A Lesson From My 2 Year Old

Yes, you read that correctly –
A lesson FROM my two year old, not a lesson FOR my two year old.

Whenever something isn’t working right, our little two year old guy brings it to us saying it is ‘boke’ and to ‘fi  it’ (translations: “Broke.” and “Fix it.”)  Often it is a toy that needs the batteries replaced.  Today, I specifically remember him saying that two times, but not for toys.  This morning, he pointed to one of our lights in the kitchen.  It has burnt out and needs replaced.  He wanted me to turn it on and I told him that it couldn’t be turned on because it was broke.  He quickly replied back, “Ba rees!”.  I tried to explain that it didn’t take batteries to fix it, but that we needed a new lightbulb.  I don’t think he quite got it.  Anyway, tonight, at church, he was in the nursing room with me and his baby sister when he noticed that there was a TV.  (We are blessed at our church to have a nursing room with a TV hooked up so that nursing moms can still watch and hear the sermon on Sunday mornings while they care for their littlest ones .)  Well, you guessed it, the TV has not been working for a couple weeks.  I told him it was broke and he thought we could ‘fi it’ with ‘ba rees!’  Too cute.

While I was thinking about this tonight, I thought, ‘Wow.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could fix everything with batteries?  Just switch out the old batteries when they are used up and replace them with new?’  I don’t know about you, but as a stay at home mom to four little ones  five and under, I am feeling like my ‘batteries’ are pretty worn down right now.  I see it.  I feel it.  I hear it in my voice.  I’m tired and at the end of my energy.

But wait!  Whose strength am I relying on?  Whose ‘batteries’ have been charging me to get up and go each morning (and to keep going throughout the day and into the night)?  Hmmm.  I have been doing lots of ‘good’ things that do indeed have to get done for my family or for church, but I have not been making time for what I know I need first thing each and every day in order to complete them to the best of my ability and for the glory of the Lord.  If I am honest, I would have to say that I have been lax in my time spent with God each day – the Source of my strength.  I need to go make a point to read, and pray, and fall at my Savior’s feet.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

You are Amazing God

Amidst endless questions, toddler tantrums, diaper changes, middle of the night feedings, and cloudy thinking due to lack of sleep, God has placed a song of worship in my heart the past few days. We sang this at church this past Sunday and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. I’ve been singing the chorus (since that is what was so captivating about the song for me), but I thought it would be good to look up the words to the rest of the song as well. I came across the following You Tube video of the song and listened, sang, and worshipped with my 2, 4, and almost 6 year old around the computer screen. Indescribable by Chris Tomlin . . .

The Creator of the universe sent His One and Only Son into the world to live among sinners and to die for sinful men. You saved us when we were still rebellious towards you. You are amazing God. YOU are AMAZING, God.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

My Lord, You are …..
A -AMAZING
B – Beautiful
C – Compassionate
D – Deliverer
E – Everlasting
F – Faithful and Forgiving
G – Glorious
H – Holy, Humble
I – Indescribable
J – Jesus
K – the King of kings
L – the Lord of lords
M- Mighty and Merciful
N – Near to the broken hearted
O – Omniscient
P – all Powerful
Q – the Quieter of my soul
R – Righteous
S – Savior
T – Truth
U – Undefeatable
V – more Valuable than anything
W – Worthy of praise
X – Excellent
Y – Yearning for me to bow all my life before You
Z – Zealous in pursuing me

What joyous heart preparation for celebrating Easter this coming weekend!
You are Amazing, God.

My Thankful Trigger

Linda Dillow, in Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, gives several practical ways to cultivate a grateful heart.  Here are two of the ways that she mentioned that I would like to attempt to implement in my own day to day life….

1) Thankful Triggers:  Dillow describes a ‘thankful trigger’ as some thing, sound, or place that you come across frequently during your day that will ‘trigger’ or remind you to say a prayer of thanks to God.  She gave examples of passing a certain church or hearing the sound of a train whistle.  At this point in time, I think that I would like to try to remember to lift up thanks to God whenever I hear our new baby cry.  She should be a good, regular reminder to thank my Lord at least every 2 1/2 to 3 hours for awhile =)

2) Make a Sign:  Dillow shared how her daughter in law had posted a sign in her kitchen to remind her to thank God for her three young children.  Here are words for me to remember as I daily care for our four precious children, ages 5 1/2,  4,  2,  and  3 weeks.

