Raising God's Girls

I am so excited about all my friends that are Homeschooling! Whatever the reasons, I am a true believer that being home with your kids is the best thing for them. Don't get me wrong, you gotta do what you gotta do, and if that means you gotta work and put your kids in public school, then by all means, do that. But spending time with your children, when ever possible, is the only way to teach them, to love them, to raise them up to be godly adults some day.

If I am being honest, I would have to say that being a stay at home mom was never on my to-do list. I remember a conversation I had when I was in high school, about to graduate. I was filling out forms for government assistance programs, financial aid, and loans, narrowing down my college choices, and planning my future. "I will not be a stay at home mom. I want to do something with my life, and staying home is not an option."

Here I am some many years later, a stay-at-home mom!

I LOVE MY JOB!

Again, if I am being honest, it isn't always perfect. In fact, 90% of the time, I am worrying and fretting that I might be somehow ruining my children. But, when the day (or maybe week, and sometimes month) is done, and I see some real fruit of my labor, it feels my heart with joy. A true joy! But I must give credit where credit is due. If I really tally up the times I have missed the mark, and the times I did something right, I have to admit that there something else at work somehow connecting the dots that I have overlooked or willfully ignored. These girls that I attempt to raise really belong to God, and I am learning to trust that He has better plans for them than I could possibly imagine.

That doesn't mean I just take my hands off the wheel and somehow expect this train to stay on the tracks, but it does mean that when I am off track, I can trust God to bring me back. I can trust God to bring the whole runaway-train-headed-for-a-wreck, into His will.

It's scary and beautiful all at once. Beautiful that God has seen fit to place in my care these children, and scary that He placed in my care these children. I mean, I am fallen and sinful and the list doesn't stop there. But praise God for grace!

-GRACE-

Ahh grace.

Sweet, freeing grace.

He is made strong in my weakness, and I pray that my girls see the importance of grace and relying on His strength.

And that is where I am, today. Yesterday, I was a frenzied mess, wrapped up in my self and my short comings. But His mercy is new every morning. Lord, help me to show my children, your daughters, what it means to trust in You. That when we fail Your grace takes our short comings and fills in the gaps, it connects the dots, it is made complete only in You.

What I'm Reading

I just finished C. S. Lewis' Mere Christiany. And can I say, "WOW!"

This book was riddled with amazing imagery and phrasing that just blew me away. I love how C. S. Lewis wrote, but most I love what he wrote about.

From dealing with the hard questions, "Is there a God?", to nailing down the root of sin, Pride. But in his last few chapters, he dealt with the process of transformation, what it looks like, and what it doesn't. So, an excerpt from his book:

Mere Christianity, Book 4, Chapter 10:
Nice People or New Men

"For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders - no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings - may even give it an awkward appearance."

I feel like I'm in that awkward stage. My wings aren't quite in, and no one knows whether they will even be wings. But I know that with Christ by my side, I will be transformed. Not just a better me, but a new me, the me that God purposed before I was even born.

Do You Do Well...

Jonah 4:4-7 ESV

And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.

We all know the story of Jonah. Even talking vegetables know the story! Sometimes we want to stop before we get to that last chapter. I love that God doesn’t want us to forget anything in His word.

What I really love about this passage of scripture, is the realness. I can totally relate! This past week, I was excited to be part of a ministry that works with refugee children at an apartment complex in Dallas. I had such an amazing time, and my girls got to be involved with me. But I’m not saying any of this to brag or make myself look good, because what God allowed later, revealed some ugly stuff in my heart. It was much like Jonah.

After leaving the apartment, I noticed that the tire pressure light had come on. This is somewhat of a new feature that lets you know when your tires are getting low. As I was traveling down hwy 75, I figured I would deal with it when I got home. And wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t get home before I was forced to deal with it. After running what I thought would be a quick errand, the tire was completely flat!

There I was in the parking lot, 4 packages of bottles of water sitting on top of the spare. So, I proceeded to unload the the back so I could get to the spare, and simultaneously texted Stacy to let him know if my demise. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I had the car unloaded I receive the news that the jack is not in the car! Now my countenance has fallen. Cursings and bad attitudes ensued. I’m sure God was saying, “Do you do well to be angry?” But I wasn’t listening. I was too busy wallowing and justifying.

And just as soon as things were bad, they were good again. I was never so thankful for roadside assistance! I confessed to my children that I didn’t have a happy heart, and I should change my attitude and be thankful in all things. You would think I had learned. But now I must find a tire place to repair the tire. With my handy phone, I quickly looked up the nearest location and headed that way. And did not find it! So I went to the next location, and what wonderfully sweet and helpful people they were, till I found out that not only could my tire not be repaired but because I have an all wheel drive I will now have to replace all 4 tires! And out the door went my happy heart! Again, I’m sure the Lord was saying, “Do you do well to be angry?” But I wasn’t listening. I was too busy not respecting my husband, and giving him an earful! By this time we had missed lunch and I was now shelling out more money than I care to remember.

