When Your Heart Doesn't Feel What Your Heads Knows

This Week's WORD

And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.
Judges 10:16b

I am half way through the book of Judges right now and have just about had it with the Israelites. After all God did for them in leading them out of Egypt, I do not understand how these people can keep turning away from Him and worshipping other gods. It makes me crazy!
Every time God gets angry and sells them into the hands of their enemies I think, Well, good! They deserve it!
But then they cry out to God and He raises up a judge to save them.
Until they do evil in His sight one more time.
And the cycle continues.
But when I was reading chapter ten, I found a short statement at the end of verse 16 that I simply couldn't get past.

And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.

Really? After all they had done - after all HE had done???
The Israelites deserved every ounce of agony they were facing!
Yet God came to a point where He could bear their misery no longer.

What amount of love God has for His children!!
How amazing is His grace??!!

I hope you can take a minute to dwell with that thought today. May you delight in His love for you.
See you back here Monday!

Pre-reunion Reunion

Well, that was fun!
Tuesday morning there was a message on my Facebook page, inviting me to an impromptu get-together of some high school friends. I saw friends I hadn't seen in 20 years.
I mentioned a couple of months ago about a time when I was seventeen years old and I was out with friends without calling my mom. She was really upset because she didn't know where I was. And God reminded me of that moment - just in time for me to extend grace to Joshua for not calling me when he was at a friend's house. Remember that post?
Well, the friends I was with that night - Mike and Stacy - are with me in the back row of this picture. (And I didn't call my mom to tell her where I was Tuesday, either. But she doesn't worry about my whereabouts anymore. *grin*)
I had a very enjoyable evening seeing old friends Tuesday. Especially Mike - he lives in California now and I did not expect to see him there! And am now sooooo looking forward to my 20th high school class reunion which is coming up Saturday.
Whew! I am not the same person I was 20 years ago. Praying my classmates will see Jesus in me on Saturday!

A Balancing Act

My trainer had me try something new. With my feet on the Bosu (essentially a half-ball on a platform) and my arms spread a bit wider than usual, he had me doing push-ups. I asked him what the benefit was for having my feet on the Bosu and learned that it works my balance more. Gary said that eventually he'll turn the Bosu over (So it's on the ball side rather than the platform, and is more wobbly.) and I'll have my hands on balls instead of the floor. That will really challenge my balance.
I kind of groaned when he gave me that news.
And I think he might have laughed.
Honestly, though, for as much as I complain about the torture exercises my trainer puts me through, I am kind of looking forward to this next challenge. I will enjoy saying I conquered it.

At home I have a very different balance exercise, and sometimes it feels a whole lot harder than propping my feet up on the Bosu while my hands are gripping balls.

I am trying so hard to balance being strict and gracious.

We have rules. We have them for good reasons, and my kids need to obey them. And I, as the Mom, am the one on whom the job of enforcing falls. So I ask the kids how long they have been playing on the computer and when their time is up, I tell them to turn it off. They delay and they groan and sometimes they grumble, but I hold them to their limit.
And, oh, do I feel like a meanie. But there are times when rules must be followed.

The kids have jobs. They are a part of this family and therefore need to contribute to the things that get done around here. But sometimes they're outside playing and they're having so much fun. As I listen to the yelling and laughing, and look at the table which needs to be set for dinner, I realize it would be better for me to go ahead and set the table so they can enjoy playing.
And I feel so nice. Yes, the kids have jobs. But there are times when those jobs can be overlooked.

And thus I have a challenge: Learning how to balance 1)holding my kids to the rules we have established as a family, with 2)extending grace and being lenient appropriately. The challenge is increased by the reactions my children give - the complaining on one end of the spectrum and hugs on the other end totally throw off my balance. In one moment I feel like I have parenting figured out and under control. And in another, I get the feeling my kids will never talk to me again.

And while I think I will probably manage balancing push-ups on a Bosu and balls when the time comes, some days I seriously doubt I'll make it through this balancing act I call motherhood.
So, so very thankful for the grace of God. Without Him, I would have no hope!
May you hold tightly to Jesus as you find your balance today.

Remedial Sunday School

It was over fifteen years ago when my husband and I started attending the church where we are now members. And right away we joined the Young Marrieds Sunday school class. Loved that group of people! We learned so much about how to be married, as we shared life and experiences with these twenty-somethings.

Just a couple of years later, it was time for us to move on to the Parents Encouraging Parents class. (a.k.a. PEP! Yeah, cuz we needed extra pep with a new-born in the house!) Now we were with adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s - sharing life as parents. We studied together and prayed together. Laughed and cried together. It was another great group of people, and I was so thankful for the growth and encouragement we experienced.
And when some of them moved on to TAG, that is - Teens Are Great - I thought about the day when it would be time for me to move on again.

But something odd happened.

About five years ago God put a desire in my heart to stop attending adult Sunday school so I could be a teacher for elementary Sunday school. OK, honestly, I argued with Him about the change for a while - because I really loved my friends. But when I made the switch, the joy which filled my heart assured me I was in the right place.
So for the past several years I have been in second and third grade Sunday school, surrounded by seven, eight, and nine year-olds. It's a big change from my days with the adults.

But do you know what I have discovered?

God can speak to me just as clearly through the lessons for the kids as He did through the ones in the classes for adults.
This past weekend as I was preparing for Sunday morning, Matthew wasn't listening to me well. His ADHD was shining through and I was getting frustrated.
Just as I was about to lose it with him I read the key point for the current lesson: LOOK FOR WHAT JESUS SEES. I was getting ready to lead my girls in an exercise about seeing people through Jesus' eyes; about loving those who are sometimes difficult to love.

Aha! Standing right before me was a clear application for the lesson.

I smiled as I thanked God for painting a very clear picture for me. And I chuckled to myself as I considered the many, many times He has spoken to me before through these lessons "for the kids."

And it was then I realized I just may be in remedial Sunday school. I have been in second and third grade for the past five years!
I don't have any sense that I'll be "graduating" any time soon.
And I'm OK with that.
I love being a part of the lives of these precious girls. Love sharing my faith with them, and watching them grow in theirs. And if God knows that some of my best learning comes through elementary school lessons, well, who am I to question that???

How about you? Does God have you on the remedial or advanced track? *grin*

God is in the Details

This Week's WORD

As for the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out before the Israelites.
Joshua 13:6

I have been reading this week about the various exploits on which Joshua led the Israelites. Though their enemies were often larger and stronger than they, God instructed them to be strong and courageous. He promised to fight for them - to deliver the enemy into their hands. And when the Israelites did as they were commanded, they always experienced victory. The enemy was defeated. They marched into the cities and totally destroyed everything. Just as the LORD commanded.
For twelve chapters I had been reading about the action of the Israelites under God's command and now in 13:6, suddenly it was God Himself who was going to drive out the enemy.

God, Himself.

And I had to pause and wonder, why? Why was God going to do it Himself this time? Why weren't the Israelites going into battle? Why?
Was it the mountains? Were they too dangerous for battle?
Was it because Joshua was now "old and well advanced in years"? (13:1) Perhaps he didn't have what it takes to lead the Israelites into battle anymore?

I really don't know the answer to the why.
But in my ponderings and questioning I believe God led me to this explanation: Sometimes God calls us to be strong and courageous, to trust in Him as we go forth with Him to face our enemies.
And sometimes - when God knows it is the best thing - He Himself will remove our enemy from before us. He will not call on us to act, simply to trust and believe that He can do it.

Whether God is calling you into action or He Himself is driving your enemies out before you, I pray this day finds you fully trusting in the LORD your God. May His peace rest upon you.