4 Ways To Make Holy Easter Traditions In Your Home

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Today I’m sharing our favorite Easter traditions. (Sniff sniff) And holding back tears over these pictures of my little guys from 5 and 6 years ago.

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Resurrection Eggs. Some years we’ve hidden one egg a day over the course of 12 days. Some years we’ve hidden 3 eggs a day. Some years we’ve hidden all eggs at once. What I love about these eggs is that it tells the story of Jesus in an engaging, hands-on way that is active and lively for the kids. It comes with a little booklet to read as a devotional. Perfect for all ages in my opinion. I started when my boys were babies, but at 12, 10, and 7 they are still excited for this tradition.

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Repentance Box from A Holy Experience. This one I love. Honestly, I wonder why we don’t do this year round?  We use a little treasure box we have. We place a stack of paper and pens next to the box. Through the course of the day, we find ourselves confessing our sins to God on these slips of paper and slipping them into the secret dark of the box, where only God and ourselves know.

It’s a practice in confession. It’s an awareness of the constant temptations we face and the daily failures. It’s a reminder that this life is impossible to face victoriously without a Savior to take our sins. It’s a practice of daily, and moment by moment cleansing.

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On Easter we burn what’s in the box to remind us that our sins are forever gone because of the blood shed by Christ on the cross. He rose from the grave defeating death, our sins have no hold on us.

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Grace garden – You can find examples on A Holy Experience and all over Pinterest. We’ve made grace gardens for the last several years. It’s something all my boys have loved. This year only Andrew, 7, got his hands dirty with it. He was proud to design and implement his grace garden plan completely on his own. On Friday, the stone will cover the tomb and on Sunday, the stone is rolled away. The tomb is empty for He is risen!

(And here he is 5 years later! Major sniff sniff now)

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If you enjoy giving Easter gifts to your children, you may be interested in these:

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What I love about The Story, The Story For Children, and The Story for Kids is that it is the Bible, put into chronological order, told as a narrative with added explanations between stories to help connect the dots. Beautifully done at all levels.

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We also own the CD set of The Story and we have The Story of Jesus on Audible. My boys absolutely love listening to these audios.

Some other favorites (we really love audiobooks and dramas):

Adventures in Odyssey

The Little Kids Adventure Bible 

Blessings to your family this Easter week!

 

 

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When Moms Unite Over Electronic Devices

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“Hey, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure,” I answered my friend. Our boys have been friends for years. We walked to the parking lot together to leave the earshot of others.

“Here, let’s sit inside the car where it’s warm.” We jumped in the front seat of my minivan as I became keenly aware of the crumbs on the seat she now occupied, the greens powder stained smoothy cup, and the strips of paper and debris left behind from the boys. I really should clean this van more often. 

My friend began to tell me about a recent sleepover experience our boys had. I let go of the pesty thoughts of my dirty car. Her son went to the sleepover with an iPhone. None of the other boys had devices. When she talked to one of our other friends, she realized that her son having that phone had become a distraction to the boys that night.

“I realized that it wasn’t fair to the mom hosting the sleepover that she had the added responsibility to then monitor what was happening on my son’s device that could impact the other boys. And our son knows his limits, but what if my son’s device ended up being used in a way that exposed other boys to something harmful or dangerous?”

She went on to tell me how she and her husband discussed the issue at length and came up with an idea. Our boys are at this interesting age where they don’t need phones at all. However, many middle schoolers have them anyway. So then there is this issue of who has one and who doesn’t. Who feels cool and who doesn’t.

We’ve discussed with our boys that we will never make decisions to do something so that they fit in. That would be us modeling peer pressure decision making. Giving our kids something to be like everyone else rather than giving the why’s behind our decision and praying for hearts in agreement.

My friend said, “What if we parents determined our boundaries together so that there is always a common agreement on the electronic issue and no fears about what will go on at each house.”

