Are You Awake?

Yesterday I was reading Matthew chapter 24. It's all about the "end of the age," 

and teaches what will happen in the "end". Mostly though, it warns us to be ready 

for the return of Jesus Christ. After reading this, I thought about whether I am living

my life as though He may return tomorrow. I like to think I am, but apathy is an area

I struggle with. As I mentioned in my last post, there are days when I feel like I'm 

too busy to sit down and read the Bible or pray. It's not that I must do this every 

day to have God's acceptance or approval, it's that I should have an inner hunger

and desire to spend as much time in His word and with Him in prayer as possible.

God is concerned with the condition of our hearts, and not that we are checking off

a spiritual checklist every day. So, do we have that hunger to know God more and 

more every day, to follow Him wherever He leads us, to love Him more than our 

own lives? Would we be ready if He returned today?

Of course, no one knows when Jesus will return, but whether it is next month or in 

a hundred years, we need to be living every day as though Jesus may return at any 

time. This means not becoming lazy in our walk with God. I feel like this is a real 

problem for American Christians. As a culture, we are so comfortable in our lives. 

Maybe a little too comfortable? We need to be sure we are consistently walking 

out our faith. 

To me, walking out my faith means loving God with all my being and loving all

those around me by being gracious, patient, kind and so on. Practically speaking, 

praying a blessing over someone when they cut you off in traffic. Many times this prayer 

ends up being, "Lord, protect that person from themselves and protect everyone

who is driving around them!" 

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."   1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 ESV

Back to the topic of our American culture, we have been so blessed with religious

freedom that I think we sometimes take it for granted. We tend to go through the 

motions while caught up in our day to day lives, not to mention all the mass 

information distractions. 

Would you be ready if Jesus returned today? Or would it catch you by surprise? 

Would you be overjoyed to see Him, or would you be nervous about whether

you had been living the way you should? Let's not be caught "sleeping" in our faith. 

Let's be wide awake in our faith every day, always living expectantly for His return.

"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  Matthew 24: 42-44, ESV

Low Blood Sugar

I am one of those people who have to have frequent meals/snacks with protein 
to maintain a normal blood sugar. If I go too long with out eating, my blood 
sugar plummets, and I become irritable, shaky, faint, and start to not make
much sense when talking. I find it more difficult to remember my snacks now
that I have two children. I get so busy taking care of them, I forget to eat or 
put eating lower on my prioritized list than I should. After a while, it catches 
up to me. Watch out! It's cranky mommy! My husband can testify to the horrible
metamorphosis that occurs when my blood sugar gets too low. Not a pretty sight.
Then, it hits me. Why did I let it happen again? I frantically devour a scoop of 
peanut butter (a nearly perfect food) to rectify the problem. I then return to 
the person my husband and children know, and I apologize. It is a reminder that
to take care of my family properly, I have to take care of myself. 


God has been showing me lately that this scenario is a good example of what
happens to us spiritually when we go too long with out prayer and reading 
the Bible. To keep one's blood sugar stable, one needs both protein and
carbohydrates in the appropriate proportions. The same applies to our spiritual
lives. I guess I could say the Bible is our protein source and prayer our carbs. 
I'm usually pretty good about praying every day (good carb intake), but there are 
times I can go a few days or more without getting into God's Word (protein). 
After a while, it'll catch up to me, and I wonder what is wrong with me. Then it
hits me, of course, I need to read my Bible. 


Too often we get caught up with our daily routine and chores. It's easy to be 
busy. But God has been reminding me not to leave protein out of my spiritual
diet. Yeah, life is super busy, but we do need to make sure we our taking care
of ourselves, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, so we can then take care
of our families and others around us. 


If you don't have time for a "big meal" of God's Word, then just read a few choice
verses or 1 chapter and at least get a "snack." You can read a few verses a few 
times a day instead of sitting down and reading for a half hour. We need to make
God our #1 priority. Read the Bible and be in prayer every day and watch how 
much God will be able to use you to minister to your children, spouse, friends, 
coworkers, and others. And that is why we want to walk this Christian life anyway,
to affect others for God. To show the love of Christ Jesus through us and point 
others towards Him. 


