From Grumbling to Gratitude and the Beauty of God's Love

It's amazing to me how the Lord has a plan that doesn't always play out like we would choose but ultimately works out for the better or whats best for us.  I had no intention of not posting last Monday.  I was coming off of a weekend of having intense jaw pain and going into Monday knowing I wasn't going to see my dentist until Tuesday.  Needless to say, I saw my dentist Tuesday morning, was in an oral surgeons office Tuesday afternoon and had surgery Thursday morning (all 4 wisdom teeth were impacted and active and needed to come out ASAP).  No fun - I was not happy at all

I actually sat down for my devotional Monday morning and basically just read the title, 'From Grumbling to Gratitude'.  Little did I know how that would impact my week.  I found myself referring back to it all week long.  The financial obligation of this surgery, the timing as we are trying to grow our family (the fact I couldn't have the surgery if I were currently pregnant), the timing with how busy Matthew is as work, having to ask for help from mom and those in our life that could help with Paxton and interfering with my first MOPS meeting of the new year.   Last weeks devotional was all about giving thanks to God in the midst of our desires to be ungrateful.  I was quickly convicted when I read it, reminding me that despite the bad timing in my life - I am not in control.  As much as I try to be - I'm not.  My complaining and whining ultimately showed a lack of trust for what Gods purpose and plan was for me.  I have SO SO much TO be grateful for... how dare I question and grumble.  I needed to be reminded to stop and thank God for all he has provided and will continue to provide amidst the trials of life.  So, maybe thinking back to last week or looking into this week - were encouraged to praise God and thank him for all he has done and will do for us when we have the desire to be ungrateful as well as teach our kiddos (as best we can) to be thankful for all of their blessings as well.

This week flows nicely into last week... 

The Beauty of God's Love... its almost inconceivable... hard to wrap my hands and head around.  I immediately thought of the "How he loves us" praise and worship song by the David Crowder band, one of my very favorites. Here is a link to the song if you want to listen.  click here

The Lord did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!  It was simply because the Lord loves you and because he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.  That is why the Lord rescued you with such amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt.  Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God.  He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands. 
                                                                                                                                   Deuteronomy 7:7-9

We are not perfect moms, wives, daughters, sisters, friends, employees, etc it's important that we remember that at the end of the day - no matter how well we did that day or how effective, efficient or successful we were, God loves us.  On days, or for me lately, moments I think to myself, "I suck, I can't believe I just said/did that". I am going to try and remind myself that I am worthy and that I am receiving God's unconditional love even in that moment.  The more we learn to receive and relish in God's love for us, the more willing and able we are going to be in giving that to others, especially our children and especially when it pertains to grace.  The grace we are given by God is the same grace we should give ourselves and our loved ones. Its hard sometimes though... :) Just being honest.  

Choices:      
-This week I will choose to relish and reflect on God's great love toward me.
-This week I will choose to show God's love to others in my words and actions. 
-This week I will choose to help my children (child) understand the beauty of God's love.   

Prayer      
"Loving and faithful heavenly Father, I praise you for your redeeming love and mercy toward me.  I am amazed that you the High King of Heaven, want to have a relationship with me! Thank you for being so faithful and loving.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your family and keeping your covenant with me.  I love you! Help me to share your love with my children and with all the other people in my life.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

"We think God's love rises and falls with our performance.  It doesn't...He loves you for who you are: you are His child. " (Max Lucado)

Lets give ourselves a break this week - try not to grumble so much at certain things and instead turn our eyes to the Lord and praise Him for all we do have to be grateful for.  Lets relish in his love for us and try to show that to others around us - especially our precious little ones.

Have a great week and see you next Monday!

The Grace Challenge

Grace is: 1.a state of sanctification by God  2. a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill, mercy 3. a fevor rendered by one who need not do so.

This week is all about grace and how we as moms, teachers, aunts, grandmas, etc are the example for the children in our lives on how we not only give them grace but also how we give grace to others. 

"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.  Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the Lord. Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.  Confront your neighbors directly do you will not be held guilty for their crimes.  Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbors as yourself. I am the Lord"
                                                                                               Leviticus 19:16-18

I was a little confused after reading that scripture, but thankfully Karol Ladd clears things up.  This was at a time when thousands of Israelites were traveling to the Promised Land through unknown land and had a very long way to go.  In order to have some sense of civility they were given the laws above for dealing with both people and circumstances as they traveled.  As hard as they are to follow in real life, our real life... a  few of those laws would be great to live by today (navigating the craziness of life and motherhood, right?).   

Thankfully as Christians today we have the beautiful gift of God's grace in our lives due to Christ's sacrifice on the cross for US.  We are not under a strict law like these Israelites were... as recievers of Gods grace, we should be giving it as much as we are recieving it.  This is hard for me sometimes and you know your lying if you say "oh, not me".  Life is challenging, busy and complicated for everyone in many different ways.  We are faced with situations on a daily, weekly, monthly basis where we have to make sound decisions on how we will react to people based on our beliefs and values.  We are put in situations where its challenging to give grace to others.  I am going to quote Karol Ladd in her book, because she says it better than I could, "And what does grace toward others look like? I think it looks alot like todays [scripture].  Guarding our mouths from gossip, forgiving, not holding grudges - all of these are practical ways we can shed God's grace on the people around us.  Let's teach our kids, through our words and our example, to reflect on the goodness of God's wonderful grace and, in turn, to offer that grace to others." 

