ISSUE 15 MAY 2013
I've Stopped Trying to Tame My Children's Tongues
By Sarah Mae; Sarahmae.com
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45
Cozied up under my covers with my head nuzzled into my pillow, I began to think, and the thoughts rolled silently on my tongue…
I was swearing, and there was bitterness, and jealousy. Even though these words were whispers to myself, they were there. And I thought instantly, this is the overflow of my heart. I can’t tame my tongue because this is a heart issue…my ugly is coming straight from inside my soul.
“but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8
So instead of praying, “Lord, help me tame my tongue.” I’m praying, “Lord, give me a pure heart.” Because if my heart is cleaned out and I submit to the work of the Holy Spirit, than the overflow will be good words, uplifting words, blessings instead of curses.
As I was pondering my heart, I thought about why it is so important to focus on our children’s hearts instead of trying to tame their tongues. I will often hear something they say, or the way they say something, and it’s filled with an edge. I say, “We are not going to talk like that, it is not okay.” And I’m trying to tame the tongue, but really, I need to pull my child aside and ask, “What’s going on? Can we talk about these words and what is maybe behind them?” It might sound like I’m overdoing it, but I see past the attitude and I see stress, or tension, or built up resentment – in children! Underneath the biting words are feelings of disrespect, being wronged, not being listened to, etc. When I take the time to gently prod the heart, I find the root of the overflow. If I can help my children untangle the roots, then their words will change because their hearts will mend. And we must do this over and over and over again, because sin is always lurking; the flesh is aways ready to try and dominate the spirit.
When left to myself, I follow my sin nature. When my children are left to themselves, they follow their sin natures. When I am not reading God’s Word, when I let myself go, when I don’t discipline myself to think on good and lovely things, I become Hitler. What of my children? What could they become without the sorting out in their hearts? I’ve got to dig in, and Lord you do the digging and sorting and molding.n
Lord tame our hearts because we can’t tame our tongues. We need you.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
Cozied up under my covers with my head nuzzled into my pillow, I began to think, and the thoughts rolled silently on my tongue…
I was swearing, and there was bitterness, and jealousy. Even though these words were whispers to myself, they were there. And I thought instantly, this is the overflow of my heart. I can’t tame my tongue because this is a heart issue…my ugly is coming straight from inside my soul.
“but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8
So instead of praying, “Lord, help me tame my tongue.” I’m praying, “Lord, give me a pure heart.” Because if my heart is cleaned out and I submit to the work of the Holy Spirit, than the overflow will be good words, uplifting words, blessings instead of curses.
As I was pondering my heart, I thought about why it is so important to focus on our children’s hearts instead of trying to tame their tongues. I will often hear something they say, or the way they say something, and it’s filled with an edge. I say, “We are not going to talk like that, it is not okay.” And I’m trying to tame the tongue, but really, I need to pull my child aside and ask, “What’s going on? Can we talk about these words and what is maybe behind them?” It might sound like I’m overdoing it, but I see past the attitude and I see stress, or tension, or built up resentment – in children! Underneath the biting words are feelings of disrespect, being wronged, not being listened to, etc. When I take the time to gently prod the heart, I find the root of the overflow. If I can help my children untangle the roots, then their words will change because their hearts will mend. And we must do this over and over and over again, because sin is always lurking; the flesh is aways ready to try and dominate the spirit.
When left to myself, I follow my sin nature. When my children are left to themselves, they follow their sin natures. When I am not reading God’s Word, when I let myself go, when I don’t discipline myself to think on good and lovely things, I become Hitler. What of my children? What could they become without the sorting out in their hearts? I’ve got to dig in, and Lord you do the digging and sorting and molding.n
Lord tame our hearts because we can’t tame our tongues. We need you.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
ISSUE 14 APR 2013
What is the Condition of Your Heart part 2
“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
So why does Jesus tell this parable? What is the connection between obedience and our hearts?
Obedience in the Christian life is very different than obedience in any other religion. God is not just after your actions, He is after your heart. Obedience doesn’t start with what we do (our actions), obedience begins with our desires(our hearts). God knows that when He has your heart, He has you.
The Israelites were often rebuked because they offered the right acts, but their hearts were far from God. Their sacrifices were right, but their hearts were not.
C.S. Lewis makes a similar point in Mere Christianity when he writes these words:
“Christianity is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want it all: I want You. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.” I have been crucified with Christ.”
So why does Jesus tell this parable? What is the connection between obedience and our hearts?
Obedience in the Christian life is very different than obedience in any other religion. God is not just after your actions, He is after your heart. Obedience doesn’t start with what we do (our actions), obedience begins with our desires(our hearts). God knows that when He has your heart, He has you.
The Israelites were often rebuked because they offered the right acts, but their hearts were far from God. Their sacrifices were right, but their hearts were not.
C.S. Lewis makes a similar point in Mere Christianity when he writes these words:
“Christianity is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want it all: I want You. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.” I have been crucified with Christ.”
He knows that when you truly love Him, you will live for Him.
What evidence suggests we are good soil?
The last heart we talked about was The “Fruitful Heart”. In verse 8 it says the seed fell on good soil and it produced grain. This soil produced a harvest! As we seek to have a fruitful heart, lets look at the evidence of a fruitful heart.
1. A fruitful heart is a believing heart. – We believe Him and His Word.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”
2. A fruitful heart is a hungry heart. – We are hungry to know Him.
Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
What evidence suggests we are good soil?
The last heart we talked about was The “Fruitful Heart”. In verse 8 it says the seed fell on good soil and it produced grain. This soil produced a harvest! As we seek to have a fruitful heart, lets look at the evidence of a fruitful heart.
1. A fruitful heart is a believing heart. – We believe Him and His Word.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”
2. A fruitful heart is a hungry heart. – We are hungry to know Him.
Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
Psalm 42:1-2 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?”
Our problem is not a lack of knowledge; it is a lack of desire.
3. A fruitful heart is a teachable heart. – We are continually molded by Him.
James 1:22-25 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
Every morning we wake up and look in the mirror to make ourselves presentable. Mirrors in the ancient world were made of polished metal. You look at a mirror to see what the reflection reveals about yourself.
Vs. 25: But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
We must look intently into the Word and we must continue to look – In other words, take the mirror with you!
4. A fruitful heart is an obedient heart. – The gospel empowers obedience. Obedience doesn’t start with an act, it starts with an affection.
1 John 2:3-6 (NLT) says, “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
”A servant’s true obedience can sometimes be as well seen in what he does not do, as in what he does.” – Spurgeon.
Friends, the fruitful heart is alive and God’s word is doing something in it and through it. Just like we look in the mirror every single day, as Mamas who are mentoring and discipling our children we must ask ourselves every morning, “How is my heart today?”
Blessings,
Ruth Schwenk
When can I go and meet with God?”
Our problem is not a lack of knowledge; it is a lack of desire.
3. A fruitful heart is a teachable heart. – We are continually molded by Him.
James 1:22-25 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
Every morning we wake up and look in the mirror to make ourselves presentable. Mirrors in the ancient world were made of polished metal. You look at a mirror to see what the reflection reveals about yourself.
Vs. 25: But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
We must look intently into the Word and we must continue to look – In other words, take the mirror with you!
4. A fruitful heart is an obedient heart. – The gospel empowers obedience. Obedience doesn’t start with an act, it starts with an affection.
1 John 2:3-6 (NLT) says, “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
”A servant’s true obedience can sometimes be as well seen in what he does not do, as in what he does.” – Spurgeon.
