BLOGS
My youngest son, Troy, has an unusually long tongue (just ask and he’ll happily show you). He also has a voracious appetite. One evening this past summer the boys talked us into eating supper outside on the patio table. While we bowed our heads and Phil gave thanks I heard noises to my right. I peeked my eyes open (don’t act like you don’t do it once in a while too ) and I see Troy running his big tongue along the filthy table licking up a pile of sloppy joe that had fallen from his bun. I grimaced as I could see the dirt he was taking in and that he was just inches away from ingesting bird poo.
Troy was hungry for the meat, but was also willing to eat a lot of dirt to get it. We often do the same thing in a spiritual sense. We feel a hunger for more inside of us, a hunger for God and spiritual goodness. It is our soul longing for sustenance, so we look for what we can feed it. We grab the latest “Christian” best seller and find Jesus talking to us in first person, yet these are not the same words in red from the Bible. We turn on the radio to our favorite station yet hear more about being positive, uplifting, and non-offending than being salt and light in the world. We watch feel-good movies that drop God’s name and play with our emotions yet are so off base scripturally that they are laughable. We search for a good sermon online or a pithy quote to “like” on social media. Not all of these activities are bad or sinful, but when a soul is longing to be nourished it needs the real stuff without the extra dirt tossed in. What sense does it make to lick up the dirt along with the meat just so you have to sort it out after it is already inside of you? God tells us through James that we are “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27, NIV). Many times godly instruction and God’s Word can be accompanied by a lot of unnecessary additives and fillers, this is what I am calling “dirt”. Think of the dirt as pollution to your body. It may not always be blatantly “bad” but even the “fluffy stuff” can act like smog and cloud our vision of Jesus. The world throws enough trash at us each day; don’t willingly add more to your diet. Don’t acquire a taste for it little by little in seemingly innocent ways. There is a lot of dirt masquerading as “Christian” goods out there. We need to be very careful in what we read, listen to and declare as “good.” This requires a lot of discernment on our part; a lot of comparing to the only source of Truth. Remember that Jesus Christ is the Word of God made manifest (read John 1). There is nothing we can read, sing, type or say that can add a single ounce of worth to him. There are many great writings and songs that point us toward him, and I am a fan of many these, but never a follower. I follow Christ alone, God’s Word alone. I have used dirt as my example, but many times it may look more like fancy glitter. It may even taste sweet like honey, but it will not last. The dirt will turn to slippery mud, the glitter will catch in your throat, and the honey will turn sour in your gut. Only God’s pure Word stands eternal and will not diminish. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” I’m not really overly concerned about my kids eating some dirt now and then in the physical sense, no biggie. I have a house of boys and the five second rule is alive and well here. However, when I see those I love eating spoonfuls of dirt (or glitter) in the spiritual sense I will do what I can to grab their hand, toss the spoon, offer a fork and knife and put the filet of God’s unadulterated Word in front of them and say, “Eat!” I enCOURAGE you to do the same. Yep, that would be me. Now before you start to think this is just another blog on trusting in God to be our strength when we are weak, keep reading. You are wrong. Although it is true, God is our strength when we are weak, that is not my point today.
A couple weeks ago I was struggling to like myself even a little. I felt like a failure at all I put my hands to: this blog, my Bible study, counseling, housekeeping, eating right, child rearing…do I need to go on? The word that kept running through my mind was “inadequate”. The only thing I felt good at was failing. Yes, picture Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh but looking like me. Ever find yourself there? Oh, bother… where did my tail go? So I have experienced these occasional states of “woe is me” before, I knew what I needed… ice cream with a big spoon, cosmic brownies and HGTV… no? No, I have tried that route before; I know it leads to feeling worse in every way. I was well aware that I needed God and to hear from his Word. I read through chapters like Psalms 9, 16, 18 and 139, Hebrews 13, Philippians 4, 2 Corinthians 12, the list goes on. After soaking in God’s mighty Word did my rotten feelings lift and was my joy restored? No. They didn’t and it wasn’t. I still felt like my miserable self. How can this be? Isn’t God’s Word all powerful and uplifting? Yes, it is. Aren’t God’s promises always reliable and rock solid? Yes they are. Isn’t God supposed to be our refuge and shelter? Yes, he is. Here is the truth. My feelings, good or bad, do not heighten or lesson the Word of God. I have walked with God long enough to trust him no matter how my physical body feels. I cling to his promises more than I cling to my emotions of the moment. Am I really inadequate? Well… yes. But I don’t put my trust in me and my ability to succeed or fail, I trust in a God that is more than adequate in every way possible. This is what God wants from us and the lesson he wanted me to understand that week. Our obedience to what he calls us to is not dependent on how we feel or what we are going through. We read and trust God’s Word because we have faith in the one it is all about, Jesus Christ. I don’t read my Bible just to feel good and I don’t stop when I don’t feel good. I read it because it contains the words of life and truth. Like Peter said to Jesus when the huge crowd deserted him after the difficult teaching he gave, Jesus turns to Peter and asks “Do you want to go away too?” Here is his response: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68. Why would I look anywhere else? Only God’s Words have the power to save me. I knew all that I read was doing a work in my heart even if I could not feel it at that moment. Isaiah 55:11 – “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” I have kicked old Eeyore to the curb; God has graciously and patiently restored my ability to identify in him. No matter how wonderful or rotten I feel, I will always trust in the goodness of God. Like David I will proclaim Psalms 13:5&6, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” Full. Always full. The arms of a mother are full of sippy cups, dish rags, toys, laundry, shoes, books, mystery gunk, blankies, sports equipment, groceries, or the kids themselves. Full at any given moment and at any given time.
