Do you have a Bible in your possession? Do you open the pages or are they still crisp as the day you got it? Do you only own a family Bible out of respect of family history? Have you memorized scriptures and used them in the battle of good and evil in your heart daily?
Are you a God fearing, God loving, God worshipping Christian? Or are you a Christian Atheist?
Do you contort scriptures {scriptures you’ve never even read} to appease your appetite? Continue Reading…
Do you know the lyrics to “Let it Go?” Or how about the lyrics to the Fresh Prince theme song? When you’re young it’s so much easier to memorize. Children are like little sponges. Which is why we should always watch what we’re saying around them. “Be careful little ears what you hear.” And this is such a great time in life to fill their hearts and memory banks with the scriptures. Instead of your child being able to repeat word for word the lines of a movie how amazing would it be for them to be able to repeat the scriptures?
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:9-11 ESV)
My friends, I’ve been in hiding. I’ve been hiding because I was afraid of the words that I’d share. I was afraid that I couldn’t be that uplifting Christian woman that encourages you.
I had everything planned out. I was going to travel the world. I was going to speak Life to others. I was going to give everything up for Him. I became a follower of Christ at 18 years of age. The world was before me. And then it wasn’t. I thought that sacrificing myself for others to hear His word meant traveling and speaking out. I didn’t realize it meant giving myself within four walls to six tiny little bodies and to one faithful man.
Being a mother is the greatest sacrifice. To put yourself below others is ridiculously humbling. I thought I could be Katie Davis. I thought I could give everything up. That this world had no grip on me.
You guys, I can’t even move one state over.
This has been the most difficult year of my life. I have realized I’m not as strong as I thought I was. And speaking with other mothers…I’m not alone. Continue Reading…
The walls feel like they’re caving in. Our hearts race. We begin to fear what could be lurking around the corner. We chalk it up to “Murphy’s Law.”
Who is this Murphy anyhow? The name of the demon who is following us around? The one we willingly listen to?
When these days become hard pressed. When your foundation is crumbling remember Whose you are.
If you’re finding it hard to breathe through the contractions of life you need to go back to the One Who gives you breath. His Word, that’s the only thing that is going to get you through this rough time. His Word is the only strength your foundation needs. It seals in all those cracks that you didn’t even see. When you allow your eyes to lay upon His Words your heart will find joy. You can’t fix the wrongs in this world. You can’t fix the sins in this world. His love is the only remedy. The enemy has lied to us long enough. Take back His word and I pray that you will rest peacefully in each page. Yet, if you feel your feathers being ruffled by what He says, that’s good! That’s a sign that He’s chiseling away the lies that the enemy has sewn along the way.
My loves, we all come before our valleys. But will you come prepared or will you stumble into your valley? In 1 Samuel 25:13 David tells his men to “strap on your swords!” I always get a kick out of his words. You really need to go back through and read the context of why he’s saying it. But let me encourage you to “strap on your swords!” Strap on the word of God so when the enemy comes to fight that you are prepared. That you are ready to make a defense for the faith within you. You are in God’s army. He trusts you in this battle that is being waged before our very eyes. The question is, whose side are you on? A warrior prepares himself for battle. He does not lay around awaiting someone to feed him and train him. He trains himself so that he is ready when the time comes. When the trumpet is blown. Therefore, we too should prepare ourselves and our families.
Each morning, before you arise, reach over and take up your Bible. Find a reading schedule to adhere to. And every morning feed your soul before you feed your belly. There is no food that can satisfy like His glorious words can. Consider it a challenge, each and every story in the Bible points to Christ. Your job, detective, is to understand how. Then teach it to your children. They will then arise and call you blessed.
The valleys are coming. Strap on your sword!
Blessings!
A while back I posted my favorite Bible reading system. There’s even a download on there that I re-created. And at that time in my life I truly did benefit from reading through the Bible in that way. It was the first time I had read through the entire Bible. It did take more than a year {I was new to this mothering gig}, but I loved checking off the parts I had read.
Just recently I came across a new way to read through the Bible and I love it! This isn’t for those on a tight time schedule, but at the same time it kind of is. Now that I have older kids we’ve figured out how we can all read together and make it part of our daily routine. As it should be, of course, but we get to read the Bible together now and it’s not just me waking up at the crack of dawn and hiding away. I still get my large cup of coffee, though.
It’s called Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System.
