A Heart of Worship

 

There is nothing like being in the presence of God! I've said it once and I'll say it a million more times. God is truly amazing! There is nothing He can't handle. When you take your burdens to Him and lay them at the alter, He picks them up and takes them away.

 

God is so Good!

 

It's very easy to get in what I like to call a slump. When the stresses of life begin to be too great, when you are under attack by the enemy, or when you just can't seem to catch a break sometimes you begin to feel weakened. Your flesh begins to take control. You begin to take your focus off of God and His promises and start looking at the situations around you. The storms start raging, the wind begins to blow, and the boat begins to rock from side to side. But there is ONE who is STEADY, CONSISTENT, UNCHANGING, and able to say "Peace. Be still." and the entire storm ceases.

 

When you don't know what else to do, when you've ran out of words to say, when you feel lost or alone, GREAT! Now you're at a point that forces you to stop trying things on your own. You're at a point of total surrender. You have tried it all and realized you have nothing besides a broken spirit and a sincere heart. You can sincerely cry out to God and He will listen to the cries of His children.

 

If you truly need to be encouraged and desire peace, start with acknowledging God, The Creator of the universe, and tell Him how Great He is. I know, it sounds odd. Why speak amazing words about someone else when you need the encouragement? But, it is something so calming, reassuring, and fulfilling about finding an inward place of worship. It's about approaching the throne of God with an open heart and receiving from Him those things that He promises us.

 

It's difficult to change gears from solely depending on yourself to completely depending on someone else. If you need help getting to that inward place of worship, try this (it gets me every time! :)):

 

1. Get alone.

2. Get rid of distractions.

3. Clear your mind.

4. Focus on God.

5. Begin to verbally acknowledge who He is.

 

I MUST get on my knees to get to that place with God. It's just a sign...a symbol...of respect, honor, and to show God I AM WEAK and in desperate need of Him. Steps 2-4 might be the most difficult. It might be especially difficult while you are going through a storm...which is why it's so powerful! Before you acknowledge God, you must be sure that He is all that you are thinking about. Don't approach His throne, desiring Him, but your mind is on something else...how rude! ;) 

 

When you are ready to acknowledge Him (don't rush the process...I've had to kneel in darkness for many minutes before I was able to even clear my mind and focus on Him), just start by saying who God is to you and who He has been. Be specific and don't be afraid to sound uneducated...it's just You and Him. Here's something I'd start with to help you get started, but please know when you approach the King, He wants to know YOUR heart...not mine.

 

You are Worthy.

You are Awesome.

There is none like You.

You are Mighty.

You are my Strength.

You are my Song.

You are Holy.

You are Righteous.

You are Just.

You calm the storms.

You are Love.

My trust in in You.

You are Faithful.

You are The Author and The Finisher.

You are Alpha and Omega.

Nothing is Greater than You.

You are my Rock.

`You are my King.

 

This is just a starter. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in your encounter with God. Find time to enter into His gates today! Spend time with Him. You'll be surprised at how amazing you will feel afterwards!

 

Love,

Ashley

 

Your Marriage is Much Bigger than You! (free download included!)

Over the past few years my husband and I have watched marriage after marriage end. Lots of marriages that are still holding on are just holding on by a thread and full of adultery, deceit, discontentment, hatred, and bitterness. That small percent of marriages that are not on the verge of divorce, have somehow forgotten their purpose. These marriages I speak of are unions that proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

What's happening?

What's the problem?

Surely this isn't what God had in mind when he created the institution of marriage. Marriage is meant to be a beautiful representation of the love and commitment between Christ and his church. Do you see love and commitment in most marriages? More importantly, do you see a representation of Jesus and the church? If the answer to those questions are no, than I think it's safe to say, we have a problem!

There really aren't that many scriptures in the bible that pertain to the union between husband and wife. But if we can look at the entire bible, it's a love story of the ultimate husband and his bride. The love and commitment He has had from the very beginning of time to His bride...the church...His children...the believers. We think it's clear what God wants of us: to glorify Him.

