Bah Humbug

I am feeling a bit cranky and probably not in the right humor to be posting but I have the day to myself so I am going for it. My crankiness is due to a minor surgery I had last Thursday which was supposed to have a two day recovery time. Let me reiterate: TWO DAYS. Here it is day 4 post operation and I am feeling worse than before I went in. I knew something was wrong when the post op care was for four weeks and not two days. Everyone keeps telling me that is will be worth it in the end. *sigh*

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Quick update

I wish I had more time to blog! Life in the Rogers household has been very busy. We started school on September 1st. I am super excited to see that the kids haven't forgotten everything. (There's Josiah in his Pharaoh's crown.)

Josiah has surprised us with being able to read CVC words which is difficult with his dyslexia. I actually have hope that he will be reading by the end of the year. Yesterday, he read two sentences fluently! Yeah!!!!

Naomi has lost both her front teeth and recently cut 10 inches off her hair in order to donate it to make a wig for my aunt who has cancer. She looks adorable! (See the Before & After pics at top.)

My brother is still living with us and we got news today that he got a job! Yeah for Sam!

This Fall will be abnormally busy for us. Monday nights Dustin and I are providing child care so that others can take the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class. Tuesday is Women's Bible Study. Wednesday is golf for the kids and Bible Study for Dustin. Thursday will be soccer for the kids starting next week. We normally don't jam pack our weeks like this but it is only for a short season so we are going to plug away.

Currently off the shelf...

VIOLENT PRAYER by Chris Tiegreen

Wow. Can I just say wow again? I really enjoyed this book. It challenged me to think differently and to maybe reconsider previous notions. I am still weighing some things and deciding what I believe but nonetheless I found it very intriguing.

The following passage really struck a cord with me:

"If you find yourself in frequent external battles, remember tha the most powerful internal response you can have is prayer. But the most powerful external response you can have is submission of your actions to God in faith, humility, patience, and mercy. When you display strife, anger, bitterness, retaliation, discontentment, and other fruits of the flesh, the enemy will grab onto them with a vengeance and do everything he can to deface the kingdom of God. When you display the fruits of the Spirit, however, there's nothing for him to grasp. The kingdom becomes very clear, and in your response to evil you become very balanced-in a lot less time than Moses."

Mixing the Unmixable

The last month has been quite tumultuous for our household. We took care of great-grandma for two weeks and learned a lot about our family's history and unfortunately, dementia. Then my brother moved in with us. SHortly there after, Dustin's parents came for a surprise visit. We pretty much had visitors for the whole month and we still have my brother around. All of the new distractions and obstructions to our daily routine has thrown me for a loop. I just wanted things back to the way it used to be. My little family, quiet and peaceful and understanding of all the rules. It was right as I was lamenting that God remind me that He does not desire me to stay inside my little bubble. But I love my bubble! I love that everyone knows where to put things away. They all know what is allowed and not allowed. They graciously put up with my idiosyncrasies and most important, they know the routine!

As I was trying to gain some semblance of normalcy with all the chaos around me, the news was saturated with the BP oil disaster. I watched the gooey stuff flowing out and floating through the pristine ocean. I saw the pictures of trapped wildlife and oil-soaking birds unable to fly. I felt like that oil spill resembled my life. My private, tranquil life had been turned upside down with visitors and changes. The hardest part for me was having visitors that did not understand our desire to live in a way that pleases God. It was like the oil had met the water and we were unable to mix well.... more like impossible for us to mix. God's Word tells us that light cannot be with darkness. We are called to be salt in this world; different from the norm. SO what is it saying when I want to remain in my own salt, with my own salty friends and my own salty church? It means I am missing out on opportunities to grow and opportunities to share my God with others who do not know the Truth.

I heard one expert remark that the hurricane season will be a help and not a hindrance with the oil. With the churning of the sea during hurricanes, the oil will be broken into pieces so much that it will become like the water. That can only happen if the storm is violent enough. And I wondered, will it take a violent act of some kind to transform the lives of unbelievers in my life to a personal relationship with God? One that will bounce them around so much that they finally surrender to a mighty God?