I felt speechless momentarily. The fact that no one approached my friend to oppose her in any way. No one came to her and expressed upset over her son bringing a device. She, on her own, felt genuinely sorry about how the device impacted or could impact that time the boys have to simply be boys and wanted to be proactive about it.

I kept thinking to myself, “What a picture of humility.” Many parents wouldn’t be so willing to step forth when not approached to admit they felt they’d done anything wrong. Then to take it a step further and say, “Let’s fix this going forward, too.”

She said, “I don’t want any of our boys to feel like they don’t want to go to one house because they have limits that other houses don’t have.”

Again, speechless. This has been something I’ve prayed about for a long time. Steve and I are 100% ok with the boundaries we have in our home with devices. And we’ve never had a boy come here that complained about our rules either. In fact, they get so busy playing ping pong or foosball or riding bikes, shooting baskets, or whatever that they don’t seem to miss it at all. But there is still this little fear that my boys’ friends would prefer to go to someone else’s house where devices have no limits.

She continued, “I think we should let all the boys know that if they bring phones or devices, they are given to the hosting parent when they arrive. That way they are free to be boys. If they need to call or text their mom, they can come get their device. But other than that, the hosting parent will keep them safe.”

This eliminates the need to interrogate the parent each time we send our kids to each other’s houses. We have all come to the same agreements with regards to uses and protections.

My friend talked to several of our other friends. Not one person pushed back. Every single mom expressed gratitude and felt a sense of relief.

It took away that awkward conversation we have to have each time we send our kids away. I’ve discovered that simply telling my boys to remember our rules apply away just like at home isn’t enough. Without establishing our boundaries with other parents, we are putting our kids at risk. Many families allow their children full internet access. We do not. The times I’ve failed to have this discussion with the parents, I’ve regretted it.

My friend approaching me about this issue, establishing these boundaries and rules to protect all of our boys, left a deep impression on me. I was struck by her ability to look beyond her own kids to the other children. She took ownership without being challenged. How rare today to see this modeled. And what a relief now at least for this group of boys to know that we are all on the same page and have the same house rules. They are free to just be boys for this brief window of time. Far too soon, they will be in high school and beyond where the boundaries will shift again.

And for the boys….it seemed to relieve them of pressure we didn’t even realize they carried. Free of the device, free of the stress it brings in disguise.

 

 

 

Christian Idolatry on Instagram & Beyond

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A little alarm has begun to sound in my heart at times I’m scrolling through Instagram. Never when I am viewing a picture of someone I know, but almost without fail each time I see a picture a christian public figure or “celebrity” posts.

It’s the comments I read from followers on these feeds that scares me. Here’s a few:

I’m sooooo jealous!

So perfect and beautiful! 

I would give anything to hang out with you!

I would die if I ran into you. Love your ministry!

We worship quick and easy.

What alarms me is how as worshippers, we are setting up some of our favorite people to fall. Rather than solely looking to these people as communicators of God’s truths, we are looking to them as the objects of our worship. Idolizing. Wanting to know where they bought their jeans. And oohing and ahhing over their hair and the big names they know. We don’t even realize we are doing it.

Do we become so devoted to the person teaching the Word of God that we begin to forget they are fallible? They are human. Sinful like us.

Do we begin to take their words as gospel truth? Do we take off our hats of discernment and believe everything they speak?

Most importantly, do we spend more time worshipping them than praying for them? The enemy seeks to devour those who will teach the Word of God. When we as believers forget to cover them in prayer and take it a step further and shift our focus from worshipping God to worshipping the communicator, we are helping to lay the trap.

Andy Stanley came under quick fire for careless statements he made from the pulpit. I appreciate the boldness of people like Voddie Baucham who were quick to rebuke teaching that is in error. The thing that saddened me was how quick people were to do two things: 1) Lash out harshly and unlovingly 2)Look past the error in what he said because they are fully devoted to him as a person.

