Amy Seiffert's Blog

Back to School Soul Care: Day 4

“Encourage one another and build each other up.”

— 1 Thes 5:11

In “Grace-Based Parenting” Dr. Kimmel says, “The primary way to give our children grace is to offer it in place of our selfish preferences. A grace-based home gives children the freedom to be different.” This could easily be applied to a grace-based classroom if you are a teacher. Or a grace-based resident hall if you have a roommate. Or a grace-placed workplace. Or a grace-placed marriage. Grace-based spaces give others the freedom to be different and put our own selfish preferences on the back burner.

As we come into a new school year, let’s be parents, teachers, neighbors, and care-givers who smile, remain flexible, and leave a critical spirit behind when it comes to our preferences. And we have A LOT of preferences. So often we lead from our preferences instead of a humble heart posture. Let’s be people who enjoy the creativity of those around us. Let’s fan into flame smiles and laughter and winks in our homes, our classrooms, our work places. Let’s allow our preferences to fall to the side and put our encouragement in the center.

Today's truth bomb: Let's minor on our personal preferences and major on our heart posture. 

Take a minute and think through the last 48 hours. What came out of your mouth that was critical based on YOUR preference?

Today, watch your words, your body language, and your posture toward anyone else in your path. Parents and teachers: catch your children as often as possible in making good choices and celebrate their loving heart. High five, wink, smile, squeeze, cheer, tackle, and love on all the beauty that comes from your child. Celebrate when you see sharing, when you see love, when you see kindness. You would want the same grace-based atmosphere for you.

Dear Jesus, I am sorry for my critical spirit. For my nitpicking, nagging, and preferences that do not matter. Continue to reveal to me when I am tearing my child or others down or embarrassing them or not accepting them based on external things that do not matter. Speak to me and show me the way. I come humbly before you. I need you to help me encourage and build up everyone around me. Show me how to praise and celebrate the loving heart of my child. Amen.

 

Back to School Soul Care: Day 5

Let’s end our week with getting back to the most basic and life-changing truth there is. Ready for this truth bomb? You are so incredibly, wildly loved by the One who made you.

Just like a parent looks at their baby girl or boy and feels their heart full of fierce, mama or papa bear love—that’s how God looks and feels about you. Your creator made you and cannot help but have an overflowing, never-stopping delight for you. Psalm 18:19 reminds us that “God rescued you, because He delighted in you.”

And let me remind you, friend, that NOTHING can separate you from that incredible love of your King:  

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ”

— Romans 8:38-39

NOT ONE THING can separate you.

Not your anxiety.

Not your depression.

Not your chronic pain.

Not your debt.

Not your past.

Not your present.

Not your family history.

Not your mistakes.

Not your scars.

Not your unemployment.

Not your hurt.

Not your sin.

Not your broken marriage.

Not failures.

Not your worship of other things.

Not your fears.

NOTHING separates you from God’s love. He tore the curtain from top to bottom on the day He was crucified to display that there is NOTHING that prevents us from His love, that prevents us from access to the King.

Today's truth: I am fiercely fought for and loved by a good Father.

Live loved. Know how loved you are. You can rest secure. You can rest in your identity as the daughter of the Most High King who is incredibly loved. You don't have to scramble to prove your worth. You don't have to hustle to have hope. You can stop trying to perform and be perfect.

You could accomplish nothing from here on out and you would still be fiercely loved. This love is not built on YOU and what you do, it is built on God and who He is. That is such good news to carry into the school year. It is good news for parents, for children, for bus-drivers, for administration, for everyone. Take this truth with you today and share it with your children, your friends, your neighbors. 

Dear God, thank you for your love. Thank you that not one thing can separate me from your love. Help me to see the places that feel unlovable to you and to say: despite it all, I am loved. I want to hear you throughout the day whisper to me about your love. You are a good Father. Amen.  

 

Back to School Soul Care: Day 3

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

— 2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT

So often I wake up to some version of this feeling when it comes to a season change: I am not going to be enough for this next season. I cannot do this. I am going to sink. 

