Come out of Hiding

There is a song that I have fallen in love with. It is a beautiful song, sung by a beautiful voice, laced with soul impending lyrics. Today as it came through my Pandora while I was cleaning the house, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and let the song wash over me. I knew which words of this song always washed away all worry and concern from my heart and I swayed with the music waiting for those lyrics to fill my soul. As I listened I was surprised when a different set of lyrics popped out at me. When I heard them I saw a picture in my head that painted the Lord's heart for us in a humorous and beautiful way. It was the one line in this verse that I had always passed over. The one line that I didn't feel like I needed to hear. But today, God tuned my ears to hear it.

Come out of hiding you're safe here with me.
You don't have to cover what I already see.
No need to be frightened by intimacy.
Just throw off your chains and come running to me.

(Steffany Gretzinger, Out of Hiding)

As I listened to that line I remembered this picture of my daughter.

She had been in her room taking a nap. When she came out she had this very obvious green marker across her face. I saw it. There was no hiding it from me. But she looked at me like there was nothing wrong, as though if she acted like nothing happened, I wouldn't be able to see it. When I asked her about it, she said she didn't do it. I could see into her little heart that she was worried about what I would say or do; she knew what she had done was wrong. I stood there touched by the humorous moment. Of course this poor choice wouldn't change my love for her! Yes, there would be a consequence- all poor choices should. That's how we learn, but I would never love her less. We had a little talk about being honest, even if we did something wrong. I told her that I would much rather her come to me and admit she had done something wrong than for her to lie to me about it. Granted she was only 3, but I was planting the seed about right choices.

Then I remembered this picture.

This was a little later. Based on the hair length I would think maybe 8 months to a year after the green marker? I remember this moment too. I was feeding my son in his nursery and I heard her in the bathroom. I called to her and asked her what she was doing. A few moments later she sheepishly walked into the room with a face like this. I looked at her and asked her what she was doing in the bathroom. I wanted to give her an opportunity to be honest. She stopped and thought for a moment, then said, "I look pretty mama?" I told her she did look pretty, but that she knew not to get into my make up. Again we had another little talk about making good choices, but I thanked her for being honest. Once she saw I wasn't mad, she puckered up and let her mistake become something beautiful. Clearly she didn't do it right. And no, she wasn't suppose to. But it became a moment I will treasure because I saw her chose to trust me and be honest. Her experience with me and the proof of my love allowed her to trust me just a little bit more.

As I remembered back to these two moments as those song lyrics played over me, I couldn't help but think of how our God sees us. He sees all of our mistakes. He sees all of our fears. He sees all of the feelings we have that we won't even admit to ourselves. And yet, we try to hide them from Him. We don't bring them to his feet and surrender them, admitting our mistakes and asking forgiveness. We stand before him with marker on our face so obvious and say, "I didn't do anything." How ridiculous are we? I remember looking at Lydia and thinking it was so funny that she would stand before me and lie when I could literally see it on her face. Picturing this made me realize how completely absurd it is for us to ever try to hide anything from God.

But then this idea went deeper into my soul. As humorous and sweet it was in that moment with my daughter (it was only washable marker after all), I think of the times that God isn't laughing at our covering. Instead He is broken. It's not green marker on our face, but it's scars or bondage. It's shame. It's depression. It's selfishness. It's excuses. It's fear. We stand before him with all of these things on display and look up at our Daddy and pretend like they aren't there. Or, we wont even look him in the eye. Maybe we avoid coming to His throne all together.

When will we learn that HE SEES it. We only exhaust ourselves trying to hide it. He looks at us and wants us so desperately to be honest and to lay it down. He wants us to acknowledge what He already sees and to chose to trust in His love. Friends, He sees it, but He loves you anyway. He looks at you with tender eyes and wants you to know His love is enough. Your mistakes, too, are like washable green marker. They can be erased by the tender hands of the Father, every time. Our flesh will forever battle this surrender. It's a part of our sinful nature, but as we experience His love we learn to trust it more. Just like my daughter was unwilling to admit the green marker, she was quicker to admit her mistake with the lipstick. And three years later I see even more of her heart trust me when she makes a mistake. She has experienced that admitting her mistakes won't change my love for her. That fact alone allows her heart to release her guard and know that she can tell me the truth.

As you begin to surrender the things you have been hiding, and you feel drowned in the heaviness of this world, hang onto the lyrics I was waiting for in the beginning:

Baby you're almost home now.
Please don't quit now.
You're almost home now to Me.

