Family

Put The Baby In The Basket!

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If you have read very many of my blogs, or listened to any of my prayer requests, you probably know that one of my struggles has always been to let go and trust. Now, don’t get me wrong. I can trust with the everyday stuff. I don’t struggle knowing that God will take care of us from day to day. However, it seems like no matter how many battles and victories I have seen, I still hesitate when it comes to the big stuff.

Maybe you struggle with the same thing. I don’t handle change well, just ask my husband about that. I analyze and over analyze things that I know will cause big changes. It is my Achilles heel. Deep down, I know that God always works the big stuff out. Honestly, He works it out better than I could ever imagine. I just struggle to let go.

So many stories throughout the Bible point out to me my lack of trust. One of those stories that I have really been thinking a lot about is the one about Moses’ mother in Exodus 2. “About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.  The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.” Exodus 2:1-3 NLT

I wish so much that there was more in scripture about her. It doesn’t even mention her name in these verses, although it is revealed to be Jochebed later in scripture (See Exodus 6:20). I just can’t help but ask what she saw that made her know that he was a special baby? Whatever it was, it made her defy the Pharaoh, who had ordered all male babies be killed by throwing them into the Nile river (See Exodus 1:22), by hiding her baby for 3 months until she could not longer keep him hidden. It was at that point she did something that I am not sure I could have done as a mother of a 3 month old. She prepared a basket and placed him in the very river that he was supposed to be killed in. Her faith is incredible in doing that! I want so badly to know about the inner turmoil she was dealing with when she placed him in the basket. The fact that she waterproofed the basket shows that she had faith the God would protect her baby boy. If you know the end of the story you will know that Moses ended up being raised in the household of the very man who wanted him killed, by the Pharaoh’s own daughter, and eventually went on to save the Israelites.

I imagine that Jochebed never even imagined what God had in store for her little boy. All she had in mind was his survival, even if it was in someone else’s home. However, that single scary act of faith saved an entire nation. I truly believe that God wants to do the same things in our life. He wants to take those frustrating, scary, and seemingly impossible situations and use them for His purposes. He knows what we are going through. For whatever reason, he also allows those situations to happen. Nothing is wasted in the Kingdom of God. Romans 8:18 (NIV) tells us, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Was that ever true for Jochebed! So many blessings came through her. Not only did Moses survive, but as it turns out, he came right back to Jochebed for a time and she got to nurse him until he was old enough to take back to the palace. If you haven’t read the story through the lense of Jochebed, I encourage you to look at it from her perspective and see all the miracles that only God could have created. Her only job was to step out and put the baby in the basket!

So, I challenge you (and me), regardless of what challenge you are dealing with: PUT THE BABY IN THE BASKET!

The Loneliness of Mary

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I love Christmas! However this Christmas felt a little weird. It has been so windy here that we weren’t even able to do much outside yesterday without being miserable. Instead, we had a pretty lazy day watching movies and just hanging out around the house. As I watched all the movies it occurred to me how romanticized Christmas has become. Either it is this magical thing that revolves around Santa and gifts, or it is almost presented as a fairy tale when it comes to the story of Jesus.

I don’t think either of those ends of the spectrum really do the holiday justice. I even worry about my own kids. I don’t want them to miss out on the fun parts of Christmas, but I also want to make sure that they know what the day really means. I have to work hard myself to not lose the real meaning in the mess of the hustle and bustle.

Reflection on Our Blessed Mother, Mary – Diocese of Orlando, Florida

It occured to me this year as I was reading back through the story of Jesus’ birth how lonely Mary must have felt. In the modern world we live in, we are so much more accepting of teenage, unwed mothers. However, in Mary’s day that would have been enough to get her stoned in the street. We tend to glaze over it calling her blessed among women, which she is, but she probably didn’t feel that way at the time.

*disclaimer: this is simply my thoughts and opinions on the issue, not necessarily stated in scripture*

Picture if a teen girl tried to convince you that her pregnancy was the Son of God, not the result of her indiscretions. I imagine that there was a lot of rumors, dirty looks, and down right cruelty from the people in town. I would also imagine that may be part of the reason that she went and stayed with her relative Elizabeth for 3 months (see Luke 1:56).

It is no secret that women can be cruel to each other. To be perfectly honest, I have struggled my whole life to have close, intimate female friendships that went any deeper than surface level. That is largely because women are sometimes vindictive and hold onto grudges. This isn’t to paint women in a bad light, it is simply something that I sadly have experienced too many times. As I think of Mary, I believe she endured a tremendous amount of cruel words and accusations. Mary really had no one but Elizabeth who could possibly understand a miracle pregnancy. It was probably a pretty lonely place to be. Now, I am sure that Joseph did his best to understand and listen to Mary, but I bet there were times where she just wept because she felt alone. I think that all of the frustrations she likely dealt with during her pregnancy are largely part of the reason she “treasured in her heart” so many of the things after Jesus was born (see Luke 2:19 and 2:49-51).

