In Memory of a Very Special Life

Today I’m working on a sign, but it’s not just any sign.  This sign has brought tears to my eyes from the moment I received the request, and even now as I design this small token to honor this precious little life that ended the same day it began.  

It brings back memories of the day that my second child was born.  Our hospital room was filled with the sounds of newborn cries, overjoyed parents, laughter, smiles, and the awe of new life.  Yet at that same moment of our rejoicing in this new life, in the same hospital and on the very same floor there was mourning taking place as another mother had labored all night, only to have the life of her precious newborn end moments later.  My heart broke for that mother; I couldn't imagine giving birth to such deep grief, pain, and sorrow after carrying and being connected to that little life for nine months of time.  All I could think, was “how is this fair?”, and then offer my silent prayers as the nurses shared with me the news of this unnamed mother.  There are no words for times like that, and even less when you are leaving the hospital with your new baby, knowing that this mother would give anything to experience that same joy.

So the thought of being invited into the life journey of another to honor the life of a child who only lives on in their memory makes me feel incredibly humbled and inadequate for the task.  Again, just as I silently prayed for that woman in the hospital two and a half years ago, I can only pray that God will use this sign to bring honor to their child, and to fill their hears with His peace and healing as they remember this life.

I can’t answer the question to why these kind of things happen in life, because to be honest, there really is no pretty packaged answer, wrapped in bows and ribbons, but I can tell you that there is One, Jesus Christ, Who counts every tear shed, Who sees every angry, confused fist shook towards the heavens, and hears every staggered breath taken and He offers His arms of comfort, healing and peace, and yes, even the ability to love again.

This song describes well the pain of loosing a child, but also the comfort found in knowing, as the song says, that “you're in the arms of God. Just a moment there is better than here”.

Whatever pain you’re facing today, I pray that you will find comfort in Jesus, and when the time is ready, healing in the love of God.

My deepest sympathies to the family of this precious young life.  I respectfully pray that this sign brings you peace and comfort in knowing that your son is in the arms of God.

♥ Crystal

Thoughts from a Reluctant Mom

* (Note: This is a past blog that was originally published on "Uniquely Yours Ministry Blog") *

Hey there friends! So great to be back here with you on Kerrington's wonderful Blog.  As you may have already guessed, I'll be talking to you today about Momma Life in celebration of Mother's Day (which in my opinion, should come at least once a month! hint hint, nudge nudge to all of you Father's reading).

When I was asked to write about this topic, you may be surprised to know that I had absolutely no idea where to start (and truth be told...I'm still feeling my way around as I type even now. ha ha).  I blame this in part on my placenta brain (did I mention, I'm pregnant with #3 right now?), but I think the greater reason would be due to the vast importance of a mother and all of the responsibility, challenges, and joys that come with that title.

It now shames me to say it, but as a teenager and even into my mid twenties it was never really my "dream" to be a mom, let alone a stay-at-home mom.  I had always looked on that title as a poor excuse to stay at home and relax while the rest of the world worked at "real" jobs.  When I saw mothers in stores with 4 children or (*gasp*) even more I would immediately classify them in a group I liked to call the "Crazy Van People", and I would think "that will never be me!".  (I'm pretty sure this is why God doesn't paint the whole picture in advance).

Well fast forward to a strong-willed four year old boy, a dramatic two year old diva, and baby number three on the way, and not only have I made the change from working mom with my first child, to stay-at-home mom after my second, but before the end of the year I am also joining the "Crazy Van People" Club.  Talk about eating my words, right?  (I'm sure God had a good laugh over my plans).

So what have I learned about my assumptions since wearing the title "mom"?  A lot.  I've learned a lot.  Such as firstly, how unbelievably wrong and naive I was to think that being a mom was not a real job.  I've experienced many challenging times in my life, from personal and marriage, to friendships, school, college, and careers, however none have been as challenging or rewarding, and caused me to grow as much as being a mom has.

I always say that being a parent is like holding up a mirror to myself because children are the most demanding and selfish little people you will encounter...and rightfully so...they don't know otherwise yet...they just speak what they think.  (If you don't have children you may think I'm being cruel here, but trust me...one day you'll know!  I say it in love for them, and I'm even laughing as I think of the crazy things my kids have done or said that are so ridiculously selfish you have to turn away to hide the laughter.)  On way too many occasions God has shown me my own selfishness reflected in my response to my children's demands for my constant attention, assistance, and time.  The giving and serving can't just be turned off like a tap when you are a parent; kids don't filter when you are tired, grumpy, or busy...and it has shown me how easily I can switch out of serving-mode and into self-serving mode.  At these times, I am so grateful for Christ's forgiveness and grace to strengthen me when I least want to serve, and I am left in awe at the way Jesus continually selflessly served during His time on earth, regardless of how tired He was.

That being said, I have also learned much about a child's ability to love, to forgive quickly, and to forget.  Again, this has been a mirror to me; it amazes me the times that I've messed up, being too quick to an angry response and too slow to apologize, to see how willingly and easily they embrace me and say "it's okay mom" when I've come in tears, sorrowful for my behavior.  It causes me to ask myself, "am I that quick to forgive, to forget, to understand and embrace another when they have wronged me?"  I can only pray that I will be.

Although I can still struggle with feeling significant in those hum-drum days when nothing spectacular happens, it is a process that I am working through, and the more that I find my significance in who I am rather than what I do, the less this struggle has power over me.  I am realizing more and more that I am of value and importance because of how God views me, and as I become secure in that I am free to be a better mom because my worth isn't dependent on how well I "perform" and my children are learning that mistakes (both mine, and theirs) can be valuable lessons.

I'm so happy to say that this past week, although I was sad that I had to miss out on a conference with my husband, I took joy in knowing that I was right where I was supposed to be, loving the responsibility I've been entrusted with, and making an impact on the people who are the most important in my life ...the sweet one's who call me "Momma".

Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous Mother's out there - you make a difference, you are valuable, and you are worth celebrating.  Don't forget to take a few moments out of your weekend to let those special women know how loved and appreciated they are. (We love to hear it! Flowers are never a bad idea either) ;)

♥ Crystal

The Art of Rest

So I know you must be wondering where I've been for the past two weeks.  Wandering the globe on some fantastical tour...doing big busy important business....ignoring my beloved blog readers.  The answer somewhat sadly, is none of the above (although I would never take joy in ignoring you my faithful readers, just to set the record straight).  No, the answer I'm afraid, is much simpler.  Amongst the regular routine of life, the real reason for my absence is: sleep.