Is this just me? I bet not. If it is just me, please send me your magic potion because this girl needs HALP.

Friends, what if we admitted that this fear has some truth to it? What if we feel our limitations, our weakness, and our need often?

But what if we let our inadequacies lead us to an adequate God?

The only reason we are who we are and we can do what we do is by God's grace. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, says John 15:5. The very breath you are breathing right now is His air. The eyes you are using to read are eyes that He made. The mind you are thinking with is hand-crafted by Him.  

Here's today's truth as we head back to school, back to busy, back to packed:

God is enough. I am not enough on my own.  I am enough, by God's grace.   

I understand that it is counterculture to agree that you are not enough. We are being told that we are enough. But we cannot ignore the fact that we fall short all the time. We hurt others. We fail. We sin. We are weak and often cannot do what we want to do or be who we want to be or act how we want to act. We are in great need because we are messy, broken humans. 

Which is why God and His endless grace fills in our gaps. God is abundant in our lack. God sent a savior for a reason; we are in need of being rescued. We were not created to live this life on our own, in our own strength. We were made to need God. And amazingly, His grace is ready to meet us when we have run out of ourselves. And the beauty? We can boldly ask for this grace—this strength—constantly. 

Hebrews 4:16 says, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

Take a moment and close your eyes and open your hands, palms up. Take a deep breathe in and exhale. Then admit your great need to God in this season change. Tell Him where you need His Spirit to produce and grow fruit in your life. Is it in your short-temper and lack of patience? Is it in your need to control everyone and everything? Is it in your overbearing demeanor? Is it in your worry and anxiety? Ask Him to meet you with His grace in your weakest place. 

Free yourself from the pressure, take a load off, and tell yourself: I am not enough. But my God is. He and His grace are enough in my life. It is not up to me, it is up to Him. 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

— John 15:5

Dear God, help me to embrace my frailty, my weakness, my lack. And show me your power, your might, your strength. I want to lean into your grace instead of lunging for control. You are King and I am not. Show up where I cannot. Amen. 

 

Back to School Soul Care: Day 2

“If we do not regularly quit work for one day a week we take ourselves far too seriously. ”

— Eugene Peterson

Everything just got busier because, August.

But we don't have to live such hurried, crazy, and stressed out lives. We can choose what fills our day. What can choose how much margin we have and what activities our children can and cannot do. We can decide how we use our time, manage our lives, and the work schedules we negotiate.

So, if I may be so bold, can I suggest a truth that could be the biggest game changer of your school year? 

Take one day off every week and rest. Watch how God provides for you.   

Do not do anything that advances your work, your hustle, your life. Trust God and cease from striving after all the things. For a complete 24 hours. Take the day and enjoy family, friends, feasting. Play and be slow and do not do anything that is work to you.

What's that you say? You are WAY too busy and are VERY important? Yes, I know. I thought that too. 

But can we talk about the gift of rest God created for us so that we can do our best work the other six days? Friends, we run so ragged, every single day. We are tired. We weren't made to perpetually work. God purposely gave us a gift of rest. This gift also comes with an opportunity to trust God to provide for all we need. We can cease the productivity, the accomplishing, the hustle. And God will provide for us.

If you trust Him, He will provide time and energy to get all the work done in the other six days. He is good like that.

This is not a new law or some kind of burden I am giving you. We are free from laws and God has shouldered burdens through Jesus. We are so very free. Let freedom reign. 

Resting one day a week is simply taking God up on being God. He himself did it. So if it’s good enough for God, it’s good enough for you.

It is a gift from God and an opportunity to trust God that He is King. Of everything.

Take a minute to tell God why you find it hard to rest. Do you believe you cannot rest because everything rests on you? Do you find your value and worth in what you accomplish? Do you feel scared to put your phone down and rest from constant connection, except the connection right in front of you? 

Truth AND Dare:

Truth: God says you can rest, friend. He's got it all. 

