Confession 204: I AM

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Almost four months after becoming a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, I am finally getting around to attending New Consultant Training.  Better late than never, I guess! πŸ™‚  Last night, we talked once again about the importance of creating affirmations.
Affirmations are an “I am” statement that reflects what you want to accomplish.  I am a 4 quarter STAR, I am a Red Jacket, I am a Team Leader.  The idea is that anything you say to yourself over and over will come to be.  Subconsciously, you are training your mind to accept something as reality which you wish to achieve.  The science is actually very sound on this.  I remember going to a writing conference and listening to a writer talk about using this process to help her on her way to publication.  Before falling asleep each night she would lay in bed and write in the air, “I am a writer.  As human beings, our mind is our most powerful resource. The converse can be true too.  If you look in the mirror each morning and tell yourself, “I am worthless”, you’re going to believe it.
What struck me most last night, however, was when my sales director made the comment that the phrase “I am” is the most powerful phrase in the English language.  My mind immediately jumped to Exodus 3:14 when God says to Moses’ inquiry of who God is:
 
“I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites, “I AM has sent me to you.”
In this moment, God could have called out any number of phrases to identify himself: the Redeemer of Israel, the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life, the Healer, the Rock, the Refuge…. Yet instead, God answers Moses’ question with the most powerful phrase in probably any language–the ultimate affirmation–I AM.  It is the answer to any question we might have, the end to any argument we may give, the hope in any circumstance we may find ourselves in.  
“God, how am I going to get around this mountain?”  God answers: “I AM!”
“God, how am I going to keep going after this setback?”  God answers: “I AM!”
“God, where am I going to find an answer to this problem?  God answers, “I AM!”
“God, where am I going to turn when this relationship, job, home, body I’ve put my faith in falls apart?”
God answers, “I AM!”
In Revelation 1:8 God puts the ultimate cap on his affirmation to Moses:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega…who was, and who is, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Do you need an affirmation today?  Tell yourself this: “I am a beloved child of the great I AM!!”
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 203: Being a Faith Warrior

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Together (we) will be like mighty warriors in battle
trampling (our) enemy into the mud of the streets.
(We) will fight because the Lord is with (us),
and (we) will put the Enemy to shame.  Zechariah 10:5

Growing up, my Grandpa always told me I would make a good soldier.  Why, I have no idea, but it’s something he told me over and over.  And while I am stubborn, persistent, and more inclined to fight than flee, I don’t like being told what to do, I need to know the reason for doing something before I begin, and if someone is pointing a gun in my general direction I am going to run the other way!!  I’ve never seen myself as a warrior.  And yet, in the above Scripture that is precisely what we are called to be!
One look at our society and it becomes clear that we are indeed mighty warriors in battle!  The Enemy surrounds us and his weapons are powerful and destructive, breaking us down from within through fear, despair, self-loathing, hopelessness, temptation, guilt, anger, selfishness, materialism and pride.  But we, as followers of Christ, have something even more powerful than these weapons of mass destruction.  The Lord is with us!!  And he carries in his arsenal not weapons with which to destroy, but tools with which to build.  The Lord brings hope, salvation, grace, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, restoration, healing, peace, goodness, power, strength, faith, compassion perseverance, and love.  
As followers of Christ, we will put the Enemy to shame with these tools the Lord provides.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we choose to forgive rather than hold a grudge.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we offer a place of healing in our churches to those who have suffered from addiction.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we go out to serve others with love and compassion in the face of despair, disaster, and poverty.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we persevere through the trials and obstacles in our lives and in our congregations to continue the work God has given us to do.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we speak to others with love and grace, focusing on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.  We will put the Enemy to shame when we encourage others in their walk, strengthen others in their faith, support others on their journey of healing, restoration and redemption.  In essence, we will put the Enemy to shame when we LOVE!!
O, Lord, I want to be a WARRIOR today!!
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 202: Pray!

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Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray!  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise!  Is anyone among you sick?  Let them call the elders of the church to PRAY over them….Therefore, confess your sins to each other and PRAY for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE!!  James 5:13-16

This Sunday, my husband began a new sermon series focusing on prayer.  For too many of us, prayer takes a backseat to the other events/happenings in our lives.  We bark orders at God or give a compulsory thanks before dinner, but we don’t really spend time in conversation with the one who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves.
Did you know that psychologists have found that the healthiest relationships are the ones in which people engage in communication with one another at least 4 hours a day?  Don’t worry, texting counts!!  Think for a minute about the person you communicate most with throughout the day.  Now, think about how much time you spend communicating with God throughout the day.  Am I the only one whose numbers don’t add up?
Communication is essential to a healthy relationship, and prayer in its most basic essence is communication.  We go to God and talk and listen.  It’s a two-way conversation, even if we’re not face-to-face.  Yet even more importantly, prayer is our time to surrender ourselves to God.  It is our time to go to God and tell him that we’re ready for him in our lives–for his forgiveness, his love, his grace, his mercy, his peace, his strength, his guidance, his power, his freedom–that we are ready for him.
So, in the words of Nike and my husband, “Just do it!”  In our society, we over complicate things.  We make excuses to justify our lack of commitment to God and others.  The solution to this is simple.  As Chris said, “If you don’t feel like you pray enough, then pray!  If you don’t feel like you read your Bible enough, read your Bible!  If you feel guilty because you don’t go to church enough, go to church!  If you feel bad because you don’t talk to your mom enough, call your mom!”  Just pray.
Just
PRAY!
Blessings and Peace,
Sara
Linking up with Michelle at Graceful today!! 

Confession 201: Nonconformist

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Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.  
Romans 12:2
Having a very active imagination, my mind wanders a lot.  Often when I’m cleaning or driving or trying to fall asleep, I make up stories in my head–little movies I can watch while I’m busy doing other things.  Had I written them all down over the years, I would have filled hundreds of books! πŸ™‚  When I’m not making up stories I will probably never write, I am thinking about ways to expand my business or running through a to-do list or worrying about the kids, Chris or money.  I’m not sure I would call any of the above renewing my mind.
Too often, I ask God for help, advice, guidance and direction, yet I do not clear my mind of other things to allow God’s help, advice, guidance and direction to come through.  Romans 12:2 tells us that it is in the renewing of our minds that we will be able to discern God’s will.  Yet, how do we renew our minds?
First, I think we have to clear them.  We have to stop thinking and daydreaming and worrying and allow stillness to permeate our being.
Next, when our minds are clear and still, we need to go to God’s Word.  We need to pour over Scripture, letting the words imprint themselves on our newly cleared minds.  We need to soak in the Word of God, whether a chapter or two or just one verse.
Then, we need to ponder.  We need to re-read our Scripture passage or verse.  We need to read the commentaries about it, gather information around it, think about what it means in our own lives.  We need to ask God for clarity about his Word.
Finally, we need to pay attention to Scripture lived out in our lives.  Where is our passage meeting us throughout the day?  Where are we living out the Word we have received?  How is God illuminating it for us throughout our day?
It is then that we will be able to experience the renewing of our minds that will allow us to test and approve God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 200: Affirmations

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In my beauty consultant business, we are taught to develop affirmations we can say to ourselves throughout the day.  We say things like, “I am a booking machine”, “I am a powerful and confident saleswoman”, “I am a Star consultant”, etc….  The idea behind these affirmations is that you become what you affirm.  It’s the idea that if you say it enough you’ll start to live it out.  And so, I felt a bit convicted yesterday when I was cleaning up a side table and found notes from the Priscilla Shirer simulcast I attended last April.  Within our conference booklet was a page of affirmations, but not affirmations focused on building business or making money, but affirmations focused on building holiness and making a God-centered life.  So, I thought I’d dedicate my 200th blog to some affirmations of the soul.

1. I am created in the image of God and God said I am good. (Genesis 1:27)

2. There is no place I can go where God will not find me; no circumstance in life where I will not know his love. (Psalm 139:7-12, Romans 8:28)

3. God has a plan for my life that is bigger and better than anything I could imagine. (Jeremiah 29:11)

4. I will not be afraid of the trials of this life because God, my Savior, will not let me go. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

5. I can do anything that God has called me to do. (Philippians 4:13)

6. I will not worry about tomorrow, for God will provide all my needs.  I only need to rely on him. (Matthew 6:25-34)

7. God has freed me to love others.  I will love others with the outpouring of love God has shown me. (1 John 4:7)

8. I will keep God’s word in my heart and teach it to my children. (Deuteronomy:4-6)

9. Even though I have days where this life will make me cry, God will bring joy to my heart. (Psalm 30:5)

10. I have been redeemed by Christ and am a new creation in him. (2nd Corinthians 5:17)

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 199: Boys

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So, I found a cool new site I’m linking up with today called M.O.B. (Moms of Boys).  As most of you know, I have two boys, ages 3 and 5.  They are wonderful and exasperating all at the same time!  As Christian parents, the most important thing to my husband and I is that our boys grow up with hearts for God.  I just want them to serve God, in whatever capacity God chooses for them to do that.  So, it’s wonderful to find a site full of other women dedicated to that purpose.  Here’s some basic information for those hopping over:

1. I am a United Methodist pastor’s wife.  When we moved a year ago from our past appointment I had to give up my job teaching high school English.  God has taught me a lot about relying on him this past year as I have not been able to find another full-time position. Like always, he has opened up doors I never expected or anticipated.  I recently started my own business as an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics.  You can check out my webpage here.

