send

 "as the Father sent Me, 

       I also send you." 

                   -john 20:21

today our worship service and a fellowship meal following were focused on a mission field that was over ten years in the making from our church.  i thoroughly enjoyed hearing the story of the history and prayers that were sowed into this mission field.

i know my purpose as a mother is to prepare my boys for their mission works...as disciples...as husbands...as fathers...as followers and believers.
most days i feel utterly inadequate for this task.

today, i felt pangs of my failure when my oldest went ahead of us to pick out seats for us at the fellowship luncheon.  with a choice of a dozen long tables with 30+ seats and a handful of small tables with 3-4 seats, he chose a segregated table for 3.  i felt i had failed him by my propensity towards introversion.

i have to fight the urge to become a hermit of sorts on a daily basis. but i know that in order to step out for God, i must be bold and seek out relationships.  i have to show and teach my boys this.  it means overcoming that desire for seclusion.  

part of the chronicle of the featured mission field at church is the song, "oceans," by hillsong. 

the highlighted words below from the song, mean a great deal to me.


And I will call upon Your name
 And keep my eyes above the waves
 When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

our pastor included matthew 16:18 in his teaching today.   

it is imperative and reassuring to remember the declaration of this verse, since it is horrifyingly apparent in this age, we are facing the "gates of hell" around the world.

the victory is WON! 

no matter what circumstances seem to show.... 

satan shall NOT, can NOT, will NOT prevail.

dinner:

leftovers (we have leftovers on the sabbath to minimize work)

currently reading:
2 blogs with lenten devotionals:         www.shereadstruth.com and www.aholyexperience.com

1 john 1

matthew 16

various psalms

the secret thoughts of an unlikely convert

24/6

today grateful for:

sunshine

worship

worship music and worship teams & choirs

God's truth

God's faithfulness

God's provision

the WORD

the sabbath

clean water

laughter

focus

at the beginning of lent, about 11 days ago, i blogged a goal to eliminate things that take my focus away from God.   when i wrote that i had decluttering in mind.   today, thanks to God's direction, i became aware of how my own thoughts were distracting me from God.   i had not committed my goal to Him, this goal was my own.  i had not sought His guidance regarding what might be distracting me. 

yesterday, saturday i awoke to find my twenty something neighbor had parked his truck and blocked me in.   i posted this picture on facebook with a message that i revised several times before deciding on a status posting that was a bit less scathing and judgmental and might not incriminate me if "something" happened.  while running errands around town, i could not get my mind off of this parking situation.  i let these angry thoughts consume my morning and put me in an irritable mood.    on the drive home, my thoughts turned to, "what if he has parked in my spot that i dug out?"   i contemplated what do to, none of my thoughts were uplifting or nice.   as i walked towards my door, a thought came to me....when he comes out to his car later today, i should walk up to him and say, "you blocked my car in."   my statement should not include any threats or condemnation or any tone that might be considered hateful.   as soon as this thought scrolled through my brain's marque, i felt peace.   i truly wanted to have a face to face that i had hope would be productive.   i kept an eye out the window, but i missed when he drove off.

then i realized---

---i had distracted myself from focusing on God.  

---my thoughts  

---my selfishness to intrepret any of this situation as a form of suffering   

---my anger  

---my giving into to the temptation had kept me centered on a nonproductive, ungodly path.  

a "sin of my thoughts" as my pastor stated this morning.  oh, yes.   it was one of those mornings, when the sunday message impaled me.    i was not embracing the culture of heaven.   

then a picture of me digging out my neighbor's truck came to my mind.   i allowed myself to dwell on it.   then my thoughts, yes, my selfish thoughts came up with..."but today is our sabbath and i have committed to not doing any work.  shoveling is definitely work."   

are you committed to God or 

    the idea of the sabbath? 

dinner:
leftovers

currently reading:
2 blogs with lenten devotionals:         www.shereadstruth.com and www.aholyexperience.com

1 peter

the secret thoughts of an unlikely convert

24/6

today grateful for:
my life group

church

my pastor and his obedience to listen to God 

corporate worship

teachers in my son's church class

good health

the WORD

the sabbath

His peace

to cease, desist, rest

today since it was still icy, too icy for me to venture out before 10 am, i informed the boys that we would observe the Sabbath at home.  when i asked them what the word, Sabbath, meant--- i was shocked that they did not know.   one answer was that it was one day a year where we did something special--i think he was thinking of passover.

so i read them exodus 20:8-11.   then i found a youtube video with an interview of a doctor who had become a christian 10 years before and was now the author of the book, 24/6.  


 שָׁבַת


the root of the word Sabbath (strong's h7676) is  שָׁבַת  shabath---which means to cease, desist, rest.   cease and desist reminds me of legal terms.   i do not believe we should be legalistic with regards to the Sabbath.  as i read in exodus 32:16, observing the Sabbath is part of our covenant with God.   dr. sleeth, the author of 24/6, states by observing the Sabbath all your life, you add 11 years of time spent with God.

the three of us spent time on this Sabbath viewing the video, 21 martyrs, worshiping at 11 am with a local church via their service broadcast live on the internet, having a family night, and having one quiet hour each devoted to a choice of prayer, reading, writing, creating as hopefully guided by His presence.   after the hour we came back together to share what we each did or what God gave us during that time.

from now on, on our Sabbath, we:

---will participate in corporate worship and fellowship,

---will limit electronics to just a few hours (maybe--hopefully working our way to no electronic distractions),

---will not do chores,

---will not do schoolwork, homework (aside from leisure reading), and

---will devote a minimum of one hour to reflection, mediation, reading, writing, creating with a focus upon God.



dinner:

roasted chicken

potatoes

arugula salad with roasted beets

currently reading:
2 blogs with lenten devotionals:         www.shereadstruth.com and www.aholyexperience.com

exodus 

my single mom life

today grateful for:
warmer temps to melt the ice

Sabbath

His provision  

multiple print translations of the Bible

the WORD

my boys' willingness and obedience

technology to connect us to our fellow Christians