The View from my Cell: Walking with the Word

I've started walking. My second week, of walking an hour a day 4 to 5 times a week, and I am getting addicted. These are pictures I took on my cell phone on my walks this week. They all start from work, then I walk around the neighborhoods, or fields around there.

I put on my IPOD and listen to music...today it was Amy Grants Concert Two (old stuff that I love) and Phillips, Craig and Dean, Top of my Lungs.

I carry a litte tablet with me of verses that I have written down over the past 3 years. I read the verse, talk to God, pray it over family and friends, just love on God and it is such an awesome refreshing time. Here are some of the verses that blessed my soul today...and pictures....enjoy.

The Lord is good to those who hope in HIm, to the one who seeks him, It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lam 3:25-26

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life. Prov 15:4

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. John 13:7

For the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Prov 2:6

O Lord, be gracious to us. We long for you. Be our strength every morning. Our salvation in times of distress. Is 58:2

Great is our Lord {sovereign Adonai} and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit. Ps 147:5

You will keep in perfect {complete} peace {calm, wholeness, fulfillment} him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Is 26:3

Set me free from my prison that I may praise your name. Ps 142:7

You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Ps 142:5

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. 2 peter 1:3

This picture, and the next is the house I use to live in, 7 years ago. My papa made that fence, and I planted all those morning glories and roses. a little overrun now, but I think of all God has done for us and the mercy on our lives since then, and I fall in love with Him all over again.

My love's.....

Some pictures of my gang, from the 4th of July.

Out by the street ready for fireworks!

Dad and Mom, AKA Papa and Nanny. Aren't they cute??!

A safe and restful place....

“I want that. I want a God who carves out a safe and restful place for me even as I live surrounded by threats and enemies who would seek my destruction.”

From Learning My Name by Pete Gall

We are always looking for a haven, a safe place. Yesterday, I showed the picture of our poster for our home rules and the top line read Our Family and Home is a Haven for all.

Recently, I have been restless, looking at other churches, not sure what I am looking for, but looking for something. A friend of mine reminded me of the great concepts outlined Mark Buchanan’s book Things Unseen, about we have eternity in our hearts and we all have a longing for something (heaven) that we will not have fully satisfied this side of eternity. Makes the search less frantic, or irritating, knowing you will not find it. No perfect place.

But just like in my family, I am looking for a safe and restful place. A place for my kids to connect and be inspired for God. To find like-minded peers who are wanting Jesus and a life of discipleship. A place that is safe, good, and healthy. Growing in our walks in God, not necessarily growing in numbers. In fact, I really feel large numbers are counter to connections and intimacy. Adds a lot of great programs and opportunities, but at the sacrifice of close connections. Just my point of view. I know other’s feel differently.

My home HAS BEEN not too great of an experience of a safe and restful place. That is what I am currently focusing on. In some ways it is. But, with the fast pace of life, and all the duties, and mommy’s head distracted with other lesser priorities, I have allowed unsafe habits and stressful interactions to become TOO prevalent in our home and family. I thank God, that He has snapped his fingers so to speak and woken me up. That I first can see the issue, and have hope, with Him, that a transformation can take place.

Last night as I was talking to my children, one by one, with issues and things on their heart, and felt myself repeating, but with an open heart, things I felt I have said often before. And I thought, it is never-ending. Not in a depressing, downer way, but in a be diligent, this is the race, way. That I don’t say it once and it’s fixed. That it is a lifetime focus, to encourage, coach and mentor my children.

In the book I have been reading, The Connected Child, that “parents who are seriously committed to helping…a child thrive will vastly increase their odds of success by making a fundamental policy decision: to slow down their lives and put their child’s needs first. {Other things} can wait, this youngster can’t.” (Purvis, Cross, Sunshine).

I have come around to learning that the hard way. Little by little seeing how I need to strip other things out of my life, and slow it down. Have time to sit in the yard, and see what happens, Time to play with my child and let connection, and conversation happen. Time to move toward a safe and restful place.

I want that. I want God to carve out a safe place for us. In a church, in our family, in our life.

God's word is LIFE.

