A Childish Attitude

I thought seriously about not posting today. It's been a rough couple of days in the Partin house. Yesterday morning a happy-go-lucky trip to visit my parents turned worrisome in a matter of minutes. We were 5 minutes into our casual visit when Avari broke out in hives. Now, let me begin by saying that I had no idea what the huge, red welts were that were quickly spreading all over my beautiful girl. I assumed it was some sort of allergic reaction.

Of course, as I rushed home to put her in the bathtub (I mistakenly thought we would wash off the offending allergen), I wracked my brain to think of what we had done differently than usual. I came to the earth-shattering conclusion that we had done absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. While Avari was playing, I quickly consulted my favorite website to find out what I should do next. That is when I discovered that she had hives and anything from a change in temperature to a virus could be causing them.

Since they seemed to be fading, I worried less about the hives, and we went about our day. Then lo and behold, when I picked up my husband from work a few hours later, the hives returned with brute force. In a matter of minutes her eyes were swollen and her upper lip was drooping over her bottom lip. Needless to say, my worries returned with reinforcements.

Now, yesterday was the last day of my husband's teaching career. He is going to try to get his investment business off the ground and write full-time. One of my nagging fears is that something horrible will happen and we won't have insurance. And as I watched my beautiful, little baby's face balloon, the devil started whispering all those old, familiar doubts in my ears.

After various phone calls with nurses and such, we gave Avari some Benadryl and settled in for the night. The experts did not seem concerned, so we became less so. We prayed, just as I had been doing all day. I went to bed hoping to wake to a completely normal little girl. Alas, I rose to find a splotchy, swollen, feverish girl. We quickly took her to see the pediatrician where we found out that she has strep throat. If you are anything like me, at this point you are wondering why she has hives with strep. Well, the answer is that she is allergic to the strep bacteria that is causing her fever, which has resulted in huge splotchy hives.

Now, I am sure you are asking why you need to know any of this. Really, you probably don't, but when I'm tired, I tend to ramble. Stick with me though; I'm coming to the point.

Through all of the hives, fever, etc., Avari has been a trooper. She has carried on as if her lip wasn't swollen to three times its normal size and she didn't have itchy patches all over her body. She never missed a beat.

She reacted the way I wish I would have - with complete security in the fact that we, her parents, would care for her. I, on the other hand, for a brief moment, panicked. Millions of horrible scenarios tracked through my mind. I wish I had trusted in my heavenly Father like Avari trusted in me.

I suppose I said all that to say this: I doubted, and I shouldn't have. I felt a bit ashamed as I am sure Peter did in Matthew 16:30-31. Peter had stepped out of the boat and was walking on water, "but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

I know that I want to react differently next time. I want to have the childish attitude that Avari had. The attitude that says, "I know everything will be alright because my Abba Father will take care of everything. " It is reassuring to know that if we do feel ourselves sinking into those old, familiar doubts again, Jesus, just as he did with Peter, will reach out His hand and take hold of us to bring us safely to Him!

Read more!

Useful Information

OK, I thought since it is Friday, we would be a little more mundane than usual. I figured maybe I could share some information that I've found elsewhere that would be useful to you.

First off, there is a website that you may have heard about but perhaps haven't checked it out yet. It is called The Grocery Game. Now, if you don't like to save money then go ahead and skip down in this post. My frugal friends and I are going to chat for a minute.

I have recently discovered this wonderful site. I have friends that have been a part of it for years, and have saved so much money that it makes your jaw drop to hear about it. It does cost money to be a member, but you will save way more money than it ever costs you. You can actually sign up for a 4 week trial for $1. I won't try to explain everything about it here. They have a terrific how-to guide on their site that is a must read before starting. Basically, they track the sales and the coupons, put them together and give you a list for your chosen store(s). Then you shop based on the list and save tons of money.

I won't spend a lot of time regaling you with the tales of my recent shopping experiences. I will say that I have gotten more free food, cleaning products and toiletries than I ever thought possible. I was skeptical going in to it, but I am a full-fledged, bona-fide believer now. My one tip is to be organized. I recommend a binder with zipper pouches for the coupons you clip. That was a tip that I took from my friend, Anna. Thanks, Anna!!

