Nailed It!

Last Monday night, there were some chickens in the garden. Our youngest dog is a master at jumping fences and he also made his way into the garden. Dinner was ready to go on the table, and it was almost dark, but while taking out the trash, I heard the ruckus.

I quickly made my way to the coop, wearing some slip on rubber shoes, and tried to save the chickens. There were two in there with the dog and if you have chickens, you know there is always a favorite one. Diva. The favorite chicken was being hunted and chased by Niko. As was another one of the flock. Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? Have you ever tried to catch a chicken being chased by a 70+ pound dog?

Hidden under the tall grass.

I am slipping about in my rubber shoes trying to catch these chickens that are half flying, and Diva flew out to safety, but the other chicken wasn’t as successful. We have different areas in the garden. We have blueberries and blackberries, we have garden beds, and we have an open area where we used to plant corn. There were some old boards there in a pile and as I said it was close to dark that I didn’t see. Somehow one of the boards turned over and I stepped on a nail. It went straight through the shoe and into my foot. I felt like I didn’t have the leisure to wait and run inside to get help. I was crying in pain; blood is squishing around in my shoe and the dog has the chicken cornered.

I ran(rather hobble over the chicken) still crying. I tried crying out for help, I tried calling people inside on my phone, but to no avail. I was finally able to catch this chicken, keep the dog away with my injured foot and poke the hen through the fence gate I had previously opened for her. I secured the gate and hobbled, into the house. At which time they came running because I am not a crying loudly type mama. I was still crying, still sloshing, and trying not to be mad at the people who didn’t come when I was pleading for help.

Later that evening, after getting a tetanus shot, the Lord gave me a vivid spiritual mental picture of the event. If you don’t know, our children are all adopted. Each child has different needs and experienced different trauma before they came to our home. Adoption is a beautiful and wonderful blessing. It is also a hard and grievous challenge at times.

God is always faithful.

We are all struggling with circumstances. We are all being chased by the enemy. We at times have all felt trapped, cornered, or discouraged. We may be bleeding and injured in our hearts or souls. We may cry out for help and feel abandoned, left alone and ealing with problems without anyone coming to our aid.

God rescues. He saves us from the enemy and frees us.

God hasn’t left us alone. He never leaves or forsakes us. He loves us deeply in our wounds and in our sins. He loves us when we feel abandoned and when we feel distraught.

Friend, today, if you are hurting or sad or discouraged or depressed, know this.

YOU AREN’T ALONE.

You are loved!

Love you friend,

Tara

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Psalm 57

There is not much more to say regarding this!

“Have mercy…My soul takes refuge… in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed. He sends from Heaven to save me. Go sends His love and faithfulness.”

Mind blown.

Go read the rest sweet one!

I love you friend!

Tara

Enough

 

Why do I want to be what I am not?

Enough of that!

I want to be small and delicate and petite and…

                          Enough of that!

Where am I?  Not in a place of contentment.  I want to be what I will never be and have never been.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we want what we cannot have and become dissatisfied with who God knit together in our mother’s wombs?

Lord, first, forgive me.  Forgive me for not being content with the person You created me to be.  I have the shape and stature that you intended and that is not what defines me as a child of God.

Second, thank you for forgiving me!

Help me today to bring honor and glory to You with the gifts and talents that I have been blessed with.  Thank You for hearing my cries and revealing truth to me through friends and Your Word.

Psalm 36:9. “For with you is the fountain of life.” He is our life. I cannot believe it is so plainly stated and I overlooked it!  He is exactly what I need, when I need it.

He is enough for me.

He is.

Enough.

Enough with listening to the lies that I must be someone or something that I am not.

Enough with comparing myself to someone else that You made them to be and not me.

Enough with feeling sorry for myself.

Enough with being still and hiding my talents.

Enough feeling like I am not good enough.

Enough.

His Grace is enough.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” I Corinthians 12:9

So enough with all the time wasting and falling into the trap of comparison and feelings of inadequacy.

This is my ENOUGH face LOL!

