Spiritual Stability System

But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father

will send the Spirit to take my place.

The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what

I said when I was with you. John 14:26 CEV

For 3 weeks, every time I turned the key in the ignition, the dashboard on my van flashed the same warning; Service Stability System!

For 3 weeks, I ignored the warning with hopes that it would just go away. There were no obvious signs of problems. My van appeared to be working fine. It continued to get to me to and from where I needed to go. Besides, between swim meets, spring hockey, music lessons, and well, just life, my family's calendar was so jam packed that the thought of having to actually stop, make an appointment, take my van in, wait and then pay for it to be fixed made me feel even more stressed. I didn't think I had time for that so I decided to continue doing the denial thing as long as I could keep getting away with it.

Let me tell you, this was not a smart thing to do.

A few days ago when my van started to make a sound that even I knew meant serious trouble, I decided that I finally needed to do the responsible thing here; make an appointment and deal with the problem.

The mechanic who greeted me after working on my van for the better part of the next day, could not conceal his surprise.

"Mam, I honestly don't know how you were able to keep driving."

He then went on to explain that my van had numerous problems; the stability system was just one. And because I had let it go so long, what had started as a fairly simple issue was now a full blown engine mess. No doubt about it, by my choosing to ignore the warning light, a lot of collateral damage to my van's transmission had ensued.

Paying the hefty bill was painful. But weighing equally as heavy on my heart was the fact that a lot of the damage and expense could have been avoided if I had dealt with the problem right away.

And so it is with life.

The more I try to ignore the problems, issues and obstacles in my life, the more they tend to stick around. Or worse.

Thankfully God has blessed each of His children with the gift of the Holy Spirit- our very own "Spiritual Stability System" if you'll allow me to call it that!

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit has been given to us a teacher, comforter, guide and friend; as one who helps us navigate our way through this life and can keep us spiritually stable and on track with God.

Lately, I've been sensing a "warning". What started as a feeling has become a strong conviction that I need to get deeper into God's word. I need to spend more than just my daily quiet time and the few minutes reading Bible Devotions with the kids before tucking them into bed for the night. I've been sensing the Holy Spirit encouraging me to really sink into God's word; to meditate on it, to not hurry through these precious times- but to stay longer and to soak in more.

God promises to be our rock, our source of strength and stability if we turn to Him daily for wisdom, blessing and encouragement. And when our hearts and minds are securely anchored in God's truth, the problems, issues and obstacles we are guaranteed to face in this life, are less likely to rock our world.

Life is so busy, but I don't ever want the things I do to take away from the time I spend with Jesus. So, I'm going to look at my calendar and plan how I can carve out some more time each day to spend with Him. I want to make this a priority now before I get to a point where I wish I had.

*What about you?
*Any "warning lights" going off in your life lately?
*What has the Holy Spirit been stirring in your soul?

Leave me a comment. I'd love to know how I can be praying for you!
~ Kimberley

Today I am participating in Rachel Olsen's Devotional Carnival- check it out. Read other's thoughts on the subject of stability and be encouraged at rachelolsen.blogspot.com

I Got Mail

(I) will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:7NIV

I received the most beautiful card today. It was from a very special friend. My closest and dearest friend in fact, who I tell everything to.

Except this.

I have been going through a very challenging time of transitions in my life. And, until recently, had been doing really well at "handling it all".

For some reason (let's call it pride) I hadn't shared with my friend how down and lost I was feeling. How upset and confused. How lonely. How insecure. No, I had kept these feelings to myself, allowing them to continue to swirl around inside of me, draining my soul of any joy or peace.

Then this morning, after a particularly long night, I broke down and cried. I wept really. I poured out my heart to Jesus. And then I asked for His help.

I asked Him to show me where these feelings were coming from. I really needed to know.
Silence.

I asked Him to help me resolve them. I really wanted to stop feeling this way.

Again, silence.

OK then Lord, can I please have a glimpse of your heart? Do you really love me? Can you show me who I am to you?

I waited. Nothing.

With shaky legs, I got up off my knees and left it at that.

The rest of my day was the same routine; kids, homework, carpooling, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc...

As I stood at the sink preparing to make supper, I thought back to my quiet time this morning and wondered if Jesus had even heard my prayer. Of course He had. So why then? Why this silence? Why nothing? Did He not even care?

Thirty minutes later I heard my husband arrive home.

"You've got mail Hon!" he called from the back door.

As he handed me the envelope, my eyes quickly scanned the return address and I saw that it was from my friend. That's so weird I thought. We've been friends for years and she's never sent me a card. She'd tell you herself; it just isn't her "thing".

I opened the card and with tears streaming down my face read the most loving, perfect, inspiring and beautiful words written for me. My friend had signed it; I thought you might need to know this today.

I held the letter close to my heart and called my friend to say thank you. Then, with tears still streaming down my cheeks, I said another thank you. To my Jesus, the lover of my soul, the one who knows the most perfect way to meet my needs.

I had asked for some encouragement this morning.

My friend had mailed this card four days ago.

With a heart full of joy, what could I do except stand in awe of the God of the universe who loves me enough to not only hear my prayers but answer them with His most perfect timing and in His most beautiful ways.

Thank you Jesus that you are with me in all my circumstances. Thank you for filling my days with joy; sometimes in simple, small ways and other times in surprising and amazing ones! I pray that I will always remember your goodness to me and never forget to celebrate, every day, your unfailing and beautiful love.

