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Reality Check:

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. 2 Samuel 22:31

⁴ And we have such trust through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

True love always trusts.

Today’s post is a little longer but bear with me…

It’s ironic that I am writing about this today. (Of course by ironic, I mean Holy Spirit inspired- he knew what we would have to endure today!) This morning my heater was only blowing out warmish air. My first thought, “Oh great!”

 I was quietly reminded of a payment I just made. “You can trust me.”

The last trial payment for a modification, which is supposed to save our house. Thank God I have a home! Even with no heat, it’s still warmer than outside.  So I called my hubby, told him the predicament and bundled everybody up.

Then the heater stopped working completely. “Dang it!” I took a deep breath and sighed. I posted a request on facebook for space heaters; we weren’t in a position to purchase one.

I was desperately trying not to get discouraged-after all, it wasn’t freezing and we were all ok. The thought of the cost and time to fix the heater was stressful. And the only way I could keep myself from worrying was to not think about it. A small whisper, “You can trust me.”

A few hours went by and the temp dropped quite a bit. Another sigh; I turned on the oven and opened its door. I also made a comfy spot in the kitchen to hang out to make sure no one got hurt from the open oven. (Side note- every time Zeke walked by it, he’d say “hot”, and push it closed.) Thankfully we have a pretty comfy and spacious kitchen.  However, I agonized over the purchase of space heaters and bill for fixing the real heater. Does God do healing miracles on heaters? I seriously was wondering that.

Like it often happens, my sister came to my rescue, and her father-in-law brought us a space heater. It was one of those nice rotating ones-perfect! “You can trust me.”

Then a friend offered one, so I called my father-in-law to see if he could pick it up. He decided to come by instead.

I had already checked the breakers, reset the system, changed the batteries in the thermostat and turned everything off and then back on- I figured it couldn’t hurt that’s what I do with my computer. None of it worked.

He came by, checked the breakers, reset the system, changed the batteries in the thermostat and turned everything off and then back on. But this time it worked. Does God do healing miracles on heaters? Hmmm….I think he does!

The point is, today I had to remind myself constantly that it was okay, despite the job loss, despite the heater going out- I can trust God.

For the last few years we have been battling saving our home. For almost 1 ½ years, I lived in agony. I wanted to trust God, but the fear and worry consumed me. I finally let it go, and I mean I actually let it go. (Unlike the year leading up to this, I would state that God could have it- but I didn’t actually release it.).

What was different? I trusted God. I accepted the fact that we might lose our home, and that was ok. I trusted that what God had in store for provisions, would be good. I realized that whether I lived in a small cramped apartment, a rental, a trailer, my Grams, or in the wonderful home we are currently blessed with- that God would provide and that I could TRUST him. It didn’t matter if it was my fault or not that we were in this position, because God cleanses us through the blood (forgiveness) and we have no reason not to trust him. (Although I don’t think it was our fault, or at least not something we did “wrong”.)

You’re probably thinking that I must have been able to save my home and that’s why everything is ok. But I don’t actually know yet. We just made our last trial payment and technically that should mean we are good…but we did this once before. We made all of our trial payments, on time and exactly how we were supposed to do it and then they said, oops sorry, we can’t help you. So we will see.

We don’t know what God has in store for my husband’s job/ future career, but we know we can trust him.

We don’t know if we will keep this house or have to move on, but we know we can trust him.

We don’t know if ___________________, but we know that true love always trusts and we can ALWAYS trust God!

Practice: Today is the same as yesterday’s family activity, because knowing our God allows us to know that we can trust him. You wouldn’t trust a stranger…so don’t let God be a stranger!

Family Practice: Have your child stand in front of you (arms crossed, with their back to you). Ask them if they think you would let them fall. Hopefully the answer is no. Let them experience trusting you by catching them when they fall back. Explain that this is like God, his plans are perfect for us and if we trust him, he will not fail us! Psalm 9:10

What do you struggle trusting God on? If you share, I will be sure to join you in prayer! (And maybe my visitors will too! -hint, hint ;) )

Professional Poop Cleaner

Day 6

Reality Check:

…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7

Ponder this story: As she scrubbed fecal matter off the wall she thought, "How did I get myself into this mess?" This job was not what you'd call a glamorous job. In fact, it didn't even pay the bills- but it provided. If you would have asked Elizabeth what she would be doing in twenty years, cleaning up poop with a sauce stained shirt, hand feeding Sara, would not have been her answer. Today she had scrubbed the floor- twice, wiped several rear ends, and done four loads of laundry and that was just the beginning of the list. Why did she do these things, was scrubbing poop her dream job? I seriously doubt it, but she loved her _______. Fill in the blank. You could put children there, you could put a parent or grandparent or other relative, maybe a friend.

You probably couldn’t pay me to clean up fecal matter everyday (Although God has given some the ability to handle this kind of job.) But I wipe butts for free! Why? Because love endures all things. There are a lot of things we will sacrifice, a lot of things we will do, for someone we love. But sometimes I don't endure ALL things...

