Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sunday, The Day of REST

Sunday is meant to be a day of rest, right?

The Bible tells us to rest one day a week. How then is a wife and mother meant to get this much needed and well deserved rest?

Does it mean that I don't have feed, bathe and entertain my children on Sundays? What about the washing and tidying up after the family?

Obviously as a mother I have responsibilities that don't dissapear just because I need and want some rest. So that leaves me to ponder the question of much needed balance.

As I am a wife and mother, but I am also more than just those roles to my loved ones, I have needs for myself. How do I  find time for my needs? We all need to recharge so we can accomplish all we need to during the week.

I would love to take a day off and know that my children would be well looked after and my house would be clean when I return.

Ahh it is lovely to dream...

However back to reality, I have a crying child to tend to and another one to feed and get into bed.

Grateful to be a wife and mother among many other things.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

True Contentment

Content with what I have!

It is such a powerful statement. Can I claim true contentment in my current circumstances?

I desire to say yes wholeheartedly, but something is holding me back. I can't quite define it. I know as I search deeper into true contentment. The contentment that Christ gives when we lay all our dreams and desires at His feet and honestly say to him "God you are more than enough for me". I know then I will find complete contentment in everything.

So to begin this journey, I first need to determine what it is that I am holding on to. What dreams and desires, even though they may be good, am I clinging onto tighter than my desire for a personal and fulfilling relationship with my Lord and Saviour. A relationship that says "I will abandon my desire for anything other than my love for You. For your grace and mercy. For your gift of salvation."

I sit here waiting impatietly for our baby girl to arrive, not long now as as she is due this month and I can't help but wonder how I am going to cope with two little babies to look after. I know I need to find contentment it in, knowing that I am meant to be a mother and that this is the current season of my life. However it is so easy at times to look at my friends carefree lives (the ones without children), who don't have to think about a little persons needs and how I am going to meet them. I love staying at home with Theodore and can't wait for our princess to add to the bundle, however I do have to stop myself at times from thinking the negative things.

Life, finanically would be so much easier if I was still working, we wouldn't be scraping the bottom of the barrel each month to make ends meet, and some months not even manage that. I would still be dreaming of holidays that I could plan or the house we would be saving for. Even the luxury of eating out doesn't really happen for us at the moment. I am not complaining. I love my husband and know that the career he is pursuing is the right one for him and us as a family. I love my Theodore and the joy that being at home with him, being able to nuture him, spiritually, physically and emotionally. I don't overly miss the working world. I do love being able to get up of a morning and plan what we will do for the day.

I just wish I could have it all.

I am well aware that this is a complete contradiction from being content with what I have. Obviously I am not there yet but I am working on it daily. It's moments like this that I stop and look around to find the things I can be thankful for. Surprisingly there are quite a lot of things I can be thankful for when I really stop and think about it.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

God Is Excellent

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Psalm 8:1

Do we really appreciate how excellent our heavenly father is? Do we comprehend all that he does for us as his children? Does the glory of God intimidate you? 

God doesn't want his children to have an earthly fear of his excellence. He does however want us to live our lives with a holy reverence for his majestic greatness.

Even as Christians we can be caught out complaining about circumstances that haven't gone the way we would like them to. How often in times of despair do we stop to praise God in all his glory knowing that he knows what's best for us and will work all things to His glory. 

Let us come to God with a heart of praise and thanksgiving at all times! 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

God Is Great

For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Psalm 86:10

God's greatness is uncontainable. He is so very powerful and amazing. His love for his children is incredible.

God is capable of doing so many wondrous deeds. He alone created heaven and earth. He doesn't need our help to be great or to do wondrous things.

God loves us so very much that he gave mankind dominion over all other creatures.

Thankyou Lord Jesus that you are great and do wondrous things.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

God Is Powerful

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24

God Is Powerful, what does it mean to be powerful? Most of the time when we think of power we think of corruption.

God's power however is not a corrupt power. His power is pure.

To be united with Christ, is to be united with the power and wisdom of God. We all need God's power and wisdom working through our lives each and every day. Without the power of Christ we are nothing and unable to accomplish anything.

God's power is also a power of love. God loves his children dearly and he chooses to impart his wisdom to those he has called his beloved.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

God Is Good

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
1 Chronicles 16:24

God is amazingly good. In all that we do, he is always there right beside us guiding us. Often His goodness is easily overlooked as we continue with the busyness of our days.

God loves us so very much and desires for us to share his goodness with the world around us in all that we do.

I know I want God's goodness to radiate out of me more and more. God help us to become a beacon of your unfailing goodness.

How marvelous are his works. He created not only you and me, but all that we can see and even the things we cannot see.

It only takes a moment to look around and find something God created to be grateful for and to marvel at.
God Is Good  Flickr Photo Sharing


Sunday, June 26, 2011

ALL DOCTRINE, NO HEART...

Have you ever stopped to wonder why people often assume that because someone is passionate about a certain doctrine that they have no heart? I have experienced this where someone’s passion for scripture can be misunderstood as being focused only on doctrine and not looking at the heart of Christ.

All doctrine, no heart...
So, what is doctrine, I think too often it is not explained properly and therefore completely misunderstood as a lack of emotion and spiritual feelings.

