Tag: Honesty

More than food.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:25

Background courtesy of our sunflower field excursion the other night. I can’t get enough of these pictures!

I guess life is more than food, although I REALLY enjoy it. All kidding aside – when Jesus tells me not to be anxious, I sit up and listen, because I am so very often anxious. I know I’ve done this verse before, and I know I have probably already said what I’m going to say somewhere before, because this verse always reminds me of a specific time in my life. When the husband and I were first married, we didn’t have a lot of extra money. In fact, it was super tight. We lived in an apartment downtown with original hardwood floors that we loved, but it was really probably out of our budget. We miraculously always had enough money for our bills, but not much else. There were times when I honestly can’t tell you where we found the money to buy the things we needed. There were times when I would find a restaurant gift card that I would have sworn that we already used. There were SO MANY times when our families helped out above and beyond what any family should do. Not once did we ever doubt that we would be okay. We KNEW God was taking care of us. There was no other way we could have gotten through it.

In his devotion today, Jim talked about focusing more on the spiritual. He said, “What do we spend more time thinking about? Does it make sense for us to be concerned about the things that serve us or the things that serve God?” Are we seeking first the kingdom or seeking to satisfy our stomachs?

To me, it all goes back to distractions. Yes, God provides for us, and that should be enough. But instead of being content with our blessings from Him, we let the world, satan, tell us that we need more and that we can get it ourselves.

I felt slightly convicted as I read this. Ever since the weather [finally] got cooler, I’ve been justifying to myself (if you don’t know me, just ask my husband… I can rationalize just about anything to death to justify it if I want to. He recently likened it to a superpower that I usually use for evil, haha) why I need new fall clothes: “I’ve had these shoes since 2005, this sweater is baggy on me now, I wore the same shirt twice in one week,” …the excuses go on and on. I keep telling myself that if I’m happier with the way that I look, I won’t be so distracted, I’ll be happier in general, I’ll be more motivated… and all these things may be true. BUT, I don’t necessarily think that my clothes need to change. Maybe, my attitude needs to change. Maybe, I need a more grateful, contented attitude that sees that I’m already taken care of physically, but more importantly, spiritually. How’s that for a thought?

The background to this one I took several years ago on my husband’s family farm. Just like old barns, we can choose to see our weathering as a blessing of life, or as a distraction, something that needs to be fixed up and painted to be worth anything.

Coffee.

Warning: slight mention of breasts ahead.

So this morning, I posted on Facebook about how I felt like I needed more coffee (which is pretty much my sentiment every morning.) This stinkin blog is called coffeemama. I’m kind of obsessed with coffee. I went to the lady doctor today (don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details) and left having had bloodwork done to check my thyroid and cholesterol, and a prescription for an EKG that I still have to go do.

She checked my breathing and heartbeat several times and then finally looked at me and asked, “has anyone ever told you that you have an irregular heartbeat?” I kind of smiled and said, “no, but I’m not surprised.” Heart issues run in my family… on both sides. Plus, I have felt my heart “flutter” many times before and sometimes it just starts beating really fast for no reason. Yeah, I figured. But the next question hurt my soul. “Do you drink caffeine?” Yes, yes I do. After recommending that I cut down a bit, she still ordered all sorts of tests to rule out serious issues. Before leaving, I mentioned that I have been having some breast pain, and wanted to make sure everything was okay with my breast exam. She assured me it was, and then added, “caffeine could cause that, too.” Ugh.

What happened between when I used to drink espresso and go right to bed and now, when coffee makes my boobs hurt? Years happened, I suppose. I was thinking about that the other day. I’ve traded in the late night café mocha of my high school days for an early evening cup of ginger probiotic tea. PROBIOTIC TEA. How old am I? My mind and my body sorely disagree on that subject.

Goodness.

You ever just keep seeing the same message over and over? For me, that message over the last week or so has been God’s goodness.

Even when life is crazy and I’m struggling to keep up, I can rest in God’s goodness. He is good to me, always, even when I have made myself too busy to see it. His love is sufficient. He has provided not only everything I need, but so much more.

I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness.

Jeremiah 31:14

Jim referenced a verse in Jeremiah the other day, and the whole passage and few chapters after caught my attention, and I thought I would read some more. These are God’s words to the people of Judah, who had not been living how God called them to, so He scattered them and punished them with famine and sickness, and allowed their enemies to overtake them. But even after all that, God still loved them and promised to gather and restore them.

I read a commentary on Jeremiah and it was talking about how this was a promise about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus set the example for us, and the Holy Spirit allows God’s will to dwell in us. I hadn’t thought about it that way before. I love how God lays the foundation of the New Testament in the Old Testament.

I had a couple of thoughts on this particular verse:

1) I think it is entirely reasonable to assume that God’s will for us is to be filled abundantly by Him as well, just as he promises. We can ask God to abundantly fill our souls with His joy, peace, life, and purpose so that we can share it with others as He calls us to do.

