Many of you who follow me regularly know that Friday was a very special day for me. Friday, I met someone that I deeply respect and admire, Lysa TerKeurst. Lysa is a wonderful author and speaker. I know that many of you joined me at the Ladies Day Apart conference and were blessed by her words. Her speaking came directly from the Bible, which I truly loved. As we all wonder and ask where our path for God may lead us, I often turn to the richness of the Proverbs 31 website. They continually inspire me to move forward.
Of the many things that were shared on Friday, the one I took home the most was our ability to try and live our faith in everything we do - to impart our faith in moments throughout the day, providing a sense of faithful instruction. Now, I have to be honest, as much as I try, I find moments to complain, be angry and to sin with comments of judgement and control. Come on, I am sure I am not the only one that has these moments, but I have them more than I would like.
As was shared, living out our faith is more than participating in Bible studies, more than going to church and singing loudly, more than volunteering for opportunities in our community. Yes, all of those things help people to see us as Christians. Yet, more importantly, it is in the LITTLE things we do that helps to define us. It is how we react to certain situations - even difficult ones. It is how we respond to bad news - with hearts that find joy in difficult situations. It is how we show love instead of anger. It is how we not just rejoice in times of wonder, but how we rejoice in times of turbulence. Yes, it is the daily words and actions that help to define us.
Funny how this showed itself yesterday in our home! My husband and I were working hard trying to bring spring to our house. Juan was busy taking care of some "rough" patches of grass by spreading soil and seed. I was busy freshening up our kitchen with some new handles on our cabinets. We were feeling pretty good about what we were accomplishing. Then, the moment came. We noticed that a pipe had busted as a result of our cold winter and our basement had water in it.
Out came the wet vac. Out came the towels. Out came many things we had stored down there that were now filled with water. The next hour or so found us having a change of plans and dealing with a mess we weren't expecting. Instead of Juan and I looking at each other with words of discouragement and frustration, we both looked at each other and said, "God must have wanted to encourage us to clean out the basement." We both laughed, but also knew that God's hand was in what happened. It could have been much worst if this happened while we weren't home. God is Good!!
It was more than just "thinking" God was with us - it needed to be said. Our hearts became more joyful and a tough situation turned into a blessing. Our days are filled with moments where we can make a choice - to use words of judgement, to use words of discouragement, to show actions of anger. We can also choose to change the way we respond and provide a more God-Like response - one of joy in tough situations, not just in moments of divine blessings. This week ahead, take a moment to decide how you are going to respond - for your words that you share show the faithful instruction you have with yourself. An added bonus can be the faithful instruction you may have on others!! May blessings abound!!
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