While I appreciate Andy’s apology and explanation, I still feel he left much unspoken. On a friend’s Facebook page, I commented “While his response and apology are nice, the bottom line is that it’s not the church’s role to raise kids with a deep faith….it’s the parents job. To suggest that parents should attend a church based on what their children need in a youth ministry is unbiblical. Church is where we go to worship God and fellowship with believers, not to get served and entertained. Still feel much left here unaddressed. At the same time, he’s a pastor….human, prone to mistakes.
Our role is to recognize what doesn’t align with God’s Word, forgive, and move on. I imagine being in his position is not easy at all!”

God’s Word says a few things about raising our kids in faith, and a thriving, large youth group is never mentioned. Deut 11:19, Deut 6:7.

Once when our boys were very small, we were looking for a church. We shared with a friend our list of requirements we wanted met. He listened patiently before correcting me. “You know, the church’s role is to preach to the believer, to equip the believer to go out and make disciples. It is not the role of the church to raise your children to love the Lord. The church will equip you to make disciples of your kids.”

His correction sent me to the scriptures myself.

When a christian public figure or a pastor or anyone teaching God’s Word speaks and something in our spirit feels poked, we need to go to God’s Word. It’s a dangerous place to believe everything as truth and not compare it to the Word of God.

That is only one issue. The issue that is saddening my heart is how we as believers are aiding God’s gifted servants to fall into the traps laid by satan by our hearts of worship misplaced.

I appreciate the humility of Andy Stanley in quickly apologizing and taking ownership.

Our pastors and christian communicators need our faithful prayers more than they need our worship. They need to be encouraged by us not flattered by us. Flattery is dangerous. It’s a trap satan places that will whisper to the pride and ego in each of us.

My challenge to us is to not raise these people up higher than they need to be risen. When we are lavishing our praise for these public figures each time they post a picture, we are flattering them not encouraging them. Encourage your pastor or favorite christian public figure by telling them how God used them to show you something. They need the encouragement. They don’t need the empty flattery, though if we are honest, we all like the flattery.

I’m not at all saying the Andy Stanley issue has anything to do with what I’m seeing on Instagram. The point I want to make is this. Be careful what we worship. Test everything with scripture. Pray and encourage, don’t idolize.

Satan is a deceiver and manipulator. He wants our leaders and communicators of the Word to fall. Let’s lift up those the Lord has called and equipped to proclaim His Word. Let’s be careful not to pour out words that will inflate them and set them up for a fall. The most loving thing we can do for those in the public eye for the Lord is to pray for them and encourage them.

 

 

Why Don’t We Pray More?

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Last week was amazing and crazy, full and empty, glorious and heartbreaking. No “big” event took place. In our family we are in a state of many points of indecision and pending choices. Waiting for God to direct us and light the path. So we wait.

The waiting can be excruciating.

Piece by piece, God would reveal something. Another piece of the puzzle.

God brought a woman into my life who prays fervently for me and my family. Can I just tell you that no one has ever given me a greater gift than that. I take that back. Jesus- my salvation- that was my greatest gift. But for God to draw someone’s heart in such a way that they fervently pray for you?

I know prayer is crucial in our walk with the Lord. I’ve read many books on prayer. Heard sermons on the topic. All the time, “I’ll pray for you.” Or “let’s just pray about it.”

My mentor is a living example of the enormous power of prayer, and I am asking myself, “Why in the world have I not utilized this power in bigger ways?”

Billy Graham once said one of his regrets is that he didn’t pray more. This is shocking because we know he was a praying man.

That is the thing with prayer. It’s an endless supply of God’s power. It’s a line of communication that never fails, never disconnects. As you taste it, you want more.

I told my husband last week that I’ve never in my life felt more in the center of God’s will. He paused. I paused. How to articulate that thought? Nothing has changed in our state of waiting on all fronts. The only thing that has changed with me is that I’m spending far more time in prayer than I have before. It’s that sitting with the Father, knowing He’s right there with me, hearing me, speaking to me. Then I move on and time after time, my jaw drops through the day as I see God over and over again.

