These are the times our kids will remember. Maybe the days are Monotonous, maybe the routines are in and maybe it all seems to blur into one. But they will remember, what we said, how we talked to them. Because it will change who they are.
Now we have all the time we could need to plant those seeds of good words, of appreciation, of encouragement, of love, of warmth, tales of faith, prayers together, songs from our hearts, words of God.
My kids basically copy what I say, they speak like I speak, if I say “no way” I’ll hear it resounding from the roof tops. And there are plenty of other things I have said that I didn’t want to hear repeated!
But when I hear my daughter saying “I appreciate you helping me” “you are always encouraging me mummy” I know I have been doing a good job, I have been breathing life.
I wanna hear them say great things about themselves, I want to hear them speak life to each other, I want to hear them tell stories of Jesus and speak words of love and encouragement to others. Words build life. So it needs to start from me!
The story being written in our homes now, is woven from the words we speak to our kids. These could be life changing words, change how they see the world, how they see themselves, how they live their life.
And we have all this time with them now, so how are we gonna use it?
In this season, let’s sew this verse on our hearts ❤️ “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7
So a lot of us are quarantined, some alone, some with family. Conditions are different for all. We are not totally quarantined here, but staying in doors a lot and trying not to go to public places!
Anyway it got me thinking about what kind of places and houses we have built for ourselves that we are quarantining in?
Well, I’ll be honest, it has been easy for me with all the media surrounding us, to quarantine myself in a place of fear, judgement, criticism and frustration. And without even knowing it we can be sucked into that loophole of gathering information about what’s going on, and feeding ourselves off it. It can be dangerous and not healthy.
But I read Psalm 84 and remembered God doesn’t want us to quarantine ourselves in a place of fear. He wants us to reside in his house, a house that is full of praise and faith, where blessings are shown through valleys, where we can go from strength to strength, where he is our sun and our shield! He gives us a place to be uplifted, even in the darkest of times.
Sometimes it’s hard to walk away from the noise around us, but there is freedom when we trust in God and dwell in his house.
I guess I this is a good time for me to reflect and change how I have been quarantining myself, how about you? #stayhome #quarantine #breakthrough
“For as she thinks in her heart, so is she” Proverbs 23:7
This week I have been daily sucked into reading the news and capturing every detail of the devastating virus sweeping China and other parts of the world. It’s horrible for all those suffering and my heart goes out to all those in lockdown in their own cities.
But as I have been reading about it and fearing for my kids (having kids makes everything 100 times more scary I tell ya) my fear has been escalating more towards panic as I imagine many others feel the same. I was filling my heart with fear, panic buying masks and hand sanitizers, and living glued to my phone for any more news about the virus. My husband said I am panicking too much, he is right. (As much as I hate to admit that!) I realized I had forgotten to pray, forgotten to connect with God about how he feels about this, to remember how he is in control. It is natural to have fear but to let our hearts be consumed by it is not Gods plan for us. He wants us to have peace, to turn our eyes to him especially in these situations. To fill our hearts with peace and love, so that we can be the peace and love that others need.
I realized this week I don’t want to be a mum that is full of fear, but a mum full of peace and love for people who need it more than ever.
