A Week in Skirts "Wrap-Up" ;-)

 This past week I took part of a blog challenge to wear skirts for an entire week. The challenge was Libby's from A Noble Calling blog; she contacted some different bloggers and I thought it sounded fun :)
I usually spend 4-5 days of my week in a skirt anyway, so it wasn't much of a change for me :)

 1^st Day of Challenge:

Navy blue Northern Reflections T-shirt with fall and country-type decals I acquired from Salvation Army

My lavender cami underneath (I like to wear camis under most shirts for comfort and a layered look) was from a garage sale.

Long Khaki Skirt ( Old Navy brand ) I received this from a sweet Titus 2 mamma at my church

(The shoes I wore throughout the week are brown Sketchers Go-Walks that my parent’s bought me for my 21^st birthday :D)

2^nd Day of Challenge:

Navy blue and white Christopher & Banks shirt

(I’ve had that shirt for a long time)

White Stag jean skirt

(Again from the same Titus 2 Momma at church :D)

3^rd Day of Challenge:

I had to work all day so I wore something cute but comfy that wasn't a big deal if I got a bit dusty

PURPLE! Cedar Point T-shirt

(Bought there last summer!)

Lavender cami

(So brand name, I believe I received it for Christmas)

Jean skirt 

4^th day of challenge:

I was at work all day and I forgot to take a picture :( So I shall describe it the best I can. I wore a teal T-shirt with a logo of the continents with the caption “Preach the Word, Reach the World”, given to me by my friend, and Southern Gospel singer, Gabrielle Allen (they sell these T shirts at their concerts to raise money for the Compassion International children they sponsor!!) and a dark purple cami. Also, I wore a purple Aeropostale hoodie overtop, and I wore a jean skirt again.

5^th day of Challenge:

Another day at work

Yellow smiley face T-shirt (Family Christian Bookstore-It says "smile, Jesus loves you" and John 3:16) over black cami (Salvation army)

Jean Skirt

6^th Day of Challenge:

Again, was unable to take photo, so I took a snapshot of the blouse and skirt yesterday. (the pictures don’t really do it justice, though :( ) The blouse is a deep purple with magenta strips, and the skirt (white stag brand, again from my Titus 2 mamma) is actually an olive green color. (These two pics really do the outfit an injustice :( lol) 

Day 7 of the Challenge was Sunday, Mother’s Day, so I’m a bit more dressed up

Lavender shirt (Old Navy brand, purchased at Salvation Army)

Lavender/ purple floral skirt (again from my Titus 2 mom!!!)

I wore white sandals with small wedge heels and a round decal on top to church, but I had chucked them by the time I took pictures :)

Make-up worn: Cowgirl dirt 

(See those lovely flowers I'm standing by? My thoughtful brother bought those for our mom for Mother's Day!) 

This was definitely fun-- probably easier for me than most. However, my sister did save my hide Sunday by reminding me to spend the entire evening in my skirt! lol After church, I was ready to be outta my skirt and into my lounge pants for the rest of the night; but thanks to her reminder, after my nap (yes, I take naps on Sundays, thank you very much! LOL) instead of donning fuzzy Superman PJ pants for the rest of the night, I slipped into a jean skirt for the rest of the evening. :) 

These are the links to the other girls who participated in this challenge! Take a minute to check them out! :) 

Elyse at Elyse Lauryn

Caroline at Life as Caroline

Abigail at Jubilant Joys

Rebekah at Lively Laughter

Sarah at Sarah Plain and Average

Libby at A Noble Calling

Libby and Emmy at The Dutch Umbrella

Julia at Sweet as JAM Photography

Cameron at Follower of Christ’s Blog

Maiya at Blessings, Bliss, and Bedlam

​

Constant Giving

I learned something I already knew last Monday! (And you already know it too, but it bears repeating so I'm gonna remind you anyway *bwah ha ha!* *winks*) 

My parents had been out a lot that day—spending time with each other and running errands—so Joseph and I were “in charge” while they were gone. I had a very busy day--a day leaving me with very little “me time”. My goals for that day? Well, they didn’t get done… exactly…

