The Power of Blessing Others

I want to share one more blessing that we received on party night at our house. Fourteen-year-old Vanessa was being dropped off by her dad, and Jeff and I were reassuring the dad that even though there were lots of college-age youths at our house, the party would be well supervised. Vanessa's dad said, "You've already passed the parent test," and he let us know that he wasn't worried about anything bad happening during the evening. That vote of confidence really made my day! You guys, if you ever notice anything positive about someone, tell them about it. This is so encouraging.

What God Taught Me Today

Before I tell you about my day, I want to wish everyone a blessed holiday season and new year. I made my new year's resolution early; here it is: listen to God. Already He has spoken to me and challenged me. Today's lesson took place in the kitchen. Jana was bored, so I asked her if she wanted to make a fruit salad. She said yes. I told her what fruit we had in the house. She wanted to put apples, grapefruit, and bananas in the salad. I didn't think that sounded like a good combination, and I told her so. My perfectionist tendencies were in high gear at this point, and all I could think about was making the perfect salad, that is, MY idea of the perfect salad. Jana didn't share my idea of the perfect salad, and when I pushed for my own way [which I, no kidding, believed to be the only right way], she interpreted it as anger aimed at her :( I called Jeff into the situation to help us. Jana explained that she thought I was angry at her, and I apologized. It troubles me that my perfectionism makes me blind to my self-centered thinking. I pray that God will set me free from this, and I believe that today was one step in that process. Jana opted out of the salad making, and Kara took over. She made fruit salad with bananas, apple, grapefruit, and an orange. It tasted quite good!

Christmas Party/Grace

My three oldest daughters had a party at our house Sunday. The friends that Amy and Liz invited were mostly people that I've known for awhile, and they're all sweet and fun to party with. Kelly invited friends from school, and I'm just getting to know those girls and their families. I've been to some of their homes and they have things like Wii and big-screen televisions, which we don't have. So I was nervous about h0w to entertain them. Kelly was not at all concerned, though. I was telling my dear friend Marie about these stresses, and she suggested that maybe I needed to let go of trying to be in control. She was right; I wasn't doing so well at trusting God for this party.
Party night came, and here's what happened: About 30 guests came. Kelly and her friends joined right in with the others. They played charades and some other games, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. God was very kind and really blessed the whole evening. I now see that there's only one thing necessary for a good party: friendly and loving people. I regret that I wasted my time worrying, but I'm thankful that the Lord is faithful when I am faithless. And because I saw Him be gracious to me, it'll be easier for me to trust Him next time I'm tested.

GRACE
Lately I've really been struck by Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" This isn't a new thought, but wow, what a huge sacrifice. It shows the enormity of God's desire to rescue us from death and destruction, and also to have us as His own. It makes me realize that He is obviously very willing to meet every need of ours, since He already went to the greatest length possible to meet our need.
I pray that God will touch your hearts with His love this Christmas season.

God's Love/ Sacred Romance

God's Love
John 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." Malcolm Smith said, God's love feeds us as we give it away. We understand and receive God's love, we are blessed, we give the same love to others---all at the same time. This only happens if we believe that God's Spirit of love is in us. When God enables us to love those who are hard to love, that's when we learn the depth of God's love. It makes me think of when Corrie ten Boom forgave a man who had been a guard at the concentration camp where she had been a prisoner, where her sister had died. It was very hard for her, but she prayed that the Lord would help her, and she thrust her hand out to his hand stretched out to her. And she was filled with the love of God.
When we look at it this way, loving others becomes not an exhausting, draining thing, but a way to experience God's life and love.

The Sacred Romance
This is a great book by John Eldredge and Brent Curtis. I am reading it for the second time. Here is a quote: "God created us for intimacy with Him....What He is after is us--our laughter, our tears, our dreams, our fears, our heart of hearts....How few of us truly believe this. We've never been wanted for our heart, our truest self, not really, not for long. The thought that God wants our heart seems too good to be true."
"Listen to the names He has given us: 'No longer will they call you Deserted...They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After' (Isaiah 62:4, 12)."
Thank You Lord.

Sesame Chicken

I was trying a new recipe, sesame chicken, and there were some challenges. I burned the teriyaki sauce. I was hurrying to get supper ready in time for Liz to eat before she went to youth group. My mental and emotional state weren't the best. It was a flesh moment, meaning I was trying to make things work and forgetting about Jesus.
Jeff started sharpening my French knife--he likes to be helpful like that. Instead of appreciating this, I said, "I was hoping to use that knife." I wanted him out of my way, because it's easier for my stressed-out mind to think when I am alone. He handed me the knife and left the kitchen.
Later as I was trying to figure out why I get harsh and unappreciative toward my husband, I discovered anger in my heart, but it wasn't anger at Jeff. I was angry that my cooking project might be unsuccessful. I struggle quite a bit with perfectionism. My anger was fueled by fear: fear of failure, fear caused by a lie. The lie is that if I don't do everything right, I'm a bad person.
The truth that sets me free from this lie is that God doesn't look at my performance to decide whether I'm good. He only looks at the fact that I have trusted in Jesus as my Savior and Life, and He has put his Holy Spirit in me. So even if Liz went to youth group hungry (which she didn't), I'm still a good person because Christ lives in me (see Galatians 2:20). I thanked the Lord for this truth, and asked Him to keep me believing it even when I am tested.
My perfectionism takes my emotions to a place that is miserable. I don't like being angry. I don't like feeling unforgiving and unforgiven. I don't like to wreck relationships. I feel so sad when I'm not seeing God's unconditional love, and I'm not giving that kind of love to others either. I so need to be accepted with all my issues, but I fear that I won't be accepted. This is what God showed me: perfect love casts out fear. I closed my eyes and pictured myself on His lap with His arms around me. It was very comforting. The Lord was happy to have me there, as long as I wanted to stay. He wants us to be like little children in His arms, basking in His love (Mark 10:14-16).
May God bless you with His love.