Friends, the fruitful heart is alive and God’s word is doing something in it and through it. Just like we look in the mirror every single day, as Mamas who are mentoring and discipling our children we must ask ourselves every morning, “How is my heart today?”
Blessings,
Ruth Schwenk
ISSUE 13 MAR 2013
What is the Condition of Your Heart
by Ruth Schwenk.......read it here.
About a year ago my husband accepted a new Lead Pastor position. We moved our family about an hour from where we had been living into a rental home. As summer approached I was longing for beautiful landscaping and flowers. After talking my husband into this wonderful idea (ahem 
), we picked out some plants and returned home for the planting to begin.
), we picked out some plants and returned home for the planting to begin.
Plants lined up everywhere ready for a new home, my hubby began to dig. After a lot of grunting and groaning we realized that the soil was very different from our previous home. It was rocky, dense, and full of clay. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he still went on digging and planting. The problem was that when he had finished, our plants were literally flat out on the ground, looking wilted, defeated, and near death. The leaves weren’t just wilted, they were completely laid out flat! Off to the store my hubby went!
He returned with soil and dug up every plant, pouring soil in their rocky holes and re-planting each one. By this time it was getting dark out. After much frustration and sweat I think he had had enough, and so had the plants. We watered the plants and came inside. The next morning we woke up to a glorious sight! Oh my word those plants had literally came back to life! They were vibrant and beautiful as if they had never laid out flat in a pitiful pile. I couldn’t believe it! The soil that we used made all the difference in the world.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus uses soil to illustrate the condition of the human heart. Many times Jesus would use parables to teach His followers how to live for God. In Matthew 13:1-8 He tells the parable of the sower.
Matthew 13:3-8 Jesus says, “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
The different types of soil are a beautiful illustration of the state of our hearts. In this passage there are 4 different types of soil, which can be related to 4 different types of hearts:
1. The “Hard Heart” – In verse 4 it says that the seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it. The soil was so dry it didn’t hold the seed, but instead left it vulnerable. The soil was completely unmoved just as the hard heart can be cold and unresponsive.
2. The “Shallow Heart” – In verse 5 it says the seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil. The seed immediately sprang up, but as soon as the sun came out it was scorched and died. This soil didn’t produce anything and just the same the shallow heart doesn’t have any fruit to show.
3. The “Crowded Heart” – In verse 7 it says the seed fell among the thorns. As the thorns grew up they choked out the plants. This is such a great reminder for us that the pursuit of “other things” can interfere with our pursuit of God. Sometimes the things you commit to, even the seemingly “good” things can leave you with a crowded heart.
4. The “Fruitful Heart” – In verse 8 it says the seed fell on good soil and it produced grain. This soil produced a harvest! The fruitful heart is alive and God’s word is doing something in it and through it.
Jesus uses this simple parable to teach us that obedience begins in the heart. Obedience doesn’t begin with our actions, but our affections. When we truly love God, we will live for God. God is looking for a heart that is humble, teachable, believing, and tender towards Him. He knows that when this is our heart, He truly has us.
I challenge you my friends today to take a long look at your own heart. What is the state of your heart? As we seek to reach the hearts of our children and raise them to follow God and change the world, we must constantly be taking an internal look at our own heart.
Blessings,
ISSUE 12 FEB 2013
Desperate but not Defeated
Are you trying to live up to an unrealistic mama ideal?
Many of my ideals were good, but the standard I set for myself to meet them was completely unrealistic. A good mom, in my mind, was up bright and early before her children woke up; she got dressed, did her hair, put on her makeup, had her quiet time, and had breakfast simmering in the pan as she went to wake up her babes. Of course in my fantasy she was always cheery, always smelled good, and never raised her voice. She was what God never asked us to be apart from Him: perfect.
What was I thinking? And why didn’t someone set me straight?
The reason it hurt so much when I couldn’t live up to my ideal was because I had imposed an impossible standard on myself. I forgot that I am a complex human being who has a sin problem, as do my babes! I didn’t take into account my personality, my weaknesses, or my strengths. Rather, I just chose an image and purposed to be that image. I didn’t purpose to be Sarah Mae, a unique individual with gifts and talents from God. I didn’t even purpose to be who God wanted me to be.
Friend, today think about who God weaved you to be. Cut yourself some slack and allow yourself to be free in who you are. And remember, if you know Him, you are already perfect, because of Jesus, according to eternity.
For by a single offering he has perfected all those who are being sanctified." Hebrews 10:14
A portion of this devotion was taken from Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson's new book, Desperate - Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe.
We will be gleaning a lot of wisdom from these ladies this year in this book, so many good truths and good conversation to gain from them.
Thanks for reading and have a
blessed month, you are doing a
wonderful job!
ISSUE 11 DEC 2012
Faith Like a Child
by Danielle; guest post on beautifullyrooted.com
“…anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17
When I used to listen to someone preach or read about having faith like a child, I would automatically assume that meant having faith in God without thinking too much about it or having any questions. Just perfect, quiet trust.
Since having my two little ones, Isabella (three) and Sammy (two) my thoughts on having faith like a child have changed big time!
I see (and hear) how my children look to my husband and I in faith and how it mirrors the faith my heavenly Father wants me to have in Him:
1. Our little ones become scared at times, really scared, and cry out for us.
“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6
2. They do not obey us and do not listen to us at times (sometimes, a lot!), but respond to discipline.
“My Son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.”
Proverbs 3:11-13
3. My children tell me: “wait for me, Momma,” “don’t forget me, Momma.”
(as if I would and our Abba Father does not forget us either).
Psalms 13 chronicles David’s cries of feeling forgotten by God.
In Isaiah 49:14-16, God responds to us when we feel forgotten by Him:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
4. They badger me and badger me for what they want!
The parable of the neighbor seeking help at midnight (Luke 11) and the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18) give us great examples of repetitively petitioning our heavenly Father. How he wants us to bug Him about stuff!
“ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:13
“ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? “
Luke 18:7
5. They are bold to ask me for just about anything they want!
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16
6. They want us around all the time.
“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1
7. They know who their Daddy is.
John 10:2 tells us: “he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out.”
John 10:27 says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”
Our Father knows we struggle sometimes as parents and that we have faith struggles as His children as well. We are weak and his power is made perfect in that weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
My daughter, Isabella (three years old) after I have disciplined for disobeying, often asks me if I am going to “tell Daddy?” Daddy offers no more discipline than I do, but she does not want him to be disappointed by her behavior. We hide from our Abba Father sometimes in fear after disobeying Him, but he promises to wash away our sin and make us whiter than snow when we come to him (Isaiah 1:18). He does not condemn us because His son Jesus Christ took all of our condemnation for us! (Romans 8:1, 1 Peter 3:18)
I am thankful for the grace the Father constantly bestows on me as a parent and as His child. Amazing Grace! My children are my arrows (Psalm 127:4), and God has placed them in my quiver and bow to teach me to fight the lies of the enemy and also to teach me more about who He is.
My list about how our children look to us in faith mirroring how God wants us to have faith like a child is not exhaustive.
Danielle is wife to one handsome fellah & Momma to two sweet little ones. Christian radio, missions & ministry are places of life that she as enjoyed learning & growing in. She is gathering more joy, sorrow, & much adventure and she writes about it at God’s Midwest Girl.
ISSUE 10 NOV 2012
A New Mission for the Burnt-Out Mom
Jennifer Grant; hermeneutics-christianitytoday.com
In a recent "Stuff Christian Culture Likes" post at Beliefnet, humorist Stephanie Drury poked fun at signs — positioned so that they can be read only when people are leaving a church building or parking lot — that read, “You Are Now Entering the Mission Field.” They remind churchgoers to share God’s love with the people they encounter “out in the world.” In the act of leaving the property, Christians are being sent out, as it were, on a mission.
When I was growing up, the word mission was used exclusively for those self-sacrificing believers who packed their bags and moved to a hot and sometimes unpronounceable locale. (Remember trying to read the words “Irian Jaya” as a kid?) Missionaries sent annual prayer letters to supporters, cards which pictured large “quivers” of children whose names were taken from the Old Testament, never shortened into nicknames and often began with the same letter of the alphabet. “Christmas Greetings from Daniel and Esther . . . and Jacob, Jonathan, Jesse, Judith and Jemima — on the Mission Field in Konang!”
But times have changed. Now instead of being “called to the mission field,” all Christians are urged to “live missionally.” But what, for the love of Jacob, Jonathan, and Judith, does that mean? In a climate in which we throw around terms such as emergent, organic, and Church 2.0 with such frequency that they lose whatever meaning they might have begun with, is missional another trendy, soon-to-be ignored modifier?
Not if Helen Lee can help it. Lee is a journalist, home-schooling mom and is author of The Missional Mom: Living with Purpose at Home and in the World. Since her book’s publication, Lee has engaged others in the work of nailing down what “missional” really means. In a recent interview with author and New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, posted on her website, Lee asked McKnight what “this new buzzword” means and whether its “popularity [is] matched by its practice.”
“Being missional comes down to answering a simple question: ‘How can I help you?’ ” McKnight said. “Pastors are using the word, but I don’t know that they understand it. Defining the word has become a game. In missional churches, people’s ears are open, their eyes are open, and they are asking, ‘What does our community need?’ A pastor friend of mine wrote to the local police department and asked, ‘What are the biggest problems you deal with in this community?’ The police said, ‘Drugs and alcohol.’ . . . if that’s the answer your church hears, what are you going to do about it?”
Missional living, then, is no longer reserved for the Jim Elliots of the world, but for soccer moms, men and women in business, and other regular people. Lee’s passion is to help restore “missional urgency” — something she believes existed in the early church but has fizzled out in recent generations — in Christians today. Early on in her book, Lee quotes prominent missional pastor Dave Ferguson, who has written that “the last thing the mission of Jesus Christ needs is more Christians.”
A provocative statement to be sure, but Ferguson, whose book The Big Idea is highlighted in Lee's, states that American Christians are no more likely to help homeless people, keep their marriage vows or correct a cashier when they are given too much change as those who don’t identify as believers. Ferguson asks whether to be a Christian in our culture means to be “no different than anyone else.”
Lee recognizes the same malady in Christian mothers. Many of us, Lee writes, describe ourselves as burned out. We feel boredom and even despair in our parenting. We are spiritually parched and, after a grueling week of work and parenting, we engage in activities our “comfort-craving culture” provides for escape.
“God had strong words for his people when they spend too much effort building their own households at the expense of his house,” Lee writes. “The missional mom . . . acts as God’s warrior of light and love to those who most need it.”
Lee encourages women to step out of prescribed roles and look further than their own homes and Sunday School classrooms for places to serve. Women can live missionally by using their gifts, caring for the poor and otherwise living lives fueled with intention. Instead of feeling more depleted, Lee avows, mothers who live missionally find new purpose and energy.
“Motherhood is critically important, but even the role of being a mother cannot come before our commitment to God and the particular mission he has designed for each and every one of us,” Lee said. “And more often than not, that mission includes—but also goes beyond—the walls of our homes to the greater world around us.”
When we are aware that we are on a “mission from God,” serving on “the mission field” or “living missionally,” what we’re not doing is living by chance. Lee’s book details the ways in which to live missionally, is to live deliberately as we seek to serve Christ in everyone we meet — whether or not we are standing inside the doors of our churches.n
Jennifer Grant is a journalist and columnist for the Chicago Tribune. She has written for Her.meneutics about the sexualization of young girls, girls in sports, mid-life callings, multitasking, and Lady Gaga. Her memoir, Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter, will be published this summer.
When I was growing up, the word mission was used exclusively for those self-sacrificing believers who packed their bags and moved to a hot and sometimes unpronounceable locale. (Remember trying to read the words “Irian Jaya” as a kid?) Missionaries sent annual prayer letters to supporters, cards which pictured large “quivers” of children whose names were taken from the Old Testament, never shortened into nicknames and often began with the same letter of the alphabet. “Christmas Greetings from Daniel and Esther . . . and Jacob, Jonathan, Jesse, Judith and Jemima — on the Mission Field in Konang!”
But times have changed. Now instead of being “called to the mission field,” all Christians are urged to “live missionally.” But what, for the love of Jacob, Jonathan, and Judith, does that mean? In a climate in which we throw around terms such as emergent, organic, and Church 2.0 with such frequency that they lose whatever meaning they might have begun with, is missional another trendy, soon-to-be ignored modifier?
Not if Helen Lee can help it. Lee is a journalist, home-schooling mom and is author of The Missional Mom: Living with Purpose at Home and in the World. Since her book’s publication, Lee has engaged others in the work of nailing down what “missional” really means. In a recent interview with author and New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, posted on her website, Lee asked McKnight what “this new buzzword” means and whether its “popularity [is] matched by its practice.”
“Being missional comes down to answering a simple question: ‘How can I help you?’ ” McKnight said. “Pastors are using the word, but I don’t know that they understand it. Defining the word has become a game. In missional churches, people’s ears are open, their eyes are open, and they are asking, ‘What does our community need?’ A pastor friend of mine wrote to the local police department and asked, ‘What are the biggest problems you deal with in this community?’ The police said, ‘Drugs and alcohol.’ . . . if that’s the answer your church hears, what are you going to do about it?”
Missional living, then, is no longer reserved for the Jim Elliots of the world, but for soccer moms, men and women in business, and other regular people. Lee’s passion is to help restore “missional urgency” — something she believes existed in the early church but has fizzled out in recent generations — in Christians today. Early on in her book, Lee quotes prominent missional pastor Dave Ferguson, who has written that “the last thing the mission of Jesus Christ needs is more Christians.”
A provocative statement to be sure, but Ferguson, whose book The Big Idea is highlighted in Lee's, states that American Christians are no more likely to help homeless people, keep their marriage vows or correct a cashier when they are given too much change as those who don’t identify as believers. Ferguson asks whether to be a Christian in our culture means to be “no different than anyone else.”
Lee recognizes the same malady in Christian mothers. Many of us, Lee writes, describe ourselves as burned out. We feel boredom and even despair in our parenting. We are spiritually parched and, after a grueling week of work and parenting, we engage in activities our “comfort-craving culture” provides for escape.
“God had strong words for his people when they spend too much effort building their own households at the expense of his house,” Lee writes. “The missional mom . . . acts as God’s warrior of light and love to those who most need it.”
Lee encourages women to step out of prescribed roles and look further than their own homes and Sunday School classrooms for places to serve. Women can live missionally by using their gifts, caring for the poor and otherwise living lives fueled with intention. Instead of feeling more depleted, Lee avows, mothers who live missionally find new purpose and energy.
“Motherhood is critically important, but even the role of being a mother cannot come before our commitment to God and the particular mission he has designed for each and every one of us,” Lee said. “And more often than not, that mission includes—but also goes beyond—the walls of our homes to the greater world around us.”