After dragging myself out of bed and eating breakfast, I helped Nathan with his History homework. Then, before I’d finished my coffee, Nathan eagerly whisked me off to the living room to play Lego’s (so the coffee came with me *winks *). We played for a while, I made lunch, we played some more, mom and dad came home. I was then able to work out, eat lunch, and shower. Mom then gave me the run down of whose schoolwork needed to be checked and who still owed her what, before she and dad headed off again :D I wanted to go shut myself in my room, mess around on the computer, and get the grading/checking done, but Bethie so badly wanted to play Nancy Drew (PC games) with me, (and I had this blogpost poking around at my conscience *winks *) so I agreed to play with her. As she started to play, everyone decided they were hungry for dinner! :D So I finished potatoes (mamma started them!), heated up corn, and ‘sliced’ (read ripped) the meat off a rotisserie chicken mom and dad had brought home for us earlier. Bethie brought the computer up to the kitchen table where we continued our together time, as I went back and forth between watching her play, eating my dinner, supervising, and doing bits and pieces of kitchen cleaning in between. The winter Olympics came on, and as we watched them Hannah ironed clothes and I folded and delivered them, and Heidi did dishes during commercial breaks. Hannah made Puppy Chow and a (HUGE—I mean, seriously! She made them in cupcake tins!) Homemade Reese’s for me with my natural peanut butter for filling *smiles dreamily *. Nathan and Joseph played some battle game and watched the Olympics back and forth. It was fun. Not perfect—there were the sarcastic comments and sibling squabbles here and there—but overall it was a fun evening! When mom and dad came home, I settled down with those answer keys and homework notebooks and checked and corrected the kids’ work… … and then I was finished.

*Phew! *

A full, busy, productive, even fun day!

But I felt a tad bit weary!

I realized I hadn't really done much of what I had personally (selfishly?) hoped to accomplish today, (But, with such a good workout and long, hot shower, I really could not complain!:D) but it had still been a great, fulfilling day.

I also realized something about MOTHERHOOD. I had a head knowledge of it for some time, but today, I had a better heart knowledge of this fact: 

Mamma’s GIVE

They give A LOT

A lot of themselves,

A lot of their time,

A lot of their energy

Their focus

Every day

All. Day. Long.

And they don’t just GIVE.

They GIVE UP.

Not “give up” as in “wimping out” –huh uh!!

(they can't do that, although surely there are moments when they want to LOL!)

No! They give up their goals, their to-do lists, their time, their lives

To invest love, learning, and life into their families!

It’s fulfilling and wonderful <3

But at the end of the day it leaves a woman weary!!!

So for all you young ladies reading this right now, I encourage you to take a minute, go find your mom, and give her a hug. Thank her for all she gives every day in a million tiny ways (and moms are so good at giving of themselves to make the lives of their husbands and children better, that often, we don’t even notice all the work she really does, because she does such a flawless job!) And if your mom’s not around to hug and thank right now, purpose to do so later!!!!!

And, sweet sister, if your desire is to be a mother some day should the Lord will it, it would be an awesome idea to begin preparing for this constant giving of oneself by “practicing” a little! See if there is anything you could do daily or even just weekly around the house to lighten your mom’s load or to lift up your brothers and sisters! It would be a blessing to all those involved! :D 

And while most mothers are great examples of “constant giving”, and while it is great to follow their examples and even prepare to set our own—bear in mind our greatest Example of living a Life of constant giving! :D

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." 

~~Philippians 2:3-4~~ (verses 5 through 7 could also be applied!)

 PS!! I need your help! What other verses that apply can you add? After/while reading this post, what Scriptures (about Jesus being our ultimate Example of giving) pop to mind? :D

When the Rubber Meets the Road...

Monday evening, I had a ‘rubber meets the road’ moment. 

It was one of those convicting, “ouch” moments.

My mother was planning to go shopping at Sam’s with a friend the following day, and I wanted ssooooo badly to go with her! 

But my Dad was going to be gone on-call, so if I did go with Mom and her friend, the kids would be left home alone—with the potential to pull a ‘free-for-all’ (you know the bit, no schooling would get done, there would be lots of noise and chasing each other around the house… :-)) and the would need someone to get them lunch.

In a whiny way and with a ‘poor me’ attitude, I told my mom I would ‘just stay home’.

I could have pushed it, but I could tell that my Dad didn't love the idea, probably as a whole, and mom wasn't keen on leaving the kids by themselves.

It would have been inconvenient if I had gone with my mom, and so I decided to stay… but I was sooo bummed.

