All things new

The coming of Spring, and I am again floored at God's limitless beauty. He truly does make all things new. The drab days of winter followed by the floods of early Spring can just about convince us that life will forever be filled with darkness. We look around and all we see is a blanket of wet, gray lifelessness. And oh, how our own personal seasons of life can mimic God's design for nature as well.

Knowing that all aspects of life on this human plane are under God's sovereign control, I think it is no accident that God ordained Easter to occur during this season of life returning once again to the earth. As we look around at the mercy of his calling forth the plants to bud and skies to blue, I am reminded in a deeper sense of his mercy in giving his Son as the ultimate remedy for darkness.

Because Christ laid down his perfect life once for all as the final sacrifice for sin, and was raised again to new life that first Easter Sunday, all who accept his offer of redemption are lavished with eternal life, abundant life, both now and forever. What an undeserved, unfathomable outpouring of grace on our sad state of affairs! We could never earn it; our attempts at goodness in our own strength fall staggeringly short every time (Romans 3:23). But because the God of Winter is also the God of Spring, he provided the Perfect Remedy on our behalf, without price on our part (Romans 6:23). My heart races at the thought of such a profound gift...especially as I remember my own wretched heart.

And so, on this day before Resurrection Day, I praise you again, merciful Daddy, for the gift of your Perfect Son. May you pour out your presence on all those who love you...and even more on those who do not know you yet, that they might come to find eternal hope from your beautiful gift of True Life (Romans 10: 9-10).

Keep On Keepin' On...

It's been a long dry spell between posts for me. Many different factors have played into the reasoning for it, but as of late I have begun to have that buzz inside me that is just calling me to write - that tingling inside my stomach, almost like butterflies that need to be set free...and certainly not because I think I have anything of any worth to say on my own. I know far too well that anything that comes from my own wicked heart is just mush. And inevitably, because I am not writing canon of Scripture (that was taken care of thousands of years ago!), whatever I write will be stained with my own messed up humanity...but I still feel led to invest whatever part of me I can for the glory of God & let Him redeem it as only He is able. (As a side, I want to just encourage all believers out there to put to use whatever gifts the Lord has given you, regardless of if you feel adequate to do so. Let's not be found guilty of burying the gifts with which He has entrusted us upon His return, much like the wicked servant in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-28).

As a mama of 3 little bitties, I am learning more & more just how much my children were sent to teach me, & not so much the other way around. Yes, I am called by God's grace to diligently teach and train up my kids in the Word and ways of God. But, oh, how profoundly God has used my sweet kids to bring to light just how desperately I need the power of Christ in my everyday life! I do not think there is anything in my experience that God could have used so powerfully as parenthood to illuminate my utter weakness and dependency on Him for every waking moment.

Quite honestly, each day - in fact, each moment of each day - is a struggle to lay down my own selfishness for the sake of serving my kids. Some times, when I am walking in the power of the Spirit, I succeed. Often, when I let my flesh lead, I fail miserably. But what I am learning (again, by God's sweet grace), is that I need to come to understand that failure is a fact of life - it is an inevitable by-product of being born into the human race. However, the good news is, as a believer who is filled with the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead, I do not have to accept failure as a way of life (Romans 8:11). Even though there are days when I have blown it as a parent (or just as a person in general!), I do not have to throw in the towel. I can get up in the morning, comforted by the fact that God's mercies are new each day. Praise God that,

"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

- Lamentations 3:22-23

Keeping Our Hearts on Home

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

- Colossians 3: 1-3

Oh, how swiftly my heart and mind can be swept away from "things above"...

But how grateful I am that my Good Shepherd so gently leads me back to focusing on His Truth, restoring my vision to focus on His Kingdom, not on "earthly things."

Most often He does this through the quiet power of His Word. Colossians 3: 1-4 are the verses that I have most recently felt led to commit to memory. Ironic thing is, not two days after I started working on memorizing this compelling call to keep my heart and mind centered on Christ, another force within our world began to work mercilessly against my efforts. It was...

Black Friday.

And its partner in crime,

Cyber Monday.

Sad, I know.

This annual season of sensational sales sucked me in before I had time to click, "Empty Cart!" I was still rising early, but to shop online, not spend time with God. Thankfully I did not go completely bonkers with my spending. It was more like I was obsessed with the thrill of deal hunting. This is the one time of year when I feel a little freedom to shop because the deals are so good and I can stock up for the year ahead. [I want to be clear here: I do not think bargain hunting nor Black Friday nor Cyber Monday (nor garage sales, thrift stores, or clearance racks) are wrong in any way, shape or form! In fact, I think they are a great way to practice good stewardship of the finances with which God has blessed us. But for me, it just happened to be the most recent tool from my own personal well-stocked toolbox that was used to completely derail my heart and mind's focus on "things above" for a good 5 to 7 days. Wow.]

When it was all over with, I found myself with only a slight sense of accomplishment that I had made some savvy purchases. The more noticeable sense within my spirit was the overwhelming dryness and dullness that had crept in during my week long hiatus from seeking first my Savior above all else. Even without all those sales swirling around me to distract me into bargain hound mode, it is still a daily, ongoing struggle for me to keep my eyes on Christ above all else.

Thus, I am ever grateful for the life-giving power of God's Word, which reminds me that when I make His Truth my deepest delight and joy, disciplining my mind to meditate on it throughout my day, then (and only then) will I experience true blessings,

"like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither

— whatever they do prospers."

 (Psalm 1: 2-3)

I am also thankful for the Truth He speaks through the words of even the smallest of sources in my life: my 2 year-old daughter. Just this past month she uttered one of the most profound, albeit simple, statements I've heard in my life. 

One afternoon, she noticed me sitting at our kitchen table with my head in my hands, praying. She asked me why my eyes were closed and I said, "Oh, I'm just asking God where he wants us to live." (It has long been an ongoing prayer for us as a family to seek God's will when it comes to where and when exactly He wants us to build or buy a house.) After my daughter heard my reply, she said with all the I-can't-believe-you're-asking-this certainty she could muster,

"Heaven."

All I could do was stare and smile. I had been shamefully schooled my my preschooler. Through her childlike faith, God used her to minister other-worldly wisdom:

our ultimate citizenship, our permanent address can never be any place on this green earth.

It is meant to be heaven.

With our Creator, not just here in His Creation, as breathtaking as it is.

And so, through His Word and the words of the little miracles with which He has blessed me, my wandering heart and mind are gratefully swayed back to the compelling call to keep focused on "things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3: 2). For this is where real life lies.

 

 

** For a great resource to help you keep your heart and mind focused on Christ during this Christmas season, check out the Village Church's "Advent Guide"**

Homemade Laundry Detergent

As the keeper of our home, I am always looking for ways to maintain our health and budget at the same time. I've been making my own multi-purpose cleaning spray and tub/tile cleaner for about 2 years now (recipes forthcoming), which has been a wonderful way to save money as well as ensure that my kids aren't coming into constant contact with who-knows-what chemically. After our last jug of store-bought laundry detergent finally ran out, I decided to attempt to make my own. It was incredibly easy and has proven to get our clothes just as clean - yay! I'm so thankful that God has so graciously shown me little ways to take care of both the precious lives and finances with which He's blessed us.

Here's the recipe I used (from www.duggarfamily.com) :

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap 

(front or top load machine- best value)

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha or Ivory soap bar (I used Kirk's Castille Soap)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax*

- Grate bar of soap (I chopped mine into small pieces & then put it in the food processor) and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online. Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!
* Borax can be found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store.

NOTE: ™ = Trademark. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Results may vary. All recipes are valid for non-commercial use otherwise written permission must be obtained from the The Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar Family. © Copyright 2011



The Purpose of Waiting

Are you in a season of waiting?

It seems to me that, on some level, most of us are always in a season of waiting. Sometimes the seasons are short, sometimes they are long. Sometimes they are exuberant periods of waiting expectantly for impending joy on the horizon. Sometimes they are difficult seasons where we feel hopeless and surrounded by utter darkness. Sometimes they are somewhere in between those two.

But whatever our seasons look like, they are always hard.

I'm learning that God has designed these seasons of waiting on Him to serve a profound purpose in our lives...if we will let them.

The easy thing to do is to rage and fight against them. By nature, we don't like pain. On top of that, we are an instant gratification generation - we want what we want, and we want it NOW. But in God's Kingdom, rarely does He allow us those moments of instantaneous satisfaction - and with good reason.

God knows that things obtained too easily will ultimately teach us nothing of our desperate need for Him. When He allows us to walk through the trial of waiting on Him, He promises that it will ultimately produce His good work in our lives. I love Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of James 1:2-4, when God's Word encourages us to,

^"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

Have you had this experience? Have you ever emerged from a dark season of waiting on the Lord to work in your life, and find yourself able to look back on it with "pure joy" in your heart because He loved you enough to let you go through the trial, knowing that if He had spared you from it, you would not have grown in your faith? I can look back on my life and, by His grace, do just that. There have been several seasons of "trials of many kinds," some darker than others. But they all forced me to my knees in a way that, sad to say, my easier times never could.

If you are in the midst of a season of trial and waiting on the Lord, I want to encourage you to hang in there! Or in a more Biblical term, keep persevering!! Your Creator has not forgotten you. In fact, you are in a prime position to receive such blessing from God that otherwise you might not. As James continues in 1:12,

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

God is at work in the midst of our testing and trials and waiting. As Charles Stanley so wisely explains, "The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us." And we know that one of His top priorities is that we put more of our faith in His Son, allowing Him to mold us into His likeness. This higher goal will trump our desire to be freed from our trial every time. And if we are seeking His Kingdom and will for our lives, inevitably the Lord will change our hearts to desire this as well, even more than an answer to what we are seeking.

