If you're at all like me, - a momma that has lots of little 'uns running around, demanding attention all day - then you find it hard to get consistent, quality quiet-time with the Father. I've heard rumors of women out there who get it done (like at 5am before everyone is awake) but I think it's a myth. We've had glimpses of them in books with outlined plans and such, kind of like those fuzzy videos of Sasquatch, but no true evidence exists.

Yes, getting up thirty minutes earlier to spend time in worship would probably make my day go better. But I'm also a very grumpy momma when I don't get sleep.

Yes, I should go to bed earlier then. But my husband is a night owl and if I want to really talk with him, that's when it happens.

Yes, time with God should be my priority, but sometimes my priority, by default, becomes the sick kid that needs cuddles or a husband that needs... well... we'll refer to that as "cuddles" too.

And yes, I should probably stop blogging and go read my Bible.

Okay, I feel guilty enough, people!

But I discovered something recently, thanks to Louie Giglio , that has helped me think about the Word of God all day, even when I don't have time for a long sit down. He refers to it as the "One Word A Day Study." If there is a verse that God keeps bringing to your mind, then take the time to dwell on one word a day from the verse until you are done with the verse. I'm not talking about getting out your Hebrew-Greek Bible or even cross-referencing scripture (although, do that if you have the time). It's allowing God to speak to you, one word at a time, through one verse that He has already put on your heart.

The verse that kept popping up for me was Hebrews 4:16 ~ "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need." A verse I've heard over and over through the years, but lately has been on my mind. So, I thought I would try this One Word A Day Study on it and this is what I have found.

Day 1/let - "let" signifies there is someone else allowing the approach to the throne, it's not of my own independence. someone who is in authority (God) is granting access to the throne. "letting" someone do something means letting them make the choice if they want to or not. they are not being forced. Access to the throne is granted by God's authority, but I am not forced to go.

Day 2/us - "us" is inclusive. it means all of us who trust in Christ's complete work on the cross may approach the throne of grace. not those of "us" who haven't sinned in awhile. not those of "us" that didn't yell at their kids today or wished their life turned out a bit different. All of us, regardless of where we have been or what we have done, have access to the throne of grace. Some days, I need to know I can enter no matter what!

Day 3/then - At first, I was thinking, what am I going to learn from the word "then"? But I remembered some of my grammar training and "then" always means "if this, then this" so I looked at the context of the chapter and realized, this is really the crux of the entire verse! The verse prior says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are..." The whole reason we can approach the throne of grace with confidence is because Jesus Christ himself has been where we are! He gets it! He understands! There is nothing we can say before the throne that isn't understood!

Day 4/approach - nothing significant about the word itself stood out to me. "approach" means what it means. go up to something. But as I thought through the day, I was acutely aware of and thankful for the invitation to be in the presence of God. I am SO thankful! The throne room is always open!

Day 5/the - a simple word, right? not too significant. but it's the throne of grace. not a throne of grace. or any throne of grace. It is THE throne of grace, THE one where sits the High King of Heaven who listens to our babblings, pleas, cries and when we remember them, our praises and adoration.

And today is Day 6... I'm excited about 21 more days of this...

I can't say every day will be significant. Tomorrow is "of"... hmmm... But the Words spoken by God are constantly on my heart, in the forefront of my mind and I love that. And this verse will be forever committed to memory! I know the day will come when my children are more self-sufficient and consistent quiet-time will return. But right now, I am so thankful God meets me where I am at and gives me what I need, even if it's one word at a time...

And if you're one of those super-moms with lots of little kids who does get up at 5am, I don't want to hear it cause you'll just squelch the encouragement I'm feeling right now. Comparing myself to others: we'll discuss that at a later date.

A couple days ago I asked Patrick, "How can I teach my kids self-control when I have so little of it myself?"

I said this after Caleb stood in front of the toilet and peed all over it, his clothes, the bathroom rug, trashcan, toilet scrubber -- if it was within three feet, it got showered! I have never yelled at my child the way I yelled at him that morning. It was a situation in which Caleb needed to be disciplined (he's been potty-trained awhile and had been doing this exact thing for several days and we were exasperated), but I didn't handle well. Here I was trying to train him in physical self-control and I lost emotional self-control. I spent the day in deep remorse. Questioned my ability to do this mommy-thing. I followed Patrick around, pestering him to reaffirm to me that I was still a fairly good parent. What I was in that moment of outburst, was not a good mom. I was a mom who had stopped relying on God to deal with this temporary, three-year-old monster in my home.

I read this quote and thought it put perfectly into perspective why God makes so many of us parents.

"By God’s marvelous design, few life experiences humble us quite as effectively as parenting. As parents, we exchange our formerly spotless houses, ironed clothes, and ordered lives for the chaos of an incontinent, noisy, spit-producing being with a temper that needs to be tamed and with a piercing cry that rivals the sharpest fingernails ever scraped across a chalkboard. This tiny tyrant is providentially placed in our house with one grand program: to mold his or her parents into the image of our Lord. The way up spiritually, is by looking down physically." ~Gary Thomas

So I'm praying I won't miss what God has for me as I clean up that mess in the bathroom. And that I'll rely on Him completely for how to discipline my children,not how I feel about it in the moment.

If you are the least bit cynical, you struggle a bit with finding sincerity on Valentine's Day. I admit, I'm just a little-itty-bit cynical and therefore, Valentine's Day has never been a big deal in our house, although Patrick does go out of his way to get me flowers and usually suggests a date night. And I'd probably be a little upset if he didn't do something -- even though I say he doesn't need to.

This morning, an email was sitting in my inbox that got me to thinking maybe it's not such a silly holiday after all.

