A good friend of mine and phenomenal Christian Fiction author, Lisa Heaton, has just published her 4th book! I have had the absolute privilege of being a small part of the process by pre-reading for her. Although she is always insistent that the version I read and the final copy are worlds apart, I firmly hold fast to the opinion that even her rough drafts are fantastic! Anyway, in the wake of this newest book release, God is opening some really BIG doors for Lisa, her books, and her ministry. It is truly inspiring to watch and humbling to have even played the tiniest part. But as I think about her journey, opportunities, and successes, I find myself feeling a tad bit lost. I have dreams. BIG dreams. Dreams that I know God has given me that I have yet to see played out. I see glimpses of what I want or where I feel God is calling me to go; but as I try to move, uncertainty seems to wash over me like a flood. I'm pretty sure it's the way the 11 Disciples felt when Peter hoisted his leg up and over the side of the boat in his quest to meet Jesus on the stormy sea.
Then I read a post that Lisa wrote to her mom this week:
"To my mom,
As I sit here having my quiet time this morning, I think of you. You are my biggest cheerleader and fan! You believe in me even when I'm most discouraged. Thank you for being so proud of me and way too often telling me so. There's some need we all have within to know our parents are proud of us. You never leave me wondering. Because of you I am the crazy dreamer I am. I love you and am proud to be your daughter."
I miss this. I need this.
Now, don't get me wrong. My husband is a huge "cheerleader & fan" of all that I do. He encourages my dreaming and is even an amazing "problem solver" when it comes to doing the dreams. But I think that there's just something about your mother being in your corner that can give you a confidence and inspiring nudge unlike anything or anyone else.
So right now I find myself hanging out in the middle of missing my own mom and her dream inspiring in my life and trying so desperately to be that dream inspirer for my boys. Jonah is a Junior in High School. We are investigating colleges and majors and talking and praying daily about what God has in store for his future. I'm hoping that everything that I say and do to this end helps him to follow hard after the dreams God has given him. I pray that he would be more like Peter, and step out of the boat. I remember being in his place - with the desire to pursue music and be a band director - and my mom encouraged me to go to the best school for that. We prayed and we searched and we prayed some more and I went to college 9 hours away from home. Crazy! But I didn't go to college to be with my friends, or because it was the best party school, or because it was the place everyone else thought I should go, or even because it was my favorite school (Go Noles!). I went there because it was the best Music Ed School and environment to foster and develop my dreams. That's what I want for Jonah...because I'm his mom. I am his biggest cheerleader and fan!
I guess it just seems easier to encourage, support, and spur on someone else toward their dreams than to move toward my own. And I have some new, totally different, CRAZY big dreams right now. I know that they are from God because they're WAY outside of my comfort zone...I just wish that my dream inspiring mom was here to cheer me on.
So to my mom, in the words of one of my favorite authors, I would say:
As I sit here typing this blog post tonight, I think of you. You were always my biggest cheerleader and fan! You believed in me even when I was most discouraged. Thank you that you were always proud of me and way too often told me so. There's some need we all have within to know our parents are proud of us. You never left me wondering. Because of you I am the crazy dreamer I am. I love you and am proud to be your daughter.
Now to step out of the boat...
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Alex
How do I have any room to complain or be discontent? I mean, we have some troubles in our lives and home right now...money issues, computer problems, cars in need of repair, work & relational stress, etc...BUT my boys are healthy. They aren't heading into a "last ditch effort" surgery to remove a second piece of their skull so that hopefully their brain will stop swelling. I have a 15 year old & I can't even imagine...and then I read the mom post, "I will praise Him in this storm." And the dad posts, "Please pray that I will be strong for my family and that all of my children will know how much I love them." I don't know if I have this kind of faith. I want it - but I surely don't want it tested. Not like this. I am overwhelmed with emotions and all I can do is pray for God's will to be done in Alex & his family. I trust Him. I don't always understand His ways (many times I don't), but I do know that He is good and He loves Alex more than anyone. Ever.
This is "Furnace Walking Faith" and I know that God is walking through this fire with the Pearson family.
This is "Furnace Walking Faith" and I know that God is walking through this fire with the Pearson family.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Mary Probably Did Know...
So Christmas has come & gone, trees & stockings have come down, and the all so familiar Christmas tunes have run their course. This season, with the ever increasing popularity of the a-capella vocal sensation, Pentatonix, "Mary Did You Know?" has become many people's new favorite Carol - mine included.
As I have listened and sung along, over & over, I have begun to think about Mary, the mother of the Christ child. Did she really know that Jesus would walk on water, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, heal the lame? Did she know that the baby she held and kissed and rocked to sleep at night was God in flesh? The Great I AM?
I propose that she probably did know.
First of all, In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel brings Mary the word of the LORD and says, "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever...The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1.31-35) This was a mouthful from the angel. But it gives us some background to see that Mary did know who it was that she would carry, where the baby she would birth came from, & where He was going. She had some history and information about baby Jesus - she was not in the dark.
