Category Archives: Sacred Mundane

• Just so crazy showered by God’s generosity. It’s like ever since the day we finished our employment we have not needed one thing. No joke, it’s like we have not had a single need that’s not been almost immediately provided. Crazy. Just crazy.
• Cheese on sale!
• Butter on sale!
• Free grocery bag full of organic applesauce brought to our door!
• $.88/lb. peaches!
• 100 lbs. of free plums!
• Food dehydrator humming night and day.
• Apple chips, banana chips, prunes!
• Free coffee, potatoes, pancakes, meat, produce galore, organic broth, can’t even list all the things! Really, God? Really?
• Free double date at Stanford’s with our mentors. How on earth do we get to have such amazing people in our life????
• Afternoon boating. Watching the kids take such brave steps!
• My man on the wakeboard. Love him!
• Grubbs. Words just can’t express…
• Kellie.
• Pam.
• The Seifers serving Renew Kids so faithfully every single week.
• Our new roommate. 🙂
• Our car running again!
• Early morning runs with Danielle.
• Putting away summer clothes and pulling out the sweaters and jeans. These are a few of my favorite things!
• Free (really cool) cowgirl boots.
• Checking out a rental house that turned into a field trip at the farm! Cows, chickens, goats, lambs, orchards, gardens, kids chomping on red apples and chasing chickens and kneeling down by the goats. Who could have planned such a day for our kids? Only God.
• So, so, so, grateful to be where we are.
• Slower season.
• Space to breathe.
• Freedom.
• Blessed opportunities to teach, share, rub shoulders with God’s beautiful women in different areas. Such. A. Gift.
• Renew women popcorn night and getting to know each other.
• Melody’s garlic and Parmesan popcorn. Who knew??
• Eating and drinking together.
• God’s Word.
• Resting and relying.
• Sleep.

“As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” Col 2:6

I’ll never forget the first time those words echoed in my heart. College, probably sophomore year, Pastor Mark read them slowly. So walk… the room stood still.

So walk in Him. Of course!  Why hadn’t I understood it before? I was striving, struggling, trying trying trying to live a life of faith. I was frustrated, defeated, discouraged. What was I doing wrong? No matter how early I rose in the morning or how long I prayed I still seemed to struggle. Ready to raise the white flag, I came to Bible study.

As you have received Christ …

How did I receive Christ? As a child. A 5-year-old child. Did I have anything to offer God? Nope. Did I have to rise at 5am to earn His love? Did I try really hard and pray exactly the right words and sweat my way into His kingdom?

No.  How did I receive Christ?

I bowed. I clasped my starfish hands and …

asked.

I asked. I brought empty hands and bowed my head and bent my knees and asked God for the gift of grace.

So walk in Him…

Why do we think that we continue any differently than we began?

Sinners are not only saved by grace through faith, but the saved sinner lives by grace through faith.

Grace is the way to life and the way of life.

Paul would say to the Galatians and me,

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (3:3)

Would we really receive God’s glorious gift of salvation and then push His hand aside, “Thanks, God, but I can take it from here.”

Are there any areas in our lives that are, essentially, saying those words?

Let’s continue how we began… amen?

{Think today of how you received Christ. What would it look like to walk in that manner today? Practically, what would that look like, if you lived that way today? Thank you, as always, for reading.}

I love little stories, like we talked about yesterday. The pink Toms, the cleats, the little things that God does to show us His tender care. But one of the things I’ve struggled with is the natural conclusion we sometimes come to. I know I’ve said it, perhaps you have to.

“God even cares about [insert whatever thing that He provided]!”

For example, let’s say your daughter needs a prom dress. You pray about it, which is awesome, and you go shopping and you find the perfect dress, on sale, and you go home remarking, “Wow! God is amazing — He even cares about prom dresses!” Ok, that’s cool. Or, I’ll be really honest and embarrass myself because that’s usually what I do best in this space: I remember when we were building our “dream” home and I was so excited about the colors and woodwork and all the details, and something happened that basically made the builder give us $10,000 worth of rockwork on the front of the house for free. I don’t know if I said it or not, but I might have said,

“Wow! God even cares about the rockwork on my house!”

My dad always prays before he buys a new car. That’s cool. Does God care about new cars?

Hmmm…. Does He?

Yes and no.

One of the reasons I really battled two years ago when we decided to sell our house was that there were so many “God stories” that had accompanied it. I mean, He gave us free rockwork, right? Obviously He wanted us in that house so how on earth could He then want us to give it all away?  (I’m smiling.)

And then, as I wrestled in prayer, He impressed so gently on my heart:

Providing you a house was simply loving you in a language you could understand best at the time. 

I don’t really care about the house …

I care about you.

Does that make sense?

The truth is, I don’t really care about Dora shoes. I don’t really care about shoes that light up. In fact, I think they are sort of obnoxious-looking and probably not my first choice.

But I knew my daughter would be delirious with joy. I knew she would look up at me when I gave her with the sparkly shoes and I would show her how they light up and she would beam and hold them to her chest and she would say, “Mommy thank you so much for getting me Dora shoes!! I love you!”

