God's Extravagance

Read Philippians 4:9-19




My children stomped up from the basement, discontent oozing from their slumped shouldered postures. "We're bored," they whined.



I was immediately filled with anger and hurt. My strong emotions about a common childhood complaint wasn't due entirely to over-active hormones. Let me tell you about our basement:




Last winter and spring, my husband I spent an exorbitant amount of time and quite a bit of money to turn our dark, icky, dank, moldy, cold basement into a warm, dry, pretty, clean, playroom paradise. We worked and worked, scrubbing and cleaning, building and refurbishing, to make a place they would enjoy playing. It was all for them.




Our basement playroom works out beautifully most of the time. All the kids' toys are there from games to forts, even a tv. What's not to love?




Well, they were bored with it. And I was mad. How could they say that about such an extravagant gift?




Immediately I saw a correlation between my children's discontent with our man-made blessing and my own discontent with God's extravagance in my own life.




This time of year naturally brings out discontent. The new and shiny are advertised everywhere. What I have seems rather dull and boring compared to what's new and beautiful.




Paul the apostle says, "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:18). His gifts are not only sufficient, they are ample and rich! How it must hurt God when we slather our attitudes with "this isn't good enough, I want more!"

(not actually my view, but close :)

I glanced out my window at a beautiful sunset the other evening. It lit the sky with oranges, pinks and purples. Usually I exclaim to my children, "Look! God painted the sky just for us!" Even the little things are gifts from Him. But that evening, the glory of God's artwork didn't impress me as much as the ugly power lines that ran from the road to my house and right through my view. I've never appreciated those power lines, although I whine like crazy if I don't have electricity.




My discontent blinded me to God's extravagance.

"For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received 

one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing 

and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift."

John 1:16

God's gifts are everywhere, He is hoping we take the time to see them.


And especially take the time to appreciate them.

"The art of deep seeing 

[of truly looking for God's extravagance] 

makes gratitude possible. 

And it is the art of gratitude that makes joy possible. 

Isn't joy the art of God?"

~ Ann Voskamp 

One Thousand Gifts 

Blown Away

Read Proverbs 31 (I know. But read it anyway. It's good for you).


By Kristen as published at (in)courage.me


As I sit here the wind outside is blowing. First one way and then another. The leaves can’t seem to find a solid place to land. It has been like this for a few days now. One moment our lawn is filled with leaves from the neighbor’s trees and when I look out again our lawn is surprisingly clear.



Such is my life at times.
Times when it seems like everything around me is blowing and changing and I just want to find a solid place to land.



It can start from the moment that I wake – so many things I think there is to do. And although I am up much earlier than I should need to be, I find myself blowing around until the door closes behind us.
And I am missing the opportunities to see and hear the sounds and beauty around me. I am so busy flying from one spot to another, looking for that solid place to land that I miss what is right in front of me.



The thump, thump of little feet running down the hallway.



A messy-haired bright-eyed boy who wants nothing more than to say good morning to his mama and have some juice.



A young boy who has questions about the world because he is trying to find his place in it.



When my focus is on myself and all that I think needs to be done in a day, I stop focusing on what God has placed as gifts right in front of me in my family.



Smiles and laughter, hugs and love, encouragement and respect.



These are the things that I need to be intentional about every day with my family. These are the things that I want them to remember about me.

Proverbs 14:1 “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.”

Not that I got yet another load of laundry done, or vacuumed the floors again. While an important part of my families daily life – it isn’t what they should remember about me.



It shouldn’t be my main focus!

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

So as the winds blow outside I know that I do not have to be moved. I can secure my foundation on Christ. Focus on His will for me as a wife and mother. And start to become a Proverbs 31 Woman.

Proverbs 31:2 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.”

Proverbs 31:10-12 “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”

#1 Best Marriage Advice

Read I Corinthians 13 (the Message)




There are times when the whirling thoughts in my head spill out rather effortlessly on clattering keyboard letters and onto my glowing computer screen. I would call this inspiration. Whether my thoughts are more cohesive at that point or God is simply choosing to direct my message, I do not know.



There are other times when my whirling thoughts just spin like a blender stuck on high with the lid off. Some stuff spills out, but it looks like more of a mess than anything of value.




