This is not the life I should have

Over the weekend, my son and I had the opportunity to work the Compassion table at a youth conference. On Saturday, we were able to hear Lincoln Brewster share a bit about his family life. It struck me when he said, "If they had taken a vote in high school to see who would be least likely to be a worship leader, I would have won that contest."

I could so relate to his statement. I never had any intention of relying on anyone for anything. My goal was to climb the corporate ladder and be one of those 'look, she has it all together career moms'. I know God must have been laughing, because He knew the path my life would take.

Be a stay-at-home mom? No way!

Be a homeschool mom? Not ever in my lifetime!

Minister to children through an organization I had never even heard about in high school? That was something that was never on my radar.

My life is different today than I would ever have thought possible. And I am in awe that God loves me so much that He has allowed me to do things I never thought would be a part of my life. Makes me kind of wonder what other plans He has for my future.

11 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

12 Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

13 Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The heavens declare the glory of God

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ISO 100, 55mm, f/16, 1/40 sec

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

- Psalm 19:1

Linking up with Scripture and a Snapshot

Walking on Water

“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” – Matthew 14:27-29

Have you ever heard Jesus prompting you to do something? Right now, I am kind of feeling like He has asked me to jump off of a cliff and I am suppose to trust Him to catch me before I am splattered all over the ground. He tells the disciples to ‘take courage’ and ‘don’t be afraid’, so why are we so different? Fear of failure, fear of what people might think if we fail, fear of disappointment, fear of discouragement, fear of not being good enough to follow the path you feel you are being led to follow?

I am not a writer, plain and simple. In school, math was my favorite subject. I loved algebra, trigonometry, pre-calculus, all those calculations! With a calculator and pencil in hand, I was one happy girl. There was a definite black and white answer for every problem. But English and writing? So subjective. The ‘right’ answer was in the red pen of the teacher. Couldn’t I just read my way through English?

So why I am telling you all of this? Because Jesus has asked me to ‘take courage’ and to ‘not be afraid’. He has placed on my heart a writing project that I really cannot say ‘no’ to. I really can’t give you a lot of details right now, because we are still working on some approvals, but it is a project that I am really exciting about. And for someone who is not a writer, that is saying a lot!

In the meantime, will you join me in prayer? I sure would appreciate it!

Investing in us

No, this post is not about where to put your money (because we don’t have a lot of money to put anywhere anyway!). This post is about making time for our spouse. You know, the one who leaves the house early every morning so we can stay home to do what God has called us to do. I know that my husband works hard and he deserves more of my time than sometimes I have to give (or am willing to give, which happens sometimes, just being honest here).

A few weeks ago, Kevin and I took the opportunity that we now have an adult child (who could be left to care for his younger sibling), and we went on an overnight getaway to the coast. This was the first time we had left our kids overnight at our home by themselves. We left in the morning on Friday and came back late Saturday afternoon.

 (In my opinion, not the best picture of the two of us, but had to use the self timer on this one and I know the settings were a bit off.)

I know it is not always easy to get away when you are right in the midst of raising up kids, but I do know it is important for our kids to see a healthy marriage relationship. We have made plenty of mistakes over the years (and our kids know this), but we are really working on helping our kids to see that marriage is a life time commitment. It is a choice.

“Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” – Ephesians 5:33

Need some ideas on how to invest in your marriage? For a while now, I have subscribed to The Generous Wife’s blog posts. Her blog posts are short, but filled with great tips and encouragement to help you to be a more generous wife. She usually shares a few links also if you want to do a little more exploring on the subject. (There is also a blog for The Generous Husband, if you are interested)

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. - Deuteronomy 15:10

Any tips you would like to share on how you invest in your marriage?