Do you ever hear of a great testimony and say, “I want that?” While the heart of sharing testimonies is the confidence God wants to do it again in your life, the focus has to be on HIM, not the fruit. We can’t just say, “I want that fruit”; it has to be, “I want HIM.” So, when you see God move mountains in someone’s life, let it encourage you that He is able, but ask Him for the keys in your own life and follow whatever He tells you in your situation.
I was so encouraged by this testimony from my friend. They were selling their home, which was located by a power line. The agent’s photographer erased it from the photos to make it look nicer. He was really proud of his work and spent a lot of time editing the photos, so my friend didn’t say anything but sensed it was not fully accurate. They had an offer that fell through, and when my friend asked the Lord about it, he sensed God telling him to change the photos back to the original. He asked the agent to change the pictures and asked God to increase the price. He sold it for 25K, HIGHER than the previous asking price with the altered photos. My friend went on to share, “I feel like the closer we go with God, the higher the level of obedience He requires.” YES! I agree! Character matters. Obedience matters.
You cannot take the parent out of parenting any more than you can take the child out of childhood. Your journey, heart, and needs matter and shape your parenting more than anything. If you want to love your child to the fullest, you are going to have to allow God to love you. If you want to empower your child to the fullest, you are going to have to allow God to empower you. If you want to train your child to the fullest, you are going to have to allow God to train you. If you want to see/hear/value your child to the fullest, you are going to have to allow God to see/hear/value you. If you want to embrace your child to the fullest, you are going to have to allow God to embrace you.
What is most important to you in your parenting? Fill in your own blank. “I want to _______ my child to the fullest.” Now ask yourself how you are doing with allowing God to do that with you.
Hudson likes to wear his sports pants every single day! He walked out of his room with them on AGAIN, and I told him he needed to dress nicer. As he walked away deflated, I heard God say, “Let it go!” I called him back and shared how his Father defended him and apologized. We hugged, and all was fine. He came to breakfast with a whole new outfit on. A tear rolled down my face as I realized that he was motivated by the Father’s love (not my expectations).
“I’ve been teaching JD to hear God’s voice so today before we went into the grocery store, I asked him to pray and ask Jesus who He wanted him to show His love to. He said he wanted to draw a picture of different color flowers and also a picture of heaven and earth being connected. So I let him draw and we went in the store. When we were inside, I told him to ask Jesus who He wanted him to give it to and he pointed to the lady walking by in the flower department. I just thought it was because she was the first person he saw so I told him to keep praying. We went down a few aisles and I reminded him to keep listening to Jesus about who to give it to and he said, ‘I think I need to now,’ but there was no one around so he ran off to look. He came running back very excited and said, ‘Where’s my picture? I have an idea.’ I then followed him all around the store looking for someone. I said, ‘Are you looking for someone specific?’ and he said ‘Yeah, the first lady I saw in the flowers.’ Then it all made since to me because flowers were the first thing he said God showed him in the car. So we went back and found her, and he handed it to her and told her what the drawing was and then when I told her that it was for her, that he had prayed and heard God telling him to give it to her, she immediately started tearing up. She said she was praying on her way to work because she just has all of the stuff going on in her life right now and that that made her day. She said she was going in for surgery the day after tomorrow, so we were able to lay hands on her and pray for her. As we were walking away, JD saw this weird flower filler thing and said, ‘That’s my favorite color!’ A few minutes later she found us in the store and gave those to him and told him how much his message meant to her. Moral of the story is that children can hear God’s voice too and their simple childlike faith has the power to transform lives. If you have children try this game with them. It’s so much fun!!”
There is only ONE perfect Parent, and His name is Father God. He created parenting and is the original Father. Everyone all falls short but is invited to PARTNER with Him. This really is excellent news. You don’t need to walk under the pressure of perfection, which means you can enjoy your parenting journey.
Chiropractors bring your body into alignment. Sometimes we need spiritual adjustments to realign us back to Him. If your heart feels stretched too far, maybe a part of your heart needs to come into alignment.
My son came for some snuggles while I was having my time with Jesus. I had him ask Jesus if He wanted to spend time with him too, which He confirmed. Then I asked, “Ask Him what He wants to do with you,” and my son said, “Play on my tablet.” Of course, I didn’t NOT think that was Jesus, but guarding against being the middleman, I let it go. An hour later, as I was spiking his hair, he said he didn’t do very well playing his video game. I jokingly said, “How is that possible? I thought Jesus was playing with you,” and he said, “No, I was doing all of the driving,” and it organically turned into the sweetest conversation about letting Jesus be in the driver’s seat of our lives. Where I thought my son was more interested in his computer games than spending time with Jesus, He orchestrated the entire moment THROUGH the very thing that mattered to my son. He is so good!
Treat yourself to a few minutes of rest while you listen to worship. Don’t have time? That’s a LIE. Seek Him first, and the rest of your day lines up. You do have time. Put a movie on for the kids, listen in the car after dropping them off at school, while in the tub, or getting ready, and pop your earbuds in while working out or cleaning. You have time for Him, trust me!
I had to take a moment to process my heart in the midst of so much movement. I began to feel good about all that I have been able to accomplish in a short amount of time between packing, cleaning, selling items, arranging details, canceling utilities, securing housing, saying goodbyes, homeschooling, and on and on. I stopped myself from saying aloud, “I am a ROCKSTAR!”. I saw a mental picture of how weary and exhausted I was earlier in the week, and I heard God say, “No, I AM,” and I began to cry. Oh yes, yes, yes. It is YOU who gave me the grace and strength to accomplish all that I am able to accomplish. It is YOU who showed up in my weakness and made me strong. It is YOU who sustained me with Your power to end well. It is YOU who never left me. It is YOU who walked me through this part of my journey just like You have every other one. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Look at this precious testimony from a mom embracing taking communion together as a family.
“We had out-of-town company get to our house last night, and we didn’t do our normal evening family devotions and communion. My kids went to bed, and I was up talking with company when, an hour later, my 7-year-old daughter came out of her room, didn’t say a word but went to pour herself juice and break bread for Communion. She sat at the table like this and prayed while she partook. Then she came and hugged me and simply said, ‘I felt like I needed to do this.’ And went to bed. My mama’s heart burst.”
