Author Archives: Tamar

Unknown's avatar

About Tamar

Tamar Knochel at your service! From sewing and crafting to words of encouragement when you need them most. I'm here for you. ❤️

The Multi-facets of God’s Love

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Tamar

“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Revelations 22:16

Why do “bad” things happen to “good” people? While I’m certainly not proposing that I know the one true answer, mostly because I don’t believe there is only one answer; I am proposing a thought (or two or three) about it. So often when we see a strong Christian friend battling cancer or mourning the death of a spouse we cry out in anger at God for allowing this pain to befall our friend. “Why God? Why would a LOVING God allow a helpless infant to die? God How is that showing us love?” As a parent, I know that my children should NOT get everything that they want. If I were to give my kids a piece of candy every time they asked for one they’d be obese and diabetic with their mouths filled with cavities. No, as a mother I don’t want my children to experience pain, but I also know that if I were to wrap them in bubble wrap and never let them out of the house then they would never learn or grow, they’d never get stronger or make friendships that would last a lifetime. You know, there have even been times when I have intentionally set my children up to fail. Why? So that they will learn. Sometimes, showing someone that you love them requires bringing them pain; at times, a lot of it.

My husband kept a dirty little secret from me (adultery) for thirteen years, thinking that he was sparing me from the pain of knowing the truth. And I’ve got to be honest, when he did finally tell me the truth, it hurt… a lot. It hurt my pride, my self-esteem and my view of myself as a woman. The truth made me angrier than an old wet hen! But. That truth set us both free, because it wasn’t a secret holding us apart anymore. That truth means so much more to me than all the “I love you’s” he’s ever said to me up to that point. The fact that he was willing to tell me the truth, means that he trusts me and my love for him enough to know that he can tell me the truth; even if it might hurt my feelings for a time.

So often we like to think that if something in our lives hurts then it can not be from God. That God is really all warm fluffy like cotton candy and nothing else; that because He is love He doesn’t do anything to us that causes us pain or suffering, but that it’s only from the Enemy. As if when the Enemy is attacking us, God is off busy working with someone else at the moment and isn’t fully aware of what is happening to US. God has promised to NEVER leave us or forsake us, which means that in those times of suffering and pain, God HAS NOT abandoned us! He has NOT allowed the Enemy to have free reign over us, but rather that God has Satan on a SHORT leash and he is ONLY allowed to do to us what GOD is telling him to do. To accomplish a work in our lives for HIS good purposes. By believing that God is only a “warm fuzzy god”, is putting God in a box and not allowing Him to be who He is; God. As much as we would like to hold Him down in that box, we can’t, because that warm fuzzy god can’t send His Son to die on a cross.

As I have been STRUGGLING with these painful truths I have prayed begging God to help me understand His love in a way that I could explain it to others. Instantly God spoke it into being in my life, a picture of His love. God’s love is like a diamond, clear and pure and full of light. And if every person who has ever walked the face of this earth were to stand around this diamond and look at only one facet (side) of it there would still not be enough people to see all the ways God shows us His love. And it is our job to shout out to everyone else, what our side of God’s love looks like. For one it may be a green pasture at the moment. For another it may look like a rainy day today. For another it may look like the death of a child. Just because we see different sides of something and it looks different to each of us doesn’t mean we’re not looking at the same thing. Just like I can look at a quarter and be describing the head, and my friend can look at the same quarter and describe the tail and both of us think the other is dead wrong in our descriptions, the only thing we’re actually wrong about is our judgments of each other being wrong.

It’s the same with God. We each have a different relationship with God so, we each experience Him in completely different ways because we are all completely different people. No two of us have lived identical lives – even identical twins have differing lives. Because we all have different past experiences, training, etc we can experience the same God at the same time with another believer and still come out of the experience gleaning completely different things.

One of my beloved sisters in Christ lost a son when he was just a baby; everyone was devastated (naturally). During the time immediately afterward she had a conversation with a friend of hers who was not saved. She was bold and witnessed to her friend. Fast forward twenty-some years to a birthday party in my backyard where my neighbor and my friend are both there and know each other. (Which was a surprise to us all!) My neighbor mentions to me after the party that my friend is a saint! I told him, “I know that already but what makes you say that?” He said, “Right after she lost her son she had a conversation with my mom that changed her life. She chose to become a Christian because of that conversation and because she converted the rest of our family did too! Our whole family is saved today because of her! We’re talkin’ like thirty people here!”

Please, do not misunderstand me when I say this, the death of an infant is devastating to us. But, because of her vulnerable state and the fact that she was leaning so hard on the LORD at that point in her life she was able to allow God’s strength to shine through her weakness. His light shows up best in the dark! He used her to bring an ENTIRE FAMILY to Christ! And if her son hadn’t died she wouldn’t have been able to say the things that she said, with the heart attitude with which she said them. It would’ve been a completely different conversation. If they would have had it at all.

I believe that it is a huge part of the great commission, to go out and share with others what our own facet of God’s love looks like, what it feels like, how we experience it… even if it’s in pain. My friend shared her pain and look what happened with that! I have shared with you how I saw God’s love in the midst of the storm with my son’s teeth and how God told me that it was a blessing, period. In the moments when we were going through the blessing, it didn’t feel like a blessing. I had peace, and knew that God WAS most certainly with me, guiding me through it all step by step, but it was still hard and it still hurt. Once we got through it all and were able to step back and really view it from a greater distance we were able to see more depth to the situation and take joy in the victory.

When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land from their 40 years of wandering in the desert, they didn’t just settle right in. No, they had to fight. God told them that He was giving them this land that He promised them, that the people of the land were stronger and more numerous than they were, but they would “utterly destroy them” because God was with them. And the same is true for us today. We are fighting to take possession of the promises that God has made us. Health, prosperity, rest, all things that the enemy DOESN’T want us to have, all “cities” God has promised us. So we have to fight for those cities to claim them as our own. But do not be afraid; be strong and courageous because the LORD is with us! (Joshua 1:9) Although the Enemy is bigger and stronger than you, he will not prevail against you because God is on your side.