2. My boys, Garret and Stephen, are masters of mess and chaos.  It’s always something around our house.  Yesterday I caught my youngest washing out his underwear in the sink because he refuses to poop in the potty and apparently he thought cleaning up himself was the more preferable choice.  This same child also flooded a church bathroom this past Sunday by turning both water faucet’s on full-blast 5 minutes before the start of worship.  Instead of leading singing, I was mopping!!

My oldest is more subtle.  During prayer time one Sunday he decided to body surf under the pews to the front of the sanctuary.  Just as my husband was getting to the Lord’s Prayer Garrett pops out in front of him and says, “Hi Daddy!”

3. I started this blog because I love writing.  Confessions of the Pastor’s Wife is not a tell-all of parsonage living, but rather reflections and experiences of my own journey with God through all of life’s ups and downs.  It is an attempt to help others connect with God and to discover new facets of God for myself.  I am in the process of writing a devotional book which may or may not ever be finished! πŸ™‚  And, I contribute monthly to Seeds of Faith, a wonderful online forum for Christian women throughout the world.

As my youngest has decided to try jumping from the couch to recliner, I should probably end here.  I’m so glad you came to visit me today, and will be by to visit you soon!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 198: I’m Going With You

“Father, I don’t know where you’re going today, but I’m going with you.”–Sheila Walsh

Driving down the road, only semi-listening to the radio, these words cut through my to-do list and planted themselves right in the center of my brain.  It took me a moment to tune in to what I had heard, but as I rolled the words around in my head and let them drip onto my tongue, I realized the transforming potential of this small prayer. To begin each day with this, as Christian writer and speaker Sheila Walsh does, is a lifestyle choice that requires some major shuffling of priorities for most of us.  To-do lists might be left undone.  Schedules carved into cyberspace might be deleted.  Our five-year plan might not be there five years from now.  Our agendas must be relinquished for God’s agenda; AND, we have to choose to give them up willingly!

“Father, I don’t know where you’re going today, but I’m going with you.”

Can you imagine what the first disciples must have thought when Jesus called to them?  Did Peter have any idea as he was folding away his fishing nets the events to come?  Peter, the rugged fisherman, who said “Father, I don’t know where you’re going today, but I’m going with you.”  Could he have known that he would become “The Rock” on which Christ would build his church, the first of the chosen 12 to recognize Jesus as the Son of God?  Could he have foreseen his spectacular denial of Jesus, chronicled throughout time in all four Gospels, or had a vision of his own bloody death on a cross?  If he had, do you think he would have gone?  Would you?  Would I?

“Father, I don’t know where you’re going today, but I’m going with you.”

I think that this simple prayer embodies all we are to be as Christians.  Our duty, our job, is to follow Christ.  But look carefully at the words above–“Father, I DON’T KNOW where you are going….”  To follow Christ, we have to be willing to take a leap of faith.  We have to be willing to say, “I don’t know” when it comes to the what’s, when’s and where’s of our lives.  We have to live on faith, that “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)   We have to remember that Jesus did not walk the easy road of comfort and luxury.  Jesus sought out those who were poor, those who were sick, those who were oppressed, those who were weary, those who were “untouchable”, those who were “sinners”.  We have to remember that Jesus challenged the status quo.  He pointed fingers at the institutions (the government and the church) which kept people in bondage, which diminished the value and worth of human beings created in God’s image.

“Father, I don’t know where you’re going today, but I’m going with you.”

This is what I want my prayer be.  This is what I want my life to be.  I want this prayer to be my lifestyle choice.  I want to say to God, “I’M GOING WITH YOU!!” wherever that may be.  And even though the road may be difficult, I’m traveling with my Father.  And there is nowhere else I want to be.

Blessings and Peace,
Sara
 

Confession 197: Seeds of Faith Thursday

I’m posting over at Seeds of Faith today, but I have to confess that I’ve been very lazy and just re-posted from my blog last week.  It’s terrible, I know, but I’m just having blogging issues at the moment!  But, I’m going to work on getting back in the routine.  I’ve sort of been living and breathing my business at the moment, working toward building it up.  I’ve done 39 facials in the past month and sold about $1200 in retail.  So, it’s going well, it’s just very time consuming.

It’s funny, because although I’ve always cleaned and moisturized my face, I used to think make-up itself was somewhat trivial.  What I failed to realize is that when used correctly, make-up actually brings out the natural beauty God has given each of us in our faces.  It’s true design is to enrich, not to reinvent.  And I’m okay with that, as long as it’s about me bringing forth God’s best in me when I step out of the house and not about me trying to impress others or be someone I’m not.  For as Proverbs 31 reminds us, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 195: Parenting Advice From the Pro

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The more I read about Susanna Wesley, the more I realize what an astoundingly brilliant mother she was.  I mean, she did raise up John and Charles Wesley, the founder of Methodism and a prolific hymn writer, respectively.  As the mother of about 100 kids (okay, 19), Susanna Wesley had to be organized and efficient, making the most of both time and resources. 

According to reports, each of Susanna’s children got to spend one hour alone with her per week, engaging in whatever activity they so chose.  When Susanna Wesley needed some quiet time she would sit down in a chair and throw her apron up over her head.  When the kids saw Mama hiding behind her own apron, they knew to leave well enough alone!! πŸ™‚

I recently came across Susanna Wesley’s rules for raising children.  Though written some 300 years ago, these rules are completely relevant for raising children today.  As parents, it is important that we actually engage in parenting, and Susanna Wesley did this phenomenally.  So, I’m taking these rules to heart.  Let me know what you think!!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Susanna Wesley’s Rules for Raising Children

1. Allow no eating between meals. (Working on this.  It does make dinner a more pleasant experience!)

2. Put all children in bed by eight o’clock. (We try to stick to this.  We need some child-free time to restore our sanity!!)

3. Require them to take medicine without complaining.  (My boys really like taking medicine.  I’m a bit concerned.)

4. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.  (This is where I need Susanna Wesley to come over for coffee and give me a few tips!!  It’s hard to fight that battle day in and day out with stubborn children!)

5. Teach one to pray as soon as he can speak.  (We do this before meals and at bedtime.  There is nothing sweeter than sitting and listening to your children praying.  I guess God must feel the same way! :-))

6. Require all to be still during family worship.  (We use the nursery every Sunday.  And yet, I wonder, is that the best option?  Does anyone practice a family worship time?  What does that look like in your house?)

7. Give them nothing that they cry for and only that which they ask for politely.  (My youngest daily tests me on this!!)

8. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented of.  (Absolutely brilliant and gives your children a first-hand experience of grace.

9. Never allow a sinful act to go unpunished. (I’m guessing there’s a difference between a fault and a sinful act.)

10. Never punish a child twice for a single offense.  

11. Commend and reward good behavior.  (This is so basic, but I forget it all the time.  I sometimes give more notice to the negative behavior rather than the good.)

12. Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed, should be commended.

13. Preserve property rights, even in the smallest matters.  (“Garrett, that’s Stephen’s Mater.  Give it back to him, please.”

14. Strictly preserve all promises.  (If you don’t, they’ll remind you!!)

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16. Teach children to fear the rod.  (I think I need to invest in one of those!! :-))

Confession 195: God Sustains

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To say my boys have been a little wild lately would be an understatement.  Having moved into my parents house for the week while foundation work is being done on our parsonage, the boys have taken complete leave of their senses and seem to have left their ears back at our house!  They are loud, destructive, mess-making creatures who bring chaos with them at every turn.  While visiting my grandma in her assisted living facility yesterday the boys were running up and down the halls and around the dining room playing cars with legos.  My grandma, loving every minute, laughed and asked me, “Are they like this at home, too?” 

“ALL THE TIME!!” was my response.

Now in all fairness, my boys are generally pretty good.  They have wild moments, as any boys do, it’s just that with all of the change this week their wild moments have become the norm and not the exception.  I was thinking yesterday that I was going to have to drive the 240 miles to my in-laws and drop the boys on their doorstep! πŸ™‚  (My parents are in Canada doing mission work this week.)  And then, as will happen, God spoke with me this morning from the prophet Elijah.

Elijah says to the Lord, ” I have had ENOUGH, Lord!”  …he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat…”  The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you…”
1 Kings 19: 4-7
Interestingly, or maybe I should say, humanly, Elijah spoke those words to God shortly after God had displayed his power on Mount Carmel, exposing the priests of Baal as frauds and demonstrating once again to the nation of Israel that Yahweh is the one, true God.  Yet instead of being full of confidence, of recognizing that he, Elijah, served the Most High God, Elijah took Jezebel’s threat to end his life seriously and headed for the hills.  Even though God had shown Elijah firsthand his power, his glory, his might, Elijah still said, “I have had ENOUGH!”
The truth is, there are situations in all of our lives where we decide to tell God enough is enough, despite the ways God has sustained us in the past and our knowledge that he will do so in the future.
But here’s what I love…instead of telling Elijah off, commanding him to get up and stop being a baby and get the job done, God ministers to Elijah.  God comforts Elijah.  God sustains Elijah.  Do you see the love God has in his heart for his people?  Do you feel the love God has for you?  Elijah told God he had had enough and God responded with comfort and care, with empathy and compassion.  God said, “I know this journey is too much for you, so let me see you through.”
Have you recently told God you’ve had enough?  I want you to know that God knows you’ve had enough.  He knows this journey is too much for you.  And, he loves you with a love so great, so deep, so wide, so high that he is bringing you nourishment that will strengthen you, sustain you, and see you through!!
Blessings and Peace,
Saraο»Ώ