I’m determined to let Joy have its way in me today.
There are some days that make finding that elusive internal balance a real chore. Finding a sense of balance – a way of “having it all” – has always been an issue for women, it seems, for as far back as time goes.
I heard a Bible lesson taught once, and its message has stuck with me. It was all about the balance of life. The rise and fall, the lulls and the swells, that life’s ocean carries us on. Things come. Things go. People come. People go. Circumstances are bad.
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I wish I could say that there is no truth to the saying, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” However, I remember more times than I would like to mention the influence my mood has had on my entire family.
A specific time was during the years my dear husband and I suffered with secondary infertility. That longing for another child would translate into several days of mourning each and every month. Many vacation days, family days, holidays, and even just your everyday-normal-days were affected by my sadness. I have since asked for my family’s forgiveness, and they have been wonderful in extending their love, forgiveness and encouragement.
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Saying “Thank you” is one of the first lessons we try to teach our children. Some babies even learn to sign “Thank you” before they can talk. It’s an important lesson. Showing gratitude is a way of showing love, of showing that we appreciate the other person and what they have done for us.
But, I am convicted that many times I forget to say thank you. Sure, I pray a prayer of thanks when something major happens. If someone is miraculously healed or we unexpectedly get money we needed or someone I love finds a job after months of unemployment, I definitely pray and thank God!
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This is a bug house. It’s meant for young explorers to place their backyard prey into without suffocating them like our generation did when we simply put the bugs into a glass jar with some bits of grass and a couple holes poked in the lid.
A couple of summers ago I discovered a new use for it. Actually, my 2 year old son discovered it–it can also function as toddler trap.
I entered into the scenario when I heard one of those screeches usually reserved for an episode of sibling rivalry. I came around the corner to serve as referee and found my son with his hand in the bug hut, stomping his feet and shaking it.
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And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Eph 6:18
Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is often the hardest for me. I do talk to God all day, and I guess that’s prayer, but some days I feel like only emergency prayers get tossed heavenward. You could say that God certainly gets all kinds of requests from me, that’s for sure. But somehow, I’m not so sure that’s what the scripture above means.
Recently, my children and I have been discussing prayer.
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A very dear friend just emailed this sweet story to me:
A Child’s View of Thunderstorms
A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared the electrical storm might harm her child.
Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child’s school.
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This evening my girls were entertaining themselves with an App on my iPhone called, “What Does My Name Mean?” They were having a great time finding the meaning of their names, their siblings and friends. This got me thinking about my own name. By birth, I am “Barbara”, which means “Stranger”. When I was younger this use to always bother me. I didn’t like being referred to as a stranger. But as I’ve gotten older and have come to know Christ, I have fully embraced this birth name. I AM a stranger in a foreign land. I am simply passing through.
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I have found a sweet spot with my ten-year-old son. The time that he will actually talk to me and tell me the deep things of his heart is at night before he goes to bed. He does not always want to talk, but usually if I am exhausted and ready to drop into bed fairly quickly, he is ready to do some heavy chatting.
Tonight, we started talking and he said that he either wanted to be a preacher or a game producer, meaning he wanted to make new DS games available to kids. I told him that whatever he should do, the Lord would make it clear to him and that the Lord could use him in whatever career choice he made.
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