God Cares for His People/Focusing Upward
Psalm 105
Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Matthew 6:28-32
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things...
We had a weekend full of baby showers! I will post more about them later. They were wonderful, and we feel so incredibly "showered" will love and affection. We were blown away by the expressions of love that people had to offer our little family. The shower on Sunday was one that my Mother threw for me with our church people. There were about 50 people there- it was incredible and overwhelming- and I am excited to tell you a bit more about it later.
For now though, I want to focus on my Lord in this. As this pregnancy has progressed, Morgan and I have been consistently exposed to one unexpected expense after another. The bottom line is- it's expensive to have a baby in the US! We have been blessed with health insurance, but it's a self-employed insurance, not a group plan, and as a result, carries alot of limitations with it. It's not the greatest, and therefore we still have to carry much of the monetary burden. There have been moments when we have been anxious, tempted to worry, to wonder where the money will come from. But I must testify that as we continually release these worries to the Lord, He pours upon us His peace and assurance in return!
On three different occasions, we have been surprised with spontaneous monetary blessings from those who have been prompted to give. We have been extremely blessed by both of our sets of parents and friends who have pretty much given us every "big" thing we need for the baby (crib, carseat, stroller, etc).
Praise the Lord we were able to write a check to fully cover the birthing center fee last week that is due on Thursday! And they will work with us in a plan to cover the other fees.
Then these showers have left me stunned and overwhelmed. God has gone above and beyond what we need for this baby. We have been blessed beyond measure with material things that will come in handy.
SO today I give thanks to the Lord and I make known His deeds among the people! He is good. He is generous. Why me? Why us? I pray that I will be just as generous with those that He prompts me to share His love with. There are so many in this world who are in need...serious need. I feel like it's unfair that I have so many blessings sometimes- a car, a warm home, a cozy bed, etc. etc. It is the least I can do to give to those who He asks me to. May I be an instrument of His love and peace in other people's lives.
Beyond this praise for material blessings, however, I have a deeper prayer. Jesus continues in His discourse on God's care in that God must be put first!
He continues:
..."But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matt. 6:33-4
I pray that we will endeavor to make THIS the focus of our home. It's easy when things get "tight" to focus on trying to fix it, trying to make it work. But I want the focus to always be seeking after the Kingdom! Seeking after righteousness! God allows these times in our lives to help us grow closer to Him and trust, not to worry. May the focus of this MacPherson home not be getting things, but getting closer to glory. Not wanting, but giving praise. Not desiring what our bodies need, but what our souls need.
We are blessed. God loves to give good gifts to His children. But I would rather have these gifts be gifts of the soul, gifts of freedom, praise, joy, and holy living than to be toys, gadgets, and new clothes. I hope I am able to pass on this desire to my children. In this age that is so focused on material things, I know this will be a challenge. I pray that God will completely transform MY heart so that I will be the model a mother should be of seeking after the Kingdom with all my heart, soul, and mind.
Mothers, how do you model this for your children? How do you pass on a desire for things above rather than things below that do not matter? I believe my mother planted this desire in me, and the Spirit has helped it to take fire...but I would LOVE to hear how you help your children understand what is MOST important in this life.
10 comments:
I had hoped that, as a seasoned Mom of 3, some of these questions would have been nicely answered for me by now...but, no. I'm still always learning and stumbling along.
I like this question, because it is often at the forefront of my mind as I raise a brood of monkeys in a materialistic world. We are diligent in praying attributes of God's character over and over them. Pertaining to your question, we very regularly remind the Lord that he has made our children in His image, and we consistently petition Him to draw them closer to Him, making His nature their very nature. We pray His compassion, selflessness, love and passion would emanate from their very core...just to name a few things.
I also strive to make heaven a normal, everyday topic of conversation. This entices the kiddos to ask lots of great questions about heaven, which helps us to talk regularly to them about it being the place that God created us for. We remind them over and over that God created us to have a relationship with us, and that our time here on earth is our beginning-to-get-to-know-Him time, and that Heaven is where we'll finally get to BE with Him. I think this helps to create an eternal perspective in them, even at a young age.
And, more practically, it's a great idea, when they're old enough, to have kids help with local charities...donating, helping with Missions fundraisers, even sponsoring children. We talk a lot about the importance of sharing Christ with their friends and in our community. As they grow, we will try to do all we can to help them to find real ways to do this, so it's not talk, it's action. This I think will guide their eyes outside of themselves, and beyond this temporary dwelling place.
