Purposeful Rambling

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I’ve been quiet, still, listening for His voice to tell me when. . .
to finish my current project
to move on to the next one
to call that sister in need
to make adjustments so I can heed whatever He tells me to do.

I’ve been quiet and waiting until. . .
the time is right
I only take flight when He tells me to

And all this has been hard, my crumbling before myself to reveal a new self, a better self, better able to serve Him. And I’m leaning for understanding, for strength, for purpose, for shelter, for hope, for security, for surety, for life—leaning hard and won’t let go, can’t let go, until He blesses like He said He would. This stripping ain’t easy; it’s not supposed to be easy; if so I could brag about what I did, give Him no credit for ALL that He did, and live like I don’t need Him. Oh, do we need Him, God almighty, maker of heaven and earth and all that’s within them, made everything with a purpose, a great intended reason in mind. In Jesus lies every answer we need, but sometimes we have to be quiet, still, listening for His voice to tell us when.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#671-680
A God who speaks to me what I need before I even ask
The children making music together
Wisdom to seek pastoral counsel before posting my blog
A full, but not overwhelming, day
Being fully engaged in prayer outside my normal space
Nathaniel being overjoyed to see me this morning
Joshua clearly communicating the steps of his science project
A Spirit-filled conversation
Being offered a high-visibility ministry writing position
An invitation to speak at a Spirit-focused conference

Friday Feature: Did You Know?

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Making a great effort to eat more nutritiously over the years has brought me a wealth of knowledge, but I am learning still, daily, and am amazed at what I have learned in the last two weeks. Some of the knowledge came from reading, some from friends and some even from my own mind as I had some personal ‘aha’ moments. I share with you below my recent discoveries:

I didn’t know that. . .

• Nuts are large seeds.
• There is little taste difference in Brazil nuts, cashews, hazel nuts and macadamia nuts when blending them as certain protein drinks.
• The slow process of dehydrating food makes the environment ripe for mold growth on the food.
• A company has created a way to genetically modify an apple so it doesn’t turn brown (Scary!).
• Seedless watermelons have been genetically modified (Watermelons are meant to have seeds).
• An organic seedless watermelon is a contradiction. (The fact that the watermelon doesn’t have seeds makes it non-organic from the start; growing a non-organic fruit in an organic environment doesn’t make much sense to me).
• My return to an omnivore lifestyle still has me craving to be an herbivore.
• A large number of Extra Virgin olive oils are not Extra Virgin but have been cut with other oils.

What have you discovered lately about foods, and how will your discoveries help you to improve your health? If you haven’t learned anything new lately, why don’t you seek to find out something new? You could even start with searching out more about the items I listed above. Make sure to share your discoveries in the comments section here. Remember, we are destroyed from a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Don’t let destruction happen at your hands.

Tabs on You

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Some habits die hard and follow hard lessons learned along the way. I know I will be strong until the day I die. That is not a habit; it’s a God-given benefit, but some ways that I display my strength are what need to die. My eyes opened to this last week when my ears peaked with panic when I heard my middle child screech “Mama, where are you!?” My 4-year-old asks me this just about every time I leave the room. He wants to know what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and when I’m coming back. And, when I’m deep in contemplation or just sitting, being quiet and chilled, my husband often asks, “What are you thinking?” He wants to know if I’m okay.

I get it. They are both concerned. My 4-year-old is checking on his physical safety, asking questions to help him deal with his separation anxiety, and my husband is checking on my mental safety, wanting to make sure that I don’t drown in my deep thoughts. But I want to go where I want to go and think what I want to think without having to share my whereabouts and what I’m thinking about. I want my own walk and my own thoughts, still yearning to be independent in ways that I am now interdependent. I have learned to not get aggravated by their “intrusions” and examine my desire for seclusion, and I have concluded this: I don’t want my natural inclination to become my spiritual inclination because with God my walk is not my walk and my thoughts are not my thoughts, at least they shouldn’t be.

My family keeping tabs on me helps me see how much of my past is still my present, those things I need to shake loose. When they remind me of my interdependence, I am in prime position to remind myself of my dependence on God. And that makes their asking so much more worthwhile.

How have you struggled with letting go of independent ways now that you are interdependent? How, if at all, does your natural inclination reflect your spiritual inclination? Please, tell me what you think?

Use All That God Gives You

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Three times this weekend people have commented how amazed they are at how much I get done on a daily basis. As a wife, homeschooling mom, blogger, columnist, mentor and caretaker, they can’t understand how I take care of all my responsibilities and then some. I responded as I always do: “It’s the grace of God.” The last person who commented told me not to separate my organizational skills from the grace of God. “So often we think that we have administrators and organizers over here, and that is for the world and then over here we have preaching, teaching and fasting, and that’s for God. It’s all God’s grace.”

