~ august 8 ~
"not as the world gives ..."
because that's what we want sometimes, isn't it?
the world's kind of peace.
Jesus tells us He wants to give us peace -- His peace -- and yet we spend our energy wishing and wanting and chasing after the world's peace.
and we find it lacking.
we want everything to go smoothly and everyone to get along nicely. and that's good, yes, but the peace Jesus gives isn't about the arrangement of our circumstances, it's about the engagement of Christ in our heart.
it's peace despite our circumstances.
it's the peace that passes all understanding ...
when i'm feeling worried or anxious or afraid i have to ask myself:
am i trying to arrange my circumstances?
or am i going to engage with Christ?
His peace. that's what we need.
not as the world gives ... but as He gives.
praying that kind of peace for you today!
~ august 9 ~
the mcnatts are about ready to turn in their cars and rely only on riding bicycles.
we had a week recently, where in a matter of 5 days - less than one week - we had 3 separate accidents. not exaggerating. not joking.
my husband, my son and i were all involved in three different crashes. wednesday, friday, sunday.
crazy.
our insurance agent said, "well, i have to say, i've never come across a family with three car accidents in one week."
this hasn't been good for our insurance rates.
this hasn't been good for my worry rate either.
HOW does this happen?
WHY did this happen?
i was the driver hit in the third accident. while going through a perfectly green light, a man made a left turn right in front of me. i barely had time to break. i hit him hard. we were all okay, but his car was demolished. my daughters were with me and got out in anger and in tears shouting, "what the heck is going on??? why does this keep happening to us?"
we were all shaken from the accident, but shaken even more from the fact that this was our family's third in only a few days.
{you can't make this stuff up}.
so, worry?
yeah ...
you can imagine.
i have two teenage drivers.
i have kids coming and going every single day and night.
we have traffic in our area which borders somewhere on the brink of insanity.
how in the world is this mother supposed to not worry?
praise the Lord, no one was hurt in any of these bang-ups ... but still. it has been a hard thing to get a handle on. in minnesota, we drove for two years in snow and ice and had nothing ... now back in the sunny south and we've had three.
i write about this today, not to impress or awe you with our family vehicular-drama, but to underline the fact that yes, we live in a world full of danger and distraction. i suppose, in some ways, we have good reason to worry.
and if it was all up to me and all in my power ... well, i'd be an absolute mess right now. three accidents in five days has done a good job highlighting the fact that i am not the one in control. i can buckle up my kids and take only backroads and turn on my blinker, but ultimately i've got to release all of us to God's protection and power.
i have none.
every time my teenagers back out of the driveway, i have to back myself into the assurance that they are in God's hands alone.
psalm 121:8 has become one of my new favorites as our busy family comes and goes.
~ august 10 ~
this sounds like something my grandmother would have said.
practical. no nonsense. straight to the point.
i suppose, in some ways, this verse isn't even all that comforting at first glance, right?
i mean, don't worry about tomorrow because today is going to be a real doozy???
i'm pretty sure, however, this isn't intended to discourage us about today, but to encourage us to stay in the day.
to encourage us to not get too far ahead.
to encourage us to keep a hold on what we're trying to handle.
because we do that.
okay, i do that.
i can easily mix in a dose of what-ifs and what-thens with my right nows. and, the bottom line, it's just flat out too much.
it's just too much to tackle what we've got going on each day AND worry about what might take place tomorrow.
maybe some of you are better at that. you can schedule out your appointments and your meal plans and even your worries months in advance ... but me? i'm no good at it. and where sometimes i wish i was a lot better at thinking further ahead, i'm really okay with God's instruction here to just stay in the day.
often, when God gives us boundaries, what He's really giving us is the gift of freedom.
we don't have to worry about tomorrow.
let it go.
leave it alone.
limit the list.
doozy or not, seize this day. stay in this day. surrender this day.
"this is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~ psalm 118:24
~ august 11 ~
school begins today.
four of them will head out the door in just a matter of minutes.
the mother in me worries ...
the mother in me wonders are we ready?
the mother in me wants to rush out ahead and make sure the road before them is smooth ...
the mother in me learned long ago my job isn't to prepare the road, but to prepare the child for the road.
i learned that ... but reminders are good. necessary.
i might be able to remove a few pebbles and clean up the concrete...
but God is the one who goes before them and {oh my goodness} ...
LEVELS THE MOUNTAINS!
do you get the picture?
