by Mary Kelso
December 2008
It's almost 6:30 and all through the house
Not a creature is stirring, not even my spouse.
The tree is unlit and the kitchen is still
In a quiet that soon all the cousins will fill
The gifts are all wrapped and the pantry is packed,
The turkey is thawing and cookies all stacked.
We've planned and we've planned yet who can predict
What oopses and ouches the day will inflict?
It's the day before Christmas and family galore
Will soon make their way to our wreath bedecked door.
There'll be yelling and screaming and fighting for sure,
There'll be chaos and dizzying action to cure.
The little ones terrorize every calm mind
While the older ones cringe and then turn as if blind.
The questions will come and the calls of "when's dinner?"
While the moms and the dads watch their patience grow thinner.
And we wonder each time what is this really worth?
Are we forcing a moment in search of some mirth?
But as turkey and dressing and taters are passed
And the last of the pie is eaten too fast,
When we rest for a moment and join in the fun,
Instead of just yelling 'bout how we're "NOT DONE!"
We find that the day and all of it's work,
Has more than the average list of great perks.
What the children remember will fill them with joy,
It's more than a tree, or a meal or a toy.
Their memories of love and of laughter and games
Will outweigh the torrent of tattles and blames.
And maybe, just maybe that's what this is for,
A day when the laughter and love should outscore.
Jesus didn't come here to teach us to cook,
Wrap presents, clean dishes or have a great look.
His gift was Himself and ours should be too,
But we have to forget all that we want to do.
Instead of a meal that bedazzles the eyes,
I'm cooking today for the kids and the guys.
Instead of a house that must be kept clean,
I'm loaning my walls to an unfolding scene.
It may not seem peaceful, and it will not be quiet,
It may seem like moments of absolute riot.
But quiet can happen without anyone,
We'll bask in it soon when the playtime is done.
Until then we know that our peace can remain
Despite any noise, any grief, any pain.
It's beyond understanding, but not beyond reach,
It's a choice that we make and hopefully teach.
We don't ignore problems, or let things run wild,
But we should approach life with the eyes of a child.
Expecting great things from the path that's before us,
Let's celebrate Christmas with laughter and chorus.
So bring in the children bring in the folks,
Bring in the stories and really bad jokes.
The turkey will roast, the table will fill,
The rooms will get messy the babies will spill,
But none of these things are a sin or a crime,
It will all be okay if we have a good time.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Considering Consistency
Well hello! You don't know me (maybe) and I'm not sure I know you...but my sweet friend Mary asked me if I'd write a little something that may appeal to this precious group she spoke of so dearly. Because I love me some Mary and I recently gave up my hobby of blogging...I post!
Let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Jana Dover. I've been married to my best friend for 9 years (middle and high school sweethearts), and we have 2 precious boys that I absolutely adore. We've been at the most fabulous church in the world, Cornerstone, for 12 years now, falling more and more in love with my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't have one of those scandalous testimonies of my salvation in Christ, but I can speak on stability, consistency, and obedience. Not because I'm always great at it, but because that is what each period of growth in my relationship to Him has required. I live a blessed life that I absolutely don't deserve, but certainly enjoy.
As I am writing this, I find myself being pulled in a certain direction, so I'm just gonna go with it. As a stay at home mom to a 3 year old and a 7 month old...I frequently find myself stuck in that dreaded, frustrating spot. You know the one. That spot where you feel like nothing you are doing is making your desired difference. And you may or may not be intentionally banging your head against the wall. (I see you nodding your head.) So you've been there too, huh? I guess if I really think back, this feeling would have started when I first got married and I wanted my husband to be a more Godly role model. I wanted ONE intense conversation (we call this a Come To Jesus meeting) to make the ultimate instantaneous difference in him. Or just one smart-allic remark that would cut him really deep to motivate him to want to change. (I should have mentioned that before, I'm kind of a passionate person.) Don't get me wrong, my husband is a wonderful, Godly man! He was before I married him, but I always wanted to correct every little spiritual imperfection within him in my ways, not God's ways. Something about "the log in your own eye" is coming to mind here. Anyways, my lesson of consistency here was that the only way I could influence my husband, the only way I was called to influence my husband, was by my life, my testimony, my prayers, and by being his respectful help-mate. That is a lesson I have learned, but still struggle with. I kind-of like to control things :)
Another lesson of consistency, a more recent one, would be with my children. Let me help you new moms. Consistency = EVERYTHING with children. Omgah! Whether it was/is teaching my kids the act of obedience through discipline, potty training, good habits, eating/sleeping schedules, (and etc. because I truly meant EVERYTHING) the successful formula seems to be consistency. It seems like such an easy answer, but it's always worked for my boys and I! My firstborn was quite stubborn, prideful, and rebellious for weeks on end (at times). When Mason would fall into one of these periods, I'd be consistent with my end of the deal and he would eventually straighten up and submit. When Mason was pooping on my frieze carpet (oh yeah, it happened), I remained consistent in his potty training schedules, rules, and disciplines. When Mason would wake up 15 minutes into his nap schedule for 3 days in a row, being consistent in his other routines would eventually straighten out his sleeping schedules. Consistency. It's like my key that opens every door. So when I find myself feeling at a loss, I remain consistent in what I know I should be doing to get my desired result.
