Let The People Praise Him

Psalm 67

God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us,
That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Mornings bring a peaceful beauty, untouched by the day. I let the dog out and stand on the back steps admiring the dew on the grass, the fog in the air, the birds chirping from the trees. Have you ever noticed how joyful they are when they wake up?

Sometimes I make it out to the garden in the calm, but more often the day has already started and my two sidekicks run along the fence with me.

I can’t get over the beauty. How do melons and squash plants know to send their little tendrils out, curling around anything they feel? Their spirals captivate me.

In years past, I tried to maintain tomato plants within the wire cages - this year, I have some in cages and one gorgeously unruly tomato plant sprawling across its bed. I look at it and laugh, and I am learning that plants are designed to grow. They know what to do, I’m just the assistant.

What a gift it is, that the earth would yield her increase. We harvest cucumbers and thank God between bites for each one, a means of provision for our family.

Let all the people praise You, O God; let men and women and children see Your handiwork and give You glory. You are a good God, and a wonderful Creator!

Wings || Guest Post

Written by my dear friend Katie, mama of five and faithful follower of the Lord. Katie girl - thanks for letting me share your words. ;)
You can get a glimpse of her beautiful life here; you’ll be encouraged.

***

I reach a point during the day - usually before 10am - where I wish I could grow wings and fly away.

Far away from the constant screaming. The fighting between siblings. The noise and clamor.

And when there is a brief moment of peace, there will always be the never-ending questions from inquisitive little toddlers. Multiple demands for juice. And the diaper changes. The many, many diaper changes.

I find myself only saying the words, “What is it?” “Don’t do that.” “Stop it.” “Not right now.” “Please wait.” I forgot what it is like to put complete thoughts and sentences together.

My heart is racing purely because I am on high alert. The adrenaline is rushing through my system at the sound of each shrill scream. Who is hurt? Who hurt who? Who needs discipline? How should I discipline? “Give me wisdom, Lord.”

My head is pounding. Another pregnancy migraine. I wish I could rest. And so I lie down on my unmade bed, hoping the children will realize I need a moment. Maybe the show I put on for them will keep them distracted for 30 minutes. But they find me. Rest is over. “Give me Your solace, Lord.”

I set the four kids up with dominos and Magna Tiles in the play room. They are playing peacefully. I slip away for 2 minutes to take a quick shower before the speech therapist arrives. But not even a minute in, I hear the toddler crying, and big sister close behind her. I get out of the shower, dripping wet, ready and armed to comfort and correct. “Give me gentleness, Lord.”

Crisis over for now. I glance at my phone, purely out of habit. Maybe something will distract me. There is a message on my blog from a woman who just found [my Facebook] page. She is reaching out with questions. I wish I had the answers for her, but I don’t even have the headspace to open up the message. If I turn my back for one second, or set my attention on my phone for longer than one moment, I don’t know what might happen. Chaos. And so I stay focused. In the moment. My eyes fixed on the children and their needs. The message will have to wait for later. “Give me purpose, Lord.”

My mind is working overtime, all the time - but then why am I drawing blanks all day? Why can I not be creative with the kids? I have no energy. It takes every bit of it out of me just to stay calm, present, in the here and now. Lunch on the table, dishes washed, children clean. I play peaceful piano music in the living room, desperate to bring an atmosphere of peace and calm to my home. But the music becomes just another annoyance, another noise to bear, and I end up shutting it off after only one song. “Give me Your peace, Lord.”

As I write, a child is crying. I don’t know why, but can probably guess.

Yes, I wish I could fly away and be at rest.

But here is where I am.

In the noise, in the chaos, in the unsettled.

I am undone.

My world is not right side up right now.

And yet in this place, I worship. I bow down, I lay down every burden, and I lift up my voice. I let go. I cry from the depths of my soul, “God, You are good! I love You! I worship You!” My voice weakens as the tears close up my throat. I drop to my knees, and am overcome by an immense, overwhelming realization that God loves me and is enough for me. In my mess. In my weakness. He is there, and He is ready to uphold me with strength in my soul.

He gives me wings. His wings of courage. Peace. Joy. Strength. My feet do not budge from this earth, but my spirit is lifted high. In this place of worship, I break free from every burden that would wish to weigh me down. Every lie from the enemy that would make me question His love and care for me. Every wrong attitude that would cause me to look at my children and despise my motherhood.

