unanswered prayers -or- withholding does not mean holding out

One technique that is frequently used in speech therapy is called "withholding."  It's one of the very first techniques that we learn in school.  And it's exactly what it sounds like... when a child is whining or reaching for something, you withhold the item and teach him how to request it with signs or with words.  Remember your mom saying, "I'm sorry, I can't read your mind... you have to tell me what you want"? ... keep reading... I promise I tie all this together...

Two Sundays ago, our pastor gave such a great sermon about unanswered prayers that I had to blog my sermon notes for future reference... as well as some side notes from myself.  Keep the "withholding" technique in mind.  He cited many scriptures about prayer and answers to prayers.... the famous "ask, seek, knock" passage in Matthew 7 and this one: 

Hebrews 4:15-16  New International Version (NIV) 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

These scriptures have been tossed at me, taken out of context all of my Christian life...  it's so easy to get jaded by God because even though Scriptures can imply that God will give us whatever we want if we just ask, so often we are left stomping our feet with our faces up towards Heaven, with a two-year-old scowl on our faces.  And the infamous question "Why, God?"  on our lips.  *guilty as charged*  Seriously, I am so guilty of doing this... "Lord, You said if I had faith of a mustard seed, You would move the mountain... and you didn't give me that new car I wanted!"  

I know that I've shared this story before, but it's so fitting here:  after I suffered a miscarriage, I sat on the couch lamenting to Heath in the kitchen about how I had prayed and how I felt God had let me down...  Heath suddenly stuck his head around the corner of the kitchen wall... "You know, maybe it's not that we serve a faulty God who can't answer our prayers... maybe it's that we've got a faulty theology when it comes to how He really operates." And even though we had come to this conclusion, our little puny human minds could not understand God's infinite wisdom.

Okay, back to what Keith said:  so Keith said (in a nutshell)... answered prayer has conditions... that we must pray according to His will ... we must pray with pure motives... and that He will always answer your prayers:  it just may not be the answer you were looking for... *I'll give you a moment to let that sink in*

During speech therapy, when I withhold from a child, I am not trying to be cruel or heartless... I am simply trying to convey, "Hey, I know that you've got more inside you than you are letting the world see... I am going to challenge you."  And so it is with God... He pushes us to places where we can see more of Him and experience more of Him.  I have to trust that He sees a bigger picture (so cliche, I know, but true).  

So my prayer for you, beloved, is that in this moment of unanswered prayers, that you feel His arms wrap around you... that You hear Him whisper to you... that You understand that He wants the absolute best for you.  

2 for 1: "what my mother told me" & "primal screams"

Part One: "what my mother told me"
A post on Facebook from The MOB society prompted this question: where do you, as a mother to boys, go for some down time?  This post just hit me in a spot that had been sore for weeks... between my 7 month old boy, my 5 year old boy, my husband, my job, my own postpartum issues and my other obligations, I have been drowning.  Throw in delaying grief of my grandfather's death (because I was pregnant when he passed) and the upcoming holidays,  I have been working hard to hold the dam of the tears to keep from erupting.... but I felt that I was about to burst wide open with all the pressure I felt mounting on me.  This past Friday, I thought I was going to break with it all... as much as I love every single bit about my life, there are seasons of so much busy-ness that I just get plumb over-stimulated by all the noise and movement.  My boys seem to thrive and become more energized by it all... I just have to work not to shut-down.  So I typed a frantic text message to my mother as I sat in the parking lot of the grocery store: "How in the world did you do it all when we were little?"  By the time I got home, she had written back, "close the doors to the bedrooms and the laundry room, and get on the floor and play with them... they won't be little for long."  

And I took a deep breath after I lugged everyone and everything into the house... I put the groceries up quickly... and I got on the floor and played with my boys.  Something broke in me at that moment.  

So where do I go for some down time?  In the midst of this wonderful mess of a life?  I guess I go into that place in my heart where I sit down and count my blessings and let go of all the rest....

