Movin' On Up

How do I see God working in our family?  If only I could count the many ways!

But one MAJOR way is in seeing the depth of love grown in my husband's heart.  Not only a love for his family, but a deepened love for his church and for others.  Wow.  It is a joy to see. 

Many years ago, my sweet hubby decided that he would serve with me in the nursery on Sunday mornings.  Not just one or two Sundays, but every Sunday.  Together we would take on the task of relaying Bible-based curriculum and sharing the hope and joy of Jesus to the sweetest and most precious of God's blessings...His children.

In those years, God has used this time to grow both he and I closer together in our marriage, closer to our children (of whom, we've been able to spend at least a year with each in class), and ultimately closer to HIM.  We have had both the privilege and honor to serve alongside many families that we may have otherwise never had the opportunity to.  We have come to enjoy the many personalities and just plain "fun-ness" (yes, I know that's not a real word) that come with each child who steps through the door.    

And yes, there were days we wondered why we only drink decaf.  And yes, there were days where we wondered when we might take a break.  And yes, there were days when we were grumpy...ok, more me than him, but just further proof I am still a work in progress  :)

It was time.  Time to step down.  Time to walk away.  Many asked, and we confirmed.  We needed to plug in elsewhere.  We needed to change up our routine.  Until last Sunday.

Because after weeks of seeing needs in the Children's Ministry and after last Sunday being approached to "help" maybe every now and then....my husband felt burdened.  He looked me in the eyes and I could see it.  That God-given passion for serving.  That God-honoring and God-planted seed of love....a great love for others.  And sure, you may say, "that's easy when you're talking about your church family"....but I also see it elsewhere, in the community, too.  Like when he pays for a strangers meal "just because" or he smiles and offers to assist someone, even if it means taking away from his scheduled "plan".

It makes me smile because it is NOT of me.  It is NOT of him.   It is ONLY OF CHRIST that either of us can serve and do so with joy.  Christ gave it ALL...may we follow Him in giving some. 

So with that burdened heart...it was not hard to see where my husband would be leading us next.  He felt just helping occasionally wasn't enough for us.  He felt we needed to do more.  Just as gladly as I followed him "out" of the Sunday morning nursery, I will choose to gladly follow him "back in" to the next hallway of Children's Ministry, the "Big Kid" hallway.  It was not what I expected.  But it is what I welcome.  (And seriously, it only takes one Sunday in these classes to know why we love it!)

Although we didn't see it coming (well at least so soon), we both know that our God is a God who equips.  We will continue to pray regularly that He will equip us for this next year; that we will constantly follow HIM.  We will pray that HE will be magnified and honored in this and in other areas that we may serve.  We will pray that He will bless those who walk through those doors each week and that through these children He will teach us ALL more about Himself.  We will pray that each heart comes to know Him fully. 

I can't seem to clear The Jeffersons theme song from my head.  "We're Movin' on Up"....and we're giving thanks.  So, so many things to be thankful for. 

Changing Perspective

Sometimes it’s not about where you are standing today, but about where God already knows you are going tomorrow. 

Like last August when I stood shocked (and quite frankly, aggravated) at the pediatrician’s office as the receptionist politely handed me back my new health insurance card and informed me that they don’t accept the new company.  What?!  Seven years I had been at that practice.  My children (and their seven years of medical records) would now have to transfer and start over.   The thought overwhelmed me.   I pouted.  I screamed inside.  I panicked. 

After turning to friends for recommendations, I ended up at another wonderful practice and after some time to cool down (or warm up to the thought, maybe), I reasoned that this was a good change.  I found a practice closer to my home.  I found a practice that offered many of the similar features of our old pediatrician.  Most importantly, I found a practice where the receptionist would not reject my insurance card.  In a day of age where having health insurance is a tremendous blessing, this was key for our family.  We needed to go where insurance would help cover.

Just months after the switch, our oldest son became quite ill.   The new pediatrician was running all of the tests he could, but with nothing showing, he needed to send us to a specialist.  This, of course, would take time.

Within the next few weeks, our son became even more lethargic.  He began losing weight.  He constantly felt awful.  His normal energetic personality was changing, but not for the better.  My husband and I felt we needed to try something, and we weren’t certain waiting until the specialist appointment would be helpful.  We prayed.  We asked others to pray with us.  We asked if God would reveal to us what was wrong with our little boy.  We prayed for wisdom.  We were seeking answers and hopeful for healing. 