But as I sat and waited, I finally listened. “Do you do well to be angry?”

There’s Jonah, sitting and waiting for what he thinks God should do. Getting angry because of the sin in his own heart. And God shades him for awhile, relieves him from his discomfort, but Jonah refuses to change. To force him to deal with his hard, unhappy, and ungrateful heart, God appoints a worm (or in my case a flat tire) to kill the plant and then Jonah is exposed to the sun and hot winds. God asks him again if being angry is doing him any good. I felt that this past week. Thank God for His unfailing love. I confessed and repented, and I am so thankful He hears and forgives.

1Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

And even Job responds with, “Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” when he learns that he has lost everything.

Lord help me to remember that all that I have is from you, and that it doesn’t do me any good to be angry. Every good and perfect gift is from You. Even if it doesn’t look “good” to me, you have purposed it for my good and for Your glory.

Christy Nockels - Healing is in Your hands

How high, how wide
No matter where I am, healing is in Your hands
How deep, How strong,
And now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands



I love that God uses the lessons that I teach in Elementary Kids, on Sunday, to teach me. I am blessed by this opportunity to serve, and humbled by what God shows me. We learned about God being “understanding”. Not an intellectual, but a compassionate, caring God.

Psalm 103:9-14

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame;heremembers that we are dust.

I got to demonstrate to the kids how because of Adam and Eve, we are separated from God, that we are sinful, and cannot come to Him. But that He draws us, because He is “understanding”.

Hosea 11:4

I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, andI bent down to them and fed them.

He draws us to Him because He is a loving and kind God, and does not exact on us the punishment we deserve. Instead, He heals us from the wounds of our own sin. He lifts the burdens that weigh us down, and feeds us with the Bread of Life, His son Jesus.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Falling off the Lent Wagon

So, two whole weeks have now passed. How’s everyone doing? Me? Well, I’ll admit it has been tough! Having caffeine withdrawals is no fun, and even worse when you’re waiting in lines at Six Flags.

But my question is this: What happens if you forget, or give in to temptation? Does that mean that Lent is over for you? Do you beat yourself up?

Caeli, my oldest daughter, decided to participate along with me, and gave up sodas for Lent. On Sunday, last week, she enjoyed her Root Beer, but when Monday rolled around, she had forgotten about Lent. She came to me, “Momma, I forgot about Lent, and I drank a soda! What do I do?”

Lent is about remembering, remembering that we are fallen, in desperate need of a savior. It’s about being mindful of what Jesus did, the sacrifice that paid our debt. So, you’ve failed. You gave in to temptation. You forgot for a brief moment. Do you think this surprises God? Is He put off by your weakness? All of this makes the season even more beautiful! When we are weak, God is strong, stronger!

I encourage, don’t quit because of your weakness. Confess your weakness, rely on His strength. Don’t condemn yourself for falling short, remember that you were redeemed because you could not pay the debt yourself.

Sunday Lent

Praise God for Sunday! I felt guilty that I was so excited to be free to drink caffeine, but I have been battling sinuses and then the time changed! I knew Sunday would be challenge. But, Praise God for Sunday.

For those unaccustomed to Lent, Sundays are celebration days, as one devotional called it, mini-Easter, and therefore you do not fast or abstain on Sunday. Praise God for Sundays!

As I was laying in bed on Saturday night thinking about all the caffeine I was gonna drink on Sunday, I felt guilty. Should I be rejoicing so much in this freedom?

The sacrifice makes the freedom sweeter! When we understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, it should cause us to cherish the freedom we now have because of Him. I think my joy in being free, and my celebration is a meager example of how we should rejoice because of our freedom in Christ! Because He died and was resurrected, He defeated sin and death! What joy we should have in that knowledge!

Sunday was a great “mini” celebration of the victory that Jesus has won, and given to us who believe.

My Journey Through Lent

“The season of Lent is puzzling to many. Denying ourselves our favorite treats or habits-even for a short time-seems archaic in our I-want-it-now culture. Lent is a plodding, definitive crescendo that leads ip to Good Friday and the gorgeous aria of Easter. It’s a season marked by deliberateness and intentionality.”(From “Devotions for Lent”)

Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

I think most people will not understand why me, a non-catholic, would participate in Lent. Even my own daughter exclaimed “But we aren’t Catholic”, as I tried to explain it to her. But reading today’s devotion solidified in my heart the need to understand sacrifice. Most of my life has been focused on me. Even my spiritual walk tends to circle around what God is doing in, around, and for me. I want my eyes, and my heart to be opened and awakened to God’s will. Not God’s will for my life, just what God is doing all over. Jesus was here, as He said, doing His father’s business. He didn’t seem concerned with “Is this God’s will for me”, His view was always on the end result.

Matthew 6:33a But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness