It's all about me--and Him

A continued theme in my life over the past few years has been God really trying to get my attention. He wants my FULL attention. It's a struggle.

I live, as I have said before, in a small house with a big family. I homeschool our two younger sons, which is really a full time job (especially since one has some learning struggles), and lead the prayer team for our youth ministry. I also recently began writing for a couple of content sites and blogging for two Christian publishers. So my days are full and usually anything but quiet.

I start every day with my Lord through the Word. He speaks to me, fresh manna every day for what He knows I have ahead of me. I pray: for my husband, our household, our families, myself, my monthly youth leaders, our youth, the moms, other concerns. I leave that time ready for the day.

However, often by midmorning I have forgotten. The kids are arguing. I'm out of dog food. The van's out of gas so in a split second Alan needs a ride to work in the middle of science class. Oops, meant to start the crockpot dinner for tonight. Oh, drum practice is starting. The kids are arguing. The puppy didn't tell us she needed to go out :-/ I pull a couple articles to write. I look at my to-do list and realize nothing is to-done. Dinner. Reading with kids. Bedtime. The kids are arguing. Make sure there's a plate in the fridge for Alan to heat up when he gets home at midnight. I crawl into bed thinking, I'll do the dishes in the morning and what did you say to me this morning, Lord? I'm so sorry I forgot it along the way.

Then there's all the ways I tangle myself up independent of daily tasks. Was that the right verse to post out from the moms' page? Was that blog too transparent? (I was so reassured the other day to read Lindsee's post on the Living Proof blog about her own transparency trip-ups!)Did I pray seriously enough for (fill in the blank request that came through during the day)? Am I leading the moms rightly? I'm a loser at teaching Luke his multiplication. Noah's never going to be able to write cogently.

Yet God's been so clear so many times over the past couple years. Listen to Me. Give me your full attention. Get rid of distractions. Quit head-tripping over doing what I've told you to do (which is--love your family, homeschool your kids, lead the moms, pray). Lock in with Me and I'm going to set everything in right order. Because it's always about you and Me. I asked Him to give me verses for the year ahead on my last birthday and He said:

"For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’
Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,
Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread." Isaiah 8:11-13

Those aren't scary verses to me, as they might sound out of context, but rather, they are so firmly comforting to me. It's like He is taking my face in His hands and saying, all that matters is Me. Don't freak out about what others are saying and doing. Don't get tangled up in head trips. I am the only One who you need to listen to...do that and we are totally cool. The next verse starts, "He will be a sanctuary"...and He is.

I want to be rightly listening and obedient...and understanding His grace is sufficient for everything else. Recently several of us moms realized we were "thumping in the spin cycle" and need a reset. Mine meant ditching my FB app, turning off my phone a lot (then putting it in a drawer!), re-evaluating our school curriculum and making changes, re-evaluating my kids' free time, loading Bible study podcasts to listen to when I walk, Word Word Word and more Word because that puts everything into order! It's a struggle. Some days I am totally on top of it. Others, not so much.

But that's where grace comes in. It's a process. The Christian life every day this side of heaven is a WALK not an arrival. I read this this morning:

"The men in charge of the renovation worked hard and made steady progress. They restored the Temple of God according to its original design and strengthened it. " 2 Chronicles 24:13

Super encouraging! Work hard, make steady progress. Restore and strengthen. As my pastor always reminds us, diligence (you try, you fail, you try, you fail...you keep trying) is what God asks for, not perfection. And "God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6b

So I guess this whole post (long, sorry, if you stuck with me this far the Lord bless you, I may just have written it for me) is about--what has God been saying to YOU over and over? Oh, He is so gracious to keep saying it, isn't He? If there's a continuing theme in your life that feels like you keep falling short of---work hard. Make steady progress. Restore what He wants in your life (hint: it will always have to do with relationship with Him). Strengthen it.

Si se puede--yes we can, " For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." Philippians 2:13

Book review: One Month to Love

"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost." G.K. Chesterton

Pastors Kerry and Chris Shook (http://kerryshook.org/) of Woodlands Church in Houston have hit the nail on the head in their newest book, One Month to Love. Authors of One Month to Live, which confronted us with the dramatic idea of living as if we truly had one month left here on earth, they now offer this challenge to take the closest look we've ever taken at our most dear relationships. What if you only had one month left to love those closest to you? What would you want to say or do? What would you let drop as you understood the insignificance of these things in the light of eternity? What if the conversations you have with the key people in your life today were the last ones you ever had?

While the book doesn't hammer us with this idea through its practical, 30 day guide to repair and restore less-than-perfect relationships, it does bring it up at perfect intervals to remind us of the only real perspective we should have. The book is divided into four sections, each covering a different theme of relationship building. Each section includes 7 short chapters, one for each day, so the book can be used as a convenient one month devotional.

