Failure

If you are a failure please stand up... or at least nod your head.

It all started last night when I turned off the kitchen light before bed and pretended the dirty dishes in the sink and on the stove, okay and a few on the table didn't exist. The Lord has really been convicting me on my need to rise early so I can more fully seek His face, prepare for the day and serve my family. So as I went to bed I set my alarm for 6:00 am. See I was mildly successful the day before rising at 6:30 am after only pushing snooze twice. Well, 6:00 am rolled around and I pushed snooze. Thanking God for his grace and that my faith is not based on how early I get up but on Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection. 6:15 am I hit snooze again telling myself it isn't a sin to sleep longer. 6:30 am, I hit snooze and put a pillow over my head. 6:45 am I consider rising until the alarm goes off again at 7:00 am. 7:11 am little man decides he wants out of bed. Mission getting up early = failed! Seeking the Lord = failed!

 I cuddle with little man on the couch for a few minutes while I hear the dishes calling my name from the other room. Instead of getting breakfast going and getting my day started I cuddled up in a few blankets and laid on the couch and enjoyed a little cat in the hat and who knows what else until sister woke up a little later. Mission prepare for the day = failed!

The day goes on much as usual and I finally get moving at 10:30 am .I am hardwired to have a relatively clean kitchen before I can cook or do anything else it seems! So I get started cleaning and Kyla has declared she no longer wants the eggs I should of made a few hours ago (she had something else before she asked for eggs) because it was so late. Mission serving my family = failed!

It's true by noon I knew I had failed and the mission had TOTALLY been aborted. I won't even mention all the parenting blunders and mistakes I made today!

 In all my inadequacies and failures I was reminded of a few things,

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

That God looks at me and sees the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Though I continually sin and battle in this world Christ is perfect in me.

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

That I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. I have been made new and am being made new! Yes, I will battle but I can overcome. Because... 

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

I will continually battle with the flesh and my sinfulness but this life I am living now is by faith in the Son of God who loves me, died for me and make me perfect before the Father! So tonight as I turned off the kitchen light the sink is empty and the dishes are clean. The alarm is set and waking early is the goal. I am once again thankful that...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Because there is hope for this failure, there is hope for you. Look to Jesus! Seek his GRACE!

My HOPE and SALVATION

I have started multiple posts since last November when I celebrated my sweet baby's 1st birthday. Many posts about various topics however, words seemed inadequate at times to describe the past six months but what I can freely declare is God's abundant goodness to his children! A few months ago I was reading through the book of Philippians. These verses are ones I have read often, quoted and shared to many but this time the Holy Spirit implanted these truths deep in my heart,

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7

The key to living in the abundance of God's grace is found in rejoicing. Rejoicing causes us to take heart when troubles surround us, rejoicing cause us to place our faith in Jesus continually, and rejoicing will give us peace and will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. When I cast all my cares, desires and plans at the Lords feet I am saying "I trust you, I know you are working for YOUR glory and my good! I know That you are sovereign and the victory is already won!" This brings great peace, causing my love for God to swell and my faith to grow.

 Just yesterday I was fighting for joy! Fighting to live and even "feel" like a redeemed child of God. All I could see was the circumstances around me, the pile of laundry, the phone calls I had to make about a bill, a fussy baby, the defiant 4 year old, my own sin of selfishness and slothfulness! It was caving in on me quickly. Rather than letting it all pile on top of me I decided to be proactive, to fight with the only thing I could, God's word. I remembered my circumstances do not define me, the laundry could wait, I can't do anything about the bill at that very moment, put the baby to bed for a nap, let the 4 year old play on the computer, and poured my sin out at the feet of Jesus and grabbed a bible and take a hot soak in the tub. Soooooooo thankful for God's written word and how it brings life to my soul. I started in Psalm 37 and read to Psalm 42. Ending with,

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Psalm 42:11

So therein lies my hope, in my salvation and my God. Thus I shall praise Him! Today, my circumstances are the same, the pile of laundry remains, the bill is working itself out, the baby it currently napping, the 4 year old is playing with daddy, I am still very much a sinner but I know that my hope is in God, who is my Salvation and my Hope.