I know I’ve been a bit sporadic in my blogging lately.
Going into the summer I had grand plans of writing
every morning here on the blog, fun activities for the kids, lots of reading,
lots of cooking & lots of resting. I had goals personally & with my
ministry. As much as I wanted to be successful with my goals my prayer was that
my life this summer would line up with God’s plans.
As I’ve spent time in His Word each morning I’ve found
His plans for my time were not always what I envisioned.
One thing I have found consistent is spending time with
my kids & husband. Where I thought I needed to spend time focused on my
blog, God said your ministry this summer is with your family.
And boy has that ministry been fun – days spent by the
pool, running around on the beach, snuggled on the couch reading with my
daughter, throwing the baseball with my son, planning & praying over a new
ministry opportunity with my husband. This summer my family & I have built
memories & bonds that were built & planned by God.
Memories and bonds built and planned by God exceed our human
expectations.
This coming school year will look totally different for
my family as we change schools. And while the changes are exciting they hold a
bit of nervousness & anxiety. My prayer is that this summer of family time
will prepare us for the changes that are to come.
So if I continue to be a bit sporadic with my postings
please bear with me. I promise once school starts up I will be here more often.
Please know that although I may not be posting as often,
there is still a lot going on behind the scenes of The Calm of His Presence.
God is leading me in some wonderful new directions. I can’t wait to tell you
more about it in the coming months.
So my sweet bloggy friends, I pray that God is building
memories & bonds for you and your family that exceed your expectations.
Kristyn Getty’s beautiful voice singing See What a
Morning by Keith Getty & Stuart Christopher Townend woke me this morning
from a fitful night of sleep.
Last night as I set my alarm I found the song &
thought what a peaceful way to wake up.
Little did I know I would have one of the worst nights
of sleep in a while. So, when my alarm went off I was not ready to see the
bright glorious morning. In fact, I was in a pretty bad mood.
I quickly & not so gently hit the snooze button
& rolled over grumbling. But then the words to the song replayed in my
head.
As I thought about Mary standing beside the empty grave
weeping and desperately crying out to find Jesus only to hear His voice after
being raised from the grave, my heart lightened & hope filled my heart as I
readied myself to face the day (John 20:10-18).
I realized I had a choice to begin my day with joy in
my heart & a smile on my face. I had a choice to speak kind, loving words
to my family as we prepared ourselves for church.
While I prepared my physical body I also prepared my
heart. I made the conscious decision to seek joy, to look at the glorious
morning God had given me and praise Him for who He is.
“A happy heart makes the face
cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:13
And you know what? As I made the choice to have a happy
heart & share a smile & kind words I forgot about the bad mood. The
very grumpy sour attitude dissolved into a heart & mood of joy & love.
Are there days when you wake with a grumpy attitude?
What do you do to refocus your heart, mind & actions?
I’ve asked myself that question too many times this
week
·during my daughter’s last Mother’s Day Program
at school
·while snapping photos of my son & daughter
in their “dressy” clothes both ready for a date night with me & my husband
·while making my daughter’s lunch for her class
picnic
·while helping my son carry in his class project
he & his daddy worked on
·when I woke up this morning & realized my
baby is graduating from Kindergarten tonight.
My mind replays so many moments of their young lives
from birth to their first steps, their first days in preschool to ballgames,
spontaneous hugs & kisses to cuddling in bed for movie night.
But in all of the replays I find myself beating myself
up for the brush-offs when I’ve been “busy” and pushed aside a child who wants
attention. I feel guilty for not being patient enough to answer a curious
question. And I regret losing my temper when a deep breath and calming hug
would have been the best response.
That’s when I’m reminded to Refocus. Refocus my mind
& heart on God and let Him lead my responses and my actions. And I need to
remember to give myself grace because there may be days when I don’t get it all
right.
I will make mistakes and become distracted. I will
become impatient and react the wrong way. But, as long as I stay focused on the
plans God has for me each day He will direct my actions & my thoughts.
When I begin to beat myself up I need to remind myself
that there will be days when I have things that must get done & it’s ok for
the kids to entertain themselves.
