Tuesday at 10 Forgiveness

Matthew 18:21

I love that Peter was never afraid to ask questions. I also find it interesting that Peter probably thought he was being generous by asking Jesus if should forgive his brother seven times. Jesus then tells him as we forgive others we need to remember how much God has already forgiven us, and forgive others based on God’s great love and forgiveness of us. Forgiveness is not an easy topic. I have a bad habit of internalizing the negative things that people have said about me. The pain that I have experienced does not need to become the means by which I define myself. I can chose the path of forgiveness without justifying the actions of the person that wronged me, or believing the lies that the person’s words or actions spoke about me. I can live a life with my arms wide open to God’s grace and forgiveness and show that forgiveness to others remembering the truth of Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,^[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  I am reminded of these lyrics from a song by Tenth Avenue North.

But don’t you know who you are,
What’s been done for you?
Yeah don’t you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.

May I walk in the light of God’s forgiveness today, remembering the depth of God’s grace and forgiveness for me and sharing that forgiveness with others.

Multitude Monday The blessing of my brother

Today I am celebrating a blessing that I was given before I was born. The gift of an older brother. He left early in the morning for high school while I was still in elementary school, and he always took the time to wake me up, and tell me that he hoped I had a great day.He tried to teach me his cool 80’s dance moves, even though I am a not a great dancer. He called me kiddo, and even as an adult I am still his kid sister. My oldest still talks about that he introduced her to Sponge Bob. She had never heard of Sponge Bob until my brother and nephew brought the movie over for all of us to watch. He also talked my reluctant reader into reading a story to him. As you can tell, I can go on and on, about my brother. Russ,  I love you very much and I hope you have a great birthday.

Now I will share other gifts that I am thankful for this week.

My husband and I had a great lunch with a friend on Sunday, and then we spent several hours talking with our friend.

My friend at church holding my youngest daughter as I held my son. Both kids were happy that they were being held.

My oldest daughter loves the tire swing at the park.

I enjoyed some dark chocolate this weekend.

My kids love salad, and ask for seconds on salad.

My kids love playing outside on the warm spring days.

My girls love ponytails.

What are you thankful for this week?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Minute Friday on a Saturday Unite

The topic of unity is one that is discussed quite frequently in the Bible. The term divide and conquer comes to mind. It is easier to conquer someone or something if the person or entity is divided. There is far too much division in the world today.  This is the reason that maintaining a spirit of unity in our relationships is so important. I think the prescription for being united is clearly stated in verse three, show others your care for them by serving them first. The selfish part of my personality wants to cry out,”But what about me?” when I read this verse, but I know that I can cast my cares on Jesus and he will take care of me. Putting others needs first will not only show others your love for them, but also God’s love for them. “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

 

This post is a part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. My friends and I gather over at Kate’s blog Heading Home to write for five minutes on the topic of the week.

Multitude Monday Counting gifts

I have decided that I need to start chronicling the gifts in my life in this space. I find that when I do not pause and write down my gifts that I quickly forget all the beauty, wonder, and loveliness in life. I have a gratitude journal, but I need the accountability of stopping once a week and considering what I am thankful for each week. Below are a few of the things that I am thankful for this week.

1. My children say funny things everyday. They really keep me laughing.
2. My husband and I had coffee and an inspiring conversation with a good friend.
3. My kids and I enjoyed an afternoon at the park with a play-group from church.
4. I am thankful for a new Sermon series at church that I think is going to be very encouraging and thought-provoking.
5. A friend prayed with me after church on Sunday and encouraged me so much.
6. My littlest had her pony-tailed by one of my friends and a fellow mom at church, and she was talking about the pony-tail the rest of the day.
7. I love coffee or tea breaks.
8.  I love receiving Facebook messages from friends.
9. Our cats make our whole family laugh with their silly antics, and the kids love playing with them.

This song is really inspiring me this week. Just look up, and know you are loved, today.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Five Minute Friday Easy

It is funny to think back on the aspects of adult life that I assumed would be easy as a teenager. I remember complaining to my older brother about needing to clean my room. He is ten years older than and me, and he said, “Wait until you have to clean a whole house!” I don’t know if it is an overly optimistic attitude, but I have a bad habit of assuming that something is going to be much easier than it actually is. I have wanted to be a wife and mom since I was seven years old. Before I was married, I would have told you that the waiting for these dreams to come to fruition was the hard part. I thought being a wife and mother would be easy.  The roles of wife and mommyhood are not always easy. Many days I feel woefully unprepared for the tasks that lay before me. I am so thankful for this truth.

 

My Dad used to tell me that, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” It may not be easy, but it is worth it.

This post is a part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. My friends and I gather over at Kate’s blog Heading Home to write for five minutes on the topic of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday @ Ten Time

Time is a commodity that I never seem to have enough of. No matter how much I plan my day I feel like I am constantly running behind schedule. Maybe that is the point, am I trying to live by my schedule or God’s schedule? After all, we each have the same twenty four hours in a day. To quote a Mercy Me song, Am I using my time to build up God’s kingdom or am I too wrapped up in mine? Am I living life with an eternal mindset? Am I loving the people that God has placed in my life well? Or am I more concerned about my own plans and comfort than loving well? I don’t want to look back years from now, and wish that I would have lived my life differently. I want my children to have fond memories of a fully present loving mother. I want my husband to know how much I love and appreciate him, and what a gift it is to live life with him. I want to be a good steward of the time that God has given me each day.

I am linking up over at Finding The Grace Within for the Tuesday at Ten link-up. This week’s phrase was Time.

 

 

Five Minute Friday Whole

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And he said unto her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of your disease.
 Mark 5:34

Living life in this fallen world, I see brokenness everywhere. It is important to remember that brokenness is not what God intended for each of us. He wants us to take our broken pieces to Him, so we can experience the wholeness of His love.  I often want to pretend that everything is okay, when it isn’t. I paste on a smile and hope that no one can see my struggles or my flaws. I can’t hide my flaws from God. He longs for us to come as we are. “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I need to stop seeking wholeness from other counterfeit sources, and run to the only One who can give me true wholeness, peace, and rest.

 

This post is a part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. My friends and I gather over at Kate’s blog Heading Home to write for five minutes on the topic of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Minute Friday Decide

I make dozens of decisions every day. Some are small and seem inconsequential. Other decisions are more important and seem to have greater impact and value. What I so often forget is that the decisions I make either draws me closer in my walk with Jesus or takes me a step further away from Him. I can chose to love God and love others as described in, or I can chose to make my desires my first priority. I can decide to speak words of love or words of frustration. I ultimately decide how I am going to spend my time, and how many time-wasting rabbit trails that I am going to pursue in any given day. I can decide that negativity stops here. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I can show love and grace even when I don’t feel like it. I get to decide. I pray that I make decisions that positively impact my little corner of the world.

This post is a part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. My friends and I gather over at Kate’s blog Heading Home to write for five minutes on the topic of the week.