Sour Cream & Onion

This past month has been so hectic. I feel like I finally had time to breathe. Over these last few weeks I have been just trying to get paperwork in order and on Friday I decided I really needed a weekend so I took nothing home from work (except my computer so it wouldn't magically disappear). It was a rough weekend... sadly enough. I finally came to the realization that I had to face something that was way overdue. So after a lot of "discussing", my husband and I finally sat down and talked. Face to face. We decided that we needed to figure out a way to communicate, to get things done, and to just stop stressing out about our relationship. Yes! Don't get me wrong, things are good... really good, but sometimes you run into these moments where it's not right. A bump in the road, I guess you can say. So anyway... we sat down and we had an agenda. Haha! We made sure we hit every subject:

1. Finances (past weeks overview, this weeks budget and yearly goals)
2. Schedule this week (where will you be)
3. Chores (Who cleans what, who cooks when)
4. Prayers (family and friends)
5. Goals (yearly goals and how to get there -- 3 for each of us where 2 are personal and one is the spouses goal for the other person)
6. Then our weekly questions (found off of someone else's blog)
• How did you feel loved this past week?
• What does your upcoming week look like? (not schedule, emotional)
• How would you feel most loved and encouraged in the days ahead?
• How would you best feel pursued in intimacy this week?
• How can I pray for you this week?

So yes.... this is a lot of private information, but I think that it can help someone else, maybe. 

After we sat down and talked through all of this I felt like my love cup (since one on one time and conversation are two of my biggest needs) was overflowing. We were forced to w-a-l-k through these questions and really see how the other person felt. We were able to take responsibility for our home and divide the burdens evenly and willingly. We felt like a team and that little bump in the road that seemed to throw us off had been crossed over. Even better, we were back on the same spiritual connection that had been missing hidden behind mounds of homework and computer screens.

Isn't it funny how little things in life are just so big sometimes. Adam was telling me today that it is so amusing how we get excited about little things (sour cream & onion chips). We couldn't wait to eat sandwiches for dinner because we had these amazing chips!! It was so minute, but we were thrilled.  A lot like this agenda and fae to face conversation we had. We found a way to take pride in each other and our home. It was a little thing that made a huge difference.

God reminds us to enjoy things like this, moments of joy, moments of happiness.  

A joyful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22 

Out of the Box

"Holy spirit you are welcome here,

come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.

Your glory God is what our hearts long for,

to be overwhelmed by your presence Lord."

Sometimes, I think that I put God in a box. A very small box. I ask God to fill his presence in my home, and at church. That's about it. I can just see me now with my little finger talking at God like he is a child, 

"Now... you cannot go into the formal living room or dining room unless I ask you or really need you to. But, you can always enter into the mud room and the play room but that's it. Okay, now go. Fill your presence in those rooms."

How wrong was I? How wrong have I been? God, overwhelm me while I am at church. Overwhelm me while I am doing a bible study. Just, don't interfere with my daily life. There comes the box again. Drawing lines for the creator of the universe. 

When I started this blog I was so excited about my new teaching job. Well, the summer has passed and HERE I AM! School starts in one week from today and I have this overwhelming feeling of excitement to meet my students, parents, and co-teachers. Yet, today I felt God make me take a step back and breathe. I felt like he was telling me... no let me rephrase that, I know he was telling me my purpose. To be his light to my students, to work for him, to pray for my colleagues, students, and my students parents. This is a big burden, I thought... and then this song was being sung... "Holy spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere." and I thought, wow! God you want to follow me to work? And he said no. 

No? Well, okay maybe I am just making things up... then God does this little pause thing with me because my mind works like 100 miles per minute so he stops until I stop and silence myself. Then he continues, I want you to follow me at work. 

Follow you? 

God wants me to follow him. 

Like the "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" kind of follow. And not just follow him he wants me to pray that his presence fills this place. 

