"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14
I was reminded of this verse as I was trying to hurry the Lord up to do His work in October. Couldn't He just work on my timeline? I was on a silent retreat and had limited time to receive all I could from Him. Didn't He know that this was my one and only shot for the remainder of this year to get significant revelations from Him?
Wait.
I heard the word so gently, so tenderly. I get pretty impatient with my own shortcomings and humanity. Can't He just hurry up and take care of things?! Eliminate my pride. Give me purpose. Fortify my marriage. Reinforce my parenting capacity. And on and on.
Wait for the Lord.
Have you ever thought about how it takes strength to be still and wait? Seriously. Have you had to wait on a test report, a baby to be delivered, or a loved one to show up for a long-awaited visit? I don't know about you, but I want to do #allthethings. To be still and wait? Impossible!
On the silent retreat, though, the Lord reminded me that waiting on Him allows me to experience unspeakable peace and rest in the core of who I am. Ultimately, I walked away from that weekend with a heart that, for the first time in a long time, felt as light as a feather.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..." Jesus' promise from Matthew is yet another beautiful reminder of what happens when we come to Him and rest, allowing Him to do His thing (in His timing!). He will give us rest.
Perhaps you glossed over that. Well, here it is again (but with The Message paraphrasing it):
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
Wait.
Rest.
Recover your life.
Live freely and light.
It seems counterintuitive to me that waiting on the Lord and resting in Him could pay such big dividends. You mean, we don't need to do anything? Nope. Just come and rest.
There is no magical number of Bible verses to read each day. There are no required prayers to pray. Just come, rest, be with Jesus, and experience the unforced rhythms of His grace.
Friends, as we head into this holiday seasons, my prayer is that we would know the deep rest the Lord offers to each of us and taste of His unfathomable peace.
Updates
November will be full of travels for me, taking me from coast to coast this month. I'm excited that one of my stops is in my sister's church in Wisconsin! I get to share on November 18th with a group of mamas there on "The 3 P's of parenting" (prayer, persistence, and play), and I cannot wait to hear what the Lord is up to in their lives!
On November 26th, I will be a guest on The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast with AnneMarie Cross. I'm looking forward to sharing about what the Lord is stirring in my heart in regards to our parenting book and how walking in obedience to the Lord has brought such abundant L I F E. You can listen along here at 8:30 PM EST on the 26th.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated during these times!
And the winner is...
Thank you to everyone who joined our mailing list during October! If you signed up during October, your name was put in the running for a FREE $25 gift card for coffee. And our winner is...
Sandy W.
Sandy, I sent you an email this morning with details on your gift card. Congrats on your energy boost! ; )
May each of you know the deep, enduring peace of Jesus as you walk into this holiday season!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (or all three!). Do you know someone who would like some inspiration? Please pass this email along!l
In the middle of planning for the Christmas season and keeping up with work, God has been reminding me of the beauty found in the manger: Infinite light. Unbound goodness. Beauty unending... All in the face of a little baby.
Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.
Emmanuel.
Sometimes life becomes so filled with the ordinary, common tasks that it seems there may not be space for anything else. Yet, present is who He is: God with us. A little baby born in the most unsuspecting of places. There were few eyes to look on Him. Yet, with His entrance, He brought the Hope of the world.
This past weekend I caught myself looking at my growing to-do list, eyes fixed on what little white space was left on the notepad. Deep breaths. This really isn't all that much. I can manage this list.
Then I add yet another item that needs attention before Christmas.
"...you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor." (Isaiah 9:4)
Where do we look when our days get loaded up with tasks and our schedules are filled to the brim? What is the impact of not fixing my eyes on Jesus?? How can I point my family to the Prince of Peace if I'm not gazing on Him?
He is God with us.
He longs to be in the middle of our lives, down in the dirty days of never-ending laundry, in the days of nonstop crying ringing through our homes, in the days we feel we can't go on.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end."(Isaiah 9:6-7a)
Updates
Goodbye, November! You were something else. For those who were curious what I meant by "coast to coast" travels in my previous newsletter, well...I traveled over 11,600 miles in November. *whew*
This month we will be sticking closer to home and enjoying our little family as we celebrate Jesus's birth!
If you happened to miss my guest appearance on The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast with AnneMarie Cross, you can listen along here as I share how walking in obedience to the Lord has brought such abundant L I F E.
May we stop and SEE the wonder of Christ's coming to earth to be with us this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (or all three!). Do you know someone who would like some inspiration? Please pass this email along!l
Here we are again! The start of a new year. I love the enchantment that a new year brings! New hopes. New dreams. New goals. A fresh start.
But with those aspirations comes a bit of anxiety. I need to write my personal goals and my family goals and my ministry goals… like yesterday… if I’m really going to be awesome this year!
Do you feel that same internal struggle?
Some of my greatest dreams and struggles right now are tied to the dream in our heart to write a book.
Book Update
So, you might ask, “What’s new with the book?” I’m currently working on a chapter that walks with parents through using prayer and scripture to firmly establish their lives in Christ before trying to lead their children spiritually, much like parents are to put on their own oxygen mask first before putting on their children’s. This will be the fourth chapter we’ve written, and these chapters are the bedrock for our book. They really provide our framework for walking with families through building their vision for what the Lord wants from their family.
I must admit, It is easy for me to get stuck in my head and hear: “This has already been done. No one will read this. You’re not getting it right.” And to want to drag my feet in the writing process.
But then I hear of a mutual friend who is having a baby this year, and she asks my friend what resources exist for expecting parents to grow in spiritual and relational areas as a couple before their baby comes. Then I see a friend post on Facebook that her focus for her family this year is to be intentional with her young family and has anyone read a book that helps families in this area. And, late on a Saturday night, I received another request to be a guest speaker for a local moms group.
There really isn’t time for dragging my feet. Families need and are looking for these resources now!
Big Thinking
You know, I said at the end of 2018 that the one thing I did not want to take with me into 2019 was “small thinking.” I wanted to leave that back in last year and really think BIG about all that I do. I thought that big thinking would look like setting high numbers for total newsletter sign-ups this year or Instagram followers (which I do want to push myself in those areas!) but what the Lord revealed to me this morning was that leaving behind small thinking is leaving behind my thinking – the kind that is full of doubt and fears. The Bible says we are to have the mind of Christ and that, my friend, is about as big as it gets!
What "small thinking" would you like to leave behind in 2018?
And, what big thinking will Christ lead you into in 2019?
As you consider what this year will hold for you, I humbly ask that you continue to pray that John and I would experience supernatural grace during the weeks to come and that we would be faithful to heed the Lord’s voice and quickly act on it. We covet your prayers!
Happy, happy New Year!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (or all three!). Do you know someone who would like some inspiration? Please pass this email along!l
