When God Shows Up

    Hey y'all!  Trying to get a little better about consistent posting again... two in a row!!  Last time, I posted an update type blog... today I want to do one about something that has happened to me over the last couple of weeks. 

     So, a few weeks ago, I went to a local church's ladies retreat.  I have several friends at this church, and it is only five minutes from my house... so it was easy for me to get away for a bit and take part in this event.  It was going to be based on the principles of prayer, using the movie "The War Room."  Although, I hadn't seen the movie, I knew mainly what it was about, so I was excited to see what was in store.

     Y'all.  I really did not expect what I received from this.  You see, that's what God does--waits until we aren't expecting Him to show up, and then he shows up.  What I got out of this time of study and prayer was so much more than I was expecting. 

    You see, on some level, we all know prayer is important, yet why does it seems to be the easiest thing for us to shuffle off to the side when we get busy with life?  I'm guilty of it myself....I will take five or ten minutes to sit down and read my Bible, but prayer was no more than a cursory effort. 

     This event used clips from the movie as a spring board for discussion and study on the what the Bible has to say about the importance of prayer and its power in our lives and the lives of others.  There were small group discussion times, large group sharing, and activities to encourage us to delve more deeply into this business of prayer.  There was just such a wonderful time of prayer with these ladies.  I left so encouraged....

     ...and determined.  I was going to start making a serious effort to spend some concentrated effort in prayer for a certain amount of time each day.  I started a prayer journal, and began by just writing out a short prayer to focus my thoughts before I prayed for my requests for the day. 

    But have you ever started something thinking that it was going to be the "same old, same old?"  I mean, I knew God answered prayer, but it had been a little while since I had seen it in a meaningful, personal way in my own life.  But one of the points of the session was that we should pray because God is literally bending down to listen to us.  (Psalm 116:2)  So, I wanted to give this a real effort. 

    And God showed up. The second day, I prayed for two small things... just things that were nagging at the back of my mind that I was worried/frustrated about.  So, I just jotted them down and said a prayer about them.  And the next day they were both answered in a positive way.  Surprise!!  Oh me of little faith! 
 
    Well, needless to say, this was a huge encouragement to me to keep it up!  And it's a good thing, because within the next two days, I got a prayer request that was literally a matter of life and death.  No exaggeration.  So, with renewed and encouraged faith, I started praying.  Every day.  For a week.  And then I got a call that said the request had been answered... positively!  Needless to say, the next day's prayer time was one of rejoicing! 

    So, I just want to pass on the encouragement I got from these last few weeks in this area.  Have I seen such immediate results since then?  No, but you know what... I know God is still listening.  And my spirit has been renewed and refreshed in this area.  So, if you are in a spot in your life where it seems like your prayers are going unanswered, or maybe you've been missing that area in your life entirely, I want to encourage you.  Try again.  You may not expect God to show up, but He's waiting and listening.  He just wants you to come to Him and share your heart.  And then wait for Him to show up.  :) 

Busy-ness, Birthday, and Waiting on a Baby!

     As usual, life has been busy, busy, busy here in the Lipskoch household!  Since I blogged last, we have continued preparations for our new arrival, hired a new teacher for school to help while I'm "off-site,"  attended my cousin's wedding, welcomed the Traveling Grandparents, and celebrated Stitch's fourth birthday.  And those are just the out-of-the-ordinary things!  School, home life, church, and Scouts were all mixed in as well!  Oh, and don't forget those weekly doctors visits!

     I have been on "enforced" maternity leave this past week.  I say "enforced" because I wanted to keep busy as long as possible so I wouldn't go crazy just sitting and waiting for the big day.  But Hubby (who also happens to be my boss at work--so I had no chance of winning this one!!) insisted that I stay home until Baby shows up.  So I have been finding things to occupy my time--going on shopping trips for last-minute supplies, and trying to stay out of the school building.  I may have spent a few minutes over there yesterday though...