"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." James 4:8, ESV

De-stress, Smalley Style

My husband and I were able to attend the Gary Smalley Love and Laughter Seminar 
at our church this last Saturday. It was life changing. Having had gone to the last
seminar he did while here in '06, I thought I would get a good review of what I
had learned the last time. I couldn't have been more wrong. 


I learned so much this time around, mostly that I have so much work to do on 
myself. One of these areas is irritability. There are many times I become 
irritated that my husband isn't doing things right or not helping out as much as 
he could around the house, and whether or not that is the case, my irritation 
is my own problem. It means that there are things in myself I need to deal with. 


The last couple years I have noticed myself becoming more easily frustrated, 
stressed and irritable, not at all the person I was when I was younger. I blamed
it on now being a mother of two; changes in hormones (maybe); and having 
seemingly ton more work to do with less time to do it, and once I get it done,
it doesn't stay done very long. Add on top of that working outside the home.


This last weekend showed me that all this irritation and stress is my own 
fault and not my circumstances or surroundings. Gary Smalley said something
that really opened my eyes in the area of stress. "Stress is the gap between what
you expect in every area of your life and what you have." If I have the expectation
that I will be able to accomplish certain things throughout my day, week, or 
year and in reality it is not coming about, it causes stress. 


If I have the expectation that my son will in fact eat what I have prepared
for dinner, and he instead spits it out - that produces stress. What do we 
then do in these times? Mr. Smalley's solution is giving thanks (a grateful
heart). So instead of becoming frustrated, I can try all my mom tricks for 
getting my son to eat while being so thankful that this is the biggest struggle
of the evening and that my son is healthy and destined for great things. 
When you think this way, dinner challenges seem very small. 


I do have so much to be grateful for. Not only do I have a home to live in
and a beautiful, wonderful family, I have eternal life through Jesus Christ. 
I have a wonderful destiny in Him and will spend eternity with Him after I die.
All the day to day stuff I let get to me isn't worth it. 


This week when something or someone is really irritating you, remember, 
it's not that thing or that person, it's you who has the problem. And when 
you get stressed out, think of as many things as you can to be grateful for. 
One of Mr Smalley's examples was running late to go somewhere and being 
stuck in traffic. Instead of being upset at the situation, be thankful for the patience 
it can produce in you. We all could do with more patience in our lives. :) 


I learned so many other valuable lessons this last weekend, but it would be an
exceptionally lengthy post if I wrote about it all. If you would like to visit Mr. 
Smalley's website, I have attached a link where you can check out the awesome, 
common sense books he's written on great topics such as marriage, relationships, 
and parenting. 


For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.   Galations 5:13-15, ESV


http://smalley.cc/

God's Timing

How many times have you found yourself saying to God, "When?!" We have all
had to wait on God for His timing on one thing or another many times through our lives, 
but seem to have to learn this lesson over and over again. Whether it is waiting on a 
promotion, or becoming pregnant (for the first time or again). We all have our own idea 
about how things should go. How often do we pray for that something to happen instead 
of praying for God's will and timing in the matter? God is omniscient. He knows 
everything, including the deepest desires of our hearts. We can believe God for those precious dreams and see them come to pass if we will be patient. 


Patience is such a difficult virtue to have in this current culture we live in when we can
have almost anything we want when we want it. However, we must trust God and believe
that He has our best interest at heart. God loves us. He wants us to have the desires of 
our hearts (providing those desires are Godly).  He is our heavenly Father, and we are 
His children. Matthew 7:7-11 addresses this,


“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"


Another key in this process is believing. "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24 


So, we have to ask and believe. Sounds so easy, but in practical terms, dealing with
doubt can be difficult. The "what ifs" creep in, or worse, the idea that God loves other
people more than you. You are God's child. He loves you and wants to bless you. 


Will God answer every prayer how or when we think it should be answered? No. 
He sees a bigger picture than we do. We need to trust that He has everything under 
control. Waiting can be tough, but it's well worth it. Whether you are believing for
financial breakthrough or the expansion of your family, remember that God is
good and desires to give us good gifts. All we need to do is believe and wait. 
Easier said than done, believe me, I know. 