And if God is on your side, who can be against you? Because God is on your side, no weapon formed against you will prevail (Isaiah 54:16). Which means you will win EVERY battle, you will conquer every obstacle in your path between you and the promises of God; turning every battle into a blessing. In the thick of battle, it will feel like a battle… because it is. But hold onto the FACT that GOD IS WITH YOU! The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still; be still and know that HE is God and He can handle it. Our battles are blessings, even when they don’t necessarily feel like blessings. But that’s because we’re in the thick of battle – getting our battle scars, mementos to help us REMEMBER the battle and everything we learned in it. (Like “fake teeth”)

Today God wants to show you something, He wants you to spend some time in prayer starting with:

“Lord, I want to see Tamar’s facet of You today. Please take me back to the biggest battle I’ve ever had to fight and show me where You were in the whole thing.”

and then be still and listen to what He says. When I think back to the hardest moments in my life I realize how much I learned through them and I can see how God got bigger for me in each battle. How I became less, and He became more. If you’re fighting a battle today, think about this, the Morning star is out during the day, but we can’t see it’s light because it’s too bright. But in the black darkness of night it sparkles like a diamond in the sky.

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you – and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

Exodus 14:13-14 Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

God Intended it for Good

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Tamar

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

The morning after Gabe chipped his teeth at recess, I called and left a message at the school to let them know that he wouldn’t be in that day because we were going to take the day off to rest and recover from the excitement of the day before. I let them know that their prayers were being answered and that God is taking care of Gabe. His new teeth looked almost better than the first ones did and that the thing we needed to be praying for now was that his two front teeth do not fall out! Now when I left the message I was thinking that only the school secretary that prayed with him would hear it and maybe the other ladies in the office. Little did I know what God had planned for that message! The ladies in the office did all hear it, but so did the principal and he called me to let me know that they were so sorry that Gabe had gotten hurt, they were glad to hear that he was feeling better and that the principal himself was praying for him. He just “happened” to call at the same time that my house started filling up with people bringing over soft foods for Gabe to eat (no solid foods for TWO Weeks for a nine-year old boy is NOT cool). There were 2 Bible study sisters, one of their daughters, and 3 kids when another Bible study sister called on the phone (immediately after the principal) with some news. It was a mad house around here! Women chatting loudly as to be heard over the literally screaming children, ahhhhhh….. my dream come true! I love when my house is filled with LIFE and laughter.

When I took Gabe to school a couple of hours later to pick up his homework and say “Hi” to his friends, his teacher let me know that she had heard the message too! The kids in his class were pretty shaken up by his accident, so she had her assistant play the message on speaker phone to all the kids in Gabe’s classroom. Now I have to point out that the me you read on this website is the me I really am. I am like this all the time. As in, I talk up God and what He’s doing. I see Him working in ways that most people don’t see or understand, and I call it as I see it. So when I leave a message on the absence report line at school sharing an update on how my son is doing I’m going to share about the prayers being answered, and how God kept him from being hurt more than he was. It was amazing, his lip didn’t even get swollen! How in the world do you partially chip one front tooth and practically break another front tooth in half vertically and NOT bust your lip open, bruise your cheek or even get a concussion? I mean really!?! How does that happen if you don’t have a guardian angel watching over you assigned directly from the throne room of God? To be completely honest with you, considering what all came from this incident I am reluctant to give the Enemy any credit for what happened. Why? Because too many amazing things came from it to be anything but straight from God.

Anyway, as I was standing there listening to his teacher tell me about how she could see and feel the tension in the room leave as those kids listened to how God was answering their prayers and that He is taking care of their friend. I even used the word relax in my message and when I said it, it was as if they took it as permission to relax and stop worrying. There are kids in that room that have never stepped foot into a church before or heard God spoken of in that way before… until my son was injured. (Luke 12:3 What you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.) You know what God whispered to me while I was praising Him later about bring used in such a powerful way? He told me that after hearing that message some of the kids in Gabe’s class prayed for the very first time!!! Now I’m sorry, but I have a really hard time giving satan credit for that! I am actually going to go so far as to confess to you that I believe that it was under direct orders from God himself that the “accident” occurred. I’m sure there are some of you out there absolutely squirming in your seats right now wanting to disagree with me. But look at the facts people! Look at what all happened BECAUSE he got hurt. Not in spite of it, because of it. There are so many people praying for my son, that is one of God’s main goals for us in life, to PRAY. To reach out to The light from our darkness. But adults weren’t the only ones reaching out to God for help through this, children, Gabe’s friends were praying for the FIRST times in their lives! I can’t tell you how many times I have prayed for those children asking God to draw them into an intimate relationship with Himself. And He did that through my son!

The night after Gabe broke his teeth, he got up from the couch and his teeth chomped together accidentally, causing him great pain. He ran into his room sobbing and upset. I followed him and asked him what had happened and all he would say was “I don’t want fake teeth! I don’t want fake teeth!” I reminded him that only half of one tooth was fake and a small chip of the other. But that didn’t really help him either. So I took him next door into the bathroom and made him smile into the mirror. I said, “Gabe I want you to look at your teeth, really look at them. Now I want you to think about everything that God did because you broke your teeth. Because you broke your teeth, some of your friends talked to God for the very first time in their whole lives! People all over the place have been praying for YOU and your mouth, which is drawing them closer to God all because you broke your teeth. Because you broke your teeth your friends got to hear about how God takes care of us, and how much He loves us, they may never hear that again. These teeth are BEAUTIFUL! I want you to remember all those things every time you look at your teeth in the mirror. Every night and every morning when you brush these fake teeth I want you to remember how God used YOU and your pain to teach LOTS of other people about how much He loves them! Don’t you DARE be ashamed of these teeth! Not ever! They are too precious for that.” No matter how pain comes into your lives, please please please know that God does NOT allow (or cause) pain in our lives simply for the sake of having us experience pain. He loves us too much for that. Pain is in our lives to mold us into the vessel that God wants us to be. We ARE always in the potters hands, there isn’t a moment when we’re not. There are times in our lives when He is turning us on His wheel and applying soothing water and light pressure to form us in a certain way. But then there are other times in our lives when He picks up a tool that was created to “wreak havoc” and carve out a beautiful pattern or design into the clay of our flesh. The tool may be the one doing the “damage” but ultimately, it’s the potter’s hands holding the tool to do the work that He created him to do. Carving the pattern according to His will, not the tool’s. Personally I find it comforting to know that no matter what is going on in my life, GOD is the one in complete control. That God has the Enemy in His hand, in complete control of him the WHOLE time. At no point am I at the Enemy’s mercy, but at God’s mercy.

