Embrace

Romans 8:31-39 

The Message (MSG)

^31-39 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.

(taken from biblegateway.com)

Dear God, I love your truths.  The truths like this, that you can really grasp and hang onto for dear life when the going gets rough.  There's nothing that can come between me and you.  Nothing.  Even if my kids are the ones screaming at the grocery store, pulling things off the shelf, you won't disown me.  Even if I am late.  Again.  For the 100th time.  You won't take your love from me.  Even if the ones I care about most on this Earth throw hateful, tearing insults at me, you won't join in.  No, you'll be there for me, to pick me up...and wrap me in your arms...and whisper that you'll never leave me.  

It brings me to tears...this kind of love.  I love my children more than anyone except my husband and even with them sometimes I hesitate.  I hate to admit it, but I do.  When they've made me so mad I can't see straight, I hesitate when I have to tell them it's ok, that I forgive them...because I just want to wrap myself in my anger and stay there for some weird reason.  I hesitate to give them that hug they are asking me for when they are covered from head to toe in dirt and something that's blue and sticky...because I don't want to get dirty.  Yet, the sin that covered me was so much worse to you than dirt, and you didn't hesitate.  You embraced me...even in my condition.  You embraced me and gave your most precious possession to us.  

Keep this at the front of my mind always.  Remind me what I was covered in before your embrace.  Remind me what I could do for myself (nothing) before you.  Remind me what you did for me.  I am so humbled by you and your love...and your faithfulness...and your mercy.  Remind me of these things when pride is rising up inside me.  Remind me of these things when I think I've got much to busy of a day to spend any time with you.  (What in the world??!)  Remind me of these things when I feel I'm better than someone else.  (We were both your dirty, sticky, nasty kids before your embrace covered us.)  

I love you so much Lord, but I have so much to learn.  Teach me.  Thank you that you won't give up on me.  I ask you for these things in your son's name.  Amen.

More Than We Can Handle

You've heard it before, I know you have...especially if you live in the south.  It's one of those things people say to each other that's supposed to make you feel better.  It's said with good intentions, but it's not true.  In fact it's absolute crap.

I've heard it from friends, from random people in the grocery store when they see the packages overflowing from my cart and my three children in tow, and most recently I even heard it from my doctor.  "God doesn't give you more than you can handle."

It's just not true people.  Don't believe the hype.  If it was true, then man...I'd feel like an absolute failure more days than not.  At this point in time I'm finishing up a season in my life where I have three children at home with me (5, 3, and 5 mos), I work 31 hrs a week (at home....somehow), and I'm still responsible for the household business (meals, grocery shopping, bills, cleaning, laundry...you get the idea).  Add onto that the most recent development of getting our house ready to sell and trying to keep it spotless for house showings.  I don't know if you are superman/woman...but I am most definitely not.  And if, at any point in time I might have thought I was...this present season of life that I described above would have convinced me otherwise. The truth is it's more than I can handle most days.

Don't get me wrong...I live a very blessed life with an amazing, godly husband, three healthy children, and caring friends and family to do life with.  So, i'm not saying that I'm miserable.  However, most days things are DEFINITELY more than I could handle. It's just the facts.

Forget my life and look at examples in the Bible...
Moses - He was given the task of leading God's people out of slavery in Egypt.  He was the one who led the people through the Red Sea.  More than he could handle?  I'd guess yes.  In fact...we don't have to guess.  Re-read the story and you'll see that when God first tells him his assignment, he tells God that the assignment is too much for him.

Daniel - Remember the scary sleepover with the lions?  Yep, Daniel was the one who did that.  Or was he?  I'm pretty sure Daniel wasn't the muscles behind that miracle...and I'm also certain it was more than he could handle.  (If I think three hungry kids are too much...what about three hungry lions...yeahhhhh, I'll pass!)

David - He killed the giant with the rock.  Or did he?  Again, I'm guessing the situation was a little more than kid-version David could handle.  Maybe David isn't the one who deserves the credit...

We could go on and on with examples from the Bible, and probably examples from your life and mine...or people we know.  Enter Jesus.  Before Jesus we were under the law, meaning we had to keep all of God's laws and commandments in order to spend eternity in heaven and not in hell.  Too much to handle?  Ummm, yes!  No one....let me repeat that...no one could keep the law.  God knew that and he had compassion on us because of his great mercy and love.  God is a rescuer.  He always has been and always will be.  So he sent Jesus.  Fully man and fully god - the only who could fulfill the law and save us from a situation that was too much for us to handle.