Although none of us are pregnant with the Messiah (he doesn’t come back that way), I believe that we all carry our own burdens and frustrations. In this world of social media and cell phones, we are more connected than ever but in many ways so much more alone. We all carry things that we feel no one really understands, and they likely don’t. It makes me so sad how disconnected we can become from each other. However, just like He did for Mary, God does have a greater plan. We are never promised a life with no frustrations. We can, however, take heart knowing that rather than repeating the cycle of pain, we can use our own pain as a catalyst to be more empathetic and compassionate to others. I imagine that Mary had a soft place in her heart for the rest of her life for women who were unwed and pregnant. I also imagine that she probably tried to give people the benefit of the doubt before passing judgement. The compassion of Jesus shows that his mother was a compassionate person.

My prayer as we enter the new year, is that any pain, disappointment, or frustration that we may be dealing with, may be the very thing that in the year 2022, will lead us to the next level of what God has for us.

Marked Moments

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“Nothing is a surprise to God; nothing is a setback to His plans; nothing can thwart His purposes; and nothing is beyond his control.”

This quote was spoken by Joni Eareckson Tada, one of the most unlikely people to speak such a thing because she has been a quadriplegic since the age of 17. This quote speaks volumes to me. I believe with all my heart that God is in control, I just wish I could get that through to my head sometimes. I know that I don’t always act like it, but I do know it’s true.

I believe that there are moments that can change the trajectory of our lives in an instant. Some of my own examples include asking a friend of mine to a college formal (I ended up marrying that friend), getting laid off from a job I thought I would have forever, making the decision to become a teacher, and having a sweet surprise 3rd child, just to name a few. Those moments may be exciting, or devastating, but they mark us in a way that we are never quite the same.

I absolutely love the story of Joseph (It starts in Genesis 37). He goes through so many things leading from the dreams to the palace. His troubles all started because of a combination of his bragging ways and his evil brothers selling him into slavery. This lead him to eventually end up in prison. However, all the sorrows he went through, became the catalyst to become the 2nd in command in the palace. He needed these experiences to refine him. To humble his ego, learn to submit to authority, and always do the right thing, even when it ended in wrong results.

I can’t help but think the same is true in our own lives. Every experience, every setback, every frustration, and every triumph are all designed to take us from where we are to where God wants us to be. However, it is up to us to push through the hard times with integrity. When we don’t, we may end up needing to learn those lessons again.

I teach a lot of juniors and seniors. In Texas, they have to take and pass a lot of tests to graduation high school. When they don’t learn the lessons needed to pass the first time, they have the opportunity to try again. In order for those kids to be successful they must be in tutorial classes and re-learn much of the information. God does the same with us. If we fail the pride lesson, he gives us more opportunities to learn humility before we are ready for the next lesson. He never gives us a test we aren’t prepared for. However, He may give us a test we really don’t want. That’s the part I don’t like.

I want to refer back to the quote I started with. “Nothing is a surprise to God; nothing is a setback to His plans; nothing can thwart His purposes; and nothing is beyond his control.” Joni has now been wheelchair bound for over 50 years, yet has reached hundreds of thousands of people with her ministry and was also instrumental in helping the Americans with Disabilities Act get passed. I am sure she had no idea at the age of 17 the impact that she would have. I am also sure that 50 years from now, you have no idea what purpose the challenges you are going through are going to serve. Now, you may not be headed to 2nd in command of a kingdom or leading a worldwide ministry. But maybe you, like me, have a few kids, grandkids, or people who look up to you that see how you live your life and face your challenges. What they see from you will minister for generations to come, in good or bad ways.

We all have moments that mark our lives. Let’s use those marked moments to propel us into the next level of what God has in store for us.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

For Such a Time as This

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I truly believe that God places us exactly where He wants us for a specific reason. That being said, it is not always easy to act like I believe that. It’s incredibly easy to get pulled into the muck. It’s socially acceptable to gripe, complain, and belly ache about every little thing that doesn’t go my way. I hate that. I want to be the person who enjoys the moments on the way to the destination.