 Just the other day, when I started writing this blog series, I was having a difficult day. I had no patience for dealing with my kiddos, I lacked self-control, and I was losing it. When I say losing it, I mean losing it. I felt like a volcano must, right before it's about to explode and burn down a village. I say that lightly but that's really what happens when we forget about love. We can literally burn things down. We burn out hope, joy, fun, playfulness, learning, the sparkle in the eye...and that my friend is a horrible place to be. But I was there. As I snapped at one of my boys, I saw the sparkle leave...guess what replaced it? Fear.

 In a moment I burned out the sparkle, and in a moment I was crushed.

 That's not what I want to instill in my children or anyone else. I doubt that you do either.

 Why was it that I could not endure all things? What was different today? Not enough sleep?  Low blood sugar? Stress? Maybe.

 A few minutes later, my sister editor called. She was telling me about a typo on day 2 of this series. I read it, "did you start with God today..." Oops. I hadn't. I stopped what I was doing, I said a little prayer. I thanked my sister for the inadvertent reminder and I got my Bible out.

 You’re probably saying, "I have x amount of kids, I can't just stop the day and read my Bible." Or, "I have to get this x done before x happens."

 Trust me, I've been there. Here's what I'm learning to do. I stop and do it anyways. Now this particular day, I read with my kids. I grabbed my Bible; I grabbed the kids and sat them down. I opened it up and started reading. Stryder sat and listened the entire time. Zeke listened for about 1 1/2 minutes, Elisha cried the whole time.

 Was there some miraculous change in our day, were things suddenly going smoothly? Hardly.  Elisha cried the entire time we read; Zeke spilt his water and the list of chaos continued through the day.  But every time something came up, I had a little more patience to handle it, my spirit's whisper was a little louder in my ear, and I had the peace to remind myself to take a breath before I burned down my village.

 

Practice: Go back to day 1, where is that sticky note? Did you read the post, get excited and then fall back into old routines? God has to be priority! If he is not number 1 on your our to do lists, then it will be easy to forget, easy to say, “in a minute”, easy to say, “before I go to bed”, or, “I’m too tired.” Don’t let it be easy to make excuses, make Him your priority!

Family Activity: Make it your goal to read your Bible with (even if they’re young) your kids every day this week! In order to know true love (and to be able to teach it), you have to know the author…and the only way to do that is through relationship-prayer, His word and the Holy Spirit!

Fist Bump

Reality Check

(Day 5)

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

1 Corinthians 13:6

Today we are featuring a special guest post from Cassandra Finkes. She is well known for being an encourager! Read, enjoy and be encouraged!

I was thinking about a study I read in Dr. Dobson’s book, Bringing Up Girls; the top ten reasons for depression in women. More than 50% of women listed self-esteem of some sort as their number one issue. At least 80% listed it in the top five. (Check out the book for more specific details).

This really made me think that we should make a dedicated effort to help tear down the lies that each of us ladies has brewing in our heads. It lead me to believe that most of us are struggling with some self-esteem issue on a daily basis. That something is the enemy and our flesh lying to us and holding us in bondage. Jesus calls us to be confident and bold in Jesus Christ! As my pastor said in one of his sermons; we have all the power in the world to break through these bondages but we let a tiny chain hold us down. (This was referring to an illustration about how elephants as infants are held by a chain and that same chain keeps them in check even as adults, despite them being more than able to break the chain. But their life has convinced them that the chain is able to keep them from going beyond it.) Not only does God give us more than what we need to break through all of this bondage; He gave us each other to, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Heb 3:13). It’s our job to build each other up so that we are not held in bondage by the lies in our heads. SO.... let’s actually do that for one another!!!
God has searched us and knows the innermost parts of our beings... we were fearfully and wonderfully made! His thoughts are precious toward us even though He sees the deepest parts of our souls and searches every part of us! Why then do we tear apart ourselves with hurtful words and thoughts? It's like we are spiting on God’s creation and saying, “What you made was not enough.” Let's find joy and comfort in knowing that our God made us and made us with His perfect hand. We can be sure that Jesus has made us new in Him. So even when we think; “We’ve messed up Gods creation,” we can be reminded, that we aren’t big enough to void out what Jesus did for us on the cross!

Practice: Have you ever been at a store and watched a child throw a tantrum and toss their stuff to the floor? Then lean over to your friend and whisper how the mother should…. Mothers this can be especially true of us, but many are guilty. If you are a mother, how many times have you seen or heard someone whisper about your parenting and suddenly felt like a failure. Or a past comment makes you feel like a failure the next time it happens? Let’s kick this habit of putting others down (regardless of what we think of the situation). Chances are, we don’t even know the whole story. Instead let’s jump in and help! When little Tommy throws a fit and throws his mom’s purse to the floor. Instead of whispers (that encourage those lies and bad self-esteem), grab the purse and say, “It’s tough being a mom.” Or “Not every mommy (or daddy) moment is glamorous, keep up the good work!” Be an encourager, seek out ways to break our flesh and satan’s lies! While you’re at it, today set a time aside and read Psalm 139:1-18

Family Activity: Discuss what being an encourager looks like (and what delighting in evil looks like). Help your kids point out opportunities to encourage others. Maybe think of a friend or family member to make an uplifting and encouraging card for.
Share ideas on how you can give a "fist bump" of encouragement!

