Pure Mommy Extract

I was just thinking of how thankful I am.  Thankful for so many amazing men and women that God has placed in front of me.  I thought I would share some of their awesomeness with you.  Is that okay with you?  Okay.  These are the kind of people that really make good examples of what I want to be like.  They reflect the Lord in great ways.  I figured that if they help me to see the Lord more clearly, something just might be sparked in you as well.

I was thinking about a young woman that I know that has such modesty and purity.  She is so careful about what comes out of her mouth and what she wears.  She takes great care in the choices she makes in friends so that she will surround herself with people that draw her closer to her creator instead of constantly being around people that compromise her beliefs.  Watching her life and how pure her spirit is has really shown me what longing for holiness looks like.  Her choices pay off and she is such a sweet young woman that carries herself in a very gentle way.

Then there is another that is my example of compassion.  Her heart is filled to the brim with love for people that she doesn't even know.  Well, she knows them now, but her heart was filled with compassion before she even met them.  She know resides in Africa taking care of many young children in the name of Christ.  At a young age she moved there and started adopting children.  BY HERSELF (no husband, no parents, just her and Jesus).  Her compassionate heart is an earthly view of the heart of God.

We have an older gentleman at church who is filled with such wisdom.  He has perfect answers when people are going through really hard stuff.  Something about him just makes you want to be around him for hours soaking in his wisdom.  You know those movies with the old man in the shack that people come to seeking answers to the meaning of life and such?  You know...they guy who speaks in weird, choppy, abnormal sentences that make the person think deeply to gain that fullness of what he is really saying?  Guys kinda like Yoda?  Well, he's like that.  Except he speaks in real words and he lives in the normal part of town.  I sometimes wish I was wise like that.

I know some guys who are working on a construction project that will help many people without homes have somewhere to live.  They surely use their talents for God's glory and I have to say that's been speaking to my heart lately.  What are my talents and how do I use them for God?  Watching them has brought that question to the forefront for me.

Have you ever known someone that is obscenely gentle?  Someone filled with "make you sick" gentleness and peace?  Someone that you just want to tick off so that you can see they are human?!?  No?  Oh.  Me neither.  But I DO know someone like that.  And I love to be in her presence because her peace just takes over you and it's so much easier to be peaceful when she is around.

I know a guy who is at war right now.  He isn't just doing it because he gets paid to.  He isn't just your normal soldier.  This guy is filled with righteous anger.  He wants to free the oppressed.  He has a passion for bringing justice to people's lives.  THAT'S why he is fighting.  He is inspiring and has such a way of filling you up with a passion for what is right.  He makes your desire to do things the right way.  There is a spark and fire for justice that is contageous!  I tell ya, he'll make y'all want to set some captives free!

You know what else inspires me?  The honesty of children.  Not just the honesty by way of calling people fat and telling them their breath stinks, but how they are honest about themselves.  "Did you do _____?"  "Yes." they say with a guilty, sad face.  The honesty of children inspires me too.

Then, then there is my husband.  He knows me better than I feel like I know myself sometimes.  He will be honest with me about things that I don't even see in myself.  I love that about him.  I love how he knows what I need more than I could express it and how he often does exactly what I need to make me feel better.  He sees that I've had a rough day a does the dishes for me.  I don't have to ask.  We had a time at church where the pastor broke us into groups and one person was supposed to pray for the group.  He says that he believes that the person praying for the group will hear word from the Lord on what to pray.  I believe that too...but I don't necessarily want to DO it!  But, my husband is my leader.  I must submit to him and he knows that I need to grow comfortable with praying for other people...so he suggested that I do it.  And, I did.  He knew it would be uncomfortable for me, but he also knew it was best for me.  I might have been shaking afterward for a little bit because of it, but I did hear from the Lord!  And a man that was in our prayer circle gave his life to the LORD that day!

Now tell me, what do people like that do to you?  I'll tell you what they do to me, they make me want to be more like them.  They inspire me.  They rile up the inner parts of my spirit.  They change my demeanor when I am with them.  They are the kind of people I want to surround myself with.

Now.  Let me tell you something else.




Most of those people aren't even real.  A few of them are real and some are based on some truths, but most are not actual people.  The thing is, they are easy to think of in human terms.  We can see that in our minds and grasp what those people are like.  It's easy to praise them.

Do you catch my drift?

Sometimes God is so much beyond our comprehension that it's hard to really praise Him.  I'm sure plenty of people out there are beyond this, but for any that have been like me, I thought it might be helpful to share this picture that God gave me to help me relate to His awesomeness more.

Did anyone come to your mind when I spoke of the pure young lady?  God is more pure.  1,000 times over.  He is HOLY and clean.  There is not one tiny speck of unholiness in Him.  Do you believe that?

What about the young woman serving in Africa?  The one who brings hope to so many lost?  Did you think of someone compassionate as she?  (Did you think of the young Katie who actually lives that?)  God's compassion is far greater than hers.  He sacrificed intensely beyond what she has given up to serve the ones He loves.  Do you believe that?

The old Yoda man?  (I thought of Yoda after my last post =)...)  God's wisdom is perfect and He is ready and trying to share it with you!  God WILL speak to you.  Listen for his wisdom and guidance.  If you belong to Him, He WILL speak to you.  If that weren't true, he would not have said that His sheep know His voice.  Do you believe that?

Builders.  Men who use their hands to bring forth great buildings or buildings that serve many people...men stand in awe of what their hands have made.  God's work is perfection.  The work of men leaves destruction in it's path.  It lasts for a time and then is gone.  God's work is forever.  It works together in harmony.  When something God has made breaks or begins to die, it doesn't turn into junk.  It just becomes something else.  When a tree falls, it becomes a nurse log.  When milk (real raw milk) starts to go sour, it turns to yogurt.  When an animal dies it becomes food for another.  ...and so on.  God built perfection.  Do you believe that?

God is gentle.  When we come into His presence His peace overcomes us to the core.  We need time with Him.  We need to be with Him so that we will grow in peace and gentleness.  It is something that will transform you.  It will transform me.  Do you believe that?

God is just.  He has a heart for justice and does not leave the oppressed there all alone.  Sadly, we praise men for that, valiant men who bring freedom.  But what about God.  God has brought ultimate freedom.  He brings justice for the wronged.  He sets captives free.  Free from the physical things that bring troubles, and freedom from the things that have held us on a totally deeper level.  He will free you from anger, He will free you from fear, He will free you of self hatred, He will free you of pride.  He will set you free of it all.  Do you believe that?

God is not only honest, He IS TRUTH.  He doesn't speak truth, He is truth.  There is nothing untrue in Him.  You can trust anything He says and you can count on Him to speak truth to you.  He is a friend that not only speaks truth about where you fall short, He stands beside you the whole way through overcoming.  He tells you just what to do to be healed.  He never tells you what you want to hear.  How about that?  Do you believe it?

And the intimate knowledge of who you are...God knows more than all.  The ways that I love my husband, the way he does what is best for me even when it is uncomfortable, the way he knows just what I need, the way he comforts me, the way he is always there close by and will drop everything just for me- God is that too.  He loves you more intimately than any human being can, he knows you far better than you know yourself.  He is worthy of your submission and will lead you into things far greater than what you would ask for yourself.  They may look ugly and undesirable at first, but God sees in truth because He is truth.  He will guide you into whats best for you if you give Him the chance.  Do you believe that?  Enough to step out and trust Him with everything even if it looks like a dead end?

Praise Him.  Praise Him for who He is.  Praise Him for what He has done.  Praise Him for no other reason than the fact that He is all in all.  He is Alpha and Omega, the source and the ending.  He is God!