The Calm After the Storm

We haven't really left the house in 3 days. Other then a food run, me and my munchkins have been home bound for no other reason than just because we can. After the flurry of Christmas, I thought it would be nice to just stay in our pajamas and relax. As you know, I usually over commit myself, so this is a big stretch for me. I have noticed several things about being home. I am not accomplishing much. Normally I am on a schedule where I only have so much time to clean the house, feed the kids, and appear somewhat put together before leaving the house for the majority of the day. So now that I have all day, you would think I could get everything on my to do list accomplished, but no. But that's okay, it will get down when it gets done. Also, I don't get to relax and play with my kids enough. Tucker and I have played with every Christmas present he got, and Ava has been right there along for the fun. When we are crazy busy I miss out on stuff I didn't even realize. In the last 3 days I have taught Tucker 4 new card games, watched the kids play nicely with each other, and started reading 2 new books. I have used my Christmas gift (a BlendTec blender) 5 times, made every meal, and rearranged my room. These are things I would not have been able to do if I didn't take the time to slow down. My motivation for today is 1 Thesselonians 4:11 "This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before." This is a verse I will have to work into my life, or maybe I should say I need to work my life into this verse. To think that I could enjoy not being busy, huh! This has motivated my to keep my schedule a little more open and plan for downtime to just be. I hope your Christmas was wonderful and you are able to take time and relax before the year is over. God bless and  enjoy your quiet day :-)

Peace On Earth, Or At Least In The Balderas House :-)

Ahhhhh, I love days we don't leave the house. It is so peaceful. With all the craziness around us, we are in a quiet, serene comfort zone. Sometimes this peace can be interrupted by whining, fighting, and general shenanigans, but not today. I feel very blessed today. My children have been playing kindly together all day. I have been cleaning joyfully to make our home even better to be in. We made birthday cupcakes for Jesus, played chase with the vacuum, and the kids played together in Ava's crib for half an hour. Some days are just nice. I'm not sharing this to sound like have perfect angel kids, I just wanted to share what a peace-filled day I am having, thanks in total to the Lord. He is the only one who can calm my kids and set this kind of tone, I am just His tool to use. My verse for meditation today is Luke 2:14, ""Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Some days are crazy, some days are boring, and some days are just lovely. I hope your day is going as peacefully as mine. Have a blessed day :-)

It's The Most _____________ Time of the Year

When you read the title of this blog entry, what word do you put there? I would love to put wonderful, magical, or any other beautiful adjective there, but I have to put busiest. If you look at what time I am writing this, you will see why. For the past 5 days I have been going non stop, to the point that my house is a disaster, my car looks like a bomb went off, I have no food in my fridge, and I have to wake up at 5am to clean my house, download the videos onto the computer to have room for Tucker's Christmas performance, switch the laundry, straighten my hair and blog (and that is only if the kids don't wake up early!). I think the Lord is trying to tell me something in the dark of my house at this wee hour of the morning. I have to make the time and I have to slow down. 1 Timothy 4:12-16 says "Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right, and God will save you and those who hear you."
This scripture is speaking to me this morning. So many great suggestions! There are so many things I like about these verses, but in particular, "Give your complete attention to these matters." That is so hard to do when you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to get everything done. These last 6 days before Christmas I am going to attempt to "give my complete attention to these matters," "focus on reading the Scriptures," and "be an example in the way I live." If I am so focused on the shopping, the schedule, and the craziness of the Christmas season, what kind of message am I sending to those around me, especially my kids. This season is to celebrate Jesus' birthday, not stress out over everything else. And these recommendations in 1 Timothy 4 are even more relevant during Christmas time when Jesus is (or at least should be) at the front of everyone's minds. Let this time be a blessing, not a hardship. Show the world that we don't have to be frazzled at Christmas, that instead we can be joyfully focused on what the day really is for. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6. Let the Prince of Peace give you some peace in this season of joy :-) Merry Christmas :-)

Joy to the World...

I do not know what is wrong with me. I LOVE Christmas! But this year I am not feeling the Christmas spirit. It doesn't even really feel like Christmas to me. I don't have a Christmas tree, the lights aren't up, and it's 75 degrees outside. Being that this feeling is so not like me, I started to think and pray about why I was feeling like this. As much as I pondered and prayed, I couldn't figure it out. Then in worship on Sunday, the worship pastor sang a Christmas song and spoke about Christmas a little bit. As I worshiped, God opened my eyes to a reason for the Grinch-like feelings. I was focused on the "Christmas" things, but not on what Christmas was all about...Jesus' birthday. Birthday's are another thing I LOVE. And this is the birthday of my Best Friend, the person who knows me best, who loves me most, and who is always there for me. This is the celebration of the King of Kings, Immanuel, Savior to the Broken, the Redeemer, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God. He is the reason for the Season, the reason life has meaning, and the reason I am going to Heaven. He was sent to this world as a baby, so He could relate to us and ultimately give His life for us. Without Him, there is no reason for hope. Christmas trees, lights, cookies, and gifts, although they are wonderful and a fun part of the season, they cannot be my focus. It is easy to get lost in the shopping lines, the Christmas traffic, and the overall craziness of this time of year. My focus is on the baby that was born to take the sin of the world, the one and only virgin birth. I don't want to sound like a Scrooge, by all means, enjoy all the fun stuff about Christmas, I will be as well. But don't forget the reason for the season.
Today I am focusing on joy. The joy that is brought by hope and love from Jesus. Matthew 2:10-11 says, "When they (the wisemen) saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Worship of the Lord should be my number one focus year around, but even more so at this time of year. And something Jesus said towards the end of his days, John 16:24, "You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." I am going to ask Jesus for the joy, because He has provided for me always and I am truly blessed.
 Today I am going to focus on having true joy and focusing on preparing for Jesus birthday. How about you, what are you focusing on?
Happy Birthday Jesus :-)

