Big Task, Big Testimony

Sorry about last week  ... I just didn't make it to posting.  I had good intentions all week long and didn't quite get to it but let me tell you, I needed this mornings devotional!

Sunday morning around 4am I walked into Paxton's nursery responding to coughing and listening to him "whimper" for a few minutes and was slapped in the face welcomed by the horrific smell of vomit.  This is a first - ever.  Spit up yes, vommit no.  This is the second time he has ever vomited and - it - was - everywhere.  My poor baby was helpless and upset - we stripped him, stripped his bed, threw everything in the washing machine and if you have a crib bumper in your child's crib YOU KNOW what its like to change a crib sheet at 4 in the morning - shoot me.  Anyway.... the gist is this... he is still sick, does not feel good, is running a temperature, won't eat, won't drink, wants me to hold him 24/7, is in a crabby mood (I don't blame him), now has a red bottom from diarrhea (tmi sorry) and I am very tired :), but smiling.    We've all been where I am at - and if you haven't you will be one day... it sucks.  Its true though.... it is the most helpless feeling.  I have an amazing husband who is a champ at changing crib sheets, cleaning up vomit and changing diarrhea diapers so I am not alone here - its just that you feel like there are very few things you can do to help your baby.  So needless to say - when we were up at 5:30am this morning - I needed motivation and lots of it. 

 

Raise your hand if you have been watching the 'Bible'?  If you haven't, I encourage you to buy it when it comes on DVD or set your dvr to 'record all epidodes' for next Sunday because they are re-playing the whole series Sunday as well as the Finale Sunday/Easter night.  I am learning so much and getting so much clarity on the Bible and the God we all love so dearly.  Matthew and I are watching it together and have many light bulb moments the whole 2 hours.  One reason I love it is because it covers all the major and minor people in the bible.  It teaches you (in a different way than words - I am a visual learner :)) by going chronologically through the Bible how each and every story is connected.  The scripture today, Nehemiah 2:4-6; 6:15-16, is a great example.  I have a frame of reference to today's scripture because of my new found appreciation and understanding of the Bible.

The king asked, "Well, how can I help you?"

       With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, "If it please Your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Jerusalem to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, "How long will you be gone? When will you return?" So the king agreed, and I set a date for my departure... 

        On October 2 the wall was finally finished - just fifty-two days after we had begun.  When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated.  They realized that this work had been done with the help pf our God. 

 Nehemiah received alot of ridicule and threats because of what he wanted to do.  Rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was not a one man job and he knew that, so he prayed to God that he would have the strength and tools to recruit others to help him.  The small amount of people that did faced the same ridicule and threats yet still, Nehemiah prayed to God for guidance and strength to get through it and motivate his fellow workers.  In the end, they finished the wall and God was glorified because everyone knew the job was too big to be completed without God's help. 

As moms, we all have those "I just can't handle it" days or moments.  Whether it be an obligation or job we chose to do - taking us out of our comfort zone, pushing us to the limits OR situations like mine today - having a sick baby (ok, toddler) that is wearing my butt out and testing my limits.  Either way, as moms we are going to find ourselves in situations bigger than our capabilities.  When it happens we have a choice - whine, complain and swim in self pity OR as Nehemiah did, look to God for help and use his strength to help us through it. 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to ask God for help and guidance each day.
• This week I will choose to look for what God can do through my abilities and talents.
• This week I will choose to take positive action instead of complain. 

Prayer:

"God I praise you for the guidance and ability you give me to handle the tasks you have set before me.  When I feel overwhelmed, please grant me your strength.  When I feel inadequate, please give me what I need for the moment.  I look to you and trust you for help.  May you be glorified in everything you do in and through my life.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen"

So, after praying this morning I did find renewed strength, my brain less foggy and a new attitude towards our current situation.  This too shall pass and I can get through it.  As moms and women its important for us to remember we can and should derive our strength from God and prayer, we don't always have to be supermoms because lets be honest - I don't think any of us have been awarded capes :)   I pray my Pax starts feeling better soon so we can all go back to feeling a little more normal :)

(Wanted to mention: If you would like to receive these posts to your email when there is a new post, look on the right side toolbar and you can add your email, confirm a subscription and that's it.  I nor anyone else will know who is subscribed or not, but at least this way you can see each post as its posted) Have a great week!  

The Battle is The Lord's

We all face different battles in life.  One of my favorite quotes is "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle".  The truth is, we are.  All of us, at some level, are fighting something going on in our lives.  Our battles may be with fear or worry, relationships, jobs, money, faith, addiction, sickness or even potty training a toddler or dealing with a strong willed child.  We are all facing something in our lives that is beating us down or filling us with a sense of hopelessness.  Take this scripture:

As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there... He said,  "Listen, King Jehoshaphat! Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours; but God's.  Tomorrow, march out against them.  You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz, at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel.  But you will not even need to fight.  Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord's victory.  He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.  Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!"

2 Chronicles 20:13-17 

 

Okay, so we don't have an army lined up to fight us, but its safe to assume we all have a battle were facing.  Its so easy to think we are in the battle alone and the outcome (aka victory) is up to us.  WRONG - "Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's."  Read that again - I sure know I needed to hear that this week.  Last week was rough - as a family we faced a really tough battle in fact, I'm still facing it and dealing with it in a different way today.  I needed to be reminded that I need to give this battle over to God and stop trying to fight it on my own.  Just like He told the army, I needed to be reminded to stand firm, be courageous and listen to the Lord and obey.  I can trust him to give me the strength I need. So can you.  The Israelites went out the next morning, took their stand, and faced the enemy. God brought the victory!         

 

As a mom, I want to teach Paxton to stand firm when faced with battles in life and rely on the fact that he has a God who loves him and is willing to help him face his battles, no matter how big or small.  If I don't practice that with him or model it for him, he wont do it.  We can't rely on others to teach our kids what we want/need/desire for them to know.  It is our job as their parents to equip them with the tools necessary to get through life - which includes showing compassion towards others in the wake of their battles too.  

 

This week was a nice reminder that in my battles, my family's battles, I need to stand firm on beliefs, pray and ask God for help.  When I do that I know that I have God helping me fight that battle.  I am also going to practice being kind to others, realizing we all have battles, ours are no more important than others in the eyes of God  - as moms, humans.... we need to also support one another and be there to help each other.   

 

Choices: 

•  This week I will choose to give my battles to the Lord. 
•  This week I will choose to stand firm in my faith.
•  This week I will choose to cast away fear knowing that the Lord is with me.
•  This week I will choose to show kindness to others as we all face battles.   

Prayer:   
" [God] I praise you for you are able to bring victory in my life.  You have all the power I need to defeat my enemies! Help me to have the faith and courage to believe and stand firm.  Lord, I give all my battles to you.  I know I cannot win in my own strength; I need you.  Help me to do my part.  Thank you for always being with me.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."  

I walked away from this devo today feeling renewed being reminded that we do not have to fight our battles alone.  Even in silence God knows what we're facing, no matter how big or small and he is here to help us as long as we let him!  Comment a prayer request (anonymously if you need/want to) and I will, as I'm sure other readers as well, will pray for you as you face your battle.  If you could pray for me specifically on my health I would appreciate it :)  Have a great week!         

God Is Our Provider

I'm sure we have all had days where we feel less than equipped to be a mom.  After all, everyone says 'just follow your instinct' - well, that's great and all if I had an instinct to follow :)  or if I didn't second guess what my instinct was telling me to do :)  No really though... we do have an instinct - In my opinion its also called a judgement or conscience.  Today's devotional is centered around God being our provider when we feel we need something we do not have, no matter what it is. 
 
"One day the widow of one of Elisha's fellow Prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him.  "My husband who served you is dead, and you knew how he feared the Lord.  But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves."
        "What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked.  "Tell me, what do you have in the house?" 
        "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied.     
          Elisha said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.  Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you.  Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting jars aside as they are filled."
          So she did as she was told.  Her sons brought many jars to her, and she filled one after the other.  Soon every container was full to the brim!
          When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons."

                                                                                                           2 Kings 4:1-7         

 

Wow - talk about providing a need.  If only that could happen with formula or breast milk, right?  :) Only kidding.  The lesson here though is that God took care of the family of someone who had cared deeply for him and more importantly asked him for help.  They were a household who loved and served the Lord.  I think another lesson in this scripture and how it applies to us is yes, as believers we believe in Gods provision and his ability to help us but- that doesn't mean we don't need to do our own set of work to allow his plan and work to be done.  We cant sit around expecting Gods blessings to fall in our lap.  We need to be praying about it and doing all we can to work towards our need.  Also, something that brought me more peace than anything is this from Karols book, " Finally, we can draw encouragement from the way that God took what little this woman had and multiplied it abundantly.  We may think we have little to offer.  But God can take our simple love, faith, and obedience and multiply it into significant blessings for our home". 

 

In my mind, that means even the small things count.  I don't know what you need or what your family might need but make sure God does.  He can provide for us as long as we are willing and open to accepting what he can offer.  Listen for his guidance and be willing to accept what he tells you to do. That mommy instinct I talked about above-that might just be God telling us what to do - I guess we should listen to it! :)

 

Choices:

- This week I will choose to look to God as my provider.

- This week I will choose to faithfully obey what he leads me to do.

- This week I will choose to teach my children about God's faithfulness. 

 

Prayer:    

"Wonderful Lord and Perfect Provider, I praise you for your tender love and care for me.  I praise you for your magnificent power that is able to take what little I have to offer and use it in a wonderful way.  Thank you for looking after the needs of my family.  Help me to live in faithful obedience to you.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

Delighting in God's Blessings

The answered prayer.  We have all desired for our most personal prayers to be answered and over the course of our lives some have been answered exactly like we would want, others have not been our chosen outcome and others are still in the process of being unfolded.  

If ya'll remember correctly, when I started this blog and made my first post HERE, I made it known that I was reading a devotional by Karol Ladd each Monday to learn and grow and that I wasn't an expert.  Today's scripture comes from a book of the bible I was unfamiliar with and comes from a story I had not heard before.  

"I asked the Lord to give me this child, and he has given me my request.  Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life."  And they worshiped the Lord there. 
Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the Lord! Oh, how the Lord has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, as I delight in your deliverance.  No one is holy like the Lord!  There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God."

1 Samuel 1:27-28; 2:1-2

Hannah, the woman praying above, was saddened for years and years for not being able to concieve a child and was also ridiculed for years by others.  She prayed to God every day and as time went on got more and more saddened that she hadn't had a child yet, still she prayed.   She wondered how God would let her suffer so much, but God had a plan.  Out of her perseverance and prayers to God she eventually had a son named, Samuel .  He grew up to be a faithful servant of God and a leader.  This scripture above shows the joy in the Lord she had when she had her son and the thanksgiving she showed him out of her joy!  The example of Gods perfect timing and the praise we should give Him when our prayers are answered.

 

What I learned today is that as moms, we should strive to pray to God with peace knowing that He has a plan for us, for our families, for our children.  We should find joy in the answering of that prayer - whether its what we saw coming or not.  Its so easy to drop to our knees and pray and lay our needs out before the Lord, but its not as easy (or easy to rememeber) to praise God and thank Him when our prayers are "answered" - whether its what we "wanted" or not.  I am going to try and take a moment each day this week to stop and thank God for all that he has blessed me with and even though Pax is little, he knows we pray and I'm going to pray special prayers with him thanking God for all he has.  Have you seen the movie "Facing the Giants?"  If you just answered no, then you must see it.  Its basically the gist of this devotional, you praise God no matter what - and in time, he will bless you.  (Matthew and I have a copy I can mail to you if you want to borrow it)   

 

Choices this week:    

• This week I will choose to give all my cares, concerns and requests to God in prayer.
• This week I will choose to spend more time thanking God and delighting in his blessings.
• This week I will choose to teach my children to thank God in their prayers.

Prayer:

"Lord, I praise you, for you are good and you are powerful.  I praise you because you have a plan for my life.  I trust your plan.  Thank you for all the ways you have already moved and worked on my behalf.  You have blessed me so much! Thank you for being my rock and my refuge as I wait on you for the blessings to come.  Be glorified in my life!  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

 

You know, I have some very personal and heavy prayers I have been praying lately, it hadn't occured to me that maybe the reason God hasn't responded to those prayers yet was because I haven't been as diligent and heartfelt with my thanks for all he has answered.  It's much easier to view the glass half empty than half full sometimes, just being honest... you know its true.  I know I am a blessed girl, I tell myself that all the time.  But do I tell God? :/  I'm gonna suck it up and find more "Delight in God's Blessings" this week - I hope you can too!       

Rich and Rewarding Loyalty

I Hope you had a great week last week deriving your strength from God to help you get through it :) I did that today more than any other day last week - had to swallow some difficult news that ultimately just made me so thankful to God for everything I have in life.  On a sweet note, Paxton is now pressing his little hands together when its time to pray at dinner and says his version of 'Ah meh' after our dinner table prayer.  After months of him watching us he is doing it on his own :)  THE sweetest thing and sound to this mommas ears :)

This week, our devotional is all about loyalty to your family.  Loyalty through your actions, your words (both said and written) and your thoughts - your whole self.  Todays scripture is taken from the book of Ruth.  Ruth was the daughter in law to a woman named Naomi.  In this particular scripture below, Ruths husband had died, Naomis son, and therefore according to law Ruth no longer had an obligation or loyalty to her mother in law.  Yet, as you will read, she remained loyal. 

But Ruth insisted in staying loyal to Naomi. "See," Naomi said to her. "your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.  You should do the same."
             But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back.  I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live.  Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  I will die where you die and will be buried there.  May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to seperate us!"  So when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her. 

Ruth 1:14-18

 

In a world where when the going gets tough people get going - its important that we take a loyalty reality check and ask ourselves if we are completely loyal to our loved ones when they need us.  Do we pull back and act as if nothing is wrong, do we talk about them to our girlfriends instead of with them? Do we bash our husbands for all his shortcummings versus praise him for everything he does thats wonderful? Do we fuss at our children for all they're doing wrong or remain loyal to our goal of building them up by focusing on what they're doing right? After all, they are real people with real little feelings :).  The list could go on and on...  This week - we are encouraged to be as loyal to our families and children as the Lord is loyal to us and Ruth to Naomi.  As hard as it may be to remain positive and uplifting when we would rather retreat and go away - being present and available to those we love and care about shows the ultimate love which is loyalty (remember those wedding vows?) Too bad we don't have to say vows to our children when we have them.

 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to guard my mouth and only speak well of others.
• This week I will choose to do a self check of my loyalty toward family and friends.
• This week I will choose to teach my children about the richness and rewards of loyalty.

Prayer
"Faithful Father, I praise you for being loyal, trustworthy, and loving toward me.  Help me to reflect that same type of loyal love toward the people in my life.  Give me the courage and strength to guard my tounge and my actions.  Keep me from hurting the ones I love through disloyal words or deeds.  Thank you for my children, my family members, and my friends, and help me to honor them with loyalty and faithfullness.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen." 

I have found myself lately being super motivated on Mondays, but by mid week sometimes forgetting what I am supposed to be working on for the week (oops :/)  So, this week I made a "poster" to print out and put in a place that can remind me all week long.  If you want to do the same just right click and save it or print it for yourself.   

 I hope you have a great week and sorry this is late in the evening or maybe even Tuesday depending on when you read this - like I said, whirlwind of a morning :)
    

Who Gets the Glory?

Supermom - we've all called ourselves that before :)  Not very often but it has happened.  Too often more than not I aspire or try too hard to do it all (don't we all?).  I'm admittedly a little bit bossy and somewhat of a 'take control' type girl, but motherhood has softened me in that department.  One thing I am super guilty of though - is taking the glory for myself. Gasp.  Matthew gets home from work, errands ran, house is clean, dinner cooked, Pax happy - yeah, who's your wife now? :)  (Okay, I don't really say that in my head but if I did that's what I would say)  The scripture below paints a different picture though and this mornings devotional helped me to re-focus my thought process and the label 'supermom'. 

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you.  If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.  Therefore, tell the people.  'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.'" Twenty two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight.
       But the Lord told Gideon, "There are still too many!"

                                       Judges 7:2-4

 

Yikes, I was so confused when I first read that, I read it like 5 times.  Karol Ladd clears things up though...  I am going to quote her, "Gideon started out with a superarmy.  But God was not looking for an army that could 'do it all'.  He wanted a humble army that would look to him for its success and recognize that victory was found in him alone, not in self sufficiency.  God eventually whittled down Gideon's army to three hundred men.  He granted the victory, and the honor went to him." 

 

You know why its so hard to "do it all"?  Because we're not supposed to! Along with help from our husbands, God wants us to seek him, use him, rely on him and ultimately give Him the glory.  He doesn't want us to be "self-sufficient" he wants us to be "God-sufficient".  He is looking for moms who will look to him for guidance, wisdom, direction and strength.  When we try to do it all - we seek/get the glory - whether that's our intention or not.  But when we rely on God and get our strength from him then He gets the glory.  I don't want Paxton to grow up thinking that he has to derive all his own strength from himself -what a way to feel defeated.  I want him to know that he gets his strength from seeking God.  If I don't do that - how will I teach him to?  Bottom line - God doesn't expect us to be super moms.  We can bask in those days when we feel like one and give ourselves a pat on the back, we just can't forget to thank our God too.  And by all means - on the days we feel less than super - seek Him, rely on Him and praise Him for after all, motherhood is a war in and out of itself! :)

 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to see the God-possibilities instead of my own inabilities. 
• This week I will choose to be God-sufficient rather than self-sufficient.
• This week I will choose to give God the glory and not myself.

Prayer:
"All sufficient God, I praise you, for you are all power and all wisdom.  I recognize that I'm not a supermom.  I can't do it all.  I praise you that you can! Thank you for loving and caring for me and my family.  Teach me to be responsible, humble, wise and strong.  Help my children to grow up to be well-balanced adults who follow you, so that you may be glorified.  Thank you for being the protector of my family and the guardian of each of our souls.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

Going into this week - I am going to strive to depend on God's help and not just depend on myself or Matthew.  We are all awesome moms - there's no doubt about that- but we are awesome because God made us that way.  We do awesome things because God helps us - and we are going to raise awesome little ones only with God's help!

Have a happy Valentines week! :)

Courage and Commitment

As a mom I don't want to show unhealthy fear to Paxton.  I want to protect him from all fears and never ever have him worry.  Although, while I don't think kids need to deal with adult issues (thank you Dr. Phil) I do think that it is healthy and a necessity to teach him that fear brews courage and courage is powerful. It's inevitable and healthy for him to learn how to deal with fear.  Matthew and I are his example and the platform from which he will learn how to deal with fear and ultimately how to overcome it.  This is where the bible and the promises of God are so sweet.      

Be strong and very courageous.  Obey all the laws Moses gave you.  Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of the Law continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.  Only then will you succeed.  I command you - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:7-9

 

Life is tough - there are seasons in life where all is bliss and then are seasons when all is h-e double hockey sticks.  On a smaller scale- there are days, hours or one specific situation that is particularly difficult and fear is the natural response.  Am I handing this ok? Did I respond the right way? Am I messing my kid up? Is he going to remember this? We have to stand up as moms in those situations, brush fear aside and use courage to help us through it.  Where do we get the courage? From God.  In the scripture above God is talking to Joshua, and is basically commanding him to be strong and courageous, why? Because God is with him.  He tells him to study his word, so that he can obey it.  The same rings true for me.  I need to study Gods word because it strengthens me and reminds me of His power and His ability to protect me.  If I don't know this and own it, it scares me to think Paxton won't know it either.  I want him to grow up feeling strong and courageous to take on the world, stand up for his beliefs and go after his dreams.  When it comes to my role as a mom I am reminded to be strong and courageous not only for my sake, but ultimately for Paxton's too.  God is with me!

Choices
-This week I will choose to let go of the familiar and hold on to God's hand.
-This week I will choose to study and meditate on God's word.
-This week I will choose to teach my children that God is always with them, so they will 
 have the courage to stand up for what it right.
-This week I will choose to:

 

Prayer

 "Great and mighty Lord, I praise you for always being with me.  You guard me and protect me like a Good Shepard.  Thank you for your presence! Keep me from being overcome with fear; fill me with your peace instead.  Help me to be strong and courageous in my role as a mother.  Thank you for your Word and the power it has to transform my life.  Help me to study it, meditate, on it, and obey it, so that I can be successful in everything you have called me to do.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen."

I feel like fear is where our faith comes in.  "Our faith does not lie in trusting God to stop the storm but in trusting Him to enable us to walk through the storm" (Jill Briscoe).  This leaves me wanting to cling to and read God's word to restore and replenish my Faith in knowing that God is always with me on this difficult journey we call Motherhood. :)