You know when you get that feeling that God is up to something? What usually happens next? I know what I do. I usually end up filling in the blanks and moving forward without waiting to hear what he has next.
This happened to me this past week. Fortunately I don't think I caused any damage this time! But I hate when I do this. All I am doing is taking the control away from God. I am say in essence "I don't trust you to make it happen." And sometimes this leads to blow up or collapse.
Instead I need to ask him what does he want me to do next. And wait for his answer...
Patience... a fruit of the spirit... Galatians 5:22
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Just for a moment...
Just about every morning I get up about an hour or so before my family. This is my time to spend with God, to journal, read the bible and sometimes read the news. (Yes I am a news junkie!) During my time with God, I usually ask him to show me his love today. This morning was no different though I had a great reminder to not let moments slip away.
Once my family starts getting up, I go into Mom/Wife mode. I make breakfast for them, make lunches, pick up the house, start some laundry, etc. Basically I start the day. This morning was like that especially since it's out day where we are gone all day with Emma's activities.
I walked into the living room to pick up some dishes that were left there since I was loading the dishwasher. I look out the window... I see a few brilliant streaks of pink and purple just above the treetops straight in front of me! It was BEAUTIFUL! The sky is filled mostly with gray clouds but the sun rising has turned them a shade of purple. It was amazing! I knew that it was a sign of God's love for me!
So I hurried back into the kitchen to get my coffee and wait for my bagel to finish toasting. I wanted to sit with my breakfast to watch it. By the time I came back not more than 2 minutes later.... it was GONE! The sky was back to blueish gray. I was disappointed that it was gone without a trace.
It was then I realized that I needed to take that moment that God was giving me. Because it was only for a moment that he made just for me.
Sometimes I hate having to learn the hard way....
Once my family starts getting up, I go into Mom/Wife mode. I make breakfast for them, make lunches, pick up the house, start some laundry, etc. Basically I start the day. This morning was like that especially since it's out day where we are gone all day with Emma's activities.
I walked into the living room to pick up some dishes that were left there since I was loading the dishwasher. I look out the window... I see a few brilliant streaks of pink and purple just above the treetops straight in front of me! It was BEAUTIFUL! The sky is filled mostly with gray clouds but the sun rising has turned them a shade of purple. It was amazing! I knew that it was a sign of God's love for me!
So I hurried back into the kitchen to get my coffee and wait for my bagel to finish toasting. I wanted to sit with my breakfast to watch it. By the time I came back not more than 2 minutes later.... it was GONE! The sky was back to blueish gray. I was disappointed that it was gone without a trace.
It was then I realized that I needed to take that moment that God was giving me. Because it was only for a moment that he made just for me.
Sometimes I hate having to learn the hard way....
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Obedience & Respect
What do these mean? Well from the Merriam-Webster dictionary they mean the following...
Obedience - an act or instance of obeying b : the quality or state of being obedient.
Ok so what does obey mean?
Obey - 1 : to follow the commands or guidance of. 2 : to conform to or comply with
Respect:
Our children are told to be respectful and obey us as parents. We as Christians are to do the same thing with God. We are to obey God's commands as the bible tells us.
Ok but why? Just because "I said so"?
Tonight Emma was being disrespectful and disobedient. This is becoming more of an issue as she gets older. I'm not a spanker nor will I ever be. So this has caused me to try other methods of discipline which sometimes seem harder but usually work. The only one that hasn't is this respect/obedience thing.
There have been times when I want to slap her then scream at her "because I said so"! But I don't and try to come up with other alternatives. They usually involve some yelling, taking something away, etc. So far nothing that has worked completely.
But tonight God gave me an answer. It's something that I have learned recently in my walk with him.
It's not about obeying just because "we're supposed to". It's not about just following the rules because that's the way it is.
It's about doing it out of love.
A few weeks ago I was telling the Christmas story to my class at church. Some of the kids honestly thought I was referring to the movie when I said I was going to tell the Christmas story. How sad is that?
When I finished, I asked what the story was all about. A kid who is very troubled and has a really sad story raised his hand and said "it's about God's love". This was huge! So huge that I can't go into it right now.
