My Valley of Dirty Laundry and Sticky Fingers

But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delievered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

               1 Samuel 17:34-37

At least once a year I get all fired up to get my cleaning schedule organized. I search Pinterest for all those handy schedules that someone else has prepared to tell me what to clean on which day of the week. One year I even purchased an app for my phone that reminded me of my daily checklist. I thought it was fabulous...for about a week. 

Needless to say, my life as a wife and mom of three little ones gives me a never ending list of things to do. School lunches, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and the never ending piles of dirty laundry fill my days. Not to mention the fact that as soon as I complete a task, like laundry and dishes, it has to be done again.  I'm not going to lie, there are days where my life seems to be going in circles and I'm left wondering why I even bother to scrub the floors or pick up the toys. Days that just looking at my kitchen table leave me exhausted.

Those are days when I turn to the verses found above in 1 Samuel. I read about how David, although a young man and annointed king of Israel, was still tending the sheep in his father's flock. Not evenhis own flock, but his father's. But the verses above also lead up to the time when he was stepping out in faith to challenge Goliath. While everyone else, including the king, was afraid of the Philistine giant, David boldly declared that he would fight the giant because he knew the God of Israel would win the battle for him. Why? Because he has spent all that time tending his father's sheep getting to know The Lord and witnessing God's provision and protection in facing the day to day tasks of tending those sheep.

As I tend my own little sheep and all their messes, I remember that this is a huge mission field that God has placed me in each day. He has given me simple tasks that bless the members of my family. And even if I never have a book published or speak to change lives, being faithful in raising my children to follow The Lord is enough.

Is there something small that The Lord is calling you to be faithful in today?

Rest. Be.

This post is a little bit different from what I usually post, but something I wanted to share with you. I'd love to hear your reaction and if it prompts you to look at your own time with God differently!

I hear my name softly as I walk through the aisles. Row after row of words jump out at me. Book after book call out for me to take them and explore their pages. I start to take one down, but stop.

I hear my name again.

I walk faster, quickly glancing down each row before moving on. Still I press on and resist the distractions, though I am tempted.

Finally, I round the last row and find a quiet little corner with two cushioned chairs in front of a crackling fire.

I notice He is there, just like always.

He smiles and invites me to sit. I start to say something, but He already knows my excuses and temptations, even the ones I gave in to. He knows my requests before I speak. I fight the urge to speak first and try to calm my racing thoughts as I await His voice.

Finally, He speaks.

"I am always here and never as far away as you may think I am. Even amid the distractions that surround you, I am with you. Rest. Be." 

The Treasure of the Word

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

               2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

If you came to visit me at my house, you'd learn a few things about me just by walking into my kitchen. First, I'm not a big fan of cleaning. Having three little kiddos running around makes it hard to keep things super clean and I don't like doing pointless things. Second, I love coffee! I have a really big coffee mug that I got on my one trip to NYC in 2005. It's my favorite and never far away. And third, I love books! I have a corner hutch in my kitchen that is supposed to be for keeping fancy dishes, but it's full of books instead. I have one shelf of currently reading and another of to be read. But no matter what historical fiction, Christian living or doctrine book I'm reading, my Bible (or Bibles) is always top of my pile.

Why is the Bible never far from me? It's because I look to it as a manual for living. It applies to every point of my life and every struggle I'm facing. And for the past almost three weeks I have been following Wendy Blight's "Living So That" book on how to make faith-filled choices in the midst of a messy life. Wendy has continually pointed me to scripture in a new and refreshing way. But I know that Wendy is not the one working in my life. It's the Spirit of God moving in my life, renewing my mind and transforming my heart. 

Now you may think that I'm crazy, and that's okay. But I want to share one of the many very simple truths that have blown me away, and I hope will be eye-opening to you as well.

Jesus came so that I might know how to live a blameless life. He faced temptations just like I do and yet continued to follow His Father without hesitation. Wendy shares some insight in the first chapter titled "Jesus Came So That..." which literally make me stop and feel like I have had an revelation.

"In one of His last acts, Jesus forgave the thief hanging on the cross beside Him and told him he would be with Him that day in paradise. It didn't matter to Jesus what motivated this man's confession. Jesus still forgave him. He forgave him knowing he would never study the Bible, never impact the kingdom, and never bring another to Christ. What a wonderful, beautiful reminder that you and I do not have to do anything to earn God's grace. It's a free gift. Grace does not depend on what we have done, but on what God has done for us." (Living So That, page 15)

Isn't is amazing to think that all the "good Christian stuff" I do or try to accomplish really doesn't have any impact on the grace that God gave me. It really is "Amazing Grace"! Does that mean that I shouldn't do anything with what God has given me? Absolutely not! But it does mean that all I have to do is accept what God sent Jesus to do for me. 

Are you needing that grace today, my friend? Are you seeking to check the "good Christian things" off your list to help you achieve or accomplish what God has already given to you? 

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (NIV)

Fear of The Lord

Because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid; What can man do to me?"


Have you ever thought of fear as a good thing? I know it's not something that usually comes to my mind. Just the word fear invokes so much emotion that I become defensive and on guard. But today, I want to look at the fear of The Lord.

There are many verses in the Bible about fearing The Lord. The most recognizable is Proverbs 9:10 that says, "The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

But do we understand what that even means to fear The Lord?

On my journey of understanding fear of The Lord, God has taken me to a place I didn't want to go. He allowed me to have to deal and confront some of those "what if" fears and unknown future fears that I struggle with. He has shown me that my heart needs to be set on Him and not to allow anyone or anything to take His place in my life. He has revealed His constant, unchanging nature that I needed to be reminded of.

And ultimately, He has shown me just how devestating and fearful being separated from Him by sin can be. It's a dark, lonely and unknown place. That is not a place I want to even visit for the weekend!

But God's grace and mercy and love is overwhelming, and I feel this in an overwhelming rush when I repent of my sin. And for me, this is where I truly experience fear of The Lord. I feel an overwhelming awe, reverence and amazement that despite Him being without sin, He welcomes me, cleanses me of the ick of my sin, and calls me His child.

Have you experienced God in this way in our own life? Have you felt the Fear of The Lord?

The Power of Christ Through My Fears

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient or you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
              2 Corinthians 12:9-10



Fear. It's crippling, immobilizing, and suffocating. It can keep us from doing things we should and causes us to react in ways we cannot control. Left unguarded and unchecked, fear can spread like wildfire in our hearts.

For too long I have lived trapped by a variety of fears. Giving up control, failure, rejection, weakness and the list could go on and on.

As I tackle this issue of fear in my life, I sought help in the Bible. Does it have anything to say directly against my fears? Some of them, yes, but one passage in particular stood out to me.

In the passages above, Paul reminds us of Jesus' words on grace. But it was more the words on my weakness that drew me in. You see, I can't stand to be thought of as weak. But I am. I can't stand to be thought of as a failure. But I am. I can't stand to be known for lack of self-control. But I am.

But Paul takes my weaknesses and holds them up to the power of Christ in me. So while I am a weak, control-freak who hates to fail, Christ's power has given me strength. I just need to live in that power so that through my fears, or weaknesses, that Christ can truly display His power.

So no matter what may come, I will delight in my weaknesses because I am weak, He is strong. Though the fear may immobilize me, it ultimately causes me to turn to Christ and rely on His power
in amazing ways.

How is He using your fears?

Intentional Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 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 it--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
            Romans 12:1-2



When you see the word sacrifice, what comes to mind? More than likely, you got an image of an alter with either an animal or person being killed. And yes, that is the dictionary definition. Do you ever think that there are things that we are making a choice on a daily basis to sacrifice our lives to? Work, entertainment, food, power and popularity are just a few things that we can be offering our bodies as a sacrifice to. But today, I want to look at the first two verses in Romans 12 to give us another picture of sacrifice. A living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God.

When I first read this passage, I'm all on board for this living sacrifice to God thing. I mean really, it sounds like it's the direct way to be holy and pleasing to God, so who wouldn't want that? But how do I do this and what is God calling me to do? In verse two, we are told how to be living sacrifices. And here is where it gets not as appealing. It means making choices to not live as the world around us does, but to hold everything we put into our bodies, both physically and spiritually, up to the will of God.

In chapter 17 of Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst says, "Moment by moment we have the choice to live in our own strength and risk failure or to reach across the gap and grab hold of God's unwavering strength. And the beautiful thing is, the more dependant we become on God's strength, the less enamored we are with other choices." I love this quote, because it really does nail down how I feel when I am living in God's will. I'm not swayed by the other things I could be "enjoying". I'm not feeling empty or lacking in any way.

Lysa also points out that we are making the choice. And isn't that when being a living sacrifice becomes an intentional sacrifice! When push comes to shove, my choices and no one else's determine what my life is be sacrificed to.

It's those choices every day that are the hard part of the equation. Am I choosing to not watch that TV show that fills my mind with garbage? Am I choosing to not eat that piece of cake that will be gone before I feel better after a friend made a negative comment about something my kid did? Am I choosing to surround myself with positive and uplifting friends?

Choosing to fill my heart and mind with God's word is how the renewing and transformation really occurs. And that will make being an intentional living sacrifice, not necessarily the easy choice, but the obvious choice.

What will you choose today?

The Lord Is My Portion

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
                     Lamentations 3:22-24




Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder how you are going to make it through the day? What you do you? Do you pull the covers back over your head or take a deep breathe and let your feet hit the floor?

For me, there are so many days when the lure of my pillow would be my choice. But what would happen to the three little people who need breakfast? What would happen to the laundry that is piled up in my laundry room? And the emails...garbage...exercise? That list of things that "need" my attention is most of the time what makes me want to stay in bed.

I have to be honest with you. I am scared to death of failing and not completing my to do list. Why? Because somewhere along the way, I found my idenity in being the responsible and reliable person that everyone depends on. And the saddest part is that everything I do is accomplished in my own strength.

The verses from Lamentations that I have quoted above are part of the message from Lysa TerKeurst in "Made to Crave" this week and have really stopped me in my tracks this week. Is The Lord truly my portion for today or am I seeking to do things that give me a sense of fulfillment only to have tomorrow morning be another battle for my sanity? When was the last time His love was enough to fill me so that I am not consumed by the fear of failure?

Honestly, I don't remember. Isn't that sad? And I don't have any quick fix answers other than to make a choice to focus on The Lord. He is what I need today and everyday. He is what you need too, my friend.

So tomorrow when my alarm goes off, I'm going to take a deep breathe, thank The Lord for his blessings and ask Him to lead me in my day.