One final lesson God is teaching me is that when I sincerely ask for His will to be done in my life, I must wholeheartedly believe that it is and that it will be! Again, James says in 1: 5-6,

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Countless times in the Gospel we read stories of folks who are praised - not necessarily because of their spotless reputations or impeccable behavior - but because of their complete belief and trust in Christ's power over their lives. The Lord is reminding me that I need to turn from my doubting that He is actively at work to bring about His will in my life and instead cling to my faith in His goodness, knowing that,

"...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."

- Hebrews 11:6

His ultimate reward is not the stuff of life - but more of Him. That is all we truly need. May He continue to use your season of waiting to bless you with just that. 

The Biggest Miracle of All

I am daily amazed at God's active (albeit unseen most of the time) presence in my life and the lives that intersect mine. Every day there are countless stories of His miraculous acts of grace swirling all around us, some big, some little.

I'm particularly partial to the moments when He allows us broken, unfaithful children to play a tiny part in His grand plan. Of course we know He could do it all Himself - by no means does He need our help to accomplish His will. But it pleases Him to involve us at times - He knows that we are blessed beyond measure when this happens. When we are seeking His Kingdom in our lives, He will use these powerful moments to teach us a lesson in His grandeur if we let Him.

A recent example of this in my little world:
Last week I heard a story about a couple who received a random, totally unexpected check of a significant amount in their mailbox (it was a real estate tax refund from a house they'd sold a couple years prior). Although flashes of all the "fun" things they could buy with the amount passed through their minds, they quickly planned to tuck it away in savings.

Clearly, however, God had other plans for the funds because literally minutes after they'd made the decision of what to do with it, they were made aware of a loved one's urgent need. Here's the kicker: the amount needed was almost to the exact dollar of what showed up in their mailbox that day. They knew instantly that the check, although it had made a pit stop at their house, was not meant for their own personal use, but for Christ's greater glory. They were honored to give it all just for that. He had given them so much, how could they not?

This story is just one of the countless sparks of God's grandeur played out in our lives. Whether we perceive it or not, he is constantly at work in our lives, taking care of our every need exactly when we need it. This couple and their loved one could've never known that they needed to pray for the exact amount of money to show up at that very moment in their lives - but God did. And He made it happen.

When we are seeking to grow in our knowledge of and love for Christ, making His Kingdom our primary concern above all other things in life, He promises to meet all our needs "according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). And even when we don't know what to pray for, His Spirit inside us does and He "intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27). I draw such comfort from that amazing truth! As long as we keep first things first (His Kingdom and righteousness), we will always have everything we need (emphasis on need, not want).

Of utmost importance to God is that we are continually becoming more and more like His Son. I can conjure some pretty skewed thinking in my little brain when I try to rely on my own strength to accomplish this, which inevitably leaves me bruised and battered from beating myself up over my failure to measure up to Christ's holiness. But, like Paul, by God's grace I am working on "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," continuing to "work out [my] salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in [me] to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 3: 13 and Philippians 2:12-13). My desire to grow more like Christ comes from God, not me (whew)! And not only that, He alone will actually DO the work in my heart, not me (double whew)!

Thing is, we can only become like someone if we actually spend time with them. Thus, prayer.

"The primary goal of prayer is relationship building

- to draw near to God"

-Stovall Weems

Drawing near to God in consistent times of prayer is one of the primary ways we get to know Him. I'm so grateful that God has shown me little areas of time in my day and week that I can devote to spending time with Him in prayer. It's not easy and it always involves self-sacrifice, but it is making such an impact in my daily walk with Him.

Specifically, He is teaching me to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" ( Philippians 4:6). However, the main motivation for my prayers should always be "for the glory of God regardless of our personal comfort or preference" (S.Weems). Again, when we make the whole point of our existence - even what we pray for - singularly about the glory of God, true joy and contentment are the inevitable result!

We may not walk away from every communion with God in prayer feeling like anything monumental has taken place - we may even "feel" exactly how we felt before we took the time to pray. But we can rest assured that fervent prayer offered from a right standing of heart before God will have an eternal impact, even if we do not see it in our lifetime.

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power

and produces wonderful results.

 - James 5:16

What is this "right standing"before God? It is what we graciously enjoy when we have become believers and God has credited to us Christ's righteousness. That being said, as we pray we must also be certain to confess any sins that are blocking us from intimacy with God. With these things in check, and keeping our hearts focused on what will truly bring glory to God, we can trust that by the His Spirit's power within us, our prayers will count for much in this life and the next!

I have seen countless "little" miracles throughout my life, and the aforementioned "check in the mail" story is just a drop in the proverbial bucket. It thrills me and rejuvenates my faith when God allows me to witness His power in such tangible, tender ways. But what I am even more excited about is how much He is answering my cries to be daily stripped of myself and further filled with His Spirit.

That, to me, is the biggest miracle of all.

It is a daily, moment by moment battle, but by His power, I keep pressing on.

Not that I have already obtained all this,

or have already arrived at my goal,

but I press on to take hold of that

for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

- Philippians 3:12

Happy Kids

To be carried along by the power of the Lord,

To be faithfully molded in the patience of the Lord,

To be comforted by the constant presence of the Lord;

In these things do His children find deepest joy.