a surrendered life

It never fails; I'm eating some chocolate truffle, candy, ice cream, chips, something no-so-healthy, and one of my kids asks for it. I feel the guilt before I look down at happy, expectant eyes. So I give them a piece of it. Most often, they already had their fill of junk, and my ill-judged timing affects their bedtime. Should get a lock on my closet to indulge the truffle in peace? But wait. What if it was a carrot that I was muching in secret? Now I'm convicted. And it's not because of truffles, but a deeper principle. My kids watch my every move- what I do, eat, watch, read- everything. They want it too. If I watch sinful movies, read evil stories, and indulge in the world's entertainment, my kids want it too. And what's worse... I'm more tempted to let them have what I'm having, because I've justified it in my own life. "Do not love the world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father i...

Quite frankly, I want the easy way out. Often I find myself grumbling because of a hurdle of inconvenience; I go to the laundromat but I forgot the soap or I need to cook dinner but the dishes are all dirty and my kid's are fighting. These little trifles are tests that prepare me for true hardships. "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.   And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." James 1:3-4 As the world changes around us, it is not hard to imagine a storm of epic proportion blowing ashore on the beach of our lives. Every passing drizzle, every stubbed toe, God can use to prepare us; let's become stronger by the power of His Spirit and thank Him for these strengthening obstacles. Ponder this: Corrie Ten Boom calls her life a "perfect preparation" for the major trial of the concentration camp. She needed to trust God...

I'm shocked at the difference this simple truth can make.  I guard my mind when it comes to movies and books, but I'm not as careful with my own thoughts. It seems foolish to not realize the subtle danger in my running mental commentary. This is where the battle is fought first; how freeing to win it here. " We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..." 2 Corinthians 10:5 Ponder this: Guarding your mind has to do with your thoughts. Are you dwelling on something that is pulling you down?  Ask the Lord to take it and experience the purifying joy of a renewed mind!  My Prayer: Lord, help me to give You every single thought. I invite You into my mind- may I honor You even there where no one else sees.

Every once in a while I daydream about the carefree life. What if I could put my feet up and plan my day around my comfort?  I would enjoy Thai-curry cashews and Chai lattes; read and write all day. But the carefree life is also the goal-free life. It's also hope-free, joy-free, and growth-free. It's like gimmicky diet food- free of everything including actual nutrition. Like it or not, my greatest joys come with a measure of pain. Christ came to give me freedom from myself, not a life of ease. "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." -Jesus (Luke 9:23).  Ponder this- What cross are you carrying? Hint-it's connected with self-denial; what is the Lord asking you to surrender to Him? My Prayer- Lord help me to give you myself daily. Help me to surrender all my life to you- in how I speak, in what I watch, in decisions big and small- I want you to be in control.

It's no secret how much the Lord uses my children to teach me powerful truths. For example- how love and desperation, frustration and hope, and the entire emotional spectrum, can coexist in one instant. As I grow, I'm learning the value of speaking less and listening more (I discussed this in  a post  from last week). It's too easy to focus these efforts on my relationship with my husband, and other adult friendships, rather than my kids. Often my youngest will call my name over and over again. I don't hear him the first time because I'm so preoccupied with something or someone else. Truth be told, if my husband called me in that same moment, I wouldn't ignore him. Why do I ignore my children? "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 Ignoring my children does provoke them to anger. Ponder this- Do you you hear what your child is saying? Do you spend focus...

Hope in it's purest form can bring a person through the severest trial and the deepest valley. But hope in transient, earthly things is like a mirage- you think it's there only to find that it's not. Pure hope is like an arrow pointing to the Lord. There's much we hope for in this life, but many of these hopes are really just empty mirages. Hope in Christ can satisfy the deepest longing and satiate the thirstiest soul. We know that when he appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure. (1 John 3:2-3) Ponder this- Are you longing for something earth-bound?  Is your hope in personal comforts, financial security, or the next big break? Look heavenward and experience the purifying effect of hope in Christ! "And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever." (1 John 2:17).  My Prayer- Lord, help me to hope in You and...

At a Christian bookstore I noticed a "church starting kit". Yes, you read me right- a start a church kit; a how-to on starting a church from scratch in less than thirty days. From marketing to committees, choosing a central location to creating the leadership team, it was all there. Almost. Everything except God. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." (Psalm 127:1) Sadly, reliance on God-desperation for His wisdom, dependence on His guiding hand- is not in this kit. Someone may buy it and follow all the steps, but only end up with a sky-high tower of Babel. In the Bible, this tower was human effort at it's best; effort that ended in God-appointed confusion. While it's easy to shake my head at this, it causes me to take a hard look in the mirror. Don't I build little Babels in my own life? Anything I do- even writing this blog- can be a Babel if God's not in it. These little Babels become sources of confusion. ...