I asked my son, Emmie, at the barbershop when he was distraught with me for taking him to get a haircut. Hey, a momma got to do what a momma got to do! He surprisingly answered, “That’s what I want to know!” Like, yes, why didn’t you die! Hehehe! That’s how angry he was!
So, today, in a little hugging session, I told him what God has been teaching me about venting all my frustrations to Him, but to others, I should learn to practice silence. I know he doesn’t want me dead, but sometimes you can’t take back words. I said this has been super tough for his momma, but when I withhold words from others, when I’m all angry and upset, and instead vent them to God, it’s an act of love that I do for the other person and for God. He didn’t quite believe me, so I ended up showing him a picture from my appointment with God, just last night:
“The LORD will fight for you, AND YOU ONLY HAVE TO BE SILENT.” – Exodus 14:14
A few minutes later, I asked Emmie to have alone time with God with me. He picked number 120 from our Purpose Driven Life Devotional for Kids, and look what incredibly showed up:
“When you don’t understand something that God or your parents ask you to do (like going to the barber!), TALK IT OVER WITH GOD. VENT YOUR FRUSTRATIONS. DON’T HOLD IT IN…”
Can you believe our exact conversation showed up in this 365-page devotional? Emmie picked 120 because apparently, that’s how many Fortnite points he has. That was another one of my God winks when, out of the blue, everything lines up a little bit too perfect to be considered some random coincidence. It was God’s sweet way of letting me know that He is intimately involved in every aspect of my life (including parenting) and every moment.
God has been teaching your girl here all about keeping silent and venting to Him. That I should hide all my ugliness in His heart (it’s a hospital). SUPER TOUGH when the crazy lady wants to come out, but that’s where the praying all day every day comes in. God is teaching me to control my emotions and put on a poker face when necessary and be wiser in making decisions. Smile. Be calm. Loving. Patient. Forgiving. Self-controlled. Peaceful. Brave. And good. Knowing that once we do this, He is in the background of our lives fighting battles on our behalf. Wink! Wink!
Got that? Go to God all day. Every day. Asking what He would have us to do, say and go. Life is all about the decisions we make! A LIFE GUIDED BY GOD CANNOT FAIL. He is with us in every moment. It is just for us to involve Him! KK?
“I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection. You are my God and I trust you.” – Psalm 91:2
I felt so hurt hearing this from the mother of one of my kid’s friends on Saturday. Ouch! Who wouldn’t want their child to be friends with my wonderful child? I wanted to say something like, “Bruh! It ain’t all that! Don’t you think there is enough hatred in the world?” But, hey, everyone is different, and we all see things from a different perspective. However, I used it as an experience to share with my children what God has been TRYING to teach me about love:
“Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other and have the courage to accept each other as we are. Do not be surprised at or become occupied with each other’s failure; rather see and find the good in each other, for each one of is created in the image of God.” – Mother Teresa
“Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. MESSY love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity.”
If you’re looking for perfect relationships, you can FORGET ABOUT IT – they are pretty complicated and can get pretty messy. I feel like God’s guinea pig in that He throws me in these challenging situations that He wants me to respond to from His GOD IS LOVE perspective. THIS HAS NOT BEEN EASY, but I feel this is where He wants us all going the extra mile in love, forgiveness, humility, faithfulness, loyalty, and kindness.
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” – 1 John 4:16
As a family, we’re staying on the high road with God. That is what I teach my kids. We’re relying on the love God has for us that we keep asking, ‘God, what would make You happy here?’ When others go low, we can go high knowing that everything is between God and us, not between us and anyone else. Our eyes are on the prize and the beautiful life God had planned out for us before we were even born.
God, what should I do here? The priority is to skillfully maneuver through every moment of life, leaning on God’s wisdom and direction. And learning His voice and being obedient to Him because this is how He guides us on the best paths with Him. Even with my sickness lately, I’m thanking Him. He truly knows the experiences we need to become our best selves. He is a specialist in turning all our bad into such good when we trust Him to guide us with His wisdom.
But back to this messy love. It takes a lot of ignoring and pretending you don’t see what you see, but you do it for God. He told me the other day in an appointment with Him that not everything is a lesson to be learned. Sometimes it’s just an act of love. To forgive, overlook, ignore, focusing on the good in others and not their failings is an act of love, all for the glory of God.
I’m going to be the fun mom!!!” That was me to my son, Joshie, the other day, agreeing to go swimming with him. We had such a fantastic time with me teaching him how to swim stronger. After a while, I got out of the pool, though, and left him inside to practice alone, with me sitting nearby trying to come up with a caption for my blog’s picture of the day. Joshie helped me to come up with this: “Pray all day. Every day.” Meaning to get God involved in every aspect of your life!
Later on, we’re telling his dad about our time swimming, and he says something like we’re enjoying him because he is the one working hard to pay the bills. Joshie cutely responded, “Daddy, we’re enjoying you all day. Every day!” So, the next day when my hubby said something again about him working hard for us, I stole Joshie’s line, “Hon, we’re enjoying you all day. Every day.”
Maybe ten minutes after the conversation with my husband, I go to Joshie’s bedroom to say I missed our swimming and how much I enjoyed our little date in the pool the day before. Exactly where he was watching a Youtube video, the person incredibly says, “Every day. All day” (Wink! Wink!)
That was again one of my God winks where everything lined up a little bit too perfect to be considered some ordinary coincidence. It was God’s way of revealing His invisible Presence with us. For me to go into Joshie’s room exactly where this person is repeating what Joshie and I came up with from the day before out by the pool for the caption of that picture, to our conversation with his dad, to me talking again to my husband with the same words again a few minutes before, was God confirming, ‘Nik, wherever you go my Presence goes with you.”
This sweet awareness of God’s Presence in our lives is where I want us all. Yesterday, I took this pic out on the run with my daughter, Julie. At a certain point, I felt God saying to me in my spirit that if they call me from the office about a customer, I should tell them I would be there in 20 minutes. Less than 2 minutes later, they called saying there was a customer, and I said exactly what my spirit had told me, I can be there in 20 minutes.
I ended up meeting with this customer, but I couldn’t sell him a car, but I left a changed person. He is going through a messy divorce after a neighbor recorded a video and showed him his wife cheating on him. Apparently, the wife is sadly addicted to drugs and depression pills. After feeling lately like my life has been off track, I left there thanking God for being the guard rails of my life, helping me to make some pretty great decisions – drug and alcohol-free. Thank you, Jesus!
So, this awareness of God’s Presence is what helps me to make some pretty hard choices, but some pretty awesome ones that have led my life on a gorgeous path. God knows what’s best for us when we look to Him for help and guidance. We’re not going through life alone. God is there. It’s just for us to learn His voice, like Him telling me on that run if they were to call me to say I’ll be right there.
Meeting that customer has changed me. Instead of running to alcohol or drugs, I’ve wisely learned to run to God, and that has paid off immensely for me. I left there motivated more than ever to spread this great news that we don’t have to handle our lives alone; God is ready, willing, and able to help us make the best decisions when we seek Him. LIFE IS HARD AND WE NEED GOD WHO IS AN EXPERT IN EVERYTHING.
I’m feeling so close to Him now, and I want us to pray to Him all day. Every day. Allowing Him to be the guide and center of our lives. Today, He is nudging me to get back on my discipline game after I’ve been in such a rut. God, anything to please You, let me learn. God, I’m enjoying You all day. Every day! There is fullness of joy in God’s Presence! (HUGE SMILE) Don’t miss out!
