Live the Crazy Life

Wielding The Sword

January 6, 2018 No Comments

Happy New Year!!

Every January it seems people make New Year’s resolutions – things they wish they could do better, or adding a new activity to their life routine. Well, I have two resolutions this year that I believe are attainable. The first one is to improve my prayer life. And the second, memorize more Bible verses.

As it is with most things, I do better if there is something or someone to help hold me accountable to my goals. So I have asked a friend to hold me accountable in prayer. Then I thought I would use my blog and whoever is reading this to help with my second goal of memorizing more Bible verses.

I have decided that every month I would post a new verse to memorize and some reasons why I have chosen that particular verse. I am hoping that everyone reading this will join me in these monthly challenges and post in the comment sections how they are memorizing the verse and let us all know when they have the verse memorized.

This month I have chosen a verse from the book of Daniel. As the year goes you will see a theme emerging from the verses each month. They will all be about the steadfast love of God. Steadfast love has been a word between me and God for a couple of months now. It’s a theme I hope to one day write my own bible study on! (Maybe you will see that in future posts!!)

Daniel 9:4 Says “I prayed to the Lord my God and made confessions, saying “O Lord the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

I love this verse! One, it ties into my desire to up my prayer life; and two, it speaks of God’s steadfast love. First, what would your year or my year look like if we approached prayer with a heart to confess how awesome God is, how He is a covenant keeper, and how He loves me with a steadfast love? Think about that for a moment. If in prayer, before we dive into our needs, fears, concerns, or whatever, we start with telling God how awesome He is and reflecting on His love for us, how would that change our hearts and attitudes? In the midst of struggles if I just cause myself to take a breathe and think about God and how good He is, how He loves me and will never leave me, how He will cause all things to work out for good, then I am filled with faith and a confidence to face whatever challenge lay ahead. I want to bring that into my prayer life this year. How about you?

I want God’s steadfast love to be the lens through which I do life this year! And what better place to start that than in my prayer life. So will you join me in this challenge? Would you take the time to memorize this verse and then apply it to your own life the way God leads? If you do, would you leave me a comment about your journey?

Let’s commit to making 2018 the year God reigns in every area of our lives. Let’s also commit to this being the year that we gain ground spiritually by memorizing more of the Word so when we have battles we can pull out the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and wield it triumphantly in battle!

Will you join me?

Click Here for January Memory Verse 2018

Christmas, Holiday, Recipes

Naughty and Nice Christmas Cookies

December 15, 2017 No Comments

It’s Christmas time, and if your house is anything like my house it means making Christmas cookies. Cookies for probably 4 different parties, for the neighbours, and a school event or two. I have two tried, tested, and awesome Christmas cookie recipes for you. One is naughty – full of all the stuff that tastes good but isn’t good for; and one that is a little more healthy and gluten-free.

I will start with the naughty one. I have been making this sugar cookie recipe at Christmas for as long as I can remember. We made them every year since I was little. The dough is great – rolls out easy with a little flour dusted on the surface you are rolling them out on. And, bonus, the whole recipe makes roughly 12 dozen medium-sized cutouts – more if you use a small cookie cutter, and less if you use big ones. The dough freezes great, so you can make a few for a holiday event and then freeze the rest to make later. The cookies, once they are made, freeze well, too. Even once they are frosted you can freeze them. Just unstack them to thaw or the frosting will stick to the other cookies.

Here is the recipe for the sugar cookies and a link for the frosting that I made and used.
Sugar cookie cutouts
3 cups Parkay (I couldn’t find Parkay so I used Imperial brand margarine. (DON’T USE BUTTER unless you want oily cookies)
2 2/3 cups sugar (I cut this back to 2 cups and no one has ever known until now.)
1 teaspoon salt
8 egg yolks (you can plan on making egg white omelettes the next day or egg white quiche for dinner like me!)
4 tablespoons 1/2 & 1/2
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups of all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and well combined.
Then add egg yolks while mixing on low. Mix until egg yolks are well incorporated.
Then add the 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, and salt.
Lastly, add the flour. I add 1-2 cups at a time. If you use the paddle blade on your blender it helps.
Once all the flour is mixed in, divide the dough into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour. If you are planning on freezing any of it,l double wrap it or put it in a plastic zip freezer bag for later use.

