A couple of years ago I started a new Christmas tradition for our family. I made small charm-like ornaments and a stick tree that serve as a Jesse Tree. It has become a nice addition to our nightly bedtime routine during the days leading up to Christmas. Each night we place that day's ornament on the Jesse Tree and read the scriptures that tell the Biblical story associated with the picture on the charm. It really is a wonderful way to see God's plan for our salvation through His Son, Jesus.
Tonight our story was from the book of Ruth. As I read the scriptures telling the story of Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi I would elaborate on parts to help Sweet G better understand. When I read the part where Ruth was gleaning the fields of Boaz I began to explain that Ruth and Naomi were poor widows and that Ruth worked very hard to gather the wheat that was left or dropped in the field. I told Sweet G that Ruth was an ancestor of Jesus and that her family had worshipped false idols but she had chosen to follow Naomi and worship the one true God. At this point in my story Sweet G asked, "Is it sort of like a long line of losers?" After a short chuckle I began to regain my composure and the thought hit me that G wasn't really that far off. I reviewed the story of Abraham and Sarah, how Abraham lied and Sarah laughed when God promised a son would be born to them. Noah, although found righteous, at one time became drunk. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and hid from Him, then lied about their actions. I skipped ahead to Rahab the harlot and realized that Sweet G spoke the truth when he suggested that Jesus came from a long line of losers. It provided a great opportunity to share with G that God uses average people and loves us in spite of our poor choices.
I'll never hear that country song again without thinking of my sweet Savior. "He comes from a long line of losers. Half outlaws, half boozers." I'm so thankful that God can take someone who has a sinful past full of mistakes and regrets, someone whose family tree may have some questionable characters hanging in it and choose to love them and use them for His glory. Grace, grace. God's grace. Oh, how sweet His love is.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Trip to the Desert and Back
A few weeks ago God began a change in me. I started to feel His gentle tug on my heart and faintly hear the sound of His voice calling me. There has been a drought in my Christian walk. One that I couldn't seem to find my way out of. To be totally honest, I didn't try very hard to look for a way out of the dry and desolate place I found myself. I became content to sit there and slowly dehydrate to the point that my spiritual cup was down to a few drops instead of overflowing as God says it should be.
The first thing God told me was my husband needed to spend time bonding with other Godly men. You may say, "I thought you said God called you. Now you say He wants your husband to do something." The answer is simple. I crave my husband's time and attention which are in very short supply. He works two jobs which total 55+ hours a week, not including commute time. He doesn't get home until after 9:00 every week night except Fridays and works half a day on Saturday. I need time to take off my Mommy, teacher, cook, playmate, caretaker hat every once in a while. Having a child with special needs means that I take every step my child takes and sometimes I get burned out but God showed me that my husband gets tired and discouraged too. That is why God spoke to me. He wanted to guide me on the path to being a better wife to my husband. He asked me to put my husband's needs above my own.
The second thing God reminded me of was that it is my responsibility to teach my child about God. Our family needs to be in God's house learning His Word. It is my duty to take Sweet G whether he wants to go or understands the importance it holds.
Step three, I started reading my Bible and being more purposeful in my walk with Christ. For the first time in a long time God's Word was fresh and alive to me. I was getting it, growing. Then I started feeling the familiar sting of satan's fiery darts. Someone verbally attacked me on a social site over my view of an issue. My son misunderstood a couple of comments I made. My mother seems to think I am a vile and unfeeling monster because I disagree with the family on a very delicate family issue. Everywhere I turn it seems someone is misunderstanding what I say or questioning why I see things in a different way than they do.
I finally broke down in tears tonight questioning why this is all happening to me. The answer came through the post of a fellow blogger. She wrote about parenting. She reminded me that sometimes a child asks for something when in reality it isn't good for them. Her children prefer the cardboard boxed macaroni and cheese with the fake powdered cheese over her homemade nutritious Mac-and-cheese. They don't understand that she sacrifices much more time and energy to make the dish from scratch because she loves them and wants the best for them. As my Heavenly Father, God will not settle for the easy Mac way of life. It is not good enough for me, His beloved child. Even if it is hard to swallow and I'd be much more pleased with the instant heat and serve version He patiently gives me what I really need.