I went back to mom and dad’s room to recant telling them “it was fine- I’d stay home”, but I was stopped by overhearing Dad (who didn't know I was there) tell Bethie (my 11 year old sister, who was looking right at me) how ‘it was good for me to be staying home, so mom could go do what she wanted and needed to do (go get food to feed her family!! :-D ) and to not have to worry because I would be there to just step in and take over’—keep things humming smoothly until she returned.

(And, apparently, Bethie informed me later, that he had said something to the effect of how ‘you don’t always get what you want’—which made me mad, but I knew he was right! Which is probably why it hurt so bad lol/;-/ I needed to hear it!)

I had a pity party and invited God—lol.

 I told Him I KNEW I was being selfish and asked Him to help me put Him first; others (namely, my family!!!) second, and reserve the few remaining crumbs for myself. I realized that I've been living a very ‘me-centric’ life lately :-( I so often do get my way or get to do what I want that I’d grown spoiled :-(

God helped me realize something.

Here I am, being all “passionate” about, involved in, and say I am and believe in being a Biblical, stay-at-home-and-heart daughter (who *clears throat* loves and ministers to her family…)(and by doing that is preparing for wife-and-mommyhood) but when it really comes down to it—when I encounter the HUGE test to act upon and actually LIVE OUT what my head knows and my heart believes…

Even when it comes to being a good example as the big sister—Bethie was right there watching and hearing the entire thing! (She mouths to me -and in a sweet, respectful way!- “but isn't that kind of selfish?!”… Um yeah. OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I was not so hot on the performance end.

When all is said and done, when it comes time to PRACTICALLY LIVE OUT what I believe, do I selflessly submit and practice what I preach?

Do I lay down my desires to defer to another’s (A HUGE, integral part of wife and motherhood, BTW!!!)??

Or do I push, twist, and maneuver circumstances to get my way—what I want—at the inconvenience of others?!

As you can imagine, this was a big light-bulb moment for me. I can romanticize about and expound upon the virtues of being a virtuous daughter, but daydreaming and talking :-) are easy things to do.

Selfless, virtuous living?

Yeah.

That’s TOUGH.

But by the grace of God, it’s not impossible! (Matthew 19:26) (Matthew 10:27) (Luke 1:37) (Luke 18:27) (Philippians 4:13)

What about you, dear daughter? Have you (like me :( ) allowed selfishness to creep in and derail you from what you know and believe to be true?

What about you, dear sister? Have you been a less-than-stellar example lately (like me :( )?

What about you, dear Princess? Have you allowed the enemy and his minions to convince you that holy living is impossible—so why bother?

Please know that I do not condemn you! I’m guilty as well. 

But by God’s grace, let’s get back up, learn from this, and keep going forward!

We can talk a good talk—but when the rubber meets the road, can we, can I, walk a good walk?

Musings from Michal

Last Monday the Lord used a rather unfamiliar and infamous woman of the Old Testament to teach me a lesson on my own femininity. As I wrote in my devotional journal (as so often happens) my mind went to ‘blog-post mode’, and ever since it’s been in the back of my mind, on my ‘to-do list’, to rewrite and post on here. By God’s grace, here it goes!!! J Let’s do our devotions together! :-)

(Please begin by asking the Lord to speak to your heart and make you ‘speak-to-able’! :-) ♥)

1 Samuel 19:11-17 

“Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped?”

As David’s wife, Michal now had a perfect opportunity to shine the truthful and very best possible light on her husband, flesh of her flesh.

Yet to the person with whom it would actually cause the very most damage (her father Saul, David’s self-proclaimed enemy—(1 Samuel 19:17)) she told a lie and said that David had threatened to kill her had she not aided him in escaping from her father.

“And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?”

First of all, we know enough of David’s character at this point to be able to safely assume that he would do no such thing as to threaten to kill his very wife!

But secondly, we know that this is a lie because the Bible tells us what went on before Saul and his men came on the scene, and no threats were involved. So, clearly—and sadly—Michal lied. :-(

Michal had the perfect opportunity to soften her father’s heart toward her innocent husband (as her own brother Jonathan did early on in this very same chapter!!!) by reminding her father of all the good and right things David had done by God’s grace and how the Lord had clearly used David time and time again to aid Saul’s kingdom! But instead, Michal drops the ball and tells a lie—one that instead of building up her husband in the eyes of her father tore him down—one that no doubt only cemented in Saul’s mind the self-consuming mantra “David must die!”

