Miseducation of Mom

Welcome to episode seven. Lent, as do many holidays (holy days), have a way of affecting many of us. I encourage you to discover and bless the rhythms that can have a grace-pace for your soul. Let's decelerate together.

Welcome to episode six. We are still anchored in Lent, but we're also celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim, this weekend. Through Lectio Divina, we'll look at a 4-fold, divine template in Luke 22:19, and apply it to Esther's brave, yet scared encounter with God's providence, sovereignty, and control.

We are launching season two around these parts. Welcome to another cycle of holy days. We will enter into Lent and the many other Spring holidays, in order to savor the reality of our earnest attachment to our Beloved, Jesus. Because I'm a mom of eight in the trenches of everyday life, you'll often hear my infant in the background. Soul Care is about the real and unvarnished. Nevertheless, rest is part of the program.

We are coming to our last Advent breath, Love. As we come together to attend to our souls in the hustle of this time of year, we're pumping the brakes and enjoying the scenery of grace. We'll take deep breaths before, during and after our Lectio Divina time. Our focus is on the unstoppable nature of Perfect Love in an imperfect world. Love is so much more than an action, He's our Beloved God. Our Scripture is from Matthew 3:17, "And a voice came from heaven said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'" Thankfully, the Father's affection is the same for us adopted daughters, as it is for His only Begotten Son. I will return in Spring 2017 for our second series as we fix our hearts on the Passover and the Resurrection and it's eternal implications and applications for our every moments. Shalom!

It was fun sitting down with my husband of 21 years. We're talking about continuing to date one another in order to nurture and strengthen the connection in our marriage, and how by doing so creates a stronger parenting unity. Keith also shares his heart about my beautiful imperfections in parenting our infant daughter, Emerald.

When you hear our Lectio Divina Scripture reading, I think you'll agree with me that this is such a fitting episode to have included my eighth child, Emerald, my 8-month-old. We are breathing in Joy, as we ponder in this third week of Advent. We are assured that the joy of the LORD is our strength. This joy derives from the heart of God. It is also a fruit of the Spirit. This Messianic joy engages and addresses both delight and despair, they can linger in the same heart, at the same time. Hebrews 12:2 sums it up best, "Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross". Jesus saw His future joy as a present place to embrace, in light of His suffering. We are empowered to fellowship with Him in His joy whether in celebration or lament.

The Prince of Peace enters into history gifting us with an undiminishing peace. Jesus' shalom is the kind of peace that ushers in a vulnerable baby, an unlikely King who brings completeness through His incarnation. He uses the unlikely, weak and small things to secure our eternal shalom.

In today's minisode MOM interview, I sit down with my 19-year-old son, Tobias. He openly shares how he enjoys connecting with me, and he responds candidly to the question, "What have you learned from a mistake I've made as your mom?"

In our first week of Advent, let's take a messianic moment to behold a hope associated with living waters. In this first episode, we’ll breathe in a long breath of a hope acquainted with lamenting. You'll take deep breaths to decelerate and savor God, during the Lectio Divina Scripture reading in the book of Lamentations. And you'll gain insight from an interview with my 11-year old daughter, Isaiah. She's not my only daughter, as mistakenly referred to in the intro, but she's the one and only Isaiah.