Once chilled roll out dough to 1/4 in thick and place on greased cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for 5 mins, then put into an oven heated to 350 degrees. (Putting the cutouts in the freezer helps them hold their shapes better while cooking.) Cook for 8 mins. Let cool and decorate.
Here is the link to the frosting recipe I used:https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simple-cookie-glaze-recipe

And now for the nice recipe. It seems these days there is always someone with food allergies (myself included). These cookies are gluten-free, sugar-free, and nut free. I did use an alcohol sugar blend but no white table sugar. I call these naked gingerbread men because without frosting they really are a healthy option for the holidays that taste good too!
Here is that recipe
Naked Gingerbread Men
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup sugar substitute (here’s the link for the one I used: https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon (21 g) honey (or maple syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
Cream together the butter and the sugar substitute.
Mix in egg.
Once combined mix in the spices – salt, honey, molasses, baking soda, and vanilla.
Lastly, add flour and mix until all is combined.
You can freeze this dough, too, at this point. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then in a zipper freezer bag.
Roll dough out (I used cocoa powder to dust the board. If your dough isn’t sticking you won’t need this.)
Place the gingerbread men on a greased cookie sheet and then in the freezer for 5 mins before placing them in a 350-degree oven for 8 mins.
Once they are cooled, you can decorate them or leave them naked.

Happy Holiday baking to you!!

Bible, Christmas, family activities, family fun, Holiday

That’s What Christmas is All About

December 7, 2017 No Comments

For years I have struggled to find that balance to make Christmas fun, memorable, exciting, and focused on Jesus. There is so much Christmas all around starting often months before December that I have a hard time not getting swept up in it. I love making crafts and baking which the Christmas season lends itself to perfectly. I love giving gifts and decorating my house. And if I am not careful I can have the best Christmas, one full of fun memories, family, great food but maybe not so much Jesus.

It’s hard to find that balance, isn’t it between celebrating Christmas and celebrating Jesus? I know there are a million ideas on how to keep Christ in Christmas but let’s face it, it is HARD. It is hard to focus on two things at once, at least for me.

I have swung the whole pendulum of Christmas over the years from no tree to a small tree to 3 trees. As well as giving a lot of gifts to giving a few gifts. Yet every year I have this mix of thoughts as Christmas approaches. How do I celebrate family, friends, fun, and a blessed life, all the while making Jesus my top focus of the celebration? I have yet to find the perfect way to do that. But I will not give up. I will keep trying.

This year I am trying a few new things and a couple that we have been doing for years.

To start I have a verse I am focusing on this season. The first one is Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, to us a son, is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

God has been speaking to me to slow down and focus on the here and now. To stop being so rushed to move onto the next thing or get stressed about the future. This verse gives me so many ways to do that.

Christmas: the celebration of a child being born, a son is given to me, for me, to save me. But that’s not all. Christmas is a time of giving gifts. God gives gifts too. First He gave us His son and then the names or attributes. In Hebrew names were more than just a name. They were attributes possessed by that person. So we are given this son of God, to fill us with wonder, to guide us with His counsel, and to be a Mighty God when we feel so small and powerless. He is an everlasting Father and our Prince of Peace.

This verse frees me to celebrate Christmas, the wonder of Christmas, making wise choices with my time and my money because He will counsel me in how to do these things if I ask. He will be mighty when I am lacking strength this season and he will be a peace in the midst of craziness.

The second verse I am focusing on this season is Luke 2:10. “And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”

Fear not! I can stop fearing that I am somehow missing the mark this season. That I am not doing a good enough job of making Christmas about Christ. I can just let it go. I can know that I am held by a God who loves me and I don’t have to earn that love. And I can have great joy in knowing God and His love for me. After all, it was because of His great love that Jesus came to earth (see John 3:16.) And the best part is this good news of God’s love and the gift of Jesus is for all people. “For all people” has an interesting meaning in this verse. It means every part that applies; the emphasis of the total picture while focusing on one piece at a time.

Isn’t it nice to know that God sees the whole picture of humanity while simultaneously seeing the individuals that make up the whole?

Along with those 2 verses, I try to keep my family focused on Jesus too. I started a new tradition this year. I made each of my 3 kids an ornament with their name on it and a bible verse. I asked each of them for a verse that speaks to them the most right now. Then I incorporated the verse into the ornament. The thought being, each year as we hang those ornaments on the tree we will talk about how God moved in my children with their verse. Just like we talk about how cute they were in that kindergarten picture that is glued to a paper cut out of a star.

