What Kind of Environment Are You Creating?

Not long ago Tim and I were talking about the dynamics of our home life. Especially as a single income home, for the most part the provisional/financial stability of our home depends on him, but the emotional stability of our home in large part depends on me. As wives and mothers, we dictate the emotional environment for our homes. We’ve all heard the phrase, “If mama’s not happy nobody’s happy.” And I believe there is a lot of truth to that.

If I’m stressed, frustrated and have a short fuse everyone can feel that energy...Tim, the kids, even the dog. There is nothing inherently wrong with these feelings. They are a normal part of life. But it is what we do with those feelings that makes the difference. Am I controlling them, or are they controlling me? I must ask myself, am I believing the best of others? Am I slow to anger and quick to forgive? When I slip up, am I quick to seek forgiveness, receive that forgiveness and jump back into striving to live out the joy of my salvation and let it splash onto all those in my house? I must be continually praying to be controlled by love. Love is the key, and Christ said loving God and loving others is our most important job.

So please, as we are in the midst of a wonderful Christmas season, focus on the type of environment you want to create in your home. Seek the Lord’s help and strength to keep your entire being (mind, spirit and soul) controlled by love. Take some time to sit and pray over and meditate on this topic. How do you want people to feel in your home (not just at Christmas but all year round and not just guests, but your husband and children especially)? Make a list of the qualities you want to foster. Then list the things that could (or do) keep you from attaining these, and pray about ways to prevent or control those limiting factors. Remember to take every thought captive making it obedient to Christ and to love others as Christ loves you.

Take a deep breath, push the “restart” button, and begin right now allowing God to create a peaceful and joyful environment for your home and family. And let the change begin with you!

“Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1

It's Christmas time! Are you rejoicing?

The verse for Mikaela's preschool this month is Luke 1:14, "Many will rejoice in His birth." So my question is,are you rejoicing?

This is a wonderful time of year, filled with lots of activity and excitement. But if we are not careful it can become an overwhelming time...especially for the women who do most of the planning, attending, and cleaning!

It is so important that we take plenty of moments to pause and think about the reason for all the rush. It should thrill us as Christians to remember that, like it or not, all of the to-do this time of year is because our Savior was born! Without Christ there would be no CHRISTmas or controversy surrounding it. :)

So when you find yourself lost in the details of going and coming and shopping and planning, I challenge you to take a minute, go into your closet (literally if that is the only place you can find peace and quiet), and take a minute to meditate on this simple verse. "Many will rejoice in His birth."

Personalize this verse and make it your motto for this wonderful season. Confess to the Lord, to yourself and to the world, "I will rejoice in His birth!" "I will rejoice in His birth!" "I will rejoice in His birth!" Say it often and your feelings will eventually catch to with your words!

Your Testimony is Powerful!

Hi there. Remember me?? I apologize for dropping off the map for a bit. Been caught up in various family events and the excitement of the season and my blogging took a backseat.

For this post I have a quick word of encouragement for my fellow faith-like-a-child believers. I have over heard many who, like myself, were raised in church and came to Christ as a very young child and who, apart from being born with a sin nature, had little time to do any really “dramatic” sins (though in God’s eyes they are all the same), say that they feel they don’t really have a very strong testimony. I too, having accepted Christ at the age of seven, have heard these same ridiculous lies whispered in my ear when hearing someone give a gut wrenching testimony of how they were high and in prison when suddenly the power of God reached down and rocked their world. These stories are awesome, powerful witnesses to the majesty and power of our great God to reach into the deepest pit and radically change a life. But we must remember the true greatness of the salvation experience is the love of a perfect God reaching down to a ruined sinner and bridging that eternal gap by the giving of His only son. It’s not about the person, it’s about the God!

Besides, the impact our story has on someone else is not our responsibility. God will take our obedience to share and run with it, opening doors and hearts in ways we never dreamed possible!

So don’t give into that fear or doubt that creeps in and tries to tell you that your testimony isn’t powerful or big enough to bother telling. At this time of year when Christ is the reason for all the excitement don’t be afraid to speak up and share what that baby’s birth did to change your life!

