For This Season

Mamas,

Are you weary? 

Are you unsure of your role in this season?

Are you longing for a different, easier season?

Where do we go when we feel these things?

"...Strength and joy are in His place."

I Chronicles 16:27

All we need is there,

in His presence,

yet we search and search elsewhere.

Chocolate is easier.

Doom-scrolling is easier.

Complaining is easier.

"...Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.

Seek the Lord and His strength;

Seek His face continually."

I Chronicles 16:10-11

We tend to go anywhere but there, 

in His presence.

Where He is, 

where His strength is.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..."

James 4:8

What a precious promise for those seasons we don't like,

those painful times,

those confusing times.

He's taking those steps toward us,

as we move closer in faith,

believing in the goodness of the Father's heart.

This is where we will find mercy and grace for this season of need.

Drawing near,

taking the steps closer to Him.

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, 

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Hebrews 4:16

Then, we can proclaim,

"The nearness of God is my good."

"But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works."

Psalm 73:28

Dominique

Would you like to hear more? Check out this message entitled, "But God, I Don't Like This Season."

https://www.facebook.com/EchoHopeAssembly/videos/1698716537926374

Click to around 28:50 for the main message.

“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org”

From Strife to Quietness

The other day I read, 

"Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it, 
than a house full of feasting with strife."

The contrast of quietness and strife struck me.  It's verse 1 in Proverbs 17 and I got no further, as I furiously scribbled down what the Word has to say about quietness.

You don't need to have a lot, to have a lot.

If you have quietness, you have a lot.

Quietness is valuable.  It's the outflow from the peace in my heart to those around me.  It's the Lord's quiet work of the Spirit in my heart, overflowing into real fruit in my family dealings.

Quietness is a blessing.  

A real, in-the-trenches, speaking kind words 

even when I'm frustrated and gritting-my-teeth kind of blessing.  

A gracious words are sweet to the soul kind of blessing.  

Quietness is the opposite of strife.  

It's the choosing to prefer you over me, instead of demanding my own way.

It's choosing to serve when I just don't feel like it.

And so, I ask myself, "In all my dealings with my family, am I feeding strife?  

Am I exacerbating strife?"

A quiet spirit is an imperishable quality, a quality that has eternal value.  

Quietness is something we don't naturally tend to value here in this life.

Quietness is precious to God.  It is disdained in our culture, even mocked today.

The work of righteousness is peace; the effect of righteousness is quietness...

This is the effect I will continue to see in my own life:

quietness.  

Quietness is what He's working in me.

Dominique

Proverbs 17:1

1 Peter 3:4

Isaiah 32:17

Pics from the vacation in the Wild Area around our cabin.

It's Not Over If...

At Ladies Bible Study last night, we were talking about stepping out in faith.  We turned to Matthew 14:25-32, where Jesus walked on the water.  Peter called to Jesus and then, stepped out on the water and started walking toward Him.  Until he saw the wind and waves...

I always feel like Peter gets a bad rap.  

When he walked on the water, he sunk.  And everybody stops right there.  

Never mind that he's the only one audacious enough to call out and clamber over the side of the boat in the midst of a wild storm...

and then, to walk on dangerous water.  He did walk on the water; don't forget that!

Sure, he started looking at the raging wind.  

I can relate to that.  Starting out with wildly audacious faith and then, faltering along the way.  When that happens, I feel like I've failed and there's no more chance for victory.

However, something happens between verse 31 and verse 32.  

v. 31 ~ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” 

v. 32 ~ When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

How did Jesus and Peter get back to the boat?  Did Jesus carry him?  Did they walk back together?  I don't really think it matters.  

Peter sank.  Jesus reached out immediately.

And then, they made it back to the boat.

It's not over if you sink.  

It isn't.  

God loves it when we step out, practically exercising out faith, boldly listening to His voice, but He never leaves our side through the whole storm.  

Even when we sink.  

Even when we falter.

Even when we doubt.

To you today:

It's not over if you sink.  Jesus will get you back to the boat.  

"It's not over if you sink." I wrote it in my journal and vehemently underlined it.  The ladies around me laughed and I did too.

Getting overwhelmed by the wind, the storm, the chaos, doesn't have to be the end.  

When Jesus calls to you as you're drowning, remember that He never left.  He'll get you back to the boat.  

It's not over if you sink.

Choosing to Rest

Coming out of an immensely busy season of Fair preparation, the Fair, school preparation, and garden work, I'm finding that rest doesn't just happen.

Rest must be chosen.  

There is a time to work.  

A time to work hard.

A time to work long.

A time to work wisely.

A time to work even when weary.

