Last Tuesday Tunes (for now) & a Special Invitation

 Good afternoon!  As God so often does; He brought together a few things for this post.  There is still so much "hard" stuff going on.  Many are grieving the loss of loved ones, others are praying for ill friends and family,  some are dealing with loneliness and isolation, others are wrestling with things God has showed them during this hard time and feeling the "growing pains" of those truths,  while others are trying to navigate a place where even once close friends find it hard to know what is "safe" to discuss or how to be sensitive to the comfort levels of others.  It's a lot and can leave us feeling powerless to what is going on around us.  But Praise God, as believers, we are not left to try and navigate this time in our own power. 

I'm currently reading through Tony Evans' book God Himself: A Journey Through His Attributes; Part of this week's reading focused on God's Omnipotence; meaning that He is all-powerful.  The following quotes and Scripture referenced were great reminders:

"We have problems with the power of God because we keep Him in our environment.  
We try to limit Him to what we know on earth, so we just know that He can't do this or that.  
But God lives in a realm far beyond us, and His power operates according to vastly different rules.
God is not only unlimited in what He can do.  He is unlimited in how He gets it done." 

"If you ever forget the word omnipotent, if the word power doesn't do anything for you, just
do what the writers of the Bible did.  They reached back to an old phrase and simply said, "He's
able."  If you lose all the theology of it, if you don't know how to match omnipotence with 
sovereignty, just remember this phrase: "He's able." "

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or 
think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in 
Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

As I read that phrase I was reminded of a chorus I learned as a girl; simply titled He's Able

SPECIAL INVITATION:

Last year I took December 1st - December 24th and read a chapter of Luke each day (there are 24 chapters in the book).  As I read each chapter I jotted down what we learn about Jesus from each chapter.  It was a great way to truly focus the the wonderful gift God gave by sending His Son to be Emmanuel - God with us.  I'm planning to do this again and would LOVE for you all to join me.  Comment with what you saw in each chapter to encourage each other!  

Tuesday Tunes: Thanksgiving Edition

Last year we were having a discussion in our house about Christmas music and how there are a limited amount of songs so they tend to get overplayed.  As part of that discussion I decided to make a Thanksgiving playlist on Spotify.  So now, we have a Thanksgiving playlist for November and a Christmas playlist for December.  Since Thanksgiving is this week I thought it would be fun to share a couple songs from that playlist.  

 I love classic music and the holidays must have some Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole; so here's a classic by Bing Crosby for Thanksgiving. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Large Families: The Comments, The Life & The Ugly

 Disclaimer: This post is NOT to whine, be rude or guilt trip anyone. A year or so ago, as I was writing a check for an activity that a few of our kids were attending, a friend commented, "wow, that's a lot.  I only have one kid"  and more recently another friend sent me an Instagram Reel of a woman acting out the reactions/comments people give when you have kids...from 1 to 6 kids.  The Reel was funny and reminded me that I'd had this post bouncing around in my brain for awhile.  As a mom of 6, I have realized that there are things that are the same as those with less kids but also things that are very different.  So, I thought I'd share some of the real-life things we've encountered over the years.  Full disclosure: there was a family that we did not invite to our wedding because they had 8 kids and we were mostly paying for the wedding ourselves...I get where I was in life then but I also cringe a bit because I know how much a nice, paid for meal could have meant for that mama...so, with the risk of being completely misunderstood (but hey, it's my blog LOL), here goes....

The Comments:

- Yes, we know "how that happens" or "what causes kids"

- Yes, we notice when we walk into a restaurant/other venue and notice you quickly count the 

kids and sigh because you think those kids will definitely misbehave. (side note: we probably 

spend more time than the average teaching our kids to be aware of their surroundings and 

not be wild in public.)

- Yes, they are all ours -- same mom and dad

- No, we are not "the Brady Bunch"

- Yes, I've been told by a complete stranger "you should probably stop after this one.  

But I suppose it's good to have them when you're young" (I was pregnant with #4 at 29 yrs old)

- Yes, I've been told by a family member "are you out of your tree??!!" when announcing 

that I was pregnant (Again with #4).

 

- Yes, I've comforted one of my daughters when she excitedly called a family member to tell them 

that I was pregnant again and the family member just laughed at her and my hurt daughter couldn't 

understand why they laughed and weren't excited. (side note: after this we made sure to be in a 

public space when telling this family member so they would temper their reactions)

- Yes, we have our hands full, but our home and hearts are also SO full.

 

- We get very excited when someone finds out we have 6 kiddos and responds with "oh, cool!  

I'm one of 6/7/8, etc...you don't hear about large families a lot these days"

- No, we are not Catholic...Yes, we do believe in birth control.

The Life: 

- There is always someone to play with, chat with,  etc.

- You learn to just let things go.  Nothing will ever be perfect; you learn to embrace some chaos.

- Parents of many kids are not some special variety, we question decisions, we doubt, 

we pray...A LOT!

