“Presh-uh. Pushing down on me. Pushing down on you. Oh oh oh oh.” That’s the only line I really remember from that song. And now you’ll probably hum it all day. You’re welcome. But it’s appropriate for my periodic-mental-mantra these days, especially when faced with so much that seems to be undone.

Unopened emails. Unfolded clothes. Unchecked boxes. Ungrateful hearts. Un.Done.

But undone will be the norm as long as we walk on this planet.

The truth is that most pressure to live with life and checklists “all done” comes from within. Most of the pressure we feel is put on us by us in efforts to find peace from something or someone other than our God.

Granted, sometimes external pressures do weigh down because life happens or people make demands. But ultimately we get to choose our soul-stance, even when people and situations and lists are incomplete.

I go back to this place of truth a lot. Because it’s too easy to fall into the trap of “more”. But Jesus lived peaceably out of intimacy with the Father, even in the midst of undone hearts and undone tasks.

He walked purposefully in the things prepared for Him to do, one step at a time, while communing continually, intimately, and purposefully with the Father. And all that needed to get done got done.

Needed.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10

That leads me to the Glorious Grace study this week. We were in Ephesians 2:1-10 and when we took a day to look for commands from the text, there was only one. Just one command: Walk. Walk in the good things that God already prepared for me (and you) to do. Everything else from the text is alllll God does for us and in us through Christ.

That means I don’t have to manipulate circumstance or bulldoze over hearts because time is running short. That means that I keep bringing my heart’s eyes back to Him in the moments of today and simply walk in the things He has for me, and only the things He has for me, trusting Him with the process.

It doesn’t mean that when I lay my head on the pillow tonight everything will be done from my perspective. But God sees with eternal eyes. He sees the end result. And He knows where we’re going.

So often I wrestle for contentment in the process. When lists or relationships are still messy and incomplete, I struggle for the peace He intends.

But because we’re on this side of Jesus coming back, there will always always always be things that aren’t done. Always. Because everything and everyone is in process. And the soul victory comes when we learn what it means to rest in Him…even with a mound of unfolded laundry staring us down.

 
Fill me, Lord…

How do you personally rest in His peace even in the midst of the undone?
 

The post living with peace amidst the “undone” {Glorious Grace} appeared first on Lara Howard.

I could hear the negative, hormonal self-talk mulling around in my mind throughout the day. Seriously, hormones are ridiculously real. At first the lies whispered, kinda polite-like. But by dinner time, the negativity bullied me around trying to get me to bow down to discouragement.

“Nothing you touch is excellent! Look at all the dust on your bookshelves and how much your kids bicker with each other. And why would you think you could teach them anything; you couldn’t even point out Missouri on a map. And you wrote a book about marriage? That’s a joke considering how you struggle to be an excellent wife.” You get the point.

My husband got home right when my emotions collided with the lies, which meant he got to hear me voice all my failures. Poor guy. He handled it slowly and beautifully. “But…Bryson is writing sentences now. And Ryan remembers his numbers,” he reminded. But the lies tried to defend themselves, “And I forgot to buy tortillas! And that’s a necessary part of tonight’s dinner!” He sweetly suggested we leave the steaming rice on the counter and go out to eat.

You’d think by now it wouldn’t, but it always amazes me. After inward lies hit the open air, my spirit lifts. Hearing them audibly, deflates their power over my heart and mind. And then voicing truths and turning my spirit to worship puts lies in their grave. Read that part again because that’s pretty much sums up this post.

Yes, there’s dust on my furniture and that toy car has been sitting in the corner of my kitchen for about 4 days now. Pick it up, already! And yes, my kids pester each other. And marriage can be emotionally complex. But those things are not my foundation for life and hope and peace and joy. My hope and peace arise from the truth of my God and my inheritance in Christ.

That’s not just pithy, feel-good thoughts for a blog post or a Twitter feed. Resting in the truths of our God and remembering our identity in Him can change our Friday.

Paul prays a prayer in the first chapter of Ephesians that pretty much sums up our place of victory. He writes, “(I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.” (Ephesians 1:17-19)

Bottom line, we need God to open our eyes. Our hearts can deceive us with finite thinking. But in Christ, we have a hope that’s completely independent of life circumstance. From the mundane of everyday life to the completely tragic, the Truth remains. In Christ we already possess soul-riches. And His great power works towards us — the same power that raised Jesus out of that grave. We just need eyes to see.

When life and homes are messy, we need the eyes of our hearts enlightened. We need Him, by His grace, to give us fresh perspective. Eternal perspective. And that perspective change comes through confession followed by prayer and worship.

Because when I stop looking at the lack of tortillas or my poverty-stricken geography knowledge, and turn my heart’s eyes to God and the truths He speaks over me, my attitude changes. The dust may still lay on top of the bookshelf, but it doesn’t matter.

