New Years Day 2015: We sat down on the couch with paper, a pen, and a stack of places we wanted to tithe to. We discussed who we wanted to give to and how much, and we talked about goals for the year ahead. Tommy and I were very similar on things we wanted to work on. He wanted to be home more and we both wanted more quality and quantity time with each other. We need to be better at dating. So we get to tough guy and he says he wants to grow spiritually, run a 5 K, Little lady says she wants to give clean water to the people in Africa who drink dirty water, then we get to Boo Boo and he says, "I want to collect more magazines!" I responded with, "Well maybe this will be the year you ask Jesus into your heart?" He says, "No, I just want more magazines!" Folks we need to pray for this child!
This is the time of year that many of us revisit new plans and goals. We are ready for a change and what better time than the new year.
I laugh because my husbands moddo is, "I will start on Monday," along with a million other Americans. I just cannot help but wonder why it is so hard to start and keep the habit.
We need to give ourselves at least 3 weeks to get into the habit, and have grace when it just doesn't work out. We need to be willing to set reasonable goals that are not so out there that we set ourselves up for failure in the first week.
For me I realize that as I prepare for the 40's in a few years, still clutching to the 30's, the importance of a life with people I love and that love me. I realize that this world is about making a difference and stepping out in faith.
Lets think about stepping out in faith for a minute. Harriet Tubman, wow, I can only begin to understand the fear and determination she had as she stepped out in faith and conquered the underground railroad, but then went back around 17 more times to save other slaves. Look at George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, the list goes on and on. These people were life changers and I know it was not easy for them, but they decided not to live everyday like everyone else, but to step out in faith and be people that made a difference.
Thanks to my amazing grandma for researching and digging into our genealogy we now know that we have ancestors that were involved in the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s. Sarah, Rebbecca, and Mary, were 3 sisters that loved the Lord and were not afraid to call themselves Christians. Two of them were hung for accusations of being witches and the other was jailed for 2 years in horrific conditions and died shortly after being released. They were told before death if they just claim to be witches they will not be killed, but they would do no such thing. They stood up for Christ in this time of radicalism. I am sure the fear was unbearable, but they were life changers even to the point of death.
Am I willing to step out and be a life changer? What does that look like for my life? Well I do not know all that God has planned for me, but I do know that right now I have a husband and 3 children that God has called me to take care of. I may not go down in history books as being someone "Great," but God has given me a family that thinks I am great. I will never be president and I doubt I will ever save slaves by sneaking into part of their country and rescuing them, but I am doing great things right here in my home.
The family unit is breaking down. Kids need parents. Kids need to see a mom and a dad that loves each other. I know that there are situations that cannot be helped and need prayer desperately. I am not talking about those situations as much as people that just live their lives not thinking about the repercussions of their choices. A life changer is not always doing something great for the world to see. Sometimes it is the quiet unseen things that change lives one seed at a time.
God calls us to "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.
What if we started a new branch off our family tree that was willing to step out in faith and become life changers? Where would that branch end up? I might only raise children, but what about my children or my children's children? It all starts with a seed. A seed grows and into a trunk which grows into many branches. Where is your life on that branch? Where are your children's lives on that branch?
What kind of life changer are you? A quiet subtle one like me or one that the world can see? Either way God can use it.
Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
So for this new year lets be life changers in our community! Don't wait for Monday because Monday never comes. Let God plant seeds of life change in you!
This is the time of year that many of us revisit new plans and goals. We are ready for a change and what better time than the new year.
I laugh because my husbands moddo is, "I will start on Monday," along with a million other Americans. I just cannot help but wonder why it is so hard to start and keep the habit.
We need to give ourselves at least 3 weeks to get into the habit, and have grace when it just doesn't work out. We need to be willing to set reasonable goals that are not so out there that we set ourselves up for failure in the first week.
For me I realize that as I prepare for the 40's in a few years, still clutching to the 30's, the importance of a life with people I love and that love me. I realize that this world is about making a difference and stepping out in faith.
Lets think about stepping out in faith for a minute. Harriet Tubman, wow, I can only begin to understand the fear and determination she had as she stepped out in faith and conquered the underground railroad, but then went back around 17 more times to save other slaves. Look at George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, the list goes on and on. These people were life changers and I know it was not easy for them, but they decided not to live everyday like everyone else, but to step out in faith and be people that made a difference.
Thanks to my amazing grandma for researching and digging into our genealogy we now know that we have ancestors that were involved in the Salem Witch Trials in the 1600s. Sarah, Rebbecca, and Mary, were 3 sisters that loved the Lord and were not afraid to call themselves Christians. Two of them were hung for accusations of being witches and the other was jailed for 2 years in horrific conditions and died shortly after being released. They were told before death if they just claim to be witches they will not be killed, but they would do no such thing. They stood up for Christ in this time of radicalism. I am sure the fear was unbearable, but they were life changers even to the point of death.
Am I willing to step out and be a life changer? What does that look like for my life? Well I do not know all that God has planned for me, but I do know that right now I have a husband and 3 children that God has called me to take care of. I may not go down in history books as being someone "Great," but God has given me a family that thinks I am great. I will never be president and I doubt I will ever save slaves by sneaking into part of their country and rescuing them, but I am doing great things right here in my home.
The family unit is breaking down. Kids need parents. Kids need to see a mom and a dad that loves each other. I know that there are situations that cannot be helped and need prayer desperately. I am not talking about those situations as much as people that just live their lives not thinking about the repercussions of their choices. A life changer is not always doing something great for the world to see. Sometimes it is the quiet unseen things that change lives one seed at a time.
God calls us to "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.
What if we started a new branch off our family tree that was willing to step out in faith and become life changers? Where would that branch end up? I might only raise children, but what about my children or my children's children? It all starts with a seed. A seed grows and into a trunk which grows into many branches. Where is your life on that branch? Where are your children's lives on that branch?
What kind of life changer are you? A quiet subtle one like me or one that the world can see? Either way God can use it.
Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
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