I thought about what he said and know that I have taken for granted that I have always had administrative skills, being organized being chief among them. I have just looked at my being organized as being something that’s a part of me and not something that has been imparted to me. My organization is a grace–an empowerment–from God, and I should always treat that skill as such.

Whatever gifts, talents, skills and abilities we have are from God and we all have to acknowledge that in how we use our strengths. Too often we take our strengths for granted and decide that we don’t want to use them when they weren’t given to us for us to decide when and how to use them. This is a habit many of us had that may have begun in childhood, but we are accountable today for how we use what God has given to us. Read more about that in my latest EEW column, which begins below:

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Summer days make you want to be lazy, just hang out in the sun and have some fun. Who knows this better than kids? My youngest two have been having a ball, but my oldest is struggling a bit. See, he’s still in school, making up work that he had some difficulty completing during our scheduled home school year. He has been trying to negotiate with me, asking can he skip certain assignments that he believes he’s mastered. And as much as I want to give him a break, give the entire family a break from his whining and moaning, I say no, have to say no, because his desire to quit is more than just the summer itch; this is a pattern I saw in him long before the weather changed.

This giving up happens when he’s losing any electronic game, when a word search gets too hard or when he is told to redo some work that was not up to par. When something doesn’t come easy to him, he wants to give up so he doesn’t have to eventually suffer the ultimate defeat. This is how he is trying to define success. But I know, and you do too, that such a childhood pattern is the making of an adulthood pattern that will leave him stopping and starting everything from academic programs and jobs to relationships and, perhaps, even his faith. This is why our children need to know that they have to endure and don’t have the option of quitting when things don’t go their way. Quitting may seem the easy out now, but doing so will cause lifelong battles that they could avoid. Read more here.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#661-670
A wonderful Spirit-filled worship service
After lunch fellowship with Flynn
A restful nap
A chat with a 20-something woman who I believe God wants me to connect with
A love-filled text message from Nicole Washington
My boys in bed with me eating apples and watching Scooby-Doo
Justus’ smile
A pastor who keeps our focus on Christ and what He wants to do to and through us
Intense love for my husband where I now work hard to not point out his faults and flaws
Waking up without the jolt from crying boys or the need to prepare Joshua’s breakfast and lunch

Friday Feature: Seed Sense

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We are a snacking society. This is obvious with the widespread availability of these seductively tasty treats. But with most of these snacks loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, and hydrogenated oils, we are contributing to our death every bite we take. And some of us aren’t even hungry; we are just in the habit of putting something in our mouths or simply eating out of boredom.

To help steer your snacking in a more healthy direction, you can add seeds to your munching menu. Most seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids (EFAs). These EFAs “balance and regulate energy production, blood circulation, nerve function, inflammation, hormone regulation, recovery from exercise, immune function, cell growth, . . . and can elevate mood,” and “improve brain function and development.” The benefits of eating seeds are a great contrast to any typical processed snack food you could eat.

As a snack, you can eat seeds by the handful and you can eat them in more substantive ways by adding them in smoothies and protein drinks, putting them on salads and in salad dressings, and mixing them into garden burgers and other raw recipes.

I offer you a list of edible seeds to reach for next time you want to snack:

Chia seeds – These are good in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and are high in calcium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc. They are a great source of protein and fiber, and have anti-inflammatory and laxative properties.

Flax seeds (AKA linseed) – Like chia seeds, flax seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFAs and have anti-inflammatory and laxative properties. They are rich in several B-vitamins, copper, iron, lecithin, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and all 8 essential amino acids. They are a good source of fiber and protein and contain lignan, a phytoestrogen that has been shown to prevent cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. These seeds should be ground before using.

Hemp seeds -These nut-like flavored seeds are high in Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFAs and are a great source of fiber and protein, containing all the essential amino acids. These are great in raw and cooked foods.

Pumpkin seeds – Great in and out of the shell, these seeds are rich in B-vitamins, copper, iron, lignan, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, Omega 6, and vitamin E. They are a great source of protein and fiber.

Sesame seeds – Another good choice to add to raw and cooked foods, they are rich in B-vitamins, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, zinc, Omega 6, linoleic acid, protein and fiber.

Sunflower seeds – These seeds have the same properties as pumpkin seeds , but they are also rich in calcium and linoleic acid. These, too, are rich in protein and fiber.

If but just in a minimal way, I hope you at least add seeds to your snack menu. You now know the great benefits of seeds being a part of your diet. Won’t you add them to add health in a significant way to your life?