Yes, I have been sleeping me life away like a little baby.  Quite pathetic really if it weren't for the fact that my tiredness is due to my body being hard at work creating a little life.  There ya go...the big news...for those of you who didn't already know. ;)  Hopefully you will excuse me if I sometimes make no sense on here over the next 7 and a bit months...apparently it's happened a few times, so says my husband (pfft - what do men know?).  I told him that it's a normal thing as scientifically more blood flow is being directed to my placenta now rather than my brain....true story....look it up...and yes...I can hear you calling me placenta-brain Adam but I love you anyways. ;)

So anyways, I've been having this little inner struggle over this sleep dilemma of feeling like the world's laziest person but not having any power to do a thing about it.  So instead I find myself flipping like a fish out of water between pushing myself way too much or yielding totally to the power of nothingness.  However I do believe that I've had a breakthrough this week...an epiphany if you will.

On Monday night my two and a half year old daughter sprained her little ankle on our trampoline (insert whimpers of sadness here) and after getting it checked out twice (nothing wrong with a little paranoia..it can be healthy..and in fact proved to be so here as it turned out she also had some sort of throat/ear infection going on, but alas, I digress) it's been wrapped, propped, and iced for the last three days.

Observing my normally very active daughter refuse to walk for three days and be confined to a couch as the pain subsides and her ankle heals has been sad, but it has also taught me a little lesson.  Too many times we guilt ourselves into taking on too many tasks and then beat ourselves up, feeling like failures when we can't finish them all, or we finish feeling exhausted and miserable (or is that just me???)  Although it is important to set goals for ourselves, it is more important that we set realistic, attainable ones, and that we don't define ourselves by the end results of those goals.  Secondly, I've learned that sometimes our body does know a thing or two about what is best for us, whether it be more sleep, a glass of water instead of juice, or a brisk walk when we would rather plop on the couch.  It's important to listen to these cues before your brain is able to hijack your emotions and send you spinning on that not-so-merry-go-round of setting yourself up to (feel) like you've failed.

All of that being said, my goal is still to write a blog a week on here, but if I am absent for a week I trust you'll understand that I'm simply listening to my body's cues.

Until next wee... er, "time"
...Crystal

FMF: Mighty

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! Today's post is on...yup...you've guessed it...."MIGHTY". (you guys are so smart!)

Throwback to 4 years ago (almost 5 years now..yipes!)

Okay so when I first hear the word "mighty" the immediate image that comes to my head is "Mighty Mouse".  Does anyone remember him?  You know, the little mouse that had great strength.  I'm afraid some of you may be aging me at this point...but just to validate my young age (hee hee) we used to watch it in color on a vhs that my parents stumbled upon and found it worthwhile enough to share with my generation.
 ANYWAYS, getting way off track here....so thinking about Mighty Mouse and his size brings another thought to my mind, one which my mom always told me when I was young, and that is this, that "you are small but mighty".  At the time it was more a reference to my tiny size due to being a figure skater, and my ability to be successful in athletics despite my small frame.  However many years later that phrase has new life as I face chapters of my life called "being a wife" and "being a mom".

I can't recall how many times in a day or a week I am plagued by the thought, "you're just a mom", or dread being asked the question, "so what do you do?", only to have to answer, "I'm a stay-at home mom" as images of a Leave-It-To-Beaver type mom fills my head and I cringe at the stereotype that I never wanted to be, and in reality aren't. (phew!)

So many times I undermine my strengths, gifts, and the roles that I've been called to serve in...especially that of motherhood.  But I'm so grateful for friends and community that remind me that being a mom is nothing small, and nothing to be looked down upon.  Being a mom encompasses more roles than I ever could have imagined; it is challenging, rewarding, fulfilling, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, and most of all it changes you.  It changes you from ordinary to mighty...and not because it swells your head with all of your accomplishments, but because I can see that in my weakest moments Christ is right there with me, giving me the words to speak, the love to share, the patience and endurance to not give up, and the vulnerability to keep my heart wide open to these little ones who sometimes fling so much emotion and hurt my way.  He is there with His strength, and He makes me mighty.

STOP (Yep....I went 15 minutes this time....sorry...what can I say...it's late...I'm a night person...I like to talk..I tend to babble and......wait a minute....there I go...DONE!) :)

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Join in the Five Minute Friday Party with Lisa-Jo Baker (who just came out with a wonderfully new book called "Surprised by Motherhood" that will be released on April 1st. Go to Amazon now to pre-order your copy!)
How? Just write for 5 minutes on the given topic and link it up here.

The only rule is that you must visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments.  (Yay! Building community!) :)

FMF: Joy!

Sadly I missed out on the Five Minute Friday Party last week because (not-so-sadly) I was away for a family overnighter, but great news, I'm back for this one!  So here goes, five minutes of unedited writing on the topic of Joy.

Ready...GO!

This topic couldn't be more fitting for this week because lately everywhere I turn I have been hearing the words "joy", "celebrate", and "free".  I've been thinking a lot about these things lately and about how we were created to be joyful, and to celebrate this gift of life that we have been blessed with.

So many times we can confuse joy with happy, when really the two words are as different as night and day.  Happiness is more of a feeling that is driven by our outward circumstances and situations, whereas joy is an inward state of the heart.  It is a strength that sustains throughout difficult seasons and spills out carrying us over to the other side.

So how does joy equal strength, and what does it have to do with celebrating and being free if it isn't happiness?  Well for me joy brings strength because it causes me to change my focus from the present circumstances, and to look toward God and His faithful promises.  These promises bring hope because they shift my perspective into an eternal one instead of a here-and-now one.  When I look at eternity, and more specifically eternity in Heaven with my Savior, I become free from the effect of the cares of today, which are fleeting and momentary (as the Bible says) and am strengthened to carry on in celebration of what lies ahead.

STOP! (Okay...so I went 5 min over again...so-o-o-o-ry! Still a newbie here) ;)

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Join in the Five Minute Friday Party with Lisa-Jo Baker.
How? Just write for 5 minutes on the given topic and link it up here.

The only rule is that you must visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments.  (Yay! Building community!) :)

Created to Worship

So often I've heard it said among Christians, "don't be led by your emotions", or "emotions are deceiving", to the point that I end up feeling like I can't hear Christ through my emotions, or if I feel a feeling in my times of conversing, or worshiping Him that I can't trust those emotions, therefore they have no validity in the moment and I should shut them off.

