dodging rocks

"i'm really frustrated," she admitted to me over the phone. i could hear the defeat, the exhaustion in her voice.

medical bills, diagnosis, prescriptions, blood tests, doctor appointments, waiting for results, all while the ailment attacked her body. it was all getting to be too much. you know the saying, sick and tired of being sick and tired? that's exactly the place where my friend was when she called me that day.

we have been praying for her healing for months. and she is on the road to getting well! just last week when she called she sounded great and said she was feeling great. she shared with me an intimate moment she had with God on her morning walk on the beach. that day on the shore, she put her illness in God's hands and trusted Him for her healing. she was happy and filled with peace.

but she didn't wake up the next morning completely healed. or the next morning. or the next morning. and there are still doctor appointments to make, prescriptions to take, and medical bills to pay. and that intimate moment with God on the beach? now seems like a distant memory.

it's hard to hang on to God's promises when everything else is slipping through your fingers. it's hard to stay in that place of His peace when the phone rings and it's the doctor's office again. it's hard to believe your prayers are being answered when you're still sick and tired.

this little cartoon that i found on Pinterest says it all.

God is there. He does hear our prayers. He is healing. He is protecting. His promises are good yesterday, today, and forever. He sees you, He hears you. He knows you're frustrated.

but He doesn't want you to stay that way. that intimate moment on the beach? that moment of peace when we gave our cares all to Him and joyfully trusted Him, completely? He wants that with us every day.

the road to recover might be long, and it's easy to get sick and tired of being sick and tired. but hang on! God is good! keep hope. in moments of frustration, take a step back and imagine, like in this cartoon, your Great Big God blocking the blows. stop looking for miraculous signs, instead look for the countless blessings that are in your every day. take God for His Word, and take it seriously. believe it today as much as you believed it yesterday. yes, there might be a "rock" that hits you now and then, but remember, God is doing major good things on your behalf. He goes before you. He stands behind you. He is always by your side. 

read Jeremiah 29:11:

"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

(keep reading)

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, 

and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me 

when you seek me with all your heart. 

I will be found by you," declares the Lord.

the Message version puts it this way:

"When you call on me, when you come 

and pray to me, I’ll listen.

When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

"Yes, when you get serious about finding me 

and want it more than anything else, 

I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed." God’s Decree.

"I’ll turn things around for you..."

 

i am praying you know that you know that you know that your God is good. He loves you so much. and just like He did that day on the cross, He is dodging rocks for you today.

Roots for the Journey (FREE app + FREE shipping)

our new favorite Bible-teaching app is here! Roots for the Journey, based on the latest album from Yancy, is a FREE app designed to help parents teach their children simple Biblical truths.

the Roots for the Journey app is FREE and it has family devotions, conversations, activities, prayers, music, lyrics, videos, and more. the app artwork is stunningly beautiful! i love this app for family time devotions on the go, in the car, during dinner, anytime and any where. i was especially excited to see the app includes correlating activities from my friend Amanda (www.ohamanda.com)! 

watch the music videos with your children and listen to the sweet lyrics from scripture as they reinforce the devotional's lessons, conversations, activities and prayers. 

 

"Taking key Scriptures and truths that I wanted to pass on to my son, and making sure 

he knew and understood the direction and answers these Scriptures provide us

was important to me...

Most importantly we want to help families hide God's word in their hearts." 

-Yancy

Roots for the Journey App is available free for iPhone, iPad and Android. Roots for the Journey CD is now available online at YancynotNancy.com enter code yancylovesme for free shipping. i highly recommend this fun CD and companion app for all families!

Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, 

and who meditates on his law day and night. 

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, 

which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—

whatever they do prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

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pssst: Yancy AND Amanda will both be at Declare this year! hear Yancy perform live and meet our special guest speaker, missional-mom-blogger OhAmanda!

click to get your ticket:

Women at War {chapter 6}

i have been blessed with incredible friends in my life over the years. but, like most women, i have also been deeply hurt by someone i thought was my friend along the way. let's just be real here, girls don't always play nice. am i right? sometimes, the ones that hurt us the most are the ones that we thought we were closest to. it is like a war.

i am reading Women at War by Jan Greenwood, and am delighted to be a part of the book study hosted by A Beautiful Deep. 

Jan addresses this often treacherous dynamic of woman-to-woman relationships. and it is a good book. Jan is speaking to my heart and i am letting old wounds heal. ladies, this war started long, long ago. but we have to know this: we are not each other's enemy. our enemy is Satan.

we're in Chapter 6 this week with the Women at War book study. this chapter is all about our family trees, broken branches, and stunted growth as a result of relationship hurts.

if i look at my life as a tree, branches representing my family, friends, and loved ones, i see it tall and strong, branches full and roots deep. it's a healthy tree with room for more growth. but it needs pruning. some branches broke off bluntly. some branches are cracked, hanging on by a shred of bark.

but it doesn't have to stay that way. if i am willing to give it to God and trust Him with my relationships, my "tree" can be healed, grow, and thrive! Jan encourages us, broken branches can be mended.