Dare: Put "rest" on your calendar for one whole month, every 7 days or so. Try a one month experiment. Practice being a human being, not a human doing. Just be. Accomplish nothing. Do not make a to-do list for that day.  Practice trusting God when details flood your mind and pray, "You will take care of all of these. I trust you."

“No working on the Sabbath; keep it holy just as God, your God, commanded you. Work six days, doing everything you have to do, but the seventh day is a Sabbath, a Rest Day—no work: not you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, your ox, your donkey (or any of your animals), and not even the foreigner visiting your town. That way your servants and maids will get the same rest as you. Don’t ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That’s why God, your God, commands you to observe the day of Sabbath rest.”

— Deuteronomy 5:15

*For more on the gift of the Sabbath: read Eugene Peterson's article and check out resting with a family as well as the book "Keeping the Sabbath Wholly" by Marva Dawn. 

Back To School Soul Care: Day 1

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

— Joshua 1:9

I always feel both afraid and excited when the calendar turns to August. August says school is coming. August shows me change in the trees. August holds hands with opportunity.

Many of these feelings are relics from my own decades of schooling, from working as a college campus spiritual director for 12 years, and guiding my own children into another school year. 

Whatever “back to school” feels like for you, you are not alone! I have felt ALL the emotions come August and your feelings are quite valid. But let's let truth lead the train and allow emotions to be our caboose.

These next five days we are going to talk about one truth, each day, in the transition. 

Today we need some truth regarding fear of the unknown. 

Usually I try to control as much as I can when I’m afraid of the unknown. It’s my way of trying to feel better about what could be around the corner. Not knowing what this school year holds can leave us afraid and anxious. And so I make elaborate systems and schedules and color code everything I can think of so I can say: “There. See? I’m in control of it all. No curveball can knock down my color coded schedule, tidy organized baskets, or amazing systems.”

Bologna. 

I’m all for organization. I love a good label and I have invested in wicker baskets to sort, control, and hide toys. I like order. But order cannot save us from the fear of unknown. 

The practice of trusting God is the real solution. Voicing what you are afraid of to Him is an actual answer. Pouring out all the things to Him and letting Him take care of what you don’t know can solve so much. Inhaling truths and exhaling fears can calm our soul. 

Exhale: I am afraid of the unknowns in this season.
Inhale: God is my shepherd, I have all that I need. (Psalm 23) 

Exhale: I feel alone in this season.
Inhale: God is with me and is for me. (Romans 8:31)

Exhale: I don't know if I can do all that is on my plate.
Inhale: My God accomplishes all that concerns me. (Psalm 138:8)

Today, let truth be your engine: God is with you. This is no small thing. If God is with you, then He is for you, and if He is for you, who can be against you? 

Take a minute to journal or talk to God. Pour it all out. He is a good listener, a good Father, and He is ready to care for you. 

“Dear God, I am afraid of what is next this year...even of the things that I don’t know about. I am afraid of disappointing others and not being enough and assignments too big for me and my children being bullied and my people being harmed and situations that could be scary. I’m pouring it out. I trust You with my treasures. With what is near to me. With what I hold dear. I trust You that you can turn harm into healing and you give grace at the grave. I trust You with what I don’t know. Amen.”

“If God is for us, who in the world could ever be against us?”

— Romans 8:31 (Amy's emphasis)

A Simple & Grace-Filled Advent Plan For Your Family

 

For years, I’ve had fantastic intentions that have gone nowhere when it comes to Advent with my kids. But the last thing we need is to make the holiday season complicated when it comes to Jesus. And isn’t that what the entire season is about? Jesus—and my great grandmother’s cut out cookie recipe?

In all seriousness, Advent is a season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. But the reality is my children are young and wiggly and we need to keep the preparation easy and fun.

So I found an Advent candle holder at Target for $4 and then 4 candles to boot. This was an $8 investment that I feel wonderful about. Each Advent Sunday evening after dinner, dishes, baths, and pj’s, we light the candle(s) for the theme of the week. One child usually helps light the candle (we light the previous weeks candle as well), one helps read the reading, and another can pray. We ask a question to help get a little discussion going on the theme and to stay mindful of the word all week. Then we pray. There is a lot of symbolism you can add with greenery around the wreath and candle colors and such, but again, I am going for bare bones simple.