The Definition of Complaining

Accusing, bellyaching, bewailing, charging, critical, deploring, disapproving, discontented, dissenting, fretting, grumbling, lamenting, malcontent, moaning, mourning, murmuring, peevish, protesting, querulous, regretting, repining, resentful, weeping, and whining. These are all synonyms for complaining. When you put it that way...that sounds hideous. I have to admit I am one to complain. I noticed this awhile ago and have been trying to work on it, but the habit still rears its ugly head every once in awhile. For awhile I thought it made me more interesting and/or humble if I was to complain about something. "Yes I got a new car, but its not that great."..."I moved to a brand new home...but it's a trailer."..."Yes I have a job...but I have to work more than I want to." I would always find a way to add something on. I guess I feel like I was bragging if I talked about something good in my life, so I would find a way to complain about the good things, in a weird way feeling more humble about it. Also, I think one of the reasons I felt like this was because I just talked too much in general. I hate the dead silence when nothing is being said, so I would just say something to say anything and end up saying things I didn't even really mean sometimes. I eventually realized that this made me sound ungrateful. Every blessing is from the Lord, so why would I feel like I was bragging about it? When I started giving the glory to God, it took that feeling of boasting away and allowed me to stop adding that "but" statement to the end of the sentence. I also cut down on my amount of talking to only what actually needed to be said and forcing myself to be okay with silence. My favorite verse regarding this is Psalm 51:15-"O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise." Another selection of verses I like is Philippians 2:14-15-"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." That one rocks!

The moral of the story is: complaining is not being grateful to the Lord for taking care of us. If you are living and breathing today, you have a reason to be thankful. If you have somewhere to live, whether it is your own home, apartment, trailer, or with someone else, you have something to be thankful for. If you have food in your belly you have something to be thankful for. If you are blessed to live in this country where we have the freedom to worship God when, where, and how we want to, that is something major to be thankful for! I am sure many other things come to mind to be thankful for. God is so good! It is all about how you look at the situation. Do you have your positive glasses on? It is all about contentment, which our buddy Paul new so well. "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13. This is a memory verse I learned in Crown Financial and it has been a good reminder when I start to covet or envy others. I have exactly what I need from the Lord, He has provided. Every. Single. Time.Thankfulness is not one of the fruits of the Spirit, but it encompasses them all. When we are thankful, we are showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control to the Lord.

I am going to be meditating on these verses and trying to eliminate complaining from my vocab. So if I am talking to you, and suddenly stop mid sentence, that would be why ;-) Have a truly thankful and blessed day!!!  

 

The Reoccurring Theme

Oh, just when I think I have things under control, God reminds me that I don't. It is like a reoccurring theme in my life. Caitlyn hits a new low, turns to the Lord, the Lord guides her back to Him, she follows, reads the Bible faithfully, becomes comfortable (i.e.lazy), starts slacking on her reading, then is back to the low. It is almost predictable. So why do I keep jumping on this roller coaster ride? That is what I am trying to figure out. Let's start with what brought me to this realization today. From the moment my son woke up this morning, he has been trying to drive me crazy. The whining, the crying, the "you can't tell me what to do" attitude. It did drive me crazy! I became angry with him for his behavior, and in doing so, also acted like a 4 year old. I started yelling too. So I sent him off to school with both of us angry. And now, I know why I was so quick to anger. I hadn't sat down and read the Bible in a couple days. I read the verse that popped up on my phone every morning, trying to use that as an excuse for "Bible reading", but I did not sit down and focus on the Lord. I let life get in the way (how many times have I said this on this blog already? I think I am sensing a problem here.) I need to dedicate time to the Lord. He is my first priority in my heart, but I don't make Him my first priority in my actions. I clean, cook, exercise, care for kids, look at Facebook (anybody else with me?) before I sit down and focus on the Word. And it is not intentional, but I need to be intentional with where my focus is directed. So faithfulness is the word of the day. And I will be faithful in my Bible reading. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it changes my heart. It reminds me how much the Lord loves me, and that I need to show that love to everyone around me. So I am going to use a repeat verse and a new verse today for inspiration, the first is the new. Job 23:12-"I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food." This one struck me in particular. I should desire to read the Bible above my desire to eat, or do other things, even if they are necessary for life. Because the Word of God is necessary for everlasting life! My repeat verse is always a good reminder, and one Tucker and I will be memorizing today. "My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." James 1:19. I don't know if your life is anything like mine, but the crazier it gets, the more it reminds me I need to be in the Word. I hope it will be a sign to you as well. Have a blessed day :-)