Last night, feeling discouraged and overwhelmed, I wrote on my facebook that I feel like I am a failure..... {The plates are falling, the plates are falling........ I am feeling like a failure...with so many spinning plates, none are spinning well....but my Bible study would say..."failure" is a label, and not a good or true one.... I guess , I am in process and in need of prayer. :) I hope others are as forgiving as God is. I feel I fail so many. Gulp... Wish are were a "life genius".....but I do know one.}

I had just caught up on work emails, since I was going back to work the next day after a week away....and could see where my being out had been a hardship on some folks with my projects. I also was feeling bad about too much money spent over the weekends (School uniforms, a surprise requirement for me, for 3 kids around $600!! cha-ching!), as well as other stuff and junk. {I struggle with following a budget}.

And then my babies....we are working on some things....and some wounds run deep and there are so many different things that need my focus...I felt like I was not doing ONE THING well, but many things poorly.

Then-

I sat down with my journal...ready to write out to God all the "bad things" that discourage me and that I need help with, but I stopped and decided to first write out the things I feel good about, then the things I feel bad about. I was happy to see I had a lot of good abouts.

Good abouts:

I feel good about eating healthy and focusing on exercise and weight...and being successful.

I feel good about all three of the kids getting enthusiastic about chores and earning their allowances. It is eliminating the gimmies, and resulting in everyone pitching in and helping out! Even the yesterday, when they are eagerly earning back the money spent on a RISK game they wanted to badly.

I feel good about the family meeting we had last night, making chore adjustments, talking about our "Haven" rules and summer rules, and how we can focus, improve on them.

I feel good about Taddy thinking of the idea to use stories and making it fun when we are trying to learn a new rule (like no-name calling or mean words, what we are currently working on). And how good HE FELT about coming up with that idea when we all thought it was such a good idea. He was proud! Grinned and mentioned it several times! Yea Taddy!

I feel good about Nick doing a story "comic" for the whole family about "name calling". He did the cutest thing. He made a comic strip story on a big piece of butcher paper....

He talked about when you call people names, it hurts their heart...and it maybe that their heart is already wounded, so you are hurting it more.

He had a picture of a big heart with cuts, and stitches and wounds all over it. And he shared how when you say a kind word or encouragement, rather than call someone an unkind name, you are bandaging that heart so it can heal and get better.

He then had each family member put a bandage on a wound on the picture heart and say something that we could say to help heal each others heart. IT was awesome! Then he wrote out the verse at the bottom: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations {thoughts} of my heart be pleasing to you O Lord. Yea Nicky!

I feel good about WHOEVER {Mom? Angela?} cleaned up my entire house (vacuuming, beds, kitchen) while we were gone to lunch and a movie after church. We came home to a clean house, no note, no hint, no people. Hmmmmmm.....

So I had a lot to feel good about...and can see, even these efforts on my spinning plate are better than none. I did have quite a few I felt bad about, or concerns in need of God's help. But His word is bringing me life.

I have a little tablet of verses I have written down from time to time, I carry in my purse...and I just start reading through the pages and praying the words, and my spirit is refreshed and my soul uplifted. God's word is life, and the band aid on our wounded hearts and families.

I will hide his word in my heart, in my life, in my family...... it is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path, a balm to my soul, alive and active, not returning without completing what God intended. IT is life to me.

As I am working with my kids on behaviors and heart issues, I am realizing, we cannot just "preach" good behavior, dole out consequences and often, irritatedly deal with the conflicts. It is a heart issue...and heart that needs changed. Just like mine! And in my personal experience, I have realized my heart has NOT changed without God's word. The more I read, pray-ready, memorize, meditate, and study God's word, the more my heart changes.

So how do I get that across to my kids? We, in our family meeting, discussed, reading, memorizing and praying the word. So we are picking a verse each week, along with whatever value or guideline we are working on and tying the two together. This week: Name-calling or making negative character statements to each other. And our verse: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you O Lord, my Rock and my redeemer!

Tonight we are making up a song for it....:) Last night we played a game...(Tad's idea)....with a rock and steps and having to use good "name-calling" or good character statements and what we like with each person.

Lord work your word into our hearts, that we might not sin against you...or each other.

Happy July 4th...We are blessed....

