MY BLOG POSTS

As I sit at my desk and write this, I am listening to my 13-year-old daughter chat it up on FaceTime with her best friend, Jessica. This is after she spent about 30 minutes chatting with her best friend/cousin, Mercy. Ellie will talk to her friends anytime, anywhere, for as long as she is permitted.They might be an hour away, but these girls are still in our house often – thanks to the wonders of technology!

These conversations are rarely ended by the girls themselves. They are almost always ended by parents coming in and saying, “Enough time on the phone,” “Time for homework” or “Go to bed!”. The girls would talk all night if we let them. These friendships are important, and it seems like they never run out of topics of conversation.

Ellie longs to talk to her friends. She wants to know what’s going on in their lives, she wants to share with them what’s happening here. They talk about all kids of things – right now, she’s discussing sharing her faith with kids who don’t believe in Jesus. A minute ago, she was discussing birthday parties and annoying brothers. Wait, now she’s on with friend #3, Natalie…

As I listen to the stream of conversation, I think about the most important conversation: prayer. Paul says we should pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17). We should talk to God the way Ellie talks to her friends: all the time about everything. I had a youth pastor who encouraged us to never say “Amen,” so that the prayers we start in the morning continue all day – every thought is a prayer. Our conversation with Jesus never stops. It just pauses occasionally.

Prayer shouldn’t just be something we do before a meal or a test or a hard time. It should be part of the vibrant, growing relationship we have with Jesus – the friend who sticks closer than a brother. We can talk to Him about anything. We can praise Him, thank Him, worship Him in prayer anytime. So put down the phone and pick up your prayers.

That means you, too, Ellie 😉

I love talking about “big” stuff: future plans, dreams, ideas. I remember, when I was younger, wondering what “great” things I’d do for God. I was up for just about anything, as long as it was big and important.

As I have matured in my relationship with God, I have realized that desire, while being pretty self-centered, can also hinder me from doing the things God actually wants me to do.

For example: I stayed home with my kids until they went to school (then, I went to school with them!). During my years at home, I sometimes felt like I wasn’t contributing enough to the kingdom of God. I spent my days changing diapers and reading Dr. Seuss and mixing baby food into watery rice flakes. I remember really struggling during those years: I had a college degree collecting dust in the closet. My kids wouldn’t even remember I was home with them! Wouldn’t it be better if I used the gifts God had given me in a job that actually paid something rather than spending day after day singing Barney songs and fishing Little People (the toys, not my actual children) out of the toilet?

But while I was in my pity party, God would remind me: THIS is my purpose for you right now. I knew God wanted me to stay home with my kids. And, before I had them, it sounded very noble and rewarding. But day after day (after day after day…) I forgot about the nobility. And the rewards could be few and far between (“Yay, you almost made it to the potty that time!”). But that is what obedience looks like. Waking up every morning and doing what God has for you then, whether it’s feeding a newborn or doing your homework or mowing the lawn.

Our greatest purpose in life is to bring glory to God. And, while we might get to do something(s) big and important, it is in the little things that we really demonstrate our commitment to his supremacy in our lives. And, very often, it’s the little things that mean the most to us later…like staying home. I look back on those years now with such amazing memories, such joy. I would not have traded one day, one diaper, one midnight feeding for the time I had at home with my kids.

So dream big for God! But, as you dream, be obedient in the small things. Do those with gladness, for his glory.

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” ~ Col. 3:23

Remember when you were a kid and you hated what your mom served for dinner, and she’d say something like this: “I know you hate broccoli, but there are starving children in Africa who would love this meal.”?

I hated that speech.

I know, Mom was right. But you know what? I still hated broccoli (still do – there’s not enough melted cheese in the world to make that veggie palatable*). I still gagged it down. I would have gladly given every serving of broccoli to the starving children of Africa. But that wasn’t an option. And knowing I had more food than they did, didn’t change my taste buds or my rotten “you can make me eat it, but you won’t make me like it” attitude.

I don’t make my kids eat broccoli (though a couple of them actually like it!), but I do find myself saying things like that. I say it to myself, too, and my husband. And not about food, but – worse – about life: “Sure, this move is tough, but at least we’re all healthy!” “I know you miss your friends, but at least you’re just an hour away and not thousands of miles!”

It is a terrible thing to do. Worse than drowning broccoli in cheese. When we are struggling, we need to deal with the struggle. We need to look at that nasty broccoli sitting on our plate and recognize we have to eat it. Mom’s not letting us up until we do. We can cry and whine and complain and fake gag, but when we’re done, the broccoli will still be sitting there. Getting even more slimy and bland. Might as well eat it while it’s hot so it’ll slide down faster.

In life, sometimes things happen we just don’t like. Tough stuff. Pretending it’s not tough doesn’t make it easier. Recognizing other people have it worse doesn’t help either. The tough stuff is still there, waiting to be dealt with.

So we need to deal with it. God can handle our ranting and raving. He can handle our crying and complaining. Just read the Psalms. We can let Him know just how much we hate whatever struggle we may face. And, what I have found, after years of eating metaphorical broccoli, is that he doesn’t take the tough stuff away, but he does help you “swallow” it. He’ll get you through it. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His ways are higher than ours. His purposes for us are great. And “this, too, shall pass.” Broccoli is very often followed by chocolate cake. So hang in there. Things will get better!

*I apologize to broccoli-lovers. I’m sure it’s a wonderful vegetable with great qualities and maybe you even have a recipe that is so good I can barely taste the broccoli…but I still hate it, and now that I’m an adult, I can refuse it any time I want. So no recipes, please! If you feel the need to send something, the name of a good counselor – one who deals in childhood vegetable trauma – would be most beneficial 😉

There’s a word that Christians rarely use in conversation. I’ve never heard it in a sermon or song, never read it in a devo. It’s a word that makes us uncomfortable, offended. It just isn’t polite for Christians to discuss.

The word?

Fat.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a “beat you over the head for eating that donut” blog. It isn’t a plea for advice on how to lose weight, either. It’s a confession.

I am thinking about the “F” word right now because my clothes are getting uncomfortably tight. I either need to lose weight or buy clothes in the next size up (neither my budget nor my pride will allow for the latter!). 

What I DON’T need is a diet. God has convicted me time and time again that food isn’t the problem. Me eating the food is the problem. My go-to stress reliever is far too often a brownie or bowl of popcorn than it is His presence. This summer, I have dealt with the stress of a new house, a new job, and a new church with the same old habit: drowning my sorrows in empty calories.

After almost 25 years of walking with the Lord, I have learned this: My relationship with God is the single most important factor in every aspect of my life, including weight management. Finding the “right diet” doesn’t help because those just make me focus even more on food: what I can’t eat, what I should eat, what’s for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner…I am consumed with thoughts of food. That is just as sinful as overeating. My mind is not on things above, but on earthly things.

My prayer this morning was that I hunger and thirst for righteousness. That I turn to God when I am feeling lonely or stressed or sad or happy or nervous…When I am filled with His presence, food becomes what God meant for it to be: a good gift for me to enjoy. Not a god for me to worship or a demon I need to fear.

“Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” Heb. 13:9 (emphasis mine)