Sunday, March 27, 2011

A beautiful legacy...

I've been thinking of starting a blog for our family for quite some time now. I will admit I've been putting it off for selfish reasons. My brain constantly throws questions of doubt at me...what in the world would I write about? Is our life even interesting enough for someone to want to follow? What if I write something that doesn't make sense? What if I use incorrect grammar? Silly questions, I know, but real none the less. I have prayed and prayed asking the Lord to give me the words to write...and a real reason to do it. Well...ask you and you shall receive! The Lord has clearly (and repeatedly, I might add) told me to write whatever He lays on my heart and to write for my children. One thing that I wish I had more knowledge of is my heritage. My early childhood consisted of horrible, no good, very bad moments and I really wish I had good things to think about. I would love nothing more than to have stories of a beautiful legacy to tell my children and future grandchildren. I am hoping and praying that the Lord will guide me on a path of haulting generational curses and transforming it into a legacy and heritage our children can be proud of.
The past Sunday or two, our pastor has been delivering a message out of Jonah. We tend to look at the story of Jonah and the whale as one of discipline and punishment...but what if God sending the whale to swallow him up was an act of Him being a loving father trying to grab his son's attention and pull him out of a life headed towards destruction? What if the trials and challenges we face are more of a "wake-up call" from a concerned father rather than punishment from a God who doesn't care? Our pastor also said recently that the phrase "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" is completely bogus and far-fetched. Of course He gives us more than we can handle! We need to learn to lean on Him! I completely agree with him...we can not live this life on our own strength. When we try, we are guilty of putting idols before our Lord - the idol of ourselves and self-sufficiency! I am so grateful he followed the Lord's prompting and preached on this subject.
As Kenny and I are making the intentional decision to raise our children in the admonition of the Lord, Satan is sure getting mad! He constantly tries to tell me that based on my own upbringing and the poor choices I made prior to having children, that I am not worthy to raise these girls. That I am not "good-enough". That I must be fooling myself by thinking that I am loved, forgiven and redeemed. Well, I have news for him. The Lord does love me. The trials I faced and choices I made have brought me closer to Him! I have learned (and am still learning) to lean on Him and not on my own strength - I don't have to even try to lean on my own strength! As I grow in the Lord and strive to live a life pleasing unto Him, I am reminded that His grace is new everyday and that I will make mistakes while raising my children...but that's okay. They belong to the Lord before they belong to me and He will certainly have His will done in their lives - and the good Lord knows His will is better than mine!
So, there you have it. My first post on our first family blog...rambling, poor grammer and all. But guess what? I'm good with that :)
Heavenly Father,
Oh how I love you! I am so thankful for the unending grace and relentntless persuit you have for me. Lord, I pray you continue to work in my life and the lives of our beautiful children...and any children we have yet to meet. Lord I pray blessings and security over my godly huband! He has been my knight in shining armor and Lord I know he couldn't have rescued me without your hand guiding him. Thank you! Lord, for the sweet sweet friends you have placed in my life, I thank you! Please bless each and everyone in ways our human mind could never comprehend. I love you Lord. In your beautiful, holy name, Amen.