Joyfulness

We long for peace, we long for serenity, we long for joy and happiness.  Where do we look?  We look for things to make us happy, we look for people to bring us joy, we look for good behavior in children to bring peace.  Yet, we don't find happiness in things.  People often bring us pain not joy.  Children, well I know my children certainly don't bring peace even though they are relatively well behaved.

So, where do we find peace and serenity, joy and happiness?   The answer is in the blood of Jesus Christ.  Only Christ can give us true peace.  Only Christ can calm our fears and handle our worries.  Only finding ourselves in Christ can bring true Joy, and only in the security of our future in Heaven can we find lasting happiness.

God created us to live today.  He doesn't want us to relive our regrets of yesterday.  He doesn't want us to plan out our obediences of tomorrow.  This moment is the one God has given you. 

My moment requires that I complete my household chores and tuck my children into bed.  What are you going to do with it? 

Take this cup away

And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me." (Mark 14:36).  Have you ever prayed this prayer?  Or, if you haven't actually prayed it, have you ever thought it? 

This morning at the Gospel Coalition, James MacDonald preached on Psalm 25.  The theme for this year's conference is preaching Christ in the Old Testament.  The sermon was a great encouragement, and convicting at the same time.  Psalm 25: 20, David states "Keep my soul, and deliver me;"  David cries out for God to deliver him.  Correspondingly, Christ cries out to his Father to deliver him from the weight of having the sins of the earth poured out on himself. 

Yet, neither of these passages stop at the cry for deliverance.  David continues "Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.  Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You."  David wants deliverance, but more than deliverance he wants to be sure he is trusting and waiting on God.

Christ continues the verse with And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:36). "Not what I will, but what you will."  I think we often times pray for deliverance from our trials.  Whether the trial is minor, or whether it is major.  Whether it is a broken down vehicle in the middle of nowhere, or stage four cancer raging through the body of our child.  Trials are hard to bear.  They are often unwanted, pressure building stages of our lives.  Yet, it is the pressure that turns a dirty old piece of coal into a beautiful sparkling diamond. 

I am nothing more than a lump of coal that the Master is beautifying. Next time the pressure builds, and the trials seems more than you can bear, don't leave your prayer at a prayer of deliverance -- remember to finish it with "Not what I will, but what you will"  and wait.  Wait upon the Lord Your God and see what wondrous things He will do.  Romans 8:28 -- And we know that all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.  As believers, we have been called to the greatest calling -- to share the gospel to a lost world. God has a greater plan than you or I can see, we must simply WAIT and TRUST.  God will bring us through the trial.

Preparing for Sunday: Wednesday

Today is a great day to have a chapel service with your children to help them remember the proper behavior they are to have in church.  With the wealth of sermons available on the Internet (do be wise in what sermon you choose -- choose a preacher you know preaches the gospel message correctly), it is easy to find a new sermon each week to listen to.

After you have chosen a sermon to listen to, sit your children down on the couch, or around the table, and explain to them what you are going to do.  I like to sit my kids beside me on the couch to "practice how we are going to sit in church.  They are each given a Bible, a notebook, and a pencil.  Have a time of singing together where they can join in on the singing with you (just like they would do during the service).  Have a time of prayer.  Take a moment to reexplain how they are to sit with explanation of how discipline will be issued (just as you would do on Sunday's).  For example, my six year old knows how to sit quietly and keep her hands to herself. However, she rarely behaves in church and she knows punishment will be waiting for her at home.  I am not promoting that you discipline your one year old for squirming (for example, a couple weeks ago, my husband mentioned the rooster crow in a sermon.  My two year old promptly added er er ererrrrrrrrrrrr -- I promptly tried to shush him, but was pleased that he was at least listening on occasion).

Mom, sit down with your children and your Bible-- remember, we are to set the example.  I suggest using a note card for taking notes (it's easier to slip into your Bible if you have to deal with  a child).  Begin the sermon, and if any of the kids begin to act up, you can pause the message and deal with the situation.  Sit back down and return to listening to the sermon.  If you are doing this for the first time, you can progressively work your way up to an entire sermon -- Start with 15 minutes of sitting, and work your way up to the full 45 - 75 minutes of sitting still.  If you can train your children to sit quietly and listen to a sermon now you will be blessed when they are older, and in other situations when they need to know how to sit quietly and attentively. If they know how to write start off by having them pick out words and write the words, then progress to sentences, and continue progressing until they can take notes on the sermon.  If they don't know how to write, have them draw pictures of words they hear, or copy the words you write in your notes.

This is a training session.  If your children need more work in preparation for Sunday's, maybe a practice session every other day would be helpful.  You set the pace.  Don't become upset or angry that your kids are not letting you hear a complete sermon.  Instead, rejoice in the tidbits that you are able to grasp and focus on the training aspect.  Eventually you will be able to focus on the preaching again, but for this season of our lives, God has granted us the task of teaching our children to have a passion for God.

Contentment

We have been discussing contentment frequently in our home.  Amongst my children, the discussion revolves around being content with what is served during mealtime, contentment and gratitude for the toys and books that we already have, and contentment with the activities that we are able to do as a family. 

