The Garden

I recently attended a Garden Party offered by our Women's Ministry team.  I went with the expectation of escaping mommy-hood for a moment and having some grown-up conversation with sisters in my church family.  What I did not expect, but what in fact happened, was a worship experience.  When we walk into a worship experience unexpectedly, and we come face to face with the almighty God, the experience is just so much sweeter. Don't ya think?

I limited God in what He could do with that moment in time.  I put my own expectations in place of His much greater blessings.  He drew me closer to Him when I was in a mindset of escape.  Has anyone else noticed the many paradoxes in God's ways?  They never cease to rightfully put me in a state of awe. 

Not the actual party, but quite similar. I will get a picture of our party.

At first, I assumed that the reason for the theme of the event was a garden party because it was convenient to decorate for that kind of party especially when the ministry already had so many of the that type of decor in their store room.  Some flowers, some pots, a watering can and voila, garden party done. Let me clarify that I don't think, by any means, that the leaders of our women's ministry team look for the easiest way out of anything.  They are super hard working laborers for the Lord.  This was evidenced by the beauty they were able to display with gorgeous detail in a very plain room with black rubber floors.  When they shared why they chose the theme, it immediately became clear that this was not a convenience thing at all, instead it was nothing short of a blessing.

At that party, God reminded me through our church's women's ministry leaders, the speaker, a small book, and the music leader of the beautiful, albeit perfect (of course), metaphor of the garden.  Jesus Himself uses the Parable of the Sower to describe the type of soil needed for a seed to take proper root. Everyone is a plot of land, a meaningless spot of dirt until we accept Him.  He cultivates us and prepares us for His use and plan, a plan to prosper us for His kingdom.  For the purpose of us to then share the Seed of His Word with others. When He has prepared their soil then those seeds can take root, and so on as it is meant to be by the Creator of all Life. We are not called to work the soil of hearts of others, that is His labor, we were only called to spread the Seed of His Gospel, Jesus' last command to His people.

Additionally, He reminded me that this metaphor must be introspective, too. He desires for me to grow in His garden and be fruitful for His purposes, not my own. Realizing that it is His love, mercy, and grace that waters my soul to make me fruitful.  And by that fruit, others will see Him and seeds can be planted for them to become fruitful, as well.

It is all beautiful, perfect, and ALWAYS good in God's garden.  

No White Space

It has been TOO long since I have written.  It is not for lack of desire.  I have just felt a tad bit overwhelmed with life.  In a nutshell, my calendar has no (zero, zilch, nada) white space.  It is full to capacity.  Please know that I am far from proud of this fact.  I promise, I am not bragging here at all by any means whatsoever.  I am usually quite opposed to filling my calendar to capacity for one simple reason, it leave no room for God.  You know, the One for whom we were created to praise?  Yep, that one.

My Calender

*It leaves no room for me to spend the time with Him.  (The daily quiet time that I desperately want to spend with Him.)  *It also leaves little room for Him to work through my life.  (If I am rushing to and fro, I may not hear the Holy Spirit tell me to do something for someone else.) *It leaves little quiet space in my life for me to hear from Him as I desire.  (It is too loud in my life to hear the quiet, still voice of God.) Yes, filling the calender as I have is not a point of bragging rights for me at all!  Even if the things on my calendar are pretty great events.

Events that include mission trips, camps, kids activities, bible studies, volunteering, foster care, church events, appointments, etc.  All good things.  Still, none of which I can take any credit for.  Jesus is the only thing good in me.

I must do all things with Him and I can do nothing without Him.  

He is the source of my strength and life.  I would not have a life to fill it if not for Him.  So, no, I take no pride in my calendar looking as it does.  It is just proof of the abundant provisions and blessings He has given.

And just as He gave 1 day's worth of manna to the Isrealites each morning in the desert, He will, today, give just what we need to get through the day.  Not a gram more or less that we need or can handle.  And whenever it feels like it might not be the right amount, He wants us to turn to Him for strength.