And a time to rest.  

Sometimes we must give our best shot to the work that must be done, 

but it isn't always finished 

when it's time to choose rest.  

WHAT JOY

"WHAT JOY for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises!" 
(Psalm 84:4)

"WHAT JOY for those whose strength comes from the Lord..." 
(Psalm 84:5)

"...WHAT JOY for those who trust in you." 
(Psalm 84:12)

My joy has so much to do with where I live.  
Do I live in chaos?  
Do I live in discontentment?

Or do I live in His house?

Joy comes from clinging to His presence and staying there.  Joy comes from praising Him!

My joy is connected to where my strength comes from.  Relying on Him FULLY promotes joy in my life.  It's hard to be joyful when I'm doing all that I do in my own strength.  

My joy comes from trusting in Him.  I can't trust in myself or "fate."  ONLY HIM.  

Friend, if joy is eluding you today, ask yourself~
    ~Where am I living?  In chaos and discontentment far from His presence?
    ~Where is my strength coming from?
    ~What or who am I trusting in?

I encourage you to kneel down and start fresh.

Sometimes I Prayed Because...

Is there a thought, a nugget of wisdom, a lesson to share,

in the end of school year finish line pace that we're sprinting through right now?  

I'm thinking... I'm really not blankly staring off into space, I promise.

One thing does come to mind:

I sat in my chair this morning, sipping tea and writing in my journal... and I prayed.

I weeded the garden today... and I prayed.  

I sat on the porch swing in the darkness tonight... and I prayed.

Sometimes I prayed out of frustration.  

Sometimes I prayed because I was afraid.  

Sometimes I prayed because I was worrying.  

Sometimes I prayed because I was confused.  

Sometimes I prayed because I was thankful.  

Sometimes I prayed because I didn't know what else to do. 

Sometimes I prayed because I so desperately just want to do God wants me to do.

Keep on praying, dear friend!  

In each and every moment, let's pray! 

Let us truly pray without stopping.
 

Then Will I Have

Do you have all the endurance and patience you need today?  

This verse landed in my journal on a recent January morning.

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power 

so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. 

May you be filled with joy"

Colossians 1:11 NLT

His glorious power is what strengthens me!  Then, I have all the endurance and patience I need!  That's the very word I needed!

The book of Colossians is a treasure trove, but this tidbit really stuck with me.  

There are often mornings when, in the natural, the gauge is reading closer to E for me.  I'm tired, edging toward overwhelmed, or weary of the current character issue we are addressing.  

His glorious power is what strengthens me!  

I cling to this promise that THEN will I have all the endurance and patience I need!  

Dominique

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Sometimes a Book Just Finds You

Sometimes you find a book and sometimes a book finds you.  

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund is a book that found me.  A friend mentioned it during Ladies Bible Study the other day when we got on the subject of going to God when we're weary.  It's based on Matthew 11:29,

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Matthew 11:29, NKJV

It was a passing comment that piqued my interest and so, like any good friend, she had it in her purse for me the next time we saw each other.

This book is a deep dive into the love of God.  It's thought provoking and meaty.  It's meant to be read slowly.  I've been using it almost like a devotional, reading a few pages or a chapter each day during my time with God, looking up the Scriptures and mulling over it.

We view God's love through our own human lens, and I love how eye-opening it is to realize that God IS love.  He doesn't have an end to His love because He IS love.  When we think we are no longer lovable, He still loves.  It's heart-movingly beautiful and solidly Biblical.  

"God's love is as boundless as himself."

~Dane Ortlund

He then quotes, 

"...God's love is, as Jonathan Edwards puts it, 
'an ocean without shores or bottom.'"

Our God is so much more incredible than we can even imagine.  Though we often believe He is a loving God, it's like we have a limit to how much He can love us.  I'm challenged even moreso to let the Word fortify my thoughts and views of Him and His character.

Not my Own

We had the first snow this week.  It was beautiful!  I was a bit surprised that it panned out as actual white stuff.  So many weather events seem more like clickbait than anything.  I try not to get wrapped up in the panic.  I'll admit though, as the Hollow became wintry white, I threw a fist in the air and declared, "WE MUST MAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES."  

Blossom2 obliged me and whipped up a batch of gingerbread that didn't last 8 hours.

Watching the little Blossoms gleefully ski in the wintry quiet with Binney frolicking nearby was a sweet moment on a hard day.

When I say hard, I actually mean challenging.  

So many friends and family members are going through very real trials.  I don't mean to compare my days with the burdens they find themselves under.  The trials around me, that ripple into our lives, give me good perspective on the challenging days.  