In the message version of Matthew 19:26, Jesus says this to a man who thinks he's got the situation under control:

"Jesus looked hard at them and said, 'No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself.  Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.'"

There you have it folks.  Jesus has laid to rest this cultural lie that claims 'God doesn't give you more than you can handle'.  It's simply not true.  We DO end up with more than we can handle.  Sometimes we do it to ourselves, but other times it happens regardless of what we do.  (Side note - I think people get this mixed up with the verse that says God won't tempt us beyond what we can bear, in 1 Cor 10:13)  But the best news is...
                         ready for it?.....

God can handle it.

He's got it.

No problem or circumstance is too much for him.

He wants us to come to him.  He wants us to ask for help.  He's telling me and you to quit trying to be superwoman or superman and instead ask him to rescue us in the midst of our situation that is too much to handle...and then watch for God to do his thing.  Because he will.  He always does.  Because he loves us.

Word.

It's been a while since I posted....and I decided that was ok :o)  I want this blog to be an outlet, not an item on a to-do list, and I seriously want it to be something God uses.  SO, I'm trying to be ok with my super sporadic posting, and hope you will too!

I've been thinking about this for a while, but it seems like today is the day God prompted me to write about it.  (That and the fact that I can actually think because my kids are in Mother's Morning Out for a few hours ;o)  The question that's been plaguing me is a question for those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers.  If you're not a Christ-follower, I'd love for you to keep reading...but this question doesn't apply to you.

Christ-followers are supposed to be just that, right?  People who follow Christ.  Who is Christ?  We'd probably all give a slightly different answer to that question, but think on this:

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth John1:14

So...one answer to the question is that Christ was the Word.  Well, what is the Word??  The word is God's word...in other words the Bibles that most of us in this country have several copies of in our homes.  We may even have an app on our phone that holds multiple versions of the Bible.

We say we're Christ-followers, but Christ, or Jesus, is the Word...and from what I can tell we don't read the Word.  That means we don't know Jesus.  If we don't know Jesus...obviously we can't follow him very far, right?  What the heck??!

We will listen to our preacher, listen to Andy Stanley, Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Steven Furtick, Billy Graham...we'll even listen to some random person writing a blog, talking on tv, or posting on Facebook...before we'll open our Bibles.  I'm not saying these people are bad, in fact a lot of the preachers I mentioned above have some great revelations to share.  But - the fact is, they are NOT a substitute for the Word.  How many of them can put on their resume that they've been here since the beginning of time, that they are God, have always been with God, made the universe, and embody love itself?  Ummm...I'm guessing none of them have that rep.  (Not even that person on Facebook that seems to know everything and have THE perfect life.)

So the question is - WHY???  We have so many situations in our lives that we want advice for...we want to know what the right thing to do is...we want to know why everything is falling apart around us.  Yet, we don't go Jesus, we don't go to the Word, we don't crack open that Bible.  Let's save ourselves some time and heart ache and just realize the truth:  if you haven't opened the Bible then you're not following Christ...you cannot possibly know where Christ is going or where He wants you to go if you don't know where He's been, his character, and how he feels about you.  We learn all of this through the Bible, through Jesus...ever wondered why Hebrews 4:12 calls the Word of God "living and active?" Because it IS...it's Jesus.  It's a person...living and breathing...and who wants to be active in your life.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.4 In him was life,t and the life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John1:1-5

There's a promise in these verses above.  Did you catch it?  Here's the sequence:
Jesus (the Word) has always been
Jesus has always been with and a part of the God (this is that confusing, yet true fact that God is 3 in1)
Everything was made through God..through the Word
There is life in the Word
That life is a light that can be in us
If we allow that light in us, it will NOT be overcome...not even by the world.

There's not much you can count on in this world...in fact, there's nothing that we can be sure of.  Not government, not retirement, not even our friends and family because they could be gone tomorrow...BUT God and his Word will never be gone, and the light and life he promises will NEVER be overcome.  Pretty amazing.

Hold that up to advice from Facebook, that tv talk show host, that sermon you can listen to ...and see how it compares :o)  Fact is, it doesn't.  Do it today - open up the Bible, release yourself from any expectations you have about how it should be done (more on this in another post), and trust that God will do the work of showing you who He is because you are seeking him!  As you get to know Jesus, your life will change radically - and it'll be amazing.

the RIGHT way

I'm pretty good at coming up with the RIGHT way to do things...I mean, isn't it obvious to everyone that there is a right way and a wrong way?  For instance...

