Taking Advantage Of Each Day

I just want to take a moment to say... Our God is ever so faithful is he not!? If you are truly following the Lord and you look into your own life, you can not help but see how faithful he is!!

Lamentations 3:22-27

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

I am just amazed at how much he provides! I am currently reading through the bible and am finishing Genesis here. I am just stunned at how the Lord's provision is so evident from the very beginning. He provides Adam a helper, covering, children... You watch as the LORD's people sin and yet he provides nonetheless! Cain kills Abel and as there is certainly punishment as a result of it... you see that the LORD provides another son to Adam & Eve by the name Seth. From Seth starts an amazing lineage of men of faith!! From this line comes Noah and the Lord provides a way for Noah's family to be preserved from the flood. (These are just a few examples of God's provision.) He provides Lot a way out of Sodom when Sodom & Gomorrah are destroyed by sulfur and fire. You see it especially with Abraham and the Lord providing a son, Isaac, to him as a result of the covenant made! And then continues to provide for Abraham as he provides a ram to be offered as a sacrifice instead of his son. This of course reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus as payment for our sin instead of us! And you just continue to see God's faithfulness through Jacob... and Joseph.. It is really encouraging to step back and see the bigger picture of scripture... that we serve a faithful God who provides for his children. As you look closer at the stories of the bible, you see that thing do not play out exactly as many of the people thought... because God had his own story-line in mind! Even when things seemed impossible... God made a way! He is a promiser by nature and he keeps every promise he makes! Maybe not exactly the way you think it should but that does not mean the promise is not kept and that he is not providing for you.

So this is what I am currently learning about God and his character as I take the next couple months to really tackle & read the whole word of God. I found myself, at 24 weeks along, wishing the days.. the weeks.. the months away... And as I look at the world that my daughter is being born into, I am reminded of the duty I have as a mother to really be prepared. No the crib is not set up, the PINK clothes are not hanging up, the diapers and the wipes are not accounted for, the blankets are not folded and ready for her to use... and no the nursery is... well its the same as it was before and it will be the same when she comes... I have not found myself very worried or busy with the THINGS the baby needs physically... but there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of what will be needed from me for the little girl emotionally, spiritually, and yes of course physically holding her and soaking up every piece of her :-)! I know that there really is so much I can do as a mom and only so much I can do to prepare to be a mom... but there are things I can be doing to prepare to be the best mom I can be. Oh the grace that I will need! I know I will fail at times to be an example to her of what it looks like to follow Christ... and I know I will fail to declare the word of God to her at times that it is necessary... but I can be making better use of each day I am given before she enters the world to try and learn now! So, that is my wish.. my plan for the next 85 days or so... to soak up the word of God and put it on my heart so that I can teach it to my daughter as the bible talks about in Deuteronomy 6

Verses 6:5-7

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them DILIGENTLY to your children, and shall talk about them when you SIT in your house, and when you WALK by the way, and when you LIE DOWN, and when you RISE.

Sounds like you have to teach these commands... ALL the time... exactly! How can I do that if I do not even know what the bible says.... if I do not have it planted in MY heart to grow and nourish and sustain my family! So I am really going to try and take advantage of the next 110 days to prepare spiritually for this little one! It is not about what I can do... but all about what the Holy Spirit is going to do in these days! I can read the word all I want but if the Holy Spirit is not working to convict, direct, encourage, instruct me as a wife... as a mother.. as a friend... than these next 85 days are done in vain! So, that is my prayer for this time... that the Lord would do his work in me! That he will reveal the weak areas of my life, the areas where sin is reigning... the places that need to be re-shaped and molded. Pray for me, will you? As I take on this challenge and opportunity! And may it encourage you as well, to re-evaluate your foundation in whatever role you are currently playing! Is it found on Jesus Christ and is this love letter written TO YOU, a part of keeping that foundation strong? Trust me! I have so failed in this area! So I am taking each day at a time... with one goal in mind!