Crops or the Cross?

     Well, it is nearly the end of a whirlwind month!  May is always an extremely busy time for our family as we wrap up school, Scouts, and a few other things.  Middle Biscuit turned 13 a few days ago... I now officially have two teenagers!  How did that happen so fast?

     We didn't get to celebrate with him on his actual birthday, because we are on a school trip.  For the last two years, our school has attended the International Student Convention hosted by ACE, which is the curriculum program we use in our school.  So, every year at this time, we prepare to attend this major event.

     This year, we have First-Born with us, and two other school students.  They have competed in events ranging from chess to table tennis to music performances. It is a very fun, although tiring week!

     Confession time: when Hubby told me several years ago that one of his goals for our school was to attend Regional Student Convention, and then Internationals, I admit I was reluctant.  (Read: whiny.)  It was too much work; too much money; not enough time; encouraged bad attitudes; I had a million excuses.  But he was persistent ( no surprise there!) and so I finally caved and said we could work on it.  Five years later, here I am, 5 Junior Conventions, 4 Regionals, and 3 Internationals under my belt.  It is work.  It is tiring.  We do have to be apart from the younger kids.  But he was right; it's totally worth it.  (Shhh...don't tell him I said that!!)

    Because it's about more than the competitions.  It's about more than the new experiences.  It's about more than the fun and games and new friends.  It's really about getting away from the comfortable box you've been in.  It's about being away from other influences that distract you.  It's about the time every night that God speaks and moves in the hearts of the people sitting under the sound of His Word.  Which brings me to my title...crops or the Cross?

     The speaker last night spoke about Cain and Abel.  Everyone knows the story.  Cain brought an offering; Abel brought an offering.  God accepted Abel's offering; Cain grew angry and killed Abel.  But he brought out an application that really spoke to me.

     You see, what Cain brought was the sum of his efforts.  His sweat and hard work.  "Look what I have brought.  I worked so hard for You.  I did my best."  It was beautiful.  It was fragrant.  It was his.

    Abel brought what he was asked.  What hurt him.  He loved these little lambs.  His sacrifice was messy.  It was bloody.  It was hard.

    Cain brought crops.  Abel pictured the Cross.  And it made me think.

     What am  I bringing?  During the message, raising kids came to my mind.  Am I raising "crops" that will reflect my hard work and effort?  Am I working to make them good, and helpful, and nice so I can say "There's my hard work.  Look what I worked hard to raise."

    Or am I raising up the Cross?  Am I being a reflection of God's grace and mercy?  Am teaching and training, not so it is a testament to my effort, but so that it a testimony of God's love shining out?  Am I offering a picture of the Cross to those around me?

     So, maybe take a minute and ask yourself the same question I did: crops or the Cross?  And really stop to listen to God's answer.  He wants our sacrifices, but He wants them the right way.  Not our own efforts and struggle.  He wants our trust and rest in Him.  He wants to see the Cross, not our crops.  :)

Strength From the Storm

     Hey y'all!  It's almost the end of the month, so it was time to get back to the blog!  (I'm trying to keep my goal of one per month!  So far, so good!)  Plus, today came with some reflection time for me.

    Most of you know, eight years ago, all of my immediate family went through a tornado.  Or, to be more specific, a tornado went through us!  Ha!  If you want to read more about that, check out my post here.  We were amazingly protected and preserved through this major event.

     Today was also the volunteer appreciation picnic hosted by the pregnancy resource center I volunteer at.  I spent a couple of hours of fun and fellowship with some great friends I have met through this ministry opportunity.

    Well, the coincidence of these two events got me thinking.  Really, that storm marked more than a miraculous preservation of our lives.  It was a beginning of an overall shift in the focus and direction of our family.  Not long after that event, we went mostly full time in the work here at the school and church.  We said goodbye to the financially stable, full-time job and stay-at-home mom lifestyle and said hello to going to work together at the school every day and focusing our energies on growing and nurturing that ministry.

     You see, it became time to think, "Why are we here?"  God preserved us miraculously...He has a plan for our lives...are we living it?  Is there more we could be doing?  Turns out, the answer was "yes."  And since that time, we have seen even more evidence of God at work in our life.  Stepping out on faith was just easier when we had just been shown evidence of God's active work in our life!

