Calgon...Take Me Away!

Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to get away from it all? I am sure we have all been there at one time or another. I am reminded of a commercial that use to run when I was just a little girl. The wife was overwhelmed and all these different things were calling her, the dishes, her boss, the kids, and her husband. Finally, she screams, “Calgon, take me away. Then you see her relaxing in a bubble bath. Bubble bath? Wow, I wish I could say that bubble bath can take all of life’s stresses away. The reality is that life can be difficult.
Last night, out of no where, I was hit with this overwhelming anxiousness and worry. It was like a wave had hit me. I praise God for Anthony and Isaiah who continued to encourage me as I fought through it.
I always come back to three things in times of distress. Worship, prayer, and God’s word. Sounds simple, but when you are feeling this way you must be intentional about getting into these three.

• Anthony began speaking truth to me. “Worry and anxiety don’t come from God.” So, began to seek God’s truth.
• Isaiah prayed for me. “God help my mom, and Satan get your hands off her. She does not belong to you. She is a child of God.” He didn’t even end with an Amen, but it was powerful.
• I began to sing a love song to my Lord, in my head and my heart.

Life is full of ups and downs, but when you know the Master of all things you can shout, Jesus…take it away! No bubble bath required.

Face to Face

Deut. 34: 10 “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”

Face to face. What a description. You don’t get any closer than that. There is a song that Phoenix Master sang years ago on The Vault and it says” I have been face to face in the presence of my Master, words are not enough they cannot express the state of my soul.” These words still stir me up from the inside out. I want to live in this place. Face to face with my Master, “with my head face down and my heart lifted up.”

See, nothing is more secure, more comforting, more powerful than being with my Creator and letting Him love on me. Moses understood than nothing was more important than being intimate with God. Moses didn’t do great things because he was a great leader. He did great things because he knew how to sit in the presence of God.

Where are you sitting this morning? Are you as Mary at the feet of Jesus? Or like Peter warming yourself at a distance? Let me encourage you to get face to face with Your God and experience something life changing.

Character Issue

I am constantly listening and reading on family and parenting issues. Yesterday, I received an email Newsletter from Homeword and this article stirred me. I had to stop and think about how I was raising my children. As a parent, I take my responsibility very serious. Am I raising disciples or am just disciplining behavior?

Growing up I was raised with the behavior control method. This is how many people my age were raised and the generations before them. It got the results parents wanted, compliance. However, it also stirred up a resentful and angry generation of adults who do not know how to submit to authority. In short, it has breed rebellion.

I vowed that no one would ever control me and I would never raise my children this way. I had good intentions. However, I battle with proper submission and I do struggle with raising my children with control. It is so easy to pass on what you have learned without thinking. You have to be intentional about raising children in the ways of the Lord. So, I asked myself, how do you build character in a child? A better question came back to me, how can you change your character?

Children learn more by how we act and interact with them than by what we say. So, I am on a quest to change and build character in myself and my children. My children will reach more people for Christ than Anthony and I combined, but what I instill in them today will affect the level of their success.

What is your child raising method producting?

Discipline versus Discipleship

Goal: Nice Kids Goal: Mature influencers
Punitive, Corrective Model and pass on self-control
Controls behavior Promotes growth and learning
Focus: Child’s behavior Focus: Child’s learning and preparation
External Internal
Personality Character
Maintain peace in the family Integrate personal virtues
Behavior and thinking Feeling; thinking; deciding and behaving
Child changes behavior Child and Parent mature

Little Bird

So many changes have taken place in the last two weeks. The whole family was sick with flu and it wiped us out, but God is good and the blessings that have followed have been huge.

The things I have learned.

• God always prepared you beforehand


• He walks you through the process


• He celebrates with you as He blesses you


• My identity becomes clearer the closer I am to Him


• God always completes what He has started

The other day as I dropped off Isaiah at school. I heard this bird singing a song. It was not an annoying chirp, but tones of highs and lows, and rhythms. I stopped and wonder what he was saying. I thought about my life and with every up and down, I have a song in my heart for the God who loves me. I sang my own song on the way to work and praised God for His goodness. Stop and listen to the small blessing of life and let God deal with the others.

Lord, you are awesome. I pray your blessings on everyone reading this blog. Encourage, uplift, and refresh them. Amen