Tag: truth

the lost pearl . . .

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Recently, my mom sent me a necklace from The Vintage Pearl with a few special charms… and a pearl. That’s their signature deal. A little pearl comes on each necklace. A few days ago, I lost the pearl. I started to internally freak out like I do. Then I internally prayed like I try and remember to do. And I kept searching. I left the necklace on the kitchen counter, the latch was open, and the other charms were present, so I was certain the pearl had slipped off the chain and was rolling around hiding somewhere on the counter. This counter space, btw, is where I pile things. All sorts of things, the kids school papers, their priceless artwork, random little toys, lip gloss, pencils, important scrap papers, my Bible, my phone, my rings, aaaand… my necklace. After searching and turning over the pile, I started looking on the floor and in the kitchen corners. Yuck. I realized I need to sweep more – and I had just swept the night before! Ah ha! I had just swept! Perhaps the pearl was caught up in the broom pan and thrown away. I searched thru the trash. Yes, I did.

Throughout the search, I was praying and freaking out and praying some more. I was trying not to be frantic about finding the pearl. Nothing good comes from my being frantic. I sensed a peace as I searched thru the trash. I was willing to look through our trash for this pearl. I am not a gal who wears, or owns, a ton of jewelry. I wear the same earrings most days. I have worn the same 2 rings for over 17 years, my wedding ring and a rose spoon ring that belonged to my great aunt. I rarely change up my jewelry. But this pearl, this necklace, had become part of my daily jewelry routine. It had become special to me. And if it was lost, I had to let it go. But God… 

I continued to pray about finding the lost pearl throughout the day. I had searched the counter, the floors, and the trash. God was reminding me not to worry. It is okay if I never find the pearl… One day, I might just randomly find it… If it’s lost forever, it’s really okay… I can buy another pearl… The pearl is not an eternal thing I need to lose my mind over… I was really okay with losing the pearl… But God.

I began picking up and moving around the toys in the living room. Our 4 year old usually asks us to “make a pile” of her toys, otherwise she’s too “overwhelmed” by her self-made messes and throws a fit about cleaning up. How many times do I do the same thing? I become frustrated if I leave a mess for too long. The mess becomes more daunting if I don’t address it right away, and I become overwhelmed. If I leave the dirty dinner dishes to “soak” overnight, they don’t magically clean themselves. They are staring me in the face the next morning. If I put off paying a bill, or calling the insurance company, or finishing a project in a timely manner, it only causes me frantic feelings. I was frustrated with myself about the piles I make, and the procrastination I too easily embrace, turning a simple task into a complicated ordeal… I was frustrated with myself over the random places I choose to put things, like my necklace, leaving space an innocent mess to turn into a lost treasure… But God.

God cares so much. For me. For the innocent messes – turned daunting overwhelming frantic messes – I make. He cares enough to teach me thru great loss and pain I have experienced, and He cares enough to teach me thru losing small, material, non-eternal things… like my lost pearl. As I moved the toys around in the living room, I came across the pearl. It was underneath one of the many dolls that cover our living room floor. An unexpected joy washed over me. My heart swelled with the reminder that anything lost can be found. God cares so much. He cares about everything. He wants us to seek Him for everything. Big or small. Difficult or easy. Important or menial. The details matter to Him. The loss of a small pearl, or the heartache of grief from the loss of a loved one… Whatever our circumstances look like, there is hope. In Him… 

God cares because He loves… He wants me to experience His love. My mom loves me so much, she gave me a special necklace. She expressed her love thru a special gift. God loves me so much, He wants to give me more of Himself. He expressed His love to this world thru the greatest gift, His son Jesus. As I follow God and let Him love me, He teaches me how to love, how to become more like Him. The greatest gift is not that the lost pearl has been found. The greatest gift is trusting God after a loss, seeking Him to find what I truly need, Him teaching me to be more like Him in the process, and the joy of receiving Him as greatest gift. Knowing He is the giver of all joy in the midst of it all, regardless of the outcome, and thanking Him for finding the lost pearl.

