Walk in pure joy today on Christmas

At 3 a.m. on Christmas morning, while all other moms where nestled peacefully in their beds, I was in the pastures. I was mad and resentful. I was a little nervous... not of being alone in the dark... that part was quite peaceful. I was was scared of the unknown. The unknown event that lurks around every corner when you are caring for and managing animals. I've witnessed a horse harmlessly roll to itch his back and 45 minutes later have to be put down because he twisted his intestine while rolling. I've found my daughters pony too weak to stand in the quiet hours of the morning. I've had to lure my blind horse to safer ground when she became disoriented in the pasture. I've walked into feed to find my childhood horse shivering in shock when a tumor became too much for her body to bear. Terrifying moments and emergencies fill my mind. In the quiet of the Christmas morning all I could think about was the "what ifs." What might lurk around the corner to harm this peaceful day.

As I looked up at the heavens and saw the bright stars, I prayed desperately for God to protect these unpredictable creatures and spare me, if even for a day, the sick sinking feeling in my stomach of one of them in danger. I began to give them hay and slowly walk them to their paddocks. In the dark it took a lot of talking and comforting for the easily startled beasts to trust the path I chose for them. In the darkness of the morning, my horses went from startled and nervous, to calm and content. My nerves settled and I became overjoyed by the calmness of the morning. The crunching of hay and gentle snorts in the cold where a joyous sound... the sound of safety, security and quiet that could only be appreciated because I had experienced overwhelming fear of the unknown.

At 3 a.m. on Christmas morning, while all other moms where nestled peacefully in their beds, I was in the pastures. I was no longer mad and resentful. I was no longer nervous. I was no longer scared of the unknown. I was consumed by peace and joy and excitement because it was Christmas morning. In that moment I realized why God chose the lowly shepherds to be the first to witness His arrival to Earth. Those humble shepherds felt the sickening fear when the Angels appeared. This unexpected event that could scare, kill, or maim their precious sheep. Luke describes them as "terrified." Terrified... a helpless way to feel when you are caring for animals. The angel of the Lord said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." (Luke 2:9-10). Those shepherds fully appreciated this great joy because they had experienced the fear. They understood the peace because they had endured the fatigue. They had been treated by society as inferior, ignoble, and subordinate. God put them in a place of favor, honor, and dignity. They were honored as the first to see Christ the King lying in the manger. They experienced being inferior, so they truly appreciated being favored. They had experienced fear, so they welcomed and embraced joy.

At 4 a.m. on Christmas morning, I climbed into my bed and snuggled under my covers knowing that it's okay to be fearful, and tired, and stressed, and even terrified because it's those experiences that have allowed me to truly know the Joy and Peace of Christ's birth. 50 years after Christ's birth, our Lord's brother reiterated this to believers by saying, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4). Walk in pure joy today on Christmas as a birthday present to our King.

Merry Christmas to my NEW blog!!!

My D6 Moment

If you aren't familiar with D6, you must visit the site http://www.d6family.com.  The website says "D6 stands for Deuteronomy 6:5-7 which commands dads and moms to take everyday opportunities to impress God’s Word upon the hearts of their children. D6 is foundational to raising spiritual champions for Christ."  I think of it as the practice of taking advantage of every opportunity we can to teach our children to be Christ-like.  I also think it's important to impress those principles on other children as well.  We are given a lot of opportunities to teach other children the importance of living a Christian life in very simple ways.  

So what is a D6 moment?  It's when you child surprises you by reminding you of the principles of Christ that you have instilled in them.  What a God given blessing to be reminded by your child to focus on Him.  It makes the pain of stumbling feel okay when you see that your child is becoming a child of God in every way.  Now you know how it is... you place this fabulous principle into your family's lives and then when you should be doing it most, you forget.  You lose sight of the Father and you just plumb forget to be a princess of His Kingdom.

My family has been focusing on 1 Thes. 5:17, Pray without ceasing, and Gal. 5:22, the fruit of the spirit.  I feel that these are two basic principles that we all should take to heart.  Applying those to a 2 1/2 year old's life can be quite tricky at times.  We take a virtue of the fruit of the spirit each week or so and talk about how we can be kind or loving or patient.  It has really helped her difficult situations to remember God's truths (like sharing her toys or not harassing the dogs).  We also have started to pray together anytime we were stressed, upset, whiney, happy, joyful, etc.  And almost anytime that we get in the car, we say a prayer. Being in the car with our children, is one of the few times we have their undivided attention!  I don't allow dvd players and that type of thing in the car, because I want to have one on one time with JoJo.  

So on to my D6 moment...  So our morning started like any other.  I had done my barn work (the horses were SO unruly) and headed back to the house so that Jason could shower and head to work.  As I began feeding our many dogs, my sweet and joy-filled JoJo slowly started turning into a little monster (over nothing of course).  Next on the list... feed store.   Josephine and I were going to head to the feed store to get our weekly feed supply (for 21 horses) and run farm errands.  For some reason, my horses, my dogs, and my child were having a meltdown, and I was losing patience very quickly.  

We pulled out in the truck, and as I got out to close the gate, JoJo squirted her juice box all over herself and began to cry.  As I opened the car door and heard her crying, I wanted to just melt right there in the driveway.  The words "Calgon take me away" were ringing in my head.  Evidently, JoJo saw the despair in my face as I hesitantly climbed back in the truck.  Surprisingly she got very quiet and so did I.  I had the feeling like maybe if I didn't look her in the eyes, she wouldn't scream bloody murder. (Moms, come on, you know that feeling).  That's when it happened.  She said, "Thank you God for the sunshine...  you pray with me Momma?"  I quietly burst into tears and said, "yes, baby, I'll pray with you."  She continued her prayer, and then I continued mine.  And then she sang "Jesus loves me" and said "Amen."  There's nothing more encouraging,  comforting, and joyful than seeing God's face in our children.  

Praise God for our children!

Praise God for His grace!

Praise God for His unfailing love!