Isaiah 57:1-2 The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.”

John 9:1-5 “As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the words of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the words of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “…because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , ,

It’s a Blessing. Period.

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Tamar

I have to apologize that I haven’t been on to blog much this week. Things have been… well, a little extraordinary. It started Wednesday, I was hosting Bible study at my house and we were just finishing up when I got a call from the school. You know one of those mom moments when you see the caller ID and your heart drops to your stomach. It was the school nurse calling, my son was out at recess playing tag with his friends when he ran straight into one of the poles holding up the slide and chipped his two front teeth! Of course I left my daughter with my beloved sisters in Christ at the Bible study (who were already praying for the situation) and rushed over to the school to pick up my poor scared son. Now in all this you need to know that we don’t have dental insurance, or a regular dentist. So on my way to the school I called the local dentist’s office to see if they could fit him in right away and if they would be willing to work with us financially (especially since I had no idea how much it was going to cost to reconstruct two teeth). By the end of the phone call I was fairly certain that I wasn’t supposed to go there. (Not that there’s any thing wrong with them just I could tell it wasn’t God’s will.) Our phone call ended just as I was pulling into the school parking lot (thank You God for cell phones), turned off the truck and allowed myself to briefly dissolve into tears. My baby had been broken and I had been powerless to stop it or even comfort him after it happened. I was crushed. I pulled myself together and went into the school to collect my tearful boy. The secretary told me that when he first came into the nurse’s office he was so scared and shaken up, so she went in and prayed with him. Now I have to tell you that of all the spectacular things that happened this week this was the thing that touched my mother’s heart the most. That in those moments where my baby was hurt and frightened and most likely in absolute shock about what had just happened God had made sure that there would be someone there to comfort him in the best way anyone can be comforted, with the comforter Himself the Holy Spirit. Now you need to know that this is not a common practice in our school, but rather the secretary knows us and knows that praying with my son would be absolutely encouraged and not scorned as it would be in some schools. Anyway, I collected him from school, asking the secretary if she knew of a good dentist. She gave me a name but the office was really far away and I didn’t feel like that was the right place either. As Gabe and I walked out of the school holding hands I could feel him trying to be tough and hold back his tears, so I turned to him and said “Honey, it’s OK to cry, Mommy is already crying.” And we walked to the truck hand in hand sobbing the whole way. Just as we were buckling up to head back home I got a text from a friend of mine who used to be a dental hygienist. She had just walked past my house and one of the Bible study ladies noticed her and told her what had happened so that she could pray too. In her text she told me the name of the dentist that she takes her kids to, their phone number, and that she “would never take them anywhere else”. Finally something felt right! When we got home I called them and the receptionist was great, detailing a good estimate and willing to work with us to split up the payments too. But I was still unsure of going with them, you see at that point I was terrified of dentists and so I was doubting the Holy Spirit leading me there. But then the receptionist mentioned that they are normally closed for lunch at the time I called, but that day “just by chance” they were still behind the desk and answered the phone. That was all I needed to hear! This WAS God’s will!

We made an appointment for an hour later, dropped Anna off at the library with a friend so she could play instead of sit in a waiting room, and then headed over to the dentist office. On the way I called our church office to let them know what was going on so that they could pray for Gabe and our finances, a few short minutes later I got a call from my mother in law to check on Gabe and to let us know that they had been talking about giving Gabe some money for braces and that we could use it for this if we needed to. Answered prayer times two!!!

Now to help you better understand just how terrified of dentists I was, the last time I walked into a dentist office it wasn’t even for me, and I was still shaking like a leaf! When I walked into this office is was filled with such a tremendous sense of peace and calm that none of my old fears even came close to surfacing. God had gone before me and met me there, thank You Lord. They took Gabe back to get x-rays and fix his teeth and almost the entire time I was on the phone with people who were calling to check on him and let me know they were praying for us. When the battery on my phone ran out however, I was suddenly alone and the fear started creeping in. I started fervently praying for Gabe that God would be with him and that he would not be afraid of dentists like me (certainly not the first time I’ve prayed that). I do NOT want to pass my irrational fears onto my kids! I just kept praying over and over “Lord, please don’t let him be afraid” when God’s voice broke through my stream of pleas, “He was afraid when it happened, your prayers over the years asking Me to make sure that he wouldn’t be afraid like you, are being answered. The dentist is the one who is making the fear flee. I am acting through him to fix the things that were broken. He will never be afraid of dentists now.”

