preschoolers and bees

I bought a pretty bracelet the other day. I was drawn to the blue and green shades. It has 2 bees on it. I don't own anything with bees on it but something about this bracelet was so appealing, and it matched a dress I picked up to wear to a wedding, so I bought it. It was a couple weeks later, as I wore it, not to the wedding but on a regular day just because, that I looked at the bracelet dangling there on my wrist and immediately I remembered a drive a few years ago on the way to my youngest son's preschool. He and his sweet little friend Abbi were in the back seat having one of their conversations.  I always turned down the radio when Abbi got in the van because their 4 year old conversations were priceless and I never wanted to miss a single word.  This time they were talking about bees. Samuel asked Abbi ,  "You know how to tell which one is the queen bee?"  She didn't know.  He promptly replied,  "She's the one who sits in the chair."   Love. I've thought about that conversation more than a couple times with a chuckle over the past few years but as I recalled it this time, it meant something different to me.  She's the one who sits in the chair reminded me of the fact that I am seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.  You see I've been studying lately about the believer's authority and as soon as we confess that Jesus is Lord of our lives the Bible says we are immediately seated with Him in heavenly places.  He's seated there with all power and authority, God having placed all things under His feet, which simply means He's got dominion over it all.  He's seated there and God has made us to sit there with Him...there with His power and authority and all things under our feet, which simply means He's given us dominion.  So that means all sickness, lack, strife, divorce, and every evil work, we sit above it all in our chair with Christ, all His power and authority given to us to do His will on earth as it is in heaven.  His will is for us to bind the works of the devil and loose the blessing of God wherever we go.  So as I've been reading the Bible and learning the truth of God's word and His promises to all believers, this believer is reminded, as I look down at my pretty bee-wrapped wrist, that she's the one who sits in the chair.  No matter what it looks like in my situation here in my daily life, in the spirit I am seated in heavenly places with Jesus and He expects me to look from that perspective and use that authority to speak His will over my life and watch to see what He'll do.  That's the perspective I want, so,  I'm getting in my chair.

onward

In beginning again I come to the realization that everything that God has for me is ahead.  As I come back to what is in Him, and let go of my wandering ways, I look at now and I look up ahead…not behind.  I determine in my heart and set my face to not turn back.  Turning back would only cause me to lose more.  Lose time in wishing I hadn't screwed up…wishing I was further.  Behind is where the mess is and that mess can taunt me with a name-calling frenzy.  But that mess has been surrendered and forgiven.  Forgiven not because of me or anything I did, but forgiven because of Jesus and all that He has done. 

So I decide...shaky feet planted on the firm ground of the Word...I won't turn back.

  And with the wisdom of Paul, a man who could have been taunted up one-side and down the other for the mistakes in his past, it's what he says that beckons me forward….

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting what's behind.

Pressing on.

On toward God's calling.

I tell myself I don't have to have to all figured out.  I just have to press on…keep my eyes on Jesus. And I see Him today in this word.  He beckons me forward and with a giant leap of faith I take my first steps and I'm not turning back!

Everything that He has for me is ahead. 

beginning again

It’s been so long since I’ve written.  I've avoided it a bit because I’d love so much to give a wise word or a charming little story, but that’s really not where I've been lately.  And see, I'd much rather you believe that I have it all together.  So, I avoided writing even though it's an outlet that I find healing, but it can also be painfully hard to write and open up when you’d just prefer to hibernate and come out of the den when things are much more rosy in life.

  I have a love/hate relationship with journaling.  One one hand it's one of the best ways for me to process my thoughts, as I often don't even have words for them until I tap them out on the keys of my laptop. But, on the other hand I hate it because at times when I go back to read past entries, I see how far I haven't come…same problems and same negative thoughts just another day or, even worse, another year or more! Ugh!  And it causes me to feel the shame... the what’s wrong with me? kind of shame.

  What is wrong?

