The Struggle

We are thrilled to welcome our Guest Barista today, Christie Blackwood!

A couple days ago my husband and I were each changing a diaper (I would like to take this time to praise my husband as he has still changed more diapers then me up to this point - to all the single ladies...make "will change a diaper" a prerequisite...:). I had just finished explaining to our dear nine month old that if he would just stop struggling and cooperate, things would go a lot faster and smoother and he could be off crawling and chewing on the nearest object in the blink of an eye. Then I heard my husband in the next room also explaining the merit of being "still" while being diapered, to our two year old.


The same kind of thing happened today. My oldest had just finished a "feesee" (freezie) and was covered in purple juice. He wanted to keep playing but I saw the wisdom in getting him cleaned up before he stained his clothes and everything else in reach. It would have been over in probably 4 seconds had he just been still but the power struggle that ensued made the whole process quite longer and more unpleasant. A minute later, all cleaned up, he huffs on his way back to his important toddler schedule of playing with sticks and chasing the dog.


I found myself smiling at my likeness in my child...not physical looks (he looks just like his dad) but in the way he struggles with the things that are good for him and makes the process longer and sometimes, more unpleasant, than necessary.

Don't I do the same thing with my Father?


I fight against trusting Him fully because I'm afraid of what it might mean - what it might take away. I fight against giving up a grudge because it would mean that, in my eyes, justice wasn't done. I fight against giving that extra money because I see all the things I need it for myself.


The Israelites did this too. They fought against the way God wanted to set them free from Egypt ("You're taking us to the desert?!"). They fought against the way He provided for them ("Manna again?!"). They fought against who God gave them as a leader ("Aaron, you lead us!"). They fought against entering their freedom ("The giants are too big for us!"). I read that the trip from Egypt to Canaan actually only takes 3-4 days. Taking into account the number of people and the animals that were with them, it probably would have taken a little longer but I wonder if the forty years of wandering in the desert would have been cut a lot shorter had they not stopped struggling with God, trusted Him and let Him lead?



I can't see the future or the reasons behind a lot of what God does but one thing I do know, is that He tells me not to lean on my own understanding (stop trying to figure it all out) but to trust in Him with my whole heart (Prov.3:4-5). I pray that as I grow in Him, I stop the struggle and let Him do what He wants to do in my life.


I don't want to be left with purple juice on my face..;)




In Him,

Christie


Christie Blackwood is married to the husband of her dreams and is a fairly new stay-at-home mom of two precious young boys. She loves to read, spend time with my family, take photos and enjoy the outdoors. She is continually inspired by Isaiah 50:4 that shows her that God desires to teach something new each day when we listen for Him.

www.awakeandlisten.blogspot.com

Come Prepared

Each week I have an art lesson. These lessons were meant to be an extracurricular activity for my children, but as they have gotten older I have had the privilege of joining them in this expression of creativity. Each week when we arrive, our instructor asks us to do a few simple drawing exercises.


We have to get into our right hemisphere.

Admittedly, I spend much of my life here on earth taking care of left brain tasks; paying bills, grocery shopping, laundry, emptying the dishwasher, shuttling people to and fro. These activities require little creativity, or "right brain" function. But art, now that is a different story.



Our instructor insists that moving into our right hemispheres is critical to art and original creativity. She reminds us weekly that without this transition, our best expression of art and creativity are not possible. There are times that getting into my "right mind" is hard work. I have to WORK at shutting my left brain interferences out, or my artwork will not be a reflection of my true creativity.

One morning, as I was sitting down to quiet time with the Lord, I had a revelation.

Much like art class, many times coming to the Lord disconnected from the noise is hard work. The day's distractions bombard me. Much like my art class, I must find a way to leave those things at the door. Moving from my world into His. If distractions interfere with my time with Him, I will not ever hear completely what He is trying to communicate to me.

Rather than preparing my brain, I have to prepare my heart.

How can I prepare my heart when my heart longs for real intimacy with God?

When we have met our Lord in the silent intimacy of our prayer, then we will also meet Him . . . in the market, and in the town square. But when we have not met Him in the center of our own hearts, we cannot expect to meet Him in the busyness of our daily lives.
Henri Nouwen

Just as I have a series of exercises that I need to do to prepare this brain for art class, the same can be said for my quiet time with God. If a few simple exercises work in art class, why should it surprise me that a few simple exercises work at prayer time too. Just as right hemisphere exercises allow creativity to flow, centering my heart in Christ through prayer moments of solitude with Him will allow Him to freely move through me. Much like the drawing exercises that we do in class, I have learned to come to quiet time prepared. Repeating the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Here am I," helps me to be present to the Lord.

In order to meet Him in the busyness, I must meet Him in the center of my own heart, and that simply cannot be done if distractions interfere with my holy experience. I am a canvas of the Lord. If allowed, the artist of all creation would choose to use me to reflect His love to the world. As the canvas, I need to simply be, before I can ever do.

Father God,

Thank you for the creativity that surrounds me and even more I thank you for the lessons you continue to so eloquently teach me thorough simple, daily experiences. I want to meet you in the center of my heart. I ask you to guide me as I strive to come to you in the quietness, meeting you in completeness, releasing distractions. Father, hear the prayer of your child, "Here am I." Use me as your canvas Lord, as your will would have.

Amen







join Lori daily at her personal website,all you have to give, where she can be found anxiously awaiting football season.

Be Still

The Internet Cafe is thrilled to welcome Kris Williams today!!

"Be still, and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

Some days are just better than others. Today is one of those days.


Today is one of those days when it seems like God chose to stand a little closer to me. Now, maybe He did, and maybe He didn’t. Perhaps I simply chose to take a moment and bask in His embrace before I got started on my day. Perhaps He is always the same closeness to me and I choose not to acknowledge his presence.

After all, I am a busy girl with important things to do. I do not always have time to stop and just “be” in the presence of the creator of the universe.


Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Too busy to be with God? Really? Crazy as it sounds to say it, that is how I live much of my life….running here and running there...caring for the family He gave me, cleaning the house He gave me, working the job He provided....much too busy living the life He provided take time to just “be” with God.

As crazy as it sounds, I cannot imagine that I am alone in this. I would think that you too may go through your days without stopping to just be with God. I imagine that you, like me, often go through your day caring for, interacting with, and reacting to the people in your life without stopping for even the briefest moment to just "be" with your Creator, your Savior, the Lover of your soul. I have spent far too many days running on empty because I have not taken time to pause and just rest in the loving arms of my Heavenly Father. I have spent years weary from carrying heavy burdens when Scripture promises relief to those that come to Him....

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

May I be so bold as to challenge you?

Stop, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, exhale, and just be in His presence. Just for a moment. Picture Him standing by your chair. Relax into Him and feel the warmth of your Creator’s perfect embrace. Rest your head on His chest. No questions, no requests, just be in His presence. Close your eyes and listen for the beating of His heart and embrace the enormity of the fact that the creator of the universe LOVES you…YOU! He loves you with a love so pure and perfect that no human love can duplicate it. He loves you just as you are right now, flawed and imperfect.

He just loves you.

So take a moment and just let Him.


Think about it....

When was the last time you just let God love you?



When during your day can you find time to just relax in God's embrace?



What is your normal response to stressful situations?



How differently will your reaction to stressful situations be if you pause and ask God to draw close to you before you react?



Oh God! I love you! Thank you for promising to always be with me. Draw me to yourself as I rest in your peace now. Fill me with your love so that I may share that love with the people you place in my life today.



In Him,
Kris


Kris is a woman blessed beyone measure! God has entrusted her with the awesome privilege of being the helpmate to her husband Calvin as he serves the Most High as Sr. Pastor, caring for and nurturing a small congregation in Mississippi. Also entrusted to her care are Brian and Izzy, 10 and 4. Kris also spends time as the team leader for the Women’s ministry at their church.

