If Life Gets Too Hard to Stand, Kneel

(Quote by Gordon B. Hinckley, Image Source Unknown)

It was God's way of whispering, "I want to spend this moment with you."

I knew exactly what that whisper meant as my mind traveled back a few weeks to an evening of loneliness when all I could do was drive, and pray, and wipe the tears from my cheeks.

Not a wound waiting to be healed. Not a space needing to be filled. A gift. A gift of alone time spent with my Lord. The gift itself wasn't the answer to prayer that came in the morning, confirming that He heard my hearts cry. No--it was that moment when my spirit of weakness was laid in His hands.

As Christians, we are called to convert our loneliness into solitude. We are called to experience our aloneness not as a wound but as a gift--as God's gift--so that in our aloneness we might discover how deeply we are loved by God. ~ Henri Nouwen

Every once in a while we find ourselves emotionally stripped, as all that life holds is swept away. We find ourselves kneeling at the feet of our Lord, grateful that He's there--His spirit a balm to our weary soul.

There have been times that I've felt this throughout my life, and like this time, each one has brought me a little closer to my Lord.

I pulled up in the driveway, and just before I stepped out of the car, the same feelings of loneliness crept up for a second--just a wee second--before a smile spread over my face.

"Your grace is sufficient for me Lord," I whispered to Him, "Thanks for this moment with You."

But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

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Weekly Chores for Life and a Free Printable

Weekly Contributor, Kim Brenneman


What do you think about while you do your work? Where are your thoughts while you’re washing the dishes? Folding the laundry? Vacuuming the floors? Today I stumbled upon this in my stash of good stuff to read. I think it deserves to be printed on nice paper, framed and hung in a place of daily viewing.

You can view and print a ready-to-print copy here: Click to view printable or copy and paste to your own document.

WEEKLY CHORES FOR LIFE

Author unknown

Monday - Wash Day
Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility through the week ahead.

Tuesday - Ironing Day
Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles of prejudice I have collected through the years so that I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday- Mending Day
O God, help me mend my ways so I will not set a bad example for others.

Thursday - Cleaning Day
Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in the secret corners of my heart.

Friday - Shopping Day
O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may bless my family with contentment and happiness and all others in need of love.

Saturday - Cooking Day
Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it with clean, sweet bread of human kindness.

Sunday - The Lord's Day
O God, I have prepared my house for you. Please come into my heart so I may spend the day and the rest of my life in your presence.




When we go about our work we must not see it as a horrid chore...

“Grin and bear it.”
“Grit your teeth.”
“Just get it over with.”

We should see that work as an opportunity to talk to God about life.

I really don’t like to do laundry. I like it done but I don’t like the process of doing it. When we have to do the unpleasant work we should use it as a time of prayer and thanksgiving. “Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility.”

Every day and every minute of every day we should be praying. It is the will of God for us to do that.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

How do we do this? Is it practical? I say, yes. It is a habit of the mind. Instead of talking to ourselves, talk to Jesus. When you have a question, ask Him. If you run into a little problem, “Help me please.” And always, “Thank you Jesus.”

Do you know someone, or are you this person, who is caught up in a cycle of depressing thoughts? Perhaps it is about an event or maybe a series of bad things that are a part of her history but she has a litany going on in her head of these bad things. When she opens her mouth it all comes spilling out, rehearsed in her head a million times. She’s stuck in a spot, a habit of “Poor me.”

Or, a person or place can trigger a series of unpleasant memories that start to roll around in our mind. Anger builds yet again at that person. “Help me, my Savior.” “O God, give me the grace.” “Dear Lord, help me.” Talking to Jesus, giving it to Him, turning our thoughts around is the way to overcome habits of the mind that bring us down.

When we’re having a day when it all seems to be going wrong, everything we touch falls apart, we say, “O God, give me the grace.” He will help you. He will show you His mercy. He will bless you through someone else. Your problems may not be instantly solved but you will know His presence with you when you start talking to Him.

Sadly, drama sometimes finds its way to our front door. Family, neighborhood, church, work—drama seems to happen everywhere. “He said,” “She said,” “Can you believe...” “And then...” “She did?” Add to this some “analyzers” and you get all sorts of diagnoses and names for the sins in the drama and why the drama unfolded.

Then there are the players that tweak the drama a little bit higher with some wide eyes and “I heard...” “Did you hear?” “It’s terrible!” “Can you imagine?” “Lord help us all!” The “ambulance chasers” feel the need to “help” in some sort of sick reflected glory sort of way.