"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Matthew 21:22.
What happens if we don't have faith? Do we then not receive? If you struggle with
the concept of faith and what that really means, think of it this way. When my three 
year old asks me for a hug, she has no doubt that I will embrace her with a huge bear
hug. My child is secure in knowing that she is my child, and that I love her and would
never reject her. This is how we should approach God, secure in the knowledge 
that we are His children and that His love for us is unfathomable and unconditional. 


If you need to build up your faith a bit, I suggest reading passages of scripture that 
speak on God's love for us. John chapter 14 - 15 and 1 John chapter 4 are great 
passages. Know God's love, be confident in His love for you, ask God for the 
desires of your heart, believe for it and wait on His perfect timing for it to come 
to pass. 

Living a Balanced Life, Impossible?

I was watching a daytime talk show a couple weeks ago. The celebrity guest 
was being interviewed about her life in general (working celebrity mom) and 
how she felt about working and being a mom. The guest said her life was crazy 
but good and spoke about when asked by someone in the past whether she felt 
her life was "balanced." The guest said that no one can really ever be "balanced," 
that it simply wasn't possibly is this crazy world we live in (paraphrased). Although 
I can see why she would say that, I disagree. 


God Himself is One of order and balance. He created our universe and everything 
in it. Just studying the human body, one realizes the importance of balance. If 
something in the body out of balance, the body will have symptoms in response. 
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So if God is balanced, in striving to 
be more like Him, doesn't it make sense that our lives should be as well. 


What is your definition of balance? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines 
balance (in this context) as, "To bring into harmony or proportion (verb); mental
and emotional steadiness (noun)." Can our lives be brought into harmony? I'm
not trying to go all Zen on you now, but is it possible to live a balance life, 
harmonious with God and the Bible? How can we do this? Loving God with 
all our hearts and minds and loving others as we love ourselves is the most 
important commandment God gave us (Mark 28:31). If we love God with every 
part of our being and share His love to all those around us, we will live life as 
we should. 


Balance doesn't mean being perfect, having a perfectly clean home, perfect 
children and a perfect husband. I believe it means having your priorities straight.
Our number one priority is to love God, number 2 is to love people (not always 
easy). That's it! When we walk in love, we are more patient and kind, the 
person we really would like to be all the time. Again, having balance in your
life is not having perfection. It's knowing what is important and prioritizing 
accordingly. Is it more important that my house is always clean or that my 
children feel loved because I spent quality time with them? Not saying you 
can't let your kids ever play by themselves while you clean, but don't let that
always be the case. Balance is definitely possible. 


"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect 
harmony." Colossians 3:14 ESV (English Standard Version) 

Being Still

Being a mother, I find myself constantly busy. There is always something that needs to

be cleaned, someone who needs help going to the bathroom or a diaper change, and 

always the long to do list (when all the everyday chores are done). It never ends... ever. 

Such is the life of the greatest occupation of all time - motherhood. I am slowly starting 

to accept the never-endingness (yes, I just made up that word) of it all. But something 

can easily get lost in the mix. Can you guess? 

Time with the Lord. God has been reminding me lately not to be so busy, but who 

can help it? I have been feeling the need to definitely spend much more time

in prayer, mostly, to be still and wait on God. However, I am finding it extremely

difficult and find myself thinking about all the laundry waiting on me instead. 

One of my favorite quotes by Mother (now Saint) Teresa, was during an interview.

She was asked what she said to God during prayer. "Not much." She replied. 
When asked what God said to her, again she answered, "Not much." What was the 
point then? "We are together." She answered. How powerful. Being with God, sitting 
in His presence is life changing to say the least. God wants to spend more time with

us. He loves us more than we can imagine. 

But Mother Teresa didn't have children you may say. Well, not biologically, but 

she kept busy serving the needs of others. Throughout it all, though, she didn't 

lose sight of what was truly important, her personal relationship with God. In Luke

10:38 - 42, there is the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus came to their 

house and was teaching. Mary sat at his feet, soaking up all she could. Martha 

busily rushed around, making sure everyone had all they needed. Even though 

she was been an excellent hostess, she was totally missing the point. Martha 

complained to Jesus about Mary, but He said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious 

and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the

good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” 

As you enjoy this day that celebrates love, remember Who loves you more

than any earthbound person could and Who is longing to spend time with you

whenever you'll stop long enough to sit still. I am writing to myself more than

anyone. :) Have a Happy Valentine's Day.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I Corinthians 13:4-6

