Mommy's Break (Daddy's Perspective)

Re-entry into normal home life after last week's Gospel Coalition's Women's Conference was definitely easier than it would have been in years past when all my children were small. In those days, returning home meant being immediately bombarded by the all-consuming needs of little children who had been without mommy for a few days.  I would often be in prayer on the drive home for God to prepare me to step back into my world where I needed to die to self moment-by-moment so that I could love and serve my kids.  Thinking about the differences now with older children reminded me of something that my husband Brian wrote a few years back while I was away on a 5 day trip to visit my parents.  It is one of the sweetest things that I have ever read, and it still makes me cry. Re-posting it below, and feeling very blessed to be the wife and mommy at my house....
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Learning Love From A Can of Green Beans
by Brian Shealy


As I sit at the dinner table tonight I know that there is a half empty can of green beans sitting on the kitchen counter that needs to be put away. I cannot quite see it from where I sit, but I know that it is probably still there. Of course there is no guarantee because you can never tell what will happen in this house. I am aware of the green bean can because it has taunted me all day long. I am not quite sure when it appeared or who opened it, who knows maybe I even opened it, but I have seen it several times today in passing and I have remembered it from a distance on numerous occasions.

You might be saying, "Why don't you just get up and put it away?" Well, the reason is that I am certain that between my departure from the table and my arrival at the kitchen there would be some interruption and a string of circumstances that would have my next conscious thought arise in some place like the back yard, garage, street, or head in the refrigerator wondering, "What am I doing here?" or "What was I looking for?"

No, I am not a total lunatic, nor do I have Alzheimer's, I have just been keeping seven of my children for the past five days while my wife is in Alabama visiting her parents. The green bean can has special significance for me for two reasons. First, it represents my own inadequacy and inability to accomplish all that I am called to do in this task. Second, because it teaches me how to love my wife in a more understanding way.

You see, I remember coming home from work one day a few months ago and seeing a half empty can of green beans sitting on the counter. As we were putting kids to bed I passed through the kitchen and mentioned to my wife the presence of the can and asked how long it has been out and whether it should still be put away. She said, "I think it has been there since lunchtime." I remember thinking, "I wonder why she didn't put it away," but I didn't say anything. I knew that she was extremely busy and decided that I would just be understanding and take care of it myself. I thought I understood then, but now I really do understand.

I serve as the Dean of a seminary where I also teach language classes. Last Wednesday I taught & administered seminary education from 7:30 AM to 5:40 PM. Then I took my son to basketball practice and headed home to teach my Bible study. After the study we put our children to bed and then I headed to the SF airport to send my wife to Alabama. I finally arrived home about 1:30 AM. So, needless to say, I started this whole adventure very tired. But that is okay. It dawned on me this week that my wife does this all the time. She is often up early and retires late, constantly working. I was simply feeling what she does regularly.

Then it started. I entered the adventure with the naive thought that I would still accomplish my work from home while homeschooling and taking care of the children. I soon relinquished that dream. Very quickly the realization that this was more than a full time endeavor seized me. Now, five days later as I prepare to pick up my dear wife from the airport I have come to understand her very much better. In 1 Peter 3:7 it says for husbands to live with their wives in an understanding way. This is my endeavor by the power of the Spirit and the grace of Christ.

Walking a mile in someone else's shoes definitely goes a long way to help you understand them and learn how to love them better (being patient and kind). This week I have experienced the types of burdens my dear wife carries - the weight she feels of being concerned with homeschooling seven children . . . are they learning? . . . am I doing a good job . . . is CPS going to show up and take them away . . . am I doing what is the wisest? - the concern over their character . . . reading to them, disciplining, discussing -- holding them accountable for their responsibilities and chores, three meals a day . . . are they eating well . . . giving out medication . . . making sure the guinea pig and the fish don't die . . . the cooking . . . the cleaning . . . getting them to swim team and basketball practice, changing diapers (7 times a day), getting them up, putting them to bed, overseeing their hygiene (brushing teeth, doing hair, getting dressed, taking baths, wearing deodorant), managing the mountains of laundry, the washing, the drying, the sorting, the folding, the putting away . . . living through the very simple constant demands --the questions, the requests, the social agenda of each child, the whining, the rebellion, the hugs and kisses, the hurts, bumps, and bruises . . . being the nurse . . . going to buy necessary clothes, supplies, food, etc. . . . cleaning up spills and bathroom accidents . . . getting them up and ready for church on time, doing pew training, . . . And this list could go on and on. I found that often I experienced unexplained fears and surges of emotion.

While I was at home I didn't even have to concern myself with homeschooling the youngest school age children because she had finished their work up through my days with them. I also did not have to be concerned with pleasing and serving a husband as she does.

Besides all of these things my wife also somehow does discipleship, ministers to people in various ways, answers e-mails, writes a blog, engages in photography, graciously handles interruptions, and TAKES CARE OF ME all while maintaining her spiritual devotion to Christ.

In the midst of my adventure many things went undone. The first thing that went out the window was any time or energy spent on myself. I didn't even think about shaving for four days. It was hard to find time to eat, get dressed or go to the bathroom. The newspapers piled up in the driveway, I cleaned no bathrooms, did not clean out the fridge, did very little yard work, and no extra things around the house. and there is the weight of looking at the things you cannot accomplish like putting away a green bean can. So it was easy to see how some things just never get done.

Let me say here, to exonerate my children, that they were very helpful throughout the five days. They have been taught to do many things, but even then there is the weight of overseeing their work in their responsibilities.

After all of this, it would be an understatement to say that I marvel at how well my wife takes care of all of her charge. She truly is an excellent wife far more valuable than rubies. I feel that many daughters have done nobly, but she excels them all. I will praise her to her face, before the children, and in the gates. But I marvel even more at what Christ can do in a life. I marvel at His grace, because having experienced a small slice of her life I marvel that she would not only be able to do this and do it well all the time, but that it is her choice to do this and she loves it and would choose nothing else. She serves her Lord in this way every day with joy.

I think I understand my wife better and her needs. I need to be constantly vigilant in remembering to pray for my dear wife, to encourage her, to give her rest and breaks, to give her adult conversation, to rescue her out of her burdens, to treat her to dates, to find ways to help her, to support her with the children, to demand nothing, to treat her with extra special graciousness, gentleness, tenderness, and affection.

