How my favorite movie helped me see Proverbs 31 differently

I've got to say, as a girl who grew up in church, there might be no other passage of scripture I was taught more than Proverbs 31. During seasons of insecurity and wavering faith, it's something I've come back to, reminding me of the type of woman I want to be. It's something God has used in so many ways in my life. However, about a year ago, I had this realization:

The target audience here was a son!

I immediately began to question everything because as a mother of two boys, I am highly aware that there may never be a girl I deem "good enough" for my sons. Could it be that this is a biblical Monster-In-Law? How did I not see it sooner? But don't worry. I haven't ruled it out completely, since it is God's word. After all, it holds validity in my life.

Which brings me to my most favorite movie ever: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

I'll give you the breakdown, in case your not a classic musical nerd like I am.

The oldest of seven brothers (backwoodsmen) decides to go into town to find a wife. He meets a lovely woman named Milly at a local diner. He likes her spunk and hard working attitude and quickly convinces her to marry him. It's not until they get home that she realizes that there are 7 single men living here, and they need a lot of help with the upkeep of the place. She gets upset, naturally. She thought this was going to be her happily ever after. Instead she feels cheated, like he chose her as a maid, not a wife.

There's this line, though, that is not overly romantic, but I find it sweet.
Adam (the eldest brother) tells Milly that he knew he needed someone to "work alongside him."
Boy! isn't that marriage for you? Not all romance and deep conversations. Sometimes we both just get to work knowing the other is right there with us, doing the same.

I think this is what the King Lemuel's mother understood.
The first 9 verses are focused on the behavior and duties of a king. Then she continues into describing a Wife of Noble Character.

This was a mother explaining to her son that he was going to need good support in the life he was given. That drinking and sleeping around were not going to get the job done. That he needed to see the beauty of a woman with self-discipline, strength and independence.

I am saddened that for a lot of my life, I looked at this as a checklist of all the things I should do to be a good christian, a good wife and a good woman in general. I have allowed it to be something that makes me feel indebted rather than empowered. I look at this woman and think "wow! she does a lot on her own and for others." It makes me realize that maybe what my husband needs is not to be needed. Perhaps he needs me to be more of a team player.

First, I am convicted that this portion of the word is not exclusively written for women. God's word is for all of us. My sons could gain a lot of wisdom and avoid a lot of hurt by knowing these truths.

Secondly, I am reminded that there are ways I can evolve as a wife. It's not enough to think "he already chose me." Our lives change so frequently, that I have to be willing to grow toward Christ, or this thing called marriage could one day elude me.

It is always important to return to the word of God. Always. That said, some of the things listed here might not be relevant to your life specifically (like All. The. Sashes). Or sewing in general. I don't know! But I think what we should look at here is her heart. She stays productive (not just busy). She is generous. She makes good choices. She blesses her husband and children.

So maybe I look at this a guideline for things I want to get better at, not a to-do list for love. Most of all, I hope to see it as a possibility for my life, not something that brings shame in the areas I presently lack. Let's also remember that for every high standard God has, there's an even higher measure of grace.

Proverbs 31 is a picture of high functioning marriage. One that sets an example for a whole Kingdom! Again. Not necessarily an exact fit, but let's just call it "community" because that makes a little more sense in my life.

 May we all see the truth: that what we do, we do alongside the ones we love.

Have a Wonderful, Wonderful day, y'all!

Fun & Purposeful Advent Activities (25 day plan)



Advent Activities with rest, family time and Jesus-focus built in

December is just around the corner, and while I have been listening to Christmas Music since November 1st (all bets are off after Halloween, if you as me) We haven't done much around the castle to really get in the spirit.
Since my sons were very young, I've really made a point to focus on the truth of Christmas. I'm not "anti-Santa" or anything. It's just not about that for us. Some of our traditions are more mainstream, like watching Rudolph. But as time draws nearer, I like to really fix our eyes on Jesus. I think there are plenty of ideas out there on the two extremes, but I wanted to make a well thought-out list for those of us who tend to embrace both spiritual and festive traditions throughout the season. Here goes!

