In one place...

Every time I approach the Lord, in every battle, in every struggle, on every mountaintop and in the lowest valley, I approach him as his little girl.  I put down every guard, everything I think I know, every responsibility.  I approach him as his daughter and he’s my Daddy, my safe place, my protector, my strength.  Yes, I will fight.  Yes, I will be a wife and mother and answer God’s call on my life with all it’s uncertainties, and face every fear with boldness, because I know he’s with me.  I will stand strong.  I will be victorious in him.  But, in my heart, there’s one place where I can be so vulnerable, clumsy, so unsure about everything else, yet so safe.  It's in His presence. I’m just his little girl desperately wanting to be held by him and for him delight in me so when I rise from his embrace, I can face all that’s before me.

When the Church Doors Hurt

The enemy would love to isolate us and keep us from church.  And he would  love to at least get us sitting on the back row, slipping in late & slipping out early, and not be involved.  I figure instead of hide in shame for what the enemy tries to do, let's just expose what he's up to & what God's got to say on it.  The enemy knows who to use and what they need to do to get you offended to get out of church; or get you feeling unworthy to step foot in a church door.  Maybe you've been called a hypocrite by fellow christians, or judged for your sin or the sin of your family.  Maybe you've seen sin defended and truth rejected inside the church.  Maybe you've experienced a church split. You're hurt. Maybe you've been corrected for something you've done and are feeling condemned. I know a few who have been put out of a church as well.  Whatever it was, the enemy likes to get you doubting you should go to church at all. 

Let's look at a parable Jesus shared:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (Luke 18:10–14).  

Above, we read about two people at the temple or "church"  Both believed in God, both went to  church, both prayed.  So, what's the difference in them?  One acknowledged the sin of others, while one confessed his own.  One acknowledged all his good works aloud, while one wouldn't didn't dare.  One called out the other to make himself look righteous.  One criticized others and one only criticized his own heart. One weighed himself by the standards of men to feel superior, while the other humbly judged himself only by God's standard.  To sum it up, one was proud and one was humble.  

Let me just confess.  I've been both of the people in this parable above at different times. Unfortunately, the longer we're in church the easier it is to fit into the "culture of the church" and expect others to do the same, and if we're not careful we can judge others by our own standards.  Meanwhile, we miss that God can do nothing in the midst of judgments, name calling and gossip.  He moves where he's being praised, not where we praise ourselves, He moves where our flesh isn't being glorified, but his Son is.  He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  We see how God wants us to be, but so many times in church we experience the opposite. 

So, if you've been hurt in church, by church folk, why even bother?  Why be a part of a fellowship of believers?  Why is it encouraged in the Bible?  Here's a few reasons:

Church is to fellowship & encourage one another:  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

We experience God's presence:  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20

We Receive Faith: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Romans 10:17

We have a spiritual covering: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.  Hebrews 13:17

We experience the blessing that comes with unity of believers:  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head,Running down on the beard,The beard of Aaron,Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon,Descending upon the mountains of Zion;For there the Lord commanded the blessing—Life forevermore. Psalms 133:1-3

I recently heard someone say, "Church isn't supposed to be perfect, it's supposed to be a home".  Our homes aren't perfect and we don't expect everyone in our home to be. We love, correct, nourish, teach, fellowship, forgive, and feel safe in our homes.  It's where we can relax and be ourselves.  Home is where we are accepted, where we grow.  If you've been blessed to experience a loving home, bring that with you to the church.  If you haven't known a loving home, then the church should be that home to you.  Jesus is the head of this home. 

So, I encourage you, come home. Yes, at some point, we're sure to be hurt by someone in our "home" and have to forgive, but learning that is part of growing up.  Receive faith, the blessing, the covering, fellowship, encouragement, and God's presence. Know there's others hurting that need your fellowship, your encouragement, your testimony.  Come home, be built up, encouraged and equipped, so you can go into the world, share Christ and invite others into God's family.  See you at church!!

