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Stop and Listen
Full transparency, I’m still going through a rough time in my life that started a couple years ago. It’s a long story but I’m doing ok. I feel like I’m on a recovery journey and I’m not there yet. The point is, I have spent less time with God than at any other time in my life. It’s bad and I know it, but I’ve had a hard time doing anything about it. Which is probably why I haven’t written anything in a while. Anyways, God always finds a way to speak to me and a couple months ago it was through an interaction I had with my 6 year…
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You Don’t Have To Do Everything
“I can’t do everything!” Samuel flopped down on the bed dramatically. I was folding laundry on the bed and Samuel was supposed to be helping, but instead, was getting distracted, snuggling with the warm clothes. (It is a rare occurrence when the laundry gets folded while it is still warm, which is probably why it was so enticing.) I had asked him to find the sock matches and he had also volunteered to fold his and his brother’s underwear. He was wallowing in the clothes when my reminder to him of his assigned task prompted this dramatic scene. “You don’t have to do everything, you only need to do what…
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Generous God
In the last couple weeks, Samuel has had a really hard time sharing anything. To the point where he doesn’t want Malachi to touch any toys even if he is not currently playing with them. We talked about how being generous and sharing makes you happy and makes others happy and we watched VeggieTales “Madame Blueberry”, but he still shouted “Mine!” whenever Malachi came close. I told Samuel, “The toys aren’t yours, they are mine and I share them with you. So you can share with your brother.” And, wow, I did not see that coming. All the money we have, all the resources we have are God’s. And because…
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Listen and Obey
I try to read Samuel’s Bible (The Beginner’s Bible) with him every day (we definitely need to be more consistent…), but the other day I was struck with the realization that each chapter falls into one of two categories: A. The person listened to and obeyed God, or B. The person did what they wanted to do or did what they thought was right without consulting God. Yikes. Are we listening for God’s instruction? How often do we consult God? We make plans, spend money, veg out, stay busy, daydream about vacations, and miss out on God’s best for us. Then they believed [Adonai’s] words,and they sang his praise.But soon…
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Stop and Listen
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Perfect
Yesterday as I was folding laundry, Samuel was building with his Duplo blocks. I heard him say, “I gotta make it perfect”. And my heart was pierced. He is three years old. I stopped what I was doing and went into a monologue about how it doesn’t have to be perfect and found myself floundering because did he not learn this concept from me? I am trying to cut the word “perfect” out of my vocabulary, but it’s not enough to not say it, because it’s a matter of the heart. The pursuit of perfect is not just unhealthy, it is deadly. No one is perfect but God alone. And…
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Guard the Gate
There’s a couple articles going around about how predators are accessing children through apps and videos on their smartphones and tablets. It is horrifying and sickening. There’s a lot of evil in this world and sometimes I forget because I’m safe in my little bubble at home. But this little device that I’m so attached to, that is so useful that I don’t know how I would live without it, that I use as an escape sometimes, get addicted to sometimes, that I simultaneously loathe and can’t live without, is a portal to my soul. And the enemy is too smart not to use it as a weapon against me.…
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Obey FIRST
It’s funny how even though I’m the parent, oftentimes it’s my preschooler who is teaching ME about life. Or, God, rather, is using my 3 year old to teach me how much I have to learn. Today, I told Samuel to put his dishes in the dishwasher when he was done, but twenty minutes later I walked by and his dishes were still on the table. Me: “Samuel, did I tell you to put your dishes in the dishwasher?” Samuel: “I gotta make this airplane first.” Me: “You need to obey first, and then you can do what you need to do.” Even as the words left my mouth, I…
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Stop and Listen
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There is No One Who Saves Like Our God
I’m not perfect. My life isn’t perfect. My marriage isn’t perfect. My husband is not perfect. Part of the reason it took me so long to actually start this blog is because I didn’t want people to know the imperfect parts of my life. But God uses our flaws to demonstrate his grace. And what I’ve come to see is that it is through the cracks, the flaws, the ugly parts of my life that I have the most opportunity to cling to His goodness and to throw my life at His feet, knowing that He is my only Hope. If my life was any more perfect I might think…
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Stop and Listen
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Keeping My Soul Over Keeping My Home
I learned a very important lesson today. But there’s a bit of back-story, so hang in there. Here’s a few important facts to remember: We just moved to Korea. We just moved into our house last week. Our HHG (Household Goods, i.e. everything that we own) have not made it yet. We have a three-year-old and a one-year-old Without getting into the weeds, yesterday was one of those days where we were busy all day and had nothing to show for it. I was so overwhelmed with the fact that there was stuff everywhere (living out of suitcases starts to get real old after the first couple of months…). So I…
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These Words
Hear, Israel! Adonai your God, Adonai is one; and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates. …
Learning How to Love God With All My Heart, Mind, Soul & Strength
