The alarm went off early this morning. Hubby was in bed sick with fever and chills, which meant I had to drag my non-morning butt out of bed earlier than normal to cover the early school schedule for child #1. My hubby has me very spoiled by getting him up, ready, and to school before myself and the mini-me princess even need to roll out of bed for school shift #2. Isn't it ironic that you don't realize you're spoiled until you have to do what most people do every day. ;)
Even though I wasn't awake enough to be totally coherent of my surroundings, I was glad I could let my man sleep. One of those rare moments I can sacrifice and offer something of value (my sleep--he knows how valuable that is!) On go the yoga pants and hoodie and down the steps I go to get things rolling. Lunch packed, child fed, hair up in a messy bun, flip flops on (patches of snow still on the ground), and of course sunglasses--since make-up has yet to be applied to half-open eyes. So what if the sun isn't even up? Sunglasses are must.
Off to school #1 I go with child #1. Turn around, head back home. Wake up child #2, get her ready, lunch packed, and off to school #2 with child #2. As she is getting out of the vehicle, she gives me a sheepish grin and says, "Mom, today is library......I don't have my library book." Add another trip to school to my to-do list. Heading home.....I don't think I remember eating breakfast.
Back home, the laptop calls. I jump on the couch with my yoga pants and DELL to settle in for the pressing tasks. Emails that need attention, phone calls to make, blogs waiting, devotions to read, online research, ministry check list tackled. Pause-----distraught friend calls and needs quality phone time and prayer. An hour later, ok, where was I? Oh yeah, that library book that needs dropped off at school. Heart is still heavy with friend's burden.
Before I know it, I end my conference call at 1:30pm, grab some lunch, Motrin the hubby back up, and hop back into the van to head to school #1 to retrieve child #1.......yes, I'm still in my yoga pants, messy hair, and no make-up. In a futile attempt to appear more put together this trip, I quickly grab a cadet hat and once again don my sunglasses. At least the sun is partially out now.
I return home for my 20 minute "layover" and hit my laptop again to finish up replying to some incoming emails. A UPS delivery and phone message leave me scrambling back out the door in the nick of time to pick up child #2 from the bus stop. Whew! That was close! Time to think about the logistics of the evening---Awanas, dinner, baseball practice, and.......oh yeah, I haven't showered. I need to make a pick-up for a dear friend with a sick family and one look in the mirror tells me the yoga pants attire of the day will not work this time.
Time to finally shower and then cheat by picking up pizza for dinner...........
(But I'd better start of load laundry first........never know when I'll need a fresh pair of yoga pants for another crazy day of real life!)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
What Aroma Lingers After Me?
Inspired by a recent "Girlfriends in God" devotion, I asked myself a hard question. "What aroma lingers around those I have been near?" As I thought about that, I realized I leave different aromas depending on the relationships I have. As Lysa TerKeurst identifies in her book "Unglued", we all have different reactions depending on who we are around in situations. Likewise, I see myself leaving different aromas with different relationships. Christ should be the aroma my life leaves......but my human messiness can be overpowering.
The aroma that my children experience is often the aroma of a busy mom flying around multitasking to beat the clock. Hurry up to hurry up some more. Always things to do. Very little aroma of stillness and heart-to-heart connection. Lord, break me of the "Martha" Mama and make me more of the "Mary" Mama.....
The aroma that my husband experiences is about as diverse as they come! He often slowly approaches me, "sniffs" lightly, and gauges my "scent" before proceeding. Nothing about that process smells Christ-like! If Christ is the center of my marriage, I need Christ to be the central aroma that lingers when I am with my husband. Not the aroma of a crazy day, or of supper preparations, or of unmet expectations, and certainly not of hormones! I have lots of work to do.......I need to reset my aroma for my husband so that Christ lingers and not my messy womaness.
The aroma that my friendships experience is probably non-existent. I give myself so little margin that my time for my friendships gets pinched and sometimes cut off. Instead of Christ being the aroma I leave with my friends, they are left with quick, short-and-sweet "wafts" as I move about trying to squeeze in my day what my hearts wants to take longer for. My friends can't see my heart, so my friendships must have more than intentions to leave a sweet fragrance of love in their lives. Another area I need to work on "smelling better"...
