Dealing with the "Don't want to's"

   Zach went through a phase of not wanting to pick up his toys after playing with them or really doing anything else we asked! He would just look at me and say, "But Mommy, I just don't want to." Even though I appreciated his honesty, of course we have to do things we don't want to sometimes. This conversation caused me to look inward and examine my heart. I saw that I can do the same thing. Why is it that as a mother God works on my heart as I work on my child's heart!?

 "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mark 16:1-3


    Who will roll the stone away? Was it even humanly possible to roll that stone away? Plus, it was under Roman guard; would they even allow these devoted women to enter? These questions perplexed the visitors, but did not inhibit their actions. They loved Jesus, and were still showing it. And Jesus blew them away in His response. When we go searching for Jesus, He never lets us down! Upon arriving at the tomb, they found the stone to be rolled away with a man clothed in something like lightening sitting on the stone. Fear grips the women, as it also did the fainted guards, but seeing their fear, the angel gives them hope, "Do not be afraid! The man you are looking for has risen! Just as He said He would! And now, GO - Go tell the disciples what I told you. Jesus will meet you in Galilee." (my own words of Mark 16:6-7)
  
 *** "But Mommy, I just don't want to."***   What if the angel's crazy and it's really a trick by the chief priests? What if no one believes me?

   What would've happened if the women had responded to their fear and fled? Probably the same thing that already happened! They just would've missed the blessing of being apart of the miracle! That's also what happens to us when we dismiss the Word of God - we miss being apart of the miracles! We think our way is better. God's not asking us to do something to puff up His self-esteem. He asks us because He loves us and because He has good things planned for us - and others. When we don't listen and obey Him, besides the consequences disobedience brings, He'll ask someone else! His plan will be accomplished! For some reason, He gave us the free-will to choose whether we're on board or not!

   Forgive your brother not 7 times, but 77 times (mat 18:21-22)... or EVERYTIME he sins against you. He  tells us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And love those we live, work and play with as our self. (Mark 12:30-31) We are blessed when we follow these and watch God work miracles in and through us! He is the One who moves the stones away in our life. We have the privilege of being like Mary, who just wanted one more time with Jesus and came to bring spices to his body.  Zach had to learn to do what Mommy asked, even when he didn't want to, and when we surrender our "don't want to's", then, we can play apart of the eternal!

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Ps 139:23-24

Categories, Scattergories

"Scotch tape has never been known for its sturdiness; duct tape is waterproof." Caleb age 9.

   Categories make up our world. I think our brain naturally groups similar characteristics together and separates the differences. Just like God separated the light from the darkness. Then He filled in the environment around those separate entities. Our animal world is full of that - Families, Class, Order, Phylum, carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, web-footed, mammal, insect, etc, etc. It enters our human world too - personalty tests, spiritual gifts test, ADD/ADHD, smart, first born, genius, labels, and groups. We love to categorize people and situations in an attempt to "summarize" what's going on and hopefully maximize our strengths and minimize our weakness.

   My oldest son, Caleb, also loves to categorize, and has done this humorously and truthfully since he could talk! After working on a project that required tape, he declares, "Scotch tape has never been know for its sturdiness;duct tape is waterproof." Did you feel the wisdom of a skilled tape-master at work? Scotch tape does not belong in the sturdiness category; however, duct tape is waterproof! Rock, paper, scissors, Duct has "trumped" the Scotch!

    You know, the book of Proverbs has some categories and charts of its own. They usually have 2 common denominators. The fool vs the wise. Proverbs 13:1 says, "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke." Or try 10:9, "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out." Proverbs abounds with opposites and it clearly shows what the path of each looks like and where it leads in the end. Check out what "woman Folly looks like:
"Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead." (Prov 9:13-18)

   Contrast that with what wisdom looks like: "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse.(Prov 8:1-8)

    There's a chasm between these two descriptions, and yet they both exist in our world, and they both speak out, and it's our job to figure out which one we will listen to and ultimately, follow. We have a choice which category our actions, words and motives fall under. Am I listening to wisdom's instruction daily, waiting at its doorway, searching for it as if its my next breath? Is it my very source of life itself? Or am I described more like the sluggard, which is like "vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes..." (Prov 10:26). Of all the categories in this life, this is the most important one! Of course we don't always walk in the way of the righteous, or we wouldn't need a Savior. It's in those times, I'm so thankful for God's grace that restores me and walks me back to His path. So the question that this quote from my son poses to me is this: How is my life categorized? Do people know me like the scotch tape, for my un-sturdiness, or does my faith in my Heavenly Father show that I'm waterproof to life's rain storms? "When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever." (Prov 10:25)To Him be the Glory!