Sit & Listen about the one-eyed hamster

Who's got time for that?

So many things call.  So many good things, so many helpful things that I could do.  See something that needs to be done and do it.   But they call me away, away from the best.  If the enemy can’t make us miss the mark with sin, then he would love to make us miss the mark by making us so busy doing  good things that we miss the best thing.

Don’t be so busy serving me that you miss my presence

Oh, by nature I’m totally a Martha.  But in all my Marthaness, no matter how hard I try, things still get missed and some ball is still dropped.  At the end of my most productive, task filled day, there’s still more to do. That's so frustrating for a Martha.  Every day, there’s more tasks than I could dare accomplish.  One of the biggest challenges about being such a Martha is that we can be so busy serving that we forget to slow down & love on the ones we are serving. Jesus was all in her house and the Bible said she was distracted with much serving.  Can you imagine what you’d do if Jesus was in your house?  I mean, I can totally picture myself like all spiritual, sitting on the floor looking at Jesus, washing his feet with my tears, as my children float by in moments of bliss.  But in reality, It would be wild, loud, kids running, dogs barking and messing on the carpet & I’d be running around cleaning  up & serving up the fanciest food I could muster up (Cocoa Krispies or Frosted Flakes, with some Ghirardelli chocolates on the side).   Seriously, I’d be so tempted work my heart out to serve him and everyone else, that I would miss him just being there. I’m the one who would be thinking about all I could do to make his stay nice.  But what a trick of the enemy.   In the busyness of serving, if we are not careful, we can neglect the very ones we serve.  

Sometimes, it’s in the slowing down that we serve others best.  People often don’t want our service as much as they just want us.  Your attention, your care, your ear, your joy.  Ahhhh....slowing down enough to listen, to laugh, to enjoy those we serve.  That’s what Jesus wanted of Martha. I can hear him saying, “Don’t be so busy serving me that you miss my presence.”

Your value is not in what you do, but in whose you are

Another issue Martha likely faced was in finding her value in what she did.  I know, because that’s how I lived for years.  What a lie the enemy plants that we are only as valuable as what we accomplish. The lie that if we are not doing something for someone at all times, we are not valuable.  The truth is, we are valuable because we are His.  On our best day, it’s the blood of Jesus that makes us valuable, and on our worst day, it’s still the blood of Jesus that determines our value.  You are valuable because He gave his life for you.

I choose that needful thing

My relationship with my children grows the most when I slow down and sit on the floor with my kids one on one and listen; listen about something that they made in art, or listen and care why a certain sock must be found because it fits just right and doesn't have bumps like all the rest, or listen compassionately again about the one-eyed hamster that's been deceased for two years now.  It's those moments that mean so much to my kids, but are so hard for me, because I'm not doing something.  Even if I never find the sock, or don't replace the one-eyed hamster, it matters most to them that they had all my attention and that I genuinely cared.  It’s when we slow down and listen that we build relationships.  We are not here to merely serve, but to know and be known, to love and be loved, to listen and be heard.  Sometimes, that requires that our eyes be taken off our “service” and put on that one that we’re serving.  Similarly, when I sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary, and He has all my attention, our relationship grows.  When my attention is all on him, I can hear his heart.  “Lord, what would you have to tell me.  This is the most needful thing I can accomplish today.  To sit at your feet and learn of you.  Your yoke is easy and your burden is light.  Speak to me, Lord.  So many things call for my attention and energy, but you are the needful thing.  I choose you.  Show me what I am to do today in this season.  Show me what is merely a distraction from your purpose for me today.  Show me what is keeping me from the best you’ve called me to.  Let all the duties and tasks call, but they will just have to wait.  I choose you, Lord.  You are my needful thing.”   

