Hustle! Hustle!

For the last two months my oldest son has been participating in basketball. This wasn't where he was assigned a set team and played games every week, but rather, every week he worked on skills and learning the game. One of the motivators for the boys was that each week a boy would be chosen to be the ball boy at the high school's varsity game. For my son, this sounded like a dream. The honor was given to a boy based on his 'hustle' during the morning and was appropriately named, The Hustle Award.


Every week my son hustled his little heart out and every week his name wasn't called. Also keep in mind there were about 60 boys involved, which meant a very small number of boys were going to be chosen. 


So last week was it, the last chance to earn the Hustle award, the last chance to win. As much as I wish I could report that he is going to be the ball boy at the next varsity game, he's not.  When he and my husband walked through the door Saturday afternoon there was no need to ask the question, the answer was written all over him. My heart broke. In those moments, there really isn't much a mom can say except 'I'm sorry' and agree that it wasn't fair. 


He worked so hard. He gave his all. It wasn't enough.


We've all been there, trying our hardest, doing our best. Wanting desperately to be recognized, to know that somebody notices, that it's not all for nothing. 


Whether you're the mom folding the fifth load of laundry of the day, or the man getting up every morning to spend ten hours working a job that doesn't pay you what you're worth or the member of the team that keeps the bench warm... we all want to know that what we're doing matters.


I'm sorry to say that in much of life we probably won't get recognized for what we do. But praise the Lord, there is One, who sees it all and takes note and He has a plan to reward.


"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name..." Hebrews 6:10


You see, God doesn't forget. As His kids everything we do is for His glory, whether it's laundry, mundane office work or basketball - 


"whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31


And He sees it & will not forget it.


So when you're feeling a little down perhaps thinking that what you do doesn't matter or that no one sees, remember that the God who created the world, who set the stars in the heavens and calls them by name, the God who taught birds to sing and butterflies to fly - He notices! Wow! The God who tells bears when to hibernate and when to get up, the God who paints rainbows and waters the earth, the God who forms babies in their mother's womb and who knows what they dream, that God sees YOU and He's cheering you on saying 


"Way to go! Way to hustle!"

Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Yours?

The other day I had a package I was expecting delivered. I had ordered a vitamin supplement for my kids and was excited to get them started on it. When I opened the package I was extremely disappointed to find that they had sent the wrong flavor. I contacted the company via e-mail and within 30 minutes I had a response with an apology and notice that they were going to send out the correct box plus an extra for my trouble and I could keep the one I had already received. Now that's what I call service! And really, isn't that what I should have expected? OK, maybe they went above and beyond, but I certainly didn't think for a second that I was going to just have to accept the wrong box and I know you wouldn't have either. So why then, when something comes our way that is not from God, do we take it? 


The way I see it, things either come from God or they come from someone else and I only want what God sends my way. So how do I know if the package sitting on my doorstep is from my Heavenly Father? The way to figure that out is to hold it up to the spotlight of His Word. Does what lies in that box line up with who I know God to be? Who God has said He is? Who God has proven Himself to be? 


You know, that's what's so great about God, the One True God. He extends to us a relationship, not some stuffed up religion full of rules and how-to's. Nope, He asks us to personally get to know Him for ourselves. He's not sitting on His throne looking down His nose at us disgusted with our questions and need for answers. He's accessible. He's willing. He actually wants to be known.


Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32


So the next time a package shows up on your door and you're not sure that it's something you should sign for, ask the delivery driver to "hold please" and go ask your Daddy if He sent you that package or if you should 'return to sender'. Cause I have a secret for you, if it's not from Him, you don't have to take it.




"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

Jumping the Gun

Do you know where the phrase "jumping the gun" comes from? I had an idea, but I had to look it up to be sure. Jumping the gun refers to a few different things, 1) a track runner starting early 2) the land grab of the 1800's where the settlers would wait for the sound of a cannon before going after and claiming their land 3) a term to describe men in the Royal Artillery with poor timing. And I'm sure there are more references. In any case, the term refers to moving too soon. What were the consequences of the above references to jumping the gun? A track runner will be disqualified, a settler trying to get a head start would be shot and a man in the Royal army would find himself facing the enemy alone. None of the outcomes for jumping the gun are pleasant or beneficial.


God has really been working with me on this idea of jumping the gun when it comes to waiting on Him. We have recently had a couple of major hits to our family, in October my husband was laid off from a job that we moved across the country to take and then in January we found out that the house we rent is being sold and we have to move. Both of these situations have placed great amounts of pressure on me to 'jump the gun'.


When my husband was laid off we immediately began sending out resumes and applying for every job we could. Nothing was happening. Then a couple of opportunities came in, neither of which were going to come even close to providing for our needs (making minimum wage is just not what a family of 5 needs to survive on). As my husband and I sat here talking and trying to decide whether or not to take these jobs I felt so much pressure and unsettling. I cried as I thought of all that we had left for this job and I felt sick when I looked at what seemed to be our new reality. As I prayed I felt the Holy Spirit ask me, "Is this God's best for you?" I didn't even hesitate to answer, no. Once we put the brakes on the decision making for a few moments we were able to allow all the God-dreams in our heart to bubble up, the pressure was off and their was freedom for those things to flow. It was in that time of focusing on God-things that we believed God was calling us to another opportunity, not a conventional job but rather the fulfillment of our dreams. Ever since we began dating we had talked and dreamed of the day that we wouldn't be employed by a regular 9-5 job, but rather we would be employed by God and we would have time for our family and we would be able to do ministry and have the life we dreamed. 


So that's what we're doing, we don't like to say that we're self-employed, we're God-employed. Since being laid off God has brought work to us in amazing ways. My husband is a super-talented video producer and God is bringing him video work for missionaries and churches. God has blessed me with a the ability to read a book out loud and not give people a headache :-) and audio book narration offers have been rolling in. None of these things would be happening if 1) we weren't laid off and 2) if we'd jumped the gun and taken the first job that came along. 


Now we're in the midst of more temptation to jump the gun. The clock is ticking and we have to find a place to live. We have 2 kids in school and the year is almost up, no mother wants to have her child switch schools with only 8 weeks left. Also, since being God-employed, we have no verifiable income and a very restricted bank account. And to add a cherry on top of our 'there's-no-way-we'll-rent-to-you sundae, when we left our home to take this now, no-longer ours job, we ended up with a house in foreclosure. So, here we sit with what seems like a mountain of impossibilities and unwanted endings. Again, I feel pressure, to find a place and snatch it up, no matter what the cost. Is this God? Does He pressure me with stress and fear and uncertainty forcing my hand? 


As I sit and look through every possible website I can find to look for homes and I drive around for endless hours searching for signs, over and over in my spirit, when I'm quiet enough to hear, I hear Him saying, "Don't jump the gun." 


So what does that mean right now? 


I think it means God has a plan...


"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." Jeremiah 29:11 Msg


"Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act." Psalm 37:7 NLT 


Are there areas where the enemy is trying to get you to jump the gun? Don't. Remember at the beginning of this post the results of jumping the gun in the physical? Disqualification, death, destruction. 


Jumping the gun is clearly not God's way of doing things, I am convinced however, that it is a crafty trick of the enemy to get us to miss out on God's best.


Do I know where we're going to live? Nope. 
Do I know where or when more money is going to make it's way into my bank account? Nope.
Do I know where my kids will finish out the school year? Nope.


And that's ok, because I know the One who does know.