However, during some time spent worshiping God today the thought suddenly occurred to me that what if God not only wants me to experience Him in my thoughts, but also in my feelings....that what if...those feelings are a way for me to feel Him and be directed by Him, a way to experience His love, His joy, His peace, and His fulfillment.

By nature, and being an "artistic" sort of person it could be said that I am fairly emotional and sensitive to things that others would not normally respond to.  I've always tended to view this as a bad thing because of all of the negative things I've heard from Christians about our emotions; however I don't recall reading anywhere in the Bible that the Holy Spirit only wants me to experience Him in my mind, and in this moment spent worshiping today when this thought occurred to me I felt so full of God's presence as I let the guard down in my emotions and felt free to finally experience Him in my emotions without any condemning thoughts to hold me back.

In that same moment of being free to experience Christ in my emotions I was singing the words, "To worship You I live. To worship You, I live, I live, to worship You", and in that moment I felt such peace, joy, and a fulfillment that can't even come close to being matched, flood over my emotions, and overtake every thought, and every part of my being.  And in that split second everything made sense....I was created to worship....what I worship is my choice, I can choose to worship the created things that fill my world, or I can choose to worship the Creator of those things and of my very soul.  In that moment, the only sensible thing to do was to worship the Creator, the only One great enough to be worthy of worship and worthy of praise; nothing else even comes close to being worthy of that kind of adoration.  This is how I want to live my life... to worship Christ and experience that kind of deep fulfillment, and peace fill up my entire being...over and over and over again.  Nothing else will do, and I won't settle for less.

To worship You Jesus I live,
Crystal

Dream with Me

Hello friend, foe, or family! ;) So glad to meet up with you here on a wonderfully warm March Break!  (relatively speaking of course with the crazy Canadian winter we've been having here)

I was sitting down tonight to work on a few lessons for later on this week and (most likely in an attempt to distract myself) decided it would be a fantastic idea to write a wee blog (small on the "wee" and big on the "Blog" part) as I likely won't get a chance later on this week due to recent developments of weekend plans (insert a "whoop whoop" here).

With all of the mild weather it's been perfect for puddle jumping and mud squishing...even if the boots are a bit small and the pants a bit big. ;)  And while others are off taking part in grand adventures or meaningful works, we're just enjoying the simple pleasures in life around here.  I won't lie, this has come very naturally for my kids, but it has been a challenge for me.

I tend to be a "dreamer" sort of person, regardless of if it's the ones that satisfy the shallower parts of me to be a world-wide traveler, or the grander, deeper dreams that beckon me to be a revolutionary world-changer; I tend to resort to dreaming larger-than-(my) life type dreams much more than I wish.  Now being a dreamer isn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be quite good when it is harnessed correctly and is on a solid foundation, but when the dreams begin to consume the dreamer, they have crossed that healthy line.

This week throughout the course of the daily tasks of housecleaning and being a stay-at-home mom I found myself in "dreamer-mode"...not bad...but then a funny thing began to happen as I continued to dream...I began to despise what I was doing and wish that I were elsewhere.  The happy daydreaming very rapidly declined into a place of miserable-woe-is-me-complaining, which then led to that very unhealthy place of "I'm not making a difference, so what's the point?".  Not good, but  sad to say, that's where I was...(side note: why is it that no one pictures this when we say the word "dreamer"???  Hmm...time to insert happy dreamers again)

Aren't they the cutest?!
(If only they always behaved in such an endearing way)

To make a long story short, my priorities had gotten off because I failed to be thankful for what I had and had allowed my eyes to be more focused on what I didn't have.  I had shifted from finding my fulfillment in my relationship with Jesus to finding it in what I did or did not do.  Such a simple little thing, but it makes all of the difference in the world.  And here's the really good news...when we practice that thankful heart attitude, with our fulfillment coming from the one place that never changes, our dreams become just one small part of a much bigger picture that God is painting, to touch and change more hearts than we could ever imagine on our own.

So with that being said, today I'd like to ask you to join with me in helping to support a bigger dream.  I don't normally use my Blog as a place to "solicit", but it was on my heart to do this so here I am.  My good friend Nadine, Ambassador of Hope, from the Organization "Hope for the Nations" left today for Kenya to visit the Children of Change at the Kiungani Home with the purpose of empowering these children who were once without dreams to now not only dream of a better tomorrow, but be equipped to reach it and accomplish their dreams through Project Entrepreneur.  She will be bringing business ideas with her, and teaching ways they can earn and manage money.  Wouldn't it be great if she could reach her goal while she's there!  Whether it's $5, $10, or $100, every little bit helps and will go towards mattresses, blankets, and other basic needs for these Children of Change.  CLICK HERE TO DONATE, and select the picture with the children called "Project Entrepreneur".

Could there be a more beautiful way to plant the seed of your dream than by depositing it in the soil of these Children of Change's dreams...and you don't even have to leave your house!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'm excited for dreams coming alive!

Crystal

PS: Surprise Nadine! ;)

FMF: Willing

Well here we are again, I'm back for my second edition of Five Minute Friday where we write for five minutes of unedited time and then link back later to encourage our sisters who are writing with us.

(Incase you couldn't tell by the title) Today's topic is: WILLING

Ready.....Go!

"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak".  We find Jesus telling His disciples this in the Garden before He is led away to be placed on trial and later crucified.  His soul is in anguish, doing the real work of denying His will, and His desires, and pleading for another way if it is in His Father's will.  His disciples are tired and lack the understanding of what is about to take place, and in exhaustion struggle to stay awake and pray with Jesus.  Jesus encourages them to pray that they would not be led into temptation because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

How many times do I find myself in this exact same place, needing to hear these words from Jesus in my weary soul?  Too often I have a willing spirit to do those things that I am called to do, or to respond in the way that Jesus would, but I find that my flesh is just as weak as anyone else's.  My spirit wants to do great things, and being one of those people that are "blessed" with a strong will (it wasn't a blessing for the longest time believe me...but it is now), I find that I can start out with a bang and push myself quite a ways, but sooner or later my flesh kicks in and the negative thoughts start rolling out, the exhaustion setting in, and eventually weariness and laziness begin to take over.  At these times, more than ever, do I need to hear these words from Jesus, to pray that I wouldn't be led into temptation because my spirit is willing, but this flesh of mine is oh-so-weak.