Most of us probably know what it’s like to hear someone close to us tear down another person who is dear to our hearts. Perhaps you have heard parents disagree with each other in front of you and your siblings, or had one parent disagree with the other in his or her absence. And surely we’ve all had friends (or should we say “acquaintances”!? J) tear down our other friends (AKA GOSSIP) when they are conveniently not aroundL. We know what it’s like to hear people tear each other down with unkind words.

We know what that’s like. I know what it’s like to hear someone gossip about another (out of pure or selfish spite) and I know how it’s done—I’ve done it before, and sadly because I am a fleshly human shall surely do it again :-(

But this is so wrong.

(I’m not telling you anything you don’t know! :-( )

And what about the way I tear down others at church in front of my younger siblings??? :-( Or (worse yet! :( ) how about how I tear down one sibling (‘s behavior) to another?!? :-( :-( :-( OUCH!

Now, of course, we need to be extremely careful because, even though the world likes to misquote Scripture to make it sound otherwise, we are, as Christians, to exercise righteous judgment, (as opposed to biased, or ‘judgmental’ judgment :D). The judgment we pass may be righteous, just, and even necessary judgment! (See Matthew 7:1-6, James 2:12-13 (and Psalms 37:30?), for more in-depth study on Godly judgment!) So before we open our mouths ‘against’ another sibling or church member or friend, I need to pray for wisdom and righteous, Godly judgment and think ‘is this TRUE, NECESSARY, and/or KIND?’! And if it passes those three tests and is backed up by a prayer for God’s guidance, we may safely proceed.

We don’t normally think of Michal as someone we can learn anything from, because she doesn’t set a positive example; but we can learn from her mistakes and use her not-so-good example to help us make good decisions! :D

What we can learn from Michal in the passage is, in a BROAD SENSE, to speak of others in the BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT. I would say especially fellow believers to non- and other fellow believers alike. But, even more personally, and as Daughters at home (if that happens to be how the Lord has led you! :D) and definitely as Future Wives, we, as young ladies, need to learn to speak of our husbands (to everyone—our friends, our children, our parents…) in the best possible light. How can we learn to speak well of our husbands while we are still unmarried, one may ask?  While we are still unmarried and in our father’s house, we need to practice this by speaking of our fathers (and our mothers) in the best possible light! To speak to your friends, extended family, and your younger brothers and sisters with respect to your parents and their decisions, whether or not you agree with them. Not to speak derogative things about them to others (complain that you can’t go over to so-and-so’s house; gripe over the fact that dad doesn't like how low the neckline is, or how mom wouldn't let you buy that tight skirt…etc…) , but to promote their attributes—the good things they do—when given the chance! (Which means we need to be on the look out for those attributes!

We need to see the good in others! Don’t just always see and focus on the bad!!!)

Also, we can learn to speak to (and of) our siblings (as if they were our future children!!!) about other family members and church family in the best possible light and/or with Godly, righteous judgment!

May we, by God’s grace, seek to see and praise the good in others—not to zero in on and publicize the bad! 

Confiding...in our FATHERS????? ;-)

“Honor thy father and thy mother…”

(Exodus 20:12) 

 

Sounds simple enough, right?

:)

Any of you that have parents (which better include all of you!! ;-) know that statement is not always true. We know we need to, and should, honor and obey our parents, but as fleshly, sinful human beings, honor, submission, and obedience are not things that always come easily for us.

But I’d like to focus on the relationship between you (as a young woman) and your father, for the next few moments. :-)

I am currently in the process of reading a book about the Biblical design for fathers and daughters and just how far our society at large and even we as Christians have strayed from the multitudes of examples laid out for us in Scripture.

The book and its authoresses strongly advocate returning to this model laid out for us in Scripture, which is something that the Lord has actually been bringing to pass in my own life over the course of the last few years (right before and ever since my graduation from home school—programmed/ Christian high-school). I’m not perfect, and neither is my Daddy (although he is quite wonderful! :-) ), and I understand that while many young ladies and their (your) fathers (and mothers) will agree with me on the general principle concerning this issue, we each have a personalized way that we go about it, based on the way that the Lord is teaching us, leading us, and revealing to us through His Word. J I also realize, that through no fault of your own, not all of you have great relationships with your fathers—and some, quite honestly, may have harsh or hateful fathers. L

So, I am not here to tell you that what you are doing is wrong, or to tell you how great I am because I am doing what I believe to be right. Neither am I here to riddle those who suffer from any type of fatherly mistreatment or neglect with guilt. Rather, I just want to share with you a recent blessing I have received from going “out of my comfort zone” to confide in my father… and what joy, comfort, and relief I was blessed with as a result.

