Children are great avenues by which to learn. I often observe the lovely little people the Lord has placed in my life to learn more about human nature, myself, and God’s heart. When children are disobedient and deal with the consequences of that decision, as an adult it is easy for us to think well, “you did decide to disobey.” But are we as conscious of the consequences in our lives that are a result of sin in our own heart camps? Are we as ready to admit the validity of the situation? If children are not a medium by which you learn, the Lord gave us scripture which is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training us in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

I am dedicating this week's post to join together in prayer for the people of Ukraine. When two or more gather in Jesus' name He is in their midst. Holding on to this promise, I am asking you to read the following prayer and join me in crying out, to our Lord, that He may intercede on behalf of His people. This has nothing to do with politics or who is right or wrong. This has everything to do with the fact these are people that our loving God gave His one and only son for that they may have life and life more abundantly. 

My husband often shakes his head with laughter as he anticipates my response to his proposal to go out to a new restaurant for dinner, without fail I ask "What is the expected attire?" See, I really do not like to be over dressed or under dressed for any occasion. I want to blend in and not draw attention. I also want to appear like I knew where I was going, lol! Unfortunately, this does not always pan out for me. Sometimes circumstances and familiar locations can cause me to miss what is actually going on if I do not slow down and really take account. 

How we see ourselves impacts every fabric of our lives. This is why I think it is so important to learn and understand our true identity. God our creator along with the Holy Spirit and Jesus, in the book of Genesis, said “ Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth.”  Do you know you were made in the image of the God of the universe? Did you know you bear the resemblance of Jesus Christ and the ability to be a truth speaker like the Holy Spirit? When I learned this truth for the first time and even still today when I am reminded that I was created in the image of the living God I sit a little taller. I receive clarity of mind and purpose. And then I ask how and why?!

Ever stay up all night watching over someone? I remember the first night, my son, Sasha was in my custody. I sat up just looking at him while he slept. I was in awe of all the Lord had done to bring us together. I was also looking out for the night tremors people told me to expect, because it was common for newly adopted children to wake up scared and disoriented. I also remember the first night caring for my first newborn son at home. Watching over him making sure he was still breathing and did not roll over or get tangled up in his swaddle. I even remember the nights staying up watching over my Abuela to make sure she did not get up in the middle of the night and wander. Through all these times there are some consistent threads: fear, anxiousness, and lack of sleep leading to exhaustion and burn out. Oh how I am so thankful God is not man that He should need sleep!