So right now I just want to pray for myself and you that we will have fresh strength from our Father to run with endurance in what He's called us to do.  I ask Him for new thought patterns to replace the old well-trodden negative thought patterns, and His ability to step in where our ability is limited.  Thank you Father that where our flesh is weak, and our spirit willing, we can run to you for Your strength which is greater than our flesh, and even more amazing; thank you that you still willingly choose us despite all of our weakness.

STOP. (I can't lie...I went over on this one...so sorry FMF friends!) ;)

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Join in the Five Minute Friday Party with Lisa-Jo Baker.
How? Just write for 5 minutes on the given topic and link it up here.

The only rule is that you must visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments.  (Yay! Building community!) :)

Wash, Rinse, Repeat if Desired

Back when I was still a single gal living at home with not a care in the world (relatively speaking of course ;) ) and had more time than I knew what to do with, I had a funny little habit during shower time of reading all of the labels on the products in the shower and rearranging the letters to see how many new words I could make out of the product names.  (Yes, I know I'm slightly crazy)  Anyways, it seemed on nearly every product the phrase, "wash, rinse, repeat if desired" was present somewhere.  Personally I rarely ever took this advice when it came to my cleansing routine, however fast forward a husband, a four year old, and a two year old later and I'm thinking that I practically live by that advice now.

I'm sure you can relate.  Sometimes it can feel as though I'm stuck on repeat.  The day begins, and there are baskets full of laundry to wash, dry, fold, and put away, stacks of dishes to wash that magically grew overnight, even more stacks to put away, toys that crept out of their boxes, dust bunnies that have reproduced, and enough loose papers, drawings, and crayons to equip an entire kindergarten classroom.  Not to mention the ongoing symphony of "he did this...", or "she said that", "I'm hungry", "I'm thirsty", "I don't like that", "I want...", "I need", etcetera, etcetera.  It's nearly enough to drive a person insane sometimes!

My lovely sink...even the picture is crooked. ;)

So my solution to the above is to immediately go into what I like to call A.D.D. cleaning-mode as I start on one task only to be distracted by another en route, until about mid morning when I find I've accomplished roughly one quarter of half of all of the tasks, the kids are on their third breakfast and I'm still running on caffeine and a prayer.  Now instead of feeling like I've made some progress, I am left feeling like I've only regressed as I look around despairingly at the multitude of partially finished tasks and the clock that just keeps on ticking.

I know I'm not alone in this.  Your struggle may not be one of a stay-at-home mom facing the repetitive tasks of cleaning, dispute resolution, entertainer, and chef, but all the same, sometimes it can feel as though life can be stuck on repeat, whether it's a mundane career, endless school reports, or the ongoing inward battles of the heart.  Often times we can find ourselves in these situations and we think, "I just finished cleaning up that mess, and now there's another one", and we can be left feeling purposeless, drained, exhausted, and overwhelmed with where to begin, or if we should even bother.  So what can we do to overcome this place of hopelessness and begin moving forward?

Well, for me it means stopping to ask God for help as I pick up that hundredth piece of paper, or resolve that same old argument.  Not so much help for the task at hand, but help for my attitude as I embark on the task.

Our attitude is like the rudder in a ship, steering our day in either a positive or a negative direction; the direction is up to us.  I am so encouraged though to know that even when my attitude is sour and I have no desire for change I can still come before my Savior and ask Him to give me His perspective which changes me and gives me fresh courage to break out of the old repeat cycle where it really matters; in my heart and in my mind.

I pray you too, receive fresh courage today from God to face those situations that seem overwhelming, and a new perspective to help you face those ordinary, wash, rinse, and repeat days.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." ~ Winston Churchill

♥ Crystal 

Five Minute Friday: Choose

So here I am sitting at my computer for five minutes straight finally choosing to participate in a little thing over at a wonderful Blog spot called Five Minute Fridays, where we write for five unedited, unrehearsed, unbridled minutes of time.  I've read these posts now for two years, and have always been challenged to participate, but never have until now.

So today I will make a choice to overcome my fears of failure and my annoying perfectionist bent that can get in the way and stop me from doing so many things in life, and today I will choose to be brave and wear my heart on my sleeve.

My children seem to be able to do this so easily, that is choose to live life free of fear.  They can say or do almost anything without the slightest concern of what people will say or think.  It's funny how as we get older though we seem to forget that we must choose daily to live in this freedom.  It can so easily just become a part of us until we feel that we can't help it...that's just the way we are.  But today, I am reminding myself that I do have a choice every day and every moment.  I can choose to conquer fear with faith, I can choose to walk in God's strength and not my own, I can choose love over hate, forgiveness over bitterness, and giving over receiving.

Today let's join together and in every decision be reminded that we have the power to choose.

Crystal

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Join in the Five Minute Friday Party with Lisa-Jo Baker.
How? Just write for 5 minutes on the given topic and link it up here.

The only rule is that you must visit the person who linked up before you and encourage them in their comments.  (Yay! Building community!) :)

A Drop in the Bucket

If you're anything like me, you can often struggle with having lofty dreams of making a significant impact in the world, yet feel as though you are only one small, insignificant drop in the bucket.

It can go something like this.  That highly anticipated hour of precious free time has arrived...(aka: nap time or bed time) and instead of actually doing something of value, I find myself whittling away the time on social media.  Usually it begins with a catch up of my Instagram feed, then a check in with the world of Facebook, read up on a few blogs, and well, once I hit up Pinterest there's really no going back from there...just raise the white flag and call me Gilligan because I'm now a lost cause.

I find that after all of this intake of social media I can be left feeling a little "less than" about myself and a whole lot deflated in my lofty dreams that moments ago were floating around in my mind like unleashed helium balloons on a sunny day.  Now instead of being outwardly focused, I find I'm left in a state of miserable comparison, not measuring up to the countless feed of Selfies, Bloggers, Moms, or Artists out there.  All I can think about is how much better they are at this or that, and then I think...why bother...there are enough people out there doing what I can do better, so why even bother?  What difference do I think I could possibly make?  (Side note: is this why people "rate" each other on Facebook? A desperate attempt to reach out for power, or approval and acceptance from wherever they can get it?)

It doesn't always happen right away, but usually shortly thereafter a thought occurs to me...."your focus has shifted from an outward gaze to an inward one".  It's changed from 'others' to 'me'.  About that time I recoil with disappointment at my selfishness and utter a prayer of forgiveness for my wayward heart that has turned to things and comparisons for self-worth rather than to my loving Creator for an acceptance that I already possess.

