Uncategorized | Texting the Truth

We’ve all had Fall 2020 on our minds…more than usual. It’s like summer got skipped over. Don’t get me wrong — it’s already been a LONG summer. But with almost everything cancelled, my mind turned to September the second school ended. Questions swirl in my mind like a tornado — what will work look like with this Covid pandemic continuing? How about school, sports, church, holidays?

But in an unpredictable situation like this one, I’m spinning my wheels. The “right” decisions seem “mostly right” at best because I don’t know what the future will be. So I hold my breath and wait for things to go back to normal.

I woke up feeling very tense one morning recently, so unsure and almost angry. I decided to just sit and pray about it… God, how am I supposed to make plans right now? I don’t know what you want me to do. And then Jeremiah 29:11 popped into my mind – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

‭‭I opened my Bible and looked at the whole chapter, wondering, who was God talking to at the time? And what I found stunned me.

God’s people, the Israelites, had just been exiled from Jerusalem (their home) to Babylon (a foreign city). They didn’t want to be there, and they didn’t know how long they would have to stay there. At the very least they felt stuck — kind-of how we feel with this Covid thing.

But God sent them a message through a prophet. He told them: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper,” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:5-7‬ (‭NIV).

‬‬God told them essentially to plant themselves there and continue on with living life! Focus on peace and prosperity there, rather than hating where you are. Don’t sit and fret and wait to go back to normalcy in Jerusalem. (And spoiler alert, it’ll be 70 years before He sends them back.)

And I realized that like the Israelites, I feel like I’m in a foreign place right now, and I’ve just been waiting to live life until everything goes back to “normal.” But I felt like God was saying, “Stop putting life on pause. Live life fully today. Here, in this place. Stop wishing it away. You can still live and love here.”

Moms, no matter what choices you make for your family this fall, the most important thing is that you are still fully showing up for life. Stop wishing everything away. We don’t know how long we will be here. (Dear Lord, please let it be less than 70 years!) But here we are, in this place. We can still live fully here, even if it looks really different.

Put your roots down into this season and let God decide when to end this chapter of the story. He sees us. He knows we’re here. And he has GOOD plans for us.

Love you, Moms.

?Anna

Am I the only one who bounces between feeling super grateful for God grounding us to being outraged at the state of the world? How did we go from staying home and baking to fussing with each other over masks? There’s so much unrest around racism, politics, and police. As moms, we most likely bear the burden of summer activity planning. And then there is the anxiety of the new school year unknowns. Just naming all of this makes me take a deep breath.

With all the turmoil swirling around us, within us, and maybe even in our homes, we want to come alongside you and collectively pray, Lord, where do we go from here? To continue the conversation, we want to give thanks for the good parts of these uncertain times. And so, our big question for you, readers, is this: What is saving you right now? We have made a Texting the Truth Reader Survey here: https://bit.ly/textingthetruth2020. Give us all your feedback and share honestly what’s saving you right now.

What is saving me is the sunshine, my family and friends, reading in general, and most of all, God’s word. No matter what, the Bible is always a steadfast place to turn and unlock the Holy Spirit in my life. There is so much spinning out of control, but I believe we can center ourselves and save this season with coming back to our Bibles.

Regardless of what the future holds, as moms we have no choice but to endure. Matthew 24:12 says, “Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” We can do this, Mamas. TtT is right here with you.

In my desperation to be a “fixer” as I power through (does anyone else prefer this endurance stance?), I sometimes cry out to God for help in unproductive ways. To be real, sometimes I pray like God is a genie in a bottle. I need a reminder that He cannot magically erase pain and grant wishes. He is not the cause of it, either. But, we know He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). For example, I am so glad we have a focus for social justice during the quarantine. Racism, oppression, and broken systems are not new to the world. They are just being spotlighted right now. I had to remind myself not to just “rub the genie bottle” for world peace and instead do the hard work starting at home and in my sphere of influence. I pray you have ordered some new books and had some quality conversations with your families on it all, that you have taken some action steps.

In addition, we want to pray with you, Mamas. We have had quite a few health scares in our TtT community — surgeries, heart attacks, bad scans and waiting in limbo for results, Coronavirus exposure, family member deaths, and the list continues. Our DMs are always open to you, but most of all, I want to encourage you to cry out to God in prayer in whatever way makes you feel most connected. Prayer is a pure way to share your vulnerability and lay down your burden. “Cast your cares because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). I feel nearest to God and connected with my family in nature — quite literally, I feel led most beside still waters (Psalm 23:2). I close my eyes and sometimes lift my hand toward heaven when I pray in nature. I like to blog or physically journal. I love to highlight my Bible and underline with music playing in the background. How do you connect with the Lord best? Add a comment below.

Whatever we do, all I know is now is not the time to be shy about our walk with God. I am trying to proclaim faith, even when it is weird. As long as our motives are in love and not to be wise in our own opinions, what’s the worst that could happen? God wants moms to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). He wants us to follow Isaiah 58:9-12 (CSB):

When you call, the Lord will answer. When you cry out, He will say, “Here I am.” IF you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.

I often have to remind myself that doing more won’t help God work any faster; sometimes I need to speak the verse in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” I cannot be all struggle and no snuggle. I have to find a balance with truth and grace, salt and light. I don’t want to lose my saltiness (metaphor for purpose & vigor) by avoiding diving deeper into truthful conversations, but those require energy and subsequent self care to recover after. And they take extra courage when you are exhausted or feel like you have something to lose. But, I ultimately come back to this mantra of “cut the excuses.” Here’s why: raising our kids encompasses who we spend time with and how we spend our time as adults in the home. They always watch what we do, not what we say, don’t they? I want to give them something good to watch (and emulate).

For some practicals, check out the “Truth to Inhale” and “Truth to Exhale” sections of this post. I spent time curating resources to help live out our faith together (we do that for every post!). Do you have any new ideas to share with our community? Drop them in the comments, and don’t forget to complete our survey.

Let’s pray: Lord, please show us where we go from here. Above all the fray, You are in control. We pray blessings over our homes and our Texting the Truth community. We thank you for all the many things and people that are saving us right now. Multiply salt and light through your children, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

With love and virtual hugs,

#summer2020 #textingthetruth #graceformoms #realmoms #loveinthetimeofcorona

Soaking in the Truth

Scripture to encourage you:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9, NIV).
“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:14, NKJV).
“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:14, NLT).
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters” (Psalm 23:2, ESV).
“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12, CSB).
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, ESV).
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]” (Matthew 5:13, AMP).
“When you call, the Lord will answer. When you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’ IF you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live” (Isaiah 58:9-12, CSB).

Music to inspire you:

“Wild World” by Cat Stevens
“Gracefully Broken” by Matt Redman and Tasha Cobbs Leonard
“Defender” by Francesca Battistelli and Steffany Gretzinger
“You Have What it Takes” by Christy Nockels (the whole album is good for lullabies)

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Waiting for Normal

Where do we go from here? What is saving you right now?