Also. I have to tell you, we missed the first week last year. I was tempted to ditch Advent all together, but we live by grace. And grace says we can always try again. So we started by lighting both the first week AND the second and talked about both themes. And we were just fine. You can start Advent reflections a week (or three) late and no one will die.

Each week has a one word theme, and some themes vary according to the church tradition. You can do your own research, but we settled on the classic four words: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.

Here’s our simple advent plan for your family that I’ve put together:

Week 1: Hope

Light one candle. Today’s Reading: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7:
“The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned. […]
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.”

Question: What do you hope God will do one day? (with three-year-olds the answers are hilarious! Have fun!)

Prayer: “God, because of who you are, we have great hope. We hope to shed our selfish desires one day and to be fully free in your presence. We have the hope of your second coming to turn tantrums, tears, and terrible days into love, light, and life. We have the hope that you will one day restore all things, unite all things, and set everything to right. Thank you for hope that anchors our souls. Amen.”

Week 2: Peace

Light 2 candles. Today’s Reading: John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Question: When have you felt peaceful?

Prayer: “God, You are the Prince of Peace and all calm and shalom come from you. When we feel anxious and disoriented, you have peace ready for us. Help us to come to you and to ask for your peace. Thank you that you came to bring peace and you never run out of it.”

Week 3: Joy

Light three candles. Today’s Reading: Matthew 2:10-11
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (NIV)

Question: What do you think the difference between joy and happiness is? (We explain that joy is on the inside of us and happiness is about all the things happening outside of us. We can have inner joy even when our circumstances around us are going poorly.)

Prayer: “God, we are full of joy that you have come and will come again! Help us to know a deep, lasting joy daily. Open our eyes to all the joy around us and to abide in you for the fruit of joy in our lives from your Spirit. You are the giver of good gifts and we ask for your joy in our lives.”

Week 4: Love

Light all four candles. Today’s Reading: Matthew 22:36-40 says, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Question: How did you feel loved today? How did you love someone today?

Prayer: “God thank you that you loved us in an incredible way - the way of coming to us in our sin, taking it upon yourself, and giving us grace to be in relationship back with you through faith. You are love. Grow us in our love for one another for this is the mark of following you. Amen.”

May your Advent adventures be full of hope, peace, joy, and love!

 

Day 6: Make Your Decision by Faith

Thanks to Sean O. for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Make Your Decision by Faith

I love a good guarantee. Especially a money-back one. We once had a treadmill for a few years and then one day, it quit on us. But because of the guarantee, we were able to take it back and trade it for a brand new one. Zero questions asked. It felt like magic. 

Wouldn’t it be great if life worked this way? If we could be magically guaranteed that our children would turn out a certain way? That our jobs would be secure? That our choices would come without risk? 

Unfortunately, most of life is void of guarantees and instead is full of risks. And God knows this. Which is exactly why He said that “the righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:17).  Living life by faith looks much more like a trust fall than a money-back guarantee. I remember the first time I tried doing an actual trust fall out in the woods with my fellow sixth graders. I was absolutely scared to death. So many questions swirled in my little eleven-year-old brain: 

What if they drop me? 

What if I get a concussion? 

What if I break my arm and can’t play basketball? 

Living life by faith can leave us with a lot of “what ifs.” But what if I told you there is one good answer for every single what if question? Guaranteed? At the risk of oversimplification, I think we can, by faith, say the answer to every “what if” is: “God will take care of me.” 

Does this actually hold? Let’s give it a go. 

Question: What if I make this choice and I regret it? 

Answer: God will take care of me. After all, He took care of Peter after he denied Jesus three times. Talk about regret. And restoration.  

Question: What if I make this decision and it’s a terrible mistake? 

