✨Cultivate your child’s gifts ✨ by parenting through the lens of these Biblical principles:

1) God has a plan for your child. (Jeremiah 29:11)

2) God has gifted your child to bring glory to Him and know Him through these plans. (Romans 12:6-8)

3) You are a vessel to let God’s Spirit pour encouragement of these gifts to be cultivated and to point them to hold Jesus’s hand and let Jesus walk them step by step into these plans for good, for a future, and for a hope!

I enjoyed going through the passage in Romans 12 and reflecting on which of these gifts I see emerging in my children. I hope you did too!

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

This week I have been quick to encourage my daughter as she serves our family by helping me cook and prepare meals. She ALWAYS wants to pull a chair up to the stove and help me. Two nights ago, she insisted on making us our salads. I knew this passage was coming up in our bible study, so I encouraged her using the word “serving” and telling her God had given her a special heart to serve others. I lifted up some prayers asking God to continue to stir her heart to serve others through the love of Christ. And I will continue to allow her to help me serve.

EVEN THOUGH IT IS MESSY! EVEN THOUGH IT TAKES A LOT MORE TIME! Why? Because I see the radiant fulfillment and joy on her face when she hands her daddy his salad, with half the juice from the green olive jar mixed in with his salad dressing. Because this is how God builds and encourages his church.

We were ALL given a special gift that makes all the parts of his body work together in perfect harmony. Because God knows the plans he has for my daughter. And you can be sure, he will not let this gift go to waste. I don’t know how, or where, or when she will be serving others in the future, but He knows.

So we will keep praying, bringing the decisions that we make for them to the ONE who knows what their future holds. I pray we all do this and trust the ONE who knows their future.

✨New Here? This post is part of the Bible Study: “Refocused: Fixing your eyes in Jesus for the road ahead.”

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Praying for you!

Amy

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

“A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:1-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

1) Look back at last season

As the season changes from summer to fall, let us reflect on His faithfulness behind and gain greater faith in Him for the stretch of road ahead. As you read through the list above, which season do you feel like you just walked through with the Lord?

“A time to laugh.”

This was my season during the summer with my kids. We swam, we jumped, we traveled. We read funny books. We laughed together. I quit writing, as I usually do during the summer, and I just was with family and the LORD, soaking up the summer until I could not bear to untangle another knot from my chlorine-dry hair. I can truly say, it was a season of a lot of laughter and fun.

But we can’t stop time. I heard someone explain eternity like this lately: today is one small dot on a never-ending line. We just have the dot. We have today. We can’t hold on to yesterday and expect today to be just like the day before; especially since they closed the pool down and now, it’s green 🙂

Plus, what kind of life would it be to just laugh every day, every season? Sure, it would be fun, but what about reaching out to those who are suffering, and accomplishing work, and having purpose? Those are all meaningful things God has instilled in our hearts too.

2) Look for Potential Beauty in this Season

I think it is just beautiful the way God has arranged seasons in our years, and seasons in our lives. As the leaves turn into an array of sunset before they fall, so let us feel the changes taking place in our hearts and lives, declaring they are good and needed and ask the Lord what He wants us to focus on this season.

Use this prayer or pray your own words and ask the Lord what he has for you to hold onto and focus on this season.

Lord,

I am seeking you first this fall season. Please, show me the priorities you have for me over the next weeks and months.

What rhythms do I need to put into place to walk closer to you this fall?

What rhythms do I need to put into place to grow closer to my husband this fall?

What rhythms do I need to put into place to grow closer to my children this fall?

What rhythms do I need to put into place to create more peace in my home this fall?

3) Invest in this season for Beauty next season

Look at your answers, and now re-read Eccelsiastes 3:1-8. What verse or part of a verse is the Lord highlighting to you after reflecting on this season of your life? What is it time for?

Sisters, this can create so much peace, freedom, and room for Jesus. We have got to be intentional about asking the One who knows what He has for you and your family this season.