For a few weeks now I've been pondering and "whirling" about marriage.... how to have a happy marriage in particular. What is the one thing I could share that would encourage other couples to strive for a happy marriage?



I am blessed that my marriage is a very happy, safe, and loving place to be. Man, oh man, I'm in love with my man! I want to be able to share some deep thoughts about what I've learned over the years... but nothing of value is spilling out onto the page.



I've gone through many seasons in my marriage to my husband of nearly 10 years. You hear people say "it hasn't always been easy," and I would be in the camp to use those exact words. In fact, I've even said through tears to my husband, "Are we going to make it?" Obviously we made it through those hardest seasons and every day we keep working hard to make our relationship even stronger.



So many stress factors come into play in marriage. From personalities, past relationships, location, vocations, extended family, children, how many children and in how many years, genders of children, health, and money (or lack there of). My messy thoughts lead me to wonder, "How could I have any advice that would apply when marriages are SO different?"



I tried to write drivel on what should be such an inspiring and applicable topic, even skipping my assigned post for last week here on Drops. I remained stumped. It was in my days upon days of hesitation that I saw a link to an article. It was written by a widow of a soldier killed last year in Afghanistan. I never knew him, but he grew up in my hometown and I saw many references to him and his wife on facebook after his tragic death. Out of curiosity I followed the link and read.... and cried.... and read.... and cried.




She wrote near the end, "Sometimes I get so sad looking at couples wondering if they know how much they should relish every day together? Wondering if they know that it doesn’t matter if the house is clean... you should just sit down and enjoy each other's company. Wondering if they know if he forgets to take the trash out or doesn’t hear what you say it’s not the end of the world?"





Those words struck me and made my whirling messy thoughts settle. A happy marriage is so much about being grateful. It covers the variables in all sorts of different marriage relationships. When we approach marriage with a grateful heart, the little things that seem to be frustrating, irritating, or not working, are in the shadows compared to the good. Seeing the good is about keeping selfishness squelched, saying the kind thing, encouraging, thanking, holding, hoping, talking.



The woman's story really touched me. I am so very saddened by her loss -- she had such an obviously deep and fulfilling relationship with her husband. Her message stays with me, as I hope it does with you today too... Do you know what you have in the man you married and are you grateful in the small moments?

Love must be sincere. 

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:9-12

Read the story in its entirety here. Grab a tissue as you'll be sure to have tears in your eyes.

Strong Enough

Strong Enough by Matthew West


You must think I'm strong
To give me what I'm going through

Forgive me if I'm wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I'm not strong enough to be
everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not stong enough

Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
For the both of us

Maybe that's the point
To reach the point of giving up

Cause when I'm finally
at rock bottom
that's when I start looking up
And reaching out

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not stong enough

Cause I'm broken
Down to nothing
But I'm still holding on to the one thing
You are God
and you are strong
When I am weak

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be
Strong enough.

Battle Lines

Read Ephesians 6:1-4

A thump. A shriek. An answering shout. No one is injured. Of this I am certain. I don’t need to see what happened to know what happened. This scenario plays over and over and over. My kids are screaming at each other again. They are impatient and snarky. They are arguing over_____. It doesn’t really matter if it’s an argument worthy dispute. They are fully engaged, locked and loaded for full scale battle anyway.


And it makes me want to throw a tantrum worthy of a two year old. What makes them think they can talk to each other like that? As a person who avoids conflict whenever possible, these fights cause me a great deal of stress.


There are multiple schools of thought on how to handle these situations. “Just let them work it out,” some experts will say. But I have observed my children. They simply don’t possess the tools for working things out on their own. The altercation ends with both parties in tears and usually me adding my own raised voice to the mix. Letting them work it out was not working.


So the other day, I sat them down. At seven and four, they are mostly capable of rational thought. Depending on the moment.


“You two seem to get frustrated with each other really easily. I want you to tell me, and think about it before you answer. Do you hear me talking to you or your dad that way?” I don’t know why I was so sure they would say no. They didn’t though. Much to my surprise, they didn’t hesitate to knock me out with the truth. “yes.’ They replied in unison.