When I feel guilty for losing my patience I need to
tell myself next time I will thank God that my son is so curious and help him
learn by answering his question.
When I start to lose my temper I will remember Psalm
19:14
“May
the words of my
mouth
and the meditation
of my
heart be pleasing in
your
sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
So, tonight as I cry through my daughter’s Kindergarten
Graduation I will take in each and every moment of this gift from God. I will
live for the moment and thank God for the honor of raising my precious
children.
I have a
dizzying amount of things on my to do list – laundry, cleaning, getting dinner
for tonight started, writing a blog post, running countless errands…& on it
goes…
I actually made myself dizzy while talking to someone
on the phone. I couldn’t stop long enough to have a very important conversation
because I knew that would put me further behind. When I hung up the phone I
needed to sit down to collect my thoughts about what to do next.
It was then, as I sat still long enough to take a deep
breath, that God tapped on my heart & said “Come sit with me for a little
bit. Let me interrupt your going in circles so that I may calm your spirit
& speak to your soul.”
I walked to my bedroom, grabbed my bible, pen &
Sunday School book and sat down to have my quiet time. I opened to Day One of
Jonah Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer.
“A
life interrupted by a holy God is a privilege.”
Priscilla
Shirer
Wouldn’t you know it; God had just interrupted me!
He wanted to meet with me, one on one…in the quiet of
my house. He wanted to speak peace into my very being!
I had begun my day focused on my to do list which left
me reeling in the rush of it all.
As I read how the Lord interrupted Gideon in Judges 6:11-27
verses 17 & 18 jumped out at me.
“Gideon
replied, ‘If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is
really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my
offering and set it before you.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will wait until you
return.’”
Judges
6:17-18
Did you catch that? “The Lord said, ‘I will wait until
you return.’”
And that is what He did for me. He quietly tapped on my
heart & said, “come sit with me, I will wait for you to return.”
Instead of being focused on all that I needed to do
today I needed to focus on the One who brings peace to my spirit the One who will
ordain & lay out my day before me.
Do you need to stop frantically running around and sit
quietly with God? He is waiting for you to stop and sit at His feet.
“Lord,
prepare me to be a Sanctuary, Pure & Holy, Tried & True. And with
Thanksgiving, I’ll be a living Sanctuary for you.”
Over the years the name for the place of worship in a
Church has changed from Sanctuary to Worship Center. I haven’t embraced that change
easily. In my mind a Sanctuary is a place of reverence & honor. When we
worship God we show Him reverence & honor. For me a Worship Center seemed
less formal & more relaxed…in a way less honoring.
As my personal walk with Christ grew I realized it’s
not about the name of where I worship or the style of my worship, it’s about
the attitude of my heart.
·My heart must kneel before God in Honor &
Reverence.
·My heart must be willing to bow before Him
humbly laying before Him my sin, my pain & my fear.
·My heart must be willing to hear what He has to
say.
There are days when my heart is not the sanctuary it
should be. This morning was one of those days. I was frustrated, impatient
& unhappy.
After walking a bit too loud & closing doors a bit
too hard I sat in my car & took a deep breath. Ugh!
I began praying Psalm 19:14
Lord,
“May the words of my mouth (and my actions) and the meditation of my heart be
pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock & my redeemer”.
As I prayed, the lyrics to the song Sanctuary came to
my mind. As I sang the song I felt my tension ease & my mind settle as I
began to Refocus my heart & mind on Christ.
My heart, mind & body are a Sanctuary to God. When
I am frustrated & unhappy I am not pleasing Him by acting & saying
things that don’t honor him.
Some days I must, minute by minute Refocus my heart
& mind on Him, other days it is much easier.
When my attitude & heart are focused on worshipping
God my body becomes His Sanctuary, “pure & holy, tried & true”.
These days whether the place I worship is called a
Sanctuary or Worship Center no longer takes center stage. What I am focused on
is an attitude of praise, thanksgiving & worship.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2
Where is your focus? Upon what are your eyes fixed?
Do you see the dream God has given you clearly before you or do you see a blurry figment of your dream?