When we are aware that we are on a “mission from God,” serving on “the mission field” or “living missionally,” what we’re not doing is living by chance. Lee’s book details the ways in which to live missionally, is to live deliberately as we seek to serve Christ in everyone we meet — whether or not we are standing inside the doors of our churches.n
Jennifer Grant is a journalist and columnist for the Chicago Tribune. She has written for Her.meneutics about the sexualization of young girls, girls in sports, mid-life callings, multitasking, and Lady Gaga. Her memoir, Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter, will be published this summer.
ISSUE 9 OCT 2012
Perfect Child:
What God Taught me through my Daughter's Disability
by Amy Julia Becker; christianitytoday.com Our daughter was born at 5:22 P.M. on a Friday afternoon. For two hours, we reveled in the sweetness of new life—her pouty lips and soft skin, her deep blue eyes, her full head of black hair. Then a nurse called my husband out of the room. When Peter returned, it took me a moment to see that his eyes were brimming. "The doctors think Penny has Down syndrome," he told me. And the world began to break into pieces.
A few hours later, a woman was giving birth in the adjoining room. "She's perfect! She's perfect!" they exclaimed, as another baby girl was born.
In those early hours, I came face to face with my unspoken assumptions about my child. I had thought Penny would be just like me—a little girl who walked early and taught herself to read, who won academic awards in high school and got in early at Princeton. Peter, who was a high-school teacher and a varsity athlete, had shared many of those assumptions, expecting to see his competitive spirit in his new daughter.
Despite our Christian faith, we had sub-Christian expectations about our children's appearance, education, and abilities. I would never have stated it so bluntly, but in truth I wanted and even thought I deserved a "perfect" child. God gave me a child with an extra fold of skin around her eyes and floppy limbs and intellectual limitations. I didn't know what to do.
Doctors consider Down syndrome a birth defect. Other words to describe it include abnormality and disability. According to the doctors, Penny would have trouble learning. She would probably need glasses and possibly hearing aids. She would never be even five feet tall. She would have trouble communicating. I quickly learned that many doctors and parents alike believe children like Penny should never be born. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that every pregnant woman receive prenatal screening for Down syndrome. Of the women who screen for Down syndrome and receive a prenatal diagnosis via chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, 90 percent choose to terminate their pregnancies. From the moment she was conceived, our daughter fell short of our medical and cultural standards of worth.
After Penny was born, I thought I needed to abandon the hope of perfection altogether. Sin will always render me and my children imperfect. But I still wasn't sure how to think of her, how to have hopes and dreams for her once those initial expectations were stripped away.
When Penny was five months old, I was playing with her in our living room. By that point, I no longer saw her in terms of what she couldn't do. My heart skipped a beat when she turned her head at the sound of my voice. I had felt wonder as her eyelashes grew long and dark, when she smiled and cooed, when she nestled against my chest for comfort. That day, as I massaged her pudgy legs and wiped strands of dark hair from her eyes, I remembered a verse from Matthew 5: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
I looked it up in my Greek New Testament. The Greek word that was translated perfect is teleioi, which comes from the word telos, meaning "complete," "whole," "full-grown," or "mature." In other words, this perfection has to do with becoming a certain type of person. It has to do with becoming the complete, whole, mature, full version of ourselves.
A few verses earlier, Jesus offers his description of blessed humanity. A quick glance at the Beatitudes makes clear that being fully human—being "perfectly" human—is not about physique, intelligence, or abilities. It is about meekness, sorrow, and longing for God. Being fully human implies understanding ourselves as creatures. As ones who are not God but rather formed by God, cared for by God, in need of God. Or, to put it differently, a major aspect of recognizing my humanity meant recognizing that I am vulnerable, needy, dependent, and limited.
Just like my daughter.
These aren't words that naturally resonate with our usual idea of perfection, but they align with the Beatitudes. They are also in tune with other passages, such as Jesus' description of those who will participate in the great wedding feast, a symbol of the kingdom of heaven: the outcast, the disabled, the poor, the needy. In other words, those utterly dependent on God's gracious provision. This idea of perfection also lines up with Paul's conception of the body of Christ, that we each have gifts to offer the church, which assumes we each have limitations. We are dependent on one another.
And even Jesus, who was and is the perfect human, had limitations. He needed sleep. He needed to eat. He needed friends to pray for him. He was vulnerable to suffering and even death.
Henri Nouwen, among others, has helped me understand the connection between vulnerable humanity and Jesus. Nouwen, a longtime professor at Yale University, spent his final years living among people with intellectual and physical disabilities in a L'Arche community in Canada. In Adam: God's Beloved, his book about the man with whom he spent the most time, Nouwen writes, "I am not saying that Adam was a second Jesus. But I am saying that because of the vulnerability of Jesus, we can see Adam's extremely vulnerable life as a life of utmost spiritual significance." Jesus was vulnerable, needy, dependent, and limited, but I wasn't able to see him that way until Penny came into my life.
Five years ago, the hopeful and joyous words from the hospital room next door—"She's perfect! She's perfect!"—haunted me. Now they seem prophetic. Penny was not the "perfect baby" that I expected, but she was exactly the baby I needed. I look at her now, giggling with her little sister, complaining that her brother isn't sharing his toys, sitting in my lap and whispering that she's afraid she'll be lonely when she goes to kindergarten. I don't see much that's different from other children.
Penny is both created in God's image and fallen from grace—like everyone else. By giving me a new understanding of God's view of perfection, Penny has offered us a way to participate more fully in the body of Christ as we become more and more human and more whole.
ISSUE 8 SEPT 2012
Deep Into Prayer
by Christiana Fox; Blogger: toshowthemjesus.com; and csahm.com
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
I love reading the prayers of the Apostle Paul. They are not your typical prayers. His prayer request list isn’t like that of your typical church-goer. They don’t include prayers for success in school, more money, safe travel on vacation, etc. Rather, Paul’s prayers go deep, way deep, into the heart of our relationship with God.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:17-19
For many years, my prayers were more like a Christmas list I was presenting to Santa. Too often I treated God like a cosmic vending machine, selecting “C7″ for good health and “A5″ for getting a new job. Though prayer does include requests such as these, it is also so much more.
A few years ago, I began praying the prayers of Paul, applying them to myself. I began to earnestly desire the rich, transforming relationship with God of which these prayers spoke. I realized that while I was completely transparent about my struggles with friends and in my writing, I was not as authentic with God. Going deeper into meaningful prayer with God has strengthened my relationship with him in ways I had not imagined.
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:9-12
WHAT DO I MEAN BY GOING DEEPER?
1. Being Authentic: This is telling him exactly how we feel and what’s going on in our heart at that moment when we come to him in prayer.
2. Being Honest: This is telling him how we feel toward him and the thoughts we’ve had about him lately. Are we praying to him because it’s what we’re supposed to do? Are we going through the motions? Do we trust that he cares? Has our faith been weak? These are all questions to ask and answer to God in prayer.
3. Confession: This involves traveling with him on a tour of our hearts. This is confessing and purging all those things that have kept him from being in first place in our life, laying all our sins at the foot of the cross, and admitting our utter weakness before him.
4. Being Transparent: This is expressing with honesty our fears, doubts, worries, concerns, and any other feelings we are having.
5. An Open Invitation: This is inviting him to do deep life transforming work in and through us. This is desiring whatever change is needed to build a deeper relationship with him.
5. An Open Invitation: This is inviting him to do deep life transforming work in and through us. This is desiring whatever change is needed to build a deeper relationship with him.
