Parenting – Live the Crazy Life

Bible, Jesus, love, Parenting, Prayer, Raising Teens, Uncategorized, wisdom

Real change is possible

June 10, 2020 1 Comment

Have you ever had God drop something in your heart that you weren’t sure what to do with? Then you start getting bombarded with others saying the same thing, only in their voice or through their walk with God. Well that’s where I am right now. So I say it is with much thought, prayer and confirmation that I write this blog.

We have been having great, sometimes intense, conversations in our house relating to recent events. We have discussed topics from social justice, to the danger of generalizations and totalitarian statements, to voicing your opinion on how to bring about social change. Parenting teenagers is harder than I ever imagined. It’s hard to parent through these issues because all my children have their own view point and a unique calling from God that brings with it a unique filter in which they view life events. Not to mention I want them to think for themselves, develop their own conviction with the Holy Spirit, and be who God created them to be – no mini-me’s!

All of those discussions, conversations, have me thinking and praying for wisdom, guidance, and how to respond (not to my kids, specifically, but to life events). Then, unbeknownst to them, people around me have been adding to these thoughts and prayers with God. And here is where I land.

Every person is God’s creation. Ephesians 2:10 applies to everyone. And because the creator is so great, everything He creates bears His greatness. Think, the Mona Lisa is famous and has great value because of the one who painted her. That is my base line of truth. If you are a believer I am sure you can agree with me here. Building from that, how can we make that truth not only known but lived out in our homes, communities, cities and nation? This is where I got stuck until I heard from God.

In my Bible study we were asked to read Exodus 2:24-25. “God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

I am not saying I have a solution but I do have an action to take. God began to stir prayer in me. Specifically this prayer: “God hear the cry of those oppressed and suffering unfairly. God remember you sent your son into the world to reconcile the world back to you, to set the captive free. So God would you please look at my family, my community, my city, my nation, God; and would you become concerned with them?”

I know that prayer alone may seem like a weak stance; however, one of the pastors I work with had an amazing revelation from God on this. She said God told her “There is a Spirit of activation in the air right now. Activation in prayer. Wickedness twists the discernment of activation to activism. We want to see change, want to help, to do something. Activism looks like a lot but accomplishes little; while activation in prayer looks like little but accomplishes much! Do not forsake prayer!” Thank you Amy Martinez for sharing that powerful word.

Slow down read that again. As Christian we are called to act, but wisdom in how we act will be the difference between real change and surface level accommodations.

Prayer is powerful. Pray. Ask God the Almighty to move on behalf of someone or something. Only God can change hearts. So while it is a quiet action, it has a powerful punch. Let’s face it. People are not our enemy here. It is the one who comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10)

I read another blog this morning on this topic and he said:

“I believe God is asking us to look to Him right now, more than anything. It doesn’t mean we ignore issues. No. But unless we drink right now, we will only regurgitate the fear and hysteria of the media that sounds wise but is the twisting tongue of Leviathan which places a veil over those who aren’t discerning it. It’s a call to intimacy and seeking the heart of God when most are wanting to raise their hands to fight.

Nate Johnston Everyday Revivalists
Email: everydayrevivalists@gmail.com
Website: nateandchristy.co
Taken from the Elijah List email distribution.

I want to see things change. I want to live in a place where people are treated with kindness and care. I want to end senseless deaths in America. But I understand I can’t do that in my own strength and power. God is calling us to fight along side Him to bring about a change of hearts and mindsets and bring real justice. Will you join us?

Bible, family activities, Parenting, Raising Teens, Uncategorized, wisdom

The impact of a child

September 23, 2019 1 Comment

This goes out to all the moms I know.

I recently had the privilege to lead a missions to trip to a Native American Reservation. It was an amazing trip! But the biggest take away I had came from a six year old little boy.

I don’t know much about his story other than that currently he is being raised by his grandma. She is a Godly woman, and from what I can tell has tried her best to show her grandson how to live for Christ. And she has done a great job at it.

This little guy prayed for us one night, and his prayers were powerful and strong. He prayed with authority and no fear. He declared God’s truth and bound the devil like it was second nature for him to do so. And it got me thinking. When my kids were little I fear I prayed little kids prayers with them. You know keeping things on their level of understanding, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, sometimes exposing them to things they can’t fully grasp has its place, too.

God uses children and kids all throughout the Bible. In 2 Kings 12:1-2 we see a boy at age 7 become king of Judah. He reigned as king for 40 years. The text mentions his mother’s name Zibiah of Beersheba. It says he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord because the Priest instructed him. I think we can infer from the passage that his mom was important. In a world where women had little value, and lineage is passed through the father’s family, why mention a mom? Unless that mom had great impact for the country. I believe that Jehoash’s mom influenced him. She taught him to listen to authority and quite possibly about the Lord, as well. However and whatever she did as a mom, it must have been good parenting because in a time when kingdom turn-over was high, he reigned for 40 years. Something about that boy gained both the favor the Lord and his fellow countrymen in order for his reign to last that long.

