It's been a while...

Goodness, it's been a while.

We've been busy this week seeking some refreshment from God. Our church invited Life Action Ministries back for an 8 day revival summit. If you've been reading my blog since the beginning you might remember they came for a 4 day conference back in November 2008. It was great then, and has been truly amazing this time around. I know that different people and denominations, etc. have varying ideas of what "revival" is all about.

To me, the intent of this ministry (and our pastors intent in bringing them again) has been to transform lives...to get people on their knees and their face before God and each other. To get people to love like they should, pray like they should, give like they should, and lead like they should. And for it to not end on Sunday night. That we would not just get caught up in emotion of the week, but that our lives would be changed long term and that our families would look different for generations.

We started the week with three hours of church on Sunday morning, two hours on Sunday evening, and 2-3 hours every night this week. I went to a lunch on Tuesday and we'll go to a family seminar for 4 hours Saturday. Then Sunday we'll finish up the week with morning and evening services. It has been a little bit hard having the kids out every night and not getting them to bed until 10 a couple of the nights, but it has been worth every minute.

Many of the team members from Life Action are the same ones that were here previously, but this time they also brought along a man named Tom Nesbit who has focused on speaking to families. Seriously. If you EVER get a chance to hear this man speak, you must take it. His call to men to lead their families is the best I have ever heard. His Scriptural teaching on submission to authority, binding the devil, and seeking/giving forgiveness were amazing.



There is no way I could share everything that I have gained from this week, but I wanted to post a few thoughts and quotes that I'm holding close.

• I Kings 18...repair the altar, make the sacrifice, pray...refreshing will come. One of the things that especially struck me from the teaching on this passage was that the real sacrifice was not necessarily the bull, but the water. The drought had been going on for so long...how could these people afford to pour that much water on the altar just to prove Elijah's God? So many times we think we are making a sacrifice that will prove who God is, but how much more or what bigger thing is He calling us to give up?

• The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toils, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. -Samuel Chadwick

• Matthew 12:25-29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house." How long does Satan need to bind up a husband/father with things like pornography, sexual immorality, dishonest business practice, and self-centeredness until he is able to steal that man's wife/children and destroy them with the same sins? The answer: not very long.

• A mother who prays for her children can bind a thousand demons. A father who prays for his children can bind a thousand demons. But a mother and father that pray together for their children can bind 10,000 demons.

• I Timothy 5:14 "So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander."
  Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church." Tom asked the congregation who the head of the household is and most of us said the man. But he pointed us to the verse in Timothy and assured us that the women is the head of the home, and according to Ephesians, the husband is the head of the wife. God is the head of the husband. There are umbrellas of authority. While the woman is to manage the home, the husband is responsible for what happens or doesn't happen under his roof. He is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of his marriage and the children who live under his roof.

• To piggy-back on the previous verses and thoughts, Proverbs 14:1 says "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Tom preached that a woman who tries to be the spiritual leader in her home will end up tearing it down. This is the husband's responsibility, and she is foolish to think that she can do a job that he is commanded to do. I heard it as a call to women to give up control (we tend to be control freaks) and allow the men to lead.

Well, I have more, but I want to get this posted before it's too long or outdated. I'll try to come back this week with some more resources and thoughts about what God has stirred in me.

Happy Mother's Day

Well, I have another post about where I've been at lately, but I haven't been able to finish it yet. But I wanted to post a Mom's Day thanks to my mom.

Mom, I don't tell you enough how thankful I am for the legacy you and dad started when you became Christians and raised us in the church. I know that it wasn't easy doing that with the background you had, and I praise God that He brought you out of that, and that Mark and I now have the chance to raise Godly children. Generations to come will be impacted...and will impact others...because of the mom you are. Love you.

God in the Little Big Things

I've been reading through Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian again this past week. Lately, we've dealt with a major "bullying" issue, some serious discontent and whining, huge amounts of bickering, and some instances of downright meanness between our kiddos. While I know much of this is just part of the territory of having kids, I've felt a stirring to take it as a call to really step up my specific prayers for each of our children. I LOVE the tool that this book is for me in forming lists of things to pray for and learning Scripture to claim in the battle for our childrens' lives and hearts.

All too often, I underestimate the power of God to really answer all the little prayers I send up as I go through my day...either I feel like He's got better things to do than pass me some extra patience for the 800th time, or I get too distracted to see that He has actually given me what I asked for. I'm still working on praying expectantly and sincerely for what I see as little things and learning that when it comes to our children's attitudes, behaviors, and hearts, there is nothing little about it...not in this world that is seeking to destroy them.

Anyway, I wanted to share an example of God taking care of a little big thing this morning, mostly as a reminder to myself to expect Him.

{Just to give a little background, we now have a 2 year old in the house for the fourth time in our lives...and it's really not any easier the more times you do it. Levi has recently formed a strong opinion about wearing clothing with balls on it...like if it doesn't have a ball on it he's not wearing it and once he gets it on he's not taking it off kind of deal. He fell asleep last night on the way home from church and therefore slept in his clothes, so I felt it somewhat important to change him this morning since he had sat in a puddle of bubbles, hiked the nature center, dribbled milk, and done who knows what else in those clothes the day before. He, of course, did not think taking off the ball sweatshirt was a good idea and proceeded throw a fit and fight me tooth and nail about getting dressed. In an effort to reach a compromise (typically not a good idea when working with a 2 year old), I took him up to his room (where Natalie was still sleeping) to see if we could find something he was willing to put on. He continued to fight and, sure enough, he disturbed Natalie, who, of course, flipped out because I couldn't stay up there while she fully woke up because while all of this was going on I was still trying to get Ethan and Karis ready for school and out the door for the bus.}*

I've been trying to get myself in the habit each morning of asking Jesus to just wash over our home and help us fight the battle against Satan as we go through our day. Although I had had my quiet time this morning, I hadn't prayed that prayer and, in that moment, knew I needed to because I was ready to lose it. I left both kids screaming and prayed it as I walked out of the room and down the stairs to help Ethan and Karis. As I got breakfast, juice, lunches, etc. ready, Ethan went up the stairs in an effort to calm Natalie down. Levi had made his way down the stairs, half dressed and still crying, and Karis purposefully caught his attention with a few small toys. I didn't ask them to do this (as I have on some occasions), but it was almost like they knew it would take that big brother/big sister love to change a situation that could have unfolded much differently. I never expected that God would use them to answer my prayer, but I know He did. And maybe the most amazing part of it was that when I realized what He had done, with tears in my eyes, I thanked Ethan and Karis for their help and told them that God had used them to answer my prayer. If you could have seen the smiles that crossed their faces...

I'm still crying as I thank God for evidence of Himself this morning.


* I know if you're a mom of more than one child, you can totally relate to this and, quite possibly, lived the same thing this very morning. If you're not a mom...kids are great...really! You should have lots of them.

Our weakness

I loved the devotional by Mary DeMuth from Proverbs 31 Ministries this morning. I think this paragraph paints the most amazing picture, and I wanted to share...

Our weakness and frailty are not merely places of desolation; they are dance floors—holy places where the God of the universe is allowed to freely move in our lives. Our own lack allows for and welcomes this sacred dance where God's talent outshines our capabilities, where only He receives the glory.

Where is God dancing in your life these days?

A look at my Imperfect...

After writing that post on imperfection a couple of weeks ago, I just wanted to give you a look into my window to see a little of what "imperfect" looks like in my {physical, spiritual, family} life right now...

• I've been too tired and busy to exercise or run for the past two days......and I've eaten waaaay too much chocolate...and I've squirted cool-whip into my kids mouths so many times lately it's become an expectation instead of a special treat...

• Levi has become a biter. You might be laughing that I'm highlighting this as something imperfect in our house, but I've never had a biter. Ethan and Karis were such a breeze as munchkins. So far Natalie has been his choice victim. Since he doesn't have many words to express himself yet, if she really makes him mad (which she's good at doing) he just clamps on. He got her right on the Achilles' tendon and left a mark for two weeks! I keep warning the workers in the nursery at church and MOPS, hoping he won't pull this there!
  
  


• My peace about some things in life (ie...being done having babies) has become a bit "blurry" these days. I know it's directly related to the fact that Levi turned two this past Saturday and doesn't really fit into that baby category anymore. I'm just feeling this really strong longing for another baby right now. I find myself asking why God would put this desire in my heart, but not put us in a position where we feel like we have the resources for another. Which leads me to ask whether we just haven't trusted God enough. Which leads me to ask where the line is between trusting and testing God. Which leads me to ask whether this desire is, in fact, not from God, but from that selfish part of me that Satan still holds on to and uses to take my eyes off of God and what He has for me.
  
  
• I usually grocery shop every two weeks and keep the freezer stocked, but I completely ran out of bread this week without realizing we had NO more. I had to make Mark's PB&J sandwich with the heel of the loaf the other day.
  
  
• It's been kind of a grump-fest with this girl the past couple of days. All of her clothes irritate her, which has led to major meltdowns before school and gymnastics (and, of course, this doesn't bring out the best in her mama), she's having a hard time sharing with the little two, she's fallen off her bike, she complains about what she has to eat for dinner...
  We've noticed that much of this usually stems from our parenting short-comings. She has a real need for her voice to be heard and to feel accepted...when we're not giving her the positive attention she wants (and usually deserves)...she gets grumpy.
  
  
• Our house is a mess. This is the third morning I've woken to this mess in the family room:
  

Those are Levi's shorts from Wednesday still laying on the floor today.

The kids have actually played really good amongst this mess...they've gotten along extraordinarily well, even though I think it would be so extremely irritating to play in this chaos. Last night at dinner, I had to consciously turn my body away from this room so I didn't feel that wave of anxiety that usually comes over me looking at something like this.

So, yah. Just wanted to let you see that I don't have it all together, even though I kind of doubt you thought I did. I did dust my downstairs furniture and clean a shower this week, though. Woohoo for me!!

I am Redeemed

I am redeemed. The sinful life I was destined to lead was bought for the ultimate price and exchanged for freedom. As a mother, I do not even want to think about sacrificing the life of one of my children to save the life of another, let alone all of mankind - especially when it breaks my heart just to see them in pain. How is it possible that God loves me so much that He would give up His perfect son to be beaten and crucified . . . and how could Christ agree to leave heaven for this earth . . . for me? I cannot comprehend this love, yet I am convicted to respond to it. There is a hymn that proclaims a love as divine as this demands my soul, my life, my all. Since I am redeemed by Him, I must live my life for him.

Zoo Trip

I took the kids to the zoo yesterday since they're on Spring Break. We were wishing Mark could have joined us, but, alas, no spring break for him...plus he needed to get some golfing in for one of his teaching recertification classes.

It was the PERFECT day...beautiful sunshine, high 60's...and the kids were amazing. I forgot the tires on the jogger needed air and were basically completely flat, so I thought it was going to end up being a really long day as we started off. Thankfully, the first aid center/miantenance staff is super nice and helpful and hooked me up with an air pump!!

Cleveland Zoo is a lot of walking with a lot of hills...but they were troopers, even up the big hill to see the gorillas and sharks. I'm still exhausted this morning (although that might be partly due to the fact that Ethan was up all night coughing and when he wasn't up, Levi was...) from pushing various combinations of kids in the stroller. At one point Ethan and Karis were riding, while Natalie and Levi walked. Even in a jogger, 110 lbs is a load!

Here are some pics from our fun day: