Midweek Motivation
Start Your Day out Right!
Scripture, Short Devotion
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. – 2 Tim. 2:13
If you’re like me, you might be an overachiever. Some of the time. It’s so easy to set high goals, then give up on them when they turn out not to be realistic in the greater context of family and a busy life. It’s easy to make promises and then end up double-booked. And it’s very, very easy to feel guilty and inadequate about the course of our lives.
But that’s not why we’re here. God isn’t in this to make me look good. He’s in it for His name’s sake, regardless of what kind of day I’m having. Today’s disappointments and its successes are not the point. Every so often I have to force myself to stop and think about who God is, and what He’s doing today, not what I think I’m trying to do. And it’s not so much about what He’s doing in my life – I mean, I can get all kinds of squirrelly trying to figure that out. It’s about who He is. Here’s my l’il old checklist of things I ask myself:
Have you thanked God for the fact that He’s holy lately?
Have you thanked God for the fact that He doesn’t ignore sin?
Have you thanked God for the plain, simple cross of Jesus Christ, never mind all the spiritual addenda you usually like to focus on?
Have you thought much lately about what it means to be faithful the way God is faithful? (Ooh, ouch, hot potato, help, Lord! :~)
Is Your House in Order?
Cleaning, parenting, marriage, organization tips, etc
My spouse has been quite hesitant about the idea of me developing a “writing career.” Truth be told, so have I. I’ve watched people sacrifice their family time and even their marriages for all kinds of notions. He and I have a commitment never to do that.
We’re finding it’s as simple as remembering to always keep talking to each other. That’s the glue that makes us a team. Every so often, we sit down and discuss what it’s like trying to have a voice in our world, trying to balance time, and trying to remain true to our faith commitment in a commercialized society. Whenever I feel myself getting uptight or unsettled about writing, homeschooling, or our social commitments, that’s my cue that I haven’t been in touch with him enough.
Have you communicated with your family lately about what you’re writing, how you’re writing, and why you’re doing it? Have you taken the time to let them into that inner world? In a moment of rebellion, my oldest once informed me that he’s never reading a book I write. A couple of years later, we discussed unlikely methods for creating characters around the lunch table, and I told them a story synopsis. They became an enthusiastic audience. (And I went, “I have fans!! Whee!”) And that’s important. The sharing of words is just another way of sharing our lives as Christians, same as visiting friends and going to church. Communication with the world outside our home is the goal… And that’s the goal of raising our kids in the Lord too.
Today, I want to encourage you to work at building a communication-minded family by sharing yourself, your problems and your dreams, with them.
Afternoon Pick Me Up
Writing inspiration
Don’t worry about writing anything down for now. Putting it on record is only a small part of the process. Right now, just live. Give yourself permission to dip into the well of experience. Have an educational conversation with your children, or just sit and draw pictures with them. Do something kind for someone else. Listen to how their life is going. Tackle an interpersonal problem that’s been nagging at you. Reach out from the cocoon of the mind.
Remember that you are a character. (And as such, it’s okay to be a character! I am totally unrepentant about it.) Stop and take a long view of your life experience up till now. Think about the themes and the rhythm God’s weaving into it, and be inspired by the expert storycraft of the Author and Finisher of our faith. Stop and thank Him for being the best example there is of story, of structure, and of communication. And you know what? If you don’t come back refreshed and brimming with ideas, don’t worry about it! To everything, there is a season.
What’s For Dinner?
Quick dinners, crock pots, etc.
Is it parental heresy to feed your kids cereal for supper when the day has been one long explosion of disasters after another? I think not. Here is a great, healthy granola recipe http://www.homesteadblogger
A Restful Night’s Sleep
Scripture for a restful sleep
If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. – Col. 3:1-3
We buried a valued member of our small-town community just a short time ago. He died at the age of 38, of cancer. He left behind five young kids, and of course, his wife, my friend.
I sat there at the funeral, and I could barely watch the photo montage of him holding his children, reading to them, sweeping his wife off her feet. All that is gone.
That night, I sat down and thought of all the people he’s with now. His loved ones – my loved ones – apostles and prophets and martyrs from the early days in Rome to modern Asia and Africa. People are dying every day.
People are beginning to live every day. Thank God, and never mind all the trivia. Never mind the broken this or the unfinished that. God bless our kids and our relationships, and may everything we do be reaching for the real beginning of life. Let your heart’s aches and bruises empty out at the foot of the cross tonight, and set your eyes on the God who loved you, and gave Himself for you.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,For Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.
