Tidy Up

But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. (Mark 4:17, NLT)

First, please allow me to say this blogpost looks really long. But it should take less than ten minutes to read it in it's entirety. For example, if you are willing to exchange ten minutes of Facebook time to read this blogpost, I believe it will really bless you. Enjoy!

This week has been a very busy week for us. To give you an idea, Thursday my day started at 4:00 a.m. Nuff said.

Last night I laid down on the couch to catch my breath. I looked around the house, which was in need of a little…let’s just say, tiding up here and there.

When I saw the task that lay before me I wondered, how a house gets this messy when we were out of the house most of the week. 

Then it occurred to me. When we are home a lot, we tidy all day as we go. We take every opportunity to put things in their place and keep the house organized. When we are up and out early, then back late, we don’t take time to put things in their places but just drop everything where we stand. And then, we have a pile to clean up. Or in this case, many piles.

This week, I learned a valuable lesson. My spiritual life is the same way. When I take every opportunity throughout the day to visit with God (prayer), keep spiritual matters in their place (meditate on scripture) and keep my spiritual life “organized” (pursue peace and quick to forgive), my life stays tidy. (Matthew 6:33, Deuteronomy 6:6, Colossians 3:13, Psalm 34:14) 

However, when I “drop everything” (everything God has taught me)…life gets real messy real quick.

By organized I mean, quickly dealing with offenses (large and small) as they occur. Jesus said, “Offense will come.” (Luke 17:1) It is wise for us to have a plan for dealing with offense. Ignoring offense will not keep offense from occurring. Suppressing offense is not dealing with offense. Ignoring offense will only cause it to compound in our hearts and on our minds.

For example, hypothetically speaking:

• When I wake my girls and ask them to take a ten minute shower (in order to maintain our schedule that day) and their shower turns into a thirty minute bath…multiplied by two kids.
• My husband stumbles into the kitchen and while his coffee is cooking (or whatever it is that coffee does) checks his work email and has a list of negative things to deal with before he even walks out the door. And his attitude affects the whole household.
• Dads, you are leaders, even if you don't think you are. Where are you leading your family? 
• I am trying to get out of the house at a certain time and my children lolly-gag  and can’t find their shoes. (Of which, said shoes are supposed to be in the shoe bin at the front door.)
• As we pull out of the driveway and in unison my girls say, “I didn’t eat breakfast.” Everything in me wants to scream, “Oh yeah?! Well, it looks like you’re fasting till noon!"
• When making the forty minute drive into work (that turns into an hour) dealing with Honolulu traffic. I get cut off in traffic (at least three times) and at least two individuals wave at me in that “special” way using their “special” finger. Yep, even people in "paradise" fly the bird.
• About the time I think I have safely and almost without incident (Ok a list of incidents but at least alive!) pull into the parking lot at work, I get a phone call saying one of my co-workers got mad and walked off the job. 

All this before 8:40 a.m. 

Remember, we are working with hypotheticals today. *wink*

At this point, I have a choice to make. I can reiterate every offense of my day to everyone I see. Or, I can cast off every offense as they occur.

If a day like this isn’t immediately dealt with by applying God’s Word, all these offenses are going to add up real quick, negatively affecting me and everyone I come into contact with. 

Have you ever had “insider information” on a subject to the point it gave you an edge when handling a matter? Be prepared! I’m going to give you a hot tip that will change your life! 

And have no root in themselves, 

and so endure but for a time: 

afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, 

immediately they are offended. (Mark 4:17, KJV)

Why does offense come? For the Word's sake. 

No matter what happens in our lives, 

we must concrete our relationship in and with God’s Word.

All other areas of my life follow my spiritual life. When I’m doing well spiritually, I do well in all other areas of my life as well.  

How can this practically be applied? At each offense, run to our Father! Take time to visit with Him all throughout the day. And we can add a few simple organizational skills to help the day run smoothly.

Let's revisit the hypothetical list from above.

