Darkness and the Light

"This is the way God works.  Over and over again, He pulls our souls back from certain destruction, so we will see the light-and live in the light." 
Job 33:29-30 The Message

"Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light.  No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness.  I provide plenty of light to live in.""
John 8:12 The Message

Darkness and light seem to speak loudly this time of year.  As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, the darkness seeps into my soul.  I feel this desire to hide away in my snug, warm home rather than face the darkness and cold that seem to be in abundance.  However, this is just not possible, I have to step out into the dreary winter and search for the glorious and scarce sunlight.  In the same way, God shows the world that darkness may seem overwhelming, but the Light has come in Jesus. He pursues us fervently and without ceasing from the darkness of sin and death to the ravishing love Light that is Jesus. Jesus conquered sin and death, we can freely walk in the His abiding love, ever-flowing grace, perfect peace, and complete forgiveness, if we just accept Jesus with our whole heart and allow Him to be the Lord of our heart.  With Him, darkness begins to fade, and we can bathe in the glow of of His love forevermore.  

"Jesus Calling Bible Storybook" by Sarah Young

I fell in love with "Jesus Calling Bible Storybook" by Sarah Young, as soon as I picked it up.  She has done such an amazing job sharing the Bible in a way that young children can understand.  Her language is simple, but beautiful.  I read the stories to my preschool age daughter, and I have her full attention. This Bible storybook is such a wonderful blessing and resource for us parents that want to train up our children in God's ways.  I can see my daughter just absorbing these God truths into her little heart.  This  is such a comfort to me knowing I make a God-sized difference in my daughter's life by reading God's Word to her from the pages of this incredible storybook.  I so highly recommend this Bible storybook to anyone. I want to buy more copies to give as gifts to other families, it just impacts little lives that much as they hear the Heart of God through the written words of Sarah Young.  

You can purchase a copy from your local Family Christian Bookstore or online using the below link (it is on sale this week, what could be better!):

 

http://www.familychristian.com/jesus-calling-bible-storybook.html

The Lies of Perfection

“You’ll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to him joyfully, boldly. You’ll pray to him and he’ll listen; he’ll help you do what you’ve promised. You’ll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light. To those who feel low you’ll say, ‘Chin up! Be brave!’ and God will save them. Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God’s grace in your life.” (Job 22:26-30 MSG)

Fear of failing has kept my feet nailed to the floor more times than I care to think by the perfection myth.  I logically know perfection is not physically or mentally obtainable, but I still hold myself up to that expectation too often.  It is the "if you can't do it perfect, why try?" mentality that leaves me in bondage  of fearing failure.  I so want to be brave and throw those lies of perfection and fear to the wind every time they grasp me, but I don't every time.  In those weak moments of believing the lies, I Lose big time.  I lose because I don't trust that I'm enough because of Jesus willingly dying to save me.  I lose because I stay stagnant in my rut of self-preservation missing opportunities that God placed in front of me to grow and to better.  I lose because I'm playing it safe by not putting myself out there to serve others denying myself deep connections with others.  I lose because I'm being disobedient to God throwing away the blessing He so lovingly wanted to give.  I lose because I don't share Jesus with others, whether through words or by example.  I flat out lose all the way around and so do those God wanted me to bless because of my selfish fears.  That is the thing that grieves God's heart the most.  You see, God already has equipped me to be brave and to do what He asks of me.  He has provided every strength and provision for every task He is calling me to do.  God never once asked perfection out of me.  He only asks me for a willing and faithful spirit because He's got the rest.  There is no room for fear when He fills my soul and guards my steps of faith.  

Mama and Her Girl

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.  (Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG)

This being a Mama thing is hard sometimes.  My little miss of a girl will test me occasionally with her "I will push all your buttons, Mama" attitude.  She especially likes to pull this attitude out in the middle of the grocery store or while in the doctor's office, or wherever it's the most inconvenient.  Picture a preschool girl melting down rather loudly and a frazzled mama trying to get her girl to just stop already.  You get it, the tear soaked face of a little girl and a mama trying to discipline in love but barely hanging on to her last nerve and shred of I should know how to do this mentality.  It's an awful feeling and an even more awful situation. You see, my first gut reaction is to do what I already know, but that doesn't always work.  What I know to do may work one time but not the next time.  My mama knowledge is sorely limited, and I quickly come to the end of myself.  To be honest, it shows in my frazzled face and my posture that says I just want to crawl in a hole with my girl because I'm so embarrassed and can't believe she is doing this to me right now.  You see, I'm not seeking God in the first moments of my girl's meltdown.  What would it look like if I did?  I think the situation would still be hard, yet God would open my eyes to His direction of how to handle my girl.  I could trust Him to lead me through the meltdown with more wisdom, grace, and truth as I firmly but lovingly discipline my daughter.  Will I get it right every time, no.  Will I still be frazzled at times, yes.  Will my girl still chose to push my buttons, yes.  Will I still try to do it all by myself at times, yes.  The beauty and truth in all this comes down to me genuinely seeking and being aware of God's love and His leading.  He didn't leave me hanging out here alone.  He is always with me just as He promises in His Word.  In my flustered Mama moments, I just need to seek Him, trust Him, hear Him, obey Him, and love Him, and He will surely take care of the rest.  I will be a better Mama because I'm grounded in my God and my girl will learn and grow because I choose to love her enough to raise her in God's precious Truths. 