Being outwardly focused is a continual process, and often we can make it so much bigger and intimidating than what it really is.  To put it very basic, outward focus is loving God and loving the person in front of us and when we begin to realize the value in that person in front of us we begin to see that we are making a significant impact in the world around us.  I believe this then shifts us into an ability to live out love in such a way that fear has no ability to prevent us from taking on any dream, challenge, or obstacle that would come our way.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..." ~ 1 John 4:18

 So with that being said, I'd like to challenge myself and you to take one step closer to the love of God that enables you and I to love the next person we meet, and one step further away from the selfishness that causes us to fear inadequacy and rejection.  Practically speaking for now, that means less time engulfed in the voices of social media (which perpetuate selfishness), and more time immersed in the whispers from my heavenly Father.  Can you just imagine what would happen if all of us "drops" began to live like this?!  If you're in, here's my prayer for us as we take on this challenge:

"GRACE (that is...God's enabling power) be multiplied to all of us!!!" ;)

~ Crystal

PS: I want to hear your "love stories"! (and I don't mean the Romeo and Juliet kind) ;)

When Your Best is Not Good Enough

* (Please note: This was originally published on Uniquely Yours Ministry Blog) *

If you've ever felt like you're just not good enough for ________ (fill in the blank) than this post is for you. Grab a coffee and start your day out right with some fresh encouragement.

When Kerrington approached me about writing a guest blog on her page I took much time to seek the Lord about what He would have me share with you, and after much consideration, I believe He would like me to share on our struggle with inadequacy.

Lately it seems that everywhere around me I’ve been hearing “I’m not good enough”.  This statement is such a familiar one to me as well; I can’t even count how many times I remember telling myself that exact despairing phrase in the recesses of my mind.  Whether it’s whispered in our heart with those words, or whether the words form in our actions through seeking outward approval, acceptance or attention from any means other than that of Christ Jesus…the form it takes is of little consequence compared to our response to that simple little statement.

It is our response to that statement that determines everything.  I’d like to tell you that yes you are good enough…but the sad fact of the matter is that our human condition is not good enough.  Our human condition is messed up and wicked to the core.  This is a truth that offends us, but if we chose to accept it, we can be set free.  There is a solution to this messed up state….the solution is found in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the only One who was found good enough to offer us forgiveness, acceptance, and a fresh start…without expiration date or limit of use.  When we chose to accept this gift, the real us begins to be revealed as Christ peels back the layers of mess to display the beauty that He has seen all along. 

I’d like to introduce a new thought for you today.  You are not the sum of all of your mistakes, failures, successes, or accomplishments.  You are far more than that.  Your value can not be measured in the amount of friends you can attain or keep.  Your worth does not depend on the amount of money in your bank account or the material possessions you have acquired.  Regardless of the struggles or the mess you are in even in this very moment, it does not define how God views you and what He calls you.  Christ calls you His child; He does not love like your earthly parents.  His love does not depend on your behavior or your performance.  His love is not fickle or fading and He does not stop calling you His child just because you stop calling Him your Father. 

His desire is that you would experience His rich love for you and believe in the truth of how He sees you and what He calls you, because when He looks at you He does not define you by the mess of your deficiencies.  He does not call you by that mess that you try to hide and think is the “real you”. 

No, when He looks at you He sees the forgiveness and nature of Christ.  He sees all of the beauty that He placed inside of your heart, the destiny that He wove together, and the unique, quirky traits and characteristics that make up who you are.  He sees that these qualities have been hijacked, twisted, and warped by the hurts and wounds of life, but He hasn’t deviated one bit from His original plan for you.  He sees the original you that He created, and this my friend, this is the “real you”; not the outer image you project to others, nor the inner mess that you wish more than anything to hide, no it is His original creation, healed and whole that He calls the “real you”.  And this “real you” is good enough.

♥ Crystal

A Valentine for You - yes you!! ♥

Happy V-Day All!

So I really wanted to post a fresh-from-the-heart little Valentine on here to lighten you, my beloved readers' day; however my week has been a bit crazy and just hasn't allowed me much time to blog.  So...in lieu of a fresh-picked Valentine...I will leave you with this Vintage Valentine message which I wrote a year or so ago to encourage some friends...after all, who doesn't love a good vintage find?! ;)  So without further ado, here is a Valentine from God, through me to you:

Valentine:

You are so special.  Take a few moments to just stop and think of how unique you truly are.  You are a one of a kind masterpiece, a work that has never before been created and that will never again be recreated.  You make a difference in the world around you simply because you exist.  In fact, God thinks you are the most wonderful part of all of His creation…and it’s no wonder!  The mountains in all of their splendor can’t compare with the beauty God has placed in you, the roar of the mighty oceans cannot equal the quiet strength God has given you, nor can the sky in all its vastness touch the greatness that lies within you. Never think of yourself as small, of no value, or as unimportant.  You are a prized creation and a rare gem, flawed - yes, perfect - no, but in the Hands of Your Mighty Creator, you are becoming everything that He has always envisioned and planned for you to be.

Happy Valentines Day You Awesome Work of Art, You!

♥ Crystal

PS: If you're feeling a little down about V-Day today...indulge in a little chocolate, guilt-free...because when you get right down to it....the love of chocolate is really what this holiday is all about...forget about the romance part. Ha ha. ;) (unless you are my husband, Adam...and then it's all about the romance. ;) Hee hee...by the way, did I mention how much I love and admire you Adam? Just in case it's not clear....the adjective to describe how much I do, would be "abundantly". You are amazing and I am so thankful to be your wife....thank you for being you...and for being so darn good-looking...that's pretty awesome too.)

Ever had one of Those Days?

Remember that old song, 'Monday, Monday' by the Mama's and the Papa's?  If you do, then you will know where I'm going with this.  If you do not, I will refresh your memory.  The song says, 

"Monday, Monday can't trust that day.  Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way..."

and then goes on to say,

"Every other day (every other day), every other day, Every other day of the week is fine, yeah, But whenever monday comes, but whenever monday comes, You can find me cryin' all of the time"

Yes, sadly that was my Monday, tears and all.  It didn't start too bad; I had my coffee with a short devotional time, the kids were relatively content, and less than an hour later it all went south upon hearing the frantic cries of my son calling for help.