Year by year we can see through ornaments how God has used His word to empower us, change us, and set us free.

We are also doing an advent reading this year. It’s a new one that focuses on the wonder of Christ. We read the devotional each night and hang a snowman on our advent tree. Why a snowman? Because I love snowmen and when I can get all the family to join me, well that’s magical.

Bible, Holiday, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving when you don’t feel all that Thankful

November 22, 2017 No Comments

The last week has been a little hard. I had to have surgery on my foot for an issue that I had already had two surgeries for on the other foot. The surgery itself went well but the recovery has, well, been up and down. I feel like I am living on a rollercoaster. One day I feel ok and very optimistic, and then the next something will pull or hurt and I will feel like the whole process was a waste of time. Today would be one of the lower days. Frustration is winning. So I sat down at my desk to listen to a worship playlist and read my bible and pull myself out of the funk that I was in. I am doing a few different Bible readings. I have my Beth Moore study homework and then I follow Rachel Wojo (which if you don’t know who she is you really should. Her stuff is awesome and very encouraging http://rachelwojo.com). This month’s Bible reading challenge from her is on Thanksgiving. I opened my bible feeling selfishly not so thankful. My foot is in a cast. My house is, well, a little out of order because I can’t walk and wonderful husband is trying to do all that I do while still doing his job. Needless to say, a few things have slipped or just been done differently than I would have. (And if you are reading this Todd I love you and you have been doing a great job remember I did say I was feeling selfish.) Ok back to the point – THANKSGIVING. Uh, I wasn’t really in the mood to think about how thankful I should be, how blessed I am. I was more in the mood to be, well, negative and unhappy and very ungrateful. Thoughts of why I am going through this again. What if the surgery doesn’t work? And God I don’t want to be thankful right now. I want to mad and self-centred.

I pushed through and read Colossians 3:12-17. And it hit me, and God’s goodness overwhelmed me in that moment. I can’t be thankful because I haven’t put on love, and I certainly wasn’t letting Christ’s peace rule me at the moment. You see, according to this verse there is a list of things we must do and then be thankful. I was trying to start with thankful which isn’t where God wants us to start. The verse says you must have compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. I had none of that at the moment. It goes on to say bear with one another and if anyone has a complaint against someone, they are to forgive as the Lord has forgiven them. And above all of this, you are to put on love which binds everything together. The word bind there has a great meaning. More than just connecting things together it means “a close inner identity which produces harmony between members joined closely together.” Love allows kindness and compassion to follow. Love allows me to be humble and meek. Love propels me towards forgiveness, and love allows me access to God who will bring a peace that only He can to rule my heart. When I have all of that working in my life, then I can be thankful. I can be thankful that my identity isn’t in a messed up foot but in the love of God. My identity isn’t in me at all; it is in HIM and Him alone. Once I realized that I felt this wave of thankfulness. I am so thankful that in a moment God’s presence can change everything – my mind, my emotions, my perspective, and my identity.

So this week as we head into Thanksgiving, remember this – as you come to the table with your list of what you are thankful for, without time in God’s love first you will not experience true thankfulness.

So in the business of cooking turkeys for hours on low and making the perfect pumpkin pie, and making sure the table is beautiful, take a moment and let God remind you that you are beautiful to him. He loves you more than you can imagine. When you do this, you will be able to come to the table with a heart that overflows with thanksgiving.

Bible, End times, Uncategorized

Look to walk for the days are evil

November 15, 2017 No Comments

I was doing my devotions and I read the strangest verse. Ephesians 5:12 says “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” What the heck does that mean, I thought. So I went to my trusty Biblehub.com and looked it up. What I found was very interesting. The word “look” means “to see something physical with spiritual results.” It carries what is seen into the unseen realm so a person can take the needed action. And the “walk” in the verse is “how one conducts life, literally walk around or complete a circuit.” If you add the following few verses, you have a very powerful instruction/warning from God on how to live in these evil days.

In fact, if you look at verses 15 & 16 there is a comma connecting the two into one full sentence. Verse 16 says “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

Making the best use means “to ransom, to buy up for oneself.” In this verse, it seems to have a slightly different meaning than that. It connects the idea of ransom and buying for yourself from the store. It means to make a wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good so that zeal and well-doing is the purchase – money by which we make the time our own.