     This past weekend, we celebrated Stitch's fourth birthday with a family party.  It seems like two months ago I was blogging about his third birthday!  *Sigh...  He wanted to go on a trip to a local state park, but we had a cold snap last week (we even had SNOW), so we told him we would go there another time.  The only other thing he kept saying he wanted was "a chocolate cake AND brownies."  So, Mommy made the brownies and Uncle N's girlfriend made the chocolate cake.  So we had one happy little boy when it came to dessert time!  Of course, he got presents too, which was just even more exciting to him.  I knew the party was a success when he came to me later that night and said, "Mommy, my tummy kinda hurts."  To which I replied, "Well, that's probably because you had brownies, and chocolate cake, and some Hershey bar (one of his gifts).  You need to drink some water.  That will help your tummy feel better."  His answer was, "No, I think my tummy wants more chocolate.  That will help it feel better more!"  Even though it was his birthday, he did not manage to convince me that this was a wise course of action!

One happy guy--surrounded by his brownies and cake! 

It must have been great.... :) 

     Of course, among all this busy-ness, we are still waiting for our new baby.  These last few days always seem the longest.  I'm fairly certain that Stitch has half-convinced himself that the baby will never get here!  And I must admit, there are days I have the same feeling! As I have written before, waiting is not my strong suit.  And yet, God gives this time to all mothers...this time of waiting.  Maybe to give us a chance to draw close to Him as we approach a time in our life that is like no other--the welcoming of a gift that He has given.  A little soul to mold and show the example of Christ to.  A daunting challenge and precious responsibility.  So, this time of waiting is also a time of reflection.  A time to remind myself of the calling God has given me, and a time of prayer that He will help me as I face the joys and challenges I know are ahead.  A time once again to find the "Lego moments" God has placed in my path.  :)  

Waiting...

     So, why is it that learning to wait is so difficult?  Is it just me, or is it fairly common?  I don't really see myself as an impatient person, more like I want to get busy accomplishing the things I feel the Lord has for us to do.  I am a do-er, this I freely admit.  But this season of my life is definitely a "waiting" season.  There are several new things on the horizon, all of which involve lots of work, but I can't yet move on any of them.  So here I am, waiting...


     For a person who is a do-er, this is the difficult part.  I am definitely a "Martha" when it comes to personality.  You know, "cumbered about with much serving" and wondering why her sister is just sitting.  (Probably because she left nothing for her to do--at least that's what I usually end up doing!)  So, I have been trying to remember the Lord's words to Martha lately and trying to "choose that good thing."  But it is difficult for me to have this mentality without feeling that I am wasting time.  Things to be done, time to do them, yet I am waiting. 


     So, I have been trying to keep busy with the other, everyday things that we have going on around here, and to remember that waiting on the Lord is the time to renew our strength, like the Bible says in Isaiah.  Because I know soon it will be time to run the race, and now is the time to prepare.  But no one ever said the preparation was exciting! :)


     So, else has been going on around here?  Well, we have been pretty busy.  Last week we had a couple of fun things to do as a family.  I took the boys bowling for the first time.  That was a hoot!  They really enjoyed it...even Stitch!  He was so cute in the tiny bowling shoes!  We also had a trip to the local science museum last Friday.  We brought some friends, so we had a big group of people with us.  It is always a great time for all.  I should be posting the pics from the trip on Facebook soon.  

     Our weekend was busy too, with a Scout fishing trip early on Saturday morning.  Daddy woke the boys up early and then they headed to the lake.  They came back with sun-burns (even though I sent sun block!) and had lots of fun.  Then when they came home, I left with my mom to get some shopping done.  I got Hubby a tool box for Father's Day, which he has been wanting for a while.  I hope it will help with the problem of "Do you know where I left my _______?", but I don't hold out hope for that...

     Well, that about wraps it up for doings around here.  I'm trying to learn to wait, and trying to keep busy while waiting!  Does that cancel itself out? :)