Galatians 6:9

"AND LET US NOT BE WEARY IN WELL DOING: FOR IN DUE SEASON WE SHALL REAP, IF WE FAINT NOT."

This verse is our memory verse for this week and it really had an impact on me. Normally on Monday we break down a verse so that the children (and most of the time, myself included) can understand a certain piece of scripture. Today we did that and when I was teaching I had come to understand how hard this can be.

To summarize this verse in "Kelly Translation," Apostle Paul is writing to the Galatians and informing them not to get tired of doing what is good. He continues by saying that if we "faint not," or don't give up, we will reap the blessings of our hard work.

How true is this. So many times, I find myself wanting to give up because of the hard work that doing good requires. It is tough, especially in this instant gratification world we live in. We want to reap the rewards now, see results now, get it now, buy it now, do it now. And to be perfectly honest, I am guilty of each and every one of those things! I have a hard time thinking about how men and women functioned back in the days when the Bible was being written. People were not perfect, but they worked hard for the things they had. As I'm typing here writing a blog, hundreds of years back, women would be cleaning clothes from a river, making food from a burning-hot kettle, making sure the fire stayed lit. They would have been making soap from lye and fat, sewing cloths for their family, all while hopefully training their children to love, honor, and obey God, as well as those who have authority over them. What a job they had!! What a reminder for me, that in comparison with these amazing women from the past, I have no excuse for my complaints or weariness.

So, as we go on throughout the day let us not give up on doing that which is good and stay focused on our Heavenly Father. The moment we take our eyes off of Him is the moment the devil will seep into our lives. Trust that the Lord will honor His Word and that if we keep on going and faint not, we will reap the blessings of living a Godly life.

"Fathers, Provoke Not Your Children to Anger" - Colossians 3:21

Well, originally I thought, "Ok, this verse is just for the Fathers, I should be in the clear".....hmmm. I am so wrong about this one. As mothers, I realize that we are just as guilty at not following through with this one small passage of scripture as any father. Sometimes and maybe often times, more guilty!

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend and I was telling her about this concept of not provoking my children to anger. I suppose when I hear the word provoke I summarize it as being sort of "bully-like". While that may be right in some ways, I think we can take it a step further. So I asked myself the question, "Am I living differently than I tell my children to live?" While I quickly answered "no" to that question something popped in my mind (thanks to the Lord's divine reminders: ). I replayed a scene of yesterday's events in my head and noticed something. I was telling my child to be patient with something that I myself was not being patient with. Sounds simple, doesn't it? But it's not! While I was not outwardly showing my impatience, I was somehow displaying it to my child. More than likely it was though my body language, eye contact, and/or facial expressions. What was the result of my impatience? A child who was impatient and angry! I provoked my child. I wasn't being a bully, I was just not modeling the one thing I was telling my child to do.

As you can imagine, todays task was to not provoke my children to anger. While I never really thought there was too much anger in our house, I did realize that it is a lot harder than it seems. In fact, I have already failed the test. Thankfully, I have a very forgiving and merciful God who has given me very sweet and forgiving children! This wasn't quite what I had in mind in doing "out of the ordinary" things for the Lord, but when it comes to serving Him, anything counts. I guess you can say that anything out of the ordinary for me is anything that requires me to place myself below others. What a humbling journey this can be.

Day 1 - Revamping

First of all, no, I am not starting to go through the Julia Child's cookbook in a year challenge. I am just doing a little revamping of my spirit. Bit by bit.

A couple of months ago, I was convicted to start something that I wasn't really sure if I was capable of doing. And rightly so, I am not capable of doing it alone. Being aware of the weak spirit I possess, the only way I knew I could do it was with a lot of prayer and wisdom. And quite honestly, I still don't know where this will take me, but I do know one thing for sure, with the Lord as my guide, the journey will be nothing but GREAT, CHALLENGING, and FRUITFUL!

So here it goes, my goal is to do one thing out of the ordinary for the Lord everyday. I know to most of you this does not seem challenging but to me this is a major step. I actually started doing this when I got convicted by it but really it ended up being hit or miss. The tasks felt incomplete. It was do to the fact that I was trying to do it through the strength of my own flesh, and as most Christians know, that never works out!

So, day one is ....... start a blog about my daily journey of doing something out of the ordinary for the Lord. In the process I hope to be encouraging to those of you who may be struggling with the same issues. My goal is to fulfill God's Great Commission and to give the type of love the Lord commands us to give, no matter where I am, whether at home, church, the gym, or Target.

Please Note*** I do not plan on posting my daily "projects" just for the simple fact that some things are more personal and will remain entirely between myself and the Lord. I will, however, post those things that have made a big impact on me spiritually or those special occasions that seem too funny not to share.