We are to live buying time with zeal and well-doing. Wow, that changes how I spend my day!

If we put together both of these thoughts, it is a powerful catalyst to change how we do our day to day life. We are to be watching; seeing things in the physical but applying the spiritual to them; being led by the spirit in how we act and react in all situations we encounter through the day. We are to literally buy back time by living with such a zeal for the Lord that we are consumed with His well-doing. And we are to do this because the days are evil.

I have no idea when Jesus is coming back. And I have no desire to debate those prophecies. But I do have a rising desire to live more alert to the fact that the days are evil and the time is getting shorter to tell others of the love of Jesus.

I find myself with a stirring I can’t explain and one I never thought I would be excited to have. End times stuff scares me if I’m being honest. But suddenly fear is overcome with love for those who are hurting and lost.

Every day we hear of some tragic event on the news – people being killed in senseless acts of evil here in our own towns and all over the world. But there is good news that is never told. Yes! Indeed, the days are evil. But God promises to pour out His spirit in these times like never before. That zeal that we are supposed to have that comes from looking as we walk through this life is real. It is possible to hear bad, scary news, and then make the most of the time we have living full of zeal for God and His well-doing. It is an amazing thing when you surrender your life to God and live the way He says to in scripture.

Life is amazing when you look not before you walk but as you walk. God will open your eyes to see people to pray for, love on, and tell them the good news.

Uncategorized

A Startling Look at Friendship

November 3, 2017 2 Comments

The topic of friendship has come up in at least 3 different areas in my life in one week. When that tends to happen – that I can find a running theme in several areas of my life – I try to take notice, pray and then usually act because God is moving. This week is no exception. The running theme is friendship. Now, this might sound a little junior high-ish but God has really highlighted something in my life I need to change.

I am, for the most part, an introvert. I like my time to do with what I like. I feel uncomfortable in large crowds, and, well, I struggle with friendships. So this hits home for me. I have a very close friend who lives out of state, and then I have a whole bunch of arms-length friendships that are more like acquaintances than true friends. I have blamed that on being busy, being in ministry, being a mom – three busy teens! But the truth is, it is easier to keep busy than to open up and be vulnerable with someone. This, however, is not good. Not good at all.

God speaks to me at the weirdest times. While I am in the middle of making dinner I felt him ask why I don’t have deep friendships? Uh, because as you can clearly see, I am busy God. Then in my bible study reading, He takes me to the story of the Good Samaritan; then to the story of Mary and Martha; and lastly to the man who got lowered through the roof to have Jesus pray for him.

What do all 3 stories have to do with each other? Busy people and people in need. The first one – the Good Samaritan. There is a man who is in need of help. He’s beaten and left alone. The Priest crosses the road as to not walk right by but pass by at a distance. The Levite does the same. The Samaritan is the one who stops. I doubt in the bible times people went on walks for exercise sake. Each one of these people had somewhere they were coming from and going to. They had plans for the day – things they needed to do, people they needed to meet with, and so the list goes on. Sounds like us. We all have places to be, people to meet with, activities to accomplish all day long. But are we all so busy we can’t stop and help the person right in front of us who is in need? Do we really live lives so full that something can’t be bumped back ½ an hour to call that person who needs encouragement rather than send a text which we don’t even have time to type so we instead send a voice to text message?

What about Mary and Martha. Are we so concerned with how our house looks that we never invite anyone over because we don’t have the time to make it look perfect (which by the way no one expects or even notices)? Or are we so consumed by our time with Jesus we won’t make time to pray or bring our neighbors into the presences of Jesus with us?

Lastly, the man who is paralyzed. His friends! Wow, those guys were devoted friends. I find myself, if I am honest, longing for this type of friendship. For devoted friends who will stop at nothing to see me become all that God has for me. Friends who will help me, pray with me, and lead me straight Jesus, regardless of obstacles in the way. I mean they had a literal roof in their way! What do I have – maybe a dirty house or a bible study where I have only gotten to day 3 out of 5?

I want to be that kind of friend and I want friends like that. So when God asked why I don’t have deep friendships, the answer is because I don’t take the time. I don’t acknowledge the need for others. I don’t want to risk being open and honest with ladies and not have it returned. Then one by one, God reminded me of people in my life who I know need a friend right now. Someone they can count on; someone who needs a Samaritan to help in a practical way; someone who needs a Mary to pray for them and a friend who will rip the roof off to help them get to the feet of Jesus.