The aroma that my ministry women experience is probably closest to the aroma of Christ. It is in this arena that I make the most effort to put off self and put on Christ. Not for show or for anything other than pure motives, but I probably view this in my mind as where "Christ is really watching". I know deep in my soul He has called me to serve where I am, so I don't want to disappoint Him. I want to serve Him wholeheartedly and doing so brings me such joy! While I know my entire life is an open book to Christ, something in me tends to place this platform higher and thus I am able to be more intentional with my aroma. I need to carry this servant's aroma into my home and my marriage too! That is my first ministry. Christ didn't call me into ministry so that my family (and friends) would get my "leftovers". Sounds like it's time for an "aroma make-over" as I strive to balance all He has called me to be.....
"Lord, thank you for sending me this devotion and allowing me to take a hard look at the aromas that linger after me. Infuse me with your Holy Spirit so that Your fruit in me leaves the sweet scent of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). Remove the sinful aroma of self and replace it with Your redeemed aroma of Christ!" In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
Activity from the devotion:
The Aroma of Christ devotion by "Girlfriends in God"
The aroma that my children experience is often the aroma of a busy mom flying around multitasking to beat the clock. Hurry up to hurry up some more. Always things to do. Very little aroma of stillness and heart-to-heart connection. Lord, break me of the "Martha" Mama and make me more of the "Mary" Mama.....
The aroma that my husband experiences is about as diverse as they come! He often slowly approaches me, "sniffs" lightly, and gauges my "scent" before proceeding. Nothing about that process smells Christ-like! If Christ is the center of my marriage, I need Christ to be the central aroma that lingers when I am with my husband. Not the aroma of a crazy day, or of supper preparations, or of unmet expectations, and certainly not of hormones! I have lots of work to do.......I need to reset my aroma for my husband so that Christ lingers and not my messy womaness.
The aroma that my friendships experience is probably non-existent. I give myself so little margin that my time for my friendships gets pinched and sometimes cut off. Instead of Christ being the aroma I leave with my friends, they are left with quick, short-and-sweet "wafts" as I move about trying to squeeze in my day what my hearts wants to take longer for. My friends can't see my heart, so my friendships must have more than intentions to leave a sweet fragrance of love in their lives. Another area I need to work on "smelling better"...
The aroma that my ministry women experience is probably closest to the aroma of Christ. It is in this arena that I make the most effort to put off self and put on Christ. Not for show or for anything other than pure motives, but I probably view this in my mind as where "Christ is really watching". I know deep in my soul He has called me to serve where I am, so I don't want to disappoint Him. I want to serve Him wholeheartedly and doing so brings me such joy! While I know my entire life is an open book to Christ, something in me tends to place this platform higher and thus I am able to be more intentional with my aroma. I need to carry this servant's aroma into my home and my marriage too! That is my first ministry. Christ didn't call me into ministry so that my family (and friends) would get my "leftovers". Sounds like it's time for an "aroma make-over" as I strive to balance all He has called me to be.....
"Lord, thank you for sending me this devotion and allowing me to take a hard look at the aromas that linger after me. Infuse me with your Holy Spirit so that Your fruit in me leaves the sweet scent of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). Remove the sinful aroma of self and replace it with Your redeemed aroma of Christ!" In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.
Activity from the devotion:
Now It’s Your Turn:
Make a list of your favorite fragrances.
- the ocean breeze of salt water
- country candles scented like cookies
- Bath & Body Works--"sun-ripened raspberry"
- my hubby's Polo cologne
- my children's cheeks as I kiss them
- fresh laundry
How do these fragrances make you feel?
- free! I associate the ocean with vacation and stealing time away with those I love in a place that I love!
- the coziness of a warm and loving home
- intimacy of my marriage
- knowing my man is near
- nothing like the blessing of beautiful and healthy children to spend my life loving on!
- the fruits of a productive day serving my family and taking care of our home. snuggling up with clean towels or sheets after a long day...
Are you saturating your life with the fragrance of God’s truth?
- daily time in the Word often outweighs my daily prayer time. While I need to fill up on His Truth, I also need to fill up on His whispers.
Who are the people in your life who need to know Christ?
- those precious women He brings to CBS and anyone He leads across my path during everyday tasks. May I not be too busy focused on my to-do list that I miss those faces and hearts who may need to be touched by Jesus through me
What step(s) do you need to take to be the aroma of Jesus Christ to the people in your life?
- I need to be INTENTIONAL. We all have an internal magnet that pulls us toward self. The aroma of Christ can't linger when I am focused on myself.
- I need to remember that my purpose is to reflect Christ; not to reflect Billie Jo.
- Do my words and actions smell sweet of service to Jesus or sour of busyness to me?
- Lord, I invite you into my day. Please mold me and change me so that I leave Your aroma everywhere You send me today.......
