Page 23 Vision

I can tend to ramble and give more info than needed, so if you want to get to the good stuff, skip down to "I stood at the Capital MOPS table" . . .

Our church just recently started a small group series called "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. Joe and I agreed to lead a group this time around after hiding out as newlyweds and then wiped out parents. We both felt like we should at least attempt to make it work in our schedule and we found a group of other amazing people to join us!

So, why did I title this Page 23 Vision? Well, one of the chapters in the book talks about figuring out what your gifts, talents, skill sets, passions are in life and letting God lead you into the impossible with that vision. The author was moved to step up in life after reading a quote from a Jim Cymbala book. The quote was written on page 23. So it just stuck. See it here:

I guess you could say, I was moved and wanted to see God move mightily on my behalf too! I started thinking . . .

I'm in a place in my life right now where reaching young moms, and making sure they don't get isolated and try to live life on their own, is my vision. Having two little kids of my own, I've been on the fine line of going crazy a few times in my life. I'm blessed though, with an amazing family and friends to help me out in those moments of "crazy." Some of my "I'm going crazy and feel alone" moments led me to start Capital Moms. From there, we have ventured into Capital MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) and continue to try to be available for moms in their time of need. Disclaimer- I'm a little extreme in what I tend to pursue. If you are a young mom, even staying a home, that is YOUR calling. There is a line in the book where the author says being a stay-at-home mom is your page 23 vision, because you have been given the "gift of time" to teach, discipline, guide, direct your littles. YOUR calling is going to be different than mine (it could be similar-but you will never be me and I will never be you). God has wired each of us so intrinsically.

Moving on to the good stuff: I've been challenged to see what God could do "impossibly" through me as we have jumped into this study. Well, when you ask, He answers. Here is a little glimpse into God working on the "impossible" in my life:

I stood at our Capital MOPS table at the group life fair on a Sunday at church and was approached by a young new family with an incredible story. They had only come to Capital for about 2 weeks at that point without any church background and walked up to the front for prayer. The husband needed a job, prayed, and 2 days later, he was working as a mechanic at an auto store. They came to church the following week and went up for prayer (with great faith since it worked last time) and prayed to get into permanent/transitional housing from the shelter they were currently staying at. The mother was 9 months pregnant and due in 2 weeks at the time we spoke. They were asking me if I would be able to get them any baby items (as I was standing at the MOPS table) since they literally only had some clothes in their possession. I collected their contact info (cell number and email) and told them I would be in touch!

Fast forward 2 weeks, I posted a couple requests on facebook and slowly started collecting some items in my office at the church. I randomly was messaged on facebook by someone in our church asking if I new anyone that needed a crib. I said YES, and we arranged to get it delivered to my office. In the mean time, I attempted to call the cell number of this family and never got ahold of anyone. I emailed, and got no response. Regardless of not connecting back with them, I felt the need to still get all the baby items. On Saturday, April 13, God starting moving and making the impossible happen and I just kept saying yes. I stuck the crib in my office, grabbed the young families phone number again off my desk, and decided to call them on my way home. The husband answered the phone and with excitement told me his wife was in labor. They were going to have the baby any time now. Plus, he had keys to their new apartment and was willing to take anything! Talk about crazy timing.

From Saturday to Monday, with the help of MANY donors and support, my brother and I met the family at their new place with a truck load and car full of items to bless them with. From a kitchen table, chairs, rocking glider, crib, changing table, bedding, clothing, toys, books, dinner and much more, we stocked their place up. They literally came from the hospital to their place as a new family for the first time. (All of you moms imagine with me for a sec- going from a shelter to the hospital to have your baby and coming home with a new infant to a new apartment basically fully furnished. Only God!) Not only did we help them get settled in their home, but all of my MOPS mommies pitched in and arranged to bring meals to this family for 2 weeks.

This story is God showing up in my life. I've been blessed immensely to just walk through open doors using my skill set (as a mom) and my connections to help watch a young family see God for the first time and become real in practical ways. What's your skill set? Want to see God do some impossible things on your behalf? Just say YES!