One last thought that occurred to me during this process was how difficult it must be to be a single parent. My heart is broken to think of doing this all without a partner. Again, how amazing the grace of our loving Lord must be to enable single parents to persevere and even have great joy in raising children without other help. Lord, make us all more understanding and compassionate toward each other. Teach us how to minister to each other.

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How Did You Do That?

After observing the lives of some of my children once, someone said to me, “Your kids love the Lord.  How did you make them do that?”

The question almost made me laugh, because if I have learned anything over my years of motherhood, it is that God is the only one that can make children love Him.  He is the only one that can take someone with a sinful, unbelieving heart, transfer them from the kingdom of darkness into light, and awaken them to love, worship, and serve Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that He not only CAN do that, but He actually DELIGHTS to do that. 

So my answer to the question, “How did you do that?” is “I didn’t, but God can!” At the same time, I am aware that God’s normal way of saving people is through the influence and witness of average people, as they share the Gospel in love, and help other believers grow. It is not uncommon to hear testimonies of how God used parents in the salvation and growth of their children. Even though parents are sinners, too, and we have all failed in one way or another in this role of parenting, God is gracious, and He uses parents anyway.

When someone asks me a question like that, what they usually really mean is, “What can I do, and what should I be doing to impact my children for Christ? And how does God use godly parents to help their children know and love and live to serve Jesus Christ?” That was the question in my heart when I first started out with one little baby. Looking back now from the vantage point of having grown children, here’s what I would say to those questions…

Pray for change that results in love.  

The saving, sanctifying work of Christ in my life has impacted my children for good as it has produced a love that flows in at least three directions: love for Jesus Christ, love for my husband, and love for my children. 

On the day that Christ saved me there was an initial life transformation, but that has become a continuing transformation for many years now. God is so amazing in His power that He can take sinful, selfish, unworthy, and often unwilling people, transform them, and use them to carry out His amazing plans in the lives of others.  So, when God needed a mother to raise eight Shealy children, He could start with me. That way, in the end, He gets all the credit for any good that was produced in the lives of my kids, and as people see this, they should say, “Wow! Look what God can do!”

I. Love Jesus Christ

First, pray for change that results in love for Christ. It would seem obvious that if you want your children to love the Lord, they need to first see that modeled in your own life, but many Christian mothers miss this.  If loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is your prayer, then you can be sure that there are things that must change for that to become a growing reality in your life. At the moment of your salvation, you were given the power to die to self and live to God. Moment by moment we need to keep making decisions that reflect that we belong to Jesus and are now living for His glory, not our own.

How does this look on a normal day? 

Fix your eyes on Jesus. What do you think of Jesus?  Is He your prize, your treasure, the One who gives you satisfaction, peace, stability, hope and joy? Hebrews 12:1-3 describes us as runners who are to run with our eyes fixed firmly on our prize…Jesus Christ Himself. He is our everything. The more you learn of Him, the more you will see Him as the loving, merciful Savior who has rescued you from your sin and is worthy of all your love and worship, obedience and service. This will change how you think, how you act, and what you say, even when your days of caring for little children are difficult. Life will be less about you and your circumstances, good or bad. More and more, it will be about living to bring glory to your Savior.  As we are transformed by the Gospel, we will be able to echo what John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Be daily transformed by the Gospel. To live daily with my eyes fixed on Jesus has required daily repentance because I am proud and selfish. God has used my children in amazing ways to show me just how sinful I really am!!!  But the more I focus on Jesus, who He is and all He has done for me, it makes me want to turn away from my pride and selfishness.  The Gospel can and should make us humble and grateful. It reminds me that all I deserved was condemnation and wrath, but I have instead been granted forgiveness and the righteousness of Christ before a holy God.  This helps to kill my sinful, selfish “entitlement” mentality and have a right perspective.

Live for Him with hope and joy. The transformation that Christ has brought should change the demeanor of your life. You will be able to smile at the future, like the Proverbs 31 woman, because you are confident in God’s great power, and you belong to Him.  It will remind you that since you have Jesus, you need nothing else to be happy in this life and hopeful for the life to come.

You will be able to reflect a heart that can be unselfish and do the unseen, thankless, yet necessary, jobs that no one else wants to do, because you are doing it for Jesus. The more you learn of His power, wisdom, and goodness, the more your heart will reflect contentment, because you will know that He chooses what is best for you on any given day. The more you grow in love for Jesus Christ, the more you will want to live for what He says is important. You will want to be part of leading little ones to Him, and building His kingdom, starting with your own children as your greatest missionary opportunity.  

As you are daily transformed into this kind of woman who loves Jesus Christ, your children will have a living example of the power of the Gospel right before their eyes.  They will know what it means to follow Jesus, not just because of what you have said to them, but by how you have lived as they have watched.

II.   Love your Husband

Second, pray for change that results in love for your husband.  One way God intended for the Gospel to be preached to the world is through the vehicle of marriage. The transforming power of the Gospel is most conspicuously put on display when two sinners can live together in marriage and actually love each other.  The primary audience of this witness is the children who are produced by such a marriage. I believe that great damage has been done to the testimony of the Gospel by parents who tell their children to love Christ, but can’t show by their own marriage that their love for Christ empowered and motivated them to love each other.

Often people use Ephesians 5:22-33 as a how-to for having a happy marriage.  But don’t miss the fact that this chapter starts and ends with the Gospel. Verse 1 calls us to imitate God in the sacrificial love He has shown us in Christ, and at the end of the chapter, (after giving marriage as an example of a relationship where the Gospel should have an impact,) Paul says, “I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church.”

In his book Gospel-Powered Parenting, William Farley powerfully makes this point:

“ …human marriage exists to preach the gospel.  It exists to illustrate the fruit that should follow the preaching of the gospel in the church. …What is our marriage telling them (our children) about Christ and his bride? They see it all. They hear our fights.  They absorb our attitudes. They know who or what really sits on the throne of our lives. They watch how we handle resentment.  They hear the way we talk to each other.  They know when we hear the Sunday sermon and apply it.  They also know when we ignore it. …The message that our marriage preaches either repels or attracts our children. God wants your child to watch your marriage and think, ‘I want a marriage like that, and I want the God that produced it.’ “

Marriage is the great overlooked tool for the evangelism of children. Once again the transforming power of the Gospel makes it possible for two sinners to love each other in this way in their marriage. When we sin and fail, the Gospel will draw us back to Christ for forgiveness, and will send us to each other in humility to confess our sins and be restored. Our children need to witness this process between their parents when there is sin and conflict, and it can have a great impact on their lives for Christ.

