Enjoying the Ride...

I married an amusement park enthusiast. He's crazy, that man. He loves all rides that twist and turn, and his body seems to handle them with ease. Impressive, I tell ya. I, on the other hand, can barely survive a ride in the back seat of my minivan without getting car-sick. Make me read a map while I'm back there, and it's all over for sure.

So we have this family tradition of attending our local fair every summer, and I have to admit that my adventurous spirit has been lacking most years. Just the thought of climbing the steps of the Tilt-O-Whirl about sends me over the edge. Lucky for me, for many years in a row, I've had a convenient excuse for letting my husband do the riding honors with our kids. Need someone to stay back with the baby and the stroller? Sure, I'd be happy to sacrifice for the family. Heh. Someone needs to take the pictures anyway, right?

Family divided.

My problem now is that my youngest is starting to ride rides. This wasn't supposed to happen. Last summer all of a sudden my little excuse was dragging her daddy off to the toddler helicopters, and three excited boys were yelling my name to "Come on, Mom!" Oh dear. Can't we all just ride the carousel together as a family?!

Somehow in the midst of sheer boy excitement (clearly before I could come to my senses!), I had reluctantly agreed to their request and found myself on this thing:

Somebody help me. Who knew my mouth was this big (don't answer that)? And why is no one else screaming (for all I know the ride hadn't even started yet - ha!)?! I told myself that I was pulling the natural "I'm here for ya, bud." mom-move when I grabbed hold of the two boy legs seated beside me, but between you and me, I was desperately reaching out for a little comfort for myself. Haha.

But guess what? I survived the ride that day. And I not only survived it, I actually enjoyed it!! Turns out my thinking was all wrong. Not all rides are as crazy as they seem, and a little effort on my part sure did go a long way in encouraging my fun-loving boys. We all left the fair that day pretty pumped up that we had accomplished something together ("Can you believe Mom actually rode that thing??"), and even a little more connected than we were when we arrived. And it was worth every bit of the "sacrifice" it took to get me out of my comfort zone.

To catch the rest of this post, join me this morning over at Good Morning Girls ...

Mom Heart Conference!

{Courtney, Angela, my new just-met-her-at-the-conference-and-we-totally-clicked friend Kim, and me!}

I am back! I just returned from Dallas after a jam-packed, fun-filled, slightly exhausting (ha!) weekend at Sally Clarkson's Mom Heart Conference. Courtney and Angela from Good Morning Girls were invited to speak at the conference, so not only was I able to participate in the conference as an attender, but it was also a great opportunity to meet up and spend some face time (as opposed to cyberspace time!) with these sweet friends! What an awesome privilege it is to do ministry together with these girls!

There is so, so much that I want to share from my conference notes that I've decided to post the entire week on some of the weekend highlights for me. So stay tuned!

Courtney and Angela also share about their conference experiences here and here.

Mom Heart Conference meets GMG!

One of my favorite things about the Mom Heart conference was getting to meet all of the Good Morning Girls who attended! Although we know we are all real people with real lives, it sure is nice confirming that in person instead of over the internet. :) We spent time laughing hard and crying hard with women whose desire is the same as ours - to know and love God more passionately by consistently spending time in His Word. It doesn't take long to form bonds with these women when that is the resounding theme of our hearts! Good Morning Girls and the Mom Heart conference compliment each other so well, because they both support the theme of making time for God a priority. If I want to parent effectively, there is no set formula... I must spend much time filling myself up with the wisdom of God. In fact, as moms living in a culture that counteracts biblical teaching, we cannot afford to NOT spend time with God. Some of my favorite quotes from the conference encouraging time in God's Word:

"Have we ever stopped and thought Who we are passing up spending our time with?" (when we don't fit time in our schedules for reading the Bible and prayer). We have an opportunity every day to commune with the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who defeated death, and who has given us victory in Christ. Wow!! Now that's something worth making time for.

"In the absence of Biblical conviction, you will go the way of culture." Fill up on things that are true and are worth filling up on!

"You cannot give what you've not taken in." How can I expect God's love and grace to flow from me if I'm not spending time with Him? If left to myself, it's hard telling what will come out...

"Start something that will change generations to come. How? It starts with you being in the Word." Oh, how I want to be a difference maker, and God has already given us "everything we need for life and godliness..." (2 Peter 1). Let's fill up, and affect the next generation for Christ!

"If you keep pouring into others' lives and never fill yourself up (with God's Word), eventually your pitcher will be empty." Oh, how often I am guilty of doing life on my own strength, instead of tapping into God's power - the source of Living Water - every day. Though I often exhaust all of my human efforts (even though I try, I will never succeed by working hard enough, being responsible enough, logical enough, etc...), His well never runs dry!

However, it is up to us to go to the well.

"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." ~Proverbs 24:3-4

Channeling our passion for the Gospel...

I'm passionate about baking. She's passionate about helping. This isn't always a match made in heaven. In fact, truth be told, I still like to do things my way in the kitchen. I really do enjoy flour-less floors and tea rings with perfect measurements all around. I desire order and efficiency when I work. I prefer my dough to be smooth and even, minus the ten chubby fingerprints through the center.