The One

The One

Whatever is true, whatever is noble,

whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-
think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Did you know that you can only think about one thing at a time? My ten year old son shared that fact with me as I was tucking him into bed last night. Go ahead. Try it. It's true. You really can only think about one thing at a time. The one thing you're thinking about is the one thing you're thinking about. Which got me wondering; what am I thinking about?

Oh, I'd love to tell you that my daily thoughts are all heavenly and pure, but that wouldn't be true.

Most of my thoughts are not that questionable. They centre around my children; their needs and concerns, my responsibilities as a wife and a mom, household items, daily activities, and more recently, how to get all four of my kids, husband and myself packed and organized to move into our new home next week.

There are other times during the day however, when I'm not concentrating on any one thing in particular. These are the moments when I have some space to let my thoughts wander. And it's in these times that I'm wondering where my thoughts lead.

While watching another mom deal lovingly with her screaming toddler, I find myself comparing her reaction to my parenting skills and wishing I had more patience with my children.

After seeing a neighbour sprint down the street for her morning run, I catch myself wondering why don't I have the time or initiative to train for a marathon like her?

When I steal a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror before stepping out of the van, I find myself suddenly self-conscious wondering where did that wrinkle come from?

After driving by an acquaintance's beautiful house, I start imagining what my life would be like if I lived there.

Hebrews 3:1 tells us to "fix our thoughts on Jesus". Why? Because God knows when our idle thoughts go unchecked they can lead us down destructive paths that stir up feelings of jealousy, bitterness and discontentment. Feelings that waste our time and energy, put our focus on ourselves and ultimately pull our hearts away from God.

In today's verse, Paul describes what we as Christians are to think about. It's a lofty list and one that I used to believe was impossible to follow. Until last night, when it occurred to me that there truly isn't a more perfect or easier way to focus my thoughts on things that are pleasing to God, things that are true, noble, right, pure, admirable, lovely, excellent, and praiseworthy, than by keeping my mind focused on Jesus. The One who is all these things to me and so much more.

So, starting now, I'm going to pay attention to my thoughts in the idle moments of my day. And when I find them taking me down the path of destructive thinking, I'm not going to let them take me there. Instead, I will fix my mind on Jesus. On the One who died for me. On the One who loves me unconditionally (wrinkles and all!) On the One who wants to fill all the moments of my day with the incredible joy, sweet peace and beautiful blessings that He has planned for me.

Thank you Jesus that you are the One who is perfect in every way. Strengthen my conviction to pay attention to my thoughts and please help me keep them focused on things that are pleasing to you.

Fully Rely On Love

Fully Rely On Love

"And we know and rely fully on the love God has for us. God is love.

Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in Him." 1 John 4:16 (NIV)

If you ask anyone who knows me, I'm fairly confident they would say that I am a reliable person. And, to be honest, I'm kind of proud of that. It makes me feel good that when someone asks me to do something, I follow through and get it done. I feel happy when someone looks to me to handle a tough situation, or when a friend calls to ask a favour because she knows she can depend on me. Being reliable is something I value.

I've read the above verse before, but a few days ago part of it actually stopped me in my tracks.

That morning as I was hurrying to get my four kids (and husband!) organized and out the door, amidst the noise and chaos, I was mentally going over the many things I had to do that day. My list of to-do items seemed longer than the hours I had and there were other concerns weighing heavily on my heart. I wasn't sure how I was going to get through the day and I could literally feel the weight of these burdens and responsibilities pushing down hard on my shoulders.

"I'm not sure I can do all this today Lord" I prayed.

"Then let me help you." I felt the Lord whisper gently to my heart.

My automatic response of "No thanks, I'm OK, I've got it covered" almost kicked in but I stopped myself. Just a minute here. Was I really going to say no to Jesus' offer of help for this day?! I shifted the laundry basket I was carrying and sat down at the top of the stairs to think it through. The truth of what I discovered shocked me. You see while I enjoy being a dependable and reliable source of support and encouragement for others, when it comes to my own life situations I have a strong aversion to personally relying on anyone other than myself.

Even Jesus.

I pulled out my Webster Dictionary and found that the words rely on mean "to be dependent on and to have confidence in based on experience".

I had to ask myself; do I not trust Jesus enough to be completely dependent on Him? Do I not have confidence in His sweet, unfailing love for me? I knew in my heart the answers to these questions were no. Time after time over the years and through various struggles I have faced in my life, Jesus has been my rock. Jesus has proven himself more faithful, more trustworthy and more reliable than I could have ever imagined.

As I was thinking this through, it occurred to me how different my days could be, if instead of trying to handle things myself, I laid out every thing at the feet of Jesus and relied on Him to take care of it all. The big things, the small things, the parenting questions, the health concerns, the financial fears, the chores and responsibilities, the struggles and joys of daily life.

Sitting in the stairwell, I decided to choose that day to place my trust, not in my limited abilities, but in the boundless love of Jesus, knowing that I can depend on Him for anything and everything I need. Because no matter what obstacles or challenges I face in my day, I can know and rely on His love. His solid, unchanging, never failing love for me.

Thank you Jesus that I can know and rely fully on your love. Here is my day Lord. I lay it all at your feet. Thank you that I can walk through today with you; safe and secure in the knowledge of your always perfect love for me.