I thank God for the favor and blessings He has allowed us living in the USA. With all the things we feel or know to be "wrong", there is much to be thankful far.

We live so much more blessed than most.

Have a Happy 4th of July.

The Hancock Family.

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Picture July 4th 2008

Labels....

In previous posts, I shared that I was joining in with some other "siestas" and doing a summer Bible Study, Me, Myself and Lies.

I just started my second week of homework and today's homework was all about LABELS.

The labels we put on ourselves, the labels we have heard from others, and then the truth of God.

The study shared the three step method to replace our labels with God's truth. First, when you recognize a negative label in your thoughts or words (or someone else's words), crush it.

(2 Corthianas10:4-5 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish (crush it) strongholds. We demolish arguements (speculations) and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.)

Ask yourself, does this label fall in line with what God says of you? If not, then crush it, capture it....... and then concur with God's word. What does HE say of you...

It remineded me of Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study and the third principle "I am who God says I am". In that study we find out from Eph 1: 3-8, that I am loved, blessed, adopted, accepted, redeemed and forgiven!

Me, Myself and Lies had some good bible references to counteract the labels and lies we tell ourselves and play over, that others tell us in our thoughts....

So think of some of those labels you tell your self, then find some of these verses that will help you crush the lie, capture the thought and make it obedient to what Christ thinks of you by concuring with His word.

• I am a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
• I am forgiven (Eph 1:7-8)
• I am gifted with power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7)
• I am chosen to be fruitful (John 15:16)
• I am complete (Col 2:9-10)
• I am secure (Rom 8:31-39)
• I am confident (Phil 1:6)
• I am free (Rom 6:18, 8:1)
• I am capable (Phil 4:13)
• I am spiritually alvie (Eph 2:5)
• I am God's workmanship (Eph 2:10)
• I am welcome in God's presence (Eph 2:18, Heb 4:14-16)
• I am sheltered and protected in God (Col 3:3)
• I am valuable to God (I Cor 6:20)
• I am a member of God's family (I John 3:1-2, Eph 2:19)
• I am God's treasure (1 Pet 2:9-10)
• I am dearly loved (Col 3:12)
• I am beling transformed (2 Cor 3:18)
• I am an heir of God (Rom 8:17)
• I am a friend of God (John 15:15)
• I am God's delight (Zeph 3:17)
• I am welcomed to draw near to God (Eph 3:12)

"Your Father, God, want to be the Label Maker for your life." Rothschild*

* Jennifer Rothschild, Me, Myself and Lies (Workbook) p. 37

Can it be Wednesday already?????

Living Proof Live - Stockton from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

Above is what I did last Friday and Saturday...Beth Moore Conference in Stockton...Awesome!
Monday, afternoon, however, not long after the previous post, I went into the hospital...ending up staying overnight and got back home yesterday afternoon.

God is good, and I will be well...on the mend and better soon.....

God used my little stay in many ways: One to show me how precious my dear friend/sister Rebecca is..right there for me, and how precious my momma and daddy are....driving over in a zip when they got the scared plea/call from my little man-still-so-much-a-boy Nicholas...even in the hot heat. I was well taken care of...and appreciating nurses so much more. They do a wonderful work....a ministry whether they see it that way or not.

I saw, afresh, how much my babies depend on me, need me. Thank you Lord. I am saddened that they have no one else (aka daddy), but they do have their grandparents who they love deeply, and depend on. And I am so blessed that they have me, that they need me...blessed to be needed, loved, wanted. When I came home yesterday afternoon and walked in through the garage door, my Nicholas thought it was his grandma. She had come and gone a couple times, to bring stuff to me at the hospital, so he was assuming it was her....and he ran around the corner to the door when he heard it open, saying, "Nanny!"... when he saw it was me, my gangly 11 year old leaped in the air and shouted MOMMY!!! you are home!!! And gave me the biggest hug....all the other two came running. I kissed the top of Nick's fuzzy head, not too long and he will be too tall for me to reach it.....and felt blessed.

God is good. Family is awesome. God puts the lonely in families and what a blessing that is....

So enjoy the video from the conference, and rejoice, Jesus Saves...has saved us, is saving us and will continue to save us!

What an awesome God we love!~