Archive for the ‘Thoughts from the Heart and Spiritual Topics’ Category
On Submission
So Kingdom Mamma posted these vlogs on her blog the other day and wow, there is some pretty awesome wisdom in there. I wanted to share it with my readers. Thanks for the work you guys do!
Stains and other Mishaps Part 2
God is so good! He even cares about the sparrows or in our case, our stained carpet. I know it’s not super spiritual and you may ask yourself how I could draw a lesson from something as seemingly inconsequential as a stained carpet, but it’s possible! I mean, to us, because we rent our home, we can’t just get away with stains. We have to fix them or get hit with huge charges when we leave. After a series of mishaps and disappointments over the past couple days, it seemed the enemy was determined to thwart our plans at saving money as we build our nursery for Caleb’s arrival. At home this evening, I decided to Google a way to remove wood stain from carpet. Assuming my search would be futile, I searched half-hearted and was surprised by the first result that showed up. It stated that using (prepare yourself) WD-40 on the carpet would remove the stains. I was incredulous as I thought to myself how silly it sounded. As stupid as it sounded I decided to try it anyway. I figured I had nothing to lose considering that I had huge black spots on my carpet! You can’t do much worse than what was already there so I sprayed a small amount of the WD-40 on a small black spot, waited for a few seconds and then rubbed at it with a white cloth. When I pulled the cloth away from the carpet, I saw nothing – that is to say the stain was gone! I laughed almost in disbelief. I called Melissa over and asked her to watch me do it to another spot in case I was just seeing things. Over the course of the next several minutes we were laughing hysterically and ended up video taping ourselves removing a stain as we would giggle and spray a bit of WD-40 on a black stain, rub it out, and then use a great cleaner called Folex that you can find at Wal-Mart to remove the WD-40 from the carpet. In less than 20 minutes, we had removed half of the stains caused by my accident in “Stains and Other Mishaps“. (Much better than losing our deposit on the rental or spending hundreds to have it cleaned professionally!) Below you’ll find our video of removing the stains but before you watch that, listen to how I believe God works in our lives.
See, so often I find myself getting discouraged at things that are seemingly outside my control. Things that I don’t even consider to take to the Lord in prayer because I feel they are too inconsequential to Him. But I am reminded, as I mentioned earlier, of Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT) when Jesus said, “…not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” And I realized yet again that God was reminding me that his love for me is so great that he actually does care about the “little” things like stained carpet and some of our other misadventures! So don’t ever believe that God doesn’t care about the little things because he does. He watches out for us in so many ways. His love is all encompassing, his concern and care for us is infinite, and he always works the best for those who love him and are called according to His purpose.
Love you all, enjoy the little How-to!
A Prayer for Marriages
Why do marriages fail? Why does the church have a higher divorce rate than the world? How can we be a witness and testimony to those around us if we are in worse shape than those we are trying to share the love of God with? I mean, as a Christian, I’m often saddened by the lack of character of the men I see around me. (Yes, I count myself in with those of us who have had a multitude of mistakes and failures.) I’m not talking about everyone or anyone that is reading this blog, but I see it on the news, I hear about it from friends, and I can sense it as a spirit of abandonment and selfishness that hangs in the air around so many men. The problem is evident in the world around us, but it’s just as evident or even more so now in the church around us. Wake up! The institution of marriage is not failing because it’s out-dated or antiquated, but it is failing because more and more men are simply giving up. Ladies, I believe that you are of equal value, importance, and have amazing gifts and insight and wisdom to bring to any marriage so don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. But with the absence of godly and sacrificial male leadership, the institution of marriage crumbles. It’s because so many of us do not stand up and take our God-given responsibilities seriously. We stand on the sidelines and watch as we grant the enemy free access to our families and our marriages. “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14 NIV)
I have much more to share on this topic, but I wanted to just say that I believe that we have a duty as men to stand up and take our place as the heads of our household. And I don’t mean being dominant and controlling. I mean, we shouldn’t shirk from our responsibilities to be self-sacrificing and loving leaders. That means placing your wife and your children’t needs above your own (yes, your wife’s needs come above all else). It means believing the best about your wife and praying for her every single day. It means believing the best about your children and praying for them every single day. It means standing in victory over addictions like pornography by holding yourself accountable with other men and especially your wife! It means crucifying your own selfish nature on the cross every day. And it means speaking words of life to your family every day.
