Love is in the Air

Chris and I have had the privilege or working with our high school students since this past August. We both absolutely love it. We have an amazing group of students and I love hearing their insight on life. We also had the privilege of going to our very first Resurrection as chaperones. For those of you who don’t know, Resurrection is a ministry that offers a weekend retreat for 6^th-12^th graders in Gatlinburg, TN. It is a good time for spiritual renewal for all parties involved.

The theme of our weekend was Love. The pastor, Andy Nixon, really encouraged us to love like Jesus. He shared great stories of love and hope. The band that led worship, The City Harmonic, was phenomenal. The music really bestowed upon us a mountaintop experience. The lyrics to all of the songs are so deeply entrenched with Scripture. The presence of God was very alive this past weekend and will most definitely remain a memorable and life changing experience for all of us.

The theme of love has really been impressed in my heart for the past year or so now. If you read my blog, you might remember me writing about it from time to time. I personally have felt the Holy Spirit convicting me to love on a deeper level for quite some time.

Well, fast forward to this Wednesday’s lesson with our high school group. We are studying the book of James. Tonight we focused on loving without favoritism. We dove into some Scripture that really explained what love is, how we do it, and why we do it. We challenged the group tonight to really pray about how they might be able to show love to someone they might not normally want to love.

One of my favorite passages of the Bible comes from Romans 12:9-10.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

I did a quick search and I found the phrase “love your neighbor” is mentioned 11 times in my translation of the Bible. (Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Matthew 5:43, Mark 12:31, Galatians 5:14, Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, James 2:8, Romans 13:8, and Romans 13:9)

I don’t know about you…but I’m going to deduce that it is a pretty BIG deal to love our neighbors.

Notice the Bible doesn’t say any of the following: Love your neighbor if they are rich. Love your neighbor if they think just like you. Love your neighbor if they drive a nice car. Love your neighbor if they are nice to you. Love your neighbor if they don’t get on your nerves. Love your neighbor if they live the exact same lifestyle as you. Love your neighbor if they love God.

It just says to love your neighbor. That’s it. No exclusions.

I don’t know about you, but that is pretty convicting. It is really easy to love the people who think just like me. It is really easy to love the people that I enjoy being around. It is easy to love the people who don’t challenge me. That kind of puts me in a really vulnerable position and I don’t always like to be vulnerable.

Romans 12:9-10 actually says not to pretend to love, but to love genuinely and to actually take delight in honoring each other. Seriously, I can’t pretend? I have to enjoy this love stuff? I have to take actual delight in it?

Wow, God. Just wow.

How is anyone to ever come to know the love of Jesus if we don’t mirror the heart of God in our actions?

That is powerful stuff people. This love stuff…it’s hard. Really hard. It isn’t easy. But we are commanded to do it. And by doing so, we are showing others just a small glimpse of the love Jesus has to offer.

I’m going to end on this challenge. We asked our high school students to actually show love to an unlovable (in their eyes) person this week. I’m going to ask you to do the same. I’m going to ask myself to do the same. I’m honestly not around tons of people as a stay at home mom, but I’m praying that God will put that person in my path and I will be able to show him or her a tiny glimpse of God’s love. It may be a co-worker, family member, fellow student, roommate, but we all have a person that we can love this week. I’m asking you to be bold. Do what you are called to do as a fellow believer and make a difference by putting yourself out there and loving. Let’s see what kind of difference we can make for the Kingdom of God. Maybe your act of love will be the example a person needs to know that the one true God loves him. This has the potential to be huge, if we all just take the time to show a little bit of God’s love and grace that He so generously pours onto us. 

-Peace out. Go love someone unlovable this week. 

A New Day

The kids and I have really been having a rough time. We started back school after a two week break last week. Every day has pretty much been a chaotic mess since Monday of last week. If nothing else, I realize that my children do not do well with more than one week out of routine.

Friends, I'm struggling. I'm really struggling. I have been fighting a cold now on and off for what seems like a month. I'm exhausted. I'm not sleeping much at all. I'm grouchy. I don't feel well. I can't seem to have one day that goes smoothly. When I don't have any days that feel successful, I start feeling really defeated and worthless. That is something that has always been an issue for me. If you ever feel led to pray for me, you could definitely pray for this specifically.

Today was just one of those days. I fully blame it on the full moon. There were more tantrums today than I care to remember. We ended up quitting school after 2 hours and cleaning rooms, because all of that energy needed to be used in some sort of productive way. Not to mention the fact, I had gone into my reserves of patience and there was nothing left. Math is always a struggle for Harrison. Since we've started back after Christmas break, it has been pure torture. I can't even really put into words why math is so difficult. He just has a mental block and doesn't like doing it. I should mention that Kadie breezed through her work like a champ. And the work that Harrison was screaming and acting like I was asking him to commit a crime by doing...he got every single problem correct without help. *sigh*

Last night I had severe stomach cramps which kept me up most of the night, so I wasn't in the mood to deal with all of the disobedience, attitudes, and stimming behaviors. It just wasn't my day. It wasn't anyone's day. If this day could be erased, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I hate days like today. They make me feel like I'm the worst mother ever. I question every decision we made regarding our kids. I question why God has even given them to me to love? I count down the minutes to bedtime, which makes me feel really guilty. (Why is motherhood filled with so much guilt?) Thankfully Sam and Kadie were both asleep before 8:00pm and Harrison was asleep before 8:30pm. They haven't been getting enough rest lately and I know that is part of the problem. As I laid in my bed for awhile after getting them to sleep, I prayed that tonight will restore more than just sleep for all of us. I pray that tonight will help us reset some of these problem behaviors for which we have all been struggling.

I felt the Spirit nudging me to pray a specific scripture in Matthew over my family.

Matthew 11:28-30

28Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

My prayer is that we will give our burdens to Jesus. The burdens of being too sleepy, not feeling well, overwhelmed, grouchy, scared...whatever it is. He promises to give us rest. Not just physical rest, but rest of the spirit. Then He goes on to tell us that He will teach us. So I pray that we are open to whatever He wants to teach us. My kids were asleep when I started praying this prayer, so I haven't been able to share it with them. I will definitely let them know tomorrow morning when we do our devotion what Jesus put on my heart. I also have some apologizing to do and I need to ask their forgiveness. 

Man, being a parent is one of the most humbling things I ever experienced. I pray that these three sweet sleeping blessings will use these hard days to grow in character. And am I ever thankful that they are sleeping peacefully. Like super thankful.

How can I pray for you and your family? Are you struggling through anything right now? 

-Peace out. I hope you find rest this week. 

Joyful

What does is really mean to have joy? What does it mean to be joyful?

joy.ful adjective \ˈjȯi-fəl\ : feeling, causing, or showing great happiness: full of joy

Synonyms: blissful, delighted, gratified, happy, glad, joyous, pleased, satisfied, thankful, tickled

Friends, I've struggled with this for a long time. I can remember as a teenager praying for the joy of the Lord. It has always been something I've wanted so badly but I've honestly been afraid of having it - so I've never truly asked for it.

There was a message at church this past week that really spoke to my heart. The gist of it was that we need to stop being afraid to ask God for little tiny things and to be bold and let Him know the desires of our heart. Don't just ask Him for socks and underwear when He wants to give you the big screen TV. It hit me and has been weighing heavy on my heart. I always feel guilty for asking God for things because I feel like there are so many other things that are more important. Like people who are starving, dying, or homeless. The truth is that God cares about my desires as much as He does the person with needs that I can't even imagine. The truth is that we all have the same need - which is our salvation.

John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 

I've decided that I'm asking joy. The unspeakable joy that I sing about in worship. The joy that I know is real because I know Jesus. The joy that I have little glimpses of daily, but I am afraid to let consume me because of what that might actually mean. The faith-altering, life-changing joy that changes my view of the world and I how respond to basically everything in my life.

I am praying to be blissful in my spiritual walk; delighted in my husband and children; thankful for my struggles; satisfied with my materialistic possessions; and happy with my friendships and family.

I want a life full of joy and I'm asking God for it this year.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers,^[when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 

-Peace out. May you find joy in all things.