The Aroma of Christ devotion by "Girlfriends in God"
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Christ Redeems the Sanctity of Marriage from Divorce
I have become acutely aware of the attack on marriages over the past year. Primarily due to the attack my own marriage has suffered. It's amazing how during your own season of suffering, the Lord leads you to others who are suffering in that same season. It's as if I have on 3-D glasses that gives me eyes for hurting marriages. Marriages are falling apart everywhere; there is no arena that is not suffering from this attack. The number of marriage "fatalities" continues to climb......and my heart breaks for those whose hearts are breaking without Hope.
It seems Satan is using the facet of marriage to ramp up his dirty work. By tearing apart the union closest to God's heart, Satan is undermining the sanctity of marriage, and thus attempting to undermine Christ. Marriage is the relationship designed by God to reflect the relationship Christ has with His Church. Satan is personally attacking God by amputating husbands and wives from one another, thus leaving us to limp along with handicapped marriages and divorce of staggering proportions. Satan is infiltrating our minds with thoughts that marriage can be easily divorced. No longer is the marriage covenant considered sacred or binding.
Satan declares war on marriage by shifting our focus to self and our wants and expectations, and then allowing our own spiral of selfishness to pull us away from Christ. How simple, yet destructive, a battle plan. The enemy just turns us over to our natural sinful nature--self. The world is his ally and diligently works with him to entice, entitle, and convince us we need or deserve better than what we have. Your typical, "the grass is greener on the other side" mentality. "Going green" in marriage means removing the philosophy of fixing what is broken. Instead, we are encouraged to seek to replace marriage with a greener, more appealing life that "we deserve". If marriage is messy, simply dispose of it. We live in a world that is focused on fast, convenient, and disposable. This self gratification leads to a lack of permanence in our marriages.
Satan highlights self, which becomes our biggest enemy. This is exactly where I found myself a few months ago. Marriage, as it was, wasn't working for me. I made it all about me. It was easier to just want out instead of seeking my part of the solution. If he wasn't going to change into what I wanted, then I couldn't do this anymore. I gave very little regard for the battle he was engaged in. I was not supporting him from my own pit. Instead of being his cheerleader as a wife should be, I allowed my disappointment and hurt to become rotten apples I threw at him while booing him off the husband field. Satan distracted my focus from the marriage covenant to the worship of self. Satan used past baggage to convince me I needed to pack up and move on. I was convinced nothing would ever change. Satan was winning in our marriage because we were both focused on self.
Our marriage was at another crossroads. Would we continue to fight WITH one another or would we choose to fight FOR one another? Would we claim the promises of Christ that we established our marriage on, or would we give in to the world's standards and simply divorce the sanctity of our marriage? Today, I am praising the Lord that our marriage victory belongs to Christ! Christ trumps self and thus defeats Satan and his tactics to sever marriages. The Christ in our marriage is stronger than the enemy's pull that threatened to dissolve our marriage vows. We chose marriage and the covenant we made with God fifteen years ago. We surrendered our marriage to the One who joined us together and trust Him daily for the means to make this work. In our own strength we fail 100% of the time. In His strength we succeed 100% of the time. What is humanly impossible is Divinely Possible.
Was it a switch that flipped from thoughts of divorce to happily-ever-after? NO. It's a struggle, to some degree, everyday. He is fighting against his formative childhood, the easier path of passivity, the unnatural element of communication, and the negative chatter inside his mind. But he is no longer fighting against me; he is fighting for me. I am fighting against paralyzing insecurities and fear, fluctuating hormones, becoming emotionally unglued, and unrealistic expectations. But I am no longer fighting against him; I am fighting for him. There is only One reason the battle for our marriage was diverted from the path towards divorce. That reason is CHRIST! He alone saved our marriage.
My heart is heavily burdened for the disintegrating marriages that seem to be rapidly on the rise. My heart hurts for the ways in which Satan is diluting marriage to a disposable entity. The Father of Lies is convincing us that there is no other option than to divorce our marriages. Satan is succeeding (for now) to undermine the Christ in us and in our marriages. He is wreaking havoc on the unity of marriages, homes, and families. We are accepting our brokenness far too easily and choosing paths that steer us away from one another, and ultimately away from the Greatest Power available to us! Marriages everywhere need to know that Christ is the answer to any marriage struggling for its next breath.
