~My Sweet Life~

Contentment

The following excerpt from today's Revive Our Hearts broadcast spoke VOLUMES to me. It was not that long ago that I often felt very restless...always looking for something "bigger" and "more important" to do for God. He has taught me and continues to teach me every day that there is much to be done right where I am.  So when those feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction sneak up on me, I need to examine my heart and ask myself "How faithful am I being to the Lord IN THIS PLACE where God has me? Am I serving Him to the best of my ability here and now?" 

Let these words from Nancy Leigh DeMoss sink in a bit as you examine your own heart attitude about where God has you right now:

"We tend to live in every circumstance except our own. And we always think there’s something about our own circumstance that is impossible, that’s too tight a place for us. But if you’re not content with what God has already provided you, you won’t be content with the things you think you want. Do you want more territory? Do you question your lot in life, or some aspect of it?

Let me just exhort you to maximize and make the most of what God has given you right where you are, whatever your situation. The land has to be tilled. The enemies are strong; they have to be defeated. But by God’s grace you can do it. And you can make that place where you are to flourish. God can make it to flourish as you partner with Him.

Don’t expect God to give you more if you haven’t taken possession of what He’s already given you. I hope that word will encourage you, whatever your lot or situation in life, to say, “Lord, what You’ve given me is enough. It’s a good place. Yes, it’s a hard place, but by Your grace we’re going to make it a fruitful, flourishing place.” "

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Revive Our Hearts, June 3, 2009

Be Courageous

"If we were writing the script for our lives, we would not assign to ourselves the tasks that God assigns us. We would play it safe. We would do something we think we could manage. Some of you have a lot of children and if you were writing the script for your life, you would probably have determined how many children you think you could manage and then that’s how many children or how few you would have had.

But God knows what you can manage and God wants you to live in the realm of faith, so whether it’s children or marriage or work or church or relationships, God takes us past what we think we can handle, past what we can handle apart from Him, and He says, “Now go in and be strong and courageous.”

When we’re doing what God has assigned to us, we can be strong and of good courage. But we need to make sure what we’re doing is what God has assigned us to do."

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Take Every Thought Captive

Are you familiar with this verse?

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Well this morning I came across a blog post that I think did an amazing job of illustrating exactly HOW we can actually do this. Enjoy! 

"God showed me a tangible way to take my worries to Jesus through a conversation with my son. One morning I was getting ready when Andrew came to me and announced that he didn’t want to have ANY anxious thoughts that day – he didn’t want to worry about me being home when he got off the school bus, or about his teacher liking his science project, or about whether his dad would get in a car accident.

That morning as I listened, I sensed the enemy was using worry as a weapon to still, kill and destroy my child's joy, hope and peace. Although I couldn't take my child out of the battle, I could equip him for it! I wanted to give him the confidence he needed to fight courageously so I assured him that worry is kinda normal. I reasoned that it must be a normal part of life since God tells us not to so many times in the Bible.

But God also tells us what to do when we do worry. I shared 2 Corinthians 10:5 where Paul tells us to demolish all arguments and any pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, by taking every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Now I just needed to take that concept and put it in terms he could understand.

"Andrew, when you have a thought that makes you feel anxious, catch it like it’s a baseball.” I then cupped my hand like I was holding a ball and told him to look at it and ask, “Is this something Jesus would say to me?” If the answer is “no” - then throw that thought back into the outfield! Then we talked through some of his thoughts and fears:

Worry says: “Your mom isn’t going to be here when you get home.”

I asked him, "Would Jesus say that? Andrew replied, "No."

Then it’s outta here!

Worry says: “Your teacher isn’t going to like your science project!”

Would Jesus say that? Again, "No."

Get rid of that one, too.

When we finished talking through each worry, I shared Philippians 4:6-9 and we prayed - telling God Andrews concerns, asking Him to replace his worries with promises, and thanking God for what He's done in the past and would do that day. After the Amen, Andrew looked at me, smiled so big and said, "Thanks Mom!" as though all his worries were gone.

God's word really works. God knew we'd have lots of reasons for worry but he also knew that worry would be Satan's weapon to distract and destroy the peace and joy that is rightly ours as children of God! Worry can ruin our day and our life, can't it? That's why Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled but to come to Him. He wants to replace our worries with His words. He says He'll give our minds a place to rest and promises to keep us in perfect peace when our mind is steadfast (fixed in a direction, firmly established) on His truth because we trust in Him and not our troubles.

So, what thoughts are flying at you today? If you were to catch 'em and listen to what they're saying - would they match what Jesus says? 

...I'm learning that it's not just about throwing our thoughts out, it's about replacing our worries with God's words."

~Renee Swope, Proverbs 31 Ministries

On Unbelief

"My willingness to believe God and to walk in faith now in the things that don’t seem like such a big deal—that willingness to walk by faith is an indicator of where my heart will be later in life. It’s a determining factor in my long-term usefulness to God and His kingdom. "

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss, from her Revive Our Hearts radio broadcast of 3/16/09 titled "The Trap of Unbelief" 

Take it to Jesus FIRST

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."  (John 2:1-3).

Please note, she took the problem to Jesus before she took it to anyone else. A friend told me about a tense deacons' meeting he attended. Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion, someone suggested, "Why don't we pray about it?" to which another questioned, "Has it come to that?"

What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first?

~Max Lucado, from A Gentle Thunder

24 Hours

Funny how different everything can feel in just 24 hours. Today I am reminded of this quote I have shared previously from John Eldridge's book Waking the Dead:

"There is a glory to your life that the enemy fears, and he is hell-bent on destroying that glory before you act on it."