1. Decorate. We won't get our tree until later on, but we will at least get started.
2. Read The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. If you don't have a copy, try your local library OR watch this reading on Youtube.
3. Christmas Parade. That's the date for our town, anyway. (Tip- Make something in the crockpot)
4. Put up tree. We are planning to make a day of it and go get one, but that might end up being a trip to Lowe's.
5. Send out Christmas Cards. Get on it, girls!
6. Make cookies together.
7. Cookie Exchange with neighbors.
8. Wrap a few presents. It's nice to have some under the tree.
9. Family Night! (game, dinner out, local activity)
10. Hang Candy Canes on tree and read the Candy Cane Gospel
11. Watch Elf.
12. Read The Night Before Christmas. I know.. it's not Christmas Eve.
13. Christmas Dinner with friends.
14. Make Tamales. This is a Christmas in New Mexico staple.
15. String popcorn.
16. Make Nativity Ornaments.These are Cute, but pinterest has infinite ideas if you're crafty.
17. Family Christmas Party.
18. Watch Rudolph.
19. Read The Christmas Story in Luke Chapter 2
20. Take a day to put finishing touches on your decorations, rest and prepare Him room.
21. Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt. My favorite tradition! I like This List, but there are lots out there. Don't forget hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
22. Finish Wrapping gifts (if you have them all!)
23. Pray for those you've invited to your Christmas Eve service. Make Faralitos (Google it)
24. Attend Christmas Eve Service. Afterward we give the kids their Christmas Jammies as an early present.
25. Open presents!!!! Later on, we will watch A Christmas Story. That's our family's favorite.


How you can Let Love Live in a lost time

Has it ever bothered you that in 1 Peter 5:8 the devil is compared to a lion, but in Revelation 5:5 Jesus is called the Lion of Judah? I mean, I kinda wanted to Lion thing to be sacred. Exclusively Jesus. It wasn't until recently that I realized what 1 Peter really says:

 Be alert and of sober mind.

 Your enemy the devil prowls around 

like a roaring lion 

looking for someone to devour.

This is the truth. The enemy knows better than to be overtly evil. He knows that even newborn Christians will sniff that stuff out. So, instead he disguises himself to look and sound a lot like what we believe is good. This is the place where many of us slip through the cracks. The ones who get "devoured" are the ones who know enough of the Bible to see what's mostly true, but don't have enough of the truth in their hearts to reject what is counterfeit. 

Let me give you a quick example. We all here the yogis of the world say "Namaste." And whether or not you even do yoga, you've maybe given this greeting jokingly or otherwise. But do you really know what Namaste means? 

In Hinduism is literally means "I bow to the divine in you."
Now, do you feel like that's a big deal? Maybe. Maybe not. But just in saying that, I've confessed with my own mouth an open door to something I don't even know.

Without God's spirit giving me discernment, I would probably do lots of that kind of thing blindly. It's not to say that there's not grace, because GRACE IS EVERYTHING. But, sometimes His grace is a strong aversion to something, even if you don't know why. 

Now, can I tell you where I see many of us being devoured?

Love. 

The world has gone to great lengths to confuse love. Love has been muddied with similar things like sex, equality and attention. While those things are not inherently bad, they are not the definition of love. 

1 Corinthians 13 is a great place to start when defining love. Most of us are familiar with it, in fact, I memorized this passage as a teenager and much of is has stuck. I needed a reminder, though because there are some good bits in there that I sometimes overlook. 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I want to focus our attention on versed 6 and 7. It does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Whoa! What does that look like? I mean everything we see and hear right now is all about acceptance. "I respect your choices." But that is not love. God is love, and God's definition here says we don't get to laugh off situations that are putting our loved ones in danger. 

We rejoice in the truth! We don't have to be afraid of it. It doesn't mean our delivery of that truth is boastful (see vs 4). We can speak kindly, but we have to be honest and we have to be confident in that. Why? because in verse 7, we are told that love protects. It trusts. It hopes. How is agreeing with sin protective? How is it hopeful? It's not. In fact, it does the opposite. It says that our friends are a lost cause and it's not worth the effort to be honest with them. 

We, as the church, have an obligation to define love for this world. I know that sounds like a tall order, but we are the only ones who even know what love really looks like. If God is Love and God is in us, then really we just need to lose the fluff this world has taught us and walk in who we really are. 