My children have mentioned little things that stood out to them that Brian and I did to show love to each other. When he would return home from work at the end of the day, everything would come screeching to a halt as I would run to the front door to get the first kiss and hug. Sometimes the kids would even engage me in a playful race, and laugh as I fought to be in Daddy’s arms first.  They noticed that we held hands in the front seat, or embraced as we took a walk together. One memorable quote from Lindsay, at about age 4 as she watched us show affection, was “keep up the good kissing!” It built security in their lives that we would go to so much trouble to get away for dates, and overnight trips on our anniversary. Sometimes our children would visit a home that had an air of underlying stress and conflict between the parents, and then they would come home and thank us for loving each other.

III. Love Your Children

Finally, pray for change that results in love for your children.

It is interesting to note that the one thing said to older women instructing younger women about parenting, in Titus 2:3-5, is simply “…encourage them to …love their children.” 

As I have grown in Christ, my list for why I should love my children has grown, too.

I must love them because:

1. God made them, and they are an amazing display of His creative power. (Psalm 139)

2. God loves them, and He shows grace to them whether they are saved or unsaved. (John 3:16)

3. God uses them for my sanctification. (Boy, does He ever!) (Romans 8:28)

4. God wants me to tell them about Him, and the great salvation He offers in Jesus. (Psalm 78, Matthew 28:18-20)

5. God has loved me, and saved me so that I would love others. (1 John 4)

How I should love my children is clearly outlined in the Scriptures, too.

Colossians 3:12-14 has been a foundational passage that God has used to teach me how to love my children over the years:

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

Two character qualities from that list especially stand out and are emphasized also in 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient; love is kind.”

Be patient.

This sounds so simple, yet we all know that it isn’t always easy. Our own sinful desires would have us lash out when under all the provocations that happen in a day of caring for little (and big) kids. But 1 Cor. 13:4 teaches us that we must choose, especially at those provoking moments, to be patient. Patience is the restraining, passive side of love. It calls us to put up with the irritating actions of others, to endure them, to persevere and not give up on the offenders. Especially when they don’t deserve it, God calls you to demonstrate through your warm, welcoming, accepting demeanor toward your kids that you still love them.  And as you do this, pray and look for opportunities to tell your children that you do this because that is how Christ has loved you.  He has been patient with you. He has endured all the sin you committed against Him, loving and dying for you, even when you were His enemy! His patient treatment toward you should motivate you to extend that to others, especially to your children.

Striving to love patiently has opened up many opportunities to talk to my kids about the Gospel. In fact, the times that I have failed to do this have been used by the Lord too, as I have had to ask their forgiveness.

Be kind.

Kindness is the active side of love and goes beyond simply not returning evil to those provoking you. Instead it drives us to do tangible, practical deeds of love, especially when they are undeserved.  Discipline must be carried out, but even that can be done in a spirit of humility, compassion, and gentleness. And when you follow it with kindness, your children will get a message, loud and clear, that you haven’t given up on them. It extends restoration, and forgiveness, and will help to establish harmony in our homes. We must die to our desire to only love our children when they deserve it.  Jesus Christ daily lavishes your life with gifts of undeserved kindness. He took your punishment and instead gave you His righteous standing before a Holy God. And here we are back at the Gospel again.  Stay there. Live there, moment to moment with your children. Let the gracious, merciful love that Christ has shown to you transform you and flow out to your kids.  Then they will know that Jesus is alive, and that what He has done for you is real and life-transforming.

So, this is my story of how Christ has been working in my life over many years, but He isn't done by any means!  I’m asking God to continue the life transformation that He started on the day that He saved me so that I will “grow in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

I’m asking Him to make that transformation evident in the way I love Jesus Christ, live my life for Him, and find in Him my satisfaction, joy, hope, and purpose.

I’m asking Him to change me day by day so that I will love my husband, as a devoted, godly wife.

I’m asking the Lord to keep making me more like Christ so that I will love my children, as a humble, gracious mother.

And finally, I’m asking the Lord to keep using me in the lives of my children in the days and years to come for His glory.  He can do it!

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Currently Reading...

It has been a while, but I recently picked up Gospel-Powered Parenting again, and remembered how much I love this book. Farley does a great job of showing that what we believe about Jesus Christ and the degree to which we are first transformed by His glorious Gospel will have everything to do with how we parent our children.

One chapter is about God being our gracious Father, and I appreciated this quote about how He proved that by giving His Son for us:

"...the knowledge of what we deserve, and what it cost God to be gracious, is the measure of his fatherly grace. When all is said and done, the cross is the tape that measures the length and breadth of God's grace."

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Four Reasons to Not Stress Out Today

What difficult situation did you wake up to today? Whatever it is, if you belong to Jesus Christ, then there are four things that are as true today as they were yesterday. Clinging to these truths will bring you peace....

1. God is wise. He knows what He is doing in this situation, just like in every other area of your life.

Romans 11:33:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

2. God is good. He can only do what is right, and only has His glory and your good in mind through this as He always does in every other area of your your life.

Psalm 34:8:

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

3. God is loving. Though it is hard to make our minds think this way, God designed this to be one more way of demonstrating love to you.

Psalm 103:8:

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness."

and finally...

4. God can be trusted. Since the above three things are true about God, then you can rest in the truth of who He is, and the assurance that whatever He is doing, He is for you.

Proverbs 3:5,6:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight."

He has given you His precious Son, Jesus Christ. How will He withhold anything else that you truly need?

Romans 8:32:

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"

He has met your greatest need already on the cross, and this is not too hard for Him. Whew!

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Worth it All

...That amazing moment of unspeakable joy when your grown children thank you for all the years you spent homeschooling them, giving them a happy childhood, and building a good relationship with them.