Let Go and Breathe: Part 2

Last Monday afternoon I was quite relieved when my husband arrived home from work. Freezing rain had been falling the majority of the day and road conditions were not the
best. It was forecasted that it would start icing/sleeting about 4 - 6 am the following 
morning."Of course," I said to him, "you won't actually go to work tomorrow." My husband replied, "We will see what it looks like in the morning." What?! I thought to myself. Can 
he be serious? The freezing precipitation was to last about 20 to 24 hours. Starting with 
ice then changing over to snow at some point. The lesser amount of ice, the greater 
amount of snow. A range of .5" to 1" of ice and anywhere from 6" to 18" of snow. I wasn't 
so much worried about him getting to work safely. I was worried about him being about to 
get home safely. 


As the evening wore on, more and more anxiety was building within me. Everyone was 
going to be staying home from work (excepting emergency response and hospital staff). 
Why would my husband risk his life for an office job? It didn't make sense. Even when 
I was active duty in the Air Force, on days like that there was delayed reporting and 
essential personnel only days. Safety first. This has been ingrained in me from a child 
(being the daughter of a firefighter) through my training as a nurse and to my days in 
the Air Force. Didn't everyone prioritize that way? 


In the late evening, not be able to secure a definite, "Not going to work" from my 
husband, I became physically sick. Was this one of the situations where one gets 
a bad feeling that should be recognized as warning or was it just a overwhelming 
response to fear? I struggled with this. Laying in bed, I couldn't go to sleep. I felt sick 
to my stomach and had a lump in my throat. Not wanting to keep my husband awake, 
I went to the family room to look at some emails. Jason came out to see if I was okay. 
I told him I wasn't angry with him, I just was too upset to sleep and needed some 
distraction and told him to go to sleep. 


My imagination was running wild. I was imagining my life as a widow, raising two small children by myself, crying myself to sleep each night. I started crying. What was I doing? 
I then picked up my Bible and read from John 15, my favorite chapter. I prayed for God's peace and then went to bed.


Why so much anxiety? Isn't God in total control? Aren't our lives in His hands? Are 
not our footsteps guided by Him? Will He not provide for us in every way? Where 
was my faith and trust in our wonderful God? This situation was totally out of my 
control and there was nothing I could do about it. I had to trust God that He would 
protect Jason, no matter what the next day brought. 


The next morning, Jason woke me at 5:50 a.m. to let me know the roads were not in good condition and that he would work from home. I was so relieved. Content, I fell back to 
sleep. A short hour later, he woke me again stating that people were in fact making it 
into his workplace safely and he had to get going. What?! Okay, I told myself, this is 
no time to argue. Just help him and trust God. Thinking ahead of the possibility that he 
could get stuck at work (if we did get the foot and a half of snow), I suggested that he 
take a change of clothes. He pulled out a bag, and I packed it with the change of 
clothes, a pillow and toiletries. I also packed him a couple days work of food. My 
man was going to be prepared. I kissed him good-bye, wondering in the back of 
my mind if it would be the last time. Dramatic, I know, just being honest. He called 
me when he arrived at work and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you, God. 


I had an average morning with the kids, breakfast, playtime, lunchtime, and nap time. A 
few minutes after I put the kids down from their naps, Jason called me (about 12:30) and 
said that he was being sent home. My response was both relief and concern. It had been sleeting all day and had not changed over to snow yet. Road conditions were bad, but 
on the upside, hardly anyone was out on the road. Jason called me (hands free, of 
course) periodically, reassuring me he was safe and taking it slow. Although it took him 
twice as long as usual, and  he almost got stuck a couple times, he made it home without incident. To say that I was ecstatic to see him would be an understatement. 


This experience revealed a weakness in me that was much bigger than I had admitted 
to myself. There are areas that I trust God so completely and so fully. Why do I give in 
to worry? God loves us so much and desires to give us a hope and a future. Jeremiah 
29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and 
not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." 


I am sure there will plenty of opportunities for me to exercise my growth in this area. I 
can't say that I look forward to it, but I take comfort in Philippians 4:4-9: 

"4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."