1. My girls bath scenario.
1. One thing I keep reminding myself is, my girls are 9 and 10 years old. They get distracted. I made them a list of things to accomplish in order to get out of the door and I gave them a time frame. 
1. For example: 
1. shower = 10 minutes 
2. breakfast = 20 minutes
3. pack backpack = the night before (include the shoes!)
1. Then I allow extra time to check on them every 15 minutes or so to insure they are staying on task.
2. My husband's addiction...oh I mean...coffee scenario.
1. Smile and sweetly say, “Maybe you should have your coffee at that coffee joint. That way you could relax and address your emails while you enjoy the aroma and the ambiance.” Ok, forgo the attitude in that last suggestion. Pray for him…yes pray! And ask God, “Lord, I ask in the name of Jesus, please guide my husband today. Quicken him by Your spirit to listen to Your voice. I thank You for directing his path. I thank You his eyes are blessed for they see and his ears for they hear!"
3. Children lolly-gagging scenario. 
1. Please refer to item # 1.
4. The “I didn’t eat breakfast.” scenario.
1. Ask them to open their bibles and each give you a ten minute sermon of the  King James Version of Matthew 17:21, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” I’m totally kidding. Ok, not totally. There is a number of ways to handle this scenario. Ask God to direct your path in this area. He will give you witty inventions! The night before, have them pack a snack in their backpacks. Snack becomes breakfast instead of snack and it doesn’t hurt any of us to be a little hungry from time to time. It is great motivation to remember to eat breakfast the next day. I now refer you to the Parenting with Love and Logic website at www.loveandlogic.com (A very special thanks to my BFF, Shila for that insider tip!) 
5. The “special” finger scenario. 
1. Keep the praise music turned on and as loud as necessary. Use this time to visit with our Father and ask Him to line out our day, especially the "Honolulu traffic" portion of our day!
6. The co-worker scenario. 
1. “Lord, I ask in the name of Jesus, please guide me today. Quicken me by Your spirit to listen to Your voice. I thank You for directing my path. I thank You my eyes are blessed for they see and my ears for they hear! And I thank You for sending laborers into my co-worker's path to love on them and direct them straight to You!"

Prayer, 

the Word, and 

running to my Father for everything 

(big and small) 

keeps my life “tidy"! 

Let’s do a little spiritual weight lifting with Mark 4:17 and build some strength in this area of our lives.

• And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. (English Standard Version)

Keep on building those muscles!

• But they have no root in themselves; they are short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately stumble. (Holman Christian Standard)
• But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall (from faith). (God’s Word Translation)

Don’t quit, only one more “set”! We are getting stronger and stronger!

• And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away. (Mark 4:17, AMP)

When we have problems, are persecuted, experience tribulation, are pressured, suffer, have trouble, become displeased/indignant/resentful, that is immediately our red flag to recognize, these weapons have been formed against me to steal the Word and my faith! Stand and declare, "No weapon formed against me will prosper, stand, or prevail!" (Isaiah 54:17) 

Father God, thank You for Your precious living Word! Thank You for never leaving or forsaking us! And thank You for wanting to be in every aspect of our lives! Thank You for being our Father, a father we can run to all day long to get what we need to throw off what doesn’t belong in our lives and to continually put on what does belong in our lives. Thank You for the “great exchange”! In the name of Jesus, I pray for every reader and I ask You to quicken them by Your Holy Spirit and let them know, as they submit to You and Your Word, You will direct their paths and make them straight! 

Hebrews 4:12

Hebrews 13:5

Isaiah 61:3

Proverbs 3:6


Additional help:

If you struggle with offense, Dr. Larry Ollison's book, "Breaking the Cycle of Offense" is a great resource and is available at www.faithman.org

The Day I Realized I was a Complete Failure…at Everything.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NLT)

The last two weeks have been two very long weeks. Homeschool has been a struggle. My husband has been working long hours. I’ve been training to run a 5k, a very challenging sprint, and a lava man. Oh wait, I forgot about that other 5k. (Is that really a total of four?! Oh wait, don't tell me.) And I got sick and I haven’t been sleeping well.

*Deep cleansing breath*

At the end of the two very challenging weeks, I laid on the couch waiting for my husband to come home from work. Wearing an oversized t-shirt, no make up, and my hair up in a pony tail...I realized I hadn’t done laundry…since….oh….I couldn't remember. About that moment, I heard my girls fighting…again. 

I thought, “Wow. I want to be him, so I can work late too.” 

