Truth

God is the ultimate Being of beings, self-existent, eternal and unchangeable. He spans from before the beginning of time and after the end of all that is known. It is impossible for us to understand who God is, simply because His existence goes so far beyond what we can comprehend. Our comprehension was created by God, and we can understand so much about Him but still only know so little. Our understanding of who God is will completely change who we are. As one brilliant thinker put it, “what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (Tozer).

God came to us in three complete parts. He is the Father. The Father of life, the Father of Jesus and the Father of us. He is the source and originator of everything that we know, as well as of all that we do not know. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The outward expression of this love, that is His very being, is Jesus. Jesus is how God chose to enter into our lives on a personal level. He is both the Son of God as well as God Himself. God, through Jesus, displayed just how much He loves man through His sacrifice and self-sacrifice. The death and resurrection of Jesus is what allows there to be direct access between God and man (Ephesians 2:18). Jesus is how God chose for us to understand who He and the Spirit are. The Holy Spirit, the third person of God, might be the most difficult to understand. “As Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit—the Helper—so that we could be true and living witnesses for Christ” (Forgotten God). The Holy Spirit is the power of God living inside of us. The Spirit is our teacher and also our access to God’s Words over us (John 14:26). The Spirit of God is a gift to believers. The Spirit is our Helper in hard times as well as our Intercessor to God (Romans 8:26). Without the Holy Spirit in our lives we are simply people, created by God, with the influence of the past works of Jesus. The Spirit is what creates relationship between God and man. Relationship is not possible without communication. Communication is not possible without the Holy Spirit. A relationship with God is the only hope for mankind.  

Man is created by God with an overwhelming need to be reunited to God. “God created mankind in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). A likeness to God in mere personality… comes far short of answering the demands of the scriptures.

Men are creators. God sent man with the mission to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). This God-given mission made man, through God, fellow creators of life. The purpose of man was for relationship with God. That relationship was broken when Adam and Eve first partook in sin. Without that relationship there was no purpose for man. There was no hope for restitution or reconciliation with God. Then Jesus stepped into the picture. Man was then given the opportunity to reunite with God. The purpose of man is now to bring other people into that unity with God. Believers have been called to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Man has been given the mission to pursue God in Christ-likeness in both actions and in relationship with God.

Sin is the cause of the separation of God and man. Sin includes a failure to do what is right. But sin also offends people; it is violence and lovelessness toward other people, and ultimately, rebellion against God. The problem with defining sin is that it originates in the heart, and cannot always be seen or even known by other men. We know from the Word that sin is in the heart of men. In fact, it even says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it” (Jer 17:9)? In the beginning, God’s plan was for man to dwell in relationship with Him. However, man was not able to abide in this love relationship without allowing free will to bring death. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, sin is at the heart of all men. Every child of Adam enters a race marked by sin, condemnation, and death. God’s Word tells us that “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12 NLT). This message is not always easy to teach. People don’t find that messages about how bad they are make them feel very good. Nevertheless, “the message of human sinfulness is integral to the apostolic message… leaving out that message or ignoring it is not an option if we wish to be faithful to Scripture” (Robbins 269). Without the knowledge and understanding of sin man cannot understand the forgiveness of Christ. Therefore, the message of love is lost without the message of sin.

The knowledge of God, man and sin leads to a deep-seeded need for the knowledge of salvation. Salvation is hope. It is the only hope that mankind has. The word salvation is first used to describe the deliverance of God’s people, the Israelites, out of their captivity in Egypt. The most common Hebrew word used for this action can be defined as “to save, help in distress, rescue, deliver, set free” (Bakers). This Hebrew translation helps to define what salvation means for mankind. Jesus literally rescued us from our own path towards death and destruction. He set us free from our sin so that we could be reconciled to God. In the Old Testament we learn about how only the high priest had the ability to enter the Holy of Holies and be in the presence of God. Even this was done with washing and great ceremony. “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7). At the very moment that Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross, the veil that separated the people of God from the Holy of Holies was ripped in two pieces, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). His death meant that man would no longer be separated from God. For man is one with God. His plan from the beginning remains intact. He made man for Himself, and we are still for Him. Salvation is the restoration He hopes of for us. “The total work of God by which He seeks to rescue man from the ruin, doom, and power of sin and bestows upon him the wealth of His grace encompassing eternal life, provision for abundant life now, and eternal glory” (Keathley III).