- We talk a lot around other adults because we get excited to have other adults to talk with!

- We get really good at stretching expensive ingredients (i.e. meat)...repeat after me...

"soup is your friend"

- You can relate to pretty much all your parent friends because you most likely 

have a kid in the same stage.  Preschool - check; Elementary School - Check; 

Middle School - Check; High School - Check

- When going through a difficult stage with a child; it's best to NOT focus 

on the fact that you will have to go through this stage X more times.

- Holidays are AWESOME!  You appreciate the importance of family! I recently had 

one of my older kids  say "mom, it's gonna be so awesome and BIG when, 

someday, we all have holidays together with all our families. Since there's six 

of us and you & dad we could have a whole week where we go to each other's

houses!"  I pray she never loses that love of family!

The "Ugly": 

- We are often lonely in this place. (see "the life" regarding adult conversation)

- We rarely get invited to other people's houses.  I get it, we're a lot.

- When you write that check for your one kid...multiply that amount...yep, it's expensive.  

God has richly  blessed us and we are fortunate to be able to make our money "work" 

for us...yay CC points! But it still, often takes some creative budgeting.

- There will rarely be a time when everyone is "okay"...praise God for His strength 

and faithfulness that sustains us.

We are blessed to have a wonderful family and church who support us, love us, and 

pour into our kiddos.  While much of what I wrote is the same for smaller 

families; there are unique challenges and blessings to having a "larger than 

normal" family.  Yes, we chose this life and are grateful for it but it doesn't 

mean that there aren't challenges unique to this life.  My prayer is that by sharing 

a bit of insight you will better be  able to minister to and understand the 

larger families in your circle.  Yes, each family is unique....but hey

after all, it is my blog. 😀

Tuesday Tunes (Yes, I know it's Wednesday)

Yesterday was very busy so I didn't have a chance to get this post up.  I'm still calling it Tuesday Tunes because I like the alliteration.  Today I'm sharing a song that reminds us that God is still the Ancient of Days and HE is the King reigning over ALL.  

None above Him, none before Him
All of time in His hands
For His throne it shall remain and ever stand
All the power, all the glory
I will trust in His name
For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Praying for the prodigals (and parents)

 The other day a friend said to me "[your kid] is such a good kid, you've done a great job with [them]."  I said thank you but a part of me cringed a bit.  When we have kids we think that's what we want to hear; it's encouraging and I know that that is exactly what my friend was doing; encouraging me, and I so appreciate that, we need that. But yeah, I did cringe a bit and I want to share why that type of encouragement is harder for me to hear lately. (this friend is awesome and super encouraging so this is not to disparage her comment in any way; it was just a reminder of some things I've had rolling around in my head for awhile). 

So much of parenting is trying to do the right thing.  We are told there are no formulas, but yet we still think if we just do x, y, z, then our kids will come out great; they'll stay on the straight and narrow.  There are Scriptures that encourage us to train up our children in the "discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4) or the verse that so many quote, to "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6).  It's essential that we as parents are teaching and training our children in the ways of God; but is that a guarantee?  Is Proverbs 22:6 a principle or a promise?  We could debate those things but here's something that is crystal clear....our children are unique humans with their own free will; while there is much that we can control, ultimately there are decisions and choices they will make that we have no control over.  If we think anything different we head down the path of pride.

Let me say, that I have been guilty of this; of judging parents based on how their teens & young adult children choose to live...and yes, I've been humbled as my own kids move through the teen years.  Yes, we do as parents have influence on our kids and we should absolutely be striving to do our best to teach them, not only that they should follow Jesus but also why following Jesus is the best way.  But there is no formula.  We can pray, teach, discipline, surround our kids with others who love Jesus and they can still fall away.  And all too often when that happens we, even as believers, tut-tut our tongues and say "well, what did the parent's do wrong?".  We become prideful and think "if they only did this or that then their kid wouldn't have walked away".  Do you not think that the parents are asking themselves those same questions?  What could we have done? What did we miss?  It's so easy to say "wow, great job" when the kids meet our expectations of how they should act or think but when they don't "fall into line" we can immediately think "wow, what did you as a parent do wrong?"  As parents we constantly second guess if we're making the right decisions; we pray, seek to follow God's Word and do our best. 

The other aspect of this is that when we see the kids struggling with faith we often pull away; after all we don't want our kids being influenced by them.  What is wrong with that family? So what ends up happening is the family is further isolated and feels deeper shame, the struggling child is pushed away and no longer even tries to ask questions or engage in church, etc.  They feel the judgement too.  So, when you see a family, or anyone struggling or being a bit prickly why not lean in to build a closer relationship rather than stepping away?  Those parents need to hear that even when their children make wrong choices that the parents are still doing a great job when they pray, continue to teach and still reach out to others.  They need encouragement too!

