5 Stumbling Blocks to Obeying God's Will

Lately I've been pondering life changes and wrestling with difficult circumstances and understanding God's will. And though some things are still unclear, and fear keeps creeping in, I understand a bit better why our decision making  gets so tangled.

1) God's will doesn't always feel good. We're in deep with the world and its belief that we should only do what feels good. But, as Christians, we're still at war with our flesh, which means obedience brings resistance. It feels good to obey God when His plans line up with ours, but what about when His will means the surrendering of our hopes and dreams?

2) Some of our friends will tempt us to take the road often traveled. This is the friend who cares more about comfort and ease than about sanctification. This is the friend who lives in "deserve" mode. Life is all about deserving a break, not about dying to self. She'll list your many sacrifices, as though sanctification is accomplished in 10 Easy Lessons instead of a lifetime of daily taking up one's cross.

3) We equate obeying God's will with a "good outcome". After Paul is blinded on the road to Damascus, and Ananias is told to minister to him, God declares that He is going to share with Paul the things he will suffer in Christ's name. The things he will suffer. He didn't say, "Paul has obeyed, and there will now be no hard days or challenges or pain." Obeying God does bring blessing, but it's not always the blessings we think of. Obedience doesn't always bring reconciliation or peace or more money or a bigger house or less difficult people in our lives. Sometimes the blessing is the gift of resting in the joy that you are honoring God and being made more like Christ even when everything around you is unpleasant or downright hard.

4) Our hearts are deceitful. I've sometimes clearly known God's will about something, not because I had a vision in the night, but because I read His Word and cried out to Him in prayer, and yet, I still resist doing it. My heart whispers that I must be the exception and the surely God wouldn't want me to have to work so hard. My heart lists all the reasons I can't obey, when the truth is that I don't want to obey. Perhaps our struggle with knowing is more of a struggle with obeying.

5) We leave no room for faith and trust.  My life is one big Ebenezer of God's providing in the most unexpected ways. And yet, I'm still tempted to listen to the naysayers who plan everything out and have no time for faith and trust. They think they're simply being prudent, yet all of their plan-making is often a cover for not believing God will wisely direct their paths. How does our faith and trust increase if we never take that step into the unknown? Why do we cry out for daily bread, but put our confidence in the world's wisdom or our preparations or our bank account?

The good news is that God is faithful to give us wisdom when we cry out for it. We have His word right before us, and we have His ear. And though obedience might not bring joy and peace right away, the surrender eventually becomes sweet, and we're able to praise Him for keeping us from leaning on our own understanding.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5,6)

With love,
Trisha

So Much Home-Work

Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others; whereas a humble saint is most jealous of himself; he is so suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they be, and crying out of them for it; and to be quick to discern and to take notice of their deficiencies: but the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with others' hearts; he complains most of himself, and cries out of his own coldness and lowness in grace, and is apt to esteem others better than himself.
~Jonathan Edwards

Before He Leaves

She rises up 

as morning breaks

She moves among these rooms alone 

Before we wake

And her heart is so full

It overflows

She waters us with love

And the children grow

So many years from now

Long after we are gone

These trees will spread their branches out

And bless the dawn.

~Andrew Peterson, "Planting Trees"

******

I wasn't listening very well when older and wiser Mamas shared how hard the leaving would be. Perhaps as in so many cases, I thought I'd be the exception, or perhaps I simply didn't know how quickly my time would come.

His fingerprints disappeared from our walls a long time ago, and as I write this, I have approximately 63 days left with Ink. He'll start a new chapter of his life, in a different state, with beloved friends of ours. God-willing, he'll return for one last Thanksgiving and then pack up his belongings and move to the place where he'll set up his own first home.

I have a countdown clock on my computer and an ever-growing to-do list. Now, don't think me morbid; these are simply tools to help me redeem the time.

A few of the things to do before he leaves?