Lastly, I want to look at perseverance. That is something you only need in times that are tough. We have to understand that love is not the airbrushed relationships we see on Netflix. It's sticky and emotional, and I don't only mean romantic relationships. Friendships and family dynamics are just as complicated. But God's love perseveres. We don't quit or back down just because someone pulls away from truth. We lovingly keep trying. We keep speaking life and truth over them. We rejoice in their every little victory and we trust their apologies. 

Believe me when I say that I am not a master of this at all. But I know I can be and you can be, too. 

We have got to do this, because the broken world out there needs to know love. 

They've tried to redefine it or create their own version of it, but now it's time for us to introduce them to it. 

Let love live-

Lindsay 

His love for you has not run out

There's a passage in the bible that tells this story of a rich man who approached Jesus, asking him how to get into heaven. After verifying that he had not broken the law, Jesus gave him an ultimatum: Sell everything you have, give it to the poor and follow me. The man walked away from that opportunity because he couldn't part with the treasure he had stored up for himself.
Now, a lot of people look at this story and think that God is sort of harsh. You obey or don't. He doesn't have time to sit around and wait for you to decide. Today I want to walk this out a bit. See, I think that He can be that way, but it's not His character to be impatient. At His core, God is a planner.

Throughout Christ's ministry, we see situations like this where He had a short encounter with someone, gave them a simple choice and the two went separate ways. Our assumption is, in most of these cases that people took their new-found freedom, told others about it and lived happily ever after. We know for a fact that this guy did.

But what about the ones who took a little longer to come around? who are those people?
Let's take a look at Matthew 9:

9 As Jesus was going on down the road, he saw a tax collector, Matthew,[c]sitting at a tax collection booth. “Come and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him, and Matthew jumped up and went along with him.

10 Later, as Jesus and his disciples were eating dinner at Matthew’s house,[d]there were many notorious swindlers there as guests!

11 The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher associate with men like that?”

12 “Because people who are well don’t need a doctor! It’s the sick people who do!” was Jesus’ reply. 13 Then he added, “Now go away and learn the meaning of this verse of Scripture,

‘It isn’t your sacrifices and your gifts I want—I want you to be merciful.’[e]

For I have come to urge sinners, not the self-righteous, back to God.”

Do you think it's any coincidence that earlier that day, Matthew was considered a tax collector and now there's a bunch of thugs hanging out at his house? I don't. 

I think Matthew was looking for a way out of his current situation, and when Jesus gave him that chance, he jumped at it. A lot of times people jump into things, knowing it's a good deal, but don't always count the cost first. Maybe Matthew didn't realize that following Jesus would change everything about his life. Perhaps Jesus planned it that way.

Jesus is not an elitist. He didn't think He was too good to break bread with these guys, and he didn't want Matthew to think that either. In fact, if you look at the lives of the people Jesus associated most closely with, you'll see they were just people. They had fears and doubts. With each stop on their journey with Jesus, He showed them something new. 

That is exactly what he wants to do with us. He wants us to walk with Him on this journey and to learn things along the way. When the rich man gave up his opportunity, it wasn't because following Jesus was too hard. It was because he wanted to know he could obtain salvation on his own. 

That's not how God works. We don't have to be perfect. We don't have to change everything the second we accept Him. The only thing we have to do is trust Him. He will take care of the changing-us part. When we're scared, he might nudge us a little more. When we're resistant because we're uncertain, He might give that assignment to someone else more willing, but that doesn't mean he's given up on us. When we realize that we cannot do it alone and we accept Him fully, rest assured, He is happy to dine at your table, regardless of what else is there.

Jesus is not intimidated by sin. Look the end of verse 13- "I have come to urge sinners, not the self-righteous, back to God." He can't do a whole lot with a stubborn, unteachable, self-made person, not because He doesn't want to, but because he respects the free will he gave us. But sinners? Sinners in desperate need of Jesus are always welcome.

Wherever you are on your journey, I hope you know that Jesus loves you. He wants so badly to walk with you through the hard stuff you're going through. You can be a Matthew. You can say yes now, and let the rest work itself out over time. Just let him in. The only thing he needs to work in your life is an open door.

Dining at the mercy seat,
Lindarella 

How To Have Healthy Friendships

Friendship is a tricky thing. As a young woman who has lived in three different cities since I was 17, I've built relationships and watched many of them crumble. The friendships that have stood the test of time are the ones built on a good, healthy foundation.