Scripture is God-breathed. As the Word tells us, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Scripture is the written representation of God Himself, and has been from the beginning. To love the Lord is to love His Word. The Word of God is a gift given to us as a guiding light to our path. Prior to the Bible, man only had verbal stories of what Jesus did. The scrolls of the Old Testament were often only read by those who grew up in religious faith. The Bible we know today gives each person the opportunity to read for himself what God did throughout the history of mankind. It is an account of the works of God throughout the days prior to Jesus, and prophecies of the coming Messiah. It is also our account of Jesus’ time here on Earth and the impact He began to make then. Finally, it is a documentation of His crucifixion and resurrection. The aftermath of His sacrifice also lead to letters that we have at our disposal to read for assurance, encouragement, instruction, structure, and discipline. The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It gives us what we need when we need it. It offers peace, comfort and the knowledge to the Way of salvation. It can be difficult to stress the importance of the Word of God. However, the practical application is a habit that will bring us into a place of peace and immense growth in life. It is imperative in a Christian walk that the Bible be studied, followed and respected. People sometimes find it difficult to put stock in anything other than what other people think about them. Francis Chan describes why the Bible is needed like this, “it is where we find truth. It is what God say about Himself. Everyone has an opinion about what is right and what is wrong… we all think differently… what scripture says, is the grass is going to wither and the flowers fade but the Word of our God will stand forever. At the end of the day we are not going to be judged by people we are going to be judged by God Himself ... when this is all over it is going to be about God’s word and His authority is the only authority” (Chan). This is the truth about the Scriptures.

God’s love for mankind is breathtaking. His plan for relationship and the reconciliation of that broken relationship is displayed to us in the person of Jesus, the work of Salvation, and the very Words of God. Sin separates man from God. However, the most important thing for each and every person to know is that love always wins. God created a Way to bridge the divide that Man made between himself and God. That Way is Jesus. The understanding of who God is and what He did for us is what leads people from death to life. 

An Invitation

I don't know how often God communicates with us through dreams, but I do believe that it still happens. It happened throughout the Bible and we have no reason to believe that God would not communicate with us in this way still today.

That being said, I don't often have dreams that I feel are from God. Last week I did. I have spent the last several days soaking up this dream, praying about it, talking about it, and living in response to what I believe is the most beautiful invitation any person could ever receive.

In this dream I walked into a dark room. The only thing I remember seeing in the room was a table. What made this table special was the person sitting at it. There were three chairs. Jesus sat in one of the chairs. He was clothed but covered in blood from the crucifixtion. Across from Him sat Mary Magdelene. Her long hair was wet with oil, used to wash the feet of Jesus. Her clothes were also covered in His blood, as a result of her embrace. It was an invitation for me to sit with them. Jesus was inviting me to the table. As I sat there with Him, I have never felt so loved. It was a love that brought me so much peace. I cannot even put words to the overwhelming feeling I had in that moment. It reminded me of the love I felt for our boys when I saw their faces for the first time. The only difference was that it was love TOWARDS me, not from me. It was perfect love. Perfect, peaceful, without condemnation, guilt or shame. No questions, no obligations, no pitty or judgment.
No expectations, no criticism. No pressure, anxiety or striving. Just perfect love.

We have all been given this same invitation. We are invited to the table. To love Jesus, to embrace Him, to adore Him. And what might be the most difficult of all, to receive His love and to live in response to it.

