Distractions

     

 

      One of my absolute favorite things about my short time as stay-at-home mom has been the revival of my personal quiet time.  On a typical day, I get my oldest daughter up and ready to go to school, when she leaves with her dad (who also happens to be the principal at her school), I have a little bit of time before the other two girls get up.  I have cherished that time.  Rather than go back to bed, which can be a temptation, I have tried to use that quiet time to read my Bible, read a devotional, watch some of my favorite preachers that I have recorded, or even write this blog if there is something on my mind.  It has been such a great thing for me spiritually to intentionally take time by myself to immerse in God’s word.  Over the last few months I have gone from doing this as a duty, to actually looking forward to it.  I actually hate to miss it on those days that both of my other girls happen to wake up early.  It’s been kind of funny to me since becoming more intentional about reading my Bible, how many distractions seem to come up. 

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 NIV.  There is nothing that Satan wants more than for us to be distracted when we are spending time learning about God.  This morning was a perfect example.  We just started a new study about the Holy Spirit in my ladies Bible study group.  It is a really great study so far.  I started on the work book last night and was going to continue this morning.  However, for the life of me I could not find a pen that would work.  I tried every pen I could find and none of them would work.  I spent 10-15 minutes on this stupid little problem.  The thought crossed my mind to wait until later to work on it because I was getting frustrated.  However, when that thought came to mind I sensed that the pen issue was just a distraction of the enemy to keep me from doing the study.  So, instead of quitting, I found a pencil instead and sat back down to get to work.  Wouldn’t you know it, the minute I started writing, the lead on my pencil broke.  I actually laughed out loud at this pathetic attempt of the enemy.  I clicked out some new lead and kept going.

It’s so easy to allow life to distract us from pressing into God.  After all, we have a lot of things going on; demands at work, kids needing us, laundry and dishes, bills to pay, and even church events.  We are so busy that it can be easy to skip our time reading our Bibles.  I am so guilty of that.  However, one of the most common questions Christians have is, “how can I hear from God.”  Our first method of hearing from God is by reading His word, the Bible. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV.  If we don’t spend time in the word, we may miss out on what God is trying to tell us.  And don’t be fooled, simply reading to check of the box of your “read through the Bible” list may not give you the same benefit as actually digging into what you are reading and trying to understand it.  For example, when I taught math I would have never just told the kids to just read the chapter and do their work.  They would have been completely lost if I would have done that, and likely would have given up altogether (like many Christians do).  If I did have them read something I would explain it to them as they read.  God does the same thing with us.  He doesn’t want us just to read and then go about our day.  He wants us to allow him to explain through His Holy Spirit what we are reading.  However, if we give into every distraction and never stop long enough to be focused, we are going to miss out on what God is trying to tell us.

I am guilty of giving into the distractions.  Whether its housework, my favorite TV show, social media, my phone, or just plain laziness, I have done it all.  However, I have always benefitted during the times I put all those distractions away and allowed the teacher to explain what I just read.  It’s absolutely amazing how, when you do that, you may even get a fresh perspective on verses that are so familiar that you think you already know everything there is to know about them.  I encourage you, carve out some time in your day to spend letting God reveal to you exactly what He wants to teach you.

Gifts

                I love giving gifts.  I love spending time picking something out for someone I care about.  Several years ago I went through the Love Languages book by Gary Chapman and, no surprise, gifts was one of my top 2 love languages (the other one high up on the list was words of affirmation).  Now before you misunderstand, I am not a high maintenance person who expects fancy expensive gifts from my husband and others.  No, quite the opposite.  I love a simple hand written card, homemade gift, or just when my husband thinks of me and gives me an unexpected Dr. Pepper from the gas station.  The thing I love about gifts is knowing that someone was thinking about me.  I am all about the thought process behind the gift.  However, the emotional side of gift giving can be a hard thing to swallow when I happen to give someone a gift they don’t like or is not exactly what they were hoping for.  Over the years, I have had a few of those gifts that kind of just a flop. 

I remember my first married Christmas when I bought something for my husband that I thought he really wanted, only to get a hesitant “thanks” when he opened it.  Now don’t get me wrong, he did appreciate the gift, however, it wasn’t exactly the brand that he was wanting because I am sometimes too much of a bargain shopper and got him the cheaper version.  The thing you must know is that when it comes to love languages, gifts is one of the lowest for my husband so he doesn’t always think about the back story and thought process behind the gift.  There have been other times when I gave a gift to someone that I had spent a lot of time picking out or making, and never even received a thank you.  That can be frustrating and sometimes can cause disappointment for a person like me.