In Kris' words;

"I am living, breathing, walking, talking proof that God is very much in the business of radically changing lives. I spent most of my life looking for “something”. “Something” to make me feel secure, “Something” to fill the emptiness in my heart, “Something” to give my life meaning and purpose… and tried lots of “somethings” before I embraced the One who would finally quiet this restless soul.

While I would never want to go back and relive my “Pre-Christ” life, I am fully aware that each step of that journey led me to where I am today. Once I put my hand in His and accepted His plan for my life, He gave (and continues to give) me more joy than I could have ever imagined possible. It is my greatest burning desire and most humble prayer that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will use me to encourage and inspire other women to seek a deep and meaningful, all- consuming and passionate relationship with HIM."

Kris can be found at her personal site and at the FLO Ministry blog.

Running in Place

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."-Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

The sabbatical was a much needed break and something I really needed.

For the longest time, I felt like I was going a mile a microsecond and there was no more fuel in the tank.

Every have that happen? You're driving and you know you should have fuel the vehicle, but instead, keep going, "One more mile, one more mile," only to find yourself, near empty and barely coasting into the nearest fuel station?

That was how I felt.

I was running empty on ideas, in need of inspiration and felt short of nourishment but instead of stopping and taking a short break and recharge, I kept going and going.

How often do our souls sometimes feel like that?

We are running on empty, there are those moments of drought and no nourishment seems to be coming in and we just want or need that quick refuel to keep us going so we really, just don't have time to stop.

Be still. Wait. Turn it over to Him and stop trying to do it ourselves.

That's easier said then done.

Even on sabbatical, rather than taking a step back and resting; I found myself going a mile a second, brain just busy and getting involved with projects, everything but....oooooo..."be still".

This command — “be still” — forces us to think on two things: that we are finite, and that God is infinite. That being the case, we need to drop our hands, go limp, relax, and “chill out.”~"Be Still and Know that I am God by Jason Jackson"

Moms, how many of you actually "relax"? I mean...don't really do anything, just took the time off and really just be still?



So I sit here, staring at the computer screen and I realized. The hardest part about stopping, is actually having to face whatever it is our Father wants to tell us. That uncertainty, we may not want to hear what He has to say, though we know we need to.

So long as we keep busy, we keep distracted and we didn't have to stop....or think.

Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
You've gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way
~Stay Strong by Newsboys

We need to stop the tug of war with Him and go, "Okay I'll let You take care of this after I do this and this and this and....."

Stop.

Just stop.

And breathe.

Be still and breathe, it's okay...really, it's okay.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"~ James 4:13-17 (NIV)

After running around in circles, it's easy to stop and find out that nothing was really accomplished. We are like hamsters running forever in a wheel that goes nowhere and what we thought we had build up, was really....nothing.


The notebook wasn't filled, because instead of making time to just reflect, I was too busy thinking. Instead of reading the books I wanted to read, I was too busy looking at more books I would like to read. Instead of making time to spend with Him, I kept saying , "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow....."

And maybe tomorrow doesn't come or it just starts back all over again, the same way it started up yesterday, but with no real changes today.

Be still.

Stop running in place and if you have to drop what you are doing, drop it, unless they are the dishes, then that's a hard one to explain to hubby, why you need new dishes. Or maybe not.

There comes times like this, we need to just turn off the computers (okay, easier said then done for many), turn off the cellphone and today, right now, do that something different and more than anything, go to our Father and be still and just listen to Him.


The real prize, the real goal, the real point of life is that our Father has already overcome everything and HE is there and HE is strong and He IS and WILL see us through so we should just stop for that second, minute, hour.

Right now, as we speak, ask yourself.

What are ways that you can just make that break in routine and really spend that time just really listening to what our Father has to say to you and for you?

If you are feeling that rut in your life, like you are running on empty and just need to make it to the fuel station, what are ways to just make it a high priority in your life and get that recharging you are desperately needing??