Having a deeper, meaningful prayer life means leaving behind the superficial. It means focusing on what really matters. It also means being real and transparent before the One who knows our hearts and who died to make us his own treasured possession.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO DEEPER?
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19
ISSUE 7 AUG 2012
On Choosing First Things First
by Megan Modderman
"The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life coming flowing in."
- C.S. Lewis
For me, this is the time of day when all is right in the world. The sun has just risen. All's quiet in the house as the kids are still snuggled in their beds. The provider husband is already hard at work, getting ready for his students to come.
All the windows are flung open wide and the morning breeze is washing the home clean. On an ideal day there's coffee by my side and my lap is covered with Bible and journal. I seek Him out and am ever-amazed how He speaks when I'm really listening. On a less-than-ideal day, my Martha kicks in and I deem tidying up and prepping for school and any-other-thing to be more important. Why do I do that? Am I so dull that I choose to forget what I know to be true day after day?
"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day." John Bunyan
"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day." John Bunyan
Ooo, ouch.
When these precious kids I've been given stumble downstairs, some more awake than others, I want to be filled and ready to serve, disciple and teach them diligently. If what comes from my mouth is the overflow of my heart, my heart better be freshly filled with wisdom from Him!
The 17 projects on the table, the paper plate on the floor, the discarded clothes in the bathroom, the dinner plates in sink will all have to wait! Because, for me and for them, I'm choosing Him first.
"ETERNAL Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of Thee, let my first impulse be to worship Thee, let my first speech be Thy name, let my first action be to kneel before Thee in prayer.
Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of Thee. Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day." (Baillie, Diary of a Private Prayer)
ISSUE 6 JUL 2012
Pregnant Woman's Defense Against the Schemes of the Devil
by Gloria Furman; from desiringGod.org
To read from this blog go here.
If you are a pregnant mom, perhaps with your first baby, you may be reading these articles about Mommy Wars and shaking your head. As if you didn’t have enough on your mind already!
In the chaos of battles over things like bottle feeding, co-sleeping, and baby wearing, Carolyn has pointed out how the real Mommy Wars are primarily spiritual battles. The real battles are not against other moms who have different mothering preferences, but against our adversary the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
God has provided protection for the pregnant woman against the schemes of the devil.
The armor of God comes in maternity sizes.
For the next 42-weeks (or less) you have a unique opportunity to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10) even when you’re wearing support hosiery and your center of gravity has shifted to your navel.
When a pregnant woman wears the armor of God then she has every reason to estimate her potential for endurance based on “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might” (Ephesians 1:19).
When Paul said in Philippians 4:19 that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” he wasn’t only talking about throwing a baseball or lifting weights. He was talking about learning contentment in the permanent circumstance of God’s sovereign goodness toward him. The power of God toward you is “according to the riches of his glory that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).
Pregnant ladies, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, including fearlessly ground your faith in God’s sovereign goodness as the basis for your contentment. I know it is so hard to be content when you’re weary and feel you can’t go on, when your heart is distracted with fear for your baby, and when your emotions careen out of control. But God’s power is more than adequate for these things; his immeasurable greatness of power can overwhelm even the most powerful schemes the devil devises to steal your joy in God.
The Armor of God Fits Over Maternity Elastic
Scripture exhorts us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Even when the only pants and skirts that currently fit you are held up on your hips by a yard of elastic, the armor of God still fits you and you should wear it. By wearing the armor of God you can stand firm against the schemes of the devil as he tries to unsettle your faith with every wind of doctrine, encourages human cunning, and deceives you (Ephesians 4:14).
Here are a few things for pregnant ladies to remember about the armor of God:
Belt
The “belt of truth” encircles you with the confident protection of knowing who God is, what Christ has done for you, and who you are in light of your being “in Christ” through faith in him. You must take pains to hold up this belt of truth around you through whatever means necessary. Engage in spiritual disciplines like prayerful meditation on God’s word, commit Scripture to memory, and actively pursue fellowship with other women who will remind you of God’s truth in his word.
Breastplate
The “breastplate of righteousness” is one-size-fits-all-who-believe. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed by faith to sinners who deserve death and judgment for their sins. We understand that by “the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
Pregnant sister, you will be tempted by the adversary to put forward your own righteousness as a front when you’re feeling insecure. The devil will use everything from insecurity about your pregnancy to your prenatal care and your birth plan to your mothering potential. Guard yourself against the temptation to comfort yourself with self-righteous pats on the back. Arm yourself with Jesus’ warning against parading our own righteousness before others to gain rewards of smiles, admiration, and respect from them (Matthew 6:1).
As you have put on the breastplate of Christ’s righteousness then you can stand firm against the devil’s lies of inadequacy and failure. Wear the breastplate of righteousness Martin Luther-style:
So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”
Shoes
Dear pregnant friends, the shoes of the armor of God not only fit you, but they make your feet move. You know how special this is when you’re already fatigued by 10 o’clock in the morning and you can watch your feet widening with every pregnancy. “As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).
The gospel of peace provides readiness by giving you the reason and the power to go wherever Christ would lead you for his sake. In this way the gospel empowers you to go into the fray of the Mommy Wars and announce to the contenders the victory of the cross, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Shield
The “shield of faith” is for your protection all day and into the sleepless nights. “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). It doesn’t matter if your faith is as small as a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20) or the hCG hormones circulating through your blood right now. What matters is the greatness of the One in whom you have placed your faith.
As you get excited about the upcoming birth of your child, rejoice most of all in him who has caused you to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3, 23). When you take up the shield of faith and watch as the devil’s flaming darts implode into little puffs of smoke, give thanks to God: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Sword
In the weakness of your back pain and vulnerability of feeling nauseous remember your hope of salvation in Christ as you rely on Scripture, your offensive weapon against the enemy. “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
Don’t just not believe the lies of the devil, but speak God’s truth to yourself. Don’t just not dwell on your bloated appearance and spider veins, but talk to yourself of the beauty of Christ’s sacrificial love and how he gave his body up for us all. What a delight it is, then, for you to let your body serve the life of another.
Pray
And finally, purpose your mind, will, and emotions to submit to God’s good plans to glorify himself in all things. Be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
This is the power of God in a pregnant woman whose hope is in the victory of Christ Jesus over the schemes of the devil.
ISSUE 5 JUN 2012
Stories of Life, Love, and Loss
Below are two stories of two different lives, one a wife and mother who loses her whole family and the second a wife and mother who is losing/lost her battle with cancer. Be encouraged by their love for the Lord in the midst of loss.
ABBY RIKE
Abby Rike, a loyal, hard working, lover of life, faced an unfathomable tragedy in October 2006. In light of losing her beloved husband, 5 ½ year old daughter, Macy, and 2 ½ week old son, Caleb, in a fatal car crash, with God’s grace, she chose to forge ahead in her new life.
She worked as a high school theater and debate teacher for 13 years inspiring students to achieve their personal best. She and husband, Rick, lead their school to an overall state speech championship as well as numerous state speech qualifiers and two state champions. A favorite among teachers and students, Abby was voted Teacher of the Year in 2003.
Deciding there was more living to do in this life, in May of 2009, Abby embarked on a very public journey of healing and wellness when she went on the hit reality series “The Biggest Loser.” Abby began her journey on the show weighing in at 247 pounds. She weighed in at 147 pounds at the December finale. Abby feels blessed to have had the opportunity to realize God’s grace full circle and feels compelled to share with others what she experienced firsthand. She continues her healthy lifestyle and vigor for life and is a living example that even in your darkest hour, there is always hope.
