A Minor League Skirmish

Have you ever heard the saying, "new level, new devil"? It's what we say when we want to remind someone that as they go to a new level in their walk with God, the enemy is gonna try a new thing to trip them up. You know, spiritual warfare!

My husband and I both are in new things recently with our ministries.  Chad is implementing a new volunteer ministry to get people excited and involved in serving. He is sold out and passionate about this! I just got approval to move forward with the first step of a new ministry that I know is a calling on my life. Then together, we both attended a training on Spiritual & Psychological First Aide by KLOVE (which I highly recommend) as part of our continued journey together toward a vision God gave us early in our marriage. While we are super pumped, you better believe we got a "new devil".

Immediately, we had to combat old fears and trials that we thought were behind us. I won't share all of that because it's my husband's too. I will say that that devil is a wily enemy and he knows the buttons to push on me! He loves to mess with my emotions.

This morning, as I do nearly every morning, I looked at Facebook. I see the posts of smiling faces and beautiful houses and that old enemy just shoves that jealousy right in my face. Now it's not jealousy for the things, as I am quite happy with what God has provided for us. It is jealousy of relationships. I won't dish it all up for you as the details are not the point. The point is I don't have to take that! I don't have to wear what the enemy is trying to put on me. It took me a bit to recognize what was happening and as soon as I did, I opened my mouth to confess the truth over my life. You see, I am a highly favored daughter of the Most High. I am an ambassador of the King and I am greatly, passionately, eternally loved by Him. There is nothing that will change that as I am the apple of my Father's eye.

When the enemy tries to put those rags of jealousy,  bitterness, hate, discontent, etc. on you, you have a choice. You can choose to wallow in self-pity or you can throw those rags off, straighten your crown, and tell that devil where he can get off!

When you take it to a new level, you have to up your game. Here are some things you need to do:
*Make sure you have prayer coverage.
*Make sure you are in the Word.
*Have someone you can share the trial with that is willing and able to snap you out of it by speaking the truth.
*And always remember, the enemy doesn't bother with those who aren't bothering for the Kingdom. YOU are making a difference if he is showing up on your doorstep. Just kick him to the curb, not invite him in for tea and cookies!

It doesn't matter how long you have known about spiritual warfare, sometimes he can still sneak up on you! Don't beat yourself up over it. Just open your mouth and confess the truth. The best way to win the skirmish is to celebrate that victory in Jesus!

<3 ya all! (Prayers appreciated as we move in this level!)

"Why Don't They Just Get a Job?"

"Why don't they just get a job and get off welfare/get out of poverty/become better providers?" Have you ever thought that? I know I have been guilty of it numerous times! God gave me a hard lesson to learn recently in regards to this. I hope my stumbling around this issue helps you.

I have been a stay at home/work from home momma since our daughter was born 5 years ago. I wish that I could say that I was the ultimate homemaker/money manager/super mom, but my reality is not that at all! But, that is for another post! In this time, we have struggled with finances. Many times, that has been due to me thinking "if I just try this, I can make us some more money" when the reality is, I just threw good money after a bad idea. (Yes, that is downright hard to admit! After all, I have a whole lot of education that says I should be able to do better! Again, this will be an upcoming post.) Let me be clear on something, these five years have been hard in many ways (and not all of them were things we could control, like my husband's accident that left him out of work for more than 8 months due to an injury), but they have been years we will cherish for the hard times as well as the great times! As our daughter prepares to enter kindergarten, we decided that I should go ahead and get a part time job for a bit to pay for upcoming school expenses, etc. and then when she went to school, I could look into something full time. This became an experience!

I thought that with all of the "help wanted" signs in our town, getting a job would be a breeze. Boy, was I wrong! I am a college educated, professionally experienced woman. My background is varied from non-profits to retail to computer network administration. I studied psychology and sociology and have tons of leadership experience. I thought that if anyone should be able to land a part time retail or customer service job, it should be me! I obediently went to the companies' webpages and spent hours filling out applications and taking their placement tests. Many times, immediately after taking the test, I was told that I was not a good fit, but my application would be held on file for 6 months and after that I could reapply. The one that really got to me was the local McDonald's. These people have all kinds of smiling adults working for them and even handing out little slips of paper encouraging you to go their website and apply for a job. I talked to team members there and they said that they were in dire need of help. I figured I had that one in the bag! Wrong again. I submitted the online application, took the test, and never heard from them.