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4 (NIV)

Heavenly Father,We lift Your name up in praise for You are King of kings and no matter where we are, You are always and will always be there. You leave no place untouched with Your presence and Your light. Lord, help see us through the droughts and the storms and those moments when we seem to be stuck in a never ending wheel of routine and help keep us reminded that no matter what, YOU, are Lord and through You and in You,we do have that promise of encouragement and endurance,but rather than lift our heads down, remind us to lift our heads up and lift Your name, for You reign higher than all of us and all that ails us.

Thank You Father, for being what we are not, so YOU and only You, will be what sees us through, no matter what faces us.

Gentle Readers, it's good to be back with you and prayers and hope that you are blessed and encouraged, today, tomorrow and forever, in and through our Heavenly Father.

Thrilled to be back from taking a break, you can visit Twinkle Mom at her blog, Sunflower Faith, where she isn't chasing dogs, birds or laundry.

Deactivate the Hyperdrive

I’m at the stage of parenting where silence is a hidden treasure. If I’m able to dig some up, it’s priceless. Let me just say that my kids are, um, a bit hyper…

Hyper-happy, hyper-angry, hyper-debating, hyper-complaining, hyper-planning, hyper-eating, (inhale) hyper-primping, hyper-snuggling, hyper-pretending, hyper-begging, hyper-back-seat-driving. (exhale). It’s loud, it’s active, it’s busy, it’s sometimes fun, sometimes draining. Always an adventure.

I’ll admit that this is a difficult season with the way I’m wired. But I’ve got it all figured out. What I need is a special robot that can painlessly deactivate the hyperdrive on my kids. You know, kind of like in Star Wars? Just a few hours a day, and BAM! I’ll be good as new. ;)

*******************

All joking aside, my kids get it honest. Not only was I JUST LIKE THEM growing up, I’m also the Lord’s hyper child now. So often I am hyper-sensitive, hyper-active, hyper-anxious, hyper-distracted, hyper-emotional, hyper-irritable, and a slew of other hypers.

And the amazing thing is: He still loves me. At the same time, He constantly reminds me to let go of anything else I’m runnin’ round in circles for other than Himself. The bottom line is focus—He truly longs to be the object of it.

I’m not alone here. All around me right now are those hyped-up about the economy, hyped-up about politics, about ministry, the news and weather, the traffic, the environment—a cause, a feeling, a rule, a relationship, a standard, an entitlement...and on and on.

And it all serves to distract us. It distracts me. All of a sudden I’m issue- and circumstance-driven. Dare I say, LauraLee-driven. When I landed on this passage in The Message, it reminded me to re-group. Though the Lord loves me just the way I am, His desire is for me to grow steadfastly focused upon Him.

Matthew 6:6

“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place

so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God.

Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.

The focus will shift from you to God,

and you will begin to sense His grace."

All of a sudden I’m not feeling so hyper. This passage “deactivated my hyperdrive.” Will you allow Him to do the same in you?

Your life may be busy, you may be runnin’ in circles or drowning in your circumstances. Maybe pain overwhelms you or loneliness envelops you. Some of you may be disappointed with a relationship, some of you may be concerned about what the future holds. Are you frustrated with politics? Have you been hurt by someone you loved deeply? Hate your job? Fed up with your children? Locked into a sin struggle? Taking care of everyone but yourself?

What is it that keeps you hyper-focused on something other than the absolute sovereignty and love of the Father? Because of this, that or the other, you don’t have time or you don’t want the time, or it’s seems too difficult to arrange the time to slow down and let the focus shift from you to God.

But if you do…

If you will…

…You will find Him at that place ready to fill your heart with His grace. You will sense His peace. He will make your burden light. He yearns to do this work in us today, friends.

“Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you,

because I am humble and gentle at heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy to bear,

and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:29-30 (NLT)

Father, Thank You for showing us Your Truth through the lives of children. Thank You for being sovereign and completely in control of whatever gets us hyped-up or off-track in our focus of You. You are, and have always been the One person who encompasses everything we need for fulfillment, for Godly living, for love and peace and self-control. I cannot thank You enough. Help us to get this message today, Lord. Open our hearts, our logic, our understanding up to fall completely in line with Yours. It’s in Your name I pray, Amen.

Selah~ Pause. Ponder. Praise.