Embrace the Season

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

Less. Smaller house. Less furniture. No cable. Less cell phone minutes. Less spending money. Less shopping. Less!

I have to admit that this season of “less” that I am going through has not been easy. As soon as we have a little bit of “extra”, something else happens: medical bills are due, the check engine light comes on in the car, etc. I have been frustrated and tired of “trials”. I have been ready to scream, “When is this trial over? What am I doing wrong? What are you trying to teach me already?” But then God knocks on my heart and whispers: contentment. He wants me to have the secret of contentment that Paul wrote about in Philippians. He wants me to grow. He wants me to be mature and complete, not lacking any good thing. Paul wrote to the early church:

“…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11b-13

I have to honestly say that God has blessed me with seasons of plenty. Seasons when I have had extra money in my account, and seasons where I could go shopping without worrying about a budget. I have to also honestly say that I am not in that season right now, and as uncomfortable as it may be, I have noticed…change. God is not changing my circumstances; God is changing me!

God is teaching me that He is the secret of contentment in every situation. That if I walk through this life with Him as my focus, I can be content because He is with me. He will never leave me (Deuteronomy 31:8) . In this season, I am rediscovering the joy of my salvation. I am becoming more appreciative of my family, my friends, and my daily bread. I am thankful that I have a car to drive that allows me to connect with the other precious moms God has placed in my life. I am thankful for the love I share with my husband and kids. I am thankful for God’s love for me.

So actually I have MORE. More of Him. More of a desire to know Him. More intimacy in my devotional times with Him. More compassion for others who are going through tough times.
It’s a little humorous because my four year old son is also learning to be content with what he has as I am starting to say “no” and “not right now” to some of his requests.

Unbeknownst to me, I had accidentally become the overindulgent mom. If Mikey wanted it, Mikey got it…after all, why not? We had the money, and his requests seemed reasonable. Little did I know, his heart was doing a transition as he accumulated more stuff…and he has a lot of stuff! You see, he was started to become less appreciative and thankful for what God had blessed him with, and more insistent on the fact that he needed “that” new toy, book, etc. He had come to think he was entitled to get something new every time we went to the store!

After the tenth, “Mommy please may I get just one thing!”, I would explain to him that he needed to be thankful for all the wonderful things that he already has…a room overflowing with toys and books, and he needed to be thankful that he had friends to play and share his stuff with. But he kept begging…so much so that I started to lose my patience a bit. Out of frustration, I thought out loud, “The only way to make you more grateful for what you already have is to stop giving you everything you want...now”.

And then it dawned on me, that is exactly what God is doing in me right now. Too many times, I have been like that with God. I start rattling of my list of prayer requests of things I need (or want) and often forget to thank him for what He has already blessed me with and for the fruit He is producing in my life during this season of less.

So, my prayer for each of us is that we would learn to fix our eyes on Jesus and all that he has done for us. That we would see that He is the secret of our contentment. Nothing else will last. Clothes fade, shoes get worn out,cars die, and furniture needs to be replaced…but He remains faithful and true forever!

Dear Father,
You are so good to us! You sent your only son to die for us while we were still sinners. Please restore to us the joy of our salvation. Whether we are living in a season of plenty or of want, please help us to be thankful for all that you have richly blessed us with us. You have given us the best gift of all…the ability to have a personal, living relationship with you. May that truth transform the way we view our circumstances today. And while we are waiting to be free of our current trial, may we soar in our relationship with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Verses to consider:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

Questions to consider:

What season of life are you going through right now? What is God teaching you about yourself? What is God teaching you about Him?

Application:

Think of practical ways you can teach your children to be more thankful. If time allows, share your ideas in the comments section of this blog. I would love some suggestions. :)

A Tent of Thankfulness

Psalm 63: 6 " I will remember you while I'm lying in bed; I think about you through the night."

About a year ago, Greg (being the most wonderful Daddy in the world) set up our youngest daughter’s tent in the backyard.  Now he did this with every intent to have a Daddy daughter sleepover.  However, between work and wet weather, the poor tent just sat empty night after night.

image found here

Due to his work schedule, I realized the opportunity was quickly being reduced.  Although, Hope is very understanding, and really had enough awareness to know it looked like a “camping trip” wasn’t going to happen this particular set up, I felt the need to be the “available and fun” mom and offer to sleep in the tent with her.

Hope was ecstatic with my offer.  She began to “pack” for our trip.  Everything from sleeping bags, flashlights, food and water bottles, to books and games to play.  Somehow, the more she packed the more I asked myself, what was I thinking?

I mean, I really didn’t want to do this thing.  Besides, I am not a "night person" and fall asleep anytime I sit down after 8:30pm. I was also a little scared.  I mean we have a tall privacy fence, but one of the gates was very near where the tent was set up.

All that said, we finally made our way to the tent for the night.  We have one blow up mattress that Hope insisted I use.  She was content with a couple of quilts and her sleeping bag on top.  I thought we would be up all night playing games, eating, and talking.

I spent the first half an hour trying to rig up a way to hang a flashlight from the center of the tent.  After I finally attached a small rope to go through one of the rods holding up the tent, the flashlight was in place.  What I hadn’t considered was due to the fact it was hanging, it never stop swinging.    The light in our tent became a disco ball.

image found here

My idea of having a good time will usually involve words and sweets.  So I broke out our snacks and began reading a great children’s classic out loud.  I hardly had begun to “have a good time” when I realized my partner was fast asleep!

While my air mattress became flatter and flatter, and the neighbor’s house alarm went off (they must have been out of town, because it went on for over an hour) and the longest train of the night rumbled through, I laid there thinking, “Now why am I doing this?”

So I laid in the tent, unable to sleep, listening to my child sleeping through all the noise.  I began to pray, actually praise the Lord for this moment.  The quiet of her, surrounded by the noise of my world.  In those moments, I was flooded with a heart of praise of precious memories of being Hope’s mom.

Praise rolled from my heart.  We had prayed for another child.  God had blessed us with her.  I had prayed specifically for a girl, and God had chosen Hope.  I thanked the Lord for helping me to watch her mature, and allowing me to see her understand Christ.

It was a pleasure laying wide awake in the tent, rubbing her arm and telling God how blessed I felt to be her mom. As I lay on the flattened mattress, with a flashlight dressed as a disco light, even with the possibility that I was filling Hope’s memory box of an outing with her mom was overshadowed by an opportunity to thank the Lord for the gift of mothering.

Moms, lets not miss a single opportunity to tell the Lord thanks for our calling!  We can get so wrapped up in our own lives, ministries, even attempting to do motherhood so right, we don’t stop to say thank you to our Heavenly Father.  Thank Him for the honor of being moms.  Of loving the moment we are in.  Let’s stop and praise Him for calling us to be moms. 




Proverbs 23: 25 "...may she who gave you birth rejoice!"