An Act of Worship

This post is from a dear friend, Natalya. Many of you will remember her from her time working with me on Strength & Song. She is expecting her third little boy very soon, and she has humbly sought the Lord’s guidance on how she views pregnancy. I hope you are as blessed as I was reading her words!

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So often, it is easy to view worship as something we reserve for singing of songs or prayer. But worship is an attitude of the heart – “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me…” Matthew 15:8-9a. I could be singing my heart out, eyes closed and arms raised, and my heart could very well be far from Him.

A few months ago, as I began planning the arrival of our third baby, I desired to view the entire birth as an act of worship to the Lord. So often we view birth as a scary, painful, and unpleasant thing to get over with so we can have our baby safe in our arms. I don’t want to have that mindset this time around – I want to intentionally lean in to the Lord and experience the miracle of birth as a form of worship to the Sustainer and Author of life. Preparing for the birth has changed from simply making sure I have all the supplies I need and arrangements made to praying about how I can incorporate scripture and praise into the time of labor, how can I and those in the room supporting me have a mindset of worshipful peace and awe of the Lord.

Praying through this has led to conviction. I have had a doozy of a pregnancy. From the very beginning, I have suffered from numerous complications that have crippled me physically, mentally, and emotionally. When I became pregnant, I was at the healthiest physical state I have ever been, and going from that to feeling broken and empty and so very helpless despite my best efforts has been demoralizing and humbling. I realized through the Holy Spirit that I have been viewing the birth as something to worshipfully surrender to the Lord, but the pregnancy itself as something to get through and bemoan and even detest. Is that a heart of worship? God is sovereign. He could have given me a blissful, enjoyable maternity experience. I would have praised His name. He chose not to. Does that mean He is less worthy of my praise? Indeed not.

My prayer is that I will take this conviction, repent of my lack of worship in the midst of suffering, and move forward in this pregnancy with a heart of worship and awe at the goodness of God, despite the trials of life. My body may be failing me in so many ways, but God will never fail me! His strength is enough.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.
Psalm 73:26

Ask the Lord to search your heart and bring to light areas that you are withholding from Him. What in your life are you failing to offer to the Lord in worship? Is it your marriage? Your relationships? Parenting? Your career? It is simple to change that mindset. I pause and humble my heart before Him and pray, “Lord, how can I bring you glory in this situation/season/circumstance? Show me how to have a heart of worship even though this is something I don’t want to have in my life right now. Please turn it into something that can be used for Your glory and to further Your kingdom. You are worthy.”

For a biblical understanding of what worship is, I recommend reading this article from John Piper.

The inner essence of worship is to know God truly and then respond from the heart to that knowledge by valuing God, treasuring God, prizing God, enjoying God, being satisfied with God above all earthly things. And then that deep, restful, joyful satisfaction in God overflows in demonstrable acts of praise from the lips and demonstrable acts of love in serving others for the sake of Christ.
John Piper

Stranger Danger

Recently I took my kids to a lake that I grew up going to with my family. Little by little they waded into the water, until they were happily swimming up and down the roped-off area. A couple other youngsters swam in and out of the area we were in, talking and laughing along with us. One little girl, we’ll call her Jesse, latched on and stuck with us for a couple hours.

We made small talk and chatted about what foods we liked and didn’t like. She showed us tricks she could do, like underwater handstands and how long she could hold her breath. We smiled and cheered her on. Then we decided to swim out deeper, so the kids could touch the buoys on the rope. Her face fell when she realized she couldn’t swim that far solo and didn’t have an adult to accompany her. We figured it out and she took my hand, scared but wanting to conquer the challenge. She did it, minor freak-out and all.

When we got back into a shallow spot, she asked if we wanted some burgers.

“My mom’s boyfriend is making some, and we can share them,” she said happily. “But just not to strangers. I can only share with people I know. Not strangers. Cuz you know, stranger danger!”

I hid my surprise behind a smile.

Oh sweetheart, we are still strangers!

I tried not to show her my pain for her, having watched over the course of the morning how her mom was more interested in her boyfriend than her daughter. Her mom’s actions were not unnoticed by this sweet six-year-old girl.

But it got me thinking, as most things do.

Are there times in my life as a believer that I am happily into a situation or sin, unaware that I am supposed to be estranged from it? Am I looking for bigger, more obvious signs of “stranger danger” before taking necessary precautions?

Maybe it’s the small outburst of anger that I rationalize; it wasn’t that bad, I didn’t yell that loud.

Or a little white lie; literally everyone exaggerates. Literally. everyone.