It took me a few days to come out of denial. Then I heard myself.


“Time to get your socks and shoes on.”

“Why?”

I sigh. I roll my eyes. “Do you have to question everything? Just put your socks on.”

“I can’t find my socks.”

“You were just wearing socks five minutes ago. What did you do with them.”

“I don’t know.”

“So find them!” More sighing. “What is taking you so long?”


My kids could make a ton of money in Vegas with their disappearing sock tricks. It drives me crazy. I’ve threatened to hot glue their socks to their feet. (I make idle threats sometimes). But they are kids. They are by nature irresponsible.


They don’t turn four and magically know that they need to keep track of socks, shoes and coats. Someone needs to train them. More effectively, apparently. I put unrealistic expectations on them, then get frustrated when they don’t make my standard. Not cool. I was teaching them by example to be impatient and rude.

“Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

So I sat them down again. I said, “The Bible tells us to be kind. From now on, in this house, we will be kind when we speak together. We are all going to work on this together. I want Jesus to be happy when he hears the way we talk to each other. I don’t want him covering his ears.”


So about a hundred times a day, I now here myself saying, both to them and to me, “what would be a more kind way to say that?”


My oldest has no problem catching himself and coming up with something pleasant to say. My youngest has a harder time. So I walk him through it.


“I didn’t know you were saving that Lego building for something special. I should have asked before I wrecked it.” I make him repeat after me. He hates this exercise and I am pretty sure he has changed his behavior more because he resents my interference than anything else. I will take whatever works.


We focus on how our words or actions made the other person feel. We talk about how to express our feelings without getting upset. We talk about what to do if you are having a hard time calming down (Walk away. Run if you have to. Count to 10. Again if you have to).


And I am learning right along with them. I am working hard at reigning in my spiritual gift of sarcasm. This project takes way more work than I anticipated. At first, it involved me involving myself in every single fight. No matter how unimportant, they needed to know that the principal was true no matter what. I don’t have to be quite so involved now as they are catching on.


How we phrase things makes a lot of difference. We were getting ready to leave today and I told them to put on socks and shoes.


“Why?”

I felt like sighing and rolling my eyes. Instead, I said. “You don’t need to ask why. You need to obey.”

“I can’t find my socks.”

“Let’s find you a pair. And when we get home, you can tuck them right into your shoes so when it’s time to leave again later, you will know right where they are.”


Nobody cried. Nobody threw fits. Weird.


I’m sure we will backslide a bit on our journey, but at least we are moving in the same direction. Siblings may not be matched up in temperament or interests, but that’s no reason to tolerate rudeness or meanness. I married a guy who’s temperament is vastly different than mine, but I managed to fall in love with him. Siblings can find common ground too. It’s a whole lot easier though if their parents lovingly guide them to it.

Of New Beginnings

Read Lamenations 3:19-27




God loves new beginnings. Forming the world out of nothing? That was the best new beginning of them all. And all through the Scriptures story after story is woven of people he used by giving them a fresh start.



Rahab, the prostitute, Paul the tax collector, and those fishermen who he gave new vocations and said, "Come follow me." Their lives did an about-face transformations from following their own desires and wants to following God.



A life without the ability for a new beginning would be life without hope. I know God loves new beginnings because he didn't give our lives to us in one big lump. I'm so thankful for that! I'm sure mine would look like a mound of goup, sans glitter. Instead God designed human life with opportunity for new beginnings often! He gave us free will to choose Him.

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, 

for his compassions never fail. 

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Our lifetime is divided up into year. Those years carry us from first faltering steps as babies through childhood, on to adulthood, until old age. The years are divided up into seasons. Four beauties unique in their own new beginnings from winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Within the seasons there are months that go by in the turn of a calendar page and each day is marked with all importance. And each day has hours, minutes, and seconds.




This moment as you are reading this is an opportunity for a new beginning. Is there something convicting your spirit? Do you wish you acted differently in a recent situation? We can't change the past, although it is easy to use it as a crutch to feel bad about the present. But we can change our next moment from following our own desires and wants to following God.



It might not be as dramatic as the leading men and women in the Bible, but God still desires new beginnings for each of us. Quiet moments when we choose Him. Actions that speak of newness and of hope.