Matthew 7:9-11 (NLT) says, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”  This got me to thinking about how often I have not been grateful for the gifts in my life.  How many times in our lives have we received a blessing, maybe a new job we had prayed for, healthy children, or simply a roof over our head and food in our belly, and not given thanks for it?  I know, for me at least, it has been far more often than I care to admit.  I sometimes get my feelings hurt when others are ungrateful, how must it grieve God every single day when we don’t even acknowledge the things He has done for us? We are told “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT). 

God is a wonderful gift giver, although, unlike us as parents sometimes, he gives us exactly what we need and not always what we want.  He is patient with us when we unwrap the gift to simply utter an insincere “thanks”.  He knows how even though it may not look like it, the lost job, missed promotion, or unfulfilled dream, are simply stepping stones to get us to where we are called to be. “Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,’” Isaiah 46:9-10 (NET).  I love that.  When I get discouraged because of my immediate circumstances, I try to remember that He knows the end from the beginning.  He sees when the right turn I am wanting to take through what looks like a field of beautiful flowers, is actually a steep cliff in just a few feet.  I don’t know about you, but I want to submit to that, be thankful, and trust that He really does have a divine plan for my life.

“For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will reverse your plight and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’” Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NET, Emphasis mine).

Mundane Blessings?

    

Throughout the course of a person’s life, we are faced with a series of good times, not so good times, and even the occasional periods where we really aren’t sure if we will make it through. It’s during these different periods of our lives that we also find ourselves in different phases of our Christian walk. There are times when we feel as though God doesn’t care, couldn’t be further from our situation, or perhaps doesn’t even exist. However, we also experience times of extreme closeness and intimacy with God. Why is that? Is God truly far away at times, or do we keep God from being close to us?


When the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus they were riding high on the miracles they had just seen. They had lived through the Passover, numerous plagues, and had finally, after 400 years of slavery, been set free. To top all of these miracles off they even got to see God part the Red Sea right before their eyes. They could not have possibly felt any closer to God at that time. The Israelites were so on fire for the Lord that as they crossed the Red Sea they even began to sing praises (see Exodus 15:1-18). They were extremely focused and their faith was strengthened. However, as you probably know, that is not the end of the story.


Two and a half months into their wilderness journey (after numerous blessings), they were in the Desert of Sin (ironic name don't you think?). The people began to grumble (not the first time if you read the whole story). They kept talking about how they should have stayed in Egypt because at least there they had all the food they wanted. Like we so many times today do, the minute something gets uncomfortable, we want to quit and go back to the comfort of the way things used to be, even if that means going back into bondage. The gut reaction of the Israelites was not to look to God, who had saved them from the plagues, rescued them from slavery, made it possible to walk on dry land in the middle of the red sea, and had turned bitter water into water that was drinkable (see Exodus 15:25); instead they looked to their circumstances and took their eyes off their provider. How many times have you done that? I know that I have done it more times than I could possibly count, or would honestly care to admit


Why is it that we as humans have such a hard time with change? We get comfortable with where we live and a certain group of friends. We find something we like at a restaurant and never order anything else. We even do this at church. Have you ever tried sitting in a pew where someone else usually sits? Why is that? Do we enjoy monotony? Are we a boring species? I don’t think so at all. I believe that we as humans like to put up walls and form comfort zones. It can be uncomfortable or even hard to move to a new town or start a new job. Because of that we so often find ourselves settling for less than God’s will for us. This applies to every aspect of our lives; from where we work, to who we marry, even to how we treat our physical bodies. Change is hard. No matter how much we know in our head about the benefits, we struggle to break our old, comfortable habits and ways.


Despite the grumbling of the Israelites, God still blessed them as they complained about how hungry they were. What I love about this story is how God chose to do it. Rather than just show them some animals or a fruit tree, he chose to feed them Manna directly from heaven (see Exodus 16:4-5). What an amazing blessing! To ensure that they could only gather enough for one day, any leftovers would actually rot. Talk about “give us this day our daily bread”. I have to be honest though, I struggle with that. I am a worrier by nature and I cannot fault the Israelites for wanting to gather extra Manna each day. Isn’t that just like us as humans, we are focused not just on today, but we are looking at tomorrow. Even if God just finished blessing us, we are worried about 5 years down the road, as if God doesn’t already know about what will happen then as well. The funny thing about God is that he expects us to do that, he knows our nature, he created us after all. If you look at the story of the Israelites, they still tried to gather enough Manna to store for later, however, it served them no purpose because it went bad.


