Such contrast...so sad

This morning at church we heard a great sermon on the psalms and in particular, Psalm 1. In this Psalm, we are shown that there are 2 paths that each person is on. We choose, in lots of little decisions throughout the day, which path we are going to walk on. We choose, in lots of big decisions too.

We read, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked....but his delight is in the law of the Lord...He is like a tree planted by streams of water...In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff that the wind drives away....The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

So what is the abundant life? the "perfect" life? Christ came so that each person may have life and have it abundantly (See John 10). A life committed to Jesus may not look perfect from the outside and is certainly not without struggle and tears. BUT, and that is a very big BUT, it is certainly a life of abundant and perfect joy, the perfection of Christ which cleanses us and redeems us, and an eternal life in and with Him.

Then I came home and opened the paper to read something very sad. On the front page of the Indy 500 insert is the main story entitled "He's got it All"...."Dario Franchitti has the movie star wife, two Indy 500 titles and all sorts of wonderful hobbies. It's a perfect life..."

Unfortunately, that author is not joking or being sarcastic. And there are millions of people who share his view and see Dario's life as perfect, as "having it all". I don't know Dario and so I will not presume to think I know whether or not he knows the Lord. But, what is sad is that we all can fall into this line of thinking. We think that things, stuff, fame, power, money, etc. lead to "having it all."

Let's not forget that this man, like every single person on earth, has hard times, struggles, tragedies, fears, temptations, failures, etc. Do Indy 500 titles help in those times? Does a movie star wife compared to a "regular" housewife help any more in those times? Do fun hobbies fill voids that only Christ can fill?

Its easy to skim past how these lies creep up in our own lives but maybe I could turn the questions a bit to fit us. Do job promotions or high-paying jobs help in hard times? Does a spouse, friend, or child comfort us more than Christ in those times? Do hobbies, shopping, sports, music fill voids that only Christ can fill or do we go to those things for comfort and peace instead of Christ?

May we, on this day, choose to walk the path that is centered on God's truth and that truly leads to the abundant life that includes "having it all"...peace, holiness, righteousness, God's power, love, truth....and the list goes on.

Best Mother's Day Ever

Granted I've only had 3 mother's days, but, nonetheless this was the best by far. After a great message at church and the wrapping up of 2 years in the book of Matthew, we headed home to do nothing more than relax. For brunch, my wonderful husband made my favorite brunch type meal...cheese blintzes drowned in a strawberry topping. After spending some time outside, my wonderful husband again gave me the royal spa treatment. He knows how much I love being pampered and so I received both a massage and a FACIAL!! From none other than Mr. B himself! What a trooper...as I scrambled to find every face product I own and then proceeded to explain what to do. He definitely is wired to be an engineer but in his heart he is the biggest most selfless servant I know personally. For dinner, he made me my favorite BLT pizza on the grill, we ate outside, went on a walk and then watched a movie at night while devouring chocolate cakes in a mug. My gift from Mr. B and the two little B's is a chaise lounge to put on our patio for those rare moments I can sunbathe in my backyard!

My most favorite part of this Mother's Day which is truly straight from the hands of my oldest is pictured below which he made at preschool...

The mug, as you can see, is somewhere between hideous and abstract and I absolutely LOVE IT!! I am so excited to drink my coffee from it. He may not be an artist but that little boy as a HUGE heart.

Lastly, the mug was supposed to be a surprise, which Noah informed me weeks before when he told me he had a secret that he was making a mug for me and I was not to tell anyone because it was a secret. You gotta love little kids!

AWOL?

That has been me....majorly absent! I can't believe it has been almost 2 MONTHS since I've written. And that's not a good thing. Life got a little hectic in March between working, birthdays and vacation. But honestly, I have kinda crawled under a rock. Not physically obviously but emotionally or mentally or something personal like that. It's like when you see a hermit crab curl back into his shell. Reason? Nothing specific other than our human nature. At least mine. The Lord calls us to keep our eyes on Him, on serving Him and others. And when we don't, we start looking at ourselves. Over time, we became so focused on our own day-to-day problems, schedules, tasks that we in essence become hermit crabs stuck in our shell.

Well, no more! By the Lord's grace, I'm comin' out of the shell and back into the world that exists for more than just me :) It doesn't mean the day-to-day problems, schedules and tasks disappear. But, I have decided they don't need to rule me or overtake me. One of my favorite songs reminds me that nothing is too big for us because Christ Jesus has already overcame. It goes, "All authority, every victory is yours!"

May we not forget that chaos, lack of sleep, crazy schedules doesn't mean we have to curl into our self-absorbed and self-focused shells. We can face it with grace and the peace of God because Christ has overcome and every victory is His...including our seemingly "too big" problems!

Check out this link to listen to the song....awesome lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjYWrpNoCs

Resting on promises

I love singing. Its one of those passions I've had since a little girl that nonetheless lead to many nights, while lying on my Rainbow Brite sheets, dreaming of how I would someday stand on a stage in a large venue and proudly belt out lyrics no doubt similar to Debbie Gibson.Well, thankfully, that never happened as it was both a foolish and self-centered dream. However, I still just as much enjoy belting out praises to my God. I love listening to lyrics of songs and allowing my heart to so powerfully connect with the words.

Growing up in a more conservative church, we sang a lot of hymns and more "choral" time songs. There was one song in particular I remember singing quite often and still sing when we visit my parent's church. My mom may resonate with some of this as she loves singing and the Lord has blessed her with the gift. But this one song, I now read in scripture and wonder how its possible that I've sang it all these years without allowing it to connect with my heart. As I read these words in scripture I'm both humbled and extremely grateful for the love and strength of my Lord. How is it that I've sang these verses so many times and yet never felt anything? 

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." Lamentations 3:23-27

Now, all those verses aren't in the song but I found myself even as I read them in the bible skimming over them as I heard the song in my head. I noticed they weren't really registering with my heart. Its possible to do this I suppose, with any song really that uses scripture as lyrics.

Oh, but may we just rest today on the Lord's wonderful promises....his steadfast love, his love for us that never (NEVER) ceases, his mercies on us that will NOT end, his mercies on us that are new each morning, his great faithfulness (even when we are NOT faithful), his goodness to those who wait for him, to those who seek him. May we, like the writer in Lamentations, say and resolve that the Lord IS my portion.

I pray that today the Lord will be my portion and that I will hope in him. I pray the same for you. And I pray that as we sing and worship, especially when singing scripture, that we will remember we are speaking God's holy words and that we will never skim over them.

Lastly, for those of you who shared my love for Rainbow Brite, I just couldn't help but put this in....just to stir up good memories....

Rewind and REPEAT

Haha...I just thought I'd share an additional post probably stating what ya'll are thinking already. Does she remember what she just wrote about a week or two ago?!?

I just read some of my previous post "80/20" and realized that I should tattoo a bunch of things on myself, maybe then it would sink in. :)

Well, thanks in advance, for your grace and patience with me as you read things that may seem repetitive. But, the Lord is having to rewind and repeat things for me until it gets through my THICK head!  Praise you Lord for being persistent, slow to anger, and patient!

Planning gone awry

It has been a while since I've written on here, and mainly because I've allowed myself to get caught up in a whirlwind of perfection. Surprised? Probably not. But I spent a good part of the last 2 weeks focusing (correction: obsessing) on my role as a homemaker and a teacher to my children (mainly just one little guy right now). I became so consumed with things for a few days that I found my times in prayer distracted and disjointed - all because my thoughts and my "devotion" were on something else.

Then I read Colossians 2:8-10..."See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ....in Him you have been made complete."

Its not that the things I was focusing on were deceiving or even worldly-focused. I've been spending a lot of time researching and in the beginning stages of creating/finding a teaching plan for Pumpkin (my 3 yrd old) since I'll be a full-time SAHM (stay-at-home-mom). The ideas and curriculum we will be mainly using is written by a Christian missionary SAHM and her curriculum both is based on and focuses on Christ. BUT, for a few days I was so consumed with things that it was in a sense taking me captive. Anything, even good things, can take us captive when they rise above Christ. When you base your identity, your worth, your time, etc. etc. on something other than Christ, it becomes empty deception.

"In Him you have been made complete"....Wow. Can we just stop and read that again? "In Him you have been made complete." There, I made your read it again :) Oh how I hope your soul leaps for joy when you read that as mine did and continues to every time I read it. Note: It doesn't say "perfect", it says "complete". No, unfortunately we won't be perfect until the day Christ returns (see Philippians 1:6). But we are complete! You, just as the Lord made you, are complete if you know Christ. You don't have to strive to be someone you aren't. You don't have to strive to be super-teacher or super-mom or super-worker or super-_______. No, you are already complete in Christ because HE has filled you with all you need for life and godliness (1 Peter 1:3).

Oh how the Lord is so gracious, compassionate and patient with me. Does anyone know where I can get "D.W.M." tattooed on my forehead?? Well, I guess then I wouldn't see it. I pray that the Lord would tattoo it on my heart! Just like a real tattoo, its a painful process but permanent in the end.

I pray that whenever you, whoever you are, read this post that you will spend a few minutes just contemplating on the profound truth that if you know Christ, know him as your Savior and Lord, that you are complete in Him. And then, praise Him! Throw off the lies that are hindering you and telling you that you aren't ______ enough. You are enough just as you are because you are filled with the Savior of the world!

20/80

Maybe its our you-can-do-it-yourself culture or perhaps just my quasi-perfectionist-sometimes-TypeA personality but I frequently catch myself trying to "improve" myself by my own efforts. I catch myself trying to build up my faith or make myself holier, etc. Its usually a frustrating process as, of course, my own efforts fail to produce the results and "improvement" I was hoping for. That is why, in the last few days, I have drawn so much encouragement from the following passages as the Lord has gently reminded me of something. It is not my job to come 90 or 80% of the way to let Him do the remaining 10 or 20%. It is not our job to "get ourselves right" and then come to the Lord for the "leftovers". He has gently reminded me of what I think is perhaps the exact opposite. It is my job to come 20% of the way with the little I have and in the ugly state I am in - to come to the Lord for the rest of the 80% or the "entree".

Paul reminds us in Colossians 1:21-23 of who we were before Christ, who we are now in Him, and why our do-it-ourselves attitudes just don't work in God's kingdom. "And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven."

Then in Colossians 1:29, "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

Looking at those passages...lets look at our jobs, our 20%...and then we'll look at what the Lord promises.
Our role: continue in the faith, remain stable and steadfast, don't shift from the hope of the gospel, toil for Christ and fellow believers
Christ's role: reconcile us, present us holy and blameless and above reproach, giving us his energy, powerfully working his energy in us

It isn't our job to make ourselves holy and blameless, to "get ourselves right" and then come to the Lord. No, it is just our job, our 20%, to push on toward Christ and TRUST in Him to make us more like Him.

That doesn't mean our 20% is easy or comes natural. But sometimes when you realize your job isn't as big as you thought it was, it seems more attainable.

So to myself and anyone else out there reading this, PUSH ON. Keep on striving. Just continue. Continue in truth, in prayer, in fellowship. Continue in love and grace. Remain stable and firm and steadfast - whatever that may take. Let go of perfection on your terms and let the ultimate perfecter perfect you himself.