Be intentional! (Post #4)

This is such an incredible time. Don't miss out on the opportunities you have right now to lay the foundation for your kids' lives. Lead them with intentionality. Don't sit back while they wonder around in the trampled, baron, common ground. Search out the fields less frequented. Lead them to lush pastures. Feed them fresh, rich nutrients from His Word daily. 

Don't sit idly by while they drink out of muddy puddles. Lead them straight to the source of crisp, cool, clean, fresh Living Water.

 Some of my favorite verses on parenting are found in Deuteronomy 6.

"5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.6 And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]7 You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach andimpress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of 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 up.8 And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.9 And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

There are tons of practical ways to apply these scriptures. Some tactics I have used are: 

- Keep a stack of 3 x 5 note cards on hand. Anytime you read a verse you want your kids to learn write it down, and then place that note card on the table during breakfast or tape it up beside the door where you will see it every time you leave.

- Each Monday morning at breakfast pull out a new card to be your verse of the week.

 - Use a dry race marker to write the verse of the week on the bathroom mirror. 

- Write the verse on a piece of paper and stick it in their lunch box so they will find it during school.

There are so many easy and fun ways to keep the Word before them. The point is, be intentional! You will never get these years back. And your little lambs will never be this moldable again. Your home and your life are the absolute greatest influencers on the people they will grow up to be. You're calling is a high one indeed!

A Decade of Love!

10 years ago today I walked down the aisle and committed the rest of my life to a man I had only known seven months! A decade later I am convinced now more than ever that (with the exception of having made the decision to accept Christ as my Savior) it was the best decision of my life!  

Now, if you've read my blog at all you know I am not about painting pretty pictures and leaving out the gory details! :-) It has not always been butterflies and roses in this relationship. In fact we didn't actually hit the honeymoon phase until about year seven! The very morning of our wedding began with a monsoon! And our very first moments alone as husband and wife was me pushing him away as he tried to kiss me saying "I think I'm going to throw up!" :-) That's what I get for jumping into the back of a limo and going down the winding back roads of Maryland completely ignoring the fact that I get carsick! 

The Honeymoon itself was nice, but it was in the airport of St. Lucia waiting for our flight home that we had our very first little tiff. The fact is he was insensitive and I was insecure. We really were quite a pair. :-) 

Our first three years were an uphill battle, mostly because I had so much emotional issues that I had kept hidden from the world for so long and now that he was ALWAYS THERE I couldn't hide it any longer, so he had to come to the unfortunate realization that the strong, confident, positive, independent woman he had married was a horrendous mess on the inside, emotionally insecure, incredibly defensive and in a continual battle with self-disgust. 

Without a doubt the absolute best decision we made, which truly saved our marriage happened before we were ever married. Thanks to having been raised in Christian homes, with Christian (still married...to each other) parents we too entered into marriage as the sacred covenant that it is and made a commitment that divorce did not exist. We promised each other we would never say the word. Not even in gist. Because of that decision our marriage, though rocky, was a safe place where we knew, no matter how hard it was, we could work through whatever came our way. Neither of us were afraid to deal with the issues we had to tackle head-on because there was no fear of being left. We knew we were stuck with each other! :-)

So we worked it out, talked it out, and prayed it out, and it is because of those tough first years that our marriage is strong and awesome today! There's still plenty of work to be done because there's always work to be done when it comes to relationships, but it is worth every single bit of effort.

Tim is an incredible husband and an amazing daddy. He is my provider, my protector, my lover, and my best friend. We have come so far, and I know without a doubt, through whatever highs and lows may come our way, with the love we have and standing in the strength given to us by the Lord, our marriage will stand firm. As the scripture we used in our wedding says..."a threefold cord is not easily broken." (Me, Tim, and God holing us together!)

When we give our broken pieces to the Lord He can turn them in to an incredible love story! I am so thankful for how much I have learned and how much we have both grown over these last 10 years. To God be the glory!

God will come get you! (Post #3)

What if I’m buried under a pile of dirty laundry or under the table cleaning up the latest aftermath of the circus my kids call eating? What if I’m too busy staring at the spots on the mirror or that blasted ring that insists on appearing in the toilet!!!  What if in the midst of an extreme bout with “Mommy brain” I am too distracted to notice my big chance and the opportunity passes me by????

Chill out, sister! I have good news! God will come get you!! Right there, under the kitchen table, in the middle of the PTO meeting, in the grocery when you are busy strategically arranging the items in your cart in hopes that any onlookers may notice with the food they should eat carefully placed in plain sight so as to cover up the stuff they actually like! (Yep! Benn there!! J )

Where was David when Samuel came to anoint the new king? Was he pushing his way to the front of the line so as to outshine his older brothers? No! His own father didn’t even consider the possibility that his youngest boy would even be in the running. But God knew! When Samuel asked Jesse if there were any others the response was, “Well, there’s the youngest, David. But he’s out tending the sheep.” And through Samuel God said, “Go get him!”

Moses was out wandering the dessert in a foreign land, far away from his own people (God’s people), just minding his own business, tending his sheep, when suddenly there was a burning bush! And not just any brush fire. A bush burning yet not consumed. Moses had to take a closer look.

God is not always subtle when He wants to get a point across.  Trust me. When the time comes for you to enter a new season or take on a new task, or jump on a new opportunity God will come get you right where you are. Right there in middle of tending your sheep.

Stay focused on the task at hand. Give it your all. Do everything you do, whether changing diapers or running errands, whether cooking dinner or wiping runny noses, do it all for the glory of the Lord! And your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you in the open! When you feel like all you do goes unnoticed or bares little significance, know the God of the universe is watching intently and routing you on as you tend your sheep. He has great plans for every one of us, and as He told me many years ago, He will not let you miss or mess up any of the plans He has for you as long as you are truly seeking Him.

So go on, give yourself permission to give yourself fully to the task at hand. Don’t live with one eye on your kids and one eye on “the next big thing.” God has your days planned, and when He has something new for you, He’ll come get you. For now, tend your sheep!

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9