Reset

Have you ever had your computer freeze up on you? There is just too much going on in its intricate little brain, too many uploads, too much information, too many commands. My husband is notorious for losing work he's spent hours on because he forgets to "save as you go!" The worst for me is when I am in the middle of watching a movie (we do online tv/movies) and right when you are about to figure it all out - freeze.  I believe that we all learned early on those magic key-strokes (ctrl+alt+delete). Now the world of technology has a "refresh" button!

I believe that sometimes our lives are just like our overloaded computers. There is just too much going on inside our brains that we are responsible for. There are experiences changing us and teaching us. There are too many things that we must remember (shopping lists, bills due, children's extra-curriculars, laundry, dishes, church events, call your mother, feed the animals, did you feed the kids today?). And there are just too many demands! On just Monday I schooled my children, cleaned my house, took my daughter to her bread-making class, coached a soccer practice, rushed back over for a 4-H meeting, then made it home just in time to bathe the kids, read them their story, put them in bed, grab some food and ask my husband how his volleyball tournament went (they won 1st place!).

Freeze. Do you remember that verse from Psalm 46:10?
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;"
I will tell it to you straight - we can not live our lives at top speed like this if we want to continue to have joy, purpose and fulfillment. We will kill ourselves. Our lives and the impact we have on others is a direct overflow from what is within us. If we have tapped into our reserve tanks and run them dry as well, we are in a bad position.  Last week we took our Easter break. I committed to do nothing that was not absolutely necessary. I laid around and watched movies with my kids. We had a week-long Monopoly game going. We ate...a lot. I read a book. I breathed.
Is it time for you, dear friend, to freeze for a little while?

Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
In Jeremiah 31:25 our Lord reminds us that,
"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
I think that often times we get carried away with all our comings and goings. It is important that each of us take a time out and reset. On my wonderful Easter break, after I began to breathe again, I then began to think again.  I thought about my family and my children. I realized I had let a lot of the simple, but important things slip through the cracks while focused on the less important "pressing" things. I recommitted. Think about the things you do, why you do them, and what may be missing.
Here are a few things that I think you should consider when you reset:
Purpose - don't do anything unless there is a purpose. If the purpose doesn't fit what you want for your life, for your children, or for your ministry, then don't waste your time on it! (this would also be a good idea for you to think about what your purpose is for your life and your family)
Family driven - your children grow so fast. Make sure that the things you do now cultivate your family being united. Do things together!
Fill Your Own Cup - make sure that you include time for yourself occasionally. Make sure that this time is fulfilling to you, not a time where you are still giving. Have a ladies night out, go to a retreat, spend time at a book store with a hot chai latte (my favorite!). Fill your own spirit!
Cultivate Your Marriage - make sure that everything you do is working toward a common vision between you and your spouse. Make sure to spend time alone with your spouse. Make sure that you regularly have energy at the end of the day to devote to intimacy. Take time outs to do special things to remind them that you love them!
Good Isn't Always Best - The hardest part for me is to weed out the unnecessary when everything is "good." Sometimes something doesn't have to be "bad" in order to cut it out. It just may not be the "best" thing in your life right now.

Don't miss out on the beauty, the charm, the blessings of your life because you are too busy running through life. You know that old idiom "Stop and smell the roses." There is beauty flowing from everything around us, but we must take the time to see it.  Now, go ahead and hit that refresh button in your life!

Change of Plans

I felt heartbroken as I was laying my daughter down for bed last night and she was sharing with me that she did not have a good day because nothing went as planned. Every night we share together our favorite part of the day and our worst part of the day. We began our day excited about the plans and by 10:00 everything had changed due to problems. The day continued in that way. My heart was not broken because she had a bad day from the plan changes, rather because I know that this will happen over and over in her life. I know that plans will get rained on and dreams will get pushed aside for the burdens of everyday living. I also know that when it rains, it pours and that is how our last week has gone around here. In one day last week, it seemed like everything around me crumbled!
The hope we have, when times are crummy, is that God is faithful. So I leaned over my daughter and asked her what I always ask her after she shares her best and worst parts of the day, "How did that make you feel?" Obviously, the answer was sad. Then I asked her what always follows, "What could we have done or what should we do?" She thought and told me she did not think there was anything we could have done. I smiled and told her what I am going to tell you. When things are out of our hands, we should be thankful that we have a God who knows a whole lot more than we do. For whatever reason, He had something different planned for us than what we did. Since God knows everything and loves us so much, we can trust that His plans are better, even if we don't know why.

As most conversations with my kids do, this one left me thinking long after and applying my own medicine to my wounds. My week may have not been very good, but I can trust that God is caring for me. For whatever reason, he is allowing these things to happen and I need to trust in his all-knowing power. God is so good to us! All of us! We just need to push aside our worries and focus on our blessings!