As parents we need others to speak truth to our kids.  Especially for teens, they need to hear from people who aren't mom & dad.  They are trying to figure out who they are; and how their faith is theirs.  Some of us have raised our kids up in church, Christian homes, some in Christian school, some home schooled, some in public schools all raised with the Gospel.  These kids have made professions of faith and yet when they got older they walked away.  Some of us have kids right now that are struggling with their faith, figuring out what they believe, why the Bible is true.  As they get older and aren't really kids anymore it's natural to struggle with these questions; how are we as believers coming alongside them in this?  Are we?  Answers like, "it's just faith, you just have to believe" often aren't sufficient; are we teaching them apologetics; the logical reasons?  Why our faith is not a "blind" faith?  What evidences there are all around us that reveal God?  How we practically live out our faith? As our own kids move through the teen years it's been eye opening to see how their thinking changes; they need those deeper discussions and answers; and often they need to hear those answers from others...not just mom & dad. 

When my friend made that comment, what she didn't know is that the kid she was complimenting came to faith later in their childhood.  A lot of prayer and tears were said and shed for them and the hardest lesson I learned was that I had no control over whether they ever came to faith; what if I prayed the rest of my life and never saw that child accept Jesus?  We are told that "neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:6)  We are to be faithful to do our part but only God can change hearts.  I praise God that they did accept Jesus as Savior and one of the sweetest gifts ever was having that child allow me to read their testimony they had written out and seeing specific ways God answered my prayers and worked in their heart to bring them to Him.  God is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) but each of us has to make that personal decision; it's not one we as parents can ever make for our kids.  I remember hearing someone say "Adam and Eve had the perfect parent and they sinned and walked away"  We need to remember this and stop judging other parents so harshly, we need to pray for and with each other.  We need to pray that God will honor those prayers and that the "prodigal" children will listen to the Holy Spirit and turn back.

One final thought: If you are a parent of a "prodigal" child who accepted Jesus and has now walked away; know that Jesus has not let go.  Jesus says in John 10: 28-29 "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."  I'm praying for this generation and their parents.  That those who have walked away will turn back to God and He will do mighty things through them!  

Tuesday Tunes

 Yay, two weeks in a row.  Getting this up late but it's still Tuesday. What a beautiful day it was today.  The weather was a bit warmer here and the sunshine and blue skies were so pretty.  

 Today I want to share with you a beautiful medley that I recently heard.  After listening I'd encourage you to read through a few passages to reflect on the truths mentioned in this song: 

Genesis 1
John 1:1-18
Romans 1:1-20
Colossians 1:15-20
Philippians 2:1-11

"Do you want to be healed?"

 

I'm going to start this post with a bit of a disclaimer; I typically do not like Christian movies.  I find that most of them make a caricature of Jesus and the Bible and do not present Jesus as someone that people would be drawn to.  Having said that; I have enjoyed the series The Chosen.   

The above scene is from Season 2 and the full episode can be watched on Youtube.  The Scripture it follows is John 5:1-17, when Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda.  Jesus first asks the man "Do you want to be healed? (vs 6).  We may see this as an odd question and think "of course he wants to be healed, who wants to be a cripple?"  but here's the thing; Jesus knows us, He knew this man.  We can become so stuck in the things that cripple us that they become our identity.  Our sins and limitations become how we define our lives; and we find a false sense of comfort in that. The familiar, no matter how messed up, can become comfortable because it is easier to stay stuck in what we know than to face what we never have before.  Did this man want to be healed?  It would change his life, he wouldn't be languishing by a pool all day and would have new responsibilities.  Jesus was also offering this man spiritual healing; He was "knocking" on this man's heart (Revelation 3:20) and was asking to be invited in; to enter into relationship with this man as his Savior and THAT healing would change everything!

I was so touched by this episode because it made me think.  Am I placing my trust in things that can never bring healing? Change? Hope?  Am I stuck defining myself by my own limitations and sinful habits rather than making the tough choice to truly let Jesus change me to follow His purposes for me?  All throughout His life Jesus kept teaching that the only thing that we need is to keep our focus on Him.  HE is all we need and HE is the only One who can bring true hope and healing.  

So, "Do you want to be healed?" If you haven't already, are you willing to open the door of your heart to Jesus and let Him heal all the broken parts of your life?  To be your Savior?  To bring hope to places where you are feeling hopeless?  I pray you will.  

Tuesday Tunes

I'm going to try something different for this month.  If you've read much of this blog then you've probably noticed that I love music.  In conversations I typically have a song pop into my head about whatever we might be discussing.  Music just speaks to my soul and I'm so thankful for the gift of music.  

One criticism that I often hear about newer Christian music is that it's mostly focused on what we get from God rather than on Who God is and worshipping Him.  I get that, it's great to share testimonies of how our lives have been impacted by God but it's also important to share Who this awesome God is and why He is so worthy of our praise, worship, honor and adoration.  So, as we enter into this month where we are focused more on Thanksgiving I want to share some songs focusing on Who God is to help focus our minds on why we should be so grateful for not only all He has done for us but grateful for Him.