In surveying many couples and the issues they have, the problems aren't necessarily marriage issues. The problems are really issues that pertain to their walks with Christ. Our observations weighed heavy in our hearts and we thought of how we can bring the focus of marriage back to real focus.

In one of our morning studies we read Genesis 2:24:

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

The first instructions for marriage was established with the first union created, Adam and Eve. We asked each other, "What does that REALLY mean?" One Flesh? We know the scripture, but have we really thought about it?! We started with defining "one" and defining "flesh". There's unity and there's a body. A single body. We have 2 bodies coming together to function as one. For what purpose? Glorifying God.

We decided (being the science nerd that I am) to review the systems of the body. If we wanted to understand how flesh works, let's explore the flesh! We found that Jesus used a lot of a parables in his teachings that were about practical things the people would understand: gardening, fishing, etc. For the people to have an understanding of those things Jesus spoke of, he used things that they knew of. Can we understand the intent of the statement "one flesh" without understanding how flesh works?

In our study time, One Flesh the workbook was created. This workbook is a practical guide to use with scripture for both spouses to work together and growing in Christ for the purpose of edifying the entire body of Christ. What Chris and I have found is that the more we serve God together, the more enjoyable our relationship is and the closer we grow to one another - totally contrary to popular teaching these days.

So below is a link for a free download of the first couple of chapters of this book. Please sit down with your spouse, fiancé, good friend...whomever you are in a relationship with and are seeking growth together.

http://books.noisetrade.com/oneflesh/one-flesh-sample

Leave comments! Can't wait to hear what you think about it. Most importantly, can't wait to hear about how you and your spouse will work together in edifying the kingdom of God!

Homemaking: Focused on the Wrong Home!

So, I think I had this thing all mixed up!

Wake up. Spend time with God. Spend time with my spouse. Make breakfast. Teach the kids. Plan activities. Go on adventures. Make lunch. Quiet time for the kids while I read, catch up on homework, spend more time with God (especially depending on how "stressful" the first half of my day was). Have snack. Teach the kids. Outdoor time. Cook dinner. Play a family game. Study the bible as a family. Get kids ready for bed. Pray. Spend time with my spouse.  Bedtime. Repeat.

Nice, lovely, safe life. I worked hard to get it to this state of peace. Everything was AWESOME! So I thought.

What happened? If you noticed during my daily schedule, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with God and His Word. It's one thing to read the bible searching for answers, but it's a very different thing to read the bible searching for God. My eyes were opened to things I never saw before. I wasn't looking for answers to questions, I wasn't looking to solve conflicts, I just wanted more of Him. And as they say, be careful for what you wish for...

A Change of Heart

Well, my heart changed. While my home was safe, comfortable, and I followed what my favorite bloggers wrote about how my home should be, it all changed when I finally asked God how my home should be. I was full of a deep sense of sorrow and compassion. Sorrow as I paid attention, to more than just to the state of my home, but to the state of the homes of the world. I saw the injustices, the oppression, the lost, the fatherless and the motherless, the violence, the hunger, and even the spiritless and fruitless states of those who call themselves Christians.  Compassion as I physically and spiritually cried out for those people. It was a feeling that overtook me. It was almost a state of depression. Everything in my home and life seemed so perfect, yet I knew something was missing. The closer I drew to God and the more I worked on my temple so that His Spirit might dwell richly within me, the more clear I was able to hear God speaking to me. How could I call myself a child of God and know He lives within me and not have compassion for the things He has compassion for or not love (in deeds) the things He loves? (Get alone with the bible and READ IT FOR YOURSELF. From cover to cover.  It WILL change your life.) Even if I wanted to, I couldn't ignore this. The story of Nehemiah comes to mind. Nehemiah was living a pretty decent life near the King, but when he heard of the conditions of his people back home, his life changed. He fasted, prayed, and did something about it. God was with him the entire way!

