DESIRES OF MY HEART

The desires of my heart.

Often times I hear that God will give me the desires of my heart. Many make it seem like God, is a genie God. Follow God and if you desire something, he gives it. My own personal wish delivery system. But what if, what if this is wrong? I've seen people use a new big house, a "dream" job, a new...you insert the tangible item here, whatever it is that they desire being given to them as God fulfilling this promise. And not to say that it isn't, and not to say that God doesn't bless us and can't in a big way give us those things. This is my own personal journey, to change the desires of my own heart. I began to question the desires in my heart.

Frankly, i didn't know what to desire. And then I saw someone rephrase this whole ideal and it rocked my world. What if, God giving me the desires of my heart...meant just that? That God would place HIS desires for me, into my heart. That HE would give me the desires of my heart. Not me telling him what I wanted. 

I began to pray, I began to ask God to place his desires inside my heart. I didn't want to long for things that had no purpose in his plans for me. I didn't want my personal desires to get in the way of all the wonderful, big, loving desires he had for me. My heart, was open for him to fill up. It was an empty storehouse, for him to place all of his plans all of his treasures for me and my family in to.

I've always hated the phrases "trust your heart" because the heart can be sinful, the heart can lead you the wrong way, but when that heart is full of God, I can not help but trust it and that he is moving inside it. 

 So I'm continuing to pray. I see God shifting my focus in a big way onto my family and I'm trusting that. I'm waiting expectantly for the things he's placed in my heart and enjoying the desires he's already given me...

He is a big God. 

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord" Psalm 37:3-5 (NKJV)

" God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he’ll bless you in the land that God, your God, is giving you.God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God, your God, and live the way he has shown you." Deuteronomy 28:8-9 (MSG)

 “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." Matthew 6:19-21 (MSG)

That's all I've got friends...but you know, I'm glad you're here!

FATHER'S DAY SNAPSHOTS

Just a few snapshots from our father's day.

I couldn't do it alone. Sometimes I look at him with now all THREE of our kids and I realize he's just as much in it as I am. He is right there with me chasing them, loving them, protecting them, teaching them, trying the best he can just like I do. Some days I know he feels ill equipped like I sometimes do, being a parent can throw some unexpected things our way and truthfully we don't have a clue on some of those days but we try, we pray, we seek God and we laugh....a lot! I couldn't do it with out him. God's no joke when he tells you two are better than one, I get it, I'm grateful for it. It's fun to watch him grow as a Daddy, it's crazy to think how it use to be just the two of us and now we have a full house! This guy...putting the sanity in my kookiness and giving my kids a fighting chance at decorum! 

I like taking pictures, I like capturing moments in time. It's amazing how when you look at photos it gives you a chance to take in the beauty of a moment and appreciate the time. Life is busy with kids and sometimes I make the mistake of looking at what my husband isn't doing right instead of taking  time to stop in the moment and appreciate all the good he does and all the love he gives. There is so much loveliness in our crazy life, I'm grateful for a man who seeks God, prays over our family and gives me beautiful snapshots!

Lord, let me look at life like I do snapshots. Help me to enjoy the beauty and appreciate the moment, snapshots of your grace, placed in my heart. Let the loveliness of you rest on us!

" let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,

    confirming the work that we do. " - Psalms 90:17 (MSG)

THE SWAP MEET

I love a good swap meet. When we went to L.A., hitting up a swap meet was one of my 'things to do', thankfully everyone was up for it too! It ended up being crazy hot when we went, but we were still able to get some good ol' fashioned swap meet fun done!

Usually when we hit up places like this I like to give Henry a couple of dollars to spend. Typically I give him $3, but it's fun to watch him as we walk around. He takes it pretty seriously, considering his options and not just jumping on the first toy he sees. In fact it makes this frugal "treasure" hunting momma's heart happy to see him sift through merchandise looking for that special find, he's actually pretty good at it.  He can be a bit on the shy side when it comes to people outside of his 'inner circle', so this is a good way for him to get a little out of his shell. When he does find something he likes I encourage him to ask the vendor how much things cost instead of just having mommy do it. Sometimes we have a good talk about the value of things and I'll even try to get him to bargain a little. It's really pretty cool, i'll tell you most times people cut the little fella a deal! This trip he came home with some poppers, a knock-off "Spider-man Lego" set and a Mr. Incredible toy (one of his favorite!). Grandma also treated his cousin and him to matching cowboy hats...my little vaqueros!

Now, next to the deals at a swap meet, the FOOD is one of my favorites. I'm a torta girl....una torta por favor! But you can usually get some great tacos and other goodies, Steve's a burrito guy! If you have not yet had them, I think the chicharones (or Duritos) are a must! Throw a little lemon juice on them and some tapatio and you're set! 

Like I said, I love a good swap meet. Maybe it's the food or the deals, perhaps it's a little piece of Mexico, hearing the exchange of Spanish and English all over the place. I think really it's sharing it all with my family and the people I love. 

Finding God in the everyday and honoring him in even the mundane things is something I'm constantly trying to work on. Times like this, although may seem like just a hot day at a swap meet, I am grateful for the family he's given me, for the time to teach my son little lessons, for a heritage i love and am able to share with my children as their own. 

"One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike [sacred]. Let everyone be fully convinced (satisfied) in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord."

-Romans 14:5-6 AMP

Writing this verse on my Heart, Lord let all my days observed be done so in honor of you! Let me find you in them, let me reflect on the beauty or the lessons, but all in honor of you. Amen.

PAUSE

Selah.

I remember when I first heard the word, my father is a musician, so I have always had a special place in my heart for the Psalms...for David. The words and the praise he pours over the pages, I often wonder about the music that flowed through David as he wrote.

Selah.

It was described to me as a musical pause, a rest in the music, perhaps for emphasis. Perhaps he used it to soak in what was just said, or what I like to imagine, to let God resonate and move in and out of the words and to give us  a moment to stand still and watch.

Selah.

When our girl Selah was born, Steve and I both had an urging in our heart to make this year a year of Family. We just left a season of busyness, a year where we said "Yes" to a lot. We both resolved to soak in as much time as a family as we could. If our life was a song, then this was the Selah moment. This was the time where we want to take a pause and think about what's been happening in our lives, what God has done for us, where he is leading us and our family. In this Selah moment we are focusing in on God, we are letting his words resonate in our hearts moving through out us. 

I'm learning that even if you can't proclaim it a "Selah" year, sometimes you just need "Selah" moments in your days or weeks...a whisper in your heart "Selah" to take pause and see what God has done.

Selah. 

MEMORIES

It's funny, but most of my memories in life start when I was 5. I remember things from before that, but for the most part they are just blips in time, little memories here and there. Life however, for most of what I know started when I was 5.

 

Henry is quickly approaching this benchmark in his life, and I think about this often. These will be his memories, this is what he will think about when he's older reflecting on his childhood. I think about what he sees for the first time, who he is meeting, what we do. I think about the things I say to him, the time we spend together. I take these things to heart, the very idea of it gets me excited. It is easy to move through life and forget to take in all the beauty and wonder that God lays before us. We've been there done that, but for a child, there is so much to discover, there is reason to pause and take things in.

Here is what I like about memories, the joyful ones we look back on and they have the capability to bring up those same feelings, often times we try to forget the painful ones, but in them all we can look and see what God has done. We can see where God has delivered us from we can see moments in our lives where we may not have realized but God was moving, protecting, pouring his love over us.  

 

"When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt."(Deuteronomy 6:11,12)

 

I am grateful for the memories we get to create with our children, the moments in time he will get to look back on and hopefully with his own grateful heart, see that God was in those moments.