It’s as if the more I pray, the more I see God. This seems so common sense. But we get busy, we race from here to there, we desire to serve and love, to share and give. And all these wonderful things, but sometimes we miss the very best thing. God in our ordinary. I am seeing the more I pray, the more I see God.

Do we want to see a miracle? Pray for God to open our eyes. God is performing miracles all the time.  He’s the same God who parted the Red Sea. He is still the God who healed the blind and made the lame walk. That same God resides in us and works through us.

Prayer is opening my eyes to see miracles masquerading as ordinarily normal. Prayer is changing my heart and my desires. Prayer is changing how I see relationships and people.

God has given us a gift of prayer. Access to Him around the clock. The more time we spend talking to Him, the more madly in love we fall. Nothing in this world can compare to that.

Prayer is the thing we often feel we don’t have time for. Yet, it’s the thing that fuels our ability to do life to the level we desire.

The boys are seeing a shift as well. I see it in their prayer life. I once heard a wise mom say, “We can’t lead our children in faith further than we ourselves have gone.” If I spend my time in prayer only blessing meals and saying bedtime prayers with them, how will they see the living God who is actively working in the cracks of the day?

Zachary jumped in the car after school one day and the tears were on the edge of spilling, “I just have so much homework. I’ll never get it all done.”

Initially, I responded, “I’m sure it’s not that much. You will get it all done.”

This didn’t help as he began to tell me how I didn’t understand.

“Well, let’s just pray.”

“Mom, please don’t close your eyes while you pray and drive.”

Smiling, I assured him I’d put safety first. We thanked God for our school and the loving people in our lives. We thanked Him for the beautiful day and the gift of a safe and loving home to do this work. Then we asked Him to increase Zachary’s productivity, give him clarity and organization of thought, order his time in such a way that he does an excellent job staying focused and giving it his all.

After getting home and settled, Zachary appeared in the kitchen wearing a new face. Radiating with excitement, he said, “It worked! I can’t believe it, but I’m done with everything.” Thirty seconds later I heard the steady dribble of the basketball on the driveway.

We had bigger issues to pray through. One in particular that will affect our entire family. We discussed it with the boys, who initially were not happy with the issue at hand. Much disagreement voiced around the table.

“Let’s begin to pray. I trust that God will direct our hearts and draw us into unity over this decision.”

Within days, trickle by trickle, I saw hearts changing, unity forming. Amazing. Only God. Only through prayer.

My tendency is to think of all I’ve missed in my christian walk by not praying more. But I am not going there. Instead I’m thanking God for His gentle hand lifting open the lids of my eyes to His glory and the gift of constant conversation with the Creator of my soul.

P.S. One of my favorite books on prayer is by Timothy Keller. Prayer – Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. Remember when I said last year, I finished few christian living, non-fiction books because they began to beat me over the head with the message and by mid-book, I’d gotten it. Not this book. I checked it out of the library and quickly realized I need to own it, mark it up, and read it again.

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My Proverbs 31 Friend – I want to be just like her

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Proverbs 31:26 “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her lips.”

As newlyweds and brand new christians, Steve and I attended a young married Sunday school class. It was pivotal in our walk with the Lord.

The first time the girl across the room spoke, I felt an immediate conviction from the Holy Spirit. In my heart, I had already categorized her. Oh, my shallowness. She was strikingly beautiful, so well put together, that I put up heart walls because I was certain we would have nothing in common.

She spoke, and wisdom fell on those of us who had the privilege to be in that class. Each week I found myself hoping she would speak up. She spoke when needed, never over speaking or dominating the class. Always with wisdom. Always with faithful instruction.

Her faith was different. Deep. Mature. I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to one day love the Lord like that.

Her son was diagnosed with leukemia. I followed her caring bridge page. Each post I read through tears, and at the conclusion, I found myself saying, “I simply can’t imagine having a faith like that when faced with something like this.” I wanted a faith like hers. A faith that trusted in God no matter what nightmare I lived through. A faith that loved God boldly and clung to His promises. A faith that longed for His courts.