Heaven awaits, where our hearts will carry no shame or fear. Until then may we trust our creator evermore each day. He sees you, and He loves you.

Despite the Chaos...

Well hello, there. Long time no type. I could spend this first paragraph re expressing how hard it is to blog regularly with the two kiddos, household responsibilities, daily to do lists, and other nagging priorities....but let's skip all that yada yada and just cut to the chase, shall we?

Last night I went to the last session of a Beth Moore study I had been doing at our church. If you have never done a Beth Moore video study, you are truly missing out. Even more than her amazing hair is her exuberance for the lord. Truly, something you cant help but be infested with and (if even silently in your head) chime into a few of her Hallelujahs and Amens! I blogged in the past about longing to be called Christ's Beloved. While going through a very intense spiritual battle and a sharpening journey over the last year or so, I saw the words 'Beth Moore study: Beloved Disciple' jump off the bulletin page at me back in September. Its a long study (11 weeks), and intense homework (about an hour 5 days a week), and I wont lie: Im not actually through with the whole book. The class ended, but I am still a few weeks behind in the daily homework. Just more study for me to take in, right?!

There are so many things she taught through this study that Im sure Ill touch on over the years as I blog, share, journal, etc. By no means is this entry intended to sum up all I learned. It is merely one part of many that for today, is making my heart smile. Somebody say Amen, Amen?! (pun intended)

In one of the first weeks Beth spoke about how life can be chaotic and that events and circumstances will try us and in order to survive, we have to chose to put God in front of us. It is a choice we have to make. The enemy is real and he thrives off of chaos in the lives of those who live for the Lord because he knows we have become weak. Remember, we alone are weak, but it is through Christ Jesus that we are made strong. She shared how chaotic or trying events shouldn't make us feel out of control, but merely remind us of how little control we actually have.

There are so many times in life that we just don't understand why things are happening the way they are. It makes no sense to us whatsoever. And in the really trying times; the times when things seem so awful that there is no way God could possibly be controlling it...we have to remember, "Sometimes God calms the storm, other times he calms the child as the storm rages on." John 14:27. God's perfect plan doesn't mean what we have created the word perfect to be. When we think of perfect we think of flawless, beautiful, ideal, the best. When God calls it his perfect plan, it is a perfection we may not see, but he does. To us down here on earth the plan looks so grim, but remember that our creator is watching from above, seeing the whole picture from beginning to end.

I absolutely love the reference Beth shared in this discussion. It is in Exodus chapter 33. I encourage you to read it, paying close attention at the end to verses 21-23. In the chapter God is telling Moses to go and take the land that had been promised to his people. It describes how Moses had gone into the Tent of Meeting and how that when he enters, the pillar of cloud would cover the tent and the Lord would come and stand NEXT TO Moses and speak to him AS A MAN SPEAKS TO A FRIEND. Picture this with me. This is before Jesus Christ walked the earth. This was before the Lord had become flesh and actual humans looked into his eyes. The King of Kings, creator of Heaven and Earth, Abba Father, stood next to Moses as a friend would stand there talking to a friend. Later in the chapter the Lord promises to be with Moses as he goes, '...because (he is) his friend.' God knows that we need intimacy to feel safe. When we ask God to comfort us, its not enough for him to sit on his thrown in Heaven and declare peace upon our hearts (Im picturing like King Triton here, you know what I mean?). No, God knows that we need a friend. And not just any friend, but we need a friend that has the power to make ALL things right.

The last part of this chapter paints this incredible picture. Moses asks to see the face of the Lord, which even while standing there as a friend, he had not seen. The Lord responds to Moses by telling him that no man can see the face of God, for '...no one may see the face of the Lord and live.' And then, here it is friends:

vs21 "The Lord continued, 'Stand here on this rock beside me. As my glorious presence passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then, I will remove my hand and you will see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.'"

