Love Them Everyday!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Valentine’s might be my very favorite celebration day! I love being able to make my little family feel special and we all love being together so much. It just makes me smile.  

So far this year has been a year of being more still. I’ve let go of several responsibilities because I’ve wanted to listen to the Lord a LOT more. Sometimes being still means being alone a little more and that is sometimes hard for me, but it’s HARDER to listen to a still small voice when you are so busy and on the go all the time.

A few scriptures kept popping up over and over again to let me know that being still for a season was what God wanted. One in particular might as well have been tattooed on my forehead!

“The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent!” Ex. 14:14

The Lord is faithful to His promise that “If you seek Him, He will be found by you…” I Chron. 28: 9b

Part of the reason for being still is that I have been seeking the Lord about how He’d like me to move forward to minister to others. A while back He reminded me that my FIRST ministry is to my family, but in this relatively short season of being still He has been very strong in reminding  me that the people who live in my house are to be the FIRST ones who see Him shine through me.

 

Sometimes those that we love see ALL the ugly. We feel like because we are family and we CAN be ourselves then they are the ones who catch all of our complaining, unhappy thoughts and feelings. Well, that had to change!

In order to honor God in the everyday.. these people that He has entrusted to me… needed to be treated like the special people that they are.

One thing that got my attention was how I’d be really busy getting my house clean… when “special guests” were coming! In this time of being still God has whispered to me that the people who live here everyday are just as special as the the special guests and they deserve the same effort!! I’ve been trying much harder to keep our home in better order and to make it a special place for my family when they are here.

I was really bad about never making beds. But since God has spoken to me about this I’ve tried really hard to have our rooms look nice and picked up so that it feels together when we come home. The world is so chaotic! Our home does not have to be!

I’ve also been on a napkin brigade! Everyday I’ve written a note to go in Caroline’s lunch box (and sometimes in my hubby’s.. if he takes his lunch!) just to say, “I believe in you!” “You can do it!” “You are special to me!” “I love you!” It’s not much… just a paper napkin and some ink, but I pray that everyday she knows that her mom is behind her while she’s trying so hard to overcome her delays and be just a typical kid!

It is really a blessing to have this time with God. I am praying that in the quiet He will speak and direct me to His purposes for me. In the mean time… I am going to try to minister to my family!