My second reasoning for Mary's potential "knowledge" is that she was Jesus' mom. I have 2 boys and although I didn't have a visit from the Arch Angel to declare their births or tell me about their futures, I did spend almost every minute with them once they took their first breath of air. I rocked them and fed them. I kissed their boo-boos and gave them baths. I helped them get dressed and taught them how to count and say their ABC's. We played "Peek-A-Boo" and colored and sang many a song together. And in this process of being their mom, I know them. Maybe I don't know the exact job they will hold, but I know where their skills, talents, and passions lie. I might not know who they will marry, but I know the character qualities that they will most likely be attracted to. I know my boys because I am their mom.
I believe that although Mary may not have known specifically that Jesus would walk on water or heal the deaf, she did know who He was. She knew His potential - not only from Gabriel's words, but because she was His mom. In Jesus' first recorded miracle, Mary was there. They were at a wedding in Cana. Mary comes to Jesus and tells him that the wine supply is low. Jesus explains to her that this is not their problem for "My time has not yet come." However, Mary knows who Jesus is. I don't think she "foresaw" anything. I don't think she even knew exactly what He could or would do. But based on what happens next, she had faith in who He was. She looks at the servants, after Jesus said it wasn't His time, and says, "Do whatever He tells you." At this, in obedience to His mom, Jesus gives instructions for the water jugs to be filled with water and dipped out for the master and this "water" is now the best wine of the celebration. (John 2.1-11)
I am not saying that Mary is divine. I'm not saying she should be honored or worshiped. I'm just saying that she was a mom. I'm realizing that, as a mom, she probably did have at least a glimpse of what Jesus was capable of. She probably caught sight of his divinity seeping through His humanity. I think that we may wonder about her knowledge because the Bible doesn't really give us a lot of detailed information about Mary - she isn't quoted much or even mentioned much, past the birth & early life of Jesus. However, when she saw and felt and experienced Her Son and the things surrounding Him, she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2.19)
God looked down through all eternity and picked Mary to be Jesus' mom. She was the one who would know and love him best. He did the same with you and your young'ns. He knows that you are the best mom for those hearts and lives he's placed in your home. Love them well. Know them well. Encourage their dreams. And always treasure up all these things and ponder them in your heart.
As I have listened and sung along, over & over, I have begun to think about Mary, the mother of the Christ child. Did she really know that Jesus would walk on water, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, heal the lame? Did she know that the baby she held and kissed and rocked to sleep at night was God in flesh? The Great I AM?
I propose that she probably did know.
First of all, In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel brings Mary the word of the LORD and says, "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever...The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1.31-35) This was a mouthful from the angel. But it gives us some background to see that Mary did know who it was that she would carry, where the baby she would birth came from, & where He was going. She had some history and information about baby Jesus - she was not in the dark.
My second reasoning for Mary's potential "knowledge" is that she was Jesus' mom. I have 2 boys and although I didn't have a visit from the Arch Angel to declare their births or tell me about their futures, I did spend almost every minute with them once they took their first breath of air. I rocked them and fed them. I kissed their boo-boos and gave them baths. I helped them get dressed and taught them how to count and say their ABC's. We played "Peek-A-Boo" and colored and sang many a song together. And in this process of being their mom, I know them. Maybe I don't know the exact job they will hold, but I know where their skills, talents, and passions lie. I might not know who they will marry, but I know the character qualities that they will most likely be attracted to. I know my boys because I am their mom.
I believe that although Mary may not have known specifically that Jesus would walk on water or heal the deaf, she did know who He was. She knew His potential - not only from Gabriel's words, but because she was His mom. In Jesus' first recorded miracle, Mary was there. They were at a wedding in Cana. Mary comes to Jesus and tells him that the wine supply is low. Jesus explains to her that this is not their problem for "My time has not yet come." However, Mary knows who Jesus is. I don't think she "foresaw" anything. I don't think she even knew exactly what He could or would do. But based on what happens next, she had faith in who He was. She looks at the servants, after Jesus said it wasn't His time, and says, "Do whatever He tells you." At this, in obedience to His mom, Jesus gives instructions for the water jugs to be filled with water and dipped out for the master and this "water" is now the best wine of the celebration. (John 2.1-11)
I am not saying that Mary is divine. I'm not saying she should be honored or worshiped. I'm just saying that she was a mom. I'm realizing that, as a mom, she probably did have at least a glimpse of what Jesus was capable of. She probably caught sight of his divinity seeping through His humanity. I think that we may wonder about her knowledge because the Bible doesn't really give us a lot of detailed information about Mary - she isn't quoted much or even mentioned much, past the birth & early life of Jesus. However, when she saw and felt and experienced Her Son and the things surrounding Him, she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2.19)
God looked down through all eternity and picked Mary to be Jesus' mom. She was the one who would know and love him best. He did the same with you and your young'ns. He knows that you are the best mom for those hearts and lives he's placed in your home. Love them well. Know them well. Encourage their dreams. And always treasure up all these things and ponder them in your heart.
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