Now for the meat of this post and why I'm feeling led to share. I can't think of a more opportune and rewarding area of my life that consistency has been more beneficial to me than in my spiritual walk. I can think of times that I have succeeded in this and I can think of times that I defeated myself in this. I say defeated myself because we have power over the enemy and God does't fail. Consistency requires a few things. It requires that you KNOW what you should be doing. Not always easy, but we are so blessed with God's word (his life guide), prayer (communication with God that works 2-ways), spiritual authorities and Godly counsel (the church family and authorities he's placed you within/under). I've used every one of these vessels to determine what I NEED to be doing at different times if I wasn't sure. And I've used these vessels to confirm what I should be doing. Consistency also requires discipline. Discipline always pays off, however, discipline is not easy. Spiritual discipline requires so much trust. Not in yourself, but in God. Doesn't it? When everything in life is screaming at you that it NEEDS to be tended to RIGHT NOW! When you feel like you can't get your keys in the front door without falling asleep. When you have so many stresses and responsibilities pulling at you from EVERY direction. God says, "Sit down. Spend some time with me." What?! That's where the trust has to come. Realizing that our personal strength will only go so far. Allowing him to re-fill us with His presence. Trusting that He knows what we need, even more than we do. Trusting that his words will breathe life and rejuvenation to our body, mind and soul. I have the tendency to make the obvious statement that 'God is smart!' I know this. But I am still amazed when He figures out something so complicated in my life. Something that I would have run around for days/weeks/years trying to figure out (and maybe did). It proves true that His ways are not my own and that He actually knows what he is doing! Trust. It makes no sense at times. But I've never regretted trusting him over myself. That doesn't mean that I always get that in the right order...yikes. There have been many times that I know what I should be doing, (and maybe did it) but I also had to pray that God would help me to continue doing it, and to have His heart and motives while doing it. Simple obedience is quite honorable. But to be consistent in your obedience, while having your heart in the right place and your attitude where it should be, is life changing. I can sometimes be a hot mess. Yet, I've found that as He looks at my tear stained face, mascara running down, nothing attractive about it...He tells me how beautiful he thinks I am. He loves me like that :) Always able and willing to look past my failures to see what He created me to be.
So here we are, I have no idea what your situation is and you have no idea who I am. All I know is that I feel led to share a simple message of consistency here. The storms of life are daily for some of us, and others of us get through life with just a few cloudy days. I'm not sure why that is. But I know that consistency is mandatory for both: those that feel like they can't stand the pressures, and those that are so distracted by the blessings in life. Both seem to struggle with the same thing: Keeping their eyes on Jesus. Keeping their minds in His Word. Seeing life through His desires and His heart. All of these things come with spending quality, consistent time with Him. Every day. Because His simple answers, that you would have never considered yourself, will guide you through life's toughest challenges. But you can't hear his counsel, if you aren't spending time with Him. And you'll be running on 'E' very quickly without his renewing presence.
There are several scriptures that came to mind as this was written and I'm going to share them below. They are very simple scriptures, but I want you to understand that I'm not writing all of this based on my simple (unworthy) opinion. Thank you Mary for this opportunity. I hope I didn't run off all of your readers!!
Matthew 7:3
Proverbs 10:25
1 Peter 3:1
Genesis 2:18
Proverbs 18:21
2 Timothy 3:16
Proverbs 11:14
Matthew 7:7
Matthew 11:28
Let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Jana Dover. I've been married to my best friend for 9 years (middle and high school sweethearts), and we have 2 precious boys that I absolutely adore. We've been at the most fabulous church in the world, Cornerstone, for 12 years now, falling more and more in love with my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't have one of those scandalous testimonies of my salvation in Christ, but I can speak on stability, consistency, and obedience. Not because I'm always great at it, but because that is what each period of growth in my relationship to Him has required. I live a blessed life that I absolutely don't deserve, but certainly enjoy.
