Month: April 2017

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– John 1:12

Our little niece’s birthday is coming up, so for part of her gift, she got books to practice writing her numbers, letters, and shapes. They came with paintbrushes that get filled with water. When she traces the main pictures, invisible items become visible. It will be quite the surprise the first time she does it! When it dries, the hidden pictures disappear again.

She’s a bit shy around people she doesn’t know very well. We live in different states, so we don’t get to see her too often. It’s understandable that she would have some hesitation around us. She’s so precious when she hides her face because one of us is looking at her! I wonder if she believes that if she can’t see us, we aren’t really there. She innocently hopes we all become invisible!

That same little girl wanted a piggyback ride the other day from me, and when she wrapped those little arms around my neck, she told me how much she loved me. I was visible again! All was right in my world when I heard those sweet, wonderful words from her.

What’s cute for a three-year-old to do isn’t so cute for adults (or even older children) to do. Have you ever been in the middle of a sentence when someone just walked away from you? You look down just to make sure you didn’t turn invisible!

Just feeling you aren’t being heard can make you feel inferior, but that’s a lie that the devil wants us to believe. We aren’t less than any other person because of what someone else insinuated. We have a choice at this point; we can feel insulted or find humor in the situation.

I found something on the computer that I challenge you to try with me. When you’re feeling a bit invisible, say, “So, I’m invisible to you now? That’s cool, I’ve always wanted a superpower.”  I’m guessing things will probably go better for you if you do this in your mind rather than out loud.

Laugh at the devil’s schemes to put us down. Don’t allow him to use others in order to make you feel inferior. We’re children of God…how inferior can we really be?

On the flip side, we need to take a look at how we interact with others. Are we the ones making others feel invisible even if we aren’t meaning to? Wouldn’t it be great to build up and encourage every chance we get? Let others know we think they’re important by the way we treat them. It can make everything seem right in someone’s world. Whatever we wish would happen to us, we should give that gift to others!

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17

A great way to get from point A to point B is to walk. I love to walk! Walk…not ride a bike, not jog…walk. I can walk with the best of them. The guys think I go into some turbo-charged mode at times because they can’t keep up. I can’t help it they prefer a leisurely stroll most of the time!

I never rode a bike a whole lot, but a couple of years ago my oldest decided I needed to prove I could ride one. I never said I couldn’t ride a bike, I said I don’t ride bikes. I don’t have as much control on those two wheels as I have with my two feet on the ground.

I was able to make it around the house just fine, although I did have to yell for everyone to get out of my way because I wasn’t sure I could stop. Maybe that’s why I ran into a shed when I was younger. The stopping might have been an issue even back then.

The youngest is in the midst of a personal fitness challenge for scouts. I don’t know how many times I’d tell them to keep up when we were walking the pup. It’s a little different now because he’s keeping track of his time. When it’s written down, all of a sudden we’re competing with the time from the day before. When we first started I would say, “You’re slowing down, do you want to slow down?” He’d pick up the pace again.

He’s really taking this seriously, and I’m so proud of him! One problem…he feels he needs to beat that time by quite a bit each day. What does that mean? Well we can’t go any faster walking, so now we’re jogging. When he started it would be for a few short bursts. No big deal! Now the few short bursts are the times we slow down. In order for me to stick with him due to safety, I’m jogging. I. Don’t. Jog. Apparently I should say that I didn’t jog. Even though I’m gasping for breath my feet are telling me I’m jogging.

I’ve been in desperate need of some faith on these “walks” we’re supposed to be on. As I’m chugging along, I’m telling myself how I don’t fear anything because there’s nothing to fear. I’m strong! (Isaiah 41:10) I’m basically telling myself how I don’t have to fear my legs are going to turn to jelly and stop supporting me because I have faith! I don’t have to fear that someone will stop to say hello, but I’ll be too out of breath to respond. I tell myself how I can run and not grow weary. (Isaiah 40:31) I picture myself soaring like an eagle…their legs aren’t having to pump like mine are!

Today, if you want to increase your faith drastically, go jogging with a pre-teen. You’ll find that time to communicate with God as your begging for His help and listening to His messages coming from your lips! Oh, I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me! (Philippians 4:13)

 

They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. 1 Chronicles 16:1

My boys were excited to search for Easter baskets this year. My oldest didn’t take long to find his, but for the youngest, it was more difficult. It was hidden really well! They pulled them out, but only saw the grass and eggs that were in there from before. It surprised me that they weren’t disappointed not seeing any treats! It didn’t even seem to phase them because they were so happy to have been on the hunt.

