A deal is a deal and I said I would stop in here as many mornings as I can like I used to. The schedule is tight today so the message will be short and sweet.
We had a little issue with leakage in our kitchen are this past weekend. I called our trusted plumber and he came and fixed the obvious problem which was a leaky faucet. After he got that installed, he checked over all the pipes and such and determined that some do-hickey called a “trap” had been installed incorrectly.
After a short time, the whole drain system was re-configured and we are in good order to move into the future.
The point is this: sometimes our problems keep reoccurring because the basic plumbing has been installed wrong.
We will keep having issues if we don’t get the faulty framework properly aligned.
Sometimes that means a good season of introspection, conviction, confession and repentance.
Sometimes that means we need to find a good, solid, biblical sound counselor.
All the time it means we need to bathe, in prayer and application of God’s word, our recurring patterns that bring defeat to us on the daily.
We were meant to be growing and thriving and reflecting God’s glory.
But we are bent.
Let’s bring the broken places to the One who made us and who knows where we need to be fixed.
Starting a new week and staring down the face of the end of another month.
One of the things I hear people saying is in spite of all the changes and limitations on where we can go and what we can do, time is still accelerating at an incredible speed. I know we all have the same 24 hours in a day, but can we agree that they are zipping along rather quickly?
The past few weeks I have struggled with fitting my morning time tapping at these keys and yet the thought of the faces I never see that might be showing up still float about me. This is an appointment in my heart every morning and I have been missing my appointments.
I have some plans for this space that I am working on and forces out there that seem to be working against me making it happen. But I am determined to get back to making this a part of my morning so you may get some silly and you may get some good word, but you will get something.
Today you are getting a few randoms as we had an overnight with one of the little dudes. We have been trying to split up time with them one on one and it was his turn. He is patiently building a castle while I finish this and then has requested a bike ride. A race actually. I wisely declared him a winner before we head out so we can just relax and take a victory lap together.
Let the random’s fly:
#1
We may have found the magic bullet for our pollinator garden. Sure it smells like the outhouse of a wolf den, but hey…the flowers are enjoying a respite from being nibbled on by rabbits.
#2
I have been doing the Kelly Minter study on Nehemiah this summer and even though I am sadly two weeks behind on her videos (thankfully they keep them up for a while so I will hopefully finish before they stop showing them) and I love this book so much.
It has been my go-to for years on encouraging me when I am struggling in spiritual warfare. Such a great example of how we battle discouragement, how we war in families and how we cover one another when one of us is working at the rebuilding and another stands guard against the enemy.
If nothing else, read Nehemiah 1-4 sometime this week and ask God to open your eyes to what He would like to teach you about warfare.
#3
We had a great sermon yesterday at FCC from Pastor Brian on making plans and the heart behind them that honors God.
Then I opened my devotions this morning and A. W. Tozer preached it to me again!
When God does this, I am guaranteed to be needing to pay attention.
This is us at the end of the day when we hustled to get to practice only to find out it was canceled.
It kind of sums up the days of our lives lately.
So yesterday when I felt this burning desire to type out what had been on my heart since Sunday morning, I set up the laptop and was typing while a tent was being built around me by three boys, two sporting various superhero costumes.
And…
In the middle of making ice pops…
and doing manicures and running arts and crafts…
I poured out my heart and came oh so close to deleting it.
I felt like it was too much. Too raw. Too honest.
But it touched a chord in so many of you and I am so glad I hit publish instead.
The posts that hit home with a lot of people, and I humbly say…both men and women which never fails to blow me away…are usually the ones I battle with God about sharing. Thank you to everyone who commented or shared.
All that to say, I am quite certain God has things He is working in and through you that may seem risky. I hope and pray you have come to know His voice well enough that you can recognize it in a debate with Him. I hope you can discern what is your voice, a voice out there in the world, a voice that is trying to steal your joy and the voice of your good Shepherd.
Keep talking to Him. Keep listening for what He has to say. He is never in a hurry or panic. He speaks directly in a way you can understand and you know that you know when you hear it <3
God bless you.
Here is a verse I found on my daily calendar when I got home last night – maybe it will help you like it did me:
It is based on the passages about the armor of God from Ephesians 6 and there is no reference for who wrote it but it was not me…just some other servant who said, “Speak Lord, I am listening.”
Here is the passage:
For my belt I will strap on God’s Truth. I will protect my heart with the body armor of righteousness. For my shoes I will put on a readiness to spread the Good News of peace found only in God. I will shield myself against Satan’s attacks by holding onto faith. My helmet is confidence in God’s saving work in me. As a sword I will grip the Word of God. The battle will be vicious, but at the end of the day, when the dust settles and the smoke clears, I will be standing!
Fierce Love desk calendar July 20 Dayspring Dayspring.com
