Hi everyone, spring is on the horizon and that makes me happy. This will be a long post as it’s been awhile. The last couple months have been full of cooking, cleaning, basketball for Micah, soccer for Isabelle and Hudson, instructing/disciplining Isabelle, lots of family time (3 of our kids birthdays in one month), and then cooking and cleaning some more.
I’ve also been reading a lot. I should do a post reviewing the books I’ve been reading, but I”m not so sure I would be good at book reviews. The last two months I have had the opportunity to speak a few times as well.
It has been hard to balance everything that was on our plate the last two months and made me so very grateful to be able to focus on just being a mom. It is so easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. I don’t complain about being a SAHM. It’s a privilege and a choice. I sometimes miss doing ministry and, though I know being a mom is a ministry, sometimes I feel like I should be doing more.
But, to experience trying to write a message while Isabelle asks me thirty-five times if she can have a candy cane was a good realization that no one can “do it all” and do it well.
I am grateful for the season that I am in thankful that God showed me to be content where He has me. There are seasons for everything. I may do a little ministry outside the home here and there, but for now love being home with our kids.
I also got to step into Jason’s shoes when I spoke with him, which was great. How often do we get to experience our spouses life so we can empathise with them? Not many of us do, and now I wish Jason could completely experience a day in my life :). I so appreciate what Jason does, and know that we are each where we are supposed to be.
Jason and I spoke at our church’s marriage event on six things we’ve learned in our marriage. It was fun to teach, together, what God has taught us. At the bottom of this post I linked a guest blog with a shortened version of one of my points.
I have not done any speaking since Micah was a baby, and I was really nervous, but knew God prepared me for this. He had all of the speaking engagements land right in a row within almost a month of each other… with the biggest audience last. I could not have planned it better.
I kept telling myself that I felt like God called me to do this and He will equip me… I was not putting my hope in my own abilities, but in the fact that He prepares and equips us by His Spirit when He calls us to something.
Right before we went out to face over a thousand faces, I told Jason that I was applying something I learned from a story in Genesis 24 where Abraham’s servant travels to find a wife for his son Isaac. You can read the story here if you’d like. I love this story for many reasons.
First, I love it because it shows God’s work in our lives when we trust in His plan. Second, I love how the servant so boldly and specifically prays for God’s favor as it seemed like a needle in a haystack to find the right wife for Isaac.
In verse 12 the servant prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.”
Then in verse 26 Abraham’s servant immediately, praises God and gives Him the glory when God does so obviously give him success. Verse 26 says, “Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “Praise be to the Lord,the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
When we pray we can have confidence that God hears us. We’re not demanding anything of God. We’re asking, but we can know that when we ask God He hears us, even if it may not always seem like it. When God answers us we should take the example of the servant and praise Him right away.
I have had some fears that are somewhat irrational, yet real to me. After taking this passage of Scripture to heart I have found myself praying more specifically about my fears and able to leave them at God’s feet knowing He hears me and His answer will be perfect.
For example, my best friend has lyme disease and because they did not find out for a long time it has turned into a two year battle with autoimmune symptoms and sometimes debilitating illness. I have known several people who got lyme disease this last summer, a few of them were kids. Thankfully each person, including my father-in-law, found out early enough that the antibiotics worked right away.
One of my fears has been that one of my kids will get lyme and I won’t know or see symptoms right away. I think talking to my friend weekly about what she’s going through keeps this fear at the forefront of my mind. So my specific prayers is, “Lord, please protect us from this disease and if our kids contract lyme will you show us right away.”
I have felt such a great peace. God has shown me specific answers to prayer over and over again. He has shown me that even through hardships He is faithful and has a plan for the hardships.
So, I pray boldly and in anticipation. If I struggle to let a particular fear go I will ask friends to pray with me. How I love the peace that comes when we trust the God who gave up His only Son because He loves us that much.
So back to the other night when we spoke. I prayed many specific prayers one I copied from Abraham’s servant, that God would give me success. Right when we got out there I felt such peace wash over me. I felt calm and wanted God to work through me, as opposed to caring what people thought about me. Right afterward I thanked God and gave Him the glory, knowing that peace and calm came from Him.
I am constantly grateful that I can draw on the Holy Spirit throughout my day. I have way too many weaknesses to count, so the fact that God doesn’t get annoyed with me asking for help (He wants me to) is absolutely amazing.
I am asking God for success that I can live for Him, that I will parent my kids well, use our time and money well, and to be a godly wife. I know I can’t do it on my own, which is good, because I will more readily remember to praise Him when I have success.
If you’ve made it this far :), and you still want to read my guest blog for the EBC Marriage and Family Blog, “Six Ways to Fight Better in our Marriages.” You can read that here if you’re interested.
Blessings to you all, and thanks for reading the random things that go on in my brain :).
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