Part Two: "primal screams"
I guess it's no wonder that I have two boys of my own.  The majority of my caseload is boys.  But I saw a transaction between my own two that solidified what I've known in theory about boys:  My oldest (stripped down to his skivvies) looked at his little bother (who was in nothing but his diaper) and just screamed this primal scream.  Before I could say, "sshh! you are making my ears bleed!"  my baby clamped his little hands into fists and bore out this weaker version, but just as passionate primal scream.  They went back and forth with these primal screams for several exchanges... And they both laughed and squealed.  They communicated and bonded in that moment in a kind of ritual that girls don't engage in.  And I thought about how things had changed between my first born and I after I got down on the floor and played with him on Friday... changed for the better.  And I thought about what I had learned in graduate school about learning styles and strengths in boys: how they are often more kinesthetic and tactile in their play and learning styles.  And I think I actually heard the light bulb ding on over my head... physically playing more with the boys = deeper bond with mommy 

spring cleaning in the fall -or- the "Follow Me" sermon series at Christ Community

This week is the start of my fall break at work... 3 blissful weeks of not working!  So what do I do?  Spring clean like I should have in the spring.  But Brick came in the spring so I out of commission.

Today, I tackled under my bed... the more stuff I pulled out, the more memories came.  Good memories, sad memories.  Lots of movies- and the memories associated with those times.  Despite the memories and all the dust stirred up, it was good to clean out and throw some things away.

"Why am I holding on to these things?"  I thought several times.

And then I thought about the sermons of the past few weeks at Christ Community...

- a call to come and die to self

- take up our crosses and follow Jesus

- to abandon our will to His and obey

But just like the reasons I had for holding on to all these things that were under my bed, I have reasons for holding on to spiritual things...

- I don't want to be a victim again

- I am scared of the pain

- I feel like I lack the resources to do what He has asked of me

I know that the Lord is saying to me TAKE MY YOKE AND YOU WILL FIND REST (Matthew 11:29).

I know that the Lord is saying to me to LIVE FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE.

I know that He is saying DO NOT BE AFRAID... THE BATTLE IS MINE.

It seems like every day, I have to go through this pep talk... reminding myself who God IS and who I am in HIM.  So I will just keep giving myself this pep talk every day... hopefully, it will become part of my spiritual DNA soon.  And while I chide myself for having to go through this same ole talk every single day... for allowing myself to get to this place over and over again... I do celebrate the fact that the Lord is gracious and merciful towards me... even if I wait until the fall to do my spring cleaning.

Love you anyway...

When Heath and I were first married, we argued like young married people do... and one time, after I apologized for my mistake, I said, "just love me anyway..."  So it's been a running thing with us when we make a mistake against the other... after the apology comes the "just love me anyway, okay?"

This past week, after Hero misbehaved, I put him to bed after disciplining him and I said, "You know that I love you anyway, right?"  Of course he doesn't... but I had to tell him that I still love him despite his actions.

Of course this made me think about how God love us anyway... despite making the same mistakes over and over again...

Then tonight, Hero jumped on me while I was sitting on the floor and said "I love you, Mommy!"
"Aw, I love you, too, Hero!"  I said.
"Yeah, Mommy, I love you anyway!"
I chuckled... "I'm glad you love me anyway... I get upset and tired a lot and I need you to love me anyway!"

"I don't know how"

So many things my son says to me reflect my own relationship with God the Father... and I just had to sit down and type this one out so I don't forget it.... ever....

He woke up with this punk attitude.  Probably because he didn't get enough sleep last night.  So I was correcting him for the 100th time this morning and I said, "you aren't showing me the Fruits of the Spirit, are you?'   He held his little hands up in a shrug and said, "but I don't know how."

Duh, I said to myself.  I can barely display the Fruits of the Spirit myself... how can I expect him to?  