And that’s exactly what she did.

Do I care about Dora shoes? Not really.

I care about her.

God is so gracious that sometimes He even provides things that are probably a little excessive. I did not need rockwork on my house. In fact now I feel sick to my stomach over how much money we spent on that house. BUT. God used it to show me His love during a time I needed it, and then He drew me even further into His love by letting me give it away.

Was it because He no longer cared about my house?

No.

Because all along the only thing He really cared about was my heart.

That’s what God cares about.

{Oh I pray you know His crazy love for you today!! Bask in it, receive it, enjoy it! Bless you, friends. Thanks for reading.}

Remember when we talked about our flabby legs? And when we talked about being small? Remember we learned it wasn’t about strong legs or being big, it was about knowing our God and being known by Him? I was reminded again last week of just how “big” others seem and how small and insignificant I often feel.  But He reminded me of His big love by His attention to little things.

First, my dear friend sent me this email:

The main thing I could think of [my kids needing for fall] was a size 7 pair of shoes for [my daughter].  I’d been praying about buying her shoes & I kept feeling like God was saying, “no.”  Then on Thursday I went to visit a friend and totally out of the blue she said, “Here I have some shoes for [your daughter].” So anyway, my friend handed me brand-new only worn once pink Toms–perfect!  It was such a sweet reminder of God’s love & provision.

Ok, if you know my friend you know she loves Toms and pink ones for her little daughter was just over the top! We all know that they have no eternal value BUT the our God was giving a kiss of eternal value to my friend and reminding her of His great love and care for her during a time she really needed it.

So then, we had been praying about ways to help Dutch learn to try new things and take risks and not be so bound by his comfort zone, and my parents suggested having him do soccer. I had drug my heels with youth sports because I just didn’t want to overcommit our family, but it was only one hour on Saturdays for four weeks–I think we could handle that! We signed him up. So then he needed cleats. And Heidi needed some play-shoes for the winter. My dad said he had seen some cleats at Goodwill but wasn’t sure of the size.

So we swing by Goodwill, run in, walk straight to a pair of Nike cleats in great condition (the only pair there) in Dutch’s exact size for $3.99 and right next to them are a pair of Dora play-shoes (with sparkles!) in Heidi’s size for $2.99.  They were deliriously happy with their new shoes, and just walked out of the store shaking my head at my God who is so tender, so loving–that He even provides the most insignificant of things.

Do we have any inkling how much He cares for us? Do we ever need to doubt His love? I know these fun little stories don’t always happen, but they happen enough that we must never forget His tender care for even the most insignificant parts of our lives. 

We can trust Him.

Friend, you can trust Him.

I don’t know if He has shoes in store for you today, but He is the answer to our every need. I pray you are encouraged today as You look to Him to satisfy and supply ALL that you need.  Bless you, praying for you, thanks for reading.

{This story is from a couple years ago but this week I’m getting new opportunities to put these words into use. Perhaps you might try them as well?}

~

I was wrong, please will you forgive me?

The eight most important words for preserving the life of a relationship.  I’ve said them countless times to my husband, a number of times to my friends, and a handful of precious times to my children.

Yesterday was one of those times.

Call it spiritual attack. Call it hormones. Call it 10 house-showings in 10 days. Call it Bible-study-starts-in-5-days-and-I’m-teaching. Call it trying-to-write-a-book-and-raise-preschoolers-at-the-same-time. Call it 5 stubborn pounds I can’t seem to shed. Whatever reasons there are, the flesh is the flesh and sin is sin and when my bright-eyed, bushy-tailed 4-year-old came down the stairs that morning his mama was in tears and that’s just how the day began.

Please tell me you’ve begun a day like that too?

The morning carried on and I’m pleased to say I kept the barking to a minimum.  Heidi had apparently caught the same grouch-bug as me, so we were quite the couple. The only difference between her and I was that I’ve only slightly risen above throwing myself on the floor and pitching a fit (but I thought about it).  So by the time we were late out the door and I was still packing snacks and brushing my teeth (at the same time) and Heidi was still in her jammies, I scurried them into the car and asked them both, in that lovely barking voice sadly reserved for those I love the most, “Will you please not talk right now?!”

I knew as soon as I said it that it was sin — anger. Words that force faces down, words that push away instead of invite. But what was really unfair was that Dutch had been a prince. He had helped Heidi in the car, gotten her books, picked up her fallen toy, tried to comfort her — and when I had huffed and barked, he had sat quietly.

His maturity shamed me.

The thought actually flashed through my mind, “He’s acting more godly than I am right now.”  I thought back to a conversation we had had — because he’s always asking, “Who knows more, Daddy or Papa? Who knows more, you or Daddy? Do I know more than Heidi?” He’s very interested in who knows more, so I had explained to him that true knowledge isn’t in knowing facts or things but in knowing God, in being humble and wise and acting in obedience to God. We read Jeremiah 9:23-24,

²³ This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.