A Change of Interests

After my heart changed, it was only natural that I was no longer interested in the things that the world says are interesting. (Still sounds like depression, huh? ;) ) I had a hard time every day sitting in my comfortable home, eating warm meals and drinking fresh water (maybe some juice on a good day ;) ), spending all of my money on me, mine, and my interests. The world says that's OK... that's the American dream, right? Work hard so that you can make a decent lifestyle for yourself and retire happy and comfortable. Well, all of a sudden my interests were no longer me, mine, and my interests. I was more interested in what God is interested in: righteousness, justice, loving people, taking care of others, sacrificing for others... the list goes on. I had to go further than my household. My household is a reflection of me, or so the saying goes. I wanted my household to be a reflection of Christ. And when I study the gospel it's all about love, sacrifice, and grace not just to those who are in my house. It's more so about the orphans, the widows, and the poor - in other words those who can't do, don't have, and need for themselves. That American Dream was not so much of a dream for me anymore. While those around me were so concerned with things of this world, I found out for myself that when you set your mind on God and his righteousness, He WILL provide all of your needs (but that will be in a later post).

A Change of Mind

After all of these changes, I still had to make up in mind that I was going to change. Some might feel a change of heart, in that they feel the emotions behind watching others suffer while they have it easy. Some might even feel a change of interests by not really enjoying the things they do knowing that God is calling them to something more purposeful. However, many still walk away from the change because, the change is. .. uncomfortable. It's dangerous. It's selfless. It's unorganized. It's unpredictable. And it requires you to love others more than yourself. You have to change your mind about doing something. I couldn't just walk away feeling compelled to do something, my mind was made up that I was going to do something. I knew God, my supplier, would continue to supply especially now that His mission is my mission.

And God is that good in that He will direct your path and align everything up just perfectly for you to serve Him. My husband and I have been on the same agenda. As God worked in my heart, He was also working in the heart of my husband. When the plans of both husband and wife are to serve God, I don't believe God would communicate different messages within the marriage. That would be disorderly and confusing, and those are not words that describe my God! Christopher has an amazing heart and just seeks to please God. (Which makes him all the more attractive!)

A Change of Life

So every aspect of my life has changed. My desires, my prayers, where I live, how I live, what I spend my time doing. . . It's seriously all about God. Yes, it's a radical change, but it brings me such joy! Completely opposite of what the world says! The teachings of the world are to accumulate more things to be happy. .. you NEED this car, you NEED this house, you NEED this job, you NEED this amount of money. .. all of those things to stay happy, comfortable, and satisfied. It wasn't until I started getting rid of things to better serve others that I have felt the most happy. People believe your children need things to have an ideal upbringing, your spouse needs tangible things to be happy, and you need "you time"... for whatever reason. More about the changes we've made to come in future posts.

So What About Homemaking?

Interesting we spend so much time storing up treasures in the world... 

I still have a family and a home that I'm accountable for. The way we do "home" has changed. My kids are learning how to be disciples through more than word, but in deeds and action. I'm still making a home, but the home that we are preparing for is the one in heaven. There was always that,  "if I had more time, I would..." or "if I had more money, I would..." so instead of waiting for that promotion at Christopher's job, that one less thing I needed to do, or that golden opportunity, I MADE time, I FREED up resources, and EVERY moment is an opportunity to share the gospel. Love is an action. Life is a journey and I can't wait to share more...

Early Days and Late Nights

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her households, and a portion to her maidens.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 

Proverbs 31:15 and 18

She rises early....her candle doesn't go out by night. What a lady! I'm getting angry just thinking about the fact I've been awake since 4:30 this morning and here it is 30 minutes to midnight knowing my day will start again in just a few hours. A day full of cooking, cleaning, teaching, disciplining, loving, nursing, honoring, reading, praying, chasing, running, wrestling. ... living!