As we were driving home from the dentist’s office, were listening to our favorite Christian radio station and I was praying asking God what had caused the incident. I had just posted a salvation message the night before it happened, so did that mean that this was a counter attack from the Enemy? Was this a pruning lesson? Had I done something disobedient? What was the REASON behind my poor son’s pain? I was wracking my very exhausted brain trying to figure out what was going on. And then Laura Story’s song “Blessings” came on the radio and God said to me. “Does it really matter WHY it happened, or where it came from? It’s a blessing. Period.” And that was enough for me. So many times in our Christian lives we stress ourselves out trying to figure out WHY something “bad” happened, or how we could have avoided it. What we could have done differently, or should have done differently. We spend so much time trying to figure out where the pressure is coming from that we fail to realize that it ALL comes from God ultimately. Whether things come from His fingers or through His fingers, they all come from the potter’s hands. So why waste our time worrying about where they’re coming from and just realize that at some point we must yield to the pressure from the potter’s hands and do our best to learn whatever lesson God is trying to teach us, whatever the means and purpose is. I know that this is not a message that most people will agree with, and that’s fine. It’s just the message that God has given me to deliver, and it is my job to deliver it. Whether you accept it is between you and God. Right now, we live in a world filled with unspeakable horrors, does God allow them, or does He cause them? Really, in the end, does it make a difference? If it makes you feel better to think that He allows them, so be it. It makes me feel better knowing that He causes them. Why??? Because it proves to me, that HE is in complete control of the life that I have so lovingly given to Him to care for… mine. It helps me to know that when I’m facing a dark and difficult situation in my life, that it’s not because the Enemy is getting away with something that the Lord doesn’t know about, or has allowed him to do. But rather, I like to look to Isaiah 54:16-17 “‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from Me’ declares the LORD.” God created Satan to wreak havoc, it is his purpose on this earth to be the cause of our “bad” situations so that God can work His miracles through them. Light shines the brightest in the darkness. What would God’s goodness be if there was no evil through which it could shine? It’s a blessing. Period.

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , ,

Busy Mom’s Morning Prayer

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Tamar

As Christians and as mothers, we are waging war in a supernatural showdown all day every day of our lives. Therefore life requires that we put on the full armor of God every morning. But sometimes, as busy moms, we just don’t have a lot of time to pray through the Bible every morning to cover ourselves. God blessed me with most of this prayer about 6 months ago, and I can tell you from experience that He answers it immediately every time and that it is very powerful. So yesterday when He made the light bulb above my head turn on and reminded me of this sweet little breath prayer. He also called me to compare it to the elements of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, and I was amazed at the results.

“Come Holy Spirit, fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You; help me, I trust You.”

“Come Holy Spirit,” – “Belt of Truth buckled around your waist”(v14) & “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (v17): In John 16:13 Jesus tells us “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes and guides you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” So simply by me saying “Come Holy Spirit” I am putting on the belt of truth and I am picking up the Sword of the (Holy) Spirit, which is the word of God. I am calling God to come and be with me today. I am asking Him to come into my situation and live through me. “Come Holy Spirit”, guide me with Your light. “Come Holy Spirit” speak Your words with my tongue today. The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, it is THE weapon that we use against the Enemy, and the Bible is filled with them! “Come Holy Spirit” and teach me Your words, Your wisdom, Your grace, Your love. “Come Holy Spirit”.

“fill me with Your fire” – “with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (v15): When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentacost (Acts 2) it came in tongues of fire that danced above their heads (this was before they had light bulbs of course). Have you ever heard the expression “She is really on fire for the LORD”? When we are “on fire” for something we’re excited about it, we’re ready to tell people about it. And honestly, the gospel of peace is exciting! God’s love is exciting. His grace is exciting. And let me tell you, I’ve been praying this part of the prayer for 6 months, the more often you pray it, the more on fire you will get for God and His gospel of peace! I have prayed this prayer for just about everything under the sun. Wisdom, discernment, help, courage, when I sneeze and there’s no one around to say “God bless you”… “Come Holy Spirit and fill me with Your fire”, it’s an invitation to God to fill you and use YOU for His good purposes on this earth! To use YOU to change the world! “Fill me with Your fire!”

“make me more like You” – “with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (v14): Abraham was declared righteous, not because of his deeds but because of his faith. Faith is our belief in action. Jesus’ death on the cross pays for the debt our sins create between us and God. The blood stained cross declares each and every one of us righteous (or pure) in God’s sight. However, we have to believe that it’s true and then live out our lives in that belief, or “walk in faith”, that it is true and that even though we are human and not perfect, we ARE forgiven, which makes us righteous. A breastplate usually has the royal crest emblazoned on it, declaring whose army you belong to; under whose authority you speak. As Christians, we are children of God Almighty the King of kings. We are not only warriors, we are royal warriors with the righteous symbol of God’s authority emblazoned on our chests. And it is with this very authority that we are able to stand up to the Enemy and WIN! We have been given the authority of Christ’s shed blood to tell the attacking Enemy forces “to report to Jesus immediately” and they must obey. So when we pray “fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You” we are asking God to fill us up with His shed blood, placing that breastplate of righteousness over our chest and with it His authority over the Enemy. His righteousness covering our humanity. Covering the nakedness that we were once ashamed of; no longer.

“help me,” – “Take the helmet of salvation” (v17): In Romans chapter ten, verses nine through ten we read “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Now I know that for someone who hasn’t been raised in the church this could be a difficult passage to read and understand so let me break it down a bit for you. 1) “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord'” – The word “Lord” is a term of respect that voices the acknowledgement that you are giving Jesus power, authority and ownership over you life. You need to speak out loud your decision to let Jesus be the one in charge of your life instead of you. Now there are all kinds of “sinners prayers” out there that you could pray, but according to this scripture it can be as simple as “Jesus is Lord”. 2) “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” – So very much of the Bible centers around belief, and honestly, the helmet of salvation centers around it too. The Bible tells us multiple times that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and dead for three days, and then on the third day He rose from the dead and for a period of 40 days appeared to a multitude of people who then gave witness to the fact that He was indeed alive. So the question you have to ask yourself is, “Do I believe this to be true?” I pray that you’ve answered “YES!” 3) “you will be saved” – Yes, it really is as simple as that! Verse ten explains it to us a little more; that when we believe in our heart that Jesus did die for us personally, then we are justified (which means He made it so that it was just-as-if-I’d never sinned). Salvation is simple, there is no real action required on our part aside from belief and a confession of that belief. Romans 10:13 tells us “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” – see, just call on Jesus. No work on the part of man can save him (I believe this includes confession of sins), because Jesus did it all for us to make it as simple as possible so that all who believe will be justified and they will confess with their mouths and be saved! Salvation is the pathway to the Garden of Relationship with Christ and this is where all the healing takes place. The confession of sins and asking for His help with them takes place within the enclosed walls of the Garden of Relationship and is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to it. (I can not stress this enough!!!!!!!) Honestly, I don’t know that true healing could take place without it. “Help me”, is our daily cry to Jesus. “Help me” to be the person You want me to be. “Help me” to stop doing the things that I did in the past that got me into trouble. “Help me” to be a better mom. “Help me” to live the life I’ve always dreamed of. “Help me” to get through this dark place that I’m living in right now, shine Your magnificent light on me. “Help me”, so small, and yet so VERY VERY profound.