I have certainly done my part in making our days more challenging ~ when my patience has worn oh-so-thin and I cease suffering long in the conclusion that my children no longer ought to be trying me in this way.

And the snowball effect continues.  

"Lean not on your own understanding."  

In challenging moments that seem to become insurmountably challenging days, whose understanding will direct my next step or influence my next word or inspire my perseverance for the days ahead?  

Not my own. Inarguably not my own.

Absorbed

We're back from vacation and have jumped right back into everyday life.  It was so lovely to rest easy and take a break from the things that weigh on our minds and bodies day in and day out.  

I spent time curled up on the couch, or on the porch, or by the creek, being quiet and letting God speak to me.  It is easier at the cabin, I will say that.  But, He is always faithful to give me the words that I need to go into a day and grip His grace closely.  

"Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions."  

1 Corinthians 7:30, NLT

The word "absorbed" is what really stuck out to me.  

Lord, 

I don't want to be absorbed by the things and occurrences of this world.  

The only way for this to be accomplished in my life is to be ABSORBED in Jesus.  When I'm totally absorbed, the other stuff falls by the wayside.  

I don't deny that bad things and good things happen and that I have material possessions.  In fact, I have many very practical ties to this everyday world.  

My heart cries out for all of those things to be in their proper place, never usurping that hallowed position where my Lord belongs.  Everything else that falls under Him is filtered through the lens of loving Him and serving Him.

May I be totally absorbed in Jesus.

Just a Few More

The Lord is a loving Father who gently adjusts my attitude and helps me see things from His perspective.  I'm thankful for this kind and loving approach.  He reveals that the world's perspective is totally opposite of how He wants me to look at things.  

~ I can be thankful for work, because work keeps poverty away.  (Proverbs 24:30-34)

As stay-at-home moms, the work we do keeps poverty away in different ways. Thrifting.  Garage-saling. Cooking at home.  Cutting hair at home.  Growing food.  Meal planning.  Sure, my work looks different than my husband's work and the work of others, but it's important that I know that I'm doing the work God has for me.  It's important to be thankful for my work and my part in keeping poverty away.  

 ~ I can be thankful for work because we are supposed to be the opposite of slothful in our work.  (Proverbs 18:9)

Being slothful is in the same arena as being destructive, but being excellent in our work is like building a masterpiece!  The work God has given me is my opportunity to be excellent instead of slothful!  

~ If we are skillful in our work, we will receive honor.  (Proverbs 22:29)

It isn't always immediate, but eventually, we receive honor.  I believe there is honor here for those who are skillful in their work.  There is also honor in eternity for those who are skillful in their work.  When I look at the work of wife and motherhood, it takes work to grow and be skillful in my work and that's an ongoing process.  The Lord is developing me as I work and as I become more skillful, He also honors me.  It's a beautiful journey of becoming more and more useful to Him.  He's teaching me to be thankful for the work.  He's also teaching me to work at being more skillful in my work. 

It's interesting to me that in the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve a job to do in tending the Garden of Eden.  (Genesis 2:15) The work was not the curse.  It wasn't until after they sinned and ate the forbidden fruit, that toil ~ work being hard and difficult ~ came about.  Work is not a result of the curse.  The toil, the hard part, the "grunt," that's a result of Eve and Adam's choice to disobey God.  When I think about that, it seems important.  We have jobs or tasks that God has given us.  That's all part of His good plan for our lives.  The toil, however, is now a part of life in a fallen world.  It's something that won't be fixed until all is made right again.

I hope you have some food for thought in the days ahead.  Perhaps some gratitude for the work God has given you will grow in your heart, as it is in mine.

Checking In

Nobody wants to be a pest.  

Nobody wants to be nosy.

Nobody wants to be the person that makes others wish would just leave them alone.  

Is that really what we're doing when we shoot a text over asking how your people are feeling?  

Is that really what we're doing when we ask, "Do you need anything?"  

I overthink it.  I check the time and worry that it might just be too many daily texts.  I type, backspace and retype again.  I put the phone down, walk away, come back and retype again.  I don't want to get into people's business.  Symptoms and sickness can be such a touchy topic right now.  

The thing is, when I follow through, it seems like many of those little caring nudges come from the Holy Spirit.  When we pray or lend practical help, it's shouldering another's burden with them.  

"Share each other’s burdens and in this way obey the law of Christ."

Galations 6:2, NLT

Loving people is shouldering burdens together.  

Mamas, I'm ready to stop letting the overthinking keep me from shouldering another's burden.  It's keeping me (and maybe you too) from obeying God.

