You're not just talking to yourself

Does it ever feel overwhelming - the amount of things around you that need prayer?  I know I feel that way.  Between family, extended family, friends, church, finances, my kids, my husband, his work, and the list could go on - my head feels full.  I want to be a prayer warrior and pray for people when they ask for it but it's one more thing to remember!  My head is full.  Almost every time I start the water to wash dishes in the
kitchen sink I either forget to plug the bottom, walk off and a while later realize it's not full yet.  Or plug it, start the water and forget, and have it end up looking like this with a kid yelling "Mom the water's on!!"  I need help remembering things.

In the past I have split up things I pray for by the days of the week.  I try to pray for my husband and kids every day even if it's short but split up everything else so it's not overwhelming.  Like Monday my parents and siblings, Tuesday my in-laws and extended family, Wednesday church things, and so on.  It's important to write things down.  Do it however you want but write it down.  Get some kind of fun notebook and make lists (is that the old accountant in me?)  Use note cards, excel, or your ipad.  Whatever floats your boat!  If you write them down then you can go back later and see answers to prayer.  I have notebooks from years ago and it's been neat to look back at them.  To remember feeling frustrated or unsure at the time but see how God was working through everything.

I've heard it said that prayer should be like an open line of communication with God- picture an old school phone on your shoulder all day or your smart phone in your hand ready to text everything.  If you set aside times of day for praying for specific things that helps.  Morning or before bed quiet times are common for the general everything, but praying for specific things during your commute to work, your lunch hour or when you're making dinner might make it easier to get it done.  Any time that you've got a little free head space from other things.  You can also use seeing certain things as a reminder to pray.  Like, when you go out the front door you'll remember to pray for your husband's work day.  Or when you see the fridge pray you'll for your child's day at school.

I love Kay Arthur and this book was a good one.  I don't love the name of it but it was a quick read and did give some good information on prayer.

Stormie O'Martian has a series of books on prayer and I've liked the ones I've read.  What I most loved about them was the prayers at the end of each chapter.  She used Bible verses to make up prayers.  Years ago I went through her prayers in the book "The Power of a Praying Wife".  I typed them all out and changed them to apply to us and then had them in my Bible as I prayed for my husband.  Praying scripture adds some oomphf to our prayers.  God tells us that His Word is living and active and that it will not return void.  Praying scripture also ensures that we're aligning our prayers with God's will.  You won't get shallow prayers like "help me have a good day" when you're praying through scripture.  You'll get prayers like this:

Lord your word tells us that You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.  Help me to trust in you (Is 26:3).

The Bible also tells us to pray without ceasing.  Making it not just a nice idea - it's a command.  And any command from God should be taking seriously.  He's got a reason for it!

1Thessalonians 5:16-18
 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

Ephesian 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

We don't have a God that is off doing His thing while we're doing ours.  We have a God who hears us.  He wants us to pray (talk to Him) and it changes things.  There are lots of examples in the Bible of people who talked to God and it made a difference.  I'm reading in Exodus right now so one example that comes to mind is this:  Moses was nervous about speaking to Pharaoh and told God, who then let him bring along his brother Aaron.  There are so many verses that talk about how God hears us.  Here are just a few:

Hebrews 11:6
 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;

Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

You know you're old when...

I just had a birthday and I am usually fine with this aging process.  Sometimes I feel old though.  In thinking through it I made a list that maybe you can relate to.  You know you're old when:

1.  You forget how old you are.  Who does that?  Old people!
2.  6:30am is really sleeping in and going to bed at 9pm is a treat.
3.  Your texts have to have proper punctuation.
4.  And because of that your texts are really long.  Like an email long.  They end up being 6 or 7 messages in someone's inbox.
5.  You have ever worried about smooshing the bread.  Why is it that the bread is the first thing you come to at the store?  So then you have to spend the entire shopping trip rearranging it in the cart and moving it to the top?
6.  You have ever had to increase the font size on your computer screen so you can stop squinting.
7.  P.J.'s and workout clothes are fairly interchangeable.  (Maybe that's a stay-at-home mom thing.)  I recently did this and ended up at Starbucks quite obviously in my jammies. Darn it.
8.  You are older than your dentist or doctor.  Don't they have to go to school for a really long time?  How is it possible that I am older than they are?
9.  You usually pull out the occasional gray hair but are starting to get too many for that to be wise.
10.  You vaguely remember things.  You have a vague memory of where you put something or some conversation and those "Aha!" moments of remembering are more subtle now.
11.  You retell stories.  Maybe over and over.  And forget who you told things to.
12.  Your bladder is an organ you are very much aware of.  Nuff said.
13.  You have strong opinions about the "paper or plastic" question.
14.  You have "next day" hurts after you do things like play soccer with your kids or teach them how to do cartwheels.
15.  You used to love blended margaritas but for the sake of time will now settle for one with sonic ice.  Or no ice at all.