1) Bake more fruity snacks--pies, muffins, scones.
2) Purchase fine stationery to write him letters while he's away.
3) Take one last family picture with him.
4) Have him inscribe all of the books he's given me.
5) Send a list of his favorite things to the dear family who will be spoiling  hosting him.
6) Buy a photo album and fill it with pictures of us.
7) Watch as many movies as he wants me to over the next couple of months.
8) Snatch as many hugs as he'll let me over the next couple of months.
9) Make his favorite meals, such as seafood chowder, barbecue ribs, stuffed peppers.
10) Schedule dental cleaning.
11) Focus on any last-minute life skills.
12) Measure his height on the door jamb one last time.
13) Take a picture of him standing next to the tree we planted for him in our front yard.
14) Have his siblings write love notes to him.
15) Make a list of care package items to send him.
16) Take one last family trip together.

Samuel Johnson said, "Value is more frequently raised by scarcity than by use. That which lay neglected when it was common, rises in estimation as its quantity becomes less. We seldom learn the true want of what we have till it is discovered that we can have no more. ... There are few things, not purely evil, of which we can say, without some emotion of uneasiness: This is the last." 

How happy we are for Ink, as God has answered our prayers abundantly, in ways we could not have imagined. The leaving is on good terms and is for the embracing of good things. And yet, my heart thinks much about the "lasts" of these days, and how the leaving of one family member shifts the entire dynamic of our daily living.

As I was making my list, I was deeply grateful that there were some things I didn't need to add. These are the things that God, in his grace, has kept me doing over these past 18 years. I don't have to scramble to teach Ink about God or the Bible or the Gospel or walking in wisdom's way. I don't have to teach him to work out his salvation with fear and trembling or give thanks to God for His mercies or to repent and forgive. No doubt, we're always growing in these areas, and Ink will be challenged and afflicted as the Holy Spirit faithfully makes him more like Jesus, and there are certainly things I wish we could do over as his parents, BUT, the foundation has been laid.

Don't give up, my fellow Mamas. It's so easy to forget about eternity and live only for now. But one day you will reap the beautiful fruit of faithfulness and obedience or the rotten fruit of a life lived unto Self instead of unto Him. And though nothing is impossible with God, and He brings the prodigals home, why not be the best steward this very day and the next and the next, of these precious souls He's given you, praying that when the leaving comes, it comes with joy and thanksgiving.

With love,
Trisha

The Ordinary Arts

photo copyright: poffclan

A Month of Thanksgiving~He Still Thinks I'm Beautiful

When my Mountain Man and I were dating (yeah, we did that), I remember sitting in the car with him and realizing that he was just staring at me. I would shift a bit, blush, and then ask him what he was doing. And he would state the obvious with a few more words, which I won't share here because it would only make me blush again (and I know you can see that, right?), and it's a bit embarrassing, because I still look in the mirror and wonder what he's seeing.

But, he thought I was beautiful, and he told me so.

27 years and lots of gravitational-pull later, he still thinks I'm beautiful.

27 years.
13 pregnancies.
9 babies.
8 c-sections.
Skin cancer.

And he still thinks I'm beautiful.

In a world where 50 year old women often look like they're 30, where their bodies have been carefully preserved like fine pieces of china, and their souls have been neglected--no evidence of giving life or laughing much or eating one too many scones, no evidence of living a bit or living a lot--it's hard for women to see what their husbands see.

But, I'm convinced that one thing that makes us most beautiful to our husbands is simply believing that they really do find us beautiful, and then loving and responding to them with that belief.

The beautiful woman doesn't pull away when her husband embraces her or hide from him or make an inventory of her physical flaws when he compliments her. She rests in the grace that God has poured out on her marriage. She gratefully welcomes God's gift of a faithful husband who delights in her, even now.

The beautiful woman remembers that God has done a work on her soul and that work is beautiful. The beautiful woman remembers that the trials and hardships of marriage have reaped a deep and faithful connection with her Beloved that Botox or face peels or tummy tucks could never buy. The beautiful woman remembers that the wrinkles on her face and the wear on her body are the fruit of a live lived with the One with whom God has made her one.