“I trust You.” – “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (v16): This is one of my favorite truths that I love to share with people. When God revealed the shield of faith to me I’m glad that I was already on the floor because if I hadn’t been I would’ve hit it! Turn with me, if you would, to the Psalm of Protection, Psalm 91 and look at verse 4. “He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; HIS faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Now I’ve heard a lot of sermons on these passages of scripture and I have to tell you that NONE of them left me feeling any better about being able to fend off the Enemy… because everything depended on me! Did I know the truth? Was I righteous? Was I ready? Did I know the gospel message well enough? Was I faithful enough? Was I saved? Did I know enough scripture? It’s enough to make a girl want to scream “NO! I DON’T! I CAN’T! I GIVE UP!” But look at it right there in your Bible! It’s not MY faithfulness that shields me from the Enemy! It’s HIS! Praise God Almighty in heaven its HIS faithfulness that protects me! it’s HIS faithfulness that never fails! Mine? HUH! All the time! But not His, His faithfulness is unending. His faithfulness is eternal. His faithfulness is more than enough. His faithfulness doesn’t just shield me from one side only like most shields do. OH NO! His faithfulness is a force field that surrounds us in a bubble of protection that not even laser beams or nuclear weapons can penetrate! Hallelujah Praise the LORD for His love endures forever! Isn’t that just the best news you’ve ever heard? I mean as a mom I am pulled a thousand different directions. My daughter needs this from me, my son wants that from me, my husband needs me to do this for him, my friends need help with something, my ministry needs my attention, our family members… the list goes on and on and on! It is so comforting to know that GOD CAN HANDLE IT! That His faithfulness is ALL we need. That we can say “I trust You” and step into that force field of peace and know that no matter what fiery missiles the enemy tries to launch our way, we’ve got our bubble of peace powered by GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

“Come Holy Spirit, fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You; help me, I trust You.”

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s all About Attitude

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Tamar

As a stay at home mom and nap-time writer (who doesn’t usually get a nap-time to write anymore) you could say I’m a busy gal. There are always dishes to fold and clothes to unload, kids to shuttle from here to there, a husband to tend to, church activities and Bible studies to do and attend, loved ones to care for, friends to love… *wipes the sweat from her brow*… it’s a lot to handle for one girl. I’m positive you can relate! With everything tugging at us from all sides how is a modern mom like me supposed to get everything done without forsaking my relationship with God, my daily quiet time? He is the only way I can get through my day, so how can I fit it all in? I know that I need to build my day around Him and not the other way around. I also know that we all make time for the things we want to do. BUT sometimes the things we feel we have to do start to push everything else off the calendar square. Our priorities start to get skewed.

When doing anything, our heart attitude is what matters most to God, because it is our heart attitude that drives our actions. (Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.) Lets pretend for a moment that we’re planting a garden. Our heart attitude is the seeds that are planted, our actions are the outward appearance of those seeds, and the end results of our actions are the plants that come from the seeds. If I plant a heart attitude, or seed, of “I have to” do this, rather than a seed from the “I want to” do this attitude, then the plants that spring up from those seeds will be completely different. Although the outward appearance of the seeds, or the actions themselves, were the same, the end results are drastically different. From the “I have to” attitude we generally glean very little from our time with God. Usually because we are much less open to receiving a word of insight or comfort or instruction from Him; we are simply going through the motions of religion. However, from the “I want to” attitude we glean much more from our time simply because we are more open to receiving and it has meaning to us from the very beginning.

I feel like I need to add another attitude phrase. The “I have GOT to” do this attitude. Honestly, that’s the attitude I have walked into my quiet spot with today. I spent a good deal of time last night snuggled in bed working on writing a morning prayer for myself based completely on scripture. I ended up with about 10 scriptures, all very long, and the more I read the more of them I wrote down, until I realized “Lord, if I could, I think I would simply pray the WHOLE Bible over myself every morning! They’re ALL good!” And at that point it was 11pm, my husband was climbing into bed with me and I decided I would work on it tomorrow. Famous last words right!?!

So this morning I jumped out of bed and hit the ground running, packing lunches, making breakfast, dressing kids and walking Gabe out to the bus – practicing memory verses because we hadn’t had time to read any because the egg stuck to the pan; I immediately came in and started Anna’s morning movie (the only TV she gets during the day) and then started attacking the disaster in the kitchen from the weekend, then bounced to my computer to look up something they had mentioned on the radio; but then, the phone rings, it’s my prayer partner Tammy to pray, so I get up, grab my Bible and get on the floor to pray; but she can’t pray long because she’s volunteering at the Crisis Pregnancy Center today so I jump back up to finish the dishes I’d started earlier – but at the same time I’m feeling pulled to finish the new page on the website I’d started before the phone call, and well, there’s that morning prayer I said I’d finish today, and, WOW, I haven’t even prayed ANY morning prayer yet today, let alone write one; and then there’s that blog post I’ve got rolling around in my head that I’d like to start writing down, and I haven’t had my snuggle time with Anna yet – she’s a physical touch love language so, I’ve got to get that in there or she’ll be all over me later… AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! GOD HELP ME!!!!!!! I grabbed my Bible, notebook and pen and fled to my bedroom, closed the door, breathing “Lord, protect Anna and keep her out of trouble while I’m in here!” (remembering what happened to the Israelites while Moses was on the mountain with God for 40 days; no golden calf messes here please LORD) and flung myself on the floor in front of our mirror with all my prayer notes at the bottom, praying “LORD! HELP ME! WHAT DO I DO FIRST??????”