A couple days ago, I was reading in this book, and came across a very significant portion. The question is posed

“What kind of attitude does God want me to have toward my father?”

Of course, several answers are briefly discussed (this is a very encompassing topic J for one to cover in depth lol), and some of it is very cut and dry and Biblical (Exodus 20:12) (Ephesians 6:1) even (Ephesians 5:33). But the one paragraph that really caught my attention was this:

“Confiding in our fathers (and, of course, our mothers) is another way we can show them honor. When we let our fathers know our hearts—our struggles, our weaknesses, our hopes and dreams—it encourages them to pay closer attention to the instruction and guidance they give us. Our fathers can better protect us if they know our weaknesses and struggles and can better lead us when they know what direction we want to be going.” [1]

I could already attest from personal experience that more than one of these statements was and is true, but God was about to use it and the fatherly protection he has placed over my life, yet again, to strengthen and encourage me.

There was (oh and still is LLL) a certain sin that I am struggling with right now. It is one of those ones that is not obvious to anybody, but I certainly know it is there, and it was bothering me. I felt awful. I remembered having read this paragraph the next morning when I again found myself struggling in this area. (Funny how the Lord works things out all in perfect timing—just when you need it—isn’t it? J)

So I confided to my daddy what I was (am) struggling with. I could not do it verbally, so I wrote him a note a little before he left for work and would not let him read it in my presence lol. So he finished getting ready and left for work, while I went downstairs to my room, laid down on my bed, and struggled with guilt, discouragement, and a seeming inability to pray. L I could not take not knowing what he thought, so I texted him, asking if he’d read it and if he had any advice to offer.

No reply.
Not a comforting response!!!!! Lol J

So again lol I sent him a text…

This time, his answer came—

In the form of a 5 page reply

♥♥

And the words of encouragement and counsel he had to offer, by the grace of God, brought me to tears of relief.

By God’s grace, my dad was able to give me sound instruction and wise counsel exactly for the struggle I was and am facing. (Proverbs 1:8) (Proverbs 4:1) (Proverbs 13:1) (Proverbs 15:32-33) (Proverbs 19:20 & 27) (Proverbs 24:6) (2 Timothy 3:16)

But my daddy would never have been able to give that advice (neither would I have been able to receive itL) if I had not first opened my heart voluntarily to him. He never would have known, he would not be praying for me concerning this, and I would have received no instruction if I had kept this part of me to myself.

The same is true of you, dear sister. I am not perfect. Neither have I arrived because I did this.

I simply hope to encourage you to do the same! If there is something you are struggling with, need advice/counsel concerning, perhaps an unfulfilled dream, or a burden the Lord has laid on your heart that you are having a hard time bringing to reality, I encourage you, dear sister! First, take it to your Heavenly Father, and then (prayerfully, if need beJ) take it in a humble, submissive manner, to your earthly father. Open your heart to him in the same way that you would to your Savior. It will not be as easy. I could not bring myself to confide in Daddy out loud, so I wrote him a note, and gave it to himJ. But the results were equally amazing.

The blessings you can receive, by God’s grace, by being ‘vulnerable’ to your father far outweigh the ‘security’ you will experience if you do not. You may never know what blessings (in your walk with Christ and your father) if you do not!!

Just as you, Lord willingly, share your heart with your Savior, and just as you will one day give your heart to your Husband, share your inner thoughts, dreams, and struggles NOW with the man the Lord has in place at this very moment as the authority in your life.

It will not be easy…

But, dear sister, it is so WORTH IT!!!

---

[1] So Much More, page 39; emphasis mine J

Trusting God

Okay...

So I have a story for y'all this evening! Grab some tea, coffee... (or for Pete's Sake a lemonade! It's SO HOT!!!) and get comfy! This one is rather long... ;-)

 

{Picture Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentmelton/}

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dad, I only have a few days left of airtime on my phone,” Katie reminded her father. She had asked him earlier that day if they could do order some new minutes and service for her ‘pay-as-you-go’ cell phone, but for one reason or another, he had decided to put it off until later.

It was later. J

Dad was going to watch Courageous with his friend and her siblings, but he told Katie to go grab his work-issued Iphone so they could order her new minutes.

