A lot has happened in September.
I have led worship three times at three different events. Stewart and I spoke at Louisiana College in front of 275 students, and I got to lead one of them to saving faith in Christ. Our family celebrated 10 years at First Baptist Church Pineville. Stewart and Zach went off for a "man's weekend" at Survivor Man, where they did all kinds of father/son/manly things. The E4 Preaching Conference had its 10th year, and went off without a hitch. Stewart turned 42, and to celebrate, he and I went to Branson for a few days for a pastors and wives retreat. And Evan had a couple of "firsts" - he fed himself for the first time and also went bowling with his schoolmates and loved it!
Football has started back, and all the pumpkin spice in the world is back on the shelves. I am a happy girl.
But dotted in between all of this has been a lot of heartache. I went home to Athens a couple of weeks ago to attend the funeral of one of the saints of my home church. Stewart has performed two funerals just this week. Last night, we heard of a terrible tragedy in our former hometown of Forestburg.
As you can see, we've been busy.
It has been a September to remember.
In between all of that, we have been dealing with gastrointestinal issues with Evan. It all started about the time school began, and we kept waiting for it to go away, thinking it was just a prolonged virus. After going to the pediatrician twice, we were sent to a pediatric gastroenterologist, and we have seen him several times since then. There has been blood work and a couple of x-rays. Today's x-ray showed that he was not any better. I tried not to cry as the doctor explained that Evan had to go back on the medicine he was taking to fix the problem until we saw the doctor again in a couple of weeks. If that doesn't work, Evan will have to have a surgical procedure.
It's not a huge deal. Really, it's not. His life is not in danger. It's just a pretty large inconvenience to deal with what we're dealing with right now. Yet as I was walking out of the hospital, I started blaming myself that he was not better.
"You should feed him the right foods!"
Well, the child had peas and cornbread for supper the other night. I really don't think that's the problem.
"He's too much trouble for the school with all that's going on. They probably won't want him there because of this."
Not true. They love him no matter what.
"Why did you even stop doing the medicine?"
Because we did it the amount of time the doctor said to do it!
"And oh, by the way, this is all your fault."
"You're a terrible mother."
"You should keep your house cleaner and the laundry should have been done by now."
Really. Thanks.
How often do we as moms or even just regular ole people have this conversation with ourselves? It's a ridiculous conversation, as you can tell by mine. But we have it over and over again. Why? The first song I heard on the radio after I got back in my car tells us the reason:
Fear is a liar.
When we get even the tiniest amount afraid, fear jumps in and tries to take the reins. He sees his opportunity, and he takes it. And he makes us think these absolutely ludicrous thoughts until we start blaming ourselves for something we have no control over.
So where does fear come from? The enemy. John 8:44b says, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
When your head starts telling you untruths that make absolutely no sense, you can know where they came from. The enemy has planted fear in your heart and is telling you lies. How do you fight him? With truth!
"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)
We're ending this "September to remember" in our house with a renewed sense of faith in the one who is bigger than our fears. I want my mind to dwell in faith and not fear. I want it to remember God's Word and not the words of one who has been a liar from the beginning. We are trusting Him to do what only He can - and that is hopefully make October a little less crazy! Won't you believe the same with me? Fear is a liar. Jesus is Truth! (John 14:6)
I have led worship three times at three different events. Stewart and I spoke at Louisiana College in front of 275 students, and I got to lead one of them to saving faith in Christ. Our family celebrated 10 years at First Baptist Church Pineville. Stewart and Zach went off for a "man's weekend" at Survivor Man, where they did all kinds of father/son/manly things. The E4 Preaching Conference had its 10th year, and went off without a hitch. Stewart turned 42, and to celebrate, he and I went to Branson for a few days for a pastors and wives retreat. And Evan had a couple of "firsts" - he fed himself for the first time and also went bowling with his schoolmates and loved it!
Football has started back, and all the pumpkin spice in the world is back on the shelves. I am a happy girl.
But dotted in between all of this has been a lot of heartache. I went home to Athens a couple of weeks ago to attend the funeral of one of the saints of my home church. Stewart has performed two funerals just this week. Last night, we heard of a terrible tragedy in our former hometown of Forestburg.
As you can see, we've been busy.
It has been a September to remember.
In between all of that, we have been dealing with gastrointestinal issues with Evan. It all started about the time school began, and we kept waiting for it to go away, thinking it was just a prolonged virus. After going to the pediatrician twice, we were sent to a pediatric gastroenterologist, and we have seen him several times since then. There has been blood work and a couple of x-rays. Today's x-ray showed that he was not any better. I tried not to cry as the doctor explained that Evan had to go back on the medicine he was taking to fix the problem until we saw the doctor again in a couple of weeks. If that doesn't work, Evan will have to have a surgical procedure.
It's not a huge deal. Really, it's not. His life is not in danger. It's just a pretty large inconvenience to deal with what we're dealing with right now. Yet as I was walking out of the hospital, I started blaming myself that he was not better.
"You should feed him the right foods!"
Well, the child had peas and cornbread for supper the other night. I really don't think that's the problem.
"He's too much trouble for the school with all that's going on. They probably won't want him there because of this."
Not true. They love him no matter what.
"Why did you even stop doing the medicine?"
Because we did it the amount of time the doctor said to do it!
"And oh, by the way, this is all your fault."
"You're a terrible mother."
"You should keep your house cleaner and the laundry should have been done by now."
Really. Thanks.
How often do we as moms or even just regular ole people have this conversation with ourselves? It's a ridiculous conversation, as you can tell by mine. But we have it over and over again. Why? The first song I heard on the radio after I got back in my car tells us the reason:
Fear is a liar.
When we get even the tiniest amount afraid, fear jumps in and tries to take the reins. He sees his opportunity, and he takes it. And he makes us think these absolutely ludicrous thoughts until we start blaming ourselves for something we have no control over.
So where does fear come from? The enemy. John 8:44b says, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
When your head starts telling you untruths that make absolutely no sense, you can know where they came from. The enemy has planted fear in your heart and is telling you lies. How do you fight him? With truth!
"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)
We're ending this "September to remember" in our house with a renewed sense of faith in the one who is bigger than our fears. I want my mind to dwell in faith and not fear. I want it to remember God's Word and not the words of one who has been a liar from the beginning. We are trusting Him to do what only He can - and that is hopefully make October a little less crazy! Won't you believe the same with me? Fear is a liar. Jesus is Truth! (John 14:6)
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