Elizabeth, I appreciate your insight into this. Am I crazy or a little too eager to already be thinking about this when I haven't even delivered my baby yet? Sometimes the responsibility of parenting seems so overwhelming- knowing what's ahead- not just caring for their physical well-being, but their little heart and soul as well!
You're not crazy! I think too many people don't think they need to think about this stuff until their kids are older. But core values begin to be instilled from the get-go. If you're already thinking about it, then you will be diligent to keep Christ in the foreground from their very beginnings. That's awesome!
Praying for you these days. I pray that the Lord will refresh and rejuvenate you, that His face will shine upon you and give you peace.
Wow, such a good question Ang. I too find it difficult to feel like I am on top of this and being successful in my desires. I often think along these same lines and wonder what is the best way to model this to my own young daughter in a way that she will grasp (at the age of 2).
So far we've kept it pretty simple. I sometimes fear that as adults we can overcomplicate matters for children.
We too pray for and with Mya on a daily basis. I look for ways throughout our day when I can encourage her to talk to Jesus. So, like the Rhynos, she would know he desires a relationship with us.
I also think it’s important to teach them scripture. For us that started by speaking it to her when she was young, using it during her bedtime prayers, and then helping her say them herself. When she’s been scared she learned “Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you”. When she was having trouble learning to share it was “Be kind and share with others”. She knows 5 now and can sputter them off if asked, or if in a particular situation. Scripture has really helped her – she loves learning them, and saying them.
I’m also very aware that the choices I make, not only in my day-to day activities, will speak to her and teach her about Jesus. Things done now that one day she will look back on and remember and also as she gets older things we will plan to do with her.
Missions Trips: Helping others; learning to live outside of our own selfish desires.
Choir: Expressing my heart to Jesus; learning to worship and freely express yourself
Dancing Dates: Having fun with the hubby; honouring, and enjoying marriage
Hosting small groups: Fellowship
I also like what Elizabeth said about talking about heaven – I think I’ll start trying to do more of that.
I find that I’m always aware of what I’m teaching her, but sometimes find it hard to articulate how it is that I’m doing it. I think so much of what our kids see is displayed through our own relationship with God and how that translates into our lives – thus our home. Thanks for the reminder (we all need it) and for encouraging me to sit down and force it onto paper (computer).
I have a LOT of learning to do in theis department, as I am only just now able to start speaking words that Jadon is understanding regarding theories and philosophies, and things untangible. He has recently started "talking" to Jesus (praying), and we have modeled this since birth, when we would lay hands on him and pray over him as we would put him to bed. One night a couple of months ago, Dane asked him if HE wanted to pray this time, and he said, "YES!" So he did..."Thank you Jesus, thank you for Mommy, thank you for Daddy, thank you for Baby, thank you from Grandma, thank you for Papa, thank you for toys, thank you for food, thank you for Kaia(friend), thank you for..." and on and on he went! We were very thrilled:) Anyway, this is just a cute story I wanted to share. Our praying outloud with him from day one made the concept of HIM praying not such a foreign one, and rather easy for him to grasp.
I have started reading two books on the topic of guiding my children in faith, and one more I have yet to get that was recommended to us (called "Shepherding your child's heart"). The ones I am reading are called "Setting the Stage for your child's faith" by Florence Littauer and "Engraved by Grace : Creating a Legacy of Faith for your Children" by Esther Burroughs. Maybe some good reading reccommendations to help get you started??...
just wanted to say, hope all is well with you and baby.
I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here, and assume your sudden lack of existence in blogworld means you just had that sweet baby?
No, sorry. :( No baby yet! I've actually just been occupied with other things and haven't had time to blog this week. Sorry for the false hope!
It is coming soon though- very soon! I can feel it. Last week at one point we thought it may have been time and went to get checked, but alas and of no avail- still 100% and 1 cm. The finish line is definitely very near though!
100%?!?!?! AWESOME!!!!! Hopefully that means you'll have a fairly quick labor! Aren't you due tomorrow (31st)??? Maybe you'll have her then! I'm praying for a smooth, safe delivery for you and Baby Girl!!! Any last belly pics??
did you have your baby yet???
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