Now it's quite normal to hear many calls like this in any given day with two small children, however a mother knows the difference between those calls and the ones that mean your child has either somewhat severely injured themselves or a sibling, or they have just done something so off the charts that even they know they're in deep waters.  And this cry, just so happened to be one of those "in deep waters" cries (both figuratively and literally I later discovered).

Immediately I dropped what I was doing and rushed towards the sound of Warren's voice.  My fears began to mount as I discovered the voice was coming from the washroom...past experience had assured me that cries (good or bad) coming from that room were never a positive thing.

Upon entering the room I found Warren standing half dressed in about an inch of water, and he wasn't in the bathtub.  An empty roll of toilet paper hung on the wall, while the toilet sat helplessly filled to the brim with water and paper.  Floating amongst the debris was a toilet brush and plunger, evidence of my son's no-doubt frantic attempt to remedy the problem.

We were no more than 10 minutes into cleaning up when the phone rang to inform me that today was the day that our plumber (who's help we were anxiously awaiting for other water work matters in the house) could come...and that it would be within the hour no less!  Ahhhh!!  It was at this point that I went into panic mode, mindlessly phoning my husband to vent and to make sure he picked up the mop that had been on the bottom of our "to do" list for months.

It just so happened that the plumbing problem was related to a sulpher-type smell that occured whenever we ran a load of laundry or dishes.  This compounded my already-stressful morning.  Not only did I have to finish cleaning up the 'Great Flood' and the effects thereof that had spilled out into the hallway, but now I also had to run a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher of clean dishes, only to fill it with a new load to run, and thereby create a new mess of sulpher smell so as to help our plumber find the source of the problem.  Oh, and did I mention that everyone, including me, was still in pajamas (with the exception of Warren who was in underwear and toilet water), and awaiting a proper breakfast?  (At this point I was really despising our house full of clean-eating items)

Yes, these were deep waters in every aspect of the meaning.  And it was about that time that I began to recall singing a few lines just yesterday as a prayer to God to take me out on deeper waters in regards to trusting Him.  I of course, was thinking more along the lines of Him helping me to trust Him with existing obstacles when I said that...but as usual, He had something else in mind and saw it fit to "entrust" me with a few more deep waters to walk upon (you know...the literal kind...).

Now I'd love to say that when I remembered that, the clean-up rush transformed into a joyous clean-up dance-party, filled with sparkles and laughter, however that was not quite the case.  Instead I was annoyed by this inconvenience and spiraled deeper into a grumbling woe-is-me pity-party.  Shameful, yes I know, but this is the sad truth.

In the end, everything was clean, the plumber came in the afternoon, and my attitude did change eventually, but unfortunately, I took the long route getting there and missed out on the humor of it all until much later.  So what is the point that I'd like to leave you with today?  Well here it is: if you find yourself in deep water, whether it be the kind that leaves a mess on your bathroom floor, or the kind that leaves a tear-stained mess on your pillow and in your soul, you don't have to stay in that place until you are at the point of drowning.  Look up, because when you do you will find your Heavenly Father is walking on the water towards you, with hands outstretched; you need only grasp His hand to walk upon the waters.

"He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along." ~ Psalm 40:2 (Living Bible)

I'll leave you with this song by Hillsong United, one of my favorites I think right now.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m_sWJQm2fs 

Until next time...stay warm...and dry. ;)
♥ Crystal

The Post that Never was

So tonight I had excellent intentions on writing a fabulouso (I know that's not a word auto-correct, but thanks for coming out) post, but due to some unforeseen circumstances over in Facebook land, that did not happen.  (Weren't those 10 year video's great? Thanks FB and congrats.)

So instead I will leave you with a few pictures of bygone Facebook days to commemorate the social media giant that we have all come to both love and hate.

A brief synopsis of my Facebook history:

The big day with my ladies (aren't they lovely?)

It's a boy!

2 Years later and....it's a Girl!!
(with her awesome aunts)

A couple more years and...
a Nation is saved in a day! Honduras ♥

From crawling, to walking, to skating!

Celebrating the simple things in life

Almost 7 years later and still in love ♥
(and yes, this pic is almost 2 years old, but it was the best I could find...
you know what that means Julia. ;)  )

Hope you all enjoyed my little walk down memory lane (I'm sure not nearly as much as myself), but alas, I must sleep now.  Onward and upward, more blogs to follow later this week.

♥ Crystal

Is the Doctor In?

So the end of the week is upon us, and as the deep waters have been stirring in me I'm finally feeling some connection between the dots.  (See I promised you it would come eventually, didn't I?  Brace yourself though because this may a little heavier than normal)

Earlier this week a scripture was dropped into my heart from Luke 5:31-32, in which Jesus is having a meal with some tax collectors and other guests which the supposed religious leaders did not approve of.  In response to their complaints about Jesus' choice of dinner companions, Jesus reply's with the following:

31 Jesus answered them, “It is the sick who need a doctor, not those in good health. 32 My purpose is to invite sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think themselves already good enough.” (Luke 5:31-32, Living Bible)

At the time that God reminded me of that scripture it was such a breath of fresh air to remember that God does not expect me to have it all together before I come to Him; in fact, what He's really saying is that He came for those who are sinners and are aware of their sin-sick condition.  The only real "prerequisite" to coming to Jesus is to have the humility of heart to admit that we don't have it all together; how else could we be expected to call upon someone else than if we recognize our inability to change ourselves?

Keep that in your back pocket and fast forward to later on in the week.  My week was going great, but it seemed that everywhere I looked there was nothing but negative news being published, spoken of and witnessed.  Most of it seemed to be in regards to children being neglected, treated as commodities, or lacking the love of the parents who should be closest to them.  My heart was so heavy for the ugly reminder of the brokenness surrounding me on a daily basis.

However I found that as the week progressed my heaviness of heart began to gradually cross a fine line from brokenness into judgement and anger at the thought of how people could be so selfish towards the most innocent among us.  My thoughts began to become very critical and slowly, without even realizing, I began to be blanketed in that ugly blanket of self-righteousness of which Jesus called the Pharisees out on.  It seemed I had all but forgotten the scripture that had earlier seemed to ring so true to me.

I'm so thankful though to say that God awakened me from the bitterness forming in my heart and reminded me of truth.  And here it is; yes the world can be a very ugly place, and yes, it can be very easy in our hearts to become angry and judgmental, and even feel justified in our anger towards the lack of morals, love, and justice we see on a daily basis, thinking that "I would never do that", but let us not forget, that Jesus never placed expectations on those who don't follow Him, to behave in a Godly manner, and neither should we.  When we do this we reduce ourselves to nothing more than bossy naysayers and we do nothing to represent the welcoming love of God that desires to embrace and heal those broken, messy lives in a way that they never could do on their own.

