Nuggets of gold from Donna Kauffman

I'm finally getting a chance to post. Actually, I'm taking the time. I have a list of other things that need to get done, but I honestly need a break from these things more than getting them done at the moment!

A couple weekends ago, I attended the Borderland Ladies Retreat in International Falls, MN. This is the 4th year that I have been there, and it is wonderful. The ladies that put this retreat together go all out to make us feel special and pampered in the midst of putting together excellent speakers who inspire and encourage us in our walk as wives, mothers, and children of God.

This year was no exception. I'm going to focus on Donna Kauffman's first session in this post which mainly addressed "Decluttering our Hearts". By the way, Donna has a set of excellent books that can be found at Treasures Books. I would also highly recommend seeing if she can speak at your women's retreat or similar setting.

Our hearts are full of clutter. Each room of our heart is full of stuff: needing to be tended, cared for and cleaned...and cleaned out. There is a room for our husband, one for our children, the cleanliness of our homes, a room for fears, one full of clutter of worry and angry thoughts, another for errands we need to remember, yet another for special activities we're involved in...the list goes on and on. Imagine a room for each relationship, set of emotions and practical life. There is so much going on in these rooms and we think that we need to keep everything organized and clean in order to feel in control.

**It is terrifying for us to truly trust the Father.** Instead of trusting Him, we feel compelled to take control of every part of our lives...including our husbands and our children.

With all of this clutter, it is very difficult to quiet ourselves, allowing us to hear our Father and rest in His arms. We feel suffocated, trying to do good and yearning to be holy and perfect, and feeling like we need to work harder to get there.

When the room of fear and worry (or anger, or jealously, or, or, or...) is not all neat and tidy, those emotions come to the surface, maybe for the umteenth time and we can think, "Am I even saved?", "Will I ever get over this?", "Will God reject me because I can't get over this?" We become weary of the battle of our hearts.

We need to clean house, so that we can rest and trust in the One Who created us and loves us. We need to trust that God's grace WILL cover us when we fail over and over and over again as we run to His lap. We are accepted by Him and He desires to hold and affirm us.

Cry out to Him!

Ps 141:1

LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.

KJV

Know that He will never leave you and will walk with you through the battle. Allow unredeemed memories and past hurts to come to the surface in order to deal with them with the Father. Truth alone doesn't necessarily bring resolution. We need to bring it to the Father's lap and walk through it with Him.

In order to keep ourselves feeling "safe", we often put these strongholds ahead of God:

1. Stronghold of control- "If I can have everything nice and in order, with everyone doing things my way, I'll be OK."
2. Stronghold of contempt- "I'm worthless. I'm one big sin."
3. Stronghold of criticism- "I'll look better if I criticize others."

We need to replace the stronghold of control with trust in God, the stronghold of contempt with the Father's love and the stronghold of criticism with the Father's comforting presence.

**Delight in the peace and rest of leaving everything in the Father's capable hands.**

Our job as wives and mothers is to love our husbands, teach our children to know God (not to please others) and to know Him ourselves. We need to get rid of the rest of the clutter in our hearts. (I will interject my personal thoughts here: Some may argue that we are to love and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ and be witnesses of Christ to the unsaved around us in addition to the above. I agree. BUT, I believe that these things will come about in our lives as we focus on our families and draw closer to His heart. Then those actions of love and evangelism will flow out of our love for Him and our close relationship to Him rather than a "works" mentality, which clutters up another room in our hearts. I hope I'm making sense.)

Receive the Father's heart that delights in us just as we are, quiets us with His love and rejoices over us with singing.

Zeph 3:17
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
KJV

May you be blessed as you mediate on His love and acceptance of you today.

I'm coming back...really

Things have been a bit crazy around here the last week or so. I was at a wonderful women's retreat this last weekend and I plan to sit down and process some of the things that were spoken of there here on this blog. Hopefully you will be blessed by it as well.

I hope to get back into blogging the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Until then, thank you for stopping by and God bless...

ABC's for life

This was on the wall of a friend's house and they graciously wrote it out for me to have in my home. It's on the side of my refrigerator facing the kitchen sink, so I can easily look over and read one as I'm rinsing dishes. I thought you might enjoy it as well.

Accept life's circumstances you find yourself in. God knows the details of your life and His grace is sufficient to meet your need.

Begin the day with God. As soon as you get out of bed, turn your thoughts heavenward. Thank God for a new day and the strength to arise.

Count your blessings. They are innumerable. Praise God that you have work to do, even if it may seem to overwhelm you. It would be worse to not be able to work at all.

Do your best and leave the rest. Whether God has given you one, two, or five talents. He only asks that we do our best with what He has given us.

Eat healthful foods, including lots of raw (and cooked) fruits and vegetables. We all know that too much sugar and too many fats are not good for our bodies.

Flee temptation. Whether you struggle with wrong eating habits, wrong thinking patterns, or harmful reading material, go to God for strength to overcome that which would drag you down.

Get medical or nutritional help if your condition merits it. Physical problems make hard to maintain emotional stability.

Heart-to-heart talks with a spouse or friend can be a source of strength and encouragement. Although the situation may not change, sharing with another can change our outlook toward the situation.

Invite friends, happy thoughts, and God's Spirit into your life. Discourage negative thoughts and self-pity.

Just be yourself. Your strengths and weaknesses can make a beautiful pattern if given to the Master Weaver.

Keep your focus on Jesus. "Look to self, you'll be depressed. Look to others, you'll be distressed. Look to Christ and you'll be blessed."

Lean hard on the Lord. When everything you try fails to lift your spirits, just keep walking by faith. Trust that the Lord is walking beside you in the vale, and will lead you into the sunshine again.

Memorize Scripture. Saturate your mind with God's Word and His precious promises.

Notice and appreciate small blessings- a letter in the mail, a bird singing, a flower blooming, a smile from a family member.

Overcoming depression is not something that happens overnight. Each victory will help you another to win.

Pray without ceasing. Have a prayerful attitude as you go about your work and converse with the Lord.

Quietly and earnestly fall on you knees in prayer. Be honest with God and tell Him exactly how you are struggling and that you desire to overcome.

Reach out to others. It helps to get our minds off ourselves, and be interested in the feelings and experiences of others.

Sing a song, not only with your voice, but with your mind and heart also. Singing, like praying, helps even though we do not feel like doing it.

Take a walk. Walk briskly and breathe deeply. Tilt your face to the sky and drink in the sunshine and the beauty of the heavens.

Use time wisely. Tackle a job even if you don't feel like it. We don't always need to be accomplishing great tasks, but to just keep moving forward and getting something done.

Value friendship with family members and little children. Invest time in worthwhile projects or hobbies with them and you will be greatly rewarded.

Watch out for attitudes and thought patterns that feed depression. Refuse to let those thoughts govern your life.

Xamine your life before God. Pride and hidden rebellion can be hard to detect, but are sins that easily beset us.

Yield and surrender every part of your life to God- your will, mind, body, soul, thoughts, desires and circumstances. The more we surrender, the greater our peace.

Zealously follow after God and His ways, not allowing your heart to become languid and cold.