Do You Feel Like a Hamster on a Wheel

Have you ever cooked a beautiful and delicious dinner only to have your kids not eat a bite of it? What is the point of cooking if your family is not going to eat what you cooked?!! Tonight we had breaded/fried slices of eggplant, roasted broccoli, home fries, and...lunch meat--because I didn't get around to making the scrambled eggs after cooking everything else.  But guess what no one ate? Eggplant, broccoli, and potatoes. Sadie literally only ate slices of turkey breast lunch meat for her whole supper. Dominic actually ate some broccoli. And Gaby/Emma at least tasted a few potatoes only upon my insisting.

But sometimes they even complain when you make something they love like pizza or grilled cheese. Do you ever feel like a hamster on a wheel? You are constantly on the go but going nowhere. You are constantly cooking but it does not get eaten. Or, in the case of my friends with teenage boys, you finished cooking but your kids are still hungry. Or you just finished washing the last of the dishes when you realize there are still dishes left in the dining room.

Do you ever feel like you are giving constantly but you never get anything in return? How long is that sustainable? Within our natural selves, it is not sustainable, but "with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). For us as moms and wives and sisters and daughters and church members and leaders and workers, it is only possible to continue giving and giving every day by the supernatural strength of the Spirit of Christ working in and through us.

"We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). In our own human strength, we cannot keep loving those who are not loving us back. But God loved us before we were ever able to love Him. And He still loves us even when we fail Him every day. We should take a moment to think about the love of God right now. He loves us perfectly. "His love never fails" (Psalm 136). And His love is demonstrated to us in so many ways every single day and moment! Here are some examples of God's love for us.

"He shields all who take refuge in Him" (Psalm 18:30).
"God is within her, she will not fall" (Psalm 46:5).
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11-12).
"Where God guides, He provides" (Isaiah 58:11).
"The Lord will fight for you" (Exodus 14:14).
"He restores my soul" (Psalm 23:3).
"...the Lord...daily loads us with benefits, God of our salvation" (Psalm 68:19).
"He has made everything beautiful in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Should You Ask, "How Do I Look?"

I spent hours preparing for this night. I bought and returned multiple dresses for the occasion because one was too small, one was too big, one didn't look right. I didn't have time to go shopping to try on dresses, so I ordered them all online and sent back all but one. The gown I finally decided to wear arrived from Amazon a few hours before the event, but it was two inches too long, so my 9-year-old and I labored an hour hemming it by hand. It was 4 pm, and my dress was ready. It fit, it was the right length, it was the right style, and most importantly, it didn't make me look fat (at least when I sucked in).

The next hour I focused on my hair: curling, rolling, twisting, pinning, spraying, re-pinning, re-twisting, re-spraying it until it looked like the perfect updo to go along with my elegant gown. Next I had to dust off my makeup because this was a formal occasion with a fancy dress and a pretty hairstyle. At least some eyeliner, mascara, bright red lipstick, and blush would match the outfit and hair! Lastly, I put on my lotion, perfume, body spray, accessories and found a nicer-than-usual purse to carry.

My husband noticed that I looked nice, so we carried on and went to the ball. We had a great time and the night was over all too soon. But on our way home, I took the opportunity to ask my husband again how I looked. Why do women feel the need to ask our husbands how we look? It's not that I doubted myself. It's not that I felt fat. It is simply because when women make the effort to look amazing, we like to be noticed by the special man in our lives.

This is a vain post, but it is something that we as women deal with all the time! Sometimes women just get tired of trying so hard. Why do I exercise every free moment I get? Why did I buy a new dress? Why did I spent too much time doing my hair and makeup? Why do we suck in for our selfies? Why do we keep our lips hydrated? Why do we keep our feet moisturized?

Usually I have a resolution by the end of my posts. The only Bible verse that comes to mind is: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30). So maybe next time we should spend all those hours reading our Bible studies and praying and doing mission projects. That matters more in the long run and likely will make us happier. But I think that even God understands that women need affirmation when we work so hard to be attractive.

What Is My Purpose and Calling?

What is the passion deep inside you? What is driving you? When you finally get a free moment and your kids are asleep, what is your dream? It may be as simple and glorious as being a better mom. Or it may be as grand and long-term as starting and growing your own business. It may be as Christlike as becoming a full-time missionary. Or it may be just to pay the bills and try to get out of debt.

God has a calling for you and a purpose--a great purpose for how He wants to use you to help others, bless others, love others. God sees the big picture, even though we rarely do. We often only see today and here and now. We see the circumstance, the struggle, the battle, the frustration. But God knows how He plans to turn every difficulty in your life into victory and ministry.

Consider David and Goliath. If David looked at Goliath from a worldly perspective, he would never have volunteered to fight against him. He would have feared Goliath just like the rest of the Israelite soldiers did. But David knew the power of God; he had experienced God's victory over giants in the past. As a shepherd, he had to fight off or kill lions or any other beasts that tried to attack his sheep. So David had confidence in the power of God and in the power he had received from God to be skilled with a slingshot.

God is all-powerful, but He also empowers us! So how has God empowered you and prepared you for your current calling? Spend some time listening to God today because He wants to show you how to work together with His Holy Spirit to strengthen and grow His Kingdom on this earth.

There are two things inhibiting your victory and ministry. Apathy and fear. Apathy presents itself in not taking the time to seek Christ, being so busy that you don't have time for Christ, or focusing so much on yourself and your day-to-day struggles that you forget that the Spirit of Jesus Christ is living and active in and around you. Fear is demonstrated first in your mind--the worries, the concerns, the paralysis, the depression, the false thoughts you feed on. These thoughts produce inaction. You may feel the Spirit nudging you to do something, but you fear doing so for one or many reasons.

Satan is tempting you to:
1.   Focus on yourself.
2.   Think this life is only about the here and now.
3.   Forget about heaven and eternity.
4.   Give up on _______ (fill in the blank).
5.   Spend excessive time on things that don't really matter.
6.   Be discouraged.
7.   Doubt the power and faithfulness of God.
8.   Depend on __________ (someone or something) instead of depending on God.
9.   Be lukewarm; half-devoted to God.
10. Downplay the importance of your ministry to your own family.

God wants you to know:
1.   He loves you so incredibly much! Nothing can or ever will change that--not even you.
2.   He has a purpose for your life. He will help you find it, but you have to seek Him to figure out what it is and how to fulfill it.
3.   God's calling for your life is bigger than you. He is reaching the whole world. So don't stop small if God is telling you to do something big for His Kingdom!
4.   God's calling for your life may be smaller than you realize. You may be in a stage of life where you have to stay home. So how does God want to use your gifts at home with your family or maybe through the internet? Not everyone is Billy Graham. Someone had to be his mom.
5.   Jesus was always in ministry or prayer. He prayed up so he was ready for the ministry. He was constantly seeking the will of God and walking in obedience to it.
6.  God wants you to look deeper. Of course life happens and you naturally get caught up in focusing on temporary things like floors and cars and jobs and extracurricular activities. But is there something deeper you need to share with someone--your child, your neighbor, your spouse, your co-worker? We have the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ! Share it!!
7.   He is always good, and He is always with you. He will never let you down. Though the whole world may fail you and leave you hopeless and alone, God will never abandon you.
8.   Jesus died to take away your sins and to provide healing and hope.
9.   Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after he was crucified, and the same power that gave Him victory over death is available to you today!
10. God wants to empower you to look outside of yourself and to reach out to someone today and every day. Make that phone call. Write that note/email/text. Go and knock on that door. Be intentional about doing something to show the love of Christ every day.