What is truly important for each day?

  • Sing praises and songs of worship together.
  • Give thanks in ALL things.
  • Hugs and kisses.
  • Think before committing to a yes or no.  (Try to say yes more often.)
  • Stop, look, and listen when they speak.
  • Respond with patience and love.
  • Be consistent.
  • Let the princesses dance.
  • Let them help.
  • Be their encourager.
  • Pray.
  • Smile and laugh.
  • Sing and read God’s Word together.
  • Making messes makes for fun memories.
  • Start and end the day with thanksgiving to our Lord.
  • Our children will not always be this little.
    Train them now, but also enjoy them now!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Take Every Thought Captive

Bowing my attitude…

2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
and
we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ
.

Linda Dillow, in Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, defines ‘attitude’ as “our mental and emotional response to the circumstances of life.”   After the birth of our third child, I did not respond well to the changes in our family’s life. . . not that our little boy was by any means a difficult baby.  He was a good sleeper, nursed well, etc.  However, for me, going from two children to three presented some very difficult challenges.  Over a span of several months, I experienced a lot of ‘negative inward chatter’.  This led to despair and hopelessness because I listened to my thoughts and did not take them captive.  I did not test them against what God’s Word says.

Now,  after the birth of our fourth child, I am again facing similar challenges.  Ever since I became pregnant with this precious little one, I have been fearing this postpartum time.   I have been praying that I would be spiritually stronger and ready to combat the impending negative thoughts and emotions.

I know what I need to do.  There is a solution and God just reminded me of it in the book by Dillow that I have been reading.  So, as I face this upcomming 3rd postpartum week, I need to…

  • draw close to God
  • reflect on His attributes
  • worship Him with thanksgiving
  • cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all things
  • test negative thoughts against what God’s Truth is
  • continue to pray for strength and peace

So, how is this bowing my attitude?  Dillow explains that “The sacrifice comes when I put to death my inclinations, when I kill my urge to” grumble and focus on the negative emotions.  “Then, after putting to death my natural tendancy, I must call forth from the deep within me, the buried treasure of praise.”  “A thankful spirit is the way out of the pit.”

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things.

Lord Jesus, I pray that you would help me to take every thought captive, to dwell upon your faithfulness, and to be thankful for all things.

A Cursing or Blessing?

Bowing my words…

Okay, so anyone who knows me in person knows that I am a woman of very few words.  So, why am I blogging about bowing my words?  Well, I really don’t talk much … except with my kids.  I am a typical stay at home mom who must communicate with her children.  Any mom who has lost her voice and has experienced being home alone with one, two, three, or yes – maybe even four little ones knows how difficult it is to not talk with your kids throughout the day! So, in a normal day, I must give instructions, discipline, explain, question, answer questions, paraphrase, interpret cries and toddler speech, help resolve conflicts, pray over hurts, etc.  Whew!  For someone who doesn’t like to talk much, I sure have to do a lot of it =)

And, with that much talking throughout the course of the day, it brings about many opportunities to stumble in regards to words – word choices, tone of voice, and words thought through (or not) before being spoken.  Will my words be a cursing or a blessing to my children each day?  Will my words be filled with encouragement or discouragement towards my little ones?  I must remember Proverbs 12:18…

Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Dillow states, in her book Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, that “bowing our words as an act of worship is not easy.  It is a sacrifice, an offering.”     I want to bow my words so that they bring healing, blessing, and encouragement to those around me.  So, instead of words doused with a harsh, angry tone, I need to be slow to speak and quick to listen and to remember to fill my speech towards my children with qualities found in Ephesians5:19-20…

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, help me not to grieve the Holy Spirit with my words and tone of voice towards my children.  Help my words to be encouraging and a blessing.  May you help my words to be timely, gentle, and loving.  Amen.

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