Seeing Life Through Childlike Eyes

My husband and I took our son to his first zoo experience last week. We went to a local small, zoo, and he loved it. We were not too impressed, but our son's eyes lit up with every animal he saw.

It made us laugh to watch him make animal sounds, and run around all excited over monkeys and zebras. It made me remember my childhood. It made us both appreciate the experiences we had growing up. But most of all it reminded me of the childlike heart that Jesus adores so much. He adores it so much, that He wants us as adults to still come to Him with that heart in us.

It all made me think about what that means to have a childlike heart...not childish, but childlike. A child's eyes, and a child's mind takes in every experience they have like a sponge. Everything is new. Everything is full of wonder. But as we get older, things are not new anymore. Life becomes the same...routine. And yet, our Heavenly Father asks that we don't lose the heart of a child.

I think sometimes I forget what being a child is like. I get overwhelmed in being a Mom, and  a housewife, and it all feels like pressure sometimes because I am always needed, and don't have enough time in a day to do it all. 

But there is something in the heart of the Father that doesn't grow old. He doesn't get tired as we do. His mercies are NEW every morning. And, in His grace He must want to share that heart of His with us, or these words would not be in His Book...

I wonder how my days would change if I woke up in the morning asking the Father for childlike eyes instead of my adult (sometimes "childish" eyes). It gives me joy that Jesus wants us to still experience the newness of life throughout the changing seasons. Maybe it's because it's a little bit of Heaven that He offers us while we are still on this earth.

Today I am linking up with:
#FaithNFriendsLinkUp
#CoffeeForYourHeart

Oh how He loves creating Life!

A new addition to the family was added over the weekend. My brother and sis-in-law had a baby! As I am excited for this new nephew, I can't help but think of how the Lord loves to create life. God loves life, and he loves us...His creation.

A few years ago, I had a miscarriage before I got pregnant with my son. When I think back to that time and the awful bit of grieving I went through, my heart aches, but then I think of the miracle that came from it all. God has His hand on everything. He is so soveriegn. Not only do I have a beautiful child waiting for me in eternity someday, but exactly 9 months after I lost that baby, my son was concieved. I am in awe. At the very time my lost child would have been born, God was creating my son. It wasn't until after my son was born that I put the timeline of that all together!  Everything happens for a reason. Everything has been set in place by a loving, merciful God.  

I am also in awe of the way in which God creates life. I remember right after my miscarriage, the doctor telling me that because it was such an early loss, "the baby would have been nothing more than a blob anyway." Not only was that very careless on her part to say, this goes against everything I believe. Psalm 139 completely disagrees with this, and in fact says the complete opposite. My Mom was with me the day the doctor told me that, and she and I decided to look deeper into the matter. What we found astounded us. 

Did you know, that before an embryo even begins to take shape  that little "blob" is a tiny ball of cells, with DNA hardwired into it already? Our skin color, eye color, sex, and personality are already predetermined at conception. All we are to become is right there in that so-called "blob." Life begins instantly. Our God, and creator does not take life lightly! 

No matter who you are, or what you have been through, you are so vitally important to God, that before you even existed, He knew you. The Psalms declare it, therefore God Himself declares it! Be blessed today my friends. 

I know not everyone believes as I do, and that's okay. I am glad however, that I have this faith. I am glad that more than just this faith, I truly believe this with all my heart. There is hope in God, and the life He creates. I pray that you too, whoever you are, discover that same hope. I imagine you today reader, having a cup of coffee, or tea, or sitting at your desk at work, and I pray that you are blessed and overwhelmed with life, and Heavenly surprises today. 

Today I am linking up with Life Of Faith #MommyMoments and Holley Gerth #CoffeeForYourHeart

We carry His heart

Have you ever had a moment where the Lord just comes over you with joy and love when you least expect it? It takes you off guard, and you know it was an appointed time by Him alone...This happened to me yesterday and my mind is still in awe, and my heart is still pondering.

I wanted to take my son for a morning treat. Our morning had gone a little "wonky" as I like to say. My son had managed to pull off his poopy diaper and spread it around his room while I was getting myself ready for the day. I was less than thrilled when I came into his room and saw this. At the same time my dog had pooped overnight in her crate, and so I spent the start to my day cleaning up poop. To top it off, we had friends from out of town coming in later, and I hoped that I got all the stink out before they came, but my nose was still plugged up from a cold, and I could not smell a thing! After all of this I ran out of the house, buckled my son into his carseat, and headed to the nearest Starbucks first, and then to Mcdonalds. I was tired. I was slightly crabby. I was stressed about getting my house in order before our guests arrived, but God still broke into my chaotic emotions to bless my heart with His heart.

As I drove up to Mcdonalds with my flat white coffee from Starbucks, I was feeling a bit more at ease. The caffiene, was beginning to kick in, and the warmth of the coffee was like the warm hug I so needed right then. I pulled up to find that this particular Mcdonald's was under construction, and they had their workers outside taking payments, and handing out orders, as the windows were blocked by ladders and huge equipment. I made my payment, and then headed up to recieve my order, and within the 1 minute it took for me to recieve it, the Lord flooded my mind with these thoughts for that person giving me my food. "I made this person!" As I heard the Lord say this, I felt His pride and I just smiled and couldn't stop smiling. I then felt graditude for this random person's life, though I had never met them before. Everything inside me wanted to say something of God's love for them, but the words wouldn't come. As I was handed my food I was still smiling, and prayed a blessing over that person as I drove off. My eyes filled with tears as I felt the compassion of Jesus for that one soul I knew nothing about...but Jesus knew very well.

I still don't know why I did not get to say anything in words. Sometimes that's the way it goes. Sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to be the only One speaking. Either way, I was honored that God would let me feel that as a reminder that I am always His hands and His feet. As a housewife, as a stay-at-home Mom it is so easy to feel isolated, and insignificant to the rest of the world. Am I right Mom's and housewives? It's easy to forget that God values us so incredibly much! Everytime we leave the house, whether to take a walk, and see a neighbor, or go to a grocery store, or wherever we go, we carry the heart of Jesus with us. God is not held back by our limitations, or what we think our limitations are. He is always speaking, always moving, in spite of us.

I want to be the person that is aware of that daily. I want to be the person that is open to the Holy Spirit at all times, so that I am always ready to share Him in whatever way He wants...even if it is just to say a private prayer for a random person. When we are open to Jesus, I believe He takes the little we offer, and turns it into gold in the Heavenly realms.

Remember how valuable you are today to the Father. He sees you. He knows you. He sees you as worthy to bear His Name.
Today I am linking up with Life of Faith #MommyMoments and #TeaAndWordTuesday