Come to the table

Isaiah 55:1-3

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.

I came across the above scripture in Bible study last week, and it has stuck with me ever since. Why do I labor for that which does not satisfy? Why do I pursue trivial things? Why do I run after so many foolish things, instead of running to Jesus? I want comfort and peace. I try to find it in my own strength, instead of remembering that peace is a Person, and that person is Jesus. I want appreciation, but I need to remember that El Roi sees me, and that is enough. I need to stop all of my chasing after meaningless things, and seek Him whole-heartedly. I need to remember that in Him and Him alone, I will find rest. I am so thankful that He bids me to come as I am. I don’t have to be all cleaned up. I don’t have to have it all together. He is waiting for me to come to the table.

Five Minute Friday Intentional

I am really late to the five minute Friday party this week. In fact, I wondered if I should skip it this week. When I saw that the word was intentional, and thought about how well it fits with my #oneword for this year present, I knew that I needed to write about it today.

Oh, how I desire to be an intentional wife and mother. I find more often than not, that I am a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” wife and mom, but I don’t want to live my life that way. I want to leave a legacy, and I want that legacy to be intentional. My children are going to have memories of their childhood, either way. I want the memories to be of a loving, hands-on mom, who took the time to show how much I really loved them. I want to be available to them. I want my husband to know that he can count on me. I know, first off, that God needs to be the most important relationship in my life, and then my relationship with my husband, and then my children. I spend too much time chasing the wind instead of being intentional in the way that I spend my time. Help me to remember these words of wisdom from Ephesians.

Ephesians 5:15-16

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

 

 

 

 

 

Five Minute Friday Simplify

This is one of the occasions that I picked the song for this post, before I even really thought about what I wanted to write. As soon as I read that the word was simplify, I thought of the below song by the Newsboys. I have to admit that I am not great at simplifying. Even as a teen my Dad would joke with me about my knack for making things far more complicated than they needed to be. I tend to wander down rabbit trails, and put way too much thought into “what-if” scenarios. Here is the kind of “what-if” that could be helpful for 2018. What if I stopped worrying so much? What if I stopped overthinking things? What if I had the courage to simply love God and love others, and to live out that love. Maybe I would be more at peace and more joyful throughout 2018. This sounds like a good way to simplify to me.

 

 

My #Oneword for 2018 Presence

There has been something that I have been thinking about often lately. I only have one more decade with my Princess before she turns eighteen. She turned eight last Summer, and I sometimes scratch my head and wonder where the last eight years went. It does not seem that long ago that I was bringing my newborn baby girl home from the hospital. I think that the next ten years may pass as quickly as the last eight. I want to be fully present for them.  I have chosen Ephesians 5:16-17 as my verse for 2018.

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

I want to think practically about the word present. I want to be on my computer less, and spending more quality time with my children more. I want to say yes to more time baking cookies, to more reading stories, and playing board games. I want to say no to things that will not matter next week, next month, or next year. I want to be all in in my roles of wife and mother, and memory maker and memory keeper for my family. I need to remember that every day is a gift, even the hard ones, and I want to make sure that I am not taking one single moment for granted. So, did you pick a word for 2018? I would love to read about your word for 2018 in the comments.