*deep, joyful sigh*

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Gospel Powered Parenting

A friend and I have been reading a book together by William Farley called Gospel Powered Parenting. In his first chapter, Intellectual Submarines, Farley discusses the unseen assumptions that cruise just below the surface of our lives but drive how we think and act.

He says that godly parents operate from the following 5 assumptions as they face the task of raising children.

1. Parenting is not easy. We cannot be perfect parents. "Precisely because we are so flawed, the gospel, the saving work of Christ, must be your refuge." (p. 20)

2. God is sovereign, but He uses means. God is completely in control of salvation, but He loves to use parents to bring salvation to their children. We are utterly dependent and responsible at the same time.

3. A good offense is better than defense. We must focus on preparing our children to enter the world and conquer it through saving faith in Jesus Christ, not merely protecting them from it. We must show our children through our lives and teach them through our words that Christ is more glorious and satisfying than anything here.

"We aimed all our arrows at our children's hearts, knowing that once their hearts had been changed, the decisive battle was fought and won." (p. 26) This is what the new birth is all about.

4. Understand the new birth. If our children have only adopted a religious, moralistic, works-righteousness philosophy, they will be no different from the world. Only when they are born again will they follow Christ and his word. "New birth is a radical change of heart that ushers in new desires, new loves, and a new life direction." (p. 28)

5. Effective parents are not child centered. They strive instead to put God at the center of their family. Having a God-centered family means saying no to kids when it is in their best interest, husband and wife are united before their kids, marriage is a higher priority than kids, and there is a willingness to be different from the world.

After almost 22 years of trying by God's grace (though as flawed sinners) to follow these 5 principles, I can say "Amen" to everything he said in this chapter! God has been moving us more and more over the years to cast all our hope for our children on Christ and His transforming work in their hearts. I feel deeply the responsibility I have to do everything possible to give them the Word as much as possible, live it out before them in a gracious, humble way, and pray for God to save and sanctify them. Ultimately though, it is all up to Him, and I am astounded and humbled to know that He wants to use me. WOW!

I hope you will pick up this book and catch a vision for the wonderful work God desires to do in you and in the lives of your children.

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Highly Recommending: Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands

Over the past year, my Bible study ladies and I read Paul David Tripp's book Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands. It was one of the best books I have read in a long time about discipleship and ministry, and solidified and expanded my understanding of how God intends to use sinners (in need of change) in the lives of other sinners (also needing change).

At the end of Chapter 14, Tripp sums up the gist of the whole book and articulates the simplicity, yet grandeur of personal ministry in the following couple of paragraphs:

"Two things always come to my mind as I finish teaching this material. First, I am hit with the utter simplicity of biblical personal ministry. It is not a secret technology for the intervention elite, but a simple call to every one of God's children to be part of what God is doing in the lives of others. It is living in humble, honest, redemptive community with others, loving as Christ has loved, and going beyond the casual to really know people. It is loving others enough to speak the truth to them, helping them to see themselves in the mirror of God's Word. And it is standing with others, helping them to do what God has called them to do. It is basically just a call to biblical friendship! It is almost embarrassingly simple: Love people. Know them. Speak truth into their lives. Help them do what God has called them to do.

At the same time, there is a grandeur to personal ministry that cannot be captured with words. God is painting his grace on the canvas of human souls. One day we will stand with him in Glory and see that canvas completed, and we won't be able to do anything but worship. What is our part in all of this? We are God's brushes. He wants to soak us on the palette of his grace and paint more of his goodness on yet another soul. The question is, "Are we soft brushes in his hands?" A hard, dried-out brush doesn't pick up the paint well and mars the surface it was meant to beautify. I hope this book will help you become a soft brush in the hands of a Redeemer who will continue to paint until his canvas is complete."

Tripp's hope, expressed in that last sentence, is my prayer as I set out to apply the principles outlined in this helpful book.

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Cute Quote

Me, addressing my 5 year old: "Did you like Reepicheep?"

(We had just come out of the theater after watching the latest Chronicles of Narnia movie. Reepicheep is a large Narnian mouse, who is very skilled with his sword, and known for his bravery and adventurous spirit. )

My little boy: "Reepicheep is the boss!"

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What God Can Do

Today I was reading a new book that I picked up on Sunday called Gospel-Powered Parenting. The author, William P. Farley, shared a great quote from Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) and was showing how it is possible for children to follow Christ in a world filled with sinful allurements.


"Christians overcome the world by seeing the beauty and excellence of Christ. They overcome the world by seeing something more attractive than the world: Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3)... In the same way, Christian parents try to make Christ and his kingdom glorious. Their children conquer the lusts of this world with a higher passion: the moral beauty of Christ."


Farley's own testimony of raising his five children echoes the same idea. They put all their hope in the life-transforming power of the Gospel:




"We aimed all our arrows at our children's hearts, knowing that once their hearts were changed, the decisive battle was fought and won."


I have been watching this happen in my own family. Today, I took my four sweet daughters out for a special girls time together. We reserved a study room at the library, and spent a couple of hours just talking together, and sharing what God is teaching each of us. As I sat and listened to the conversation around the table, I was so moved by what God has done/is doing in their lives. I was struck by the amazing fact that God can do in their hearts what parents can only pray for as we teach, love them, rebuke, exhort, and encourage through our days together. He captures hearts and makes them love His Son, and embrace His wisdom and His ways. I am so grateful and filled with hope for what He will do with my-- well, with His children in the days ahead.

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Enjoying Your Mother's Day Gifts

Happy Mother’s Day, ladies! Maybe some of you were treated to special meals, cards, flowers, gifts, jewelry, chocolate, and other loving gifts today from your families. Or maybe some of you received none of these things and felt forgotten today. Whatever the case, you were already given the one gift that qualifies you to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mom…..CHILDREN! And God himself is the one that presented you with that precious gift. He is kind, isn’t He??!!

Often when we receive something as a gift, it comes with instructions, use and care guidelines, or tips for maximum enjoyment. Did you know that when God gave you children he gave you a special manual to help you enjoy your role as a mom to the maximum degree? It’s true! The One who breathes the breath of life into every newborn infant, and created the parents that were involved in the procreation process that brought the child into existence, knows the very best way for children to be raised to adulthood. He has had these principles written down in His word, the Bible, available to all who would read and apply them to their lives.