Yes. Every day it's a wonder to me, and I question where my Mountain Man got those rose-colored glasses. I'm tempted to long for someone else's hair or skin or figure or peaceable spirit or quiet and gracious way--but the beauty our husbands see is what God has fashioned, it is a grace He has poured out, and the best response is to believe and say thank you.

With love,
Trisha

Thankful Thursday~Yet Today I Live

"Last night thousands of people entered eternity. Heart monitors flat-lined. Lungs ceased pulling in air. Brains that were once incredibly active went silent.

Yet today I live. Through the night my lungs continued to suck air, and my heart continued to push blood through my body. God gave me yet another day to serve Him, enjoy my family, watch a movie, drink coffee, play football, laugh with friends, and read a good book. I have one more day to prepare for eternity, one more day to store up treasures for that final day."

~Stephen Altrogge, The Greener Grass Conspiracy

******

Ok. So, I won't be using another day to play football or drink coffee, but I will use it to study God's Word and read it to my family, to cook and bake, to discipline little hearts and comfort them, to drink tea and eat chocolate, to look my children in the eyes...so soak up and delight in the "glory of the ordinary." Even in the midst of health and financial concerns, of uncertainty about what seems like so many things, I can rejoice in God's goodness and mercy, in the great wonder that He has redeemed me that I might glorify and enjoy Him forever. Truly, this makes for a beautiful life.

If You Asked Me What I Know About Homeschooling

There's nothing profound in what I've learned about homeschooling over the years. But, often, the obvious can be most life-changing and burden-lifting. Perhaps something here will be an encouragement to newbies and veterans alike, and if nothing else, these are notes to myself. 

First of all, it's a good practice to make a list of what God's teaching you as you teach your children. If you're like I am, there will be plenty of days to remind yourself of the lessons you've already learned because sometimes the truth is in your head while being miles from your heart.

Here we go, in no particular order...

1) Bathe your days in prayer and God's Word, and give Him the glory for everything. Everything.

2) Be encouraged and inspired by other homeschooling Moms, but don't compare and don't covet. Someone will always have a lovelier schoolroom, smarter and more motivated children, more money for more expensive curriculum, be more organized, etc.  When we long to be another Mama, in different circumstances, with different children, we're telling God that He doesn't know what He's doing. This is still a struggle for me, after all of these years, but it's a reminder to keep my eyes fixed on Christ and His provision.

3) Don't separate the teacher and the Mama. A homeschooling mother boasted to me the fact that when she's teaching, her children are not allowed to call her Mom. They must address her as Mrs. ______. She thought it was the greatest idea. I was horrified. Do we make our children call us Nurse or Counselor or Judge when we step into those different roles? The beauty of motherhood is that we get to be all of those things, wrapped up in the loveliest name of Mother. Our roles blend beautifully together, and our relationships with our children should reflect that.

4) When God's given your child a love or gift for something, it will often shine through even if you've not formally taught that subject or skill. My oldest son loves to write, but I've never taught him formal writing. He's a natural, which doesn't mean he doesn't have to learn anything about his craft, but it's a reminder that our children's giftings don't hinge on our ability to teach everything.

5) Include in your teaching something of particular interest to each child. Do you have a child who loves experiments? Then let him do more experiments. Do you have a child who loves horses? Include that love in her daily lessons. We must know our children and not forget to encourage their interests. This is one of the advantages of homeschooling!

6) Be prepared for messes. All day long. Ok, this applies more if you still have Littles at home or at least a child who's very crafty or artistic. Our goal is not a perfect home, but rather a home where learning flourishes. And learning is often messy.

7) Have several brief pick-up times throughout the day. Our family of 11 has FOUR "quick pick-ups" throughout the day. The longest one is right after breakfast and includes the children's other chores. Then we pick up "domains" (the area a child is in charge of keeping clean) after lunch, before dinner, and before bed. These times of putting things back in order will protect your sanity!

8) Sometimes you just have to call it quits. Not quits on homeschooling, but quits on the year or a textbook. You won't always have the opportunity or ability to FINISH everything. Don't beat yourself up. Instead, make sure you're not indulging laziness, and then embrace the gift of a fresh start.

