Think on This

My son wasn't his normal happy self as I brought him home from school the other day.  By the time we reached our driveway, a mere 15 minutes, he was about to explode with anger at his siblings - another out of character thing for him.

Instead of continuing with my planned activities, I chose to go for a short walk with my boy and let him vent about his day.  Immediately, the anger turned to hurt as he recounted some injustices at school.

I did the normal half listening and half praying thing as he unravelled.

We ended up on our swing set.  His venting ended and I had nothing to say.  The truth was, he had a rough day.  So now what? I thought.

God put this verse in my mind:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8 (KJV)


I shared it with him and suggested we take turns verbalizing something we were thankful for.  Not naming things from the past or future, but the here and now.  I said I was thankful for the blue sky.  He reluctantly followed my lead.  


Immediately his mood lifted.  I hadn't "solved" his problems, but we no longer focused on them, and they no longer held the same power over his mood.  


What an amazing lesson for me.  I will keep this illustration in mind as I encounter difficult days in my future.  God's word is Living and it works.


PS. I'm thankful that you took the time to read my post today! 

to be Holy as He is holy

 If we are called by His Name, we must reflect the very nature of God. We must strive to be Holy as He is Holy.

As soon as we accept Him as our Savior, He begins a process of purification in our lives. God begins to reveal our sinful nature to us and convict us of the way we fall short of His glory. As we start to see the depths of our depravity clearer and more readily, He begins to replace that sinful part of our lives with one of righteousness. And cleanliness. And holiness.

The closer we are drawn to the side of Jesus, the closer we become to looking more like Him. We begin to circumcise our hearts of all unrighteousness and fill them with those things that please the heart of our God. We begin to walk worthy of our calling.

"For God hath not called us unto

uncleanness, but unto holiness"

(1 Thessalonians 4:7)

Sweet Jesus, as we strive each day to walk in your righteousness, strengthen us to resist those things that take our eyes off of you. Give us hearts like yours and fill us with the desire to be Holy as you are Holy.

Passing the Baton

During my brief middle school career in track and field, I discovered that I didn’t enjoy running the relay race. Something about being dependent upon teammates bothered me. I didn’t want to lose just because someone else on my team was either too slow, or worse, dropped the baton.

I preferred sprints. All by myself. Win or lose, there was no one to blame but myself. Of course, the last time I participated in a track and field event, I was about twelve years old. And, clearly, I had a lot of learning to do when it came to the value of teamwork.

Few things, if any, can be accomplished on our own. Interdependence is a necessity in life, especially so when it comes to marriage. Jeff and I continue to learn the art of teamwork.

This weekend I left for a writers’ conference, and I passed the baton to Jeff. He graciously took some time off of work so he could taxi the kids around and be Mr. Mom for a few days. What a blessing. I couldn’t have experienced all that was in store for me without my husband tending to everything at home. Teamwork.

There will always be moments, sometimes even seasons, when we need to pass the baton. But that is the beautiful thing about marriage. We have each other. We’re a team.