King of Glory

Like a river flowing freely in the desert

You quench the thirsty land that seeks for you

Without a moment’s thought or hesitation

You offer all your love and life brand new

I praise your holy name above all names

For you alone are worthy to be praised

I lift my eyes to you in adoration

My heart rejoices for I know you are the way

Who alone reveals the answers to all things?

Who alone conceals in his hands the source of life?

The one who lifts my burdens

The one who rescued me

Behold the King of Glory

 

You who gave such life to all the lifeless

You who filled the sky and all the seas

In you I found my shelter from the darkness

My Savior

My Lord

King of Glory

^“7 Lift up your heads, you gates;be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”

Psalm 24:7-9

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You Are More

Its 5:00 am, the day starts off as usual, trudge my way in a sleepy fog off to start the day.  Wake up kids, get breakfast on the table and those lunch boxes ready to go.  They finally get dressed and show up in the kitchen bleary-eyed, but ready to eat.  The morning starts slow but the quiet brings peace that helps conversation flow.

Though daylight has not reached us we’re on our way to the bus stop as my daughter tells me how she’s worried about her grades or that she doesn’t feel smart enough sometimes.  Asks if I think she’s a good writer or if she’s just fooling herself into thinking she can be one someday.  Her eyes upon me wondering, waiting for encouragement.  She cares what I think.  My child needs me. So I tell her the truth.

I don’t say this just because she is my daughter or solely out of love when I say the certainty of her talent is clear. I point out the beauty in the words she pens, the emotion she invokes and how though difficult a feat, she rises to it. I have no doubt she will one day be that writer she aspires to.  She will do great things and she knows I’m her biggest fan.

Next I drive my son to school. At times these drives can be silent when sleepiness is hard to fight.  But today my son had something on his mind.  He blurted out these words, “I know I’m not normal”.  As you can imagine my mind raced trying to process what he meant.  Quickly worried and even briefly blamed myself.  “Why would you say that?” is what came out of my mouth.  What he said next was nothing I had expected to hear.

“I’m not like other kids.  The other boys think all girls are the same, but I know that’s not true.  They’re all different and special in their own way. I think it’s because you homeschooled me Mom.  And I’m glad for that because I learned from being around you and my sister all the time. I know that’s what God wants me to do”.

I thanked him for telling me that but I have to tell you that he has no idea how wonderful that was to hear.

As a mom you work so hard to do everything you can for your children.  You sacrifice and love unconditionally praying that you won’t mess them up and that they’ll grow up to be beautiful human beings. These are the moments, unexpected conversations of the heart that are like payment in full.

My kids know that I love them but cannot even fathom the amount of love I have for them.  These are the moments I want to remember when I feel like I’m not enough.  When I feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated I need to recall these moments, these words, and their love.

I know that down the line I’ll still make mistakes and doubt myself along the way but I’m thankful for God’s reminders. Letting me know that I don’t have to be perfect and in the scheme of things all is well. God has blessed me with an amazing family to nurture and I am privileged to be loved by them.

Proverbs 31:25-28

²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

I encourage you today to take a moment and know that you are loved.  That there is more to being a mom than preparing lunches, making beds or driving your kids around. That all you do is not in vain, all you are is infinitely more important to your family than any mistake you have ever made.  You are more and love covers all.

#Time2Refuel

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A Girl

A girl

alone
lost in her emotions
trying hard to please them all
yet never doing so

A girl

alone
lost in her emotions
trying to hold on
But finding she’d been let go

Hear His voice
Drown the noise
Seek His face
To find the joy

Tangled as this life has been
He calls us all to start again
New
Brand new

Letting go was the key
Lonely and He helped them be
Still
So still…

So here we are
Being “still”
In the quiet of our hearts
Finding that you meet us here
As our feelings fall apart

You hold
And You cry
As you wipe away our tears
You are God…
So very near

Blinded and He made them see
Tangled then but now set free
He’s here
He’ll always be here

A girl

so free
lost in her emotions
grateful for all that He has done
and will continue to do

A girl

so free
lost in her emotions
holding on with all her might
knowing that He won’t let go

He’ll never let you go

Psalm 34:17-19 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

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Embraced by His love

The reality that strikes when you’re reading and your vision blurs from tears
because the words were sent to you
meant to comfort you

The reality that takes over in the mist of your recognition of this simple truth
From so many sides
The message is pure

It’s hopeful and gracious
Yet the tears continue to stream

No control at this point
No way to stop the emotion that has filled and overwhelmed you to the core

So you cry
You cry that body shaking, stuffy nose kind of cry that’s essentially necessary for cleansing your soul

You wait and you wonder
When will it stop

Suddenly it just does
For the moment

You’re clear, or just numb but noticeably changed
The reality of knowing God came to hug you today

Embraced by His love…the tears return

Isaiah 41:13

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; Iwill help you.