You can imagine at this point that I was fed up! I had spent hours applying to these companies who repeatedly placed ads, had signs up, and practically begged their customers to apply. Not one, I repeat, NOT ONE company called me for a job interview. I am an active job seeker whose past work experience shows that I am dependable, hard working, and a leader and yet I couldn't get an hourly job when these companies say that they will pretty much take anyone. Now before you think that there is something wrong with me, I talked with some other individuals who have experienced this same issue. Quite honestly, I believe that by automating and "streamlining" their hiring process, many large companies have effectively shot themselves in the foot.

Here is where the lesson comes into play. Remember, I told you about my credentials? Also about my work ethic and the knowledge I have at my disposal? Now take all of that away. What if you are a newly single mom trying to get a job to support your kids? Child support (if you get it) won't cover all of your expenses so you know you need to work. What if you are a dad who is trying to make some extra money in time for those added school supply costs? You are willing to work, but no one seems to give you a chance. What if you are a teenage mom and you spend days applying but get no takers? Guess welfare is looking better all of the time!

This ended up being a social experiment for me and made me think beyond the surface. It has made me question who else might be trying as hard as I did and repeatedly be turned down. Repeatedly, the Bible tells us not to judge others, but judge their fruit. What if in some cases, their fruit is being stunted not by their own hand, but by the world? Yes, I know that there is a lot more to it than that, but simplify it for a moment. I can imagine how some people would become depressed, hopeless, and give up. What if you can do something about it? Would you?

Luckily for me, (not really luck, but the hand of God in my life) a brother in Christ, whom I had worked for before, offered me a job that fits beautifully into our life. But what about those others who don't have the connections that I do? What about those who don't even have one soul to cheer them on? Before you judge a person to be lazy, stupid, or worthless, figuratively walk a mile in their shoes and see where you would end up in those same circumstances. Most especially, take a moment to pray over them (they don't have to know)! You may be THE ONLY person who is praying for that individual.

I hope that this post gave you a little insight into another's circumstances. If you at least stop and think about this after thinking "why don't they just get a job?" then my job has been accomplished. Yes, there are lazy individuals in this world who would rather be "on the dole" than working to earn their keep. I'm not wearing my rose colored glasses anymore; but maybe, just maybe some of those people need a little help that you can provide in order to get going. <3 ya all!      

Conflict...Dread it or Use it? 5 Points to Ponder

Many times Christians are portrayed as meek and mild individuals who can be walked all over. Nothing could be further from the truth! The gospel is a radical and dangerous tool! Christians set precedents, start movements, and shake people up. We are speakers of truth, seekers of the light, and champions of the downtrodden. With all of that on a grand scale, sometimes we don't know what to do when we encounter conflict with our brothers and sisters in our church family. 

Not everyone will see the world as you do. Shocker, I know! God has uniquely gifted you with that sight through your life experiences, His revelations to you through the study of His word, and through learning to love like Him. Because of those differing views, conflict can arise, especially during times of change. We need to be very guarded of our responses to conflict and not give the enemy a chance to step into the work God has planned. 

Here are some of the things I have learned in dealing with conflict within the body of Christ:

1. Always take it to God. Now you may be thinking, "That's well and fine, Karen, but sometimes I have to deal with it immediately." Yep, you do at times! So what do you do? That's where I go for my "Hail Mary prayer." No, that isn't the beloved Catholic prayer of intercession, but rather a football term. According to Wikipedia, a Hail Mary is "a very long forward pass in American football, made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half." Now, in this usage, let me clarify how I feel about that. I am desperate for God to intervene in the situation and take control of my words and reactions. Now, the difference here is that I believe my "Hail Mary prayer" will be answered, not that there is a slim chance of success. So what does that look like? I simply cry out to God in my mind and say, "Your words Father, not mine." Check out Matthew 10:19-20. Sometimes, I have to do this numerous times in a conversation; not because God didn't answer the first prayer, but because I can feel my emotions and myself getting in the way. 
2. Change is hard and people react differently to it. Some people shut down, disconnect, and try to pretend it isn't happening. Some people get confrontational. Some feel personally singled out or some feel totally ignored. When your church is going through a major change that you may be involved in, it is your job to LISTEN! Regardless of how invested in that change you are, you must always consider your brother's or sister's feelings. Sometimes, that listening ear is all it takes to resolve the conflict issue. Other times, God may have placed that person in opposition to what you are trying to do for a reason. Perhaps there is a facet of the change that needs fine tuned and God is using this individual to point that out. This is where you need to pray for discernment and wisdom as you consider what is being said to you. Don't discount something because you might think that the person doesn't know what he is talking about. Rather, prayerfully consider the statement and see if God is redirecting an area of change. 
3. Don't take conflict personally. This one is a hard one for me. Until recently, when someone disagreed with something I said, I felt that he was rejecting me and my whole point of view. I think this is a trap that women fall into numerous times. We are relational creatures and we sometimes forget that we can separate our relationship out of the issue of disagreement. This is where you need to pray that God teaches you to love like Jesus and that your worth is found only in Him. We get caught up in the moment and we forget that it isn't about who is right or who is wrong, or what side of the argument you fall on. Rather we should be thinking if we need to agree to disagree and still love one another. Conflict can be a beautiful tool of change if you remember that you love and respect the other individual. 
4. And oh yeah, if you haven't seen it yet- PRAY! Remember that "agree to disagree" that you just read in the last point? If the conflict has come to that, be sure that you are bathing it in prayer. If you are open and honest with God, you can humbly pray, "Father, I don't know if I'm right or if he is; please either change his way of thinking or change mine." Now, it's God's issue. You will find that emotions run high, but when you let God take over, He redirects those emotions and gives you the Spirit's peace. Now here is the kicker: when you start realizing you are having a conversation in your head with this person (you know the one I mean, "he's gonna say this and I'm gonna zing him with this!"), you have to remember to turn it back over to God! The enemy is trying to stir up your emotions again and you cannot perform good conflict resolution when your emotions are running high and likely biased. 
5. Remember to choose your words carefully. James 3:5-10 tells us that raging fires can be set ablaze by our words. When conflict arises, it is your job not to add fuel to the fire, but to be a peacemaker. It is not our job to change a person's heart, that's up to God. It is our job to speak life, love, and respect into another's life and viewpoint.

I hope that these things I have learned (many times the hard way) have helped you. Do you have points to add? Be sure to share them in the comments. Until next time, <3 you all!  

I'm Baaaack!

A ton has changed in my life since my last post back in December. Just after the holidays, life got hard. Chad and I entered a season of prayer, fasting, and counseling. We had a huge choice to make and it was gut wrenching!

Over the past two years, God has really been growing us and feeding our faith immensely. I can't think of another period in my life when I could actually see the changes God was making in me and my family at such an incredible rate. My husband's walk with the Lord became personal and intimate. I am so proud of all he has done, changed, and become in this period of time! I can only attribute the changes in him to the Lord. How do I know, you wonder. Sometimes when he is giving me advice or talking on a spiritual or church issue, the words coming out of his mouth are so deeply rooted in God's will and word that I know the Spirit is guiding him.

Our daughter continues to grow in her love of the Lord and brings joy to our lives daily! She constantly shines with love for Jesus and those around her. Then there's me.

God has done some tough work in me. I know He hasn't finished and I'm anxious to see what will become of me next. At the beginning of the year, I chose to take time off from blogging. If you know me and my quest to lead transparently, you may feel a little slighted by that time off. Perhaps, you are thinking to yourself that I should have shared with you as I walked through that wilderness. Well sister, let me tell you that I really feel God didn't want me to. I may have said things that were hurtful to some because I felt hurt. I may have lashed out at people, when it wasn't people that deserved my ire. I'm not perfect (earth shattering revelation there!). Thankfully, my Lord knows this and He knows in my heart, I never want to hurt anyone with my words or actions. So during this time, I felt my hands were tied when it came to blogging. Then recently, one of my brothers in Christ asked me if I was still writing. I waited it out a bit and felt the call back to write, so here I am.

To give you the gist of the change in our world, Chad and I decided to switch churches. Now, some of you might be thinking, "so what? People do it every day." Not us! Our home church was the place I had grown up in since my freshman year of high school. When we married, I told my husband if he wanted to go somewhere else I would, but he chose to stay at our church. This church was our home, our family, and the place we cut our spiritual teeth. It was filled with people we loved (including several of my family members). However, we began to feel conflicted. It seemed like nothing we were doing was working right. Initially, that made us want to push harder. We felt that we were fighting a spiritual battle. We later came to find out we were, but not in the way we thought!

One evening, after another round of sobbing my heart out to God, I told Chad I felt like we needed to seek some outside help. Through our daycare, I had connected with Brian Richard, the lead minister of Brownstown Christian Church. I reached out to him and he graciously offered to talk with us. We spoke with him several times over several months and each time he urged us to prayer, fasting, and listening to what the Spirit was telling us. He guided us with wisdom and truth and through that experience we learned so much! Never once did he tell us we should up and leave our home church. He was very sensitive to our feelings. He constantly reminded me (specifically) that, "it is not about you." He was right, it was never about my feelings, but about what God made me to do.

I now realize we were going through a time of mourning. We didn't want to leave what we knew and loved, but God had different plans for us! Many tears were shed, but looking back, I feel that was entirely appropriate.

Over my time at my home church, I had been blessed with 3 different lead ministers. Each one taught me how to grow in my spiritual walk. Each one imparted something of himself into my formative spiritual growth. They challenged me, influenced me, and loved me. I learned so many lessons from each man and am so appreciative of the teaching each one poured into my life! I also grew very close to other ministry members through the years, especially the women. My voice and growth were influenced by devout women of God. Their love and guidance helped me to lead confidently as I walk out my faith. What I didn't want to see, was God leading us away from there! I was comfortable. I was useful. I was growing.

After several months, Chad decided we were moving our membership to Brownstown Christian Church. While I was totally on board, I won't say it was easy. However, after being at BCC for 3 months now, I feel like we have been there forever! I now know God was trying to get me to let go of the tight grip I had on my home church in order for us to grow in new ways. We are so excited by the opportunities and potential at BCC!

I share all of this with you so that you will understand our journey. I now know what some ministers and their families must feel when they are being called to a new location. We didn't take this decision lightly and would never encourage anyone else to. It was a hard struggle! We loved where we were at and still love our church family there! I hinted that I felt that this time of decision was a wilderness. It was because the enemy was working on us constantly! We had to speak to each other constantly and work to make sure that we didn't allow our perceptions to be tainted. Boy that was a hard one! While I now know, God was leading us away, I was so overly sensitive and emotional during this time that the enemy was having a heyday and it was only through constant prayer and reliance on the Father that I was able to keep myself under control. Well, I may have had some "out of control" times, but thankfully, I had some strong brothers and a fabulous husband to help me!

Do you feel the Father leading you away from something you are comfortable with? Sometimes, God has to make us let go of something we cherish in order to bring us something that we will learn to cherish. While we may think we know what we are doing, or where we are at is great (and it most likely is), God may have a use for you in another place. Even if you were to only make a difference in one life for the Kingdom, it is a job only you can do because He made you that way! Change is hard, but God always has your best interest at heart! <3 ya all!  

Making Resolutions a Reality

It's that time of the year again, time to make resolutions on the last day of the year. How many did you make last year? How many did you break before the 15th of January? I looked up some statistics on New Year's resolutions and they are harsh!

