April | 2013 |

When I Want to Edit My Life

29. April 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: God's still working on me

I sat there staring at the coffee cup on the table in front of me. Listening to my friend talk, I felt my eyes burn and tried to gather myself together. It had been a while since we chatted. On our own, without the kids and husbands, we sat in one of our favorite coffee shops and caught up on each other’s lives.

We talked about the last year and the story God is writing in our lives. It’s still hard to understand the difficult chapter she’s lived in as she follows a long road to recovery from cancer. I praised God in my heart for the miracle that she was beside me and we discussed what it meant to have cancer as part of her story.

Editing Life

Each month I submit an article to my writer’s critique group. They pick it apart, make edits, point out grammatical errors, highlight confusing sentences, and then help me put it back together. I critique each of their articles, stories, and poems as well.

The truth is, I wish I could edit my life the way I edit those articles…to read the rest of this post, visit Domestic Kingdom, my writing home today.

Seizing the Moments

27. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Parenting · Tags: The Better Mom

I lie next to him, snuggling and enjoying the feel of his damp hair against my cheek. This nightly ritual is just a story and a prayer, but it warms me down deep in my soul. Lying there with his blue fire truck quilt pulled up to our chins, we talk about the day. He voices his worries and fears. He talks about his plans and hopes. I pray a gospel prayer and remind him of God’s unending love.

“Mom, I wish you could stay here tonight for a sleepover” he said.

My son is five and no longer a baby. He’s my second and last; I’ll have no others. It is nights like these that I wish time could slow down and even stand still.

To read more of this story, visit The Better Mom where I am guest posting today.

Teach Me Jesus Thursdays: God’s Wonderful Design {and a giveaway}

25. April 2013 · 59 comments · Categories: book reviews, Teach Me Jesus

Since becoming a mom, I have been on a steep learning curve when it comes to raising boys. I was surprised by my son’s early interest in all things involving war and battles. Even though he didn’t have any toy guns to play with, when my son was a preschooler he managed to make them for himself out of tinker toys, legos, and PVC pipe. He constructed swords out of wrapping paper tubes and discarded cardboard pieces. I once showed a psychologist friend of mine my son’s drawings of battle scenes because I was a bit concerned about the violent content. He laughed and said, “He’s just being a boy.”

As time has gone on in my life as a mom of two boys, I’ve discovered that they have what seems to be an inherent interest in things that just don’t interest me: war, weapons, good guys vs. bad guys, cars, planes, bugs and super heroes. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that they are a bit wild, loud, and always on the go.

One thing that has been obvious to me from the very beginning-boys and girls are different. While they often enjoy the same sports, toys, games, and activities, there are also many differences. No matter how society might like to think otherwise, God made men and women different, and for a reason.

It is important that we as parents help our children learn about God’s wonderful design for His creation. If we don’t teach them, they will most certainly learn it from the world.

One of my favorite children’s book authors has a new book coming out May 1st, titled Cassie & Caleb Discover God’s Wonderful Design. I have nearly all of Susan Hunt’s children’s books and am excited to share about this new one.

The characters, Cassie and Caleb, are siblings that have appeared in several of her other books. In this book, there are twenty wonderfully illustrated short stories about the siblings and the lessons they learn about God’s design for men and women, the Biblical standard for truth, and centrality of Jesus in Scripture. They learn from the book of Genesis how God created men and women in His image, equal and yet different. They learn about the similarities the genders have in their relationship with God as well as their unique roles. And just in case you were wondering, the book does not provide a list of things that girls do and don’t do or a list of things that boys do and don’t do, rather the intention is to guide children in developing a Biblical framework for understanding God’s design for the genders.

In one lesson, they learn that the members of the Trinity have unique and different roles in our salvation. God the Father chose us, God the Son saved us, and God the Holy Spirit helps us to obey and grow in our faith. Each role is distinct, yet not one is more important than the other. The Trinitarian relationship is then compared to the equal-yet-different roles in the genders.

One verse that is focused on in the book is this one from Psalm 144:

“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.” Psalm 144:12

Rich in theological truth, this book is written in a devotional format which includes memory verses, catechism questions, and discussion questions. Though written for children ages 5-8, younger children can benefit from the book as well as those a little older.