Often the principles in the Bible that affect motherhood in the greatest way are principles that relate to heart attitudes of the parents. I’m very thankful for the wealth of wisdom regarding such topics as the discipline and instruction of children in the Bible, but I have to say that before I can get to the "how to's", I need the kind of help that simply starts with my own heart, and deals with the sinful attitudes with which I struggle.

With that said, when I cultivate the following three heart attitudes, I find that I greatly enjoy the eight gifts that God has so graciously entrusted into my care for a few short years. And really the years of having children in our homes passes quickly, so there is no time to waste.
So, to fully enjoy your Mother’s Day gifts (your children), ask God to give you…

I. …a heart of excited joy

Your child is a display of God’s amazing handiwork! God is revealed in His creation and man is the pinnacle of His creative genius. Psalm 139 talks about how each and every person is wonderfully made. When we look at a beautiful painting, we not only admire the beauty before us, we say “Whoever painted this is an awesome artist!” I marvel especially when I hold a newborn baby and see the perfection of each little fingernail and eyelash. Modern science in all of its technological advances, can’t fully explain how the human body works in all of its intricacies. It makes me say, “There is a God! Look what He can do!!!” Beyond that, the Christian can say, “MY God did this, and he is amazing!” It should fill our hearts with joy to know the God that made the whole world and your child.

When you think of your child, you should also get excited! The same God, who made children and put them into our families, has exciting work to do through you. His plan is that parents would be the primary instrument through which the next generation of worshippers would be raised up. Psalm 78:1-4, and verses 6 and 7 tell us that God wants parents to tell the next generation to come of the wonders He has done, and that He is worthy of their trust. It’s an exciting privilege and He wants to use you to lead your children to Him.

Ask God to give you….


II. …a heart of humble gratitude

We live in a culture that is all about demanding rights and getting what we “deserve”. But the Scriptures teach that, from God’s perspective, our sin makes us deserving of only one thing—death! So when God comes to undeserving sinful man and offers His Son Jesus Christ to pay for their offenses against Him, we should marvel at his grace and bow before Him in humility and gratefulness. For the believer, we should see everything He gives beyond His forgiveness as a further marvel of His kindness to undeserving sinners. That’s how we should respond to such a gracious gift as a child. We should say, “That you would give your only Son to save and forgive us is unfathomable, but this too??!! Thank you, Lord!” I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks.”

Now I know that this seems easy to do when your child is an adorable newborn, sleeping sweetly in your arms. But even if he grows into a sweaty, disrespectful teen that is loud and selfish, he is still God’s gift to you, and God will give you the grace to love unconditionally from a heart of humble gratitude. James 4:10 says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. After all it is by grace that God loves us, and we have all acted like problem children toward Him at one time or another!

And finally, ask God to give you…

III. …a heart of confident trust

There are so many factors in our lives that could tempt us to be anxious about our ability to care for our children. Will we have the wisdom necessary to teach and train them? Will we be able to survive the workload, the sleepless nights, and the crying? Where will the money come from to pay for all the doctor and dentist bills? How will I afford enough food to feed hungry teenagers and their friends? The list goes on and on.

Many times, upon hearing that I have eight children, people have remarked, “Your husband must make a LOT of money!” I love it when I get a comment like that, because while my husband has always worked hard to provide for all of us, it is a great opportunity to say, “It is God who always provides!” We have had children in our home for 20 years and God has never failed to provide what we needed.

Matthew 6: 33 says that God knows about all of our needs, and we should just concentrate on the priority of seeking His kingdom and righteousness. We can be confident that He can be trusted to meet every need that we have.

Beyond physical needs, God has also graciously provided many resources to help fulfill our spiritual responsibilities to our children. We have access to our heavenly Father at any moment through prayer. We were given the Holy Spirit at the moment we were born again, to produce His fruit of love, joy, patience, etc. in our lives. We have His Word that equips us for every good work, and His people to encourage and help us along. There is no need to fear, but be confident in God and trust Him to help you.

Can you see why Hebrews 4:16 is one of my favorite verses? It says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Enjoy your children. They are truly precious gifts from God!

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Remember, Respond, and Rejoice!

Recently, a good friend of mine delivered her seventh baby. Seeing her with a new baby boy in her arms caused me to reminisce about what my life was like when our 7th child was born.

My oldest daughter was 11, and of course all the others went down like stair steps from there, ages 9, 8, 6, 4, 2, and then our little newborn baby boy. It was in those years of little children, their constant needs, the constant work that was necessary to meet their needs, the noise, the energy, the fun, the crying and the laughter, that the phrase HAPPY CHAOS was coined. In fact, I used to joke with my husband that my job would be a little easier if I were an octopus! Then I would have an arm for each kid, plus one left over to cook, clean, and help him!

In those busy days, I found that I could easily get distracted, and lose my focus. There had to be an over-arching goal of what God was calling me to do with my life, and if I didn’t focus my mind on that I could get bogged down in the overwhelming work load and forget that this was about way more than just fulfilling the day to day duties of being a busy mom.

For believers that driving purpose for existence is to know and love Jesus Christ, and to give our lives away so that others will come to do the same.

Three little words helped me in those busy days to keep a focused mind and to keep the happy chaos moving in the right direction. I needed to remind myself of these truths often so that I wouldn't get lost in the chaos and forget the big picture of what Christ had done for me, and what He wanted to do through me.

1. REMEMBER…. Christ has saved you!Whoever you are and whatever you do all day, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then this is your starting point every morning. Never lose sight of the wondrous mercy that God has shown you in the sacrifice of His Son. You are finally alive! You, like all of us, were once spiritually dead, you walked in darkness, willingly enslaved to sin as an enemy of God, and existing to carry out Satan’s agenda and your own ungodly desires. Whether in smug self-righteousness or openly fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, we all lived with the wrath of God hanging over our heads. We could not come to God, and we strongly preferred not to anyway, because we loved our darkness too much. These phrases are how the Scriptures describe us: lost and sinful and dead to God.But then an amazing, wonderful, undeserved, and unexpected thing happened to you.“While you were yet sinners, Christ died for you!”