God didn’t stop the Israelites from gathering more than they needed, however, it served them no purpose. It was God’s intention for them to really learn how to trust in him. When we do see blessings happen, we must be careful to not take them for granted. The Israelites had an incredible, daily blessing literally falling from heaven. However, that became routine for them. After all, they had been following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (see Exodus 13:20-22). They started to take the miraculous for granted and every time they got bored or wanted something different they would grumble and complain. Don’t we do the same thing? I know there have been times when I have followed the exact same pattern as the Israelites. I get in a desperate time of struggling, seek God for his help, and he miraculously comes through for me. However, sometimes the very next day, I am grumbling and complaining again. Why is it that we as humans constantly do that? Why is it so hard to be content and enjoy where we are? Why can’t we take a step back and savor the blessings of the Lord every day?


God’s blessings should never become mundane, but they do. When he blesses us over and over we sometimes come to simply expect it. Just like a spoiled child, we throw a temper tantrum when we don’t get what we want. When I think about my own life, I see that even in myself. I have taken God’s blessings for granted so many times, simply because I have come to expect them. However, just like a child, when I have had to patiently wait, save up, or work hard to get what I have been wanting, I appreciate that blessing so much more. We need to learn how to have that thankful attitude more often. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) says “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” It’s God’s will that we could learn to be content and thankful no matter we may be going through.

Hard Verse to Swallow

We all know it.  For Christians, it’s probably one of the most familiar things that we have all recited.  I’m referring, of course, to what we call The Lord’s Prayer.  This prayer is the pattern given by Jesus of how we should pray.  It’s found in Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”  I have heard and recited this prayer so many times that it has kind of become something that I mindlessly say without really thinking about it. 

                However, recently this prayer has struck me in a way that is slightly uncomfortable.  In particular the part about “forgive us as we forgive others”.  That’s a scary thing to pray if you happen to hold any unforgiveness.  Do we really want God to forgive us the way that we forgive others?  I can honestly say that until recently, that is not what I wanted.  I had a few people that I secretly harbored unforgiveness for, whether I consciously realized it or not. 

                I love to listen to various podcasts while I am cleaning throughout the day and about a month ago I heard one about unforgiveness.  Since that time, I have really been mulling that over in my mind, and digging into scripture to read more about it.  There are several things that God has to say about forgiving others.  Here are a few verses just as examples:

                 1.       Immediately after the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6, the very next verses say this, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15.  These words are in red folks, that means they came from Jesus himself.  Not only are we told to forgive others, we are also told that if we don’t forgive others, God will not forgive us.  That should absolutely terrify us and that alone should inspire us to forgive others.

                 2.       “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Matthew 18:21-22.  We are told to forgive continually.  That means even if the same person sins against you time and time again, you still need to forgive them.  That doesn’t mean that we are excusing their action, it means that we are not going to continue to hold it against them. 

a.       Immediately after this verse, Jesus goes on to tell the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  If you are unfamiliar with this parable I recommend going and reading Matthew 18, but in a nutshell, a man was shown a ton of mercy by a king by being forgiven of a tremendous debt that he could not pay.  He then turned around and demanded payment from someone who owed him a small about but who also could not pay.  Rather than extending the same mercy as he had received, he had that person thrown in prison.  This got back to the King who was not happy.  The king handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed.  Jesus ended the parable by saying “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:35. Have you felt any torture in your life? Maybe there’s someone you need to forgive from your heart.

                 3.       “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24.  We are told to reconcile before approaching God.  That’s a pretty big deal.  To me that means that if we want our prayers to be heard, we have got to forgive others. 

The most interesting (and honestly the hardest) thing I have noticed in the last month or two of digging a little deeper, is that we are not told to forgive only if the other person deserves it or if they ask us for forgiveness and pay us back for the damage done.  No, we are simply told to continually forgive others.  This is not dependent on the other person.  It isn’t dependent on if they deserve it.  And it isn’t dependent on if they are even repentant.  Forgiving others doesn’t even always affect others.  However, it does impact us.  If we are not forgiving someone, that person and their actions tend to constantly be in the back of our minds.  We develop hatred and even wish ill on that person.  In severe situations, it may even impact our health.  If we forgive someone it doesn’t excuse that person.  It does, however, release us from the oppression of the sin that person committed against us.  God still tells us, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’” Romans 12:19.  God is still in charge.  Just like I always tell my daughter when she starts yelling at her sister, “I’m the mommy, you aren’t, if your sister is being bad let me take care of it, not you.”.  God is telling us, “I’m God, you aren’t, if your brother or sister are being bad let me take care of it, not you.”.  Whoever you may need to forgive, I encourage you to sit down and get serious with God and let that burden go.  

Why the Wilderness?

           

           As a Christian, I often tend to think that everything should be easy.  I somehow believe that God should pave my life’s path in gold and remove any little thing that could possible stand in my way or cause me to stumble.  However, that isn’t how life works.  There are times when things seem to go well and there are times when nothing is working.  Some people seem to struggle more than others.  I also know people who never appear to struggle and it seems like everything they touch turns to gold.  However, we all have challenges in this life.  The older I get, the more I realize that no one has the perfect life.  The more I have gotten to know the people with a “Midas touch”, the more I have seen the real side of them.  Anyone can appear from a distance to have it all figured out.  It’s when you get a little closer that you can see the real struggles underneath.

So many people believe that Christians should have everything figured out.  I’ve even heard people say, on many occasions, that they don’t want to go to church because it’s just full of a bunch of hypocrites.  Well, I have some news for those people; yes, it is full of hypocrites.  I’m one of them.  None of us have it figured out.  We all struggle in some area of our lives.  Just like a hospital is not necessary if no one is ever sick, there would be no need for the church if we were all perfect.  There would also be no need for Jesus if we already had this faith thing figured out.  However, we all still have not arrived.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Last time I checked, all means every single person. 

Some of my biggest moments of spiritual growth have occurred during times of frustration.  It’s during moments of feeling like I am wandering in the wilderness like the Israelites, that I finally get to where I can depend fully on God.  Why is that?  Why does it take a “wilderness” time in our lives to get us to turn to God, or turn back to God? 

There are so many examples of God meeting with people in the wilderness throughout scripture.  The most famous is probably in the book of Exodus when Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness.  However, God met with so many others when he was able to get them alone in a “wilderness”.  For example, David wrote so many of his most heartfelt Psalms when he was in the wilderness tending to his sheep or even when he was running for his life from King Saul.  Before leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God met with Moses in the wilderness in the form of a burning bush as he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep.  Abraham had an encounter with God in the wilderness when he took Isaac up to sacrifice.  Joseph had a long wilderness phase when he was sold into slavery by his own family, falsely accused of rape, and thrown in prison.  Even Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being constantly bombarded by temptations and attacks of Satan.  No one is immune to wilderness times.

Sometimes, getting alone with God is exactly what we need.  We need to get away from distractions to focus on what it is God has for us. You have a choice in the wilderness.  You can run to God or you can get mad at God, blame Him for your frustrations, and run from God.  However, you will never truly experience God’s blessings and promotions in your lives if you turn tail and run when you are in the wilderness.  Every one of the examples I gave of men in the Bible who experience times of frustration also experienced tremendous blessings on the other side of their wilderness.  The character that was built during those wilderness times, served them for the rest of their lives.  I, for one don’t want to miss out on that.  I have had a few “wilderness” phases of my own life and I have decided to run to, rather than from God during those times. 

One of the most comforting verses for me during trying times is James 1:2-4.  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  We can take joy during our trials knowing that even as we go through hard times they are preparing us for what God has in store for us.  I don’t want to miss out on the blessings on the other side of the trials.  I want to develop that maturity the verse speaks of.  I want to understand more about God today than I did yesterday.  I want to react better to a frustrating person now than I did a year ago.  I want people that I may have hurt to see a sincere heart for God rather than simply a hypocritical person.  I definitely want to be further along in my relationship with God five years from now than I am today.  I sincerely hope that if you are walking in the wilderness right now, you will grab your Bible (or your Bible app on your phone) and press in to the Word.  Turn off your television, radio, or whatever else you are allowing to distract you and simply pray that God would encourage you through your frustrations.  Press in and look up, rather than give in and give up.  

Let go of the Brush

I have to make a confession, growing up I loved watching Bob Ross paint.  For those of you who don’t know who he is, he is the guy with the huge afro who loves to paint “happy little trees”.  I am about the furthest from an artsy person you will ever meet, but there was something about him taking a blank canvas and turning it into a gorgeous mountain scene in just 30 minutes that would just draw me and my sister (if she would admit it) in.  Watching his show was interesting because just looking at his canvas as he painted, you would have no idea what he was painting.  It wasn’t until he got just about finished that you would be able to tell what his masterpiece was going to look like.  Even when he messed up a little he would simply say something like, “let’s just turn that into a little fluffy cloud”.  Even though the audience didn’t necessarily know what he was painting, he always knew what it was going to look like.

Just like Bob’s paintings, our lives are God’s masterpiece.  He knows exactly what he has intended the end to look like from the very beginning. He designed us exactly the way he wanted us to be. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:13-16 NLT.

God did create us with a purpose, but we must yield to His will to truly fulfill that purpose.  “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Romans 9:20-21 NIV.  Just like a painting should never grab hold of the brush, thinking it can do a better job than a talented painter, we need to stop second guessing God every time we think God should be using blue when he is using grey.  Even a beautiful masterpiece looks a little ugly before the real beauty comes out.  God will take the ugliest paint spots and turn them into something beautiful, if we simply allow him to.  However, if we decide to turn away and do things our way, those ugly spots may dry as ugly and then we will wonder why we are not enjoying our lives.

Fortunately, no matter how badly we might mess up God’s masterpiece, if we turn back and allow him to take control, God will take those ugly spots and make them something beautiful to use for his purpose.  “He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.” Isaiah 61:3 NLT.  So let go of the brush, let God create a masterpiece in you.  Don’t get frustrated if you can’t see the beauty just yet.  Keep trusting, praying, seeking, and yielding to God.  No matter your situation, do what you can exactly where you are, let God do the rest.

Where's Your "Elf on a Shelf"?

                I absolutely love Christmas time.  I love all of the traditions and anticipation in the air.  I love watching my girls get excited about everything from putting up our Christmas tree and decorating, to making Christmas treats, to being a part of our church’s Christmas program.  To me, Christmas is so much more fun as a mom because I love seeing my girls light up about everything.  I am not one of those Christians who thinks everything secular at Christmas time is bad.  Rather, I am trying to teach my kids why we give gifts, why there is a star at the top of the tree, and the real reason behind the season.  Our society has taken a Christian holy-day and turned it commercial, but there are so many wonderful things to teach our kids even in the commercial parts of Christmas.  I do find it intriguing how many non-Christians celebrate, and I welcome it.  Even if they don’t know the actual reason why we use a tree to decorate, or what the meaning behind candy canes and wreaths are (which ironically all have Christian roots) I pray that their hearts would be open during this time to feel God’s love for him and understand that they have been given the greatest gift, Jesus, whether they believe in Him or not at this point.

                One of the newest traditions of Christmas has become the elf on a shelf phenomenon, boy how I wish I had come up with that.  We have an elf that my 4-year-old creatively named Elfie when she was 2.  It is kind of a silly idea but it is so sweet how excited she gets when she finds that elf each day.  I started thinking about how blessed children are with their childlike faith.  I don’t know a little girl who doesn’t just live in an imaginary world.  My girls are always playing mommy or teacher or pretending to be a princess.  My favorite thing to watch is how pure their faith in God is.  When my oldest wakes up from a bad dream, the first thing she asks me to do is say a prayer for her.  When I put my 2-year-old to bed right now I can’t just pray for her, she wants me to pray for her stuffed cow, baby doll, pacifier, and any other random thing she has decided to sleep with that particular night.

                I think that’s why Jesus had a special place for children in his heart.  He healed many children and, unlike most men in that day, never sent children away when they came to him.  Instead he drew them to himself.  I love The Message translation of Matthew 18:2-7.  The “mature” men of God, the disciples, were inquiring of Jesus who ranked highest in the Kingdom of God.  In my opinion they were fishing to find out which of them was Jesus’ favorite. I love how he responded to them.  “For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, ‘I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse—and it’s doomsday to you if you do.’”  

                I truly believe that as adults sometime we do ourselves a disservice.  Rather than simply knowing and trusting that God has our best interests at heart, we over analyze every single time we are in a trial and lose our faith.  We think there is some magic formula to pleasing God and getting our prayers answered.  However, he simply wants us to humble ourselves and have simple trust like a child.

                The older I get and the longer that I am a Christian, I am so amazed at how much I realize I don’t know.  Over the last several months I have come across so many things in scripture that I never even knew were there.  I have been a Christian as long as I can remember, and it humbles me every single time I find something new in a book I thought I knew everything about already.  I’ve decided that rather than going through life trying to understand every little thing, I want to be more like my little girls looking for that elf.  I want to wake up each day with anticipation, excited to see where God is going to show up today.  I want to go back to the simple and elemental things and have a simple trust like a child.