For me,

it is a time to plant.

I took the summer off. I’m rested and ready. I want to plant more seeds of faith and goodness in my marriage though prayer. I desire to see God’s Word be heavily planted in my children’s hearts this school year. So it’s time to get to work.

I’m clinging to this verse,

“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And I’m trusting as I plant, others water, and most importantly God is going to bring growth.

My husband and I growing closer to Him

My children growing closer to Him

My home reflecting a place in heaven where peace is growing.

I’m expecting a beautiful season of planting here at Refocused Bible Study, too!

Which verse from Ecclesiastes 3 sums up what it feels like it’s time for in your life this season? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What if Jesus was really standing there knocking at your door.  Would you care about what your house looked like?  Or would you be more concerned with what your heart looked like?

Of course, if you know him, then you would answer that you would be much more concerned with the condition of your heart at that moment. If you don’t know him, have never studied his word, or haven’t talked to him in prayer lately,  you might have been misguided to the perception that he would care about the physical surroundings and judge your worthiness upon them.  But no sister, he wouldn’t.

He would look into your eyes, and see the depths of your soul.  He would love you right that second with a grace-filled love.  Then he would sit down without bothering to brush the crumbs the kids left in the chair from breakfast.  He would insist on helping you make a homemade meal from whatever was in the kitchen.  Then, as the verse above states, he would sit down as your friend and share the meal you prepared together.  His gaze would not wander to the food splashed on the baseboards at your feet that you haven’t gotten around to scrubbing yet.  He would be so intently focused on your conversation and hearing your heart expressed that he wouldn’t notice the dirty blinds on the window that need attention.  Oh, what an amazingly full and joyous visit that would  be!

I bring this visual to you, sweet sisters, because we are halfway through our 4 week spring cleaning bible study series.  I don’t know where you are on your journey.  You may be like me, right on track heart-wise in your study book, feeling cleansed and refreshed, but a little behind on the house cleaning.  Or you may be breezing through the house cleaning but having trouble getting in the habit of praying while cleaning, feeling kind of distant from Jesus.  Or maybe, you are right on track.  Your cleaning list is up to date and you’re in constant conversation with Jesus in the midst of a home that is sparkling.  Way to go!

Wherever you are on this journey to a clean heart and a clean home, remember that Jesus is most concerned with the cleanliness of your heart.  His blood has the power to wash off the deepest, set-in stains.  The ones that you thought were utterly hopeless so you placed a perfectly staged pillow to cover them.  Those are the ones he would touch and heal if you saw him face to face today.

This afternoon, with a “magic eraser” and nail polish remover, I scrubbed away nail polish splotches on my bathroom counter and floor from my little girls.  I banned them from any use of nail polish. Ever.  Now my bathroom floor is clean.  Like it never even happened. I prayed for them while the chemicals tore the skin on my fingertips.  Oh I could have been so mad.  But instead, it was an opportunity for God’s grace to cover my precious little mini-women.  This is what I love about this journey.  Every dirty, greasy, stain is an opportunity for prayer, thankfulness, and a fresh start; that you can actually see with your eyes as your hands make your house clean, and Jesus makes your heart clean!

So keep praying and scrubbing sisters!  We are halfway there.

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It’s week two of Spring Cleaning for your heart and home here at Refocused Bible Study. Today we start the week cleaning our master bedroom and praying over our marriages.

It’s powerful to use the hours we clean our homes to pray as we go, thanking the Lord and asking His continued blessing on our families and homes.

Today’s Study

This week, we focus on this passage from Song of Solomon as we clean our bedrooms:

“The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away,

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”

‭‭The Song of Solomon‬ ‭

2:8-10, 12-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Today, we focus in on verse 8, when the young bride hears her man coming to her.

In the book, I focus in on hearing your husband & listening. The world grapples for our attention, focus, & time, drawing us apart in marriage and over time we can neglect to the person who means the most to us.