The rare moments when our arms are free, our minds are full. To do lists run through our heads along with questions like “How can I magically transform a pound of hamburger into a decent supper?”, “Will a few minutes in front of the TV screw up my child?” and “How long until nap time?” Oh the crazy times of mothering! So during these years when your time (and energy) is being taken over by young ones with their demands and needs, are we allowed to take a hiatus from growing in God and being useful for his Kingdom? You know my answer of course… no! For you Moms who find yourself in this season of life, I want to give you three areas of encouragement to hold on to today. 1.) God is with you. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalms 1:2 You may feel many days that “quiet time” with God is impossible. You can’t get away from the demands of your day and those around you to spend 30 minutes in the Word like you feel you should. Good news! God is not only present in quiet times but also in the wild, noisy, and even chaotic times (see Hebrews 13:5)! He is not frightened off by crying babies, grumpy toddlers or moody teens. Praise God for that! God is never far away. When you belong to God, his Holy Spirit dwells within you and will never leave you (read John 14:1-17). Learn to appreciate his presence even when times are wild. Need suggestions? Pray out loud, worship and praise God with singing, grab your Bible in the morning and memorize one line, think on it throughout your day, or listen to the Bible or a sermon online. Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley) was a mother of 10 children yet she spent two hours a day in prayer. How? By flipping her apron up over her head. She told the children that when they saw her apron up she was in prayer and not to be bothered. She could not remove herself from her duties but she could still focus on God. 2.) God is growing you. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water…” Psalms 1:3a Trees are one of God’s amazing creations. You can’t see them growing but they are. Over time, if they get all the water and nutrients they need, they become tall, full and beautiful. That is what God does in your heart during the years of motherhood if you are his. He grows you little bits at a time over many years (“from one degree of glory to another” 2 Cor. 3:18). You won’t realize all he has done until you look back and see the changes yourself. God is amazingly gracious to us and he values us far more than trees. Too many moms make the mistake of thinking that their purpose in motherhood is to produce godly children. That is a great goal, but only God produces anything godly. God’s purpose for you in motherhood is to produce a godly woman. He allows you to experience so much during motherhood to mature you in him. Does this mean that God allows sickness, disabilities, and defiance in our children to grow us toward him? Absolutely! Is God behind the sleepless nights, skinned knees, and picky eaters? If you believe in the sovereignty of God he is! Things we often see as “interruptions” in our days (or nights) are often God taking the time to teach us and asking us to grow our roots deeper in him (our source of living water). 3.) God is what it’s all about. “…that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither.” Psalms 1:3b We are creations of the Master Gardener, made to magnify his greatness. It is to this end we live, breath and raise others to do the same. Make no mistake; this life is not about you. Rejoice in that fact, if it was, we would be sorely disappointed. God has filled your arms to overflowing so that your hearts could also be filled to overflowing with all his goodness, mercies and love. He continues to prune and fashion you into the masterpiece he desires you to be and one that will reflect him beautifully. Trust God in this. Mothers, today whether you find your arms full of sweet cuddles or a battle of wills, know that God has great purpose for each of these moments. After all…he has you in his arms. I’m not always a good friend. If left to my own devices I would most likely live a solitary life with few others involved. I have been told more than once that I am a hard person to get to know. I often struggle socially and am awkward when it comes to connecting with someone on a personal level. However, God has been gracious to me. He knows me so well that he has sent others to pursue me. Ladies who wanted a friendship with me and so did not give up on me. They called and invited me places, talked to me when I wasn’t a great conversationalist, and decided to like me even after getting to know the “real me”. I thank God for friends like that; this will include many of you reading this today.
