In Our Weakness, He Is Made Strong

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Happy Memorial Day! Go spend it with someone you love.

Guest Post: The Trash Can

Today's guest post comes from the lovely Katy (is it me or is this a really popular name lately?) from scottyboy and katygirl. Katy is such a doll. Her blog is refreshing, full of life and brings a smile to my face with each new post.  Funny how she can do that even when she's convicting me huh?  I hope you enjoy today's post and if you haven't stopped by Katy's blog, do yourself a favor and visit today. You'll be glad you did.

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THE TRASH CAN.
i went on a trip to inner city L.A. in spring of 2004. i was working with college students at the time with Campus Crusade for Christ so i was leading the trip. i had no idea what i was getting myself into! when i left, all i could think about was coming back to san luis obispo - where i lived at the time. i was basically going on the trip because it was a job requirement.

when i drove into the area where we were staying, i wanted to turn right back around. it was ghetto. with a capital g. it was very unsafe. but since i was leading the trip (as a 22-year-old!) leaving was not an option. so i unpacked my car and headed into the church that was housing our group of 20.

the week was laid out for us: we would get a tour of inner-city, clean up some streets, take care of some kids around the neighborhood, and put on a lunch for some homeless people and neighbors around the church. it was an exhausting week. emotionally exhausting, physically exhausting, and just mentally challenging. i can't remember a time that i was more fearful for safety. there was even a drive by shooting right in front of the church we were staying at. i could not wait to get home.

the day of the lunch we set up the driveway of the church. we had tables lined up on both sides full of all sorts of things. each station had a specific item: clothes for you, clothes for your children and family, shoes, food, jackets, etc. the piles on each table were heaping. the tables were set up in a way that each person would end up at the back table which was serving a warm lunch for each person. the lunch table blocked off the rest of the parking lot - it was off limits. all day, each homeless person that walked down that driveway looked like a kid on Christmas morn. their bags were overflowing, stomachs were full, and faces were smiling.

until i met this little old hispanic woman who didn't speak english.

i watched her enter the driveway. watched her take her big bag and go from table to table filling it with each item. watched her drag her heavy and full bag to the lunch table where she got a plate heaping with warm food. i watched her eat it. and then i watched her proceed to sneak behind the tables into the off-limits area of the church driveway. and then i watched her take her overflowing bag and dig in the trash cans looking for more stuff to fill it up.

at first i was mad. wasn't what we gave her enough? what more could she possibly want or need? it didn't make sense. i went to the pastor and told him she was back there. i asked him what i should do. he said i had to go tell her she needed to leave and go back to the front of the driveway. so i mustered up all the courage i had and went and told her the best way i could without speaking her language. i can still see the look on her face when i tapped her on the shoulder. fear. embarrassment. knowing she had been caught in the off-limits section. it was an odd moment for me at 22 years of age.

as soon as she walked away dragging her bag full of anything she wanted from those tables, i walked back inside the church to clear my head for a moment. the minute i sat down in silence on those beat up couches in the basement of that ghetto church, the tears started streaming down my cheeks.

in that moment, i realized that i am the woman with the bag.
i am no different than her.
in fact, most days, i'm worse.

it's like i drag my bag down this driveway with all these tables full of all that God's offering: his forgiveness, his grace, his mercy, his redemption, his SATISFACTION, his contentment, his love, his peace, his JOY. and i take. and i take. and i take.

but somehow: after all that - after my bag is completely full - overflowing, in fact - i find the need to sneak in the back and start digging in the trash. cause for some reason, i don't let God be enough most days. and by trash i mean that i always have to see what else this world can offer me. in the old days, the days before i really understood having a relationship with God, it would have been whatever i wanted or needed at that very moment. but now, now my biggest struggle is approval from others. i like to put it before the Lord. and i feel like when i do, it's a direct slap in His face telling him his overflowing tables are just not enough.

it's a constant battle being satisfied in the Lord only. sometimes it's so much easier to just dig in that trash to see if there's anything else i can get. but HE alone is enough. and the days that i remember that everything He offers is everything i've ever needed are the days that i really get what this life is all about. and those are the days the Lord gets the most glory.


Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.


Thank you so much for your honesty Katy.  I too take and take and take; I pray we can all break free from our compelling desires to consume and rest in Him alone.

I am Second

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Yesterday I found myself driving behind a car with the above bumper sticker. I see these billboards and bumper stickers all the time. But yesterday it made me pause. Immediately I thought, "I'm second too!" Then there was an immediate interrupting thought, "Really? Are you really?" (Uggh, I hate being convicted so quickly.) This got me thinking about my daily life. Do I really put Him first all the time?  I know that when I am parenting with purpose or serving at church I am putting Him before myself; but what about when I'm shopping?  Do I stop to think, "This is His money, not mine. How would He want me to spend it? Am I being thrifty enough so that I can give more? Do I really need this or is He all I need?" 

Not five minutes later I get home and my youngest is overly tired, semi-sick and throwing a fit. Opportunity to put Him first right? Wrong. Selfish desires came in like a locomotive! "Great, now I don't get to go to church." Ouch. Really? I have an opportunity to love on my little and show Him the love of Christ. Man, I can really blow it sometimes... a lot of times.

I'm going to take this as a message from Him to start taking a daily inventory of my thought-life and actions. How often am I really second? What I can I do better tomorrow? Who do I need to go to for forgiveness - in addition to Him?  These are just a few things I'm thinking about and I thought I'd share them with you all. It's my prayer that in this moment, you'll stop and put Him first.

Happy Friday!

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Guest Post: Real Life Romance

Today's guest post from Greta of Lilly and The Brothers should come with a warning label... "Caution: Get tissues before reading." It's an honor to be able to share this reflection on love with you today. I hope you enjoy this deeply personal guest post as much as I did. Thank you so much for sharing Greta.

Real Life Romance
This is real stuff. Hope you don't mind me sharing it with you.
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Yellow ranunculus make me think about when I fell in love.
They were the first flowers Aaron ever brought me.
He was romantic from the very beginning.
He planned us picnics, surprised me with things like a train trip to visit the San Juan Mission and wrote me lots and lots of love letters.
He knew how to woo me.

We've been together now for almost 17 years.
Married for almost 13.
He still brings me flowers and writes me love letters.
Mostly I plan our dates, but sometimes he surprises me still.
But truthfully, the way romance looks in our relationship has changed.
And I think it's better now.
Because it is real.

Having a baby changes things.
It forces you to reveal your true self to your husband in a way you may never have before.
You get fat.
You get stretch marks.
You cry a lot and eat ice cream in bed.
You aren't the girl he fell in love with, always wanting to hold hands and snuggle on the couch.
The 2 of you can't even fit on the couch together anymore.

I wrote this story about one of my favorite memories of Aaron loving me, shortly after James, our first, was born.
I was a weeping, tired, and distraught new mommy.
And Aaron did something far more romantic for me than bring home flowers.
He met me where I was and loved me. (go read it)
Real love is patient.
Real love is kind.

After William, our second, was born, I was in the hospital recovering from a c-section.
Aaron stayed with me the whole time and got to be a part of it all.
Even the parts that I never thought I'd let him be a part of.
After a c-section, you have to have a bowel movement before you can go home.
It's a big deal.
I know, so romantic.
So, there I was, having my big moment, and Aaron was practically in the bathroom with me.
There was no hiding what was going on.
"Way to go babe!" he cheered for me from the adjoining room.
"How embarrassing," I thought.
Later on, I had to ask him to come in the bathroom and change my pad because I couldn't bend over.
Really. Really embarrassing.
Actually, I was mortified.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't need to be.
Because it was real.
Real life and real love is not always pretty.
It is caring for one another even when it's gross, ugly or you really don't want to.
Real love is not self seeking.

