4 Reasons God is Remarkably Faithful to You

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4 Reasons God is Remarkably Faithful to You

 “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” - Exodus 34:6-7a NLT

Tossing and Turning

Julia kicked the covers off, rolled over, and stared at the clock again as frustration grew in her heart. Angrily she thought “Why can’t I sleep???” The orange glow of the digital clock blared 2:30 am back at her as she scuffed because she had tossed and turned for an hour. She knew exactly why she couldn’t sleep. 

She spent an hour thinking about her youngest daughter at college. Fear and worry tumbled through her mind. “What if she gets with the wrong kind of friends? She seems so lonely. What if she dates the wrong guy? What if she makes the wrong choice? Why doesn’t she love God anymore? Where did I go wrong? What if she’s attacked at a party? What if she’s drugged and raped? Goodness that escalated quickly!” she thought. 

Spiraling, she knew she needed to stop. Breathing deep, she whispered, “God, please help me. Give me faith to trust You. Give the ability to understand You are with me and You are my help. Remind me of Your faithfulness. How easily I forget.”

Have you struggled to lean into God’s faithfulness when it comes to your adult child? 

This is often difficult for moms because we’ve always managed their problems. We were the fixers, problem solvers, and rescuers. How do we let go and entrust our children and their problems to our faithful God?

What does it mean when we describe God as faithful?

What do we need to know about the faithfulness of God? 

According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Faithfulness is one of the characteristics of God's ethical nature. It denotes the firmness or constancy of God in His relations with men, especially with His people. It is, accordingly, one aspect of God's truth and of His unchangeableness. God is true not only because He is really God in contrast to all that is not God, and because He realizes the idea of Godhead, but also because He is constant or faithful in keeping His promises, and therefore is worthy of trust” 

The Bible reverberates with the faithfulness of God. Each story and chapter is laced with examples of His dependability to His children. Even when God’s family disobeyed and rebelled, He was consistently trustworthy. 

Here is a moment where Moses met with God on the mountain. God spoke through a cloud.  The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” - Exodus 34:6-7a

God spoke directly to Moses and what a message it was. He said he was slow to anger, filled with unfailing love, and faithfulness. If God is telling us this Himself, can we not trust Him when He speaks? How can we doubt what He says about Himself? This is proof of His faithfulness, We can settle our hearts on this revelation and rest in peace. 

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Keys to Finding Your Purpose

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Keys to Finding Your Purpose

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:10

Get Curious

Having launched our fourth child into college, I was facing an empty nest in a few years. Though I was sad to see this season of active parenting end, I was eager to focus on myself. I was excited to dream. Questions swirled through my mind:

  • What could I do now?  

  • What am I good at? 

  • What have I always wanted to do?

  • What lights me on fire?

Scrolling through Facebook one day I came across an ad for Hope*writers, an online community of writers. The word hope inspired me. I had been journaling for decades, but I had never written publicly. I knew I was good at encouraging others. Isn’t writing simply encouraging others with words? I had a twenty year old dream to write a book. Everytime I spoke at churches or women’s events, people would say, “When are you going to write a book?” I kept saying, “One day I will.” 

I was a Mass Communications/Speech Communication double major in college, so I was passionate about speaking. I feel most alive on stage. I got to thinking, I know absolutely nothing about writing a book: I better learn. I joined Hope*writers with a dream in my heart and a backpack full of fears. I didn’t know anything about writing, and I struggled with technology. Every task felt insurmountable, but I felt this nudge from God to pursue my dream of writing a book and so I began my writing journey.

Now What?

We will all come to the day where we’ll ask ourselves, what do I do now that my kids are grown? What is my purpose in this season of motherhood? We can languish in despair or we can follow the passion inside. We can pursue the activity that lights our hearts on fire. We can dust off our dreams and get busy. 