Friend, my prayer for us today is that no good thing will pull us away from the very best thing.  May we choose to make time to sit with those we love and listen wholeheartedly, if only for a moment.  May our most needful thing be sitting at the feet of Jesus each day.  Such wholeness awaits us there at his feet.

Love, Chrissy

Mommyhood

Motherhood

My highest honor, reminding me of my inadequacies and God’s grace, my greatest joy, my struggle, my purpose, stretching me to see things from another perspective, my call to pray and intercede, my protective nature revealed, my organizational skills thrown out of the window, my realization that cleanliness is relative, socks don’t have to match, Pooh Bears are essential,  boundaries are necessary, wooden spoons are effective, and pizza is all 4 food groups in one.  My reminder to stop and enjoy, hide chocolate, play memory and basketball, win sometimes, hug often, share Truth, forgive quickly, love purely, deeply, and without restraint.  It’s my way to make an eternal difference.  My greatest reminder that God’s grace is sufficient to cover my insufficiency.  

Praying for all the Mom's out there today, that you will draw all you need as a mom and woman from Jesus.  He is more than enough, our teacher and example, empowering us to walk in love and truth and to instill the same within the next generation : )

 Love, Chrissy

He is enough

Today, I am so thankful for God's grace & I want to share why.

Recently, a dear friend shared this statement and it has resonated with me ever since:  "There's a difference in being transparent and being vulnerable.  You can be transparent and still not be vulnerable."  We all need to know that we have a place where it's safe to be vulnerable.  So often in the church, we feel we must always appear strong and if we were to be vulnerable or admit we are struggling, others would look down on us or judge us.  Yes, God is always wanting us to grow spiritually.  He wants us to lead others to him by example.  But there is such freedom is knowing it's not our strength that makes us great, it's not our abilities that make us adequate, it's not
our "put together" appearance that makes us anointed.   I am so truly honored with God's calling on my life as a mom, wife, Pastor's wife, and sweet purposes and convictions God has put in my heart.  I see my husband minister God's Word to so many and see so many lives changed, and I am just honored to get to be a part.  I see this school that God has placed under our care, and I am honored I get to be a part.  I see my children, their gifts, their uniqueness, and I get to be a part of shaping their lives.   So many times I am reminded that I, in and of myself, am not enough.  I see myself speak an unkind word to my children, I get frustrated with others, I feel inadequate for all that is before me.  I know my heart and am disappointed in the judgements I may be so quick to pass, or sharp words I let come out of my mouth.  I fail and falter.  I get frustrated and overwhelmed.  I know I am not enough.  I am insufficient for all that He's called me to.  Then, I get quiet.  It's these times where God so gently reminds me of a great Truth.  In my spiritual walk with the Lord, this is something that I have often been reminded of and found to be so freeing for me.  I hope it is for you too….

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. II Corinthians 12:9

I love Jesus!  I love that He takes my weakness when I acknowledge it before him and he puts his anointing right there and shows his strength in that very area.  He loves to do it. It's in those areas that He gets all the glory, because I know how weak I really am that I don't dare take credit.  I am so humbled by how good He is.  

So, for those of you reading this that feel weak; that feel like a failure; that feel shaken, inadequate, and as though you will never be "good" enough:  His grace is enough.  Maybe this is just a momentary thing for you.  You are just going through an emotional "funk".  Or maybe this has been the story of your life.  You have never been "enough".  Maybe someone made you feel inadequate for years and you can't get passed it.  I want to encourage you:  Don't hide your weakness, insufficiency and bury it in some hidden part of your heart, hoping to never be seen by anyone.  Don't think your inadequacies eliminate you from being called and used mightily by God. Quite the contrary.  God uses weak ones. 1 Corinthians 1:26 says "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”[c

God loves to use weak ones!  Acknowledge your inadequacies, don't hide them.  See it for what it is.  See it as a place for God's strength to be made perfect!  And then confess it.  Confess it to God. It's so freeing! It's okay that I am weak sometimes.  The Bible also tells us to confess to one another  " Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" James 5:16.  Find someone where you feel safe to be vulnerable and share your weakness.  There's a healing that begins. 