9) Tailor your schedule to fit your life. I've not read of another homeschooling family with a schedule like ours. My Beloved travels over three hours a day back and forth to work. We normally don't eat dinner until around 8:00. Our children don't usually go to bed until 10-10:30 at night. Is this because we're undisciplined or careless? NO. We like to eat dinner together, and we have family worship before bed. I still battle guilt that my children are not awake at 7:00 and starting their school day by 8 or 9. But we're not THAT family, and I'm having to learn to rest in this truth every day. Work out a schedule that reflects the life God has given you, not your neighbor.

10) Remember limitations can be a blessing and protection.  Not being able to afford something or do something reminds us that God gets the glory for everything....not the curriculum or an on-line class or a co-op. Our limitations encourage us to trust God for providing what we need when we need it, and often protect us from losing our vision of why we're homeschooling in the first place. Don't let your goals and dreams and fears of failing choke out the memories of God's faithfulness and provision and your ability to trust Him.

11) Consistency is more powerful than the "perfect" curriculum. Often it's not that we need to keep buying a newer and better product with which to teach a subject. We just need to be consistent in using what we have. Pray for a faithful and diligent heart.

12) Remember the power of osmosis. My eight year old often comes to me reciting the older children's memory work. How does she do this? She hears the older ones working on their passages. This is how our younger children learn a multitude of things. And it's a lovely way to expose them to great art and beautiful music, too. Post lovely art prints around the house and discuss them in passing. Play Chopin or Bach while you're doing lessons or cleaning up. We all know that much of our learning isn't scheduled, but rather happens in the rhythm of everyday living. Isn't it wonderful how God works?

13) Use what you have. As I look to make my purchases for this new school year, there are lots of things I can't afford. But, I have shelves of curriculum and books that I can use. I just need to forget the temptation and glitter of "new" and trust God to bless what I have. Look around you. What you need might be right in front of you.

14) Just because you don't have a skill doesn't mean your children never will. There are lots of people waiting to teach others what they know. I can't crochet, but my 12 year old does so wonderfully because a neighbor graciously comes over to teach her. A former neighbor, who was 88 at the time, taught our Emma how to paint with oils, and other friends have been available to work with her on sewing. This are examples of how God provides in unexpected ways. Ask Him!

15) Discipline is not a waste of time. You've tried to finish the math lesson for the fifth time, and you have another "issue." This child needs to be disciplined, but you just want to get through the lesson, and you're tired of having to stop and start over. DON'T GIVE IN to the temptation to let the discipline go. You'll invest the time now, or you will truly pay the price later. Is not training up our children in the way they should go at the heart of homeschooling? Take the time to correct with love and consistency.

16) The Bible is not a separate subject. While there might be specific times for studying God's Word, His Word should permeate everything we're teaching our children. Don't make it a separate "subject" to be checked off, not influencing every moment of your days.

17) Know thyself. What makes you see red? When you know what triggers your frustration and anger, you can fervently pray about these things and be proactive in showing self-control and wisdom to prevent or minimize your struggles in these areas. Does disorganization drive you crazy? Sibling conflict? Memorize appropriate Scriptures and arm yourself with prayer. Take practical measures to control the externals, but remember that sanctification is in progress for everyone in your home, so expect the battles to come, and beg for the grace to honor Him when they do.

18) Have a watch with a timer. Because you'll need it to time math drills and how fast your child can run. It's great for tracking read aloud time or how long your child actually takes to finish a math lesson. When the timer is right on your wrist, it's much harder to forget that you were timing something in the first place. :)

19) Celebrate! Make a big deal of your child's victories and milestones, big and small. Don't lose the wonder of a child's reading his first story just because you've watched four other children do so. Remember what a big deal it is to learn to jump rope or write your first letter or recite your first poem. Smile. Smile big. Say, "Great job." And sometimes shower blessings upon the Victors.

