Day Eight: FAITHFULNESS

Day Eight ~ FAITHFULNESS

Key Bible Verse- 

Lamentations 3:22-23

The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.

Thoughts to ponder- 

God demonstrates His faithfulness to us in the fact that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is unchanging which means He can be counted on at ALL times. In our human nature, we do not always measure up to this standard. We do change and we do fail. That is why I am so thankful for today's scripture verse that lets us know that every day we have a new opportunity to live a Spirit led life and develop faithfulness.  

It is not easy by any means other than the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and can only be measured in the light of God's example, not man's standards.  It is of utmost importance that we strive to be faithful to God for His purposes and not our own.  Trying to prove to others that we are faithful does not result in good fruit because our focus is in the wrong place.

God has given each one of us gifts and talents and created us each for specific purposes.  Our energy should be directed at being faithful to what God has for us to do. We can only discern what that is by being consistent in prayer and pursuing our relationship with Christ. And then we must be obedient in what He reveals to us. If we do not use the skills and resources He has given us in service to His purposes, we lose them.  Our goal should be to live a life of faithfulness that honors God so that at the end of it all, we will hear Him say "Well done good and faithful servant" Matthew 25:21a.

Challenge/Action Step- 

Think about people you would consider to be faithful. What has the impact of their faithfulness to God been on those around them?  What do you think the impact could be on those around you if you were to be more persistent in cultivating faithfulness in your own life?

Prayer for today-

Lord God, you are faithful all the time! Thank you for your mercy and grace when we miss the mark and new opportunities to begin again.  I pray that you would give each of us a clear picture of what it means to be faithful to you and your purposes in our lives.  Reveal to us the next step for developing this character in our lives today.

Thanks for joining me today as we continue this 

journey to understand and further develop the

fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Please take a minute to leave a 

comment here or join Cherry Fargo of Being ReMade on Facebook

for further discussion on Living The Fruitful Life.

Day Four: PEACE

Day Four ~ PEACE

Key Bible Verse-

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Thoughts to ponder-

We live in a world filled with hustle and bustle, comings and goings, people to meet, things to do, life to schedule, organize and control. Many people try to live at the speed of light, to do more, see more and be more. No wonder we find ourselves overcome by worry and anxiety; lacking tranquility and serenity. God left us an answer for all of that through Jesus Christ. He was the embodiment of peace.

In the Bible, we almost always see Jesus portrayed as taking things in stride, very little ruffled his feathers.  Even when He turned over the tables in the temple, we know it wasn't just that He lost His cool  because the Bible says He took time to make a whip. What happened in the temple was peace and strength under control.  The only other time I know of that we see Jesus under strain is in the garden before His crucifixion when He is praying not His will but the Father's.  He submits Himself to the peace of His Heavenly Father.  When everyone else around Him was anxious, He had the ability to quiet their fears and doubts quickly.  When I read Mark 4:39 where it states "and He said to the sea, peace, be still" I often wonder if that wasn't a command intended for the disciples as well.

Peace is quiet tranquility, mental calm and serenity. But most importantly it is a gift of spending time with God and learning to trust Him.  The more we put our confidence in the Lord for every detail in our life and the more we relinquish control of our life to Christ, the more we purposely shift our focus to the things of God,  the more peace is available to us.

Challenge/Action Step- 

Busyness can often interfere with our rest and therefore our peace.  Take an inventory of the areas of your life that are the most stressful. Would more resting in the Lord bring about a greater connectedness to God's peace? Are you able to refocus on Christ in the midst of a chaotic life? Ask God in prayer today to reveal to you His peace and specific ways you can embrace it in your own life.  

Prayer for today-

Thank you Father for sending us your peace in the form of your son Jesus.  May the activity of life fade away enough for us to be able to rest in your peace. Teach us how to bring our thoughts into submission of your will where peace reigns.  Reveal to us your heart for our lives and enable us to trust you with every part of who we are and what we do.  ~ Amen

Thanks for joining me today as we begin this 

journey to understand and further develop the

fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  Please take a minute to leave a 

comment here or join Cherry Fargo of Being ReMade on Facebook

for further discussion on Living The Fruitful Life.