The GOD who created us all, came in the form of Jesus and invited us to adore Him. What a beautiful opportunity.

growing up

I am so proud of my sweet baby Maverick. He decided to do all of his growing up this week! Seriously, he's hit so many milestones this week. (I think he was trying to make it easy on me for recording things in his baby book).

His precious milestones have me thinking. Its funny how proud Kyle and I are of Maverick for doing the most simple things. He started clapping his hands on the day he turned eight months old. 5 days later he (finally) started crawling! That very same day he started making kissing faces, and took three steps while holding my hands. This morning he added a third word to his vocabulary ("this"... Which is his brothers favorite!).

Although these things are completely normal in the day to day of adults, they are huge for my tiny eight month old.

I'm proud of him. Immensly proud. He's brilliant and grown up to me in so many ways.

I think God sees us like this. He is equally or even more proud of us when we hit milestones.. When we finally let go of pain and anger, when we take those negative thoughts captive, when we walk away from gossip, when we pray through our frustration in the peace and joy that can only come from Christ.
We grow.. In little ways that aren't huge for a perfect God, but that are huge for imperfect people like us.
He's proud when we grow like I'm proud when mavy rolls over and pops up on his tiny hands and knees.

It might not mean much to anyone else but it matters a great deal to me that I could make my Father proud. Simply because He is holy and I am not.

I'm grateful for His father heart towards me.

God Never Intended for Families to be Broken

God never intended for families to be broken. But we still live in a world with a lot of broken families. I am familiar with this because I come from one. I am sure I don’t remember the struggles my mom/dad/step-dad had as I grew up with the intensity that they felt those struggles at the time, but I do know that it wasn’t easy. Now I am the stepparent and almost every day I tell myself “God never intended for families to be broken, and that is why this is so hard”. I repeat this so that maybe I will be a little easier on myself when, at the end of the day, I inevitably feel like I was a complete failure as a stepparent.

Today I am feeling like that because I read this incredible blog that a friend posted called 20 Things I Want My Daughters to Understand about Being a Woman. When I clicked on the link I fully expected to identify with all of the things and want to share the link myself because those would be the same things I wanted my stepdaughter to understand about being a woman. Instead I read the blog and thought, “how do I teach these incredibly important concepts to a child I barely get to know?” Parenting is hard work. It is the hardest and the most important work a person can do. It is made that much harder when you have limited amount of time to do it.

I could have shared the link and maybe everyone would read it and think that I was doing a great job investing time and wisdom into my step-daughter, but is that even right? The after math of reading this blog left me with a really uncomfortable feeling of not being enough as a step-mother.

Then I wondered if I was the only step-parent feeling this way. I thought about the hundreds of blogs that are likely out there dedicated to step-moms and step-dads who feel completely inadequate in the upbringing of their step-children… and then I thought – maybe someone can identify with what I am feeling and benefit from some of this truth.

As much as an encouragement to myself I want to share some of the things I feel like God is telling me through this situation.

1. The amount of time you spend with someone doesn’t matter as much as the amount of love you show them. Not the amount of love you have for them, but the amount of love you SHOW them. You might love your children immensely, but if you don’t show them they simply won’t know it. My step-daughter is a special case, because she has Williams Syndrome and emotions mean even more to her than they might to others. With that being said, this is a truth that I believe is true regardless of the child. The most important thing that I can do as a step-parent is to love well. No matter how much time we have together, and no matter how difficult it sometimes can be – the one thing she will remember is how I made her feel. If she walks away feeling anything but loved then I have not done my job as a stepparent.

“WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US” 1 John 4:19

We have a great example of the kind of love we are to give.