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Finding Purpose: You Are More Than A Mom

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Finding Purpose: You Are More Than A Mom

 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Motherhood Shift

Thoughts rumbled through my brain as child number four left home for college. Doubts, fears, confusion, walking beside, excitement, hope, and anticipation. My role as an active mother was soon to end, once the baby graduated in a year. I couldn’t fathom a life that wasn’t focused on mothering. For nearly three decades, raising our five children was my job. 

I thought about the sleepless nights, the hours of monotonous chores: cooking, cleaning, managing, shuttling them from place to place. I tended to their hearts, walking them through heartache, endless squabbles, and confidence slumps.

I taught them kindness, playfulness, how to work hard, and how to have a relationship with Jesus. I extended oodles of grace and unconditional love. When I messed up, I apologized. I loved being their mom. They were my life, my everything.


I wondered what I would do now. “Surely, I’m more than a mom,” I thought. 

Perhaps like me, you’ve asked yourself the same question. 

There will come a day when we feel the shift. Motherhood was a high calling and we relished it, whether we were stay-at-home moms or juggled parenting with our careers. For decades we poured into our children, and now we face days without them as our roles are changing. Our children are grown and have left us, as they should. It’s the natural progression of parenthood.

But we’re left with so many questions. We feel unsettled and unsure. 

Who are we apart from our motherhood? 

What are we supposed to do now?

What can we do with this one life we’ve been given now that our purpose is shifting?

God in his goodness, does not abandon us. Here’s what He says to the bewildered mom: 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

God has a beautiful plan and purpose for this period of motherhood. As we step into a more supportive role, it makes room for us to pursue our passions, interests, and longings. We are satisfied when we pursue the plans God has placed in our hearts.

God is present.

He will guide you. 

Goodness is coming.

Hope springs forth.    

When was the last time you thought about your dreams, or how you would like to spend your days? 

When was the last time you looked inside and addressed your longing? I bet you’ve buried it for so long, you forgot about your yearning.

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4 Ways to Listen Effectively

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4 Ways to Listen Effectively


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“Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.” - Proverbs 21:23

Distracted

Tension hung in the air as Jackie and her daughter, Melissa fidgeted uncomfortably in the coffee shop booth. Melissa wanted to talk to her mom about her boyfriend, Ben. Melissa squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, fearing what her mom’s reply might be. “Mom, why don’t you like him? You’re not even trying!” she said in disgust. Jackie’s phone buzzed. She reached for it to answer the text. “Just a minute, it’s your dad. He needs to know what time we have to be at the baseball game for you brother,” said Jackie. Melissa rolled her eyes in disgust. “Here we go again, I can’t even have a conversation with her,” thought Melissa as she slumped down in the booth.

“That brother of yours. He’s doing so well on the team this year. When are you going to go to one of his games? He’s amazing! You’re just always hanging out with that boyfriend. You don’t even care about your family anymore, do you?” said Jackie.

Indignant, Melissa insisted, “Mom, back to our conversation about Ben.” Jackie rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, what is there to say about Ben that you haven’t already said?” Jackie interrupted, “You think he’s wonderful, and I just think you could do better.” Defeated and feeling unheard, Melissa sinks into the booth and returns to sipping her latte. “When will she ever listen to me?” Melissa wondered.

Poor Communication

I’ve been this mom, utterly distracted by my phone and made assumptions about what my child was going to say. I wasn’t listening at all. I was rude, unfocused, and insensitive. I’m not proud of myself for it.

The cornerstone of effective communication is the art of listening. We could avoid missteps and misunderstandings if we listened well to our adult children. It’s a complex skill to learn but when we do, it results in deeper understanding and connection with our grown children. Ultimately, we both want to feel heard in any conversation.

We need to remove the attitude that the parent knows all and that the child must receive and adhere to the parents wishes. This is a difficult transition to navigate for most parents who are used to leading this relationship. When we shift to seeing each other as listening equals, this ushers in better conversations.

God cares deeply about this topic and addresses the power of listening many times in His Word. We are admonished to control our tongues by keeping our mouths shut. Less talking and more listening results in understanding and healthier relationships.

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