Pondering Mother's Day

An unexpected thought occurred to me this morning... how Mother's Day is as much about me (as a mother) feeling loved as it is about my children knowing that I love them! 

I saw how eagerly they brought in their cards and gifts... their eyes wide and sparkling and watching for my reaction.  And it struck me how they were awaiting my surprise, my excitement, my approval, my adoration of their loving efforts...

How the whole experience affected their hearts as much as it affected mine.

Very sweet... and cool how God uses all these things to shape us and mold us. :)

Conquer! Overcome!

OK. With a strong title like that, I better just cut to the chase.  This is not an exhortation to trust Jesus. This is about spiders.

I hate spiders. As a kid I was afraid of them. Now I just think they're creepy and gross. Blech. [I have goose-bumps just thinking about them.] In a scientific way, I suppose there is some element of interest—I mean, their webs are pretty amazing—but that has no influence my disgust of them.

However, I do not want my kids to be afraid of them as I was—so I have to use my super-mommy acting skills! I calmly make neutral comments like, "Insects may live outside, but they may not live inside my house" as I crush them with a Kleenex, cringing all the while. (For the record, I actually set one free outside last year.)

One of the worst places to find a spider is on the ceiling or on the wall up higher than your head.  Then you've gotta get a chair, and there's always the chance that it might drop on you.  (How would I describe that sort of incident? Terrorizing might be a little strong... perhaps freakish would be more apropos.)

But I realized the other day that my fear extreme dislike of spiders is highly diminished if they are on the ground. (I courageously smashed one on the wall near the floor with a Kleenex without even batting an eye!)

So here's my tip: if it's above your head, first knock it down to the floor. Try using a broom. (I tried using the boys' Nerf guns, but after more than a dozen shots and misses, the broom was a sure bet.)  Then slay the creepy thing. No prob. :)

Conquer!

A thought for Easter...

“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.”  

- A.W. Tozer, Preparing for Jesus' Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope

Pondering Life / Walking with Jesus

Becoming a parent almost 10 years ago has brought a whole different perspective to life.  (A friend recently told me, "I realized life will never be about me!")  Parenting involves so much loving, so much patience, so much mercy, so much giving... endless giving... of your time, your energy, your thoughts, your emotions, your heart...

 

Lately I have pondered (with agony, at times!) why the human maturation process takes 18 years (and beyond)—why couldn't it be half that?  I mean, a giraffe is walking ONE HOUR after it's born—and most animals are adults within a few years of birth! 

 

But I see what God is doing here... with humans, we're life-long learners.

 

We don't ever "arrive"—do we.  (Probably because of our free will... a blessing and a curse!)  We're officially labeled "adult" at age 18, but maturation continues on and on and on...

 

In my mind, I have a picture of how life could be a long, sweet walk with the Lord... if we would choose to walk with Him in humility, and be OK with our failings instead of bashing ourselves (accepting His forgiveness!), and submit our will to His perfect plans (even though we walk somewhat blindly with Him and can't always see what's ahead), and let Him help us process our disappointments, our pain, our troubles... let Him give us perspective, and hope, and joy...

 

I really think it's kind of like that "Footprints in the Sand" thing.  A lot of the time we can walk with Him side-by-side, hand-in-hand.  Sometimes we might be dragging our feet.  Sometimes leaping with joy!  Sometimes stomping.  And sometimes He's carrying us.

Oh, that we would TRUST in His love for us!  That's why He came to earth—to save us, so we can live with Him forever in heaven!  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that anyone who believes in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have everlasting life!" 

So say it out loud now.  (Come on, just do it!)

Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves me!

He wants to walk through life with you and me—every day.

 

He goes with us

A quote from Bo Stern, guest on Focus on the Family radio broadcast 1/27/15...

"When trial hits, we think, 'Why did God do this?' And I lived my life for a long time thinking if I show up and pay my tithe and pay my dues and marry the right guy and live my life the right way, things will go well for me; that will be the favor of God.  But I'm just discovering that God is not the God to keep us from all affliction, He is the God who goes with us in all affliction.  And understanding that about His character—not that I won't suffer, but that I won't suffer alone—has been a game changer for me. ... We misquote things all the time. We say that it's the favor of God that I have the good house and the good spouse and the good whatever. And all of that stuff is great, but we can achieve that even without God. So the stuff that really is God's favor comes in our deepest moment, our darkest time, when we see an angle of His character that we've never seen before..."

From "Finding Strength for the Terminal Battle."

Goals for the New Year?

Welcome to 2015!  Got any plans or goals for the new year?  Here are a couple of quotes to spur you on....

 

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

Jim Ryun

 

"Goals that are not written down are just wishes."

Anonymous

 

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."

Charles Spurgeon

 

"One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 3:13,14

 

My biggest goal is to read my Bible every day.

What I love about Republic Wireless

We just updated our cell phone plans.  Said farewell to our old service from a big-name carrier and our old "dumb phones."  Now we have smartphones at a great price and unlimited talk, texting, and data for an even better price through Republic Wireless!  (And no, I'm not getting paid to write this!)

But what I think I love the most about Republic is—well, it's a tie—their simplicity and their friendly customer service.  Their website is super easy to navigate (and easy to understand), and everything about them oozes positivity and excitement.  It makes the big-name carriers seem stodgy and full of themselves.

And that's all I have to say about it for now! :)