But yesterday when we were creating this Valentine treat for Tess's daddy, I realized that a key ingredient was missing in my idealistic little recipe for baking success.

Joy.

I needed to let go of the unnecessary and focus on the bigger picture. Forget the efficiency. Forget the perfection. Forget my way. There is so much joy in embracing this special one-on-one time with my girlie. Slowly training her from a young age to love working in the kitchen. Helping her to understand that we as women can love our families well through such a simple act of service. Grabbing hold of her love for helping others early, so it's her natural bent as she grows. Channeling her (sometimes overwhelming!) passion for good.

Possibly the biggest mom-lesson God continually brings to my mind is to be more passionate about the person than the project.

If I spend all my days as a mom trying to live up to the standards of perfection I have created in my head, then I will miss the ministry that God has placed before me. I can complete all kinds of projects and display all kinds of skills, but if I neglect to love others in the process, then I will have completely missed the mark.

Talk about being passionate about something... enter Ephesians. Paul has this passion-channeling thing down pat. He is so passionate about the Gospel, in fact, that he can't stop talking about it:

"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

² SURELY you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly."

Ephesians 3:1-3

If it seems like Paul has repeated himself a few times in the first few chapters of Ephesians, it's because he has. Imprisonment couldn't even waiver him! I love the almost interruption of his speech in these verses. Was it because he felt the need to repeat himself again? As if to say, "Wait, I want to make sure you get this... SURELY you have heard. I've already said it, but this is good stuff. Remember this!"

It would be easy for Paul to get caught up in the political incorrectness of his message. What he has stated about the Jews and the Gentiles becoming one in Christ caused HUGE ruffles and controversy. I would have even understood if he was worried about his image, or if he had a little pity party for himself because the whole thing landed him in prison. Yet he continues to keep his passion focused. He knows the ONE whom he is talking about, and he can't resist sharing the Good News with anyone who will listen.

I wonder how much more we could accomplish for the Gospel if we focused on just that: the Gospel. I fear that we often channel our energies into so many different things that we lose sight of the real ministry that God has called us to from the very beginning. We are bent on doing things:

Perfectly.

Our own way.

Committed to all kinds of projects, organized ministries and lots of good things, but allowing division in the body and our own agendas to get in the way of why Jesus came in the first place.

Just think of how effective we could be for the Gospel if we were more passionate about the person - JESUS - than we were about the "project". Do you need to answer His call to return to your first love?

He is waiting patiently. Strip the unnecessary away. There is JOY in His presence.

Love.

I don't dance or drink coffee, but he's cool with that.

He knows the real me. You know, the me that only comes out at home behind closed doors

when I'm feeling way in-over-my-head and am too tired to think about how

in-over-my-head I really am. And he loves me anyway.

He's a realist and I'm an optimist, and man do we balance each other out just fine...

He sits, and makes me sit sometimes too.

And I'm better for it.

He asks the hard questions, and I see my heart for what it really is. And I'm thankful.

He's silly and serious, and balances out our family

just when we need a little of one or the other.

So, so good for me.

God knew.

And then everything changed...

I used to live a regimented lifestyle. Always on time. Franklin-Covey planner marked up and checked off to a T. Neat freak and paper filer. I even remember a day when my clothes closet was methodically organized by color, beginning with the lightest shade, and gradually darkening in color as the shirt line grew deeper. Aahhhh.

And then I had kids.

Amazing, isn’t it, how one tiny little person can change everything? Forget the color-coded closet nonsense (wow, did I need a hobby!). Some days I’m just lucky to get the wet laundry switched into the dryer before it sits too long and I’m forced to re-run the load all over again.

But I like this new me much better than the old one. I like approaching train tracks with a minivan full of kids and silently thinking, “Man, I hope we get stopped by one today.” The old me would have grumbled at the delay. The new me wants the first spot next to the crossing, so my kids have the best view (okay, and so the engineer can see us all giddily pumping our arms up and down in hopes that he’ll sound the whistle – for just a little longer than necessary – at our hyper request). I used to complain about things like a blanket of fresh snow on the ground, and would immediately think of compromised commutes and of how winter drags on for what seems like forever here in the Midwest. Now I join my kids and with pure excitement, we sprint to the nearest window and cheer loudly at the sight of the first snowflake. And then I shallowly ask God to make it that perfectly packing kind, just right for boy-sized snowballs and snowmen.

Sure, the little inconveniences that surround things like busy train tracks and snow storms still exist. But my identity as a mom has given me a new perspective on life. A much sweeter, freeing perspective.

Ephesians brings us good news. There was a baby who changed everything over two thousand years ago. His name was Jesus.

His coming was less than glamorous and certainly not convenient according to human terms, but He would prove to change the path of humanity in an instant. The world would still remain incredibly imperfect, but suddenly He gave us reason to see life in a whole new way. A different perspective.

A future and a hope…

Jesus.

Are you living with the perspective as one who is forgiven today, or are you still stuck in the “old” you? Focused on the inconvenient, or living joyously free? Confident in your identity in Christ, or looking to the world for value and fulfillment?

He came, and everything changed…

“BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy,

because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in trespasses,

MADE US ALIVE together with Christ – it is by grace you have been saved.”

Ephesians 2:4-5

Today, you can LIVE like you KNOW it.