As a reminder to myself, I have been working on having a spirit of contentment with what God has given us, and the ministry we have been placed into.  This afternoon as I was scrolling through the blogs I follow, I came upon A Holy Experience.  Ann Voskamp published a post today entitled

How to {help} Raise Grateful Kids

I love the wonderful ideas she posts about how to instill gratefulness in our children.  She included several ideas I plan to begin implementing into our daily routine.  I especially appreciate the idea of having the children each write out what they are thankful for each day on a post it note and placing it on the window (although I might use the wall instead).

I would love to hear your ideas about teaching gratefulness to children (and to yourself).

Today I am grateful for:

1. The sunshine so I can get out and weed my flowerbeds.

2. The beautiful blossoms on the fruit trees giving hope for delicious fruit later this year.

3. My adoring husband who gives his adoration freely when I am so undeserving.

4. The amazing technology that can bring people together (when used properly).

5. The daily encouragement and joy I find in the presence of my Lord each day.

6. Five beautiful and healthy children

7. The blessing of spiritual mentors both nearby and far away.

8. Godly parents who support our family in our journey of parenthood and ministry.

9. The daffodills that grace my kitchen table (with thanks to my neighbor for allowing my daughter to pick them).

10. For nap time which gives me a few minutes to sit down and refresh before heading to the next task on the list.

11. For the ability to work and care for my amazing family.

I could go on, but I will continue this list another day.  Now, please share below what you are thankful for today.

Breaking Down the Walls

Do you know what this picture is?  This is a portion of the Berlin Wall that still stands today.  I rejoice that the Berlin Wall no longer divides Germany as it did for so many years.  However, there is a serious wall that we as Christian Women often need to face and break down.

This wall is a serious wall that can be the cause of destroying our personal ministry to the women in our churches, and it can also destroy my husband's ministry.  This wall is the Wall of Depression.

Depression takes on many forms at many different levels.  The easiest wall to climb over is the wall of discouragement.  We can quickly go to God's Word and find encouragement to meet the challenges of the day.  Discouragement usually does not last very long if my first response is to turn over to God.  I face discouragement because I create an expectation of how something should be done, or results something should give.  When the outcome does not meet my expectation, I am overwhelmed by discouragement.  As wives, we need to remember that our job in the ministry is not to produce the outcome of growing our churches or forcing salvation upon others.  This is not even the job of our Pastor Husbands.  The outcome belongs to the Lord.  My job as a wife is to support my husband and care for my family, and assist in ministering to the needs of the church as much as I am able (or are permitted by the church members -- obviously, if they don't tell you about a need it's difficult to minister).

From this point on, depression takes on more serious forms and the walls are harder to break down.  The symptoms of depression range from always being exhausted, to a constant sadness, to suicidal thoughts.  However, the source remains the same -- Selfish thinking because our expectations are not being met. 

In the ministry, I discovered that I have a lot of expectations.  I expect the church members to be as excited as we are about a ministry opportunity.  I expect the church to work together on repairs that need to be done.  I expect the people to stay awake and listen to the wonderful sermon my husband has prepared.  I expected my children to sit quietly through the church service.  When these expectations aren't met, discouragement sets in.  If the initial discouragement is not dealt with, the next missed expectation causes me to sink deeper until I eventually find myself wallowing in the pit of despair.

Ever since I was in elementary school I have battled with depression.  I can remember walking home in junior high and praying for Christ to return right away because I just knew I wouldn't survive another day.  Suicide was a recurring thought, but I knew it was sinful.  I remember one night in high school consuming nearly an entire bottle of pain killers.

As I contemplated that weekend, it wasn't a matter of feeling pain as much as it was being overwhelmed with loneliness (caused by unmet expectations).  I knew with each pill I swallowed that I was drowning myself in selfishness.

Fast forward about fifteen years.  Loneliness is still a struggle for me.  However, my bouts of depression have been fewer and shorter.  My most recent struggle lasted only three days.  This realization has caused me to examine why.

We serve an awesome God, and I know that it is his grace, compassion, and gospel that has lifted me from the pit of despondency.  With five little ones clamouring for attention, I have very little time for pity parties.  Plus, when I do throw a pity party, it doesn't take long to see another one in my family having his/her own party.

This morning my scripture reading included "The sins of the father's will be visited upon the third and fourth generation." I do not want my children wallowing in despair as I wasted much of my childhood doing.

When depressed we often prefer to sleep in and stay inside.  We waste away by either reading a book or mindlessly watching a movie or television.  All of these are the wrong response to depression as they only cause us to sink further into the bog of self-pity.

When I am busy studying God's Word, serving others, sharing the Gospel of Christ, I no longer focus on my own perceived needs and expectations.  Instead, I focus on how I can meet the needs of others.

Next time you find yourself beginning to step into the pit of despair, turn your mourning into joy.  Praise the Lord that you are not responsible for the reactions and responses of others.  Praise God for the opportunity to minister for Him.  Put on some Godly praise music and sing praises to God.  Remember his grace, His mercy. Remember how awesome our God is!

Sometimes depression comes because we have forgotten how awesome God IS!!!