What Does Faithfulness Look Like?

We often hear about the character trait "faithfulness".  Being faithful can be looked at in many big areas, such as marriage, finances, work, church ministry etc.  But, faithfulness in a Christian woman is a reflection of her faith in God that moves her to be faithful in all areas of her life - faith in action.

 

One of my favorite authors - Elizabeth George recently shared an interesting devotion of being a faithful woman.  It is too good not to share and keep close by!

"In all areas of our lives, including family life and friendships we should be ready to embrace an active faith. So, how can we put faithfulness in action?

 

Let’s consider the actions of a faithful woman. She is a mom, wife, and friend, who walks faithfully with God and follows through on whatever she has to do, no matter what. She shows up for her family and others. She keeps her word. James 5:12 says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” So, we must keep our commitments and be reliable – always.

We must also be devoted to diligence, as Jesus was when He came to do His Father’s will. I’ve met so many women who change their minds like the weather. This, in turn, changes their loyalties, prior­ities, and standards. The question to ask as a woman after God’s own heart is this: You can count on the Lord. But can He count on you?"

A Prayer to Pray: Lord, may You search my heart and find me to be faithful in my actions and thoughts. Let me put real energy toward being faithful as a wife, mom, friend and woman of God.

May we be encouraged to be found faithful and live out a life marked by faithfulness.

"Faithfulness is not doing something right once

but doing something right over and over and over and over.”  

The Longest Road

Most every mom knows or can remember many a trip to the pediatricians office while the children were young.  The pediatrician we used was in the next town and about a 30 minute drive.

 

I remember the days of being a young mom with my first baby.  We went to the doctor for every sniffle, fever, rash, stomach trouble etc.  This ride to the doctor usually produced much anxiety within me as by nature I am a worrier.  "What will they say?", "How serious is this?" on and on my mind would churn on that drive.  Many a time a glance to the back seat to see the feverish child encouraged me to speed up to get there quickly.  How I hated that time driving to the doctor!

 

When the second child came along, I learned a little more about how tough children really are.  For a few months, that baby quickly went to the doctor for every ailment, until the process became a bit more complicated - chasing a toddler, tending to a crying baby, waiting for hours only to finally be seen and told "it's just a virus", no treatment is needed.  I began to learn how to watch closely and listen to my motherly instincts when the children became ill.  I relaxed some and made a few less trips!

 

By the time the third child came along, we learned to treat colds and stomach viruses at home.  It seems that  rest, fluids and a calm mama seem to go a lot further for healing. 

 

Thankfully the third child is very healthy, but this week we found a bug bite wasn't getting any better and he woke up one morning with a nasty red streak coming out of it.  After doing some on line research, we headed to the doctor.  Apparently, we haven't been in a couple of years and were 'kicked out' of their system and had to be added as new patients.  My youngest now 11,  was way too old to enjoy the waiting room!  Noisy babies, children's television programs blaring and a long wait had him ready to leave before we were even seen! 

 

We finally saw the doctor, received the diagnosis of an infected spider bite which was caught early and were sent home with some antibiotics. 

 

On the ride home, I was reflecting on the changes in me through the years.  Through seasons of worry, business, rushing through life to an awareness of the beauty of each day and stage of life.  As my 11 year old sat next to me in the seat, asking a million questions, I thought of how quickly they will stay in that passenger seat and enjoy talking to mom.  Once they turn 15, they trade places with you and instead of asking the questions, they seem to all at once know all the answers!!  By age 16,if they have  a vehicle, they abandon yours for theirs!  Then the time and life changes come even faster!!

 

Instead of dreading that ride home, I wanted to take it slower, to savor a day with the only purpose being to tend to that child.  What if that mentality affected all that I did?  From the mundane tasks of cooking dinner, housework and time spent with the family.  What if everything was done knowing this moment is only here for a short time and this is the time to make the most of it? 

 

I think I need to practice that more, instead of allowing that long road to rob me of joy, I'm choosing to take over and to savor the ride!

Spring at My Home

Spring has arrived at my home!  I love this time of year where flowers bloom and thrive and my ‘sorta’ green thumb comes to life!  Here are a few things in bloom around here:

White petunias: 

I found an 18 pack of these on clearance a few months ago, brought them home, watered and fertilized them and they are gorgeous!