As I look back though my past, I can see the fingerprints of God all over the difficult times in my life. I know the value of having worked for an employer who was not a person of integrity, it makes me want to be a person of integrity all the more. I now realize how valuable the struggles of being overlooked for a job, because I now realize that would not have been a good fit for me plus it taught me how to have a good work ethic. I get why, in my first couple of years of teaching, my opinion wasn’t really listened to (because honestly I was mostly wrong and didn’t have the knowledge yet to even have an opinion on many things). I get all of that. I am thankful for every twist and turn that my life has taken to lead me to where I am at today.

That sounds great, but I still can’t manage to think that way while I am in the middle of a frustration. It’s especially true when I feel like I am being wronged, whether by a stranger or a friend. In my innocent little world, everyone needs to just assume the best about my intentions, needs to be kind to each other, and shouldn’t make up lies. Unfortunately, that isn’t how the world works.

We can take heart though.

I was recently re-reading one of my favorite Bible stories about a young woman, through no fault of her own, was ripped out of her home and found herself married to a king (one of many wives I might add). I am referring to Esther, of course. Now, as amazing as it sounds to be married to the king, for her it meant hiding who she really was (a Jew) and having to seek permission to come have a conversation with her husband. Not exactly ideal if you ask me. If you know the story you know that because of the fact she was in the palace, she was able to help save the Jewish people who were scheduled to be wiped out. If you don’t know the story make sure to check out the book of Esther, it is a pretty quick read. One of my all time favorite parts of that story is a line by her uncle Mordecai, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NLT.

So I say to you, who knows if perhaps you weren’t __________________ for such a time as this. Fill in that blank with whatever difficult thing you are dealing with. Who knows, maybe the situation you are in at this very moment, is exactly what you need to accomplish the next thing God has slated for you?

It’s Different For Girls

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It’s been a while since I wrote a more personal blog specifically about my own experiences with motherhood, but after a conversation I had with my husband a while back, I thought it was time.

This particular conversation happened on a date night that, until about the last six months, has been a pretty rare thing. (When you live a ways away from family and have young children, dates are rare luxuries. Fortunately our girls are finally old enough it’s easier to get away for a few hours now). I was explaining to him some of the struggles I have from time to time with feeling lonely in my role as a mom. Now, this loneliness is not because he doesn’t help or isn’t around. Rather, it is more due to the lack of close, intimate, female friendships that I have at this stage of life. I explained that women, especially once we become mothers, have very different life experiences than our male counterparts when it comes to how we relate to each other and even how friendships look. I thought I would share some of the differences I see, in hopes that other mommas out there might find a little relief knowing we are all in this together. As a disclaimer, this is in no means intended to bash on women or children, but rather to explain some of the differences in hopes of shining light in dark areas of our human experience.

Freedom

As a mom, especially when children are very little, we often find ourselves not having freedom to just pick up and do whatever we want. When you have a newborn and are nursing a baby, you can’t be away from the baby (or the pump) for more than a couple of hours at a time. You are tethered to that child and no matter how helpful dad is, it isn’t the same as what you as a mom experience. Even after nursing ends, kids have a special bond with their mom, that can make it difficult to have the freedom to get time to yourself or get time to spend with friends. When my girls were really little I couldn’t do anything, including hauling trash outside, without someone tagging along, or having a meltdown if they couldn’t. I have actually had to sneak out of my own house on occasion when I did have to leave the house without my girls. My husband, on the other hand, can come and go as he pleases without inciting a major meltdown.

It’s different for girls.

Having a night out

My husband is really good about being willing to take care of the girls so that I can do what I need to do. During the conversation I mentioned earlier, he even told me that anytime I need a girls’ night with friends, to go for it. However, I explained to him that the problem isn’t so much the freedom to go as it is having people to go with. At this phase of life we are all either in the same boat of chaotic schedules with kids and it’s impossible to get our schedules to line up, or they don’t have kids and are in a completely different realm of life where needing to be home at a decent time doesn’t yet exist. It’s funny watching all the movies with the moms going on a girls’ night out because I know so few moms that actually ever do that. Especially moms like me who moved into town after all the friendship groups were already created.

It’s different for girls.

Walls

Beyond any logistical issues that may arise with friendships in the throws of motherhood, is probably the most difficult barrier to overcome; the walls that we as females put up, and often tend to live behind. I remember when my husband was coaching football and how all the men formed a brotherhood. They were a tight group that could poke at each other and still be best friends. They were all pretty confident guys who, for the most part, never felt the need to impress anyone. They were real with each other. As a coach’s wife, all of us women were together an awful lot as well. Although I always got along with everyone, the dynamics among the women were completely different.

