God's will for me

So many times I have heard Christians lament, "I just don't know what God's will is for my life." I have even said it myself. I guess we are not familiar with His Word, because it is abundantly clear what His will is: " Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" ( I Thessalonians 5:16-18, bolding mine).

So what is God's will again? Simple: be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.

How do we break that down though? I think they are all intertwined.

Be joyful.

Notice it doesn't say feel joyful, it says be joyful. This means to me that it is an act of will. I will get up this morning and choose joy. I will paste a smile on my face until it transforms my heart. Studies show that laughter actually makes you healthier (something that is not a surprise to God - see Proverbs 17:22). Choosing joy and choosing to laugh makes you feel better. A cheerful countenance makes you feel good. Then you smile even more. And then you feel even better. What a great cycle!

Give thanks in all circumstances.

Yes, I'm going out of order here, but there is a reason. This one has really been put to the test for me lately. As many of you know, we welcomed a lovely little boy to our household on August 24th. I had a history of two natural deliveries and two cesarean sections. I desperately wanted to have another natural birth. I saw a midwife and hired a wonderful doula to help me. I read stories about vaginal birth after cesarean and saw a chiropractor to improve his positioning. And in the end, my blood pressure shot through the roof and I ended up on the operating table again.

I was mad. I did not want another surgical birth. I wanted to pull my baby up onto my tummy and nurse immediately. I wanted our birth to be an intimate experience with as few in attendance as possible, not a show attended by 15+ hospital staff. And I did not want to go through the post-op pain of another major abdominal surgery. The more I dwelt on what I did NOT get, birthwise, the angrier I became. And the angrier I became, the more depressed and irritable I was. It got to the point where I felt physically sick to my stomach whenever I thought about Gabe's birth.

And then, as I was praying last week, I was reminded of this verse. God's will for my life is that I would be thankful in all circumstances. I began to think of all to good things that surrounded Gabe's birth.

First off, I am thankful for Gabriel himself. He is a gorgeous, sweet and easy going baby. His siblings are over the moon for him. He nurses like a champ and is getting so chubby and adorable.

I am grateful that my midwife and Philip were in the operating room the entire time. My hands were not tied down and I got to touch Gabriel right after he was delivered. I have video and film of the actual delivery. Gabe went with me to recovery and nursed immediately after I was finished being sewn up.

One bad spot in the delivery was when there was a mix up on the doctor's orders and I did not have pain medicine ordered post-op. After about 2 hours of crying hysterically, the situation was rectified and I was given pain medicine. But even this screw up gives me opportunity for thanks. Thank God there was eventual relief of the pain. Thank God we live in a country where medicine is available and the surgery was available.

My doula pointed out that there is a difference between disappointment and regret. I do not regret having a c-section. I believe it saved my life and Gabe's life. I am disappointed that I did not get the natural delivery that I wanted, but I can still choose thankfulness. And as I choose to reflect on the good and be thankful for God's providence, the disappointment is healing. As I embrace His way of thankfulness, He is healing my heart.

Pray continually.

I think the key to being joyful and giving thanks is praying continuously. In my own strength I am inadequate for joy and thankfulness. I have this fleshy bit in my me that wants to rise up and pout. I want things my way, and I want them now! But God has provided a way out for me. If I can lean on Him, I can escape my tendency towards ungratefulness and sullenness. He knows my heart. It is not news to Him when I tell Him that I cannot do it and ask for help. And day by day, minute by minute, I must ask if I am to win this battle. His mercies are new each day and His strength is sufficient.

So, pray with me today. Say, "Lord, help me to choose Your way of thankfulness and joy." Then suck it up, smile and choose to be grateful for all circumstances. Because this is God's will for you.

Coming soon to a computer near you!

Dh and I have always wanted to adopt a child (or a few!). Frankly, there is nothing that so closely mirrors the heart of God to me than adoption. We, ourselves, are adopted into His family. In Romans 8: 15 it says, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." Isn't that awesome? We are adopted into the family of God. He gives us the right to call Him "Daddy". And in the Hebrew culture, a father could disown his biological son, but could not disown an adopted son. So we belong to Him, forever!

So what does this have to do with your computer? You will soon have the opportunity to buy things that will contribute to our adoption fund! I have a shop set up at www.shalombaby.etsy.com and will soon be stocking it with hairbows, baby slings, baby leggings, scrapbooking items and more. And all proceeds will go towards our goal of bringing home a new child to our pfamily.

I don't think you understand

Recently, I asked Anna (4 1/2) to do something. She refused. I explained that Mommy's instructions are not optional. She cocked her head at me and said, "Mama, I don't think you understand. I want to do what I want to do, not what you want to do." She acted like I was genuinely confused about her condition. Like her predilection towards self-will was a surprise to me.

But isn't that the crux of the human condition? We got into this whole sin mess for the same reason. We want to do what we want to do instead of what He wants us to do. And we try to justify our sin nature in the exact same way that Anna does. As if our bent for rebellion is just a matter of personal preference.

As we gently teach Anna the importance of submitting to Mama and Daddy, may we also learn the importance of submitting to our Heavenly Father.

Great little article

I was reading recently about religious views on breastfeeding and came across an fantastic Catholic article: http://www.theologyofthebody.com/03-16-07.asp

Funny how "modern" societies reject the natural in favor of man's way. Brings to mind the Biblical warnings against being "wise in your own eyes."