  I've been in a rut for many months and I've been trying hard and running as fast as I can to get out of it, but the stress, anxiety, mood swings, scary heart palpitations, and disorder have caught up to me and wrestled me to the ground helpless.  Wrestled me into a pit that I can no longer out run or work hard to get out of. And in the black depths of it I've caught my chest and cried heaving. All the while the words in my head on continuous loop…

What's wrong with me, it's never going to turn out well and if anyone ever knew what a major failure I was I'd be so ashamed…even I am ashamed of myself.

 I've cried out to God for help but I mustn't really have given Him much time to give me an answer because I haven't felt Him.  I know enough in my pit to know that I need to focus on the Lord, but sometimes I just don’t know where to begin.

  Where to begin with God?  As I pose this question right now, it comes into my head,

In the beginning was the Word,

 and the Word was with God,

 and the Word was God.

The Word.

  Jesus.

  The Word became flesh.

  Jesus.

  Begin with Him.

So right here in my black pit I go back in my mind and remember the beginning.  In the beginning of getting to know Jesus it was His love that drew me in.  His undeniable-unconditional-no-need-to-do-anything-doesn’t-matter-what-you’ve-done-come-as-you-are kind of love.  That’s the kind of love that gets through the junk inside...the years of pain, shame, and anger built up.  I've been there with Him.  I've lived in that Love.  But for someone who’s been there so deeply and had Him move in my life so amazingly time and time again, how do I find myself feeling alone and very much outside the scope of love, and the scope of dreams, and the scope of joy undeniable?

  How does a loved-one wander?

  I consider the ways and I find that it wasn’t intentional, my wandering.  I didn’t just one day choose to give Him less of my time...and I’m talking one-on-one time, talking time, listening time, quiet time, bible time.   Somewhere in the midst of being a wife, raising boys, managing a home, working, leading a children’s ministry, being a daughter, sister, friend, etc I’ve lost my Center.  I’ve allowed myself to be pulled by other people’s expectations, my own ridiculous expectations based on impossible images of success, and I turned from the only image that truly matters...Jesus.  

In that turning and losing sight of my Center, I’ve stumbled. I’ve stumbled into a fear/work/shame cycle...the work-harder-faster-go-go-go-what’s-wrong-with-you-why-can’t-you-do-all-of-this perfectly kind.  No one’s actually said that to me but it's what I hear over and over in my mind, and I’ve become a slave to my own ridiculous demands and impossible standards.

  How does this happen?

  And I consider this, Am I much different than the prodigal who knew the love and the comfort of his father’s home but chose to go his own way and do his own thing, only to wake up one day and wonder, how did I get here?  How did I wander?

  He looked at himself in the pig pen and he started to remember.  He remembered how good he had it in his fathers house...how could he have wandered?  He came to the realization that the only thing he could do was go back; go back to the beginning...go back to love.  

That’s where I find myself. Wondering how did I get into this mess?  How did I wander away from the pastures of love and acceptance into the hardness of performance and shame and never good enough?  How did I trade peace for anxiety, love for performance, joy for fear?  It wasn’t a conscious choice.  And I don't think I have much more going on than anyone else does.  In fact aren't we supposed to multitask and juggle…isn't that the norm?  Maybe...but for me it's not working because in the juggle I dropped the One True Thing that holds it all together.

  I don't have a nice little way to tie this story up.  No wise words or charming anecdote.  Just really writing to understand.  And I’m only just realizing that I’m at the end of what I can handle.

But, in my end, I stumbled back to the beginning…

In the beginning was the Word,

 and the Word was with God,

 and the Word was God.

Jesus.

So today, I’m beginning again...

Jesus, it’s great to meet you here!   

Just Do It

In August I accomplished a tough goal.

  I ran a 5K.

  Now, you need to understand, just 8 weeks prior, I was not a runner and never had any plans to ever run, unless of course someone was chasing me and I had to run for my life.

  And I really wasn't planning on having to do that either!