My kids loved this book and often asked me to read more than one story. It encouraged a number of enlightening discussions. Today, I am excited to give away one copy of this book. To automatically enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below. Random.org will select a winner on Saturday, April 27 at 8:00pm EST. This giveaway is available to US residents only. *Update* 4/27 The winner of the book is Jody. Congratulations!

When My Children Act Out in Public

24. April 2013 · 4 comments · Categories: Parenting · Tags: The Gospel Coalition

My two boys live life at full speed, full volume, and with their full bodies. Sometimes when we are out in public, I worry about what they might do. When my oldest was 2, I took him to story time at the library. All the little girls sat nicely on their mommy’s laps listening to the librarian read. Then there was my son. He ran circles around the group. When he finished making everyone dizzy, he tried to figure out how the blinds worked on the windows. From then on, we did story time at home.

Another time, I let my youngest push the grocery cart at the store. While I searched the seemingly endless rows of cereal boxes for the one I needed, he took off running down the aisle-with the cart. And yes, he ran into someone else.

To read the rest of this post, visit The Gospel Coalition, my writing home today.

The Power of a Parent’s Words

22. April 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: God's still working on me, Parenting · Tags: Desiring God, James 3:9-10, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, words

“Mom, you are making me feel dumb” my son said quietly.

I drew in a quick breath and exhaled. My heart was pierced by his words. I looked over at my son. He stood there staring at me, the hurt stretched across his young face. I had just repeated an instruction to him for the third time because the first two times he didn’t seem to understand. Yet I didn’t simply restate the instruction, my tone was condescending and belittling.

“I’m sorry I spoke to you that way. You are not dumb. Will you forgive me?” I responded, hugging him close.

My son is eight and our conversation was deeply convicting. It was the first time he had ever voiced to me how my speech makes him feel. I wondered how often during his young life that my words and tone have belittled him. It wasn’t that long ago that I realized how much I sigh audibly when I am annoyed by something my children do. No doubt, God is at work in me, using my role as a mother to show me my sin.

To read the rest of this post, visit Desiring God, my writing home today.

Teach Me Jesus Thursdays: A Heart for the World

18. April 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: Parenting, Teach Me Jesus

Praying one night with my youngest before he went to bed, I prayed for a ministry we support that serves orphans in China. In my prayer, I asked God to provide parents for each of the orphans.

Ian interrupted my prayer and said, “And God, please give mommies and daddies to all the children of the world.” After we prayed he said, “Mommy, why didn’t you pray that all children have mommies and daddies?”

Why indeed!

Living in America, it can be challenging to help our children care about what is happening in the rest of the world. Without the exposure to how the rest of the world lives, the everyday reality for other people is beyond their understanding. But as with all spiritual growth, a heart for the world develops over time and in deeper ways as our children mature in their faith. As parents, I believe it is important that we expose them in as many ways as we can to the realities of life around the world, not only physically but spiritually as well.

Jesus called us to go into all the world and spread the good news. I want my children to play a part in the Great Commission. I want them to develop a love for the lost. I want them to have a generous heart toward those who are in need. I want them to know that there is more to life than accumulating things, entertaining themselves, and living selfish lives.

I want my children to have a heart for the world.

To that end, there are a few things we have been doing in recent years to teach, disciple, and help our children develop a compassion for the lost.

1. We have been learning about other peoples and cultures around the world. We’ve used a great book this year called Window on the World: When We Pray God Works
that not only teaches children about the different people groups around the world but also tells us how to pray specifically for them. A friend of mine at Hive Resources shared a great idea that she does with her children, making food from other cultures and praying for the people there. Click here to read that post.

2. We also read biographies about famous missionaries. One series we love is called, Christian Heroes Books 1-5 Gift Set (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (Displays and Gift Sets)We have learned about Amy Carmichael, David Livingstone, Gladys Alyward, Nate Saint, and many more. These books reveal stories about their childhood, their heart for missions, how God brought them into missions, the struggles they had and how God provided for them each step of the way. These books provided opportunities for great conversations about how God works through us to spread the gospel throughout the world.