Women are so much more guarded with each other than men are. It is often so hard to get to know another woman on anything more than surface level without years of relationship to slowly tear down those walls. We also tend to feel a sense of competition among each other. As a coach’s wife I often felt like I was looked at as less than when my husband coached at the junior high level, but was more of the group when he moved up to the high school. I know that it was never intentional, but women can be cruel without ever realizing it. We as women also feel like we need to show only our best selves, which hinders real, authentic relationships. Social media has only amplified that problem over the last 10 years. Women like to hide their flaws, while men often make fun of themselves for their flaws

It’s different for girls.

So what can we do? Honestly, I really don’t have an answer for that. I don’t think there is an easy solution. However, I really want to challenge women like me (and including me) to try to let your guard down a little. I know that so many of us have been wounded by friends in the past when we got too real and vulnerable (myself included). Yet, we will never have an authentic relationship if we ourselves can’t be authentic. Get to know those other mommas! Be vulnerable about your struggles and shortcomings. And, for crying out loud, quit competing and comparing and lets start encouraging each other. Motherhood is the hardest, sweetest, most frustrating, rewarding thing I have ever experienced. Find someone to share your experiences with.

It’s different for girls, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.20190817_210037

Book Review: Night Night Bible Stories

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I have 3 children age 7 and under. I live in a world of sight words, learning to read, and bedtime stories. During the school year it is a struggle to get beyond simply getting dinner, reading our AR books, doing homework, and getting to bed. Because of the craziness of the school year, we often don’t really get many books read aside from what is assigned at school. I was pretty excited at the opportunity of getting a copy of this particular book to review.

Night, Night Bible stories is broken down into 30 stories , fifteen from each the Old and New Testaments. Each story is based on stories from the Bible, but are written in an easy to understand way. Stories include creation, Noah, Samuel, Joseph, Esther, and many about Jesus, just to name a few. All stories are beautifully illustrated to help your kids visualize the stories. Each story is 10 pages or less, that are the perfect length to tell before bed.

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One of my favorite things about this book of bedtime stories is at the end of each story. There is a short prayer and little rhyme that goes with every story. I am excited to go through theses stories all summer long with my girls.

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You can enter to win your very own copy of this adorable book by going here.

 

Book Review: NKJV Study Bible

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I absolutely love getting to review Bibles. There is something about looking at different versions of the Bible and cross-referencing information from various translations that I just love.  This particular Bible is not my typical translation, however, I absolutely love the wealth of information within its pages, not to mention the gorgeous cover!

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This study Bible has full color maps, articles, and culture notes all throughout.

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Every book has a ton of information about who wrote it, where the stories took place, how the book is structured, how it relates back to Christ, and so much more. Within each book there are an incredible amount of footnotes for reference. Most pages have about a third of each page with footnotes and verses that are cross referenced. This would be a tremendous tool for anyone who is serious about studying the Bible. I know I like to keep numerous versions on hand, along with online versions. At the end of the Bible, along with the typical subject index and glossary, there are several other references. The miracles of Jesus, prayers of the Bible, messianic prophecies, and parables of Jesus are just a few of the extra sections.

If you would like a little more information on this Bible check out this video.

I hope that this new year has brought a renewed desire to dig into scripture! That is definitely one of my goals this year.

 

The Untold Tales of Snow Day 2018

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*Disclaimer: I LOVE SNOW DAYS, however, when you have 3 small children, a snow day is often more work than going to work, and there is a lot more than a cute hashtag and filtered pictures. This, is the rest of the story.*

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The snow started falling at 5 pm yesterday at the 7 Circle and didn’t stop all night. I woke up at 5:20 am to discover that my school district was still running on time. I proceeded to get up, look out the window, and start to panic a little thinking of how I was going to tackle the highway (that happens to run east and west with a wind out of the north). Almost every neighboring school had either already cancelled or had decided to start 2 hours late (including the one my husband works at). I headed back to bed, unable to fall asleep because I kept checking every 10 minutes to see if my prayers for at least a delayed start had been answered. Much to my surprise, around 6 o’clock, my school was cancelled. As my husband puts it, he could feel the happiness radiate from me at that moment. Honestly, it was more relief at not having to drive in the blizzard-like conditions that were going on outside.

Now, as much of a blessing as a snow day is, particularly for a tired teacher in the November lull, a snow day also means more work when you have 3 kids who can’t do everything for themselves yet. The ironic thing about kids is that you can’t pry them out of bed on a school day, but when it is the weekend, or in this case, a snow day, they are up and at em bright and early. 7:02 am to be precise. The sun had not even risen yet and I had a 6 year old by my bedside (why do they always come to my side of the bed?) wanting me to turn on a movie. So, being tired mom, I proceeded to turn on a movie (it must be over an hour long, the longer the better) and headed back to bed. It’s such a futile effort to try to sleep in. Over the next hour the other two, a 4 and 2 year old, proceeded to parade in and out of my room. The four year old wanted something to eat while the 2 year old scared the daylights out of me by putting her face directly next to mine, in true horror movie fashion, and said “mommy, I wake you up”, when I jumped after feeling a presence in my bubble.