....just sayin'.

But since I cancelled my Y membership nearly a year ago, I hadn't done much in the way of exercise, and I was feeling it...run-down and blah.  So when one of my closest friends mentioned she wanted to start running, I heard myself saying, I'll do it with you.

What?

So we started meeting early in the morning at a local park in mid-June.  We used the Couch to 5K app, C25K, on our iPhones and off we went.  I know that sounds all easy-breezy, but it was far from it!  Our area has a lot of runners and driving into this park on that 1st morning, it became pretty obvious where they all hung out.  Suddenly, the 2 girls who had never run, were two outsiders walking into a club that we clearly weren't dressed for, or even knew how to blend in to.  It was a bit intimidating to say the least.  So, doing our best to push past that, we set out with our iPhones programmed to week 1/day 1.  I was thinking, Ok, I'm a bit scared of how this running thing is going to go, but I'm not exactly coming from the couch, I mean I do run around taking care of 3 boys so surely I must be starting with a bit of an advantage over the couch potatoes right? But at the end of that 1st day of training, alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes, I was seriously wiped out, beat-down and haggard!  What's worse is I could barely make it up and down the stairs for the next 36 hours.  My non-workout body was in utter shock and my mind was screaming, Just Quit! 

It wasn't pretty and quite frankly if I thought there was any chance my friend wouldn't be waiting for me at the park on day 2, I would have gladly ended my running career right then with a tap of the snooze button, and rolled over to enjoy more sleep.

But I persisted and met my friend 3x a week for 8 weeks until we completed the program.  There were great times of being with my friend and connecting, there were agonizing times when we pushed our bodies way beyond our comfort level, and in summer heat no less.  There were hysterical times like when we set out on our 1st day of running 2 miles, and as soon as we finished our warm-up and began running, the sky opened up and poured torrential rains upon us.  We kept going and laughed most of the way.  The irony was just too much...us running 2 miles in the rain?  We realized that we non-runners had somehow become runners and I was now one of those people I used to call crazy.      

Anyway, we finished the 8 week program, and the very next week we ran a 5K.  It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  During the last mile I felt as though someone was pummeling my stomach and I was so hot it felt like my head might explode.  But we came across that finish line running.  I was so happy it was over so the pain would end.  But also, so happy it was over because I accomplished a really hard goal. 

And because it was so hard to accomplish it means so much more.   

So this is what I learned...

1.  It's good to get out of my comfort zone and try the hard thing that I don't know how to do.
 (That's a huge stretch for me because my nature is quite the opposite...I generally like to know how to do things before I decide to do them.) It was a great mental and physical challenge to take on something I didn't know how to do.

2.  If I change a bit of my routine, I can change my life.
  Prior to June I had no exercise routine.  But making a place for it in my life over the past few months has helped me mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  That one change in my routine has changed the shape of my week. 

3. Doing something new with a friend anchors you to that goal.
  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would have quit had it not been for my commitment to my friend.  After the pain and the heat exhaustion, I would have rationalized my way right out of accomplishing that goal and would have gladly rolled over in my bed on day 2.  Without knowing it, she kept me there and I so enjoyed the bonding that experience brought to us.  It was a richer experience because I did it with a friend.
  

4. Give yourself some grace and remember to laugh.
  Woo, is this a biggie!  Grace, grace and more grace.  Remember to come as you are, start where you're at, and just to be all that you can be.  Abandon any temptation at comparison and just do it.  Don't take it too seriously...it's running, not the ER.  I used to always say that when I was a general manager at Gap.  When things were just too crazy stressful, I would say out loud, to myself and whoever else was standing nearby, we're selling jeans, not working in the ER people...let's just chill out! 

5.  Finally, celebrate the accomplishment.
  I did it!  Accomplishing a goal that all of my life I never thought I had the desire or courage for is hard to describe.  But it stirs me on.  It makes me realize that I'm made to do more than even I ever imagined.  It makes me want to keep going.  

