Too Blessed to be Stressed?

“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” Psalm 119:28

I don’t know about you, but I always get the post Christmas blues. The lights and decorations come down; radio stations stop playing Christmas music and return to their regular formats. It happens every single year, and I have yet to find a way to prevent myself from being a little bummed out.

Sometimes I get the “mommy blues” too. Does this ever happen to you? That feeling of needing and wanting a break from the 24/7 responsibility of another human being? That feeling of every day being exactly the same but completely different all at the same time? There’s nothing really major to complain about. The children are (relatively) healthy and happy, life with the hubby is good. You know that, as the saying goes, “You’re too blessed to be stressed,” but you’re still stressed or feeling down anyway. When this happens to me, I find myself feeling guilty about it.

In reading the scriptures, it is clear that feelings of sadness and stress are not uncommon for followers of Christ. There’s an entire book of grieving called Lamentations, and one glance at the Psalms gives us even more proof. In fact, Jesus is very clear when He tells us that our life will not be easy. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 I find that when the pressures of life and the sadness of this world are too much, those are the times when I more fully rely on the Lord. I don’t want to feel guilty for my real, human emotions. I don’t want to be told that I don’t have the right to feel negative feelings because that doesn’t make the feelings any less real for me. In my experience, God uses the difficult times in my life to draw me closer to Him.

I just wanted to encourage all of you fellow moms in this. Life is hard. Life as a parent is harder. Other struggles of this earthly life make life harder still. It’s okay for us to experience and deal with the unhappy feelings, even if our life seems perfect on the outside. God is there with open arms to comfort and forgive us even though we don’t deserve even a drop of His grace, and we can always rejoice in that truth even in times of sadness.

Psalm 30:1-5

"I will exalt You, O Lord,

for You lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O Lord my God, I called to You for help

and You healed me.

O Lord, You brought me up from the grave;

You spared me from going down into the pit.

Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;

Praise His holy Name.

For His anger lasts only a moment,

but His favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning." Amen.

Rejoice in the Lord

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything..."

(Philippians 4:4-5)

The decorations are down and the excitement of Christmas is over. The inside of our houses feel bare and empty.  If you live in the Midwest like we do, looking outside doesn't help the situation.  Everything is brown and dreary, and will stay that way for the next couple of months.  Sometimes, it feels like the Christmas joy has been put away with the decorations.

"Rejoice in the Lord always."  As Christians, this verse reminds us that our cause for  rejoicing is not found in our circumstances.  As sinful human beings, we often forget this and tend to focus too much on the current hardships  in our lives.  We only find temporary happiness in ourselves, our material possessions, and  in those around us.   But, the apostle Paul reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always--in good times and in bad-- for our true joy is found in God's gift of salvation, which is everlasting.   The reality is that we are sinners living in a sinful world--we will have  tough days; those we love will let us down; and we will let those we love down, too.  On our own, there is not much cause for rejoicing. However, it is in these tough times that we are reminded: "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything."  Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we are not to be anxious.  Rather, we are to trust in Him. It is during times of hardship that our Savior draws us to Him, sustains us, and strengthens our faith.  And, it is through His death and resurrection that we find our true joy.

At first glance, it may appear that the Christmas season is over.  Yet, as Christians, may we continually rest and rejoice in the true source of our Christmas joy.  May we daily give thanks for the Son of God who was laid in the manger--for it is in Him alone that we have everlasting salvation.  And, it is in Him alone that we can find true joy and peace forever. 

Dear Heavenly Father,  We are thankful for all that you have done, are doing, and will do in our lives.  May we daily focus our eyes on You--the Defender and Perfector of our faith. Thank you for being our constant source of joy.  In Christ's name--Amen.

Baptism Birthdays

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:4

My son recently had his 2nd baptism birthday. We celebrated by taking out his candle that we received at his baptism and lit it during lunch and supper. We looked at pictures from that special day, and talked about the friends and family he saw in the photos. We read him a little children's book about baptism, and called our pastor so that he could say "thank you" as only a precious 2-year old can. We were not allowed to leave the table without singing his favorite "candle" song (This Little Gospel Light of Mine). :-)

Reese is too young to really understand the significance of his baptism yet, but we are working on building up in him to value what was given to him on this special day. "On this day 2 years ago, you became a child of God," we told him throughout the day on Tuesday.

