Kelly Tarr

As I ran this morning, I thought about our tendency as women to be discontent with what the Lord has given us and covetous of others, specifically regarding our bodies.

I know a younger woman who is crushing it regarding running goals. She's faster, has more endurance, and can put in way more time than I can to train. It would be easy for me to covet her body (and circumstances).

It is normal to notice differences, but if we're not quick to turn out gaze to the Lord, our comparison can quickly lead us to other sins, like covetousness.

We want what she has.

I believe we defraud God, our sister, ourselves, and future generations when we don't deal with this aggressively.

Hear me out: when you covet, can you give God the glory He deserves at that moment or bless the woman? Are you able to walk in the good works the Lord has called you to do at that moment, or are you at least momentarily paralyzed?

What if we delight in what God has given her in those moments instead of allowing our inner-Golam to take over? What if we thank Him for blessing her in that way and encourage her?

Maybe repentance is needed. Sometimes, we're guilty of not stewarding the gifts the Lord has given us well, and the yucky thoughts that crop up in those moments are meant to lead us to repentance. Don't push that down or make excuses!

A quick, genuine heart turn toward Him yields far more joy than you may anticipate!

Sometimes we do need to grieve the effects of the fall. Aging bodies are deteriorating because of corruption (and sometimes poor choices due to sin). That is sad! But let's lament in a way that leads us to trust the Lord.

I smiled this morning when I thought of my friend. I hope I can watch her race one day. I would aim to be her loudest cheerleader! I am older and slower and will never be where she is, but I strive to be faithful to what the Lord has given me.

(With many quick turns of repentance when I sin along the way and lament when I feel the effects of age)

I encourage you to do the same! Our daughters and younger women are watching us--what do we want to teach them?

"But godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim 6:6).

I had the privilege to write for Association of Certified Biblical Counselors this week. Click through to read the article. I'm so thankful for the eternal perspective we can have about every little detail of life, including the hard things.

It's easy to lose perspective, and even hope, in the midst of a trial. But with an understanding of our future hope in Christ, we can faithfully navigate difficult seasons in our life to God's glory. http://ow.ly/FZIl50FA5i3

It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but a few years ago, I confessed to that at the moment, I did not like one of my kids.



I felt like the worst mom in the world.



I mean, I wanted and prayed for this job. And here I was surely failing at it.



And instead of being met with condemning guilt-ridden words, she sympathized. “I can relate. I’ve been there.”



Sometimes kids can be unlikeable, she related. But like any good friend, she didn’t let me off easy. She challenged me and called me higher.



Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”



and



Psalm 145:9 says, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”



I don’t know about you, but I am often (not rarely or sometimes, but I fear often) not the most likable of God’s children. And yet.



He reached out to me and showed me kindness in love when I hated Him.



Unlike me, who often sees what’s lacking before I see the good, the Lord sees Christ when He looks at me. He *chooses* to do that.



He chooses to take delight in me.



I can choose kindness toward my kids. I can choose to take delight in them.



Oh, how I want to be like Him! But I fall so short.



Part of why the Lord gives us older men and women from whom to learn is because He wants us to be like Him too, and He knows that we need help. In the pages of these books, I am helped and instructed.



When I meet with a counselee, I assign homework with at least one part practical application. This is *my* current work. Not just to read the books, but to *do* the books.



If you need to help here too, pick up these books by Matt () and Lisa ()!

I thought I knew Elisabeth Elliot well. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’ve read many of her books and have listened to her talks, enough to think I had a handle on her life experiences, her personality, her struggles, and even quirks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But I could not put down Ellen Vaughn’s biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I know her so much better now! And she’s endeared herself to me even more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My favorite part, hands down is how real Betty Elliot is shown to be (I think she may be Betty to me now).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I cracked up just about as much as I teared up. What a character she was! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I was reminded of what drew me to her as a young believer at 15 or 16: she was “committed to living her life flat-out for Christ, holding nothing back…She was curious, intellectually honest, and unafraid…unafraid of the quest for Truth that might lead her to an inconvenient conclusion.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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She had an “unyielding passion to win souls for Christ." “She was determined not to do what was easy, but to wait for God’s leading, whatever it was.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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As I read, I couldn’t help but hear echoes of myself in her journal entries, which is what led to the tears. I’m no Elisabeth Elliot, but she would tell you that she was no hero, either. "I suppose the general opinion of missionary work says that it is intended to bring [people] to Christ. Only God knows if anything in my 'missionary career' has ever contributed anything at all to this end. But much in that 'career' has brought me to Christ."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My heart has been stirred...and at 40, I still want to "be like her" (read the rest of the post to understand the quotes).⠀

