Simply Thankful

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It’s November, ya’ll!!! I can hardly believe it. However, the fact that my kids were asking for their Halloween candy for breakfast quickly confirmed, it’s true.

We will blink our eyes a few times, and it will be Thanksgiving day. Here’s the thing, I want to really be thankful. I want to really give thanks to the Giver. I want to give back.

Here’s what I don’t want to do: get stressed about things or miss out on the slow, simple gifts that he’s placed right at my feet.

I want my kids to know what this season of gratitude is all about, and to know the Giver.

So, I made this scripture writing plan:  Simply Thankful.

It’s a simple plan:

Write out the verse of the day.

Thank God for one thing.  

Do one simple, slow activity a day to enjoy the Giver. (take a walk, pick flowers, gather leaves, bake muffins, etc.)

Give back from an overflow of God’s love & as an act of worship.  

I’ll be sharing on the Facebook Group (Link here: Refocused Bible Study FB)

I’ll also be sharing on my Instagram account and twitter.

 Download the simply-thankful plan and make gratitude intentional in your heart and home this month!  ❤

Amy

A Psalm for giving thanks.

Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

 

Why I support my man to chase his dreams

Marriage

“How long is he going to chase this dream?” One of my family members asked about my husband, who was absent at yet another weekend social function. In my head, I knew the answer — as long as it takes. This is the man I married. He is a determined and strong willed. He is a hard worker, and I love him for it.

He kept chasing the dream my relative was asking about until he made a career out of it.  He was on a NASCAR pit crew for over ten years.And I never resented sacrificing on his journey to make a good life for us.

The Reason 

You see, my husband and I are perpetual dreamers. We believe God created and prepared each of his children to do amazing things that make people step back and see his supernatural hand all over one’s life. We try to keep our hand on the pulse of  the dreams he stirring in us. We talk about them to each other. A lot of times we toss them out immediately, knowing it was simply a dream, and not something to pursue in reality. But sometimes, we pause, we discuss how it could be possible.

This is when I lean in, breath a prayer of thankfulness that my man is sharing his dreams with me, and LISTEN.  

I am thrilled that my man is sharing his dreams with me. Think about it. Don’t you want to know what’s going on in the heart of your man?

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain. Proverbs 31:11

The Struggle

Because, sisters, I think sometimes we, (myself included) are too quick to dismiss our man’s dreams. We have our own dreams, right?  But we don’t have time to pursue them, so why should our husband?  We have dirty dishes and laundry piling up, dirty little feet to wash before bedtime, and a to-do list to make for tomorrow. The only dreaming we have time to do is in our sleep! So, if we don’t even have time to let our dreams simmer, we certainly aren’t going to have time to tend to them.

Following dreams requires sacrifice. Is this season of your life the right time to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve that goal?

As a mom with elementary aged children whom I homeschool, the answer for me for many of my dreams is no. Now is not the time to make sacrifices of a huge amount of time. I will never get these days back with my children, and I want to be with them, present and participating in their everyday lives as much as possible. You see, being a mom was my dream, and I am choosing to embrace it.

Being a mom was my dream, and I’m choosing to embrace it.

I can, however, start taking steps towards my dreams. I will just be keeping a slower pace, my course will be close to home, and I will be sure to keep the priorities of my heart in their proper order. I am choosing to do this.  It is my choice, and I am intentionally making it.

Just because now is not the time to chase my dreams, doesn’t mean my husband shouldn’t chase his.

Last night we were on a dinner date and we started talking about this topic, because recently my husband crossed the finish line of an IRONMAN for the first time. A dream was realized in his life, and I was there at the finish line to cheer him on. To reach the finish line, our whole family had to intentionally support him and make sacrifices of time and money.

Every sacrifice is accruing into a future reward.

The Reward

Sure, sometimes supporting my husband in his dreams and goals gets a little bit tiresome. But there are many reasons I continue to invest and believe in him.  For starters, we are married! I always go back to God’s word and see how he has shown spouses how to love one another.  I know my husband, and I know what he needs. You know how to support your husband, and you know the rewards of supporting him. It’s really invaluable to ONENESS in marriage, which is something very close to my heart.

“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” Philippians 2:2

My husband knows I am going to support him and be there for him in whatever endeavor he pursues. Yet he always comes to me and makes sure the next dream he pursues is something I’m on board with. It’s a beautiful oneness that the Lord has helped us with through the years that doesn’t happen overnight.  Please hear this if you are struggling in your marriage.