As I close today, I would like to remind you (and me!) of the psalm which inspired this blog, psalm 23. In verse 4, David shares that things are not going so great for him, but that he will trust in God anyway, without worry or fear. Then verse 5 reveals how God blesses him for following where He leads, how he refills his cup. Let God refill your cup today!

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

De-Stressing!

I have a new project this week. I am attempting to de-stress my lifestyle. How about you? Need a little de-stressing?

I will admit, I am an over-achieving, type A perfectionist. Phew! Glad to get that out! While I enjoy accomplishing things and I enjoy the work I do, I realize that at times I do too much. I think that this "too much" is affecting my health, my relationships, and my overall happiness! In short, my cup is empty and I keep trying to pour out of it! The bad part is, however, that I am this way by my own making. My husband doesn't require it. My kids don't demand it. My ministry would function well without it. The "it" being the stress! I am sure that half of what I do would still get done even if I took a little time to relax.

God does not want a bunch of pack-mule women to serve him through pain and suffering. He says,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." --Matthew 11:28

and he goes on!

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden in light." --Matthew 11:29-30

That sounds nothing like my daily routine! So I began to do a little research on reducing stress in your life. What I found medically completely supported everything found in Scripture (go figure!) So if you, dear sister, like me, need a little de-stressing in you life, join me in trying the following ideas!

Calm Music
Calming music and sounds are supposed to lower one's stress level. Looking back to the life of Saul, this king hired David to come and play music for him then he "would feel better." (1 Samuel 16:23)
I have attempted to play some classical music each day this week while I am doing chores or taking a shower.

Call a Friend
It is proven that when one feels stressed and gives a friend a call, just the thought of sharing the burden with another lowers the level of stress. If we think of this, Proverbs 17:17 has already shown this to us when it says

"A friend loves at all time, and a brother is born for a time of adversity."

Eat Right and Exercise
Well, we all know this one, so I am not going to get into it too much... Do you recall Daniel 1? By eating healthy and as the Lord had instructed, Daniel and his companions were "healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food." (Daniel 1:15) This week I am attempting to get up each morning and do some exercises. I am also cutting back on my caffeine intake (gasp!) and taking daily vitamins!

Meditation and Deep Breaths
Well, while this may bring to mind some Eastern religious mumbo-jumbo, we must not forget that we are supposed to be meditating - on the Word of God! There are passages after passages to remind us of this, but consider the following:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. --Joshua 1:8

Laugh
Remember the Proverbs 31 woman? It says that she can "laugh at the days to come." (Proverbs 31:25).
Laughter is proven to be a huge stress reliever! Remember the old saying "laughter is the best medicine?" There is truth to that! My kids always serve for a good laugh if I just take the time to sit and play a little with them! I also love to watch Psych. Thirty minutes with those quirky guys and I am rolling in laughter! Find what tickles your funny bone and take some time out for it!

Sleep Well
Doctors recommend that adults get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Those of you with young children laugh at this idea. Think about the following:

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for he grants sleep to those he loves. --Psalm 127:2

Sounds like God values sleep, doesn't it? Make the effort to get a good night's sleep each night.

Purpose
This last one is from me. Don't let the things you do as a result of your life's purpose become your life's purpose. Always remember why you do what you do.

My goal is to implement all of these into my lifestyle. What about you? What can you do this week to de-stress your life a little?

Gifts Overflowing

When a believer withholds his or her God-given ability, the entire body suffers. --Len Woods, "Myths About Gifts", SmallGroups.com

Besides filling our cup with blessings and refreshing living water, God fills our cups with Spiritual Gifts and Talents and He expects us to let this overflow into our lives as well.  Every single believer has been given a gift. What saddens me, however, is how many people are unaware what their gift is or that they even have one! When they are told to put their gifts to use for God's kingdom they feel frustrated and discouraged because they don't know what it is they are supposed to be doing! Let's face it, we live in a world of business, travel, shopping, and social media. This is not the type of lifestyle that is going to awaken one to his/her spiritual gifts! If we are honest, it starts young! Public school does not create an environment to cultivate individuality and spiritual gifts in our children. It "socializes" them and encourages them to all learn and behave alike - when we are clearly all different. Even our churches today don't do a whole lot. I'm getting real here, sisters! Can spending a maximum of 3-4 hours a week (out of 168 hours - that's less than 2% of our week!!) really develop the necessary tools to discover and develop a spiritual gift? All of this means that it is up to you. You must spend time in God's word and discover how he has made you and then be intentional about seeking ways to use this gift.

Many women don't know what their gift is because they don't see it as a gift. This was me. My gifts are clearly, if you ask anyone, organization and faith. When someone would point this out to me, I would laugh. I thought it was obvious to anyone that these were not spiritual gifts. Yet, as God has led me down the path of life, I have found that those are spiritual gifts. My husband is the opposite of organized, so in his position of Youth Minister he needs my organization. He is great at ministering to the kids and the families and doing all of the up-front of the ministry, but my organizational gifts keep the ministry turning and flowing on a progressive track. When I took a Spiritual Gifts Inventory at our church, my highest was faith. I had to ask a lot of people about this one. What I discovered was that not every believer is "unshakable" in their faith as I thought all believers were. It is true, there is nothing that would cause me to doubt my God. Years of experiencing His faithfulness have only strengthened this faith (see My Story). So how do I use that? I am doing it now! I simply share that faith. I give others the examples of His faithfulness that I have had in my life; I encourage them by His promises in the Scripture; I give them the assurance that they will come out the other side of their valley!

Please know that I am not bragging (only on my incredible God)! I am trying to help you understand that you may have wonderful, useful gifts that you may not be using because you do not see them as gifts! I have a friend that is an encourager. That is her gift. I received an encouraging message from her yesterday! People like my girlfriend bring life and joy to the body of Christ. It fills our cup! When we are encouraged by these gifted individuals, we gain the motivation to continue using our gifts. We all must discover and use our gifts for a healthy Spiritual Body of Christ.

The problem with not using them is, as the quote above reflected, we all suffer.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. --1 Corinthians 12:26-27

I encourage you today to let God reveal to you your gift. Don't laugh it off or down-size its importance when He does reveal it. Seek out the ways that you can use your gift. Let it overflow into your life!

And the Rain Comes Down...

The only planting I accomplished Saturday!

It always amazes me how the weekend can fill me up with new ideas for writing! Saturday we had plans to work in our yard. We started our day by going to our daughter's soccer game and then went to the store to buy the things we needed to begin shaping our gardens for the spring (tomorrow's the first day of spring!).  No sooner had we gotten back and I began picking up branches out of the yard with the kids, that it started sprinkling. Stubbornly, I sent the kids inside and began planting one of the shrubs I had bought. It began to hail. I figured it was a day for indoor projects.
Isn't that so much like our real lives? Sometimes, it starts sprinkling and sometimes we get stubborn even though we see the signs that God wants us going in a different direction. And sometimes, God decides to get our attention even if it hurts, and He sends the hail. We must always keep in mind that God knows what He's doing, even if we don't. I love the rain and how God can cleanse all the grass, plants and trees with that rain, giving them color and life and water. This is how the figurative rain in our lives work. After it is over we find that we have been purified and are refreshed with Everlasting Water flowing through us. We must hold strong in faith. One of my favorite songs is Stand in the Rain, by Superchick, which expresses this exact idea. We must stand in faith through the rainstorms and hailstorms in our lives.
Oswald Chambers gives us a beautiful picture of what this type of faith is like:

A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking and not fainting (see Isaiah 40:31). --My Utmost for His Highest, March 19

Our plans are so unlike God's plans. We must give up what we want to accomplish (working in the yard) and conform our will to God's will (coming inside and going through boxes of hand-me-down clothes). We may not know why, but if we know our God, we know that His plans are always better than ours.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --Jeremiah 29:11

So pack that umbrella with you today, dear sister, and be ready to respond in faith when those storms come!

The General Idea...I Guess!



...my cup overflows. --Ps. 23:5



Inspiration

As I sat down to write today, I wanted something to inspire me. If you are like me, your thoughts are like fast moving trains, and before I knew it, I found myself asking if I inspire others?

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. -John Quincy Adams

That is what I want to do - inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more in Christ!

My inspiration comes mainly from my quiet times with God. But more than that, I am inspired by His people, by their lives and stories. People such as Jim and Elizabeth Elliot, Queen Esther, Helen Keller, are sources of real inspiration to me.  More than what they accomplished, it is what they went through to get there. 

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another. - Helen Keller

That is why I want to share my story. I hope it inspires!

Looking back at our lives to those 'hard times' and seeing how God provided, comforted, and brought us through to the next chapter of our lives is one of the best ways to find the inspiration to face today. We know we can trust Him to see us through, because we can look back and see that He has never let us down. We can look at how He worked in the lives of others and see that He has never let them down. And when we share our story, we can inspire.

I will let you in on something that, if you read my blog regularly may sound like a familiar tune. We can only inspire out of our overflow. If we are burnt-out and have a dry cup, then we will be as inspiring as a cockroach (which some may argue are quite inspiring, but not in my book - ick!). But if we go to the true source of inspiration - God - we will become beautiful fountains of inspiration! Dwell in His presence, meditate on His Word, remember what He has done.

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Go out today, my dear sister, and love, serve, laugh, and inspire.

Who Fills Your Cup?

One of the things that we women must avoid when we are running dry is to expect someone else to fill our cup besides God, namely our husbands. I believe this is one of the top reasons marriages fail today. We expect our men to fill in all of our gaps.
We expect that when we have too much to do, they will automatically think to do the dishes or laundry to help us. We expect that when the kids have worn us out, they will automatically run us a hot bath and settle the kids down to a movie. We expect that when we are feeling insecure they are automatically going to give us inspiring words of encouragement. We expect them to fill us up. It's natural. It's our curse:

Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. Genesis 3:16

A married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. 1 Corinthians 7:34

The reality we find is that when we have too much to do, they come in with mud on their boots, drop their clothes (more!) on the bedroom floor and ask what's for dinner. When the kids have worn us out, they come home and inform us that their favorite team is playing tonight and they don't even notice the kids are in the house! When we are feeling insecure, we find that they have had a hard day and wouldn't notice your new hair style if it were a 1960s bee-hive. Our feeling of emptiness leads to a lack of satisfaction. In a world of instant-gratification, it doesn't take long for women in this state to give up.
This, however, is not marriage. Marriage is being a team with your man. Finding someone who will stand beside you, to build the memories with, to serve God along side. As women we must fight the temptation to expect our husband to fill us, that is God's job.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

When your cup is running low, spend time in prayer and study. Wake up early or take a time out in the day to spend 15 minutes or more in tune with God. Tell Him how you feel. He will never be too tired, clueless, or non-observant. He will be everything you need.
Then from the overflow of what you find in Christ, you can pour into your marriage. You can encourage your husband and help him to be the man that God would desire him to be. You can work beside him to accomplish great things. He will be a Man of Courage and you his Woman of Virtue!
You can never expect your husband to play the roll only God was meant to fill in your life.

Empty Cup?

If you are anything like me, then you have a knack for getting yourself over committed. This is the quick path to burn-out in your home and ministry. If you are pouring out of your cup faster than you are pouring into it, then there will be nothing left to pour out to others.
This has been happening to me lately. If you are experiencing similar things, then maybe it is time to make some adjustments. It means that something has to go. This can be a difficult decision to make, especially if your life is filled with Good things. But we need to remember that just because we are doing Good things does not mean that those are the things that we should be doing.  Take time to sit down, make a list of your priorities, and then cut back from the bottom. You may not need to stop doing whatever it is entirely, but to adjust your time spent on that particular thing. Or you may need to make a clean break.

Have you ever read Alice in Wonderland? It is one of my favorites. In Chapter 3 we find the Caucus Race. All the creatures are running in circles faster, and faster, but no one reaches the finish line. If this is us, then we need to break the cycle!

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is time to let go, and if it is your time, then be strong and know that you are choosing the best things in life over everything else. That is how we walk in God's will for our life.

Grace Poured Down, Grace Overflows

One of the blessings with which God continues to Fill My Cup is grace. It pours down on me daily! It pours down on all of us daily!

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. - 1 Timothy 1:14

Yesterday I had a bad day. Do you have bad days? All of us have them now and again. On these days, focus on the grace that God has supplied to you. It is not by our actions that we are saved. When we mess up, He is there to pick us up, wipe us off, and fill our cup with grace again.
Whenever God fills us with a blessing, it is our job to let that blessing overflow into our lives. We must allow grace to flow to those around us. I was crabby yesterday. If I were married to a "quitter" then my husband probably would have "quit" yesterday. Thank God, I am not! I am married to a Man of Courage! When I came back, apologized, and asked him to watch a movie with me, he showed me grace. He followed through with what was commanded him:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25

How did Christ love the church? With grace! Grace unlimited! This is how He asks husbands to love their wives. This is what he asks us women to do with all of those beautiful and flawed individuals in our lives! If we were to show perfect grace in all of our relationships, there would be no divorce, no broken homes, no damaged friendships. The only way to survive being the imperfect people that we are, is to live by grace. So, dear sister, be full of grace today!

If Busy Didn't Mean Burdened

So often women feel burdened and weighed down by their business. Our lives don't have to be that way!  In fact, when I looked up "burden" on Biblegateway.com, there were 49 results!  Clearly, being burdened is a human plague!  But this is what Christ said,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt. 11:28-29 (NIV)

So how do we do all the things that God has clearly called us to do (being a mother, wife, working to support our children, teaching our children, caring for the home, ministering to others) without feeling burdened?  The number one way is to allow Christ to fill us.  The only way that we are able to do any of the things we do is by the overflow of our hearts.  He can fill us through prayer, meditation, encouragement of others and time spent in His Word.  If we are able to do this, then suddenly our business doesn't mean burdened and we can lead the joyful life that Christ has called us to!
Another source of inspiration for me is the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling.  I would like to take the next week or so to break this poem down into pieces and see what insight we can gain into our own lives!

IF, by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, ' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!