Do you have older people in your life that are hard to be around?  I think everyone probably does and I have a fear of turning into one of those.  I don't want to be a bitter crabby old lady that people have to pray for wisdom and patience to be around.  Maybe you are lucky enough to have a wonderful elderly person in your life.  Those people are such a special treasure (the wonderful ones not the crabby ones).  Nothing can replace the wisdom they have from their years experience.  Did you know that the Bible doesn't ever talk about retiring?  Retiring from ministry I mean.  And did you know that you are not only created for a purpose, but you are the only one who has the ministry reach that you do?  Each one of us was created with special gifts and abilities and has a unique reach for being able to minister to certain people in our lives.  The people I am able to reach is different than the people you are able to reach.  We know different people for starters but God gave you and I different strengths for ministry and different interests.

Are you using your gifts and abilities for the Lord?  That's why He gave them to you, you know.  Sometimes God asks us to do things that we really don't want to do, but often He uses things that we're interested in.  He gives us a heart for the ministry He'd like to see us in.  Do you like kids?  There is always a need for help in children's ministry.  Do you like to bake, take pictures, or write letters?  There are ministry opportunities there too.  Are you good with computers, know how to cut hair, or love to read?  Do you have professional training of some sort - accounting, legal, teaching, music?  Are you crafty?  Like to write?  God wants to use it!

1 Peter 4:10
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Crabby, hard to be around people are usually very self focused.  One way to combat that is to get involved in ministry.  Find a place to serve.  Pray about it!  God will lead you to where He wants you to be.  And if you are a parent don't forget that those little people in your charge are watching and learning from everything you do.  Involve your kids in what you're doing.  Take your kids along when your church has a work day, when you take dinner to someone, or when you're setting up for Cubbies.  My older girls especially have been watching as I prepare for Awana each week and it's a good thing!  They are joining us for prayer before club starts, helping me set out chairs, sweeping the room when it's done, and being a big help in their own Sparks groups.  My oldest is working hard at helping a little girl in her group that doesn't speak very much English and I'm so thankful for that!  God uses little people too and He gave your kids different gifts and abilities.

If you aren't sure where to get started, pray about it.  Ask at your church where you can help.  And pray about it!  Don't feel like you have the time?  Pray about that too.  It's amazing how God can give gifts of time.  Nervous about it?  That's ok too.  God will help you.

1 Thessalonian 5:24
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

I don't like meat (*gasp She said what?!?)

I am from Montana and in Montana, meat is a big deal.  I mean a really big deal.  The goal in life is to attain meat, buy, wrap and freeze  meat, learn to cook meat, and eat meat.  And I don't mean just any meat.  I mean red meat.  It is ingrained in your thinking and is a way of life that a person who is not from Montana just can't understand.  I just bought ground turkey for the first time last year.  I actually felt guilty about it and could picture my family cringing if they saw me and biting their tongues from all the smart remarks that came to mind.  (Or not biting their tongues and just saying them)  I said something to my husband about feeling weird and he said "It's just meat - What's the big deal?"  He is from California.  I wanted to shout "What do you mean what's the big deal?!?  It's turkey and it's not a bird at Thanksgiving?!"

The funny thing is, I have all these ingrained opinions about meat and I don't even like it.  I like chicken breasts, ham, jerky, and bacon, and that's about it.  I gag down other meats for the sake of the kids (I don't want them to be picky) but I really really dislike most meats.  And I've started to notice that I feel sick after I eat red meat.  Every single time.   It seriously took me until I was in my thirties to figure out that I didn't like it.  I was supposed to like meat!!!  It never really occurred me that I didn't have to like it or eat it - it was just a part of life.

The point of all of this:  the people you spend your time with, affect the way you think.  The people you surround yourself with influence your thinking.  So.  What do the people you spend time with think about?  What do they talk about?  What do they spend their time doing?  Because eventually it's gonna start to affect you.  It'll affect what you think about, talk about, and do.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. 

Do the people you spend time with bring out the best in you?  We have the ability to bring out the best in those around us but we also have the ability to bring out the worst.  And that goes double for those we are closest to.  We tend to "let our hair down" with our close family and friends.  You have an influence on those around you.  Are you doing, saying, and thinking things that are pleasing to God?  

We especially influence our children.  They see everything.  EVERYTHING that you are doing.  They are quietly (or not so quietly) watching every single thing you do.  If you lie to the guy at the door selling something or talk sweetly to someone on the phone and then talk nasty about them after you hang up, your kids probably saw that.  Or realize that someone gave you too much change but keep it instead of give it back.  They saw that too.  Are you watching things that you would be embarrassed to tell anyone about?  Or reading things that would raise eyebrows?  Because your kids catch on to that too.