#Time2Refuel

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How to Be a Cool Mom…NOT!

How are we supposed to get things right anyway?  I always dreamed that I’d be the cool mom that my kids would love having me around and tell me everything.  I guess I thought we’d be best buds or something of the sort.  I’ve been realizing a lot about myself lately.  For instance, that I pride myself on being so nice, patient and a great listener however, recent events have proven otherwise.

I found that when my daughter speaks I quickly give an opinion even before considering her state of mind on the issue.  In my head I was just trying to be helpful, but all she heard was predetermined judgment.

Wow! I don’t even recognize myself sometimes, this isn’t who I thought I’d be.  This isn’t who I want to be. I need to work on my listening skills.

Moving on to my son…here’s where my patience comes into play or does it?

Grades aren’t exactly a priority for him, never really have been. However, I have explained on more than one occasion that he needs to try his best.  He always responds with an “I’m sorry and I’ll try harder”.  After the 3^rd or 4^th time I pretty much lose it.

Patience goes flying right out the proverbial window and I can see him shutting down.  Where’s that together mom that I was supposed to be?  I could sure use her right about now.  Instead I’m left to deal with this half crazed lunatic spouting off how disappointed and frustrated she is.

You know, when my son is acting out or being disrespectful and we sit down to have our devotional, on many occasions the topic has been on point to what he’s been doing or going through.  I always manage to point out to him that perhaps God is trying to tell him something.

But lately it’s me that God is targeting.

I sat down to my morning devotional in the stillness of my darkened living room to find that God had words, a message, for me.   It spoke of a healthy, loving environment where your kids can feel safe even in failure.

A question was posed about whether or not your child’s mistakes were a doorway to your anger or seen as an opportunity to model God’s love to help them grow and learn something new.

Whoa!  Right there I realized that I had lost perspective, I was broken.

At first I was sad, sad for the mom I wanted to be but am not. Sad that I lost my way.

Then I prayed and was grateful that He showed me not only what I was doing wrong, but guided me to where I needed to be.  That’s not to say that I miraculously changed, but I find myself thinking and praying more before I speak or act.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me but with God all things are possible, even for the broken.

I trust that He will guide me every step of the way, that I might show my kids the love of God that drives out fear.

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  1 John 4:18

I’d love to hear your thoughts on parenting. How do you keep a handle on it?  Share what works for you…I can use all the help I can get.  

#Time2Refuel

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It Really is Better to Give

He was the greatest gift of all.

Christmas time means different things to different people.  Shopping comes to mind.  People fighting over parking spots, not me I choose the hassle free world of online shopping but there is so much more to Christmas.

Of course I want my kids to open gifts and have that giddy feeling on Christmas morning and they will. However this year we’ve decided to change things up a bit. I want to make sure my kids understand that it’s important to show gratitude by sharing your blessings.  With that thought I proposed that they use their own money to buy something from the Samaritans Purse Gift Catalog. This way they would be giving a gift that would not only put a smile on someone’s face but actually improve their life and give them hope. They’ve always put together a Christmas shoe box each year so I wasn’t sure if they’d agree to doing more. At first I didn’t know if they’d be happy about it or complain but I was pleased to find that they actually loved the idea.  I was a proud mama.  So this will be the first year of a new tradition This year they plan on buying some baby chicks and maybe even a goat, they can’t seem to decide.  Either way I’m happy to see  them eagerly decide between them.

I’m sure you have your own Christmas traditions that you have each year.  How about adding a new one? Help give hope to those that have so little.  Share your blessings and Christ’s love for them in the process.

Help Raise a Village

 

Merry Christmas

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  

Isaiah 9:6

You Lucky Dog

Yep! That’s my pup. I get to look at this mug everyday, all day.
I’d call that pretty lucky.

We don’t always have much to offer.  Our lives are complicated and full of issues that we sometimes wish would just disappear.  But the truth is…difficulties are ever present with no signs of diminishing.   As hard as we may try to forget, our messes seem to follow.

The silver lining is that we don’t have to work it out perfectly. God wants to be close to us.  He alone is the author and creator of our story. He is the one that sees our messes and doesn’t run the other way. He chooses to enter our mess to bless and restore for the opportunity to start a brand new day.  Though broken He still wants us…our bodies, our praise and our prayers.

”My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Psalm 51:17  

 

^“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” 

Ephesians 3: 20-21

Today I want to encourage you to stop focusing on what you’ve done in the past and start trusting God for your future.  He makes your issues His own. God is there when all else fails.  He is always there, ready, waiting for you to come to Him. 

You Lucky Dog!

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Give God Your Best

I read these words today and was hit by a truth that we all at some point over look. God should not receive our left overs but rather be the first one to be served. Give your all to Him and your life will be richly blessed.

Thanks Jon Lilley for your words of encouragement.