Jeremiah 29:12-14a “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord…”

Whatever has been stolen, lost or misplaced, can be found. It might not be in the way you expect. But God… 

In Him, Leslie

Our lives revolve around *This Screen*

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I’ve been plagued with the reality that much of my life in twenty-fourteen consists of my staring into the face of a screen. 

There is no reason other than this is a season of life we are in with unlimited access to this screen we look in. 

When this screen is uncovered, the world is discovered, with one swipe, one press, one click of our finger tips.

This screen is sleek glamourous gritty and dangerous, chipping away our precious time and attention from others that need us.

This screen is a fierce competitor with our marriages, children, parents, friendships, fellowship, and any. other. relationships.

This screen is information, greetings and salutations, opinions and prose as the author knows, there is always a story to be told.

This screen is an expression of diction, weaved with some inhibition, promising freedom of speech, words wide open to impeach.  

This screen is a roll of images and artwork, online classes and networks, social and formal, all realms of relationships.

This screen is an open window of human life at its finest and human life at its lowest. Craving attention, visually exposed, at our worst, at our best. 

This screen knows no boundaries or barriers, except the ones set in place by the carriers of. the. screen.

This screen is a magnet for addiction, secrecy and conviction, exposed from behind the perceived safety of the screen.

This screen dances upon our emotions causing laughter, joy, pain and jealousy. excitement, anticipation, anger and insecurity. 

This screen is a mixed bag of the good and the bad. the ugly and the beautiful. images and words, some miserable, some helpful. 

This screen is a choice. what we seek, what we search. the wise and the unwise. what brings joy, what brings hurt. 

This screen is a view of the weak and the strong. The truth and the lies. The noise and the song. 

This screen. Do we recognize its place our lives – in our pockets and purses, in our hands, by our side, at the table, the couch, indoors and outside.

This screen. Do we recognize how much our lives revolve around it – timed by it, board by it, excited, motivated, saddened and shocked by it.

Days, hours, and moments we are faced with choice – will we be a voice? asking – How much of our time, energy, resources and relationships will be poured into a screen? How much our time, energy, resources and relationships will be poured into life giving things? 

We have a choice. We have the option. We have the freedom – to reject our lives revolving around this screen. 

I certainly have a conflicted love/hate relationship with the internet and this screen. What are your thoughts? 

Please. Do. Share. 

In Him, Leslie 

insanity.

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some days i think i’m going insane, ifffff…

insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ [at one time, Albert Einstein was given credit for this quote]

 

“brush your teeth, change your clothes, get ready for school, put your shoes on, brush your hair, do your homework, don’t whine, don’t fight, don’t mess around – just GO to the bathroom if you need to…”

 

i tell my kids the same thing over and over and over again – every day – expecting this time they will do what i am asking them to do without my having to repeat myself over and over and over again. i’m expecting different results, right? daily, i do the same tasks over and over and over again – the dishes don’t disappear, the laundry won’t wash itself, the bills won’t pay themselves. insanity, right?

 

a few weeks ago, i began the work out program insanity. 

i love running. and usually that’s my exercise of choice…

but i realized i needed to do something different, if i was expecting different results. 

so the insanity began.

i’ve peed my pants while doing the jumps.  [sorry, tmi] after having 3 babes au natural, this happens.

i’ve sweat more profusely than any other time in my life. i’ve debated taking a shower before and after the workout because of the insane amount of sweating with this workout. 

i’ve never sounded more ridiculous while trying to be healthy. seriously, these power and diamond jumps evoke weird noises when you’re giving your all to this work out. 

buuut… if i’m working out in the evening – and then eating noodles for dinner at 10pm – it might be, just might be, pointless.

so i’m working out with insanity and i’m expecting different results.

 

buuut… insanity is not really ‘doing the same thing(s) over and expecting different results’.

insanity is actually defined as:


1) a deranged state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder (as schizophrenia)

2) such unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or as removes one from criminal or civil responsibility

3) a: extreme folly or unreasonableness

 

 

 

 b: something utterly foolish or unreasonable

 

 

 

 

…

 

the insanity work out program is centered on exercises which work on/from your core. physically, our core is primarily what keeps us together.

it is all about your posture, keeping the correct posture for each exercise, and making sure your core is always in check.