Oh so easily we become distracted by the things around us. We take our eyes off God, instead looking to people around us for the answers and direction we seek. We loose sight of the dream God placed in our hearts. The busyness & needs of those around us distract our mind & thoughts. Flashy lifestyles & desire for power lure us from the true focus of God's plan & call for our lives.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles".
What or who hinders you from pursuing the dream and call God placed on your life? What sin has entangled you, blurring the vision of the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to "throw off" that is keeping you from finishing the race God has called you to?
"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."
The dream God gives us may not be reached with a fast sprint. It may be a marathon in which we must persevere and pace ourselves. There may be times when we become tired, lose our focus & stray off the path. But God has surrounded us with a "great cloud of witnesses" who will be there to encourage & strengthen us and point us back to the path that God has placed before us. Do you have someone-mentor who will come along side you and help point you back to the dream God placed in your heart?
Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. He endured the shame, discouragement, pain & heartbreak of the Cross for us and NEVER lost sight of the plan God had for His Life!
When we keep our eyes focused on Him & The Cross we will not lose sight of the dream God placed on our lives.
Have you lost focus on the dream God placed in your life? What do you need to do in order to refocus on The Cross & the dream?
With a few words we encourage, build up, inspire & praise. But, with just a few words we also deflate, hurt, anger or tear down.
As I reflect on this portion of Psalm 19:14 my thoughts go to the words I use with my children.
Do I
speak words that show my love for them
speak words that show God's love for them
encourage & praise them regularly?
or Do I
easily lose my temper with them
focus on the things they do wrong
have little patience with them?
"...be Pleasing in Your Sight..."
When I stop to reflect on these questions I realize there are areas I succeed in but, there are also areas I need a lot of work.
My husband & I often joke that I have no task patience but I have a lot of people patience. Unfortunately that isn't the case with my children. I want them to do exactly what I ask/tell them to do immediately. When they don't act immediately I become frustrated.
Problems arise when my words aren't pleasing to God. When I focus on & express my frustrations I hurt my children by showing them impatience. Too often I've watched them exhibit that same kind of behavior with each other, only to have me tell them to be nice & loving to each other.
OUCH! That Hurts!!
When I realize the impact my words & actions have on my children I am forced to examine those words in the eyes of God.
As I start to become frustrated or impatient, instead of showing those feelings I now stop and pray...
"Lord may the words of my mouth be pleasing in your sight. Help me show your love to my children. Help me teach them to show your love to each other."
When I stop, pray & take a deep breath I am Refocused on God instead of on me & my feelings.
When I'm focused on The Cross my words show God's love to my children.
Words of encouragement, words of patience, words of love please God.
What words are you using with your children? Do you speak words that build them up & inspire them, or do you speak words that hurt or deflate them?
Take time today to examine the words you use with your children. Ask God to reveal areas you need to work on in order to please Him.
Dear Lord thank you for your love. Show me words I use with my children that are not pleasing to you. Help me stay focused on you so that my words to my children show your love. Lord may I slow down and speak words that are pleasing in your sight. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.
Do I speak words to my husband that show my love for him?
Do I speak words to my husband that encourage & life him up?
Do I pray for my husband?
In April Jeff & I will be married for 15 years & together for 19 years. When we first met & dated we were together as much as possible & talked on the phone for hours.
Nineteen years later life has changed a lot. We are not the carefree college kids we once were. We have responsibilities at work, home & church. We have 2 kids & family responsibilities. Many times at the end of the day we fall into bed exhausted without having a chance to really talk.
Do you find yourself in a similar situation? Do you & your husband take time to know what is going on with each other? Do you make it a point to show him your love?
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one anther..." Hebrews 10:25
When we as a husband and wife Refocus on each other & make a point to sit and talk we gain in many areas.
We learn ways we can encourage each other.
We have an opportunity to discuss small issues before they have a chance to mushroom into bigger problems.
We find out ways we can pray for each other
Taking time to sit and listen to Jeff shows I am interested in him and is an expression of my love for him.
It is also a time to protect my marriage from
miscommunication
hurt feelings
drifting apart.
It pleases God to see a strong marriage where the husband & wife communicate, encourage each other & support each other.
What specifically can you do this week to Refocus your time & attention on your husband?