I feel the strength and motivation to go after more goals.  Suddenly possibility and hope rise up and bring a certain freedom.  Freedom from small mindsets, freedom from even how I viewed myself.  

Makes me want to see what else this girl can do.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday? 

We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

Go See This Movie

Last night I went to see an amazing movie.  It's filmed real world documentary style.  "Father of Lights" is a journey around the world to reveal God's heart for His children.  And we are all His children, no matter how we're living, no matter race, religion or caste, He is a Daddy who loves.  Filmmaker Darren Wilson says this about his film on the
"Father of Lights" website....

Father of Lights is about God’s heart. I went into making this film by asking the simple question: who is God? I wanted to know His character, His personality, and who He truly is. To answer this question, we had to peel back the many layers of religious garbage that has been passed onto him through generations. That He is angry. Vengeful. Wrathful. And in general, that He doesn’t like you very much. The truth, as you will see vibrantly in this film, is that He is the most loving, compassionate, and wonderful Father you can imagine.

Check out the trailers below and then check out the website here to see when it will be playing this summer in your city.  Go, watch, get caught up in the movie and be forever changed by the Father's heart for you and for the world.  
You won't be the same.

Letting God Lead

Oh wouldn't life be so easy if everyone (ahem, husband and kids) just did exactly what we wanted them to do, exactly when we wanted it done?  Bliss.  But sadly this is not the case, and really, God doesn't intend for us to be the captain's of our own ships, overriding everyone's will so ours never has to go a-wanting.   But honestly, it can be a struggle for me to have projects piled up around the house because my husband is too busy being handy at everyone else's homes that he has no time to be handy in ours.  You know that old saying about the cobbler's children having no shoes?  I hate it when people say that to me like that's going to be some comfort when I'm aggravated about my house being a sight for sore eyes even though I have a very talented contractor husband.  Do you think I'll feel a comforting camaraderie with the wife of a shoemaking husband who's children run around bare-footed when it's not barefoot season?  Not.


Anyway, this is where I was a few days ago, looking around at all the undone to-dos, boxes of cabinets filling the front porch, tree stumps filling our tiny little back yard and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Then when driving to a friend's house for a playdate, I was pulled over and received a $63 ticket for a brake light that's been out.  A brake light that my husband promised to fix.  Well the temptation to freak out was knocking hard on my door and more than a few "I told you so's" were on the tip of my tongue.  I was not happy.  


Well, the next morning I woke up early to have some quiet time and pray and I read this in a Joyce Meyer devotional that I have...  
Our day might seem better if everyone would just do what we tell them to do. But God doesn’t override people’s will, and we are not to do so either.  Instead of trying to control people, pray that they will “hear” God leading them.  If someone persists in doing something his or her own way today, show your confidence in God by stepping aside.  You may learn that you were wrong, or they may learn that you were right.  God is big enough to get both you and them out of any mess they make.  Either way, He will get the glory, if you put your trust in Him.


God was speaking right to me.  In my temptation to be angry with my husband and feel discouraged, God reminds me that it's Him who does the work in hearts, not me.  I love my husband and I'm thankful that he works so hard to take care of his family.  Oh how the very things that bring us blessing can be the very things, when looking through willful eyes can bring us discouragement...it's all in the seeing.


And, that early morning on the couch with my devotional, God opened my eyes and I saw that He's the One in charge, not me.  If I'm frustrated, I go to Him in prayer because He is where my help comes from.  I cling to Him, do what I can do in the situation and pray for Him to do what I can't.


So this Freedom Friday {which happens to be on a Saturday...shhh} I decide to let God lead others while I trust in Him.


  Are you struggling with the temptation to live in anger and discouragement with a loved one? Place them in God's able hands and put your trust in Him.


Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.
Psalm 25:3

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday? 

