Join Heidi St. John as she encourages moms to love on their kids.
Every Little Thing Matters
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Fearless Parenting
It can be scary to raise children in this day and age. Join Heidi St. John as she encourages parents to be bold when it comes to guiding and correcting their children.
A Constant Conversation
Heidi St. John encourages us to pursuit our children with conversations that get to the heart of where they’re at.
A Little Less Talk
Sometimes we just need to be quiet and listen to our children. Heidi St. John talks about looking for what God is doing in our kids lives.
The Lord is My Strength
Since surgery, I’m off my game. Can you relate? I have been struggling with staying on an exercise routine these past few weeks. I’ve had a few things in life that knocked me off the exercise wagon and I’ve had a really hard time trying to get back on it. Psalm 18:1 says, “I love You Lord, my strength.”
This is a very long Psalm, but I just want to share a few things that have jumped out to me.
“I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise and I was saved from my enemies. The chords of death have entangled me, the torn of destruction overwhelm me; the chords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death in front of me; in my distress, I call to the Lord. I cry to my God for help.”
If you look down further, it says, “To the faithful, You’ve shown Yourself faithful.” And then in verse 32, “It is God who arms me with strength, and keeps my ways secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He causes me to stand on the heights; He trains my body for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
I don’t know about you, but even when I know that I struggle with the things I want to do, (like exercise) I and I might have to drag myself to do it, but there is this wonderful feeling of accomplishment on the other side of exercise. I just need to force myself to get there.
If you’re feeling that way today, I want to encourage you that your strength comes from the Lord. The Bible says that it is God who arms you with strength and He makes your feet like the feet of a deer. He wants to give you the strength that you need, and it is important that you take care of yourself, especially while the winter months drag along.
I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but where I am, in the Pacific Northwest, this is the rainy season. It can be rainy and cold (mixed with fog or snow) and I have to be diligent in getting up in the morning and stretching.
Something that I have really enjoyed for some time now (and I’m trying to get back into it) is getting up early, putting on some worship music, and stretching. I love to focus my attention on the Lord as I strengthen my body. I’ve always believed this, but now that I am recovering from major surgery, I’m discovering that healing happens in my body while worship is happening in my spirit and soul.
So, take some time, busy mom, to allow the Lord to be your strength. If there is something you are struggling to find victory at, go ahead and try again. Don’t give up.
The Lord says He wants to be your strength.
The Lord is My Strength
Who is your strength? Heidi St. John reminds us that our strength comes from the Lord.
A Gracious Heart
Do you beat yourself up over past mistakes? Do you replay scenes in your mind that you wish you could do over again? Well, you’re not alone.
In Romans 8:1-2, we read, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
You know what? That’s a promise! It’s a promise tailor-made for those who can relate to me when I ask whether or not you beat yourself up about past mistakes. It’s not easy, but God gives us the strength we need. I have had to learn to let go of of some things in my life. Sometimes, I disappoint people and I don’t know how to recover from it. Over the years, I’ve discovered I am a people pleaser.
Do you struggle with pleasing people? I’ve learned something through difficult circumstances. God wants me to please Him, and in pleasing Him, I will not always please other people. There are stories in the Bible from that are about men who chose to please God rather than men start to finish. He blessed those who chose to please Him.
Have you ever been used? Have you ever felt unfairly treated? Me too. I get it. But God says that His ways are better than our ways. He asks us to put aside careless behavior. To set aside vengeance. (Romans 12:19) In short, God wants us to love one another. To get along.
We can get along with each other by having a gracious heart. Sometimes that means we need to lay down a grudge and sometimes that means we need to forgive ourselves. If you’re struggling to forgive yourself, remember how you are to God. See yourself the way God sees you. God says He loves you so much, Busy Mom; He loves you so much that He laid down His life for you. It is not worth carrying a grudge around and it certainly not worth not forgiving yourself. If you can’t forgive yourself for your past sins, then satan will use that to hang you up for the rest of your life.
Is that what you want? Nooo! We want to live in victory! I recently watched my little ones playing in the garage and they were making a little road out of chalk. They had their little spinning cars out there and I noticed when they fight they get it out of their system and then they’re done with it. But, when I make a mistake, I can replay that over and over again.
Stop the replay.
If you’ve done everything you know how to do to clean the slate, if you’ve gone back to that person you’ve offended, if you’ve tried to make it right, move on: let it go, find freedom in forgiveness. His grace helps us stop the replay and live in freedom.