My prayer has been for God to lead me out of that dry place I've been sitting. As we walk the sand is hot and makes my steps unsteady at times. Walking in hot dry sand is difficult but it's the only way to get out of a desert. The amazing thing is every now and then I take a peek inside my cup and see that instead of becoming empty it's gradually getting fuller. Every step I take and each sip of water I drink fills my cup a little more.
The first thing God told me was my husband needed to spend time bonding with other Godly men. You may say, "I thought you said God called you. Now you say He wants your husband to do something." The answer is simple. I crave my husband's time and attention which are in very short supply. He works two jobs which total 55+ hours a week, not including commute time. He doesn't get home until after 9:00 every week night except Fridays and works half a day on Saturday. I need time to take off my Mommy, teacher, cook, playmate, caretaker hat every once in a while. Having a child with special needs means that I take every step my child takes and sometimes I get burned out but God showed me that my husband gets tired and discouraged too. That is why God spoke to me. He wanted to guide me on the path to being a better wife to my husband. He asked me to put my husband's needs above my own.
The second thing God reminded me of was that it is my responsibility to teach my child about God. Our family needs to be in God's house learning His Word. It is my duty to take Sweet G whether he wants to go or understands the importance it holds.
Step three, I started reading my Bible and being more purposeful in my walk with Christ. For the first time in a long time God's Word was fresh and alive to me. I was getting it, growing. Then I started feeling the familiar sting of satan's fiery darts. Someone verbally attacked me on a social site over my view of an issue. My son misunderstood a couple of comments I made. My mother seems to think I am a vile and unfeeling monster because I disagree with the family on a very delicate family issue. Everywhere I turn it seems someone is misunderstanding what I say or questioning why I see things in a different way than they do.
I finally broke down in tears tonight questioning why this is all happening to me. The answer came through the post of a fellow blogger. She wrote about parenting. She reminded me that sometimes a child asks for something when in reality it isn't good for them. Her children prefer the cardboard boxed macaroni and cheese with the fake powdered cheese over her homemade nutritious Mac-and-cheese. They don't understand that she sacrifices much more time and energy to make the dish from scratch because she loves them and wants the best for them. As my Heavenly Father, God will not settle for the easy Mac way of life. It is not good enough for me, His beloved child. Even if it is hard to swallow and I'd be much more pleased with the instant heat and serve version He patiently gives me what I really need.
My prayer has been for God to lead me out of that dry place I've been sitting. As we walk the sand is hot and makes my steps unsteady at times. Walking in hot dry sand is difficult but it's the only way to get out of a desert. The amazing thing is every now and then I take a peek inside my cup and see that instead of becoming empty it's gradually getting fuller. Every step I take and each sip of water I drink fills my cup a little more.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Jesus Weeps
Tonight as I was casually browsing through my long list of blogs I came upon a post entitled "Love Never Fails" from Big Mama's blog. That post as well as an article a friend linked on facebook today have spoken to me or rather God spoke to me through them.
Today was Sweet G's long therapy day so I met my husband for lunch. As we ate we talked about all that is going on in our lives. We questioned how our intentions and feelings could be so misunderstood. We are heartbroken that others see us as the bad guys in a situation we had nothing to do with. We saw where things were headed and in our obviously poor communication failed to get our message across clearly.
I told my husband after he prayed over our food that I cringed when he prayed for those involved. I went on to say how wrong I know it is for me to feel that way. Realizing my feelings are wrong is the first step toward forgiveness. I know I need to, that I am commanded to, but right now I just don't want to. I am hurt and feel like I have been backed into a corner. That isn't such a good place for me to be! I don't like being bullied and don't stand in corners for long. I know that is something that God is working on because He keeps allowing me to face situations that place me directly into the corner so to speak.