Dear Lord, I thank you for my husband. Thank you that you desire for my marriage to be one filled with encouragement and love. Lord I pray that you will help me to slow down and refocus my attention on my husband. Show me specifically what I can do this week to encourage and pray for my husband. In Your Name I Pray.
I am linked today with Melanie at Only A Breath. Visit her blog to see all the wonderful One Word posts.
But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
Psalm 71:14
Throughout the course of 2012 as I counted 1000 Gifts, over & over again I was reminded of God's Faithfulness, His Love, His Strength & His Glory.
He blesses me each & everyday in the breath of a moment, the laughter of a child, the pain of the hard times & tears of heartache. He blesses me in the good, the bad & the in between.
This Sunday I was reminded all over again how even when I am hurting, sad, lonely, or fearful if I REFOCUS my attention on Him & Praise Him for Who He Is and for what He Has Done, He will give me the Strength I need. Praising Him lifts my eyes, my feelings, my heart & my soul!
I walked into church with a crushed spirit. I was hurt, sad & anxious, all over a comment from one person. A comment in which that person had no idea those few words would bring back feelings I thought I had long ago dealt with.
Walking into the choir loft I wanted to crawl into a dark corner and hide. Praising God was no where on the top of my mind.
But then the music began...
Thou Oh Lord
I had to force myself to sing the notes but as the words came from my mouth they began to reach deep into my soul. A little tug...a reminder that my Lord is "a shield for me. My glory and the lifter of my head." Oh how I felt the words as "I cried unto the Lord with my voice". I remembered the nights I cried and I remembered how He lifted my head in the darkest days. He is "my shield, my glory and the lifter of my head"! My hand was clinched tight in a fist as I sang... not ready to totally let go of the pain that had surfaced from deep within.
Today is the Day
This is the day God has made! I WILL REJOICE and be Glad in it!
Oh but how do I rejoice when I hurt and fear?
And then we sang "What have I to dread what have I to fear leaning on the everlasting arms?" His arms are strong enough to carry my burdens! His arms are strong enough to carry me. And His arms are strong enough to comfort my fears.
I may not know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow!God holds my future and the future of my husband and the future of my children in HIS hands! And because of that I Will Rejoice because this is the day the LORD has made!
Great is Thy Faithfulness
And then He quietly reminded me of His Faithfulness.
I stood there with eyes closed, heart lightening, and hands opening, feeling His Peace and His Presence as He was ready to guide me - Guide me out of the fear & hurt that had resurfaced and guide me into each new moment that He has planned for me.
Who Can Satisfy My Soul Like You
As my hands opened and my heart lightened I asked Him to "cleanse me and refresh me" as I trusted Him as my fountain and my king.
With one hand lifted high and one hand across my chest I praised Him for He is my "Victorious Warrior...my Rock...and my shelter...who Reigns upon the Throne."
Total Praise
I stood there Praising God with a heart & mind Refocused on God giving Him the Total Praise He was due - Total Praise for the good, the bad & the in between. For He is "the source of my strength, the strength of my life. I will give my total praise to Him."
Refocusing on God started with slowly opening my tightly clinched hands and heart to Him. With each breath and word sung my heart lightened, my hands relaxed and I gave it all to Him - trusting Him with each day and each moment that He makes.
Are you hurting, afraid and anxious? Are your hands grasped tightly closed, holding in all the pain & fear you feel? Do you want to run and hide in the darkest corner you can find? Oh Sister, refocus your heart & mind on God. When you take that focus off of yourself and instead focus on the blessings He has given you and the Mighty God that He you will see how much He loves you. Open your hands a release the fear & pain to Him.
Continuing to open my hands and praise Him for each gift #1014 - #1030:
Friends who can see me without make up & see me as a beautiful child of God
2 little friends catching up
brothers & sisters having fun on the trampolene
cheers of excitement over a great play
rain to refresh the earth
packing up Christmas to begin a new year
yummy donuts
friends supporting each other
big brother helping his little sister with a game
the alarm that says school has begun
teachers who love & protect my kids as much as they can while they are at school
answered prayers for safety
going through the hard days so I know how to pray for others when they go through the same thing