The Beauty of The Cross

Day 4
Reality Check

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

When you read 1 Corinthians 13, what do you think? Does your mind wonder to various weddings or songs? Does it bring feelings of guilt? Do you see it as unattainable, or ignite thoughts of failure? Satan wants us to feel like a failure, but the spirit reminds us of that reset button. The spirit reminds us that through forgiveness, we are clean; we are not failures but rather are made perfectly righteous through Christ. The beauty of the cross. This is true love. Conviction is not the same thing as despair and feelings of failure. Conviction is like inspiration, it makes you want to be with God. When Christ died, there was clearly pain-because sin is horrible! But it was temporary, He didn’t dwell there! He didn’t stay there and neither should we! When the spirit convicts us, there may be momentary grief because sin hurts, but forgiveness hits the reset button! Satan would like you to wallow there; he would like to help you dig that pit. One of the beauties of love is that it keeps no records of wrong! 1 Corinthians should inspire you; it should lift you up and encourage you. If you are convicted, thank God for pointing it out and move forward to bathing in God’s word and asking for the ability to change. Don’t dwell on the negative because true love doesn’t want you there!

Practice: Don’t allow yourself to dwell in feelings of defeat, instead remind yourself that true love has the fruit of joy. Sorrow for sin should fade away as you seek forgiveness and be replaced with inspiration.
Activity: Write (or draw) lightly with a pencil something you’ve done that didn’t show true love. Using paint or markers to draw a beautiful picture completely covering the sin. Talk about how the cross shows us how true love covers our sins completely through forgiveness.

AND THE WINNER IS.....

If this is you, use the contact me, or personal FB message, so you can claim your prize!

Does Your Love Measure Up?

Day 3

Reality Check

 ^“ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:11

Love one another. This seems like such an easy task. But how successful are we really? What standards are we using to measure our love for each other? Check out 1 John 4: 4-6 and Romans 8:5

1 John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Romans 8:5For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

 What measurement for love are we using? God’s or the world’s? God makes a clear distinction between the world (and our flesh) and those who abide in Christ and live by the spirit. We should be living by the spirit of truth and our measurement of love should come from there as well. Go back to 1 Corinthians 13. Use your concordance or do a Google search on all the scriptures of love. Is this the love you are referring to when you “love one another”

Practice: I've often wondered what meditating meant when it came to God's Word.  It can't really mean putting my fingers together and humming.  Meditate on the verses you found in your search. Write down the verses in a journal.  What comes to your mind?  Where does the Holy Spirit lead you?  Does He convict you?  Does He prompt you to work on a specific area of your life or perhaps convict you to show true love to someone you haven't been?  Is He prodding you to memorize a verse?  Listen to the Holy Spirit and where He leads you; that's what it means to "meditate" on God's Word.  Read, wait on God, listen, talk to, think about and immerse yourself in God's Word! 

Family Activity: Create a ruler (see picture). Instead of numbers, use the definition from  1 Corinthians 13 as markers. Throughout this month when someone seems to be acting without love, ask them to measure themselves. Maybe you even want to post this on the fridge or wall somewhere as a reminder.

Did you use the family activity? How did it go, what experiences did you have? (And what ages are your kids?)

*Last day to comment and be entered into the Valentine Day Card GiveAway. You can make comments on day 1-3 and Like our post and/or FB page*

Learning Patience Can Be "Ruff"

Reality Check:

Day 2

“Love is patient, love is kind…” 1 Corinthians 13:4

Did you start today with love? If not, how about starting the day over right now!

With God it’s never too late.

I noticed recently that the definition of love from 1 Corinthians begins with patience. Why do you think that is? As a mother and a wife, I don’t have to think about that for long. God is extremely patient- that’s why it’s never too late to start over. As a mom, I am ever thankful for the reset button. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cringed after responding without love to my children or husband. I hate to even admit it, but some moments I am so overwhelmed, that I don’t stop and try to change my attitude. I think I’m justified…but in my heart, where the Holy Spirit resides, I know that I am wrong. Thankfully, God is love. And that means he is patient with me as I learn to respond with love in ALL situations!

 

Practice: Practice patience, by pretending to be patient. It sounds silly but it works. When I want to say something badly, but know I shouldn’t- I literally bite my lip to keep from opening my mouth. Having patience has a lot to do with self-control; biting my lip helps me control my urge to talk. By pretending you are a patient person, you inadvertently learn to control your reactions.

Family Activity: Dominoes is an activity that needs great patience. As you carefully set up a row of Dominoes talk about how waiting (in expectation, with a good attitude), brings about good things. Give examples on how a lack of patience can hinder good things. For example knocking down 5 Dominoes is not as much fun as 50.

Share with us what you do to practice patience!

14 Days of True Love GiveAway

I am so excited about my new series to kick off my blog! Just to get the excitement going, one lucky loved reader will win 2 handmade, Valentine cards. All you have to do is visit here between February 1st and February 3rd and make a comment on one of the 14 Days of True Love posts. For each day you comment, you get one entry into the drawing. For a bonus, like my Facebook page and be entered again!