I wonder... just because I have years on this little one, does the significance of what Christ has done for me through baptism really hit me completely? Probably it won't fully until I am face to face with my Savior and can truly realize the fruits of this incredible gift He gave me. Until that time, I daily "by contrition and repentance" allow my "old Adam" to be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, my new man emerging and arising "to live before God in righteousness and purity forever." And I can encourage my little ones to do the same as we practice forgiveness and spend time internalizing the truths in God's Word.

Do you and your family members know when yours baptism birthdays are? If not, why not make it a point to find out and then start your own unique celebrations for these special birthdays!

Heavenly Father, Thank you for the work that you have done to provide forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and give eternal salvation for me and my family. Please be with us as parents and show us how we can daily support and encourage your words and promises, given to our children through their baptism. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

You're A Good Mom!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.   

Galatians 5:1

The mom-guilt flows freely, doesn’t it?  It is really mind-boggling that so many random things can evoke guilt in us when it comes to decisions we make and our children.  We know we don’t have control over everything, so we pour over the control we do have seeking to do the best thing for our kids.  Or we can’t understand that we don’t have control, so we pour over every decision.  Either way, it’s not easy.  

Sometimes we ache over the “little” stuff: I don’t play with my kids as much as I should; I didn’t get Sophie’s jeans washed tonight; I don’t know if I should drag my son thru the torture of grocery shopping.  I could go on and on.  I’m sure you have your list.  I buy too many processed foods, I don’t read to my kids often enough, I should have said something nicer to her before she left for school, I wish we had enough money to buy him the jersey he wants.  

But the other day a conversation during some much needed friend-time revealed some things.  First of all, can we stop beating ourselves up for the things we think we don’t do?!  Ok, yes, that sounds nice.  And second, how bout we start celebrating the things we DO do!?  It turns out that me being able to stay home with my kids means a lot of things.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that I will read 4 books to them daily.  But it does mean that I am available to my one-year-old when he brings me “Johnny Tractor’s Fun Farm Day” for the sixth time today.  It doesn’t mean I can suddenly whip up a fancy cake-boss style birthday cake.  But it means I have enough time to think so that I can be sure and make the birthday girl’s favorite meal for supper.  It doesn’t mean I spend hours playing number games with my preschooler.  But it does mean that when I’m paying the bills and she climbs on my lap and says “Why aren’t we rich?” – we can take the time to have a meaningful conversation about how hard daddy works for us.  

Today I challenge you – moms who work full-time, stay home full-time, beg for money on the street corner – whatever your situation: Celebrate 3 things you are happy about doing as a mom.  Something you’ve done for your kids or your family or your husband lately that was a good move.  It might be unconventional.  It might not be anything like what the mom down the street would do.  But it’s how God has YOU serving your family.  Here, I’ll go first.  I let my eight-year-old daughter help me pick out my jewelry and accessories before my meeting tonight.  It was fun.  I took the 4 minutes and instead of kicking her out of my room so I could hurry up and be ready, I let her explore my jewelry box and fix my scarf.  It was a good moment.  I’m thankful for it.  What’s yours?

Insert YOUR prayer of thankfulness here.  :)

Follow That Star!

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2

In the month of December, my family and I spent a lot of time listening to our collection of Christmas music. I have several songs that I love, of course, but one of my favorites is actually an epiphany song. The Song is called “The Star Still Shines” by Diamond Rio and is found on, The Star Still Shines: A Diamond Rio Christmas, album. The song begins with the first verse…

There was a star in the Eastern sky that shone down on Bethlehem,
A few had recognized the sign a King was born to them
Drew them to a manger to a virgin mother's son
Who would draw us to salvation, God's gift to everyone.

In this verse we are told of the wise men from the east that followed a star leading them to the Savior, born in Bethlehem. They saw His star shining and followed it to find the King and worship Him. They were seeking not only the light of the star, but also the light of the Savior.

