A Winner! (and a little Spurgeon)

Happy Saturday! I got so wrapped up in the holiday weekend that I realized I forgot to tell you that good ol' random.org picked us a winner for Annie Downs book, From Head to Foot!

Congrats Andrea E! Whoo hoo! You are the WINNER!! I know you will be so blessed by Annie. Did you all go see her blog? So full of energy, belly laughs and Jesus. Love her to pieces. Thank you all for entering to win!

Next week, I look forward to settling in to blogging again. For now, I'm resting with all my people, drinking coffee at Jesus' feet. I think a tree farm may be calling our name today. Or Sam's. They have a little concrete tree farm as you walk in the front door. {grin} We'll see.

I will leave you with my Charles Spurgeon devotional for today. I love this. Be blessed today...

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.

We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavour now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do-"do it with thy might." Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow as if that could recompense for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things
tomorrow.

Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labour, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart,
and soul, and strength.

But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our "hand findeth to do," let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do thus will be well done, and will not fail in its effect.

Is Your Calendar Chaos?

Yesterday, the boys and I were outside. And it was hot. Like give me 150 SPF hot.

But something ever so slight spoke of the coming of Fall. Ever. So. Slight. I can't explain it. But despite the blazing sun, the hint was there. The blue of the sky, a light breeze, a faint smell of dying leaves saying, Hello! Fall is near.

Yet, what speaks more of the coming of Fall is chaos of my planner. Oh dear. I think my August calendar could overwhelm even a non-reader. It is ornate with white out, pencil scratch, eraser marks, highlighter, sticky notes and "sharpie" appointments.

A new semester: Back to school picnics. Staff meetings. Overnight student planning. Kindergarten meet and greet. Orientations. Preschool open house. Welcome week on UT's campus. Freshman moving in. Outreaches. You name it.

Being on staff with a campus ministry, our lives are rarely 8 to 5. One day Brent may work 10 to 7. The next 6 to 4. The next 1 to 11:30. Our calendar is constantly changing. And just about the time I "get it down"... students are taking finals, Christmas break comes, and it changes again in Spring.

I have spent a lot of time glaring at my planner.

And the more I stare, the more I ask, Why can't there be two of me?

Yesterday, I was on the treadmill and the Lord spoke to my heart...

(Maybe it is the hamster wheel likeness of the treadmill that represents me so well, I'm not sure, but the Lord He speaks to me there.)

Running...running....running....

Pray more than you plan.

Running...running....running....

Pray more than you plan.

I left the gym and I heard Him all day long. Pray more than you plan. (The Type A in me wants to rebel against this.)

As coffee brews in the mornings, I open all of my quiet time stuff. First, I turn on my computer. Then I open my email. Then I look to my calendar. Then I write my to-do list. And then I pray....

I go into my time with the Lord backwards.

I plan more than I pray.

Exhibit A:


Is anybody feeling me on this?

My order of events should look more like this.

Exhibit B:


Commit you work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3

Your work (ma`aseh)- deeds, a thing done, acts, labour, business, pursuits, undertakings, achievements,a thing made...

Commit my work to the Lord....commit all of my labor, my daily business, all of my pursuits and dreams. Every undertaking. All of my achievements. All that I make and all of the things I do....COMMIT THEM TO HIM.

And he will accomplish them for me.

Hallelujah.

That takes the pressure off.



Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. Psalm 146:5

If the past is any indicator of the future ... the next month may be a bit crazy. But the Lord is my help. The God of Jacob is my hope.

And according to Scripture...I am blessed.

Neither chaos nor calamity nor my crazy calendar can separate me.

Pray more than you plan. Commit your ways to the Lord and your PLANNER will be established.

(Total side note: I can't help but think of school teachers this morning. I know they are writing so many plans right now. I am praying for you all today, sweet school teachers. From the bottom of my heart..."Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.")

If the Proverbs 31 Woman had a yard sale...

This is the weekend. The annual Crenshaw Yard Sale. Friday and Saturday 8-1. Come one come all!

Every November, the signs go up, in hopes to raise extra money for Christmas shopping. The Lord has been good to bless it every year.

But, preparing this week has brought the Proverbs 31 Woman to mind. Often. I think of her - bringing her food from a far, rising while it is still night, providing food for her household and her maidens, buying a field to plant a vineyard, sewing, feeding the poor, making linens and fine clothing. (v.10-24)

My goodness. This woman.

I wish King Lemuel would have given us a little more detail.

I want to ask her: Did your kids scream at each other while waiting in line to buy fabric? Did they ever complain about what you fixed them for breakfast? Were your maidens so thankful for you? Did you ever want to grumble, carrying your food from so far away? Did your kids walk all that way, too?! Did they gripe about it? Did you ever prick your finger on a needle and let a bad word slip? And what about that vineyard? When did you find time to do all that?