 

whether you’ve been exercising a long time, or never have, our physical core needs the most focus. everything hinges on our core.


so what about our spiritual core?

we have to maintain our spiritual core, keep it in check, and work on having a correct core posture, or it will get flabby and out of shape and cause us heart problems… hmm… the same as our physical core.

 

my hearts core desire is to maintain a spiritual posture of surrender. 

if i am surrendered to God, i can fully abide in Him, lean on Him to keep my spiritual core in check and trust the Holy Spirit to convict me of sin.

 

there are many things that can impact the deterioration of our spiritual core… leading to sin – and even insanity. 

one of the most disruptive areas of sin that can absolutely crush our spiritual posture of surrender, is pride. 

pride is the polar opposite of surrender. 

part of our spiritual work out plan should be to keep our pride ‘in check’.

 

how can we avoid insanity? 

in the same way a physical work out needs to be maintained on a regular basis, keeping our spiritual core in check is a continuous activity.

this can’t just happen in a church service on christmas, easter, or even once a week on sunday mornings…

sin never takes a day off.

how do we maintain a healthy spiritual core? everyday we must be spending time in God’s Word, in worship, in a posture of surrender.


in the Bible we can read of King Nebuchadnezzar, who was filled with pride. even after he saw the miraculous works of God and praised Him, still his own heart was filled with pride. he was humiliated, stripped of his rulership, and… eventually he went insane. {Daniel 4:28-37 NKJ}

 

The king spoke saying, “is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was still in the kings mouth, a voice fell from heaven: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!”… that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.


we are responsible for our core posture.

physically, we need to maintain an exercise routine and build up our core posture.

spiritually, we need to maintain our core posture of surrender unto the One true God.

 

it’s never too late to start building your healthy core posture. 

physically, start today – start with 1 mile – 25 sit ups – 10 push ups – whatever you can do. just do it.

spiritually, start today – read your Bible for 15 minutes – pray for 10 minutes – take 5 minutes to listen to a worship song.

 

there is always hope for physical and spiritual restoration.

“at the end of time I, Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me. I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever… at the same time my reason returned to me… now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. and those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”

 

what’s your spiritual posture? how are you maintaining your spiritual core?

 

thank you for reading 🙂 as always, feel free to comment, share and follow this blog.

 

In Him, Leslie

 

i don’t wanna be a mom anymore…

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at times, it hits me…

i don’t wanna be a mom anymore.

i’m weary, discouraged and tired of the stress that envelopes the calling of parenting.

hmmm, this might be kinda hard news to break to my 3 kids and husband…

 

so, i’m stuck with being mom. 

 

do i really have a choice, anyway?

 

well, yes.

one day i can decide i don’t wanna be a mom anymore and walk out, leaving my kids and husband, to live MY life, right?

yes.

or… i can decide i am going to choose joy in being a mom and keep choosing joy in the midst of the stress, discouragement and disappointment.

YES!

today i am writing this from a place of healing and the reality of how i feel at times.

there are days, sometimes weeks and months when the stress of parenting, along with other stress in life becomes overwhelming.

even menial tasks seem like a mountain to be conquered…

making their meals, doing the dishes, doing the laundry, brushing their teeth, giving them baths and caring for my kids proves difficult.

i begin to think it would be easier to just lay in bed all day…

i long for their 8pm bedtime, and it’s only 5:30pm…

sure, there are those days…

if i am honest, those times suck.. but thankfully they don’t last forever.

thankfully, i can honestly say i am grateful to be a mom and my kids bring me great joy!

 

we are a creation living within a world of choice.

we have a choice what to think about with our minds.

we have a choice what to do with our bodies.

we have a choice how to feel with our hearts.

we have a choice how to believe with our souls.

everyday we have choice, and everyday our kids have a choice.

we can guide our children to make good choices.

we can give consequences for their not so great choices.

we can guide, but can’t control every single one of our kids actions and reactions, anymore than God can control our actions and reactions.

we can choose to nurture our children and teach them in the ways of the Lord.

