Words of Love

03. February 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: ,

I remember well those shoe boxes turned mail holders. We decorated them with red and pink papers, making sure our name was clearly labeled on the outside. It was the popular kids who always seemed to get the most cards. I still remember noticing how few were given to the outcasts of the class.

These days, teachers have students bring in cards for each person in the class, ensuring no one is left out. My son’s preschool class is having a party soon. I head to the store and browse the Valentine’s Day aisle. I look at all the cute gifts splattered with hearts. I read the sayings of love stamped onto sour heart candies and lollipops. The selection of cards with favorite television and movie characters on them is abundant, making it hard to choose.

I think about the people who probably have no one to whom they will give or receive a card. For many, holidays like this only remind them of times they have been hurt by love. I wonder how many walk by the card aisle and flinch as old wounds open up fresh. I consider those who have never even had words of love spoken to them, much less received a card.

Love, as defined and lived out in our world, often leaves hearts empty.

To read the rest of my post, visit CSAHM.

New Creations

27. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: , ,

Sometimes you need to take a hard fall to realize you’ve gone down the wrong path.

Overwhelmed by life, I am tired and irritable. The littlest things with the kids set my teeth on edge. Tears well up and threaten to break through the dam I try so hard to keep standing. Yet it seems that no matter how hard I try, it’s not enough.

It’s been a few weeks since I identified my verse and word to describe my hopes for this new year.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

This verse and the word “quiet” is what my heart needs most this year. I need to rest in the presence of God. I need to be infused with His love and grace and know this grace at a deeper and deeper level. I need to weed out and purge those things which keep me from being still before Him.

I haven’t made it very far.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

Mercy for a New Day

20. January 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: , , ,

I put the words from Lamentations on the top of my secretary where I pass by it each morning.

The desk is the one I bought at an antique shop while traveling in Tennessee. My heart loves old things. I love to imagine who used it and the letters they may have penned to love ones while sitting at the desk. Not long after I purchased it, it fell over in the back of my van. It seemed to have broken at every joint-at every place where one piece of wood joined another. Looking like a jumble of puzzle pieces, I didn’t think it would ever be whole again. That Christmas, my husband and father-in-law spent the day gluing and securing the desk back together, one piece at a time.

I walk by these words each morning after I awaken. I look at the desk and it reminds me that all things broken can be made whole.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM, my writing home today.

The One Goal Worth Setting

13. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: God's still working on me, Spiritual Growth · Tags: , , , ,

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions? Have you looked back over the past year and found areas in your life you want to change? Perhaps it is to get organized. Or maybe you want to lose the weight gained over the holidays. Spiritually speaking, maybe you want to read through the Bible this year. In writing this post about the new year, I contemplated writing about setting goals. I considered sharing how to set broad goals followed by specific objectives and then determining the practical steps needed to take to reach those goals. Then I realized, everyone is writing about setting goals. Blogs, television, social networking sites, and twitter are all abuzz about making resolutions for this new year.

Since this site’s audience is intended for Christian stay-at-home moms, our thoughts on a new year ought to be a bit different from the world’s view on making resolutions. Don’t misunderstand, it’s not as though Christians don’t set goals. It’s not as though we shouldn’t strive to be healthy or get organized. (I know that I for one ate more chocolate during December than I did the rest of the year.) It’s just that we know where the power and strength comes from for producing change in our lives.

Making lists, writing resolutions and creating objectives has no power to change us this year.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

New Beginnings

06. January 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags:

Ornaments are packed and stored away for next year. The Christmas cd’s are placed back in their cases. Those cute hand towels dotted with snowmen are folded and placed in the back of the linen closet. Christmas is past and a new year has begun.

I love new things. I always loved getting a new pencil box before a new school year started. I also love the feel of a new book, whose cover has never been opened. There’s something about the newness of something brand new that holds anticipation for all the possibility it holds. The pencil box with newly sharpened pencils holds great possibility for all that’s to be learned. A new book promises a new adventure either in learning or with new characters.

With a new year upon us, there can be great expectation and possibility there too. A new year brings with it an opportunity to start over, to make changes and begin afresh. What does this new year have in store for you? Perhaps new goals? Hope for change? Adventures to anticipate?

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

On Wounds and Humility

30. December 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Depression, God's still working on me, Spiritual Growth · Tags: ,

Have you ever been emotionally wounded by someone you know? Perhaps someone close to you-a friend or family member?

The pain of hurtful words seem to hurt more when done by a friend than a foe. I’ve experienced these wounds a few times over the past couple of years. The unkind words spoken cut deep and occasionally, still if picked at and pondered over, still bleed fresh.

Wounds that haven’t been cleaned can become infected. I’ve had heart wounds that have become infected and spread straight to my mind and soul. The thoughts in my mind about past wounds suffered by friends are like invasive cells. They spread lies quickly, feeding off my wounds. Each thought builds upon another as even older wounds from long ago injuries spring to mind. The lying thoughts and beliefs about myself resurface saying, ”You’re no good. Why would anyone want to be your friend?” Like a deadly bacteria that travels the blood stream, threatening a person’s very life, believing these lies can cause serious damage to my heart.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

Humility and the Love of the Gospel

23. December 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: ,

Humility is a difficult topic to write about. Once you think you know something about it, then you begin to lack it. The only way I can begin to understand the concept of humility is in light of the gospel of grace- for there it plays a very significant role.

Humility is the exact opposite of what Israel expected of its Messiah. Humility is the opposite of our heart’s natural bent. God likes to do things beyond what we expect and He uses means we would never imagine.

Jesus was born, not in a palace, but in a manger. His first disciples were simple, uneducated fishermen. He ate meals with sinners and tax collectors. Unlike the foxes and birds He created, He never owned His own bed. He washed feet and taught His followers to turn the other cheek.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

Freedom in Humility

16. December 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: , ,

Humility is a frequent topic discussed around our house. My oldest is quite bright and that brightness combined with being the elder sibling, creates a combination widely known as a “know it all.” Not only does he boss around his younger brother, but he corrects adults as well.

Humility is hard for all of us. We all want to be viewed by others positively. We want to see ourselves as better than others. It’s the core of our heart problem. We want first place. Lack of humility made Eve desire to be like God. And its been a human problem ever since.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

On Humility and Christmas

09. December 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: , ,

If you were of royal blood, a king perhaps, and you were sending your child to live somewhere else, what kind of home would you choose for him? Whom would you choose to take care of him while he was there?

I would venture to guess that most of us would choose a grand estate with lavish decor-similar to the home he is leaving. We would also probably choose the best in care- the most experienced, intelligent and highly qualified care taker.

This month, we are looking at the topic of humility. As we begin this season of Advent, this is a timely subject. The story of Christmas is a story of humility.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

Grace in Marriage

06. December 2011 · 3 comments · Categories: marriage · Tags: ,

Mail clutters my counters. There’s a laptop on the kitchen table where I need to set out dishes for dinner. Unfinished bottles of water remain where they were last used: the living room floor, the nightstand, kitchen counter and bathroom counter.

These are just a few things that irritate me.

Are there things your spouse does that irritate you? Little habits and idiosyncracies that you once thought would go away but now you know they never will? It’s irritations like this that can become fuel for a fire. Like the proverbial straw that broke the camel, the small annoyances we have with our spouses can become the very things that start an inferno.

When I see the evidences strewn around that my husband is home, I could stew. I could think thoughts like, “Who does he think I am, the maid?” or “Doesn’t he know how hard I work around the house?” If I don’t capture these thoughts and let them continue to churn in my mind, they will grow larger and more angry. These thoughts are guaranteed to be the spark that lights a fire.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

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