The following is a woman’s perspective prayer for marriages. It was written by a friend of a friend, Kingdom Momma. She wrote this back in January and I had to share it here. It blessed me so much that I had to share it. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.
Perfect God and vastly creative Heavenly Father, I come to you in desire of your perfect will for marriage. I beg you to turn our hearts to you and teach us to love the things that you love. Separate us from our selfishness, and give us the grace to lay down our lives for each other.
Give wives the great strength to be women. Teach us to pray with fervency and to speak with gentleness. Teach us to love our husbands as men and to truly understand what they need. Show us how to suffer in silence and how to stand and fight. Comfort us when our husbands fail us, and never let their failures cause us to doubt your goodness and love. Keep our soft hearts soft, and soften them where they’re hard. And help us to weigh your Spirit in us far above our fleshly desires.
Give our husbands the strength to be men. Grow them up in the warrior power of your Holy Spirit. Reveal the true manliness of commitment and protection to their bloodied and used souls. Heal their broken hearts, and be the father and shepherd to their boyishness. Turn their hearts wholly to their wives, and teach them to love with selfless abandon.
Give married couples the strength to fight. Teach us to fight fair, and teach us to fight for the things worth fighting for. Make us one in body, mind, and spirit, that we may truly reflect your son and His bride. Protect that precious picture through everything that we do. Make us selfless and tender, forgiving and kind, and always slow to anger.
Protect us from offense and temptation. Teach us to speak your words, and to speak them often. Give us time to spend with one another and remove distraction and worry from our minds. Let us return to romance, pure and holy, childlike and fun.
Bless us, heal us, and restore us by the power of your incredible name. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Written by Kingdom Momma (http://www.kingdomtwindom.com/2009/01/my-prayer-for-marriage.html)
Hiccups
“He has the hiccups”, Melissa said as she grinned from ear to ear. We were sitting in my office just chatting as she stopped mid sentence to motion me over to feel her tummy. I knelt by her chair and gently placed my hand on her ever-growing belly and waited. Bump–Bump–Bump…. there it was! Caleb’s rhythmic pulse could be felt though all the layers of her maternity-wear. A warmth grew around my heart as I envisioned our little one inside hiccuping.
We sat there for a couple minutes just to take in the wonder of it all. The thought that we are the parents and caregivers of this little person is so overwhelming at times that it seems all too surreal. But in moments like these I feel connected to our son in a way I could never describe with words. Words fail to express the depth of the connection and the love I already feel for this little person. When he moves and we can both feel him, I feel as if my whole focus in life is narrowed like a laser beam on my wife and my son - as if we were the only three people in the universe along with the Lord. You have probably heard people say (or even experienced for yourself) how a moment in time can seem to pause and last for an eternity. Well, just as I had taken in my breath and was preparing to exhale, time ground to a halt. It was almost as if I could observe myself from a third-person perspective as I watched the three of us huddle together enjoying the miracle of that moment – the miracle of hiccups. Maybe I was getting just a glimpse of what Father God sees – how he smiles as he pours out his heart into ours so that our love expands for this little person. Maybe, for just a moment, I saw through the eyes of Jesus – tender, gentle, all-knowing, all-caring, all loving. As the moment hung in space and time, I thanked Him. I thanked him for all that Christ did for us on the cross – how my life was changed forever by his grace and his love. I thanked him for bringing Melissa into my life because I could never imagine a more wonderful person to share this miracle with – to share my life and my soul with – the woman who embodies the most perfect wife, tailor made for me by His loving hands. I thanked him for our unborn son Caleb, who will be an and already is an incredible blessing. I realized that God himself deemed us worthy to give us an eternal gift. He has already given us everything by giving us the life of his Son, but now, as the moment hangs in the air in silence, he gave me a son!