 

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord… Fathers {and mothers}, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

{Ephesians 6:1-4}

i have complained to the Lord of my anger and shared with Him my woes.

i have cried for relief from the hurt and pain that children can cause their parents. 

i have repented for the hurt i can cause my children.

i have sought the Lord for His wisdom on every aspect of parenting.

i have been honest with the Lord from the depths of my soul. 

 

God can handle our wide range of emotions and the depths of our transparency.

honesty with God brings healing and refuels our hope.  

 

although it is not always easy, i choose…

joy in the midst of parenting stress and life mess.

to remain grounded in God’s Word, hearing His truth for my life and for the lives of our 3 children.

to mourn disappointment and discouragement and loss.

to let go of my anger and frustrations.

to let go of bitterness and resentment.

to be thankful in all circumstances.

to pray over our children and love the heck out of them, even in the face of their disobedience.

for my patience to outweigh their impatience.

thankfully, God patiently loves the heck out of me in my disobedience!

and let’s face it – as parents – we don’t know what the heck we are doing most of the time anyway.

 

i choose God. 

i choose Worship and Praise.

i choose surrender.

i choose His ways not my ways. 

i choose to trust when i don’t understand…

and i choose to never. give. up. hope.


maybe you have felt this way? whether the situation be about your children, your job, your relationships, or anything else, what do you choose? please feel free to share! 


In Him, Leslie 

 

5 lies we believe.

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5 lies we believe… 


1. you’re. not. cool. if you don’t own a pair of TOMS shoes. and the Bobs Skecher version doesn’t count. and neither does the Payless version. if they even have a version. sorry.

 

the truth is ~ TOMS shoes are impacting the world in a great way. buy one give one. but you don’t have to own a pair of TOMS to be a cool and giving person.

 

2. you’re. not. hip. if you’re not on Pinterest. sorry. you’re just not. and you have to be invited into Pinterest. so you probably don’t have any hip friends either.

 

the truth is ~ Pinterest is hip and trendy. for now. but don’t feel bad if you haven’t been invited and you’re not ‘pinning’ anything. life will go on. i promise. 

 

3. you’re a terrible housekeeper if you leave dishes in the sink. or on your counter. over night. you will start the day tomorrow with dirty dishes in the sink. you are already behind.  just give up now.

 

the truth is ~ you can do the dishes in the morning. really. they will still be waiting patiently for you in your sink. or on your counter. 

 

 

4. you will. miss. out. on the greatest deal, the final sale, and your last chance to save 20% if you don’t use that coupon to Kohls that expires today. and you will never. ever. get that chance back again.

 

the truth is ~ those deals run every. single. day. and they are stupid and pointless. and they clog up your inbox. so you need to ‘unsubscribe’.

 

5. your underwear is crap unless is comes from Victoria’s Secret. in fact all of your hoodies and stretchy pants are also crap if they don’t have the PINK logo slapped on the buttocks.

 

the truth is ~ victoria’s secret underwear get holes in them too. just the same as undies from target [pronounced ‘tar jay’ en francais] where you can also, btw, find perfectly fluffly $5 clearance hoodies.

 

whew. i am certainly relieved these 5 lies we believe have been exposed… and i am so thankful that God loves me *and you* regardless of my clean or dirty dishes or underwear choices.

 

*In the Bible, Matthew 6:25-34 also renounces these lies we can believe:

 

“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 {or what kind of underwear you will put on}. Is not life more than food {or dirty dishes in the sink}, and the body more than clothing {or whether or not you have a pair of TOMS}?… verse 27. and which of you by being anxious {or pinning things on Pinterest} can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing {or whether or not you will be able to use your 20% off Kohls coupon that expires today}? 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 {Kohls customers}… verse 33. but seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble {and shopping at Victoria’s Secret can be more trouble than its worth}.” Amen.

 

*please note {emphasis added by me} these notes are not in the Bible 🙂 but don’t just take my word for it, read it!  happy wednesday!