Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Today’s prompt is Adjust!

This year has been a year of changes. Our business has grown and we have been steadily busy since before the first of the year. Isaac, our oldest, will be turning 18 in a little over a month and is facing some big decisions soon.

This is my first experience with helping a child get ready for college and it is daunting! Hats off to those that have gone before me…especially my parents because apparently I didn’t make the transition easy for them! :/

But there are big adjustments that will be taking place, and so many choices to be made.

Tomorrow Dominic and I are going with Isaac to another college visit. He has been to 2 others, and accepted. But this school is another that has a quality Pharmacy program, and since Isaac is looking at that as his primary choice right now, we want to explore all the options!

As a mother I want this to be easy for him. I don’t want to see him struggle…but I can’t make it all perfect for him even if I want to.

So how do we help our kids with these major life adjustments?

PRAYER, and lots of it! 🙂

Today I completed the first round of Mark Batterson’s 40 Day Prayer Challenge. 

I say first round because I plan on starting over from the beginning and doing it again. It has been life changing. So when I started I committed to praying for Isaac for 40 days. Praying that God would guide his path, give him clarity about God’s plan for his life, strengthen Isaac with wisdom and knowledge and give him confidence in his choices.

I have become even more convinced that we HAVE to be in constant prayer over our kids.

With each phase of life they will face new adjustments, more choices, difficult decisions and while I can talk at them, share my experience and try to be a guide…the reality is that just like me, they will ultimately have the free will to go and make their own decisions.

So covering them in prayer is just another round of defense, if you will. An opportunity to give back to God the child we have been given to parent, and trust that He will guide them on His path.

I know it won’t always be easy, sometimes the adjustments are painful as we grow, but when we follow God’s plan, ultimately we know that we will succeed because He gives us the power to do so.

I pray that for Isaac and wait in anticipation and excitement to see where God will take him!

In Him, Kristin

Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee

Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Today’s prompt is Work! 

Our pastor has been preaching about “Our Work, God’s Glory” the past several Sundays. I was excited for this series because this is one area that I struggle.

How do I make my work matter for God?

I am not in the ministry, how can I really make a difference, and does my work matter to God?

I believe that God has blessed this business that Dominic and I do together. It has been a whirlwind, crazy 3 years and we have seen God take our feeble prayers for something more and turn them into something greater than we ever hoped and imagined.

We try to do the very best for our clients, being kind and respectful. Caring for their feelings and needs as they make some difficult decisions…but those are all things that I should be doing regardless right?! So how can doing what is “expected” of me make a difference in God’s kingdom?

We have been referencing Colossians 3:17  throughout this series….“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 

God set the example for us. He was the first to work when He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He created Adam and Eve to work and care for the garden and all of the animals in it.

But God didn’t want us to be alone, so He walks alongside of us. Guiding us if we will allow it. When I think about God being a part of every moment of my day, including the mundane work that I sometimes do, I am grateful.

The small things we do matter to God. (<====Click to Tweet)

The little things, like offering up a prayer for a client DOES make a difference.

God has blessed our business so that we now can be a blessing to others. So we pray about how and where we can be help to someone else and we thank God for the provision to be able to meet a need.

I worked in a Bank for 13 years. I loved the people way more than I ever loved the jobs I did. But I spent those 13 years feeling like a failure in a way because I didn’t see that I was making a difference.

I felt like if God wanted to use me He would have to put me in a position of ministry leadership. (As if during this time I could have handled such a responsibility – Ha!)

But today I can see how the hard, and at times boring work trained me for this time. I learned so much that has made this transition together in a new business much easier.

What you do every day matters.

Whether you work outside of the home or spend your days teaching your children. Your work matters. Try not to believe the lie that you are not important to God, that what you do isn’t “good enough” to be used by Him.

Because the lies come, don’t they?

Maybe it is just me, but all too often I hear in my head all the ways I have failed…but if we hold on to the Truths of the Bible and work strong in the promise that in the end our inheritance comes from the Lord, we can find peace and joy in whatever role God has placed us in!

Colossians 3: 23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

In Him, Kristin

Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Today’s prompt is Rest! 

Resting is not something that comes easily to me. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I rarely take time to sit down and just relax.

Take today for instance, we got home from church and had lunch and then Dominic asked me what I wanted to do today.

The truth was I just wanted to lay on the couch and watch reruns of “Say Yes to the Dress”, but instead I started thinking about the list of things that I probably should do instead….

Laundry, can salsa, make the dessert for small group, vacuum, deal with the quickly aging nectarines in the fridge, build shelves in the garage and basement…the list goes on and on.

And so instead of finding time for rest we go, and go, and go.

It can make us so weary can’t it?

If I take an afternoon and just do mindless sitting I feel guilty. Do you find yourself feeling that way too?

But even God rested. After creating the planet and everything in it, God rested on the 7th day.

So why is it so hard for us to do the same?