An “I have GOT to” attitude… you know… those moments when I have GOT to pray or I’ll explode from being pulled in a million different directions at once. The attitude that comes around when you realize, hey, I didn’t have my “preventative” time with God earlier so I’d better do it NOW before things get worse.

So, in light of how the last 5 hours of my life has been, I have concluded that A) my life is a run-on sentence, and B) my morning prayer can still be based on scripture without being the whole scripture! And it was at that moment, like a breath of fresh air sweeping through the room, that God pulled the string to the light bulb over my head and BOOM! There was my scripture-based Busy Mom’s Morning Prayer!

Which I will share with you tomorrow. 🙂

Hmmmm…… maybe my day wouldn’t have felt quite so crazy if I had taken 30 seconds to start my day with prayer instead of jumping straight into the day…. we might just talk about that tomorrow too. 🙂

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

God Help Me: Prayer of Jesus in John 17

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Tamar

Holy Father God Almighty, tonight I follow Jesus’ lead and look toward heaven as I pray; Father, the time has come. Glorify me, that I may glorify You. For you have granted me authority that I might share the message of eternal life to all those You have given me to share it with. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory I had with You in Christ Jesus before the world began.

I am trying to reveal You to those whom You gave me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Jesus and they have obeyed Your word. Now they know that everything You have given me comes from You. For I gave them the words that You have given me and they accept them. They know with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given me, for they are yours. All I have is Yours, and all You have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world in order to help those that You have called me to preach to. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name – the name that You gave Jesus – so that we may be one as You are one. While Jesus was with the disciples, He protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave Him. None was lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. Father, Jesus spoke this prayer while He was still here so that we may have the full measure of His joy within us. He has given us Your word and the world hates us, for we are not of the world any more than He was of the world. Our prayer is not that you take us out of the world but that you protect us from the evil one. We are not of the world, even as He was not of it. Sanctify us by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Him into the world, He has sent us into the world. For us He sanctified Himself, that we too may be truly sanctified and we praise You for that!

Father, my prayer is not for myself alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Jesus through my message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Jesus and He is in You. May we also be in You so that the world may believe that You have sent Jesus. He has given us the glory that You gave Him, that we may be one as You are one: Jesus in us and You in Jesus. May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Jesus and have loved us all even as You have loved Jesus. Father, Jesus wants those You have given Him to be with Him where He is, and to see His glory, the glory You have given Him because You loved Him before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, we know You, and they know that You have sent us. We have made You known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love You have for us may be in them and that Jesus Himself may be in them.

Lord I pray all these things in the name of Jesus the Messiah and my savior for Your glory and according to Your good and perfect will, Amen.

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , ,

Dust: Prayer of Thanksgiving for Forgiveness: Psalm 103

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Tamar

“The LORD God Formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

Friends, I have a confession to make… I’m not perfect. So so very far from it in fact! BUT God is awesome, and He loves to redeem us, to save us from ourselves. If you think about it, without sins He can’t be a Savior because He would have nothing to save us from! Today I learned something really awesome, there is always a higher level. There is always another step to take towards God. As long as we’re still breathing there is always something “new” to learn. The funny thing is I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know in my head… but today it finally sank into my heart and my life. Isn’t that awesome, how God’s Word works? You can read the same thing 10 times, even have it memorized, and then God puts you through something, brings that verse back to your eyes and WHAM! It hits you smack in the face with a truth that you’d never seen before!

For me today, it was the truth of the fact that I have a sinful heart and a sinful mind that tends to think things that it shouldn’t. And God placed the mirror in front of my dirty little face and showed me what I’ve been looking like. But then He did the best thing of all, He wiped the dirt away. Just said “Here let me get that for ya.” and then licked His thumb and started wiping away. He set me free from things that I didn’t even know were holding me captive! And so right now, all I can do is praise Him for the marvelous work that He has done in my life right now! Won’t you help me praise His beautiful Name?

I praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, I praise His holy name. I Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – Lord You forgive all our sins and heal all our diseases, You redeemed my life from the pit and crown me with love and compassion, You satisfy my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s. LORD You work righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. You made known Your ways to Moses, Your deeds to the people of Israel: LORD, you are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. You will not always accuse, nor will You harbor Your anger forever You do not treat me as my sins deserve or repay me according to my iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is Your love for those who fear You; as far as the east is from the west, so far have Your removed my transgressions from me. As a father has compassion on His children, so You have compassion on those who fear You; for You know how we are formed, You remember that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting Your love is with those who fear You, and Your righteousness with our children’s children – with those who keep Your covenant and remember to obey Your precepts. You have established Your throne in heaven, and Your kingdom rules over all. Praise the LORD, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word. Praise the LORD, all His heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will. Praise the LORD, all His words everywhere in His dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul!!!!! (Psalm 103)

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , ,

PRAYING IS DOING SOMETHING!