We CANNOT understand why things happen. Even when we trust in the Lord it doesn't mean we will be given understanding. When we are going through trials in life; when our husbands are out of work and the impending bills start to stack up and fear is boiling, when you sit in the doctor's office and the word cancer is slapped across your body, when you begin to see that something about your child just doesn't seem quite right, when your marriage is dissolving and there doesn't seem like any hope to turn it around, or when every aspect of your life seems so chaotic and nothing makes sense and you begin to wonder if there really is a God taking care of you at all. Can you picture it? Imagine that you are standing on the highest peak of a mountian, surrounded by canyons and mountains around you. On this steep peak you stand as a wild storm begins to rage in in front of you. Mountains around you are crumbling and the ground is breaking from beneath you. And yet, the Lord places you in the cleft; a slight little indentation for your feet to stand in. This, my friends, is when the Lord is standing next to you and sheilding your eyes with his hand. As his presence, his plan, his works, are unfolding in front of you the chaos. If you were to look into and see the Why, surely you would not live. We are not meant to understand. We were not created to have all the answers, we couldn't handle it. God's perfect plan will not look perfect to us, but isn't it incredible to know that when that chaos is reaking havoc in our lives, the Lord of all creation is standing next to us, embracing us, and placing his all powerful hands across our eyes to protect us?! We can chose to lean into that, leaning our head on his chest and curling into him and letting him envelope us with his consuming love, or we can fight him, straining to get away, or even worse we may turn our backs to it all completely and run down the hill away from Him and all the chaos.

And don't miss the end of that. "Then I will remove my hand and you will see me from behind." Friends, There. Is. An. END. Once it passes, we will see the Lord from behind. We will see his presence in what just happened. We will see little parts of why it all just happened. These are the things that draw out our testimony. These are the things that draw us closer to the Lord and we see concrete life experience of His plan in our life. This is when we can show Jesus to others.

What ever you may be going through in your life, no matter how chaotic it may be or how impossible it may seem that the Lord is actually orchestrating your life; trust in him. He is not only the Creator, but he his your friend. He loves you dearly. You are his Beloved. He wants to stand next to you and shield your eyes with his loving hands. And please friends, don't make the choice to run away down the hill. If you do, you wont be standing there to see the Lord from behind once the chaos dies down and he removes his hand from your eyes.

Beloved

Intimacy with the Lord.

What does that mean? Its something I have always desired but am not sure Ive ever actually achieved it. Sure, Ive had moments, chapters of life even. But true intimacy with God....Im not sure.

A lot of spiritual growth/gift courses ask the question "What brings your heart bliss?" or "What are you passionate about." I think, along with others, one of the biggest passions on my heart is to influence people. To encourage people. To be a tool God can use to speak to people. The mere glimmer of an opportunity and Im off and running. That, I think, is where I lack in intimacy with God.

I have always been very sensitive to the spirit and have a strong sense of discernment. I have noticed, though, that Ive gotten almost too used to hearing the spirit. Ive begun to intervene. Its as if the Lord starts to speak to me and once I get the gist of what he is trying to say, I am off and running in my own mind. I say, "Oh, yes God! That's it!" and from there my mind begins filling in the pieces. Writing the rest of the story. Psalm 46:10 was written for me. "Be still and know that I am God." Oh....how hard that is for me to be still.

My mind NEVER shuts off. Its constantly going and going and going. Which is why, when the Lord reveals something to me, my mind takes it and runs with it. Im learning in my life right now that what I need to do is be still....and let him finish. Let HIM fill in ALL the pieces. Dont just let him plant the seed, but grow it in me as well. He may have equipped me with the ability to encourage others or share the spirit words with them....but its not my job to lay them out. Its His job and I have to ALLOW him to. Im learning that my lack of intimacy is due to this rushed presence.

If I can learn to be still......to let the Lord speak all he has to say......I think I could finally hear the word I long for.

Beloved.

Over the last couple months Ive read several great novels. Christian fiction. It was interesting to me how God spoke to each of these characters. It was soft, italicized, patient.....and He called them Beloved.

"Come to me, Beloved."

"You are clean, Beloved."

"Follow me, Beloved."

"You are worthy, Beloved."

I started picking up on this familiar term of endearment. It wasn't just one author, but several. Several authors who identified God with the same tender, loving, intimate presence. I realized, Ive never heard him call me beloved. Why not?

It's because of me. Because of the box I put him in and the few words I allow him to speak before Im off and running. My journey now is to be still.

To let him finish and share all he has to say to me. Maybe, if I can be still enough, his last word may be the ever awaited.....

Beloved.

Have you heard God call you beloved? Have you allowed yourself to be vulnerable enough to be so intimate with Him that you hear it? I think the Lord deeply desires to call all of us his.......beloved.

