He even redeems the foot in my mouth...awesome God!!

I was in the airport traveling back to Houston for Spring Break and found myself snacking on the foot in my mouth before I ate my newly purchased $2.00 banana at the airport kiosk. After I made my $2.00 purchase, I turned around and just behind me there was a beautiful woman who was being escorted by her husband in an guest airport wheelchair. I said Hello and she replied back the same. Then, I said, "I wish I could take a seat with you, I am exhausted from all the walking." She  said, "Honey, I would trade places with you in a second if I had good legs and could walk and run...I miss being able to do that." And there it was, foot in my mouth. I felt horrible. Why oh why did I have to say anything?!?
Then God gave me these words: "There was a day the Lord had me in a place where I had to physically slow down and He taught me the lesson of slowing down and finding Him in the little things of life. I learned a new appreciation for enjoying beautiful moments in the slower pace than I had ever before in my rushing past. So, maybe the Lord has some special things to show you right now. He always has a plan." Her face lit up, "You know, you are so right...He has. I was in an accident and was paralyzed. Now, by His grace He has allowed me to be able to walk with a cane but only for short distances which is why I am having to use this chair." 
I smiled at this moment God used my foot to muffle my own words and give me His words of encouragement for this women. I just knew I would walk away from that encounter with my head hung low (especially since my daughter was a witness to the whole thing) and yet God redeemed that moment and both of us left that moment in praise of the Great Physician and God of Everlasting Hope. She said the encouragement was gold nuggets to her soul. And you know, just as Only God can, He overcome what Saran meant for evil, He made good!!! It was encouragement for her and a reminder for me...to count my blessings right where I am, not just counting the ones of past days or hopeful ones to come but to see today's plan of blessing. And there in the airport, I also needed that random moment of celebratory praise and reminder as I stood facing another flight of victory and grace in my own life!! What a mighty God we serve!!
Right there at the kiosk, I prayed for her to have continued strength and a renewed heart and endurance to keep on keeping on, finding the tiny treasures of God as she made her way through every new day. Secretly, it was my prayer for me to claim too. We hugged and high-fived our Amens! May it be so. "God is soooo good" we jointly exclaimed! 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits,

 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 

who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 

who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed." Psalm 103:1-6 (ESV)

Thank You Lord for moments of great redeeming in our lives and for every little stupid moment we create for ourselves. You are such a gracious God and Savior. Your saving Grace is so much more than a decision of salvation...it's the every day, every moment grace you pour over every word we say. Thank You for being a shield about us and for the love and encouragement of Kingdom blessings. Thank You for the redeeming Cross and it's power in my every breath and word, in our steps and our wheeling through! You are a sweet loving Lord! Bless and strengthen all those who find  themselves in a slower pace of life, show them the sweet treasures that only can be seen from their pace. Help those of us able to walk and run, to embrace the pace we are able to go and yet take time to slow down and seek Your golden nuggets along the journey. In the Name above all Names, we pray, seek, hope and live, Amen.

Disastrous or Divine Days

With six people and two dogs in the house, it very quickly can turn from neat and tidy to cluttered and messy. I do my best to keep on top of dishes, laundry, kitchen clean up and bathroom disinfecting, however, two days a week, I "take the day off!" Yes, I am a stay at home Mom, but I also need Days Off! On these precious days, I "take off" from deep cleaning and "work" through the day's messes with a minimum effort. Let's face it, Moms never really get a day off. I could get up early and stay up late, skip Bible Studies and lunches with friends, sacrifice down time and date nights, and guess what, tomorrow, another sock will go missing, the dishes will pile up in the sink, dog hair will still shed, and the to-do list including paying bills, grocery shopping and meal planning will only continue to grow.
Sunday and one day during the week, usually Friday, are my two days "off" a week. Most stay at home Moms don't go around saying that. There is a stigma that we are already "home" so why would we take a whole day off, and for many of us, we feel guilty under the watchful eyes of others to fill each moment. My heart goes out to working and homeschool Moms who's times are not their own especially and yet still have to manage their homes just as I do. They are amazing women!!!! 
For me, even if I don't wash, clean, fold, or scrub something, I will still decide, cook, prepare, settle, drive someone somewhere and pick up something off the floor. A Mom's job is never done. So, Monday is a big clean day. It is the head of the week. With Sunday being my Sabbath day of rest, I pray for great self-control not to "work." Monday is my first work day and like any other job, Mondays are Mondays. There is much to catch up from what happened over the weekend and it's the day that preparations are made for the remainder of the week. I scrub and clean and wash almost all day. Every dish is sorted into the dishwasher or cabinet and all laundry is washed and put up in it's right place (most of the time!) 
Monday night, I feel accomplished as I plop down in bed. My husband always enjoys Mondays as he walks throughout the once disastrous house now all clean and tidy, knowing that every sock has been placed in it's drawer for his next run and his coffee cup ready to be filled. But then there's Tuesday. 
As I crawl out of bed and start the morning, getting the kids off to school, I eventually make it back home only to sit on the couch and stare at my house...papers left out on the table, a cup orange juice on the window seal, pi's piled on the floor and oops...someone forgot their lunchbox. Then I walk into the kitchen...there are dishes....dirty dishes, again. As if in disbelief, I walk into the kitchen and open the dishwasher full of clean dishes to be put back into their cubbies (thank You Lord for a dishwasher), and yet the inner thoughts stir, "NOT AAAAGAINNNNN!!!...I worked so hard yesterday to clean everything up and now there are more...when will it ever be done..." I nearly ran out of the house when my husband comes in and says, "I thought you did all the dishes yesterday?!?" UGH! Yes, yes I did!!!!! 
There is nothing I can do to stop the cycle of dirty dishes and laundry. (And yes, I have done red solo cups and paper plates, but there are still dishes and trash!) Every day brings new dishes to the sink and a dirty sock to be washed, a spill to be mopped up, a dispute to be settled, a person to be driven, bills to be paid, food to be prepared, hurts to be held, hair to be fixed, missing shoes to be gathered and homework to be checked. Every day is also a day of new opportunities, new memories to be made, new conversations to be had, and new meals to be tasted and new arrangements to be played with.
Depending on how I look at it, I can be exhaustingly exasperated or expectantly excited towards every day the Lord grants me. Like my ever multiplying laundry and relentless flow of dishes, so also Satan seeks to exasperate us: 
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 (ESV)
"Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8b (ESV)
Satan is always seeking after us....but God is persistent in His attention for us too. A life lived with hearts and eyes fixed on God is a life lived with hopeful expectancy and excitement...and joy!

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." Lamentations 3:21-25 (ESV)

"I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:8-11 (ESV)
In this life, we will have trials, (James 1). However, it is up to us to wake up to each new day and be exasperated by demands or expectant by the Divine. I don't know about you, but I would like to live hopeful for a Divine Day, every day! May it be so!! 

So, the next time you find yourself starting to grumble over the never ending mound of "life stuff," remember "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

His heart is for you!