I was on top of the world yesterday. Today I am in the pit again. When you choose to be vocal about God and His goodness...when you are intent on sharing that with others so they can also know His love and power...you are a prime target for the enemy.

The joy I spoke of yesterday was based on God's love and faithfulness demonstrated in my life. Has that changed in 24 hours? Of course not. And it never will. Therefore I will CHOOSE to hold tight to my joy and remind myself that God never changes. If He was faithful to me last year, last week, and even yesterday, it would make no sense to believe that He will be anything less than faithful today. And tomorrow.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." (Lamentations 3:21-25)

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

Good Advice for Parents

As Sarah's school year came to an end, her teacher sent home one of the most beautiful letters I have ever read. It brought me to tears. And it made me so proud to know that this teacher that I have admired and respected all year long is a fellow Christian. I mean, it's not something you really talk about at Open House or PTA meetings or classroom parties. But it was evident in the letter she sent to the parents. I thank God for her influence and I pray that my children's lives would be filled with more godly teachers like her throughout their years in school. I want to share a portion of her letter because it has such a good message for all parents...

"I have really grown to love these kids! They have made me laugh and they have made me cry! I have hugged them and praised them. I have fussed at them when they've needed it. I have counseled them and encouraged them....but more than all of that, I have prayed for them...My greatest hope for them is that they will grow up to make a difference in this world. They don't have to be rich or famous to be successful. If they can just make this world a little better simply because they were here, then they will have been a tremendous success. If they can learn to see others, not for their differences, but for their uniqueness and talents, then they will learn that each one of us has something to offer in this life.

I hope that I have done a good job teaching the kids the skills they will need for fifth grade. But, the most important thing that I hope they have learned from me is to respect each other and to treat each other with kindness. Life is just too short not to look for the good in others and in life in general. Please continue to help them to be happy. Happiness is something that is learned. We have to teach our children how to deal with this life and to find happiness in each day.

The next few years will be trying years. Some of you already know that from having older children. They will try your patience and push the limits. Keep parenting and talking. Keep listening too. Know who their friends are and stay involved. Please take the time to be with them before it's too late. You will blink, and they'll be grown! We'll all have regrets and wish we could have done some things differently. Just make sure those regrets are minor ones. You won't get the chance to parent this young child but once. Keep teaching them self control and respecy by modeling it for them. YOU are their greatest teacher!

...I strongly feel that God puts us together for a reason.  I am so grateful that God put your child with me..." ~M. Breeden

The first time I read this letter I was stopped dead in my tracks when I got to the part where she said "...more than that, I have prayed for them." I have learned that praying is one of the most important things we can do for our children. It's more important than showering them with expensive gifts, buying them clothes with designer labels, or giving in to their every whim to "make them happy". There is far more power in prayer than in doing any of those other things. I highly recommend the book The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. It gives you so many ideas of things to pray about that perhaps you had never even considered. It will open your eyes to all the things in their lives that you do need to cover in prayer. You can pray for little things and for very big things and God will blow you away with His responses.  The first time you see God answer you will wonder why in the world you didn't start sooner. I could talk for days on this topic! I've already shared with you numerous times, God has blessed me and my family with SO many answers to prayer, it leaves me in awe.

Why don't you start today to commit to really praying for your children? Start by writing down your biggest concerns for each child and tell God about them. Ask Him to show you how to pray for them. Another idea...when you've made your list of concerns for each child, open up your bible to its concordance and look for scripture to help guide your prayers. For example, if your child is lying, see what you can find under the words lie, honesty, deceitfulness, etc and then go to the scripture it references. I found this: For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." (1 Peter 3:10) So I could pray "God, because I want my child to love life and see good days, please help him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." And then take it a step further and explain to your child "This is what the bible--God's Word--says to us about lying." And explain the verse. I think it is so important to do that instead of just saying to your child "Don't lie. It's not nice." And don't underestimate what your child is capable of understanding. Find short bible verses and start teaching them to your child as well. Remember the note from my child's teacher to the parents...as she said, YOU are their greatest teacher. You may send your child to school and to church, but please don't leave all the teaching up to your child's teachers. As I have learned for myself, they learn the most by what they see MODELED at home! (scary, isn't it?!)

Have a great day.

God Uses Our Suffering

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." ~2 Corinthians 1:3-4

"God never wastes suffering.  If you are willing, He will use each and every last drop of your pain, sweat and tears, and turn them into refreshing springs for those around you! If you are in a time of trial, mourning or pain, God has a purpose behind it even though you might not understand it.  He desires to use what you are going through to bring Him glory and to help the people around you.  Give Him your ashes, mourning and despair and watch Him turn them miraculously in beauty, joy and praise." ~Mariah Mayer

True Faith

"In the book Seizing Your Divine Moment, author Erwin McManus says, “I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life we fail to live.”  Too often, many Christians sit on the sidelines observing others living the life of true faith. James 1:22 adds, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”  ~Leslie Snyder

Audience of One

From the book, Capture His Heart, by Lysa TerKeurst:

"God has taught me what it means to live for an audience of one. Instead of trying to be a good wife to win my husband's approval, trying to be a good mom to win my kids' approval, and trying to be a good friend to win my friends' approval, I now simply try to please God. I seek only His favor and follow His precepts. In doing this, I am a good wife, a good mom, and a good friend."

Do you struggle with this as I do? I confess, I get so caught up in the trap of trying to please everyone around me (and worrying what they think of me) that I end up just feeling frazzled and overwhelmed! DUH! If I would just focus on living for God, HE will take care of the rest! :)