So I decided to take the bold act of inviting a group of people who don’t really know each other yet (but all know me and all love Jesus) to get together once a month at my house. I know that realistically not all of them will make it every time. But I am offering my home and my friendship with a gentle reminder that they, too, need friends. They, too, need a Samaritan and to be a Samaritan to someone else. They need a Mary to pray for them, and they need to be a Mary and pray for someone else. They need friends who want to see them healed and made whole at the feet of Jesus, and they need to be the one who brings others to those same feet.

So I ask you – how are you being the Samaritan, a Mary, and the friends who bring their hurting friend to Jesus in your life? Who is doing those things for you?

Friendships are risky. They do take time. But we are called to live in community not isolation. We are called to carry one another’s burdens. We are told to pray for one another, encourage one another, to spur one another to good deeds.

Yes, friendships are hard but needed. Yes, life is busy, but it should never be so busy that we fail to make time for others. Find some small way to make an effort in the area of friendship and I bet you will be blessed more than you could imagine.

I’d love to hear how you do friendships in your life. Leave a comment and pass on your tips for keeping, making time for, and building new friendships.

Recipes

Suped Up Coffee

October 27, 2017 No Comments

Do you ever find yourself needing an extra cup of coffee in the morning to get you going? Do you find yourself reaching for that extra latte in the mid-afternoon to keep you alert and able to focus? I have a solution that might work for you. While I am not a fan of grass-fed butter in my coffee, I do love this little recipe I whipped up. I need a lot of caffeine in my life right now. Raising teens requires a lot of energy and some late nights. I also have inflammatory issues, so anywhere I can add anti-inflammatory foods like ginger and turmeric I do. Thus the creation of my favorite coffee mix in.
I start with red palm oil. Why red palm? It has tons of health benefits which include the following: antioxidants like beta-carotene; lycopene which helps reduce free radicals; and short and medium chain fatty acids which increase metabolism, decrease inflammation, and increase cardiovascular health. Then I add coconut oil, turmeric, ginger, and this time I added pumpkin pie spice for a fall flavor. (You could add any spice flavor you wanted, really.) I also added a blend of alcohol sugars for a little sweetness.
I have made this before and found that the oils tend to separate. Then one day I thought, “What if I blended it all together?” The result was magic. The mixture was smooth and creamy and never separated.
I store it in a mason jar on the counter and add 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of coffee each morning. It tastes great and gives me the energy boost I want and the anti-inflammatory support I need.

Here’s the recipe!
1/4 cup red palm oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute. I use this recipe from Joy Filled Eats (https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or other flavoring – optional)
Blend in the blender or use an immersion blender. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Uncategorized

The Remedy For Spiritual Burnout

October 24, 2017 No Comments

Have you ever felt like the Christian life isn’t worth it? Is it too hard with sometimes seemingly little results?
While being a Christian in the world today can be hard and in some places very costly, I believe there is a cure for those days when it is too overwhelming.
It is ok to feel like it is hard to live a life that honors God. Others in the Bible felt the same way. David has asked God why it was hard and where had God gone in those times.
Job defiantly asked, “Why am I doing this? When will it ever get easier?”
Jeremiah asked those questions and shared his state of ‘burnout” with the Lord. The list goes on. The point of this blog isn’t that it’s ok to feel like giving up because everyone does. It’s about how to recognize those feelings quickly and get back on the straight and narrow path the Lord has called you to.
In a season when things were hard, ministry felt hard, and I wasn’t seeing any results from what I was doing; I read these verses in my devotions – Galatians 6:10-12:
“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
These verses are not just for those who are pastors or work in the church. We are all called to ministry at some level. We are Christ’s ambassadors on Earth. We are called to share His love with those who don’t know Him yet and encourage those who already walk with Him.
The word unjust means “A violation of God’s standards; to be found wrong in the courts of heaven.” It is impossible for Christ to overlook our work. It goes directly against His character and nature and would be breaking one of His own heavenly rules.
We know He will always see our service even in those times when we FEEL like no one knows what we are doing or how we are serving. GOD always SEES!
The word earnestness means “Speedy diligence; one’s best.” For the believer it means quickly obeying what the Lord reveals is His priority. This elevates the better over the good – the most important over the important.
In those times when we feel burned out, it could be that we have missed the leading of the Lord to shift ever so slightly our focus of what the most important is at that moment. When we know we are focusing on the exact thing God wants, then we go back to the idea that He sees us. He acknowledges our hard work.
The word sluggish means “To become spiritually dull.” In my own wording, sluggish is what burnout feels like.
Do you want to know how we defeat the enemy? We remind him and ourselves that God sees our efforts. We stop the lie that says no one cares that you are doing (you fill in the blank) for the kingdom. No one would even notice if you stopped doing this. This is a lie because according to Galatians 6:10 the Lord sees, and He trumps everyone and everything else that tells us differently.
We must seek God and ask Him to tell us His priorities in our lives and ask Him where He wants us to spend our energies for this season. We must be continually seeking Him in this area so that our hope doesn’t grow dim and fade away.
When we do this, we will not become sluggish. We will refresh ourselves and become people who have great faith that we will inherit the promises God has confirmed to us in His word.