To be continued . . . (cause there are more impossibilities happening and some photos too)

One on One with Mary Jacobs

We were privileged to host Mary Jacobs at the last Capital MOMS brunch. She is a wife, mother of three, and a teacher at Capital Christian High School. Talk about experience. She's got it. I don't think I'm speaking for myself when I say I walked away with some great goals and reminders! I hope (if you weren't able to make it) that you find this somewhat helpful or encouraging.

Psalm 13
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Sometimes being a mother of little babies/preschoolers can feel lonely. We have to choose to believe the Word of the Lord. We can get stuck in a cycle of "assumicide" or "presumiscide"- presuming things about others and it just kills/drains us. We don't know what's going on in the lives of our friends. Don't live life alone. When we catch ourselves going down that road, grab a friend and God's word and begin to pray the scripture. We need freedom (and have to give the freedom to others) to not be perfect. You will have more freedom when you aren't comparing yourself to another. The way to get back on track is through prayer and time with God. Even if you're prayer conversations sound like this sometimes:

Interesting Conversation with God.Author- Unknown, from a forwarded email (Mary says sorry she can't find the author's name)

Me: God, can I ask you a question?
God: Sure.
Me: Promise you won't get mad?
God: I promise.
Me: Why did you let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late.
God: Yes.
Me: My car took forever to start.
God: Okay.
Me: At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.
God: Hmmm.
Me: On the way home my phone went dead just as I picked up a call.
God: Okay.
Me: And on top of all that, when I got home I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager and relax, but it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did you do that?
God: Well, let me see. The Death Angel was at your bed this morning and I had to send one of the other angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me: (humbled): OH...
GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The person who made your first sandwich today was sick and I didn't want you to catch what he has.
I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.
Me: (embarrassed): Ok...
God: Your phone went dead because the person who was calling was going to give false witness about what you said during that call. I didn't even let you talk to them so that you would be covered.
Me: (softly) I see, God.
God: Oh, and that foot massager had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm sorry God.
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to trust me in all things, the good and the bad.
Me: I will trust you.
God: And don't doubt that MY plan for your day is always better than your plan.
Me: I won't, God. And let me just tell you God, thank you for everything today.
God: You're welcome, child. It was just another day being your God, and I love looking after my children.

Mary shared about her experience with her daughter (now almost 29) being diagnosed at 2 1/2 years old with leukemia while being pregnant with her second child on the way. How do you handle a situation like that? She explained how she was just grateful that she knew God. She remembers sitting on her mom's couch and crying and just thanking God that she knew Him already- because He would carry her through this situation. (I'm not so sure I would have reacted the same way??) She asked the question- Who's kids are they? They are God's. Laura is still an amazing testimony of God's grace, miracles, and His strength. She battled 2 brain tumors this summer and recovered well and is teaching at the preschool. You would never know or guess her struggles - but God is greater. God has carried their family through. Reminds me to be grateful for God's blessings and thank Him daily for good health!

We have the ability to parent from a place of FEAR or from a place of VICTORY. When we parent with victory, there is much more freedom, less tension and joy!  

We also must remember to cultivate the fruits of the spirit in our own lives. We can't say "be kind" to our kids while we are constantly nagging our husbands. We have to practice what we are teaching. We can't make our kids love Jesus. We have to be real and live it our inf front of them. When we live from a place of love, joy, peace, patience . . . they will want to experience what we have.

Above all, we need HIM (period) to live. Pray the scripture over yourself and your kids. You are praying the will of God over them when you prays scripture- because it's HIS Word. Not only should we pray for our own kids, we need to be loving and praying for our friends children as well. God gave the example of leaving the 99 for the 1 who was struggling- it's the same with us today. When we see someone struggling- let's lift each other up in prayer. Prayer is the answer to everything.

Pray with your kids. Inspire them by asking questions. Ask them to think of 3 great things that happened today and thank God for it. (It's ok if they say they love the blue sky- encourage them- God created that- it's beautiful as part of his creation- encourage them in the simple things- it's a start!) Praise God. Give him Thanks. Tell God if you are anxious about something. If you are worried or nervous. Also- be quick to apologize. They learn repentance from us. It softens the home when we are willing to admit we messed up or made a mistake.

Sorry for the long blog. There were just great notes from our time together. Again, hoping you can gain something from this. Let me know what you took away from the brunch!