We can proclaim His name for strength by saying, "Praise the Lord! Praise theLord! Praise the Lord!", "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" or "Blessed be the name of the Lord!".  In this way we are proclaiming His name with our voice and heart to invite Him into our lives.  God gave the name of Jesus power and distinction so Christians may call upon that name at any time.

Praise and worship invites God into our immediate circumstances.

There is no one I want to experience life's circumstances with than the Life-Giver Himself!  I will proclaim His name in this good and bad times.  In the overwhelmed and white-space times.  In the fulfilled and broken times.  In the busy and lonely times.  Any time, really.

Take some time today and look up "the name of Jesus" in your study Bible or a Bible web site and see what God's Word has to say about His name.  Big Daddy Weave lyrics to The Only Name say it well, too:

There will be one name that I proclaim!
Jesus! Jesus! Jesus, just that name!  

Crisis Management

I've been told that you are either just coming out of a crisis, currently in a crisis, or about to be in one.  I have been going through a family crisis the last couple of weeks.  It has kept me from writing, but I now feel led to write about this very topic.

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I have learned by experience that it is in these crisis moments that I am closer to God than other times.  I have a tendency to get a little too dependant on myself and forget from Whom my strength comes.  In times of crisis, however, when I do not know what to do, I MUST turn to Him, run into His shelter for comfort.  Therefore, if there is ANY truth the first sentence of this blog, then I should not ever depend on myself.  If I am coming out of crisis, then out of gratitude for His provisions, I should stay close.  If I know at anytime a crisis is around the corner, then I should stay in His loving arms of protection.  And, if I am in a crisis, then He is the only one who can guide me through to the other side, closer to Him than before.

I am blessed to have a Savior who draws me to Him even when it seems my life is crumbling and others are controlling the path I must take.  I have been told that the Teacher is always quietest during a test.  He never forsakes or abandons us.  The truth is, it is only God who is in control of our lives, even though it seems that someone else is.  He is a Strong Tower, therefore, my life cannot crumble when I am in His arms.  I have but one enemy and Jesus has already defeated him.  I come into crisis fighting not FOR victory, but FROM victory, in Jesus Name!

I am human.  I have my moments when I indulge in my humanity, tinker with my idols, give-in to anxieties, and allow myself to wallow in self-pity.  All of which are sinful behaviors.  I quickly return to Truth, ask for His forgiveness and nestle into the loving arms of my Creator, my Rock, my Jehovah-Jireh, my Friend.

Here are some verses that have been a source of joy and encouragement during the past couple of weeks.

Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

James 1:2
Consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let that endurance have its perfect result so that you may live perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Rest?...I don't need no stinkin' rest!

---I know, my grammar ear is ringing, too!  "Double negatives in the title?  Is she crazy???"  No, I'm not crazy, I was just using them for emphasis.  (::smile::)---

Have you ever worked out and the next morning, when you crawled out of bed, your muscles were sore?  They were healing.  You see, muscles don't hurt when they are working, they hurt when they rest and are healing.  It is in the healing that they grow and become stronger.

Yep, this is how I feel most mornings.

That sounds like my life.  If you are like me you are forever busy, running around like a mad-woman, filling your schedule to capacity and then some.  Naps are rare, if ever, and as a light sleeper, even sleeping a full night through is never guaranteed.  We run at full speed all the time and think slowing down is not option if we are to get it all done.  However, slow down we must.  It is through rest that we heal and strengthen, just like our muscles.  God allows us to both work and rest.  Both are blessings worthy of praise.  But to ignore our need for rest is to reject His work in our lives.  (What?!?!)

No...it's true!!!  Rest is biblical, after all, God rested on the 7th day, right?  But it is more than just that.  As I strive toward living fully with a biblical perspective, I was reminded of this fact.  I am learning in my older age to tell myself that I will NOT get it all done and accept that IMPERFECTION is OK.  And God says that it is OK because perfection belongs to Him and Him alone.  That is one soothing fact that makes me trust Him more and decrease reliance on my own strength.  (Phew!!!)