Jealousy is maybe the biggest indicator that the friendship is not healthy. Yes, there are the friends who are jealous of your time and want you all to themselves, but what I'm talking about are the friends who envy what you have.

With all the bashing on social media going on, sometimes people feel like they can't say anything good or anything bad, ever, because it might hurt someone's feelings. That's extreme and unfair.

Complaining and bragging are not the same thing as feeling and appreciating things. 

If you don't feel like you can honestly talk about what is going in your life, the friendship's foundation is not good. For example, after giving birth to my daughter 9 weeks ago, I began to lose weight really quickly. Between breastfeeding and chasing around two other children, I'm burning a lot of calories. I was really excited and shared this with one of my dearest friends. I knew that she was having a harder time losing her baby weight, but she celebrated with me. And I look for ways to support her in her goals, too.  It's give and take.

The wrong reaction would have been her turning it back to herself, like "Oh you're so lucky. I wish I could do that. I hope I can.. I want.. I.. I... I.." That would have made me feel guilty for that little success. You should never feel guilty for good things happening in your life. You should feel thankful and humble. 

It also would have been wrong of me to list all the things I was doing to lose the weight. That would have made her feel bad. I want my friends to know I accept them and love the regardless of their imperfections.

If you've got relationships that you don't feel work this way, should you cut them out of your life? Not necessarily. Friendships are built on patterns, and you have the power to change the pattern.

Here's how:
Be the first to empathize. Feel what the other person is feeling, good or bad.
.
It can't be that simple can it? Yes, actually it can. We can thank our mental wiring for that. We all want to feel related to, in fact there are neurons in our brains called Mirror Neurons that cause us to copy the actions of others. (Now you know why you pick up weird accents around certain people.)

If you give this an honest chance and it still seems like the other person is not reciprocating the effort, that tells you something. Probably that the other person does not really desire to relate to you. In that case, slowly cutting back the friendship is probably not going to hurt any feelings in the end.

The fact is, this is a skill we all need to work on, because this is the way Christ responds to us. He became flesh to be able to experience our humanity and to overcome it.

Take a look at this parable:

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:8-10

She confidently called her friends to rejoice with her, regardless of what they may have lost. For all we know, finances were a struggle for some of those friends. But they celebrated with her.

Let's be the friends that our friends can call. Let's be those that rejoice with others, even in the midst of our struggles. Let's be friends. 

Lindarella

Let's Talk About Sex. Or Not.

Reading the Bible as a teenager, I began to feel like it was a big list of don'ts; and for me, being raised in church I was pretty happy to comply with them. But something starts to happen when everyone sees God's word that way. We all start to feel a little bit afraid of everything. We ask questions like "is it a sin to _______?" (smoke weed, eat meat, drink alcohol, etc.) When really the questions we should be asking are "God, is my heart tuned into yours?" "Am I doing this for the right reasons?" "who's approval am I seeking?"

The big problem with Christians feeling fearful is that we react in one of two ways:
1) We treat everything like a sin and rob ourselves and others of our God-given freedom, or
2) We start treating our Christian walks like a game, always trying to find a loop-hole to get a step ahead.

Do you want to know where I think this trips us up the most?
Sexuality.

From Genesis- Revelation the word talks about sex, and mostly what we should abstain from.
That tends to send us spiraling into fear because there are so many things that aren't specifically addressed. We're afraid of it. Our teachers are afraid of it. We don't feel like we have answers, so we handle it in one of the two ways described above.

That leads us to rooms and conversations I can say I wish had never happened. As a teenager, serving at a Christian summer camp, I, along with about six other girls were sat down and told that the way we were dressing was causing the boys to have to masturbate. My initial thoughts were something like, "isn't that their problem?" But it never seems to be. I've sat through numerous teachings, big and small, that carefully explained why men are so sexually vulnerable. They're apparently visual (aren't we all?) And while some science kinda backs that, I don't see where the Bible does. Men and women are both sexually vulnerable. It's just for different reasons.

• men view sex as something they can conquer,
• women view sex as a form of love, attention or affection. 