2) I want to be satisfied with His goodness. And again, that is His will for us, so if we pray for it, we better expect it. It doesn’t say that He satisfies us with His goodness, but that we are satisfied with His goodness. Our worldly satisfaction can never be met. The world will always tell us that we need more to be happy. But, being satisfied with God’s goodness means knowing that He is enough, that He is all we need and more. We don’t need anything else to be satisfied.

It’s so funny [wonderful] how God puts things in front of us that He wants us to see. The other day, my mom stayed with baby girl and I got to run a couple of errands by myself. [Who would have ever thought that’s something I would look forward to?! I used to HATE going places by myself.] I had downloaded some songs onto my phone that I liked and decided to listen to them while I was driving around. The Bethel song, “Goodness of God” came on, I turned it way up, and just belted. I’ve heard that song on the radio several times before, but having it cranked up in the car was different. I absolutely loved it. It spoke directly to me like it was written just for me. I told my husband later that night – I don’t care when, why, or where, but I NEED to sing that song. It was made for me. And, it has a guitar, so obviously he needs to play with me. It’s. My. Song.

Sufficient.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9&10

Paul had a thorn in his side – we’re not sure what it actually was, but Paul himself admitted it was a blessing from God, something to keep him humble. But then he still asks God to take it away. Jim challenged us to think about if we ever do this – actually ask God to take away something unpleasant, even if we understand that He has a reason for giving it to us.

Most of the time, being molded by God is uncomfortable, even painful. I can honestly say that the hardest things I’ve gone through have shaped me into and prepared me for who I am today.

As I was writing the verses out, I thought about how there are certain aspects with my relationship with God that I just can’t seem to get a handle on. I tend to mess it up over and over again, and I fall for the same traps and distractions satan lays out over and over again. I get so frustrated with myself that I can’t seem to get it together. I beat myself up, ask for forgiveness (again), ask God to help me do better next time, only to be blindsided by satan once again. The seemingly ridiculous thing about all this? I can boast in my struggles, my iniquities, my many failures. Why? Because God’s grace is sufficient, because only when I’m weak can I get out of the way and let God show how strong He is.

It is my sincere hope that in blogging about my struggles I do exactly that – show the world how great God is and how much I need Him because I’m really not great.

Good things.

In going through my journal, I’m starting to see a new theme that God keeps putting in front of me. I’m still trying to find, process, and order everything, so here’s a short but sweet little journal entry for your Sunday night from this past Monday:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

I feel like this is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require a whole lot of contemplation. It’s simple – we are called to focus on the good things, the things from God. As I was writing this out, I had a thought: what if instead of looking for others’ mistakes and waiting for them to stumble just to point it out, as the world does, we looked for something good? What if we went out of our way to point out what someone is good at, what their talents are? What if we made a point to find something positive in whoever or whatever is in front of us? When we’re in that kind of mindset, I think it would be so much easier not only to see our own blessings, but also to be a blessing to someone else.

Vacation.

Here are some thoughts from the last few days as we ended our vacation…

It’s our last full day at the beach. I always build up things in my head, then get disappointed when they don’t turn out exactly how I had imagined. I feel like I’m constantly reminding myself that I’m blessed. We’ve packed so much fun and even MORE FOOD into this trip, but I had to come to terms with the fact that there are things I had planned to do that we simply ran out of time to do. Baby girl has to nap (she’s been taking really good 2 hour ones) pretty much right in the middle of the day, so that kind of limits plans sometimes. Also, she and I have gotten up pretty much every day sometime between 6 and 6:30 AM. Her daddy has been getting up an hour or so after that, then her granny and papaw about an hour or so after that, then her auntie sleeps in pretty late. Between the nap and a fairly early bedtime for our girl, it’s hard to squeeze everything into the few hours where everyone is awake.

We have done so much, though. We’ve eaten, and eaten, and eaten some more. We’ve been to the aquarium, where baby girl loved the sharks and her auntie bought her a mermaid. We’ve shopped and browsed. We’ve found a playground. We’ve floated and played in the pool. We’ve looked for and found shells on the beach. We’ve played in the ocean. We’ve taken pictures. It’s been fun.

Today we came home, and the drive was less than stellar. The first half was really good, but by about 5.5 hours in, someone was trying every trick in the book to get us to stop the car and let her out. A couple times, she legit pooped and we had to stop and change her (she would kindly ask, “change biper” after she screamed bloody murder trying to get her poop out.) The third time, however, was a false alarm, and we quickly realized that she just wanted to stop and get out of her carseat. She cried for a couple of hours off and on, only being satisfied when I twisted my arm like a pretzel and held her hand from the front seat. I did that for a solid hour until she finally fell asleep, and my arm was completely numb. It was miserable. During the middle of all that, however, the sunset was gorgeous as we were driving through the mountains, and I couldn’t help but be thankful: thankful for time with family, thankful for safe travels, thankful for the beautiful sky in front of me, and even thankful for being able to twist my arm uncomfortably to comfort my daughter. I told hubby at that moment that even though I was miserable, there was no place I would rather be and nothing I’d rather be doing. Wherever they are, that’s where I want to be. I adore my little family so very much, and I don’t want to take a second with them for granted.