And I intervened like any great mom would do, refusing to intervene and telling myself, “Survival of the fittest is a great parenting tool. So, whatev." I'm sure Dr. Seuss or Dr. "Somebody" endorses it. I tried to be really quiet, hoping they would think I wasn't home.

All that seemed to be compounded by the realization that we (as a homeschooling family) are almost at the mid mark in our homeschool career. Meaning, how on earth did half of our homeschool “career” just vanish into thin air?? Accompanied by, “Do my girls know everything they need to know? Are they being equipped? Will they be able to make a living when they move out?! How will I know?” Not to mention, our wifi (that we need for school) has kicked us offline a minimum of a dozen times per day and our printer has only worked half the time.

Ok...I mentioned it.

And then there was this…in the sink. 
Yea, I don’t know what that is and I am not going to ask. 

And then realized, our 17th wedding anniversary is Monday and we’ve done nothing to prepare for such an amazing day…I mean, it’s a very important day, a huge milestone, and should have been met with an equally amazing celebration! I haven’t even bought a card, uuuuugh. 

When Mike got home, I asked him to take us out for a late dinner. I needed a nice, quiet, delicious dinner to (hopefully) change the momentum of the past two weeks. He took us to a beautiful, open air restaurant with burning tiki torches, swaying palm trees, tropical breezes, and the sounds of many waters. Things were definitely looking up! Only to be very disappointed in the quality of the food. Even the garlic was bad. Who can mess up garlic?! And I went to bed nauseous. Really? Can anything go right?! 

No really.

If I’ve ever been tempted to believe I am a failure at all things…this was it. 

I felt like a failure

• as a wife
• as a mom
• as a home educator

Why am I sharing this borderline meltdown on this public forum? 

"Good faith girls" don't share such matters. 

Well, this one does.

Because I want to address the elusions/misconceptions.

• Is any marriage perfect? nope
• Is any homeschool perfect? nope
• Is a bloggers life perfect? Hahahaha…nope
• Is Christian life perfect? nope

Perfect, or...even remotely anything like it? Nope.

Thankfully, I could turn to Facebook. Hey two are better than one and since one puts a thousand to flight I will use whatever means are at my fingertips! (Ecclesiastes 4:9 and Deuteronomy 32:30) Pun intended to it’s fullest degree. I posted a comment asking for advice and I could literally hear the calvary as my girlfriends immediately ran to my aid! Some prayed with me, some texted me, some sent me inbox messages, some sent me helpful links, some texted, "Call me now!”  Now THAT…my friends is love! Thanks girls! Thanks for loving me, encouraging me, and always having my back!

While I do not encourage desperate Facebook posts...in the midst of all this, something very powerful occurred to me.

I know most of you have applied the "keep no record of wrongs" verse to others...but have you ever applied it to you? Please slow down and really re-read that. I will retype it for your convenience. 

I know most of you have applied the 

"keep no record of wrongs" verse to others...

but have you ever applied it to you? 

So here is what I want you to do…refuse to keep a record of your (real or perceived) wrongs. It is easier to forgive the wrongs of others but do our wrongs fall under a different category than the wrongs of others? And, do our perceived wrongs fall under a different category than real wrongs? Um…no, they do not. So, toss out that record of wrongs, forget the former things, refuse to dwell on the past (Even if that means this morning!) and press onward to your Heavenly prize! (Isaiah 43:18, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 and Philippians 3:14) 

Now…who is gonna clean up that sink? 

That would be…not me as I yell…yep…yell, “Girls!"

Father God, thank You for being in every aspect of our lives. Thank You for showing Yourself to us in Your sweet, still, small voice even in the midst of piles of laundry, unrecognizable objects in the sink, oversized tshirts, and math concepts that currently remain ungrasped….Lord, is that even a word? Thank You for teaching us to apply Your Word not only to others but to personally apply it to ourselves as individuals. I pray for every reader right now. In the name of Jesus, touch them precisely where they are and please show them those secret records of wrongs they have been keeping. The “lists" that call out their names, point at them, and say, “Here is your downfall, this is why you are not enough.” Lord, please replace those lists with waves of love and peace. Your precious peace that surpasses all understanding and the peace guards our hearts and minds! And Lord, thank You not expecting us to be perfect and thank You for giving us Your Son...Perfect Jesus! 

(Philippians 4:7)