Anyway, visit The Grocery Game now if you are tired of paying too much for your groceries. Oh, I lied - I'm going to give you two more tips. Clip all the coupons - even the ones for stuff you don't normally use. If you can get the stuff for free and you don't want it, you can always donate it. Also, in addition to your grocery store of choice, sign up for CVS and/or Walgreens. You can save lots with these stores. You don't believe me now, but you will thank me later.

On to my next recommendation of the day. If you read my post on patience the other day, you saw that I was having some pretty frustrating problems with some technical stuff on my blog. I have to say that my new best friend Vin at Beta Blogger for Dummies saved my life. No, really, I was about to pull my hair out, and Vin saved me from being a very unattractive bald woman. If you want to tweak your Blogger blog and need the code to do it. This is the place for you. He was even nice enough to e-mail back and forth with me until we solved my issue. Thank you, Vin!!

OK, that's about all the time I have for today kids. In the infamous words of Houston's own Marvin Zindler - "Have a good weekend. Good golf, good tennis, or whatever makes you happy!"

Read more!

You've Got Two Choices. . .

I've been thinking a lot about a certain subject lately. Whether you are a full-time minister, lay minister or not a minister at all, your job and other obligations require sacrifices in certain areas of your life. You have to give of your time and money, you have to put aside your preferences and desires. The one thing that should never be the victim of work or ministry is your family.

I know that there is a delicate balance between our work/ministry life and our home life. There are times when you have no choice but to stay late for an hour to finish a project that has an impending deadline. We will always have those days when something or someone is screaming for our attention. My point is, it should not have to be your spouse or children screaming for it.

Our first priority in our lives should be our relationship with God. The extension of that relationship with God should be our relationship with our family. Then, finally, flowing out of your relationship with God and your family will be your ministry. If you get these priorities out of order, you are in for a world of pain and disappointment.

Make yourself always available to your spouse and your children. In most offices today managers operate with an "open door" policy, so you can feel free to offer suggestions or share frustrations. Make sure you operate your household in the same way. Your family should always be able to come to you with any problem, concern or situation.

I Timothy 3:4-5 gives us some advice when it says, "He must manage his own family well, with children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?" Now, those are pretty strong words from our friend, the apostle Paul. Let me go again to the Tiffany Partin paraphrase where this portion of scripture says, "Look, if you can't manage to keep your own life in order, how in the world, can you expect to help anyone else get his straightened out?"

The long and short of it is this: put your family first. God respects and honors that. He looks for it; He even requires it. Do not put a church board meeting in front of your daughter's ballet recital. Schedule that counseling session on a night other than that of your son's soccer playoffs. If you have the choice to work overtime or spend time with your kids, choose the time with your kids. You can always spend money later, but you can never retrieve unspent time.

Your family should receive your best. They should be the first people to whom you minister, not the last. Raising a family is similar to how you handle money - pay now or pay more later. You've got two choices when it comes to your family . . . invest your time now and reap great rewards later or borrow against their love on credit and have to pay it back with interest in the future.

Now, go on, go give your family a hug!

Read more!

Have Patience

I am at my boiling point as I begin this post. I have spent the better part of an afternoon trying to finish a project. Unfortunately, I get halfway through the process and get an error message. Here's the kicker, I get a different error code every time. So I figured that instead of losing what little patience I have left, I would blog instead.

Do you ever get to the point where you have just about lost your sanity? The computer won't cooperate, your kids won't cooperate, your dog won't cooperate - you get the picture. It seems as if the whole world is conspiring to ruin your day. What do you do?

When my daughter is being impatient, I sing her the song my mom used to sing to me: "Have Patience." Most of the time, it is as much for my benefit as for hers. But, how do we go from that "I'm gonna lose it any second now" state of mind to a state of peace and tranquility? Well, I'm warning you, you may not like my answer.

We have to learn to let go of whatever is causing us to "lose it." If that means hanging up with the customer service representative who refuses to listen to your problem and keeps reading a scripted answer in broken English, then do it. If it means stopping in the middle of what you are doing to read your child another book even though you really need to finish, then do it. If it means stopping short of throwing the computer through a window and instead allowing God to use this experience in a constructive way, do it!

The Bible tells us in I Samuel 15:22 that "to obey is better than sacrifice." In the Tiffany Partin paraphrase that translates to "it is better to be obedient in the first place than to have to repent for your actions after they have harmed you and/or someone else." So, I've taken my own advice, and you know, it was extremely cathartic.