To be truthful, all of us love to be pursued by someone. If this wasn’t the case many of us would not be married to the man we are married to. If your husband hadn’t shown interest and attempted to gain a relationship with you, you most likely would have lost interest and moved on. The pursuit of a relationship is a strong force. Never is this truer than in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. God loves us and desires an authentic relationship with us. Don’t miss this fact. God Almighty, Creator of supernovas and DNA, the All-Powerful Great I Am wants to know you AND you to know him. Not in a textbook “you are interesting” kind of way, but in a personal “I love you like crazy and want to be close to you” kind of way. God said through the Prophet Jeremiah - Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 If there is anything at all in this world that we should feel pride about it is that we know God. Nothing else matters; not worldly wisdom, not might or riches. Only knowing God. When was the last time you bragged on God and the fact that you belong to him? Once we have been adopted into God’s family (by accepting the work of his Son on the cross) we immediately begin a new relationship with God as our Heavenly Father. From that time forward we need to wholeheartedly pursue an ever increasing relationship with him. The effort of this should consume our lives (read Romans 12). The more you know God the more you love him. One of the most awesome facts that I will never fully understand is that God desires this relationship with me. He wants me to get closer to him. Yes, socially awkward, stand-offish and far from perfect me. God wants to be close to you too. Think on that for a few minutes… God wants you closer to him. He wants you to know him on a personal level. This should bring tears to your eyes. The Bible is full of verses demonstrating God’s desire for a relationship with his people. This is not for his benefit (we can add nothing to God) but for our own good and because he cares for us. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Jesus also lamented over Jerusalem wishing he could gather the people under his wings as a hen gathers her brood (Luke 13:34). There are cries throughout the Bible of God wanting people to turn to him and allow him to love them and heal them. The story of the prodigal son is another great example of the joy of the Father at gaining a relationship with a son that had been lost. (Luke 15). One of my favorite verses is found in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” So simple and yet incredible; an awesome PROMISE of God. Memorize it and live it. Draw closer to God (pursue him) by reading his Word, talking to him in prayer (another mighty gift) and by fellowshipping with others who will spur you on in this joint mission. I have heard from a few friends that have committed to reading the entire Bible this year. I rejoice in those commitments! What a wonderful way to get to know your Father; by reading the book he has written just for you and for this very reason! God loved us so much that he killed his son Jesus to allow a relationship with us to take place. I guess you can say he takes this pretty seriously … and so should we. Be intentional this year and pursue your God! If you have been paying attention at all to any of my blogs you already know that I love the Word of God. I will never be shy about that. This love has, and continues, to grow over time, but it started when I was quite young. I would say l loved the Bible even before I knew how to read it. How? Because I saw the love that my parents had for it first.
My Dad has always been an avid reader; he loves books. But there is only one book that I can remember finding him reading every morning when I would come downstairs to the kitchen table, and that is the Bible. He would be sitting there with coffee in hand and his Bible open before him. Now my father is an early riser so I didn’t get to witness this every day, but when I pulled myself out of bed and found him in the kitchen he nearly always had something good to share with me. I still remember him telling me that when he first started reading Paul’s letters he wasn’t sure he really liked the guy, but through the years he has come to love him and his teachings. This helped me when I began to read through the New Testament myself. My father is a very wise man and it can be directly attributed to his time spent in God’s Word. My mother had her own spot to read the Bible and that was usually on the couch in the living room, also with coffee in hand. She was not an early riser and at times was still in her pajamas with wild hair. I can picture her very easily and I love the thought of her that way. She would often be taking notes and sometimes would even have tears in her eyes. She spent real time with God. I am blessed to have been able to have these examples in my life. My encouragement for you today is to be that example to your children in their life. Let them catch you reading the Bible. Let them see you absorbing wisdom from God. When they come near, share a bit of wisdom with them. Talk about how much you love the Word of God and let them see it in your actions. In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 it states: And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. In order to get caught in the act, you need to be reading your Bible often. It has to be a priority in your life and in your home. If your children grasp the value of reading God’s Word it will change their lives for eternity. Be the instrument of this teaching; let it saturate how your family lives together. Make the Word of God is as prevalent in your home as the verses above command. Read the Bible as much as you possibly can every day of your life. There you go, Ladies. You have my life’s ministry in a nutshell. That really is all there is to it. Just read your Bible, a lot.