The other thing that God so gently reminded me of, was that my heart can be just as ugly as those behaviors that shock and break me.  Oh it may not appear as some huge tumorous type growth that everyone can see and is appalled by, but it's there, my God, yes, it's there.  It's there every time I choose my own selfish desire over the needs of those closest to me, it's there every time I choose to hold onto my wrong attitude instead of releasing it to God, it's there with every judgmental glance, every bitter thought, and every time I am so wrapped up in my own problems that I don't even stop to notice those hurting around me who may just need a hug or a "hello".  Yes, that ugliness is there; it is that part of me that is not yet surrendered to God, that lies in hiding convincing me that I must somehow be better than those around me because my behavior (on the surface) is better than theirs.

There is good news though.  It is simple, it is refreshing, and it is freeing.  It is this; that Jesus came not for the healthy, but for the sick.  Jesus didn't come for those who think they have it all together, He came for those who know they don't.  Jesus came to take away all of this broken, ugly, sin-sick mess within us, to pay the price that we deserved to pay on a hideous, despised cross, and to exchange it for His wholeness, healing, and beauty.  He did it a long time ago, and He still does it today.

I want to leave you with this quote from a book I was reading by Stasi Eldredge.  She states,

"We do not have to remain captive any longer.  Yes, God uses our stories to shape us.  He works all things for the good of those who love him, even the horrible things.  The holy work of God deep in our hearts as we have suffered and struggled and wept and longed to overcome is stunning beyond measure.  You may not see the goodness yet, but you will.  You will.  It comes when we see our lives through God's eyes."  (taken from "Becoming Myself" by Stasi Eldredge) 

 Let's remember this, not only for ourselves, but for those around us as well.  God can take even the ugliest mess and turn it into something stunning.

♥ Crystal

Glaze & Fluff

So tonight is one of those popcorn-filled-Princess Diaries 2-wish I had bought that other pink color of nail polish for now- kind of nights.  You know the kind; the kids are all tucked in, the husband is out, and you have a few precious moments of relaxation all to yourself.  And then the dilemma begins; how can I squeeze out every last ounce of available time so as to accomplish all of my extra-curricular events in these next two hours, plus possibly get to bed early?  Well, I suppose you could say that tonight, in a way, I'm doing a bit of everything....the nail polish is out (can't decide a color though and time is ticking...does anyone else spend way too much time making this decision...as though it will alter the course of mankind if I pick grey over pink???), ahem....the movie has begun, and here I find myself with the movie on pause whilst I blog on paper (of all things!) to later post via typing if it becomes more interesting than the movie, (as you can see I get distracted by shiny things...movie is still on pause) oh, and the snack is being consumed by the handfuls.

Which brings me to the topic of this blog...my snack.  So with our new clean eating lifestyle, my Tuesday snack and relax time has been modified for the better.  And I must say that I have a brand spanking new favorite glaze for just about everything from carrots to popcorn.  Here it is; and I apologize because I have no idea what the measurements are, however, the good news is that if you go by the rule-of-thumb "to taste" it will turn out swimmingly since your taste buds will be doing the measuring.

Makes-Everything-Yummy Glaze

• About a "dollop" or two of Butter (the real stuff...none of this man-made margarine stuff)
• About a 5 second squeeze of Honey (this should go without being said, but this applies if it is from a squeezable honey jar...otherwise..."to taste") ;)
• A shake of cinnamon (as much or more than what you would put in a chai latte...or other cinnamon-related food/drink. Helpful now?) ;)
• Melt these ingredients together and drizzle over desired entree (in my case - popcorn)
• Bon Appetite!

PS: If you're not so concerned about clean eating a small touch of brown sugar in the mix will make it less glazy and more molassesey (and no, I'm not sure if that's even a word...leaning towards a big fat "no" though)...think caramel corn...I didn't do that tonight, but on special ocassions, it's a nice little treat.

There it is! The nailpolish that was never applied & the popcorn with glaze
 that I forgot to capture until it was too late...see the proof is in the pudding...it's good stuff. ;)

Anyways, if you'll now excuse me, I have some catching up to do with a certain Princess Mia and a lovely little place called Genovia (and yes, I know it's cheesy...but frankly...I don't care!) ;)

There she is, the lovely Julie Andrews, aka Queen Clarisse Renaldi
(and me sporting my lovely blue snuggie. ha ha)

Oh, and just in case you're feeling a bit ripped off tonight with the lack of depth to my blog, stay tuned because the deep waters are being turned and all will be revealed in time (and no - no major earthshattering news - just some musings) :)  For now though, just enjoy some "glaze", because every now and then we all need a little bit of glaze and fluffy popcorn in our life.

♥ Crystal

The Control Illusion

Have you ever had this brooding suspicion that things are about to get shaken up a little in your life just when you think everything's going pretty smooth?  Well, I'm feeling that way now.  I'll fill you in.

So this afternoon as I was almost finished preparing my lesson for our Wednesday night Youth Class on "Losing Control" I was reminded of a discussion that I was involved in about that very thing on Sunday morning.  I thought, "hey that's cool; guess God wants to talk to our youth about control too...we're all on the same page", but didn't give it much thought beyond that.  Fast forward to me sending the notes out to the other teachers on our team and finding out that the lesson I had spent an hour preparing for was indeed, the lesson for next week (when I'm not taking a turn teaching) rather than for tonight.  Nicely done Crystal.  I then proceeded to huff and puff in frustration over the perceived waste of time spent on a lesson that I would not be able to present tonight, and of course, mull over all of the other productive things that I could have been doing in that time.  It wasn't until after I had to recall the notes that I had sent out, that I realized that I had just experienced a practical lesson in "Losing Control".  Now, I'll admit, this was due to my carelessness, however the point stands, that after doing my best to take all of the right steps to prepare, in the end, I still had no control over the results.  I'm sure God was having a good laugh at me at that point as an hour later I had a Facebook notice in my inbox that a friend had posted a picture with the saying, "You can't control everything. Your hair was put on your hair to remind you of that!"  I thought, "seriously God, was that really necessary?"  Anyways, after having a little laugh about the whole afternoon, I'm now left thinking that this whole thing was more-so to remind me about control rather than those around me.