 

God's Word Never Fails

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. (Hebrews 4:12-13 MSG)

God's Word never fails....

Let that beautiful Truth rest upon your weary heart. 

Breathe it in deeply to fill your tired body.

Let it calm your racing thoughts.

Wear it as a warm cocoon around your aching soul.

Let it saturate your bone deep fatigue.

Clothe yourself in that ultimate peace.

Not one word failed from all the good words GOD spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right. (Joshua 21:45 MSG)

God has you safely in His Hand, and His promises speak of hope and knowing everything will be as it should, according to His Perfect Will.

Let that sink in to every inch of your being and walk in that beautiful Truth and Confidence , His Word Never Ever Fails....

Smooth Sailing No, Faithful God Yes

I like to think of me steering my life like a ship sailing along in calm waters with the wind filling the sails and nothing but blue skies.  It really is an idyllic and comforting thought, flowing along without a care in the world.  Ahh!! How safe and simple it truly would be....

Here's the part where life cues the storm clouds, sheets of rain, hurricane winds, and tossing waves....ta-da!!  Well, my dumb idea just got lost at sea along with my security, my personal comfort, and my naïveté.  Bummer, that didn't last long.

You see, this fake sense of control I like to live in, is just that, fake.  It brings me a comfort for a moment then reality crashes down on me.  I sink into the mire of an aching soul and deep fatigue.  All the plates I had carefully spinning, perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect everything, crash to the floor splitting into a million pieces.  I try to clean up my mess, but I have nothing left and collapse in frustration.

God pulls me up and reminds me of His promises.

"Meanwhile the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. "(Romans 8:26-28 MSG)

I remember then that God has His hand on me.  His Holy Spirit abides in me and It will do for me what I can't do myself.  I then remember all the times God has been faithful to see me through when I thought I couldn't take another thing going the wrong way.

After 3 car accidents, 3 stinky jobs, and 1 difficult post partim after my daughter's birth, I'm still here in one piece thanks to His love and grace.  Believe me, I could have done without the hard things!  Still, it is during such times that I grow strongest in Him. 

So hold tight to His promises and let go of the false control.  He will see you through each and every circumstance.  You are His precious and beloved child for always.

Book Review "10 Things for Teen Girls" By Kate Conner

Let's face it, I was an awkward teen girl, you know painfully shy and unsure of herself.  Ugghh!  I cringe to think about it now, the awkwardness, the uncomfortable silences, the "no one sees me" feeling, the "my clothes are so ugly" problem, the spending Friday and Saturday nights at home with no friends, and the emotional distress of snobby girls who I let make me feel inferior.  What a horrible mess I was during this time of my life.  You see, my family didn't know Jesus, so no one knew to tell me that I was loved deeply by the Savior that He took my sin and shame upon Himself, so I could be made right forever in the eyes of God, my Father.  It wasn't until my my college years that I learned this life-changing Truth, but I struggled so long, and still struggle at times, with the lies I grew up knowing, the lies that said I could never do enough or be valued enough. This makes me wonder how many other teen girls are missing the Truth in their lives? How can we share the Truth with them in a way that they can fully understand, but is grounded whole-heartedly in God's Word?  Kate Conner's book 10 Things for Teen Girls is an excellent conversation starter and learning tool for our teen girls and their mothers and/or their mentors.

Kate understands how to deliver the Truth to teen girls in a way that makes them know they matter, from their opinions to their emotions.  She speaks to them with respect and love, but she does not let them off the hook either by holding them up to the standard of God's Word.  Kate is real with her audience of teen girls, sharing her own faults and struggles of daily living in God's Truth. On page 180 of 10 Things for Teen Girls, Kate writes, "I'm having to practice what I preach-desperately, religiously coming to Jesus and letting Him remind me, 'You are not perfect; I am perfecting you.  You are loved, internally and eternally.'"  Let's face it, we all struggle and we all have faults, but they do not have to define us.  We can come through the tough realities of our world and still be standing because of living in God's Truth.  To be specific to our teen girls, Kate touches on 10 of these specific realities that our teen girls face in the pages of her book, 10 Things for Teen Girls:

1.modesty

2.the beauty trap

3.gossip

4.drama

5.the heart is deceitful, listen to God's Truth

6.Emotions are not a flaw when in line with God's Truth

7."Smoking is not cool," Kate writes on page 186.

8."Your reputation matters-greatly," Kate relates on page 186.

9."Don't play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention," Kate notes on page 186.

10."You are beautiful. You are enough," Kate says on page 186.  This is God's Truth, this is what sets our teen girls free from the lies of Satan, our enemy, who uses our society to blast these lies in their faces every single day of their lives.  They need to hear this Truth, and it needs to be woven into the threads of their souls, so it cannot be undone.

Through her discussion of these realities, Kate reminds our teen girls of their value in the eyes of God.  His Truth is the only one that matters, the one that allows us to know we are loved no matter what, the one that brings peace and belonging to our souls, and the one that we can abide in eternally. Kate has such a gift from God in how she reaches our teen girls with this undeniable Truth. I take this in knowing that I will share this with my daughter everyday, until she knows this in the depths of her soul. I am praying that this Truth will comfort her, guide her, strengthen her, and fill her with love always.  What a beautiful Truth is the love of our God. Thank you Kate for the reminder of this divine Truth.

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