Calverette Chronicles: serving God

Showing posts with label serving God. Show all posts

2.19.2014

{reality check from a six year old}

February 19, 2014

I'm driving home from dancing.
The dancing class where I wait 3 hours for my girls to both finish.
Two of the three hours I sit with an antsy and energetic 6 year old.
Okay. Driving.
From the back seat I hear Karli ~~yelling at~~ correcting Aubree about how
"if it wasn't already broken it certainly is now";
referring to the DVD player.
Freddie recently ordered two DVD player head rests for my van.
They're very nice. It made our vacation car ride much more bearable.
I've been enthusiastically telling Aubree for a few months now to leave the DVD player
and DVD's alone because she broke the last one by kicking it with her feet.
Furthermore, I don't think there is one single DVD,
including the ones they just got for CHRISTmas,
that is not scratched from improper care.
So, hearing the skirmish from the backseat,
I offer a few ~~loud~~ words towards Aubree about the matter.
Then I find out that the DVD player that Karli was talking about
was the one that we have already established is broken.
It was in the seat back pocket.
God only knows why I haven't thrown it away yet.
Okay. Fine.
Now, here's where I'm going with all of this:
Aubree then, full on whimpering for the most effect, proceeds to inform me that
"you need to say sorry, Mom, because you really hurt my feelings!"
And so, I did.
I have {we all do} taught my children to offer apologies when they hurt someone else
or when they do something wrong.

Why do we not treat each other the way we expect our children to?
When we say something that is un-thoughtful, rude, or unkind to someone
why do we not just apologize for hurting them?
We all make mistakes.
I know that I tend to react poorly when I'm stressed, tired, or grumpy.
There have been many times where I have said something thinking it was going to be funny
and it turned out to really hurt someone's feelings.
We need to just say sorry.
It goes such a long way in preserving relationships.
Don't let pride stop you.
That's just Satan wanting to divide us so that we are weaker.
Take a stand and commit to take care of your friendships.
Make them important enough to put your self aside
and tend to the heart of those you care about.

"As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt." 1Samuel 18:1-4

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17

2.04.2014

{it's raining, it's pouring}

February 4, 2014

{LOVE}.
It's where I've purposed to live this year.
But the funny thing is, God is full of surprises.
I thought that I was going to be the only one exercising my heart.
And then, He sends the showers to drench me, violently and swiftly~
everywhere I turn it's thundering and lightening with those who rain {LOVE}.
What a blessing it is to know that I am {LOVEd} by the Creator.

Sometimes it's hardest to {love} yourself.
Or to let yourself be {loved}.
I'm learning that it may be one of the most important parts of being able to {love} others well.

I find myself in a season that I don't particularly want to be in.
It's a hassle.
A change.
An awakening.
And as soon as I reach out for help, just the tiniest bit,
I've got an army of girls, armed to the teeth,
standing at attention, ready to go to the Throne on my behalf.
They empty their hearts of {love} all over me.

This is a lesson.
I must mark it down in red and underline it.
Even the smallest gesture I can give in {love}~
Like an encouraging word,
Or an earnest prayer~
Can make such an impact and help to lighten the load of the weary.
{love}
It's that simple.
Who would've thought that this journey would begin with me receiving what I've set out to give?

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." 1John 4:16-19

1.28.2014

{love} on purpose

January 28, 2104

So, in my last post, several weeks ago, I promised to reveal my new

"Word of the Year".

{love}

Seems simple.

We all have the instinct to love.

I love my kids~ fiercely.

I love my husband~ passionately.

I love my parents, family, & friends~ faithfully.

But I don't always {love} well.

It's very easy to {love} my kids when they are being nice to each other.

How can I not {love} my husband when he pays me a much needed compliment?

I {love} the lovable.

It's in the shadows of a cranky mood or selfish intentions

that I am challenged and tested to push through in {love}.

I want to begin to {love} on purpose.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31

We are COMMANDED to {love}.

To {love} God. To {love} everyone else. To {love} ourselves.

Not just a little.

We are to {love} with ALL that we are and ALL that we have.

No other commandment is greater!

How do I {love} God?

Sometimes it's like a comfortable relationship; the {love} is always there,

but the passion may be on simmer.

Other times I feel like I can't even come up with the words to express how intense my feelings of {love} are for Him.

In reality, if I am to {love} on purpose, it must start with my {love} affair with Jesus.

He is the only example of true, real, pure {love}.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

John 15:13

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit."

1Peter 3:18

The Bible is full of examples of how Jesus loved those that were deemed unlovable.

He lived {love} on purpose!

That's what I want.

I want it to flow through me, naturally.

I am so not there.

It's actually scary to think that this is how I am going to focus myself this year.

I cannot do this on my own will power.

I must rely on the strength that comes from Christ alone.

1.08.2014

{resolve}

January 8, 2014

Happy New Year!

November called for Thankfulness.

December called for Giving.

January calls for Resolutions.