I will admit, I am a WHOLE lot better at giving grace to Paxton because he is a baby/toddler/child - young.  Its somehow easier to give him grace because he is so innocent and trying to distinguish right from wrong.  I think I needed this devotional today to help me work specifically on giving grace to adults in the form of guarding my heart from grudges.  I take things people say and do towards me way to personally and hold that feeling inside in the form of a grudge.  I am going to work specifically on this.  We all apply things differently in our lives - I hope you can use her devotional in your life as you need it this week and beyond.

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on God's great love and grace towards me.
- This week I will choose to show grace toward others.
- This week I will choose to ask God's help in guarding my heart and mind.
- This week I will choose to ...

Prayer:
"God of grace and mercy, thank you for pouring your grace on me through the sacrifice of your Son.  I praise you that through faith in Jesus, I am forgiven.  Help me now to forgive others.  Guard my mouth from gossip and my heart from grudges.  Teach me to be a conduit of your grace so that grace flows freely through me to my family members and all the other people in my life.  Thank you for your Word and the direction it gives for living and loving in grace.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

I challenge you this week, as I am challenging myself, to use God's grace in your life in whatever way you feel you need it.  I am constantly reminding myself being with Paxton all day, little ears are listening and little eyes are watching... we have a big responsibility on our hands in teaching these little ones how to be better people than we are.  Thank goodness for God's grace :)

Have a great week!         

" I Will Help You'

Good morning! How did last week go? Were you able to be a little easier on yourself, knowing God created you in His image and not the image of others? Here is last weeks post if you missed it: Created in His image.   I hope you had a fantastic New Years and were able to sneak in lots of extra snuggles with your kiddos and hubbys.  I know I did and I loved it :)
 
This weeks devotional is similar to last weeks but focuses not just on the fact that God created you but that he also has equipped you with what you need to be the mom/wife/employee/ etc. you want to be.  Key word: equipped :)  Here is the scripture for this week:

But Moses pleaded with the Lord.  "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker.  I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me.  I'm clumsy with words." 
"Who makes mouths?"  The Lord asked him. "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and do as I have told you.  I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say."

WOW - I'm caught...  Much like Moses in this scripture I, all to often, focus on what I can't do or feel I am unable to do.  Over time... all of the " I cant's" turn into negative feelings about myself and a feeling of inadequacy and weakness.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all of the things I am saying "I can't" do that I forget to stop and ask God for help or I forget to stop and realize that I have him as an everlasting guide and partner.  The thing that this scripture reminds me/us of is that we cannot do it all and we cannot do it all alone.  Isaiah 41:13 says "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you 'Do not fear, I will help you." 

As moms we are faced with challenges all the time where we want to say I can't... my latest particular challenge has been since I have stayed home with Paxton.  Staying out of the mindset of keeping a perfect home, cooking a homemade meal nightly, being a "perfect" momma to Pax and finding alone time to exercise without feeling guilty.  I'm not saying thinking like this is ok... but I am being honest in that I do feel this way sometimes and for the record, Pinterest is not helping either (we have a love/hate relationship) and I have a loving, supportive husband who does not put unnecessary pressure on me... these are my thoughts and feelings.    You probably have your own "I can't" feelings... I can't bear to get it all done, I can't bear to deal with this anymore, I can't be good at this mom thing because ______, to name a small few. Karol Ladd says it best, "As moms we need to hear God's voice saying to us.   "You may not be able to do it on your own, but I made you.  I know what you need, and I can help you."  Whenever you are tempted to think, I just can't do it, remember that as God leads you, he will give you what you need.  He made you and he is able to equip you for the job".  In my own thoughts, the job of motherhood and of being a wife!

As given in the devotional, Do you trust God to be your strength in your weakness? What "I can't" do you need to give over to him?  I'll go first... 
I need to give over to him the "I can't" of holding it all together all the time.  I am allowed to fail and allowed to not be my version of "perfect". 
Your turn! Comment below :) 

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on what God can do, not what I can't do.
- This week I will choose to seek God's leadership and guidance.
- This week I will choose to ask him for help in all the tasks I undertake. 

Prayer:
"O wonderful Lord, you have called me to be a mother.  You have given me a monumental and magnificent job! But I can't do it alone; I don't have what it takes.  I need you.  I need your equipping.  Help me to replace my "I can't" with "but God can".  Help me to follow you and only do what you are calling me to do in your strength.  Thank you for creating me and caring for me.  May my life glorify you! In Jesus's name I pray, amen"

As we go into this week, we need to stop and repeat to ourselves, "I will help you" as a reminder to pray and ask God for help when we feel we can't do it alone.  We are freaking awesome moms, no doubt, but we need help and affirmation that we are equipped with what we need - only God can do that for us :)

Have a great week, see you next Monday!

"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging."
                                                                                                     - Joseph Campbell