Our family moved states, her family moved states, we lost contact.

In 2011 our family moved to North Carolina. I googled “nearby churches offering summer Bible study”. Lake Norman Baptist Church was top on the list and childcare was free. I signed up. During class I heard someone say the name Tara Reeves. I thought to myself, “I know a Tara Reeves. It couldn’t be the same one.”

Our family ended up attending another church for a couple of years and in 2015, we found ourselves back at Lake Norman Baptist. I heard her name again. This time I went exploring to discover it was the same Tara Reeves. And she lived in my neighborhood. And we went to the same church. How like the Lord.

I’d always known Tara from afar. I admired her from a distance. I knew her faith was genuine and went to places mine had never been. But when I began to truly know her is when I discovered the depth of her beautiful soul.

When I became the women’s ministry leader at our church, Tara and I had coffee together. I wanted her to speak at our women’s retreat. I knew that our women would be blessed beyond blessed to sit under her teaching for 3 days.

I called Steve after mine and Tara’s coffee date and said, “She is one of the most real people I’ve ever known. She is so transparent. And she genuinely cares for people.”

Recently, I went to her youngest daughter’s birthday party. Again I left her presence deeply impressed. Not impressed by her beautiful home, but impressed with her TRUE gift of hospitality. You felt loved in her home. Deeply loved. And known.

Tara is a living example of the difference from being a good hostess and being hospitable. Anyone can be a hostess, but you have to really love people well to be hospitable.

Her home was one of the prettiest I’ve seen, but she couldn’t care less about the appearance of her home. She cared about the hearts in those walls. Toddlers and teens in and out, eating and drinking throughout. Not once did she bat an eye over dropped crumbs or spilled drinks. The birthday cake was full of green icing. All these little kids with icing fingers, and she never asked them to wipe their hands as they left the dining room. All you saw was that she loved having her home filled with the people she loves.

I want to be just like that.

The girl loves Jesus so big. And THAT. That is why she loves people so big. People over stuff.

She cares deeply for people. At the party she told a story about her teens wanting to give a few friends candy grams at school, and she had them send one to every student so no one would be left out. At the retreat, a large group of us were attempting to arm knit scarves. I messed up from the beginning and had a heap of yarn at my feet. We were all struggling to be crafty and when the instructor was helping people, Tara was concerned about me being left behind. She spoke up, “Can you help Renee? She needs help.” She said it twice. Truly concerned that no one feel left out. At the retreat, she did an experiment that took longer than she’d hoped. She let the clock tick away so that each person participated despite it cutting into her time to teach.

She loves well.

I want to be just like that.

I could go on, but I won’t. She will be deeply embarrassed by this post, but I needed you to know the heart behind her outer beauty. She is one of the most beautiful people inside that I’ve ever known.

She makes the enemy tremble. That is how great her faith is. How bold she is for Jesus. You will always know where she stands.

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She happens to also be the author of my 2 favorite children’s books. I’m giving one away tomorrow. But don’t wait for the giveaway. Order multiple copies today. Keep a stack in your closet. You will want to give one at every kid’s birthday party, Christmas, baptism, etc.

The Pirate and the Firefly : A boy, a bug, and a lesson in wisdom

The Knight and the Firefly: A boy, a bug, and a lesson in bravery

I only recommend what I love. If I didn’t know Tara, I would still be telling you to get these books for your kids and everyone you know. But I know her. And the heart behind these books.

People like this in our lives are the sweetest gifts from the Lord. She is a treasure, which I’m humbled by. The Lord is too good to me. He has filled my life with the most amazing hearts and souls.

I can only attempt to imagine the joy in Heaven surrounded by people like Tara the Lord has dropped into my life.