Think back to the joy of watching a little one receiving a present in a gift bag. He’d pull all the tissue paper out and find the gift. After that, he’d turn it upside down and give it a good shake just to make sure he wasn’t missing anything!

As we saw with the boys, when we start getting older, we begin to control our responses and urges to tear into a present because we don’t want to seem rude or just maybe, we don’t want to be disappointed of what might not be there. We learn this is the “appropriate” response. Just think for a moment though…have we ever missed out on something because we’re only looking on the surface? We could’ve been missing the real gift!

I suggested the boys dig a little into the baskets to make sure they weren’t missing anything. Their eyes were huge when under the grass they found some special surprises! They nearly passed by some blessings that were waiting for them to find.

Upon getting older, we tend to stop digging to find what’s on the inside. Our expectations are way too low! Can you imagine being in Bible times and just walking past a tent because, well, it was a tent. What was inside? The ark of God! Oh wow!

Have big expectations and be careful not to just look at the outward appearance of a situation or a person. Do a little digging! If not, you might be missing out on something really special.

 

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3

On our way home from town the other night, we were having a nice conversation when a deer came running across the road. My hubby was driving and saw it right away. He slammed on the breaks, but I knew it wasn’t possible to miss that deer. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion, but I was oddly calm. Three words just popped out of my mouth. I said, “Just hold on.”

It looked like the deer just disappeared from view for a moment, and returned as if it came out from under the front of the vehicle. There was never a noise or a movement showing we hit it. The deer ran down over the hill to water as if nothing happened. The situation said that it had to have been hit, but there was no indication that ever occured. Everyone was fine, but we wanted to check the car. We pulled over as soon as we could, and my hubby got out to look.

He came back in shaking his head. We didn’t hit the deer. There wasn’t even a piece of hair on the bumper. We immediately offered up more praise because we knew that by all in the natural world, it was impossible to have missed that deer. We got a lesson on how everything can change in an instant. We also got to see God’s protection in action.

I have to tell you that I was listening to a message about signs that morning. When I had prayed, I asked God to send a sign about whether homeschooling was still right for us. You see, years ago, I asked God to confirm what I was feeling about school, and He did. Sure enough my hubby and I both received a sign in a particular bird we saw. We knew that we were in the will of God.

As everything was quiet that night, I was asking God if there was something that I was supposed to learn from that deer. Instead of seeing a hawk or an eagle, which I figured would’ve told me to keep homeschooling, we nearly hit a deer! Did this mean something?

God reminded me of a page from a book a copied quite some time ago, so I went to search for it. It talked about a deer being graceful, gentle, and loyal. It’s always on alert for an enemy that is waiting to attack it or its fawn. It said how we should have a gentle, quiet spirit, but at the same time we should be alert to the sin our enemy, Satan, would try to make us fall into.

It also talked about how our hearts should long to know God the same way a deer longs for water. It said that the two times a deer most wants water is when it flees from danger or when it has been in battle with an opponent. We should thirst for God’s Word, the living water, when we are in danger of sin. His word alone quenches the heart that is thirsty for God. I wish I had the name of the book to tell you.

That was really nice, but I still didn’t understand what I was to take from that for my situation. I figured that God would let me in on it when He was ready. The next day, I felt prompted to remember the words I spoke in the vehicle as everything happened. It was a little foggy, so I asked the boys to be I remembered correctly. They agreed that I said, “Just hold on!”

It all came to me at once! God didn’t need to repeat a sign that was already given. My hubby said the deer was initially going the opposite way, but turned around. I will not be asking God if I should homeschool again because He already gave me that sign! Now, I will remember the sign He gave me when we see struggles…Just. Hold. On.

Also, I need to be on alert for the enemy to attack because he never wants us in God’s will. I even need to remember that the devil will try all kinds of tactics. I need to make sure to keep returning to the living water.

As we look back at Jesus’s crucifixion, we see the biggest sign that can ever be given to us. I believe that’s why we see so many necklaces that are crosses. It helps us remember that God is close to us, loves us, gives us hope and shows us mercy.

Look for other signs of God talking to you today.  A yellow butterfly keeps fluttering by as I type this…I know what that means!

 

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3

I think I might have embarrassed my boys today…just a tad. I really couldn’t help myself. We were in an area that happens to have a store that decorates for Easter. I had been thinking about it, but my boys haven’t had any desire to go in recent years because they felt it was geared more for the younger audience. So, I didn’t mention going. My hubby did though. Yes! Believe it or not, the boys were for it.

This store has been around for years and I remember going when I was little with quite a few people in my family. I guess you could say that it brought out the young girl in me or maybe it was the young mother with excited little boys. I missed an important fact though…my boys aren’t so little anymore.  Plus, they’re boys.

