Like Walking on Water

At times I am full of faith and overflowing with love as I take care of my six children. Then I have moments when fear creeps in and tries to overwhelm me...

"How am I going to do all that needs to be done? Am I giving each child the attention they need? What kind of world are my kids growing up in? Will they love the Lord Jesus?"

It's in those moments that I feel like Peter walking on the water. I have all this faith to step out of the boat to do the impossible, because I know He's calling me. Then I see the wind. I become afraid and start sinking. I cry out, "Lord, save me!" He immediately reaches out His hand and catches me.

I need to keep my eyes focused on Him. It was when Peter saw the wind, that he became afraid and started to sink. I don't want to be distracted by fear, and let faith give way to doubt. However, I'm thankful that when I do, I can call on Him. He always catches me.

I am passionate about being a mom. God has helped me to see the immeasurable value there is in the ministry of motherhood...in loving children. I want to do His will, knowing that He provides what I need. I must have faith in His abilities. It's not about what I'm capable of, it's about my willingness to surrender. As I release control, as I let go of fear, as I lay my life down and open my hands - God fills me, meets me, ministers to me, and revives me. He flows through me, and I get to be a vessel of His life and love to the people around me. What could be better than that?

Love Came Down

When I was walking through a very difficult time in my life, it was hard to see what God was doing in the moment. I had to continually speak the truth to myself and believe Him, no matter what I was feeling.

This is a well known verse from Lamentations-
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

Here are some of the verses surrounding that one...
"my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD"...But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." (Lam. 3:17-18, 21-26 ESV)

Today God flooded me with memories of his faithfulness to my family through great hardship and trials that He allowed us to experience. I shared them with a new friend. As the words and stories left my lips, tears crept up in my eyes. Faith filled my heart as I remembered His goodness. I will declare that His love is great. His mercies never end. He is faithful. He was faithful then, and He's faithful to me today. I do have hope.

This song is extremely significant to me. I hope it blesses you today.
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Training My Brain

There's so much to look at and listen to. It doesn't matter if I'm on Facebook or simply examining myself and my own thoughts. I can get easily tangled in a "web".

I want to train my brain to think in healthy ways. I want to have self-control, wisdom, and discernment about what I meditate on. That means I have to be intentional about what I set before my eyes, and what I listen to with my ears. I have to recognize if I'm feeding fear, bitterness, or lies. I need to repent and replace! I have to "put those off", and put on faith, thankfulness, forgiveness, truth, etc.

If I'm careful and diligent to guard my mind, take my thoughts captive, and mediate on truth (according to God's word)...that will show in my words. Lord willing, the light that fills me can come out and pierce through a little bit of the darkness in the world around me. A bit of the darkness in others' souls. I won't even have to try, it will happen naturally.
The mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Phil. 4:8 ESV)