“The whole earth is at rest and quiet.” –Isaiah 14:7a (NRSV)
When I read that verse recently, I laughed to myself. Everyone else on the earth maybe, but not me.
Blame it on my genes. Or my personality. Or both. I just can’t sit still.
I know it’s good to rest and take time out. I know that. I really do. But, of all the areas I need to work on (and believe me, there are plenty) this is one I need to work on the most.
I’ve always envied people who can sit on the couch in the morning and watch Regis and Kelly without thinking about the grocery list or the dishwasher that needs to be emptied.
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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Have you ever shaken a bottle of something to make what’s inside come out faster? You know… the shampoo bottle, the ketchup bottle, or the squeezable jelly bottle. Sometimes when you shake the contents of a bottle to the opening, you get what’s inside to move faster.
This morning my daughter and I were in the bathroom getting dressed for school. We have those two minute sand timers for the kids to use while brushing their teeth so they know exactly how long to brush.
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One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” ( Mark 12:28-31)
Do you ever feel like your faith has been cluttered by Christianity?
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Have you ever experienced the joy of the Lord? No, I’m not talking about happiness. Happiness is not the same at all. Happiness relies solely on the external. Things like pleasure, personal experience and circumstance. The joy of the Lord is wholly different. Let me give you a few examples. Chocolate-peanut-butter ice cream makes me very happy. Blue jeans that fit make me very happy. Children who don’t argue in the car make me very happy. But, smiling while I’m grieving, being able to hug someone who has hurt me, and having indescribable peace when my world is falling apart, now that is the joy of the Lord.
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I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how much of life I take for granted. Especially the time with my children.
I have 6 very healthy sons. The twins who were premature and had a risky first couple years, have come out of that completely unscathed.
As moms, the health and well-being of our children is pretty much at the very top of the list of things we make sure are taken care of daily. As I read about baby Stellan and many, many others in dire circumstances I am reminded once again of two very important things…
First, do NOT take anything in life for granted, realize the gift each moment we have is and celebrate it.
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The other day, I was looking through some old magazine articles I’ve written and I came across this poem I wrote for a teen devotional magazine a couple of years ago:
Lord, help me know
That I’m your design.
Unique, of your hands,
Of your heart
And your mind.
It’s easy to look in the mirror and see
That I am not perfect,
But I am me.
Sometimes I think I’m too short or too tall.
My stomach’s too big.
My chest is too small.
My skin is a mess.
My teeth are not straight.
I try to be God-like,
But just make mistakes.
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Poets and writers – for as far back as literature and songs go – have inspired mankind with the promise of renewal. A time of rejuvenation for the soul.
For those of us who know God, we know that true renewal only comes from Him.
But – although in a somewhat lesser sense – if we’re looking for it, we can find hints of this respite all around us. I believe it is His promise to us.
Night eventually turns into day. Winter slowly melds into Spring. For every tide that crashes onto sandy shores, one more is already rising up behind it.
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