 But according to the general christian population, the solution is for women to wear more clothing and for all of us to get married ASAP.

Okay, now if you all will bare (ha ha.. get it) with me for moment, let it be known: I care deeply about my brothers in Christ. So much so that when I get dressed in the morning, I ask myself if what I'm wearing is going to be a distraction to the men around me. If it's even borderline, I am willing to change. But who decided that
1) Men are not strong enough to fight temptation, and therefore must be handled with kids gloves,
2) Women should be held accountable for a man's sin and
3) women's struggles are less important and don't need to be addressed.
 Does a woman's provocative clothing express a deep desire for attention? Yes. But we're not dealing with heart issues here, are we? We're merely spraying perfume on caskets.

 Correction could be such a powerful tool in the body if it were not being used to soothe the fears of our leaders. The sad truth is that I'm not sure many of us even know what victory over sexual temptation looks like anymore. It's no wonder we're all afraid of it. But fear does not overcome. Faith overcomes. What if we were to radically change the way we see the Bible? What if every time we read a command or a strong suggestion against certain sexual acts, we didn't tremble with fear? What if every time we read about something God wants us to stay away from, we see that God is saying, "it is possible." ?  Read Romans 1:18-24. In verse 24 it says that God gave them over to their sinful desires and sexual impurity. But this is after refusal to glorify the God that they knew and instead choosing to think like the world and worship idols! It would take a lot for most of us to get to the point where God does not supply the strength we need through our temptations.

Let's look more specifically at what verse 20 says-

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

We are without excuse. We may not want to believe that, but that's the truth. We know God's power and His goodness. We can see evidence of it everywhere. We say that we know Him. So why are we putting Him in a box? Does His ability to deliver stop at sexual temptation? Does our free will not apply here? Are we just waiting for temptation to grab hold and drag us through the mud with neither ourselves nor God able to stop it? NO!

I'm not coming to you as a bitter woman proclaiming that life has been unfair to me. I am coming to you as a mother. I would be doing my sons a huge injustice to continue these lies that they have to be victims of physical urges for the rest of their lives. That the only solution is marriage, and at that, their wives are only there to help them sexually. I would be failing my daughter if I didn't tell her that the choices she makes with with her body need to be made between her and God, not out of guilt or fear. It would be a mistake to assume that my sons will be the only ones faced with sexual temptations or that my daughter will crave attention more than my sons will.

Is there anyone willing to stand with me on this? I want my children to know the truth. I want that for your family, too.

Lindarella

Simplicity

It's been a while since I last logged on. We have been living in our new place for three weeks now, so we're finally feeling settled a bit. We have yet to sign up for internet service of our own, so that's mostly why I haven't been writing here. But before you think I've just logged off completely and am living some sort of primitive life, know that I spend LOTS of time on my iPhone. Too much maybe.
See the thing is, living in a small town makes my whole life seem a bit small. I find myself digging into just about anything I can to feel added purpose in my days; and I hate that. It seems it's hard for me to accept that a life that's not busy can still be very full.
I think about my children. The one thing that reminds me of God's mercy on my worst days is how He trusted me with these amazing lives. I get to show them through my life how centering everything around God and His word can bring peace to any sort of day. I get to influence the way they think about their lives. I get to be the voice in their head reminding them of how to act and react to situations in their lives, and hopefully I can build a relationship with them that will bless their lives and mine as they grow.
I don't believe standing on a stage somewhere with the full attention of thousands could be nearly as vital as my role as a mother. And while all I really want to do is reach the lost, I have to remember that my sons are part of that group. They are young, but they are not innocent. They need salvation as much as anyone right now, and that is my assignment. Quite honestly, giving food to the needy in a foreign country seems less intimidating than the task I have at hand, but I refuse to run.
I refuse to run to the church every waking hour of our week, hoping someone else might be able to do the job. I refuse to drag my kids around to a bunch of stuff they hate just to stay busy. I refuse to tune them out because making my name known means more, it doesn't. Social media doesn't really matter. I mean, not more than my children's eternity.
A quiet life still holds its weight in heaven, as long as I am obediently taking every opportunity God gives me to pour out His love in my tiny little world.
Let's not forget- He pursues us. He doesn't do it just to put us to work. He wants to know us and for us to know Him! Relish the relationship. Dive into His word. Enjoy the beauty of the day, and appreciate its maker. Sing to Him, rejoice in His mercy!
Drop the guilt of feeling like you're not Billy Graham. You were, after all, bought at the same price that he was. Your days are just as important to God.
From my little world to yours-
Lindsay

Remain

God's word has this really magical way of tying up every loose end of my little life into the truth that is and will always be His love for me. I saw that shine through today stronger than I have in a long time.