20) Interruptions are often opportunities. We make our plans, but God directs our steps. Too often, we want to tell Him HOW to direct them, and we get frustrated when His plans don't match ours. Your plans are a framework, the skeleton for your days. But don't hold to them so tightly that you miss the opportunities God sets right before you. It's a balance, for sure, but when your child gets sick or your neighbor's car just broke down, clinging to your "plans" and stewing over the change of them is to craft an idol in your heart. Why is it so hard to learn that life RARELY goes as planned? (And yes, we have to set up boundaries around our school day, for the friend who thinks we're not really doing anything and just wants to talk on the phone for 2 hours, etc. but that's not what I'm addressing here.)

21) Read When You Rise Up by R.C. Sproul, Jr. at least once a year. Yes, it's THAT good.

22) Preach the Gospel to yourself and your children every day. There won't ever be a time when you won't need to be reminded or be reminding your children of His salvation and His grace.

If you've made it this far, WOW! I could write more and more, but I'll stop here. Remember that God's grace is sufficient, and He is trustworthy and faithful!! Ask for eyes wide open to notice this TRUTH every day!

May God richly bless you as you tend to the hearts of your children and encourage in them a love for learning and a love for Him!

With love,
Trisha


***this originally written for my Multitude of Mercies blog, edited and updated for today's post

There Came a Shortage of Future

"How many people are rationalizing the fact that they are neglecting to make any kind of home at all and failing to spend any time with their children because they are providing more or being fulfilled or doing 'good works.' It is possible to destroy the family because your home has fallen apart in the name of doing 'good works.'

There is a great need to stop as a family together, pray for a whole evening, for a whole day off together, discuss, pray, and ask God, 'Please show us before it is too late what balance we are to have in our family.'

I can say positively that the years fly past like a mist in the night. Time disappears more quickly than smoke. It is not possible to go backward. The 'now' is important if there is ever to be any family life. Steve Turner, a young English poet, has a line in his poem "Ageing" which I would like to quote from the book Tonight We Will Fake Love.

At some point in his life
There came a shortage of future

Apply to the family life this truth concerning time. Economic shortages can never compare with 'a shortage of future.'"
~Edith Schaeffer

 *****

Years ago one might have read this and immediately thought of the ways parents sacrifice their children on the altars of prosperity or career or "me time." Those are still battles, of course. But now, the digital world offers so many more ways to waste the time God has given us to teach and disciple our children for His glory.

Surely all of us have noticed the family who eats dinner out together, but who aren't really "together" because each is so busy enjoying social media. And what about the Mom who craves on-line connection and approval so much that her phone is glued to her side, and her children must fight for her attention? "Mommy, look at me." "Mommy, are you listening?" Before you know it, those little children just stop asking for Mommy's attention and simply seek it elsewhere.

It's easy to tell ourselves that today is just an exception, but before we know it, not being right here has become the pattern of our lives. And though eternity waits for all of us, be it spending it in heaven or in hell, we're all living our way to a shortage of future here on earth.

A precious friend started the day almost a month ago not knowing it was the day her 18 year old son would be absent from his body and present with the Lord.   I'm sure she's had days when she hasn't redeemed the time, but there is no doubt from the fruit in her children's lives that she has soberly considered her responsibilities to the Lord to teach her children well.

There is a season for everything, and the season of parenting our children is very short. The wise woman remembers the Gifts in her midst, the souls God has entrusted to her, and she casts off any weight that would makes these little ones stumble, that would keep her distracted and longing to be anywhere other than wholeheartedly where God has placed her.

"Mothers, look up and look ahead! Ask yourself: In five, ten, twenty, even forty years, what will I wish that I had done today?"
~Jean Fleming

With love,
Trisha

The Desperate Woman and Daily Manna

I can't remember the last time one of our Pastor's sermons didn't bring tears. I'm usually tucked away in a room nursing Elijah, and I don't always hear every word preached, but God is faithful and kind to give me nourishing manna, sometimes in the form of just one sentence, and when that manna comes, the tears come, too.

You see, I go to church every week a desperate woman. Desperate to be fed with the truth of His Word, to be encouraged by the fellowship of the saints, to feast at His table. I often walk through our church doors with a heart battered and bruised from daily battles with self, and a spirit that is heavy and discouraged because there is such a dim reflection of Jesus in me. O wretched woman that I am!