I think I posted about this before but I recently went outside and heard one of my kids shout "Shut the dang door!!"  behind me.  Oh really?  NOT how you talk to your mother but she sounded exactly like me.  Our kids talk like us.  They often have the same fears that we do too.  If you act like a twit every time a cat walks by your kids do too.  If you are terrified of thunder your kids pick up on that too.  If you treat waitresses badly or are a crummy tipper, your kids are watching.  If you are a chronic complainer chances are you're raising complainers.  If you think eating red meat is important, your kids will feel that way too.  

 Something to think on today - what are you passing on to your kids?  What things are you etching into their little brains without even realizing it?  Is it pleasing to God?

The waiting phase

Do you ever feel a longing in your heart that you were created for something - you just don't know what? Or maybe you even know what, it's just not working out the way you wanted.  I have felt that way.  I am onto the next phase though and am firmly planted in the season of motherhood.  I craved this season and even though it's hard it's also wonderful.  THIS is what I'm supposed to be doing.  Training up these little people for the kingdom of God.  It feels good to be confident that you are doing exactly what God would have for you.  The ministry and other things I'm involved in feel that way too.  That it's exactly what God wants me to be doing.  Such a sense of peace comes from being exactly where we're supposed to be.

It takes the other seasons to get here though.  The seasons of waiting and praying I mean.  Those are important for learning and growth and even though waiting is no fun we can rest knowing that God has a plan.  This is my fourth year with Cubbies and I think this year as director is going pretty well.  I'm enjoying it and have a peace that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.  I couldn't have done this though without being a helper for those last three years.  And I didn't love those.  I did it because I felt like I was supposed to but it was not the highlight of my week.

I also did not love the "baby years".  Some things were fun but overall that was not my favorite.  I had to go through those years to get to the "little people years" though.  And I do love the "little people years".  As an aside - it's ok if you don't love every phase of your children's lives.  Moms feel guilty about so many things and one of them is not loving every single second of it.  It's ok if you don't!  God created you to click with the different parts better than others.  Just do your best and learn and grow from the ones that are hard for you.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Sometimes we know that we are currently in a phase of waiting.  Sometimes we don't.  If we are in constant contact with God and know that we're being obedient in whatever we're doing though, we will eventually get to that season where things feel like they fall into place.  Then it'll probably start all over again with another phase of waiting.  :)  Some of that learning from the waiting phase may not even be for us.  It might be for our spouse.  Your husband or wife may have something to learn from what you are going through.  Or maybe your kids.  Or your grandkids.  We might be learning something that is going to affect our entire family tree!

Isaiah 30:18  
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Maybe you are waiting out a pregnancy.  Or a rough patch with your spouse.  Or a school year with a crummy teacher.  Or a period of financial stress. Waiting is so hard.  Be encouraged though that it has a purpose.  God has a plan.  If you are in a season of waiting, He has something for you to learn from it and it won't last forever - "this too shall pass".  I was looking for a picture of a clock to add to this post and I loved this one.  What a good reminder.  


Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Let your kids amaze you

I have been crabby with my kids lately.  I hate that.  It has nothing to do with them - just busy "grown up" stuff - but they are the ones feeling it.  I was reminded from our Cubbies lesson last week how precious children are to God.  If you have kids they are a precious gift that we should be so thankful for.  This morning I walked through a big pee puddle barefoot because someone completely missed the potty.  It wasn't at the front of my mind then, what a gift that kid is to me.  We just had a battle to the death (or the nap) with our two year old, over eating her lunch and that didn't feel like a gift.  Two kids just got in a fight over having to share the "dancing space" in the living room and that didn't feel like a gift.  But those little people are.  And they need me.  They need me to love them unconditionally - through the pee puddles, and the lunch battles, and the dancing drama.

It seems like loving unconditionally should come easy to a mom but it doesn't always.  It's easier to give love when they are being good and obeying.  It's easier when I'm happy and getting my way and not walking through pee puddles.  But loving unconditionally means that no matter what is done you will love them through it.  That doesn't mean just the big stuff it means the little things too.  Putting down the phone, turning away from the computer and actually looking at them when they're trying to tell you something.  Remembering to hug and snuggle the seven year old and not just the baby.  Putting aside your own mental "stuff" when they climb in the car after school and want to tell you about their day.  These childhood years go by so quickly and before long they aren't going to want to tell you everything.  If you're not listening, eventually they'll quit trying to tell you things.

I recently realized that my five year old was reading "Charlotte's Web".  She loves piggies and found the book in our school cupboard.  I also found out that she can hula hoop for over two minutes while carrying on a conversation and walking around!  During my last exercise work out she did 109 step ups while holding five pounds.  She's also good at soccer, good at school, and can draw all sorts of animals.