The Storm is Coming! Are you ready?

"Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice." Isaiah 41:10 (AMP)

This powerful verse seems very timely given what many on the eastern coast have endured and what those of us in Northern Virginia and to the north are bracing for this morning. Whatever happens, may we draw strength from this verse now and for as long as we are on the earth. Regardless of what happens around us, our God reigns!

 

In John 16:33 Christ says, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]”

 

You see, we are here on the earth for a purpose…to bring Glory to God, and in doing so we will point others to Him. We have a mission here. We are God’s and under His care at all times, but He will not keep us from being affected by the same things nonbeliever experience. Rather He will harden us to difficulties, give us His supernatural strength to endure trials of all kinds and will not allow those trails to ultimately defeat us. As the world watches us endure the same hardships they will notice that the source of our strength must come from something greater than ourselves. And if we will hold to our faith and walk out this Christian life they will ask questions, and the door will be opened to take them into the throne room of our mighty God and introduce them to our Lord - the Source of our strength, the Giver of our peace, the Reason for our joy!

 

So “…count it all joy when you encounter trials of various kinds…” welcoming them as an opportunity to let Christ shine in you!

 

Living By Faith

“I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Galatians 2:20 (AMP)

No doubt many of us have heard this verse over and over. But if you’re like me, you never cease to be stopped by it. There is so much power in it. And there is that moment of humbly searching myself asking, “Am I living this way? Am I continually in awe of all that Christ did for me, and is my everyday life a reflection of the change He has made? Or am I too often losing sight of His presence and power in my life and failing to let His grace be reflected in my every word, thought and deed?”

I am especially struck by the description in the Amplified Bible of the word “faith” in this text. “…adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in the Son of God…” Wow. Does my life - my everyday actions, interactions, and reactions – reflect this kind of faith? Do I live my life by faith or in spite of it?

Please take time to read this scripture over and over for a few days and ask yourself how and how much your faith factors into your everyday life. When you gave your life to Christ, did you leave it at the cross to be under His control or did you pick it back up and say, “Thanks, I’ll take it from here?” What would others around you (especially those closest to you) say about the evidence of your faith in the way you live your life?

Saturate your kiddos!

“And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (AMP)

As a mom I absolutely love these verses. It is the perfect road map for how to train our children in the ways of the Lord. Immersion! We must let the things of God saturate our every moment in every aspect of our lives.

Because Christianity is not a religion but rather an ever growing relationship, it is not something we can simply do a couple hours on Sunday morning so we can check it off the list and then move on to the rest of our lives. No, truly loving and growing in the Lord requires keeping His words and His ways in the forefront of our minds at all times. If you’re a Sunday morning Christian you’ll be lucky if your kids even hold to that much. Children can spot phoniness a mile away, and they are smart enough not to waste time with something that apparently doesn’t really matter anyway.

But here the Lord tells us how to write His words on their hearts, diligently impressing them on their minds. Speak of Him when you come in and when you go out. Let praise and thanksgiving to the Lord be on your lips when you get up in the morning and lie down at night. (No, a quick prayer before meals doesn’t cut it!  That’s great but hardly enough to saturate your family.) Tell your kids about the wonders of God. Point out His blessings in your life and in the world around us. Tell them about how God is with us always and show them in times of trouble that we don’t have to be afraid because our God never leaves us, and He is always in control. Live it and your kids will believe it!

Ambassadors for Christ

Though Paul was talking about himself, this is true of all who have been called by God and bear His name. We are all God’s ambassadors, His own picked representatives. Each of us who has accepted Christ was chosen on purpose. It was no accident.

“Clothe yourselves therefore, as God’s own chosen ones (His own picked representatives), [who are] purified and holy and well-beloved [by God Himself, by putting on behavior marked by] tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper]. Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive]. And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony].” Colossians 3:12-14 AMP

We are not merely saved to get to heaven (though that is a huge perk). Once we accept Him and take on His name we have a job to do. God is love and we are to show God everywhere we go to everyone we meet. We must walk in love and discipline ourselves to display the qualities of Christ.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16