The wise, loving, sovereign God sent His Son to suffer your punishment on a cross so that you could be clothed with the righteousness of Christ

In his book, Finally Alive, John Piper describes our release from our spiritual deadness. I love this quote because it paints such a vivid picture of our captivity to/and love of sin, and then how all that changes when we are awakened to truth and Christ.

P. 58: "God grants repentance-- that is, he awakens the life that sees the ugliness and danger of sin and the beauty and worth of Christ. That truth sets the prisoner free. It's what happens when a person in the dark fondles an ebony brooch hanging around his neck, and then the lights go on and he sees it's not a brooch but a cockroach, and flings it away. That's how people are set free from the devil. And until God does that miracle of new birth, we stay in bondage to the father of lies because we love to be able to tell ourselves whatever we please. We keep fondling smooth roaches and warm fuzzy tarantulas in the dark."

Being a mother that honors God, and keeping the right focus, doesn’t start with parenting "how to’s". It starts with remembering that you once were dead, but God who is rich in mercy has made you alive together with Christ. Remembering this good news is the starting point for every day that we are alive, because it changes everything: your values, your direction, and your purpose on this earth.

CJ Mahaney says, “Love the Gospel. Never leave it. Never stop being awed by the mercy of God displayed to you in Christ.”

2. RESPOND….Christ has a job for you!2 Cor. 5:15 says “and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for HIM who died and rose again on their behalf.”

How do we live for Him?
By exalting Christ and proclaiming His Gospel to our children during the short time that we have them with us.This may seem like an obvious statement, but I can testify to the fact that a concerted effort must be made daily to see that this happens. Every child has needs, and the more children, the more needs and we must focus our minds to make sure that we make the important things happen each day. Also, there are stresses, conflicts, resistance, disappointments, and each of those things can cause us to forget that we are here to live for Him.

Living for Him involves EXALTING CHRIST. In Phil. 1:20-21, Paul expresses his great desire that Christ be exalted.Everyday we make decisions that either exalt the Lord that we say we follow or contradict our confession before our children. Many opportunities arise each day where we choose to show that we love Christ, that we are committed to doing His will, that we long to obey His word, that we want to imitate Him, and that we love the things that He loves. Christ is exalted by our obedient conduct, and our children are watching. Paul said that whether he lived or died, no matter what happened, he wanted His life to exalt the name of Jesus.

Living for Christ means PROCLAIMING HIS GOSPEL: Paul says in Colossians 1:28,29 that his goal was to teach and admonish others with the result that they would be presented complete in Christ one day.
In the same way, we must make the effort to speak to our children about the Lord. Not only through our actions, but we have a responsibility to teach, exhort, encourage, rebuke, convince, and persuade, our children of the truths of the Gospel. There are many opportunities, but without a focused mind to this goal, we can rush through the busy day and miss them. There are many things against us when we set out to do this, but dependent on the grace of Christ, we must keep striving toward this goal. Christ promises to bless his word and cause it to bear fruit. We must labor for this, always praying to the God who loves sinners, delights to transform hearts, and beg Him to save and sanctify our children.

And finally,
3. REJOICE! Christ is all you need! One of the best pieces of advice that I was ever given was this:“Don’t let anything steal your joy!”

It was Brian who exhorted me with those words, and he said them to me when I was discouraged and worn out by a conflict that had lasted for many days with one of my children. He reminded me that my joy should be so securely anchored in Christ alone, that I could be at peace in Him no matter what happened. If everything else that I valued were stripped away, He would still be enough.Having Him was more important that even the good things that I longed to see in the lives of my children.

As Piper says, “Jesus should be our greatest treasure.” The apostle Paul counted everything as a loss in comparison to knowing Jesus.Even in resistance, fatigue, trials, hard work, and little rest, we will find in Jesus Christ alone the deep satisfaction and fulfillment that will allow us to say, “He is enough. I need nothing else in this world to be happy.”
These three truths still drive my every day, as the happy chaos continues! God is good!

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Joy!

One of the greatest tools that the Christian has for evangelism is joy.

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Gleanings From Ruth

"Behind every bitter providence is a smiling heavenly Father that is working to bring about your good and His glory."
The entire book of Ruth pictures this truth so well. It is the story of a Hebrew woman, Naomi, who had suffered through famine, living in a foreign land, losing her husband, her sons' marriages to Moabite wives, their ten years of barrenness (no grand children), and then the deaths of both of her sons. Naomi had left her homeland "full, but the Lord has brought me back empty!" as she explained to her relatives and friends when she returned to the land of Judah. "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me!" She felt as if she was filled only with the sorrows of life, but the rest of the book unfolds the wonderful workings of God on her behalf, as He showed her that He was not finished with her!

In all her bitter tragedies, Naomi failed to see the glimmers of God's mercy that were springing up all around her. She and her family had left Judah in the first place because of a famine, and had gone to Moab because there was food there. But now the Lord had ended the famine in Judah, and she returns just as the barley harvest was beginning. And she wasn't really empty or alone after all. God had given her a daughter-in-law (Ruth) who was fiercely committed to staying by Naomi's side, vowing that the only thing that could pry her away was death itself. Beyond that, God's mercy glimmers again in the amazing conversion of Ruth who wasn't just following Naomi, but had more importantly embraced the one true God and was following Him.

All of these things had not "just happened", but were clearly God's hand at work. There's more... the Lord provides food for these two lonely widows, and a relative who, according to the custom of the Hebrews could still redeem the family land, and with Ruth (an available widow) thrown into the equation, could raise up another generation to carry on the family name. Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, wasn't just anybody, but was a godly man, and a rich one to boot! These amazing proofs of God's answer to their needs turns Naomi's bitter heart, and she finally confesses that "..the Lord...has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead."

Of course, God's plans are always way bigger than just deliverance from our trials, painful though they may be. Woven through the tragedies of this one Hebrew family, God was bringing forth the long-awaited Messiah, in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed! The union of Boaz and Ruth produced Obed, then Jesse, then King David, whose throne would forever be established through his descendent, the Lord Jesus Christ! The seemingly insignificant lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were being orchestrated in an amazing way to bring God glory and carry out His great plan. They probably didn't have an inkling of the great importance of each providential event that God arranged.