We all need people like this in our life. If we don’t have them, we pray for them. God will bring these people into your life. I promise He will do it. We have to be open and transparent to allow them in. If we are private and reserved, it’s hard to penetrate.

Tomorrow I’m giving away a copy of The Pirate and the Firefly. Giveaway will be a drawing at random. Share this post and tag me on social media. Like or comment on my Facebook page. Comment here. Subscribe to the blog. Blog subscribers are automatically entered to win.

Ends tomorrow at noon.

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The Call of God is Terrifying – Are You Listening?

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When God calls us to something, it can be downright frightening.

I posted this picture on instragram. It was a reminder to me that sometimes the road ahead is foggy, but the path right in front is clear. It takes trust to simply hold His hand and walk along the lit path, not knowing what’s in the fog. Trust is a choice.

Each believer is called into ministry. Some into the pulpit, some behind a screen, some in the washing of dishes and windows, some in the changing of diapers and the caring of elderly. Our entire life is to be one of ministry because our life isn’t supposed to be about us. Our life is to be spent glorifying God, not ourselves. We glorify God when we are using the gifts He placed in us in the service of others.

Over the weekend the Lord shook me to the core. I have yet to steady myself.

For those of you who have been readers for a long time, you have followed my meandering path of public ministry. A family devotion published, a call into speaking, a growing blogging platform. More writing opportunities. But then God.

You have a “but then God” experience too don’t you? We all do. Where you see the direction God is leading you, then He takes you on a turn. You can fight the turn or bend with Him. I’ve done both.

In those “but then” moments, it’s so natural to try to figure out what God is doing. I’m learning it’s really none of my business to know what God is doing. Rather it’s every bit my business to cling to His hand and say, “Let’s go. Take me where you want me to go.”

With the growth of my online ministry came territories that simply didn’t sit well with me. I’ve talked about this before. The idea that if you want to write a book, you need an enormous following. I just struggle with that. Something about developing a following I despise. Besides I tend to be a small group girl. I like an intimate setting with a few close friends over a party where I can’t spend quality time with the people I love.

The reason I have a hard time with this, is that it’s so easy to justify to suit our internal desires that walk a fine line. What part of my ego is fed when my platform grows? How much am I enjoying the praise of my work? It just seems dangerous to me. But it’s not for everyone.

My “but then God” moment came when I was asked to lead our women’s ministry at church. Prior to that I felt God calling me to focus on my smaller assignments. This was a relief. I could let go of the desire to grow in order to encourage believers, I could focus on the individual assignments He brought me.

The Lord intervened to be sure I took the women’s ministry role, and now I know why. The blessing in serving these women is something I’ve never experienced in my entire life. Ever. I had no idea the joy the Lord had waiting for me in these roles that appear so small, but are actually eternally important.

I feared taking the leadership role for many reasons. Leading women online is easier. I was scared of the difficult task of leading hundreds of women face to face!

My fears were fierce.

Fear #1 – Failure. What if I was a horrible leader? What if I just couldn’t spin one more plate? Would this take away from my number one ministry- my family?

Fear #2 – Unknown- I didn’t know where this would lead. I knew the path I had been on in my writing and speaking ministry. It had become familiar to me. Comfortable. God often loves to take us out of the comfy zone right when things get cozy. Just about when I start relying on myself more than Him.

Fear #3 – Rejection – What if the women didn’t like me?

Fear #4 – Embarrassment – What if I fall flat on my face and have to suffer humiliation?

Then I wondered something. Why should my ministry be protected from humiliation, embarrassment, unknown, or failure even? Jesus suffered all except failure. Jesus never failed, not once. But the enemy hopes we fear failing to the point of shying away from living our life fully spent for God.

God intervened. He made it so I took the role. I’ve never in my life felt more joy for the hours that I spend my day apart from serving my family.

Over the weekend, we had our winter women’s retreat. The theme the Lord placed on my heart was Hearts Ablaze.