3. Our family sponsors a child through Compassion International. We pray for our child and send him letters. The money we send provides for our child’s education, clothing, food, and medical needs. He learns about Jesus in his school and Compassion also reaches out to the rest of his family.

4. The past couple of years the boys have given “gifts” to Jesus at Christmas. This past year, they selected an item from the Compassion gift catalog that they want to save for throughout this year. At the end of the year, they will purchase their “gift” to help the “least of these.” Last year’s gift was to help a village get fresh water.

A cute story to go along with this: This week the boys have been home sick. The other day they decided to put together a scavenger hunt for me. I followed the clues all around the house until finally I arrived to the prize. And what was that prize? A pile of change to put in the savings jar for the Compassion gift this year.

5. On my heart for this next year is for us to do a mission’s trip as a family. A friend of ours takes groups on mission trips each summer and invited us to go on one next year. I’m not sure if we are ready to go to Kenya, but I am praying for wisdom and opportunities for a trip we can all do together.

I’d love to hear your ideas for ways to help our children have a heart for the world. So please share!

On Books and Reading

17. April 2013 · 11 comments · Categories: reading

Recently, I decided to clean up my book shelves. They were overflowing and I needed to get rid of some books to make room for others. If you know me at all, you know I love my books. I would sooner buy a book than a meal-well, except for coffee! My book space is limited so as much as I hated to do it, I had to weed out some.

It was like some form of medieval torture.

I decided to get rid of books I knew I would never read again. As I picked up each book to decide whether it stays or goes, memories of my time with it flooded back. Each book is like a part of me and a very dear friend. Like weary travelers on a journey, my books have been with me through every valley and each high mountain. And that got me thinking, what are the books that I would never get rid of? What books would I keep simply because I knew I would read them over and over?

C.S. Lewis once said,”I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.” Tony Reinke in Lit! says, “a wisdom seeker will read a great book, savor it, and reread it in the future. Readers who cherish wisdom will reread great books five or ten or even twenty times.”

The books that I hold on to are too many to list here but I thought I’d share a few of those that I read, if not annually, then every few years (aside from the Bible). And by the way, this does not include my Nancy Drew collection-that’s just a given!

66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites You into His Story

Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity (Shepherd’s Notes)
(and quite honestly, everything I have read by C.S. Lewis I read over and over).

Because He Loves Me (Paperback Edition): How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life

Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith

What are those “must keep” books for you?

Because I Can’t Make it On My Own

14. April 2013 · 13 comments · Categories: God's still working on me, Gratitude Community · Tags: abiding, John 15:4, Psalm 143:6

While on vacation in Georgia recently, we took the boys hiking to the top of a long waterfall. It was a strenuous hike, straight uphill. It wasn’t long before my lungs protested. My husband asked, “Did you bring your inhaler?” “Nope,” I breathed out in a whoosh as I labored to breathe.

It’s been almost a year since I last had trouble with my asthma. Since then, I’ve become confident in my ability to live life without an inhaler. I stopped carrying it in my purse and I’m pretty sure the one I have at home is expired.

The same thing happens in my spiritual life. I experience a season of intense growth and communion with Christ. Over time, I begin to feel confident and think I can flourish on my own. Days go by without me reading His word. My time becomes consumed with my desires and wants. I fail to pray about the decisions I make. My heart wanders. Before I know it, I am not abiding.

Like Adam and Eve, I think that I can be sustained by the fruit of the world. Like the prodigal son, I’ve left home to do life on my own. And then a trial comes into my life and I am unable to handle it. I find myself lost, alone, and afraid. I wonder how I got there. My breath is shallow, my thirst is great, and I’m so hungry. Then I realize, I’ve forgotten the One who gives me daily breath. Instead of drinking Living Water, I’ve drunken from the water of the world that never satisfies. And I’m hungry because I haven’t feasted at the table of my Father.

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

But unlike my asthma, I don’t have to go far to find the treatment I need. James says ”Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (4:8) Like the Father waiting for the lost son, God is ready to throw a party upon my return. And before I can whisper a simple ”I’m sorry”, He dresses me in his own clean clothes and pulls out a chair for me to sit.