To get the whole story read her book: WORKING IT OUT, a good read
Visit her website and read her story here.
Below is her testimony via an interview. Update: Abby has recently remarried.
RACHEL BARKEY
Rachel was married with 2 young children when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She spoke at a conference to over 500 women at her church. From Laura Parker’s Blog (lauraleighparker.com), “I downloaded it today and took it with me on walk outside by myself (good thing I was alone, since I cried almost the entire time). It was one of the most powerful hours I have spent–probably in my life. Rachel speaks honestly about suffering and questioning and faith and how to have a relationship with Jesus that means something. I know it’s hard to carve out an hour of time for anything, but I can not say enough how listening to this talk will challenge and encourage you–whether you are a Christian or not, married or single, a mother or a student. The talk is raw and powerful and full of honest truths. She talks about the four things she has learned in her battle with cancer, the four things she wants her children to know as they live out their lives in the future, without her. Listen to it while you are folding your laundry or during a nap-time or on your drive to work. I promise, it will not leave you unchanged.” Here are some quotes from her talk:
“At best estimate, I have 6 to 18 weeks to live. 6 weeks sounds like a long time when you are waiting for Christmas or something to arrive on backorder, but it seems incredibly short when its the last weeks you have to cuddle your children or be with your spouse.”
“Cancer does not define me. Being a wife and a mother do not define me. They are parts of who I am, but they do not define me. The only thing that defines me is my relationship with Jesus.”
“I used to say ‘no’ to my children a lot. ‘No, you can’t jump on the bed, because I don’t want to tidy it up again. No, you can’t have a snack right now because I don’t want to stop checking my email to fix it for you. No, we can’t do that craft because its another mess I will have to clean up. ‘ Do you hear it? My reasons for my ‘no’s‘? Me, me, me. And I am learning, as my days are short with my children to say ‘yes’ a lot more. ‘Yes, you can have that cookie. Yes, jump on the bed. Yes, let’s do that craft right now.‘ “
“In mothering, I used to serve. I served a lot, all day, every day. But I didn’t do it with joy. We are here to serve with joy.”
“He has promised to make all things new. And I will get a new body, in heaven one day, and my sufferings here will seem ‘light and temporary’ in comparison to the joy and wholeness I will taste for eternity.”
PLEASE LISTEN OR WATCH! It is worth your time! Visit her website DEATH IS NOT DYING.
Listen here or download mp3
Rachel went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate as well as the rest of her family.
ABBY RIKEAbby Rike, a loyal, hard working, lover of life, faced an unfathomable tragedy in October 2006. In light of losing her beloved husband, 5 ½ year old daughter, Macy, and 2 ½ week old son, Caleb, in a fatal car crash, with God’s grace, she chose to forge ahead in her new life.
She worked as a high school theater and debate teacher for 13 years inspiring students to achieve their personal best. She and husband, Rick, lead their school to an overall state speech championship as well as numerous state speech qualifiers and two state champions. A favorite among teachers and students, Abby was voted Teacher of the Year in 2003.
Deciding there was more living to do in this life, in May of 2009, Abby embarked on a very public journey of healing and wellness when she went on the hit reality series “The Biggest Loser.” Abby began her journey on the show weighing in at 247 pounds. She weighed in at 147 pounds at the December finale. Abby feels blessed to have had the opportunity to realize God’s grace full circle and feels compelled to share with others what she experienced firsthand. She continues her healthy lifestyle and vigor for life and is a living example that even in your darkest hour, there is always hope.
To get the whole story read her book: WORKING IT OUT, a good read
Visit her website and read her story here.
Below is her testimony via an interview. Update: Abby has recently remarried.
Rachel was married with 2 young children when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She spoke at a conference to over 500 women at her church. From Laura Parker’s Blog (lauraleighparker.com), “I downloaded it today and took it with me on walk outside by myself (good thing I was alone, since I cried almost the entire time). It was one of the most powerful hours I have spent–probably in my life. Rachel speaks honestly about suffering and questioning and faith and how to have a relationship with Jesus that means something. I know it’s hard to carve out an hour of time for anything, but I can not say enough how listening to this talk will challenge and encourage you–whether you are a Christian or not, married or single, a mother or a student. The talk is raw and powerful and full of honest truths. She talks about the four things she has learned in her battle with cancer, the four things she wants her children to know as they live out their lives in the future, without her. Listen to it while you are folding your laundry or during a nap-time or on your drive to work. I promise, it will not leave you unchanged.” Here are some quotes from her talk:
“At best estimate, I have 6 to 18 weeks to live. 6 weeks sounds like a long time when you are waiting for Christmas or something to arrive on backorder, but it seems incredibly short when its the last weeks you have to cuddle your children or be with your spouse.”
“Cancer does not define me. Being a wife and a mother do not define me. They are parts of who I am, but they do not define me. The only thing that defines me is my relationship with Jesus.”
“I used to say ‘no’ to my children a lot. ‘No, you can’t jump on the bed, because I don’t want to tidy it up again. No, you can’t have a snack right now because I don’t want to stop checking my email to fix it for you. No, we can’t do that craft because its another mess I will have to clean up. ‘ Do you hear it? My reasons for my ‘no’s‘? Me, me, me. And I am learning, as my days are short with my children to say ‘yes’ a lot more. ‘Yes, you can have that cookie. Yes, jump on the bed. Yes, let’s do that craft right now.‘ “
“In mothering, I used to serve. I served a lot, all day, every day. But I didn’t do it with joy. We are here to serve with joy.”
“He has promised to make all things new. And I will get a new body, in heaven one day, and my sufferings here will seem ‘light and temporary’ in comparison to the joy and wholeness I will taste for eternity.”
PLEASE LISTEN OR WATCH! It is worth your time! Visit her website DEATH IS NOT DYING.
Rachel went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate as well as the rest of her family.
ISSUE 4 MAY 2012
Punctuation of Life!
By Charlotte Gambill, Abundant Life Ministries in London
Ok girl, so you wake up to the starter gun in your head and you are off. Another day awaits you. Children to dress, school lunches to pack, the drop off and pick up of mum’s taxi, dry cleaning to collect, laundry to do, a full time job to squeeze in between school runs, meetings to attend, people to call and then there are groceries to buy and then there is the guilt trip over the bible reading and devotions that you still haven’t got around to!
You finally make it, the last downward push of feeding the family, the dog and bathing the kids, bedtime stories, ironing done and you fall into bed where your husband says ‘fancy a cuddle’ and you respond, ‘a cuddle, you have to be kidding, do you know the day I’ve had!’ But hey tomorrow you will get up and start it all again!
Sound familiar? Maybe you don’t have the kids, or the husband but I can guarantee, as a woman, you are multitasking your life and it seems that no matter how great we get at the things we do, there always seems more that we didn’t get to than what we did. What we need is a rest from the treadmill, a pause from the routine, the inserting of some punctuation in the story of our daily routine.
Punctuation is essential to the flow of writing and equally so to the flow of our lives. So I am challenging you my friend, are you punctuating your life well? Here is some punctuation I highly recommend:1) The Pause
Commas are used to insert a pause in a sentence and in the sentence of our lives. We must allow for the effectiveness of a pause, a ‘selah’ moment. Jesus had only three years of public ministry but they were full of pregnant pauses, he paused for the blind man, the leper and the woman at the well. He was not so concerned with his agenda that he missed the very people he was here to reach.