I get so busy sometimes I forget to let my kids amaze me.  And when you have more than one kid it's hard to find one-on-one time where you would be paying attention to these sorts of things.  It was fun to find out all those things about my five year old.  I wish I'd been paying more attention though so I wasn't "finding out" anything.  There are so many blogs and reminders lately about this - spending more time with your kids, enjoying their little kid moments etc.  It's so hard to do though when you're just trying to survive your days.  When you're struggling, pray about it.  Pray that God would help you enjoy your kids.  He is so faithful to answer our prayers and can give us time and opportunities that we couldn't get by ourselves.

1 Thessalonians 5:24
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

The One who called you to motherhood is faithful.  He will help you - just ask!  Ask that He'll let you be amazed by your kids today and see if you learn anything new.

Through the bumpy

Have you noticed that when God asks you to do something, He doesn't do it like you would do it?  He doesn't make it easy and everything doesn't happen in a timely orderly fashion.  God doesn't ask us to do something when our calendar is completely blank.  He asks us when we're already busy and pressed for time.  He doesn't ask us to do things within our comfort zone.  He stretches us, asking us to go beyond that.  And He doesn't ask us to partner with our best friends for ministry.  He asks us to work with difficult people.

God does things like ask Noah to build an ark when it had never rained before.  He waited until Sarah is ninety years old to bless her with baby Isaac then  asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  He allowed Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery.  And He asked a man with a fear of public speaking  (Moses) to lead the Israelites.  God's ways are not our ways.

Isaiah 55:9
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God sees the big picture when we don't and He has a plan.  He wants us to trust Him and then obey Him.  Easier said than done!  Especially if you are a bit type A and like being in control.  The lesson on my mind most this last year is that God is sovereign.  He is in complete control and everything that happens to us was allowed by Him.  Every single difficult thing we go through has been allowed by God and He has a reason for it.  There's a sense of peace that comes when we remember this.  

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

God created people to know, love, and glorify Him.  When He asks things of us, He wants the glory for it.  If we're involved in ministry and it's easy, God wouldn't get the credit, we would.  If we don't ever have to pray for wisdom or ask for His help, it would be all about us.  How limiting that would be!  We serve a big God and when it's about Him (not us) it's going to be soo much better.  That doesn't mean it'll go smoothly or be easy but it's going to be better.  I used to pray that things would go smoothly.  That our day would go smoothly or whatever I was working on would go smoothly, but when things are smooth we don't get to see God in action.  I want to see God in action!  We get to see how God provides when things are bumpy.  Not that we need to pray for bumpy because life will just be that way, but instead my prayers now ask for wisdom through the bumpy.  Or ask for help through the bumpy.  Or I pray that the things I do and say would be pleasing to Him (through the bumpy).

Ephesians 3:20-21
 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ok maybe it does...

I had a blog post yesterday about how difficult Sunday mornings can be when you've got young children.  The perfect Sunday of a peaceful and wonderful morning just doesn't usually happen.  Today was pretty great though.  Several children in our Sunday school department accepted Christ.  That alone would have made the morning pretty great.  I really love this verse:

Luke 15:10
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Can you picture that?  What it must look like when the angels rejoice?  They are rejoicing today!!!  Praise the Lord!  My husband recently started helping with the third and fourth grade Sunday school class.  It wasn't easy to have my husband leave early to go help with Sunday school but I'm so very thankful that he did.  He got to be witness to something really amazing this morning.

He also gave blood for the first time today.  It's like he's changing before my very eyes because giving blood is not something that would have ever been on his radar before.  But he did it!  We were told that this was a huge day for the blood bank.  On a normal day they might get fifteen donations and today they got forty-two.  That's huge!  And they got one more than last year.  :)  When I had our last baby the surgery was very high risk and I lost a LOT of blood.  I needed a blood transfusion and  I'm grateful for blood donors!


At our church, Sunday school is during the first service and in the second service the younger kids can go to children's church.  We used to go to church while our kids were in Sunday school but now stay through both services.  Our oldest has never had communion before - not because we didn't feel she was old enough.  She is plenty mature enough to have the understanding of it all and she is a follower of Christ, but she just hasn't ever been in church when we were doing it. Today she was though.  And if there was any doubt in my mind that she had the understanding, today's sermon was about communion and she heard every bit of it.  What a precious thing for this mama to get to be with her when she had communion for the first time.  In my mind this is bigger than the first day of school or losing a tooth, this felt like a biggie.

As if all that wasn't enough, I got to go to my own Sunday school class starting today.  A class going through the Bible from cover to cover.  An entire hour of adult conversation WITH donuts!  My toddler was well cared for, my four year old had a ton of fun, and we came home to lunch in the oven.

Have you ever noticed how if you say "I will never..." then God has you do it?  I once said I would never marry someone from California.  I don't know why, but see how that worked out.  I'm glad that I said the perfect Sunday doesn't exist because I was blessed with a pretty good one today.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.