Just Relax in His Arms

I'm a perfectionist in a lot of things. I want things to go smoothly. I want life to make sense. I want everyone to be happy. I want to be happy. But more often than not, I find my forehead wrinkled, my teeth clenched and my heart racing.

Being a mom is nerve wracking nearly every day. My children are ages one, two and four. My one year old has figured out how to climb onto pretty much anything. It doesn't matter if there is a stool, or a chair, she'll find a way, even if it's just using her little muscles to pull herself up. Today, she figured out how to climb up onto her highchair. I was holding a hot bowl of soup when I first saw her earlier today, trying to vault herself over the snap-on table top of her highchair. I froze. Help!  I didn't want to say her name for fear she'd freak out and fall yet I didn't want her to continue to climb and fall. What to do?! Fortunately my hubby was sitting near the table and he was able to rush and rescue our adventurous little munchkin.

My son loves to catapult himself off the top of our couch and stretch his arms out, yelling as he jumps, "Mommy! I'm an airplane!!!" Oh my heart! If you've known me for the past three years, you'll remember that my son broke his leg jumping off the top of our couch when he was two or so and we had the police, firefighters, CPS and a whole hoard of angry doctors surrounding us. We were guilty until proven innocent in their eyes. It didn't matter that my house was clean, and there was plenty of food in our fridge. It didn't matter that we loved our kids. We were criminals until they had checked our son over and didn't find bruises and until a 4:30 am visit from CPS had taken place. Trust me, 4:30 am is a great time to grill someone with questions about their entire life history, and check the house all over, all the while I'm struggling with nausea from my pregnancy (I didn't know I was pregnant at the time though!) and dealing with the fact that I was at home and my husband and son were in a hospital 30 miles away. Fortunately, the lady was extremely nice and easy to talk to. We ended up sipping coffee and visiting with more relaxed shoulders than we started out with. Whew.

My oldest daughter hasn't really gotten into any scrapes besides just being cute and having the most gorgeous blue eyes you've ever seen. Oh, and having an extra dose of naughty that is so hard to resist when she's prancing around, holding her dress out and sing-songing, "I'm a princess!" All the while I'm trying to figure out how to get this little bundle of princess to obey! Ha! Good luck to that, right?

All of that to say, life is full of teeth clenching, wrinkle-browing, sweating bullet moments. Not just with our parenting, but with daily life issues; bills, home buying/renting, marriage/relationships, parents, etc. Life is full of moments that we find ourselves holding our breath and turning blue in the face because we are just so busy trying to control everything and make everything perfect.

This week I had the flu, my kids were going crazy while I laid on the couch sniffling and catching naps, trying to do school, and also find a place to live because we need to move in about a month. I found myself tight shouldered and exhausted within the first five minutes of being awake. But then I was reminded that Jesus is my Father. He wants me to relax. He wants me to take time to hear His heartbeat. There is something so stilling, so comforting to lean up against a nice warm chest and hear a steady, slow heartbeat. That is what He desires for us.  Sitting at His feet and listening to the wonderful things He has to say to us is something He desires for us. He says to us,  "Relax child. I've got this. Don't worry. I've got everything you need and you don't need to worry."

So relax! Enjoy some quiet time and listen to the steady beat of His heart. It'll be calming! Trust me. It's worth it.

Yoga Pants and 50 Shades of Grey

Disclaimer: There is some "R" rated information below, but I edited the quote from a magazine to make it a little bit more tolerable and "gentle."


Scrolling down my Facebook and Twitter and other media outlets, I have seen so many articles and posts ranting about yoga pants and the new movie premiering in a few days, "50 shades of grey." There have been numerous sides to the opinions I have seen; yoga pants and no yoga pants, the reasons why or why not, and so on. I have seen why the movie is so bad, and why it is good.  As I tried to formulate an opinion of my own throughout all the chatter I felt my heart be stilled when I heard a whisper, "Don't you want to know what My opinion is?" It came down to one simple, four-lettered word.

Love. 

While I pondered the depth in that one word I realized I'd been spending my time judging every opinion around by my standards. But where was the love in my trying to grapple with all the information that the social websites threw my way? Was I viewing each person as God's creation and loving them with understanding? Here is the thing, and please bear with me while I try to explain this. Everyone has gone through life with different struggles. They all have a different view point on God, Christianity, modesty, appropriate behavior etc. Let me use Katy Perry as an example. She grew up in a Christian household, a PK's kid to be exact. Her first album that was produced was Christian. Today, she is a Pop star with songs talking about kissing a girl and liking it. While Christians sit around and rant and rave about how awful her music is and how dare she do that, and how disappointed her parents must be in her, they often don't know her story. In an interview she gave to a news outlet recently she stated that, growing up, she was taught to fear God, like he was some angry master who ordered His charges around mercilessly and with an iron hand. So after growing up and becoming a celebrity with confusion reigning in her heart, she withdrew herself from the Christian world. Yet, at the Super Bowl this year, she said she was praying before hand, and God spoke to her, "You got this, and I got you!" 