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Tamar

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.” James 5:13a

Well, that was exciting! I just dropped my son off at tennis practice and on my way back home to start dinner (which I never just leave him at practice, I always stay too), just outside the park was a man laying motionless on the side of the road next to a motorcycle with another man crouching down next to him and a woman standing nearby on the phone – I’m assuming to 911. I swung my truck around and parked in the nearest parking lot, jumped out and ran down the sidewalk to the scene, but I never even got up to him before others started swarming around him. A nurse from the clinic across the street, an EMT that had been walking down the road (I had passed her on the way TO the park even!) and several others were able to reach him before I could even OFFER to help. For a BRIEF moment I felt useless. But then I glanced across the street to the clinic parking lot and saw my son’s Christian Kindergarten teacher standing there, holding her hands up to oncoming traffic to slow down for the accident. I darted across the street to her and asked her if she would pray with me for the man. And we did, her still slowing traffic, and me praying anything that God put into my mind for him. Within probably 2 minutes, time is hard to track in those situations, I had run out of things to pray! I couldn’t believe it! ME! I NEVER run out of things to pray! But I had. At this point the sirens were roaring all around us, bright red emergency vehicles blaring in, and I knew that my job there was done. I had prayed the things that needed spoken immediately, that the doctors would be able to help him, that God would direct their steps and that they would know how to help him. It felt so pitiful, but yet I had meant it and believed that God was already answering it! His accident happened ACROSS THE STREET FROM A CLINIC FOR PETE’S SAKE! With a first responder literally walking down the street nearby! HELLO!

Anyway, as I jumped back into my truck my 4-yr old, asked about the sirens “Mommy, what IS that noise???” and God said to me, “help is on the way”. So that’s what I told her, the sirens were to let us all know that help is on the way.

When I got into my house God reminded me of something that He had told me earlier in the day. “You don’t need to pray a lot of fancy words to get the job done. Simple prayers are the best. Lift the person/situation up to Me, and then let me deal with all the details from there.” And I realized that that is precisely what I had done, through instinct. (Thank You Holy Spirit!) I had prayed what needed to be said, and then left the rest up to God and His perfection. No elaborate drawn out pleas for help and healing and salvation, just simple words spoken from a pure heart of absolute belief.

Sometimes, no actually, most times the things in this world that leave the biggest impact on those around us, are the things that are the easiest for us to do. It took me at MOST 5 minutes of my precious time to stop and offer to help. And at first I felt helpless as I realized there was nothing for me TO do to physically help him. But after a quick survey of the situation I quickly realized God hadn’t placed me there to help him physically, but to help ALL involved spiritually. I was the ONLY one there that was focused on prayer, everyone else was too busy attending to his immediate physical needs (and they were great), but that’s not what God called me to do. He called me to PRAY! And while so many people would see that as pretty much useless, I know that it wasn’t! Because I was seeing the prayer fulfilled with my very own eyes, immediately as I was speaking it! From the nurse, to the police officers, ambulances and even fire trucks, God was providing this man with the help that I was asking for. The help that he NEEDED!

Some may even say that even if I hadn’t been there he still would have gotten all those things. Well, maybe, but we’ll never really know will we? But I think it’s pretty fair to say that God answers a heart that believes. And I believe that while all of those things WOULD have come to him… eventually… they came faster because God had me pray. And those that did come will be accompanied by angels assisting them in letting them know PRECISELY what this man needs to survive. That the people who come to his aid will better be able to serve him because I asked God to help them serve him, giving him a greater chance at survival.

By the time I left the man was talking and possibly trying to get up I’m not sure, but he was already improving from the first moment that I laid eyes on him and his arm fell limply to the ground when lifted up. I believe that he will be fine, in due time.

When in doubt… PRAY. It IS doing SOMETHING, especially when it doesn’t seem like it, because that’s when the Enemy wants you to stop praying!

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crops.” James 5:13-18

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they thing they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:5-8

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:26-28

“Pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , ,

Multitasking by Guest Blogger: Cece Weewhinn

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Tamar

It was a lovely morning at the city park by the pond. Throughout the various trails, couples strolled, children danced around mommies, bikers called out, “On your left!”, and groups of ladies waved and laughed. Certainly all rejoiced with the break of the previous heat wave, as above a thin layer of clouds covered the sun’s thermal rays.

A cool breeze passed over this oasis of pleasure in the big city, which even the wild life hugged. Flocks of geese honked overhead, eventually diving for and splashing onto the fish-filled pond in the middle of the park. Other water fowl – ducks and a pair of Great Blue Herons – were dispersed around and in the pond, posing for excited photographers. Various turtles swam about searching for, and finding, branches or rocks to bask on for the pleasure of human viewing.

Off in the distance, along a ridge, a baseball-capped, pony-tailed head could be seen bobbing above the ornamental prairie grass surrounding the hiking path. Those below, moving toward her, thought she was jogging. As she followed the curve in the path, then appeared from behind a set of trees, one noticed she was pushing a stroller with one hand. In addition to this, her other hand held a leash to a dog running alongside the path, reining him in when he was inappropriate.

Quickly turning her head and peering behind herself, on-lookers soon realized a very young boy on a bicycle was following her, calling out. She, in turning, had verbally acknowledged him. Miraculously, they all managed to stay together.

Someone laughed as she passed by, “You have quite a task, today!” “Of all things!” another gasped. She was also talking to someone on her earpiece phone! All observations made, the closer they came into view.

Scripture tells us the closer we allow God to come to us, the more we see Him do. He is a Heavenly Father who is capable of performing many tasks at the same time. While He is pushing some along the path of life, He may have to rein others away from the inappropriate, and from behind encourage those who are slow to follow, yet is always available to listen to those speaking directly into His ear.

Miraculously, through it all, He remains in the center of every need. Nothing deters Him from it, whatever the environment holds…and there will be those who take notice.