Rest is good when we minus work for a period of time.  But, rest is godly and purposeful when we minus work and add God.

I know by His Word that God has begun a work in me, but He can't fulfil His perfect blessing-filled work in me if my schedule is full to capacity.  I must rest, in Him, for much needed physical and spiritual healing.

What Shall We Wear???

I have done a little secret series on food, shelter and clothing, all the things needed to sustain life on earth.  To God be the glory for all life sustaining things He provides so we can focus on the more important, eternity.  I have written about how I work toward being a good steward with our food.  I have written about how we try to be a good steward with our house.  This blog is about...our clothes.

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-33, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the bird of the air: they neither so nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His  righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

WOW, HALLELUJAH & AMEN!!!

It seems that there is much waste in this world.  I know, that sounds like a penny-pinching dumpster diver talkin', but 'tis my opinion.  People of wealth tend to use something only once or not at all and then they are over it.  I am grateful that some who live this way have are sensitive to their wastefulness enough to donate their items to thrift stores instead of the city dump.  This IS a biblical practice.  Remember the story of Ruth?

Back to our clothes...I buy them at thrift stores.  I frequent the stores that are near well-to-do neighborhoods.  There, I am able to buy high quality, name-brand items for next to nothing.  They are gently used items and about half the items still have the tags on them.  (Once, I bought a pair of jeans with the brand tag (not price tag) on them for $5.  I had NEVER heard of the brand (paper,cloth&denim), but when I looked it up online, they were $228 jeans.  That was kind of neat!  Not that I care, I only mention it as an example of the donations I wrote about earlier.)

How often do you shop?  I shop only twice a year at the beginning of a season (spring and fall).    Summer clothes are less expensive than winter clothes.

Keep in  mind...The following prices are for the name-brand items that my kids desire and that NEVER go on sale at the stores for which they are originally bought.

What do you spend on each item?  When my three were small, I could buy a seasons worth of clothes for all of them and only spend about $100-$130 out the door (usually about $1-2 per piece average).  Now, they are older and wear adult sizes.  I am still out the door with a mere $170-$260 bill, depending on the season.  I have a $3 limit for shorts, $5 limit for jeans/pants/dresses, $2 limit for shirts and $7 limit for jackets.  After all is said and done, I like to have an average of $3-4 per piece.  Therefore, if they find a few shirts for $1 or less and MUST HAVE a $7 pair of jeans, that's fine.  At my last shopping trip in the fall of 2013, we had a $3.30 per piece average.  Not bad for winter clothes!

What is a season's worth of clothes?  Well, for each kids that is about 7 pairs of bottoms and 10 shirts.  A pair of dress pants for boys for church and a couple of dresses for my girl.  When I shop for the cold season, I spend a little more because they will also get a couple of jackets.  Sometimes, they have some things they can still wear from the previous year, so that helps, too.

You don't buy used underwear and shoes, do you?   For shoes and underwear, I do NOT buy used.  I find online deals, coupons,
last year's styles and clearance sales at local stores and buy quality items for at least 70% off.  Bed clothes are usually a part of gift giving on birthdays and Christmas, but still purchased at great discounts, as I buy them at end of season sales.

Do you shop for yourself at the thrift store?  As for my and my husband's clothes, I shop the clearance rack at a local department store and buy quality items for at least 80% off.  This works for OUR clothes because we care less about name brands and more about fit and quality.  I have a store card that gives even greater discounts and cashback to spend at the store.  I shop on the dates those discounts overlap.  My best deal was when I paid $52 and my "TOTAL SAVED" was over $300 (of course, I could not find that one to photograph).

Some of my shopping receipts.

Only putting thought into my kids clothes twice a year really frees me up to do other things.  As homeschoolers, style is less of a priority for them, I know that.  This IS all they know.  I have shopped this way for & with them since they were born.  I know this may not work for everyone, but it is one of the many blessed ways God meets our family's needs!