Welcome to the P31 Encouragement for Today friends. I'm glad you're here. Here's more information about taming the mean girl inside us and a chance to win a book for you and a friend...
Yesterday we were driving back from the joy called Spring Break. All total we logged over 20 hours in the car since last Friday. It was family bonding at it's finest.
So, this is what I hear from the backseat:
Ashley: "Mom, Brooke just licked my hash brown! Ewwwwww!"
Me: "Brooke, why would you lick your sister's hash brown for heaven's sake?"
Brooke: "Because my arm hurts."
Me: "Oh. Well that just makes complete sense."
There may have been 127 other instances where the soundtrack of my life was, "Mom...she poked me and she is on my side and she just spilled her drink and she took my ipod."
And I may have wanted to jump in the back seat and remove every shred of candy from little tweenager people's hands and dump it out the window.
But I really didn't want my mean girl or my mean mommy to come out on the Easter holiday y'all.
So.
Do you ever struggle with the mean girl trying to come out? Or the mean mommy? Or the mean sister? Or the mean wife?
How is it I can be marching along to the sweetest tune and then veer off so suddenly into bad-attitude-ville?
I wish there was one simple fix it plan where if we follow three steps all mean tendencies would vanish as quick as the Easter candy from a whiny child's fingers. But that's not reality. If all we needed to follow was a plan, we'd have no need to follow Jesus.
And ultimately isn't that what life is supposed to show us- that we need to follow Jesus? So what does Jesus say about this? He says we must do three things. But these aren't three easy steps. They are three attitude shifts of the heart.
He says we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, (Matthew 16:24).
Deny myself...
I have to deny myself the momentary satisfaction of the quick comeback, the rude response, and the full out yelling. Over-sugared children can elicit craziness in a mama. Not that I have any sort of personal experience with these. No, not at all.
And if you believe that I've got some Easter candy off on the side of the road somewhere I could sell you.
Deny myself. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
Then I must take up my cross...
My cross. Stop the blaming and finger pointing and wishing everyone else would change... and see my sinful reaction as a negative contribution to the problem at hand. I must take my issues to His cross and see my sin for what it is- sin. And I must be disgusted enough by my sin to truly want to do something about it.
Take up my cross. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
Finally, I must follow Him...
Really follow Him. Follow who He is and how He is. I must close my mouth, pause long enough to let Him interrupt my eruption, and let His Spirit redirect me. Yes, my children need to be corrrected but I can let the consequences scream so I don't have to. Only a calm mama can think of rational, reasonable consequences that instruct.
Follow who He is and how He is. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
It's amazing how quickly my mean girl vanishes when I deny myself, admit my sin, and choose to let Jesus interrupt me.
Just don't be licking my hash brown if your arm starts hurting. Okay? I have to draw the line somewhere you know.
_____________________________________________________________ If keeping your mean girl from coming out is something you struggle with, I address this in more raw and gut honest detail in my book "Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl." Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below and you'll be entered to win 2 copies of the book- one to keep and one to share with a friend.
Yesterday we were driving back from the joy called Spring Break. All total we logged over 20 hours in the car since last Friday. It was family bonding at it's finest.
So, this is what I hear from the backseat:
Ashley: "Mom, Brooke just licked my hash brown! Ewwwwww!"
Me: "Brooke, why would you lick your sister's hash brown for heaven's sake?"
Brooke: "Because my arm hurts."
Me: "Oh. Well that just makes complete sense."
There may have been 127 other instances where the soundtrack of my life was, "Mom...she poked me and she is on my side and she just spilled her drink and she took my ipod."
And I may have wanted to jump in the back seat and remove every shred of candy from little tweenager people's hands and dump it out the window.
But I really didn't want my mean girl or my mean mommy to come out on the Easter holiday y'all.
So.
Do you ever struggle with the mean girl trying to come out? Or the mean mommy? Or the mean sister? Or the mean wife?
How is it I can be marching along to the sweetest tune and then veer off so suddenly into bad-attitude-ville?
I wish there was one simple fix it plan where if we follow three steps all mean tendencies would vanish as quick as the Easter candy from a whiny child's fingers. But that's not reality. If all we needed to follow was a plan, we'd have no need to follow Jesus.
And ultimately isn't that what life is supposed to show us- that we need to follow Jesus? So what does Jesus say about this? He says we must do three things. But these aren't three easy steps. They are three attitude shifts of the heart.
He says we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, (Matthew 16:24).
Deny myself...
I have to deny myself the momentary satisfaction of the quick comeback, the rude response, and the full out yelling. Over-sugared children can elicit craziness in a mama. Not that I have any sort of personal experience with these. No, not at all.
And if you believe that I've got some Easter candy off on the side of the road somewhere I could sell you.
Deny myself. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
Then I must take up my cross...
My cross. Stop the blaming and finger pointing and wishing everyone else would change... and see my sinful reaction as a negative contribution to the problem at hand. I must take my issues to His cross and see my sin for what it is- sin. And I must be disgusted enough by my sin to truly want to do something about it.
Take up my cross. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
Finally, I must follow Him...
Really follow Him. Follow who He is and how He is. I must close my mouth, pause long enough to let Him interrupt my eruption, and let His Spirit redirect me. Yes, my children need to be corrrected but I can let the consequences scream so I don't have to. Only a calm mama can think of rational, reasonable consequences that instruct.
Follow who He is and how He is. It's hard. But it is the way with Jesus.
It's amazing how quickly my mean girl vanishes when I deny myself, admit my sin, and choose to let Jesus interrupt me.
Just don't be licking my hash brown if your arm starts hurting. Okay? I have to draw the line somewhere you know.
_____________________________________________________________ If keeping your mean girl from coming out is something you struggle with, I address this in more raw and gut honest detail in my book "Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl." Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below and you'll be entered to win 2 copies of the book- one to keep and one to share with a friend.
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