Many wonder why on earth God would speak to such a "heathen." Well, to put it simply, he came to the broken, sick, tired, weary, confused and destitute. If God only spoke to perfect people who never sinned or fell away from God, I'm pretty sure none of us would ever hear from God or be saved. God wants to remind His children and those who could be His that He's still there, waiting, hoping that all will feel his love and return to His embrace. 

So while 50 Shades of Grey holds content that supports men abusing their wives, promoting it in fact, maybe we should take a step back and wonder why women across the nation are swooning at the thought of watching it? What is making them wish to be in bondage, controlled and taken against their will? There are heart reasons that could be why this movie makes them so interested in it. Their pasts and what happened to them in childhood. Do they feel this is what they deserve? Does pain cause them to feel numb to the aching in their own hearts from being raped, abused, or hurt by a past relationship? Is this the way their father "loved" their mother or even them? Is this all they've ever known? Maybe they've never been touched or loved and their hearts are yearning for intimacy and they just want the thrill of a movie filled with sex. There are so many reasons and I'm sure I can't list 

them all. Even the actors who played key roles in the movie have been uncomfortable with the things that they had to perform. Jamie Dornan, who plays Christian Grey is a husband and father. During a recent press conference, Jamie Dornan referred to the role he plays to be similar to Hitler. (LifeSite, 2015). In the same article written by LifeSite, they have quote Dakota Johnson saying, "Sometimes I'd walk off the set feeling a bit shell-shocked. There were painful moments...I got whip-lash once from him throwing me on the bed; so ***** painful." And later she said, "...my hands and legs were tied and I was blindfolded, and I was being hit with this bizarre tool....it was emotionally taxing. At first I was like, 'Oh my God, this is the worst thing ever'...."  This movie is about abuse and while I do not support it, nor will I watch it, I felt myself drawn into the pain of the words she spoke. This was an actor who spent hours acting out abuse and even she was disturbed.

The reason I say all this, as emotional as it is, is to make people think about the big question why. Why do women and men alike find this attractive? So often people get focused on the bad of the deed, instead of why people approve of the deed. There are heart issues that need healing. Even the worst of abusers need healing. There is something in their past that created the abuser they are today.

As I have read posts on Facebook and seen comments made by different women, it's made my heart ache for them. There is so much strife, confusion, hate and meanness among believers and unbelievers alike. I saw on one Facebook post, a woman's comment about the movie and ultimately she said she would enjoy the movie because she likes things like that, and what was wrong with liking it? Women began attacking her and calling her a whore, an awful person and why was she on a Christian bloggers post if she was like that? One lady even told her she had "lost her salvation" the minute she involved herself with stuff like that. The lady came back on and said something to the effect that it was no ones business, but Gods, what she does in her bedroom. I couldn't agree more, but I also wonder (again) what makes her feel she deserves that type of bedroom stuff. Or even why she likes it? I am not one to question or mosey my way into someone's personal life like that, but what she said next broke my heart. Paraphrasing again, she said something like, "I didn't realize that everyone would be so mean and condemn me to hell just by making a simple comment." 

Where was the love for her? Reaching people with love goes a lot farther than reaching people with hate. The same goes for the yoga pants! There are so many more serious issues to focus on than the style pants someone chooses to wear or preaching about why people shouldn't be watching a movie!! So many hurt people out there whose souls are crying out for a sprinkling of love, care, concern and hope. They wish to just be noticed or for someone to lend a hand, or invite them for a play date or help put groceries on the table. There are children who are dying across the globe from diseases and malnutrition. There are men and women being killed by terrorists. There are so many needs that need to be filled. Yet here we all are bickering and fighting about pants and a movie.  Salvation doesn't hinge on our clothes or what we watch on television. Maybe God hasn't convicted them the same way He has you. Just do what God tells you and let Him convict others. Your actions will speak louder than words. By you doing what God tells you to do, and being cheerful and loving, (not judgmental and self righteous) you will lead many to Him. 

So here is my challenge to you all; look for someone who is doing the exact opposite of what you think they should be doing and give them a dose of love. Pay for their meal. Give them a gift card. Smile and ask how they're doing. Go out of your way to push yourself out of your comfort zone and ask God what His heart is for them. People bristle at judgment, but they melt at love. So be love. Be the hug, the smile or the hand that someone needs today!

Works Cited:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/static/even-the-co-stars-think-50-shades-of-grey-is-awful-rubbish-and-maybe-even-a.html