According to statisticbrain.com, 45% of Americans usually make resolutions but only 8% of people are successful in achieving them! Eight percent, let that sink in. That is a harsh and scary number! Why do New Year's resolutions fail? Many times it is because our goals are really out of our reach. If we set a goal to make a million dollars in the next year, but don't have a job or any current ambition, it is most likely that this goal will fail. New Year's resolutions don't have to fail if you put a little time and effort into them.

The first thing to think about with New Year's resolutions is that they are really goals. Somewhere along the way, our brains got hardwired to think that the beginning of the year/month/week is a good time to start a new goal. It's kind of a reset button that we each get. However, the 11:59 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. clock tick is not a magical time that all our dreams come true and our happily ever after begins. But it can be! If we play it S.M.A.R.T.!

 If we open our eyes and realize that New Year's resolutions are just goals wrapped up in a pretty package, we can get real with them and be one of the 8%. How? By following the S.M.A.R.T. system and breaking those goals down into manageable bites.

First we need to write the goal(s) down. 
A written goal is so much more serious than something floating around in our heads! When we write the goal down, we take it from a dream, to the first step of becoming a reality.

When writing the goal out, make sure you use the SMART steps to make it achievable.

• S-Specific. You need to make sure that you are specific about your goal. To just say, "I want to have more money in 2015" is not specific. If I give you $1, technically, you have achieved your goal as that was one dollar more than you already had. Instead, consider saying, "I want to end 2015 with $10,000 in savings." That is a specific goal as it states exactly what you want to accomplish.
• M-Measurable. Make your goal measurable by giving it a quantifiable designation. Instead of "I want to lose weight in 2015," make it "I will lose 25 pounds in 2015." This gives you a number to shoot for and to gauge your progress. Now you may think that "measurable" and "specific" are the same, but that is not always the case. I can be specific by stating that I want to purchase a candy apple red Jeep Wrangler by the end of 2015. However to make that goal truly measurable, I need to break it down a little further and figure out how much money I will need each month to reach that goal. Then I will know monthly whether I am on track to achieve it or I need to adjust my goal.
• A-Attainable. This is a hard one for most people! Your goal must be something that you can realistically achieve, but also something that will cause you to put effort into it and cause you to change. If you have been averaging sales of $1000/month in your business, a $12,000 year is not a good goal as you are already doing it. However, a million dollar year is probably not an attainable goal for most of us as well. If you don't make your goal attainable, you will lose interest in achieving it and then what is the purpose of that?
• R-Relevant. According to the dictionary, relevant means "having a significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand." I mentioned that the attainable step is hard for most people, I have to believe that this step is the one that a lot of people don't even consider! When you are making resolutions or goals, you have to consider where they fit into your life plan. If your plan is to become a leader in your profession, taking several courses in clown school because they look fun, probably aren't relevant unless you are a clown. "Relevant" makes you look at the big picture: what do you want at the end of 2015? 5 or 10 years down the road? If your goal doesn't fit into that plan, you have to ask yourself if it is really worth the time and effort it will require to attain it. If you aren't planning to entertain children in hospitals or at parties, is clown school really the best use of your time?
• T-Time-bound. I like that phrasing so much better than "timely." Many times I have seen this acronym used and the T is for timely. Timely is defined as "appropriate or adapted to the times or the occasion" which really is different than "time-bound" as that means to give a deadline. If you don't put a time limit on something, then you will not feel a sense of urgency to accomplish it. When you write your goals, make sure that you put an expiration date on it. When you say that "By the end of 2015, I will..." you have a specific timeframe to accomplish that goal and you can set-up checkpoints to gauge your progress toward achieving it.

Finally, make sure you are accountable for the goal.

If you are a self-starter and go-getter, this can be nothing more than posting that goal where you can see it daily and can keep track of your progress. However, if you are like the rest of us, you need a little nudge every now and then and an accountability partner or group is a great way to do this. Find someone to help cheer you on and hold you to it when the going gets rough. Get creative! This year, I have asked my siblings and parents to start a new family tradition by sharing 12 New Year's resolutions for 2015. The plan is to tackle at least 1 per month, but realizing some will take multiple months. Not all of us are on Facebook (or online for that matter!) so instead of doing a group on Facebook (my preferred way to connect with specific groups), I suggested that I can do a monthly family newsletter so we can celebrate successes, keep goals fresh in our minds, and pay attention to areas we need to work on. We plan to get together tomorrow at our annual party to hash out more details. If worked at consistently, this can not only change individuals, but strengthen family bonds and that is what we Proverbs women are all about!   