Sanctification is a painful process, and it's easy in the moment---those moments when selfishness and strife taint our conversations, when we're so busy jockeying to please ourselves for a moment of quiet or the taste of the last cookie, when we've failed to correct or discipline with love and patience and grace, when trials wear us thin--- to forget that He is faithful to give us our daily bread. His provision keeps coming down, as my Pastor so beautifully reminds us with these words:

"One of the ways Jesus referred to Himself is by saying “I am the bread that is coming down from heaven.” It is interesting. You won’t find it in the Scriptures that way. It says “I am the bread that came down from Heaven….which came down from heaven.” But the Greek says “I am the bread that is coming down from heaven.”

Day by day, Jesus provides for you. Day by day your sins are covered. Day by day..."

His provision is limitless! It is sufficient! It doesn't expire, weaken over time, rot, or run out! My Savior never hears my begging only to respond with, "You've exceeded your daily limit," or "I just gave you plenty of grace, and then you turned around and did THAT. Sorry. No more for you." Oh for grace to remember this blessed truth when sin and self and Satan seem to reign!

"Give us this day our daily bread..." Yes! Yes! Yes!

With love,

Trisha

Good News vs. Nice News

It is a terrible indictment that the civil message of pluralism sounds to us “more loving and Christlike” than the once common warnings of perdition, judgment, and divine justice. It is a frightful thing that we are more at home with the pleasant, non-confrontational, least common denominator messages and methodologies of our culture than we are with the holy alarms of Scripture. It is a senseless tragedy that we have carelessly foisted the fierce injustice of our own recalcitrance upon a hellbound world.

~George Grant, The Micah Mandate, from his chapter, Good News vs. Nice News

On Saying Merry Christmas

We must come to realize the importance of "insignificant" faithfulness.

~Doug Wilson

What's the big deal about saying merry Christmas? Yes, I'm the shopper who heartily and cheerfully replies, "Merry Christmas," when wished a happy holiday. There are many who think this is something insignificant, but it's never rested well with me to surrender the celebration of the Incarnation to the world by calling it something generic that removes Christ from the center of it all. (Because we know their "happy holiday" doesn't mean "happy holy day." It means, "Happy generic celebration of something, as long as it isn't Jesus.)

But even this isn't agreed upon by Christians, and it's common to be told that we need not assume the culture is at war with Christmas. I find it interesting that we'll dismiss those who insist on merry Christmas as overreacting and missing the point while assuming that advertisers and stores have no evil motives and are simply playing a marketing game when when they remove Him from the celebration and the conversation.

It's all so innocent, we say.

But it's not.

Doug Wilson observes:

The message of Christmas is politically incendiary, when you think about it, and it is not for nothing that secularists are trying to get us to forget Jesus with their C.E. (Common Era) and B.C.E. (Before Common Era), and seasonal conifers instead of Christmas trees. Nice try, but we aren’t buying any.

He later describes saying merry Christmas as an act of insurrection.

And the Anti-Christian Liberties Union (ACLU) knows that getting Christmas trees off public property is well worth fighting for. This is why we as Christians have to learn that saying "merry Christmas" is an act of insurrection. How do we define our lives? More than this, how do we define our lives as a people? Far from retreating into a minimalist celebration, or no celebration at all, we as Christians must take far greater advantage of the opportunity we have in all of this. Now the Lord Jesus is on His throne. And His government will continue to increase. But He works through instruments, and one of His central instruments for establishing His kingdom on earth is the faith of His people. Why is it that Christians shopping at WalMart are being reminded over the loudspeakers that "He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found." Why are they telling us this? It's our religion. Why don't we believe it? But if you believe it, then say merry Christmas to somebody.

Merry Christmas!

With love,
Trisha


***If you don't agree that Christians should even celebrate Christmas, this isn't the place to debate. 

Blessed Are the Meek

These passages are taken from Spurgeon's most excellent sermon on the third beatitude, found here.  Highly, highly recommended!