Can we also talk about how amazing it feels to come home after a trip? The same house that felt cluttered, disorganized, and just blah when we left feels so very comfortable and homey and exactly what I like. I think it’s the quintessential wicker furniture and tacky beach decor in every beach condo out there, but our gray walls and wood floors always seem much more inviting after living in a pastel paradise for a week. (No offense to anyone who likes that, it’s just not my thing.) It’s what I’ve made it, and I like it. Sure, it still needs work, but I see its potential.

I can’t help but think about how God sees us the same. Hear me out: the fresh eyes I saw my house with that made me appreciate it more, made me see the good in it and overlook the bad? That’s how God sees us all the time (okay, so this analogy is loose, I realize that He does see our sin, but He is still so willing to forgive us when we repent.) He knows the best version of us. He sees what He created us to be, and doesn’t lose His vision for us when we fall short. That’s where this analogy unravels… while I needed a step back from the everyday to remember why I loved it. God doesn’t. He loves us the same as He did yesterday, today, and as He will tomorrow. Isn’t that amazing? He sees our potential and doesn’t lose sight of His plans for us, for me, even when I stray. I’m so thankful for that, and for the gentle reminders He gives me to see my life that way as well so that I can once again align myself with His will.

Summer? Fall?

I’m having some serious cognitive dissonance over here. It’s September, and in my cold-weather-loving mind, it’s (un)officially fall and I’m ready to break out all the fake leaves and pumpkins, amazing-smelling pumpkin candles, and my sweaters. However, it was 90 degrees here today and we’re going on a beach vacation soon. I can’t quite get my mind straight. [Over] half of me wants to just take off running toward pumpkin spice everything and never look back, but the other part of me is trying on bathing suits and packing a beach bag. I’m so lost and confused. As I’ve said before, I am not a summer girl. I’m so, so ready to say goodbye to it. But then, a beach vacation in the fall is just not seasonal. Ugh. I guess I have to hold off on pretending that fall is here until we get back. And, seriously, pretending is all I’m doing, because as I said, it was 90 here today. The weather I’m dreaming of won’t actually be here for at least another month, more realistically two.

[I’m going to show how incredibly weird I am, but does anyone else have a mental seasonal calendar in their head? Mine’s like a square. Fall (September, October, and November) is at the bottom, then Winter is on the right side (December, January, February), and so on, continuing counterclockwise, three months at a time. HOW STRANGE AM I?? Like, I literally picture this in my head every time I think about months or seasons. Maybe I’ll illustrate it one day so everyone else can have a glimpse of how weird I am.]

Picture from last year’s vacation. This hat was too big last year, now it doesn’t fit her head at all. So many changes.

I am, however, excited to go on vacation with baby girl. The beach is not my ideal vacation spot, but I will love watching her experience everything. We went last year, when she was about 7.5 months old. She loved it, but there was a hurricane and we got evacuated after only being there like a day and a half. Pray that there won’t be any hurricanes this year! Baby girl is so smart and expressive, and loves exploring and learning. I think this will be so much fun. And I’m excited for all the amazing pictures we’ll get (bahaha, probably not.) Also pray for this momma and her husband as we travel with a toddler, stay in strange places with a toddler, and royally mess up our routine-loving toddler’s schedule. Yikes. That part is making me more than a little nervous. But, I’m so very thankful and grateful to be able to get away for a while. This summer has not been very kind to my whole family, and I think we all need a change of pace.

Possible.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:13&14

Jesus wants us to ask for things in His name, He wants to do what we ask so that He can glorify God. Actually, let me back up to verse 12, because I can’t stop thinking about it after having read it:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

When we are in God’s will and lean on Him for help, strength, wisdom, and power, we can do just as much good as Jesus did while He was on earth. Okay, I could see that [although personally, I think I have too much doubt for even that.] But Jesus says we can do even GREATER works. What? I had never really paid attention to that before. We can do greater things than part the sea, heal the sick, raise the dead? I can’t even fathom that.

It always overwhelms me to think about the power we have through the Holy Spirit. We could be out performing miracles daily – what the heck are we doing? We let ourselves get bogged down by earthly distractions and physical limitations. We let the world tell us what is possible, rather than listen to God’s word. Basically, we agree that we believe God’s word, except this one part, because it’s hard to swallow.