Years prior at our OLD pediatrician’s office, I had inquired about a gluten-free diet (our daughter was having issues at that time and I tossed out the idea of maybe it being food-related).  To my embarrassment, the doctor completely shot down the idea, citing that going gluten-free would be “far more difficult and probably unnecessary in the long run.”  I left that day thinking nothing more on the issue. 

But our son’s symptoms now mimicked many of the same ones complained about with gluten intolerances…rashes, nausea, headaches, loss of appetite, weight loss, just to name a few of the nicer ones.  After a brief discussion, my husband and I decided that we would move forward with our own food challenge at home.  We felt that we were being led by our Great Physician, the One who truly knows, and we had peace about it. 

In the end, going gluten-free is what helped our son.  We continued to pray and praise God for the answers He was showing us!  We praised God for the many people He had already planted into our lives that were now walking with us and cheering us on (and for the many already gluten free families that breathed words of wisdom and encouragement into us; what a HUGE blessing!).   It was by no mistake that we had a circle already of people who knew what we were going through.  We praised God that our family was not another statistic of an average of five to seven years before knowing for sure (testing for gluten issues, particularly, are not always accurate, which often leads to more confusion for those suffering).  By the grace of God, our son suffered only 5 months before it was revealed to us what he needed.  This was, and still is, amazing to us.

After the food challenge, our son did grieve briefly.  Being old enough to know this meant a lifestyle change came with some sadness for him.  There were foods that would now have to be “off limits”.  I grieved with him.  For him, my heart was sad.  I didn’t want to see him hurting.   As a family, our whole kitchen and home had to be reconfigured.  As head chef, I was going to have to learn how to cook and prepare foods in a whole new way.  Food had become our enemy.  We were overwhelmed.  Really overwhelmed.  But I also remember very clearly clinging to God’s Word (what else could we do?!) and together reciting WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE (Matthew 19:26).  We don’t know the why’s, but we can trust without a shadow of a doubt that God has bigger and better plans than we can ever imagine (Jeremiah 29:11).  God was in control and we needed to choose to trust in HIM and HIM alone.  After all, He had already brought us this far!

The good news is that going gluten free has not been as “difficult of a journey” as we were led to think a few years ago.  In fact, it has been far easier than what we ever could have imagined!  Based on my experience with the topic a few years back, I can only guess that our former pediatrician would not have been encouraging about the idea.  What I love is that God removed that burden and had already placed people in our lives that said, “You can do this.”  God knew what we needed, well before we even knew something was wrong.  He had laid the path.

I was aggravated and flustered when we unexpectedly had to make a pediatrician switch.  I was not unhappy with our former doctor and was honestly (a little too) comfortable there.   I didn’t see any reason for uprooting and starting over.  But God knew beyond that moment.  He knew where we were going.  He closed that door and opened a whole new one for us to walk through.  One, that we can see now, held less friction.  And it is only because of Him that we had faith to step through that open door.

More recently, we went back to the new pediatrician to fill him in on what was revealed to us and how we were game-changing on the food front.  This new doctor literally hugged us and with a huge smile on his face celebrated with our family that our son was beginning a road to healing.  He commented on how wonderful it was to see such drastic change so quickly and how grateful he was that it was something “simple” (quite a different word choice than our previous medical advisor, ehe?).  Come to find out, his own wife was gluten free (something that had never come up in prior conversations).  He proceeded to share with us some websites that his family found helpful.  Wow.  I never even entertained the thought that just maybe I could be unhappy with our old doctor.

Overwhelmed by God’s amazing mercy and grace…my heart definitely fluttered that day.   It was an affirmation for our family that God had had bigger plans for us; bigger than an aggravated Momma a few weeks prior…bigger than an office closer to our home…bigger than just a new insurance card.  We were reminded of God’s great love for us, and how He goes before us, walks with us, and remains with us after.   All glory to Him who led us to the very spot we needed to be!

We don’t always know the whys (which can be so difficult, particularly in trials), but we can trust that God is in complete control and that He holds purpose in our lives.  With Him, all things are possible.  And remember, for those who proclaim Christ as their King, God promises to continue a work in us until the day of Christ’s return (Phil 1:6).  Those works look different from person to person and from season to season, but we can always trust the One who delivers them. 