Parenting, patience

Cultivating the fruit of Patience

September 12, 2017 No Comments

The other day I began prepping my garden for the spring planting of peas and lettuces. (They grow better in cooler weather, and peas taste sweeter if they flower before the last snow fall.)
At the same time as prepping the garden for spring, my spring bible study has been on the fruit of the Spirit. God’s timing is always amazing. We have been studying one attribute of the fruit of the Spirit a week. This week is patience. Not something I am good at. I am a go, go, go type. I like to always have projects going while keeping up with life, ministry, work, 3 teenagers and a husband. Patient, I am not. But God really revealed some things to me through this study and the prepping of the garden.
To grow a successful harvest, you don’t just plant when the time is right. There is a lot of prep work to be done first. Actually to be a successful gardener you should be working the garden in every season. Fall: harvesting. Winter: tilling up old plants, mixing in compost to nourish the soil in the cold. Spring: weeding anything that grew over the winter time (how do weeds do that?) Aerating the soil and mixing in more compost to nourish the ground and replace vital nutrients lost in the winter. And then comes planting, continued weeding, watering and fertilizing, watching for pests, taking care of any that you find through the late spring and summer. So in the midst of me doing this, God began to ask me, ”How am I taking care of my own garden? My soul? How am I prepping my kids’ gardens (souls) to grow the best harvest of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives?” My answer – I was maintaining. A little weeding (very little for me, more for the kids in the form of discipline) and good watering (I enjoy reading the word, and studying.) And that was where I realized that I was off! A garden takes year-round work – work when there is not a harvest yet in sight and when there are no seeds to plant. The fun part is the harvest. The hard part is getting to the harvest – the work part. You know, good old fashion labor! To have a good garden takes work and patience mixed together. Was I doing work in my own soul mixed with patience? How about for my kids? By the way, how are you doing in these areas?
Like I said, this week’s bible study was the fruit of patience. There are two types of “patience” found in the bible. Hupomone: “To persevere, remain under, bearing up with.” It refers to that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial. Hupomone is endurance in relation to circumstances. The other type is Makrothumia: “Self-restraint before proceeding to action.” Hupomone is inspired by hope, and Makrothumia is inspired by mercy. Hupomone is one we can get on our own. We can endure something because we have a hope of the outcome. Every woman who has given birth understands this. We endure 9 months of pregnancy, then pain in labor, all for the bundle of joy – our precious child! Makrothumia is only from God. It is a fruit of the Spirit only given and moved into action by God and God alone.
Jesus says to pray for your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48 and Matthew 5:39 and Luke 6:29). I think I understand why for the first time. Because to be people who act righteously in difficult situations with difficult people, we need endurance fueled by hope and patience fueled by mercy.
In some seasons of my life when things are smooth sailing, I don’t have rough circumstances and really no close enemies that cause me to be asking God to fill me with hope – hope found in His word, and hope from Him. I need to be teaching my kids the hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27 & Ephesians 1:11-14). We need to be memorizing what and Who real hope is. Just like mixing in compost in the winter and spring I need to mix hope in my heart and my children’s hearts. Then I need to add a whole lot of mercy. Seeking God to understand the mercy He showed me and them. (see Daniel 9:9, Ephesians 2:4, Titus 3:4-6, 1 Peter 1:3-9, and Romans 5:8). I must teach these truths to my children and hide them in my heart so that when the time comes I have a harvest of mercy for my enemies, and a harvest of endurance for my circumstances.

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