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After the chaos of breakfast, everyone wanted to go outside and play in the snow. Now, it was extremely cold and windy still, but you can’t convince young kids of that until they experience it firsthand. So, we started the process of getting everyone bundled up to go out. This is not an easy task and typically takes 15 minutes or more to get dressed, and we usually stay outside approximately 4 minutes. We initiated the getting bundled up process at least 5 times throughout the day.

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When daddy went outside to break water and make sure all the animals were situated, all 3 wanted to go out to the shop too. That proved to be a mistake. Maybe 10 minutes after they went outside, I heard a wailing cry outside and saw my 2 year old stuck in a snow drift with only one glove. She had gotten stuck because rather than walk through the lower parts of the snow, she went trudging through the deep part. I rushed outside and hauled her in taking off all the winter clothes along the way.  She decided at that point that she really wasn’t sold on the whole snow thing, and told me she wanted to take a nap.

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When the girls decided they were too cold and needed to stay inside for a while, that’s when the destruction of the house commenced, not to mention the ongoing conflict and little scrapping that goes along with 3 girls “sharing”. At one point, my girls had a tent with a tube to crawl inside, about 7 naked babydolls, 2 doll strollers (one missing the fabric for the seat), an unknown number of snacks and crumbs, blankets and pillows, and 4 different games spread all over the livingroom floor.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of fun. When my little one was napping, my husband and I took the bigger girls out on the sled (although it did end in tears when they got too cold), we made some delicious snow ice cream, watched The Grinch, and daddy lit a fire in the fireplace. There were so many blessings to my day. However, in the social media world we live in where you only see the highlight reel, I wanted you to see, the rest of the story.

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Roots Come Before Fruit

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I love to plant a large garden each year. As spring slowly approaches, I have started planning out how I want to change up my garden for this year. Over the last few years, I have had to learn by trial and error the best methods.  Some of my  plants, such as tomatoes, squash, and jalapenos, have really thrived. Others, such as my corn, have struggled for some reason. When it comes to planting a garden there is a very important balance of planting the right seeds at the proper time, making sure the seeds get enough water (which is a constant battle in the panhandle of Texas), and keeping the weeds from taking over.

The first year my daughters and I planted our garden they were super excited and extremely unhelpful (lets just say the rows were far from straight and while we were planting I had to finally kick them out of the garden because they were digging up seeds almost as quickly as I put them in the ground). However, they were so eager to eat the cucumbers and watermelons that the next morning they wanted to go see the garden. Needless to say, they were a bit disappointed that nothing had grown. They didn’t understand how long it takes for plants to emerge from the ground, and how it takes even longer to bear fruit. Those seeds had to get roots established deep into the ground before they could start growing upward.

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It is the exact same in our spiritual lives. Just like a seed, our faith must take root deep within our being before any fruit will show on the outside.  The process of developing those roots may sometimes be unpleasant. After all, a seed has to be buried, put under pressure, and essentially die to the way that it currently is in order to grow and bear fruit. Some fruit is pretty quick and very abundant. For example, in my own garden zucchini is very easy to grow and extremely abundant, but strawberries do not bear much fruit their first year. Sometimes it’s like that spiritually. Some of the fruit of the spirit seems to come easily, for me hope and faith. On the other hand, it seems like the fruit of patience is one of those that has been a lot more of a difficult fruit to grow.

So many examples that Jesus used in his parables were related to agriculture. He referred to believers in the parable of the farmer scattering seed (Mark 4) about how easily it is for us to allow the Word of God to be of no effect in our lives. For some it gets snatched up almost as soon as they hear it. For others it starts to sprout but because the root system is underdeveloped (meaning they don’t let the word sink into their actual lives and it quickly becomes unimportant as they listen to the world). Still others start to develop a good root system but then hit a hard time or let the worries of this world get to them so their faith dies out. Finally, there is the fourth group that were considered fertile soil where the word produced a bountiful crop.

We are to strive to be that fourth group. In the world we live in, that is no easy task. However, if we can keep in the Word on a daily basis (not just once a week on a Sunday when someone else is spoon feeding us), those roots will start to take off.  After all, if there are no roots, there can be no fruit. I pray that as I grow in maturity, I will grow that 100 fold crop that Jesus refers to in Mark 4. I pray you will too!