Experi-lent

I sure love being their mama....

I got some really nice responses about my post yesterday about Lent, thank you! I am really excited to see what God has to show me as I dial in and focus on Him.

I believe our God is loving and merciful. I never feel like He is mad at me for not spending time with Him, more like it is my own loss. I don't think that God thinks I am a sinner for not finding time for Him in my day, again, He is there whenever I need Him and I have lived long enough with and without Him to know that He is SO worth my time. I have been good about drinking a cup of coffee and having a quiet time (well, it might not actually be quiet since I've two little rugrats making noise) but I've been dialing in to the Lord on the days when I am home in the morning and feeling closer to God as a result. It's my advantage to hang out with the One who has the road map to where I'm going. I've learned that after a lot of pointless wandering on my own.

My dear friend (and former mentor) Sheri posted in reply to my Lent post that she is taking part of "Experi-lent" as described in Mark Batterson's blog. I love it!! Here's what it says:

We have a core value at National Community Church: everything is an experiment. My favorite kind? Experiments that are based on the Bible. I think of as them holy experiments. So here’s the scoop. We’re going to circle II Chronicles 7:14 during Lent. I guess you could call it an experilent. What would happen if we circled this promise in prayer for forty days? I intend to find out.

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my faceand turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land.

What if all of us hit on knees everyday at 7:14 AM? Honestly, the time isn’t the issue. I just think 7:14 is a nice trigger. It can be 7:13 or 7:15. It can be 6:37 or 8:22. AM or PM. So it’s not about the time per se. It’s about establishing a humble habit of kneeling before the Lord on a daily basis. You can hit your knees when you get out of bed or when you get into bed. And it’s not about bowing the knee. It’s about bowing the heart. There is nothing magicalabout kneeling, but there is something biblical about it. I’ve found that my heart postureoften mirrors my physical posture.

Are you in? Would you be willing to kneel everyday for forty days? For two or ten or thirty or sixty minutes? If you want to be part of the 7:14 experiment, text the word LENT to775.237.4364. We’ll send out a short text message at 7:14 AM everyday during Lent. Just a daily reminder, a daily inspiration. We’ll kick off on Ash Wednesday, February 22. We’ll end on Easter Sunday. Spread the word…

Let’s not seek blessings or miracles or opportunities. Let’s seek God. And if we seek God, blessings and miracles and opportunities will seek us! If we get on our knees then God will extend His right hand on our behalf.

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to as well.” Matthew 6:33

I am SO in! In addition to fasting sweets, I will be seeking God on my knees each day, hopefully at the 7:14am time frame. That is kind of perfect for my schedule.

God has been at work in my life over the past few months. I feel Him stretching me to achieve new things, being called to intercede like crazy for friends that are hurting, and also reminding me of how vital it is that I be in prayer for my own little family. There's nothing that gets me on my knees quicker then my husband or children being hurt or struggling. I was on my way to my retreat last weekend (which went fabulously by the way) and I felt really emotional. Leaving my family is never an easy thing for me, especially my little Everett. I was praying to God and wondering why I was SO emotional, near tears. I felt God gently show me that He was just softening my heart for what was to come which ironically is what I had prayed for earlier in the week.

While at the retreat I was waiting for an "aha" moment of clarity as to what the Lord wants for me. I kept waiting and waiting for it but nothing came to me. During the last session we had communion and I prayed to God, asking what He wanted me to learn at this retreat, what divine message He had for me. I felt Him so clearly saying, "I can tell you all the promises I have for you but I'd much rather show you...but that requires an action on your part". Hmm. Not what I was expecting. I was expecting this divine revelation of God's plan but instead of giving me the entire map to where I'm headed, He's giving me step by step directions. He has taken me far enough on this journey to let me go ahead and step ahead of Him, with Him behind me, telling me where to go. I am at a place where He is no longer leading me by holding my hand; He's gently nudging me from behind. It's kind of scary but exciting too.

I've been emailing my husband most mornings some scripture of encouragement to help start out his day with God's word. Today I emailed him this....

"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kind because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything." James 1:2-3

I thought this verse was encouraging this morning. When I look at our lives I don't see you and me going through life now as Brett and Patti, I see Emersyn and Everett's mommy and daddy. I pray that the lessons we learn in life can speak to our children, that we will have real life experience of how God can make even the unlikeliest people successful, "mature and complete". I look at trials as ways of God preparing us to be used in our kids lives. You and I long for wise people to speak Godly wisdom into our lives and we WILL be that for our kids, I'm certain of that."

I believe that God intends to use this season of Lent to show me more of Him. I am grateful for the trials that the past few months have brought because I think it got me to a place of being willing to listen and obey today. If God hadn't been softening my heart, I think I could have brushed aside this season of Lent and thought, maybe next year. But I'm in a place that is desperate for God's hand in my life and for wisdom and direction for my family. From what I can see, God's got me right where He wants me. And there's no place I'd rather be.