I wonder if we are so hesitant to celebrate love because our world has turned it into being so much about what you get out of it and lust and how you happen to feel about the one you currently happen to be with at the time. To us, romance is proven when the guy and the girl in the movie finally sleep together, not actually commit to serving one another for the rest of their lives. We know in our hearts this isn't how it's supposed to be... So we turn the one day a year set aside to celebrate love into something cheesy, all Hallmark-ified, something mostly children participate in and in our grown up world pretend we don't care.

I think God cares. A search on the word "love" shows up in the NIV Bible 687 times!

It is patient. It is kind. It does not envy or boast or get prideful. It wants nothing to do with anything evil. It builds others up, rather than tearing them down with our actions or the things we say. It requires proof of its existence. (I Cor. 13, II Cor. 8:24)

We've forgotten that true love, love that comes from the Father, is about sacrifice. The sacrifice of a father who gave up his only son to save a dying world. This little, four-letter-word, "love" is such a huge, profound thing, we must actually have the revelation of God himself to understand how wide and long and high and deep is his love for us! (Eph. 3:18)

The following excerpt comes from Lorrie Flem, author/publisher of TEACH Magazine.

In the year 269 AD the world was in turmoil, much like today. Claudius II had forbidden young men to marry, believing single men, free of family concerns made better soldiers. He also was severely persecuting Christian people throughout the Roman Empire. In Rome there was a priest named Valentinus who was secretly marrying Christian couples in spite of Claudius.

(Does it get any more romantic than that? A boy and a girl so desperately in love, with a forbidden love, that they run away to marry in secret. Hmm, I think one of literature's most-enduring love stories had that same plot... Romeo and Juliet, anyone?)

Valentinius was arrested and sent to the prefect of Rome who, when he could not persuade Valentinus to renounce his faith, he recommended that he be beaten with clubs and beheaded.
While awaiting his execution, Valentinus became friends with his jailer's blind daughter. They would have long conversations together in his prison cell. On the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."

On February 14, 270 AD, Valentinus' sentence was carried out. He was beaten and beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.

Today, we still celebrate Valentine's Day, though few know of its background and meaning. But the day is one of loving expression. Children give valentines to each other. Lovers share gifts and notes of deep sentiment. Candy, flowers, jewelry and so many other things are given and received. The wording, though sometimes more elaborate, still remains "From your Valentine."

Remember this Valentine's Day, when you ask someone to "Be Mine," you are really saying to them, "I will sacrifice for you. I will do what is best for you regardless of my own desires. I will love you as God has loved me. I will represent to you the love of the Bible, the Bible that the real St. Valentine died defending."

Seems a little tougher than just chocolates and flowers, huh?

Oh, that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller

Looking for some feedback here...

I am a very blessed woman. One of those blessings is having a mother I can sit down with over a cup of tea and really talk. Almost no topic is off limits. No display of emotion is taken offensively. Everything goes! I got to spend last week with my mom and as always, conversation flowed.

One thing we discussed is how does one stand by their convictions without being judgmental? This is a question I've been asking myself for about a year now, especially as Patrick and I have become more and more passionate about family discipleship and it's meant a lot of lifestyle changes for us. A lot of rethinking the way we do things. I think I am afraid that accepting others' way of doing things "weakens" my conviction.

So, what does it look like to embrace your God-given convictions, without having a swayed by the wind, whatever-is-right-for-you-may-not-be-right-for-me attitude, but still be gracious, accepting and understanding of those who do things differently from you?

I'd really like to hear back from the two of you that read my stuff...

Let's make sure we love him Monday morning...

I am a Tim Tebow fan. I was a fan long before the Focus on the Family ad became such a controversial issue. I believe he is a young man, whose parent's caught a vision to raise him "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." And Tim Tebow is doing that.

But let's think for a moment how much pressure we are putting on this guy.

Not just for this Sunday, but everyday.

He has been declared one of the best college football players ever. The youngest to win the Heisman trophy. He's played for the Florida Gators in two National Championships.

Sports commentators make fun of the milk and cookies he has before bed on Saturday nights after the game, rather than partying with his team.

He has stood up to media fire storms that find amusement with the status of his virginity.

Homeschoolers hail as their example of how well homeschooled kids really are socialized and can be salt and light to the world. He has been the inspiration for education reform in many states.

Who knows how many young people have gone on Summer mission's trips because of his example of helping the poor and needy.

Fathers want their sons to grow up to be like him. Mothers want their daughters to marry him.

And now we are putting even more pressure on him. Pressure on a young man who has yet to start a professional career or cash a paycheck.

It seems we are asking him to take the biggest, most public stand against abortion this nation has seen. What started out as a young man, making a simple stand for something he believes in has become national controversy -- one that is roused anger and entitlement on both sides.

And what happens if his stand is not as strong as we have all hyped it up to be?

My concern is that we might be disappointed come Monday morning. With all the hoopla and controversy surrounding an ad that none of us have seen, not just the liberals, I fear that it will not live up to the expectations we've created it to be in our heads.

What if it doesn't come right out and call abortion an atrocity against humankind and is only vaguely pro-life? Will we criticize him for not saying something stronger? Will we say he should have put his "platform" to better use?

What if the ad is more about the agency paying for it, Focus on the Family (we've kind of forgotten about them)? Will we accuse Tebow of doing the ad to boost his popularity before the NFL combine and draft?

I don't know anymore than the next person, whether it be a pro-life conservative or liberal, feminist group, what the ad will portray. It might be the strongest pro-life advertisement our nation has seen and women across the country may choose to not murder their unborn child as a result of it. It might be something that simply points viewers to call Focus on the Family for help if their family is falling apart. All I know is that we are asking this young guy to do a lot.

So let's make sure we are still standing by him on Monday morning, regardless of what we see Sunday night.