Back in the saddle...

Well, I'm back. I have had whooping cough and a virus for over two weeks now, so I haven't posted in what seems like forever. Enough excuses...back in the saddle.

I'll admit it, Ephesians 5:22-24 has always given me a little trouble. These are the scripture in the Bible that say,

"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."

I feel like I have been given a revelation that when I am in proper submission, it frees me from responsibilities that were never mine to handle. With this freedom from stress, comes the ability to truly be myself and go after the big things God has for me, and us as a couple. The picture of a wife in submission is not one who is a doormat, but one who is a partner, not continually pulling away from her husband to go her own way.

I know intellectually that God designed marriage, and that His plan works best. However, walking out these verses has always given me a bit of a problem. You see, I like to have my own way. I know, for those of you who know me well, this is no huge revelation. :-)
More specifically, I think I know the 'right' way. I married a strong man, who also thinks he knows the 'right' way. Sometimes, this works out beautifully, and it is 'us against the world.' However, some days are ideas of 'right' do not merge so gracefully, and I find myself grumbling and fighting the boundaries within marriage.
Just like when I fight obeying God, I know in my mind and heart that I need to have a better attitude, but it is so hard sometimes.

Lately, while being sick. I was getting frustrated with everything very easily. Mike didn't ever do anything wrong, in fact he was very helpful and understanding, but I have not had the best attitude. I have wanted to go my own way and do my own thing, and felt that Mike was being over protective.

God, help me to know deep within myself that Your plans are higher than mine and that Your thoughts are always the 'right' ones. Help me to submit to Mike as I should to you. You are leading him, and I should be following.

Building an "I can do it!" kid

Not too long ago, our pastor's wife (beautiful Ms. Pam) challenged all of us to be encouraging. To be cheerleaders for our husbands. To build in our kids the idea that they can accomplish whatever God has for them to do. I have been trying to get better at increasing my ratio of encouragement to correction. I just reaped a benefit, even if it was just a small one.

Jasmine has been in a phase lately of wanting to act like a baby. She is three and very articulate. She has good large and fine motor skills. However, she has reverted to baby talk, wanting to be held, and needing help with everything. Can we say frustrating????

I just turned on the computer for her because she wanted to go to the NickJr website and watch Dora. I was expecting that she would want me to put on the show and then change it for her each time one ended.

She surprised me. She logged on herself, clicked on the website in the bookmarks, found Dora and clicked on her. I looked at her and said, "Jasmine, you are getting really good at this!"
"Thanks, Mommy!" she replied and lifted her lips for a kiss.

Then she turned back to the computer and clicked on a game. She turned to me and said, matter-of-factly, "I'm going to play this one cause I'm really good at it!"

So cute.

My focus scripture this morning is Ephesians 5:4 "There must be no filthiness or silly talk, or coarsse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks."

I am choosing to be thankful today for a little girl who is on her way to becoming a confident young lady (even though the road is still long). For a little boy who loves his sister and helps her when I can't get to it. For a husband who loves us even when all of us are whining. :-)
God has truly blessed me. Thank you, Lord!

Jasmine's Name

So, this morning I read the first two verses of chapter 5 of Ephesians:
"Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

This weekend in Branson, Jasmine was more than a little difficult. She had a bit of a cold, was sleep-deprived, and had too much junk food and television. She was whiny, demanding, and disobedient - with moments of cuteness. The exact opposite of her normal personality. We had a good time, but it would have been a lot easier if she had been cooperating. (This pic was one of the good times when she was riding a mechanical boar at Shorty Small's restaurant.)

The verses this morning always remind me of when we were choosing Jasmine's name. We knew we wanted to use Mike's Mom's name (Diane) for the middle name. I have always been very aware of name meanings, even as a child, so I wanted the name to mean something significant. We couldn't find the exact right name until I found out that Jasmine means "a sweet fragrance." Diane means "of the Divine." Her name means "a sweet fragrance of the Divine."

That is exactly what we are supposed to be in this world. A sweet aroma that draws others to God through our love, joy, and peace, even in difficult situations.

This weekend, I didn't always demonstrate this quality to my kids as their behavior began to wear on my nerves, but I am trying to improve in this area. I want the Holy Spirit within me to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control that creates a lovely perfume to those around me.

On a side note, this morning when back in their routines, after a good night's sleep, and with no soda or TV, the kids are back to being their sweet selves again. :-)

Happy Mother's Day

Ephesians 4:32
"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God, in Christ, also has forgiven you."

It occurs to me that Mother's Day, and every other day, would always be happy if we all practiced this verse faithfully.