Read it Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Read it on holidays, read it on vacations, read it when you are tired, read it when you are sick, read it when you are happy and healthy. Most importantly read it when you really, really don’t feel like it. What about going to church, doing good deeds, witnessing, discipling, praying, preaching, and teaching, correcting, forgiving, and loving? Yep, it’s in there. If you are reading God’s Word faithfully as a follower of Christ the rest will follow. If you are making a daily habit of consuming the authoritative, powerful Word of the creator of the Universe, obedience follows. Desire a better marriage? Want to know how to deal with your children? How to manage your money? How to deal with a person that drives you crazy? How to be better at everything? Yeah, it’s all in the Bible. Go find it. Quit your complaining that you never got a handbook on how to live life in this world. Quit the excuses that you aren’t smart enough to understand it. Quit thinking that it’s some else’s job to read it and then explain it to you. Quit falling prey to the Devil’s schemes of easy excuses. Oh, you don’t have time? You are too busy, I understand. Have you slept or eaten in the past 24 hours? Yes? Well then you had time for the Bible. Sorry, nice try. Am I being hard on you? You bet I am. Whoever you are reading this, I love you way too much to be anything less. I care about your eternity as well as the fullness of your life on Earth and how it impacts others for Christ. I want you to live a life that points to God continually and brings him honor. You will never be happy otherwise, never. Not sure where to start? Pick a gospel (the Good News about Jesus Christ), Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Mark is a nice, short and straightforward gospel; John is spiritually rich and a bit deeper. Luke has the beautiful Christmas story and Matthew the genealogy of Christ. Pick one, you can’t choose wrong. After learning about Jesus, continue on with the story in Acts and meet Paul. Learn about the Holy Spirit, discover the beginnings of the Church and read about Paul’s trials and journeys. Then continue on to read some of Paul’s letters that he wrote to Churches like in Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians and more. These words still apply to us today, if you belong to the family of God. Read them as if they were written for you and for your life today (they were and they are). Why do I believe in the Word of God so much? It has changed my life. Without the Word of God, I walk in darkness and confusion. Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It’s the only way to illuminate my walkway of life. Without the Word of God I starve and have no life within me. Matthew 4:4 (Deut. 8:3) “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” I need spiritual food that only comes from the Scriptures. Without the Word of God I fall prey to my enemy, I have no weapon to fight with. Ephesians 6:17 “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” I love to win, so you better believe I will have in my hand the mightiest weapon possible. Without the Word of God I have no standard of truth. John 17:17 “Sanctify them in your truth, your word is truth.” I won’t settle for less than absolute truth. I want my life planted on the bedrock of Christ. Finally, without the Word of God, I am doomed to suffer forever. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is the Word of God, receiving him brings me eternal life. The Word of God can change your life too, but only if you read it. You can’t carry it around and hope to absorb it by osmosis. You have to open it up and read the words on the pages. Don’t believe me, try it and let’s talk. Need help getting started? Ask me, you would make my day. On a recent drive home from visiting my parents in the Amanas we drove by the ADM corn sweetener plant along highway 30 in Cedar Rapids. When I was a child I used to think of it as a cloud factory since large billows of fluffy white steam pour out of the large towers into the sky making it look like it is producing clouds. So I have told each of my children the same thing when they were old enough to understand it. It seemed like a fun thing to imagine.