Marriage is one of the hardest jobs we have been given in this fallen world. Two messy people are to become one flesh and meet the other's needs which are fundamentally opposite of their own. Is it any wonder that disaster strikes??? Again, I am drawn to the marriage parallel of Christ and His Church. Christ--fully God and fully man and without sin--came to our sinful world to die for a people who despised and rejected His salvation while stubbornly choosing to cling to the destructive ways of their sins. Without Christ, sin is all we know. We are the polar opposite of Christ. We are separated from God by our sin and He simply asks us to trust Christ for the forgiveness of those sins. Yet, this simplicity is the ONLY WAY! CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO REDEMPTION! The same goes for marriages. Christ is the only way a man and a woman (polar opposites if you ask me) can be united and hearts tied together in love for a lifetime. A lifetime of love, forgiveness, grace, sacrifice, yielding, submission, and daily choosing one another over self. We cannot do marriage on our own; we must be rescued from our selfishness and redeemed as one in Christ. Christ is the difference between eternal life and death and Christ is the difference between marriage and divorce. What is humanly impossible is Divinely Possible.
The bottom line, when we give up on our marriages, we are telling God He is not big enough to fix our mess. We are choosing to walk away and hit the reset button. I am aware of the familiar Bible verse that gives infidelity veto power over marriage. However, I will passionately argue against that by claiming the power of Christ over it. I am aware of the extenuating circumstances of abuse. I am also aware that the efforts of only one spouse cannot necessarily be enough to jump-start reconciliation. No two marriages are the same, nor can they all be covered by a blanket of black and white reasoning. I do know, that no marriage is beyond Christ's redemption. No human, male or female, is beyond Christ's redemption. No baggage is beyond Christ's restitution. The same power that raised Christ from the dead, is alive and living in us and in our marriages. I just wonder why we are so quick to "choose life" for the unborn, yet we seem to be just as quick to "choose divorce" for the union made before God? God created both. We are aghast at ending life, yet numb to ending marriages. Myself included. How quickly I pulled the "eject" cord in my mind and in my heart during a time of marital crisis. I will be forever grateful for Christ's forgiveness of that and for His redeeming power in my marriage. He gets the Glory. Our story for His Glory! Our marriage for His Glory!
My heart aches for marriages to claim the awesome power of our Redeemer and resist the pull of the enemy to divorce the sanctity of our marriages. Satan rejoices when we give up and take Christ out of the marital equation. When we divorce the sanctity of marriage, we remove the power of Christ, of which there is no greater power.
"For Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" ~1 John 4:4
We have claimed that unparalleled power of Christ for our marriage today and every hard day ahead. We now passionately share the power of Christ with every marriage being attacked by the enemy's forces.
Passion is born from redemption.
"Your internal passion determines external reach" ~The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick
It seems Satan is using the facet of marriage to ramp up his dirty work. By tearing apart the union closest to God's heart, Satan is undermining the sanctity of marriage, and thus attempting to undermine Christ. Marriage is the relationship designed by God to reflect the relationship Christ has with His Church. Satan is personally attacking God by amputating husbands and wives from one another, thus leaving us to limp along with handicapped marriages and divorce of staggering proportions. Satan is infiltrating our minds with thoughts that marriage can be easily divorced. No longer is the marriage covenant considered sacred or binding.
Satan declares war on marriage by shifting our focus to self and our wants and expectations, and then allowing our own spiral of selfishness to pull us away from Christ. How simple, yet destructive, a battle plan. The enemy just turns us over to our natural sinful nature--self. The world is his ally and diligently works with him to entice, entitle, and convince us we need or deserve better than what we have. Your typical, "the grass is greener on the other side" mentality. "Going green" in marriage means removing the philosophy of fixing what is broken. Instead, we are encouraged to seek to replace marriage with a greener, more appealing life that "we deserve". If marriage is messy, simply dispose of it. We live in a world that is focused on fast, convenient, and disposable. This self gratification leads to a lack of permanence in our marriages.
Satan highlights self, which becomes our biggest enemy. This is exactly where I found myself a few months ago. Marriage, as it was, wasn't working for me. I made it all about me. It was easier to just want out instead of seeking my part of the solution. If he wasn't going to change into what I wanted, then I couldn't do this anymore. I gave very little regard for the battle he was engaged in. I was not supporting him from my own pit. Instead of being his cheerleader as a wife should be, I allowed my disappointment and hurt to become rotten apples I threw at him while booing him off the husband field. Satan distracted my focus from the marriage covenant to the worship of self. Satan used past baggage to convince me I needed to pack up and move on. I was convinced nothing would ever change. Satan was winning in our marriage because we were both focused on self.