It all began in the parking lot as the excitement started building. I suppose I even tried to take my youngest son’s hand. I got a look that pretty much said, “Are you kidding me?” I didn’t let it get me down though as I practically skipped into the store.

As soon as they saw the Lego Star Wars toys, it became a cool place to be again. That included my hubby. Me…I just wanted to see the decorations. When we got to that area, I had to point out everything I saw. I was just being helpful; I didn’t want them to miss anything. They were giving me funny looks and kept saying how they were glad I was excited. Hmm, what did that really mean?

“The Bunny Hop” was playing in the background as we were passing one of the decorated areas. When fun music is playing, one must dance and sing along right? The boys were acting embarrassed because I may be a believer in that philosophy. I just want it to be on record that I was not the only person celebrating life today by doing the bunny hop.  I had no control…the joy is bubbling out!

Easter should be focused on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Those were the final scenes, and they were beautiful as always. This is the reason we’re able to celebrate! This is the very reason to show excitement like children. This is why we can be so in awe of the world around us. It makes us humble and just like children…dependent…on Him!

Children love to learn right? I challenge you to become like children, do some learning, and come to an even greater realization of the true reason we have to celebrate. Next, find a way to express your appreciation just like children would for a fantastic gift. If it’s simply to let others see you radiating joy with a smile and maybe even a little dance, I say to go for it!

 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I had to run into the store today for two things…only TWO things. My oldest wanted to get a shopping cart, but I said, “Nah, we only need two things.”

He gave a little sigh and said, “Ok Mom,” like he didn’t believe me. I knew what I was getting…TWO things. I didn’t know what his problem was.

In the first aisle the boys started looking, but I kept them on track. You see, I have to be careful because as soon as my human garbage disposals see food I’m in trouble. They are two growing boys that apparently are never full.

By the end of the first isle I realized I needed to pick up some berries too. Then, the oldest said he really needed spinach. How could I say no to healthy food? The youngest agreed we had to get bananas, and I got the tomatoes I went in for. Oh, wait…we needed some wheat buns. We made it down the first isle. This didn’t look good! How did this happen?

The next thing I knew, the boys were getting cereal and cranberry juice. What was that in my youngest son’s hand? Things were out of control…we had no shopping cart! Every person was juggling food, and I’m not sure if I could see faces at one point.

When all the groceries were on the conveyer belt, I was quite surprised. Who’s groceries were they? Surely not mine because I only needed two things, which I managed to only get one of the two items I needed. I guess we did need that cart.

Looking back, I don’t know how we were able to keep all the items in our arms from dropping. I’m pretty positive if there was one more thing piled on, we not only wouldn’t have been able to keep hold of it, the rest of the food would’ve gone tumbling too. We can only carry so much.

It got me thinking how we get that way in life too. We try to take care of too many things that we aren’t even called to take care of. We start juggling so many things that we’re about to lose something because we can only handle so much on our own. The only thing I know for sure is that we’re called to have a relationship with God. It’s simple. When we give it all to Jesus, I guarantee you He won’t be dropping anything.

Today, take a load off. Hand it all over so you can focus on learning and obeying. Listen to find out what you’re called to do instead of what you feel you have to do. The weight of all your commitments and projects will cause things to go tumbling before long. Get some rest!

It seems foolish to run around like we do with our arms full when all we have to do is unload our burden into a cart…or give it to Jesus.

 

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; Psalm 37:23

When I was twelve or thirteen years old, I kept getting sore throats. I would have to go to the doctor’s office where they’d inform me I had tonsillitis again. Finally, I was told that my tonsils would have to be removed through surgery.

Since I’d be missing a week or two of school, I got my assignments so I didn’t get behind. My mom stocked up on Jell-O for as soon as I got home from the hospital and ice cream for later on. My bed was moved into the living room because Mom wanted to be close to me in case I needed her. With all these changes, the time came to head to the hospital.

I met with a very nice hospital staff and was finished with surgery in no time. They got me moving and sent me home. There was a problem though. They made sure I knew that I wouldn’t be eating solid foods for a while; however, they gave me medicine I had to take that was big pills. Please explain to me how that medicine was to go down a throat when I was simply having trouble swallowing! Do you remember me saying that I couldn’t eat solid foods? The medicine would get stuck.

Even at that age, I realized there was something not quite right with my situation. Why wasn’t I given the medicine in liquid form? It would’ve made my life so much easier!

