Holy Spirit

The Truth About Being Annoyed With God (It’s Helpful for Eye-Opening Transformation)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment

You can learn that from me! You’re welcome! Good luck!

man holding telephone screaming

The worst, most terrible, awful part about parenting and homeschooling, is that God will want to transform your attitude, heart and motives and that STINKS!

I mean, think about it – you have always wanted to boss someone around, and now you have your little people to line up army style and pull rank on. YOU know what’s going on and YOU call the shots. You’ve been alive longer than they have, and so the world is in perfect order, thank you very much!

Then God steps in and messes everything up for you.

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At least that’s what happened to me every SINGLE DAY. Yeah, it stinks. For example, consider entitlement.

One day, I was looking down my nose in condemnation at my five-year-old because – WOW!- she wasn’t thankful!1

“How did she end up as such an unthankful little human?” I wondered with fear and trepidation. Would she be an unthankful little brat her entire life? THIS has got to be fixed!

I lectured her for half an hour on the benefits and joy of noticing the little things.

She looked at me blankly and continued to blame me for not buying her a third ice cream cone, stamping her little feet and yelling insults at me.

Yikes!

“What do I do now?” I wondered, finally looking up at God. “Can2 you please help me?”

And He did whisper to my heart that day as a gentle wind passed us.

And what He said was THE most annoying, infuriating and upsetting thing He could have mentioned to me right at that exact moment.

He seemed to whisper to my heart:

And how is your level of thankfulness, child?

His words were not harsh or condemning, but gentle, patient and full of the same kind of love I had for my daughter – I WANT her to find joy, and this is the path to it!

So it is for you, he seemed to remind me, turning the parent-child relationship on its head again.

How had I become the child again?

I wanted to be the parent, carefully explaining truths to my little mirrors of me.

And THAT was precisely the problem.

She WAS a mini-mirror of me on this issue.

Time for me to change.

Jesus held out his hand to me, and asked me to walk with him on this path towards a having a bit less gunk in my heart.

Would I follow?

Will you? He holds out his hand to you, too. Will you follow?

Yeah. I know. It STINKS to follow God sometimes because instead of changing THEM, He ends up changing US! I HATE THAT!

But Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Ancient Text

The song below is too humble for my taste. However, it contains some excellent thoughts about gratitude that are worth considering. As the song below plays, consider asking God how He may be a Shepherd to you, increasing joy through gratitude.

God, help us to figure out the (one or two places) where your plans for us are better than our ideas for how to run our lives, we pray.

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Photo Credit – Someone ELSE (NOT me!) Being Annoyed At God by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

1 It is worth noting that whenever my children demonstrate excellence in virtue, they naturally reflect the excellent teaching, values, and confidence that I instill as a homeschooling parent. But whenever they do something naughty (WHAT?!), of course, that is because they didn’t sleep well or their stomachs were upset, as explained perfectly clearly HERE. (Yes. That article is about my dog, but the SAME THING is true about my kids, OF COURSE!)

2 Notice the verb “Can” which of course makes Jesus laugh and slap his knee, wiping the tears a tear from his eye because he is laughing so hard. The answer “Yes. He CAN help!” A valuable truth to remember, one I often seem to forget. Jesus IS helpful!

New Lessons I Learned After 29 Days Of Bed Rest

/ Lori Lawe / 3 Comments

Sometimes essential life lessons come in strange gift packages, no?

a bench sitting on top of a lush green hillside

The first week on bed rest1 wasn’t too bad.

I was initially hopeful that my body would figure itself out, my back would crack in the right direction, and I would be up and running in no time. I opened an office on my bed, barking orders at my homeschooled kid, and attending meetings online. I forgot to tell one male teacher why I was in bed during the online homeschooling call, which was embarrassing in retrospect.

But I’ve done more embarrassing things2 in good health.

Click HERE to continue reading.

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Sitting Ducks Or Soaring Eagles? 4 Tips You Need To Free Your Church

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
silhouette of birds flying during sunset

She rises from her knees in her prayer closet, opening the curtains to the brightness of the risen Sun shining on her face.

She leaps and skips to the bedrooms, waking her family.

open blinds of window against sun rays

“Get up”, she calls out joyfully! “God is good! He is leading me into an adventure and . . . “

STOP

red and white stop signage

There is a large STOP sign directly in front of her face. She tries to look around the sign and peek behind the large octagon shape at the people standing in a line behind this sign. “Can we speak…?” she asks. The words are not heard. She is met with authority. The sign doesn’t listen. It only speaks.

Religion, defined here as (1) “an institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices”, religion (2) without the breath of God blowing through the nuances, this religion1 arrests her enthusiasm.

And what do we do when the church expects us to be Martha? What do we do when we set aside everything of value in our lives and sit at the Teacher’s feet, and He is calling us to walk a new path, not to follow the footprints that tradition carved into the sand from thousands of past traveler’s feet?

What happens when God calls a woman in your church on an adventure outside the boundaries of how you expected her to serve in YOUR programs and initiatives?

