Hi Friends, I’m in one of those marriages. You know the kind. One where my husband starts playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, and I am left dumbfounded that someone could so heedlessly skip right over the Thanksgiving season. Yes season! (I know about half of you are on team husband, but I press on.) I’m wanting to be more intentional this year about my thanks-giving. The cultivation of gratitude in my heart and life. And I’m starting this “thanks-giving” focus in an unusual area: What I’m not good at. Someone once told me that oftentimes, the very area in which we struggle the most is the area we have a wrong view of God. For example, if I struggle with being gentle to people through my day, perhaps I don’t truly believe Christ is gentle with me. Or patience. If I find myself regularly hurrying my children along or frustrated at listening to their long stories, I may also picture a God who’s always tapping His foot, waiting for me to get it together. For me right now, it’s peace. I can so easily be moving through my day when a random thought triggers concern. One thought leads to the next, and I’m suddenly worrying about my kids, their futures, the budget… anything can spin out into anxiety. Here comes the gratitude piece: Despite how I may feel, this truth is unchanged: when God thinks of my life, my future, my kids, His heart is at perfect peace. There is no storm of anxiety. God is the embodiment of every fruit of the Spirit, and His heart is at perfect peace. So how do we start to feel it? How do we get our anxious hearts to come into peace? How do we get our frustrated, stirred up souls to flow in patience? I think it starts with giving thanks. It starts with bringing our hearts before Him and taking a quiet moment to pray. Thank you, Father, that You are at peace. No matter what my life or future hold, You are not afraid, not taken by surprise, not worried. You are at rest. Thank you for this truth. Move my heart into Your peace. Make me more like You. — Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, I am an all-or-nothing gardener. And by that I mean that I do absolutely nothing until the task can’t possibly wait another day, and I have to do all of it at once. Weeding, planting, preparation… these don’t have to be stressful things. You can plan ahead, do a bit each day. You know, wisdom and all that. But I’ve been all-or-nothing gardening for so long, I’ve come to accept it as a weakness I’ll likely have lifelong. Resignation and green-thumb mediocrity. That’s where I’ve...
Hi Friends, Happy Mother’s Day week! I once saw a video where a woman shared “one simple tip to keeping your home spotless”. In the next scene, she ushers her children and husband out the front door, and closes it behind them. Brilliant! We chuckle at memes like this because of the seed of truth underneath them. There is so much pressure on mothers, self-imposed and otherwise, to do it all—keep a perfect home, advance her career, remember all the milestones, volunteer at all the things. We...
Hi Friends, In bold below is the chorus of a song I wrote with friends a few years ago. Below that are a few thoughts. Jesus, Oh my BrotherI love You more than everFrom the cross Your love is carrying me now There are moments of grief and uncertainty in life where time seems to slow to a crawl. This is when we most need Jesus our Brother. When the door shut behind him, and you didn’t realize it would be for the last time. When the diagnosis comes in, and the ground swims under your feet. When...