In 1 Samuel chapter 1 we learn that it was Samuel’s mom Hannah who took Samuel to the temple and left him there to live and learn and be raised in the ways of God (1 Samuel 1:23-28). Some commentaries believe that Samuel was 3 years old when he first stood in front of Eli the priest. God called to a child who then changed a nation.

King David was most likely a young teenager when Samuel anointed him as king. We know that he was thirty when he finally did become king after years of fleeing and fighting Saul.

Then there is the verse in Matthew 19:14 that says, “Let the little children come to me.” I know there are others who were quite young when they encountered God. But my point in this blog isn’t just that God can use little kids. I think every mom who lives for Jesus knows and believes that. My point is this – are we putting into practice what we believe? Are we giving little ones the opportunity to practice their faith? I will admit I wasn’t the best at this.

After seeing this young boy who had a genuine love and faith in God, who knew that God heard his prayers and believed that God would respond, I felt compelled to share with all the moms I know to teach your child to love Jesus first and foremost. Then from there give them opportunities to practice their faith. When you are praying with someone ask them to pray with you for that person.

Encourage them to practice hearing from God on their own. Have them share with you what God has whispered in their little ears. Play worship music while they color and ask them to draw what God is saying to them. Teach them to live for God. Teach them that praying powerful prayers is normal. Show them, guide them, and lead them into a life where prayer comes naturally. Teach them not to fear evil but to take authority over it from the time they can speak. Because God can and will use them now and in the future.

What would the world look like in 20 years if those little ones in nurseries all across the country in all sorts of different God-fearing, Jesus-loving churches grew up with the mindset that healing is what Jesus wants and that sharing your faith isn’t scary or something only to be done on the mission field? That praying with anyone in need is always the right thing to do, even if it is just in your head. What if they grew up knowing who they have always been in Christ from the time they are born? What if they are taught to believe – really believe – that victory is theirs in Jesus’s name?

Moms, don’t you want that? To have 6 year olds praying over adults as if it were a normal part of their life with God? So let’s encourage each other and band together to teach and lead our kids into living fearlessly for God no matter how old they are. Who’s with me?

family activities, family fun, Parenting, Raising Teens, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized

Creating an Atmosphere of Thankfulness

October 21, 2018 No Comments

I used to think my love language was not words of affirmation. But when I think of things I have done with my kids to let them know they are special, loved, and valued it seems to always come back to giving them words of affirmation. Maybe I am more of a words of affirmation person more than I thought.

One of my biggest goals in raising my 3 kids is that they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are loved, valued, special and have great purpose in this world. I want them to know that is what God thinks of them, but I also want them to know that is what their father and I think of them. I look for ways to tell them this outside of just my words.

Since it is almost the end of October, I am beginning to think of the Holiday Season (who am I kidding? I’ve been thinking about this since Hobby Lobby put up their Christmas decorations in August.) Anyway, I never am really sure how to approach the holiday season. On one hand it has all the family time and heartfelt meaning to it, and on the other it has all the craziness of making it perfect, special and memorable. I want my kids to look back on the holidays and think of the love and the joy that came from those times – not the stress.

So this year I have decided to express to them why I am thankful for them as three unique individuals. I have done things like this in the past by writing on hearts why I love them and hanging them around their rooms. One time I wrote on hearts why God loves them. We have done thankful leaves, too – writing down things we are thankful for. We have even done the 1000 gifts lists – writing down as many as we can think of that we are thankful for. And all of those are great and fun family activities to do. In fact, if you haven’t done things like that, I encourage you to try it this year.

For me I wanted to personalize the gratitude this fall. I wanted them to know specific reasons why I am thankful and grateful for them. So I went to Hobby Lobby and got fake fall colored leaves. Then everyday leading up to Thanksgiving I wrote down one thing I was thankful for about them on a leaf and taped that leaf to their doors. I did this for all 3 of them being specific to them. I have one child who makes me laugh all the time. So I told him I was thankful for the times he brings me great joy. I have one who has a servants heart so I told him I was thankful for the times he served me. I have one who likes to spend time with me, so I told her that I was thankful that she wanted to spend time with me. The list went on. Each day they would wake up and find a new leaf, and some days they would find it when they came home from school. The point wasn’t when it was place on their door; it was that for a few weeks they were reminded of why they were special and that someone was thankful for them.

