Marriage.

I have a heart for marriage. If you didn't already know that about me, you do now! Not that everyone should be married; we should all live as we are called. But that those of us who are married are called by God to live this thing out to the best of our ability, for His glory. It is no small task.

Why am I writing a post about marriage? Mainly to express this burden within myself and to give testimony to my children. There is warfare, people. Marriage is under attack in this world...by one who seeks to destroy. And I believe he's doing it slowly and deliberately, not overtly or impulsively. We have to be on guard!

So here are a few thoughts & prayers from my heart...

Marriage is:

~two becoming ONE. (Gen 2:24)
That means we are a team, not each man (or woman) for himself. We're not supposed to just coexist under one roof. No, we can't make our spouse change into who we want them to be, or think they should be. But we can be committed to the greater good of the whole, meaning the marriage itself, believing we can reach this state of oneness that God intends. There is always hope!

~sacrifice.
Not standing up for my rights or what I "deserve"...to have things my way, or to get a break or whatever. It's laying down my life for the other person every single day. Placing his needs before my own. Again, to ultimately be in union with him, before the Lord.

~glorifying to our God.
Ultimately I think marriage is the most intimate relationship that God calls us to on this earth (below only our relationship with Him). Marriage is often referred to in comparison with Christ and the church in the New Testament for a reason! It is the ultimate picture of glorifying the Lord in relationship. Does my marriage look like this to the world? When this is what we seek to exemplify, together, then I believe we can be most effective for His kingdom and can experience the abundance God desires for us to have. He came so that we may have LIFE, and have it to the FULL! (John 10:10)

~not easy.
It takes work! It sometimes requires some pain to get through the "stuff" before we get to the blessing. it requires some hard conversations. But it is so worth it. I don't say that from this place of "all is good because my marriage rocks." We have been through our hard roads, and we will no doubt encounter some more, but we are committed to claiming victory over the attacks the enemy tries to wage on our marriage. As we tell our boys, the bad guy never wins...unless we let him. Christ is victorious. He can redeem all things.

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Father God, thank you for this thing called marriage. I pray that my heart for it is your heart. Change my desires to match yours. Help me to lay down my life for my husband every day. Show me how to do this thing like you want me to.

I pray for "the ones" who will cross the paths of our sons...Lord, may they follow you and seek you above any other affection on this earth, and may their hearts be to honor you in marriage. May our sons place a high regard on marriage, and seek to uphold it to all that you desire. May they truly experience your abundance in marriage one day, Lord.

Lastly, I pray for all those marriages out there that seem hopeless. Father, redeem them. Be victorious. Open hearts, soften hearts, convict hearts...like only you can. Help us to live in this union to reflect you, Lord. All for your glory.

Multitude...

So, it's Tuesday. I'm thankful for grace! I knew when I started this that I probably wouldn't get it done first thing every Monday morning. I mean, come on, I can sometimes barely manage to get the kids fed at the appropriate times and the kitchen cleaned (enough to make the next meal). But that is what grace is for. I am working on that in myself right now. Or I should say, God is working on that in me.

Having grace for myself.

It's a hard thing. But I know that if HE thinks I am worthy of grace~only by the blood of Jesus~then I need to believe it too. Grace for the moments. He knows my humanity. He knows my weaknesses. He knows that I tend to be the queen of starting things and not quite finishing them...or doing something possibly only (gasp) halfway. And yet, He saves me over and over again. From myself, from what I am capable of in my flesh, from cycles of defeat.

Today, I am praying I will be more thankful than I was yesterday. And today, will you join me in being thankful for Grace?

#33-41
33. hands
34. that he asked me to be with him
35. our sweet niece :)
36. pumpkin spice creamer
37. little girl hair to braid
38. the innocence of young boys
39. family walks
40. that I am loved
41. our other niece (happy birthday, Finley :)

Clothed.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come." Proverbs 31:25 (NIV)

I can't do this. I have nothing "life altering" to share. I'm not insightful. I am not a writer. I can barely do anything worth anything these days. What do I really do anyway? I mean, compared to [insert name of friend who seems to have it all together] I am just pretty ordinary, and my life is pretty...boring.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

This is so often an example of a thought process in my head. Can you relate? We all do it. It's called insecurity. It might look a bit different to each of us, but the dialogue in our heads is constant. Satan trying to feed us lies, get us to disbelieve God about who we are in Him. It creeps in slowly; it festers. It poisons relationships. It makes us restless. Makes us feel naked and...ashamed.

She is clothed.

By who? The Almighty God himself.

With what?

Strength & Dignity.

To continue reading please click on the link below as I join my friend, Lara, today in digging into Proverbs 31...

Multitude Monday

We were blessed to be able to attend a marriage conference this past weekend in the mountains. It was beautiful. Serene. Majestic.

It is so amazing to be reminded of the Lord in His creation. The fall breeze rustling through the colors--red, orange, yellow, brown. The mountains rising slowly as we climbed. Then we reached the top. Glory! It surrounds us. Perfect mounds with millions of trees. Like God just put his foot down on the earth and they squished up between his huge toes.