Selfishness

This is a topic that has been stirring in me for the last several weeks. I lead a bible study for a group of freshman girls and Im taking them through a book where one of the chapters was about selfishness. As I've told the girls each week, though the book is directed at teenagers, the concepts effect all ages. I still deal with not putting my worth in guys (for me, its just my husband). I still deal with insecurity in friendships. I still deal with constant body image issues. These may be new and relevant to these teenage girls, but sadly they are not just for teenagers. The great thing is that if they can begin to develop a God view in these areas at such a young age, they will we have a much easier time of handling them as grown women. And so, although I have been able to relate in some way to each chapter we have gone through, it is the chapter on selfishness that has continued humming on my heart like a guitar string left to ring out.

Selfishness, obviously, is a sin. It's one of those sins that we don't necessarily have to refrain from the temptation of, its more of a constant battle against something that is the natural result of sin living within us. One thing the author mentioned in setting the stage for the chapter was how we are all selfish. Sure, you can immediately think of those blatantly selfish people in your life but to some degree we are all selfish. We all think about our own needs, or own benefit, our own wants. Of course, it is healthy to take care of ourselves and be confident and work hard to further ourselves. It's when we don't put God in the path we are fighting for that we lose a healthy view. I fell in love with this quote she wrote:

"Choosing to follow Jesus is not just about praying a prayer or avoiding certain attitudes or behaviors. When we give our lives to God, He begins a full-scale overhaul of our hearts, chipping away at our ugly self-centeredness and reshaping us to be like Jesus."

As God has continued stirring' this in my heart, I've really began to see the selfishness in my own life. I don't think I'm a blatantly selfish person, but I've been more aware of my motivation and examining the selfishness within it. Its been disgusting, to be honest. Through prayer I began asking God to take me to the extreme. Help me to strip away all selfishness and see what life would be like. It began to bring together several deep thoughts I've had over the last couple years.

About two years ago I had this sort of realization. I thought, in a way, Christianity is sort of selfish. I mean, we except Jesus into our hearts so that we can go to Heaven. We step out in faith and give with our money, our time, and our hearts.....with the promise of His blessings on our lives. I wonder...would you (or me) still be a Christian if there were no promises of blessings? Would you follow the creator of the universe who loves you more than you could ever fathom and sacrificed his son for your sins....without these promises? Isn't that, in essence, what Christ did? He came and died for OUR sins, with NO promise that we would follow him. He did that for us knowing that many, maybe even most, would never acknowledge it. THAT is pure selflessness. As we journey to be more like Christ, I think that is an image we really need to begin transforming in our minds. What is PURE selflessness? Would you follow Christ and change the world for him if you didn't get to go to heaven? OF COURSE...HE WOULD NEVER ASK US TO. He is a good and loving God who ENJOYS blessing us and is EXCITED for us to get to heaven! My question is more of a trigger to get us thinking about what our motivation is in everything that we are doing here on earth, including following Christ.

You know how sometimes when you start to think about the reality of God's love, the reality of Heaven being a place and that we will be there for eternity....your mind kind of starts to explode? It's literally unfathomable. At some point we have to just play the faith card so we can relax our brains! (Maybe its just me.) Nonetheless, I had to make this idea more real and tangible so I started applying it in my own life. I started to think about what complete selflessness in my life would look like.

I love the idea of God seeing a panoramic view of our lives. Sort of like a life timeline all in one view, looking down and seeing it all at once. We, however, see our lives like a long road. As we travel it, we see new things but God sees it all at once. He sees the cause and effect of everything. He sees where choices will take us and why. There is a sign at my son's preschool as you leave the parking lot that says "You are now entering the Mission field." I thought about that word 'Mission.' I thought about my life as a mission, sort of like in the military. Soldiers are sent out to accomplish a mission in the military. They chose certain soldiers equipped with certain skills to accomplish a task for the greater benefit of the war. God has a mission for me on this earth. It's benefit is for His kingdom come. Let me say that again. HIS BENEFIT IS for HIS kingdom come. You know what that means? Its NOT ABOUT ME. My benefit was never a factor in the equation. Again, because He loves us He will take care of us in the ways HE knows we need it, but those desires and needs on our hearts, those things that flame the selfishness in us....they aren't part of the equation.

Marriage: What would you do if in praying to God and asking him to reveal is purpose for you life, He told you that it was to meet the needs of your spouse, no matter what? If your part in His mission was to make your spouse happy and complete. Maybe its to be a good friend, daughter, mother, etc. What if He told you that these people in your life would never meet your needs back. Ever. That your life would be hard and full of sacrifices and selflessness and trials? BUT, your reward was in heaven. In essence, life on earth would full on SUCK for you by putting all of your focus on making OTHERS fulfilled. Would you do it?