I am realizing that she could not have possibly done all of this in her own strength. No way.

She had to rely heavily on the Lord. Dying to herself, her frustrations and her unmet expectations. Dying to feelings of entitlement or the need for extra sleep. Did she ever just want a big 'ol pat on the back?

Preparing for the sale, as silly as this sounds, really makes me appreciate this woman.

A yard sale is a lot of labor. Frustrating labor. And my flesh has rebelled often. You can imagine - the boys coming behind me, putting things back in their room (Mom! Don't sell this!), my signs have broken, Brent has had to work alot this week and the kids want to "help" me tag (No, that old VHS is not worth $5).

But this woman inspires me to work with willing hands (v.13). To be diligent, strong and joyful.

To serve well, to labor long and to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Working a yard sale or working a vineyard - we are ultimately working for the Lord.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for God and not for men. Colossians 3:23

May He be glorified today. Even in my silly yard sale.

Love you all.

A sippy in the toliet...

This is my life. In a nutshell. Sippy cup in the toilet. I should close the computer and call it a day. This is where I am today. A sippy in the toilet. Hilarious.

Now, let me say, this is not just a blog about parenting. Although, I could start a blog named, what-not-to-do.blogspot.com. That's a good idea, actually. Hmm. But, I am NO expert on parenting, nor would I ever claim to be. But this is a blog about me and Jesus and the Lord is always using my boys to yank the "pride rug" out from under my feet.

Example...I am always on a mission to find healthy things for the kids to eat that are still "kid-friendly", yet nutritious. So I found "Wacky Mac" at Wal-mart. Spiral noodles of different colors. The colors are actually veggie spirals of spinach, carrots, tomatoes and beets. (as I write I realize it does sound disgusting). So, I disguised it with some marinara sauce, made an obnoxiously big deal about this "special dinner" and called the boys to the table.

"I don't want this" Grant said.
"Oh, buddy! How fun! Silly colored pasta! I spy something orange on your plate!"
(I can be so annoying. My poor kids.)
"Mom. I don't want to eat this."
"I'll take a bite then you. One... two... thr...."
"...Mom. I don't like colored noodles. What makes them colored, anyway?"

Busted.

After ten minutes of coaxing him into taking a bite, he finally did. Pause. Chew.
"It tastes like...nothing. It's not bad. I just tastes like nothing."

Nice. I think I'd rather him told me it was awful. So, a sippy in the toilet. A dinner that taste like nothing. Did I mention that it is 5:30 in the morning, Luke is up and he has already eaten at least a third-quarter cup of mini marshmallows. what-not-to-do.blogspot.com :)

Anyway, I promise this has a point. So, yesterday one of my dearest friends, Susie, comes over to look through some of my baby clothes. She is sixteen weeks pregnant. She and her husband, John, tried for three and a half years to get pregnant. That is a long stinkin' time. Three and a half years. Forty-two months. Twelve-hundred and seventy-seven days of waiting on the Lord. Every month, hopeful. Now, finally a baby boy on the way! So, Susie starts telling me a story about a trip she and John took to see family. While on her trip, her sister-in-law was venting about her children being sick - vomiting throughout the night and lots of diarrhea. Susie sat, listened and sympathized with her. On the way home, she and John were recapping and he said, "I can't wait for diarrhea and vomit. After three and a half years... puke and poop - I'll take it. I can't wait."

Perspective.

I thought of Colossians 3:23,24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Whatever you do. Wow. Paul is actually writing to the slaves of the time. Slaves...work with all your heart.

The word heart is a form of the word psuche and means "from the soul, rendered "heartily." It means life, doing the will of God from the heart."

We are all are ultimately working for the Lord. Serving Him.

I am preaching to myself today. What if, just what if, I lived in the mindset of raising my kids "from my soul. Heartily. From the well of my life. Doing the will of God." Everyday. Now, I might KNOW I am living out His will for my life, but I sure don't always live like it. I sometimes just view it all as a big ol' inconvenience. A sippy in the toilet. Really?

Yes. Really.

I also thought of a verse in Ecclesiastes. King Solomon says, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God." Ecc 2:24, 25

To find satisfaction in a sippy in the toilet, a dinner that tastes like nothing, vomiting and diarrhea. I'll take it. This too, if from the hand of God. I want the "I can't wait" mindset.

It is God's will for our lives to find satisfaction in our work. To work, ultimately for HIM.
If the slaves in Colosse can find satisfaction in their "slave" work, surely we can find it, too. Whatever your work is today, I pray we all work for the Lord and find deep satisfaction.

Be blessed.