Her Name is Joy

As a teenager her life was reckless and her heart rebellious.

One wrong decision gave birth to more wrong decisions and eventually she became a statistic. She was pregnant, not married and still in High school.  And then she became another statistic when she saw no other way out and had an abortion. This was nothing she planned or wanted for her life.  But she saw no other way.

The shame she carried was like an over stuffed suitcase, carrying it everywhere she went wondering if others could see it too.

Her life took a turn in the right direction when she met a man who was like none of the others in her past.  She told him her secret and instead of turning away from her he turned toward her and loved her. It was a love she had never experienced before, a love that was full of mercy and grace. His love for her was healing and together they learned the important gift of God's forgiveness.

They married and had 3 children.  Even though she knew she was forgiven for aborting her baby, the pain remained and she rarely spoke of her past.

Years later when her children were grown an opportunity arose to help young women at a local crisis pregnancy center.  Her intentions were to only volunteer at the Center to help keep shelves stocked and to do the jobs no one see's.  She had become very good at doing little things that matter greatly but no one ever saw. Thankfully, the Lord had other plans for her.  Eventually she told her director about her past and offered herself to help young women considering abortion. This was a huge step for her.

Over the span of a few weeks as she worked through a Bible study in preparation to lead others through it she came to find complete healing and freedom from her past.  This freedom she experienced produced a joy in her heart that she could not describe. This joy brought healing from her past. This joy represented the forgiveness she lived in and the grace that covered her.

As she came to the end of the study she was to name the baby she had aborted. She knew exactly what name to choose.

She named her Joy.

How fitting to name this baby in such a beautiful way as if to say, "Through my sorrow, you have brought me joy".

Joy would have been my big sister.  How appropriate is it that as my own mother is walking this spiritual journey with the Lord, I am walking through my own and we are both, though walking separate paths, walking in joy.

Though our paths are different what is the same is the joy of the Lord that comes after the mourning, suffering and trials.  Sometimes it comes while still in the midst of the trials, like I have experienced.  But joy is there for us!

His joy.

This joy that brings healing, protection, causes our heart to sing and our soul to worship.

This joy is ours!

I pray as you walk the path the Lord has laid out for you, whether it is one of difficulty, heartache or ease you will choose his joy to carry you through.

If abortion is part of your past and you still struggle with healing from it, please seek help.  There are many ministries available to counsel and encourage women who once chose abortion. Many towns have Crisis Pregnancy Centers who offer counseling and most churches have resources to share.

Below are a few ministries who offer help to women.

Hope for the Heart

Safe Haven

Rachel's Vineyard

Are You Listening?

I found this quote and it stuck with me.

As a mom, my day is full of background chatter among my kids. I usually zone it out so I can get my work done. But then there is that moment when one of them says, "Mom, did you hear what I said?"

And usually, I didn't hear them. I didn't realize they were talking to me. I was so focused on something else.

I want my kids to come to me when they need to talk. But if they are always fighting for my attention eventually they will stop coming. I work from home, and my day is full of a lot of multi-tasking.  Making sure I am available can really be a struggle at times. Creating a schedule has helped. Teaching them to respect my schedule is often a battle.

One day I observed some friends in a discussion. One friend was explaining a struggle she was having with one of her children. We were all listening to her explain a specific situation. I looked around the circle of friends as she spoke.
One was checking her phone, but nodding as if she were listening.
Another was deeply engrossed in the story, you could tell by her face.
And the last mom continued to interrupt with her own story that was made to sound much worse than the story being told.

Which mom was truly listening? The second one of course.

I have to admit, while my friend was pouring her heart out to us, I was thinking of ways to respond to her. But, when one of the moms continued to interrupt I realized that I wasn't listening to my friend anymore than she was.  I text my friend later and said, "I'm so sorry you are struggling. I am praying for you."

I never want to be like that last mom who interrupts with my own stories or ideas. I can't learn how to encourage or serve others if I don't listen to them.  I won't know how to pray for them if I don't listen to them.

But the truth is that I have been her on many occasions.

Lord, help me listen with my eyes, ears and heart so I can help comfort & encourage those you put in my path.

Are you listening?

The Wandering Child

The text message I received reminded me of what I had tried to forget.  My daughter was still living a life distant from the Lord.

My heart sank as I read the message.  My emotions began to kick in and take over.  I was angry, disappointed, embarrassed and so very sad. I wanted back the days when I could make her stay home and do what she was told, but those days are over.  She is an adult now.  Her choices are hers, which means so are the consequences. But that doesn't ease the pain.

I wanted to yell at her, "What are you doing?".  I wanted to hold her and tell her I still loved her even though her choices were hurting her family.  I wanted all of this to just go away.  I wanted my daughter back.

I had text my daughter, "I will never stop fighting for you". There was no response from her.
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"Lord, what do I do?  There must be something I can do!" And in his quiet, yet powerful way he responds with, "You need to be still and let me fight for you. She belongs to me."

You would think that would give me peace & calm my anxious heart, but it didn't.  I still wanted to fight back. I still wanted to do something.  And God was telling me to be still.

I woke up this morning still sad over the events of the last several days. I was exhausted from the emotional stress of it all.  My prayers felt empty and worthless, but I keep praying.  "Lord, help me to be still. I want to trust you to end all of this in your time."  And this was his gift for me this morning.

What an amazing God we have to care so deeply for each of us.  A God who always leads us in triumph!  A God who always wins!

I'm not feeling very triumphal these days.  I'm feeling more like a failure as a mom because my daughter continues to make dangerous decisions.  But, I am reminded that when I begin to take the blame and shame of what she is doing, I am giving Satan a foothold in this.  He hates it when I rest in my confidence that God is in control.  He hates it when I don't let this bring me down and steal my joy.  He loves it when I am up all night worrying about her and wondering if she is ok.  He loves it when I am so distraught I can't function normally in my day.  I hate that I have given him several small victories lately.

How wonderful is it that in spite of what is going on, we can be confident that we will be triumphant because God is leading us there.

I don't know how long our daughter will wander away from the Lord.  I pray everyday that today is the day she returns.  The only way I can make it through this is knowing that in spite of the heartbreak and anguish I continue to experience, my God is leading me in victory and it will be through my own weaknesses that he will be glorified.  My prayer is that God is glorified through my whole family in all of this, even through my wandering daughter.

This could easily steal my joy!  But, I stand on his promise of victory & choose to live in today and not worry about tomorrow. 

Do you have a wandering child?  How do you pray for your child?  What Scripture has God given you as comfort and strength as you wait for your child to return?

God is faithful and his mercies are new everyday!  Rest in him & pray for your child like you have never prayed before!

Rest

 

We are still fighting off illness around here.  Once I begin to think we are in the clear someone else gets sick. 

Not much blogging going on these days, but I’m working hard on other things.

Here is my article for The Mom Initiative that posted this week.  By His Spirit.

 

I am working on the new website for what I hope to be a new exciting ministry for moms.   Joy Moms dot com isn’t ready just yet, but I promise it will be soon.  I plan to post snippets of what I am writing in my book, along with plenty of encouragement to live in the joy of being a mom.

 

 

I saw this verse posted on Facebook this week and thought what a great reminder it is that I am not in this alone. My tired soul can find rest in God, he is my strength. I don’t have time to get sick, I am taking care of a house full of snotty, coughing, body aching people.  When I am tired and really wanting a break and for people just get well I can focus instead on the promises of God like this one in Psalms 62:1-2 and allow the Holy Spirit to bring peace to my anxious heart & strength to my tired body.

Faithful Friday...at HIS Acceptable Time

I found this verse this morning and wanted to share it with you.

  But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. Psalm 69:13

Four words jumped out at me..."At an acceptable time".

My acceptable time & the Lord's acceptable time for answering my prayers are usually two different times.  This scripture takes my back to surrender.  Surrendering my want for God to answer my prayers at my acceptable time.

If you believe God truly is Sovereign and if you know He loves you with that love that is indescribable and incomprehensible, then you can be confidant that HIS acceptable time to answer your prayers really is the most perfect time.

His faithfulness to love us and answer when we call to him is perfect.  Never has he not answered.  He may make us wait a while, but that is so He can work out his plan through us. My prayer these days has been to ask the Lord for patience in the waiting.  I know he is at work.  I know he wants to bless us every day.  I know He is working out something wonderful for our family.  So, I continue to wait and pray,

O GOD, at YOUR acceptable time in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.