Want more ideas to help you with goals and planning? Be sure to check out one of my previous posts on breaking bad habits. Or if you are a Pinterest addict like me, check out my change board:

Follow Karen's board Change: Life, Habits, and Growth on Pinterest.

Want a cool t-shirt to let everyone know you are a part of the 8% while helping my family out during my husband's recovery? Check out our booster to place your order by January 16th. 5 colors available!

Until next year... <3 ya all!

   

Last Minute Cookies for Christmas

I must admit that I didn't write yesterday. I thought about writing, but what is that saying, "good intentions pave the way to..."? So to make up for flaking out on you yesterday, here is a quick little recipe for last minute Christmas cookies that will make you look like you slaved away in the kitchen- reindeer cookies!

I first saw these on Pinterest and thought they were super cute! The original pin from Handmade in the Heartland gives a recipe for "from scratch" peanut butter cookies as the basis for them. Her recipe looks great, but there are 2 things that concern me so I adlibbed. The first concern I had was possible allergies in my daughter's classroom, so I wanted to avoid peanut butter. Although the darker color makes the reindeers look more authentic. The second concern was that I don't truly like to cook from scratch! At my house, we have Bert Crocker instead of Betty! Unfortunately, Chad didn't have the time to bake before her party, so Momma to the rescue!

Ingredients needed:
Ready to bake sugar cookies or peanut butter cookies
M&Ms
Milk Chocolate baking chips
Mini Pretzels

Time needed:
About 30-45 minutes for 2 dozen cookies in 2 rounds of 12.

Follow the directions on the package of your ready to bake cookies. When they are done, immediately decorate with the antlers, nose, and eyes.

Here are some tips to help everything go smoothly:
1) While your cookies are baking, cut the antlers down to size and separate the red M&Ms.
2) To cut the antlers, just remove the round parts of the pretzels. I found that using my paring knife, it was best for me to cut both edges at once, meaning I placed the knife down on the pretzel and pushed instead of sawing off one edge and then the other. When I tried to just cut with the tip, the pretzels broke instead of cutting.
3) Stick the antlers in 1st to give you a good guide for the rest of the face.
4) If you can buy the Christmas M&Ms it will save you a little time hunting the red M&Ms. Plus if you look at Handmade's picture, she uses the leftover M&Ms to create a beautiful display with her cookies!
5) Be sure to thoroughly cool the cookies and chocolate chip eyes before packaging. You can stack them by alternating the antlers, but you want to be sure the eyes are cooled so they don't stick to the bottoms of the other cookies. I used a large aluminum disposable roasting pan to transport my cookies.

Enjoy your treat! I will be back tomorrow with another Friday How To.

Merry Christmas!  <3 ya all!
(Don't forget that sharing is caring! Use the social media buttons below to quickly share this blog.)

The Woman Warrior

Before I began writing this blog, I had begun running into women who were in some of the same spots I was. I was beginning to feel run down, listless (double meaning there in case you missed the start of my blog!), and beginning to feel pretty worthless all around. The "ironic" part is that at this time I was at the height of a new ministry, my business was running along fine, and we even had "extra" money coming in with my sub job. Those of you who are Christians may have cued in immediately on why my emotions and health took a turn for the worse if you spotted the words "new ministry." If you are thinking that I'm undergoing a spiritual attack I will agree with you. However, I also think that the enemy is just plain wearing out women and especially moms left and right.

