Rushing Through

Have you ever rushed through something just to get it done?  Perhaps rushing to eat breakfast so you can get to work on time or bring the kids to school, etc.?  If you have you are in good company.  Most moms rush doing things for themselves because they are helping everyone else be on-time. 

Now what about rushing through reading books or listening to your kids?  Does housework or phone calls or texting take our time away from sitting face to face with them to do these all important things? 

“…For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”  James 4:14

A friend of ours took a job in a different state for a couple of months leaving family and friends back in FL.  He recently came back for a quick weekend visit in which he spent quality time with his mom walking and talking on the beach.  What he didn’t know was that only days later his mom would be taken from this life in a brutal way.  Wow!  If he had rushed through his short weekend without spending that sweet time with his mom, he would be dealing with the pain of regret. 

What about you?  Do you spend time with your family, namely your kids without rushing through?  Spending time reading, playing and listening to them is crucial and will create a pattern for your relationship now and in years to come.

Jesus spent time with his disciples—eating, walking and talking with them.  Our kids are our disciples.  We must take the time to eat, walk and talk with them too.

When we read to them...

Matthew chose a Superman book from the library so when we got home I read it to my eager listeners.  The book was appropriately titled Superman Versus Bizarro by Chris Strathearn.  It certainly was “bizarre” alright!  Everything was switched around making me think, “This is ridiculous! It’s obvious a tree wouldn’t be hurting a cat!”  The author was contrasting Earth verses Bizarro World.

The next day I read the following excerpt from the devotional booklet Our Daily Bread and I believe God was developing a message in me to share with our kids. “In our world today – when good is often considered bad and bad is seen as good, when truth and error are switched around – people are looking for direction in life.”  (Our Daily Bread August 16, 2016 C.P. Hia).  How true!

I got the opportunity to share a message of hope with our kids as we read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  About half-way through the book, Matthew and I didn’t really want to continue anymore because it was such "nonsense" but then the Holy Spirit nudged me with His message.  I told Matthew and Jordan, “Just as Alice is walking around in this nonsense wonderland, we are walking around in this kind of world too.” I gave them current examples and they understood so I continued, “We have the TRUTH of the gospel!  That’s the only thing that isn’t nonsense!  Our job is to share God’s truth with people…”  It was such a moment of wisdom from the Lord! 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength....You shall teach them diligently to your children, ..." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Teach your kids truth from the Bible.  Expose lies for lies so they are not swept away in it all never differentiating truth from lies.

Choreography

Last night there was a most impressive storm that rolled through.  I woke up to a symphony of this incredibly brilliant, flashy lightening followed by a long, hard-pounding rumble that shook the house with its loud voice each time like a slow motion earthquake.  All of a sudden I saw quick shadows followed by the kids they represent racing for our room.  It’s almost as if they dove into our bed, found their spots and promptly fell asleep.  Even our dog (a big Lab Pitt) was there!  Our queen-sized bed felt more like a twin by the time I adjusted into my appointed spot – on the edge in the opposite direction!

As the Olympics are rolling in at the end of this week, I’ve been searching for a way to teach our kids about the events, what the rings represent, and how we can schedule our viewing.  I woke up this morning thinking about synchronized swimming.  This led me to think about how when we sync ourselves with the Lord, we are a beautiful display of His perfectly timed choreography of life.  Just like a storm and just like the kids running in at just the right time.

“…we should live together with Him.  Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

With all of us on that bed, I realized the part I play (as a mom) is crucial to our kids’ lives.  But not only as mom, as a friend to other moms, we can play a huge role in edifying each other by praying for one another; having playdates (or coffee) to not forsake the assembling together; and helping each other.  Let's live together with Him and edify each other today.

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25

Praying for you, Momma

Lord, I pray for moms who are in the trenches of training up their children.  These early years can be so stretching for us as we learn how to live out the principles in the Bible in front of our kids.  

God, as Your word instructs us I pray that we would instruct our kids from Your word as it is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path.  Let the fruit of the Spirit be evident in us as we make choices to stay self-controlled during those crazy moments, that we extend love and grace and speak encouragement to our children rather than lash out in anger and frustration.  

Lord, maybe if we’ve set the bar too high for our kids to reach sometimes please help us to keep a sound mind and reach them where they are at.  Let us stop drilling them with what they should have done but rather give thanks for the things they do.  Help us to stop everything and look at them in the eyes and let them see our eyes.  May we not miss the opportunity to give a high-five or hug but also not miss when a tear needs to be wiped away or boo-boo kissed and prayed for.  Help us to be firm, wise and always seeking Your counsel upon giving correction.  Help us keep our word.  

Be glorified in our mothering.  We desire to be at Your feet asking for the way, that we should walk in it.

Summer Opportunities

 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Do you see this summer as an opportunity?  Maybe this summer you could take an adult education class or have other moms come over your house for a mom’s prayer night.  Or maybe both! 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

When you ask the Lord (of the harvest) to guide and direct your steps, He will!  Maybe sign up for a class to learn a new language, a new skill, or just to meet a new people group.  Ask God to show you how He wants to use your life to bring Him glory.  I learned sign language YEARS ago through adult ed classes, then college and then at church interpreting the worship for the Deaf community that attended – remember this is YEARS ago.  Well, a month or so ago I was at a park with my kids, pushing them on the swings and I tried to talk to a mom swinging her kid too.  She said she was Deaf, so I started up a conversation with her in my “broken” sign language.  It was almost like she came alive when I responded back to her in her language.  Can I tell you that IT WAS THE LORD giving me those signs!  As we talked, He used me to re-connect her to an interpreter we both know who would encourage her to come back to church!

Only God does stuff like that!

“Set your mind on things above, not on the things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

Be a Life-giver

"The instruction of the wise is like a life giving fountain..." Proverbs 13:14

"The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, make wise the simple." Psalm 19:7

Sometimes life is tough!  

Sometimes it is really tough!  

Yet, as children of the Lord we are call to stand firm in Him and see His faithful deliverance. We sit at His feet, bask in His presence,  and breathe in His rest... and then sometimes we need help from a friend! 

I have one of those friends.  She faithfully sends scripture when the Lord puts it on her heart. She is in the Eastern time zone and I am in the Pacific time zone, so sometimes after a night of wrestling in prayer, my thirsty soul wakes up to an encouraging, life-giving scripture that is spot on!  The Holy Spirit uses this friend to speak life and hope through His word.  My friend, Kate, is obedient and God gets the glory!  I want to encourage anyone reading this to be one of those friends.  Send a scripture, say a prayer, leave a voicemail... whatever you can.  

We need each other! 

Memories are Made

We just finished installing laminate flooring onto the bedroom floors.  The first floor we tackled was the kids’ room so they were displaced into another room in the house for sleeping for a couple days.  Matthew wasn’t too excited when the lights went out the first night so I stayed for a little while telling him stories from my childhood.  I realized that the memories I had were much attributed to all the pictures my mom took through the years of the activities we did.  She put them in albums that we frequently looked at and showed relatives when they visited.

In this day and age we take millions of pictures and post them to Facebook but are we stopping long enough to print them and stick them in albums?  When my kids were first born I made small albums online (in lieu of store-bought baby albums).  How do you preserve those memories of your family’s history?

As a mom, I can now look to my mom and thank her for capturing those snapshots of our family history and taking the time to create those albums that have become my memories from childhood.   I read 1 Thessalonians today and thought of my mom in this verse:

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father;” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (underlining and italics mine)