Worshipping our gracious God, asking for His vision and revelation, can change us from the inside out. Regardless. And for that, I’m so thankful. And my family joins in glorious unison, “Haaaaaa-llelujah!”

 
Fill me, Lord…

How does Paul’s prayer encourage you?
 

I’m linking up at the HelloMornings blog with other sweet sisters also going through the Glorious Grace study. Click here to read what others learned this week.

The post that night tortillas nearly pushed me over the edge {Glorious Grace} appeared first on Lara Howard.

So that’s why I’ve been a little quiet. BUT I am excited that this makes two Fridays in a row for the Glorious Grace study. That’s pretty impressive.

I’m not going to give you a long commentary, because we’re all busy. But I do want to leave you with one thing — one truth that’s meant to affect our Friday (and every other day of the week). Because if the truths about God and the promises from God don’t affect our moments then we’re really missing the point.

Elevate God

I have to be honest. Sometimes I look at my life and the “giants” around me — the things I can’t change or control — and I act as if they’re bigger than my God. I can subconsciously — or consciously — elevate the mess until worry or fear or doubt marks me. Yet all the while there’s this HUGE Daddy God holding me and everything else in this universe in His hands.

That doesn’t mean “peachy keen”. Peachy keen is a lie. God being above and around and sovereign-over means that even when it’s tough, even when the giants come near, even when I have to escape into the bathroom, He’s still bigger. And when challenges press in we have a choice. By His grace and in His Spirit we can elevate God in our hearts and minds to His rightful position.

Paul got that. He wrote the letter to the Ephesians while he was imprisoned. In the midst of that house arrest, Paul elevated God in his heart and with his words to His rightful place and worshipped Him for who He was — the Blessed One, the Giver of the most glorious grace. And when he did, he overflowed with hope and joy and praise.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places… Ephesians 1:3

Such an example.

Regardless of what’s in our today, there remains One over our today. One worthy of continual praise. And when, through His Spirit’s empowerment, we set our hearts and minds on the truth of His blessed character and our gracious inheritance in Christ, no giant can overtake us. Apparently not even imprisonment…or homeschool.
 

Fill me, Lord…

How do you tangibly elevate God in your heart and mind regardless of the circumstance?
 

I’m linking up at the HelloMornings blog with others who are sharing their thoughts on what they learned this week through the study. (You can get a copy of the study by clicking here!)
 

The post God’s even bigger and better than…that {Glorious Grace} appeared first on Lara Howard.

So I am not going to say, “Every Friday for the next 13 weeks I am going to write about what I learned from the Glorious Grace study! Every Friday!” Because inevitably one of my kids will get some Fall germ that slowly spreads to another kid and then another until three Fridays are shot. So I am just going to say, “Today I want to tell you something I learned from the Glorious Grace study this week.” Today.

This week was an intro to the book of Ephesians. Here’s where I really hope you don’t check out since I said the name of a book of the Bible. This is good stuff. In the intro week we basically just got a snapshot of Paul, the one who wrote the book. And though I’m tempted to start a little preachin’ about God’s amazing grace (seriously, everything is grace!), I really just want to tell you one thing that inspires me about Paul.

You see Paul wasn’t called Paul before he started following Jesus. His name was Saul, as in king Saul from Israel’s past. He had everything “goin’ on” from a human perspective. He had a kingly name. He could recite a bunch of laws. He was respected with the high-roller, legalistic, religious elite. He even killed people who proclaimed this “false prophet” Jesus. Killed them. Until he came face-to-face with Jesus himself. And that’s when everything changed. Even his name.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

A few chapters into Acts it says, “And Saul who was also called Paul…” (Acts 13:9) That may not look like much to you on the outset, but this is so huge. So precious. So reflective of what was going on in his spirit.

You see the name Paul actually means “small.” So this big, manly, conceited, power-hungry Saul met Jesus and from then on out he changed his name to Paul. Small.

Why does it matter? It shows a humility that is so beautiful in the sight of our God. It shows a man who now sees himself in the light of God’s glory and all he can do is bow low in praise. In honor. In humility. Even to the point that he no longer wants people to refer to him as the proud king Saul. He wants people to call him Paul. Small. Little. He wants people to see God as the really huge One — the One deserving all glory.

That inspires me. In a world that teaches us to strive for accolades and feast on position, Paul’s humility brings a pause to my spirit. It makes me ask myself, what do I want people to call me?

 
Fill me, Lord…

How have you wrestled with the tension to be named something great in our world’s eyes vs. walking “small” before a really big God?

I am linking up with other Glorious Grace people over at the HelloMornings blog today. Click here to read what others learned this week.

And if you want to join us, it isn’t too late. You can click here to get your own copy of Glorious Grace. It’s available in print and as an ecopy.

The post do you want to be big or little {Glorious Grace} appeared first on Lara Howard.