Now, there is this whole ordeal of taking God out of schools. I get that. Right? Well, my God is telling me that I need to cross over those lines and bring him into my classroom, to invite his spirit in and to pray over my classroom and school. No, I won't be breaking any laws... I won't be "preaching" to my students but you know what! When someone looks at me they are going to see a difference because I am praying now as I write this and tomorrow when I go to school and every day there after, that I make a difference for God. On my hardest days I will remember that I am working for the Lord and not for people (Col 3:23), that  on the days that seem to be the craziest that I know for a fact in my heart that my God will NEVER leave me (Hebrews 13:5), on days when the world is screaming my name I will be still and remember who my king is and that he IS God! (Psalm 46:10).  This may seem impossible to some and sometimes I think it is impossible for me, but God told us once and I will tell you again that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move! (Matt 17:20). 

There went my mind at 100 miles per hour. Hope you caught it all. 

So I will follow God. I will invite the holy spirit into places that will shatter the box I put him in. My heart longs to sing the glory of God. I want to be that light because we were created to bring glory to God. (Romans 11:36) and not just bring him glory but put it on full display for everyone to see.

Red Light

Sometimes  life can be overwhelming. Rushed with  deadlines, meetings, early  mornings ending with late nights. Read this book. Review this  paper. Cook dinner. Do dishes, laundry, clean the house. Work on a relationship. Feed the dog. Workout.  Organize paperwork.  Pay the bills....  whew.  Rushed.

How  many times  do  we just work our  way out of a  relationship with God?

God: "Why didn't you spend  time with me today?"
Us: "Oh... I was just too busy.?
God "Too busy for Me?"
Us: "Yeah, you know like I had to do the laundry, dishes, work, walk the pets, feed the family, do groceries, budget, bills, catch up on The Housewives of Orange County, workout, make a new playlist, and beat that level of Angry Birds. You know...  I was really busy today. Maybe Sunday we can spend  time together."
God:  "Just 1 hour on Sunday?"
Us: "Yeah, that's all the time I've got in my planner, I can  probably squeeze you in 15 seconds before each meal if that is okay, unless I am with friends. Is that okay?"
God: "No."
Us: "Well, I'm sorry I just don't have time God. All this awesome stuff you gave me I have to deal with  now...  so I'm kind of stuck. It's not my fault I have  to keep up  with all of this. You're the one that gave it to me."

Hmm...  sound like you, maybe a little extreme but think about it. How much time do you really spend with God. I realized this today while I was out in nature on a trail run listening to "Rooftops"  by Jesus Culture. How much time do we really spend with the one  who gave us life, not just here on earth but  has  offered  us   life for eternity? He didn't have to, but he did.

I am so humbled by a God who could easily tell me he is too busy dealing with a billion other people to pay attention to me, but he doesn't. I am so humbled by a God who has other universes to deal with but offers to love me and hold me in his hand.  I am humbled by  the thought that he  doesn't just love me he cares enough to clothe me, feed me, and go even further and count every hair on my head and every cell on my body.

How can I not have enough time for him?

How can I not sit at his feet every day and offer my all?

How can I not turn the TV off, the game off, the music off and open his word?

I want to know God more, I want to know him as much as I can on this earth so that when I fall to my face at his feet in heaven I will not bring a tear to his eye. I want him to say "Well  done,  my good and faithful servant. My follower. My child. Come here and live with me FOREVER.  For you not only believed, you followed. For you not only followed, you were consumed by me. You craved every drop I had to offer and you poured it out only to be filled again. Come here."

That is what I want...  I don't want to be consumed by the business of this world.

Neither should you.

Take a  moment and look at your life. How is  it? Is it balanced? If it is balanced that's not good.  It should lean only one way ... it should lean toward God. You should be overflowing with him.

God didn't have to give you life, but he did.
You may  say you believe in him but do you follow him? Do you allow yourself to be filled up with his life, his  light?

(Pics are from Pinterest)