We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

For Such a Time As This

When I hear sermons about the end times and listen to talk about how things are getting worse and that the future for our country is bleak, I’m not going to lie, it has sparked fear in me and leaves me feeling unsettled.  I mean I realize that the world’s political and economic climates are not good.  There are wars and rumors of wars, there’s famine, there’s unusual and catastrophic weather patterns...all things that are mentioned in the Bible as signs of the end of the age.

  We live in a time where there’s a complete disregard for God’s word; what is evil is said to be good and what is good is said to be evil.  God, and all things related to Him, is made to be mocked in entertainment in the name of freedom.  Laws are in place to aid a woman in killing her unborn child in the name of choice.  Of course why shouldn’t God just allow us all to suffer through the worst of tribulation right now?


  Some people in the church say that we are in the end and it’s only going to get worse, Prepare, get your affairs in order, stockpile food, build an underground shelter, stow away cash.  I find this talk to be heavy and grim and it just doesn't sit well in my spirit.  Is the church supposed to just hunker down?

A few days ago I read this post from global worship leader Sean Feucht.  In his excitement he shares about what God’s doing in manifesting his dreams of worship and using him and many others to usher in the Presence of the Lord around the globe.  He is encouraged in these times, seeing God moving and touching so many hearts and bringing forth miracles and salvations in so many parts of the world.

  What a juxtaposition of outlooks on the exact same times.  I thought on all of this and I felt the Lord whisper in my spirit, 

“Find your place in it.” 

  Aren’t we, as lovers of the Most High, supposed to keep our eyes on Him believing and contending for His Kingdom while making a difference with our lives on this earth?  We are to change atmospheres and ignite passion for the Lord.  Now I’m not saying that getting prepared for bad times is wrong, we are to be aware of the times and the seasons.  But sometimes I feel that there can be this spirit of hunkering down and doom and gloom and plans for fleeing that bother me.  God help me to find a balance between wisdom and preparation and being completely focused on You, sold out and on fire and believing the best because you can do anything....help me to find my place in this.

Queen Esther comes to mind and how she was used to save the lives of thousands.

 A young Jewish girl, Esther went to the palace of the Persian king by force, one of up to 1400 young women taken from their homes and all that they knew so the king could find a new wife.  Hiding her true identity as a Jew, Esther found herself in a situation where she could have just been someone who the king slept with once and forgot about, left to live life as a lonely concubine, but God’s hand was on Esther and she was made queen, placing her in a position of influence before trouble came so she could be used of God to save her people from an evil plot of annihilation.  When the plot to destroy the Jews was set into motion, her uncle sent her word from outside the palace walls imploring her to use her influence with the king to beg mercy for the Jews, reminding her that she may have come into her royal position for such a time as this.

 Esther found that her place in the situation was one of influence in the king's court and she was used mightily.

  I believe that we have the very same position of influence.  Although our influence is not with an earthly king, but in the courts of heaven with the King of Kings.  We can come boldly before His throne and intercede on behalf of our nation and beg mercy for those who live outside the King's chambers.  We can see relief and deliverance come to a nation if we choose not to remain silent.  


Esther got herself focused and trusted God in prayer.  She stepped out, used her gifts, and the way God made her...special and fitted for that time and place.  The Bible says that God decides the times and places of our days.  God gave her favor, wisdom and protection.  She came into her destiny in the worst of times.  Although it wasn't easy and took amazing courage, especially in revealing that she herself was a Jew, Esther was willing to even give up her own life to fulfill her purpose in the palace.  She found her place in it and changed the destiny of her people.
  

  So I look to Esther's example, a regular girl placed in a position of influence during volatile times, given extraordinary favor to fulfill God's purpose and bring deliverance to a nation.

  My prayer today is, Lord help me to find my place in these times.  Help me to be myself, using the gifts you've given me, grant me extraordinary favor to fulfill your purpose in this earth, and even bring deliverance to a nation.
Help me to take up my position of influence for such a time as this.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.

Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

  

Summer Dreams

 Lately my days have been cluttered and full.