What’s on his heart?

How can I love him well this week?

When was the last time we sat face to face & chatted?

These are great places to start asking yourself if you are as connected to your man as you are perceive you are.

Start there and PRAY.

Pray for whatever is on your heart for your marriage.

Today’s Cleaning

The Master Bedroom

___ Dust the Headboard

___ Check the condition of your bedding

___ Clean out under your bed

Start there & the next few days, we will move on to the windows, walls, and light fixture.

I hope you’ll join us on this Spring Cleaning with Jesus Journey!

>>Want to join the Spring Cleaning with Jesus journey?  Buy the study here:  >>>

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FREE scripture writing plan/cleaning schedule here.

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I pulled out the drawer in the middle of my kitchen, searching for a number 2 pencil WITH an eraser, with ten minutes to get into the minivan.  My hands began frantically rummaging to no avail; UNO cards, nail polish, hair clips, dozens of tiny rubber bands…no number 2 pencils, no pencils at all!  This is not good I thought.  The one thing that is supposed to be there isn’t, but every other thing under the sun is in there, taking up space and just junking up my drawer!

I know how this happened.  When I am tidying up I just toss things in there and close it up real quick instead of dealing with it and putting it

where it’s really supposed to go.

It works for the moment.  My counters are clear, and on the surface my kitchen looks really shiny and nice.  (Until a guest accidentally opens the drawer looking for a spoon to stir her coffee, right?) The same happens with our hearts.  We don’t put the real time or effort into prayer.  So we just toss up a general “Lord help me.”

Our outsides look great and tidy; but on the inside, we feel like our own junk drawer.

Cluttered.

This afternoon, I opened it up to clean it out.  I put my fingers in there and moved the junk all around, looking for things that were valuable enough to keep.  I set a few treasures on top of the counter that I deemed worthy.  There was still so much junk mixed in with the good stuff.  I spotted a handwoven necklace I had bought in Africa when we were there adopting my daughter that I definitely wanted to keep.

But I realized I only had a few minutes before I had to leave again to take my daughter to gymnastics!  (See why I wrote the “Why your house is messy” post?)  I shoved the UNO cards and other treasures back in and then took this picture:  (Your’e welcome, I try to keep it real here :))

I thought about how my heart felt all discombobulated like this messy drawer.  It had been such a busy morning with necessary activities that I could not cut out of our schedule.  I have been out of the habit of rising very early to pour my heart out to the Lord in prayer and so it felt just as cluttered as this drawer.  So many concerns were in there, nothing extremely heavy or pressing,  but just things I needed to talk to Jesus about, stuffed in there waiting to come out and set before him.

The only way to clear something so messy out is to dump it.  Let all the good things worth keeping and the clutter taking up space to come out, and be picked up and evaluated

one thing at a time.

It is the same with our prayer life.  We can’t feel light and free if we don’t sit at the feet of Jesus and lift up every concern separately

one care at a time.

He wants us to be specific, and ask.

“You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” James 4:2

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7

So in the spirit of Spring Cleaning, go pick a drawer or a closet.  Open it up and dump the clutter out.  As you pick up each thing to evaluate it, voice your concerns to the Lord.  Don’t let your mind wander into daydreaming.  Talk out loud to Jesus if that helps.  Feel your heart become so light and free as you let all the cares and worries be set upon the One on whom they are supposed to fall.

Then organize all the things that are left.  See the beauty you have created where there was once a mess.  Know that the things you lifted up to the Lord are being turned into something beautiful for eternity as well!  If you doubt,  just open up that drawer or closet and thank Him for working on the requests you laid at his feet.

I would love to hear from you if you are working through “Spring Cleaning for Your Heart and Home!”  Comment below and tell me how it’s going!  Praying for you all. Enjoy journeying through your home with Jesus, and look forward to a clean home and heart!

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