Give me neither poverty nor riches

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say 'Who is the Lord?' or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God."
Proverbs 30:7-9


Reading this today reminds me of the wonderful ways in which God provides for His children!  With my husband being in full time ministry and me staying at home, we definitely do not fall under the "wealthy" category!  There are plenty of times when I think things would be so much easier if we just made a bit more money.  These verses speak such sweet truth...all throughout the Bible you read how difficult it is for those who are blessed financially to follow Jesus.  The rich young ruler simply could not fathom giving up his earthly treasures to follow Christ.  In the same sense, you see how difficult it is for those considered poor to be faithful to the Word as well.  


God provides for our needs.  Our wants are not always satisfied and that is alright.  He blesses us abundantly and provides sufficiently for us.  This is hard for me at times because there are moments (more than I like to admit) where Starbucks seems like a need....sometimes a new pair of jeans seems as if it will make my wardrobe complete too (if only it were in the budget, thank you Dave Ramsey!)  I've purchased most of the items I "need" only to find that jeans fade, jewelry breaks, shirts get stained, and that latte...well, let's just say it's about 15 minutes of pure goodness and then it's gone. 


My Lord provides for my needs and I am thankful.  He satisfies my soul and having a relationship with Christ is the one thing that won't fade, break, or go away...in this, I am truly rich and I am thankful for the ways God chooses to draw us closer to Him.  

A Better Reflection

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does."
James 1:22-25


This is a lot to unpack.  But what I want to share is something that has helped me, as a busy mom, spend quality time in God's word; quality time that leads to a change in heart, behavior, and a closer relationship with the Lord.  


Most days I don't have a lot of time to spend in Bible reading.  I set my alarm, I sneak into our office room, crack open my Bible and get right into some scripture, when it never fails...I hear little footsteps coming down the hall.  It does not matter what time I get up, there's some sort of mommy radar they seem to have to alert them to my wakefulness.  Some days I can only squeeze in about five minutes, some days I get to read maybe just one verse, and there are the rare days I can actually read a whole passage.  The point is that in this season of my life, my attention and time is in high demand.  I do not need to neglect my reading of the Bible and growing in my relationship with Christ, but I do not have the long, luxurious hours I had in college or when my hubby and I first got married....we could literally spend HOURS reading and analyzing the scriptures!  


Whatever season you're in, plan to make some time each day to spend in God's word...even if it's just five minutes.  What you do after that, however, is most important.  Do not read just to fill your head with knowledge or check off your to-do lists, read to change.  See what James says in the verse above..."do what it says."  Dwell on the verse you read.  Think about it all day.  Pray about it.  Look for ways in your own personal life to apply it and do what God says.  Let's not read our Bibles, only to close them and immediately forget what we've read.  Look to get some good heart truth into your life.  2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is useful.  Whatever verse I read, I want to ponder "what can I learn from this and how can I use this in my life to glorify God." By doing this, and by living out God's love and his word, we can be truly blessed in what we do.

Sleep now, Stress later

"Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare."

 Proverbs 20:13

I read that the other morning and it stung quite a bit.  As a stay at home mom of three, I have to admit I love sleep...when I can get it.  Late nights up doing laundry and cleaning, early mornings trying to sneak in a few quiet moments alone with the Lord, and the all day attention and energy required of my wonderful blessings leave me exhausted and ready to crash when their nap time comes around.  If I'm not careful, however, I can use that as an excuse to be less productive than I should.  Sometimes I feel too tired to cook dinner, so I suggest going somewhere.  Sometimes I don't have the energy to organize my grocery list or clip coupons so I go to the store and buy what's needed without being intentional with sales. Other times we go out somewhere, forgetting something and have to make several trips.  

What I've realized from dwelling over this verse is that when we are careful and intentional with our time and our planning, we will become better stewards of the resources the Lord has blessed us with.  Sleep isn't bad, we were designed by our Creator to need it,  BUT choosing sleep over productivity will catch up to us if we're not careful.  Yes, I will still take a nap here and there and I will go to bed early without folding all of the laundry if I feel it is necessary, but what I have gained by seizing those moments and working instead of resting is more time it seems...time to be with my Lord, time to organize my desk drawers or clean something, and even time to blog!  

Basically, work hard, be diligent, and you will see the fruit of your labor. I'm a long way away from being the woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31, but I believe diligence and good planning of her time has a large part in her success.

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

Proverbs 31:27