So as we continued down the road, my heart pricked with conviction, of course I turned and spoke those seven words to my children:

“Mommy was wrong. I’m sorry for being harsh and impatient and not speaking kindly to you. Will you please forgive me?”

Dutch’s face lit up, his authentic smile spread from ear to ear.  He beamed at me and said,  ”Yes, Mommy! I forgive you! I will always forgive you. I love you.”

And then, in a soft, quiet voice, spoken with respect and a shy smile he said, ”For a while there it was like I knew a little bit more than you.”

How could I not smile at that?

I reached back and took his hand in mine. “Yes, baby boy.  I’m so pleased with how you’re learning to trust God and obey Him. Sometimes you even teach mama how to do it too…”

Repentance restores relationships.

Forgiveness heals those hairline fractures we cause with our carelessness each day. 

Perhaps write them down — these 8 words — and have them handy. You may need them this week. Perhaps even today...   {Thanks for reading.}

*Thanks to Nadene for creating this graphic!

• Some precious time praying for my 94-year-old grandma and reading 2 Peter 1:3-11. 
• God’s great and precious promises: “An entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  We have reason to rejoice!
• First RENEW service.
• Surrounded by faithful saints.
• Trust.
• Simplicity.
• Hope.
• Hope’s new liver! Rejoicing that God miraculously takes tragedy–the death of a 19-month-old child–and turns it into life: Precious Hope Stewart alive and well! Amazing.
• The kids’ sweet prayers all week long for Hope. Dutch getting up late out of bed and asking to pray for baby Hope again.
• God’s plan.
• Kids’ first day of homeschool PE with Coach Zyp. From inside I could hear them doing shuttle runs: “Come on, Dutch! Come on! Run your hardest! Give it all you got! Atta boy!”  Love it.
• Heidi doing shuttle runs in sparkling Dora shoes.
• Needing shoes and having some serious God-provision, walking into Goodwill and immediately finding Nike soccer cleats in Dutch’s size, for $3, sitting right next to Dora sneakers in Heidi’s size for $2. In and out in 5 minutes. Umm…. ok thank you Lord!
• Spontaneity. 
• Partnering in the gospel.
• Burgerville.
• Sweet potato fries.
• Abundance of local food!
• God’s continual provision.
• Peace.
• Legos.
• The Mind of Christ.
  
• Chris Porter.
• Starbucks with Elisa.
• How God orchestrates our days.
• Moving according to His current.
• Savoring the last days of summer.

We are in the middle of a significant financial transition. That is, planting a brand new church means cutting our paycheck almost in half. Thankfully, God has truly prepared us, and we can see His gracious hand over the past year preparing us for this adventure. I wouldn’t trade this for the world, or all the fortune in it.

Part of the preparation has been in our hearts. We certainly haven’t “arrived” but I can honestly say money does not have a hold on us. It is not our god. There is only One God and He has proved Himself so faithful again and again that there is no doubt in my mind that He will continue to provide.  We need look no further than Scripture (or Rees Howells, Intercessor!) to see proof that we serve a God with all resources at His disposal and He is more than able to take care of us.

The other part of preparation has been in practical skills–good ‘ole fashioned budgeting.  I love me a good budget. Now, I’ll share more later about how I believe God intends to take us beyond budgets into a truly relational model of spending (His voice, not just the excel spread sheet, determines what is spent where), but a workable budget is certainly a great place to start. And even if you’ve already created a budget, sometimes we need some refresher courses to keep us on track. This month has been a great opportunity to really evaluate our spending and make choices to live even more simply. Maybe this month is a great time for you to also re-evaluate your family budget and determine if you can slide a little more over into the “give” department and trust God even more for your daily bread.

When developing your budget, first determine your goals. For example, your two main goals might be:

1. Give 10%
2. Pay off debt (Debt-free plan here)

Awesome. Great place to start. There are lots of great tools for budgeting available, here are a few articles from Tsh on budgeting basics:

• Warm and Fuzzy Budgeting
• The Basics Behind a Budget that Works
• How I Budget

She uses pearbudget.com to create her budget. I just use an excel spreadsheet and break items down by paycheck, then put categories where we use cash in bold. Items that are put into savings as sinking funds are in italics and items that are automatic withdrawal are in regular font. I also make note of the dates each bill is automatically withdrawn. Here is an example of a budget, yours might look something like this:

Income: $3000

Giving: $500

Mortgage/Rent: $1,000

Utilities: $200

Cell phones: $150

Gas: $150

Food: $250

Medical/Dental: $300

Other insurance: $100

Savings: $300

Misc.: $50

The goal is to be the master of your money, and not let your money master you. We are to only have one Master, and anything that enables us to live more freely and obey Him more readily is a great goal. Plus, now that we’re getting first-hand experience with church finances, let me just say that it is a HUGE blessing to your pastors when you have a consistent giving habit. The more consistent you are, the more consistent their lives can be. 🙂 Turning our dollars toward the Kingdom really does turn our hearts there as well.

Happy budgeting! I pray you are blessed as you are diligent stewards and honor Him with every penny! Happy Friday and thanks for reading!