Again, God doesn't ask this of us. He loves to bless us and bring joy to our lives. This has merely been an extreme that God has taken my heart to to help me fully realize how small I am and how little my needs really matter in the whole scale of time and in His ultimate plan. I wanted to share this because although extreme, I think by taking our hearts to this place we can start to form a more humble view of our place on this earth and really begin to be transformed from our selfishness into looking more life Christ and fulfilling the need He has for US here on earth.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue. Do you think Im crazy? Am I contradicting something in the bible? I have never claimed to be savvy in the word. It is definitely a weakness of mine and I really really hope I can develop more diligence in learning the word. This blog is about what God puts on my heart and passing some of those thoughts and challenges onto other believers and hope to spur some deeper understanding of our relationship with Christ and his plan for our lives.

The power of my actions

I started this blog because there were so many things that God would reveal to me and I wanted to share those things with other people. Not because of anything I did, but at the chance that maybe God's challenge to me may also challenge someone else.

Sadly, I've yet to be able to find a routine and actually get my heart into words and onto this blog. Through a physically and emotionally straining pregnancy and living the last three 3 weeks both exhausted and enthroned by my beautiful baby girl....I just haven't found this blog topping my priority list. However right now I sit at my computer, BOTH kids asleep, the house in decent enough condition, plenty of lasagna left over from last night for another dinner....leaving nothing really to be done. I decided I would sit and share something that God revealed to me recently.

Three weeks ago I gave birth to my daughter. Without getting too far off topic I will just sum up that my pregnancy was difficult. Physically and emotionally. I was literally depressed for many months. I struggled with connecting with her. When we had the ultrasound and found out we were having a girl, I couldnt believe it. It was literally too good to be true. A boy and than a girl, just what I had always dreamed. With my son, I had this over whelming desire to TEACH him. Teach him how to be a man of God, a romantic, how to treat women, how to be a friend, how to be strong my understanding, how to be in the world but not of the world. I had, and still do have, this excitement to get to teach him and form into a remarkable human being. Shortly after he was born I wrote him a letter. I told him how much I loved him, my hopes for him and my prayers. I encouraged him and let him know my deepest desires as a mother. Its a letter that even today, 3 years later, fully encompasses what I want him to know from my heart. With my daughter, the feeling was different. Yes, I was excited to teach her all of those things too, but my excitement was drowned out with a panic. I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. Yes, I could teach her, but more than anything she was going to learn all of those things by WATCHING me. I am her example, just like my husband is my son's. She will become a woman from my own heart and even more from my actions. She will learn how to 'be' from watching me. More than ever I felt a call (more like a demand) to truly live the life I needed to be living. Every response to a situation, every attitude I put on each day, every sacrifice I do and do not make, she will be watching me. I can teach her all I want, but more than ever I now need to 'Walk the walk, not just talk the talk." Because, she will see the difference. It was a charge God put on my heart and I have no deeper desire than to pick up that cross and follow him the best that I can, knowing that I will need His help every step of the way.

Once she was born I immediately had this urge to write her a letter as well. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, tell her the dreams I have for her and the prayers I will be praying for her. I wanted to encourage her and write profound words that might just reveal to her what my heart is truly feeling. It wasnt, however, as easy as with my son. The pressure and reality was just different. There werent words that could express to her fully what I wanted her to know. Words cant express it the way actions will.

I am so grateful for my children in more ways than I could list. You think the blog entry is long now...I would be well past nap times if I tried to express how grateful I am for my children. So, I will merely reflect on this one way in particular; because of them I will NEVER stop living for the Lord. There is nothing in life that will get me down too much that I would stop living for the Lord. Their faith depends on it. It is an urge I feel every day. And I am so grateful to experience a son and daughter and the different challenge they both bring to my faith.

For anyone who is reading this, I hope this challenges you as well. To parents, remember that your children are learning from you even when neither of you realize it. How many times have you done something and said "Oh my gosh Im turning into my mom/dad."??? It happens even without realizing it. We have the opportunity to form our children into incredible servants for the Lord. We HAVE to make sure to take up our cross and follow Him daily, because they WILL follow our lead.