Have you jumped on that bandwagon and

made a list of things that you want to accomplish

just to realize that in a few short weeks

you'll be slapped in the face with the reality

that you may have been just a tad too ambitious?

You'll find that you're in way over your head

and you'll abandon The List

and promptly begin beating yourself up

because you're a failure.

I'm all for growth, progress, & change.

But I also know that I am human.

Don't fall into the trap of setting yourself up for disappointment.

Am I saying that you shouldn't try to lose those few extra pounds that found you last year

or try to shake off that character flaw that you're not happy with?

No. Not at all.

I'm saying that you should go about it in a different way.

Here's what I'm trying to say...

I totally believe that God has sent the Holy Spirit to us~

To guide us and speak to us.

It's not magic, and it's not out of reach.

It's not something that only happens for other people.

God will totally meet us where we are and give us all that we need.

We just need to listen.

I have discovered that God wants us to accomplish things in a certain order.

We may not be ready for some things before others.

For the past several years,

as I have made a conscious effort to grow closer to God,

I have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit within me

telling me where I need to focus my energy.

I've dedicated each "new year" with a WORD

that I've been given to purpose toward.

Growth. Service. Faith.

Whatever your word is, you should write it down~

somewhere, anywhere, everywhere!

And then begin to seek out God's will in your life through prayer.

{I've learned that when I am sincere in lining myself up with the will of God, my prayer life bears more fruit. It's one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced.}

Make yourself available to opportunities that stretch you in that area.

Educate yourself on what the Bible says about it.

Exercise it.

And pretty soon, you'll find out that

you've wandered into a space you've wanted to be all along.

Everything starts falling beautifully into place.

Those challenges start to become smaller

and you can more easily discern & conquer what doesn't belong in your life.

Success!

Then, without fail, you'll hear another whisper.

Oh, the places you can go!

It's a precious journey and the thing is, instead of getting weary,

each "new year" finds you eager for new challenges.

And it's because you fall into God and let Him carry you where He leads.

Stay tuned...

I'll tell you about my new WORD soon.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

12.17.2013

{twenty thirteen}

December 17, 2013

What a year we have had!
This is the year that Aubree FINALLY turns 6. She has been waiting and dreaming of being six for as long as I can remember. This year was filled with so many new friends for her~ and our social butterfly has enjoyed every minute of it. She is learning to read and I am pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. She is doing mostly first grade work.

Brant has been making such large strides in spite of his dyslexia. I am so proud of his progress. It has not been easy at all. We have both cried our fair share of tears, hung on for dear life at the end of our ropes, and climbed our way back up. This year, our little man played Quarter Back for his football team. He did such a good job and it was pure joy to watch him week after week.

Drake is turning into a teenager before our very eyes. This year, I have seen him struggle with saying good-bye to the child and try to find himself as he grows and matures. He could not be more excited as the first signs of facial hair begin to shadow his lip. If you know Drake at all, you know how THRILLING this is for him. He has wanted "man hair" forever! He aged out of rec ball this year and joined a Home School football league {AHSA}. It was precious to see the transition. He still has a lot of growing to do over the next few years, but I am eager to have a front row seat to see how it all unfolds! He struggled so much at his first practice and it was simply amazing to see my kid doing such a good job by the end of the season.

Karli has had such a wonderful year. She has not ceased to amaze me. With the help and support of so many of you, our family and cherished friends, she was able to attend Model & Talent EXPO this past summer. The experiences she had there both rocked her to the core and strengthened her spirit. She tried out and made the competition team at her dance studio. Every single week it is evident that all of her constant hard work is paying off because she is consistently improving so much as a dancer. It's been so special to see her finding herself and settling in to who she really is~ and it's even more beautiful to see her drawing close to God and building a personal relationship with Him.

Freddie & I celebrated 21 years of marriage this year. I am proud to stand next to this man as his wife. I love him more each and every day, and I pray he feels the same way about me. This year we were able to go on a family vacation- our first one in four years. It was an amazing time and we completely enjoyed every moment. As a family, we were able to sponsor a little boy from Honduras. He is a precious six year old and we pray God's favor on his life. The kids are so excited to love on him in letters and share God's love with him. I spent a lot of this year giving of myself and my time. I have gotten back so much more than I could ever give. It has been so important for me to be a good example to my children this way. This year I also reached a personal goal of reading the Bible through. It was a lovely experience and I hope to go deeper into Scripture next year. Freddie has been working as hard as ever, and our hope is for him to be able to take a little more time off and work like "normal" people are supposed to. We are continuing to be committed to becoming debt free and look forward to what God has in store for our family as we faithfully serve and worship Him.
This year has had it's share of challenges and disappointments, but it has given us BLESSINGS running over! We are honored to have made so many new friends and share another wonderful year with old friends and family. We enter the new year in prayer for you and yours for health & favor for the New Year. Thank you for sharing 2013 with us. You are forever a very important part of Our Story!
Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!
Love~ the CALVERETTE's