Order & Chaos || Friday Magnify

 “Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.”
Psalm 34:3

Have you noticed that God is a God of order?

We see it in flowers, in the patterns of geese, in human DNA. We see it in the plans He set for the Temple in the Old Testament; we see it in how He asks us to make right our own sins before pointing out someone else’s, and in the way we go about solving relational issues (Matt. 18).

We see His order in how He arranged the planets, in math and science as we study, in baked goods as we experiment to create.

There is order everywhere if we look close enough, and it makes beautiful what seems like chaos. In fact, even chaos has order and structure to it.

Now, hold up. I was planning to write this about the need for order and structure in our homes as a magnification of who God is. Rhythms and routines are necessary for many reasons. Structure is crucial for us and our kids.

But what about spontaneity? And what about when chaos ensues? Well, God is pretty good at adding some spontaneity and chaos in the mix. Even though He is the Master of order! Ever wash your floors and then the dog and kids stomp through with mud? Or, have plans for a weekend and then your toddler ends up in the ER?

So, life happens and we smile and do the next thing.

Gets me thinking about the whole order-our-homes thing.

As my wise husband pointed out, a proper order of priorities is more important than a focus on keeping the home orderly.

In his words, “is the house tidy and the kids well behaved, but there is envy and bitterness? Better a tornado touched the house than that.”

Our priorities have to be right before God. First and foremost, are we spending time in His Word and prayer? All else is lost if we aren’t faithful with this. Our daily lives are 100% affected by what we believe about Him.

We can better keep our homes when we study and learn who He is. He will influence our decisions. We can better teach our children when we are fed by His Word; we can put a quick stop to any envy or bitterness or other sin trying to creep in. Much better a home made of forts with children who know how to share than an Instagram-worthy room void of [angry] children because Mom won’t let them touch the armchair. And vice-versa: better a home that is kept both in looks and hearts than a home that is disheveled and unruly in the same ways.

Our priorities must be in the right place, not just our decor.

May we take joy in how He orders and scrambles life, and may our homes magnify Him!

Stopping Up Drips

“The beginning of strife is like releasing water;
Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts.”
Proverbs 17:14

What better example of this than toddlers?! Whether you have multiple children or one, you have probably seen how strife can quickly escalate. It starts as a little thing, and before you turn around there are fists and angry words being thrown.

A little strife is like releasing water – how forceful and damaging it can be! Best to stop up a drip before it turns into a spraying hydrant. Or worse, an ongoing waterfall!

Such practical advice for us moms. When we see strife beginning with our children, we need to be faithful to stop it up quickly. Show them how to de-escalate and think through the situation. If an argument or fight can be avoided, great!

Sometimes the fight has already begun and needs to be addressed. Bringing peace doesn’t mean covering over problems – that would ultimately be detrimental to our children and our households. But it does mean taking the time to assess the issue, help everyone communicate, and lead the children to a good conclusion. Our kiddos need to know how to control emotions and problem solve, taking others’ desires into account. And as our children work through these situations, they will see how they can avoid contention altogether. They will learn how to share, how to talk things through, how to deal with hard things without automatically resorting to an argument or fight.

Easier said than done sometimes, but remember the Proverb. Stop the drip before it becomes a rushing torrent! Think of how this can serve them: handling disagreements in marriage someday, in a healthy and productive way? being able to communicate with a challenging boss? maintaining good sibling relationships instead of drifting away because of a petty miscommunication?

Take heart, God has given you the tools you need in His Word. There will be times a fight cannot be avoided, and you can teach your children how to handle that well. Even when they do their best in a situation that still ends ugly, you can praise them for a good job and help them find comfort in Christ.

Keep their futures in mind as you plod along faithfully. One step at a time, one day at a time. Stop up those drips!

The Rescuer of Souls || Friday Magnify

 “Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.”
Psalm 34:3

We drove over this bridge recently and I hurried to take photos to send to a friend. She moved away from most winter things - naturally I have to tease with a [blurry] photo of the snow she doesn’t get to see anymore. Looking the scene again later, I marveled. The current in this river is very strong, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at the surface. Some areas show the push and pull, but much of it remains placid and untouched.

Reading in Acts 2 this morning, God reminded me of how He works. Peter gave a sermon to a large group of people, many of whom were mocking and skeptical about Peter’s loyalty to Christ. They weren’t sure what to make of recent events (Jesus being crucified). It was a strange time. But here was Peter, having just received the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, and he was preaching to the crowd. The whole crowd understood what he was saying, each in his own language. How could this be? What power was at work in him?

In his sermon, Peter walked the crowd through Scripture that most, if not all, would’ve been familiar with. He showed them how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, and the only Way to be saved.