I was thinking of how often I try to take on something I’m not quite ready for. Maybe I’m not mature enough in a certain area or I’m rushing ahead of God’s plan. Both of those things will get me frustrated and cause a whole lot of unnecessary discomfort. It would have been so easy to take the liquid medicine, then move on to pills instead of forcing the pills before my throat could handle them. That’s the same way with life.

Baby steps can be strong, firm steps and the best way to see success. It would be so much better to stop rushing things and move forward slowly. We don’t want to end up in worse shape than before from trying to do too much too fast. When that happens, we have more of a tendency to quit because just like a baby who wants to run before walking, we’ll fall for sure!

Today, keep moving forward.  Just make sure you’re going at God’s pace.

 

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21

We had a few days of nice weather until it turned cold again. The snow came back and we were bundling up for our walks like before. As the oldest stepped outside, he started pushing snow off the steps with his sneakers. What in the world? Apparently we thought spring was here to stay, so we put the shovels back into the shed. I didn’t realize we were so anxious to move on with some sun and warm weather!

When we started our walk, it was really coming down. My youngest was laughing because our pup was turning white. We were all huddled in our coats, and the pup was getting to be a sloppy mess! What did we expect? Doesn’t this happen every year? When it starts turning warm, we’ll go back to having a few cold days. That’s life!

Sometimes we think that when we’re on track and moving forward, what’s in the past will stay in the past. We think that we’ve gotten through the problem or over the hurt. We really believe that we’ve worked through whatever struggle we were having and that season in our life is over.

Be prepared with a clue from nature. There can be a time of two steps forward and one step back. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to go through the past all over again; it’s just part of the changing of the seasons. It’s here only for a short time and all you need to do is stay strong for a day or two and you’ll be seeing the sun again!

Trust that the difficult times really will be behind you and the new season will be here to stay!

 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5

My hubby has taken over science class for the boys and he’s bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm because he’s so passionate about what he’s teaching. I have to tell you that I’m enjoying it too because it sure takes the pressure off me having to figure out all the experiments!

I didn’t want the hubby to feel like I abandoned ship though, so the other night I decided to help encourage real world application. I took a bottle of Gatorade and dropped it onto the basement floor letting quite the stream flow out. Fine…maybe I was just being klutzy! Anyway, I called for help and that hero of mine came running to my rescue. He didn’t even get annoyed; he got excited! WHAT? He really did conduct an experiment with the Gatorade flowing on the basement floor.

Whether it was the devil knocking that bottle out of my hand or not, God already had a plan for the mishap. He took care of me and my cup certainly did overflow to a fun teaching moment.

The next time you feel like things are going wrong, recognize it really could be the devil trying to irritate you and make you leave God’s presence by leaving His peace. Just say, “Nope, my table is already prepared. See all the good stuff? I’ll just walk around the mess you’re trying to use to detain me so I can quickly reach that table that overflows with God’s love.”

 

The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10

When my oldest was young, he was quite the little cowboy. We spent quite a bit of time on a dairy farm, and the kids there used to hold him so he thought he was sitting on a calf. When that little calf started bucking, he couldn’t stop the giggles. Then, all we’d have to do to keep him occupied was give him some twine from one of the hay bales, and he became the greatest leader of all time. He had such loyal followers! Yep, the barn cats were his playmates.

After putting away the muck boots and putting on the cowboy boots, he’d exchange his green John Deer hat for his cowboy hat to go to the rodeo. He’d stand there tall and proud with that little hat over his heart with his head bowed during a moving prayer. That hat was still there as the National Anthem was sung and the American flag, being held by a cowgirl galloping by on horseback, came waving past us.

That little cowboy exchanged those denim and boots for a sharp looking scout uniform, but still stands tall and proud while saluting the flag just as he did all those years ago. Yes, that little boy with blue eyes and freckles is now bigger than me, but kept with him many life lessons learned within the walls of a barn and in the world of animals. Just like the Chris Ledoux song, I look at how our little boy’s grown and know we’ll soon be turning him loose.

He started learning life lessons within the whitewashed walls of a barn. He learned to care for the needs of animals, he began to understand about life and death, and he got a glimpse of how we need to rely on God. A person can’t control the rain, the weather, the crops, or even sickness. We are dependent on Him. When we begin to think we’ve got everything under control, we’ll often get a lesson on how that isn’t true. These are lessons that he’ll take with him as he grows from boy to man.

Do you need reminded that God gave us certain responsibilities that He expects us to carry out? We’re His stewards. Are we helping care for His animals and people? Are we seeing things with a loving heart because we know that love is the best way to show we’re dependent on Him? We’re only able to show others the truths that are within ourselves.

I challenge you to ride to an animal or a person’s rescue today with a kind act or word.  Do it to honor God!