So sit back, I've got a story to tell:

Sometime about five years ago, I had a very vivid dream and I believe to this day that even though I didn't fully understand it then, God's voice was the narrator.
In the dream I was in a large van on my way to a picnic at the bottom of a mountain. I was heading there with some people I considered to be spiritual role-models at the time. I knew that my husband didn't really care to go, but I had the feeling that this was something I didn't want to miss, and so I went. I'm not sure if we actually hiked that mountain, but I think we did.
On our way back, we saw my husband on the side of the road. He was struggling to climb a significantly smaller hill than the mountain I had just been to. So I got out and tried to help him, but he fell. Now, under natural circumstances, this wouldn't have been a big deal because of the size of the hill, but in the dream he started to die! I, feeling helpless, looked at him hoping for some sort of instruction about what he needed me to do, but sadly I watched him wither away.

I have always felt that God was telling me not to go chasing after the hype of Christianity; But know that my battles were going to be fought alongside my spouse, even if they seemed insignificant at the time.

It's easy when you're young and passionate about serving, to feel like the "God thing" could be your claim to fame. Let it be known, He is the one we make famous through our gifts and our serving.

The truth is that I've got a lot of little hills in my life that I need to conquer. And fortunately, God gave me a very strong man to stand beside me, help me up and give me some cold, hard facts when needed. That's the guy I need by my side on those little hills, when I feel like it's not even worth the bother. When I think that somehow I can go around it instead of over it and just worry about the mountains.

So hear me in this- I'm an ENFP. Spirituality is more real to me than my next meal. I don't even have to think about some things that might seem a little bizarre, because it just feels natural to BE spiritual. In fact sometimes I have to really guard myself from false teachings because I'm quick to trust without question. I'd say that my hubby is pretty opposite of me in this way. He knows God, believes God, his hope is in God. He wants to hear God's voice and he wants to make God centered choices. But MAN he has a hard time showing it. I want to jump into ministry head first and he is like "don't spend too much time at church." And so, sometimes I go on the defensive, feeling like our priorities are not in line. I'm pretty sure I said something like "I want to smack you in the head with a Bible right now.." just a few days ago. Yeah.. I did. That was effective. Not.

But today, as I dove into the last week of bible study reading for the class I'm currently taking, God smacked me over the head with His word.

John 15 Talks about God's way of shaping our hearts to be more like His. Cutting off all that does not bear fruit and pruning all the things that do, so they can be MORE effective.

That's hard to hear. Even the good stuff is going to take a painful process before it can really start producing.

But over and over again as I read, I just kept hearing those 3 little words:

Remain in Me

I have to stop trying to make everyone around me fit into my mold of "being spiritual." I don't want to stop. I want to keep pushing it because I'm happy here. But that's not what God is speaking. He is saying love each other. If anything ever had the power to get through to people, it's love. And I do not say that as a means of manipulating people, (because it can do that too, but it will backfire because it's not genuine.) But remain in Him. Remain in Him. Remain in Him. Remain in Him.  

Lindsay

Idols and Altars

Actual wall in Jerusalem- image from here

I've started off 2014 on a much better note than most previous years. Our church has encouraged everyone to fast and get into the word on a daily basis, and I've happily done so. Not from food btw. This mama needs that energy source right now. Anyhow, I've been so excited to open the word every day and fall in love with this amazing story and its brilliant Author.

{ you can check out the reading plan we're using here. I like that it doesn't follow a typical pattern and many times I've seen things line up through the different chapters. Don't feel the need to make up for lost time, either. Just start the date you want to start and if you miss a day, pick up the next day. No guilt!}

So- Exodus 20:22-26 the LORD is giving Moses clear instruction on building the Altar. Then He says this:

If you make an altar of stones for me,

do not build it with dressed stones, 

for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 

Verse 25

What a profound statement of the character of God. It's like He's saying, "don't try to fix my creation." 

