You are Not Alone*

I was praying yesterday for our Generation Church, which is our youth group we help out with. I was asking God for something to share with our group of kids. The night ended without the chance of me being able to speak about it and it is still on my heart today.

One of the enemies biggest lies that we believe is: "You are Alone."

God wants you to know that you are NOT alone! I've previously struggled with loneliness, especially during the newness of being a stay at home mommy. I felt like no one was around and unfortantely twisted it to blaming my husband for not being home enough. Yet, he was working and making the means for us to own our first house and feed our first baby. I know what it is like to feel that depression and frustration of "no one" being around. I just wanted a friend. I just wanted to talk to someone. I did not want my husband to go to work and I wanted him to come home early. I would get so frustrated that he had to stay later at work. I finally came to realize that his customers are the ones paying our bills. There is no other income.

Satan wants us to believe that we are alone. When in fact, we are not. Do we realize how many others are feeling the same way? What if all us lonely people got together, then we wouldn't be so lonely right? Satan works by creating a gap between people. If he gets people out of relationship with each other then he is on the right path. Just like with Adam and Eve, Satan made a way for a gap between God and his people (ultimately by lying to them). God made us for relationships.  "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity."-ps 133:1 We've all grown up with a "best friend" or a group of close friends. It's fun sharing life with those people and you find yourself wanting to be around that person or people all the time because it makes life richer. So why wouldn't Satan attack that part of our life? He wants us to live seperate lives where there is no vulnerability and where its easy to put on a facade when you walk out the front door. He has won when we close ourselves off to others. He has won when we put on our fake face to impress others. Satan does not want us to stand up together, because there is strength in numbers. It is harder for the enemy to bring you down when you are supported by a friend.

"God sets the lonely in families" -Ps 68:6
God does not want you to be alone. It says in his written word that he sets you in a family! But that doesn't necessarily mean that he will physically pick you up and transport you and drop you into a perfect family. He definitely could if he wanted to but...sometimes this loneliness feeling needs to be fought by the one feeling lonely. We need to pick ourselves up and take our eyes off of ourselves and go be a friend to someone else. I was reading today in the Message Bible, Matthew 7:12 "Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the iniative and do it for them..." We got to get out of ourselves and go help the ones who are truly lonely. We have to remember in the darkness of feeling alone that, "its not about me!" We have the power within us to rise up against the enemies lies. God lives within us therefore we have the power to say no to the lies and yes to the truth! This is one thing that God has been teaching me since I've been in high school. I need to go and be a friend to someone, not complain and feel bad for myself that no one is being a friend to me. Unfortunately, I still learn that lesson from time to time. But let's be to others what we want them to be to us. What a revolution for relationships in this world if we were to help others, the way we would want to be helped. The Word is so rich with relevant truth for today!
 Proverbs 11:25 says, "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
Thats some good stuff right there!
In our loneliness, let's be generous! It almost doesn't make sense but God's word is true and he keeps his promises. If we step out of our lonely mentality of thinking and give to someone else we will be refreshed. I don't know about you but I love that feeling of refreshed!

God wants YOU to know that YOU are NOT alone!

33 weeks and counting!

Yes, it has been quite some time since I've been able to post! It has been a fiasco trying to get hooked up to our wireless internet in our new place. So I am thankful that we finally have wireless internet...oh first world problems right?

We got another ultrasound today, which is always amazing to me. It's crazy that there is a little being stuffed inside my belly. And man is he stuffed!!! He weighs slightly under 5lbs. Talk about a chunker!!! We got to see his face...kind of...on the 3D ultrasound, I think him and Micah will look alot alike. The ultrasound predicted that my due date will be July 31st, instead of the original predicted date of August 3rd. Praise Jesus for that! Time is going by fast, as always! I look at Micah when he is running around like a crazy man and think, oh my goodness...there is going to be two of them!!! But by God's grace I'll be able to raise these little guys! I don't know how its going to work out but it WILL work out!

Being at home with Micah has been the transistion of a lifetime. I am becoming a different person, in a good way, I really feel myself stepping into a Mother's role. I don't think I am like most moms and sometimes I get insecure about that but I am confident in how God wants us to raise these little guys. We are super laid back with Micah, in the way of letting him figure out how things work...like gravity. This little boy always has bumps and bruises. He has learned the art of falling, he knows how to lift his head up when he falls on the ground so his head won't hit. So smart this kid! I was shopping at my favorite store, TJ Maxx when I, the defiant to rules mommy was letting Micah play in the bigger area of the shopping cart. No he was not buckled in the top part of the basket facing me, with his legs through the holes. He was standing up, cart surfing and pulling clothes to his face. He reached out for a dress and stumbled a bit...believe me this kid was not going to fall out but the lady in the aisle gasped with horror as she thought he was going to plunge to his death. She kept gasping as he was falling and getting back up within the basket. Oh man, I thought she was going to call CPS on me! Sometimes I think people see us and think we are crazy or too laid back, but then I think about it and I love watching Micah figure out how to do things on his own. I won't always be able to be there for him. He has a healthy independence about him and I like that. I don't want to be a helicopter parent but I am sure there are ways we are. He is such a smart little guy, who loves to figure out how mommy and daddy do things around the house.

My prayer for Joshua is that we would not compare him to Micah. We love Micah so much and think the world of him, of course we think he is super smart and super cute. He definitely is a fast learner and has met milestones a little earlier then the average. But Joshua could have a totally different temperment and personality. And I don't ever want to speak bad things over him, I don't ever want him to feel like his older brother is better then him in anyway. Joshua will be such an amazing man of God and will be different then Micah. They both have a high calling on their lives and I need to remember that while I change poopy diapers, listening to crying and go crazy from not sleeping very much.

Raising Micah has showed me that I had so much more capacity for selflessness. And now with Joshua soon to make his arrival, I am sure there is a whole other level for selflessness that I will have to make room for.