Dominique

PS - To my friends who may now feel bad that they overthought things in the past and maybe missed opportunities to shoulder a friend's burden.  I know you love me and and mine.  Let's just trust God to lead us in the future and not worry about the past.

That Other Journal

Just some thoughts that have been rolling around in my head lately.  

Sometimes when I REALLY need to remember something, I doodle about it in a different journal that the girls got me for Mother's Day this year.  

For some reason, focusing on writing it in really pretty font makes me slow down and let the Truth go deep into my heart.  

Yes, I will sing!

Yes, He is not weary!

Dominique

Hannah ~ Praying Through Anguish

Maybe you've noticed how lately I've been painting a portrait of a Godly woman.  With entries about the virtuous woman, Jochebed, and Naomi, I still have a few more thoughts on Godly women of ages past.  

Hannah was one of the wives of Elkanah.  Peninah, the other wife, could have kids, but Hannah couldn't.  Peninah bullied Hannah for years.  Elkanah tried to comfort Hannah, but at last, Hannah found herself on her knees in the Temple.

She was vastly discouraged and poured her heart out to the Lord.  She prayed out of great anguish and sorrow.  

God answered her request the very next year with a beautiful baby boy named Samuel.  

When I read Hannah's story, I think, "Where do we go with our deep anguish?"

Do we rant?  Do we vent?  Do we post?  Do we text?  

Let Hannah's example compel us to PRAY through our anguish.  

Dominique

Snapshot from a fishing expedition on the lake.

Naomi ~ Following God Through the Pain

Ever read the story of Naomi?  She was Ruth's mother-in-law and eventually, she acted as David's grandmother and Jesus' great-great-I don't really know how many greats-grandmother.  

But what if she had given up when tragedy touched her life? 

Her story started with a famine.  She relocated to Moab with her family.  The famine was only the beginning of tough times.  Her husband died.  Her two sons, who had married in Moab, DIED.  This was tragedy after tragedy.  She was alone.  With only two daughters-in-law left, she tried to part ways with them when she heard things were good in Judah again. 

They even wanted to go with her.  She said no, because it didn't make much sense.  Maybe it was Naomi's grief talking.  She felt utter loneliness.  She was bone-weary of pain.  

One daughter-in-law took her advice and stayed in Moab.  The other, Ruth, did not.  

"But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."

Ruth 1:16 NLT

It makes me wonder, what was there about Naomi's faith that caused Ruth to stay with her?  

I think the Holy Spirit was prompting her and leading her.

Eventually Ruth met Boaz and ended up marrying him.  It's a beautiful love story that some call the Hallmark Movie of the Bible.  

Ruth and Naomi were in the very center of God's will.  If we follow the story through to chapter 4, we find that Naomi found joy again in Ruth and Boaz's baby boy, Obed.  

But WHAT IF Ruth hadn't married Boaz?  The family lineage goes something like this:

Boaz---> Obed---> Jesse---> David---> and eventually Jesus

I look at this winding road that Naomi was on and how Ruth joined her.  I look at the outcome of it all. 

I think about that "WHAT IF?"  

When I look at Naomi, I see that you can follow God, even through intense pain.  

Let's not veer from the will of God because of our deep pain.  

We WILL find joy and impact others.  

Dominique

Pics snapped on a fun little day trip to the cabin.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Will You Sing Today?

Friend, 

What struggles are you facing today?  Are you frazzled?  Discouraged?  Bone-weary?  

A friend reached out with this verse to me mid-week.  

"But as for me, I will sing about your power.

Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.

For you have been my refuge

a place of safety when I am in distress."

Psalm 59:16 NLT

I was exhausted and so discouraged, but when I read this, I felt that I needed to obey.  

I needed to sing.

I didn't want to sing.  I didn't feel like singing.  

I just wanted to go back to bed and somehow rest and forget my own heavy burdens.  

But, I couldn't escape the command in this verse.  

Haltingly.  Hesitatingly.  Unwillingly.  

I sang.

I sang the first song about God's love that came to mind.  

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  

His mercies never come to an end.  

They are new every morning,

New every morning.

Great is Your Faithfulness..."*

The longer I sang, the easier it became.  

All day long, I sang in faith.  I sang when I didn't feel like it.  I sang when I'd rather be quiet.  

And my spirit lifted from my own weariness, 

from my own discouragement to the power that our God holds.  

Friend, if you are there, take courage from this verse and sing.  

Dominique

Pics from a recent venture to a park with a few extras.  

Cousins love creek-slopping and wildflower picking as much as Blossoms do!

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*The Steadfast Love of the Lord by Dave Hunt