I do know this- I have become to comfortable in my own realm. The question is: What will I do about it?

SABBATH

Our pastor has been preaching on a series about the Ten Commandments. Last week was the fourth commandment, regarding keeping a holy day or a Sabbath. Dustin and began talking about what the Sabbath will look like for our family and I realized that I had never really given it any thought. I just assumed that as a mom of young children, I was exempt from a day of rest. It was in our conversation that the theme of preparation came up (again!) and I realized that young mom or not, I need a day to refocus on God and the task He has set before me and to consciously replenish my spirit as well.

In order to accomplish the goal of "rest," Dustin and I decided that we would do several things.

1. Crockpot dinner

2. Paper plates/bowls

3. No laundry/ deep cleaning

4. Giving myself permission to just sit back and enjoy my family.

Needless to say, in order to accomplish these things, we will need to prepare the week before. Laundry will need to be completed. Dinner items purchased and planned. You get the idea. Funny thing is, I am realizing that with God there is more freedom then there are restrictions. I am so excited to spend a day doing that which I love the most. I plan to be spending time reading, worshipping, taking long walks, gardening, painting with the kids, and maybe even a nap.

The point is that I had put on myself so many restrictions and expectations. Much like the Israelites, I took God's Law and added a burden to them that God did not intend. There is freedom in Christ!

Active

Do you ever have those times in your life where there is a "theme"? You hear the same topic at church and on the radio and in your reading and in conversations with friends. I have been having such a theme in my life for the last couple of months. In a previous blog I wrote about what God was teaching me about being prepared so that I can regularly meet with Him. I have also shared with you about a book I have been struggling to read by Sally Clarkson, "Dancing With My Father." This morning all of these "coincidental" topics came together in a very real and tangible way.

I am at the tail end of the Clarkson book. A book that I would normally breeze through has taken me along a long winding road. Much like the road little Christian took in "Pilgrim's Progress." Some parts were easy to walk on, some parts I had to work on and other parts I had to sit by the road and rest - digesting all of the contents. I have been distracted by the very things that needed to be transformed. Condemnation, self-destruction, fatigue, hopelessness, faithlessness..... basically everything that was the antithesis of joy. For some reason, I had it in my head that joy looked like a cheerleader. If I really had joy I would be bubbly and smiley and always cheerful. But too often I find myself grumbling and with a sour look on my face. This can't be what God had in store for me.

And so this morning as I am piecing together all the ways this concept of joy has been presented to me, I realized that there is one important area that I have to grab hold of if I am ever going to live a life of joy. I must join my Father in the dance!

If I were at a gala or ballroom event I would spend a lot of time preparing myself for the main event. I would bathe and put on sweet smelling perfume. I would specifically choose my garments and shoes. I would spend time on my appearance and hair. I would grab the right accessories. I would make sure I knew how to dance. I would be prepared.

Not only do I need to be prepared, I must be willing to participate! Why would I dress for the ball and never join in and go out on the dance floor? That would be silly. Yet many times I have chosen to sit in my garments of righteousness, fitted with the shoes of the gospel and the knowledge of Christ and never allow my loving Father to take my hand and lead me out to the dance floor. I was afraid I would fall or look like the fool. I was afraid I didn't look good enough or others would laugh. The truth is that my Father is brilliant enough for the both of us. And the only opinion and approval I need is His. And He has given me everything I need to join Him in this dance.

There is so much more I am learning but the one theme that continues to come to my mind is that I am to be active. The Christian walk is not one of passivity. I am to put on the armor of God, I am to pray continually, seek God first, run the race, compete for the prize, turn away from evil, pursue righteousness.... when I am active in all these things, joy will well up inside of me and overflow out of His grace and mercy. I won't need to look like the Christian cheerleader I once envisioned. I will look like the daughter of the King- content, joyful, at peace and free.

There are so many more tidbits that I have gleaned from this book. I couldn't possibly share them all nor would I want to. You need to walk that road yourself and see how God speaks to you. But I would definitely recommend this book. In fact, I have already given a couple of copies to my friends. So many women are struggling right now. Consider buying one copy for yourself and one for a friend so that you can join each other on this journey to finding true and lasting joy.