On this drive home however my youngest who is now seven piped up as we drove by and asked, “Mom is that really a cloud factory?” I heard the question but tried to ignore it. It didn’t work and he called out louder, “MOM, is that really a cloud factory?!” For some reason I didn’t want to tell him no. I felt a slight sadness that my youngest was old enough to realize that what we had pretended for so long was not really accurate. I wanted him to stay young and childlike. It was purely selfish. “Don’t grow up!” I was thinking inside my heart. What a strange thing to feel. What if my son continued for years to think it was a cloud factory? It wouldn’t be so cute after a while. It would be downright strange; aging but not maturing. This made me think of Paul and what he said about spiritual maturity. In his letter to the Church in Corinth he expresses his frustration in regards to their lack of maturing in Christ: But I, Brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready. 1Corinthians 3:1-2 The Church family in Corinth was still arguing amongst themselves regarding trivial matters. Paul goes on to state that there was jealousy and strife among them since they were behaving in only a human way; they were not gaining in spiritual maturity like they should be. They were handling things all wrong. He is calling them out as big babies! He wanted to give them solid spiritual food, but they hadn’t grown enough, he had to start back over with the spiritual basics (milk). So what are you eating these days? Are you giving yourself a healthy diet of God’s Word and growing in your walk with Christ? Or are you being spoon fed the basics over and over again, one step forward one step backwards? You go to church every so often when you want to and only pick up the Bible occasionally. You enjoy the social times at church or special events but the Bible study is just not your style. You feel closer to God in the outdoors and not cooped up in a building with a Bible in your hands. If these last few sentences describe you, guess what… you may be a big baby. Knock it off and grow up! God’s desire is for you to grow in knowledge and understanding of him. He loves you and has work for you to do. In order for you to grow in spiritual maturity you need a steady diet of the Truth found in his Word, the Bible. You also need to be around others who are spiritually mature and learn from them. Stop settling for bottles and go for some steak! My response to my son’s insistent question? “Nope, that is NOT a cloud factory.” Ladies, have you ever wished you had a big “reset” button? I sure do. Days where I could start everything all over again just by pushing that big button. I would jump back in bed, fall asleep and wake up to begin the same day over. Only this time, do things differently. Sometimes this happens when I haven’t prepared enough for the busy day ahead - I push the snooze button one too many times, I realize I haven’t washed my work uniforms, I’m finally ready to leave and the gas tank is empty. Other times, despite my best efforts, nothing seems to go right - my hair looks funny, the dog pukes on the carpet, one of the kids spills their bowl of cereal, I get assigned an extra project at work.
To be honest with you, the times I usually wish to restart the day is when I have not used my time wisely. It’s the days I get lazy and don’t get done what I know I should have. Oh, I may have stayed “busy” on those days but I neglected the truly important things. I didn’t spend time with God like I should have, I didn’t demonstrate Christ to my children or spouse, or I didn’t reach out to help or encourage someone else. Those are the most frustrating days for me. I always seem to realize it when the day is coming to a close. As I plop into bed I feel an uneasiness that I know is from the Holy Spirit. Pains from a day wasted on business again. What an uncomfortable feeling. I can only compare it to when I was a child and the feeling I got when I knew I disappointed my parents. Yuck. Do-over please! I know many of you reading this are thinking I need to get a grip. Maybe you think, “I read the Bible enough and I go to church; I am a nice person and I can’t be expected to reach out to someone every day. I just need to give myself a break!” Umm… no. What God has called me to, I should not run from or neglect. I can’t just busy myself with other things to keep from doing my real work. That’s just Satan’s way of knocking me off course, he likes me off task. So I should hate it. I relate so well to Paul in Romans 7:15, 17-19 when he says, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” I know what I should be spending my time on throughout my day, but instead I find myself staying occupied with other “important” tasks. I spend my energy on Earthly matters instead of Eternal matter. What a fool; what an easy target for the Enemy I allow myself to be! Paul expresses this perfectly in verse 24 when he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Fortunately Paul goes right on to give the answer to his own question in verse 25. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Jesus is the answer! More specifically what Jesus has done for us in his act of salvation is where we find our power. He died in our place so that we would not have to be a slave to sin any longer. This means that I can stop playing the fool in my daily life. I need to remember Jesus and that he has already beat sin for me. I can stop being a slave to whatever business the Devil dangles before me and begin to see my daily life as having eternal significance. This I can do only through the grace of Jesus and through his power. I have failed to use my days wisely so many times and continue to do so, but I find so much encouragement in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful.” Despite our failures at being faithful to God’s calling in our lives, that does not change the goodness of God. He will always remain faithful to us. He will always restore us back to himself. So with the power granted to you through Jesus Christ get off the computer and pick up your Bible. Go encourage yourself, your family or a friend with the Word of God right now! Don’t waste another minute of this day! For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4
My goal in beginning this new adventure of blog writing is to encourage women to live a life that exalts Christ. My desire is to use God’s Word and real life examples to spur each of you on to live a life that is unlike those around you; to live for God alone. To do this it takes courage; that is what I want to instill in you. Courage. Courage to walk a different path than most, courage to read the Bible when you don’t feel like it, courage to tell the World “no” and Jesus “yes”. To do this I will give honest advice and wisdom gleaned from the standard of Truth which is the Word of God. What I teach may not always be pleasant and I may not always use tender words, but I will write everything in love. I want nothing less for you than what God wants for you. A life lived for his purpose and glory. God’s plan for your life beats anything you could ever dream up. |
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