In the shower, do you have a routine?  I definitely do...because there is only one right way to take a shower.  (Didn't know if you knew that or not...but I'm giving you that tidbit for free)
Steps to CORRECTLY take a shower:

1. You should always shampoo your hair first, rinse, then put conditioner on your hair. 
2. Conditioner needs to sit for a little while, so you let it sit while you wash the rest of your body (except your back)
3. After washing, you can rinse out your conditioner...but that greasy conditioner is going to run down your back.
4. So...of course, you wash your back last to get the conditioner off of it.

And that, my friends, is how you correctly take a shower.  Man, don't you feel enlightened?

SADLY, I feel like this a lot...like I know exactly how things should be done and how they shouldn't.  Our culture says this is a great thing, especially if you're a woman...you know, Beyonce's "independent women" and all that jazz.  Turns out it's NOT a great thing - thinking you have all the answers.

I was reading in 1 Chronicles 13, and was shocked to see that in the early parts of David's reign as king, he got a man killed.  (Wasn't he supposed to be an awesome king?!?)  See, David got the idea to move the Ark of the Lord, and set about the task enthusiastically.  Unfortunately, in the process of carrying it, the ark looked a little shaky and a man named Uzzah tried to help out.  Uzzah thought he was doing the right thing - steadying the ark so it wouldn't fall or be hurt in any way.  Sadly that one move cost him his life.  So, you're probably asking how that's David's fault?  Well...David was the one in charge...he was the leader.  God put him in charge of the people, and when you're in charge (like it or not) people will usually do what you tell them to do and will act just like you act.  Before moving the ark, David talked to his officials and lots of other people, but he forgot to talk to God about it.  Since he didn't talk to God about it, he didn't give God the chance to tell him that there was a very specific way to move the Ark... that if these ways were neglected, lives could be at risk.

David learned though.  The next time he was going to do something big, he asked God about it first.  He was thinking of going into battle....but...he remembered his mistake last time, and did better this time.  He asked God whether this was something he should do or not.  God said he should do it, and gave him victory in the process.  In fact, most of the time after that, David remembered to consult God first.  (That's probably one of the greatest contributing factors to him being a great king.)

We get so puffed up on ourselves...and even get ticked when someone tells us the way we're doing something is wrong.  Truthfully, I know sometimes I don't want to ask God how to do it.  (...and in those times I'm being a stupid girl!)  God always wants us to talk to him about what we're doing.  He wants us to remember that we're human...that he's almighty, all-powerful God...that we can screw this thing up BIG time...but that he will graciously and lovingly guide us through the landmines of life.  I'm not talking of a prosperity gospel philosophy here - there will still be difficult times in life.  However, when you're doing things God's way, to say things go so much better is a pretty huge understatement.  The best thing about talking to him constantly is the relationship that develops between you and him.  You begin to know him, and realize how intimately he knows and loves you.

So, I'm challenging myself and you for the next 2 weeks to ask God....

....what to do with your day
....whether you should buy that new____ or not
....how you can bless someone today
....how to confront that person you're upset with
....what to do about the ever increasing problems in your marriage
...how you should vote (gasp!)
...what you should wear (really)
...what to do with your kids that are driving you nuts (God understands frustrating kids :)
and the list could go on and on....

Try it.  Take your decisions to God for the next 2 weeks.  Big or little issue...it doesn't matter.  Try it out and see how things change.  (Of course I'd love to hear your stories of what God does as a result!!)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Phillipians 4:6

The return

It's the moment you've been waiting for....that moment when you see that I've returned to my blog writing to entertain and encourage you.  ............No?  Well, a girl can dream, right?  :)

Truthfully, it's actually the moment that I have been waiting for...for a while.  For about 4 weeks I've been MIA from the blogging world.  In fact I've been MIA from the real world too.  I found out I was pregnant with baby #3 in late April.  After I got over the shock of realizing I really was going to have another baby...then the pregnancy nausea set in.  Now, with the first two pregnancies, I had some nausea, but I now realize that was pansy nausea.  I'm not sure what's different about this child, but dang...something is.  (I'm trying to convince myself it has nothing to do with being the big 3-0 in this third pregnancy. Yikes!)  This nausea hit me like a wall when I woke up and was my constant buddy ALL....DAY...LONG.  And let me tell you I was one happy camper.  (you got that sarcasm, didn't you?)  Not only did I feel sick to my stomach, but I also felt like I had the flu (what the....??)  PLUS, (yes, there's more) I was starving all day long but my stomach didn't understand that.  Everything I tried to eat only lasted about 3 bites before my stomach realized I was trying to put something in it and quickly rejected it.  I was one miserable girl.  (Translation:  my poor family was miserable too.)