Sometimes, it seems that it is most difficult to be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to those that are closest to you. I find my expectations are higher and my disappointment greater with my immediate family and closest friends. Why is it that it is so hard to extend the same grace we extend to strangers to our own family members?

Lord, please help me to treat those closest to me as treasures. Enable me to encourage faithfully, forgive diligently, cover a multitude of sins, and embrace whole-heartedly those who are within my closest circle. I love them. Help me to show love to them as well.

Today has been a great Mother's Day. We traveled back from Branson. Jasmine was cranky because we ran her all over creation during this long weekend, kept her up too late, and skipped naptimes. However, I felt like I was handling her with compassion and firm kindness rather than frustration for the most part. I hope and pray that I can continue to handle the aggravations of daily life with peace and kindness, even when discipline is necessary.

My Words

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Ephesians 4:29

If only I could get this one verse, 100% of the time, I'd be doing really well, right?!? If all the words that came out of my mouth built others up and benefitted others, the love of Christ would shine from me.

Note to self: Work on being more encouraging, Nuff said.

True Confessions

I have a confession to make. I am an angry mom...sometimes. Especially when I am running late or have committed myself to too much at one time, statements and actions of my kids can send me up the wall. Today when I was reading Ephesians 4, two verses stuck out to me.

"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Sometimes anger rises up inside all of us. Sometimes it is justified, like when Jesus turned the tables over in the temple. Sometimes it is my sinful and selfish nature wanting my way when someone else's conflicts with that will. However, no matter what the source of the anger, we make choices about what we will think about and how we will act.

I can choose not to sin in my anger and to deal with it quickly (before the sin goes down).

When I choose to dwell on things that make me angry, or act rashly out of anger, I give the devil an opportunity, an open door to wreak havoc on my life.

I am working toward being slow to grow angry, but when I get angry, my new approach is to breathe slowly for several seconds and think about if I would still be angry if I wasn't stressed out or running late. How would I handle the same situation if I was in front of other people? I, like everyone else, am living my life in front of an audience. I have two children who are almost constantly with me. But even when no human eyes are watching me, God is watching.

Allegory

Imagine you were setting off on a journey to a fabulous vacation spot. Your host, the person who bought the land and built the home gave you specific instructions on how to get there. She even told you that it was the only way to get there because of the remoteness of the property and terrain surrounding it. To attempt any other way would mean that, at the very least, you would never make it to the vacation home. At worst, other approaches were life-threatening.

As you draw near to the island, you see the tiny cave that your host instructed you to enter through. With a glance at the lush jungle scenery on either side of the cove, it's stark, rocky appearance makes it look much less appealing. You decide that it can't hurt to get a feel for the island by sailing around it. You can always enter the cove when you come back around to it.

In sailing around, you notice that one side of the island is solid cliff walls. Well, that definitely would be too difficult an approach. Another side offered a flat rocky beach which would have been enticing, but sharp, jagged rocks peeked from the boiling surf close to shore. However, on the third side was a small, white-sand beach with crystal clear waters bordered by gorgeous plant life.

The idea starts to form in your mind that perhaps your host was incorrect. There might not be just one way to approach her home. In fact, she might have missed a more enjoyable journey to the home. You squint toward the island and notice that someone has cut a path into the jungle. Obviously, someone has traveled that way before. A seed of doubt remains as you remember your host's fervent insistence that the cave was the only way to arrive safely at her home.

But, you push that aside, thinking that certainly it won't hurt to check this harmless beach out. You can always hop into your boat and take your host's original route if this looks suspicious.

You land on the sandy beach and step out onto the warm sands, wiggling your toes in the beautiful surf. It feels so good here, You push the niggling doubt back to the recesses of your mind, insisting that your host must not have realized how great this area is. After a while playing and relaxing on the beach, you decide to check out the path. Having all but forgotten your original instructions to enter only through the rocky cave, you walk confidently into the comfortable path, admiring the beauty of the jungle surrounding it.

What you have not realized is that the path leads not to your host's luxury vacation home but to a village of natives who practice cannibalism. Their eyes are watching your journey as they anticipate their evening meal and your demise. The moment you stepped onto the path, you sealed your fate.

In a similar way, God made not only our eternal home but us as well. He says, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one LOrd, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all" (Ephesians 4:4-6)

There are many paths we can take in life. However, our very architect tells us that there is only one way to him and eternal life, and that is through His Son Jesus. All other attempts, however enjoyable for the moment, lead to death.

And, though the entrance through a narrow cave seems unappealing, once inside travelers experience a wonder land of jeweled walls and cathedral-like spaces and protection while on the journey.