I am far from perfect.  I am often weak.  I don't have some great awesome gift..  But, bigger than my weakness is this great mighty God.  He is bigger and greater than any insufficiency I may have. All I have to do is surrender to Him and his perfect strength will flow right into my weakness and He will be glorified!  With Him, I can do all things.  With Him, nothing is impossible for me. With him, I can fulfill the call he has placed on my life.  With him I can control my tongue.  With him, I can love others the way He has loved me.  With him, I can stop focusing on my weakness and insufficiency, and instead focus on His great strength.  He will cause all His plans & purposes to come to pass in my life as I acknowledge Him.  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

your sister in Christ,
Chrissy 

Protecting My Kids Online

They love playing on our iPad, iPhones.  Two of them now have iPods (one bought his own & the other won his).  Now, there are some really good apps on these apple devices.  Especially some good math apps to help them in school.  However, there is wireless internet available on them too.  So, safety while being on there unattended is so important.  We have a responsibility to guard our hearts, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).  What goes in our hearts, whether by what we hear, see,  or experience,  it shows up in our lives. Eventually, this will be my children's responsibility & it is to some small degree now.  But, this is largely my responsibility.  It is my responsibility to protect their hearts. We are careful what we allow in our home, on our tv, radio, out of our mouths.  The internet is a tricky one because it's got everything on it & it's on every device now.  It's more challenging that the other things to monitor.  I keep thinking of Adam & Eve.  They were so tempted to eat of this tree that would give them knowledge of good & evil, make them wise they thought to understand both good & evil.  So, this is clearly a temptation we can have, to know evil.  No child is exempt from curiosity & the Bible says a child left to himself brings his mother to shame....we can not leave our kids to themselves in todays information age with all forms of evil right at their fingertips with the click of a button....Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.  It is our job to protect them & train them.  God calls us to be excellent at what is good & innocent of evil (Rom 16:19).  It is our job to raise our kids this way.  So, every new gadget they get, whether 3ds, kindle,....whatever, i'm like the little gadget for dummies girl figuring everything out about it before they even get it.  Seeing what they allow & can access, if they can "text, call, video chat".  So, I know this is a struggle & challenge for so many parents.  I'm by no means tech savvy at all, but I thought I'd share what I've found thus far to help & I'd love to hear from anyone about what they know : )

Child's OWN Ipod/Ipads:  Safari (apple's internet browser) has no filter.  This is a big issue.  Our home wireless networks may have a filter or whatever to keep inappropriate material from coming through, but if they take their iPod next door & your neighbor doesn't have a filter, they can pull up a lot on safari.  Example:  my child was looking up kawasaki videos & it took him to youtube....unfiltered videos with language & other mess.  So what I've found that works best if it's their own device:  Disable Safari under settings/restrictions.  Get the app MOBICIP.  It's great.  maybe free? can't remember, but it is an internet browser that filters everything from the internet appropriate for your child's age (elem, middle, high school) .  Mobicip even has a premium service for $ that will limit their hours online, send you reports on what they are looking up, etc...  Good stuff!  Oh, & another thing on these I have turned off their texting & FaceTime apps.  I give them the freedom to play on their devices outside of my direct presence, so I have to know they are safe.  When I leave town, I turn on FaceTime so they can see us & talk to us when they want.  It's a great feature, but just not one to be left available unsupervised.  There are a lot of restrictions you can set on iPod/ipads/iphones under settings/general/restrictions.

