Seriously God

some of the best prayers I ever hear come from my second grader’s mouth - like last night

  “God, just like grandma said, thanks for Grace.  We didn’t deserve it but you gave it to us anyways…” 

in that moment I remembered that we could learn a lot by our kids’ prayers, because when kids pray…

…they treat God like he’s big

…they keep things simple

…they are honest

…they go to him with their desires

…they trust he can do anything

God today I pray I can be more childlike, that I can go to you with the real faith in a real God and simply trust you have me. 

Praying Luke 18:17 speaks to your heart and makes your day a little more childlike :) 

All of my conversations with you so far have started with hi baby… hello little one… even.. hey you.. but today’s conversation is different… today I say hello my daughter…the word itself carries so much weight. 

So much excitement and anticipation and so many thoughts swirling in my head… the kind of daughter I’ve been, the kind of mother I’ll be, the way a girl and her Mom are different than a boy and his. The new adventures we’ll have, the struggles we’ll see.  

Today I am blessed with the unknown, uncharted territory for me… raising up a little girl.  I pray right now that God will guide me to lead you straight to him.. I pray that he will show me how to love you differently than your brother… and make you feel special just the same.  I pray he will help me to deal with your girly ways, and I thank him for your father, who will likely handle it much better than I. 

Dear baby girl - I love you already and I am changed by your presence - I thank God for you and pray for the bond the we already have - that it grows stronger in God each day as he grows your body, mind and spirit. 

My husband once told me that there is a Brazilian saying about motherhood that equates it to “suffering in paradise”.  I couldn’t agree more.  

How can something so amazingly filled with love be so heartbreaking at the same time?

How could it be so joyful to raise up your kids but yet so sad to see them grow?

Seems impossible that conviction could run so deep to teach them what’s right… when frustrations run so high when they dont seem to get it.

Everything inside you says raise them up and prepare them and your heart says hold them close and never let them go.  

I’m praying for all moms today - that we turn to God with the overwhelming love we have for our kids.  That we thank him for the gift of motherhood and we seek him for the guidance to raise sons and daughters that seek him.  Praying that we have the peace that only he can give us… the peace that surpasses all understanding as we strive to love, guide and raise our kids with joy. 

You could go broke trying to be pretty on the outside, or you could be overflowing with the beauty of the holy spirit on the inside…

You could go broke trying to buy things that keep you “safe” or you could run to the safety of the only one who can protect you in the only way that matters… 

You could die trying to make your life look happy or you could find real happiness that transcends all time and space…

You could mortage your life away trying to buy the affection of others or you can show them the love that comes from somewhere much better than a store.

I know I’ve been on the short end of these choices many times - I pray that I’ll have the strength and wisdom I need to choose well from now on and I pray the same for you <3

 This year I am not making resolutions, or “New Years Commitments”… I am choosing one word to guide me… and that word is LOVE.  (You should check out http://oneword365.com/… that’s where I got the idea)

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

This verse reigns in my heart now because seeking God led me straight to love - his love, which is the biggest and best of all… and “love-love” as well :)  (here’s the reader’s digest version).

I must backtrack a bit to say that I’ve been on a bit of a journey for the past few years.  Trying to understand God better and trying to really seek his purpose in every area of my life.  Aside from making tons of life changes, praying and reading his word, the past few years have involved lots of reflection. When I look back at how my perspective has changed and how blessed I am to see things I couldn’t before, I am in awe of how much God does when you get out of the way.  He seemed to just be waiting to show me so many things the moment I was truly willing to seek him and see it.

Beyond reflecting on the past, every now and then, I imagine what’s possible in the future in every area of my life.. my growth spiritually, physically, mentally, and relationally.  God’s dreams for us are always bigger than ours but sometimes I like to imagine the best… I pretend… I ask what would be the best thing God could intend for me in each area of my life, and I write it down. It’s kind of fun imagining the “best” and despite it seeming impossible, knowing that with God all things are possible. 

Usually I forget about it and it sits in a random notebook for years… sometimes I look back… and when I do,  I’m always blown away at how he’s supplied above and beyond what I could imagine.  2011 has been one of those times… 

At some point in 2010 ( I didn’t write the date:/ ) I wrote down the best I could imagine (which I was also pretty sure did not exist) in a relationship.  My life was really good at the time, I felt like I was really where I needed to be and doing what I needed to do. I had joy in serving others, an amazing son, a great job, and deep down inside I was probably saying, “God if you want me to be with someone… they must be THIS awesome because I don’t know what else would be worth changing how good my life is now” So… this is what I wrote: 

I’m drawn to him and he’s drawn to me. His smile is contagious and I can’t turn away from his love.  Our love for God and our lives of faith bring us closer in ways we could not have imagined.  He’s bright and beyond his mind, his faith shines through his eyes. I want to be close to him always and I know that he is a part of God’s plan. His wisdom can only come from one place and I trust him completely. Thank you God for knowing this plan for me. Thank you for bringing me what I never knew I needed or deserved. 

Early in 2011 I met THIS man (well, I kind of knew him before, just not really well). Turns out, he was the man I wrote about, the man that I was pretty sure did not exist.  On Dec 23. 2011,  I married THIS man.  I am still in awe of how good God is, and how ultimately, a journey that started with seeking God and seeking God’s plan has become a journey that lead me to LOVE… this new year is a new chance to LOVE and be new in him. 

As Beto and I begin a new chapter of our lives, blessed well beyond what we deserve, we are praying that you are new in him this year and you are blessed by how he works in your life!

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Cor 5:17

He will take your

tiredness and turn it into REST…

disappointment and turn it into HOPE…

fears and turn them into PEACE…

and your regrets and turn them into a FUTURE… 

Praying that in this coming year, you let him make these changes in you!! 

<3