Many churches, ministries and leaders I have met, need a good pause. One day Jesus paused, looked up a tree and saw Zacchaeus. That pause redirected his whole day. Instead of being with the crowd, he paused for tea with this sinner. I love that about Jesus. Would you have done the same?
A few months ago I went to London by train. On the way down was direct, it was great, no interruptions. After my meetings, I returned home, only this time the train was not direct, it kept stopping at other stations. I found myself getting increasingly annoyed. Why were all these people in my space and why was it taking so long. It was then I felt God whisper, ‘Which is most like your life? Are you a speeding train with no time to stop or are you a vehicle that others can board and be helped to reach their destination?’ I realised I needed to work on my pauses. As a mum I deliberately pause for my kids, to hear them, to understand their desires. I pause for my husband; we insert pauses in our marriage just for us. Create a pause in your daily routine for those you love today.
2) The Full Stop
A full stop ends a sentence so a new one can begin. Many of us can be terrible at ending things well but God needs us to be good at starting and finishing in areas of our life. Our gift to God is not just our willingness to serve him, but our availability, and we have to insert some stops in our world to free up our availability. In Luke 9:57-62 we read about people who were willing but unavailable. I love the way Jesus responds to their statements:
One was keen but ignorant of the cost. We need to educate our availability so we don’t say ‘yes’ with our heart but ‘no’ with our commitment.
Another was willing but wants to go and bury his dead father. Similarly, many of us need to learn to move on from dead relationship, situations and put a full stop instead. Insert a full stop and embrace the new and more productive things God needs you available for. When Naomi gave her daughters-in-law Ruth and Oprah the option to leave her, Orpah decided that for her this was a full stop moment and she left Naomi. Whereas Ruth decided that this was a pause but she was carrying on. I love that Naomi wisely made them add their own punctuation to their lives.
Do you need some full stops on conversations, wrong thinking, relationships? Then insert them, because until you insert a full stop, no new sentence can start.
3 The Exclamation Mark
I am a girl that loves to party and I don’t see enough people enjoying their life. I think more exclamation marks are needed! An exclamation mark says, hey stop, wow, look at this! Jesus was always marking moments, from cooking breakfast for Peter and restoring him, to the five loaves and fishes, to the time when he washed the disciples feet. He could have just taught them but he wanted to do something to grab their hearts and mind and impress this moment on them.
I think the church needs to reclaim is its creativity and excitement. David said ‘I will enter with thanksgiving’ and he danced with all his might! So what about you? I have decided any time is a good time to party, at Cherish every year we throw a huge party for people who don’t think they deserve such extravagance. From our baby shower party for pregnant teenage girls, where we lavished them with gifts and unconditional love, to our shoe shower for Barnados children. The point is we added a ‘wow’ to our ‘how’. Add exclamation marks to your ministry, your marriage, your friendship, your kids!
So beautiful lady, before the alarm clock sounds on another day and you race off the starting blocks, please add some planned punctuation to your life. Who can you pause for today? Where do you need to add a full stop? And what moment this week can you mark and enjoy?
ISSUE 3 APR 2012
A Sacrificial Love
By Lisa T. Bergren; an excerpt from her book Life On Planet Mom
Say we were dear friends, on a girls’ getaway to London (hey, a girl can dream, right?). We’re walking along, and you step into the street, commenting on how cute that red phone booth is up there, blissfully unaware that a double-decker bus is hurtling toward you.
Since we’re dear friends, I hope that I would burst into action and push you out of the way, even if it meant that I might die.
I hope.
Because I love my friends.
But I don’t know.
Deep down, I can visualize myself screaming, “Look out!” I can almost feel the horror at what I am watching, terror sending adrenaline rushing through my body, but would that cause me to save you and sacrifice myself? Uh, maybe. My friends are important to me. There are a few I consider so close that I can’t imagine living without them. But I’m worried that in that critical moment, I would choose self-preservation over self-sacrifice. (If we ever cross paths in real life, you can decide for yourself whether you can trust me to be your pal!)
But as a mom, I know I would do anything possible to save my children. I want to see them live to adulthood, become all they were created to be. I know you feel the same way. And while few of us will have to make such a dramatic sacrifice for our children, we all sacrifice in small ways every day to help them grow and flourish. We sacrifice sleep, the TV show we’d rather watch, and gourmet coffee for the economy brand, energy to shop for and make healthy food, down time on the computer so he can log on to Nic Jr., and doing ten loads of laundry. The list goes on an on. But we do it with pleasure because we love our children. We want to provide for them and surround them with love and protection and good things.
This is a lot like God. Now, I’ve been a Christian all my life and felt as though I’ve had a pretty good relationship with him. But becoming a mom escalated things. Finally I have fully grasped what unconditional love means, as I have felt such love for my children.
Suddenly the dark days of remembrance leading up to Easter moved me to tears. I could see Jesus hanging on the cross, feel the deep, pulsing grief of watching someone I love be put to death; but I was thinking of his mother Mary, kneeling at his bloody feet, weeping--it makes me cry even now. And for God to sacrifice his Son, for him to put Mary through such agony so that I might by free, so that I might never be separated from him, is something the significance of which motherhood has only magnified.
He love you that much too.
ISSUE 2 MAR 2012
God's Glamour Girl
By Jacqueline J. Overpeck
This summer, I was at the supermarket picking up doughnuts for work when Glamour magazine caught my eye. Renee Zellweger was the cover girl. She had on the softest pink dress. Her fair skin melted into the satin. The look was iridescent. She was radiant. I wish I glowed like a star, I whined to myself.
In addition to a feature story on Zellweger, Glamourpromised a list of the 50 most glamorous women of 2009. Very interesting, I thought to myself. Who are the 50 most glamorous women of 2009 and how did they qualify? I couldn’t resist, so I bought a copy.
Later that day, I gobbled up my new magazine. I chewed every meaty-morsel from cover to cover. The 50 most glamorous women of 2009 included Reese Witherspoon for her likeability and legs, Jennifer Aniston for her Cali-girl style, Beyonce Knowles for oozing glamour, Gywneth Paltrow for her natural fashion ease, Katie Holmes for being both sophisticated and cool, and 45 other women for being femme fatales.
After reading the article, I closed the magazine and threw it on the floor. I felt empty. I had just feasted on a five-course meal that served up the best of Hollywood, yet I was still starving. Even with all the cream cheese couture, there wasn’t enough ruffley substance to satisfy my appetite. I needed some real food, something that would stick to my ribs.
Reaching for my Bible, I flipped to Matthew 5:6.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled. (King James Version)
“Lord,” I prayed. “I want to be filled with the kind of beauty you admire.”
The Qualities of God’s Glamour Girl
Who is God’s glamour girl and what are her admirable qualities?
According to Scripture, she is:
G – Gorgeous inside and out
She fears the Lord knowing He is the source of all good things.
She fears the Lord knowing He is the source of all good things.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
L – Laughter
She’s isn’t afraid to laugh out loud and she looks for ways to encourage others.
She’s isn’t afraid to laugh out loud and she looks for ways to encourage others.
…the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah 8:10
A – All about adoration
She’s got a heart for applauding her King. She loves to praise and worship her God.
She’s got a heart for applauding her King. She loves to praise and worship her God.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness;come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2
Psalm 100:1-2
M – Mercy
Her heart is full of compassion and her hands are ready to serve.
Her heart is full of compassion and her hands are ready to serve.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14
Colossians 3:12-14
O – Original
She’s uniquely herself. She places her whole life in God’s hands--knowing as His creation she already shines like a star.
She’s uniquely herself. She places her whole life in God’s hands--knowing as His creation she already shines like a star.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…
Psalm 139:13-14
Psalm 139:13-14
U – Understanding
She has a ravenous appetite for wisdom and she loves to read the Bible. She’s thirsty for truth and delights in understanding the mysteries of God.
She has a ravenous appetite for wisdom and she loves to read the Bible. She’s thirsty for truth and delights in understanding the mysteries of God.
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Proverbs 24:3-4
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Proverbs 24:3-4
R – Righteousness
She keeps herself pure. She desires to be an untarnished vessel for God’s anointing to flow through. Nothing is more important to God’s Glamour Girl than establishing heaven’s kingdom on earth.
She keeps herself pure. She desires to be an untarnished vessel for God’s anointing to flow through. Nothing is more important to God’s Glamour Girl than establishing heaven’s kingdom on earth.
But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long.
Psalm 71:14-15
My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long.
Psalm 71:14-15
TRUE GLAMOUR
God’s glamour girl is gorgeous inside and out. She’s filled with laughter.
She has a song in her heart. Mercy springs from her spirit.
She’s totally original. Her Bible is handy.
She uses her unique gifts and talents to share the saving message of Jesus with the world.
The Confident Christian Woman
Be encouraged glamour girl! You belong to the Most High God. As His daughter you live by another standard than one Hollywood and the fashion magazines portray. Heaven is your eternal home and you are astounding in unearthly beauty. With your life surrendered to Jesus you sparkle with radiance that Rodeo Drive wishes it had! You are spiritually savvy and God has created you to be exquisite in Him.
The more you sit at His feet, the more His image will be seen in you. He is love. How does anything else compare to that? Seriously, what could be more attractive than love?
The next time you look in the mirror, please don’t compromise your heart by comparing yourself to anyone else. There’s no one like you. Be confident in Christ. He created you to be beautiful beyond Beverly Hills and Sunset Boulevard.
How about a deal? If you stop longing for the life of Anne Hathaway and let heradmire the princess in you, I’ll forget reasoning how I might be like Renee Zellweger and let her admire God’s radiance in me! Agreed?
Jacqueline Overpeck is a multi-published inspirational author who loves to offer encouragement to readers. Jacqueline and her husband, Arnold, are both CLASS (Christian Leaders, Authors, and Speakers Services) graduates. They enjoy the outdoors, and traveling in their spare time with their Maltese dog, Coconut. Visit Jacqueline at www.authorjackieo.com. Follow Jacqueline on Twitter.
© 2009, Jacqueline Overpeck. Used by permission. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the consent of the publisher.
ISSUE 1 FEB 2012
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
By the time you have picked up this newsletter you would have already accomplished much today. And right now you are possibly thinking of things yet to be crossed off your to-do list, maybe you even just added one or two things to the list on paper or the ongoing one in your head! Life is busy. Mums are busy. We wear a lot of hats and have a lot on our minds.
MaxiMum was born from the idea of just that. I am a mum of 2 under 4 and know all to well the pressures we as mums are under. I am also very aware of this time with preschoolers being a season, however, being a mother is forever, and certainly so is our relationship with the Lord.
Before getting married I remember the free time I had, and the hours I would spend with the Lord in one day reading and praying. It took me a while to figure out the balance after I got married. As soon as I did work it out, we were pregnant. It is that age old expression ‘as soon as you figure it out, it all changes!’ Finding a balance with everything as a mum is tough, especially when it is filled with good things- people you love.
Lack of sleep, lots to do, and a lovely baby kept me really busy- and tired. I loved it and still do, but missed my time with the Lord. I missed feeling connected. I missed actually being able to focus in a worship service or hear the entirety of a sermon. I found having energy to be up early before the kids hard and reading or praying at night resulted in heavy eye lids and a nodding head, and then eventually just going to sleep.
So begun the attempt at a solution. Bible studies are tough to consistently attend when you have little ones, especially with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules. I was helping out in the children’s program at church some Sundays and the other Sundays my kids wanted one of us to stay with them.
So I began listening to some sermons online, some of which came from the church that I went to when I was in High School and College in the States. One in particular spoke to me in the situation you and I may find ourselves in. The pastor Brian Bloye and his wife Amy (West Ridge Church) were doing a mother’s day service together.
They said that as mums it’s “hard to find intimacy with God on a consistent basis in the midst of all the busyness that life puts on your plate.” Yes that was me! Is this you too?
In Luke 10:38-42 there is a story of two sisters. More than likely we will connect with one of these women.
It says “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answers, “you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
It’s really easy for me to connect with Martha in this season of motherhood. Lots to do, think about, etc. Whereas, in the sermon they said, “Mary was more prone to walk in the dew of the morning than to get caught up with the do’s of the day.” When there is so many do’s in the day it is hard to stay focussed. So the balance, I believe is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. This is the title of a book by Joanne Weaver, a book I highly recommend and was referred to in this particular sermon.
Focus
Brian and Amy stated four reasons we lost focus: One, our society promotes a “SuperMum” image of women. We always feel we need to be doing more, and better. Amy said, “while the world applauds achievement, the Lord desires companionship.” Somewhere along the line Martha lost her focus and her priority was on her work.
Two, women live in constant tension between the urgent and the important. Urgent, meaning the things we feel are needing to be done but can wait; it is the ongoing tasks that we do. But the urgent can get in the way of what is really important. Decide for you what is really important. Hopefully, spending time with the Lord is one of them.
Three, women tend to compare with other women. Craig Rochelle, a pastor in Oklahoma says “The quickest way to forget what God says about you is to obsess about what others say about you.” No one can do it all; so if you see a mother who you think must have it all together and can do it all, she can’t.
Four, the church as a whole may promote an image of Christianity that celebrates performance and achievement. In performance based Christianity focus will inevitably get lost. Your focus would be on yourself and not on God.
The 3 Deadly d’s
In Weaver’s book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World she says, “Satan’s never been terribly creative. The tools he uses today are the same tools he’s always used--and no wonder, for they’ve been quite effective. From the Garden of Eden to Martha’s Bethany kitchen to our own everyday world, Satan still plans his attacks around what I call the ‘Three Deadly D’s of Destruction.’ They are Distraction, Discouragement and Doubt. Throughout time, Satan has resorted to these tactics to bring down God’s best and brightest. The underlying strategy is fairly simple: Get people’s eyes off God and on their circumstances. Make them believe that their “happiness” lies in the “happenings” that surround them. Or send them good news--about somebody else. When they’re thoroughly discouraged tell them God doesn’t care. Then sit back and let doubt do its work.”
The Solution
So, now what, we need a solution. A solution to get refocussed, back to our first love. First as Brian and Amy says we must “Relax and let God live His life through us.” Psalm 46: 10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Take a break and be still in his presence. In John 15 we have an image of God being the vine and we are the branches. All of God’s power and energy is in the vine. When we connect, abide in Him and just be, the vine-God becomes our dependance. Then fruit can be produced in our lives. We don’t produce the fruit. The vine does--we just bear it.
Next we must rest in who God made us to be and not worry what others say or what others are doing. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Lastly, focus on Jesus while doing everything else you need to be doing. Matt 6: 33 says “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Learn to sit at Jesus’ feet. Carve out time to come to Him. Amy stated, “spending time with [Jesus] can become like a catalyst to change us from who we are in our natural self to all that God created us to be. Invite Jesus into the chaos of the day. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Hopefully this month you will have some divine intervention. Spend that quality time with our Father. May you find yourself more at peace, filled with more joy, and closer to Jesus. - ND
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