Real love is holding your wife in the shower while the tears course down her cheeks and the blood courses down her legs, and you are losing your baby.
It is loving your husband even when you hate him.
Real love is hanging on, saying "I'm sorry", saying "I forgive you" and meaning it.
Real love perseveres.

The other night, Aaron scrubbed the tub.
I didn't ask him to. He just did it.
He knows how hard it is for me to get in there now and really give it a good scrub. I have a pretty huge belly in the way.
Tonight he is going to paint my toe nails.
Romantic?
Maybe not to you.
But to me, right now, it could not be more romantic.

I think about couples who have been married for 40 or 50 years.
I think of the good and bad they have experienced together.
I think of the ugly times and the beautiful times.
I see them together at the store sometimes, walking slowly, helping each other get the shopping done.
I saw them in my grandparents. My grandma cared for my grandpa so lovingly when he could hardly hear anymore, or get out much. She helped him to the bathroom and made him the meals he loved to eat. She did it every day because she loved him.
I see these couples and their wrinkles, their walkers and the way the things that used to matter don't matter so much anymore.

I am just beginning to really learn what that kind of love is.
And it is my greatest hope that someday Aaron and I will be walking slowly through the grocery store together, still holding hands and still in love.
Real love.

This kind of real love has been freely given to me, so that I can freely give it to others.
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13


Show someone you really love them today.
Love from,
Greta

Marriage was created by God to be a reflection of His love. When it does, it's both beautiful and amazing. This post is meant to encourage, lift up and strengthen. I pray that the enemy does not get a foothold with any of you to allow for discouragement or comparison. Marriage is HARD. It takes hard work - daily. In fact, Greta shared with me via email that it has taken a lot of hard work to reach this point in their marriage. Dear readers, if you don't know this kind of love or have a marriage that reflects it, I beg of you to do the hard work needed to attain it. Open up to others in your life about your struggles and hurts. We are not meant to live in isolation.
For all you singles out there - don't worry about not being married. Singleness is a gift too. This is how Christ loves you. Every single minute of every single day. No. Matter. What. Pretty amazing stuff huh?

Broken

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"Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Matthew11:28-29

Guest Post: Apples, Oranges, Bananas or Other Fruit

Parenting is a hard task - at it's best. Hillary Clinton told us, "It Takes a Village." I for one am grateful for the "village" of believers that God has placed in my life through community and those I have at my fingertips through blogland that provide loads of inspiration. Today I'd like to share a post on parenting from a Momma that inspires me with her honesty and injection of humor. Michelle, of Mommy Needs Coffee, is a homeschooling mother of three littles with a great passion for Christ and family.

praying for apples, oranges, and bananas or other fruit…

So daily, in the shower, because that’s where all my good praying happens, I find myself praying for my day with the littles. I really think that the Fruit of the Spirit is included in the Bible as a prayer for Mom’s (or Dad’s!) on how to parent. Just think about it, if we could display the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives in the following ways, we would be such better parents!

Love – this one seems obvious

Joy – Do we parent with joy? Do our kids feel like we are joyful or do we parent from obligation? What could we do within our day to show more joy in our parenting? A lighthearted attitude, choosing our battles, more fun and interaction?

Peace – What do you think it would look like to have peace in your parenting? How would an example of peacefulness change the dynamics of your home and your family?

Patience – Oh yes. Please let me know if you’ve gotten this one down, I could learn from you.

Kindness – Sometimes I think, do I treat my children with the same kindness or even better than I would treat a complete stranger? Sadly, sometimes the answer is no. They deserve the best kindness we have. What is my overall attitude when communicating and working with them?

Goodness – What do you think this would look like in parenting?

Gentleness – Another one that goes along with kindness that I think is really reflected with our responses to our children. Our tone, our touch, our words all reflect gentleness or roughness. I think this one most challenges me because I really want my children to model this one.