Are you aggravated with a situation you find yourself in today?  Is there some inconvenience or struggle that you have prayed would be lifted or made to vanish (and it’s not going away)?  Is there something that you are certain if it would just go away, things would be better?  Or maybe, like me, you find yourself annoyed at some unexpected glitch in your plans for the day.  Have you considered maybe that with God’s plan, things could be even better?

No matter where you are, take time to stop and thank God for His working in your life.  Thank Him for your many blessings, but also thank Him for allowing the annoyances.  They refine us, too.  Out of love, God is molding us to look more like Christ.  In the good or bad, don’t lose an opportunity to seek God’s face and see Him within your situation.  He orchestrates even the tiniest of details in our lives.  He is in perfect control.   

I am so very grateful that God sees things beyond what we can see.  Our sight is so extremely limited, but He knows all time…every moment passed and every moment to come.  I am also thankful that He knows what we need, even before we need it (and that He loves us far too much to give us merely what we want). 

This is why sometimes it’s not about where you are standing now, but about where God already knows you will be going.  That’s the encouragement I need to change my perspective on where I find myself standing today.  Today is easier to walk through when you fully trust who holds your tomorrow.

Father,

Please help me to fully trust in Your will for my life.  Thank you for the tremendous blessings and yet also thank you for the areas that cause me to squirm.  Thank you for being in control, for guiding me, and for reminding me that I can trust fully in where you lead.  Thank you for having the perfect vision that I will never possess.  I want to be fully rooted in Christ, growing in my faith, and I know that through these moments you are lovingly molding me.  Thank you for your great love, for your perfect Son, and for your desire to make me more in His image. 

To You be all the glory,

Amen

Worn Down

A little encouragement for those who feel “worn down” by circumstances….

“It’s always something,” I heard her exclaim.  “Sickness, trial, struggle…there is always something bringing me down!”  Have you ever uttered these words?  What about just thought them?  I know I have been guilty of expressing these sentiments…even if only silently.  And while I will not pretend to know the same pains and struggles that someone else is shouldering, I can say with complete honesty that our family is also not immune to trials. 

I look at today being April and I can’t honestly remember where January, February, and March went.  Since the beginning of 2013, our family has been experiencing one of those seasons; a steady trickle of “challenges” rolling our way.  Don’t mistake that we have also experienced daily tremendous and undeserved blessings, and to that I am so very grateful! All Praise to Him, who reminds us that He is still there and unchanging!  Since January, most recently, there have also been a steady rotation of circumstances that have in one way or another threatened our focus; attempting to derail us.  These things combined, if handled by our own strength alone, we’d be completely worn down!  There’s no way!

We all struggle at times.  We all have things thrown at us that we’d rather not deal with.  Sometimes they come in waves, one right after another, and we feel like we’re literally sinking (it makes me think of  Peter, who in his lack of faith, began sinking in the water right in front of Jesus).  Trials almost always come at unwelcomed times, right when you least expect it or when it’s least “convenient”.  In the majority of cases, we do not ask for trials, but do they have to be all bad when they happen? 

Trials are not fun, but God through His mercy has shown me that they can still have purpose.  Through trials, God is still working.  He is not absent or void in times of great stress.  In fact, He is all the more apparent during those times!  And blessings can and are still bountiful during trials….even if you don’t see them in the moment or find them right away.  God is good!  He is wise and faithful and stronger.  Trust Him!  It has been my experience that when our family is pressed, we see and feel Him all the more.  If only I would seek and cling to Him passionately every day, pressed or not!

No matter how much I feel pushed or pulled or twisted, I have never been put in prison or been held captive like Paul.  I have never been persecuted or tortured for my religious freedoms like the many missionaries or followers who have been.  I have never been unjustly tried, beaten, spit upon, and placed through unthinkable torture, my very life being taken, like our Savior was (who did so for ALL OF US, by the way, that we might be forgiven and granted eternal life).   I am beyond blessed, because of Christ, even when things are hard!

Taking the next right step, clinging to Christ, and calling out to Him for strength is absolutely worth every effort.  He will carry you and then through your struggles and by God’s grace alone, you can still somehow reflect His glory.  You will not regret asking for His help. 