How do you stop thinking about and getting sucked into the titillating sordidness?

Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. 1 Timothy 5:13

Stay home (including the internet and phone).
Be busy at home (get busy in a home and family project).
And renew your mind.

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24

In reading the rest of the Ephesians passage we learn what the focus of our renewed mind should be on. When we focus on good we can’t be thinking about evil. The two are not compatible. There can be no darkness where there is light. Where the light of Jesus shines there is agape love.

And when we’re doing our work we ought to be in prayer for our husbands, our children, our extended families, our church, our friends and neighbors, our community, our country, on and on... When something comes to mind, turn it over to God and pray about it. The thing that comes to mind does not have to be a problem in order to pray over it. It could be a thanksgiving or blessing.

Pray that we would be a blessing on all those we serve everyday with the work we do day in and day out. And as we work let’s pray that God would work on us.

Blessings,

Kim Brenneman

Kim is the joyful wife of Matt and the blessed mother of nine children.

When not busy homeschooling and farmschooling, she enjoys writing, gardening, cooking, reading, sewing, and crafting.

Kim lives on a farm in Iowa where her family grows beef cattle, corn and beans, and operates a micro-dairy selling cheese at farmer’s markets. She loves to write and speak about her passion for home and family. She is the author of Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family. She blogs about the same subject at:
http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com.

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Time-Warp Wife's Birthday Challenge

In celebration of my first birthday at Time-Warp Wife, I'd like to take a minute to thank each and every one of you for your participation. Thank you for popping in here to read the blog, and for those who have--thank you also for sharing these posts with your friends.

I'm grateful for the many notes of prayer and encouragement that I have received from so many of you. Your faith is uplifting and refreshing to me.

This started out as a blog just any other, but soon it became a passion to me, and a position of ministry that I don't take lightly. What I've began to notice is a strong sense of community being built by strong women of faith who desire more for their families than this world has to bring.

I pray that together we'll continue to seek His will in all that we do, with a desire to strengthen the family unit and build it upon a strong foundation of faith.

This year--this very minute--I challenge you as I challenge myself to draw closer to Him by equipping ourselves with the gospel, taking more time out for prayer, and walking according to His will--not ours. I pray that we as women would hunger for more than a lukewarm faith, by pursuing God with all of hearts. That's how we equip ourselves for the ministry of leading our children and supporting our husbands. Amen?!

And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me
with all your heart.
~ Jeremiah 29:13

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net

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Give Thanks

When my children bow their heads to pray, they look as though they are expecting God to tiptoe into the room, put a balloon on the floor, and then pop it with the nearest pin. The faithful anticipation I witness in the clasp of their tiny hands warms my heart, inspiring me to grow in childlike faith. While their eyes are tightly closed, their lids flicker like they’re trying to release a wad of glue from their lashes. Their shoulders are raised from the big breath they inhaled, and they’re holding onto that breath for the big ‘amen’. During the silence of the moment when they’re sure that no one will know someone always sneaks a peek, with one eye half open, while the other struggles to stay closed.

“Dear Heavenly Father—” Graham starts to pray.

“Wait!” The other children interrupted in unison, “It’s not your turn.”

“It’s my tuwn,” Nathaniel says bowing his little head, “Dear Heavenwy Fa—”

“You get to pray over snacks!” Graham argues, remembering a conversation we had two years ago.

I walk over to the table grasping for divine wisdom, and a little peace, “Graham, we aren’t together for four meals anymore, and so the rules have changed, but I’m going to let you say the prayer today, okay? Everyone, listen to Graham.”

Graham starts his prayer again, “Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this food, and thank you for this great day. I’m glad we have a great Mommy and Daddy. In Jesus name I pray, amen.”

Picking up his spoon, Nathaniel adds, “And I love Jesus! Amen!” Just like he always does regardless of whose turn it is to pray.

While I guide my children, teaching virtues like that of thanksgiving. I find that more often I am the student drawn to the Lord by their zest. I desire to dwell in that attitude of gratitude, the same mind-set that moves us to run that we might win. Thoughts that stir our hearts to press on for the prize of the high calling, because of Who He is, and call us to live a life of thanksgiving abandoned at the foot of His throne.

With my eyes tightly closed I breathe in. With faithful anticipation, the word of God is clasped tightly in my hands. The spirit blows through my soul, and in the brush of its wind I hear the voice of the Father cry out, “Give thanks.”

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
~ Psalm 100

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net

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This post is linked up with:

Gratituesday