Faithfulness – Do we give up or do we continue to do our best? What about that witching hour or 4 pm when I’m waiting for hubby to come home? Am I faithful to establish boundaries that are fair and consistent? Am I faithful to teach them God’s Word? Am I faithful to turn my parenting steering wheel over to God?

Self-Control - Just like our littles need a big dose of this (at least mine do!) I realize daily that I need to work on it. How quickly can I yell or respond harshly? How quickly do I jump to conclusions rather than establishing some positive intent? Yikes.

I truly think I could use work in all these areas. I know that daily, submitting to the Spirit’s work within me, I wil start to see these take shape in my life. But it definitely takes work on my end.

Which ones do you think are the most challenging to exemplify in your parenting?

Thank you so much for this inspiring guest post Michelle. I for one think I may have to enroll in the Lord's fruit of the month club - most days my kids practice more of these than I do.
-Brooke

Prayer Request

Good Morning!  Happy Monday to you all. I trust your Mother's Days were filled with joy. It's not often that we come before you with requests,  but today we are making an exception because our sister, and fellow Faith Blog Team member, Hayley of Tiny Twig needs our prayers. Hayley recently had Twig 3, Asher.

Asher was born 4 weeks early and was transferred to the NICU shortly after his arrival. Hayley is asking for the following prayers:

To find out more about sweet Asher and his progress, please visit Tiny Twig. We are grateful for each and every one of you and thank you for your prayers! 

Guest Post: Wait

Hello Faith Blog readers! My name is Brooke from Pure and Noble. I am thrilled to be a part of Katie's Faith Blog team bringing you new guest posts from faithful followers to encourage you, move you and hopefully spur you into action. Today's post comes from the lovely Katie (ironic) of God Moments for Moms. Enjoy!

Wait

We had just returned from swimming lessons and all 3 boys were impatiently begging me to do something with them. Luke (8) wanted help making something to eat, Charlie (4) wanted me to ride scooters, and Jack (3) wanted me to get a tennis racket down for him. Of course I was preoccupied with unpacking the wet towels out of the car and methodically sorting through the mail.

To be honest, I continued about my tasks and fended off the repeated requests as much as possible, until I heard a sudden crash in the garage. That's never a good sign.

I sprinted to the garage where my eyes fixated on 3 year old Jack who was standing by a few large storage boxes... which had tumbled down and shattered glass and liquid from our festive Christmas globes. Did I mention the glitter? I have a fear of glitter. It gets everywhere. It is as invasive as termites and this was no exception.

Apparently he was unable to wait. By ignoring my request and forging ahead on his own, he was not only left without the desired outcome: the tennis racket, but he was also stuck with a load of brokenness.

I took a broom and asked him to leave the area so he wouldn't get hurt. I proceeded to clean up the glass and soak up the liquid. I did this because I love Jack and I know that as a 3 year old, he could not do so on his own. Certainly he would step on the glass and hurt himself in the process.

It reminds me of how we are with God at certain points of our lives. We keep saying, "God", "God", "God" just like how my boys persistently repeated my name.

"God, I want this."

"Wait," he says

"God, I want it now!"

"Wait," he says.

When we figure we know better and don't want to wait any longer, we do it on our own. Suddenly everything comes tumbling down and we are left with nothing but broken pieces.

And just like a loving mama (loving and somewhat frustrated-keeping it real) God doesn't give us the broom and say, "Good luck sweeping up the glass, Kid." Instead, He kneels down and cleans up the mess in order to keep us protected.

What are you trying to do on your own today? Are you secretly sneaking into the garage to climb on your own like Jack? I know there are many areas in my life that I try to do it on my own simply because God says, "Wait."

It is my desire to learn to wait and save myself from the pain of broken pieces.

-Katie

I love how God uses those around us, especially our children to teach us, grow us and help us to a dose of a little humble pie. I am thankful for the "mirrors" - husband and children - that He has put in my life. Thanks for the reminder Katie. xo