But it's so true. Jesus is all about Love. God sent his one and only son here because he loves us that much. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Finally when Peter had answered three times yes, he said "Follow me".
He wants us to follow him because he love him. Not just because we're supposed to. Not because he said so. But because we love him so much we don't want to hurt him. We want to WANT to follow him because we wouldn't want to not to.
I realized tonight this is the same thing with parenting. We want our kids to be obedient. We want them to be respectful and productive adults. Part of being a productive adult at times is about being obedient. But if they are only being obedient because they feel they need to, that is going to backfire someday.
There needs to be a deeper level of understanding when it comes to obedience. It needs to be focused on love not on the disciplined act of obedience.
So now that I have this piece... I just need to figure out how and where to being in teaching this to my 7 year old...
Obedience - an act or instance of obeying b : the quality or state of being obedient.
Ok so what does obey mean?
Obey - 1 : to follow the commands or guidance of. 2 : to conform to or comply with
Respect:
Our children are told to be respectful and obey us as parents. We as Christians are to do the same thing with God. We are to obey God's commands as the bible tells us.
Ok but why? Just because "I said so"?
Tonight Emma was being disrespectful and disobedient. This is becoming more of an issue as she gets older. I'm not a spanker nor will I ever be. So this has caused me to try other methods of discipline which sometimes seem harder but usually work. The only one that hasn't is this respect/obedience thing.
There have been times when I want to slap her then scream at her "because I said so"! But I don't and try to come up with other alternatives. They usually involve some yelling, taking something away, etc. So far nothing that has worked completely.
But tonight God gave me an answer. It's something that I have learned recently in my walk with him.
It's not about obeying just because "we're supposed to". It's not about just following the rules because that's the way it is.
It's about doing it out of love.
A few weeks ago I was telling the Christmas story to my class at church. Some of the kids honestly thought I was referring to the movie when I said I was going to tell the Christmas story. How sad is that?
When I finished, I asked what the story was all about. A kid who is very troubled and has a really sad story raised his hand and said "it's about God's love". This was huge! So huge that I can't go into it right now.
But it's so true. Jesus is all about Love. God sent his one and only son here because he loves us that much. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Finally when Peter had answered three times yes, he said "Follow me".
He wants us to follow him because he love him. Not just because we're supposed to. Not because he said so. But because we love him so much we don't want to hurt him. We want to WANT to follow him because we wouldn't want to not to.
I realized tonight this is the same thing with parenting. We want our kids to be obedient. We want them to be respectful and productive adults. Part of being a productive adult at times is about being obedient. But if they are only being obedient because they feel they need to, that is going to backfire someday.
There needs to be a deeper level of understanding when it comes to obedience. It needs to be focused on love not on the disciplined act of obedience.
So now that I have this piece... I just need to figure out how and where to being in teaching this to my 7 year old...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Preparation...
When you have a baby, you spend months preparing for it's arrival. You have to prepare somehow mentally since you're life is going to be changing. Yet you can't really because you cannot fathom how it's going to change.
Then there are the physical preparations. Sometimes that involves paint and new clothes or furniture. Sometimes that involves moving into a bigger house. Sometimes it's just moving over in the bed.
Then there is the excited anticipation of the arrival of the baby. There are parties and talk of the baby. There are presents and fun things! Time seems to slow down as you await the arrival.
Isn't that what it should be like now? A baby is arriving! But this isn't just any baby. This is THE baby. Our Lord and Savior.
Yes He already has come and will come again but this is the time of year that we should be remembering and celebrating. Instead people are running around buying useless gifts for people that they don't really know because they feel they need to. (I'm not saying gift buying is bad, it's fun! However why buy someone something just because you think you have to?)
When in fact we should be remembering and reflecting on what it's really about. I'm not saying don't buy gifts and hang your stockings. These are the fun things too! I do believe that Jesus likes this part too. He likes us to be joyful and happy! And these things can make us happy.