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (vs.21).

The Jesus whom they had crucified is the One that God made King and Savior.

“When they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (vs. 37)

Can you imagine the angst once they realized the truth? their own sin against the holy God?

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation’” (vs. 38-40).

We learn after these verses that about three thousand souls were saved that day. They saw their depravity and need for a Savior. Wow!

Christianity is the one religion that cannot be stopped. Why? Because it is the only truth. Worship of and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ - that will go on for eternity. God tells us in His Word that one day, all peoples and nations will bow before Him. And one day, sin will be gone for good and we will be left with perfection, worshiping our King.

Just like the river, under the bridge - God is always moving and always working in mighty ways. We may not see it; we may not know what He is up to, and how on Earth He is going to redeem humanity. It looks bleak, and it looks like we are losing the fight. But He is strong, powerful, independent. He does as He wants, and it is good. He is bringing people to Himself even now.

Take heart, friends. We serve the one true God who alone can save, who alone can rescue souls - and He is! Praise Him!

Cling to the Cross

This post has been in the works for what seems like forever. Thoughts have been plentiful, but the wisdom and ability to pull it all together has been a struggle. I can share thoughts, but if they are not governed by God’s Word they will do us no good!

It seems wise to set a foundation, and build upon it. This post will be an explanation and foundation of sorts for the posts to come. I have been praying that each one would be directed by the Lord, used for His glory (please, be praying the same!). Here we go.

We must understand that we are at war. We may have been able to ignore it because life has been easy and comfortable. But, we are at war. It’s not soldiers marching toward each other, at least not at this point; and even then, lines blur. The true war isn’t physical: it’s good versus evil. Truth versus lies. God against Satan. The bigger battle is spiritual.

Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Evil doesn’t play fair. Evil knows no bottom; there is no depth too deep for it to go. But as Christians, we don’t play by Satan’s “rules.” We follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Truth is not spread by cheating, manipulating, complaining, throwing punches, slandering, etc. We don’t get to play dirty.

All that’s going on in America shouldn’t really surprise us. As a people, we have been walking away from the Lord for decades. There comes a time when He removes His protection (see the Israelites) – and I believe this is where we are at. Our country has allowed evil to run rampant. We say homosexuality is fine; lying and cheating are normal; divorce comes with marriage; killing preborn babies is desirable. Did you know that abortion is now the leading cause of death in the USA? How much blood we have on our hands!

“What our nation calls feminism, God calls rebellion. What our nation calls religious diversity, God calls idolatry. What our nation calls reproductive rights, God calls murder. What our nation calls sexual orientation, God calls abomination. What our nation calls enlightenment, God calls darkness.
The only way for our nation to be healed is for her people to come into agreement with God’s Word, repent of wickedness and receive the gracious pardon of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
- Rusty Thomas

We must repent!

We often think the Gospel is just for unbelievers, yet it is crucial to our daily lives as believers. We are not exempt from temptations, and when we give way to sin – we must forsake it. Sin is grievous, evil; so undesirable we should spit out any taste of it. Repent, friends! Turn from sins, little and big, and go back to your Heavenly Father. He is always faithful to forgive. We need to make things right with Him quickly, and move on!

We as a Church must get back to Scripture and sound doctrine. We must be unapologetic about it. There is no other Way. We will be hated by the world – Jesus tells us this:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Again, this is a spiritual battle. People hate Jesus; therefore they hate His Church. I have found that this road, walking with Jesus, is a lonely one. Ironically, I know I’m not the only one – and this will be a later post.

But the intense loneliness, the challenge to discern good from almost-good, the persecution that may come – it is all worth it.

We are heading into rougher waters as a country, no doubt. Things will continue to get hard. But we are given one life, one day at a time and the Lord asks that we use it faithfully for Him. May we not be like those to whom He says, “I never knew you.” May we not think we are following Him if we choose not to read His Word and let it change our lives. We will either stand for Him or we won’t. Our children will see us cling to Him, or they’ll watch us try to cling to crumbling idols.

I am praying you and I will cling desperately to Him. I am burdened that as a whole, the Church has neglected discipleship and as a result many who thought they knew Him are finding that they don’t. There are also many who want to know Him, but don’t know how or where to start. This blog does not replace in-person discipleship, and there are many things I am not qualified to talk about. But I am praying that the Lord would use the words on this website to encourage you and point you to Himself. Upcoming posts will be aimed to do just that (like usual, but He has increased my determination ;)). We need to spur each other on; we have an ever-pressing need for strong, Godly women. May He make us so!

Psalm 113

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.

The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
That He may seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
He grants the barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!