With that being said, I'm taking inventory of the areas in my life where I am in control (or rather I think I am, since we really can't control everything), rather than surrendering those areas to God.  Control is really an illusion; we think that if we can control the events in our life than we will end up with a fairly descent life, free from pain or inconvenience.  (I know we don't really think that way outright...but many times we behave that way)  When really that couldn't be further from the truth.  In reality, the only thing we can control in our lives is the way that we chose to respond to the events that happen.  Sometimes that frustrates me because I think, why wouldn't God choose to let all of the pieces fall nicely into place if we yield to Him.  However God is after something far greater than making our lives comfortable; He wants to make our character strong and able to face anything that life throws our way.  That thought is something to take comfort in when it feels like our world is spinning out of control.  And here's an even greater encouragement; when we place our trust in Christ and surrender to Him, we don't have to face those events, big or small, alone.  To me that makes it all worthwhile, knowing that I can trust an unknown future to an all-knowing and all-loving God.
Till next time friends...take care and lose control! (you know what I mean...hopefully. ;) )

Crystal

Kitchen Confessions

I have a little confession to make.  This may, or may not come as news to you, but here it is: I can't cook.  It's not that I don't have a desire to, or that I'm just being modest.  When I say that I can't cook, it is because I genuinely have no idea what I'm doing in the kitchen..I'm completely dazed and confused in the culinary art.  If you need some tasty baking done - I'm your girl, but ask me to create a simple meal for dinner and I'm lost if it doesn't involve a box of K.D, a sandwich, or anything deemed a "breakfast food".  Take today for example, I spent nearly my entire morning brainstorming what we could eat for lunch, only to be met with the challenge of doing the same thing for dinner. 

By now you're probably wondering how the heck our family has survived this long if I can't cook.  Answer: I am very very blessed to be married to a man who not only can cook, but who loves to cook (we make a good pair really because I love to eat). 

There he is, the in-house chef.
What a stud-muffin.

Normally, my husband Adam does all of the cooking and yes, grocery shopping for our meals, but tonight he was busy and I was in charge.  Now before you start hurling tomatoes at me I'd like to point out that my job is normally the set up/clean up.  Cooking has always been a point of contention for me, and (another confession here), has caused me on more than one occasion to feel like I'm a big flop when it comes to being a stay-at-home mom.  However, I'm trying to keep those thoughts at bay as they do nothing to build me up.

We all have our weak areas and it's important to acknowledge them, but in doing so, not allow them to diminish us.  This is where I constantly have to remind myself that my identity is not based on my strengths, weaknesses, abilities, possessions, or status.  When we look at those things we usually will either have an inflated or deflated view of ourselves, but when we realize that our worth and value have nothing to do with us and everything to do with God and His Nature inside of us everything comes into the correct perspective, and here's the best part...God is then able to turn those weaknesses into strengths because it's no longer our ability working, but His ability working through us.  Isn't that great?!

So, I may not be a master chef yet, and with this new challenge of healthy-eating before me I'm definitely swimming in uncharted territory, but I'm encouraged to know that I don't have to let my weakness diminish me and, who knows, perhaps with God's help, I could turn out to be the next Julia Child, or...I'd even settle for being able to make a meal or two without panicking. ;) 

Oh, and by the way...after all of my pacing back and forth between the cupboard and refrigerator, when I finally stopped to ask God what I should make for dinner...His reply was... "Chicken and rice with some salsa".  Guess I did learn a thing or two from my missions trip this summer (we ate that meal so often a song was created about it.  Still not eating pb&j though). ;)

Chicken & Rice with some salsa

They loved it!

Take care friends!  Until next time...

Crystal

What Does the Fox Really Say?

I don't know if you believe that God speaks to us through nature and the everyday things around us or not, but I certainly do, and I believe that He's been speaking through a....fox of all things lately.  So, the question is, "what does the fox say?" ;)

Yes, I know what you're thinking, and to be honest, I thought the exact same thing when I applied my breaks to avoid hitting a rather large fox standing in the middle of the road last Sunday.  In fact, I nearly reversed the car to go ask it, as, instead of running, the fox stood still at the end of a lane way.  I thought it rather strange to see a fox in town, let alone a fox of that size, but it seems as though the fox has moved into the area and has been spotted more than once, by many people.  This is not your typical sneaky fox, but is rather bold and forward, showing himself on sidewalks and parking lots.  This got me to thinking, what is God saying through this fox?  The first thing that came to me was the scripture "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." (Song of Solomon 2:15, NIV)

Then this morning in the devotional I was reading the scripture was from Romans 6 about how we are now free from the power of sin's dictates.  The particular passage I was reading was this,

"That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives.  Don't give it the time of day.  Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life.  Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time - remember, you've been raised from the dead! - into God's way of doing things.  Sin can't tell you how to live.  After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer.  You're living in the freedom of God." (Romans 6: 12-14, MSG)

 When I read the part about not running little errands connected with that old way of life, I was struck with how many times in a single day I find myself serving Christ as a whole, yet continuing to "run little errands" for that old slave-driving sinful nature.  So many times I find that my whole day can get pulled off track by one little thought that I've dwelt on too long.  These little thought's, (or foxes) are usually lies planted in my mind as small seeds, but by not ripping them up with truth from the Word of God they are given power and grow into something larger that quickly wraps around me like a vine, choking out the life-giving freedom of Christ.

Many times those little lies will list off all of the reasons that I am justified in believing them.  Here's the key to overcoming when this happens,

"I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture.  You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing - not caring about others, not caring about God - the worse your life became and the less freedom you had?  And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?" (Romans 6:19, MSG)

As soon as those lies start listing reasons and justifications, take a moment to remember; remember where those lies took you last time, how they reeled you in like a fish caught on a hook so that you were no longer free to stop believing them on your own accord, but instead were attached and enslaved to their power.  Then remember the freedom you are empowered with in that moment to expose the lie for what it is when you embrace the truth of God's Word.

This is my challenge to myself and to you for the next time those little foxes come knocking at our door.  Let's stop letting those little foxes in before they grow to be the big, bold kind like what I spotted last week.  All of that being said, we now may just have an answer to that question of, "what does the fox say?" :)

Have a fabulous weekend,
Crystal

PS: I know you're going to want to listen to this catchy little number now, (I did myself) so I've saved you the trouble. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE (I apologize in advance for getting it stuck in your head...kind of...haha)