Benched Player

I started reading through Acts recently and in the first chapter something stuck out and I haven't been able to shake it. In Verse 12 it tells the story of finding a replacement for Judas. Verse 21 is where it gets interesting

I had to read it a few times to sink in. But what they are doing is looking for someone to replace Judas that has been with them the whole time. The WHOLE time. From the time John was baptised to the time Jesus ascended back into heaven. They ended up picking Matthias.... He was a benched player! Matthias was there the whole time, he saw all the miracles Jesus performed. He heard all of Jesus' teachings! But he was never one of "The 12". Then, after all that time of following Jesus and seeing all those signs and wonders Matthias gets called up into the Big Leagues!! He is one of "The 12"! So here is the thing, Matthias put in the work. He put in the time. The discipline of following someone he believed in without receiving anything in return! He went to every "practice" and sat on the bench handing the team water, hoping that there would be a time he could get in the game. Then his time came. He was ready to be called into the Big leagues because he put in the time needed before hand. 

Conviction hit. Lord, how often am I upset because I feel like I didn't get the recognition I deserved. Or how often do I feel entitled to something just because I have served in the past? God, fix my heart! Help me to learn that without spending time seeking you and preparing my heart I will never be ready to do big things for you! 

It's a scary thing to ask God to teach me something. I never know how that's going to play out... But I know God is showing me this because it is something he needs to teach me. So Lord, prepare my heart for the lesson you need to teach. Help me be ready to receive it and put it into action in my faith.


Grace & Peace

Thankful

This morning started out a bit crazy. Our girls are early risers. Like, 6am early risers. So today, when they slept in until 7:11am Daniel and I were both blessed and crazy confused. Up we went to greet the morning. Our Olive Grace wakes up every day asking for breakfast, she is ready to get down to business! Daniel made her three, yes I said three, scrambled eggs. (Girl can eat!) Ava then decided she was ready for breakfast, cereal and milk for her. Daniel made coffee. Thank you Lord! After Olive ate most of her eggs she asked for more, she wanted what sissy had. She ate a small bowl of cereal as well. All the while the clock is ticking, Daniel had 6 minutes until he needed to be at work and we haven't even poured our coffee yet. A perk to waking up early is that we don't have to hustle through our morning. We can enjoy each other, eating breakfast together, asking each other how we slept, but most importantly I share coffee with my Beloved. As Daniel ran to get dressed I poured his coffee into a to go cup and mine into my favorite mug. Kisses for all and off Daddy ran to work. Within the first 35 minutes of Daniel being at work I accumulated a pile of laundry larger then any basket could contain, a messy kitchen, a pile of cloth diapers that needed washing, an insane dog that was trying to eat his tail, and my sweet Olive had dumped my coffee all over the floor...

Needless to say, I felt defeated by today at 9am. But then, the Lord did something. He reminded me of something greater then coffee. More pressing than the pile of laundry needing to be folded. I am Blessed. I looked at my sweet girls and was overwhelmed by there beauty and joy. And my precious husband came home to give me his coffee. I didn't take it... because I love him more. ;) 

So today, even though we had a rough start, I am blessed and Thankful for the gorgeousness that is my life. My ridiculously handsome husband. And my precious daughters. Thanks Lord. 

Grace & Peace