Luke 24:32 So they said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts ablaze within us while He was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Retreats are life changing, life shaping, life shaking experiences. If you’ve never been to one. Go. Sign up soon.

The Lord set hearts ablaze last weekend.

Watching the Lord on display among these women….there’s just nothing like it. I don’t get to see this when I write on my blog! This was such a gift to see in person!

My faith has doubled, possibly tripled since taking this role in October.

I’ve learned it had nothing to do with me. I feared following God because I was so focused on myself, my efforts, my failures, my, my, my. But when God practically forced me in, He showed me right away, within minutes actually, that it had only to do with my yes, my submission to Him, my obedience. That is all.

The Lord wants our yes. Our full surrender to Him.

He didn’t need me to understand the path. He didn’t need me to have it all figured out. He just needs me to become bendable. Is He asking you to become bendable too?

I wondered how I would get to know the women so I could know who had which gifts and who should serve where. Silly me. It was wasted worry. God had gone way ahead and prepared the way. He literally brought the women straight to me with their gifts. There were no questions. He had prepared their hearts already. They were ready for action.

Now my fear has become that women will give me credit that only belongs to God. Honestly, I’m not doing anything it seems. I think that is what happens when we say yes and know we are saying yes to the right thing. That thing just happens supernaturally.

What is happening among the women at our church can only be of God. Truly. No person can change hearts. No person can set hearts ablaze. Not the kind that lasts anyway.

To see it all working together this weekend was overwhelming. All the variety of gifts, so drastically different from one another, yet together in such amazing love and unity. When united by Christ, there is no room for division.

There were moments during worship that I simply wept at His goodness poured out on us. He is too good. And my heart breaks for the lost who have never believed that He is good.

I’d not trade this role for anything. No amount of money, no fancy vacation, no mansion. Nothing in this entire world compares to complete joy found solely in Him. Nothing.

Over and over I kept thanking Him for allowing me to lead these women. What an incredible honor and blessing. And to think, I almost missed it because I was afraid to give God my yes. My all in yes. My full submission yes. I almost missed the blessings He is raining on me.

Saying yes to God is the most humbling experience. That moment of total surrender, you realize how tiny you actually are in the sight of a mighty God. Yet, He reaches down and says, “I have special gifts for you. Open your hands, daughter. Receive what I have for you.”

Is there something God is asking you to say yes to? Don’t focus on the big yes’s. Where does it look small, but is actually enormous?

Is God asking you to turn your stay at home days into full time ministry? Right where you are, with the people you are already with? To become intentional in pointing your children to Jesus moment by moment? Don’t discount what seems small.

Is God asking you to say yes to a daily quiet time? To reading your Bible daily? To spending an hour a week talking to someone in a mentoring relationship? To serving in an area that feels uncomfortable?

Ask God today what it is He wants you to say yes to. Let’s spend our lives well. Every ounce poured out for Him, saving none for later. He will replenish daily. Remember the manna?

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When God Won’t Stop the Blessings

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A friend in Bible study answered a question out loud, “If you could have anything for dinner, what would you choose?” Her unhesitating response, “Meatloaf!”

Over the course of the next 7 days, she received several dinner invitations, all serving meatloaf, none knowing her request before God. In the following week, 6 of her days consisted of eating meatloaf.

She shared this story with my boys reminding them to be careful what they prayed, wished, or asked God for because we serve a God who not only desires to bless abundantly, but One who has an unexpected sense of humor as well.

The world tends to paint a picture of a God who is stingy with His blessings, a God who will carefully decide who gets a blessing and just how much they will receive. In reality we serve a God desiring to open up blessings on His children. He’s looking for the hearts who long for Him.

Sometimes we tend to guard ourselves even from God. We are tight fisted, holding fast to what we think is security. Afraid to open ourselves more than is necessary. All the while, God is whispering, “Open your hands. I have blessings for you.”

Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

A few weeks ago I experienced something that caught me by surprise….

Would you join me over at Lift Up Your Day for the rest of today’s post?