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. 

Beginning makes the conditions perfect.

~  Alan Cohen

Thanksgiving

Read Philippians 4 


In 1944 two sisters in their fifties were interred in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruk, Germany. They were accused of the heinous crime of using their home to hide Jews from the prowling Gestapo.


They existed in a universe more horrible than any of us can imagine. They were deprived of food and sleep. Their lives were constantly in danger. They, along with a number of other captives, lived in a dormitory infested with fleas.



In this universe, the two sisters, Betsie and Corrie, read their smuggled Bible in secret. They prayed that the guards that haunted their prison would not find it. The words God spoke to them through the contraband pages were their only source of nourishment in that dark and awful camp. Corrie and Betsie could not imagine surviving without the light the little book radiated in their dark circumstances.

When We Don't Want To Give Thanks

Borrowed from InCourage.Me



Giving thanks. Sometimes it’s hard to do when the holiday set aside for thanks-giving involves in-laws, slushy weather, disastrous kitchens, and crazy kids, not to mention those deeper extended family issues that materialize only on these blessed events.



 But nonetheless, we are to do so.



To give thanks, that is. And if you’re like me, continual thanksgiving conjures an image of this mama who smiles with a knowing head shake at the eternal stickiness on the doorknobs. A risen-early woman walking amongst the fallen leaves in grateful worship to her Creator. Perfectly fine with the dirty dishes. 



These can be true. But they’re not usually true for me, if I’m honest. When I’m in the liturgical rhythm of laundry, laundry, laundry, my natural instinct is not to lift my arms in praise. I wish it was.



 You know the only way I’m able to change my attitude from grumbling to grateful when I just don’t feel like it?



I just choose to say thanks.



I don’t wait for my emotions to change. I change Finn’s dirty diaper, I scrunch my nose, and I murmur without a smile on my face, “Thank you God for this little body You’ve entrusted me with.”



I open my inbox to untold unread emails and say, “Lord, thanks for this technology and these people in my life and this laptop.” I’m still bummed about all the email I need to process.



I open the minivan door and witness the horror that is the cacophony of clutter, and I say, “God, thanks for these little people that are home with me.”



And slowly, slowly, something miraculous happens. My heart changes. It really, really does. It’s usually not unicorns and sparkles outwardly, but it is prettier on the inside.



 I’m still not in love with the poop or the what-is-that-on-the-floorboard?, but I’m a little more in love with the Giver of Life. I’m more aware of the unbelievable gifts soaked in my life. I’m humbled. And so it is the same on Thanksgiving Day. There’s people and noises and casseroles and chaos, and often a sweet potatoed floor. And those perpetrators are reasons for thanks—they’re gifts from God.



 This season, don’t wait for your feelings to flourish. Say thanks anyway, and see what happens.




Written by Tsh Oxenreider

Red Badge of Stress

Read Psalm 62:5-12


I read this today, and it knocked my socks off.


“I call it stress and act like it’s normal, some kind of trophy to be proud of.”


The author was talking about feeling tired, worn out, over committed and under creative. There is likely a reason such a topic should speak to me at this juncture in my life, as I feel tired, worn out, over committed and under creative these days.


I tend to wear my busyness as a badge. As if the number of meetings, errands, subjects to teach, crafts to create and foods to prepare somehow validates me as a person. I am special because of the length of my to-do list and the number of people who need me.


It’s not that I can’t say “no,” it’s that I don’t want to say “no.” I like the people I work with. I value the time I spend with them. I enjoy the teaching, the crafting and the cooking. I love being involved in the things I am involved with. But when I literally have to be three people at once on a Sunday morning (not including the always present roll of wife and mom), something’s not quite right.


Just because we can juggle doesn’t mean we need to all the time. I thought by now I’d read enough on this topic to be an expert. Apparently it’s not the reading that gains the expertise.


As we venture forth into the craze of “the Holliday season,” which I’m pretty starts in September now, we need to remember that saying no to a few things we really, really want to do might just be necessary.


And we need to remember that most of our stress is voluntary. When things happen outside of our control we have the option of freaking out, or hanging out in the shadow of the Almighty.


