A Time to Rest

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 

Mark 6:31

As I write I'm sitting on a balcony overlooking the ocean. It's evening, but the moon is over half full so I can see out over the sand and into the water. I can hear the sound of the ocean's waves as they roll into shore. There is not a cloud in the sky so the stars are in abundance. Ahhhh.....relaxation! It's moments like this that I wish I could bottle and take home with me. Moments of peace and calm so when real life takes over, I can mentally escape back to this place. I am beyond thankful for this gift of a family vacation and time to get away from the day to day stresses and hectic pace of life. Even Jesus and His disciples needed to take a time to rest. 

I think sometimes as moms, or women in general, we can become stuck in our routine of day to day life. Many days begin before the sun rises to long after it sets. We do so much for others and often forget to do something for ourselves. Yesterday as I was attempting to eat breakfast my husband kindly told my daughters to leave me alone so I could enjoy my breakfast in peace. Their interruptions did not bother me, but he noticed them. I think I've become immune to them and just see it as part of being a parent. However, as he pointed out to me, they are old enough (ages 7 and 9) to understand Mommy is a person too and needs a break sometimes. I'm so thankful for a husband who recognizes my need for peace even when I don't notice! 

This is our first vacation together as a family and the longest amount of time we have been able to spend together. The day after we were married we had to go to work and immediately began the job of being a family. We don't just "stick our toes" into something, we dive head first! This has its benefits as well as disadvantages. When you go head first into something, you don't allow yourself time to adjust. Think of when you've entered a pool with cool water. If you just jump in, your body reacts differently than if you walk in slowly. Life can be lived in a similar manner. If you jump in, you are in and there is no going back. If you walk in slowly, there is always the option to go only so far and then turn around a go back. Some of the biggest life altering decisions I've ever made involved diving in head first. Going "back" wasn't an option!

With each decision also came an eventual time to rest. While the rest this time was only for a few days, it was appreciated and much needed. I unplugged (for the most part) from electronics. Can you believe my daughters went an entire day without watching any television? This must be some kind of a record! I intentionally didn't answer my phone or return phone calls. I had minimal time on social media. I only looked at my emails enough to clear out the things that I didn't need to read. And what I found is the world didn't explode. I've watched as the tide continued to rise and fall. And I had much more peace in my world. 

When was the last time you allowed yourself time to unplug and rest? Perhaps you aren't able to get away to the beach (this is my first real vacation in about 5 years), but you can unplug for a day or two. Now that the weather is getting nicer, plan a day trip to a park. Get outside in the fresh air and sun. Take time to notice and appreciate the world around you. If Jesus and His disciples needed rest, why do you think you don't? My prayer for you is that you would make the time to get refreshed and rejuvenated. Even if only for an hour or two. Make a way for that to happen. I promise when you do, the world will not end. 

I Have Issues

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and a sound mind." 

2 Timothy 1:7

Have you ever felt you were healed of an issue only to discover you still had more healing to do? This is the reality that has been staring me in the face lately. I was naive enough to believe I had dealt with the trust issues I had....and then I had to actually trust someone. It's easy to think we have dealt with our issues if we never are in situations that cause us to face our issues. I'm finding marriage causes me to face not just this issue, but all of my issues. Whether it's trust, abandonment, doubt, or any of my other issues, I'm beginning to understand all of them go back to one root. The root of them all is fear. And fear is never from God. 

"There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us." 

1 John 4:18

I'm reminded daily that to love perfectly is to trust. I love God. And I trust Him. There are many times I don't understand why He does what He does, but I trust His ways are greater and wiser than mine. Having been single and on my own for most of my life, it's a process to transfer this kind of trust to another human. Because most of the people I chose to trust in the past let me down greatly. And that statement is something God just revealed to me as I typed. They were the people I CHOSE to trust. My choosing in the past was all made on my own. I didn't seek God's help in making decisions. Things are drastically different now! 

I married my husband shortly after we met. I realized this past week we have been married for longer than we dated. Very little about our relationship has gone according to my plan. I was always afraid to let down my wall enough to allow anyone inside. Yet, when I met my husband, I knew it was time to choose to give him a chance. God gave me complete peace about moving forward with the decisions we made. And I have to ask him to remind me of this peace when my issues arise and cause me to feel anxious. 

An issue arose yesterday that caused me to overreact to something. Later in the day my husband said how thankful he was for me and how much he appreciated me. I made a comment about what happened earlier in the day. His response floored me. He said, "I know this is one of your issues. And I don't know how to fix it. I can't take away the hurt others caused you. But what I can do is love you even with these issues. Until death do we part. Because that is what I promised." He has no idea the impact his seemingly simple words had on me. 

Perfect, Christ-like love, casts out fear. I saw my husband look like Christ yesterday. Because God loved us, we can learn how to love. Because I trust God, I can trust His plan in choosing my husband. So as I'm learning to trust a human, I fall back on my trust of God. I know His plan for me is good and not to harm me. 

Is there an area in which you are experiencing fear? Are you having to confront your issues? I pray you call on the name of your Father when stress and anxiety begin to arise in your life. Don't let the enemy steal any more time from you because of fear. 

Misfits Welcome: Find Yourself in Jesus and Bring the World Along for the Ride by Matthew Barnett

If you are looking for a resource on how to be the church outside of a building on Sunday morning, then this is the book you need to read! As the founder of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, Matthew Barnett has the practical and personal experience needed to write a book about showing love as Jesus showed love. He has lived a life of thinking outside of the church pews and helps give inspiration to others to do the same.  