But if all we're doing is focusing on those things, we're losing what it's all really about. We're even doing this in the Christian "world". It's the last Sunday before Christmas and we don't have any plans to talk about Christmas in my Sunday School class. We're blowing through this season just like the rest of society.
I know that there are kids who don't have a clue what this time of year is about. All they can think of is when Santa is arriving and what he's going to bring them. This is what they probably talk about all day while at school and with their friends. I remember doing this too.
But what about the baby? When do we learn about the baby? When do we get to feel the excited anticipation of his arrival?
So Lord... use me. If it means I need to shake things up, then use me if that is what you want. I know that you are "powerful enough to help me do what you want me to do."
Then there are the physical preparations. Sometimes that involves paint and new clothes or furniture. Sometimes that involves moving into a bigger house. Sometimes it's just moving over in the bed.
Then there is the excited anticipation of the arrival of the baby. There are parties and talk of the baby. There are presents and fun things! Time seems to slow down as you await the arrival.
Isn't that what it should be like now? A baby is arriving! But this isn't just any baby. This is THE baby. Our Lord and Savior.
Yes He already has come and will come again but this is the time of year that we should be remembering and celebrating. Instead people are running around buying useless gifts for people that they don't really know because they feel they need to. (I'm not saying gift buying is bad, it's fun! However why buy someone something just because you think you have to?)
When in fact we should be remembering and reflecting on what it's really about. I'm not saying don't buy gifts and hang your stockings. These are the fun things too! I do believe that Jesus likes this part too. He likes us to be joyful and happy! And these things can make us happy.
But if all we're doing is focusing on those things, we're losing what it's all really about. We're even doing this in the Christian "world". It's the last Sunday before Christmas and we don't have any plans to talk about Christmas in my Sunday School class. We're blowing through this season just like the rest of society.
I know that there are kids who don't have a clue what this time of year is about. All they can think of is when Santa is arriving and what he's going to bring them. This is what they probably talk about all day while at school and with their friends. I remember doing this too.
But what about the baby? When do we learn about the baby? When do we get to feel the excited anticipation of his arrival?
So Lord... use me. If it means I need to shake things up, then use me if that is what you want. I know that you are "powerful enough to help me do what you want me to do."
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
More...
7. Watching "Christmas with the Kranks" with Emma while sitting next to the Christmas tree. This is my all time favorite movie! It cracks me up! It's Robert and I in a few years! LOL
8. Making sugar cookies with Emma!
8. Making sugar cookies with Emma!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
More no busyness...
4 - Spending time with friends AND eating ice cream after the recital
5 - Shopping with great friends... even if we didn't find ANYTHING to wear! ;-)
6 - Listening to Dr. Dre, some trippy 60s music and Christian Christmas songs while driving a Nissan minivan for the Santa Sleigh! (I drive a Jeep normally so it was a little weird to be driving a minivan!) This is the first time that I had to drive, I usually walk and help with Santa. I was a little sad but it was nice rapping to Dr. Dre like the old days! LOL And all alone too! I could turn it up as loud as I wanted or flip station a million times! Or listen to Dr. Dre and Spirit without anyone saying anything!
more to come...
5 - Shopping with great friends... even if we didn't find ANYTHING to wear! ;-)
6 - Listening to Dr. Dre, some trippy 60s music and Christian Christmas songs while driving a Nissan minivan for the Santa Sleigh! (I drive a Jeep normally so it was a little weird to be driving a minivan!) This is the first time that I had to drive, I usually walk and help with Santa. I was a little sad but it was nice rapping to Dr. Dre like the old days! LOL And all alone too! I could turn it up as loud as I wanted or flip station a million times! Or listen to Dr. Dre and Spirit without anyone saying anything!
more to come...
Busyness
Why is it whenever we come into this time of year we suddenly get really really busy? Does it need to be this way? NO it doesn't! This isn't what Jesus would want for us! Yet we still do it!
This year I decided I wasn't going to let this happen. This time of year is really busy for us with church, the fire department and all the other fun stuff. However I've decided that I'm going to let Jesus lead me in what to do. This may mean that I won't do the stuff that I want to do but I know it'll be worth it in the long run.
One example was yesterday. We had our annual Ladies Christmas Dinner at our church. This year we had the largest turnout ever... over 200 ladies! It was amazingly beautiful. However I almost didn't make it.
Robert had a shift at the fire department which left me with the dilemma of what to do with Emma. I found someone to take her for the evening. Ok that was done. Now what was I going to wear. I've lost enough weight that I have given away all of my old clothes which leaves me with almost nothing left. Clothes are expensive and a luxury for me right now.
Which means I didn't have anything to wear to the dinner. Yeah a lot of women say "I have nothing to wear" with a closet full of clothes. So as I prayed yesterday morning, I talked to God about it. I said if he really thought that I needed to be there, he was going to have to help me find something to wear. I had spent several hours on Sunday in Seattle trying to find something to wear and came up empty handed. I also had a busy day on Monday with starting the week and Emma had 2 classes at ORLA. So I figured I would stop by Macy's on the way home. If I found something, I found something. I had a 25% off coupon too so I hoped that would help. I didn't want to spend a lot of money.
So I walked in and right off the bat I found a couple of things. Unfortunately nothing really for a nice dinner. Then I stumbled upon a really pretty purple blouse. It was on sale plus I had an additional 25% off! Score! So I left with a shirt to wear plus two additional shirts for $4.72 each! Well I guess God answered my question and prayer!
So off to the dinner I went...
and had a great time! Here I am with my friend Rachael. :-) She was the hostess of our table and did a FABULOUS job! It was beautiful!
So the reason for this post is to not only tell my story about how God does care about the little things. But also a reminder not to get caught up in the busyness of the season.
My goal is to enjoy and remember the special and wonderful times of the season. I don't want to get to December 31 and wonder what I did all month!
So here are a few....
1- Emma's first piano recital....
2. Shopping for a Christmas tree...
3. The Christmas Dinner - Spending time with friends just laughing! (See pic above)
More to come....
This year I decided I wasn't going to let this happen. This time of year is really busy for us with church, the fire department and all the other fun stuff. However I've decided that I'm going to let Jesus lead me in what to do. This may mean that I won't do the stuff that I want to do but I know it'll be worth it in the long run.
One example was yesterday. We had our annual Ladies Christmas Dinner at our church. This year we had the largest turnout ever... over 200 ladies! It was amazingly beautiful. However I almost didn't make it.
Robert had a shift at the fire department which left me with the dilemma of what to do with Emma. I found someone to take her for the evening. Ok that was done. Now what was I going to wear. I've lost enough weight that I have given away all of my old clothes which leaves me with almost nothing left. Clothes are expensive and a luxury for me right now.
Which means I didn't have anything to wear to the dinner. Yeah a lot of women say "I have nothing to wear" with a closet full of clothes. So as I prayed yesterday morning, I talked to God about it. I said if he really thought that I needed to be there, he was going to have to help me find something to wear. I had spent several hours on Sunday in Seattle trying to find something to wear and came up empty handed. I also had a busy day on Monday with starting the week and Emma had 2 classes at ORLA. So I figured I would stop by Macy's on the way home. If I found something, I found something. I had a 25% off coupon too so I hoped that would help. I didn't want to spend a lot of money.
So I walked in and right off the bat I found a couple of things. Unfortunately nothing really for a nice dinner. Then I stumbled upon a really pretty purple blouse. It was on sale plus I had an additional 25% off! Score! So I left with a shirt to wear plus two additional shirts for $4.72 each! Well I guess God answered my question and prayer!
So off to the dinner I went...
and had a great time! Here I am with my friend Rachael. :-) She was the hostess of our table and did a FABULOUS job! It was beautiful!
So the reason for this post is to not only tell my story about how God does care about the little things. But also a reminder not to get caught up in the busyness of the season.
My goal is to enjoy and remember the special and wonderful times of the season. I don't want to get to December 31 and wonder what I did all month!
So here are a few....
1- Emma's first piano recital....
2. Shopping for a Christmas tree...
3. The Christmas Dinner - Spending time with friends just laughing! (See pic above)
More to come....
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