http://kellytarr.com/becoming-elisabeth-elliot-a-book-review/

It's not often that #5 gets alone time with Mom.

Sadness and sorrow are normal responses to the difficult, "crushing nature" of this life.

The question is, how will you and I respond to it?

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (2 Cor. 7:10).

Will we attempt to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps? Do better, try harder, throwing ourselves into something else that will push down the pain? Maybe cleaning the house from top to bottom or exercising for 30 days straight.

Maybe we'll turn to food, TV, shopping, sleeping in an effort to numb or satisfy the nagging disappointment and sorrow.

How often do those self-centered, worldly focused things lead to regret?

There's another alternative, and it's the only truly hopeful option.

It's to acknowledge our deep pain, sorrow, disappointment, and even false hopes (repentance!), and to go to God with them.

It's to acknowledge that God is good and has good purposes in every sorrow and crushing reality.

Yes, this means you will feel the pain. And to be quite honest, it requires humility (we love being strong and put together, don't we?).

To put our hope and trust in Jesus--the One that not only sees and sympathizes with us--but also has purposes in these places, is where deep, abiding, "hope that does not disappoint" hope is found.

We will be disappointed every time we attempt to put hope in anything or anyone other than Him.

The good news of the Gospel is that even if we have done this in the past (if we're honest, we ALL have done this), we can turn and go a new way now. We can repent of putting our hope in ourselves or the things of this world, and look to Jesus.

This is fresh on my mind because I am a person who experiences sorrow like you. I am working through disappointments and false hopes (I've had to repent!).

The fleshly, selfish pull to turn anywhere but to the Lord is strong, and I need the Lord to give the grace to turn to Him.

He gives the grace! One means of His grace is the body of Christ. We need one another's help, reminders, encouragement in this journey. Don't be afraid to reach out to someone you trust to help you in this journey of faith.

Daniel Berger II

I'm what you might call "a feeler." Anyone else?🙋

If I don't slow down to pay attention, I can quickly act on my emotions, unaware of the thoughts that fueled the emotions in the first place.

I'm sure you can imagine the sort of trouble I can easily get myself into. 🤦

When something happens to us or around us (stimulus), we *all* think, feel, and act.

Some of us may be aware of our thoughts, but unaware of emotions, and so we act in calculated ways due to feelings we're ignorant of (fear, for example).

Some of us act on impulse unaware of both how we think or feel.

I think you get the picture.

Whether we're aware or not, we ALL think, feel, and act.

And, just as in any other area of life, we form habits. Even if we're unaware, habits form with each knee-jerk response.

And these habits begin to shape our character.

If I regularly act quickly on emotion, I will develop the habit and character of a woman who lacks self-control.

You see, my thoughts are where I need to begin. What I think leads to how I feel. If I bypass this vital step of paying attention to my thoughts and correcting them if needed, my emotions will be out of whack, and so will my actions.

The good news for all of us is that our current patterns aren't determinative. We aren't doomed to "be this way forever."

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can cooperate with Him in the good work that He's doing to transform us.

But, it will require effort on our part. And it will likely be a humbling process. It has been for me, and I've needed a lot of help from others.

Will you slow down today, pay attention to your responses to various circumstances in your life? Will you ask the Lord to help you see where you need help to change for His glory?

My husband and I recently found ourselves talking through a big decision.

And, the sad reality is that for a time, I found myself acting like the unstable man James refers to, “double-minded and unstable in all [her] ways” (James 1:8).

It was not a fun place to be. Miserable actually, and quite a humbling realization.

Read the rest of what I share about learning to rest in the Lord at https://club31women.com/devotional/learning-to-rest-in-the-lord/

The time is now. Are you ready?

