Tag Archive: encouragement

Raising Godly Men, Part 1

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 NIV

From the very first moment I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, I just “knew” that I was going to be a “boy mom.”  I don’t know how or why, but I just knew that God knit me together to raise boys. The exciting, adventurous, rowdy days could be a challenge, but the sense of purpose was like a mission for me.

Twenty-two years old, married less than a year and completely overwhelmed with this next stage in my life, I cried out to the Lord and asked Him into my heart. 

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Reclaim Your Commute

This past Sunday while I sat in church there were many great challenges and ideas thrown out that day. My hand was furiously writing as I tried to keep up with all the notes that I wanted to put down on paper as the pastor was preaching. Notes were lining the edges of bulletin and I loved it. In the midst of these great insights and ideas there were three little words that pierced right to my heart.

Reclaim your commute.

It sounds simple enough, but what does that really look like?

If you are like me, you like to multi-task and the commute is the perfect time to get phone calls made or even just chill out to some great music. 

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Leaky Faucets

“Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise;

fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.”

Proverbs 15:2 The Message

Nonsense!

Wow, what an amazingly fantastic word. I know we “know” what it means, but digging a little deeper, look what I found out about nonsense…

According to Merriam-Webster.com nonsense means;

1a : words or language having no meaning or conveying no intelligible ideas    b (1) : language, conduct, or an idea that is absurd or contrary to good sense (2) : an instance of absurd action

2a : things of no importance or value : trifles

I’m not a rocket scientist or anything but I can tell you this…I do not want to be a leaky faucet dripping nonsense, do you?

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Apple of His Eye

When it seems as if the whole world is against you,

the bills are piling up,

the laundry is never ending,

the dishes have formed a mountain in the sink,

the job you used to love is now a chain around your ankle,

the friends you thought would be there forever have stabbed you in the back,

the storms of life blow you from side to side as if you are merely a paper boat in the midst of a perfect storm.

When you feel like no one is left that really cares, cling to the words that David spoke as he prayed to God in Psalm 17:1-8 NIV;

1 Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.

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Heart for Missions

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 NIV

Never did I think a girl that grew up in a small town of rural Kentucky would ever have a heart for missions. Let’s face it; I grew up in a tiny little place that had one blinking red light, a roller rink, and a main street that was lined up with lots of mom & pop stores.

I loved growing up in a small town and still wish I had a chance to raise my boys in that small town life, but God had other plans.

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Puddles

Our children are in the process of potty-training our two and a half year old grandson. He is a willing and happy learner, but he is definitely still in a work in progress. A few weeks ago they shared the following story with me:

“Your grandson is trying, but lately when he misses his potty chair and leaves a little puddle on the floor, he goes and finds Zoe. (Their new puppy, who is still little enough for a two and a half year old boy to carry and is still in training herself).

JJ carries Zoe to the puddle, puts her nose by it, and scolds her.

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His Love Endures Forever

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loves endures forever. Psalm 136:1

Each of the twenty six verses in Psalm 136 ends with the words, “His love endures forever.” It’s hard to wrap our brains around forever. The dictionary defines forever as: through eternity. Always! 

What things can you think of that last forever?

I went looking for quotes on the topic of “forever” and discovered yet again why it’s hard for us to understand this word. 

  • “Everything is temporary. Everything is bound to end.” ~Keren Ann
  • “This too shall pass.” ~Author Unknown
  • “This is just a phase.”

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Multi-Taskers Anonymous

Hi. My name is Melissa and I need to find a multi-taskers anonymous group.

{insert awkward chuckle here}

For years I have thought it was some sort of great gift to be able to do lots of different things at the same time. Like it was some sort of super power or something, but it’s not.

I’m not sure if it is from our go, do, right this minute, super-hyper, go, go, go culture or just something that I’ve developed over the years, but in the last couple of months I’ve been hit with the harsh reality that this may not be a good thing.

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