Mindful Mondays ~ Labor Days

Deuteronomy 33:25 ~ Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be. (ESV)


Right now, I don't feel like my bars are iron or bronze.
 
I feel like a half-way decent puff of wind could knock me over.
 
There is nothing sturdy about me.
 
I'm sleep deprived.
 
I'm a six months post-partum hormonal mess.
 
I haven't had a significant break in a while. Any "breaks" have been used to try to accomplish some mammoth project.
 
I'm in serious need of a vacation.
 
And a massage.
 
Each day, my to-do list taunts me. Housework, laundry, cooking, shopping, feeding the baby six times a day, trying not to feed myself chocolate and failing, playing with my kids, snuggling with my baby, hanging out with my husband.
 
All good, important things.
 
But that's not all I do.
 
As I write these words, I'm trying to get ahead on my blog posts. Not so I can coast for the next few weeks, but so I can complete two writing goals. Both of which are self-imposed. No one's going to care if I don't finish them.
 
Except me.
 
I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
 
But these words from Deuteronomy, the blessing that Jacob gave to the tribe of Asher, remind me that there will be enough strength to accomplish what God wants accomplished.
 
Not necessarily what I want accomplished.
 
So I'm planning. I'm praying. And I'm trying to hold my goals out in open hands.
 
I'm starting each day asking God to rule and reign over my day and my calendar. Then, I'm talking to Him about my to-do list and asking Him for my next step. I'm choosing to believe that what truly needs to get done will get done and I'm trying to stay open to the Spirit's leading as I go through my day. (This method comes from Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver).
 
Some days start this way, but by 7:13AM (more or less), I've grabbed the reins and I'm running the show. Those days always end in exhaustion and aggravation.
 
Some days I make it until noon.
 
It's a rare day that I make it past supper.
 
Maybe you're more spiritual than I am. But I find myself starting over several times a day. Handing the reins back to the One who gives me strength.
 
I'm not sure what your life is like right now. My guess is you could teach me a thing or two about hectic lives and crazy schedules.
 
So join me.
 
Don't wait until tomorrow.
 
Ask God to take the reins right now. Ask Him as many times today as you need to. And then watch as He gives you strength to do what truly needs to be done.
 
You'll have to repeat this process again tomorrow.
 
And the next day. And the next.
 
But when the winds blow and life threatens to take you down, you'll feel His strength.
 
And you will stand.
 
 
 
Day by Day, sung by the Antrim Mennonite Choir

 
 
 
 
 

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Thoughtful Thursdays ~ Book Review: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

I am a total Martha.

Not Martha Stewart. Trust me. The decorating gene chuckled, laughed, snorted hysterically as it skipped by me.

I’m talking about Martha. From the Bible.

I am often “anxious and troubled about many things” and I am not above pointing out to God that “Hey, I’m busting my tail here and some people aren’t pulling their weight. Why don’t you make them step up?”

(That last part comes from the LSV—Lynn’s Satirical Version—I think Luke may have been a friend of Martha’s and was cutting her a little slack).

I’m a total Martha.

But I long to be a Mary.

I want to sit at His feet.

I want Jesus to say about me “She has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

If you can relate, then you need to read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.

I read this book six or seven years ago. It stomped my toes then. I re-read it this summer and once again, found it both convicting and encouraging.

In fact, it was while reading this book that my “quiet time” took on a consistency and meaning that I have never experienced before. (I put quiet time in quotes because with three children, quiet isn’t necessarily the most accurate word…I’ve blogged about this here).

Joanna Weaver writes from the position of a fellow “Martha” and she asserts that God doesn’t expect all of the Marthas of the world to change into Marys. On the contrary, we Marthas are key servants in the Kingdom.

But we need to learn when to serve and when to sit. When to work and when to worship.

We need to have a Mary heart in a Martha world.

Luke 10:38-42 ~ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)

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