ME -- sweeping up dust and pebbles with my little human broom
or
GOD -- leveling the mountains with His mighty outstretched arm.
i'm sorry, but when i look at it like that, i'll have to choose God.
sometimes we need to put down our brooms and our plans and our worries and bow down before the one who truly does go before our kids and who truly can remove the mountains.
whether it be the littlest one walking into her tiny 1st grade classroom at our sweet christian school or the older ones walking (for the very first time) into the big public high school ...
God goes before them.
and i'm so very glad.
me and my broom? i'm sure we will be busy sweeping up the aftermath of their exit -- back at home.
~ august 12 ~
my family would tell you i have odd "lighting issues."
and yep, i do.
i'm not sure what this is all about but i like my lighting "just so."
this light on and that one off ...
this light up a smidge up ... that light down a smidge.
my husband would tell you since moving into this house less than two months ago, he's installed no less than 10 dimmer switches ... because his wife likes to have control over the lighting.
{clearly, i am loved}.
weird. yeah, i know.
i like to be in charge of the switch.
in fact, i THINK i CAN be in charge.
and yet, i have learned, there are times when that's impossible.
there are times when i have no control over the darkness.
there are no amount of dimmer switches that can save me ... i'm stuck.
my middle of the night worries can take me to that kind of darkness.
and the only thing, THE ONLY THING, which can lighten, is Jesus.
praying to Him and reading His Word -- that's the only switch which works for this woman and all her issues.
"your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." psalm 119:105
... and a dimmer switch on my wall.
~ august 13 ~
"when the cares of my heart are many ..."
ever feel like that?
like you're walking around full up with a whole lot of worries.
like if someone looked at you closely they'd just see the problems poking out all over you.
like some days you can't contain it, can't cover it, can't compete with it.
it's just there.
flapping wild in the wind for all to wonder about
in the south, we call that a "hot mess."
"poor thing, she's a hot mess, bless her heart."
and i'm not sure they really mean BLESS HER HEART ...
but that's what she needs: her heart blessed.
words of blessing whispered right into her heart.
and we want our loved ones and our friends and our spouses and our children to whisper those words of blessing.
and sometimes they do.
and sometimes they don't.
because sometimes they are their own "hot mess."
but not God.
He's knows how His children come -- hot and messy.
He doesn't whisper about us ...
He whispers right into us.
blessing our hearts.
cooling our heat.
calming our mess.
consoling our cares.
need your heart blessed today?
go to His word.
let Him wash you in the whisper of His calm.
bless your heart, friend. (really).
~ august 14 ~
last night my daughter was babysitting for her old english teacher who is now expecting her third. she was asking emily about our family. wanting to know how we manage with 5 kids.
how does your mom do dinners?
how does she keep things organized?
how does she do this or that?
basically, what she wanted to know is how i "hold it all together."
because as women we worry about that.
a lot.
i worry about that.
a lot.
because, truth is, i DON'T hold it all together so well.
like this morning ... sleeping right through my alarm, waking everyone up late and rushing out the door like a wild woman.
perfect example.
i mean, i WANT to hold it all together. and if i'm being honest, i WANT others to THINK i'm holding it all together ... but that's just not the case. and if it was ... i probably wouldn't be liked very much.
and i probably would forget that i am desperate for God's glue and His grace.
i'm thinking that instead of worrying about our inability to hold it together, we need to, instead, rejoice in this inability.
embrace it.
claim it.
use it to prompt us to our knees and to a deeper knowledge of our holding-Savior.
~ august 15 ~
"along unfamiliar paths ..."
sound like your life?
i'm pretty sure there's not one of us who can't relate to that phrase.
we are all traveling "unfamiliar paths."
that's life and that's how it works.
and i'm pretty sure it's often one of the main ingredients in our worry, right?
i mean, i know THIS WOMAN likes to know where she's going.
i like to know the lay of the land and the end of the path.
i can't help it. i just like to know.
but we don't.
we don't know what's up ahead.
we can't know.
minne (my big newfoundland) and i walk this path all the time. it's just across the street from our house. it leads to the river and we love walking here. but the first time we were on it, i had to keep a pretty tight rein on her. i didn't know what we'd be meeting just around each bend. i hadn't a clue what was out ahead. and so we took it slowly.
we might not know what's around the bend in our lives, but God isn't leaving us all alone to figure it out. He's got His rein on us. He's walking right with us. leading. guiding. lighting. smoothing.
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them." ~ isaiah 42:16
did you hear that?
THESE ARE THE THINGS I WILL DO;
I WILL NOT FORSAKE THEM.
it's a promise.
friend, tell that to your worry today!