The work must begin with you and me. We can't lead others if we're not first leading ourselves. And it must begin with:

🌺daily time in the Word--reading and hearing what the Lord says is true. Seeking to understand wisdom.

🌺prayer--listenimg to God trough His authoritative Word, and responding to what the He says.

🌺confessing our sin--honestly repenting of ways that we disregard, disobey, do not submit to Him and His Word.

🌺renewing our mind--doing the work to put to death ways of thinking that don't line up with the Word (that are false truths), and replacing them with His truth.

🌺hiding His Word in our hearts--working to memorize His Word! This prepares us and helps us when the onslaught of lies from the world, the flesh, and the devil that tempt us away from the Lord,

🌺doing the good works which He's prepared for us to do - actively obeying the Lord.

🌺participating in gospel community, rejecting isolation.

In the secret place with the Lord and in community, over time, the Gospel is deeply massaged into our hearts. Here, the Lord is preparing and counseling us.

Here, as the Holy Spirit is doing a work, He helps us discern where the cultural milieu has crept into how we think. It's here that we become less aligned with the world, and more aligned with Christ.

As we regularly receive His ministry to us, there will be plentiful provision from the Lord for us to participate in Gospel ministry.

But we're not only sinners, we're sufferers, too. As we seek the Lord, we may get stuck because of ways we've been sinned against, or ways we've suffered. We need a patient, gentle, listening ear to help us move forward. If that's the case, please, don't stay stuck. Reach out to someone you trust to help you. He has gospel ministry for you to do!

If you've found yourself disillusioned by the Ravi situation, or other Christian leaders who've fallen, this is a helpful and important article to read, and I commend it to you.

"Learn from this. Keep the faith. Fight the good fight. Be humble. Seek the correction of a brother or sister. If you find yourself in sin, confess, repent and take up the fight again. This is the perseverance of the Saints. May God grant us grace and mercy in these days."

https://www.deltackett.com/resources/28120/thoughts-on-ravi-zacharias

Thoughts on Ravi Zacharias There aren t too many people who are known simply by their first name. Ravi is one of them. He is gone now, but instead of leaving a legacy of great work, we are left with worse than nothing. An independent investigation by the law firm, Miller and Martin, through sufficient interviews and examinati...

We live in a time of history that has confused everything about identity.

We see Christians leaving the Church, recanting their faith, and believing all manner of twisted philosophies (often subtle).

And, we can feel discouraged, tired, ready to throw in the towel in our own race. Life can sometimes look, feel, and *be* downright weighty, daunting, and disorienting.

That’s part of why we must become women of the Word, women who love theology, women who love prayer…*women who love God.* If we aren’t pursuing these things, we’ll be easily discouraged at best, and slowly compromised at worst.

We must live intentionally, especially as we seek to disciple the next generation of women…because both you and I *are* called to disciple daughters of the faith.

As I’ve been praying through the last several months and watching what’s going on around me, one word continues to return to me as vitally important.

Worldview.

Lifegiving women must have a distinctly Biblical worldview. A worldview, most simply put, is the lens through which we view the world. It is how we interpret and respond to life and life’s problems. It affects everything.

--->sign up here http://kellytarr.com/1517-2/

*New blog post - http://kellytarr.com/why-i-dont-belie…226-is-a-promise/

-Why I Don't Believe Pr. 22:6 Is a Promise-

If I am faithful and do all the right things as a parent, my children may still reject the Lord.

I believe that all of Scripture is divinely inspired and sufficient for all of life. And, the Proverbs are included! But the Proverbs are to be read as maxims for life, not commands. A proverb may be wise for one situation in life, but not another.

For example, "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life." That Proverb is true. But how many unrighteous people do you also know that have gray hair?

John Piper says, "All Proverbs are true. But they are not always true in every situation."

Lest you misunderstand me, I believe the Bible is clear that parents should teach and train their children in the ways of the Lord (Deut. 6:4-25, Pr. 1:8; 4:1; 22:6, Eph 6:4, Col 3:21), and that he blesses them for doing so (Pr. 23:13-14, Pr. 29:17).