As I am writing this, I find myself being pulled in a certain direction, so I'm just gonna go with it. As a stay at home mom to a 3 year old and a 7 month old...I frequently find myself stuck in that dreaded, frustrating spot. You know the one. That spot where you feel like nothing you are doing is making your desired difference. And you may or may not be intentionally banging your head against the wall. (I see you nodding your head.) So you've been there too, huh? I guess if I really think back, this feeling would have started when I first got married and I wanted my husband to be a more Godly role model. I wanted ONE intense conversation (we call this a Come To Jesus meeting) to make the ultimate instantaneous difference in him. Or just one smart-allic remark that would cut him really deep to motivate him to want to change. (I should have mentioned that before, I'm kind of a passionate person.) Don't get me wrong, my husband is a wonderful, Godly man! He was before I married him, but I always wanted to correct every little spiritual imperfection within him in my ways, not God's ways. Something about "the log in your own eye" is coming to mind here. Anyways, my lesson of consistency here was that the only way I could influence my husband, the only way I was called to influence my husband, was by my life, my testimony, my prayers, and by being his respectful help-mate. That is a lesson I have learned, but still struggle with. I kind-of like to control things :)
Another lesson of consistency, a more recent one, would be with my children. Let me help you new moms. Consistency = EVERYTHING with children. Omgah! Whether it was/is teaching my kids the act of obedience through discipline, potty training, good habits, eating/sleeping schedules, (and etc. because I truly meant EVERYTHING) the successful formula seems to be consistency. It seems like such an easy answer, but it's always worked for my boys and I! My firstborn was quite stubborn, prideful, and rebellious for weeks on end (at times). When Mason would fall into one of these periods, I'd be consistent with my end of the deal and he would eventually straighten up and submit. When Mason was pooping on my frieze carpet (oh yeah, it happened), I remained consistent in his potty training schedules, rules, and disciplines. When Mason would wake up 15 minutes into his nap schedule for 3 days in a row, being consistent in his other routines would eventually straighten out his sleeping schedules. Consistency. It's like my key that opens every door. So when I find myself feeling at a loss, I remain consistent in what I know I should be doing to get my desired result.
Now for the meat of this post and why I'm feeling led to share. I can't think of a more opportune and rewarding area of my life that consistency has been more beneficial to me than in my spiritual walk. I can think of times that I have succeeded in this and I can think of times that I defeated myself in this. I say defeated myself because we have power over the enemy and God does't fail. Consistency requires a few things. It requires that you KNOW what you should be doing. Not always easy, but we are so blessed with God's word (his life guide), prayer (communication with God that works 2-ways), spiritual authorities and Godly counsel (the church family and authorities he's placed you within/under). I've used every one of these vessels to determine what I NEED to be doing at different times if I wasn't sure. And I've used these vessels to confirm what I should be doing. Consistency also requires discipline. Discipline always pays off, however, discipline is not easy. Spiritual discipline requires so much trust. Not in yourself, but in God. Doesn't it? When everything in life is screaming at you that it NEEDS to be tended to RIGHT NOW! When you feel like you can't get your keys in the front door without falling asleep. When you have so many stresses and responsibilities pulling at you from EVERY direction. God says, "Sit down. Spend some time with me." What?! That's where the trust has to come. Realizing that our personal strength will only go so far. Allowing him to re-fill us with His presence. Trusting that He knows what we need, even more than we do. Trusting that his words will breathe life and rejuvenation to our body, mind and soul. I have the tendency to make the obvious statement that 'God is smart!' I know this. But I am still amazed when He figures out something so complicated in my life. Something that I would have run around for days/weeks/years trying to figure out (and maybe did). It proves true that His ways are not my own and that He actually knows what he is doing! Trust. It makes no sense at times. But I've never regretted trusting him over myself. That doesn't mean that I always get that in the right order...yikes. There have been many times that I know what I should be doing, (and maybe did it) but I also had to pray that God would help me to continue doing it, and to have His heart and motives while doing it. Simple obedience is quite honorable. But to be consistent in your obedience, while having your heart in the right place and your attitude where it should be, is life changing. I can sometimes be a hot mess. Yet, I've found that as He looks at my tear stained face, mascara running down, nothing attractive about it...He tells me how beautiful he thinks I am. He loves me like that :) Always able and willing to look past my failures to see what He created me to be.
So here we are, I have no idea what your situation is and you have no idea who I am. All I know is that I feel led to share a simple message of consistency here. The storms of life are daily for some of us, and others of us get through life with just a few cloudy days. I'm not sure why that is. But I know that consistency is mandatory for both: those that feel like they can't stand the pressures, and those that are so distracted by the blessings in life. Both seem to struggle with the same thing: Keeping their eyes on Jesus. Keeping their minds in His Word. Seeing life through His desires and His heart. All of these things come with spending quality, consistent time with Him. Every day. Because His simple answers, that you would have never considered yourself, will guide you through life's toughest challenges. But you can't hear his counsel, if you aren't spending time with Him. And you'll be running on 'E' very quickly without his renewing presence.
There are several scriptures that came to mind as this was written and I'm going to share them below. They are very simple scriptures, but I want you to understand that I'm not writing all of this based on my simple (unworthy) opinion. Thank you Mary for this opportunity. I hope I didn't run off all of your readers!!
Matthew 7:3
Proverbs 10:25
1 Peter 3:1
Genesis 2:18
Proverbs 18:21
2 Timothy 3:16
Proverbs 11:14
Matthew 7:7
Matthew 11:28
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