I mentioned in an earlier post that women are the quiet leaders of our homes. In some cases, you are the head of your home, but regardless of marital status, women provide a heart to the home that men are not made to do. Now before I hear about it from a bunch of men "in touch with their feminine side" let me tell you that is a bunch of garbage! Deep down in our hearts, women like men to be strong, aggressive leaders and providers. Yes, we might like you to understand where we are coming from, but truly, we don't need another girlfriend. We need manly men who know their place in God's scheme of things and are willing to take it. God designed women to be the softer sex. He gave us emotions and desires that men just don't have. He did this so that we compliment our partner. We are not less than a man, we are different and that is a real good thing! He gave us a power of influence that brings us to a level of leadership that can exponentially increase the effectiveness of our household and husband or can topple our "regime." Because of this, we undergo a subtle undermining of our leadership.

Are you feeling less than your best? Feeling like you could care less? Maybe, though you wouldn't admit it to a soul, some days you wish you didn't have that child tugging on you to do this or that. Maybe it's not so severe, maybe you just feel blah, a bit unmotivated. Woman, it is time to take charge! You are under attack and you might not even realize it! Remember those emotions that God gave us that He didn't give man? The enemy knows about those and he will use them to his benefit. Let me show you with my life what I mean.

Right now, I want to be anywhere but sitting here writing this! Normally, I can sit down and the words just flow, but this time it is like pulling teeth- downright slow and painful! I know what I am feeling and that there are women right now who are feeling the same way, but those words just don't want to string together in any semblance of coherence. I would rather take a nap and it is only 10 a.m.! I feel like the weight of the world is pressing down on me and my family. I feel heavy and disinterested in all that is going on around me. I have no desire to go to church, no desire to work, no desire to make a home (notice I didn't say "clean the house" cause who really wants to do that?!). BUT I know that I am not to be ruled by my emotions. So, what do I do?

Do you remember the full armor of God? If not, grab your Bible and turn to Ephesians 6:10-18. We aren't fighting against what we can see, but against the one who wants to tear our families apart! So what do we do? Let me share with you what God says and then let's bring that to what we need to do in our home right now.

Look at those verses with me and let's relate them to our situation. In verse 10 we are told, "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." Did you catch that one? We don't have to be strong on our own! Nope, Sugar you can let it go (Frozen, anyone?) and lean on the Almighty for this battle. OK, I can hear you now saying, "that's all well and fine, but what does that even mean?" For me, it means that when it gets too much to bear, I can go somewhere where the kid, dog, and husband aren't and I can crawl into my Daddy's lap and pour out my struggles and ask Him for peace, wisdom, and more faith and He is faithful to provide it. Notice, I said where "my husband [isn't]." God gave me (and many of you) a husband to help me through the rough times, but he isn't the end all be all. I had God before Chad and I need to remember that God is the ultimate leader of our home and it is to Him I need to take all of the problems, even the ones I bring to my husband. If you aren't bringing those issues before the Lord that you took to your spouse, you are missing out on a whole lot of peace! I continually ask God to give Chad the wisdom he needs to solve the problems before us. When I'm praying that way, I know that God is giving my husband an extra measure of strength and endurance and God knows that I'm trusting Him and not just my husband to get us through.

Now check out verse 13 (NIV): "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Look at that last part, "and after you have done everything, to stand." We women try to do everything don't we? We have a million conversations and plans in our head, before we even have half the day in. But did you catch that? God just wants us to stand after we have put on the armor. What does that mean? It's His fight! So what is our armor then?

The belt of truth is the first piece. God is so cool! He wants us to listen to truth and really hear it. This is so important to women. We hear so many things throughout the course of our day and God just wants us to stop and hear the truth. We don't have to listen to what society is telling us or what that inner conversation we are having with the lady we just ran into is telling us (come on, you know you have those conversations!). Instead, we need to listen to the voice of truth. Where can we find it? God's word and His Spirit speaking to us when we are quiet in His presence.