But each child that enters into this world has his own heart--which encompasses his mind, desires, and will. And, before salvation, it is depraved (Ps. 51:5, Pr. 22:15,). The child is in need of God's salvific work in his heart, a work which no parent can accomplish.

This is an incredibly hopeful word for all people. It is also one that leaves no room for parenting pride.

For the parent with a prodigal, may this be a comfort to you. For the parents in the trenches with kids not-yet-saved (me!), may this be a comfort to you (keep going!).

And for those of you, who like me, were saved out of unbelieving families, may you rejoice. His hand can reach down into the darkest pit, regardless of circumstances, and save. "There is no partiality with him" (Eph. 6:9).

Praise God!

In my book, I have many of those words above circled or underlined. In the margin of the paragraph before this one, I wrote, "I love Paul. This brings me to tears. I want to be like him." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm thankful for Paul and can't wait to spend time with Him!

If you haven't noticed, I have five children. It's not a rare occurrence to hear, "I don't know how you do it!" or, "Why did you have so many?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I usually meet the first question with a laugh. Parenting has about done me in! The day-in, day-out teaching, training, and correction is exhausting in every way. I do it with the help of the Holy Spirit and God's grace (and tears and sin).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But the answer to the second question is that my deepest desire when I came to Christ was to live for Him. I learned from Paul that this meant surrendering my "rights," and being willing to follow His leadership anywhere.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I quickly learned that at times this means walking down paths that *feel* impossible, look crazy, and strip me bare of me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When it came to the question of children, I wanted to be open to what the Lord wanted. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's involved careful consideration of how the Lord would desire me to steward my body, my time, my gifts, etc. It's involved asking the question of whether I'm willing to lay down my life and my body, again. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My babies have been close to ten pounds and I'm small framed. I hemorrhage at delivery, and I've experienced three miscarriages, one requiring surgical intervention. Pregnancy and childbirth have taken a toll on me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm using children as an example here, and I could give others. Through the years, it's meant different things. There is something in your life that the Lord has either asked you to lay down or to pick up. What is it? Are you wrestling with it?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It will be costly. But the Lord meets us at the place of surrender, that place that is death to self. It's where we have an opportunity to gain new life in Christ. And, we will be asked many times over our lifetime.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The question is, are we willing?

Time and attention spent cultivating our inner world with God yields an offering of love to Him. Then, what flows out can be an outward offering of love toward Him and others.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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! Fair warning! it’s not an easy journey. In addition to hard work, it will require a courageous honesty and integrity in your own heart, openness to the Holy Spirit, and⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But it’s worth it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Mark also tells us “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mk. 7:20-23).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The idea of self-awareness began with the Lord. He knows what resides in our hearts. And He is jealous to have all of our heart for His glory. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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He also knows that what’s inside will come out and affect others, and so he cares very much that we become aware of what’s happening in there. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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He wants us to walk in holiness, but holiness begins on the inside.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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He’s also painfully aware of how easy it is for us to ignore what’s happening inside of us or to dwell on it too much. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But He doesn’t want us to fall into either ditch--⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
he knows the painful repercussions of either. It’s why He calls us back to matters of the heart repeatedly throughout the Bible.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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He wants us to pay attention to the details of our heart because He is in the details. And it's our heart that He wants to transform.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about! We never outgrow our need for it! To the contrary, it should be massaged deeper and deeper into our lives as we grow up in Him.

Gut-wrenching sobs were part of a recent Sunday morning. I texted Blane and my best friend, "I feel grief like when my dad died."

The state of our nation grieved me and scared me. The last nine (+) months have been hard. So many circumstances are beyond my control.

"Who will I be on the other side of this?"

That's the question always in the back of my mind. In any season, it's there.

I wish I had a glowing report of myself from the past several months, but I don't. I've been anxious, and sinned in my anxiety. I've been angry, and sinned in my anger. I've been proud, and sinned in my pride.

Do you have a similar story?

If so, I bet there's also another side to it. My own is that the Lord repeatedly reached out to me, drawing me to repentance. Repeatedly. And He hasn't stopped!

With that has come new life, new fruit, and slow transformation.