And the star still shines after all this timeAs a light for me and you.
It beckons us to seek himWise men still do, wise men still do

In the refrain of the song we are reminded that the wise men who followed the star seeking the King are not the only ones that the star shines for. The star still shines in the light of our Savior. As we read God’s Word and learn and grow from it, we, as wise men, still seek our Savior and follow the star. This may not be a star that shines in the night sky, but it is the light of Jesus salvation won for all mankind. It shines to us and leads us in God’s Word.

In these crazy troubled times the world seems so out of tune
Sometime's it's like we're living without a flame to light the room
If you're feeling faithless and you think you've lost your way
Oh there is a hope that's bright enough to turn your night to day

It won't go out after Christmas like a candle in the wind
It's a light that shines forever not just every now and then

The second and third verse describe so beautifully how that light is there for us today. When we are feeling down and even when life is going well and we have much to be thankful for, the light of Jesus salvation shines for us, giving us hope and guidance and reminding us of our greatest blessing of forgiveness.

I love the words in the short third verse and I pray this will be a reminder for all of us. The light of Christ does not go away after Christmas. We may be putting away our Christmas decorations and moving onto the next season of the year, but the star of Jesus does not get put away in a box. It is there for us, guiding us in Scripture as we continue to seek Him daily. I would like to challenge you to do something that my family will be doing this year. We are going to leave one Christmas star out on display all year to remind us that “it beckons us to seek Him, wise men still do.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending the star that led the wise men to worship the Savior in Bethlehem. We thank you that the light still shines for us today, guiding us also to the Savior. Help us to seek Him through Your Word every day and remember the purpose of the babe born in Bethlehem who grew into the man, our Savior on the cross. Amen.

come what may

"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." John 17:24

My five year old broke her arm yesterday. It was a day for strong mommy muscle, intuition, and lots of sitting. I would rather that she not have broken her arm and I wish that she could go to kindergarten tomorrow with her winter coat and backpack on as usual. But she will be bundled in a blanket with a bright pink cast in a sling instead. Her resilience has been amazing to me. She is delighted with trying to write with her “wrong” hand and practices only the treble clef on the piano. She cries when it hurts and asks for help when she needs it. Could I ask for God to be any more merciful?

The season of fresh starts and resolutions is here. We’ve made lists and reflected. We’ve prayerfully presented an optimistic outlook on the New Year. The ironic part is that I wanted to show the Lord my own determination to set aside vices this week and instead I am being schooled in determination by my daughter. I wanted to be more intentional about patience and humility in my parenting, and He is displaying those virtues in my house by another.

I love the song “Blessings” by Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ about how struggling is a blessing if it is what draws us to Jesus. I doubt many have resolved to struggle more in the New Year or hope for a personal trial, but it is true that those moments can reveal things about God that we may never understand otherwise. Those moments might even be the canvas for God to display His goodness and mercy to a world of unmet New Year hopes. As we continue our walk with our Savior, I pray that we would welcome whatever each day brings as a chance to be blessed and transformed. Even…or especially… when something is broken.

Prayer: Jesus, Healer and Transformer, You are the Lord of my life. Your goodness and blessing are beyond my comprehension or desires. I lay my life before You and thank You for Your care. Transform me each day through all circumstances to eagerly serve You with joy no matter what. Amen

A Happy New Year

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

The last week of the year I find myself reflecting on the peaks and valleys of the last 365 days. This year has been no different. 2011 blessed me in ways that I would have never predicted, challenged me in ways I have never before been pushed and opened my eyes to God's love in ways never seen before.

It would be naive of me to say that at the time I was thankful for those situations. The reality is that at the time I often responded in anger, sadness, by questioning why these things were happening. And yet, I can see the growth in my family and within myself.

In retrospect, these challenging moments have become blessings and allowed my relationship with the Lord to grow stronger. My prayer for you, your families, my family and myself is that the Lord will bless us all. Even in ways unexpected so that we may all have the opportunity to grow closer to him. I am thankful that just as we are new creations in Christ where the old has gone and the new is here, may this new year provide us with new opportunities to love others, share others with the good news of Jesus Christ.