My Joy

So I was sitting in the van Monday afternoon in the "car rider" line at Jeremiah's school. We always arrive a little early on Mondays and play on the playground. It had rained quite a bit so it was too wet to play. It was nice to just sit a relax for 20 minutes. The girls played in the back and I was making some notes for a blog entry as I reflected back over the past week. It was all about the peace and contentment I feel right now. I wrote, "I am living like I am in love. It is amazing. I am floating." A few songs had played that afternoon that created a time of worship while I taxied the kids around town.

"Waves of Mercy" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgf1YzscBlE

"Hope Now" by Addison Roads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwdXqDYfBYQ

"You are Everything" by Matthew West

"At Your Name (Yahweh Yahweh)" by Phil Wickham

I made a list of all the wonderful things that were on my heart.

- We had a great 7th birthday party for Jeremiah Saturday. We had lots of friends over and made homemade cake and ice cream to share with everyone. At the last minute we ran into Caroline and Eli (friends in the kids' class at church) and they were able to come too. It provided a break for the young couple that was taking care of them for the week while their mom was away.

- Lydia started saying bubble over and over.

- It was pay day and I paid all the monthly bills and we had a refrigerator/freezer full of groceries.

- We provided the date (dinner and movie) for the parents of our adopted family Sunday afternoon. We were finished in time for me to go to my basketball game where I made the winning shot for my team.

- I had a little time to relax Monday morning after such a busy weekend and week before.

- I acknowledge the crazy hasn't gone away. There hasn't been some huge change in our situation. There is just an overwhelming peace from God that he has a hold of me so I can let go completely.

Jeremiah climbed into the van a few minutes after 3:00 right after I finished this list. His response to my "Hi Buddy, how was your day?" was "I got a pink note and I didn't do anything wrong." Pink notes are not good! They are a message from the teacher explaining some inappropriate behavior. We have to discuss what happened, sign and return the note the next day. In this case Jeremiah had talked too much and too loudly during reading centers and failed to complete his work. He decided to deceive his teacher by throwing his work in the trash to make it appear as though he had finished it. Not sure why he told me he didn't do anything wrong, but I think we all trick ourselves into believing that sometimes.

Was this a test? I was just rejoicing about the peace of God resting on me. I was floating on cloud nine because of his goodness and mercy. Do I still have that peace in the midst of this parenting storm?

I was angry I admit. We had some heated discussion about his bad choices. God hates lying and we want to obey God, I reminded him. And we talked about the importance of telling the truth and being honest at all times. Jeremiah had to complete his assignment at home and I made him write a note to his teacher apologizing for his behavior. Tyrone had him out in the yard running and carrying rocks for 30 minutes before dinner. We wanted him to understand the seriousness of lying. Then it was finished. We moved on and enjoyed the rest of our evening before bedtime. No hard feelings all is forgiven.

I am reading the book "The Search for Significance" and chapter 4 was about justification. The final word in the study guide for that chapter was...

"Justification is the great doctrine that is the bedrock of our self-worth: "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1). To be justified means to be placed in right standing before God. But what exactly does this mean? Justification is the judicial act of God by which He declares us free from the guilt of sin. All the sin we will ever commit has already been forgiven. To be justified means that the blight of our sin has been removed and that we have been completely cleansed by the blood of Christ. God sees us this way at this very moment! However, as marvelous as that is, justification means more than being forgiven. God not only forgives our sinfulness, but He also provides our righteousness. Righteousness is the worthiness to stand in God's presence with out fear of personal condemnation because He has imputed the very righteouseness of Christ to us."

Thank you God! It doesn't mean everything will be perfect or we won't mess up, but when we do YOU have already covered it and you see Jesus' righteousness in me. That truth is enough to keep me rejoicing in the good times and bad.

Philippians 4:4-9 says "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."