Life is...Time

Life is...Time

This morning my son woke up and came to give me a hug. Our routine is that I work in the morning until 7:30, and then we start homeschool. He seemed sad, and I asked him what was wrong. He said that I don’t have time to play with him I’m always working. 

I was thinking how can that be? I am almost always with my kids, but I also knew he was right: though I’m around it’s mostly teaching time, or work time, or getting things done around the house: food, doing laundry. While they are playing I’m trying to get other things done. So we abandoned the routine for the morning and we played a game. 

Am I too busy checking off the boxes that I’ve missed the point?

https://generationstogenerations.com/

Life is...A Question?

 Life is...A Question?

I was reminded over the last few weeks how powerful asking a question is.

I get to spend a lot of time with my kids: being a homeschool mom & working from home.

At VBS this year they had take home questions & one of them was - what is 1 thing you wish I knew about you.

I was tempted to not even ask the question- assuming I know everything about them since we’re together so much, but I asked. 

Rachel said “ I wanted to tell you that I am afraid of the shower curtain being closed and there’s a monster in the tub.” 

I told her I was happy to know that and that we could easily leave the shower curtain open. David said that he used to be afraid of that too and told her how he got over it. It was really special.

Then David said I’ve been trying to find a time to tell you this and I guess it’s now…. He went on to tell me about an incident with a friend that I knew about but a little bit more backstory on it. 

It was all very humbling to me, realizing that even though we spend so much time together, I need to ask more thought-provoking question.

Around the same time Chris got his haircut. He asked the woman cutting his hair how she was & she said OK. He thought by the way she answered that there was more to her response and asked a follow-up question. She was able to share some hard things that were going on in her life to a complete stranger. Sometimes people just need to know you care.

Would you join me in asking a question and being there to listen to someone today.

https://generationstogenerations.com/

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1882033

Life is...Why Now?

Life is...Why Now?

Why a mental health crisis now? 

Why the rise in mental health issues when we're finally getting out of the pandemic? 

When I've gone through difficult times I think...

"If I can just get through this part - THEN everything will be better."

And when the season passes and it's not all better it's devastating.

Life is still hard, even after the storm passes.

There's a rainbow, there's sunshine, but there will be another big storm or small thunderstorms and rain, BUT it's nothing to fear. 

 

There's a beautiful story about a storm in Matthew 4. 

The disciples and Jesus were in a boat and a great storm came upon them.

They cried out to Jesus, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be Still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 

He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" 

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

What storm do you have in your life? 

What changes can take place if we are bold enough to... 

+ Cry out to Jesus.

+ Listen for Peace! Be Still!

+ Take in the great calm.

Jesus showed that he did care. 

Then and Now.

If you're struggling don't stay in the darkness alone. Cry out to Jesus. Call out to a friend, a counselor, a pastor, a helpline.

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." ~Psalm 62:8

Life is...Finishing Well

 Life is...Finishing Well

It's easy to show kindness to someone when they are around. 

BUT how you treat others when they aren't there shows your true character.

It's easier to start a journey well than to end well, but how you end a journey makes all the difference.

We end journeys big and small every day: jobs, relationships, conversations, putting the kids to bed at the end of a long day...

*That is a hard one for me. It's difficult to end the day well when I just want my kids to go to sleep, so I can have a few minutes to relax.

It's hard to end well. 

It's tiring. 

It's exhausting. 

It's frustrating. 

~2 Timothy 4:7 says "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 

The finish is crucial!

What if Jesus didn't finish well?

What if he stopped before the cross or before the resurrection?

We didn't need another great teacher. We needed a Savior!

He had to finish well.

Peter and Judas BOTH betrayed Jesus. It is how they finished that made all the difference. Judas wrongly believed he couldn't be forgiven. He wouldn't ask. He decided it was the end. Peter asked for forgiveness and FINISHED the journey well!

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." ~Galations 6:9

My prayer for you and for me is that we FINISH WELL!

Things that Change & Things that Don't

 Life is...Things that Change & Things that Don't

When I think of how to explain the last 9 months it almost seems impossible. How do you explain the craziness? It has been so life-altering & changes daily. I think this is the pinnacle of the destruction, the madness, the hurt, the heartache, the uncertainty - but it's not.

For me I can sum the changes into:

Fighter jets used to bring me a sense of peace

           -

Now they bring fear

So much has changed in 9 months

BUT...

God is still the same.

"For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." ~Malachi 3:6

There is NO OTHER place to put my hope. Everything has changed. Everything seems uncertain. EXCEPT God!

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah" ~Psalm 62:5-8

Will you join me on focusing on God and not on the headlines?

Will you join me in bringing TRUE Love, Hope, & Light into a world that DESPERATELY needs it?!

Christmas Sucks

 Life is...Christmas Sucks

(I actually wrote this a few years ago, but felt 2020 was a good year to post it).

Christmas - What a wonderful, magical time as a child. What a difficult, stressful, sad time as an adult.

As I sit here on Christmas night pondering what a difficult Christmas season it has been & I realize...

We idolize Christmas (the nativity & Jesus' birth) but it must have been awful giving birth in a stable. And later having to flee to Egypt to avoid being killed.

What was it like the 1st Christmas?

"and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." ~Luke 2:7

but what were Mary and Joseph thinking? 

"But Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart." ~Luke 2:19

Maybe they were thinking...

-Is this really how God wanted His son to be born?

-Is this really the plan?

-I don't want to have a baby here!

But yet, under these circumstances, of a baby being born next to animals, the Salvation of the World came.

Don't let this small, well-known verse pass you by.

It is like God is telling us, even from the birth of His Son...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~John 16:33

If the things that aren't really Christmas start to interrupt your Joy of the birth of the Savior - let them pass by. For Jesus came into the harsh world as a defenseless baby - born into extreme circumstances to be The Light of the World!!!!!

So, even though the Christmas season is hard - all of us have our own story and difficulties - when you start to think "Christmas Sucks!" Remember that in fact 

CHRISTMAS SAVES!!!!

For it was on Christmas that the Child was born into the world - the Child that would redeem all mankind.

Life is...Breastfeeding and a World Hurting

 Life is...Breastfeeding and a World Hurting

I was reminiscing this morning about when David and Rachel were babies. I was fortunate to be able to breastfeed them, and anytime they would get a cold or start to feel sick I would give them extra kisses deliberately trying to get the germs they had, because I knew I could fight it easier than they could. I was stronger, and I could pass those antibodies on to them. 

Now our world is facing extreme sickness. 

Physical, yes, but also emotional, mental, financial, spiritual...

I am not saying deliberately try to get sick (that would not be helpful), but the same thought process applies as it did when I was breastfeeding. 

I am strong. Let me help!

How can you help someone who is hurting? Are they physically sick, are they lonely, did they lose their job, have they lost hope? 

Since March we have prayed daily for our family's health, but we always ask for health so that we can bless others. 

"God, thank you for our health. Please continue to keep us healthy so that we can bless others. Be with those who are not healthy. Let us see them and be willing and able to help."

Right now I am strong. How can I help you?