I guess it all comes back to motivation. Why are we wanting God to move? Is it to show His power, His love, His majesty to others? Or is it because it’s something we want? I’m so super guilty of being selfish in my prayers. If I’m being completely honest, a lot of times I pray for someone because of how their life affects mine, not out of genuine concern for that person… and that is terrible. Learning to see others how God sees them – as souls who need Him – can drastically change my motivation, and subsequently, my prayers. In turn, what will God fulfill through me? The possibilities are endless. Isn’t that wild?!

Toddler lesson.

My kid has a stuffy nose. Like, the kind where I have to catch the snot dripping from her nose every thirty seconds. The kind that when she says “mama,” it comes out “bah bah.” The kind that makes it hard to eat because she can’t breathe through her nose, so she has to take breathing breaks in the middle of her chewing, causing her to gag on her food and refuse to eat any more. She’s so miserable, but she’s still so positive.

She went with me to work for a while – sat on the desk, got a sticker from my planner, watched the cars go by out the window. She fell asleep on the way home, cuddling an elephant toy that’s probably way too young for her, but it’s her car toy and she loves it. She was a trooper as I dragged her around to do more work. She was pleasant and smiling as we had lunch with family, although she didn’t eat much. She took FOREVER to go to sleep at naptime, but she wasn’t fussing, just singing and talking. She took a good, long nap and then woke up singing and talking some more. She then proceeded to play with her (my) bracelets for almost TWO hours. We laid in the bed while she played with them for a while and sang and talked. Then her granny came over and she played with the bracelets with her. She cleaned up when I asked her to. She quickly ate a very good dinner after her small lunch and not having any afternoon snack. She let me brush her teeth. She freaked out about getting saline drops in her nose, but really liked the vapor rub. She took forever to go to sleep again, but slept all night with minimal fussing.

That was yesterday. Today was… still okay, but we had a couple of battles of will. Today, she thought it was funny to tell mama, “no,” and run away after I asked her to clean up her books. Today, she said she didn’t want chips and salsa and rice (some of her favorites, and mine too to be honest!), but wanted to stay home (we went anyway, by the way, and she ate just fine). Today she said she wasn’t going to listen to me tomorrow, but wanted daddy to get her doughnuts. How old is my child?! Sometimes even I forget that she’s only just over 18 months old. Sometimes I forget that she’s not like, at least 3. Good grief. The conversations we have are ridiculous. The things she remembers after months are ridiculous. I’m seriously doomed. I’m pretty sure she’s already smarter than I am.

Despite her difficult-ness today, she was still pretty good. She was still obsessed with playing nicely with her bracelets. She still kept a pretty good humor as I dragged her back to the office for an unexpected work errand, enduring standstill interstate traffic and a car that was still hot even with the air blasting. She did ask me to sing “mermaid” all the way there and all the way back, and got really upset when I would stop to, you know, breathe and stuff. I kept trying to remind myself all day that she still doesn’t feel very good.

Sweet girl with all her “brabets”.

All that being said, I would not be even half as cheerful as she has been if I had a stuffy nose. In fact, I wasn’t. I was sick for two weeks straight last month and I’m pretty sure I was the biggest grump ever. How can I be more positive like my baby girl? How can I so easily look past the fact that I feel miserable and still see things around me to make me happy? I need a lesson from my one year old.

Learn to do good.

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Isaiah 1:16&17

Jim actually had verse 18 as today’s verse, but he referenced the whole passage, verses 10-20, which I loved poring over. This is SO GOOD. Go read Jim’s devotion.

So, God is speaking to the people of Sodom and Gamorrah here, but He could very well be speaking to us today as well. The people referenced here were seemingly doing all the right things – giving offerings, praying, having celebrations and feasts – God says they are vain offerings, a burden to Him. These people were living in sin and only doing these things to keep up appearances. Jim called it “playing church” and we’ve got to be careful not to fall into the same thing. We have to constantly check our motivation.

Verses 16 & 17 really spoke to me, though. For one, God doesn’t just tell them that they are doomed; in fact, He offers them a way out; he offers them salvation. Our town, our nation, our world is a scary place to be a lot of the time. Sometimes, it can feel like everybody has gone completely mad. Our little town has been overtaken by drugs. Over the last week or so there have been FOUR mass shootings in the United States. FOUR. It’s hard for me to fathom how someone can be so hopeless that they feel that kind of thing is the answer. God tells us that it’s not hopeless, and I’m so very thankful that it’s true and that I believe it.

I don’t think anything around here is going to change, however, if we don’t listen to what God says to do about it. If we’re only focused on ourselves, we’re doing it wrong. If we play at worship just to make ourselves look better, we’re doing it wrong. If we’re so focused on rules and traditions that we don’t see or do anything about the need around us, we’re doing it wrong. We need to learn to do good.