Now,  I realize that some of you have to endure so much worse during your pregnancy(s) and I am fully in support of petitioning the capitol to create a national holiday in honor of mothers that have to deal with this kind of insanity....wait.  Crud, I think there already is one of those.  Heck, we should have TWO days.  Anyone with me?

Seriously though, you're my heroes.

So in the 4 weeks that I've been gone, here's what I did:

• Went to the beach, felt sick most of the time, drank lots of Ginger Ale (can't look at Ginger Ale now)
• Came home, got worse
• Slept a lot...my kids watched a lot of tv
• Slept some more...my kids watched A LOT of tv
• Slept...(Well, you get the idea)
• In the midst of all this fun, Noah, my 2 yr old decided this would be a good time to potty train.  All I could do was laugh!  I was glad he found the motivation himself, but not so glad at his amazing timing.  (You know the only thing worse than feeling nauseous is feeling nauseous and having to clean out poop out of the little potty training potties.  Oh.  my.)  More to come on this later...
• Our neighbor mowed our grass (it was about 2 ft high - is that bad? :) because he figured our mower was broken.  In actuality, my sweet husband was working his tail off trying to stay afloat at work, while coming home to take care of me and the kids.  I love that man.  We were both grateful to our neighbor...even if it is somewhat embarrassing that your neighbor had to mow your grass.

But...I can say there was a rainbow at the end of this storm.  I came out of this with one nasty house...but my kids were alive and my husband still loved me.  My husband helped me resurrect the house this Saturday, and I can honestly say I feel so thankful for all that God gives.  In the midst of my complaining to God, or asking him for this or that...I too often forget to be thankful.  And oh, once you've lost a grateful attitude, it all goes down the crapper.  One of my sisters is going through a rough period with her health, and the other is WAY pregnant with no AC in the house she's staying at.  Even though they've had so much going on, they've called to see how I am.  Many of my friends that don't even know my sister with the health issues have sent food, prayers, and sweet emails.  If that's not enough to make you thankful, you might be dead.  So...I decided that although the past 4 weeks sucked, I'm thankful.  I'm thankful for the energy to write this, for a God who loves me no matter what I or my house looks like, for loving and understanding family and friends...and I could go on and on.  If we're honest with ourselves most of us should be able to go on and on (regardless of our circumstances)...if you can't, you may need to do a heart check.   

Thanks for being patient with me and my blogging - I'm returning to normalcy, (whatever that is) so you'll hear more soon...

'

Why Didn't You Tell Me?

You know, when I was pregnant with our first child, Ella, I thought I pretty much knew what to expect.  I was thinking along the lines of some crying, lots of changing diapers, discipline as she got older, making messes, etc.  However, there are just some things no one told me kids would do...and I have to say I've been pretty appalled to discover them along the way.  If your kids are older than mine (4 and 2) then this will come as no surprise to you!  BUT, if you aren't a parent or your children are still very little...then prepare yourself.

Things I didn't know kids would do:

1. Try to put things in my nose.  I was prepared for things going up their nose...but was pretty shocked when the first thing went up mine!  Take my word for it, this is NOT a pleasant experience.
2. WANT to touch every dirty thing imaginable.  I knew they would probably accidentally touch dirty stuff, because, hey...they're kids....but they STRIVE to touch dirty things.  Ugh!  This ranges from public potties, to the grocery store parking lot, to that chewed up, smashed gum stuck in the parking lot.  (I think I could throw up thinking about it...moving on...)
3. Not go to bed.  I'm not talking about when they're a baby.  I had that one pegged.  I'm talking about my 4 yr old who still wakes up some nights and wants some random thing like a stuffed animal before she'll go back to sleep...or my 2 yr old who will lay in his bed jabbering for HOURS on end, refusing to go to sleep.
4. Hurt me.  Repeatedly.  You'd think this was mainly my son's doing, but they actually share the blame for this one.  Noah frequently head butts me with that hard little noggin of his, while Ella (unlike her name, Ella Grace) hasn't yet mastered being graceful and frequently runs into me, drops things on me, steps on my toes. etc.  For a while I was convinced I must be invisible because of the amount of times they walked on me or into me.
5. Melt my heart.  Yeah, I had to throw a sappy one in there...I AM a hormonal pregnant woman, after all.  Truly though, I knew I'd love my children.  Of course.  But I had no idea how a hug or smile could make me melt.  Just tonight I was laying on the couch looking pretty green, and nursing the bloody nose Ella had just given me when Noah came up and said, "Poor mommy!"  Ella was standing nearby, looking at me intently, and told me how sorry she was.  I don't love getting hurt, but man...they know how to make it all worth it. :o)  