2. The amount of time you spend with someone doesn’t matter as much as the amount of time you spend praying for them. This is true for all of the people we love. 1 Timothy 2:1 urges us “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” and if we truly believe in what the Word tells us about our Father and our prayers to Him then wouldn’t we pray? Wouldn’t we earnestly pray without ceasing? Truthfully, that is how you know how much you genuinely love someone – by looking at the amount of time you spend praying for them. One of the keys to this, I think, is that we not only pray for our children, but we pray for their parents. We are fortunate to be in a co-parenting situation with someone we can have open communication with and who we know loves well. Not everyone is. In fact, I would venture to say most people who are trying to make parenting/step parenting/co-parenting work are trying to make it work with someone who doesn’t make it easy. Nevertheless, if we love our children we pray for them and we pray for their caregivers. We pray for health, wisdom, goodness, financial blessings, and peace over their lives. First, because that is how God has taught us to love; and second, because those prayers directly impact our children’s lives as well.  

These might be simple truths to many, but for me they made an impact on who I am and who I will be in the future to my step-daughter. God never intended for families to be broken – and it is incredibly hard. But if I make it a point to show her I love her and I earnestly pray over her life and the life of her mom, then I know I am making a difference. I might not be able to make the same impact as a mom, but I know God has placed me in her life for a reason and I don’t want to waste that. I want to be a good steward of my position as her step-mom and teach her those 20 Things, but more importantly I want her to know she is loved and I want God to continue to watch over her life. If that is all I can do, it is enough. 

A Father's Heart

I woke up at 3:30 this morning and, because I am nine months pregnant, I knew that meant I would be awake for a while. For some reason, as I lay there thinking about how we could raise our little baby to be a mighty warrior, I began thinking of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Kyle and I had just read this story to Riley from the Jesus Story Book Bible a few days before. Even after the many times I have heard it, I still have a very unsettled feeling about this.

There is something overwhelming about Abraham’s faith and obedience when God calls him to sacrifice his own son. There is something unfamiliar and difficult to comprehend about the way Isaac loved and trusted his dad. We live in a broken world and many of us have broken relationships with parents. I suppose this impacts the way we process a story such as this one. Not just that we cannot understand that kind of trust from a son to a parent, but that we cannot really understand that kind of faith from a child to His God.

I know myself well enough to know that Abraham’s faith is something I may never truly comprehend. In fact, when we finished reading the story to Riley she seemed a little confused also. She asked Kyle why Abraham would kill his own son. Kyle’s response was simply, “because God asked him to”.

God has asked me to do a lot of things. I can honestly say that I have delayed obedience or been disobedient a lot in my life. He has never asked me to make a sacrifice like the one He asked Abraham to make. Likely because He knows my faith falls short of that of one who belongs in the Hall of Faith.

As we approach this season of being new parents to a baby boy, something has changed in my heart regarding the way the story of Abraham and Isaac impacts me. Even before I was a parent I knew that this ask from God was more than most people could ever bare.  This season of preparation to be a mother has been filled with a lot of worry that our baby would arrive safely and be healthy and well for years to come. It has brought me to a place where I have worried and wondered how I would react if something were to happen to our son. I pray for his protection several times a day and just ask that God would never bring me to a place where I would have to know the loss of a child. I suppose that is why this story had me up last night thinking.

I thought about the thoughts and feelings of Abraham as he watched his boy, the son he prayed so long for, carry the wood for the sacrifice. I thought about the doubt he may have felt as he bound his own child in preparation for the sacrifice. Yet I know that I cannot begin to truly understand what that must have been like.

Abraham loved God. He loved a God who is worthy of sacrifices like this one. He loved and trusted a God who is worthy of more than the greatest sacrifice we could ever give. Then I thought about that same God’s love for us. We, an unworthy people, are very well loved by a worthy God. And while we fail to give him the sacrificed He deserves, He did not fail to give us the ONE we didn’t deserve.

I think about the Father’s heart and how it must have stirred as He watched His own Son carry the wood for the sacrifice. I think about the Father’s heart and how it must have broken to experience the vast separation from His Son when He took on the punishment for us.

God provided a sacrifice for Abraham that day.  He spared Isaac.

God provided a sacrifice for us as well. He spared us all by not sparing His very own Son.

This song is a great picture of that love. As it says, “how deep the Father’s love for us - how vast beyond all measure”.

His love truly is immeasurable.