  Busy days, endless to-dos, end of school year activities, phone calls, emails, friendships, parties, kids, husband, me?, groceries, errands, cooking, house projects, clutter, baseball games, late nights, ministry, planning, meetings, deadlines...and, oh my, this house is a wreck!

Lots of good and necessary things in there, but sometimes it seems too much and I get cranky and exhausted and just want to escape...

I feel on the edge.

What to do when all you want to do is escape?

I've imagined making time stop so I can have a time-out and catch up while all is frozen in pause-button-stillness.  Ahhh, now that would be nice, but let's get real, it's not going to happen.

But as I sit here watching the sunrise on the last day of 1st and 3rd grade for my 2 older boys, I dream.  Summer break is upon us and oh how we can use the break.  Remember the excitement you felt as a child when school let out and summer began?  A whole stretch of days laid out before you with endless possibility and fun.  Each morning the warm sun woke you up to a day of fun and anticipation.  The only decisions you made were which friends to play with and what games to play.  I have so many memories of being outside all day riding bikes, swimming, playing 4-square, chinese jumprope, hide-n-seek, and barbies with my sisters and neighbors.  We went out after breakfast and only came in at meal times just to run right back out after the meal was over.

  Days full of laughter and fun. 

It seemed as though time stood still. 

As this summer is about to begin I decide to try something new.  Focus on my inner kid.  I don't mean anything new-agey by that.  I just want to approach this summer like I did when I was a little girl, all full of possibilities.  

So, today, even though my house is a wreck and my boys will be getting out of school at 11:30am, I'm going to set aside some time to sit outside in the sun and dream.  I'm going to make a list of things that would bring me joy to do this summer.  Yes, I'm still mommy to 3 active boys, still wife to a hard-working husband, still home manager and business manager, still children's ministry leader, but, I'm realizing that inside of me there's still a girl who longs for fun and creativity and beauty.  A girl who likes to read a good story, create beauty with her hands and words and spend time laughing with friends.  This girl wants to get lost in the possibility of a whole stretch of days.

  

Days full of laughter and fun.

  Days that seem as though time stands still.

Join me?

Set aside some time today to search your heart and make a list of things that would bring you joy to do this summer.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.

Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

   

What Are You Focusing On?

When we taught our boys how to ride their bikes, initially their feet distracted them.  They were so caught up in watching their feet and getting used to the pedals that their focus was constantly aimed downward, instead of ahead of them at where they were going.  With eyes looking at feet and mind concentrating on the mechanics of pedaling, the arms and body were drawn downward by their focus and inevitably the bike followed suit and boy and bike ended up in a heap on the ground.  We'd rush over and pick them up, brush them off, get them back on the bike and begin the process again, always encouraging them to look up and focus on where they wanted to go; that the bike would follow their focus. 

You know this is also the way of dreams....those little previews into the life that God has for us.  We'll get there if we focus on where it is we want to go.  I heard recently that the likelihood of realizing your dreams goes up by 98% if you write them down and keep them in front of you.  I know from experience that it's not enough to just write them down.  I've written so many things down over the years only to forget about that list just a short while later.  The worst is finding it after 5 years has gone by only to discover in dismay that I haven't realized a single dream.  Ugh!  I didn't realize then that my path would have turned up at the right destination had I only changed my focus. 

We can get so caught up in the mechanics of the dream (how's it going to work, when's it going to happen, what do I need to do, etc) that we lose sight of the dream itself.  Before we know it our gaze has turned inward, focusing on our own inabilities which fuel fear instead of the faith we need to look ahead, and we end up in a heap of introspection...stuck. 

We need to change our focus.

