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"Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38 I was writing love to my kids on the driveway this afternoon: “I <3 Eden,” “I <3 Josie,” “I <3 Kinley.” Eden thought she was so funny, pouring streams of water over every instance of her name. She would shriek and laugh as I came after her declaring, “I guess I have to write it again now!” This went on probably four or five times. She would erase, I would write. She would erase, I would write. It got me thinking: God’s love is written over our lives, over us, but not in chalk - in permanent marker. Our names are engraved on His nail-scarred hands (Isaiah 49:16). We are marked by the Holy Spirit; signed and sealed - "nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38). Try as we might to douse His love or run from it or reverse it, we will fail time and time again. He will write love on our lives again and again, and the ink with which He writes lasts for eternity - it cannot be removed. May we rest in His love and rejoice that He writes our names on the palm of His hand. We will never be forgotten or forsaken - we are seen, known, and loved. May we not forget it - may we live loved, depending on Jesus to remind us of the Truth and reminding our children daily of this Love that will never falter or fail.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 It feels like my kids have been sick nonstop over the course of the past year. It seems that adding a third child into the mix has caused every sickness to circle around our family and stick around longer than we’d like. This has led to more time at home than I hoped for and countless cancelled playdates, but it has forced me to learn this lesson the hard way… Hold every plan with an open hand (every. single.plan.). Hold them lightly, surrender them willingly - for your plans are held by His hands. He knows what you need today. He knows what your child needs. He knows your stage and your season and your reasons. He cares about your desires - but he cares more deeply about your needs. And sometimes... you need to be interrupted. You need to be inconvenienced. You need to be reminded that you are not in control. It doesn’t feel good - in the moment, it’s hard to swallow. The fever, the meltdown, the nap schedule gone awry. The realization that the day is going in a different direction than originally intended. But His plan always reigns and rules - despite the day we envisioned for or the one that was our reality, His plan remains supreme. So may we stretch out our hands and surrender our schedules, relinquishing control and receiving His provision. We will find Him to be sufficient, giving us grace for each day, as we depend fully on Him.

"You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2 There is this lie of the world that is the root of much discontentment and unrest: My satisfaction is directly related to my circumstances. As Christians we cannot claim that we always live above this lie. We are as guilty as the world of chasing the next thing, the newer thing, whatever will promise us more, better, or best. And as moms…we struggle. Our circumstances feel overwhelming, our schedules are constantly shifting, and the seasons stretch out before us. It is a daily battle for contentment and against comparison as we observe the lives of those around us both online and in person. It will do us good to read Psalm 16 and to be reminded of who God is and challenged to live resting and rejoicing in Him alone. David begins the Psalm, “I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing,’” (Psalm 16:2). The words on our lips are important - Jesus reminds us in Matthew 12:34, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” How do we speak and how does that reveal our intentions, our desires, our idols? We need to preach and proclaim this to ourselves without ceasing: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” David continues, “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (v. 5-6). God is our Provider and Protector - security and satisfaction come only from Him. He has provided everything that I need for right now. He has not accidentally given what was supposed to be mine to someone else. What is our perspective as we look at our lives? Do we believe that the boundaries that God has put around us are “pleasant”? We are all limited in a variety of ways - we have been gifted specific strengths and weaknesses, finite capacities, bounded resources. Will we choose to live within our limits? With joy? Finally, David declares, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (v. 11). God wants to bless us - eternally, abundantly, joyfully. He does not keep good from us - He preserves good for us. He is not a God who withholds but One who satisfies fully and completely. Will we trust Him to do so? May we declare it with our lives and our lips alongside David: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

"On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided." Genesis 22:14 We are in a season of waiting on the Lord in a few areas of life, specifically asking for His provision. We are praying, asking for wisdom, and reminding ourselves that we serve a God who holds all things in His hands. And yet, He is reminding me that I have a part to play, too. I am called to pray, yes, but also to participate - to take steps forward in obedience even if the destination isn’t clear, the outcomes are unknown, and sacrifices are required. I am realizing that we may have to do hard things before we see His provision - that we may have to persevere and muster up energy we didn’t foresee exerting as we climb the mountain before us. And this is not because God is withholding from us, but because He is calling us to greater trust, beckoning us to take a step out of the boat. He is not withholding but rather with us, holding us, growing and molding us. And really, if anyone is withholding anything it is us - withholding our trust, our resources, or hearts, our hands. Constantly grasping and trying to figure things out on our own rather than surrendering freely to the Father. And so we will continue to wait, but also to participate. To observe what God is doing but also to be obedient in what He is asking of us. Like Abraham climbing the mountain with his son - his only son, God’s promised son - the wood on his back, the tears streaming and throat catching and hands trembling. For us Mamas, the sacrifice asked of him was unthinkable, and yet Abraham trusted. He put one step in front of the other. And he saw God’s timely provision in exactly the form that was needed - a ram caught in the thicket. The ultimate relief and rejoicing. And then, there was blessing - abundance even above and beyond God’s perfect provision: “'I swear by myself', declares the LORD, 'that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me'" (Genesis 22:16-17) We see in Abraham’s story the ultimate outcome of obedience: blessing. His obedience impacted not only his own life but the lives of many to come - generations who would be fruitful and multiply and praise the Lord. Obedience yields provision, but even beyond that, favor and blessing and richness that we could not ask for or imagine (and I'm not necessarily talking wealth, although God can bless in that form if He so desires....no prosperity gospel here, folks. I'm thinking more like joy and peace and intimacy with the Father that comes only as we obey and seek His face). So here we stand, waiting and praying on the bottom of the mountain. Asking ourselves if we are withholding anything from God and wondering in what form His provision will arrive. Trusting that in our obedience and surrender, there will be blessing and abundance to come. May we take this same posture in our motherhood: surrendering all things to the Lord (even our children!!!) and trusting that the Lord is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. I trust that we will see His blessing as we trust and obey. “Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” (John H. Sammis, “Trust and Obey”)

I sent her my sincere apology that another job opportunity had fallen through, assuming she'd be discouraged and downcast in her continuing unemployment. She responded simply, confidently, calmly: "Another chance to see God come through!" Another chance to see God come through - her words stuck with me. Whatever trial I'm facing: another chance to see God come through! My heartache over brokenness this side of heaven: another chance to see God come through! Another mundane morning at home: another chance to see God come through! Every diagnosis or disappointment: another chance to see God come through! This phrase has the potential and the power to alter perspective, to offer unending hope, to redirect the trajectory of a life. I must teach my soul to believe it and repeat it in the midst of darkness and despair...another chance to see God come through! "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:11