 *******

"The meek in spirit are like a photographer’s sensitive plates—as the Word of God passes before them, they desire to have its image imprinted upon their hearts. Their hearts are the fleshy tablets on which the mind of God is recorded. God is the Writer and they become living Epistles, written not with ink, but with the finger of the living God! Thus are they meek towards God."

"When a man is converted, the first operation of the Grace of God within his soul is to give him true poverty of spirit, so the first Beatitude is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The Lord first makes us know our emptiness and so humbles us. Then next He makes us mourn over the deficiencies that are so manifest in us. Then comes the second Beatitude, “Blessed are they that mourn.” First, then, is a true knowledge of ourselves and then a sacred grief arising out of that knowledge. Now, no man ever becomes truly meek, in the Christian sense of that word, until he first knows himself and then begins to mourn and lament that he is so far short of what he ought to be. Self-righteousness is never meek." 

"It is true that it has a relationship to God, but a man’s meekness is especially towards his fellow men. He is not simply meek within himself—his meekness is manifest in his dealings with others. You would not speak of a hermit who never saw a fellow creature as being meek. The only way in which you could prove whether he was meek would be to put him with those who would try his temper." 

"The meek-spirited man may be naturally very hot and fiery, but he has had Grace given to him to keep his temper in subjection. He does not say, “That is my constitution and I cannot help it,” as so many do. God will never excuse us because of our constitution—His Grace is given to us to cure our evil constitutions and to kill our corruptions!"

"If you take your brother by the throat because he owes you a hundred pence, can you think that God will forgive you the thousand talents which you owe Him? So the meek-spirited man forgives those who wrong him—he reckons that injuries are permitted to be done to him as trials of his Grace, to see whether he can forgive them—and he does so, and does so right heartily."

"The meek-spirited man is not ambitious. He is satisfied with what God provides for him. He does not say that his soul loathes the daily manna. And the water from the Rock never loses its sweetness to his taste. His motto, is, “God’s Providence is my inheritance.” 

"If we are meek, we shall the more readily see the excellences of other people."

"With a gentle temper and a quiet spirit, and Grace to keep you so, you will be inheriting the earth under any circumstances. If trouble should come, you will bow to it as the willow bows to the wind and so escapes the injury that falls upon sturdier trees. If there should come little vexations, you will not allow yourself to be vexed by them, but will say, “With a little patience, they will all pass away.”

"But this must be the work of Grace. We must be born-again, or else our proud spirits will never be meek."

"Put those five qualities together and you have the truly meek man—humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and contented—the very opposite of the man who is proud, harsh, angry, revengeful and ambitious. It is only the Grace of God, as it works in us by the Holy Spirit, that can make us thus meek."

"There are some people who are very gentle and meek as long as nobody tries them. We are, all of us, remarkably good-tempered while we have our own way. But the true meekness which is a work of Grace will stand the fire of persecution and will endure the test of enmity, cruelty and wrong—even as the meekness of Christ did upon the Cross of Calvary.

"The meek-spirited man is glad to know that other people are happy—and their happiness is his happiness! He will have a great number of heavens, for everybody else’s Heaven will be a Heaven to him! It will be a Heaven to him to know that so many other people are in Heaven, and for each one whom he sees there, he will praise the Lord. Meekness gives us the enjoyment of what is other people’s, yet they have none the less because of our enjoyment of it!"

Her Plans, His Plans

"Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, 

for it causeth them to grow rich in God."

~C.H. Spurgeon

There was a woman with child who made great plans. The list she made was her vehicle to contentment and a deep sense of accomplishment. She'd cheerfully check off each thing done and would then be ready to welcome the new baby.

She dreamed of de-cluttered bookshelves and school boxes, organized closets and deep cleaned rooms, menu plans, and freezer foods. She expected to have lesson plans done for the year and cute binders lined up all in a row. After all, isn't this what the Proverbs 31 woman would do right before having a baby?

It would all be smooth sailing. Well, as smooth as life can be in a household of 10.

BUT God...

Well, He actually directs her steps. And He had a very different plan in mind. It started with a bit of a hailstorm.

The house was damaged and the trees were bare. The Woman-With-the-Plans felt a bit overwhelmed but was thankful for God's protection and His mercy.

The next day brought another blow to getting things done. "You need to replace all of your tires," the salesman said. And we had to admit that five years worth of driving on those van tires was something to be thankful for. Still, spending that much money on new tires when school books were needed and house repairs had to be done was hard to swallow. But the Woman-With-the-Plans praised God for His provision.

Meanwhile, sickness had been floating around this woman's house for almost a month. As baby's arrival got closer, she prayed even harder that all of the coughing and fatigue would disappear. As a precaution, she took her three year old to the doctor. This is one time antibiotics would have been a welcome suggestion from the doctor, but the Woman-With-the-Plans got more than that.

She got a ride in an ambulance since her 3-1/2 year old needed to be hospitalized for some complications from pneumonia.  She got a sassy nurse, swollen ankles, very little sleep, a far-away bathroom, an annoying financial rep. who wanted copies of id and insurance at 6:45 in the morning, and a bill for hospital food that no one even ate.

It was at this point the Woman-With-the-Plans developed a bit of amnesia. She murmured at her conditions and told herself if was too much. She spent too much time counting her crosses instead of her mercies. She fixed her eyes on those plans that continued to slip away instead of her God who is steadfast and faithful.

She had her plans, and He had his. Her plans were for organization and comfort and ease. His were for affliction and trials and purging. In the midst of it all, as He always does, He poured out great mercies that lessened the bitter taste of those afflictions.

~Our house suffered much less damage than many around us. It could have been so much worse.
~The insurance company looked at the damage last Thursday, and we had a check by Tuesday.
~Our brand new roof wasn't damaged at all.
~God preserved us from danger while driving with those worn tires.
~Our pediatrician was very thorough and helpful.
~ Claire got the hospital care she needed and was discharged the next evening. She's doing well at home and is still on oxygen.
~My Beloved was actually home that day Claire was admitted to the hospital, and he stayed with us both that night. What a blessing!
~The gift of available healthcare.
~The blessing of having other saints intercede for us!
~Sweet Ella has had to start antibiotics, but she's already feeling better.
~We have older, responsible children who manage everything quite well when we're gone.
~The emergency tech who took care of Claire in the ambulance was a Christian.
~The compassion that flows as result of your own afflictions to others who are enduring repeated trials.
~God showed me once again how deep my ingratitude runs and how easily my eyes shift from Jesus to my affliction, AND how He never fails to provide what we need and so much of what we want.

Claire with the big oxygen tank she uses at night. 

Her daytime one is much more portable. :)

"Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened."
~C.H. Spurgeon

Most of the things on that list won't get done before baby arrives. But as my wise Beloved reminded me, "What needs to have gotten done will have been done." The same faithful God who directs our steps into afflictions that make us more like Christ will give me the grace I need in the days ahead to accomplish what He's set before me and let go of the rest. (Please, Lord, help me let go of the rest.)

"Providence carries our lives, liberties and concerns in its hands every moment. Your bread is in its cupboard, your money in its purse, your safety in its enfolding arms; and surely it is the least part of what you owe to record the favours you receive at its hands."
~John Flavel

What a great privilege it is in every trial to see what He has done and to record those mercies and declare them to our children. That's a much greater gift than the best-made plans that make us boast of our accomplishments instead of the mighty works of God.

With love,
Trisha

Loving in Our Daily Living

"Look at your own daily life, both at home and abroad, and consider what place the charity of Scripture has in it. What is your temper? What are your ways of behaving toward all around you in your own family? What is your manner of speaking, especially in seasons of vexation and provocation? Where is your good-nature, your courtesy, your patience, your meekness, your gentleness, your forbearance? Where are your practical actions of love in your dealing with others? What do you know of the mind of Him who 'went about doing good,'--who loved all, though, specially, His disciples,--who returned good for evil, and kindness for hatred, and had a heart wide enough to feel for all?"
~J.C Ryle
Practical Religion