Above and beyond all the other theological discusses I could insert here, this is the one I am going for today: why do I expect my child to be born with this perfect behavior?  Like since he's born into a Christian home, he will automatically act like he should?  

So here's the morale of this revelation for today, boys and girls: Christ is gentle and loving towards me in all the mistakes that I've made in my life... He has been faithful to bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit in my own life so that my quality of life has improved... and only just recently at that.  (Why have I ever been fooled into thinking that when I accepted Christ, I automatically knew how to be a Christian?) 

And I'm not trying to say that it's okay to act however we want to act.  Paul warned us against this mentality in Romans 6- "what shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!" 

My point is this:  my son(s) don't know how to be a Christian... it's my responsibility to teach them.  

say it again...

Even as I try to type this out, my almost-5-year-old son is at my elbow talking to me.  He talks non-stop and my almost-4-month-old is already a chatterbox... which is great in some ways... but when I am trying to concentrate on something or have an adult conversation, it gets in the way.  so...many...questions... I get sensory overload at it all sometimes, to be honest.

The flipside of this coin is that I have to say the same thing 50 times and sometimes sign for him to get what I am saying to him...  and this is where most ladies would insert some kind of joke about men not listening... ha, ha, ha... but I'm not... because the truth of the matter is that this just convicts me of something in my own relationship with my Heavenly Father... like how I like to tell Him all kinds of stuff and not listen to what He is trying to tell me....

I know that He is constantly trying to calm my fears and soothe my anger and just encourage me, but I'm too busy complaining about it.

Lord, help me to hear Your voice in this noisy world.  

IEP writing -or- finding the strength in the weakness

So if you know me, you know that I work as a Speech-Language Pathologist.  I work with school-aged kids who have a variety of medical diagnoses and a variety of communication disorders.  Some can't say the "r" sounds.  Some can't answer questions.  For every Individualized Education Plan, I have to include a statement about the child's strengths as well as their weaknesses.

On Sunday (give me a minute, I will tie this in, I promise), I went to pick up Son No. 1 from his class after service.  As I approached the door, I heard his voice raised and rough, "THAT IS NOT MINE!"  I did not hear the teacher's reply.  Oh, Lord, I prayed, what has he done?  When I opened the door, I saw that Son No. 1 was calm and smiling; the teacher was smiling at him... I put on a tight smile, ready for a report: "Hello!  How's it going?"

His sweet teacher looked up at me.  "You know," she started, "I just love his passion!"

"His passion?!" I laughed.  "Yeah, that's a nice way of putting it."

She related the story to me that she had handed the wrong set of papers to Son No. 1 and he vehemently exclaimed, "THAT IS NOT MINE!"  I looked down at Son No. 1: "really," I started to scold, "all you have to do is say nicely, 'Those aren't my papers.'  You don't have to get loud about it."

I looked up with an apology on my lips, but his sweet teacher chuckled, "no, really, he is so passionate!  And so sweet!  I just love that boy!"

I laughed.  I said, "He has such a temper and we are constantly working with him about it... but yeah, I guess that's one way look to at it that way-- maybe start working his temper into more appropriate indignation?"  I smiled weakly, but I walked away pondering this exchange.  All week, I've been thinking about this exchange.  And feeling a bit convicted.

Why is it so easy for me to look at other people's kids and be able to see their strengths?  And why is it so hard for me not to do this with my own almost-school-aged boy?  I've always wanted to be so careful to raise him with a healthy dose of self-esteem and not beat him down...

So I've been praying for the Lord to help me see Son No. 1's weaknesses as potential strengths... as well as Son No. 2 as he grows out of infancy into toddler-hood.  Instead of snapping a direction toward Son No. 1, taking the time to shape the behavior into something that could be used to further the Kingdom one day.

What are some "negative" behaviors you see in your kids that could be used for good one day?  I need some help in what some of our "negatives" can be shaped in to!