Our God, the King of Multitasking
“Go to God and confess your sins to Him, for He does wonderful miracles, marvels without number,” (Job 5:8-9). Living Bible
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,” (Psalm 145:18). American Standard

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags:

Prayer for Guidance: Psalm 23

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Tamar

“Know ye that Jehovah, He is God: It is He that hath made us, and we are His; We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise: Give thanks unto Him, and bless His name. For Jehovah is good; His loving kindness endureth for ever, And His faithfulness unto all generations.” Psalm 100:3-5 American Standard Version

Today I have spent the whole day at Living Proof Live! It was wonderful being surrounded by the women that I love hearing the word of God spoken with Beth Moore’s beautiful Texas accent. Now I’m a worshiper, and my favorite part of the day were the praise and worship times when I had the opportunity to join with 180,000 women across the glove singing praises to the name of Jesus our Messiah! It was AWESOME! At one point my friend Cindy turned to me and with a big grin said “I bet it makes God so happy to hear this right now.” And I shared with her how this spring I was at a women’s retreat, The Walk to Emmaus, where we sang everything with only an acoustic guitar and barely any amplification. The sound of the women’s voices lifting up the LORD’S praises was simply too much for me to handle and I could rarely sing the first verse or two for the beauty of the sound! I could only listen and dwell in the smile of pleasure that warmed God’s heart as He was receiving our praises.

We were created to praise Him! His word says as much. He DELIGHTS in the praises that we lift up, either songs, poems, stories, tears, moanings, groanings, you name it I believe that He LOVES it! However, I also believe that it is the Enemy’s goal in life to steal those praises from our lips. To snatch them from our hearts. To ensnare them from getting to Jesus on the throne and in turn steal Jesus’ joy of hearing them. I want you to think about this for a minute. When you do something big for someone, and they say thank you, how much does it mean to you. I’m not talking about one of those passive, smile-and-nod “thanks”, I mean one of those heartfelt, from the bottom of their toes, THANK YOU’s. How great does that feel? And if it feels that good to us, then how GREAT must it make God feel when we say that to Him? Now just try to tell me that the Enemy wouldn’t want to take that away from God. I would not believe you if you tried! No, it’s Satan’s chief goal to steal God’s glory and His honor and His praise through every way that he abuses us, trying to get us to drop our arms, to stop our songs of praise, to keep us from writing our stories of triumph and victory over defeat, to stop our tears of joy from flowing to the altar. The Enemy wants them replaced with guilt and shame, fear and condemnation. As God shared this epiphany with me today, in that church as I stood singing at the top of my voice with my arms reaching out to the heavens in an attempt to touch the hem of His holy robe, do you know what I told Him? I told God that I would NOT let the Enemy win. That I refused to let the Enemy steal my joy, to steal my confidence in the grace under which I live. I will NOT allow him to convince me that my God, who DIED FOR ME, doesn’t love me. I will NOT allow him to shut my praises up inside of me for fear of the condemnation of people who simply don’t understand what living under the grace-filled-shadow of the hand of the Almighty looks like. It looks like a shattered heart that has been mended by loving hands that KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING! It looks like tears flowing, not from hurt, but from HEALING. No, living a grace-filled-life isn’t without pain, or battles; it’s loving and praising through them because we have the peace that passes all understanding. It’s KNOWING that God loves us, not because He showers us with gifts of THINGS or MONEY, but that He prunes us so that we may bear much fruit. Life is HARD, and it HURTS! But we choose the one of two places from which those hurts can come from; the hands of someone who HATES US with everything in him (the Enemy) or they can come from the hands of the one who LOVES US MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF! HE DIED TO SET YOU FREE! He died to show you He loves you. He died so that you could LIVE. But He doesn’t force us to accept that love. He doesn’t force us to accept that life. He merely lays it at our feet like a rose on the ground, and we choose to pick it up and cherish it like the gift that it was meant to be, or walk all over it like it’s worth nothing at all to us.

While Jesus was here, many people treated Him just that way; like a rose trampled on the ground. Like He was nothing, and we still do it today, nothing has changed but the way in which we shun Him. Often times, it’s with a church service that brings people together in His name and then never mentions it once in the service. It’s people coming and singing the pretty church songs, but their praises are a mere “thanks” and not a heart-felt THANK YOU JESUS! Going through the motions so that WE feel like we’ve been to church and done our weekly Christian duty. But those aren’t the praises that God seeks, that’s not what He desires. He desires our hearts, not our sacrifices. He desires our LOVE and ADORATION, not our empty praises. He desires a FRIENDSHIP, not just an acquaintance. God wants US, all of us, not just a part. He wants us to DIVE into the deep end of His love and splash around in His grace. To do a cannonball off the diving board, just because we can. But, HOW do we do that? How do we get there?

We ask.

We all have a different way to get to that point with God where we are confidently leaning on Him, so I can’t tell you that’s there’s one way and here’s how you do it. We are all made uniquely individual and we all come to Jesus in exactly that way. But I can tell you this, you CAN ask Him to take you there. You can ask Him HOW to get to that point. And when you call to Him for help, guidance, directions, He WILL answer you. It’s a promise.

Prayer for Guidance:Psalm 23: “Lord Jesus, I want to know You more. But I don’t know how. I want to lean on You in confidence that You won’t let me fall, but I don’t know what that looks like. God PLEASE, help me get there. Right now I am Your lost little sheep in need of a Shepherd to guide me, lead me to that place where You are. Please help me to lie down in green pastures, lead me beside those still waters, because I believe that You will restore my soul. Lord, guide me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death right now Lord, but I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Lord, I believe that You do prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. That when You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Lord, I do believe that SURELY Your Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and that I WILL dwell in the house of Yaweh FOREVER. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!”

You know what I’m really enjoying about these scripture based prayers, they start out asking for something, and end up DECLARING THE VICTORY! AMEN! I am including a video (below) of a praise song with the lyrics included on the screen. If you are able, and I pray that God will allow you to read this particular post at a time when you are able to play the video, stand or kneel if you feel called. Sing along, raise your arms in praise to His sacrifice and His grace, and praise Him with a deeply felt thankful heart that He is GOOD and WORTHY of praise! HALLELUJAH!

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blog at WordPress.com.