 

My little garden:
Kale, onions, cabbage and broccoli



more petunias:



Fresh eggs dropped by from an aunt!



I love this time of the year!! 

Dead or Alive??

Spring is here in the south!  Warm weather, wildflowers, green trees bring a freshness and beauty to behold each day.  In the midst of all this beauty, some of our trees are looking a bit funny.  The brown leaves which died back in the fall are still partially hanging on the trees, along with the new green growth.  It makes the tree look both dead and alive! 

 

Through the years, we've learned about these spring leaves at our home.  In certain oak trees, the leaves die back and hang in the tree through the winter.  Winds, rain or cold can't shake them out.  But, when spring arrives and the new growth comes, it forces the old leaves to fall to the ground and allows the new growth to take over.  Many a spring day at our home finds us raking up these leaves!!

 

In our lives, sometimes we have some habits that seem to be hard to shake.  Like those dead leaves, they seem to hang on and on.  Like the harsh winters have no effect on the leaves, our efforts to rid bad habits can be futile.  We can try be sheer force to overcome them, we can read books, tell ourselves to do better, try and try again, but still they stay put.  It is not until these habits are replaced with another that the 'let go' and fall away.  As the new leaves on a tree force the old leaves out and off, new (and better) habits are the key to kicking out the old as the new takes over.  Slowly, as the new replaces the old, a bright and beautiful sight is revealed - the newness of spring!

 

Think about a few areas in our lives that we may be ready to change

 

• speech
• selfishness
• sarcasm
• jealousy
• insecurity
• lack of generosity

to name a few!

 

By replacing these slowly with better choices, our words can become sweeter and more powerful.  Selfishness loses it's grip when we think of and act with others in mind first, sarcastic words can fade in the light of kind and gentle speech.  Jealousy loses it's power when we choose to believe the best about our self and others instead of seeking the worst. Insecurity goes away when we think of and use our God given talents and gifts and is replaced by confidence.  Becoming generous expands with each opportunity to share with others. 

 

This transformation isn't instantaneous, but is more like a journey towards excellence - it begins and grows with each step or action.  But along the way, the old, dead, lifeless things fall away and new, beautiful life springs forth.  Let's choose to live in the beauty of spring - inside and out!

 

True Humility

Humility.  The word is lovely, but it tends to bring up images that falsify true humility.  Humility doesn't mean dressing plain or ugly, being a doormat, letting others boss you around or feeling worthless.  Humilty is much more than that.  It's basis is thinking rightly about who you are in relation to God.  It is right, realistic thinking. 

 It is knowing

• your real strengths
• your true weaknesses
• your genuine talents
• your real worth

 

Humility is a balance between the opposing and extreme ends of boastful pride and false humility.  When our eyes are on ourselves and whether we think we are better or worse than others, it is pride.  When our eyes are on God, we can't help but be humble.  Here are a few points from a recent Sunday School lesson which brought out some great points about humility.

 

1.  A humble person has the right perspective about who they are in relation to God.  God is God - we are not.

 

2.  A humble person directs people's attention to God.  They know it is not about 'me', but what God has given to me and how His grace is what makes us what we are.

 

3.  A humble person is not self-focused but God-focused.  You cannot 'achieve humility'.  The more you work on it and focus on it, the more you focus on yourself.  When we focus on God, He increases and our selfishness decreases.  We think more about Him and less about ourselves.

 

Humility brings about grace - grace to receive and grace to give.  It brings about confidence in the fact that God made us unique and has gifted and equipped us to be ourselves.  It brings about kindness and compassion when we turn our focus from ourselves to others we are more aware of needs and ways we can help meet the needs of others. The Golden Rule, spoken by Jesus, is possibly the best known quote from the Bible, and contains a lot of wisdom in one short sentence. If we wish to be loved, we must first give love. If we wish to be respected, we must respect all persons, even those we despise. If we wish to be fulfilled in our lives, we must share generously with others.

 

By humility we acknowledge that God created us for his purposes and not for our self-glorification. By humility we acknowledge the dignity of all God's people. By humility we cool the angry passions of others. By humility we can turn enemies into friends.

A humble demeanor is not a denial of our worth as individuals. Rather, it is the tool that allows us, insofar as possible, to be on good terms with all persons.

Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life. (NIV, Proverbs 22:4)

"But the greatest among you shall be your servant. "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (NAS, Matthew 23:11-12)