“Bring me your debit card, too,” Dad said, “so from now on when we do this, the company will just bill you directly, and you won’t have to worry about paying me back.”

So Katie grabbed her card and the other phone and brought them to her father, who had already settled into his easy chair.

Katie squatted down to sit on the floor next to her dad’s chair and watched they film play out on the large TV screen as her dad conducted business with his fingers. Some parts of the movie made Katie recall how she had cried the first time she had watched them, but other scenes caused her to laugh along with her little brother and sisters. After a while, Dad handed down the phone.

“There’s a list of several service options—” he informed her. “Click on the one you want.”

“I want the one you did last time.”

Dad looked rather annoyed. “Then choose that one.”
So Katie took his phone and after reading the synopsizes of all the other options, she chose the deal that gave her 30 days more of service and 750 minutes—more ability to text and send pictures J

{picture courtesy of Google Images}

After working out a kink or two, the transaction was complete—except for one seemingly minor detail… After the transaction had been completed, Dad read the ‘electronic receipt’ aloud to Katie. “Thank you for your purchase. 750 minutes and 30 days of airtime will be added to your phone on your phone’s refill date. Service has been paid for 7/28/12 through 8/28/12…”
“What!?” It was a very petty thing to be worried about, Katie knew, yet she didn’t want to be concerned with that now. It wasn’t even July yet! She didn’t want to go nearly an entire month without being able to use her phone! She knew—and even disliked—how pathetic that was, but oh well. It was what it was. “But Dad! That’s almost a month away! I can’t- I don’t want to wait that long for new minutes!”
Dad stared down at the screen in consternation. “That can’t be right…” After a moment of what appeared to be serious, deep thinking, his normal, laid back expression returned. Katie didn’t like that. He didn’t think it was that important… or at least not as important as she did. But she knew better than to verbalize her feelings. Her father continued. “I don’t think you’ll have to. Your phone should receive those minutes once it runs out of the other ones.”
“But Dad! That’s not what that blip you just read said!” Katie insisted.
Dad was looking annoyed again. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Sometimes those things mess up anyway.”
Katie was not convinced. “But it said—”
A stony element of warning crossed her father’s features. “I said ‘don’t worry about it’, Katie. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. Get that fret off of your face. It should be fine—I shouldn’t have even read you that; I just was skimming it quickly anyway—but even if it doesn’t work out the way we want it to, it’ll be fine and we’ll worry about it then—alright?”
But it wasn’t all right. Katie hated how much of a brat she felt like, but she simply knew that her dad was wrong and that that email he had read was right. She would be without service for almost all of July.
“Lord,” Katie confided later that evening when she was alone, “I know I’ve been struggling with this ‘I’m-right-and-my-parents-have-no-idea-what-they’re-talking-about-thing’ a lot lately… I didn’t realize I had such a problem with it… and I know it is such a petty thing to worry about… and I know he told me not to worry about it, but even though I don’t “know”—even though I could be wrong—I still “know” I’m right!” She sighed. “Lord, please help me not to worry about this.”
It wasn’t important in the grand scheme of eternity anyway…

(Fast forward a week to a hotel lobby where a young lady is curled up in a fancy chair, writing feverishly in her devotional/prayer journal… Excerpts from that journal):

{Picture Courtesy of Google Images}

“June 30^th 2012, Saturday, Philippians 4:1-13 and 2 Corinthians 1:1-7, especially verse 5

This morning I received new airtime on my phone, unlike my “my-dad-has-no-idea-what-he’s-talking-about”/ “maybe-he-does-but-this-time-he’s-wrong”/ “I’m-right”/ “I-know-what-I’m-talking-about” mind and attitude displayed and manifested itself within me. I said, “Dad, you were right” and showed him my phone. He said it was good to hear me say he was right J lol and I told him that I {really} struggle with having that (know-it-all) (my-parents-don’t-know-what-they’re-talking-about) attitude, and he said I should’ve felt better when he told me not to worry about it… which is true—I should’ve simply trusted Him—ALL THE WAY!! If I would’ve, I would’ve felt better—it would’ve saved me a bunch of grief and worry. (Well, , not an exorbitant amount,, J, but you know) but no! I didn’t!! L Why? Because I thought I was right! I thought I knew better…

I DIDN’T.

Whoops!

