Thursday, January 3, 2013

Four little words.

Hello Friends.
I hope that this first week of the new year find everyone happy and healthy.

The last two months have been a bust as far as blogging goes, but I am really hoping to change that in the coming months. I have had so many wonderfully memorable moments with my family that I should have posted, as well as lots of handmade goodness that I wanted to share and never got around to. I blame it on two things really...

One is that we are moving soon!! It has been over a year since we began planning to move into a larger home a few towns over...and now we are literally only a month and a half away! I am so excited. Knowing that there is a move in our future has put me in a total state of distraction. My mind is constantly swirling with so many thoughts...paint colors, floor samples, moving dates, etc...

Also, little boy has become quite the mover and my days are literally flying by as I chase him around from one activity to the next... the stage we are in now is by far the most challenging and most rewarding phase we have encountered as parents so far. Lots and lots of hugs and kisses are getting doled out, along with lots of, "No, don't touch that", and "get that out of your mouth!"... ahh the fun has just begun:)

As I have struggled to mentally juggle all these changes in the past few weeks, I have found myself lying awake at night for hours, mulling over all the things I "need" to do. I write to-do lists as long as my arm and obsess over every detail of what I hope to complete before our baby arrives this spring.

One night last week I read a few words in a daily devotional that stopped me in my tracks. I had been tossing and turning for a few hours prior to reading them...

"You will not find my Peace by engaging in excessive planning; attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. This is a commonly practiced form of unbelief."

(Sarah Young, Jesus Calling)

I know that my need to control the future is what leads me to excessive planning, list making, and worrying. I often fail to see it for what it truly is...a form of unbelief. Unbelief that God will take care of the future, unbelief that He will cause everything to work together for good if I trust Him...the list continues.

My heart's desire is to experience Christ's peace and joy, and to be a conduit of His love to my family, and yet I choose to worry and over-plan instead. His peace will only come if I surrender my list making and worrying to Him. So in this new year, I have four little words I want to accomplish...



It is my prayer that God will give me the grace to enter into this new season without worry or fear, and that my heart would be so steadied in Him that my plans would loose their importance in the wonder of who He is and what He has done for us.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:6-7

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. "
Psalms 127:1-2
 

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.
A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:3, 9

Happy New Year Everyone! May you experience the peace and grace of the Lord in your life this year!

The Lettered Cottage

4 comments:

  1. Love your choice of words. I should adopt this myself as I tend to plan and plan and plan some more:-) I hope the best for you in the New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Patty! As a habitual over-planner too, I need to constantly remind myself of these words...hehe

    blessings to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Adriane, I'm Caitlin's friend Kat! I was looking at your shout out to Caitlin's Etsy shop in the post before this one and saw this post.
    Wow. You never know who needs to hear what you have to say, and I think this is a great example of it. These words stopped me in my tracks today:
    "You will not find my Peace by engaging in excessive planning; attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. This is a commonly practiced form of unbelief."
    I needed, NEEDED, to see that. There couldn't be more perfect timing to come across those words and the verses below it. There have been many things on my mind lately about planning for the future and I love the perspective.

    Thank you! Keep up your great work and writing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kat!! I am so glad you came across my blog on the exact day you needed encouragement! and I am glad I am not the only one who needs to remind myself of these things! I hope you are doing well and that you are having a stress-free, peaceful week!
      blessings to you!

      Delete

Hey everyone!!
Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and feel free to leave a message!! I would love to hear from you!

=)Adriane