There was a time when this wasn’t so easy for us. Our babies were little, infant and two, and my husband was huge into golf. (Disclaimer – golf takes a lot of time and money!) I felt stuck at home a lot with the babies while he pursued a title as a regional amateur champion. We had so many tense conversations back then about the “G” word!  Actually, we had arguments. But this is what I want to encourage you with: 

Some seasons supporting your man is  going to be hard, but press on and see the Lord’s future reward.

My son is eight years old, and he ranked 62nd in the world in kid’s golf.

Together, last night, my husband and I realized this fruit that came out of that time in our lives where tensions were high from him chasing his dreams. My then little two year old would go out and practice with his daddy frequently and he got hooked! He caught his daddy’s love for the game, but also his daddy’s work ethic when he is pursuing something.

My children dream big dreams, y’all. Right now they are planning and working on a fundraiser concert to raise money to buy a clubhouse for our neighborhood. They envision and they believe a dream can become a reality. Then they work hard to make it come true.  I am so thankful for this.

Do you believe it for you, friends? Do you believe that the Lord has hard wired beautiful assignments in you that will bring him glory?  Glory in your marriage, glory in your children’s lives?  Glory in your own life?

Sit still and listen to the Lord about what plans he has for you that are hidden, only uncovered through quiet time with him in his Word. Then listen to your husband’s heart and encourage him in what dreams the Lord is stirring in him. Encourage your children to pursue great things for the glory of the Lord. And if motherhood is your dream, claim it, live it, and love it!

Amy

The Weight of the World

Fruit of the Spirit

 

 

He carried the weight of the cross so we wouldn’t have to carry the weight of the world.

 

The tears were coming and I just couldn’t hold them in anymore. I knew this conversation was going to turn into one of those inexplainable, “It’s a girl thing, really, I’m ok, don’t worry,” moments us ladies have sometimes.  You know, the moments I’m talking about: when your husband asks you what’s wrong and the weight of the world moves from your shoulders to streaming down your cheeks in seconds.

The weight of the world.  

Where did that phrase come from, anyways?

The only One who truly knows how much the world weighs is the One who told us to never try and carry it’s worries.  

How ironic is that?

Oh Jesus, being a woman in today’s world feels heavy sometimes. The world wants us to carry so much.

Beauty – (not wrinkles and highlights way past due)

Success – (and homemaking and motherhood is not enough)

A picture perfect home (not a real, lived in sanctuary for our family)

Unrealistic Romance (like the kind in Nicholas Spark’s novels on a daily basis)

There it is ladies, pile it all up and hold it on your shoulders, but make sure you don’t let anything fall.  Actually, don’t let it get off balance at all, or then YOU will fall over onto the floor.

Is this really what Jesus calls the abundant life he died and rose again to give us?

I’m here to toss off the heavy weights and say NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week I’ve been on vacation at the beach.  This is where I usually find my soul at it’s resting peak. I’ve always felt the closest to God on the shores of his vast oceans.  But this week, I wore it, girls.  I stacked on the heavy weights of the world.  I started looking far in the distance of time and worrying about the future. I started looking right and left and wondering how I was measuring up. Then, I started looking down, discouraged and sad.

But where I looked LAST was the most important. I looked in His Word.

When you start feeling down, look down into His Word.

Here, we will find the strength to toss off the weights the world has been piling up on our shoulders, and trade them for the lightness of peace Jesus left us as a parting gift before he went up to heaven.

 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 NLT

So friends, here are the verses I found when I looked down:

To battle looking too far into the future:

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 MSG

To battle looking at others in comparison:

“But you are not like that, for you are a CHOSEN people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NLT

You are chosen for the special work he has for you today.

To battle looking down in discouragement:

“This is my command–be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT

And when you feel the heavy weight the world is trying to keep on your shoulders, remember the weight of the cross he carried for you so you could walk lightly,  steady and in step with Him.

He is good.

*This is the post 3 in a series of 9 on the Fruit of the Spirit.  I pray it encourages you, sister friend!

Amy

When You’re Just Not Joyful

Fruit of the Spirit

Everything seems as though it’s going exactly according to plan. You’re living the life you’ve always dreamed of: married, with a few kids, and a pretty house.  Everybody is healthy and happy, except for one thing: you can’t shake this grumpy, irritable attitude.  Have you been there, friends?  I have, and it’s not fun…for you or your family who has to deal with you!

Two years ago, our adoption was final and our life was adjusting to it’s new normal as a family of five.  Looking back now, I think I was experiencing some post adoption stress. I should have been feeling relief that our long adoption journey was over, and that our family was together again, but all I could feel was a short stack of joy, and a tall stack of stress, irritability, and sadness.