Answer: God will take care of me. After all, He took care of David after adultery and murder. And David’s choices were sinful ones. Surely He will take care of me. 

Question: What if this choice turns out to be the hardest path I have ever walked?

Answer: God will take care of me. After all, He took care of His own Son after He faced betrayal, persecution, beatings, crucifixion, and death. He brought a resurrection. 

In any possible scenario, we can bank on God taking care of us and we can usually find a character in the Bible who has cashed in that check.  

Friend, in your decision making, make your choice by faith and then get to it with grace and without grumbling. Ask God to increase your faith. Many disciples asked for an increase of faith because they knew how small theirs was and how much God prizes faith in the kingdom of Heaven. No choice is risk-free. No choice comes with all the guarantees. But in every choice, you can trust the Maker as your safety net. 

Does that mean this choice is free from struggle? Or God will make an easy way? Or you are now free from more stress, emotion, and fatigue to come? Don’t I wish the answer was yes. But it’s no. However, it does mean He will be with you in this decision. He will not abandon you. He will not forsake you. He is for you. He adores you. He delights in You. You can trust your good, good Father as you make a choice in the middle of a not-so-good situation. 

God, thank you that you can increase my faith! Please increase it today. Thank you that you honor faith instead of sight and help me to walk by faith as best as I can today. You are with me and you will always take care of me. It may not be how I imagined, but You will, and I am grateful. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection:

Luke 17:5  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Thank you for joining my 6 day devotional! If you enjoyed this, you’ll love my 100 Day devotion: Grace Looks Amazing on You

Day 5: Resist Becoming Frozen By The Bullseye

Thanks to Anastase Maragos for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Resist Becoming Frozen By The Bullseye  

The July air was thick that week. I was having trouble getting a full breath physically, but also emotionally. We were about three weeks from school starting for my first child. I was wrestling with all the normal school jitters for my son. But also for me. Because about six months before this, I had declared I was homeschooling.

However, with each passing day leading up to school, I was sweating just a little bit more. This was not just the July heat. The plan I had made was starting to overwhelm me. If you know me, sweating usually means I am at a crossroads. Sweating equals uncertainty in my life. Seeking God is the only remedy to my spiritual sweat. 

One of my go-to’s when I don’t know what to do is to go to my knees. It feels a lot like taking my heavy book bag of anxious thoughts I’ve been carrying around, dumping them out on the floor, and asking God to help me sort through them. 

I soon sensed a great release and along with it, the gift of agency. I sensed God say if I didn’t want to homeschool, I didn’t have to. The moment I got honest, I felt free to pivot from the original plan. 

We are often frozen by finding “the one right way” when making a decision. We become obsessed about getting it right. But what if we gave ourselves grace to make a decision, offered ourselves the same grace to pivot if we want to or have to? What if we released ourselves from the bullseye, from others’ opinions, from the fear of looking uncertain–and embraced the grace God has given us to pivot? What freedom we would have for ourselves and others!

Judging yourself or others leaves no room for grace or growth. Give yourself space to make a choice and then the freedom to change your mind. God is with you in the many twists and turns and ups and downs of your path. His grace is enough for you on this windy road. He loves you as you take every single step. The gift we get in this twisty process? We get to be closer to God. 

Friend, stay flexible and open-handed. If we have learned nothing else this season, it is that nothing is concrete. The only solid ground is God’s rock solid love for us. I often think about how trees are flexible in storms. They bend so they won’t break. May we be the same. May our well-laid plans sit in open hands, in palms of grace. Give yourself grace to choose, and grace to change your mind. 

God thank you that there is grace for every part of this decision making process. There is grace to choose, and grace to change my mind. You are with in it all and it’s not about the bullseye. It’s about being with You in this. Thank you for being here. Lead me. Guide me. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection:

2 Cor 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 

James 4:6 

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Psalm 32:8

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you…”

See you tomorrow for our last day!

Day 4: Seek Wisdom and Wise Voices.

Thanks to Caleb Jones for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Seek Wisdom and Wise Voices. 