We eat until the sky is dark and the moon is high. My heart is full and my thirst is sated. After feasting from my Father’s table, I realize just how rich and satisfying it is and how poorly I’ve been eating while on my own.

Hiking without an inhaler reminded me just how much I take breathing for granted. It also reminded me how much I take my relationship with God for granted. I cannot do life without Him. Just as my lungs cannot breathe on their own apart from the rest of the systems in my body, I cannot function apart from the vine of Christ. I must abide, not just weekly on Sundays, not even daily during planned Bible reading times, but moment by moment, with each and every breath I take.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” John 15:4

Giving thanks for breath and counting graces #2146-2164:

Three weeks vacation with the family, attending NBA games, visiting old friends, making new friends, the kids seeing snow fall for the first time, walks in the woods, hiking to Amicalola Falls, going to the TGC National Conference, hearing testimonies of people who have come to Christ because of missions in the Middle East, meeting favorite authors, my MIL watching the boys so I could attend the conference, productive and encouraging meetings with other writers, etc., doing a Juvenile Diabetes walk as a family, district Pinewood Derby race where my son won first place, one of my besties moving close by and getting to visit her new home, loads and loads of laundry to do, a new drum in our dryer so I can do that laundry:)

Linking up with these friends:

A Holy Experience, Gracelaced, The Better Mom

Finding What Our Heart Most Longs For

11. April 2013 · 1 comment · Categories: God's still working on me · Tags: contentment, desires, treasures

Running errands at the grocery store one morning, we walked past a display for Hotwheels cars. My youngest immediately asked, “Can I have a new car?” “No. You have tons of cars,” I answered. “I know. I need a new one though,” he said.

I can relate to my son’s response because my own heart is the same. I dream, plan, and seek after that one thing I think will make me satisfied. But whether it’s a new pair of shoes, new house, or new experience, once the newness wears off, I find that the happiness is no longer there. Discontentment settles in and I soon seek something else to replace it.

To read the rest of this post, visit Women of God Magazine, my writing home today.

Giving Up My Independence

09. April 2013 · 13 comments · Categories: God's still working on me, One Word

This year, my desire has been to seek God in deeper ways in my prayer life. Like every aspect to spiritual growth, there are always new discoveries to make, rich and awesome wonders to encounter, and deeper roots to grow in faith. As I explore the mysterious depths of prayer, I’ve come to a conclusion:

I am too independent.

In homeschool, my son and I are reading biographies of famous missionaries. Two that stand out in my mind are Hudson Taylor and George Mueller. These missionaires did not believe in raising support for their work. They believed so strongly in the power of prayer that they prayed for God to meet each and every one of their needs. Every. Single. One. The stories we have read of God’s provision are amazing. What strikes me the most, and what has pierced my heart, is how little of my life I entrust to God in prayer.

Like many Americans, I am not as dependent on God as are Christians in other countries. If I need food, I just go to the grocery store. If I need an idea for a school lesson, I browse Pinterest. If I experience a mysterious medical symptom, I look it up online. If I get lost on the road, I look at the GPS. I don’t live a life of dependence upon my Heavenly Father. Prayer is not my first instinct. Only when things get beyond my control do I stop and pray.

But I wonder, what would my faith look like if I prayed for everything? What if I prayed when I plan a school lesson? What if I prayed for parking spots? What if I prayed in the midst of our rushing around in the mornings? What if I prayed for opportunities to see God answer my prayers?

And then I think about all those things I just assume are unfixable and rarely stop to pray about-like my allergies or my internet connection that works intermittently or my son’s aversion to vegetables. What if I gave all of those things to God too?

“Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy, and exalts God as wealthy.” John Piper in Desiring God.

The gospel of grace tells me that I cannot save myself. Jesus came to rescue me from sin and death. My everyday prayers are a reflection of this same truth. Not only do I need a Savior for my sins, I need a Father who hears and answers my prayers each day. Just as my children depend on me to provide for them, I need to depend on my Father to meet my every need. My heart’s posture needs to be bent low, humble, expectant, helpless and trusting that God cares about everything that burdens my heart. The more I depend on Him, the more I give to Him in prayer, the greater is His glory and fame.

I am giving up my independence and depending on the One who gives me life, breath, and everything else. Will you join me?