This Child of Mine...

And the child grew, and waxed strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.  Luke 2:40

So as my oldest child, my only son leaves for college this week I contemplate, I reminisce, and I wonder.  I contemplate if I did everything I should have done as a parent.  Have I told him everything he needs to know to survive in this crazy world?  Have I prepared him to be independent?  I reminisce about those special moments together…the ones that were happy, the ones that were sad, the ones that involved anger, the ones that brought fear, the ones that brought joy, the ones of disappointment…the ones that made us all grow together as a family and also made him who he is.  I wonder what he will become.  I wonder who he will marry and where life will lead him.  I wonder if he will live far or near.  I wonder if he will always come home and lay his head on my shoulder late at night while we watch a movie together.

As my mind swarms with all this thinking I find my God whispering to me “you did the best you could possibly do with the knowledge that you had at each moment in his life, but the best thing you did, the most important thing you did in the life of your son was to tell him about my Son.” 

So with that my heart has found comfort, my mind has found peace, I thank my God for this child of mine and the rest of this is just for you Brett….

Where did the time go, it seems I was just getting you dressed for your kindergarten graduation and now I find that your school days are complete.  Words could never possibly express the joy, the pride, and the love that I am feeling.  Although I am a bit sad, it doesn’t compare to the excitement that I have for you as you take the next journey in your life. 

I remember being so worried about you starting school because you were so shy and I prayed every day that your speech impairment would not hinder you.  I also prayed for good friends that would love you as I did.  Now I see that nothing can hold you back, and you were not only blessed with unbelievably great friends, you have been a good friend to so many as well! 

It was obvious early on that you have a love and gift for sports, but especially basketball!  I remember when you were around ten and we were sitting together on the deck and you told me that you wanted to try and play basketball in college and I told you to work hard, trust God, and you never know what could happen.  And you did it!  I know that basketball is not everything, but it has always been such a big part of your life.  I have been able to see you grow, develop, and display Godly character while on the court and off the court.  You truly have a gift and I know that you will use it for His purpose, just allow him to guide you!

You have always amazed me with your love for others.  I can honestly say I have never known someone as selfless and kind-hearted as you.  You make me want to be a better person everyday!  You are real, you are true, and you are genuine…characteristics that most of us strive for each day come so naturally for you.

I just thought I loved you when you were born, but that love has only grown stronger with time.  You are so special and I am honored, humbled, and a bit overwhelmed that God chose me to be your mother, something I will never stop thanking Him for.  You know as parents we are the ones that should be teaching our children how to live, but so many times I have found myself thinking of something you have done or said to guide me.  I have not always been perfect, but I have always done my best to tell you about the importance of living a life of Christ, but it is you that has shown me how to truly live for Him.  You are definitely a man of few words…a gently giant, but your actions have always spoke volumes and I know they will continue to do so.

I love you more than words can say and I am so proud of you that my heart hurts…in a good way!  As you take this next step in life always know that I am praying for you, but more importantly always know that God is leading you and He will never leave you!

And with this, I thank you God for letting me know that while my roll in Brett’s life is important, it doesn’t compare to your roll in his life and that I should always trust that you can and will take care of him whether he is near or far; and while I may be the one that gave birth to him, you are the one that gives him life!

The Mind of Christ...

For, “who has known the mind of the Lord as to instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.                 I Corinthians 2:16

How many people do you hear today, Christian or not, that proclaim not to have eloquence, human wisdom, or resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified?  Can you think of one?

As Christians we worry so much about what to say or about what not to say, but to truly have the mind of Christ and to do the right thing---to live by truth is to not know anything, but to depend upon the One who knows everything!  I am guilty of this, especially when I write and post something that the world could possibly read.  With everything going on in the world around us, I thought I had a lot to say about everything, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how to say it until I read I Corinthians 2.

I pray that absolutely no one’s faith lies in any flawed, human wisdom that I have ever wrote or spoke, but that God, and only God, has used me as a tool to spread his salvation plan, his mercy, his grace, and his love.