Maybe it’s an extra nag here and there for my husband; he hates when I nag, but…

What is my standard? Is my standard what the rest of the world is doing, or even what my Christian friends are doing?

My standard should be the Word of God and how He tells me to live my life. Little sins add up quick on a slippery slope, and He tells us to flee them altogether. Don’t even get comfortable with them.

When we are tempted in the small things, let’s remember this verse:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14

May even the smallest thoughts and actions be pleasing to Him; may we love what He loves, hate what He hates. He is our strength, and our Redeemer!

And if you think of it, please lift Jesse up in prayer. God knows her by name - her mama and mama’s boyfriend too. Please pray that He will turn each of them to Himself, that they will repent of their sins and be given everlasting life. Pray that they will soak up His Word and thrive. Thank you. :)

His Care of Creation || Friday Magnify

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

If you look closely on the left leaf, you’ll see a little black dot. You may be familiar with what it is - this is a common childhood experience! The dot is the head of a caterpillar, ready to come out of its egg. Our neighbor offered us some of her milkweed a few days ago; she had noticed eggs on the leaves and wanted my kids to have the chance to watch them hatch and grow. (Another thanksgiving of mine this week - our thoughtful neighbor.)

In the last two days we have watched the three itty bitty eggs hatch, and three itty bitty caterpillars emerge and start eating the milkweed leaves. They will grow and grow until they decide it’s time to stop and make a cocoon. Not long after that we will, hopefully, watch them emerge as Monarch butterflies!

How much of life happens around us when we are about our own business?! I could never possibly keep track of it all, and yet our God does. He watches over every single person on the planet, as well as every other living thing. So much happens in the spaces we rarely see. But He sees it, and never loses sight of any of it. He holds each part of our universe together, in just the right way. How incredible, how vast His reach!

This week I am humbled by His creativity and care for creation. And so very thankful He lets us be part of it and learn about what He has made and kept. Stop this weekend and take a peek at the world around you - may it renew your awe of Him!

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen -
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O Lord our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 8:3-9

Giving Good Gifts

“‘Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’”
Matthew 7:9-11

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“I’m going downstairs to work on sharpening,” my husband said as he walked by me. “This kitchen knife is dull, right?”

I nodded, and thanked him in advance for sharpening it. The boys bounded down the stairs after him.

A few minutes later, my oldest came back up and started rummaging around in the living room.

“Mom,” he said as he walked back into the kitchen with a paper. “I need some tape, I’m folding this together to make it thick so Dad can test the knife on it.”

That’s pretty unnecessary, I thought as I grabbed the tape.

“Here bud.” I handed him a piece of tape and put the roll away.

“Mom, I need more,” he said.

“You really don’t…it’ll hold together just fine, and then Daddy will tear it.”

“Yeah but Mom,” he pointed to the sides. “I need a piece here and here.”

I reluctantly pulled two more pieces off the roll and gave them to him.

“Thanks Mom!” he beamed and raced back to the basement.

I turned and went back to cooking, realizing how stingy I can be.

If your son asks for bread, will you give him a stone? God is good at giving good gifts.

I didn’t want to waste tape on a paper that would be ripped up - but, really? An extra piece of tape wasn’t going to be a problem.

My children come to me and ask for things all the time. It’s a normal part of childhood, yes? If we, being sinful people, know how to give our children good gifts - how much more God gives good gifts to us. He is our perfect Father!

But after this interaction with my son, I realized I need to take a better look at how God gives me good gifts. There are times I am not as generous with my kids as God is with me. God provides food, clothing, sunshine; He gives us rain to grow crops; He graces our days with laughter and joy; He leads us to good books and podcasts and conversations with friends. He gives us encouragement through unexpected forms, and some of the material possessions He brings us are simply to put a smile on our faces. We have so much to thank Him for, He is infinitely generous!

When our kids come and ask for something, how do we respond? Do we answer out of laziness or apathy? Do we guilt them and withhold things because they haven’t been “good enough” that day? (If there is disobedience or an icky attitude, deal with it right away so that the relationship is restored asap. Repentance and forgiveness. Done. Can you imagine if God withheld His mercy and goodness from us like we sometimes do with our kids?!)

Sometimes we don’t recognize things as being a gift. To me, it was just a piece of tape being wasted on a paper. To my son, it was a necessary adhesion so that he could make his dad proud. It might be just a book, just five minutes of your time, just a glass of water, just a trip to the store, just ______. But to our children, it is often much more.

We have the perfect role model when it comes to giving good gifts. May we humbly ask Him to make us like Himself, and then look for ways to bless our children. We can learn from the best and be good at this!