As someone who has been labeled "irresponsible" for following the commands of Christ on my life, I appreciated Matthew's honesty in sharing his experience in being a misfit. Those who first followed Christ were considered radicals and lived outside of religious norms. In "Mistfits Welcome," Barnett issues a challenge to us to live as those first Christians lived.  

My favorite part of the book was the examples given of people Barnett knows and how they actively live out being a misfit. He includes several stories of people obeying God's call on their life, even though it caused them to look foolish.  

I highly recommend this book for those looking to be challenged to live out their faith in a deeper and meaningful way. Don't be afraid to be a misfit!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Discipline of a Father

"Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" ~Romans 2:4 

Blending a family is not easy. There are kids accustomed to one set of guidelines and other kids who are accustomed to another. There are parents with two different styles of parenting and who see things differently in terms of what matters and what doesn't. I recently had a conversation with my new husband regarding discipline that spoke to me about how we witness to others.  

Let me first start by saying how much I appreciate my husband and his role as the man of the house. I'm thankful for the places he is strong because they are mostly places in which I am weak. Being a single mom of two for so many years, I know I've not been as stern as a daddy would be. I recognize the ways in which a mom disciplines is different than the discipline of a father. It is different because it is how God made us. Men were made for this role.  

I recently talked to my husband regarding his relationship with our 9 year old daughter. I thanked him for the discipline he gives her, but also reminded him that she also needs to know he loves her. His goal is to treat all the children the same and to expect the same out of all of them. I understand his point and mentioned how they should have the same treatment, but we also have to remember they have been raised in two different environments and are familiar with different rules and expectations. His daughter knows what her daddy expects and allows. My girls are still learning. So there has to be grace. Unless we know someone loves us, their discipline will be resented and seen as mean and judgmental.  

And this is where God spoke to me.  

How often do we look at those who are not believers in Christ, or who have newly believed, and expect them to behave in a way contradictory to what they've known before. They don't know their "Daddy's" expectations of them. If all we do is give them laws, rules, and expectations, without the love of the Father, why would they want that kind of daddy. It is the love of God that draws men to repentance. It was the love in Christ that caused people to follow Him to the point of losing their own lives.  

When interacting with a new believer, don't forget to show love. In truth, this applies to all believers. No matter how seasoned in the faith we may be, we are still learning. Each new level brings new failures and new fears. We all need discipline with a dose of grace and love. It's this grace and love that leads us to turn from our sins and live a life pleasing to our Father. 

In His Presence

Have you ever really, truly, experienced God's presence? I'm not referring to just a tingly feeling you had one time at church during a worship service. I mean, have you had a time in your life where for unexplained reasons you lost your breath or couldn't move while reading scripture or in personal worship. Maybe it was hard to even remain standing. For much of my life I believed all the people I'd ever seen "fall over" were simply faking their actions. I believed this right up until the time it happened to me personally. During times of worship (usually at home and not in public), I've felt God's presence so heavily that it was impossible to move. Forget standing, I could barely sit upright! If possible, I would have stayed in that moment permanently. The presence of God is not something that words can adequately describe. However, once you have experienced it personally, you want more!

Reading in Exodus we see Moses requesting more of God's presence. As God is instructing Moses to continue in moving the Israelites along their journey, Moses makes the request to not move anywhere unless God's presence will continue with them. Here is the text where we find this conversation:

" Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’  Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”  And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.  For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live. And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”  Exodus 33:12-23


There are several things I'm learning in this text. I'm going to put them in numbered points for those of you who like "bullets."

1. We never know who God is going to send along with us on this journey. Over the last few years of really walking out my faith I've found friendships I thought were permanent have disappeared. I also see now that some of my closest friends and greatest sources of encouragement are people who I did not even know two years ago! When God shows you a vision for your life, He will send people along to travel with you! Be open to strangers and new friendships. They often look different from you. Expanding our circle of influence to people who may not look like us adds extreme value to our lives.

2. When we experience God's grace in our lives, the next step is to ask for His way in our lives. Experiencing His grace in my life has caused me to realize my way never works. As much as I try to MAKE it work, it simply doesn't. We discover His will for our lives by spending time in His presence. Walking as He would want us to happens by spending time with Him and allowing His presence to be in our lives. I feel I should add a side note here: God can NOT be in the presence of sin. I know we all sin. However there are times when we know we are sinning and we deliberately make the choice to continue in our sin. When we intentionally step outside of His will, we are limiting ourselves from His presence. God can use all things for His good, but why would we choose to make it harder than it needs to be to see His goodness in our lives?

3. When we spend time in His presence and allow for the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives, people will notice! Moses questioned how people would know of His grace if His presence did not go with them. Time spent in intentional communion and fellowship with God is never wasted. It is through this that we see the fruits of the spirit begin to manifest in our lives. We have peace no matter what our circumstances appear to the world. Supernatural peace in your life is always noticed by others.

4. When was ask God to show us His glory, He will respond, but only to the limit of what we can handle. None of us would be able to experience the full glory of God this side of heaven. However, He will pour out on us His compassion and graciousness to the extent of our ability to bear the weight. His compassion is heavy. If you don't believe me, ask Him to open your eyes to see people as He sees them. Try for even one day to really SEE the people you pass and have interaction with throughout your day. I PROMISE you it will rock your world when you get just a slight glimpse of how God sees us!
I pray today for you to seek His presence! I pray for you to go nowhere that His presence does not exist! I pray if there are areas in your life where you know God can not enter, that you would see the value of seeking Him rather than our fleshly desires. His grace really is big enough!