Our marriage was at another crossroads. Would we continue to fight WITH one another or would we choose to fight FOR one another? Would we claim the promises of Christ that we established our marriage on, or would we give in to the world's standards and simply divorce the sanctity of our marriage? Today, I am praising the Lord that our marriage victory belongs to Christ! Christ trumps self and thus defeats Satan and his tactics to sever marriages. The Christ in our marriage is stronger than the enemy's pull that threatened to dissolve our marriage vows. We chose marriage and the covenant we made with God fifteen years ago. We surrendered our marriage to the One who joined us together and trust Him daily for the means to make this work. In our own strength we fail 100% of the time. In His strength we succeed 100% of the time. What is humanly impossible is Divinely Possible.
Was it a switch that flipped from thoughts of divorce to happily-ever-after? NO. It's a struggle, to some degree, everyday. He is fighting against his formative childhood, the easier path of passivity, the unnatural element of communication, and the negative chatter inside his mind. But he is no longer fighting against me; he is fighting for me. I am fighting against paralyzing insecurities and fear, fluctuating hormones, becoming emotionally unglued, and unrealistic expectations. But I am no longer fighting against him; I am fighting for him. There is only One reason the battle for our marriage was diverted from the path towards divorce. That reason is CHRIST! He alone saved our marriage.
My heart is heavily burdened for the disintegrating marriages that seem to be rapidly on the rise. My heart hurts for the ways in which Satan is diluting marriage to a disposable entity. The Father of Lies is convincing us that there is no other option than to divorce our marriages. Satan is succeeding (for now) to undermine the Christ in us and in our marriages. He is wreaking havoc on the unity of marriages, homes, and families. We are accepting our brokenness far too easily and choosing paths that steer us away from one another, and ultimately away from the Greatest Power available to us! Marriages everywhere need to know that Christ is the answer to any marriage struggling for its next breath.
Marriage is one of the hardest jobs we have been given in this fallen world. Two messy people are to become one flesh and meet the other's needs which are fundamentally opposite of their own. Is it any wonder that disaster strikes??? Again, I am drawn to the marriage parallel of Christ and His Church. Christ--fully God and fully man and without sin--came to our sinful world to die for a people who despised and rejected His salvation while stubbornly choosing to cling to the destructive ways of their sins. Without Christ, sin is all we know. We are the polar opposite of Christ. We are separated from God by our sin and He simply asks us to trust Christ for the forgiveness of those sins. Yet, this simplicity is the ONLY WAY! CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO REDEMPTION! The same goes for marriages. Christ is the only way a man and a woman (polar opposites if you ask me) can be united and hearts tied together in love for a lifetime. A lifetime of love, forgiveness, grace, sacrifice, yielding, submission, and daily choosing one another over self. We cannot do marriage on our own; we must be rescued from our selfishness and redeemed as one in Christ. Christ is the difference between eternal life and death and Christ is the difference between marriage and divorce. What is humanly impossible is Divinely Possible.
The bottom line, when we give up on our marriages, we are telling God He is not big enough to fix our mess. We are choosing to walk away and hit the reset button. I am aware of the familiar Bible verse that gives infidelity veto power over marriage. However, I will passionately argue against that by claiming the power of Christ over it. I am aware of the extenuating circumstances of abuse. I am also aware that the efforts of only one spouse cannot necessarily be enough to jump-start reconciliation. No two marriages are the same, nor can they all be covered by a blanket of black and white reasoning. I do know, that no marriage is beyond Christ's redemption. No human, male or female, is beyond Christ's redemption. No baggage is beyond Christ's restitution. The same power that raised Christ from the dead, is alive and living in us and in our marriages. I just wonder why we are so quick to "choose life" for the unborn, yet we seem to be just as quick to "choose divorce" for the union made before God? God created both. We are aghast at ending life, yet numb to ending marriages. Myself included. How quickly I pulled the "eject" cord in my mind and in my heart during a time of marital crisis. I will be forever grateful for Christ's forgiveness of that and for His redeeming power in my marriage. He gets the Glory. Our story for His Glory! Our marriage for His Glory!
My heart aches for marriages to claim the awesome power of our Redeemer and resist the pull of the enemy to divorce the sanctity of our marriages. Satan rejoices when we give up and take Christ out of the marital equation. When we divorce the sanctity of marriage, we remove the power of Christ, of which there is no greater power.
"For Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" ~1 John 4:4
We have claimed that unparalleled power of Christ for our marriage today and every hard day ahead. We now passionately share the power of Christ with every marriage being attacked by the enemy's forces.
Passion is born from redemption.
"Your internal passion determines external reach" ~The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick
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