A Beautiful Heart

Sometimes my kids just amaze me. Nathaniel is growing to be such a wise little boy. Recently we had this conversation:

Nate: "Mommy, what does n*&&#$ mean?"
Me: "Nate, where did you hear that word?"
Nate: "On TV. What does that mean?"
Me: "Well, that is a word that some people use. We do NOT use that word in our house. Some people are not very smart and they think that they are better than other people just because of the color God made their skin. That is a very ugly word they use to talk about people who are different from them. It hurts people's feelings to hear that word."
Nate: "Mommy, that is really stupid. Don't those people know that God looks at our hearts and what we do to see if we are good? I think the world would be a better place if we could all look at each other with God's eyeballs."

Wouldn't the world be better if we could all see each other with His eyes?

Voice over

Last month, our little pfamily went on a trip to see relatives. Being cheap, I mean, frugal, we have not purchased a DVD player for the minivan. But since we were going on a long trip we toted along our TV/DVD combo that we use for our homeschooling math and science lessons. The children could watch a few movies each direction and dh and I were spared listening to The Laurie Berkner Band CD on repeat.

We had purchased a few new movies for the trip and the kids had a blast watching Robots and Curious George. As we were talking in the front seat, dh and I tried to identify the actors and actresses who did the voice overs for the cartoon characters. (Phil is much better at this than I am). When he mentioned one of the actor's names, I struggled a bit. I had heard of this actor before, but couldn't really remember what his voice sounded like, because I'd only seen him in one movie and it was quite some time ago.

This struck me as a spiritual principle. I could not tell that the voice of this robot belonged to that actor because I was not very familiar with the sound of that actor's voice. I had heard it once, but not recently.

We are the same way with the LORD. Often Christians complain that we can't hear God speaking to us. Maybe the problem is that while God is speaking, we have forgotten what His voice sounds like. We have not spent enough time in prayer and in His Word to know what His voice is like. We can't tell the voice of the Holy Spirit from the voice of our culture because we have not cultivated our recognition.

Makes me want to turn off the TV and tune in to the Word of God. I can live without knowing that Mel Brooks is the voice of Bigweld, but I cannot live well without knowing the voice of my Creator.

Faith in Faith?

Having attended Oral Roberts University, I am pretty familiar with the faith movement. I thought I had heard it all. Until I was driving to Krispy Kreme this morning (baby Bean needed some blueberry doughnuts), and heard a preacher on the radio exclaim, "It's not God that heals you - it's your faith that heals you! Can I get an Amen? If you believe it, God HAS to do it! The Word says so." Thankfully, we had not yet purchased our doughnuts or I might have choked. Ummm, no. God MUST do nothing. Otherwise He would not be omnipotent. Where do these preachers come up with this?

Kenneth Copeland has said that the reason God blesses unbelievers is because they follow God's principles without even knowing it. They follow the "laws of the universe" by believing for wealth and sowing seeds. A freakishly popular book out right now is called The Law of Attraction. Supposedly these are Abrahamic teachings on how we can attract good thing in our lives by using the power of positive thinking. Basically, you believe and meditate on good things and you will manifest them in your life. Faith teachers teach the exact same thing, but they clothe the paganism in Biblical language. (You can mix the rat poison into your coffee, but it's still poison.)

My whole problem with the idea is that you are using "principles" to obtain results from the impersonal universe. We are not called to do this. We are blessed to be able to take our requests to a personal, intimate, caring God. We are called to trust (a more accurate translation of "faith" in most Biblical contexts) - but we are not trusting in rules, the universe or any formula. We are trusting in a living God who knows us intimately and desires to work with us on every detail of our lives.

I think the key is having faith in God. That is, faith/trust in God's goodness, benevolence and good plan. Not faith in faith or faith that God will do whatever I will. I have heard preachers say that praying "if it is your will" is double minded or shows lack of faith, and I just back away. I don't want to be there when the lightening strikes. Jesus prayed "Thy will be done," and instructed his apostles to do likewise. Good enough for me.

We have to remember that this world isn't it. God uses us for His glory here, and our temporal happiness is not His biggest concern. What does the Word say about it?

Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." (Notice Job did not say that he hoped that God would do what Job wanted. His hope was in God's character and person.)

Hebrews 11:13 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."

Hebrews 11: 36-40 "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

These folks were commended for their faith and yet DID NOT RECEIVE, because God had something better for them than what they desired. If we look at Job, Paul, Joseph , David, and others in the Bible, we don't see them trying to work up some frenzy of faith so God will have to bless them. I think reading your Bible and saying "God, You have to do this because I have faith that You will" is Christian witchcraft. The Bible is no spellbook and we should not be using it to try and control God. He MUST do nothing, else He is not sovereign. We are called to have faith and trust in God Himself, not in our puny understanding of what He should or should not do in a particular situation.

I think some preachers have horridly temporal values. As if blessings or prosperity in this world were all that. This life is like a vapor, and I think as we grow in Christ and gain an understanding of how fleeting it is, we can have an eternal perspective instead of a temporal one.I think the best prayer we can ever pray is "Lord, I trust in YOU! Glorify Your Name in this situation." Sometimes that means a physical healing, sometimes it does not. It's not up to me, the child, to demand my way. It is up to me to ask and then accept His answer as perfect, because my understanding is limited.