A New Route

Once as a teenager, I was four wheeling with some friends in my parents truck. As we approached some deep muddy ruts, my friend shouted "Stay out of the ruts! Straddle the ruts!" I didn't listen. I just did what I thought was best. Then what happened next was some serious high centered, stuck. It took a large amount of towing to un-stick the truck.

I have a tendency to fall into ruts in my daily routine if I'm not intentional to be free. And it takes some serious towing (or pruning) for God to bring me out of them. Lately God has made me aware of my unintentional ruts and in my distorted-thinking human mind, how easily they start. Even with warning from others, or prompting by God in other ways, I end up stuck. I stick to some of the following, and maybe you're the same. 

The way we relate to Jesus--thinking of him from our limited rut-inducing perspective puts him in a box. God does not like boxes. He is the creator of creative! Ask questions, have conversations. Be still, slow down so He can speak to you as you pray, don't just present your requests to Him.

How we study the bible--the same time and place, the same way. Be romantic with God....do something out of the ordinary!

Ministry--don't do what's always been done just for tradition's sake. Evaluate. Include new people who bring fresh perspective, try something out of your normal box--if your normally say no, say yes. If you normally say yes, say no. A different pattern led by God's spirit can refuel you as well as teach those you are ministering to. And if you are working in the spirit, it will bring you so much joy!

Friendships--serve together instead of the regular walk or coffee, pray together instead of just debriefing your busy lives. As the girls scouts sing "make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold." Include new people in your week, your lives. But be sure your old friends are valued with depth and time as well. Also be sure your friends do not take the place of priority over God and your spouse and kids.

Daily routine--for me with littles at home routine equals success sometimes, but just taking a different walking route this morning allowed me to see new things, hear God speak in a different way, appreciate God in a different way that I otherwise would have missed. Mark out some time to 'just be' with Jesus.

Choose Joy--Instead of complaining about what is wrong or not up to your expectations, choose to have contagious Joy by listing what you are thankful for what God is doing in your life, praise Him even when life is hard.

The first vivid thought from God after I came to understand what a relationship with Jesus was "Be Flexible." God kept repeating this to me as I served as a camp counselor. To flex means to bend (something pliant or elastic). Pliable. Moveable. "Be shaped by me," God says. "Don't be so stuck in your comfortable world that you miss opportunities to see me at work and to join me. I have a plan for you." 

So, after this awareness of ruts and my nature to want to be comfortable I started evaluating a lot of my daily life and how often things, good things, get stale and don't move forward. God is teaching me to break out of these patterns to thrive, not just live.

Jesus help me to live fully in the right here and now. To be pliable--bendable and molded by you. Help me to pray constantly as I wait for what is next. Being thankful and watchful for you.Amen.

The words of strangers

With children three and four, a crying fit while running errands just doesn't phase me anymore. I get it. It's boring. We are inside (shopping none the less) on a great day for running, jumping, maybe even flying a kite if the wind picks up. We drove past the park twice before returning home, and even though we've already been out for our exercise with one on a bike and one in a stroller, errands just do not get any better. 

But, we have to go out. Diapers are nill in the house and you know what that means: pin pricks and diaper dishtowels until we get some more. Not really, but this ideas from a friend of mine just took on a new twist....The Moo Through. If you're out of milk, drive right on through pick up a gallon. WITHOUT GETTING THE KIDS OUT OF THE CAR!! But with our stock of diapers plummeting, and planning ahead for all the fresh peaches that the baby has eaten just isn't possible, my husband has suggested The Moo and Poo Drive Through. Love it!

So, back to the crying fit. In this particular store I always seem to run into complete strangers with "words of wisdom." Granted, many are wise, and they actually are meaning well, but today the comment "It Only Gets Worse" as my one year old screams while I pay the cashier made me laugh out loud. Calmly retorting with a smile, "They all have their strengths," was my on the fly response. It really had me remembering about how things like this with children one and two would take me home in tears. I was overwhelmed. Days were difficult, running errands always took an hour longer than necessary because of our geographical location, I felt isolated some days, but too exhausted to reach out, I felt like a piece of myself was growing as a mom, but all the other pieces were dwindling. But it seems so long ago. It seems as though God carried me through those days swiftly, and now it is a bit hazy. So glad my husband remembers things and that we took a lot of pictures!

This time around, I am being intentional to slow down with my preschoolers, to listen and explore. With these two busy, sweet, crazy boys, it's a wonder anything gets done around our house but how I am enjoying the privilege of staying home with them! I miss my older girls at these stages, although am loving their inquisitive personalities and independence now. Every day is a gift with these four precious gifts--from spiders named "spiderman" kept in a jar, to races around the living room table, and any two items becoming a baseball and bat I'm soaking it up. 

I am praying that God will make me thrive here, find contentment here, and be still here. This is ministry. The plethora of hats most of us want to wear, pale in comparison to the investment of little disciples God has placed in our lives. Knowing these days pass so quickly and the dirty floors can wait, I will slow down. I will praise God for the reward of offspring. How blessed to have a full quiver. And to the "wise" woman in the store: it doesn't get worse. I can praise God now for healthy kids who can cry. I can have joy in the now because I know the source of Joy. Jesus.

Psalm 127:3-4:

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like sparrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man who's quiver is full of them."