2020 was one of my most fruitful and productive years, while simultaneously a year when I felt like I trudged through sludge most of the time.

The question ringing in my ear, bringing me back to the Lord again and again was, "Who will I be on the other side of this?" (It was there in the sobs, too.)

As He revealed sin and allowed difficult circumstances, He put a resolve in me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10).

It's an appropriate question for any season of life because life is full of seasons, each one ripe with potential to prepare us for the next.

So, maybe it's been a doozy of a year. Take the time to grieve it. But then, look forward--who will you be at the end of 2021?

Put one foot in front of the other to get there (Php 3:12-15).

To stand firmly unmoved when the waves of crisis and culture are crashing all around us is an impossible feat.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But God, in His steadfast love, keeps me. He keeps you. He invites us to come to Him, bringing all of the whirling emotions and cares of our heart. And when we do, He keeps us.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You see, in those moments of fear that you purposefully orient to Him, He is keeping you. In those moments of anxiety when you’re tempted to let your mind run far ahead of where you actually are in the moment, and you resolutely refuse to go there, and you turn to Him, He is keeping you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And He is keeping you steadfast.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The more life I’ve lived and the more trials I walk through, I’ve become convinced that keeping a steadfast heart is less about feelings and more about a posture. I can be a hot mess of emotion–whether it be anxiety, anger, sadness, or fear—and still be steadfast in the Lord.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The deciding factor is whether you and I turn to Him or not.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Whether we humble ourselves before Him, choosing to submit our hearts to His Word, to His voice, rather than our own heart’s voice or the culture around us.

(Read the full article here--> https://club31women.com/devotional/remain-steadfast-in-a-world-that-is-shaking/

The world around us rejects these words. And if we're honest, our heart is prone to reject them, too (every human heart is).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Just test yourself for a day (maybe I'm the only one).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I wrote the other day about how many hours in a year we have to read, with the assumption that Bible reading is of primary importance. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ah, but assumicide is so dangerous!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So I think it needs to be said: every single day, we need to read our Bibles. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Every single day.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This isn't a legalistic thing to say. We can't afford not to be in the Word. I know my own desperate need to grow, to know God, to be like Him, to see and interpret the world around me as He does. The ONLY WAY this is possible is with the help of the Holy Spirit, *as I turn to His Word.*⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If God is God--and He is---His Word deserves this attention. He deserves THE PLACE of preeminence in our lives.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If He is our authority, then we must act like He is.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When I first came to know the Lord, I endured regular ridicule for my faith, and was surrounded by people who rejected God. I'm talking outright, volatile (at times) rejection of Jesus. It was really hard, but *that* is when the Lord's Word became sweet to me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I remember going to my room, telling Him that I wanted His Word to wash over me because it was pure, and clean, and good.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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His Word became precious to me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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With tears I write this--oh how I learned to treasure the Word of God! I can't begin to express how thankful I am for those years. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Friends, the world may be turned on its head, but we need not be. If your love for the Lord has waned, ask Him to wax it red-hot in this season. Savor His Word. *Learn* to see it as your sustenance. Regard it as something *you must have.* ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"More to be desired are they than gold..."

The calendar has turned, and from now until January 1, 2022, there are approximately 8, 664 hours remaining. You'll probably spend somewhere around 3,000 of those hours sleeping.

This means you have somewhere around 5, 664 hours remaining.

Plenty of time to read!

Did you know that if you read for 10 minutes a day, it amounts to 60 hours per year?

60 hours is not a small amount!

Depending on the season of life you're in, it can feel like a major challenge to get through a book. But, I'm here to assure you that you can do it.

The goal isn't to have a massive reading stack, but to grow in wisdom and understanding. Reading is an important skill and habit, and slow and steady is an awesome pace to keep.

A few friends and I who remind each other regularly to , and this is certainly an area where plodding will reap dividends.

We are commanded to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5).

Loving God requires effort on our part, and part of that effort involves receiving regular input from other believers. As we consider the perspectives of others who have wrestled through something long and hard enough to write about it, we are encouraged, convicted, spurred on, and sharpened.

We need the global body of Christ, past and present (Heb 12:1) to help us grow up in Christ. When we open a book, we are opening our heart to receive grace through an instrument of our Redeemer.