Love you,

Tara

Taking Fearful Thoughts Captive

One of the kids woke up this morning with nightmares. She is afraid of natural disasters.  She has never experienced one (except a hailstorm) and still is horribly afraid.

I quietly walked through the laundry room at about 6:15 from my workout in the shop. She was standing there wrapped in her blanket walking from the bedroom to the bathroom when  she said, “Mommy, I had a nightmare.” She then proceeded to tell me about the hurricane in her dream. We did

not have a crate any more for Buster, (our dog that lacks all sense) to ride in and he gets car sick. She and Tekoa put their cats in their backpacks. She was just so concerned about having to leave Buster behind because I did not want him to throw up in our car. (PS no animals would be left behind.)  I asked her if she prayed.  She said she was too scared.  I prayed with her and I was asking God for a word picture to give to her about taking thoughts captive. It says in 2 Corinthians 10:5  that^“ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” That is beautiful isn’t it?

We recently let our chicks out of the brooder into the coop. I do not know about you, but for some reason when a chicken in on the ground, some people who will remain nameless, want to chase them to hold them.  Do you know how hard it is to catch a chicken? SUPER HARD. (I do it with a fishing net but…)  Check out this video link proving it is hard to catch a chicken 🙂 Rogue Ricky  

I told her that our thoughts run away and go crazy like those chicks. We think the worst things are going to happen! Thinking bad things that are scampering here and there. It is so hard to catch them! I told her that when we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to take those thoughts or fears or insecurities captive, He does so. We do not have to frantically chase our thoughts and fears down, He does it for us.

God is so good, isn’t He? He is here. We just have to ask for help.

I encourage you to read Psalm 91 today friends! It is a wonderful blessing for today dealing with fear.

Ask God to take fearful thoughts captive and live in freedom!  Trust that He will care for you.

I love you,

Tara

Beat UP

 

Notice the quarter years?  I was sitting in line waiting and I pulled out these 2 quarters.  I wondered what happened to the newer quarter to make it look so much older. What has it been through.  It can’t tell me anything, yet I wondered.

We are also like those two quarters.

Sometimes we cannot even express why we are so bruised and worn out. We just are.  How many hands have held those quarters?

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

We may face times of peril and heartache, but we are still worth as much as the shiny quarter.  We just may have a few extra scars.

You are worthwhile and loved!

Hugs,

Tara

Grow Towards Him

Why is it that after being trimmed at the same time, certain shoots grow up faster? Is it not that way in life? Some of us rebound from certain things faster than others.  Some of us are stunted in our growth.

God loves us right where we are. He wants our best and yet life can be challenging.  Grow towards Him today sweet friends!

Bombarded, But Held in His Hand

There are times that you are on the right track and things are going as you believe they should and then BAM!  You weren’t expecting that call about a problem. You weren’t expecting the issue with your kids or spouse. Or you have these expectations that aren’t met on a consistent basis.  What then?

What is the plan here Lord?

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“I am.”

I understand that Lord. What do I do?

“Trust. Trust that I am working all things for good for those that love Me and are called according to My purpose.”

How can I help when people are aching so?

“Peace be still.”  “You know that you can trust Me. I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Yeah God, but I am being bombarded and so are so many that I love!

“Well, I never said it would be easy. You know the world will hate you because they hate Me.  Just focus on being strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

So, I need to be constantly in prayer and aware of the battle. Got it!

“Get ready my child.  Protect yourself and your family. Pray for your friends. Take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.” 

Trust. Be Still. Pray. Put on Your armor. Pray. Be alert. Pray

That is our path broken down I suppose.  So here today Lord, I will be still and trust You.  I will pray and use Your armor.  I am on full alert and will stay in prayer until you release me.  Give me strength. (“My love, I will provide all of your needs according to My riches in glory. I will give My angels charge over you.”)

Thank you Lord,

I love you,

Tara

Let Go

 

Have you ever sat and watched an hourglass? I have and it is mesmerizing.  Watching each fleck of sand drop into the bottom. Rushing, seeking, falling to the next place.

I am trying to hold onto sand. My thoughts, my hopes and my desires are seeping through my tightly clenched fists, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Do I need to?

“Let go.”