5 Things Mom Really Wants For Mother's Day

Here it is, down to the wire and you may or may not have gotten mom a gift.  If you haven't, may I make some suggestions?  They may be better than any store bought ones you could come up with.

#1 -  A little free time.  What can you help with to make that happen?  Wash some dishes, take out some trash, do some laundry, sweep and mop, all done with out being asked! Not only does it free up a little time for her but it helps her to know that she is raising (or has raised) great kids. And if you're grown and can afford, hire a housekeeper to help her out once in awhile.

#2 - A coupon book for doing various chores or nice things for her. This is actually one of my favorites.  I love it when my kiddos take the time and make the effort to do something special for me. I may never use all those coupons but for me it is definitely the thought that counts and I bet it is for a lot of other moms too.

#3 - A play date with you.  Yes, I did say that.  Set aside some time to do something with your mom that she really loves.  It may not be up your alley but she will be thrilled that you are willing to do something with her that she enjoys. Moms love sharing who they are and what they are interested in with you.

#4 - To know that she is appreciated.  Lots of moms make lots of sacrifices and do lots of things that they are really not fond of doing just for their kiddos. They do it out of a genuine love for their child.  Let her know you recognize that, say it aloud or write it in a card, write a poem or a song, whatever you do best. Just make sure she knows you appreciate her hard work and sacrifice.

#5 - Your prayers.  Being a mom is a fabulous thing.  It also one of the most challenging things women do.  We need our children's prayers for wisdom, strength, mercy & grace.  Not every mom had the best example growing up but I think most moms are doing the very best they know how to do. Your prayers will encourage her and inspire her.  Write a special prayer out and give it to her for Mother's Day, I bet you bring tears to her eyes.  Not many other gifts are going to do that.

If you are a mom, please share in the comments below, the best Mother's day gift you have ever received.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the fabulous mom's out there.  May it be full of blessings!

The Champion Your Child Needs You to Be

An open letter to parents of special needs children:

Dear Mom & Dad,

You are amazing! You may not realize it yet but you are.  Life probably hasn’t worked out the way you expected it to but you can pick up the pieces and make something wonderful out of them. Summon every bit of courage you have and keep moving forward remembering that courage is not the absence of fear but action in the face of it.

Look for help and support in your community, it is probably there, not always easy to find but if you search for it, it will be found. NEVER EVER be afraid to ask for help.  Sure, the answer you get may sometimes be no, but do not let that deter you.  Keep asking, keep looking, keeping dreaming of the best life your child could possibly have and let that be a driving force.  Your child needs you to be their champion.  You may not be the expert on their diagnosis but you ARE the expert on your child, you know them better than anyone else does.  So do not be intimidated by service providers, their’ experience, their’ fancy degrees.  These people are usually fabulous resources and can be great advocates for you and your family, but if something isn’t working, say so.  If you need direction, answers, support, do not hesitate to ask for it. Use what is helpful and ignore what is not.

The way you see your child’s special needs and react to them, will set the example for how others respond to your child. The teachers your child comes in contact with probably are not experts on your child’s diagnosis either, and that’s okay.  Educate them about what your child’s special needs are, how they affect your child. Let your child’s teacher know your child’s strengths and weaknesses. If you have strategies that help with their weaknesses, share those.  You may have had to set aside the expectations you had for your child when you discovered their special needs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have hope. Inform the people who work with your child what your hopes and dreams and goals are for them.  Inspire them to believe in your child as you do.

