For The Joy Set Before Me

Twenty nine weeks of hard work and ten more weeks of harder work still ahead.  Does this sound like the christian walk to you?  Does this contradict the saying of our Saviour who said, "...my burden is light?"  Does hard work discourage you?  Are you finding yourself looking back to an easier time or forward to an easier time?  Do you see yourself in the Israelites who longed for Egypt and leeks?

  When times get tough and we are left to our own strength, we will fail to see what God has in store for us.  Sometimes I find the Lord is encouraging me when a trial is new all around, but if it is something I have already walked through before, I find Him more quiet and expecting me to lean on what I already know about Him and what He has proven He can accomplish in His perfect time. 

In all honesty, this pregnancy has not been enjoyable like the others.  I am sure being 37 years old and taking care of three children already has something to do with its extra toughness.  Though everything is growing well, I find I do not have the mental energy to think beyond the next hour.  Daydreaming of a new baby and new baby things just does not have a place and I have come to accept that as part of the hard work God has asked me to do.  My desire to have one more child has always been there, but I knew ahead of time, it would require more than "good feelings" to get me through it.  It would require hard work and full reliance on God.  True hard work is not enjoyable in the moment or season, but the rewards are always worth it.  The joy from hardwork comes after the fact and usually not during it.  Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him...nothing pleasureable about dieing on a cross, but He did it anyway out of obedience to the Father and love for us.  In ten weeks, Lord willing, I will be holding my newborn son and the joy will have its time to be centerstage.  Until then, my focus is on the Father and my prayers for daily strength to do the task before me. 

Making Deposits of Joy

Tasha Tudor's illustrations always bring me joy.  Sometimes I have to sit back and ask myself "Why?"  What is it about these drawings that click in my mind and spirit as pure joy?  Most of the time, the adults or children are captured doing the everyday things of life like rocking a baby or knitting, as this picture portrays. 

 I believe it is the evidence of contentment in each drawing.  Everyone is enjoying the moment, the blessing God has given them for that moment in time.  The illustrations are reflections of everyday life, work, family, seasons, holidays, etc.

  As we know, life can weigh us down with its overwhelming burdens to get it all done today.  Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest."  What a promise and challenge to us in such a busy modern culture!  The interesting thing is...Jesus spoke these words over 2,000 years ago to a culture different from ours. 

 It goes to show you that people burden themselves for one reason or another.  Usually it has to do with living a life outside the dependence of a Heavenly Father, but even His children get bogged down with the stresses of the day.  Learning to find what is important for the day and getting only that accomplished is always the battle. 

So where does wisdom come in and how can we bring in into our crowded schedules?  Before searching for this wisdom, realize it is not about finding perfection.  This life and its fallenness will never find a perfect rhythm, a perfect method, or perfect schedule to control the effects of sin. 

Jesus does offer us something though that the world cannot...Himself.  "Come unto ME and I will give you rest."  I am not God, so I cannot tell you exactly what and all Jesus means by this other than He wants you to come to Him.  Not with a attitude of fear like you are about to be scolded by the teacher, because you didn't perform appropriately, but with an open heart because you know this Saviour loves you and desires you know the secrets of His kingdom.  He wants to give you what He has, what He experiences, what He knows, and what the world cannot offer...His peace. 

Start your day like Mary did...at the feet of Jesus, ready to hear Him.  Hearing the Holy Spirit speak into your soul will first satisfy you and then lead you into your day's work or rest.  God gives us both, so you need to hear what day God has prepared for you. 

Being six months pregnant and caring for my husband and three children, under the age of 7, challenges me to change my daily vision from working all day to resting more than usual when I am not expecting. 

Watching the seasons of life God allows you to be in is a key to walking in wisdom.  Life comes with limits in each season of our lives, so instead of trying to squeeze in last seasons tasks with God's new season for you, ease up, sit back, and examine the new limits.  The limits are meant to help you lighten the load and focus on what is truly important for that moment of time.  

The deposits of joy you are making differently from one season to the next is another key to wisdom and contentment. 

Personal examples from my life:

When fall comes, I bake more and craft less, because I love the smells of baking in the fall.

When winter comes, I get out of the house less, so I read more or deep clean the house more.

When spring comes, I want to be out of the house, so I garden more and read less.

When summer comes, I am busier with the kids, so the housecleaning takes a backseat.

Instead of stressing myself out and trying to do everything in every season, I switch my priorities around to accompany my limits.  Being pregnant is another rescheduling in of itself. 

So like Tasha Tudor's illustrations of life, I stop to see what is only being done in the picture.  Usually only one part of life is being captured, because truthfully, that is all God gives us.  One moment to ice skate on the pond, one hour to knit, one year to nurse a baby.  Then the reward of wisdom comes, the true sense of contentment.  Being with God in that moment of time is a gift to us that reminds us He is always with us. Whether we are stirring the soup or plowing the field, whether we are sick in bed or helping the sick, whether we have a house full of guests or a house full of quiet...He is always there bringing us joy.