Now comes the breastplate of righteousness. That's just a fancy way of saying morally right. When we put on that "breastplate" it guards our heart and keeps us on the right path. We have to make right choices to put this breastplate on. This one is really hard! We make so many choices every day that we can't do it alone. We need to ask for help in this one and after we have asked God, talk to your husband and/or an accountability partner. (Yes, I'm big on accountability partners!) It becomes too easy sometimes for us to justify our choices, so we need to be sure we go back to that truth and are listening to it. We need to have people around us who are willing to hold our feet to the fire and keep us heading on the right path. That is why it is so important if you are a stay at home mom or you work from home, that you reach out to other women and really connect with them. Women are communal creatures. We thrive best when we connect with others. If you find yourself becoming isolated, this is another tool of the enemy and you need to reach out to someone. Yes, I know that can be hard and scary! I've been there, done that. I'm still really rusty at times on making and keeping friendships, but I have always found that they are worth it!

I didn't set out this morning to give you a sermon, so let me bring up 2 more pieces of armor and then close. The first is the shield of faith. Whether you are a brand new Christian or one who has 80 years + in the fight, you should ask God for more faith every day. Imagine what we could accomplish if we all practiced this! Women of great faith do great things. There are all sorts of women mentioned in the Bible for their faith. Since it is close to Christmas, Mary, the mother of Jesus, comes quickly to mind. I bet even Mary could have had days where she doubted that she was carrying the Savior of the world. After all, she was only human, but I bet Mary relied on the Spirit of God to give her more faith in her times of need. Doubts will come your way, but if you continually ask God to remove them and give you more faith, miracles will begin to happen in your life!

Now all of these pieces of armor were defensive, but God gave us a weapon too. His Word is a two edged sword and capable of fighting any of our battles! God knew we would need directions and left them in the Bible. So how do we use God's word to fight the attack of listlessness, blues, and apathy? Let's look at the Proverbs 31 woman again. The 15th verse keeps coming to mind and in that verse, we see that she "gets up while it is still night, she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants" (NIV). Now, I'm not saying that getting up early is going to change the way you feel in and of itself, but if you have gotten into a rut, why not look to change some of your behaviors? If you already get up early, maybe you need to make sure that the first thing you do is your devotions. Or maybe you need to be sure that you are going to bed at a decent time. I'm speaking from experience here. You see, as my feelings of the blahs have continued, I have gotten to the point where I don't stick to a daily pattern. I have allowed myself to sleep in when I should make an effort to keep a schedule and keep myself balanced for my family's sake. I have rationalized this behavior by telling myself that I stay up late to read since that is "my time." So instead of getting the rest I need and waking up ready to face the day, I feel groggy and drained and end up cheating my daughter out of the mother she deserves. Not only am I doing her a disservice, but I am doing myself one as well since daily rhythms are important to our body's health.

Are you seeing a theme yet in my writing? It seems that God is teaching me about scheduling and sticking to a routine. Is He teaching that to you as well? If so, it's time to get crackin' girlfriend! One thing that I have learned is that if the same thing keeps getting put before you time and again, you had better start dealing with it and getting it taken to heart. Grab a girlfriend for an accountability partner and set that schedule! Tell her she can ask you when you got up and when you went to bed. Now here is the tough part, you have to tell her the truth and resist the urge to rationalize your behavior. Variations in our schedule can be expected at times, but if you are truly trying to get out of blah land, it's time to start working on it and being true to yourself by being disciplined.

One quick side note: I wholeheartedly believe in counseling and if needed medication. There are some instances of depression that you may very well need medical help for. This is not a weakness and is nothing to be ashamed of. If you feel that you need professional help, don't feel like you are giving up on God or that you don't have enough faith! God created counselors and doctors and medicines and we need to know when to use them. Suffering silently is not a virtue! In fact, situational depression can develop into chemical depression if not dealt with in a timely manner. If you have been silently suffering and nothing you seem to do helps, please reach out to a professional. I highly recommend that if you talk to your family doctor and she recommends medication, do seek counseling from a Christian counselor as well. Talk therapy, in the context of our beliefs, speeds the healing process and often times, gets to the root of the issue. 

Hear that? That's me stepping away from the podium and off the stage. I never intended to preach at you, but when the words were hard, I asked God to help me write and wow did I write! Now comes the hard part, I have to live out what I wrote! As always, comments or email are welcome. If you liked what I shared, the highest form of compliment that you can pay me is to share my blog with your connections.

Until next time, <3 ya all!