    In the Bible study I've been attending the last couple of months, we've been studying the fruit of the Spirit.  This week's fruit was faith.  And one statement really stuck out at me.  The two enemies of faith are fear and familiarity.  And it was the second one of those that caught my attention the most.  How easy is it to become too "familiar" in our Christian walk?  We know the Bible, we may have grown up in church.  It's so easy to just make it our "culture."  To simply exist rather than be active.   Our faith cannot be really strengthened if it is never exercised.  So, sometimes, God needs to shake up your life to see if your faith is able.  Able to hold.  Able to believe.  Able to trust His plan even when we can't see what is good.

     So, my faith grew because of that storm.  I was able to trust that God would provide for our still-growing family even without a "real" job.  I was able to face with faith the next storm.  I was able to deal with relational challenges, personal sorrow, and the day to day busy-ness of our new life without thinking, "Why is this happening?  I can't do this any more."

    Because I knew why.  God had more for me to do, and to be able to do it, He needed me to grow up in faith.  To overcome that trap of familiarity.  So that when He whispered, "You need to do this for Me," I was able to believe and move forward.  When He said, "You could teach that class," I didn't say, "But I'm already doing so much...how can I do more?!"  I simply moved.  Because I knew how I could do it.  And it wasn't me.  It was Him.

    So, if you are just coming out of a "storm" in your life, it's a good time to think about what your faith level is.  Is God sending you through some "growing pains?"  Is He challenging your faith because He has even more planned for you?  It's a good possibility.  It may be that God is getting you ready for your next big adventure.  I promise you, it will be amazing, and you won't want to miss it!  :)

Book Review--"Girl, Wash Your Face" & "Girl, Stop Apologizing"

     Hey, everyone!  Hope you are enjoying your first few days of spring...and that you have gotten a break from winter weather for at least a couple of days!

     How many of you have heard of the two books I mentioned in the title?  I admit, I hadn't heard of them (or the author, Rachel Hollis) until about a year ago.  This is about the same time I became involved in my side hustle (which you can check out here, if you don't know about that.)  Anyway, if you've spent any time in DS, or any type of networking type business (or even just work in an office environment) you know there's a lot of "you can do it" positive thinking books and resources out there.  I have read several of them.  (I have an affinity for self-help/time management books.  I get it from my Dad.  No joke.  Who knew that could be genetic?!)

    These fall into that category for me.  I enjoyed reading them for that purpose.  She has some good ideas about time management, some better ideas about getting big things accomplished in life, and she isn't afraid to be pretty real about her story and her circumstances.  (I mean, it's her book...she could have left the parts about majorly embarrassing things that happened to her out, but she didn't.  Kudos for that!)

      Then, as I'm reading them, and doing a little research into her and her books and biz, I start hearing these rumblings from other websites and bloggers about how terrible the books are and how they are a personification of everything that's wrong with Christianity today.  Wait, what?!  Who is reading time management/self help books for Bible study?  Do people do that?!

     Apparently, they do.  Or they know other people who do.  Whatever.  (And maybe that is part of what's wrong with Christianity today...)   Um, no where that I could find are these books classified as a Bible study, y'all.  So, first of all, stop freaking out.  If your church is doing a Bible study on them, and you have an issue with that, yeah...go talk to your pastor.  (Nicely!)  Because that's not what they were meant for.  (And it's not really fair to attack a book or an author for something that she didn't even intend...just saying.)  And *news flash*  just because a book is published by Thomas Nelson or is sold at LifeWay DOESN'T make it appropriate for a Bible study or a personal devotion guide.   If you are wondering if these books are good for that, they answer is no.  They are good as what they are: time management/ self-help books written by a woman who has built a very successful lifestyle business from literally nothing.  If you are looking for that, then by all means, check them out.

    If you are looking for a Bible study book, maybe look for the ones who actually say "Bible Study" on them. (Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth or Francie Taylor are just a few names to start with in that category.)  Just saying.  Or just study the actual Bible.  Be discerning, people.  It's your job to do that.  Not the internet, a Christian article from that website you read, or your friends.  It's your job to search the Scriptures "to see if these things are so."

     So, to sum up, if you have a thing for rah-rah, you-can-do-it books, then you might want to check these out.  You'll definitely get a laugh, if nothing else!  If you are looking for your next devotional book, these aren't it.  And that's okay.  There are plenty of great ones out there to choose from!  (Also, the Bible...in case you didn't hear me before...)  But most of all, discern!  Take the good, filter out the not-so-good, and stay away from the bad.  Practice.  Because I'm pretty sure no one wants to be one of those "silly women" Paul referred to in 2 Timothy 3.  So, go wash your face and read your Bible!  :)