Paul said in verse 8 that “none of the rulers of this age understand it (referring to God’s wisdom) for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”  The same is just as true today, many of our leaders are not filled with the Spirit of God and therefore do not understand the Spirit and wisdom of our Father.  So with every decision, rule, or law that goes against the truth of our God it is no different than the leaders that crucified Christ, because, like Paul said, if they knew the truth they would not be doing some of the things they are doing. 

As hard as it is to live as a Christian in this self-destructive world we have to keep on, we can’t give up the fight---why would we?  We already know how it ends!  However, the joy, the assurance, the comfort, the peace, and the love that we feel because of not only hearing and knowing the Spirit of God and his wisdom, but by embracing it fully we can be assured that a day is coming “what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”---the things God has prepared for those who love him (verse 9).

So I encourage you, I plead with you to read I Corinthians 2 and allow God to minister to you through the words of His Book and let him transform you to have the mind of Christ.

Leave Your Mark!

I have never seen God’s love as evident as I did through the words of a mother while speaking at her daughter’s life celebration.  I have written so many times about God’s love, God’s will, and putting God first, and while I have experienced the grace and love of God many times, I have never been as spiritually overwhelmed as I was listening to her words. 

Although I have never met this family, I have been following their story for about a year now.  I found out about this precious little girl, Morgan, through a text message that my daughter received from some mutual friends asking her to pray for Morgan, a little girl at their school.  Now that I look back on that time I see God working even then by instilling in 13 &14 year old young ladies to seek Him on behalf of others, even when you don’t know them.  My daughter, Haley, followed Morgan’s story along with the rest of our family and church family.  We prayed for Morgan and her family often and had special prayers for her at church as well.  All of us praying for a little girl and a family none of us had ever met.  Isn’t that God!   

After watching this video, my first thought was she gets it, she understands that God’s will is far greater than anything we could ever put together for ourselves and that Morgan’s life has left a mark on others that we cannot deny nor will we ever be the same because of her.  It has changed me for the better, it has drawn me closer to my God, and it will forever be a mark on my heart!  I just wish I could express in words what her story has did for me and my family---but there are no words, however, there is a deeper love that I feel for my God, as well as, others.  I want this family to know that God used Morgan and her family to make a huge impact on the lives of others, including mine.  My heart hurts for this sweet family because of their loss, their sacrifice for the sake of so many, but my heart is also full because of their love for Jesus Christ that they shared with us all! 

Thank you Hasty Family for loving God and sharing your Morgan with us all!  Thank you Mitzi Hasty for your obedience and sharing your heart with us, your words pierced my heart and my family and I have been inspired through your Godly words to be more passionate to God's calling on our lives and to leave our mark on this earth!

The link to the video is below; please take the time to watch it.  It is truly the Holy Spirit speaking through a servant of God.

Morgan's Mark

 

 

 

First Things First!

I read the other day that love is simply a human quality.  I didn’t think much about it at the time until now as I ponder about focusing on God today.  It seems lately that things have been hard for so many people that surround me and I having been praying constantly for things to happen in the lives of those people.  For months and months I have prayed for healings, protection, wisdom, pathways to be opened, doors to be closed, and on and on.  However, a few days ago God revealed to me that he does want to heal us, to bless us, to protect us, to give us wisdom, to put us on the right path and in the right place, but what he wants more than anything is for us to want him more than all those things.  What a concept huh?  Putting God before everything else!  I know this is not a new idea or a brilliant way of thinking, but thinking this way and living this way is very different. 

This morning God brought this revelation back to my mind with the following words from my morning devotion… “BE STILL IN MY PRESENCE, even though countless tasks clamor for your attention.  Nothing is as important as spending time with Me…Do not seek Me primarily for what I can give you.  Remember that I, the Giver, am infinitely greater than any gift I might impart to you.  Though I delight in blessing My children, I am deeply grieved when My blessings become idols in their hearts.  Anything can be an idol if it distracts you from me as your First Love” (Jesus Calling---Sarah Young).  All I can say is wow and thank you God for knowing how to put my mind where it needs to be…on You!  So today I lay all those needs, all those concerns that have been weighing so heavily on my heart at the feet of Jesus and I am letting go of them and focusing on my Savior, my First Love!  So love, it is not simply a human quality---it is the quality of my God…for God is love and I desire for that love to flow through me so that no one sees my human quality, but they see God in me!