Growing Kids - Not Grass

My daughter in law, Carol, suggested that I add a picture of our sweet Franky, the kitty that I wrote about last month. So here he is! Our cute and lovey Franky! Every evening, he would come in and lay on the rug in front of us. When he rolled over out of a deep sleep he would look up at us with a dreamy-eyed look, purr, give us a short meow as if to say "I love you", and stretch out his paws toward us! We still miss him so much and look for him to run out to us every time we drive into the driveway, his usual ritual when he heard our cars coming. And believe it or not, he recognized the sounds of our truck and car and would come running when we rounded the corner of our street! We miss you, Franky!

In Need of the Savior

Rivers of water have flowed under the bridge of life since I last posted, some clear and easy drifting, some dark and treacherous. Through it all, God has been faithful and helped me through. As soon as I wrote in the last blog and warned you of the schemes of the devil against us and how we need to be on offensive alert against him through the power of the Holy Spirit, I fell under attack so viciously that it took me a while to come out of the attack. Walking this spiritual journey can be hard at times, but I wouldn't want to do life any other way. I am so grateful that I have a heavenly Father who loves me enough to let me reel out just so far, then reel me back in to take care of the yuckies in my heart. I truly, truly do not know how I would survive without His presence in my life. I have thought often during this valley, of those who read the blog and whether or not all truly know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. If there are some who do not know Him, I don't know how you successfully do life, and especially as a mother and/or wife. When you and I became moms, we didn't have a clue what it would be like. There is nothing that can totally prepare a woman or man for parenting. Sure, there are courses to take, books to read, and others who have walked the path before you to glean from, but nothing totally prepares us for what we experience as mothers and daddies. I think often about Mary, the mother of Jesus. How in the world did she do what she did?
Her journey to motherhood didn't begin in the usual way. She was a young maiden, born to a devout Jewish family, planning a wedding to a man of the same faith, Joseph. As she expectantly awaited their marriage, her life was loudly interrupted one unsuspecting day when the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, appeared to her with a loud greeting. "Rejoice, highly favored one, for the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" He then proceeded to tell her not to be afraid, that she had found favor with God and was chosen to be the mother of the Savior of the world, Jesus, the Most High Son of God! Whoa!!!! Now this news didn't take her totally by surprise, because, since Gabriel first spoke of the coming Messiah to Daniel in Daniel 2:44, the Jews were awaiting His arrival--over 400 years! And Mary had been faithfully taught of His coming. BUT she certainly didn't expect to be the chosen one to bring Him into the world! And now, here was the ancient angel, Gabriel, standing before her, telling her SHE was the one to give life to the Son of God and raise Him until the time He would step into His place of reigning over the Kingdom of God forever and ever! Now remember, Mary was just a young maiden, probably no older than 14 or 15, and had never "known" a man. Standing before her was an angel telling her she would miraculously conceive the Christchild! After a 'how can this be?' first response, she exlaimed, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:26-38) Talk about a woman of faith! I should only hope to be that kind of woman! Knowing that hers was a high and treacherous calling, she wholeheartedly answered the call to a motherhood that none of us would want. To be the mother of a child that would one day be persecuted, ridiculed, tortured and crucified, all for the sake of mankind, would be a task that not another woman in this world could handle. How did she do it? Only by the grace of God, available to her because she was His child. She believed in His sovereignty, that He would provide a way of forgiveness and salvation to those who believed in His Son, One to be borne by her. She trusted Him and knew that His plan was perfect, though incredibly hard. She actually was grateful, humbled, and delighted to be called to be the mother of Jesus. Mary trusted God and knew where her strength and courage came from. Mary is an amazing example to you and me as to where our motherhood must begin and end---at the Cross with Jesus. Without Him in our lives, your role as a mom, or any other role for that matter, will be so much harder. One who does not Jesus as Savior is "on her own" so to speak. With Him, He provides all we need to be the successful parents we are called to be and desire to be. The road to success as a parent begins at the Cross of Christ. He is the beginning and ending of all things. Mary spent her days as the mother of the Messiah, leading, guiding, and praying for Him, pointing Him to His destination---to fulfill the plan of God for Him and all mankind, that the Father would be glorified through the Son. Likewise, your role as a mother is not to fix everything, right the wrongs, make your kids happy, give them all the "right" things, push them to be popular, accepted, etc. It is simply to point them to Jesus and help them to look to Him in every situation. Your kids do not belong to you. God gave them to you on loan in a sense--but they are His. To be all we need to need to be as mothers, we must first trust Him as Savior, call on Him as Helper, and call on Him in pointing our kids to Him. We do this through prayer and reading His word, the Bible. Mary knew the scriptures and she was able to recognize truth when she heard it. She knew her heavenly Father intimately because she spent time in prayer. With His love, His power, His guidance, His strength, she was able to answer the call to give birth to the Messiah of the world, Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? Is He the One you run to, cling to, and pray to, for help in times of trouble or guidance when you need it, or just because He is your Lord and Savior? If not, I encourage you to turn your life and your heart over to Him, and receive His cleansing and healing power in your life. Trust Him as the One and Only Savior of your soul. I can promise you, your life and the lives of those around you will never be the same. The love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control you need to be a successful mother will be yours through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) If you have trusted Him as your Savior, I can say to you, as Elizabeth said to Mary, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Luke 1:45.

I was one who was raised in church and thought I was a Christian because of that. Not until I was in my early 20's and a mother did I realize I needed Jesus as my Savior.( If you haven't already, you can go to the "My Story" tab to read a short testimony of my journey to Jesus.) He saved my soul and set me free!! Praise His Holy Name!
Maybe you are one who has a saving relationship with Jesus, but you have wandered away from Him. Possibly you have, in a sense, lost your first love. You are trying to do this thing on your own and it just isn't working. All you have to do is turn back to Him and He will welcome you with open arms.
Don't waste another minute of another day--you KNOW where you belong--tucked up under His wings of love! As one of my favorite songs says, "Come home running. His arms are open wide. His name is Jesus, and He understands. He is the answer, you are looking for. So come home running, just as you are."