Getting My Knees Dirty

I come to the computer today, not because I have anything wonderful to share. More because I have a heavy heart and need to collect my thoughts. I just finished a craft project I found on Pinterest of a prayer board. I told God I want to get serious about praying for people in my life. So, I have been faithfully praying for the needs of my family and my friends lately.  Well, as the saying goes, “When it rains, it pours,” I have found to be so true. It's time to get my knees dirty.  I have prayers for exhausted Mommy’s wishing their babies would sleep through the night, prayers for women who long to be Mommy’s (& could honestly care less if they slept through the night, if only to hold a baby in their arms), healing for so many women in my life with cancer (7 to be exact), a friend’s newborn baby is hospitalized with bronchitis/RSV, two family members in surgery this morning, another family member is waiting for test results, and a very dear friend just miscarried her baby after several months trying to get pregnant.  Whew! With my heart burdened by so many prayer needs I am thrown to my knees crying out to a Father who hears.

         I have been asked by some friends lately what it looks like to guard our minds from anxiety. It’s in the storm of all of this that I recognize my choice. A choice to walk in anxiety, fret and be overwhelmed by each persons need. I could do this, however, the list is quite long today and frankly, I can’t carry that kind of burden! I can’t make it better for any one of them. Sure, I can bring a meal, deliver some flowers, send a card. Often I do these things. However, without the God of the Universe… the Creator of Life, uplifting their spirits and giving them peace, my thoughtful outreach will be only bring a seconds worth of, “That’s nice someone cares,” to their minds. It might bring a temporary smile, but at the end of the day it’s going to take a lot more than a card to find healing through such hard things life can throw at us.

Thankfully, I know my God. I know through good times and bad times HE is the one who carries us through. He does not let anything come into our lives without filtering them through His hands first. And yet, sometimes people we love more than anything die. Sometimes bad things happen and we are punched in the stomach unable to breathe. I don’t pretend to claim being a follower of Jesus is easy. With or without God in your life, hard things happen. I just don’t understand how people who don’t know God get through them. Walking through infertility, loosing my father-in-law so unexpectedly to cancer, all of these recent hard times would have been impossible to bear without God’s Word and Spirit sustaining me.

So what do we do when life does punch us in the stomach and we begin to gasp for air? You know, that sobbing so hard you’re hyperventilating and snot is flying everywhere kind of cry? We’ve all been there or will be there at some point in life. It is often in these rock-bottom seasons where God picks us up, draws us to his chest and rocks us until we can catch our breath again.

It’s not that our lives weren’t fragile before, it’s just that lately God is letting me see these needs of my family and friends as He sees them. His heart aches as He watches us grieve, get scared, frustrated and weary. He longs for us to put our full weight on Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 says:

6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

         Sometimes this is easier said than done. But today for me, it’s a choice. I am going to replace the heavy heart I have for the overwhelming prayer needs of those I love with the truth that God is able to handle our greatest concerns. I will tell Him each of them and thank Him for the ways He has provided in the past. And finally, I will ask Him for His peace & trust that He will guard my mind and heart from worry (and also the minds and hearts of those I’m lifting up in prayer).  Because at the end of the day, my card or flowers can only do so much. It’s going to take the Spirit of the Living God to handle the rest. 

-What is worrying your heart today? Have you talked to God about your needs? 

-Ask Him today for peace and to guard your heart from worry.

By the way: 1) Apparently, I once started a blog back in 2010 with 9 posts in it. Haha, no but seriously, has it really been this long since I last blogged? 2) Please tell me some of you have done this before too? "I'm gunna start a blog!" Start it then drop it a few months later. 3)No one even reads this anyway, so who cares.

charlotte's prayer room

I was on vaca last weekend with some old friends from college in Charlotte, NC. Two of them live there and took us to this amazing prayer room right in the middle of the city. It's an urban prayer room designed and ran by a bunch of churches who came together to set-up a space for people to come and spend time with God. This place was A-mazing! There were so many different rooms and little nooks to sit and read your Bible or pray and even larger areas for small groups to go to. Some dude was playing his guitar and singing to God, another station was setup for people to do their art work. Definitely something I would LOVE to start-up in Flint. Check it out:

http://www.charlotte24-7.com/prayer-room.html

Mel's Media Update

This never really happens, but it's always encouraging when someone at work passes along an awesome Christian artist that rocks my world. Well, for me this began a new liking to a young woman's music. Her name is Kari Jobe.

http://karijobe.com/index.php

As for me, its been a while since I've posted. Spring/early summer seemed to give me writers block. Not that I'm much of a writer, but... you know how it goes.

Currently reading, "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and so far it's amazing! To be honest, I origionally picked up the book because of the title. I read it and said, "all three of these things describe me so well! I enjoy them all, sometimes equally." haha. Can't wait for the movie to come out, starring the world's greatest actress, of course, Ms. Julia Roberts! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZzmqHJ0gPU

Mya Turns 1!

I can't believe my niece, Mya, is already 1 year old! This past year was so much fun watching her grow from such a little peanut into a beautiful toddler. Her bright blue eyes and content attitude light up my day! Here's some highlights from her party, complete with heaps of presents, a princess birthday tutu and of course, chocolate cake!

!

PS- how adorable is my husband with all those kiddos!

To Live

Found this quote today that hit the nail on the head for my desire to live out this symphony. Thank's William for your deep thoughts. Ha

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly... to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; await occasions, hurry never.. this is my symphony." ~ William Henry Channing

Beautiful.

blowing our coat

It's that time again... Juneau has begun her bi-annual husky ritual of "blowing her coat." All Siberian Husky owners can relate to my pain. It's messy, hair is everywhere and it happens twice a year (spring & fall). She doesn't blow it all at once though. She starts in little patches on the shoulder area of her front & back legs and as the weeks go by (3-4 wks) she continues to blow in other areas. And so it's begun! Last year our new neighbors probably loved us. We'd take her in the back yard and brush her crazy for a whole hour. The hair she didn't try to eat (don't ask me why she does that, some sick game of hers I suppose, would end up blowing off the deck and floating into the neighbors yard! I'd just sigh and pray the wind would keep blowing it far so they'd not trace it back to me! haha

I was having a conversation with an awesome friend of mine recently about needing to re-evaluate boundaries in our lives. How sometimes, as women (and people pleasers) we struggle to say no and end up involved in too many things at once. This leads us to over-commit and therefore feel torn and exhausted trying to do too much at once. I wish there was this bi-annual cleansing time where we just blow our coat...

What I mean is, what if all our commitments were 'blown off' us, we can actually focus our eyes back on the Lord and re-evaluate which commitments are worthy of our time and which... well, are not. Which will store up for us eternal value... and which will when blown off, will just end up in a neighbors yard. Watching our hair clumps in someone else's yard may seem messy, but sometimes it's okay to say no when God has something greater in store for you!

May we take this time of spring cleaning to blow our coats in a way that allows God the freedom to guide and re-direct our schedules, commitments and time. He is so worthy of that role. If that seems at all scary for you, just rest assured in this wonderful promise:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God longs to guide us into those commitments that will prosper us, and give us a hope and a future in Him. What an awesome truth to claim in our lives when we just seem pulled in too many directions to find a center upon Him! Let's keep seeking, trusting and not be afraid to blow our coats this spring!

ski crazy

So, I've been asking my hubby to take me skiing for years now and finally this winter I went for the first time in my whole life! I had SO much fun and amazed myself that it came easier to me than I'd thought it would. Can't believe I waited 25 years to do something I love so much... and now, all our snow has melted. First time I've ever been sad to see it gone. :)