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Embrace every Moment

I happened to come across this picture today on my computer.  I am just staring at it.... a bit numb.
I can't stop staring.  Devin (bottom left is 18 and graduating high school), Livia (bottom right is 16 and driving everywhere) and Kadin (staring at me.... is 15, and I literally told him he was 14 the other day- I really thought.....??)

BOOOO HOOOOO!  I want them little again, just for one day?!

I have LOVED every age and stage so far of being the MommaBear of these fine human beings, but no one, NO ONE can prepare you for how much it hurts to love them so hard and big and then feel them slipping through your hands into their future.  The future God has planned for them, that does not include me waking them up in the morning, or packing lunches or running them around to every little thing they want to attend.   It's okay.  It's God's plan.  Breathe. 

I guess what I am trying to say to MYSELF and to you today is..... EMBRACE EVERY MOMENT.
I want to do better, we still have so much left to experience together, but when I see this picture I realize we have already had so much and that my soul truly is full and content because we have each other. 

Let's not strive for everything to be perfect, let's strive to find the perfect in everything. 

It's there.

You see it in Devin's rosy cheeks and Livia's determined smile and that gaze of Kadin's.....?

Perfect.

Embrace every Moment.

No Temptation has Overtaken You!!!

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10

Tim took a few minutes to encourage the kiddos to be strong in the Lord and to lean into His promise that He will ALWAYS provide a way out when you are tempted.   Temptation is not just about big things.... like sex, drugs and alcohol.   We are faced everyday with temptations such as deciding to listen to Gods still small voice or not, sharing gossip or listening to gossip, wasting time on tv and gaming instead of spending time with real people.... these temptations will form our lives and habits.   Making wise decisions now about these temptations will set the tone for a solid foundation in Christ all the days of our lives.

Trust Him.  He is faithful. He will provide a way out.... always!!!

My Heart, His Home

I love the beautiful concept of our hearts as homes. That we would make our hearts His home. 

When we have family or friends over to our home we all usually jump in and run around cleaning up!  Scrubbing down surfaces and tucking clutter in closets so that things appear "together" and somewhat clean!  Lol 😂 

With Christ, we don't have to do that!  He doesn't want us to!  He wants us to be as we are , and just invite Him in.  

No need to scurry around trying to clean it all up and make things look perfect BEFORE He comes in ! He sees us and He is okay with entering into our chaos and living there and helping us clean up the mess. 

What a relief! 

It is a high privilege to welcome, to serve, to please and to know Him in my heart, His home. 

 

Consider it all Garbage!

 Paul is desperately trying to tell the Church "Wake up! Rejoice in the Lord ...Put your hope in the Lord.... and consider it ALL garbage, rubbage, a loss ..."

Your career

Your house

Your car

Your money

Your accomplishments 

All of this is garbage in comparison to knowing Jesus.  If you put your hope in these things they will ALWAYS disappoint and you'll find yourself exhausted. 

Put your hope in Him and rest!

*Good word from Pastor Brad Tate yesterday!!!*

 

Don't Calculate Without God

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass."  Psalm 37:5

God seems to have a way of upsetting the things we have calculated without Him.  We get ourselves into messes and we realize we have been calculating everything without Him.  Ouch. 

One thing that keeps us from the possibility of worrying is bringing God in as the greatest factor. No wonder we are worked up when everything else has been given the same value as God when we calculate.   Love does not calculate evil, it's not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a calculating factor. 

We cannot calculate properlyand in full faith without God in His rightful place of being first and as the greatest factor NO matter what we are up against. 

LET NOT your heart be troubled .... haul yourself up and put God in the center where he belongs. calculate with HIM as the greatest factor!!!

 

Wonderfully Made !!!

We talked a bit this morning about how we were made.  When you stop to think about the intricacy of our human body and every little thing that works together it is quite amazing.  We are truly wonderfully made. 

On top of our physical anatomy add the unique character and personality of each of us and the ways in which we develop and mature based on our experiences and surroundings. We played this video this morning called "still face experiment" which displays the way we were made to need love and acceptance in order to thrive in life.  (This video was played in my class last night called "Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You." ) 

No matter what we experience in life - good, bad or ugly GOD can restore and heal and cause us to live a full life in His love.  We've seen it, we've experienced it! 

 

Celebrating that we are all wonderfully made today!!

https://youtu.be/apzXGEbZht0

 

All Things Work Together

In a world where distractions of what is truly important run deep and difference of opinions run high we celebrate an artist who has made a forever impact on our kids lives. 

Speaking truth and boldly proclaiming God's promises with a creative music presentation Lacrae does it again with his new album, All things Work Together.