"Direct your children on the right path and when they are grown they will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Praying for our Children

As I await the arrival of my daughter, I find this almost foggy wall developed between me and her. Its a combination of it not really feeling real and not being able to imagine a relationship as deep as what I have with my son with another child. Add to that the fear of losing this child as I did the child last summer and it brings me into a whirlwind of emotions. Oh...probably add some hormones in the mix, too!

I reached out to my girlfriends in Christ last week and asked for prayer. Prayer for any distraction, fear, or hesitation the enemy has planted on my heart to be lifted. (Note: I could not be more grateful for these women in my life. As Woody on Toy Story Says: Moving buddy (or in this case friends in Chirst)...if you dont have one, get one!" Yes...Im well aware that I just quoted Toy Story.

Anyhoo...I was so grateful of their loving responses to my cry. Not one of them wrote me and said, "You have every right to feel the way you do. Its totally legit." Nope. They all called me out...reminded me of where my heart should be. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED PEOPLE! We need to be called out when we are failing. Comfort is not the best way to be a friend. Sometimes we need to be the accountability each other is desperate for. They may not be seeking it....but ultimatly they need it. Its a tough thing...I know. Even me, who believes STRONGLY in accountability through love, finds it difficult to call a friend out when they are struggling. But, true love does what is necessary not what is easiest.

On a side note, one of my dear friends responded to my email with this reference she heard at a baby shower this last weekend. It talks about how our children are not our own. They are the Lord's. I remember this being SO profound to me when I was pregnant with my son. I knew that he was God's child and that God had chosen my husband and I to raise him here on earth. I wanted nothing more than for God's will to be formed in his life...and that is still the desire of my heart. During the last weeks of my pregnancy, impatiently awaiting the arrival of my son, God spoke to me. He reminded me that if I ultimatly wanted HIS will to be done in my son's life, there will be times when I will need to step back. There will be times when what I think is right for him may not be what God thinks is right for him. As much as I love my son...Im not God. And in the moment he showed me that if I wanted His will to be done in my son's life no matter my view, it started with his birth. When and how. It also became very heavy to me that if I were to trust God COMPLETELY with his life, I needed to be in prayer over him. I needed to hand him to God every step of the way. To be connected with God in an intimate way so that I hear clearly His voice telling me what to do for my son.

Prayer, people. The most powerful tool we have. When we get to moments when nothing makes sense and our control is exhausted...prayer is our life line. These verses a friend shared with me help me to go through the entire day in prayer for my child. And, not just my son, but my daughter to. I may not be able to feel connected to her right now for various reasons, but if it is my hearts desire to be...I must pray. Pray for her life, whatever that may be.

Here are the verses that you can pray for your child through out the day...lifting them to the Lord in every moment of the day.

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)


2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

Rejoice!!

"Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us REJOICE and be glad in it!"

Today, at 12:53a, my best friend gave birth to her baby girl!. This was no ordinary baby. This baby has a story.

Mom and Dad decided it was time to start a family.

Began "trying" and it took about 6 months.
Baby on board...for about 11 weeks than was called to be with the Lord.

Mommy and Daddy grieved, but began trying again.

6 months later...baby on board again!

9 months later big sister is born.

1 year later Daddy gets the terrifying word: Cancer. Surgeries later...more kids are unlikely.

1 month later...baby on board.

5 weeks later, baby was called to be with the Lord.

2 months later...baby on board. Again, this baby went to be with the Lord. Heartache and fear and uncertainty flood their hearts.

But still...they held onto the promises of the Lord.

2 months later...baby on board! 9 months later (TODAY!!!) this baby came into the world.

As I sang on the worship team (ancy to get out of there and go see this sweet baby!) I was filled with joy as we sang the words; "Today is the day you have made...I will rejoice and be glad in it..."

You see, all along the way. Through the cancer and the miscarraiges today, May 30th, was THE day the Lord had made for them. The day HE knew was coming...and THEIR faith brought them to it.

Today is an incredible day because it reminds me that no matter what storm we may be weathering....there is a day the GOD can see when the sun will shine in our lives again. Ive always loved the thought "God has no sense of time, just timing." Its so true. We see our lives as though we are looking down a long road. He sees our lives from a peripheal stand point. He knows all of our days and how the seasons we are bearing WILL end.

Will you trust God today? Whatever you may be struggling with or facing. He WILL deliver you. There WILL be a day.

But also hold fast to James 1:6-7:

"But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed in the wind."

You MUST believe that God CAN bring you to that day. He wont deliver you if you dont believe that He can and will. Read James 1. Its an INCREDIBLE chapter in the bible!