“Do you have a few minutes so I could run something by you?”

These words come out of my mouth rather frequently to a handful of people. But it hasn’t always been this way. I haven’t always asked for help or sought out wisdom. What has gotten in the way? 

Pride. 

But after one too many scrapes and bruises, I have proven the proverb correct: “Pride comes before the fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

Humility is a great gift when we are faced with a hard decision. The decision is hard because we don’t know which way to go. Let’s admit that first. We need help. We need wisdom. We need God. 

Let’s be humble enough to seek wise voices in our lives. And let’s choose those voices wisely. Let’s choose trusted voices that we respect deeply, those that walk with God, and those who have weathered storms while trusting God.   

As you face this hard decision, who is older and wiser that could give you wisdom in this situation? Even if they have not been in this particular circumstance, could they offer a perspective you are lacking? Are there people you respect who have wisdom and creative ideas? Seeking wisdom helps you sort through your emotions, step outside of yourself, and to see what you may not have seen before. 

But again, this requires humility. 

What if you’re not sure who to ask? Ask the all-knowing God. Ask for His wisdom and for wise people in your life. Ask Him to bring to mind someone you can trust. And then come humbly to that person, ready to take notes. God knows exactly what you need to hear and who you need to hear it from right now. 

Today, take a few minutes and write down the names of a few wise people you can trust. Make a plan to talk with them. If no one comes to mind, ask God to help you. He loves to be included in this decision-making process. He loves spending time with you. He loves walking through hard things with you. He loves you. 

God, thank you for giving wisdom, freely and without judgment. You are the fountain of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and I come humbly to you and ask that you give me wisdom and wise people in my life. I am listening. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection: 

Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

See you for Day 5 tomorrow!

Day 3: Be Honest With Yourself and Remember How You Are Made

Thanks to Galina N for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Welcome to Day 3 of Making Decisions in Uncertainty

Be Honest With Yourself and Remember How You Are Made

One of the things I can fall prey to is not being honest with myself. Sometimes I want to be seen as perfect (or at least very put together) so much that I end up presenting a false self to others and even myself. I hide what I really want, how I really feel, and what I really like. Like Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride, who doesn’t even know what kind of eggs she likes because she always eats the kind her boyfriends do, I need to be honest with my own likes and dislikes. 

Oh friends, hiding is not helpful when it comes to making hard decisions, let alone living life. Let’s be honest with ourselves about how we really feel and who we really are and what we really need. Often when we stop trying to manage the opinions of others, many decisions become clear. 

How God designed YOU is a big deal in making a decision. He gave you a certain set of gifts and talents that are different than anyone else. Does this decision support how you are made? Or does it push up against it? You also have a unique situation and family dynamic. If you are single this decision may look different than if you are married. You must consider your personal strengths and your areas of struggle. Your children and spouse may be involved in your decision, and therefore the gifts, circumstances, and needs of other humans have to be considered.

Over the years I have collected some questions that help me make a hard decision. I encourage you to pray and then spend some time today answering each question regarding your decision-making process. Answer honestly. It isn’t helping anyone to not be the authentic person God made you to be. The world does not need a dulled shadow of yourself; the world needs the most fully alive version of yourself you are able to give. 

Six Decision-Making Questions: 

What are the risks in saying no? In saying yes? 

Am I making a choice out of fear? If so, what am I afraid of?

Have I given this enough time and thought? Am I pulling the trigger needlessly, too early? 

Does this bring me and my family closer to our long term goals? 

Am I overly focused on certain people’s opinions? Am I worried what they will think of my decision, either way? 

Is God asking me to sacrifice something in this decision? Can I trust Him to provide for me if I make that sacrifice? 

God, I come honestly to you. Help me to brush off the layers of fear that come from the opinions of others. Help me to live by faith. Help me to remember how You made me and that my gifts, talents, abilities, likes, and dislikes are all part of the equation in front of me. 

Scripture for Reflection:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

2 Cor 12:15-20

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Genesis 22:1-8

22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”