Check it out: 

https://g.co/kgs/WYxise

We talked a lot this morning about our country, our faith and our responsibility to  both.  It's so easy to get caught up and worked up over so many things and yet God helped us to bring it all down to loving God and loving people.  That's what God does, he keeps it simple.  We, tend to  over complicate ! 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22: 37-39

 

The usefulness of my Life

We read a story this morning written by Brennan Manning about a man who he spent some time with working and serving in France.  A group of them were talking about substandard wages and how their employers were never seen at church on Sunday, etc... and this man responded with a tear rolling down his check, " they don't understand."  

It immediately reminded him of what Jesus said on the cross.... " forgive them for they know not what they do."  

This same man ended up dying at 54 years old of cancer.  The last years of his life he spent working and sharing the love of Jesus daily at a local park.  When he did not show up one day, the people who looked forward to his daily visits at the park reported it and found out he had passed in his small apartment. 

In his journal by his bed - his last entry read: 

"All that is not the love of God has no meaning for me.  I can truthfully say that I have no interest in anything but the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. If God wants it to, my life will be useful through my words and witness. If he wants it too, my life will bear fruit through my prayers and sacrifices. But the usefulness of my life is his concern, not mine. It would be indecent of me to worry about that."

We are embracing the lesson for us this morning that ...we should not worry or work hard at the significance of our lives, let God use us how He will.  Let us pray for a heart settled with God on who we are and who we are not and live a life of love.  

 

True Discipleship

"The heart of discipleship lies in commitment and worship, NOT reflection and theory."  - Brennan Manning 

This quote caused some lively conversation about what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus.  It's easy to say you are a disciple of Christ and to even do some things that look like it (read your Bible, pray, join a small group...) but many stop half way. 

There are plenty of Christians who will give up possessions, friends and honors but it touches them too closely to disown themselves.  

Plunging yourself into a series of spiritual activities or lengthening your prayer time or getting involved in a church organization is not the sort of activity we are called to, we are called to a life completely commited to following God all the way, not half way.  A life of surrender without reservation.  No matter what it requires from us. 

“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Matthew‬ ‭10:38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

Steps ordered by God

Sometimes we can be so distracted by what other people think and say that it totally spins us out.  We are feeling good about a certain direction or decision and then BAM, a friend says "seriously?" And now you are feeling like , now what? 

Been there?

While seeking wise counsel is good, we must seek God first and never allow others to take His rightful place.  

We heard a message yesterday about control and how we so like to be in  control of the outcome, of what others think of us and even what they do. 

Our egos and  our pride get in the way and we miss out on God's best by trying to manipulate the outcome.  LET GO!

Stop wasting time and energy on what is HIS alone  to determine  and start trusting Him with every little thing. 

Life is too short and precious to live in fear of the future and the unknown.  God offers us peace freely by trusting that He is enough and he's got this.  So let's lean in today and live different than yesterday -  be free!!!

 

Faith & Action

When I was a teen, I remember a youth leader telling me that I will receive victory in life ONLY to the degree that I trust God. 

That statement, changed my faith to action, it wasn't long after I was boarding a plane to go to India for 3 months and God met me there in the middle of the poverty and despair. I'll never be the same. 

Now, a few years have gone by  (well maybe more than a few) and life has ebbed and flowed and with it my faith has increased and yes decreased.  I've had amazing "walk on water" moments and some of the darkest nights of my soul with what felt like not even a mustard seed of faith left. 

One thing I'm learning with my age and experience is that truly God meets you as you GO.  So many times we don't know the details, the plan or what the outcome will be, but faith in action steps out into the unknown and trusts God to do the rest. 

Leaning into His sufficiency stretches us, so let us boldly ask for God to increase our faith as we  move forward, go, trust  and step out and find Him there.  

 

Seek First

Our family verse for 2017 is Matthew 6:33, it has been a lighthouse for us as we make decisions and journey this season of life.  

We are learning to not set out to establish our own plans, but rather to resign everything into His hands, to be obedient to His still small voice and wait for Him.  We have seen the wisdom in this through running ahead and paying the consequence of it!!!

Ahhh!!

Let's not interfere in His work nor hinder His plans, but rather resign to His way and SEEK Him first and let Him take care of the rest!!!!  

 

Increase my Faith

James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, ask of God who gives liberally and without reproach..."

We had a really great and real conversation this morning about letting our guard down and conforming to this world. We live in a culture that will steal away your purity and simplicity and justify the consumerism over produced in hearts and our lives.  We pray - God give us wisdom in this battle. 

The days ahead may call for greater endurance and more robust faith than we've ever needed before.  Let's seek Him above all else and apply our heart to yield to His wisdom to overcome this world.  

Lord, increase our faith.  

 

God Sees You

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

 Ephesians 2:10

We heard a great message yesterday about seeing yourself  as God sees you. We all have critics, naysayers and people who just want to bring us down, but God says we are mighty warriors, redeemed, valuable, important, empowered, gifted, wanted, secure and chosen. 

Romans 8 says "...NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ...."

We were reminded from Judges 6 that Gideon had a moment where he wasn't feeling it... he was listening to others and his own negative self talk and the angel of the Lord said... "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!"  Nice.  God sees what we can't. 

Forge forward into the truth of who you are in Christ and stop looking back, you are not going that way!!

 

Where God is

Jer. 45:5

"Seek thou great things for thyself?"

Oswald Chambers challenged us this morning - 

Are you seeking great things for yourself?  If you have only come the length of asking God for things, you have not come to the a place of abandonment, you have become a Christian from your own standpoint. OUCH 

Instantly God can put his finger on our motives if we are not seeking to simply know Him , but rather for what He can do for us.  Don't be deceived, get quiet and still and ask God to search your heart and bring you to a place of complete surrender and desire to know Him. You will find God Only in that vulnerable place. 

"It hurts to feel life.  To pause. To stop and listen to your own breathing. But you have to lay yourself open to it all.  Because that's where God is. There is no life apart from God, because God is not apart from life.  If you turn away, if you run, you will miss both."  - Heather Harpham 

 

Sturdier than the Original

Gen 50 "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."

We read a story that Jen Hatmaker shared in her book "Of Mess and Moxey" about her dog shredding a very special heirloom blanket of her daughters that her mother in law knit for her. 

He tried to bury it in the backyard. 😩😮

She was so upset and took it to her mother in law and told her she didn't want another new blanket she just wanted this blanket.  Her mother in law (Jacki) washed the shredded yarn pile by hand, sorted out all the tangles and knots, and slowly, tenderly, over weeks and weeks, put the blanket back together, slightly different than before, but using all the same threads.  It was actually sturdier than the original. 

Sturdier than the original. 

The story of Joseph's life in Genesis 50 shows how God rewove the tattered shreds of his life together for good. The threads of hate, deceit, abandonment and injustice were refashioned into a beautiful story..... using all the same threads... sturdier than the original. 

In the face of despair, brokenness, pain or whatever you are going through ... we have this hope that as we come out of it we will be "sturdier than the original".

We can trust Him to reweave our lives. 

 

Back to School - 2017

Ephesians 5:14 "Arise from the dead!"

Today is a special day, it's a day I've thought of in my mind often that was in our future, way out there ... and now it's here, upon us this day.

All 3 in high school together. 

Freshman Kadin

Junior Livia

Senior Devin 

Ok, give me a sec.... gotta take a breath. 

Our summer was busy with moving and adjusting to change.  I'm telling you, these 3 can do hard things.  "From the mouths of babes" and "childlike faith"  has never been in more true form to me than now.  They have embraced our downsizing experience like bosses and have brought us all to the resolve of new place  + new pace = new perspective. 

So proud. 

This morning we are back at our familydevo  blog. We read a simple text as an example of what Jesus says to us about our life.  We have ideas, dreams and visions and then somewhere along the way we realize we have no power to make them happen or we spin out due to life circumstance and so we slow down until we stop... give up, give in. Then God says "Arise!"  Our choice is, will we?  Do we get up?!  We must!  Like the leper asking for healing and the lame wanting to walk ... he said "arise!" And THEN they were healed, THEN they walked!  We must take the initiative to overcome by getting up , by obeying and rising up and when we do a remarkable thing happens - He gives us life immediately.  

From death to life, we are overcomers because of His great love for us. Let's arise today and be overcomers!

 

He is Near

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭73:23-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In the midst of difficulties, loneliness and pain He is my support.  He is the light in my darkness. His beauty and radiance is all the lovelier in that darkness ....yes it's true.  

In my grief, in my dispair and in my failure - His touch is more tender , more real and more kind to me.  It is most welcome. 

Rejoice oh my soul.....for He is Near. 

He holds my hand. 

 

Vision = Provision

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37:4‬ ‭NIV‬

In our journey this past year we've learned in real life what it means to wait on God and to understand His promise that He will be with us, as we step into the great unknown.  

Praying ferociously not for answers but to know Him and to trust Him.  Working hard at whatever work is out in front of us like it depends on us, knowing ultimately that we rest and rely only on His final work to bring about the good in all we do. 

Oswald Chambers said "Let God be as original with other people as He is with you."  Sometimes people can't see His hand moving in your life like you can, and that's ok because our faith doesn't ride on if others "can see it or feel it" , our faith rides on who God is and when God gives a vision he always makes provision.   Too many voices and opinions weighing in to your call can cause confusion and distraction. Seek the face of one, your God. 

Delight yourself in the Lord .... in all you do .... He sees you, He knows you and He will give you the desires of your heart.