When Life is About Surviving

Since our miscarriage last fall, life has been a roller coaster of emotions.  For months, we prayed and we cried to the Lord.  We sought His comfort together and alone.  Even our children found ways to deal with our loss.  After a time of grieving, we prayed about our future.  We sought the Lord individually about pursuing another child.  As the month rolled in that our fourth child was to be due, we found out that we were expecting again, so God turned our mourning into gladness.  And then, within five weeks, the trials of severe morning sickness robbed us of our joy.  When nothing in the natural part of life comforts you, you can certainly count your life as one that is just surviving.  I had to press through some miserable days.  My relationship with my Saviour was even a bit bitter, but God knew it would be and that was enough for me.

Modern Day Idols ~ Part 2

When I think of idol worship, I think of Old Testament worship of graven images or statues, but God is faithful to teach me that idol worship begins in the heart and is a part of every generation. 
The year is 2011 and viewing life on American soil, the worship of idols or anything other than God is everywhere...even the church.  We are to be the salt of the earth and a light on a hilltop, but I am afraid to say, that I don't see much difference in the believer and the unbeliever when it comes down to the everyday. 
I am thankful for those whom I have met that go against the modern day idols of finding love and worth and purpose.  I am thankful for my older sisters in the faith who encourage me in the principles of the past.  Sometimes I am not even aware of my own idol worship until someone points out a different way of thinking. 
Being a mother of three, I observe daily the choices of other mothers and women around me.  The Lord weighs me spirit and I question my walk with the Lord, "Am I running after modern day idols, too?  Am I really walking in the light and how can I tell if I am doing Your will, Lord?"  
And so, I watch.  I listen.  I look for the woman who has the joy of the Lord.  She talks about His presence and all that He is teaching her in her role as mother.  She is molded by her role.  She is learning self sacrifice and His love.  She serves only Him and her burden is light.  She makes time for solitude.  As Charles Stanley once said, "Busyness does always mean more fruitfulness."
Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself."  
I can't help it, but one of the biggest eye openers I have witnessed in the area of idol worship for christian women is...ready...I almost hate to type it, but the American idol award for the 21st century goes to...COLLEGE.  Ack!  How can something so good be an idol??  Does God say college is wrong, even evil?  No, He doesn't, but worshipping it, finding self worth from accomplishing it, sacrificing time with your husband and your children to achieve it, and neglecting your responsibility for guarding the home to pursue it is wrong. Here is a for instance.
If your employer hired you to design webpages for his company and you designed your own webpage company during the hours he has entrusted you to work for him, you would be considered irresponsible and in the wrong.  To be a faithful worker means devoting time to the master's plans.  Neglecting to stay focused on the job at hand will cost you productivity or loss of a job.  I truely believe mothers and wives need to be fulfilling God's plan for women by staying home and fulfilling their roles as homemakers.  More effort is focused on careers outside the home than in the home.  College today does not groom women for homemaking, instead it becomes the tool with which Satan uses to distract women from their greater purpose.  Even when college days are over and starting a family begins, women begin to find a new struggle.  I speak from experience.  Here are a few statements I have heard in the past seven years as being a mom.
"I feel guilty about not using my degree after spending so much money on it."
"I need more education, so I will spend my nights pursuing another degree."
"Who am I anymore since my days revolve around my kids?"
And I say once more that college is not evil, nor is exercise, nor is having nice things, but when we make it our selfish ambition, we have made it an idol.

Modern Day Idols ~ Part 1

Recently, I have been wrestling with my sisters in the faith who seem to be doing too much.  Of course, I always come back to "well, who am I to judge?"  Truth is, I am not judging, but concerned.  Their lives and pursuits do not seem much different than those who do not know Christ and His kingdom plans.  As I pondered many things in my heart, I found that I am not alone.  This weekend alone, three sisters in the faith had the same observation.  We wondered how they get it all done in the same amount of hours we have.  Do they find time for real solitude with the Lord?  Do they really spend their evenings with their husbands or their laptop? 

Spending time with your loved ones requires, you guessed it, time.  A mother shared with me this Sunday that she is closer with her second child than her first, because she is home with the second child and worked outside the home when the firstborn was little.  She felt regret.  She reminded me that our loved ones need our time, our nearness, our attention when they are little. 

Another mother couldn't understand this weird pull to leave the home even though she didn't want to.  She knew the enemy was planting lies in her head, because she loved her role as a mother.  There is a pressure to do more, educate more, volunteer more, but the sad thing is many christian women have listened to this lie and therefore confused the younger mothers. 

Motherhood is a job you will hold forever, but the need to be home and focused on them, not selfish pursuits, is more intense when they are small.  

Journey to Japan

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When Principles Collide

What do you do when your principles collide?  John and I have come to a dilemma this year, which has left us to pick one principle over another. 
Last year, we sent our children to a private school under the principle that our children need to be at a christian school for their elementary education.  After a year of unexpected debts, we will not be able to afford the school again next year, which breaks our hearts.  The only way to afford the school is for me to get a job outside the home, which clashes with our principle of me being a stay-at-home mom.  That leaves us with homeschooling or public school.  The public school is five minutes from our house and has a wonderful reputation.  Some of the teachers are LU graduates.  Homeschooling would take a lot of research on my part and John's least favorite option. 
What do you do when principles collide?  Simply pray.