How does God want you to respond to the things He shows you?

When Jakob eats, he doesn’t like to take breaks to drink.  He pitches a fit when the continuous food supply is paused for a sip of water.  But because I’m the momma and know all things (sarcasm anyone?) I stop feeding him, give him his sippy cup and then he’s happy.  “Trust me Jakob, you need this water!”

Gratuitous picture of Jakob with his sippy cup...so cute!!

I feel like God must feel the same way about me sometimes.  “Would you just listen to Me?  I have something you need to know!”  That happened to me today.   

The Bible study we are currently going through is Beth Moore's "Breaking Free".  I was doing my Bible study homework and when I got to the end of the lesson for today, I was asked “How does God want you to respond to what He showed you today?”  My answer surprised me a little bit; but then again not really, considering God often shows me things at seemingly weird times.  The lesson was about taking the earthly heroes in our lives off of the thrones we put them on so that there is only room for God. [The example from Scripture being Isaiah’s immediate and obedient response to God after King Uzziah died].  I’m assuming that’s the genre of epiphany Ms. Moore was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a very valuable lesson but where I am in my life right now, God showed me something different.  I’ve always liked Matthew 12:34b “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Beth put a new spin on it.  Referring to Isaiah’s cleansed lips followed by the beautiful words he wrote in his book, she said “For indeed, out of the overflow of a changed heart the mouth most beautifully speaks”.   

So, how will I respond to what God showed me in my homework today?  Have a changed heart and speak beautiful things to the Hubs and kiddos.  Easier said than done, I’m certain, but I’m sure going to try. 

Fall Leaves Craft

I'm not the kind of person that decorates for holidays.  Christmas is one thing but for all of the others, our house pretty much looks the same (ie: toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, laundry in various stages of doneness, etc).  I do LOVE crafts though so when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it with Kaleb.  It was so easy and I'm thrilled with the results!

In the original post, it was labeled as a "no mess" finger painting craft.  However, that did not turn out to be the case with my wee one, as nothing can be mess free.  It wasn't too bad though.  The best thing about this craft is that pretty much any age can do it.  If they can bang on the table, they can do this.  If I didn't think Jakob would pick up the wax paper and eat it along with the paint that's on it, I might try it with him.  Give him another month and we'll revisit it.

Step 1 - Lay a piece of wax paper on the table and then put a piece of construction paper or cardstock on top.  

  I seriously can't believe he's smiling for the camera all on his own - no bribery!

 

Step 2 - Then drop some blobs of paint on the paper.

 I went a little heavy on the paint blobs but they still came out good.  

Also, Kaleb got excited with the rolling pin and started rolling 

prematurely, but you get the idea.

Step 3 - Place another piece of wax paper on top and start rolling!

 The original post said to use your hands to move the paint around but Kaleb 

quickly (as in, didn't want to do it at all) got bored of that.  But when I broke out my big rolling pin, he thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do many more.  It's like it's a power tool or something!

 

 This is Kaleb complaining about getting paint on his shirt. Seriously child?  Did you not see yourself after the shaving cream craft?

This is the result if you shmush the paint with your hands.  

And this is what it looks like if you use a rolling pin.  

Step 4 - Cut out some leaves and hang them wherever you need some festive fall-ness :)

Now I'm just trying to think of something else that would look good with this same color blending effect. 

Music

I love music.  I always have.  Not in a way that suggests that I know anything about how it works; I sing on our worship team at church and most of the time, I have no idea what the real musicians are talking about.  No, that's not the way I love music.  I love music for the way that the lyrics speak to my heart like nothing else can.

Tonight at worship practice we sang a new song called "Lord, I Need you".  I can't stop listening to it!  Here's a link to Chris Tomlin's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bSTs2KnAs

The whole song is so great but my favorite part is the bridge.

"So teach my song to rise to You
when temptation comes my way. 
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on you;
Jesus You're my hope and stay."

I have absolutely no issue with recognizing that I need God.  My issue comes with the practical application part of it.  I beat myself up daily for the fact that turning to God isn't always my first response.  Honestly, I'm glad someone else put this sentiment into words.  Teach me to turn to You.  It's not a natural response; it's something that has to be learned.