Proverbs says that there’s safety and victory when we have an abundance of counsel (Pr. 11:14, Pr. 24:6), and one way we receive the counsel of others is through words they’ve put down on paper.

What do you plan to read in 2021?

(Pictured are my favorites from last year. Top are non-fiction, bottom three fiction.)

Merry Christmas from the Tarr family!

2020 has been a year to proclaim, all the more, to our own hearts and to one another,

"Rejoice
Again, I say, rejoice
For unto us is born
The Savior of the world
Take heart
Oh weary soul, take heart
For help is on its way
And Holy is His name"

and

"And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore
And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore
Unto us a child is born
The King of kings and Lord of lords
And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore"

(The lyrics are from Matt Maher's album, The Advent of Christmas)

Praying that this Christmas is a wonderful time of delighting in your Lord, and of experientially knowing His steadfast love.

(For the full article, please click the link in my profile. I'm leaving off about 700 words here. :))

I’m not sure I can add to the beautiful tribute that my midwife’s daughter wrote. This afternoon, we’ll gather together to celebrate her life and grieve her death.

Boy, do I have memories with Teresa. She was more than a midwife to me--she was a spiritual mother and friend. Her midwifery practice was her ministry. I’m confident that, had the Lord (and her husband!) allowed her, she wouldn’t bat an eye at the thought of delivering my grandchildren. She loved it.

I’m a very relational person, and I wanted to know and trust the person who was going to be caring for me in my most vulnerable moments of life on this earth. I would be looking to her for care, leadership, help, and the delivery of the most precious cargo. I would need her ministry for my heart just as much as for my body and baby.

To know Teresa was to know a part of the Lord’s heart that He uniquely wired her to represent. She was probably the most laid-back woman I know, with one of the weightiest responsibilities I know. Her easy-going manner was an evident manifestation of her steadfast trust in the Lord. She knew her limits and she knew her limitless God.

One of the sweetest parts of our friendship was that there was a “pick up where we left off” aspect to it. When I was pregnant, she graced my life. But in seasons when I wasn’t, she was ministering to other women. I understood that and gladly received her back into my life when it was my turn to receive her ministry. It taught me a lot about friendship and ministry.

She leaves behind quite a legacy. Every woman that she ministered to has unique gifts to offer other women. To have known Teresa is to have experienced the tender, patient heart of God that births new life through trials and suffering-- without flinching at the mess of it all.

Alright, this may not be your typical Christmas invite. But, I've been invited, so I though I'd extend it to you, too.

It's December 8, and I have a half lit Christmas tree. I feel behind. There is so much to do.

And I have five kids.

I love the Christmas season. But I can get so easily distracted, and then I get snappy, angry, and the cascade of sin continues.

I don't want to miss Him in all of it. My kids need their normal routine, I need to remain faithful in my daily responsibilities. We all need Jesus.

We need to worship Him, not our selfish desires. That's what it's all about, but how easily we get distracted.

We don't often talk of distraction as a sin, but if I allow my thoughts to run wild, and don't take them captive and make them obey Jesus (2 Cor 10:5), then I am sinning. I am lacking self-control.

So here's how I'm leading myself this season: Discipline. Self-control. I must make the choice to discipline my thoughts, my heart, my hands to obey the Lord.

Practically, it means I plan a time to string lights on the tree. I don't do it when I should be running, or reading to my kids, or making dinner. I plan a time to clean this or that, or to address Christmas cards.

I make a list of all the tasks to be done and then pray as often as I can, and do them at the right time. I fight not to be drawn away to that thing I want to do when I have things I need to do, first.

Am I forgetting something? I am purposefully choosing to trust that He will help me remember because I'm asking Him to help me remember.

I find that when I let all the things invade my heart and thoughts all the time, I get far less done, and I get cranky (along with that cascading list of other sins).

So. Here's to letting our reasonableness be known to everyone, but especially our families, as we walk with peace in our hearts because we're taking everything to the Lord, over and over again (Php. 4:5-7).

And, here's to ENJOYING the season because of seeking to rightly order our hearts, and therefore our lives.