And how many times do we miss that? We get busy being Marthas in ministry or even in our lives at home; trying to make everything look perfect, when all along He thought it already was. Who are we trying to impress? the one who knows our thoughts surely isn't surprised by our attempt at perfection. His love for us doesn't change because of it. 

I think we do this, not only to our outward, tangible selves, but in our hearts and with our plans. I'm not saying don't plan, but let's not try so hard to make everything "the way it should be." And believe me, my OCD self cringes at the thought! Stop fussing over time tables- If you're single, BE SINGLE. And embrace that in your life. If you're married, stop trying to change things about your spouse! He's the one God intended for you, embrace him! The problem with trying to be picture perfect is that we can't see the perfect picture. 

Can we all focus on letting the Author write. I know how much I hate people reading over my shoulder, because.. my work's not done. Every time we try to paint a picture of our future or take control over a situation we have NO control over- we do that. We read over the shoulder of our sweet Creator. As if we don't trust Him or think it's good enough. Let's stop. 

Let's build our altars out of beautifully imperfect stones. Ones shaped through the hard times. Stones that chipped and scratched their way into our story. And on top of all those stones, let's lay down our will. Sacrifice our need to feel put together or prove something to people who have little to do with our journey. 

He's still working, ladies! He is shaping and molding. If He were done, we'd be sitting right beside Him. Trust the process and wait and see- your ashes will be made beautiful. And soon we will all start to see the vision He had all the while.

lindarella

Purchased

I love to shop. In fact, while most people think gift cards are the most thoughtless kind of gifts, I usually request them. My reasoning? It's like 2 gifts.
One, the purchase I make with it, which I know I'll like and Two, the chance to shop without any guilt.

As any woman who enjoys shopping knows, you want to get the best value out of the money you spend. For instance, I like shopping at Old Navy. Every few months, they do something called "Super Cash." Basically, if you spend $25 or more they give a little piece of Old Navy currency that is worth $20 off a $50 purchase.
The catch is, you have to know when Super Cash is redeemable, because it's usually only a week or so, and also during those times when sales dip a little. So when the weather got warm and my birthday money was burning a hole in my pocket, I waited. I waited for almost three weeks to redeem my super cash, because I'd rather get $50 worth of stuff than $30.

Marrying young, having kids before we really planned anything else out, and then deciding to send Allen back to school has certainly affected our finances. I thank God because we've had the chance to learn so much and to know what it is to rely on Him for literally everything. But when you don't have much to spend, every dollar is worth something to you. A three-dollar Starbucks is now a luxury, because, well, your growing children need new clothes.

I can't help but think about the fact that Jesus was God's One and only Son. (John 3:16)
So imagine how He, God the Father, must have felt sending His son into a world full of darkness, knowing He would be the only way to save humanity. It's a pretty heavy emotion.
So now think of it in terms of spending.

Jesus was the last thing God could give to claim His people.

We've all heard that we were "bought at a price." But have you ever stopped to think about the fact that we were all bought at the same price? Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Each life was purchased through the same atoning blood of Christ.

This has been a game-changer for me. All my life, I have felt like I needed to look around and compare myself with others. I've always tried to make my self fit. Much to my dismay, some situations have been like fitting my square self into a round social hole. Most girls face insecurity, and I know in my case, it carried into adulthood. The weird thing about insecurity is it makes a person want to constantly elevate herself in the most meaningless ways.

I'll be first to admit I do this. Whether it's how I dress, speak or act, I am always hoping I fare better than someone, anyone, just to avoid feeling worse about myself.

But the truth is, every person around me was purchased at the same price I was. Our creator looked lovingly on each of us and said, "You are worth the ultimate price. I'll give whatever I have to know you." This is why the word tells us He is willing to give us every good thing. He did not hold back when it came to the most perfect thing He had to give.

So if you are anything like me and struggle with looking down on yourself OR on others, I hope this can serve as a reminder. Every person is worth the same price to God. Beggars and CEOs, 1st world or 3rd world, young or old, sick or healthy. Just as in the Garden, when He breathed life into Adam, He saw that it was very good, He felt the same way about you the moment you came to be.

Paid in Full
Lindsay