I also need to ask for forgiveness from a few people. Don't ya just love doing that. I am struggling with feeling justified in my anger because I keep hearing a little voice say, "They started it. They yelled at me first. The first insult came from them and was aimed at me."
The truth is that I don't want to be the kind of person who won't ask forgiveness or give forgiveness. I will do both in time but it is hard to ask forgiveness when you have been accused of things you didn't say or didn't mean in the way the person perceived what you said. It is also impossible to explain your point of view when the other person attacks you verbally and won't give you a chance to talk without being interrupted.
The article I read today spoke about overcoming fear. Although I am not experiencing that particular emotion right now there were things in that article that spoke straight to my heart. One thing the article said was to imagine Christ kneeling in a room of your house praying for you. I will describe what I see.
I see His nail scarred hands folded in prayer. I hear Him as He pleads for God to show me grace and mercy. Tears fall as He asks the Father to soften my calloused heart. He begs for me to be comforted and protected from the fiery darts being shot at me. "Keep her safe Father. Send healing to her heart. Forgive her stubbornness and remove the scales covering her eyes so she may see Your truth. She's mine, Father. Pick her up and hold her in Your loving arms. Whisper comforting words in her ear. Surround her with Your presence. Dry her tears and lead her to the throne. Strengthen her to make it through another day. Renew her joy and fill her with your Holy Spirit until it splashes all around her. Carry her through this storm until she is strong enough to walk beside You. I love her Father. She is covered by my blood. I paid the cost for her. Show her she has a future and a hope and thank you dear Father for the plans you have in store for her."
Jesus Weeps
Tonight as I was casually browsing through my long list of blogs I came upon a post entitled "Love Never Fails" from Big Mama's blog. That post as well as an article a friend linked on facebook today have spoken to me or rather God spoke to me through them.
Today was Sweet G's long therapy day so I met my husband for lunch. As we ate we talked about all that is going on in our lives. We questioned how our intentions and feelings could be so misunderstood. We are heartbroken that others see us as the bad guys in a situation we had nothing to do with. We saw where things were headed and in our obviously poor communication failed to get our message across clearly.
I told my husband after he prayed over our food that I cringed when he prayed for those involved. I went on to say how wrong I know it is for me to feel that way. Realizing my feelings are wrong is the first step toward forgiveness. I know I need to, that I am commanded to, but right now I just don't want to. I am hurt and feel like I have been backed into a corner. That isn't such a good place for me to be! I don't like being bullied and don't stand in corners for long. I know that is something that God is working on because He keeps allowing me to face situations that place me directly into the corner so to speak.
I also need to ask for forgiveness from a few people. Don't ya just love doing that. I am struggling with feeling justified in my anger because I keep hearing a little voice say, "They started it. They yelled at me first. The first insult came from them and was aimed at me."
The truth is that I don't want to be the kind of person who won't ask forgiveness or give forgiveness. I will do both in time but it is hard to ask forgiveness when you have been accused of things you didn't say or didn't mean in the way the person perceived what you said. It is also impossible to explain your point of view when the other person attacks you verbally and won't give you a chance to talk without being interrupted.
The article I read today spoke about overcoming fear. Although I am not experiencing that particular emotion right now there were things in that article that spoke straight to my heart. One thing the article said was to imagine Christ kneeling in a room of your house praying for you. I will describe what I see.
I see His nail scarred hands folded in prayer. I hear Him as He pleads for God to show me grace and mercy. Tears fall as He asks the Father to soften my calloused heart. He begs for me to be comforted and protected from the fiery darts being shot at me. "Keep her safe Father. Send healing to her heart. Forgive her stubbornness and remove the scales covering her eyes so she may see Your truth. She's mine, Father. Pick her up and hold her in Your loving arms. Whisper comforting words in her ear. Surround her with Your presence. Dry her tears and lead her to the throne. Strengthen her to make it through another day. Renew her joy and fill her with your Holy Spirit until it splashes all around her. Carry her through this storm until she is strong enough to walk beside You. I love her Father. She is covered by my blood. I paid the cost for her. Show her she has a future and a hope and thank you dear Father for the plans you have in store for her."
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