I recently spent an AMAZING weekend with some AWESOME ladies at a retreat.
And let me just say...if you have never been on a ladies retreat it should be on every woman's bucket list! The love, laugher and friendship that builds from it is astounding. If you'd like to know a good one to go to contact me and I'll hook you up! I had been on retreats before so I pretty much knew what to expect. I knew that when I got home the devil would be waiting on my door step, waiting to break me, waiting for me to doubt and fear, waiting for me to back down from the commitments Id just made to my Heavenly Father. But I wont back down. God is moving in my home, I feel it in my heart and I see it in both of my sweet kids. He is here and He is teaching my family how to show & share His love. The kids had also just got back from an event called CIY Believe....another bucket list MUST if you haven't attended already :) I guarantee it will bless your socks off! And like I said when we got home I knew we would be challenged to keep the fire we had each felt over the weekend going & growing. But I didn't care! Because the one thing that I knew beyond a doubt was that when I got back home....nothing would have changed. That's right! We came home to the same circumstances we had left. Actually we came home to smellier circumstances because my son( Lord bless him ) had forgotten to take the trash out the morning we left. 4 days old and in a warm house does not a pleasant homecoming make. Eew! So why was I happy to get home to our same, but now very smelly life? My life did not change....But my heart did. My home did not change...But my heart did. My bills did not change....But my heart did. My troubles did not change...But my heart did. I didn't care what I was walking into when I got back. I knew everything would be the same as I left it, except the Hope which I hold in my heart is so strong I can feel My Savior walking every step with me.
0 Comments
I am not an obsessively fearful person. However...like the rest of you..I do have a few things I'm afraid of such as snakes, heights, and....traveling alone with my kids. I know, I know that sounds so silly! But for me it was a VERY real fear. Every time I thought about going away just the 3 of us Id picture everything terrible from the car breaking down in a strange place, to my sweet kidos being kidnapped from the hotel room! Like I said... I know its silly. But we all have something we're afraid of right? So, with this years resolution of Choosing Joy I decided to actively seek Joy while facing my fears. This blog is filled with little tidbits-single-mama-style-vacation-budget-traveling with teens-advice. But more importantly its to add to my Joy Journey! Finding Joy...While Facing Your Fears: First...before you face your fears go to God first. Hes our Heavenly Father who loves us and doesn't want us to live life in fear. Talk to him, let him know what you're afraid of and why. Ask him to calm your fears and trust that He can. 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you. Then...confess your fear. This is a hard one. We fight against letting our children think we are afraid of anything. Now, I don't mean tell them you're afraid they'll be kidnapped ofcourse. But I let my kids know that traveling alone for the first time as a family of 3 frightened me a little. I asked for them to pray for me. I let them know they might need to be a little patient with me while I was learning to find Joy while facing my fears. James 5:16 So always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen Next...the car breaking down. Solution...rental car! This is my recommended Single Mama Must on vacations. For one thing you don't have the worry of adding additional wear and tear on your personal vehicle and they HAVE to come get you if you break down. True the rental car is an additional cost but I decided that my peace of mind was worth it and so I cut cost other places( like eating out). Proverbs 3:5 Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Very important... A safe place to lay our heads. We all know that everything we read on the internet is completely true right? WRONG! Just because a hotel website or trip review says its a clean, safe place doesn't make it true. Solution...Ask people whom you love and trust where they have been and where they think you should go. I got the name of our hotel from a dear friend, who is also a single mama. Although she doesn't have my crazy fear of traveling alone, she was able to tell me looking back that she did feel safe there. Psalm 4:8 When I go to bed, I sleep in peace, because, Lord, you keep me safe. Put on your armor...Satan is going to try to use your fear to destroy your Joy. Remember that God has not given you a spirit of fear! Start each day by putting on your Armor of God. Let Him help you stand against the fear, worry and anxiety that could otherwise cripple you. Wear the full armor of God! Ephesians 6:14-18 So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living.On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. Hold on...and Have fun! All throughout our family vacation I chose everyday to hold onto Gods promises of safety knowing that every place we went He was there with us. I chose to let fear go knowing that He was on watch 24/7. And I am so thankful that I did!! Without being able to hold on and give my fears to my Heavenly Father I would have missed the FUN! Fear would have caused me to miss so much As Single Mama's we have what some people would call "freedom". They see that we have a "break" from the kids and seem to feel that this equals an unlimited amount of time to catch up on household chores, do the shopping,read a book, have girls nights, etcetera. It is true that every other weekend I am childless, but if you have ever had this kind of freedom, or experience the way this freedom comes about you KNOW its not all pearls and pedicures. It is true that I can paint my living room whatever color I want, with no input from anybody. I can have things "my way". I can choose to clean or not to clean. Choose to go to a movie or to stay home. I can pick out the camping spot I want. I can park my car any place in the driveway. I can keep the house thermostat set on whatever temp I so desire. And.... I am the one who holds the remote to the TV. So yes, its true I might have what some call "freedom", but at what cost? Like all parents I feel that my kids are still my babies and that they are growing up too fast! My time with my sweet kidos is so fleeting and precious its almost impossible to enjoy anytime that they are gone! They are growing so fast and I'm drinking in every moment I can spend with them before they are grown. My weekends are more likely to be spent working and trying to make the hours tick by faster rather than lounging by the pool with perfectly pedicured toes and a pristine home. Seconds can stretch on and on, when you feel like every second is taking something irreplaceable from you. My "freedom" has a deep cost. I wonder if this is how Jesus felt when he was being crucified? Seconds stretching slowly, painfully by. Every breath striping something from Him. Drenched in our sins that must have weighed so heavily on his spotless soul. And for what? The deep cost of our Freedom... But this was not for freedom as the world would see it, this was for freedom as God would see it. Freedom from sin. (Romans 8:2) Freedom from death. (John 3:16) Freedom to accept the love that God so abundantly has for us. (1 John 4:9) Freedom from oppression. (Luke 4:18 & 19) Freedom from guilt. (Hebrews 10:22) And the freedom to Choose Joy Thank you Lord for the Freedom that is found in You! In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace.
Ephesians 1:7 The joy in simplicity came to my mind while I was home last night with my sweet kidos. Like many other Single Mamas, I run a tight ship on an even tighter budget. If you come to our home you won't find internet or cable tv. Shoot... you won't even find cell phone service unless you're standing on your head, in just the right spot, and holding your breath while you dial :) But if you had dropped in on us last night, you would have found what looked like a comedy show in our living room full of love, laughter and lip sync! It was a great night! So simple, happy an uncomplicated. Not every night is exactly like this of course. I mean, I am raising two amazing teens so perfect peace and harmony are not always present in our home ;) My family has experienced our share of envy, jealousy, selfishness and struggle. But through that we are growing! We are finding the joy of simple contentment. We try not to focus on the things we don't have. Thinking about the have nots instead of the haves will most definitely steal your Joy! Choose Joy is my motto for this year and I pray it sticks with my family to become our forethought for life. So today I challenge you to choose simplicity, be content and accept the Joy that can come with these choices. Philippians 4:11-13
|
AuthorI'm a single mama of 2 great kidos seeking and searching for Gods will in our lives :) Archives
December 2017
Categories
All
|