How grateful we should be that the Lord never abandons His children. How humbled we should be that the majestic Creator who sits enthroned above the heavens stoops to hear the cries of his discouraged and hurting people. How hopeful we should continue to be, even in the darkest trials! Our God is not finished, but will bring comfort and deliverance, and His plan for redeeming sinful man will go forth to completion!

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Encouraging Loving Sibling Relationships

Of all the friends your children could make in their childhood years, deep, loving relationships with their own brothers and sisters is crucial to family unity. The family, as God designed it, with only reach it's full potential when all the members love God and one another. So, how can you encourage your children to cultivate their "best friends"among their own siblings?

1. First of all, determine to love all of your children equally. Parents who show partiality to one child over another will cause their children to be jealous and resentful of one another. There will be times when one child may be at a more challenging phase of discipline and growth than another. But the wise parent will resist the temptation to draw a comparison between the two. Be careful what you say about your children to them and to other people.

2. Teach your children to show love to their siblings with the words they use. There is no place among brothers and sisters for name-calling and insults. Instead, Christian parents should help their children learn how to say words that will encourage and build up. Hold them to the standard of Ephesians 4:29 that says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear." Children must also be taught to use appropriate tone of voice, one that is kind and gracious and will not heighten a conflict. "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)

3. Help your children practice acts of love to one another. It has been said that actions speak louder than words, and there is no better way to prove loving words than by loving deeds. This can start with a toddler being encouraged to share his crackers with his big brother, or an older child giving a turn with a game or special toy to a younger sibling. Coach your children in the art of giving cards and handmade gifts to one another on birthdays and other special occasions, or just because. Teach them to govern their actions by Matthew 7:12, "however you want people to treat you, so treat them." Children will remember how they were treated by their brothers and sisters. Help them build memories together of loving words and actions.

4. Teach your children how to resolve conflict. While it may come natural to your children to respond to conflict by pouting, yelling, or revenge, these ways are not God's ways. Instead take your children to the Scriptures to learn Biblical conflict resolution. Practicing these 4 steps will help children be at peace rather than at odds.
1. When sinned against, go to your brother and privately reprove him. (Matt. 18:15)
2. When you have sinned, confess your sins to one another. (James 5:16)
3. Forgive one another. (Matt. 6:14)
4. Be humble and unselfishness. (Phil. 2:3,4)

5. Help your children to honor one another by respecting the property of others. Some simple standards like asking permission before borrowing or using something will help minimize conflict among siblings. Be sensitive to an older child who is reluctant to hand over his fragile or special possession to a toddler who has a reputation for destruction.

6. Finally, encourage physical affection. One of the sweetest things you will see in your home will be children showing their love with hugs and kisses! This should be modeled before them, and sometimes they will need to be coached along to show affection.

Now, I wish that after almost 20 years of trying to teach my children to love each other that I could say that they have it all down! Unfortunately, though, they are sinners like their mother, and loving others is a lifelong pursuit. So we fail and repent and ask forgiveness, and pray for God's grace to motivate us to love others like He has loved us. It has given me many opportunities over the years to talk to them of their need of Christ's work in their hearts. So, as I see my children growing up and becoming close friends, I thank God for what He has done.

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Dealing with Anger

Every mom feels the rub of dealing with children who are choosing to be disobedient, rebellious, ungrateful, and irritating. It is compounded, of course, as many of us have come to painfully realize, by our own sinful, angry responses. A family is just a houseful of sinners, and for the Christian family, they are trying to live together in love to the glory of God. But, learning how to love unconditionally is not easy. It requires a humble, teachable, and repentant heart. It is definitely a growing process, and God uses this crucible of sanctification to make you more like Christ. We have to always set that before us as the goal: to be more like Christ, and to glorify Him in the choices we make for obedience as we go throughout our days. I think God uses children to show us the true condition of our hearts, and I can tell you from my own experience, it is humbling. God greatly desires to exalt the humble, but warns us that He will personally oppose the proud. So humility is a great place to find ourselves.

If I have been helped in my temptation toward anger over the years, it has been by focusing on three facts:

1. I deserve nothing but God's wrath. Most of my anger came because deep down, I didn't think I deserved the treatment that my children gave me. Actually I deserved much worse!

2. Christ died to save me when I was His enemy. I fought against Him, ignored Him, didn't thank Him for the millions of ways that He blessed me each day, and failed to worship Him as He deserved. Yet He loved me to the greatest degree.

3. If He can love and forgive me, then I can serve Him by loving and forgiving others, especially my children. Maybe that's why I love the story of the unforgiving servant so much. It pictures my heart when I am angry and unforgiving, and I don't want to be that way and disregard the loving sacrifice that the Lord has made for me. "She who has been forgiven much loves much".

God is so faithful. He never abandons His children though they struggle and fail in this area. His mercies are new each morning, and He promises grace to face each challenge that you will encounter in each new day. I like to think to myself on the morning of a new day: "God is on His throne, you are still alive, and there is always hope in Christ!" I also like to remind myself that the word "training" by definition implies practicing over and over against resistance. We are trying to train ourselves in the discipline of godliness, and our flesh resists!!! We are trying to train our children, and their sinfulness and childishness offers great resistance. But God is greater than this resistance, and he will help us overcome! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." I think when all of our children were little I was at times caught off guard by how hard it seemed. But I learned to say, "That is just the way it is, and I will still choose, by God's enabling grace to love them and obey God."

If I could encourage you to do anything, it would be to enjoy your children! When they are difficult that may seem impossible. But it is a choice that has to be made, and in making it, you will be loving in a truly unconditional way. Our enjoyment of them doesn't have to be dependent on how they act. It can come from a heart of compassion that remembers that they are not our enemy. The real enemy of our souls would love to steal these days from you and have you set patterns now in your responses that will wreak havoc in your relationships, and make it harder later on to change. Ask God to help you to smile at your children, speak gently to them, give them the needed discipline, then hug and kiss them. Chase them down and tickle them, look into their eyes, tell them all day that you love them, and develop a thick skin if necessary so that you can get over the little assaults quickly and go back to being sweet....whether they deserve it or not.