Mom vs Mom

There are so many things that I love about social media. I know that many people have a cons list, but I honestly love social media. I love keeping up with family and friends. I love seeing pictures of fun adventures – growing kiddos – and sweet animals. I LOVE to read blog posts that other people share. So, recently I have noticed a growing number of blog posts regarding parenting. Specifically how women feel the need to compare themselves or compete with other moms.

If you know me well enough, it won’t surprise you that these blog posts generally end with me crying. I don’t know what it is (other than these fun pregnancy hormones) but I really feel so sad to hear about moms feeling like they have to compete with other moms. From the time I was in high school I remember living with this deep seeded fear of being a mom. I was so afraid of ever taking on the task, simply because it seemed to be so difficult. I remember having conversations with older women about this. Talking about all the things you could potentially do wrong, and how every decision you make could potentially impact the lives of your children. I remember thinking how important it was to choose the right words, and to encourage your kids, to be patient and loving regardless of the circumstances, and how to foster good body image and call out the person they were created to be. I have felt overwhelmed by the possibility of being a mother for years.

Add to that this new fear of not being as good as other mothers. In the nine months that I have been a step-parent I have learned that I am not going to get it all right. I have learned that you give your kids grace and you give yourself grace. That the house won’t always be clean and that dinner won’t always be very good… or very homemade. Parenting is hard.

Now I am starting the fear cycle all over again with a new little baby. The worries all started over about whether or not I am taking good care of him even now by what I eat or if I am drinking enough water. I started worrying about what the baby hears even now, and how that might impact him one day. It might all sound stupid – but I promise, these crazy thoughts pop into your head and there is no controlling them.

Now this - over the past few months I have heard all kinds of comments about this growing baby. If you have ever been pregnant you can attest to the brilliant ways people find to insult you. “You are definitely having a girl because your face has gotten so wide”, “wow, you look really tired today”, “You are definitely having a boy because your butt is getting big already”, “Wow, I cannot believe you are only five months pregnant, your belly is so huge”, “ooh, you look really bloated today”. That last one wasn’t directed at me, but to my pregnant friend who told me about it later… So, with all of these fun compliments I have started to get a complex (who am I kidding? The complex has been here a while). So tonight I saw a picture of a fellow prego on social media and started thinking, I wonder if maybe my belly is too big for five and a half months. So I did what any sane pregnant woman would do…. and I Google imaged pictures of women who were 22 weeks pregnant to see how I matched up (yea, that happened). After a few minutes of that I felt pretty ridiculous. Do you want to know why? Because every BODY is different.

 And you know what? EVERYBODY is different.

Every mom is different, every kid is different, every situation is different. We are all doing the best we can where we are. I am inspired every day by moms on social media. I love looking at their Pinterest crafts, their cute photo ideas, games they play with their kids, places they take their little ones, and personal victories moms have every day.

I have to actively choose not to compare myself to other women, but instead to be inspired by them. God has given each one of us so many unique gifts. They aren't going to be the same, and that is okay. That is how He intended it to be.

So - let’s take a collective sigh of relief, moms. Let’s choose to grow together as people and as parents - because it is never going to be easy… but it is always going to be worth it. 

A Voice and a Choice

Luke 19:39-40

‘Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!’”

Psalm 69:34
“Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them”

Psalm 93:3
“The seas have lifted up, LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.”

Isaiah 44:23
“Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.”

Isaiah 49:13
“Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”

God created the earth and seas to praise His name – and they do it so beautifully.

His creation sings praises out to Him, even beyond the earth.

The stars cry out in song:

God has created us with this same ability. He has given us a voice. The only difference is that He has also given us a choice.

We have a voice to praise Him – but we also have the choice to do so. We can decide whether or not we want to use our voice to bring praise to His name. The mountains and the seas glorify their Creator. The stars and the whales can collaborate in a praise song together to their Maker.

We too can bring glory and praise through our lives and with our voices.

It’s our decision alone - each and every day we get to choose.