Doctrine can be defined as a principle of faith. It is the teaching of God’s Word. We all have faith. Often I think that at times we judge the way others express their faith as it does not fit in the box we have labelled “faith” and what we believe it should look like.
I believe that God created us all equally, yet uniquely as well. As long as the faith we are professing lines up with the Holy Scriptures, does it really matter if they way one person expresses themselves is a little different to the way we would.

In life we will come across the quiet of faith, who are reserved, don’t speak all that much, however spend a lot of time listening, and when these people speak it is often an incredible insight. Then there are the noisier of faith, who like to let everyone know their view on scripture and can often, seem over bearing. These people mean well and are often very full of knowledge and worth listening to. Just because they are full of knowledge and speak their mind doesn’t mean that they somehow lack emotion and heart, they are often very passionate people who are misunderstood because they have such a heart for the gospel that they just want to share it with everyone they see and everywhere they go.
In closing I would like to leave you with some scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Titus 1:9
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Perfect Life

Far to often I try to live the perfect life, not exactly holy and blameless, but more than that I try to make it look like I have it all together. As Christians aren't we called to have it all together, to live the perfect sin free life with all of life's luxuries included.


I am sure that is what I signed up for when I became a Christian, didn't you?


Ok, so that couldn't be further from the truth. But it sure sounds good.


I think that the world often expects that standard of perfect, as we claim to be different from the world, yet we still suffer a lot of the same things as the world. We are affected by tragedies, we have financial losses and heartache, we still experience relationship breakdowns, etc..


The difference is that we have Jesus our Lord and Saviour to turn to in every circumstance. Thank you God for your gift of Salvation as it literally brings me life. I thank you that even though I often make mistakes and fall short, that you are always there to guide and correct me. 


Create in me a clean heart Lord, one that does not boast in evil. A heart that will rejoice in suffering as I know it is bringing me closer to you and your Glory.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Dare to say YES to God!

I recently finished reading a book by Lysa TerKeurst "What Happens When Women Say Yes To God" and all I can say is wow am I encouraged to say Yes to God in every circumstance, no matter how great or small. I'm not saying it won't be a challenge as I believe almost every good thing comes with a challenge attached. I am however looking forward to what God has in store for me as I say Yes to Him in all that He requires of me.
This hasn't come easy as I have already been challenged by God to let go of something I love to do for a time, however I am looking forward to spending more time with God as I grow closer to Him in all that He asks of me.

What Happens When Women Say Yes to God
I am very aware that this is not how I normally tend to blog however I just had to share about this book as I feel that it has been a great encouragement to me. God requires us to give Him our all, and that means all of us, including our wants, dreams and desires, some of which God may have given us, some He hasn't. In His timing I believe He will fulfil the desires and dreams that He has placed in our hearts.

I would love to hear if God has recently challenged you to say Yes to Him in something that you don't yet understand.

I would also like to suggest asking God what it is that He requires of you in this season of your life.

Until we meet again,

xx

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Fear is False Expectations Appearing Real

I recently read that "Fear is False Expectations Appearing Real". Wow did it impact me in a big way. When I react to fear, I make irrational choices that generally go against who God has called me to be. What I do out of fear never accomplishes God's purpose for my life.


Psalm 27:  "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"


I pray that God may teach me to not make decisions out of fear, instead guide me to make right decisions.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Growing In Faith

What does it mean to grow in faith? Does it magically happen or does it take time and a multitude of trials for your faith to truly grow? Are you still trusting God fr the same things or have you stretched your faith and begun to trust him for the bigger things, even the things we see as impossible.

If what you are trusting God for lines up with His promises in the Holy Scriptures then there is no reason that God won't honour your needs, but be careful what you ask for, if you ask for more faith, expect to be tested and go through some difficult circumstances as faith does not come easily, it is not something we can go out and buy more of. It is a gift from God.

As is often said and very true, 'God won't give you more than you can handle' - providing you trust Him completely to bring you through every circumstance.

God allows the good and the bad to build our faith, it is often in the good times that we forget to thank God for his mercy ad grace, however we all to often come running when something bad happens.

God wants all of me and you, he wants us to spend just as much time with Him when things are going well and when things are not going our way.

Are you prepared to trust God during the seasons of drought in your life as well as the seasons of plenty?

What is Devotion?

'But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word' Acts 6:4 'And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful' Titus 3:14

The meaning of 'devotion' is - 'great love and loyalty, profound dedication and prayer'. Wow, does that stir you as much as it stirs me. When we think in terms of devoting our lives to God it's an awe inspiring definition, however when you think of it in terms of the amount of time we devote to time wasters it can become a rather scary thought.


You're life reflects your devotion regardless of what you are devoted to it will always shine through. We become like the people we spend the most time with, are we spending enough time with Jesus to reflect His love for us or do we look more like our earthly surroundings? We need to ensure that our devotion is regular, but we must strive to ensure that our devotion time with Jesus doesn't become "just" routine.


Our devotion time should be first thing in the morning that way we are prepared for anything the day may send our way. Our devotion times should also be quiet and alone, this can be hard for mothers of young children who wake early, however it still needs to be a priority to ensure we are godly role models for our children. God requires that we spend time in solitude reading His word and seeking His face by spending time in prayer daily.