Rest

So I just got up from a glorious Sunday afternoon nap. I hardly ever nap...come on...I have seven kids, remember! Once and a while I will get in a quick cat nap for ten to fifteen minutes and I will bribe one of my kids to give me a backscratch to go along with it. There's almost nothing better then a fall asleep backie :) So anyway...as I rolled over and saw my son awake in his crib the thought came to me about rest. Just like I hardly ever rest my physical body, I find even less rest in my spiritual body. What a shame. We are called to rest in the Lord. Sit back and watch and wait for Him to do what He does. Sit back and know He has everything under control, for goodness sake, He has the Universe under control doesn't He? Why do we worry and fret about things to come? About everything under the sun? Why don't we just give our entire lives over to Jesus and sit back and relax? That's what He wants us to do and that is what He desires for us to do. Just take a big deep breath and rest. Hand over everything that is ours...our kids, our marriages, our friendships, our churches, our womens groups, all that we possess and let Him be the faithful God that He is.

Sickness

A house full of people barfing, physically exhausted, headaches, body aches, sore stomaches...this has been us for the past 24 hours. Sickness of the physical body. It is hard to take sometimes. It is painful, tiring, depressing, you all of a sudden become this lazy person who has no desire to lift a finger for anything or anyone because you feel so awlful, yet you have no choice. You have seven kids to take care of no matter how ill you might be. No help from nearby friends or family, it's just you and your husband who is most likely at work for 8 hours that day. You have no choice but to suck it up and get the job done. That goes for our spiritual sickness as well. Sometimes we are so spiritually exhausted, depressed, full of unbelief and have become so lazy we don't even want to utter one more word up in prayer. We have become so utterly lazy that our souls are suffering for it. The sad thing is, is that it effects not only us but everyone around us. We all become "sick" because of it. But really it is up to us to suck it up and get over it. No one is going to force us to pray. It is ultimately between us and the Lord. He is the Great Physician whether it be physical or spiritual. There is only One Healer-Jesus.

There is Hope

I am going to hit the hay in about 5 minutes and when I do I am going to cry out to Jesus tonight for some hope. That He would set before us some hope in out current financial difficulties. And our current state of aloneness as well. It has been a hard road Lenny and I have had to travel the past 16 years. No respect from family and little from friends. No money. Not too many invites or pop ins. No one seems to care. I just hope that this can all be for our kids. That we will have paved the way for them and they would never have to experience rejection or difficulties we have. It has been so hard. I mean so hard. But I have to come back and find my hope in the Lord. That this week will count. It will bring me back to a hope in the one who is able. Belief...in the Jesus who is real. I need Him to fill my cup tonight. To let it flow with living waters, refreshing waters. Oh God, I need a touch from you, Lord. I need peace and rest tonight that only you can give. You alone are my source.
I love you, Jesus!

Off to YWAM

Well my husband and I and our three sons took our oldest son up to YWAM Pittsburgh this weekend for his three week trip. What an opportunity. I am so excited he even had the desire to return-that is huge in and of itself. I dropped him a letter in his bag to read on the way that he didn't know about :) I am so blessed by him as he is growing up to be a young man. Don't get me wrong, he is still very much a kid which he should be, he's fourteen. This life is full of so many emotions. Here I am thrilled he has the chance to go, blessed that the Lord provided his funds, sad I won't see him for a while, anxious for his return, excited to see what the Lord will show him this year, concerned about his general well being over this time...but...He is in the Lord's hands now. For the next 21 days King Jesus is in charge of him. We turned him over and let him loose in the hands of the one who is able. It's a scary thought and I am glad I get to do this little by little rather then all at once when he gets married, Lordwilling. But as a mother it is hard and thrilling at the same time. To see your children step out into what God has prepared for them before the foundations of the World! I know beyond a shadow of a doubt God has a plan for each one of our seven kids. I have no idea what those plans may entail but I can rest assured that they are good and better then anything I could have thought up on my own. If I need to turn my kids over to anyone...I much rather turn them over to Jesus, their loving Father. He is good and faithful and I can rest in His plan for each one of them. That gives me peace.

Relaxing

I haven't had much time to sit around and do nothing lately but that is what I am up to today. School planning, hanging out, eating too much junk! We need days like these. Do you think Jesus has hang out days? I don't. How would ruler of the Universe ever get time to rest? Can you imagine? I have a hard enough time running one day into the next. My husband and I were talking about that last night. How vital it is for us to keep one day apart from the next. To not start the next day with yesterday's energy or lack there of. Yesterday's frustrations, disappoinments, or stress. We need to keep moving forward just like the LORD. I love that. I heard at a Bible study this past semester that God only moves in one direction--FORWARD. How refreshing that is for us. When we so often feel like we are stagnate or losing ground in our failures, God is still moving--FORWARD...on our behalf. I can't really comprehend God's faithfulness, although I know he is. And I can't comprehend his love for me, yet I know he does. So today I am not only going to rest in my own house doing my duties as a wife and mother, I am going to chose to rest in my God's faithfulness toward me and His unchanging love. Isn't he wonderful?!