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Monday, June 30, 2008

moms

You know, sometimes I just don't understand people. Sometimes the corruption of people's souls breaks my heart and creates such grief within me that I just cannot imagine how God feels.

I looked up the word mother on dictionary.com and here's what it said.
"something or someone that gives rise to or exercises protecting care over someone else"

A mother is supposed to love always, care for constantly, pray for, guide, teach and protect her child. It is a mother's natural instinct to protect her child from all harm even to her death. My mother did it. Right until the day she died she considered it her mission to love me, pray for me, teach me and protect me. Why then is it so hard for so many other mothers?

There are far too many mother's out there in the world today that don't take their God given role seriously. I take it seriously. But how do you protect your child from his own mother? That's what I struggle with. I know in reality that all I can do is love him and show him every moment of every day how much I love him and how special God created him to be. I know that I can encourage him in his creativity and help him discover the gifts God gave him. I know that I can pray for him unceasingly but then I have to leave it in God's hands. i know the struggles he goes through now will serve to create such wonderful things in him and God will use it in amazing ways. But my instinct is to take him in my arms and hide him away from all the pain.

Tonight his mother sent us a message that she doesn't ever want to speak to him again. How do I tell him that? How can I tell him that the person he seeks affirmation from doesn't want him to call her? I know it's important to guide him to seek affirmation from God, but that still has to hurt.

So tonight I pray and I hope that you will join me in praying for all of the mother's out there who somehow just don't get it. I pray that God will create in them a new heart, a heart of love and compassion, a heart of acceptance and joy and I pray that God will soften that heart toward Himself and toward their children. I pray for the children affected by all of this, that God would place people in their lives to love and encourage these kids, to tell them how special they are and help them find who God created them to be.

The Bible says to "love one another as I have loved you". My prayer is that more people will learn to live by that.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

lasting love?

I was reading a devotional on marriage today. About how problems can occur at any point in your marriage and you have to work hard at your marriage every day of your life. You know me well enough to know that this got me thinking. Why is it that we work so hard at our jobs, our friendships, the gossip chain around the water cooler, we work hard at church but when it comes to our marriages we give up so easily? I spent a long time as a single mom thinking that God needed to throw my future spouse in my lap because I was done. When He did that, I was thrilled. I would no longer be alone, i wouldn't be a single mom. I wouldn't have to face life on my own any longer. I had someone beside me that God had handpicked who would support me and love me no matter what.

So we married, and can I tell you honestly, marriage is hard work. I had a child that had to adjust to having a dad and a brother. He had a child with an ex-wife, custody issues and parents who lived with us. we both had baggage and the first few years were hard as we blended. But we did it with God right in the middle of us. It couldn't have been done any other way. We were so united as a couple and a family. Then he started traveling. A spouse that travels a lot can be difficult, you can feel like you're alone again and you can feel like a single mom. That's when the hard work really begins, being one and united while you're apart. But it can be done. Just because things start going well does not mean that trouble won't come again. The enemy is constantly trying to tear marriages apart. You see it every day, divorce is common where having your 2 original heterosexual parents still married after all these years is uncommon. We need to turn that around.

Let's take a stand for our marriages. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, let's get in there and fight. And let's not fight for passivity or just keeping the peace. Let's make our homes so fun and full of love that the kids don't want to hit the road as soon as they turn 18. Let's make our husbands feel like that are important and loved and wanted.

We need to first go to the Father and ask Him to reveal where we have passive. We need to ask Him to show us how to love our husbands and what our role in the family needs to be. As He reveals that, let's be quick to respond in obedience to Him. And then, let the children see your love for one another. Your children will learn from what they see, let's fight for our marriages, for our families, for God.
We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose
Romans 8:28

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

light or dark

I went to the Bellagio with my MIL yesterday and I showed her the chocolate fountain. I love watching the chocolate fountain and although my husband didn't understand the fascination my MIL loved it. But it got me to thinking, this chocolate fountain has white chocolate which is pure white and beautiful. It has dark chocolate which is...you guessed it, very dark and then they have medium chocolate which is right in the middle. It's not milk chocolate it's actually pretty light in color. That started me thinking me thinking even more.

When we first turn out the lights at night everything is pitch black and I can't see a thing (like the dark chocolate)! However once my eyes get used to the darkness I find that it isn't quite as dark as I thought. I find that I can see quite well in the darkness (like the medium chocolate). But turn on the light and OMG, you realize you couldn't see much at all! (the white chocolate) Going even a little bit further here, if you stay too long in the dark and then turn on the light, the light actually hurts. And did you ever realize it takes only a few seconds to get used to the dark but it takes much longer to get used to the light.

I know, it's quite a long analogy but did you follow where I was going. Life and religion is like that. We spend so much time in the darkness that when we finally come into the light (Jesus) it takes a long time to get used to the light, it can even appear to "hurt" as we get used to the light. Far too often people give up before getting used to the light and they yell "turn it off!" before they have a chance to realize, the light is amazing and will take you so much farther!

I picked up the phone to call my mom again. I wanted to call her and tell her to come and join us on our sight seeing. Oh how she would have loved it. If we aren't careful missing loved ones that have gone on before us can put us into that darkness. Remember it only takes a short time to get used to the darkness. Turn on that light and turn to the Light. Run to your prayer closet and pray that He will take away that darkness. And then instead of thinking about what you don't have, focus on what you do have. It may hurt your eyes for a few minutes as you adjust, but it will get there. Think about your children, your spouse, your God. Try and find something special God has done in your life today. You know he's done something, He always does, we just don't always look for it, still too used to the fuzziness of the darkness.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Light of the World

I was reading in my devotional Praying the Names of Jesus and I am on Light of the World. After thinking and praying on this I thought about light and darkness.
John 8:12
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

I thought back to junior high when my mom finally took me to the eye doctor for glasses. When I picked up my glasses and went outside I was just amazed! Everything was so bright! Colors were far more vivid than I had remembered, trees actually had separate leaves. It was as if I was seeing the world for the very first time. I thought I had seen it before but it was far more beautiful and detailed and lovely than I had ever seen before.

I believe that is what it is like when we allow the Light of the World to come into our lives. It's like we were seeing life all distorted and cloudy as if under water and then the light come into our life and we see everything so differently, so much better.

I am so thankful for the light. The light is just amazing. The Lord is faithful to give us new sight. I cannot wait to see what the future holds and I cannot wait until His return and I am given new eyes and see a world far different from what I've ever seen.