For me, the first theme, "The Art of Being All There," hit me closest to home. In our tech-heavy world, we too often miss those around us through the distractions of cell phones and computers. Our physical, face-to-face relationships must take our biggest investment of time because they are the only things that matter when we take our last breath here on earth with those people at our side. If I am about to pass into eternity, it's not my iPhone I want at my bedside...I want to be holding hands with those whose lives I have poured myself into, knowing we have each given our all to each other. I don't want any regrets that I missed vital life experiences with them because I was distracted by things that don't truly matter.

Grab a journal and a pen (I did) and take the 30-Day challenge in One Month to Love. Take the challenges at the end of each day's entry. Interact with www.onemonthtolove.com where you will find videos and resources. And experience renewed and restored relationships that will matter regardless of how long you have left to live.

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

GPS

Global Positioning System: an accurate worldwide navigational and surveying facility based on the reception of signals from an array of orbiting satellites. Or, more simply, that function on your smartphone that tells you where you are and how to get where you want to go.

I used the GPS function on my phone to navigate a place I needed to go the other day. I was running around to different libraries pulling books for school b/c I couldn't wait for the interlibrary system to bring them to my branch (for some reason it's been really lagging lately. Kinda like me this time of year). I was headed to a neighborhood I'm not familiar with, so I let the GPS tell me where I was and map out where I needed to go. Simple, right?

Nope. I somehow managed to go past my destination even with Siri telling me almost foot by foot where to go.

I immediately realized something (something I remembered hearing Joe tell us once when he taught a Bible study)...Siri didn't yell "You idiot!" (she completely deserves to, considering how Noah has treated her) or "WHAT are you doing?! Aren't you LISTENing to me?" Instead, she just renavigated me, covering all my stupidity with grace.

This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea." Isaiah 48:17, 18

We get off track sometimes. We know God will teach us and lead us, but we fail to listen. We think we know better. Or, we know we don't know better, but we don't care. Sometimes we just get distracted and miss His voice telling us foot by foot where to go.

God doesn't yell "You idiot!"...although sometimes He does allow consequences. Sometimes He does say "What are you doing? Aren't you listening to Me?"...but He doesn't scream it in anger. It usually comes in a still, small voice. Firm, but full of love.

Then He renavigates us.

If you've gotten off track lately, missed a turn-off, or gone past your destination, let God reposition and redirect you. He'll get you where you need to go.

"But for those who are righteous,
the way is not steep and rough.
You are a God who does what is right,
and you smooth out the path ahead of them." Isaiah 26:7

"Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:21

Book Review: Congo Dawn

Yes, it is Christian fiction, but Congo Dawn, by Jeanette Windle, could seemingly jump from today's international headlines. It is common practice for private security teams to go to places of conflict and unrest, so it is a natural assignment for Robin Duncan, a former Marine who had done a tour of duty in Afghanistan, to hire on for a multinational security assignment in the Congo. She feels responsible to provide for her niece's expensive surgery, and this mission pays handsomely. However, she soon finds that God has brought her to the Congo and placed her in a uniquely dangerous situation to face her unfinished faith and stunted personal growth.

An internationally represented corporation seeks to stop a rebel saboteur whom they paint as a ruthless murderer. This man, Robin has been led to believe, stands in the way of progress and an improved standard of life for the native people in the Congo whose land includes a mine of molybdenite. Robin soon finds all is not as it initially seemed and even those on her team she deemed trustworthy are harboring secrets. She faces a hard decision in the darkness of the jungle, one she can only make with a God who she has long left behind. Further, God isn't the only one she abandoned, and she also wrestles with facing the man she blames for her brother's death...a man she once thought she loved.

I had a hard time establishing in my head the "good guys" and "bad guys" in Windle's rapidfire presentation of political dynamics in the Congo that sprinkles the first few chapters of the book. I almost wanted to look up Congo history so I could be clear, even though I thought I had a passing knowledge of the issues. However, that is the only critique I have for this suspenseful book. The plot lines are complex enough to draw and keep the reader's attention and the book is difficult to put down. I found it a compelling illustration of those who are raised in the faith only to have difficult life events push them into bitter rejection of spiritual things...and the faithfulness of a loving God who wants them back in His arms and walking in the purposes He has had for them before the foundation of the world. Read this book and be assured of God's constant light in whatever dark circumstances He has allowed in your life.

I received this book for free from Tyndale Publishing for review purposes.

Love

Awake in the night. Worrying even though God says don't worry. Regretting even though God says its forgiven. Wondering even though God says I love you so much I sent My only Son who loves you so much He stretched out His arms and died. Recommitting, re surrendering. Finally, sleep.

In the morning, the first conscious thought is a whisper: "love." Wash face, grab coffee, head outside with the Word. This:

He loves.

"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." (Romans 8:31-39 MSG)