I have to go back to this place every day, this secret place with the Lord. My prayer closet. My resting place. It doesn’t look like what it used to. It is not always a physical place, but a place I go to when my heart is overcharged, and spirit overwhelmed.

Before children, my times with Jesus were carefully carved out every day. Some would call it “morning devotions” or “quiet time.” I sat in my clean bedroom, candle lit, hot tea in hand. Open Bible and pen ready to journal all the things I had on my heart. My mind was fresh and clear. There was no noise or clamor outside my bedroom door. Those days are but a distant memory to me.

But now. Now, the desperation I have for God to speak to me, to comfort me, to uphold me in the middle moments brings me to a different kind of “quiet time.” In this place, He meets me while I wash dishes. While I change the 10th diaper of the day. While I break up another argument. While I want to hide my face in the covers, blocking out the noise. While I simply do the next thing.

Have you met with Him today? Has your trouble made you run into His arms? Is He your hiding place and your shelter from every storm?

In this this place, you will find your wings to fly. Perhaps not away from your trouble, but towards sweet Jesus. Let Him be your song in the night. Your light in the darkness. Your joy in the mourning.

You can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

"I said, Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest… As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice. Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken."
Psalm 55

Serving Him

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Colossians 3:23-24

“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:14

What are you doing today? Washing dishes? Changing diapers, making beds, doing laundry? Working at an office or from home? Watching birds out your window?

Our day has been full of this, that, and the other. Cleaning orange juice spots off the floor, washing sheets and blankets, working on lessons and organizing rooms, building forts and train tracks. I finished folding laundry and sat down for a minute, thinking about these verses.

Some of what I’ve done today will be seen, mostly by my husband and children. Some of it won’t be seen by anyone besides the Lord. This used to annoy me; why do things if no one will ever see them?! Oh, my prideful heart.

God sees what is done, always. And it is Him that I am serving - I want to please Him. Will He care if I lined up the corners of my kids’ pants just right when I folded them? Eh, probably not. But, will He care about my attitude while I did all these mundane chores? You betcha. Did I scrub the floor willingly, or did I bemoan the fact that my kids wanted to dance instead of sit with their drippy little popsicles? Did I throw an internal fit because the house is trashed, or did I take a deep breath and smile because it will be back to normal tomorrow?

All that we do is seen by our Lord. It is a gift, if you think about it - He is not absent from our days, for better or for worse! God, the Lord - the one who will someday welcome us into Heaven, not because of anything we’ve done but because of His Son’s sacrifice. What a joy it is to serve Him! Serve Him well today, friends. :)

The Guide Book || Friday Magnify

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

Parenting is daunting. We are given little humans to learn about and teach and disciple…and then they get big enough to be out on their own.

Countless times I’ve heard something to the effect of, “Phew, I hope they turn out alright!” as if a parent has no impact on who a child becomes. This is discouraging!

While it’s true we don’t control our children, and they do make decisions of our own - parenting isn’t a lottery game, throwing in some good lessons here and there and hoping they come out valuable. I think we’ve forgotten that we do in fact have a guide book for raising our children - Scripture!

Scripture gives us adults guidelines to live by; it shows us how to conduct ourselves and how to interact with others. It is the basis for how a Christian ought to live.

If it works for adults, why wouldn’t it work for children - who are growing into adults?

This seems like such an obvious thing to say, but we easily forget that Scripture is just as applicable to a child as it is to an adult. We want our children to grow into mature, Godly men and women. That means we need to be intentional while they are young to teach them God’s Word and hold them to His standards. We diligently teach and train them, and pray that the Lord stirs their hearts to recognize their need for a Savior.

A Christian home that is based on Scripture yields much good fruit! It takes Mom and Dad prioritizing reading Scripture on their own, and figuring out how to apply God’s principles to the family unit. It takes a lot of patience, hard work, and perseverance. It takes forgiveness, gentleness, and kindness. It is not an easy thing, but it is a good and noble task and one that our Heavenly Father calls us to.

We are immensely blessed to have God’s Word to guide us and help us as parents. We get to learn from the one perfect Father. We get to share His rules, His mercy, and His love with our children, and they get to taste Christian fellowship in their home. All gifts! I am so thankful.

If you want more practical tips and experiences of how to apply Scripture to your family’s life, I highly suggest listening to some of the podcasts on my Resources page. Our family has been hugely blessed by the content of these faithful believers! :)