Think about your dreams.  Last week we talked about them being previews of life's coming attractions.  So, let's dust ourselves off and get back on those dreams, this time with our focus on our destination.  For each dream you have, find a picture that represents that dream.  Are you believing for physical healing?  Find a picture of yourself when you were at your healthiest and keep it in front of you daily as you pray and speak over yourself that you are healed.  Do you want to be debt free?  Know your debt, make a list of your debts with the total amount in plain sight.  Pray over and speak to that amount as being paid in full daily.  Do you dream of an organized home?  Pull out pictures from a magazine which represent what you want for your home.  Keep those images in front of you as you press toward that goal.   

Motivation and faith can be either fueled or depleted by what we choose to focus on.

  We can choose life or death for our dreams merely by what we choose to gaze upon day after day.  This time around I'm choosing to change my gaze and put pictures of my dreams in front of me in a place where I can see them daily.  

You know, with the biking, the process took a different length of time for each of our sons.  It was really a process of trust... trusting their parent's advice, but most of all, trusting their own focus and the notion that bike and body would follow it's lead.  Each child needed to go at his own pace and take his tumbles before getting it.  But, all it took with each one was that one time when they looked up and forgot about the mechanics of biking long enough to get a feel of the breeze on their cheeks....and they were hooked.  Even if they fell after a few moments they had enough of a taste to know that they could do it and they wanted more.  Each attempt at changing their focus from feet to straight ahead brought them a few revolutions closer to freedom, until, eventually, they took off.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.

Be Still

It's been a very busy week.  And to be honest, just a little bit stressful.  Baseball games and practice every night, a mouse in our house, my youngest's school reported a few kids with lice last week...guess who got it this week...ugh!  Then today I hit a curb and blew out my tire.  Needless to say, it's just been a crazy week!  So, I decided to pull out a post from the archives...one that I needed to be reminded of.  This is from my Seeking Peace in the Midst of the Mess series.  Hopefully you'll enjoy it too.

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10a

I think the thing that alludes me the most these days is quiet time.  Time to just sit in the presence of God and take a breather.  On the days that I do it I see a big difference in my attitude, my thoughts, and how I handle the day.  It's such an immediate benefit that I always end up saying, why don't I do this everyday?  I mean really.

Even though I struggle with getting up early in the morning, I have found for me, on the days that I have done it, that it works best for me to have that quiet time then.  That way I've gotten that soul & spirit-nourishing stillness before anyone gets up and the day really gets going.  The rest of my day really reaps the benefits.  

This is time to sit quiet and lay out anything that's weighing on me or anything that I have questions in my heart about.  It's time to sit and "listen" for any answers or leadings that may rise up in me as a result of releasing those concerns.  And it's time to recall all the good things in my life and give thanks to God for His gifts.  Sometimes I read the bible, sometimes a devotional that can give me one thought to meditate on. Other times I may talk and pour out my heart, then there are times when I'm more silent.  Most times it's a mix of all those things.  But the bottom line is, there is no right or wrong way, no list of rules to follow.  It's just about being still and giving my soul a rest while my spirit gets nourished in the Presence of the Lord.

Make your quiet time special.

Just some ideas to consider...

Pick a cozy spot in the house, maybe near a window, to go to daily for your quiet time. Take time ahead to set up that special spot with some of the things that you'd like to have nearby for your quiet times.  Grab a pretty basket to hold such things as a bible, devotional, prayer book, any inspirational reading, peaceful music, and a notebook and pen to jot down all the good things you receive from your time with the Lord.  The night before, lay out a special tea/coffee cup and bag of tea/coffee to brew in the morning to sip on during the peace and quiet.  The bottom line is, prepare ahead to enjoy your time.


Seek peace by pursuing regular quiet time...begin today.  
 For those of you who, like me, also struggle with having this time carved out, won't you join me?  Starting tomorrow, I'm not going to hit the snooze button, I'm getting up and seeking peace.

This scripture comes to mind...

Isaiah 26:3, You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Try this, instead of the words him and he, I encourage you to put your name in there and speak it out loud this morning as you begin your quiet time.  I'll do the same.  This is our declaration and a promise from God that He will keep us in perfect and constant peace because we're committed to seeking Him.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.