What then, women and men in leadership, whom she longs to bow the knee before and to serve with love.

What then?

What will be their Master?

Will you open the door, church leaders, both men and women, who are both officially and unofficially recognized as such in the church? Will you listen to her enthusiasm with an openness to be convicted by Holy Spirit? What if your church programs aren’t ALL perfectly aligned with the heart of God for this season?

If what they say is outside the current scope of your existing programs and activities but you sense the breath of God, too, blowing your congregation in this new direction, then friend . . .

what (or who) will be your Master?

Are you WILLING to open another door, to encourage others to follow her, if your spirit also testifies within as she speaks what Holy Spirit has been whispering, as you (1) listen and (2) have an open mind to the new thing God may be doing in our midst?

Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination!

The Passion

(3) Will you encourage their flagging spirits?

That’s your job.

(4) Will you remove obstacles in their way?

Then sit back with a coffee and watch them soar. You did that, friend. You helped them fly.

Well done.

I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it?

The Passion

May she be set free, church.

And may you and your congregation follow.

A colorful macaw soars above blooming flowers.

Innocent, simple faith that believes what God says is real and that expects Him to do what He says He will do – that’s the mark of a mature believer, not complicated doctrine and fancy arguments.

John and Carol Arnott in Preparing for the Glory: Getting Ready for the Next Wave of Holy Spirit Outpouring

Photo Credits: Sunrise by Sefa Murat Özdemir on Unsplash, STOP! by Anwaar Ali on Unsplash, Many Doves Soaring In the Sunrise by ekrem osmanoglu on Unsplash, Another Bird Flying by Happysurd Photography on Unsplash

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1 Every man and woman inside the church has a tendency toward legalism as defined here. Let’s rid our hearts and our churches of it, friends. What is God whispering to your heart? If you are not currently connected with a church, please rebuke us. We need you, too. Let’s soar together, brothers, sisters, and new friends!

Adventure Himself is calling.

Can you perceive it?

The world has never needed more hope than to be encouraged by the transformation of others they can see when they lift their eyes.

The Best, Simple Way To Enjoy Church? Be A Jerk!

/ Lori Lawe / 6 Comments

a group of people standing around a cross with balloons

Putting lots of chickens into a cage, cutting off their beaks, and letting them defecate on each other for their entire caged lives because we prefer our chicken sandwich to cost $1.99 instead of $2.56 has, at times, been my church culture.

This financial choice is a particular “church culture”, not “Kingdom living”.

Kingdom living says:

Good people are good to their animals; the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them.

The Message

And so we dig deeper into our pockets, where it hurts, and place more coins on the counter for our lunch. OR heaven forbid, we eat a few more vegetables instead of another chicken sandwich because it’s cheaper than another piece of chicken, considering the actual cost of paying for cage-free birds.

This example is an aspect of a church culture (a common behavior) that I experienced many years ago, which I find frustrating.

Some of the very wise, and my heart goes out to you, dear friend, say, “That is not a healthy place,” and do not return to church. I do not blame you. I believe God does not blame you . . .

. . . though He is still pursuing you, dear friend.

Keep looking.

There are safe places to rest. But it might take a bit of seeking. And God will be (Sneakily!1) healing you as you seek a safe group of Jesus-seeking people to belong to. Who you started as won’t be the same person as who you end up as, which is half the joy of the process, actually.

And there will still be annoying parts of church culture to correct, no matter where you call home.

It’s the reason you’re there.

It’s the reason they need you.

Remember: Don’t just “fit in”! Disagree!

Be a jerk! Be you!

Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.

The Message

Been disgusted by Christian culture, or church culture, lately? I have too. Jesus was, too. His harshest comments were for the leaders of His church.

Ouch.

May our rears be sore from the spanking that Jesus gives us because it is better to have a sore rear than for our entire selves to be oozing pus from our unhealed diseases – the diseases of pride, love of money, prestige- that we are too proud to ask Jesus to heal.

However, within the mess and the brokenness of Christian culture, in pockets of beauty, is the joy of Christ’s message, called Kingdom living.

Thank you, Lord, for loving the mess that is your church, the mess that is me. Thank you that even here, in the charred remains of my heart, there lies an ember of love that you can fan into flame. Do your good work, dear Jesus. We pray to help us become Kingdom people, not merely robots of Christian culture.

Help those rightly offended by Christian culture to find a home in You, and with other broken people that You also (of course) love, we pray.

And friend, as you grow, learn, talk, and ask God (heaven forbid) for His perspective that is a BIT higher than ours, may you get a bit happier, too, as clearly proven HERE!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Photo Credit – Fun With Jesus And His Friends by BBC Creative on Unsplash

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1Oh. And a caveat about this approach is that you must be prepared for… clearing throat… you may be WRONG about ONE of the ideas you hold so dearly. For example, I am listening to a course on Food Ethics, and they are messing with my dogma. That’s when you MAY need some humility, BUT that is a later lesson, and I haven’t found any need to grow in that discipline yet.