Daddy doesn’t know my perspective of the last {paragraph or so} but he said …it was like simply trusting God. (“Taking Him at face value”, as it were.) {He} said something about trusting Him and how if I don’t really do it, like I didn’t trust/ believe him {my dad—my earthly father} (and thereby allow it and his wisdom to bring me relief!) {basically, the same thing will be mirrored in my walk with the Lord!} (“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…” {Colossians 3:10} “… And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep my heart and mind through Christ Jesus”{Philippians 4:7}!!!)… … …

Umm, hello? J The {last paragraph or so} is how it is with {God and me}!!!!! My walk with Jesus! I told Daddy there was …a great parallel there, but even I didn’t realize how great the parallel truly was and is {of a daughter and her father and that same young lady and her Heavenly Father}!!!!!

If I don’t fully trust Him/believe Him/ take Him at His total Word, “only trust Him”, I’m going to cause myself stress and worry that I DON’T NEED to waste my time on because He’s already got it handled, taken care of, and UNDER CONTROL!!!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And the same is true for you, Dear sister. Precious Princess Warrior of the King of kings. The same way it is for me, or you, or anyone of us in our relationship with our earthly fathers, greatly mirrors the way we walk with our Heavenly Father, and reflects the relationship we have with Him!

If I would have simply trusted my father, who (duh) knew what he was talking about, had years of computer/technology wisdom to back it up, had told me to not worry about it (oh and guess what? By worrying about it after he told me not to, guess what I was doing???? Disobeying him!!! YIKES!!!)—if I would have simply TRUSTED him, simply OBEYED him, simply LET GO of my “but I want to fix it because I know how it should work out” reasoning, I could have saved myself so much effort, time, and mental energy that was tied up with the stress, worry, fretting that I accomplished instead! If I would have simply TRUSTED my father, and TAKEN HIM AT HIS WORDS OF WISDOM, I would have been much better off, and much more at ease!

(Is ANYONE besides me drawing the parallel here!? JJJJ)

Now obviously this is over a silly petty thing such as cell phone service and airtime, but God very much can and did use something as trivial as cell phone minutes to rock a girls world and alter her perspective!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trust me.

He did. J

If I would simply TRUST the one I say I trust, if I simply LET GO of all my ‘but I can fix it’ and ‘but I know how it should all work out’ reasoning (basically, the fleshly desire to be IN CONTROL of the circumstances and outcomeL), if I simply TOOK MY SAVIOR AT HIS WORD, how much useless, painful, time-consuming, stress-causing, and COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY worry could I totally skip! How many more blessing could I bask in and enjoy if I simply ‘let go and let God’?!?!?!?!

I’m not saying that I have this all figured out. I’m not saying that now because I have realized this principle that I’ve suddenly learned it and will walk in it from now on. But By God’s good grace a light has begun burning in my soul, and He is continuing to add to it. He wants me to enjoy the peace that passes all understanding by simply trusting Him!
And, did you know, dear sister, that HE WANTS THAT FOR YOU AS WELL?!?!? What about you, dear sister? Do you say that you trust Him, yet cling subconsciously to human reasoning to make you feel more secure with that theoretical trust (so totally preaching to the choir here!)? Do you truly ‘take Him at His Word’? Do you believe every promise and statement He makes? Or do you simply know, like I (thought I) did, that “you’re right”, that “just this time, He doesn’t know what He’s talking about”, that “sure He’s always right, but I don’t think He can handle this instance”???

DON’T!!! O don’t cling to those lies! ‘Tis SO SWEET to trust in Jesus, for only in that place of complete trust is that place of comprehension-surpassing peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, dear sisters, the Lord gave you your earthly father for a reason—whether he’s walking in the light of the Spirit or whether he is not L– but your relationship and/or how you interact with your earthly father truly does bare a parallel with your relationship with your heavenly Father—if only to show the perfection and unparalleled loving kindness of the latter!!!

So don’t miss this dear sister! Respect and obey your earthly fathers! Trust them! (Believe it or not, they know what they’re talking about! J Even when the odds are seemingly not in their favor. Again, take it from someone who knows! Lol) But most importantly, TRUST your Heavenly Father—pray and ask for more faith and trust! Believe him and simply let go and let Him.

The results can and will be far greater than either one of us (you or I J) could ever imagine!!! (Ephesians 3:20)

(PS: I love you Daddy! ♥)

{Picture Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentmelton/}