I remember the day I realized something inside of me was wrong. We were in the mountains at a beautiful cabin, just the five of us. I should have been all smiles and happy and joyful, but I started barking orders for my kids to get ready for bed.

My husband looked and me and said, “What’s wrong with you?”

And I honestly couldn’t answer him.

I reached out and got the help I needed with the kids.  Then, with a while to sit and reflect in prayer I realized how I’d lost my joy:

I’d taken my focus off of Jesus.

The season before, during our adoption, I depended on Jesus every single day to move mountains and make miracles happen. I lived in Africa for two months by myself.  

But now that life was back to usual, I was having trouble keeping my eyes fixed on him for the “everyday.”

Can you relate? Do you ever find yourself running low on joy? The kind of joy I’m talking about is the kind that the Holy Spirit grows in us, defined as: cheerfulness, calm delight, gladness.

This kind of joy that staying connected to Jesus brings is not situational. It is a deep, abiding hope that brings cheerfulness in the everyday mundane, a calm delight in stressful situations, and a gladness of eternal good to come in the midst of dark sorrow.

Where joy is not humanly possible, is where we experience Jesus’ joy.

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” ~Jesus, John 15:11

What are “these things” that Jesus says will fill us with His Joy?

1. Realize how greatly loved you are by Him.

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” Ephesians 3:19

2.  Keep His commandments, which simplified are to love Him and love others. 

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

3. Abide, or remain in His Love.

This is how the fruit of Joy is produced by Him. We remain in Him and His Spirit brings joy to our hearts; joy of what is to come because we belong to Him.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”  Galatians 5:22

Have you taken your eyes off of Him friend?  Are you lacking the JOY only abiding in Him can bring? Refocus on Him and his joy will be your joy once again, no matter what situation you are facing.

He pulled me out of my joyless slump and He will be faithful to pull you out of yours, too.

Amy

*This is the second post in a 9 week series on the fruit of the Spirit. I pray it encourages you, sweet friend!

A House Built on Love

God's Love

dsc_0825-edit“We’re writing scripture on the floors of all the rooms, come on in, we’ll give you a tour,” said my friend as we climbed over the gravel of their future front porch.

We walked through the raw lumber into the master bedroom.  In the middle of the room lay a bible, open to 1 Corinthians 13, a thick black sharpie, and the words “Love is patient,” handwritten on the plywood of the floor.  Soon the rest of the passage would be added with the marker, and my friends would magically love each other perfectly the whole time they lived in this house, right?

” Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

If only it were that easy!  If it were, I would have my sharpie handy to write on top of my finished hardwood floors in my home to guarantee we all loved each other well.  But the truth is, God’s word doesn’t move in power unless his people actually take it to heart and do what it says.

My friends will know these words are a few layers below the carpet as they tread upon it, day after day, year after year.  They will be walking over them on days when there is laughter and lightheartedness, and on days when there is pain and heartache.  And when their feet pass over them they will remember they can only love one another with this kind of love through God’s Spirit, because this is God’s kind of love, agape. 

Some versions use the word charity.  You receive it from the Lord and then you freely give it, like you give to charities, not expecting any return except the joy of giving it.  The characteristics of God’s kind of love in the passage above show me when I’m loving the people in my own home with a human kind of love, (which happens on a daily basis).  But thankfully, there is an easy way to remember how get back to loving them with HIS LOVE.

The secret:  remember how God has loved you.  Take some moments to remember how he loved you at your worst.  Maybe even in the exact moment you know you are failing miserably at loving your family —  you just yelled at your kids, or snapped at your husband.  He is patient with you.  Ask him for forgiveness, ask your family for forgiveness, and know His love keeps no record of wrongs.  See it there on the list of all your shortcomings that was nailed to Jesus’ cross.  Now walk forward and ask him to help you love with his kind of love.

You just can’t do it without Him.  This is the kind of love only his Spirit living inside of you can produce and pour out onto those around you.  It’s heavenly.

On the Facebook group this week, I set out a challenge to memorize 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and I challenge you to do the same.  Know the characteristics of His kind of love, so that you can recognize when you have stepped outside of His Spirit and when you are trying to love your tribe with your own humanity apart from Him.  When it happens, simply ask him to help you be controlled once again by his Spirit and see his faithfulness to respond and be strong in your weakness (or tiredness, sweet mamas!)

” But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Galatians 5:22-23

*This post is the first in a series of 9 on the fruit of the Spirit.  May we press into Him and rely on His Spirit to bear this kind of fruit where it matters most — in our relationship with Him, our marriages, our mothering, and our homes.  ❤

Amy