Women at War is opening my eyes and opening my heart to ending this battle among women. i encourage you to read the book, too! your relationships will be BLESSED! ladies, let's end this war! 

i would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and the others in the Women at War book study.  here are Chapter 6's questions for reflection:

• Have you ever looked up your family tree? What interesting people or stories did you find?
• What does your “tree of life” look like? Are there full, rich, shady parts? Stumps?
• What would it look like for your tree to grow again?

join the discussion on Women at War Chapter 6 here. 

you can buy your own copy of Women at War by Jan Greenwood here. next week we'll discuss Chapter 7 with kjtanner.

i was provided with a copy of the book in exchange for a review. 

all personal experiences and opinions are my own. 

affiliate links enclosed. 

photo credit: mugley via photopin cc

praying for my life

a full-sized spiral notebook lay open on top of the dresser in our bedroom. there's a pen that stays there, too. it's my prayer journal. every day, i scribble a handful of prayer requests like healing for a sick friend, peace for someone's situation, wisdom for my husband's decision, provision for a project. every day, i read yesterday's scribbles and i pray for the needs of others.

prayer is a top priority in my life. yall know i believe in the power of prayer! somehow, though, it never even occurred to me to write my own needs in my own prayer journal. i am so blessed to be able to pray for others, and i usually "save" my personal prayer requests for after i prayed for my husband, my kids, our family members, our friends, our church, our community, and anyone or anything else on my heart.

and then i got my hands on this book: Praying God's Word for Your Life.

for my life! 

because yes- i need to make it a priority to pray for my needs, too! i should be praying not only for a situation, but also for my worry, concern, or frustration. not only for my husband, but also for my role in our marriage. not only for my children and their well-being, but also for me! not only for my co-workers, but also for my role in the workplace. not only for my friends, but for my relationship with each of them.

author Kathi Lipp (also wrote Praying God's Word for Your Husband which i reviewed here), offers simple suggestions for creating a habit of praying for our personal lives with renewed boldness, consistency, and expectation. the forward by Jen Hatmaker (one of my favorites!) is a beautiful testimony of God's promise to answer our prayers. each chapter addresses a specific area of my life where i might (will) need prayer at any given moment, with scripture and prayers especially for those areas. God addresses my life "issues" in His Word! and He wants us to use it in our prayers.

you know it's good when a book has several dog-earred pages!

i started reading Praying God's Word for Your Life straight through, chapter by chapter. and then one day, i was struggling to find the right words to pray for myself, so i flipped open the book right to the chapter on that specific need. i read the scriptures, prayed the prayers, and turned to my Bible to read and study further. Praying God's Word for Your Life is a great little book to have on hand in my quiet time.

God loves me and He wants me to pray. my prayers for my life are another way to build my relationship with Christ, to rely on His sovereignty, and to express my utmost gratitude.

get your hands on this book and be encouraged to pray God's Word for YOUR life!

Praying God's Word for Your Life is available June 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. i was provided a copy of the book at no charge for purposes of providing a review. the personal experiences and opinions are honestly my very own. affiliate links enclosed. 

an ordinary day in the life

this is an ordinary, no interruptions, no field trips, no co-op, no appointments, no meetings, weekday, day in the life of me and my kids:    

somewhere around 5:45am - the white noise is off and i am awake. i spend my first moments each morning doing the same thing i did before i fell asleep the night before: in bed, reading and praying. my husband makes the best coffee in the world. these quiet moments in the morning really set the tone for my day. a little after 6am i make the bed and go to the kitchen table with my laptop to get some work done before my little ones wake up.

7:15am on the dot– Bubba comes into the kitchen, warm, eyes still adjusting to the sunshine. i love the way he smells. we hug and talk about last night’s dreams and i pour milk into his sippycup. he snuggles on the couch and wakes up slowly. i pour myself another cup of coffee.

7:25am – Big Girl skips downstairs, fully dressed, teeth and hair brushed, shoes on, smelling like a sweet, fresh bouquet of Bath & Body Works. her bed is perfectly made, dolls lined up in a neat row. she has probably been awake for an hour already. we hug and share last night’s dreams as she pours cereal into her bowl. her joy is contagious. i wrap up my work on the computer and start the laundry and dishes.

8:45am – we are at the gym. my kids enjoy meeting friends to play in the gym childcare for a couple of hours while i am in zumba and body pump. i enjoy this "me time" a few times each week.

10:45am – we hit up the Starbucks drive-thru after the gym for a tall nonfat extra hot green tea latte, and a giant chocolate chip cookie for the kids. we are happy, happy, happy. i might need to swing by the post office or dry cleaners on the way home, too.

11am – the kids start on their independent school work and i have a conference call. i help get their work set up, put in my earbuds, and log in to chat with The Seed Company EMDC team.

1pm – after a hearty lunch of (gluten-free, organic) pb&j sandwiches, bananas, HappySqueeze, and kernel corn, it’s playtime. Big Girl heads to the front yard with her clipboard and colored pencils to sketch cardinals in trees and spiders weaving webs. Bubba sprawls out on the living room floor with his Cars, making very realistic car noises with his mouth. i clean up lunch, check on the laundry and dish cycles, and then sit down to try to get some more work done.

2pm – it’s such a beautiful day. the sunshine beckons. we fill our water bottles, smear on sunscreen, grab our sand shovels and buckets, and walk across the street to the playground. i watch them play and make new friends, i catch some rays, and think about what’s for dinner. i make Bubba run laps. when their cheeks are rosy, we head back home.

4:30pm – laundry is done, dishwasher is empty, dogs and fish are fed, dinner is almost ready, hubby is home, and i do my best to keep the chaos to a minimum. soon we’re all at the dinner table, thanking God for His goodness, and sharing the highlights of our days. i love hearing the kids' versions of what we did during the day. the rest of the evening is pretty relaxed. maybe we go for a walk, maybe we take a dip in the pool, maybe we make dessert, maybe we watch a Duck Dynasty rerun, maybe we each find our own quiet corner and read.

7:30pm - time to start winding down. jammies on, lights dim. take showers, brush teeth, clean up the toys, pick out books for bedtime. by 8pm the kids are tucked in, and hubs and i prop our feet up and call it a day. another great day. 

9pm - i'm in bed reading and praying, thanking God for these wonderfully ordinary days.