What about you?  What has shocked you about your kids?

What Happened Wednesday

There's always that question you get at the beginning of the week..."How was your weekend?"  ...and it's a good question as long you have a good answer for it.  BUT, if your true answer for that question is, "It was terrible, horrible, rotten, and pretty much no good, "  or some other answer that is just as socially awkward, then we usually give the standard answer, "Fine."  Three weekends ago my answer to the weekend question would've been "fine."  Translation - It was pretty shocking, but I really don't want to talk about it right now.  That shock has been the reason I've been MIA to the blog world for a few days...so I figured I'd let you in on that weekend.

You probably know what's coming....but I'm going to pretend you don't :)  So...the weekend started off normal, but this weekend I was supposed to get the dreaded period on Saturday.  Saturday came and went...no period.  My period is usually like clockwork, so I thought about it,... but chalked it up to the new eating  habits along with being super active the past couple of weeks.  Sunday morning I was spending some time with God, talking through some things with Him.  One of things that crossed my mind (obviously), was this period issue.  So, I told God that if I was pregnant, He was really going to have to help me through this...and I had one of those Holy Spirit moments.  Ever had one of those?  They're pretty crazy...but for me it's like I get this overwhelming feeling that I KNOW something is true...usually accompanied by goose bumps.  (I know, if you're not a Christ follower this may sound hokey, but I'm just telling it like it is.  If you check out some stories in the Bible you'll see God has actually been talking to His followers since He created us.  What's changed is our society - if we can't explain it with facts, figures, and research, then we deem it non-existent.)  Well, the thing that the Holy Spirit allowed me to KNOW was that I WAS in fact preggo.  Wow.  I just sat there.  For a while.

I went to church and tried to act like everything was normal.  It wasn't.  I went to buy a test after church, and tried to calmly take it.  I wasn't so calm.  Once it was positive, I tried to keep it to myself for a little bit to let the news sink in.  I didn't.  I told my husband through sobs. (Anybody else been there?)  It wasn't that I wasn't happy to have a new little addition to our family...it was ALL THE DETAILS.  Would we have to get a new car? (Which is always accompanied by another car payment)  Would we have the finances to pay for all of this? (We both LOVE our jobs, but we both work in ministry, remember? :)  And on and on and on....  I have to say my husband gets mad props.  He assured me, calmed me down, and reminded me God would provide.  God has been doing the same thing, continually reminding me that he provides.  (The passage he keeps telling me is included at the bottom.)

So...I'm feeling much better about things, I'm starting to trust God and feel the joy that comes with knowing a new life is growing.  Unfortunately, I'm also feeling much worse physically.  The nauseau has hit, and unlike my other two pregnancies, this nauseau likes to hang around aaaallllllll   ddddaaaaayyyyy.  Ugh!  In fact, as I talk to you I'm wearing my oh-so-fashionable sea bands and sipping on some Ginger Ale.  So I'll have to ask you to forgive me if my blogging suffers for the next few weeks...I'm sure you don't want to read about my puking :)

Slightly Green,
    Lindsey


Here's the passage that's been super encouraging to me:

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.  Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  Look at the birds.  They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And why worry about your clothing?  Look at the lilies of the field and hot they grow.  They don't work or make their clothing yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.  Why do you have so little faith?"  Matthew 6:25-30

This is a page from my childrens' bible.  When I read this story to them
called, "The Singer," it hit home so much I cried.  This is an amazing
bible.  If you need one for your kids I highly recommend it.  It's called The
Jesus Storybook Bible and is available on Amazon.

(how lucky we are to have a God that loves us THAT much.  :)