Reading Proverbs 31:10-31 encourages me so much. Each time I think I've had a busy day, reading about this virtuous woman is ever so humbling. She is definitely my "woman crush". Anytime I feel that life is too much, I have to remind myself of this woman who truly feared the Lord. Three things that really help me get through:

1. Remembering who will provide my daily bread.
I give my all each and every day because I know I have a father in heaven who is my provider. He supplies all of my needs. I don't have to keep my time and possessions to myself because I know when I drain myself empty He will just fill me back up. And I love it when He fills me up with His spirit! The fruits of His Spirit are peace, love, patience, and joy. .. just to name a few and I desperately need those everyday!

2. It's all out of love.
I wake up each day and give my all out of love for my children, my husband, and most of all my love for Christ. It's something about working out of love that makes work not feel like work. When you enjoy what you do and find pleasure in your work, it's not so bad. I love all of the hugs and kisses throughout the day, receiving praise from my husband, and knowing at the end of the day God is satisfied with me.

3. I'm blessed because of it!
When you give, give, and give you receive, receive, and receive. Giving out of love, not expecting anything in return... just praying I find favor in God's sight and that He is pleased with me is more than enough! Oftentimes you don't receive gratification from those you give so much to or do so much for, but it's OK because someone is always watching. And trust me, you'd rather receive what He has for you more than what man can give you. He blesses me so that I can be a blessing to someone else.

So at the end of the day, I'm satisfied. I'm able to stay up late just to finish cleaning, review lessons, or just spend time with my Father just to wake up early and do it all over again!

How do you get through your busy days?

Spending Time in Our Secret Place

How refreshing and exhilarating is engaging in true worship of God! One thing I desire more than worship by myself, is for others to share in the experience with me! Praise is definitely contagious. And as if it couldn't get any better...it does...try giving yourself completely in unashamed, spirit filled worship with your spouse!

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." 

-Matthew 18:20 KJV 

Each morning my husband and I rise an hour and a half before our children do just to spend time, first together with God and then with one another. We usually start with prayer and lead straight into studying God's Word. When we are done, we then take the time to take care of whatever needs we may have...emotional, intellectual, physical, etc. A great way to start off a wonderful day! :) 

As if that wasn't good enough, we were recently given some advice by a wise old man (my father :)) who suggested that we find a small area of the house just for the two of us that is quiet and try to worshiping in that area together. We chose our bedroom closet. Usually that's not a place the children go. Just a secret place for me and my guy. 

So this is a new. Just trying something a little different to see what happens. Sit in the darkness in silence and just think about Him. And be crazy enough to trust that He would join us in the midst. We chose to really worship God there, first. Prayer, but instead of asking for things...just start with exclaiming His majesty! Reflecting on how good God has been, is, and will forever be. Thank Him for all things, think about Him for who He is, and if that isn't humbling enough pouring out our hearts to him surrendering it all to Him in just being satisfied in awe of Him! We don't have it all figured out, but we are excited about it!

WOW!

It was EXPLOSIVE!

Talk about a beautiful morning! Nothing more attractive than a man being vulnerable to Christ! How long were we in that closet? I don't know. What actually happened in that closet? Words cannot explain. I just encourage you to try it! :) Prepare for something amazing.

Please leave a comment describing an explosive worship experience you had with your spouse. I'd love to hear from you!

WEEK 30: Let the Countdown Begin

TEN MORE WEEKS till the due date! Of course, I know baby will come when God says it's time, but I like having a number in mind to make sure I stay on top of things. I still have so little, but so much to do. Let me give you a quick briefing of life...

Baby

Last appointment, baby was great! This little booger is still very active and is usually so active that it's difficult for anyone to snag a recording of his/her heartbeat on the doppler. However, the munchkin cooperated this time and was very calm, cool, and collected. More updates next week after the appointment! (I'm still thinking BOY, by the way :))

I'm in trimester 3 so now my appointments are every 2 weeks beginning next week! How exciting, but the birth center is about 45 minutes away :(. But I love every aspect of that place and I'm looking forward to delivery there!

Me

I feel much better this time around, this late in the pregnancy. The difference is, I believe, due to eating much healthier and exercise. It's very hot right now in Texas...but that's it. I still sing with my church's worship team. I'm even thinking about joining a water aerobics class at our local recreational center. I'm excited.

I attribute my desire to stay healthy and fit to the fact that I am wanting to have a natural birth. God's will, I want a no intervention, no medicine, no IV, no confinement to a bed, etc., vaginal birth! After 2 cesarean sections, I need to do all I can to be prepared.

Hubby

Talk about a wonderful guy! This guy seems to amaze me more and more everyday! We are growing spiritually, TOGETHER, under his authority...under God's authority. He has totally made me love him more this pregnancy. He has supported me 100% through this entire thing. He is even in his cute stage of over-protectiveness of baby and mommy. I'm loving every minute of it. He's such a great guy and I know I couldn't do it without him!

The Kiddos

 

 They are stoked about meeting this "Joshua". (I try to remind them that it could be a baby girl, but they are convinced this baby is a boy named Joshua.) I'm looking for really cool gifts to give to the big brothers and sister once the baby arrives. To: them, From: Baby. I think it will just make them love him or her even more. Jeremiah is ready to care for this baby...I'll have to keep my eye on that one!

Until he or she arrives, I've been keeping them busy with summer fun! I realize that we have outgrown our kiddie pool, but we still had fun.

Schooling

We haven't missed a beat. We are continuing to school throughout the summer. I didn't have the desire to get out much this summer to keep them occupied, so we carried the school year into the summer time and interrupted with field trips to here and there. So far, so good. Caleb doesn't know any better, so I'm not getting much fuss from him! ;)

Doula-ing

I wanted to take a client before baby is born. It still may happen, but mostly I will put off practicing until Baby comes. I'm reading, learning, and loving so much about helping others experience the type of birth their hearts desire. Such an amazing blessing to give birth!

I am praying to be apart of a volunteer service to better serve my community and the mommies who need the support the most!



So all in all, everything is AWESOME! I choose to not let the little things in life upset me, take for granted the bigger things in life, or the unfavorable things in life frighten me! Sometimes, I just have to sit back from asking and just worship God for all that he has already done! So here is my prayer today:

I thank You, Father, the author and the finisher of my faith,

for the many blessings You have already given me.

You are so good and worthy of all my praise.

All I have, all I am, and all I will be is because of Your love, grace, and mercy.

You are righteous in all Your ways and I humbly submit my desires to

You and Your will.

For Your Glory, I will do anything.

Amen.

It's Crunch Time

I am a little over the half way mark! This baby is very active! I'm still thinking it's a boy deep down in my soul, but I will be happy with either. 

I have 21 weeks to go until my due date and I still have so much to do! I have really enjoyed the past few weeks that I have had to spend with family and a few awesome friends and I finally feel some energy to get up and make some things happen!

I've been doing a lot of this lately! Hugs, love, and kisses with my kiddos. I want to show them as much attention as they need and not neglect them because of my own tiredness and/or willingness to be bothered. 

And there he or she is! I'm pretty sure I will be changing my medical care here shortly to find someone more on board with my decision to VBA2C. My OB seems a little wishy washy and I don't need that! Not at this point anyways. But, nevertheless, as much as I loathe the extra intervention from doctors when it comes to medical attention, I must admit I totally dig the ridiculous amount of ultrasounds they insist on giving. That little one wouldn't be still! I'm totally thinking BOY. :)

Here are the kiddos waiting anxiously to see their unborn sibling. The office visit with the munchkins...was interesting. At one point #2 and #3 were screaming at the top of their lungs followed by a very sweet and well sung rendition of Yes, Jesus Loves Me by Leah. I'll totally rethink scheduling nap time appointments next time.

Just a glimpse of them in the car.

While I've enjoyed this first half of pregnancy, it's time to get back to business! Mommy has a VBA2C to prepare for, prenatal yoga to do, doula courses to take, and lots and lots of up-scaling for our home. I hope you will enjoy the pictures and updates to come!