it.is.finished.

this world bombards women on all sides..guilt if you stay at home and don't bring in money..guilt if you go to work and don't stay home..guilt if you send your kids to day care...guilt if you don't send them for enrichment early..guilt if you send them upstairs for rest time..guilt if you don't let them have independent play..guilt if you wash the dishes and turn your back while they play alone..guilt if you leave a pile of dishes in the sink while you play with them...guilt if you let your kids watch tv..guilt if you don't let your kids experience technology...

being a woman means having to have an answer for everything you choose to do and everything you choose not to do..IT.IS.EXHAUSTING. or is it?

So when I read this article floating around Facebook called, "Hands Free Mama"..I added one more thing to my list of things that I could feel guilt about.  geeesh!  Let me just say right up front that I definitely need to repent of spending mindless time in front of my iPhone screen..while my kids are playing..while I could be talking to them..Jackson has even said, "Mommy, will you listen to me?"  I for sure have some work to do with being more hands on with my kids.

When I need answers on how to think..I try to default to scripture.  What does God think about my role as a woman/wife/mother?  I know iPhones weren't invented back then..and maybe there are a lot of cultural jobs that don't translate into now..but what is important to Christ?

This is what Christ has called us to..straight from Proverbs 31.
noble character, lacking no value, brings family good, eager to work, thoughtful, works vigorously, strength, kind to those less fortunate, confidence in the Lord's protection of her family, profitable for her family, dignity, wise, shares faithful instruction, isn't idle, fears the Lord...

My iPhone assists me in relating to this world..it is helpful in assisting me with completing the tasks that Christ has called me to do..it is not sin..it will not make you a better mama if you don't have one. It is idleness, laziness, obsession with a thing that is sin.  Repent...turn away and fall into Jesus who knows that you aren't going to do everything perfectly...Talk about your tendencies towards sin to your children, to your husband..to your friends. Share with them that you fall short and that Christ loves you and fills that gap.

Who can illustrate the character of Christ perfectly?  Christ.  Who do I claim when I am not noble, when I lack value, when I bring my family evil, when I am not eager to do the work, when I am lazy, and weak, and thoughtless..when I fear and doubt Christ's protection of my family, when I am idle...when I lack wisdom...I turn away from the sin that so easily entangles me and I turn to Christ who loves me.  No.room.for.guilt.  Jesus freed us from the guilt of our sin when he died in our place on the cross.

Let's not beat each other over the head with how short we fall and perpetuate the guilt that so easily brings us to a place of helplessness..let's point each other toward the One who conquered sin and said, "It.is.finished." (john 19:30)

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character


10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

right to the heart of the matter

I love this below chapter from the devotion book I am reading right now...It is just so perfect at describing exactly where I am right now.  I can feel the war inside of my soul right now..I can really see/feel the strong contrast between the light of Christ and the darkness of my sin..I am very aware of many areas of sin that I am holding onto.  I have just come to a place of prayer and constant repentance..filling my airspace with Christ, so that the sin can't breathe...as I live second by second with the awareness of how far short I fall.

Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by: Paul David Tripp
page 59 in Ch. 18 Unfailing Love
I wish I would live with You in view;
Eyes to Your glory
Ears to Your wisdom
Heart for your grace.
But I live with me in view.
Eyes to my kingdom
Ears for my opinion
Heart captured by my will.
I know I was made for You,
I know that Hope
Meaning
Purpose
Identity
My agenda for every day,
Is to be found in You.
But I want my own kingdom
I love my own glory
I define my own meaning
I delight in my control.
I know You are not fooled
By my burnt offerings.
There's a war that never ends:
The battleground is my heart.
It's a moral skirmish
Between what You have ordained
And what I want.
So I don't find pleasure in Your glory,
I don't delight in Your law.
But my heart doesn't rest;
I know there's a better way.
I know You are God
And I am not.
My sin is more than
Bad behavior
A bad choice
Wrong words.
My sin is a violation of the relationship
That I was meant to have with You.
My sin is an act
Where I replace You
With something I love more.
Every wrong thing I do
Reflects
A lack of love for You,
Reflects
A love of self.
Help me
To see
To acknowledge
To weep
And say,
"Against You, You only have I sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight."
And then help me to rest
In Your mercy
In Your tender mercy
In Your faithful love,
Even as the war goes on.

What thing in life do you tend to want so badly that it tends to control you more than God's call, God's grace, God's glory, and God's kingdom?

What does it look like to embrace God's mercy and faithful love in the midst of the war?