It's easy to be thankful in a scene like this. When you have time to reflect. Quality time to spend with the one you love. But then you come back. Back to life. Reality. Schedules. Kids. It doesn't take long for the crazies to set in. I just want to show thanks in those moments too. To give thanks for this opportunity to serve my family, to be where He has put me now. I want to live in a constant state of worship, of gratitude. The one who made those mountains is the one who sits right here with me now. To him be the glory. Every moment. Giving thanks.

#17-24
24. the lady who reminded me to "seek His face, not his hands"
25. the littlest boy learning to pray
26. the stillness of 2pm
27. a marriage retreat
28. the power of Christ
29. clean water
30. surrender
31. the leaves
32. my mom

Multitude Monday

And this is Monday. And I am reminded again. To be intentional. To give thanks in the moments. To look for the blessings. They are there. He is there. Always loving, always refining, always giving. Abundant, overflowing blessings.

"Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give THANKS in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

# 16-23
16. Hebrews 10
17. receiving a beautiful note of thanks in the mail
18. laughter between brothers
19. little voices singing praise in the back of the car
20. family
21. my oldest being thankful for "time with mommy"
22. Sunday siesta
23. honest conversations

Wanderers

I am currently in a women's bible study at our church that is reading the bible through. This week we are studying "Numbers." Not really a book I go to frequently when I pick up my bible. Maybe you don't either. I have been humbled to see God speak to me here and now through this book I may not have once thought of as the most approachable one of all.

We have been dealing with some behavior stuff lately (what parent of young children isn't). It's called D.I.S.R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Ugh! It stinks! We often feel like our 4 year old talks to us as if he's a teenager. Us: "Please pick up that toy and put it where it belongs." Him: "No, I don't want to. I won't do it. No. You can't make me. I want to do xyz." And he runs away. That might seem like a silly example, but there have been moments where I seriously just feel like he treats me worse than the ground he walks on, like he has not one care in the world but himself--ever. Now, I know he's a preschooler, and his behavior is "normal" for his age. I also know he is not yet filled with the Holy Spirit to guide him as a believer. But Tom & I are not raising our boys to act this way. Our heart is that we want them to have a great respect for authority, which means they first learn with us as their parents, and then goes down the line from teachers, coaches and friends, ultimately to be transferred respecting God Himself, and obeying his Word.

Well, apparently God had some problems of his own getting the Israelites to respect him back in the day too. It's amazing to see the similarities. He rescued them from Egypt (Exodus), from slavery, brought them out of that land literally by his own hand. They praised him & loved Him. Then he lovingly laid down some laws for them (Leviticus) to protect them, and to show them how to live abundant lives in fellowship with Him and other people. They obeyed...pretty much, at first. Then God started taking them on their journey to the promised land. He led them by the hand, never leaving their side. But as soon as they got their glimpse of that land, they forgot all about God. They went their own way, they got scared, they complained that God had abandoned them and did not want to give them good things. They actually asked to go back to a life of slavery, instead of walking obedient and believing God actually did know best!

So God had no choice but to discipline his children. The Isrealites began wandering for 40 years in the desert until all the people who had complained and grumbled against God had died off, and then their children could go into the promised land (along with Joshua and Caleb, who did choose to believe God).

Where am I going with this, you may ask? I guess I've been pretty discouraged by the respect issue lately. Feeling like we must be doing something majorly wrong here. Something is not getting through. Our kids are on their way to becoming spoiled brats. But I think God is teaching me that this is NOT a new thing! And he's teaching me how to love my kids like he so faithfully loves us. He does discipline. In Hebrews 12 he reveals his motive behind discipline...LOVE. Of course! Like a father loves his son.

"...God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness." Heb. 12:10

God doesn't make us respect him. He doesn't demand it. Yet he faithfully disciplines. He might have felt angry and even sad when the Israelites chose not to believe His promises and walk in obedience, but He didn't lash out. He just gave them a consequence that fit the behavior.

We are praying for wisdom now in this. Lord, guide us to be parents who honor you and love our kids well. Help us not to demand respect or obedience out of our own selfishness, but help us to gently guide these boys in your ways. Give us wisdom on how we should do this in practical ways, with each moment that arises. Thank you, father, for the gift of your Word. It is timeless.

Minefields

Don't know if your day might have you dodging (or dancing in) some minefields, but I just really like this song. Maybe you will too :)

Multitude

"You alone are the Lord...you give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9:6

Today I give thanks. I give thanks because He alone is God. He alone is worthy of all praise. He is the giver of all good things. With the multitudes, I give thanks.

Here are a few things that stood out to me this week. On my way to 1000. Reasons, big and small, to worship...

#6-15
6. sunlight through the trees
7. butterflies
8. the Holy Spirit
9. second chances
10. that playdoh is non-toxic
11. a boy who fell asleep next to me
12. "no boo-boo this time" (from our middle child)
13. prayer
14. the trust of little ones in God's house
15. this day, 7 years ago, when God gave me an amazing blessing, my husband