When the faith of others blesses me. . .

I recently finished "Come Away My Beloved" by Frances J. Roberts, available HERE on Amazon. I was a little sad to complete it. But now I must move on to some of the other books on the stack by my bed. 

One of the last readings was called "You shall come forth as gold." Here is a wee tidbit:

"Be not over-charged with anxiety. I am your burden-bearer. Be not anxious for the morrow, for on the morrow I shall be your sure supply. Praise me NOW, and let your confidence in Me be manifest. So shall the faith of others be encouraged, for your life is a witness to many."

A day or so later the Lord brought a reminder of one of those "chosen of God" in a very unique position of influence and leadership: Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin. I'm one of those "others" whose faith was encouraged. For the life of the First Lady of Alaska has been a witness to many. Including me. 

Mrs. Palin recently gave birth to baby #5. He was just a teeny little guy, born about a month early. Three days following his birth the Governor was back to work, bringing baby along so he would have her constant care and attention. The family was delighted to have a new son. 

Trig Palin is a special gift from God. A special baby with one extra chromosome. Trig has Down's Syndrome. The Palin's express nothing but gratefulness to God. My sister forwarded an article from Alaska Daily News about the family. You can read the whole article HERE.  

So often when I'm covered in difficulties like a cold, wet blanket I forget that my life is a witness to many. And even aside from the "many" I have children who are watching to see how I will respond to the trials God allows in my life. Will I retain the joy that I have in the "good" times? Will my trust and confidence be in God alone? Will I allow God to glorify Himself in me in the midst of uncertainty? 

Oh, may the Lamb of God find in me a place to glorify Himself. 

Blue bowls and a haircut

Yes, when there are 5 children ages nine to two in the house, bowls will be bowls and do what bowls do when they are dropped. I've discovered that $1 bowls are the way to go. Available at your local dollar store, or at Big Lots, where I purchased these. 

Tristen's hair was so long it was rather difficult for him to deal with. I love it long. 

He is a dedicated fan of "The Lone Ranger"--- or "The Lone Manger" as he calls it, so the masked man came to the rescue during haircut time. 

Transformation. 

His personality always changes a little after a haircut. He's 110% little boy.

More about Faith

I'm still pondering faith. And I'm realizing that the deeper I go with Jesus, the more intentional I must be about my faith.

In other words: Faith doesn't just happen. "Faith comes by hearing." And I must not be a "hearer only" but also a "doer" of the Word. Hmm.

I find myself catching my breath between crises. But they are no ordinary crises. They are crises of faith. 

The battle is intense, the fog is thick, the enemy fire is heavy. I fight for all I'm worth. For days I battle. And then the warfare slows a bit and I try to catch my breath. Then the barrage begins again. 

But this is no paltry battle of nations against nations. This is a battle for my soul. This battle has Eternal repercussions. So, having God remind me of this battle, I pray the following things:

1. I ask God to renew my mind. This is something I cannot do. He must be the One to do it for me.

2. I put on the whole armor of God. Eph. 6. 

3. I pray intentional prayers for my husband and children, for they are under enemy fire too. 

4. I "take my thoughts captive". For if I don't, no one else will do it for me. 

I know this isn't an exhaustive list on "how do warfare with the enemy" but for now it's my simple list. I'm not at a place in life to handle "40 easy steps to defeating Satan". I'm learning more about Who God is. After all, we've been dropped into a story (part way through the story, I might add) and the story isn't about us. It's about Him. A large thing my small brain often forgets. 

This is God's story. And it's about His glory! 

And somehow in the middle of God's story, I'm learning faith. 

What a journey.

Phonics Phun or perhaps, Foniks Fun?

Not all the children in our house learn the same way or at the same speed. The two oldest are having a difficult time understanding why smallest sister is catching on to short vowels so very slowly. And why is Mama coming up with all these great, fun, creative ways to enjoy vowels that they never had a chance to experience? I had to explain that when the previously employed methods don't work, I am forced to either find or invent new ones that will work. 

Hence, the chalk on the cement pad in front of the garage. We played vowel hopscotch. It worked wonders. That's smallest sister above in the yellow fleece and orange rubber boots. Biggest brother liked hopping too. In his green froggy boots.

Any old pattern will work. I used 10 squares with 2 each of the vowels. Mama calls out a sound and kiddo jumps to the right square. Then kiddo calls out sounds and Mama jumps. And before you know it, everyone else will be wanting to play vowel hopscotch too!

You gotta' try it. 

Faith

The last month has been a month of roller coaster emotions. Of faith being tested. Is God really good? Does He really know what I'm facing? How can I bear a life that is overwhelming?

When I think of faith I realize I can immediately rattle off at least a solid half dozen Scriptures that have to do with the subject. "Faith comes by hearing. . ." "Without faith it is impossible to please God. . . " Those many times Jesus said to his good friends, "Oh ye of little faith!" "If you have faith as a mustard seed. . ." "Your faith has healed you. . ." And Jesus' words, "And when I come, will I find faith on the earth?"

There have been circumstances in my past in which my faith was "broken". And it wasn't God's fault. As I wrestled with thoughts, emotions, and issues again last night, God's Spirit broke into my world through the prayer of my husband as he knelt beside me. I know it was God's Spirit because it totally revolutionized my heart. Daniel prayed that God would "heal my faith". Now to some of you that may seem totally weird. How can faith be healed? To be honest, I don't even know myself, I only know that it witnessed to my spirit. I realized that if my faith was "healed" then all of my "issues" would become insignificant because my faith would be in God alone. When my faith is "healed" I'm able to trust God in completeness. 

Maybe not rocket science, but a beautiful release in my spirit as I have come to understand that God is healing my faith. No, life is not pristine. But there is peace in my spirit as I realize once again that God will take us through whatever is necessary to bring us to those places where we learn to trust Him completely. 

Thank you, my gentle readers for the lovely birthday wishes you left for me! You made me feel so loved. And to my friends (near and far) who gave lovely gifts and sent kind words and tea bags tucked into envelopes: God used you to show me His love. Thank you. 

May your day be blessed by the presence of the Spirit of the Living God. And may your faith increase. And if you, as I, have a broken faith, I pray the Lord Jesus will "heal" your faith even as He is healing mine, that we might learn to trust in the goodness of our God in spite of the surrounding circumstances that challenge us to disbelieve our Creator.