Lessons in Bitterness (Achoo!)

So I was sitting at the computer desk, when my daughter, Mackenzie (age 6) bursts in and says, "Mom, when I hold my cry in, it makes me need to sneeze!" With her older brother at her heels, he takes a minute to reflect on this statement, obviously recounting the feeling, and confirms, "Yes, it does!" Her statement made me laugh, but also stirred my thoughts. You know, when we hold things in that need to come out, we can inadvertently "sneeze" on others...when they didn't do anything! Now, of course I've never done any of these personally (haha), but a few possibilities do come to mind. ;) Like when a friend hurts my feelings, and all the way home I dream up this big scandal she's plotting against me and then yell at the first person I meet when I get home.(Achoo!) Or, I'm frustrated that no one's in the kitchen helping me wash dishes (or maybe noticing!) so I stomp off and pout the rest of the evening and spoil everyone's mood. (Achoo!) Or, I let others go ahead of me all day, running my love tank completely empty, so as to finally demand my family to do something NOW for me for a change! (Achoo!) Then there's when someone cuts you off in traffic, so you think it's fine to cut off the next person. (Achoo!) Or even going deeper, what about with-holding forgiveness from someone, or the opposite, holding in your love for someone? When we with-hold these things it has an impact on us, even when we're not aware of it. Does behaving like that make us feel better somehow? Maybe, but is short-lived for sure. True healing comes when we get it in the Light and out of the shadows. Sharing coffee with a friend and discussing what hurt your feelings or praying for the driver in front of you who's obviously having a rough day. Asking others to pitch in with a thankful, cheerful heart instead of whining when something's not done, all help to clear the air of self-centerdness. Otherwise a small seed of bitterness is planted, which doesn't take much water at all to grow into an ugly plant with some strong roots! So, instead, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," Heb 12:2. And also remember Paul's instruction in Ephesians 4:31-32 to "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger...Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you." So the next time you're tempted to "hold in your cry," remember, you might end up sneezing on someone you love! I'd love to hear some ways this unfolds in your life. Please leave your comments for others to see.

Abandon.... "I love you with all my____!" Zach

I love how kids think. They have no ready-made template they click on (insert thought here), no box, no limits. Earlier this year we made up silly phrases about how much we love on another. We said things like, "I love you to the moon and back," "I love you with all the chocolate in the world." So we were on a round of this when my youngest son, Zach (age 3), blurts out, "Daddy I love you with all my underwears!!" And that's as big as it gets for a 3 year old! That became the standard (after we dried the tears from laughing so hard) at our house. "I love you with all my underwears" was heard each night from the kids bedrooms and shouted out the door as Adam left for work. When Adam went to Africa in September and would call home, guess what was the first thing Zach told his Daddy? "I love you with all my underwear, Daddy!" with a smile that reverberated across the miles. This made me think about how pure and unadulterated a child's love is. I've always thought my kids can't possibly love me as much as I love them. I gave birth to them for goodness sake...! Yes, but...they love me for ME. Not for what I buy them, or how clean I can make their room, or even how fancy a birthday cake I can make. They love me because I'm their mom. When a friend hurts their feelings or they fall off their bike or they don't understand why Jesus had to suffer, they call for me! They're the first to forgive me when I've messed up. They don't need tricks or really many reasons, they just love! I don't know, the love of a child is boundless in a way. Where my love seeks equations at times. Five plus four equals nine. One clean house + eight hours of sleep = more love to go around. Three good attitudes + three good manners = love? It makes me think of what Jesus said to his disciples in Mat 18:3: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Children have something I think we adults lose some along the way - Abandon. Here's the definition: verb, to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control: to abandon oneself to grief. Children love with all their underwear! Ever heard an adult say that?!

What does 2013 hold?

For our family, the month of December was an exciting one! But it also seemed be the month of everything breaking...bread machine, saucepan, ceiling light fixture, mop, vacuum, washer drain line. On Monday, my husband, Adam, gets into his truck to run some errands and it makes this grrrrr...clank, shhhhh noise (which I learned is the starter not starting!). It's times like these, I'm reminded it's God who's in control, not me, and without Him holding all things together it'd all fall apart! I have to choose not to worry about tomorrow. We have a house re-model planned with the money we've been saving, not exactly repairs! But I have to trust in my Savior! That His plans have to be good for me because He is good, and He cannot do something outside His character! So any "light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all," (2 Cor 4:17) I can only do that by applying the next verse: "fixing my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen [troubles, breakdowns] is temporary [not lasting long] but what is unseen [character building] is eternal[lasting forever!]." And that makes me truly excited!!!