Your job raising a child with special needs is probably one of the most difficult things you will ever do.  But it can also be one of the most gratifying.  Remember to take time for yourself, yes I know this can be difficult to arrange but do whatever you can to make it happen. It is not a luxury that you can’t afford; it is a necessity that you can’t afford to do without.  You effectiveness in your child’s life is largely dependent on your emotional well being which requires rest and breaks and time away occasionally.  Do your best to build a support group around you that can help you with the needs of your entire family.  Make time for your spouse and if you have typical children as well, do everything you can to spend one on one time with them, and teach them to love and care for their sibling.  If you are so wrapped up in the needs of your special needs child that your spouse and other children feel their needs are ignored or overlooked, they could feel resentful toward that child. Help them to want to be a champion for their sibling as well.  

Know that God sees you and loves you beyond all measure.  God didn't give you a special needs child as some form of punishment.  In fact, the opposite is true, God has entrusted you with a very precious child and He is there for you to lean on.  Trust Him, let Him be your peace and your guide and your strength.  Allow Him to show you great & mighty things in the journey of special needs parenting and remember that His idea of great & mighty things are often quite different than ours.

I know, it is all so overwhelming and seems difficult to balance and manage everything. But you can do this.  Believe in yourself, rise to the challenge, don’t give up, don’t feel guilty for needing help, ask for it! Do not be intimidated by people who do not know your child as well as you do, make your voice heard.  Hope for the best, dream big dreams for your child.  You CAN become the champion your child needs you to be!

Sincerely,

A parent who has been there.

One of THOSE Days!

So this morning was one of THOSE mornings for some reason. I did get up on time, got the kiddos up on time but they were dragging. Not one of the four of them was ready on time. No amount of politely asking them seemed to do the trick so I moved on to being firm and logical about the benefits of good choices and the consequences of bad choices. I am sure by the way they responded all they heard was blah blah blah blah blah.

Completely frustrated (me that is) we finally walk out the door ten minutes late only to discover my van had a nice coat of frost over all the windows and my oldest two children fighting over whether or not you could scrape ice with a squeegee, one with the handle in their hand and the other with the actual squeegee part in their hand. ***Deep sigh***.

Hubby, who is also running behind, emerges from the house ready for work and begins to help me scrape ice, so very thankful for him, my visual example of sanity and peace in the midst of chaos. Okay, all done, we're finally pulling out of the driveway only 20 minutes behind schedule.

The children are all complaining they are going to be late now and when I remind them that none of them were ready on time, someone decides to snidely point out that if I had only started the van earlier so it could have warmed up, and then all I heard was blah blah blah blah blah.

Once all of them are safely at school and no one is tardy and no speeding tickets were involved, I begin to pray while am driving. I am praying for peace and for forgiveness for being so short tempered and for wisdom on how to make these mornings go more smoothly. (We have assigned them check off lists and charts and graphs galore with incentives to help them stay on track, all to no avail. )

So I am taking these few minutes of quiet to try to regroup when I notice a car that has gone of the road and into the ditch with a pretty steep embankment. With the rain that we have had, I know that car is not coming out of that ditch without a wrecker. Then out comes a young man who runs up the slope around to the driver side and opens the door for the young lady who was driving, she is visibly shaken. I roll down the window and ask if they are okay, and they are, grandparents have been called and on the way, young man is going to walk to school. I offer him a ride because it's cold and because I know if he walks he will be late.

As I turn around and take him to school I learn the driver is his sister, a junior in high school who has only had her license for a few months. I asked him again if he was okay, questions like did you hit your head on anything, are you feeling light headed or dizzy, you know the over protective mama kind of questions, I hope another woman would do the same if it were my child. He seemed to be calm, cool and collected, I encouraged him to call his grandparents or go to the nurse if he started feeling badly as I dropped him at the door of the school.

On the way home again, thinking about how the morning has unfolded and all of the sudden I am deeply ashamed of how frustrated I had been about being so far behind schedule because I realize that God had me right where he needed me to be all along, on his schedule, to be able to offer a few comforting words to a couple of high school kids in a scary situation and to do my part, albeit little, to help out.

Lord, help me to rest in the knowledge that you hold my every moment in your hands, all have been ordained by you, and you have a plan for all of them.