Recently, we visited my parents to try to be of help and encouragement for my dad who has been experiencing a time of trial.  Through this, I found that my dad was actually just as much of a help and encouragement to me.  In excruciating physical pain (pain that, had it been me, would surely have had me belted over, screaming out loudly), his prayer rang loudly (though his actual voice was more softly spoken).  Barely able to even sit at the table (much less to eat or speak), he prayed aloud, “Thank you, God, for this day.  Thank you for all the blessings you have given us.  Help us to always be thankful for everything You give.  And please help us to come out on the other side stronger.”

Yes!  Lord, please help us to always be thankful, no matter what comes our way.  We live in a fallen world, one that You know cannot be our place of refuge.   But you gave us a place of cover, a place to run.  You gave us your SON.  You gave us a rock to cling to when we feel like we’re sinking.  You gave us Christ.  And through Him we can be stronger; because He is stronger!

Sometimes it’s one thing that takes your breath away and sometimes it’s a bunch of small things that add up to daily exhaustion or frustration.  No matter what you are going through, whether big, small, or anywhere in between, don’t run.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t try to hide or escape.  He hears.  He knows.  He’s there!  (And I am reminded that if God knows the number of hairs on my head and the numbers of freckles on my skin…then He cares about even the smallest of details.  This gives me all the reason more to pray and seek Him in EVERYTHING; not only for just the big things). 

If you haven’t already, welcome God into your life and allow Christ to hold your hand.  We are not defeated when in Christ! (Need reassurance?  There are many passages in God’s Word, but a great one to start with is Romans 8…life through the spirit, present sufferings and future glory, and we are more than conquerors.) 

Cling to HIM.  Follow HIM.  Pray to HIM.  Call on HIM.  Cry to HIM.   Seek HIM.  Know HIM.   Trust HIM.  Have faith, knowing that He hears and He cares.  And just then, you may find that there are ways to be thankful, like my dad expressed recently, even in times of great pain (or aggravation or frustration or being worn down). 

God changes hearts.  All Praise to Him who changed my heart and allowed me to look at my daily battles differently! 

I may not like the fire, but God, through this heat you are molding me. 

Amen!

PS: I’ve been “chewing” on this blog entry for a few days and sure enough this week the strangest thing happened on the radio.  Third Day’s song “Mountain of God” came up two times in a row (with only a minor spoken break in between).  I am not in any way versed on the inner workings of radio broadcasting, but I would think that this was most likely a human error…something that was accidental.  As my kids and I sang along to this very song for the second time in a matter of minutes (which is a great song, by the way!), it occurred to me that I should tag the lyrics to my blog post. 

I don’t believe in coincidences and I don’t believe that the world is really that small.  I don’t know who will read this post or what battles are threatening to wear them down.  What I do believe is that God works within our lives and intertwines us however He sees best to bring Him the glory and honor He rightly deserves.  His will be done.  So with that being said, I figured that I (or perhaps someone who reads this) needed to hear these words ring through to be reminded of the very goodness that He is. 

Thank you Third Day for this song and thank you Father for allowing my family to hear it again (and again) this week!

Mountain of God (Performed by Third Day)

I thought that I was all alone,
broken and afraid,
but you were there with me,
you were there with me.
And I didn't even know
I had lost my way,
but you were there with me,
yes, you were there with me.
Until you opened up my eyes I never knew,
that I couldn't ever make it without you.

Chorus:
Even though the journey's long,
and I know the road is hard.
Well the one who's gone before me,
He will help me carry on.
And after all that I've been through,
now I realize the truth
that I must go through the valley
to stand upon the Mountain of God.

As I travel on the road,
you have led me down,
you are here with me,
yes, you are here with me.
And I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
that you are here with me,
yes, you are here with me.
I confess from time to time I lose my way,
but you are always there to bring me back again.

~chorus~

Bridge:
Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from,
And the things I've left behind.
Well, of all I've had,
what I possess,
nothing can quite compare,
with what's in front of me,
with what's in front of me.

Even though the journey's long,
and I know the road is hard,
well, the one who's gone before me,
He will help me carry on.
And after all that I've been through,
now I realize the truth
that I must go through the valley,
to stand upon the mountain. . .
well, I must go through the valley,
to stand upon the mountain. . .
yes, I must go through the valley,
to stand upon the mountain of God.