That is what I heard.  Just open your hand and let it all fall.

“But why God?”

“Let go.” 

“Let go of the expectations that things should be different. Let go of the control with which you so desperately are holding onto with tightened fists. The sand is going to fall grain by grain. Of that I know for sure. Just give it to me. I will take care of things. I know the cries of your heart and I have not forgotten you. I have not forgotten your children.  Let go of your stress and trying to control things. You aren’t in control anyway.

Choices. 

Will you let go so I can begin a new work?”

Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

“But I don’t want to let go. What are you going to do?”

Matthew 11:28-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.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.”

“Rest does sound divine.”  To sleep through the night without worry and stress would be wonderful.”

“I’ve got this!”

Psalm 33:18-22

18 The Lord watches over those who obey him, those who trust in his constant love. 

19He saves them from death; he keeps them alive in times of famine. 

20 We put our hope in the Lord; he is our protector and our help.

21 We are glad because of him; we trust in his holy name. 

22 May your constant love be with us, Lord, as we put our hope in you.

 

Take it all Lord.

Pride

“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Proverbs 13:10

How often do I let my pride get in the way of simply listening to advice? I see it in myself, my kids and all around me.

We all want to be right.

We all want to be heard.

Here’s my challenge, especially when it comes to correcting my kiddos.  I want them to listen to me, I want them to truly hear what I am so that they will take to heart the mistakes I made and not have to suffer as I did.

I didn’t listen to my parents.

On the other hand, they also want to be heard.  What they have to say is important, though time, place, and tone of voice are an important part. Respect is a two-way street. A two-way street that has lots of traffic!  Life is going on simultaneously in each member of our family. Everyone is struggling or succeeding on different levels and at different times. Will I look past the external behavior to see what is going on the heart of my child? Will I see the pain and anguish that they carry, or simply “change lanes” hurridly trying to make it to the next destination or need?

Lord help me to see their needs, set aside my own when necessary, and help lead them through life. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen!

Love you,
Tara

Have You Ever Been Deceived?

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I have! I just realized today that I have been deceived by the enemies lies. Though I know and have been taught truth, some things can get blurred over the years.  Just enough for us to believe “it isn’t my job to do that.” In believing that, I have missed the mark!

I have believed that godly instruction through bible study and devotionals, fall strictly on my husband.  I have allowed him to lead all studies and he does them well. He is a teacher by trade, and I have heaped quite a bit of pressure upon my husband to carry this alone.

Yes, he is to be the leader of our home. NO, the job doesn’t fall solely upon him.  I have a responsibility to lead, in order for my daughters to see what it looks like for an older woman to lead a younger. According to Titus 2, I am to train them to be self-controlled, pure, busy at home and kind, (busy at home-they need to learn to cook, clean, grocery shop and care for the needs of someone besides themselves as well as their own needs.) God may not have a spouse for them and that is OK.  He has a plan that I don’t know about.  He will take care of that aspect.  I need to train them in righteousness.

I am not saying that I never speak to them about the things of the Lord, but I need to be  more intentional and that is where I fall short.

I can share something that God has laid on my heart. I can share verses at the dinner table that God has used to change me.  My man has never internally experienced what a woman does.  One of the girls said at the table, “Testosterone, you are all alone.”  There are 4 of us ladies and my husband.  He experiences the external result of the hormones, but tries to give lots of space when those things are taking place! Only I can share in those ways!

I have a tendency to overreact and parent out of fear. That doesn’t bring glory to God nor does it teach my daughters the best way to react.  I am working on that.

Here is the truth that opened my eyes today from scripture.

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,” Proverbs, 1:8

And

“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.”  Proverbs 6:20

That thought was so important that He had that written down twice for us!

So my friends, if you are in the same sunken ship filled with holes, it’s time to bail out!

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Let’s lead with wisdom!

“The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.”   Proverbs 15:3

I want to listen today to the life-giving reproof!

Lord please forgive me for not being the leader in my home that I need to be. Not to be the head, but to be hands and feet that lead my daughters to Your throne.  Thank You for Your love and tenderness to me.
In the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen!

Love you friend!

Tara