I think that as a society we have come to find our worth in all that we do. If we are busy we must be doing something right.

But one can only run at that pace for so long before it takes a toll on the body, mind and spirit.

Today I am challenging myself to finding rest. It may not be every day, but I think it is important to slow down at times and just be still.

It will be a fight for me because it doesn’t come naturally, but I think that if I can embrace rest more I will find that it will refresh my heart and soul. And quite frankly I need that. Don’t we all?!

Do you find it easy to make time for rest? What is your favorite thing to do – I’d love to hear and then maybe just maybe I will try some of your tips for myself!! 🙂

In Him, Kristin

Photo Credit: Oliver Kendal

Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Todays prompt is Teach!

I had a different post in mind for today, but God taught me a lesson in the moments of today that I decided to share that instead.

Today I woke up with a massive headache. Like the type that started while I was sleeping. I was dreaming that I had a terrible headache and then I woke up and realized that it wasn’t a dream. 🙁 A couple of Excedrine and some time with ice packs on my head and neck and I started feeling a little better.

The boys had haircuts this morning and we made very last minute plans to meet my friend Heather to get our family pictures taken. Our schedules are pretty full the next few weeks and I was worried that we wouldn’t have another time to get them done before it got super cold here.

So we set out to meet her early this afternoon. The kids did ok. They always say they are going to behave and smile but the reality is they only mean that for maybe 3 pictures and then they are done. I think Heather was able to get a few shots where we were all looking and hopefully didn’t appear stressed! 🙂

After the pictures we followed Heather to her home. We maybe, sorta bribed Karlena a little with seeing the horses Heather has. Behave and smile…get to see horses. You understand right?!

The minute we pulled in Karlena spotted the horses and RAN towards them. Never mind the electric fence, she wouldn’t care she just wanted to ride.

Now let me remind you that Karlena is 3 1/2. She has been on a horse one other time. That’s it, but you wouldn’t know it.

She waited as patiently as she was able for Heather and Ashton to get the horse ready to ride.

She is a natural. She has no fear sitting on top of that massive animal. She just trusts that it will take her in the right direction.

She liked riding with Ashton, but what she really wanted was to ride on her own. She didn’t want to follow, she wanted to lead. She wanted to be in the driver’s seat.

Because Heather had taught her own daughter to ride she knew that Karlena couldn’t be trusted to go on her own. So she took the reins and helped to lead Karlena around the yard.

Karlena kept asking why she couldn’t just hold the reins?! And we would reminder her that she hadn’t learned yet how to ride, she needed more training…she needed someone to teach her the way to go.

Karlena wasn’t a fan of this. She thought she knew best even when she didn’t.

Aren’t I just the same in my relationship with God?

I feel comfortable with something, think that I have it all under control, and then try and take the reins of my life back.

But the reality is that God is teaching me all the time. I believe that until He calls me home, I will be learning lessons. The question really is, am I willing to let Him lead me?

Will I trust that He knows best? Believe that God has more to teach me each new day? Or will I be over confident and insist that “I can do it!!”

Yes there are times that “freedom” to run might feel like the best option, but if I stay safe in my Father’s care, listening and being open to His teachings, I can let my hair fall back, close my eyes, and trust that He will lead me. There is freedom in that reality too friends, I have seen it in my daughter.

Thank you Lord for the lessons you teach me when I least expect it!!

May the ride be beautiful for you today! 

In Him, Kristin

Photo Credit: Denise Carbonell

Thank you for joining me in my series 31 Days of Finding God. Each day I am going to use a prompt from Kate and incorporate that into how I am finding God in my everyday!

Sometimes I forget how much the little things can make a difference, until I experience it for myself.

Last Wednesday I had shared a prayer request with some friends at church. That evening that we were together the group prayed for me and my family. I am so blessed to be surrounded by a community of people that pray with and for me.

On Sunday one of the women in the group approached me and she asked how things were going. It was an open door to be able to share a little of my heart.

Taking those leaps of faith can be hard can’t they?

I would much rather not share any of the “bad” with you, save my pride and reputation and just look all put together.

But the reality is that I am not all put together most of the time. 

Being able to share the difficult and find acceptance is so important. I hope that I will always be a safe place like that for others.

Both of those things really showed me that I was cared for. But then this friend took it another step further and emailed me yesterday…just asking once again how things were and ending the email with “we have all been there at one time or another…”

We can show how much we care for others by just taking the time to make a call, send an email, be that safe place for another to share a struggle.

It makes a difference.

We might not always get that feedback, we might not always find someone who is willing to share the hard things. But if we don’t put ourselves out there as that safe place,  we may miss an opportunity to show someone how much we care.

This experience reminded me that I need to be willing to ask how others are doing, follow up with a call or an email, lift them up in prayer and be that person willing to show how much they care.

Can you think of a time when you were cared for in a wonderful way? Please share in the comments!

In Him, Kristin

Photo Credit: Barbro Andersen