Crazy Joy-Renew

The Crazy Joy word for the week is renew. This week my nephew is in town so we are showing him all the fun stuff we like to do in town. We took him to one of our favorite splash parks so we could escape the heat and he had a great time "renewing" and refreshing himself with the buckets of water.

Anything renewing in your life?
This week has been pretty busy for me with family in town and a million things to do before we head out of town. Holy moly, why did no one tell me that a 10 month old requires 2 carry-on's and a large suitcase? It's like babies are tiny premadonnas! Sometimes with the hustle and bustle that life brings, I can get lost in the "busy work" and lose track of things that are truly important. On Monday I caught myself kind of going through the motions during my quiet time and reading my bible quickly, just so I could "check it off my list". This week in church we learned about praying to the Holy Spirit and really listening for His response. Before I started my devotional, I prayed a quick prayer asking that the Lord would really teach and show me what it is that I need to be doing in my life to really glorify him. Then BAM the Lord showed up in a big way. duh like always.

My devotionals key verse was:
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe..." Ephesians 1:18-19a (NIV)

This verse was exactly what I needed. When I was growing up, I went to one of the largest high schools in Oklahoma. I graduated with over 700 other kids and just like any high school, there was a lot of drama, pressure and competition. I had a group of friends that were great girls, but I did see so many of them fall to the pressures of trying to fit in so much that they were losing their self worth. They tried to find confidence in things and people that were never going to give them that love that they were craving. I have no doubt in my mind that the only reason I didn't fall pressure to those things was because of my love for Jesus and my praying mother.

Now that I have a daughter, I hope that she also finds that unconditional love from the Lord and not seek it from people. I struggle with what I'm sure every mother struggles with... How do we give our children that assurance that they need to make the decisions that lead to God's best for them?

The verse really shows me that I need to ask God to enlighten ME and MY heart. Then I will see the hope the Lord calls ME to and I can share that with Isabelle. I pray that when she sees me live out of the hope and love of God, then she will see that she can make choices based on His love for her and seek the hope only He can give.

I look back at when I was really young. I sat through so many boring sermons and crazy youth pastors doing insane things to keep to teach the young kids. They did entertain me and really impacted my life and I had a lot of fun while memorizing verses, but the person that really opened my heart, without jamming it down my throat, was my mother. She has such an amazing LOVE for people and she is constantly showing compassion and grace that can only be attributed to her love for the Lord. I knew at a young age how much she loved her Jesus and how much He loved her. I longed for that relationship that she had with him. I got it. And now I pray that I am able to show Isabelle those same things that my mother showed me because I know that God loves her and wants even MORE than I or she can even imagine.
What do you hope for your kids?