will not sit here and tell you that this process of spiritual refinement and growth through trials has been easy. It has not been (and it still isn’t), but God has been faithful to add to my character and my faith.

 I am so thrilled to inform you that after much discussion and prayer and discussion and more prayer, we decided that my husband would have a procedure called cardioversion to reset the rhythm of his heart…and it worked!!! PRAISE OUR GREAT GOD!!!

I look back and I am amazed at God’s faithfulness. I am grateful for his healing, and at the same time I find myself being thankful for the fruit—patience, peace, faithfulness, goodness, love, joy, gentleness, and more that HE has produced in our lives as we decided to trust HIM.

Ladies, I just want to encourage you to do three simple things in the midst of any trial you are facing—BIG or small:

1. Pray—this is your lifeline to the living, true God. It is your way to communicate your heart, feelings, concerns, frustrations, fears, and emotions to the God of the universe…and he will NEVER turn you away. Don’t be afraid to be honest with God; he knows what you are thinking anyway. He can perfectly handle anything you are feeling, and he wants you to cast your cares upon Him.

2. Read the Word—this is God’s way of speaking back to you. When the voices of doubt and fear try to crowd our thoughts, we can push them out with the TRUTH of God’s word. I often find that God’s word does away with a lot of grey in my life and makes things very plain for me—black and white. God’s word also provides me with comfort, strength, guidance, and peace when I need it. All I have to do is invest time in reading it and letting it sink deep into my heart and mind.

3. Serve others and pray for them in their distress. I often find that taking the attention off of myself and praying and serving someone else refreshes my soul in ways I can not explain. It gives me something good and trustworthy to do while I wait.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, you are faithful and true. You are with us even until the ends of the earth. When life gets tough and trials come our way, help us to hold firmly to our relationship with you. May we rest in your arms, delight in your truth, and hide in the shadow of your wings. Thank you that you are faithful to meet us right where we are. You never turn us away. You always have time for us. For YOU, we are eternally grateful and thankful.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonian 5:16-18

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Out of Gas

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)

Ice cold water: it was the only thing coming out of my tap. It had been one of those days with the kids when I thought to myself, “If I can just make it to bedtime, then I can…(you fill in the blank: clean the house, veg out on the couch, read something just for fun, talk to my husband in complete sentences—completely uninterrupted by children).” Yet it was bedtime, and my husband had just announced that we had no hot water…not even a little bit. So the thought occurred to me, I’ll go old school…I will heat the water on the stove and mix it with the freezing water from the tap, and wholla: warm water. Except, I turned on the stove and the pilot clicked and clicked and clicked, but it produced no flames. 

Well, it quickly dawned on me that our gas tank was empty. Needless to say, bedtime was going to be delayed a bit as we all headed to grandma and papa’s house for hot showers. On top of that, the gas company politely informed me that it would be 5-7 business days before they could come fill our underground gas tank. It appears I was not the only one who had run out of gas.

The truth is I knew better. God had been so gracious to remind me in His still, small voice many times before to go outside and check the gas gauge. But I had politely told God, “Thank you for the reminder. I will be sure to do that as soon as I finish (you fill in the blank again: wiping up this mess, putting away these clothes, feeding my hungry baby, etc.). Well, he had shown me grace time and time again, and we had hot water for many days…until the tank was completely dry.

How often are we like that in our spiritual lives? We run around wearing our many hats (wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend, etc.) and we let the busyness of this life drown out our quiet time with the Lord. We have all heard the saying, “Miss a devotional one day and you can tell the difference. Miss your devotional for a few days and everyone else can too.” By all means, this quiet time with the Lord was never meant to be legalistic-- another check on our everlasting to-do list. Rather God beckons us to spend time with him because he loves us ; because he knows we need him. Because he knows that this life without Him is just too hard and we will find ourselves feeling empty. Ever have one of those days when you just feel like you have nothing else to give? I have! When those times come, I hear God’s still, small voice beckoning me to come away with him and be his love. To remember that he is my first love, and without him I will be like the gas tank in my yard…empty.

The remedy is so simple. Let’s commit this day to run away with God daily. Instead of letting busyness consume us, let us intentionally drown out the noise of this life. You see? I needed much more than hot water, I needed living water, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (NIV)

Dear God, thank you for loving me so much and for desiring to spend time with me. Help me to remember that you are my first love and that you hold all things together in my life. With you I can do all things, but without you, I will continue to be frustrated, overwhelmed, and empty. Please still the voices of distraction that seek to draw me away from you and help me make the time to run away with you each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Application:

How often do we think we need other things more than time with Jesus, only to find out that we traded our peace for something temporal? Consider the course of your day. What are some things that tend to distract you from having a quiet time (TV, housework, fifteen more minutes of sleep, Facebook, smart phones, etc.)? How can you trade in those things for a truly relaxing and refreshing quiet time?

Verses to consider:

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men; for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107: 8-9 (NIV)

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)

This is a repost of my very first blog with Parakaleo. However, as I study the book of Revelation with the youth girls at my church, I feel the Lord beckoning me to spend more time with HIM....to allow him to be my first love...all over again. :)

Faithful or Fearful?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  Phillipian 4:6-9

Do you ever get tired? I mean extremely tired…mentally and physically hanging on by your last thread? Ever find yourself in a bind…wandering, straining to find a way out? Ever want God to just fix it all…right now? I do! My husband used to joke around and say, “Today is a great day for the rapture!!!” I used to laugh, but was inwardly a bit annoyed. Why did he like that line so much? I am convinced it is because he was fixing his eyes on what is ahead instead of the here and now. Even if we were experiencing “the best day ever”, he knew heaven was infinitely better, greater, and more magnificent.
In fact, God’s word says that are toughest day are “light and momentary “ compared to what is ahead of us. Check it out:

          For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  Corinthians 4: 17-18

When I was younger, my mom had a knack for making tough times look like fun. It wasn’t until years later that I realized that the nights where we had “hot dog smorgasbords” were the nights when funds were tight. Mom made some hot dogs and pulled out every possible topping to go with it and set it up buffet style. We thought it was a treat; she was making her dollars stretch.

I hope I can offer my kids this same gift when times are tough…a light and merry heart…a heart that trusts in God even when I don’t understand…especially when I don’t understand! I understand that as moms we will not be all smiles all the time, but I hope I can learn to exhibit God’s peace more and more in my life. I pray that HIS peace will be contagious in my home.

One last thing…I often think that as moms we try to shield our kids from tough times. We don’t want them to know when we are struggling, and we certainly don’t want them to have any struggles of their own. But I have encountered something far better than shielding our kids from trouble. Rather than shielding, teaching them to navigate through their troubles is much more profitable because we know that in this world we will have troubles, BUT God rescues us (in his way and time) each time. (John 16:33).

So, in an effort to help make God “real” to my four year old, we have begun to pray through some of our troubles, concerns, and desires together. What a blessing this has been for both of us! When we reach the other side of a tough time or when a desire is fulfilled, we thank and praise God together. My hope is that he will be able to track God’s faithfulness in his life from a very young age. I want him to have a mental track record (until he is able to write it down) of all the times God has showed up for him personally.

For example, when we moved we prayed for friends. After a while, God provided! We prayed for a bigger house to accommodate our growing family. God said “no” and “wait” quite a few times, but then HE provided! We are praying for a family who is dear to our heart, because their daddy is away for a season. We can’t wait to see how God will provide for this family! Make prayer a regular part of your family’s life, and watch how God brings His peace into your heart and home!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you have given us your Word and the gift of prayer—constant on-line communication with you. Thank you for always being available. God whether we are having a good day, a rough day, or anything in between, may our hearts be full of the peace and joy that only comes from knowing you. Help us to know that you are real and true. Help us to make you known to our children by teaching them to pray and teaching them to establish their own personal prayer life. You are so faithful! Thank you that your love knows no bounds. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Challenge: How can you involve your children in your personal prayer life? What things can you prayer for together? Keep a journal or checklist of when and how God answers---I bet you will both be amazed by his faithfulness! J

Fixated

Have you ever found yourself singularly focused on one particular goal. Finding the right school. Locating the right house. Setting a budget. Buying a new car. Creating a new baby room. Cleaning the house. Creating a balanced schedule. Finding a new job. Praying for a loved one.

Both good and bad things can tend to occupy or thoughts and attention. We can become wrapped up in our own “stuff”.  Life can certainly throw us a few curve balls. I love how Sy Rogers puts it, “Faith is trusting in God even when the world gives you a reason not to.” How awesome is that?! Faith  requires that we trust in God. But how do we do that?  We have to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).  It’s what Jesus wanted Peter to do in the following biblical account in Matthew 14:

“22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

I recently had the pleasure of sharing this story with my son Mikey. He had become fixated on the thunderstorm outside. When it starts to thunder outside, he becomes a completely different person. He becomes terrified! He sticks his fingers in his ears, closes his eyes, and acts as though he is in great distress. He gets like this no matter where we are. We have prayed with him, we have had him pray, we have taught him Bible verses about notbeing  fearful because God is with us. We have exhausted our brains trying to come up with ways to calm this boy down in a thunderstorm!

Well, this past time as I described to him how Peter was walking on the water to Jesus in an incredibly bad storm, I felt like Jesus was speaking to me as well. I told Mikey that Peter was able to walk on the water as long as he kept his eyes and his focus on Jesus, but as soon as he started to look at the wind and the waves and the storm around him, he began to sink. How true that is of my own life!

So many times I try to dig my own way out of something, search for my own solution, figure something out on my own, and exhaust my own resources trying to fix my own problem. God doesn’t call us to scramble to find a way to save ourselves from the storms of this life. He doesn’t want us to look for worldly ways  to calm ourselves down and attain relaxation in the midst of craziness. He wants us to fix our eyes on Him. To focus on Him. To look to Him instead of our circumstances. He wants us to be fixated on Him because he is the only one able to handle all of our issues, concerns, fears, and problems 100% of the time. Isaiah 26:3 gives us an incredible promise saying, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (NLT)

Ladies, let us decide to stop, pray, and think about the numerous times God has rescued us, saved us, provided for us, dug us out of a hole, and given his peace when our circumstances threaten to take away the peace that God has for us…and let’s teach our kids to do the same.

Prayer:

Wonderful, merciful, savior: I love the way you rescue me—physically and mentally. When my mind is exhausted from trying to figure my own way out of a mess, you are there. You are there to encourage me, strengthen me, take the load off of me, and place it on yourself. Help me to give my cares and concerns, frustrations and fears all to you. May I fix my thoughts on you, and receive the beautiful promise of your peace. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.