How Not To Be A Jerk When You Homeschool AND How To Have An Awesome Year!

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
woman in black crew neck shirt

I have already written my best advice on this topic HERE, where I clearly explain that the way to sidestep being a complete JERK is to PRETEND to be someone you’re not.

Today, we continue the same theme with more helpful advice on how to NOT be a jerk when you Homeschool.

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I learned many of these lessons from my (failed) efforts to train my dog, and let’s face it, we all know that the lessons we learn from shepherding our pets can be directly applied without any variation at all to lessons about God and parenting.

I was running behind my dog, yelling STOP again as the door opened and a visitor stared wide-eyed as our tiny goldendoodle pounced toward him, intent on humping his leg (again). I chased the dog around the yard hollering at him to behave while our visitor watched, which is the usual routine whenever someone knocks on our door. I finally catch the dog and then explain that our dog had a bad night’s sleep, or an upset stomach, so that’s why he didn’t obey today, AS HE USUALLY DOES, OF COURSE.

So yeah, dog training is EXACTLY like parenting.

Which gently directs this conversation very naturally into parenting advice.

So, how do we not long to give up altogether on this Homeschooling adventure and toss them into public school and hope for the best, even though it may only be our first month or day of Homeschooling?

An excellent question, and that is the topic of today’s newsletter.

Here are my top three recommendations (with four more recommendations in the following newsletter) containing my best advice on how to have a fantastic time Homeschooling:

  1. Try to be someone else. See HERE or the first few paragraphs of this newsletter. (Note to my editor: Yes! I could edit this newsletter so that all of my advice is in one list, but editing is boring, and I have my Duo-lingo streak to maintain, in addition to this writing! I’m busy!)
  2. Have VERY low expectations. Most people have problems with Homeschooling simply because their expectations are too high. Looking to have a GREAT year (or even day) Homeschooling? We experienced Homeschooling ones are laughing our guts out, and the reason why is explained HERE. When your kids cry a bit, grab yourself a martini and read a magazine for a while until that passes! It’s just another Homeschooling day, friends!
  3. Keep the big picture in mind – This is why you have a manifesto. Then you can remember that playing Snakes and Ladders IS your top priority! (See the last bullet in Point #3 of THIS MANIFESTO for an explanation). She is your best friend, so squeeze moments of joy out of every moment someone isn’t crying, friend!

Join us next time for four more tips on having the best Homeschooling year you can (which means not a perfect year or that every day is fantastic, but we got through it, friends, and that’s what matters most!) Oh! I almost forgot the following quote!

Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. . . So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the . . . help.

The Message

So enjoy your transformation because you’ll find that many of your sharp edges fall off as you Homeschool because you will have to return to God on your knees, asking for help every day. (Do that too! It helps!)

A butterfly is flying over a piece of wood

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

Photo Credit – Mom Not Having The Best Day by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash, Butterfly by Lin Qiu Yi Wan on Unsplash

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You Need To Toss One Attitude To Hear Remarkable, Surprising Spiritual Things

/ Lori Lawe / 2 Comments

What happened that day astonished me, opened my eyes and heart to the possibility of a God in the universe, one with a heart of love, who stretches out His hand sometimes to protect me when needed.

That is precisely what happened that day over three decades ago.

At that time, I wasn’t sure what I thought about God, wondering if God was the ruler of one particular religion – and which religion, if so? Mostly, though, I didn’t think too much about God at all until that day. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about God.

That event opened a curtain into the window of the possibility of a spiritual dimension that I could enter through, if I wanted.

Whenever, though, they turn to face God . . . God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence

The Message

I walked past the veil, and since that day, I have never looked back, continuing my journey to know more and learn more about a God who stretches down His hand to give us a warm embrace.

And this is how He did it that day.

Except….

Insert that terrible sound when movies play in reverse, and we rewind the scene to an earlier part of the show.

I was seventeen when “it” happened, which ushered me into a thirsty quest for spiritual things.

I was quiet immediately after this event, not talking about the event with anyone but one person.

Why not? That is the subject of today’s newsletter. Why don’t you hear about the spiritual events in other people’s lives?

The clues are all around you, but you are blind to them, stepping on jewel after purple jewel, because no one shone them up for you, and they are so covered in the dust of life that they blend in with the dirt-colored stones around them.

No one told you their spiritual stories.

Why not?

You wouldn’t have believed them anyway.

This fact brings me to THE POINT of today’s newsletter: You have to believe to see.

Jesus looked her in the eye. “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

The Message

To even HEAR about the POSSIBILITY of spiritual things occurring in other people’s lives, you need to tune your ears to the radio frequency of the POSSIBILITY of God entering our world, both as a babe 2000+ years ago and as Holy Spirit whispering even now.

Do you believe?

Believe so that you may understand

Philosopher Augustine of Hippo, circa 400 A.D.

Good.

Then you can hear.

So, I will tell you my story next time.

Photo Credit – The Exchange by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash

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