Now it's your turn. Take a deep breath, exhale, step away from the source of the frustration, and breathe in the peace of God!

Read more!

Taking Up Space

I've been thinking a lot the last couple of days about how I fill the space that is alloted to me. Frankly, I need to exercise so I take up a little less space, but that is a bit off topic. No, my question is - am I just taking up space, or am I filling it with something of substance?

Maybe if I give you a little background, it will help clarify the situation. When I started out in ministry over 10 years ago, I was under the impression that it was better to burn out for Jesus than to fade out. As a result, I spent a lot of time filling positions in the church because I could. That is to say, I didn't necessarily undertake the task because it was something God told me specifically that I was to do. Instead, I took every need in the church as a call to action. I literally burned myself out.

I was convinced that if I wasn't busy all the time, I wasn't accomplishing all God wanted me to do. I led small groups, taught Sunday school, worked with the youth group, led worship, etc, etc. The end result was that I settled. I settled for being busy for God rather than being effective. I had so many balls in the air that it was impossible to give any one area my full attention. I am certain that I not only robbed myself and the people to whom I was ministering by doing this, but I also robbed others who might have taken part in areas of ministry that I was simply occupying.

Instead of trying to ascertain what exactly God wanted me to do for him I launched into one project after another and simply asked him to bless what I determined I should be doing. I settled for His acceptable will rather than His perfect will. I had a really hard time understanding the difference between the two until God allowed me to go down another wrong path that forced me to slow down and take stock of my ministry.

Romans 12:1-2 tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. It goes on to say that as our minds are renewed by living for Him, we will learn to discern His good and acceptable and perfect will. I am no theologian and have never claimed to be; however, my life experience tells me that there is a difference between God's acceptable will and His perfect will.

Isn't it interesting that the very next section of scripture, Romans 12:3-8, talks about everyone in the body having different gifts and using those gifts for God? Now, I had never really thought about it this way before, but I believe that God is telling us that just because we can do something does not necessarily mean we should. He has specific plans for our ministry beyond just filling a need.

It is hard to say no to someone when they ask you for help and you believe you can fill that need. I would caution you with this: pray first. Learn to distinguish between what God allows you to do and what He desires you to do. Sometimes it may mean saying no to a position or area of ministry to which you feel called because it simply is not the right time. Other times it may mean saying yes to something you feel is far beyond your capabilities. The key is to make those decisions based on the counsel you find in your prayer closet. Never allow someone to pressure you into an area of ministry because there is a need you can fill.

The difference between God's acceptable will and His perfect will could be the difference between success and failure in an endeavor. If He is simply allowing you to pursue something of your own choosing, you will never have the peace, joy and success that you desire. However, if you will wait on Him - actively wait on Him by praying and seeking His will, He will direct you. Then and only then will your ministry know success - joy even in difficulty, peace even in the midst of turmoil.

It may not be an easy road that He sets your feet upon, but it will be rewarding. And as you are living your life in the center of His perfect will, you will have no doubts that He has you safely in the palm of His hand!

Read more!

Kids Rock

I had to share this. Anyone with young kids will appreciate this one, especially, if your little one is like mine, and wants to listen to her music NON-STOP 24/7/365 without fail!

Enjoy!

Read more!

What's In Your Closet

Well, it's confession time here at FathomDeep. I'm going to let you in on one of my secrets. I tend to be a perfectionist. No, that's not the secret. If you've spent ten minutes with me, you know that I'm a perfectionist. I've gotten a lot better since I became a mom, but I still like my house very clean. However, there are those times when we have company over, and there's that last load of laundry that I just don't have time to fold. What do I do with it? Here comes the secret. Well, it ends up in the closet. That's right. I just stick basket and all in the closet until the guests leave. Then I pull it out and fold it (if it isn't too late, of course).


My question is this: what is in your spiritual closet? When you spend time with God, what gets shoved into the closet that you don't want Him see? We all have areas of our lives where we need God's work. If you don't, you are either dead or lying. The trick is to allow Him to work. He will not force His change upon us.

Most of us despise change. We usually avoid it at all costs, but we should crave God's changes in us. Let me challenge you with this: next time you go to prayer, ask God what one thing He wants to work on in your life. You may be surprised at His response. So, as we start a new week, let's pull the laundry out of the closet and allow God to put it away where it belongs!

Blessings!

Read more!