We can reconcile rest and busyness, it’s just a lot more complicated. It involves getting up earlier, making more lists and-contrary to popular belief-spending more time with God. Early morning quiet time is one of those things that gets shoved to the back burner on crazy days, but those are the days it absolutely must come first.


I’m not sure how I can emphasize this point enough.


It’s the first thing I neglect too. “I’ll squeeze it in later,” I tell myself a dozen times a day. And as I fall, used up and wrung out into bed, I tell myself, “Tomorrow is another day.” And it is. Another busy day full of doing this and doing that and before I know it, my Bible is buried under a pile of bills or I’m sushing my hungry kids so I can hurry through day 16 of my Bible study just so I can cross it off my list.


Not cool.


And then I wonder why it’s all catching up to me. Why, when I have my life filled with so many good things, am I so tense all the time?


Rest doesn’t always come through resting. Not the way we define it anyway. Just as we can be just stressed out doing nothing, we can be at peace in the middle of a storm. The act of resting is not as important as in whom we rest.


Being stressed is nothing to be proud of. Being at peace when we should be stressed sure is though. As long as the pride goes to the right source:

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.

Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”

Choose This Day

Read Joshua 24:2-22



At the end of Joshua's life, he had an important message to impart to the Israelite people: choose whom you will serve. God led his people from slavery in Egypt to safety through walls of water and drowned those who pursued. After living in the wilderness for many years, they battled nation and after nation, defeating them by God's power each time. Finally they were in the promised land and Joshua tells them to remember everything they have been through and choose...

“Now fear the LORD and 

serve him with all faithfulness.

Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped 

beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, 

and serve the LORD.

But if serving the LORD 

seems undesirable to you, then choose for 

yourselves this day whom you will serve, 

whether the gods your ancestors served beyond 

the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, 

in whose land you are living. 

But as for me and my household, 

we will serve the LORD.”

 Joshua 24:14-15

Life is full of choices. Whom will you serve? We can also say, choose this day whom you will love. Choose this day how you will spend you time. Choose this day what you say. Choose this day where you will go, what you will see, what you will do. These are the weighty decisions that make up our lives here on earth.

For the Israelites in ancient times it was either God or a false god. The big "G" verses the little "g." I always wondered about those silly folks building up false gods out of gold or wood when their Deliverer was jealously waiting for their attention.



We don't have gods of wood or gold, but we do make gods. Anything we serve can be a god. Think about this today, where does your attention stray to? What do you crave? What is your obsession? Where is the majority of your time going? This is your god with a little "g."

With little contemplation, the Israelites went on to say unanimously, "We will serve the LORD!" This was the right answer and I'm sure the crowd was cheering -- the noise of the jubilant crowd was deafening. 

Joshua's face must have remained stoic, realizing they still (after all the wandering and God providing) didn't get the seriousness of this choice. It wasn't a Sunday School answer that could be spoken and then lived differently. 

I can see him shaking his head in doubt. He said,"You can't do it; you're not able to worship God. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won't put up with your fooling around and sinning. When you leave God and take up the worship of foreign gods, he'll turn right around and come down on you hard. He'll put an end to you—and after all the good he has done for you!" (The Message 24:19-20).



Again and again the people cried, "We will serve the Lord!" Joshua basically said "prove it" when he told them to throw away all their false gods and idols. They did it and something serious was needed to commemorate their choice.



Joshua read them the laws and the decrees, he wrote in the Book of the Law about their decision, and then he took a large stone placed it to symbolize this moment when they chose to serve the Lord. It was situated under an oak near the holy place of the Lord. I imagine the people passed that way daily and it was a tangible reminder.



To choose to serve the Lord with our life isn't something we should take lightly either. Our God is jealous and "He won't put up with our fooling around" (verse 19). I love the way the Message puts it bluntly. With Jesus, we live with his forgiveness, but purposeful wrong choices and worship of false gods is sin.



We are like the Israelites in many ways. God has provided, he's let us wander at times, He has defeated enemies, and He is always there waiting for our attention. Will we make the monumental decision to choose this day whom we will serve? Write it down and commemorate your choice. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!