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A Thankful Heart

This has been a wonderful day. We started our day with homemade biscuits just like my mom used to make, then cleaned up the house with my husband directing our small army to keep working. Next threw up our Thanksgiving decoration around the house ( ok almost missed it, but better late than never!) and then worked together to make our Thanksgiving meal. After that, we worked on our Thankful Tree, a paper tree that we tape to the wall and cover with colored construction paper leaves. Before we stick the the leaves on the tree, we write things that we are thankful for on them, as an exercise in reviewing God's blessings to us this year. It was a very restful day to just be together and enjoy each other's company.

As I sat around the table at dinner with the nine people that are my greatest gifts in this life, I was reminded again that the Lord has been so kind and gracious to our family. I want to always acknowledge that "every good and perfect gift comes from above!" Every blessing is straight from His hand. He has filled our lives with indescribable riches.

While all those gifts are so wonderful, Christ Himself is truly my greatest treasure. What would husband and children and friends and material possessions be without the Lord Jesus. As Stephen Curtis Chapman said so well in one of his older songs, "Jesus is LIFE...the air I'm breathing, why my heart is beating, everything I'm needing...Jesus is life!"

Pondering Jesus gives me a very thankful heart, indeed!

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Thankful for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is one of my most favorite holidays. It's not just the yummy food, (though the scale may tell a different story in a couple of weeks!), but I am glad that we still have a day set aside in our country that originally was to be a day of prayer and thanksgiving to God. And while the commercialization of every holiday is a reality in our country, Christians can get past that and enjoy a day of remembering God's great blessings. Certainly we want to do that every day!

With that said, one thing in particular that I'm thankful for today is the comfort that Christ brings to the heart of the Christian. It really is true that this life is full of trouble. Over the last year many friends my age suffered devastating physical trials. Cancer and strokes and accidents strike when no one expects them. Then there are the overwhelming financial burdens that have come to families because of our ailing economy. Last spring there were 6 families in our Bible study that were facing a loss of employment. Various other trials, big and little, happen daily that overtake us and leave us feeling as if someone has just punched us in the stomach. Pain and anxiety are real, and we cannot escape them in this life.

But those who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus have a refuge from the troubles of this world. He says to all, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28,29) Circumstances often remain difficult, yet in the midst of it the Christian can cast all his care on the Lord and experience peace, comfort, and rest. No one else can set a troubled heart at ease. I have experienced this personally, and I am so thankful that the Lord cares for us in this way. He sits as the Sovereign of the universe, and He alone has the power to change our circumstances. At the same time, He is wise, and if He chooses to let our trial continue on, then we can trust that in His lovingkindness and wisdom, He is accomplishing His purposes in our lives by the best means possible. He can fill our hearts with hope, and help us to carry on, even rejoicing in Him. How kind and gracious is the Lord!

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In Our Trials

Recently I had the privilege of hearing Mark Talbot speak on suffering. I really appreciated what he had to say about one of the amazing things that God accomplishes in our trials...

"By being joyful in faith, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer, we witness to a redemption that is yet to be completed. And thus we display to a watching world that the normal travails that humans undergo in this world (including even things such as the loss of our health, the loss of our life work, the loss of our loved ones, or even the impending loss of our very lives) do not need to lead to cursing or despair. We display that our hope lies elsewhere and thus the eyes of the watching world are lifted off of us to look with us to the return of a glorious Savior!"

He also reminded us that we are not to expect our life here to be our "best days". Though I've experienced many days of blessing, better days, by far, not even worthy of comparison, are coming when we see Jesus face to face! These trials make us give up our improper optimism about finding ultimate joy and satisfaction in this life, and instead force us to find our hope, peace, rest, deep-seated joy and satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE. Those who seek all that in Him will never be disappointed!

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Ponderings From a Feverish Head

Spending a few days sick in bed has an amazing way of changing your perspective. I have always been blessed with good health, and have been physically able to care for my family for almost 20 years now with no limitations. The few times over the years that I have been sick makes me remember what a great blessing it is to do the simplest things like walking around, having a clear head to think and make little decisions, and having stable body temperature. It has been good to be reminded of these things this week as I lost the fight against that nasty virus that has been going around.

Sickness also reminds me that we are completely dependent on the Lord, and shouldn't presume upon Him for any future plans. As it says in James, we must say "Lord willing" about the things we make plans to do, since we never know what a new day might bring. Catching this virus made us miss our spring break trip to my sister's house, which made for many opportunities to talk with our children about God's wise and loving sovereignty over the events of all of our days.

Interesting timing...I have been reading in John 11 this week about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. What an encouraging, yet convicting and challenging thought that Jesus was in control of the timing of Lazurus sickness, death, and resurrection. Imagine the anguish of the sisters as Lazarus grew worse and worse. A message had been sent to Jesus about his condition, and they waited, hoping the Lord would come. But think about how hopeless they must have felt once Lazarus died. What is more final than death? If they had known that Jesus delayed two days longer after he got the message, I can imagine that they would have even become angry!

But when Jesus did finally arrive, He showed that He is Lord over time, sickness, death, and our lack of faith in Him! He had a reason for all of it, namely "so that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (11:4)! His words to Martha are life changing, and are for us to ponder and embrace in every big trial and little irritation,

"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

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Bread from Heaven

In John 6, Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life, a statement about himself that preceded His first miracle. After the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with a little boy's lunch, there was a group of people following Him just because of the food He provided. This was in a time when just finding enough food for each day was such a focus of life. Yet, the Savior responded to these "followers" by exhorting them to not labor for such temporal things as food. He said to pursue the eternal things, namely belief in the one whom God had sent. But they continued to push Him for more "bread from heaven" and so He said,"I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."

Jesus was talking to the people about eternal life and finding true satisfaction. Neither can ever be found in anyone or anything else. We are to find our satisfaction in Christ alone.

While we may not spend our existence just finding our next meal, it is easy in our time to chase after a myriad of temporal pleasures and things that will never satisfy for eternity. Pursuing houses, furniture, jobs, relationships, position, a savings account, entertainment, hobbies, a retirement plan, or a college degree will never bring to our lives the true joy and fulfillment that is in Christ. Not that any of those things are wrong in themselves, but Jesus is to be our highest pursuit! "Taste and see that He is good"!

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