~ august 16 ~
"not now, but later..."
not exactly our favorite answer, is it?
let's face it, we are "now" people.
in fact, we are a RIGHT now kind of people.
at least i am.
i want to understand the point, the purpose, the plan.
i want to understand the pain.
why this? why now?
and yet ... "Jesus replied ..."
is that His answer for you today, too?
if it is, maybe it is causing you a lot of wonder and worry.
but what if we learned to just let it go ... to just leave it alone for now?
what if we accepted the fact that we aren't going to understand at this moment in time because "Jesus replied ..."
and instead of straining our necks and racking our brains ...
maybe. maybe. maybe. we still ourselves and receive His reply.
"not now, but later."
~ august 17 ~
yesterday i finished this dresser for my daughter. she'll be taking it to college as a nightstand. we found it at goodwill ... painted it ... added new knobs and ... voila! she's got a cute piece of furniture for her dorm room.
when i work on furniture i almost always add a little "distress."
sand the edges ... add some stain ...
i make it look a little weathered. a little worn. a little loved.
i like the "distressed" look ...
but i don't really like the "distressed" feel.
you know, it's fine for the furniture,
but not so great for this fragile woman.
and yet what does today's verse tell us that distress does?
it makes us CALL UPON THE LORD.
"{from my distress} i called upon the Lord."
God wants us to call upon Him. anytime. all the time.
but, you and i both know, we are more prone to connect with Him in our times of trouble. worry. need.
none of us want to be described as distressed.
but, when we are -- and let's face it, sometimes we are ---
can we choose to see it as the very thing which keeps us closest to God?
the thing which prompts us to call upon Him?
our distress leads us to a deeper dependence ... and that dependence leads us to delivery!
"out of my distress i called upon the Lord;
the Lord answered me
and set me free." psalm 118:5 (esv)
(the college girl and her new nightstand leave in 5 days -- please pray for this mama)!
~ august 18 ~
a couple of years ago when connor was starting his new school in minnesota, he began to struggle big time with anxiety.
it was hard to watch my carefree little guy all of a sudden become laden with worry and riddled with fear. really hard.
i didn't know what to do.
i didn't know how to help him.
his anxiety became my anxiety.
we did a lot of talking and praying together ... and i know that helped us both. i taped this 1 peter verse inside his 4th grade folder.
my connor loves to fish. he learned quickly how important "casting" is to the fishing process. not a lot can happen until you learn to cast well.
and that's the directionJesus give us about our anxiety and worry.
cast it!
cast: to throw. to throw with force. to hurl.
and He doesn't just suggest it. He commands it. CAST!
there's no, "you might want to try this ..." or "here's a helpful hint ..."
uh-uh --- it's a clear direction. CAST!
toss your worry. throw that anxiety. hurl it all right at Him.
that verse stayed taped inside connor's folder the entire 4th grade year. he once told me he would read it to himself 5 or 6 times throughout the school day. at the end of the year, when he was "hurling" his old notebooks and folders into the trash, i found it. i peeled that notecard out of the folder and it's now in a treasure box of special saved papers.
what a great lesson to learn in 4th grade.
what a great lesson for us to learn in any grade ... any age.
we have a God willing to catch our anxieties and worries, because He cares for us.
~ august 19 ~
"come to me ..."
that's it.
that all.
"come to me."
sit with Jesus.
find that rocker or that bench or that stool or that sofa
or that stone ...
and sit with Jesus.
rock a little with the one who restores us in our weariness.
rock a little with the one who redeems us in our worldliness.
rock a little with the one who gives rest to our worries.
weary and heavy-laden today, friend?
come to Jesus.
~ august 20 ~
three times in psalm 139 the word "thoughts" is mentioned.
"you discern my thoughts from afar ..."
"how precious are your thoughts ..."
"try me and know my anxious thoughts ..."
this psalm, the one which is kind of famous for God's intimate knowledge of us ...
this psalm, the one which says "you knit me together and ordered my days ..."
this psalm, the one that proclaims we are made fearfully and wonderfully!
this psalm reminds:
God knows us.
God knows our thoughts.
God knows even our anxious thoughts.
the thoughts that we are too embarrassed to share with anyone else. the thoughts which we know are illogical, unreasonable and weak.
the thoughts which badger and harass and harangue ...
those thoughts.
God knows them.
He knows them like He knows our words, "even before {that word} is on my tongue."
i don't know about you, but that comforts me. i am encouraged to know i don't have to clearly explain everything to Him. i don't have to communicate effectively or work to creatively obtain His attention.
i already have it.
He can read my mind.
He knows me!
and this God who fearfully and wonderfully made me, well ... He loves me. even with all my messy ways and my mixed up thoughts.
He loves me.
He loves you.
{if you haven't read psalm 139 in a while, i encourage you to do so today}!