With a soft sigh, I exhaled. What seemed like an eternal moment came to a beautiful but bitter-sweet end as I realized that I couldn’t exist in that moment forever. As the rhythmic bumping of Caleb’s hiccups began again, it came to me. I realized that so often as adults, we lose sight of what is truly beautiful in this world. When we get the hiccups, it’s an annoyance – even irritating. And yet, in the body of a little child it is so beautiful. A child’s hiccups are full of life! Why do we as adults choose to lose sight of all the wonderful things that God has given us. When Jesus had the little children come to him, his disciples tried to turn them away because they probably thought “The Master has more important things to do than deal with these annoying kids!” But what did Jesus do? He opened his arms and with a smile that warmed up the farthest reaches of the cold universe he said “Let the children come to me!” Jesus then went on to say that we should all have the faith and wide-eyed wonder of a little child. How easy it is for us to “grow up” and forget to look at our world with the eyes of a child. In that moment, for just an instant, I saw through the eyes of a little child. I saw the wonder in something as simple as – well, hiccups.
A New Definition of Joy
Joy. That’s what I see in the eyes of my wife. An insatiable joy as she peers down at her ever expanding belly. A smile spreads across her face as she envisions holding that precious baby in her arms for the first time.
I will never fully understand women. They are complex, non-logical (to my geek-driven logical mind), emotionally driven, and overall confusing. But within each woman is a seed implanted by God himself at their conception – a seed of motherhood. For many, this seed is buried deep inside and never allowed to sprout to life – they may claim many reasons – career, time, energy, etc. But all women have it. As a soon-to-be daddy, I have found myself observing the emotions and feelings of my wife far more closely as it pertains to motherhood. I’ve seen that seed begin to sprout and grow. In her life, it is beginning to blossom as I see her interact with our son. Even though he is yet unborn, it’s almost as if she misses him. As if Caleb Joshua is supposed to be in her arms at this very moment. In my mind’s eye, I already see her holding his tiny little body close to hers – enveloping him in her arms with the radiance of pure love and joy pouring forth from her entire being.
As we sit together, looking into each other’s eyes, Melissa and I both smile – we share a deep and rich love and affection for each other unsurpassed by our wildest imagination. And yet, that love can expand to include another. Melissa put it best when she said that “… the beauty of the human heart is that it was designed to expand to accommodate more love than we could ever imagine.” What my wife has said so beautifully is a glimpse of what true love is and the Source from which it comes.
All love comes from God. He IS love. His love is limitless, timeless, selfless, and all consuming. Our love is finite and limited in comparison. So the miracle of love and of life is that when we are blessed with the opportunity to love a new person gifted to our family through the miracle of birth, it is as if Christ himself reaches down into each of our hearts and expands them with his gentle and tender hands. We do not lose love for each other, nay we gain more for each other as the heart expands and yet there is now room for what seems to be a limitless love for this new little person.
I am so proud to be a daddy. In fact, a couple nights ago I picked up a gift from our first baby shower that was a blanket that said “I Love Daddy” on it. I lost it. It suddenly became real for the first time since Melissa got pregnant. When I say “real” I mean I suddenly felt connected to my son as if he were in my arms gazing up at me with his big eyes full of wonder and life. The miracle happened at that very moment – I felt my heart expand in a remarkable way that I cannot explain or describe. Nothing anyone has said or could have said could have prepared me for that moment. The tears flowed as I watched my dear wife behold in her mind’s eye that same beautiful bundle of life. In that one moment, which seemed to stretch on for eternity, we both connected in a very real and spiritual way, to our son, Caleb.
Son, when you read this someday, you will know the love I speak of. You will be shown, told, and surrounded by love every day of your life. Mommy and Daddy only want the best for you and your life. You are a precious gift of God and we await your arrival with eager anticipation.
And as we wait, I realize that I am beginning to become a daddy – and I watch with excitement and love as my lovely wife blooms – she is becoming mommy.
- Child Rearing
- Children
- Faith
- Jesus
- Godly Parenting
- Portraits
- Engagement
- Babies
- Maternity
On Becoming Daddy
Colorado Springs, Colorado