Morning Grace

I'm a rule-following kind of girl. Its a great trait to have...sometimes. Sometimes it can really get in the way, though. When it comes to my morning quiet time, it can be downright dangerous. As a college student and into my early married years in my 20's, it was easy for me to get up early and spend an hour ir more with God every morning. Then we had kids, and everything changed. Suddenly I was a 22 year old stay at home mom who considered taking a shower a major accomplishment. Days went by without me ever even opening my Bible. My prayer time dwindled to, "Lord, how am I going to get this done?" I'm a voracious reader, so as my kids got older, I started reading again - along with my Bible, I read books on marriage, parenting, and being a Godly woman. I learned a lot from those books - mainly that I was failing. One book said I should spend an hour or more a day in Bible study. Another told me it should be easy to pray for an hour a day. Still others told me I should tithe my time - spend 10% of my time with God and never miss a day. I beat myself up a lot during those early years of marriage and motherhood. I knew there was no way I could live up to what those books suggested. I was breaking all the rules. Then, a few years ago, I discovered something amazing - grace. Its my morning grace - grace for my times with God. My goal is to get up early every morning and spend time with God. Most days it happens, but if not, there's grace. Some days its long, other days its just a short devotional. One day I might spend more time in Bible study, another day might be focused more on prayer, and still another might focus on journaling or scripture memory. Whatever I'm doing, there's grace. I believe that God delights in our efforts and our successes to spend time with Him, but I also believe that He's ready to wrap His arms around us and carry us when we're frazzled, frustrated, and struggling to keep up. He made us, He knows us, and He understands our ups and downs. My morning quiet time is again something I look forward to. In fact, its one of my favorite times of the day. Do you want to have consistent time with God every day? Sign up for Hello Mornings! It has inspired me so much that I'm going to be an accountability captain for the 2nd time in the winter session!

When the Cape Comes Off

Some women seem to have it all together.  On the outside, they seem flawless - their house sparkles, they have a successful career, they perfectly balance work and family, they spend time daily with God and they lead a small group at church.  They look like Superwoman.  But sooner or later, the cape has to come off.

The truth is, every woman, every day - no matter how long she's followed Jesus or how much she seems to have it all together - fights battles.  For some, it's depression.  For others, it's habitual sins they struggle to overcome.  For others, it's addiction, haunting memories of abuse, loneliness, feeling overwhelmed, a negative attitude, or any number of other battles.

There are who people who think that, because I'm a pastor's wife, I'm automatically a super-Christian.  They think that I have it all together, that I have all the answers, and that I don't fight the same battles everyone else fights.  WRONG!  There's no cape.  There's no "S" on my chest.  I'm a messed up, sinful person, saved only by the grace of a God much bigger than my faults.

None of us have arrived.  None of us are good enough.  I love Paul's words in Philippians 3:13-14 (NASB): "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  If anyone had a right to claim the status of super-Christian, it was Paul.  But he didn't wear a cape either - he was as flawed as we are.

We all know we're weak and flawed, but here's the scary part: we need to let people see our weakness.  The world is crying out for real, authentic people with real faith.  Think about it: if someone is struggling in their faith, do they need to see someone whose like they think they can never live up to, or a real Christian?  It's okay to take off the cape and stop pretending.  We need to admit that we can't do it all.  When you take that first step, you'll be amazed at how many others do the same.

Ready to Hide His Word?

Today I'm starting a new challenge with Katie Orr at Do Not Depart...



Scripture memory was, for a long time, been something I knew I should do, but somehow never got around to.  Earlier this year, I took the plunge and decided to start it after reading a great post on A Holy Experience, one of my favorite blogs. 

Memorizing God's Word is life changing.  When you're memorizing scripture, you're truly meditating on it, feeding your soul with it day after day.  I don't know why it took me so long to grasp the importance of it, but now it's a vital part of my quiet time.  I hope you'll join us - you won't regret it!

The Strong One

People tell me a lot that I'm a strong woman.  They think that because I'm juggling so much, I'm naturally strong and organized and able to do it all.  They see me going to school, working, helping my husband at our church and raising a family and they think, "Wow, she's confident, she's strong, she's energetic, and she really has it together."

Let me set the record straight right now: they're wrong.  Really, really wrong.  I'm not strong and I'm not confident, and I don't have anything together.  I'm a mess.  I'm weak.  I'm afraid.  I'm a natural born worrier.  I stress out and freak out about little things.  I have no confidence in myself.  And most of the time I'm really, really tired.  I'm not at all what people think I am.

I'm not a strong woman.  I'm just a woman who has faith in a really strong God.  Psalm 73:26 says, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  When I feel like I'm falling apart, I know that my Daddy has me wrapped in His strong arms.  When I'm weak, He gives me all the strength I need to get through the day.  When I don't have the energy to get through another minute, He gives me rest.  He's my life, my breath, my everything.  He's the strong One.