Child's own 3ds/ Kindle:  Don't even get me started on the 3ds.  I never liked seeing kids on these little things all the time.  Well, we have one, & the only thing it's good for is leverage.  It's like our new form of time out & is only played on when behavior is good, school is out, sun is up, & chores are done.   3ds has all kinds of security settings.  Check them out & err on the side of caution.  Because there is wireless on their iPods & it's very filtered on there, I've turned wireless off on all of their other devices.  Wireless  is off on our 3ds.  Kindle--wireless if off on this too & i don't even put games on it. The 3ds & iPod are for games. Kindle in our house is for reading.  It's great for reading too.  He can read at night in the bed & really enjoys it : )  His reading has taken off & I credit that partly to reading at bedtime on the kindle.  I can check out books from our public library & put them on his kindle for free....all online : )  You just need your special pin number from the library.  I've heard there's a MOBICIP app for kindle as well for those who use the internet on their kindle.

PARENTS IPHONE/IPOD/IPAD:  This is where it's been tricky for me.  I like Safari for internet.  But, unless I completely turn it off under settings, it is always available for my kids to access while they are playing other apps.  So, I want a way to keep them off of my internet, but I don't' want to have to surf under the MOBICIP elementary filter.  So, tonight after trying every way I could find to password lock my safari app, I gave that up & got a new internet browser in the app store called Mercury.  It is supposed to have a passcode to open it every time, so my kids can't use that browser.  I'm turning off Safari, I'll use Mercury, & they have Mobicip.  I'll keep you updated as to how this works.

After all this, I just want to turn off all electronics & tell the kids,  "let's get spoons & go play in the dirt pile."  Much simpler!

Okay, there's my not so technologically correct Mom's Filtering Service.  Please share your knowledge with me!  This is just another one of the many hats we moms get to wear : )  But, we are building something eternal, something strong, something worth everything...

Fear or Faith

Here again, I'm faced with the fight of faith over fear.  Tonight we had to rush one of our children to the E.R. for a severe food allergy reaction.  I have had to apply my faith over two of our other children & allergies.  Allergies that have affected their breathing.  Allergies that have affected so many decisions we have had to make.  Can we go out to eat there?  Do his other caregivers know how to treat a reaction? Will they recognize a reaction quick enough?  Will they remember what he can't eat? Does he feel left out because he doesn't get a piece of the birthday cake?  Is that cough just a normal cough or is it more?  But through that I've learned & seen God's faithfulness.  He has kept them when I missed it.  He has given me promises of peace for them.

Tonight, again I am faced with this.  Maybe it's the knowledge from being a nurse that makes the fear so much easier?  If i didn't know how serious it was, i would be nonchalant about this.... not Knowing the potential process of an allergy reaction.  But, she is okay, thank you Jesus!  Sleeping now while I am awake.  Awake wishing she didn't have this.  Awake thinking of all the things I must change in her environment to keep her away from that food.  And all the people that now must be as vigilant as me in that.  Every label I will read before she can have a bite.  Every question about every food I will have to ask.  Every snack that she can't have at snack time.  But she is breathing normal now : )

Fear tries to grip me from what happened to what happens now.  But then I remember Jesus.  I remember he has promised that great is the peace (wholeness) of my children.  That he satisfies them with long life & shows them His salvation.  That no weapon formed against them shall prosper.  He has given them all things richly to enjoy.  He has plans of peace & not of evil to give my children a hope & a future.  I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.  I can walk by faith & not by sight. His grace is sufficient.

I remember one of our sons when dealing with his allergy told a friend that God had made him like that, with those allergies.  Oh how that broke my heart.  My prayer became that he would know God, not as the one who gave him this condition, but that he would know God as his Healer.

My children's faith will be strong.  They shall see the salvation of the Lord.  They will be considerate of each other & protect each other from potential harmful things.  They will pray for one another's healing.  Even tonight when we returned from the hospital, the kids gathered around & all loved on their sibling.  How precious.  How Great is our God that he will make all things work together for the good of my children & our family as we love him & are called according to His purpose.

So, tonight I will think on these things.  Not on the what if's but in God's Word, his promises, his goodness.  I will rest in this. He is faithful to his Word & the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  Great shall be the wholeness of our children!