It is one thing to be thankful for objects like houses, weather, food; but it is another to remind someone of the attributes in them that benefit others. It’s a wonderful feeling to know someone is thankful for you as a person.

So as the season of being grateful, thankful and blessed is almost upon us, I challenge you to not just look at the things around you but the people. Tell those you love why your are grateful for them. Tell them what character traits they posses that you are thankful for. And tell them why they are a blessing to you.

Letting others know they have qualities in them that are a blessing to others, and that others are thankful for those qualities, will go farther than you can imagine in creating an atmosphere of thankfulness.

Bible, Memorizing scripture, Parenting, Prayer, Raising Teens

Bright Shiny Stars

April 8, 2018 No Comments

It’s April which means it’s time for a new memory verse for the month. And, yes, I know once again I am a few days late in getting this post done. I somehow feel as if someone has sped up time in my life, and I just never seem to have enough.

Ok, on to this month’s memory verse. I had stated in January that my word for the year was steadfast. Steadfast love to be exact, and it still is. But recently God has added another word to be a theme for my year. Wisdom. The word is used about 235 times in roughly 222 verses. That’s not counting words associated with wisdom like “wise”. It isn’t the most used word in the Bible, but it is in there a lot.

Allow me to explain how wisdom became a word for me. I have 3 teenagers. Who are awesome kids. But they are kids, and they do, on occasion, do things that are not wise. They have been known to act without using wisdom. So I began to pray that they would gain wisdom. Not just wisdom like in school (I do pray that, too) but Godly wisdom. That they would make wise choices; that when they talk with their peers, their words would be filled with wisdom from the Lord. I began to ask the Lord to help me have wisdom in how I parent these 3 teens. Through these prayers, it was like the word wisdom seemed to become highlighted in my Bible reading. Then one day, I came across an interesting, somewhat odd, and very cool verse about wisdom.

Daniel 12:3 says, “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Bam, it hit me! That is what I want for my kids, for me, for my husband, for all of us. I want my kids to shine in their high school with the light of Jesus. I want them to be filled with so much Godly wisdom that when a friend is in trouble or in need of help, they have the wisdom of the Lord in what to do or say. I want me & my kids to help turn other kids towards righteousness. I want that for myself, don’t you?

If I and my family could become this verse in the lives we live, it would change so many things. It would have such an impact in our spheres of influence.

So for April, and maybe longer, I am praying this over us. That we would have wisdom from God that would shine in a world full of darkness like a beacon of hope for those lost at sea. That God through our words would turn us towards righteousness and also those around us. That the dark scary parts of our world would be filled with shining stars of heavenly wisdom, and twinkly with righteousness, too.

Will you join me this month in memorizing this verse and praying it over yourself? Would you become a bright shining star for Jesus in your world? Will you bring light to the darkness and righteousness to those who need it?

I can’t wait to hear how God uses wisdom in your life to brighten lives around you.

Click here for April’s memory verse.

Bible, family activities, family fun, Holiday, Parenting, Raising Teens, Valentine's Day

Remind them how much Jesus loves them this Valentine’s Day

January 29, 2018 No Comments

I have three teenagers and more than anything I want them to have a great relationship with Jesus; filled with the knowledge of His great love for them. With that in mind, I am always looking for ways to remind them of just how much Jesus really does love them. And with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I decided to use this holiday of love to focus on God’s love for us.

In the past leading up to Valentine’s Day, I have given them hearts where I have written why I love them. But this year I wanted them to know God’s love for them. I start on February 1st and every day for the next 14 days I hang one random heart in their room with a personalized Bible verse about God’s love. For example, I might write “For God so loved Aaron that He gave His only Son so that Aaron should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

A few days ahead of time, I started cutting out my hearts. I used scrapbooking paper that I already had, but you can buy heart themed paper, or red or pink whatever you want. I cut out various size hearts using different sized cookie cutters and tracing them on the paper – one for each kid for 14 days. For me, this was a total of 42 hearts. I also looked up all my verses ahead of time. I have a list of several scriptures you can use Valentine’s Day Activity –God’s love Bible verses. Just remember to personalize them! Then every morning for the first 14 days in February I would hang a heart with a verse on it somewhere in their room. If my children hadn’t mentioned anything about the hearts to me by dinner I would ask them if they found the one for that day.

Last year I even added my husband in this. I wrote why I loved him on 14 different hearts and hung them around our room. Most of which are still hanging in the same place a year later.

It’s a small thing but I pray the impact of these hearts will be huge. That they will remind my kids, on days when they feel like no one loves them, that even then God loves them like crazy.

If you have ways you have tried to help your kids recognize God’s love for them I’d love to hear about it. Leave your ideas in the comment section below!

Happy Valentine’s Day, and remember God loves you more than you can even comprehend.

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.