Everlasting Arms

"The eternal God is your refuge, 

and his everlasting arms are under you."

                                                     (Deuteronomy 33:27)

I was looking at my phone when I fell over my dog this morning. My whole body fell forward; except for my left hip--she stayed put. I literally left my *butt* behind me. (Yes, I know, technically, it's always behind me.)  But I left it waaaaay behind the rest of me. This is kind of tough to do. (It would be especially difficult for Kim Kardashian, who in no way has buttock implants.)

I'm so glad I fell.

It's exactly the picture of what God is asking me to do in my faith: to fall into Him and leave my *but* behind me.

We serve a God who loves us.  He desires intimacy in our relationship. We need only trust Him. And this means, we've got to leave our *buts* behind.  No doubting.  All in. Really trust Him.

And I do.
Only sometimes I don't.
{If I'm being really honest.}

When trust is hard, praise God, His mercies are new every morning! Every day is an opportunity to yield to the Holy Spirit.  We are met, each morning, with an invitation to trust the Living King with every-thing! To give Him our fears, our failures, our hearts, our hopes.  To give Him our marriages and our children and our work and our friends.  To give Him our stress, our sickness, our struggles.  To give Him our strongholds, our pride, our sin. To give him all of it. To hold our emptiness up to Him.  To give Him our willingness. To trust--that no matter what--we're better off leaving our *buts* behind us.

Let's leave "what if" and "but not" and "if only" waaaaay behind. No caveats! No trying to limit the Lord God Almighty! Let's trust that His best for us is all we ever need.  He has wonderful things in mind for us; He tells us so, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9)."

We serve a God whose open arms invite us, Fall into Me. Trust Me.  What a beautiful way to experience the unfailing love of the Father--resting in His everlasting arms.

Want to see a cute picture?
Meet my cousin Jeremy and his son, Max:

When we are in our Father's everlasting arms, we are safe and free to experience the fullness of all God has for us. We're Max! (And also isn't Jeremy such a cute Daddy?)

I know.  You can't stop looking at that cute picture, can you?

My mom and I did a big, "Eeeeeee!" when we saw it and our tummies and flipped and she said, "This is the picture of the Father's everlasting arms!" And I said, "Yes, you're so right!" (And all my bible study girls giggled because there are tattoos on those arms, and you know about my Adam Levine crush, and it's all too wonderful for words). 

Dear friend, let's start our day falling into Him.  Let's leave our *buts* far behind us--nothing is off-limits.  We are wholly His!  Let us fall into the everlasting arms of our Father and experience the vast ocean of His love!

Busy Busy Busy

I found it on Pinterest.  Because you can find anything on there.  Like these cute shoes.  That are from TARGET.

And these salted caramel and chocolate chunk cookies:

Here's the recipe. You're welcome.

I could go on and on because...

But I digress.

That Socratees quote.  It just sort of leapt off the screen and stared at me daringly, Go ahead and be busy--enjoy your barrenness.

We are wrapping up our first week back to school; and girls, aren't we already busy?  Rushing for what we forgot/need/want.  The black socks with the grey swoosh--not the white one.  More bottled waters.  The teacher's wish list items.  Another binder.  A light, thin-weight cardigan to wear over her shirt because the straps are only two-finger-widths wide when they need to be three-finger-widths wide and also it's 104 degrees outside so not too thick a sweater please and ps., it needs to come down mid-thigh or you'll be dress-coded. 

We are up at the crack of dawn for [fill-in-the-blank] practice, and we stay hours after school carpooling to and from [fill-in-more-blanks]. When asked for your address do you identify your street or the make and model of your car? 

I have already busted out the crock pot, crashed my iCalendar, and signed 34 jillion forms/slips/checks/orders/syllabi/folders. I've bought and sold discount cards, cookie dough, and spirit wear. I have 16 SignUp Genius emails in my inbox right now. 

Busy. Busy. Busy.

Because there's work-doing, laundry-folding, house-cleaning, food-shopping, meal-planning, lunch-packing, dinner-cooking, bill-paying, form-signing, errand-running, snack-baking, carpool-driving, coffee-buying, child-raising, husband-praising, picture-taking, memory-making, bible reading, church-going, list-making, game-cheering, sign-upping stuff to do.

And it's important stuff.  But are we called to do all things at all times? To always say YES? Be on all committees? Sign up for everything? When I hit "submit," SignUp Genius feels more like SignUp Sucker.

"All our busy rushing ends in nothing."

                                          Psalm 39:6

So here's a question: If Jesus himself didn't please all people at all times, what makes us think we can?

With all that running around, are we missing moments that matter? Like... time alone in the car to hear how his day was? Chatting on her bed as she picks out tomorrow's outfit? Snuggling on the couch together. Eating dinner around the table. Having lunch with your oldest friend. A long walk when it's not 104 degrees outside. 

Let's slow down and be intentional. When we deliberately fill our lives, they become pregnant with meaning--never barren. 

When we slow our pace, we open space for the Holy Spirit to lead us. 

As we start our new school year, let's ask Him to guide our steps--to show us where and when to empty or fill. Let's be obedient. And not apologize to others for it.

The name of our bible study blog is Utterly Filled.

Are you?

Lessons from My Daughter

Hebrews 12:1

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

Sitting on the couch with her over a pint of Ben & Jerry's, tear splats stinging the corners of our eyes, my daughter smiled and said, "The verse I've prayed this whole time, Mom, is that I would run with endurance the race marked out for me." 

And she is.

Thing is, we thought the race was more of a Fun Run, and she's in back-to-back marathons. She's faced some big challenges this year, and she's endured a lot. And God has been so faithful--every. step. of. the. way.

We've noticed when the shape of the course changes so does our understanding of God. Those uphill climbs, those twisty turns, those uneven paths build faith muscles. Trust grows! Dependency deepens.  And it is just plain good to be near God (Psalm 73:28).

And it is just plain good to spend time with my girl. We are laughing and crying and talking and praying and dreaming and growing and working and doing life together.  It is messy and rich and wonderful and hard and beautiful and filled with New York Superfudge Chunk and Peanut Butter Fudge Core. I love and admire this precious teen of mine, and I am learning the most wonderful things from her.

Aren't daughters wonderful? I'd love to hear what you're learning from yours too! XO!

Lessons I’ve Learned from My Daughter

1. The race thins out on the high road, but the sights are spectacular and the path never leads to regret.                          
2. True beauty shines in "Strength & Dignity" – not in Kendra Scott jewelry or a new jersey.
3. "God is good. All the time." It's especially true when the “all” part is hard.
4. Can confrontation ever be wiser than bringing it straight to Jesus? We don't always need better understanding from others, we need to better understand God's sovereignty.
5. Hearing and doing are two different things: always choose to follow-through with the doing.
6. Work hard. No matter what the goal is, work hard.  Go the distance. Never let circumstances influence your work ethic.
7. Humility is the reflection we see in someone who has received God's grace and fully gives it away. Give it away, over and over, freely and fully.
8. Pleasing others and pursuing perfection are impossible ideals that only serve as potholes along the path; run opposite them.
9. Be girly. Be smart, sweet, silly and strong.  Be free-spirited and joyful.  Trust God with all you’ve got. Sing loud praises in the shower. Be wise and innocent. Be tough, fair and fun. Be beautiful, talented and hilarious. Be strong and feminine. Confident and humble. Capable and Kind. Be 100%YOU.
10. It’s YOUR race to run; run it with endurance!