Sitting in my front room last week, I was overcome with fear. My reaction to fear is anger. I was fuming!

Two minutes before the phone rang, I told our children to go pray for their Daddy, and they did.

As I pace back and forth, I glance into the other room and there are five heads bowed, knees bent. 

The call came. 

I always miss the point. I am mis.er.a.ble at getting the point.

I took note, but it wasn't until later on that day that it hit me...hard.

I told my children to pray for the answer we wanted and when it wasn't, I panicked. I failed.

 Did I just teach my children that when we get a different answer to our prayers than desired, that God isn't in control? I think I did. 

Good thing I have children who follow Christ to remind that He is in control. In fact my seventeen year old man child told me that God has a plan and I need to trust in Him. 

Whoever raised that kid needs an award. Just kidding it's all Jesus. 

During the following week God kept reminding me of His love and provision over my family. I am so ashamed and grateful that God Almighty the creator of the world would remind me that

HE LOVES ME.

I should have been along side my kids with knees bent, and I should have rejoiced when the answer was different because

 God is always good.

 When the cancer doesn't go away, when the bank repossesses, when the call comes. He is still good. 

I didn't stay in the Word much the week before and my focus was off of God. If I truly love Him, then my focus needs to stay on Him. Love is an action not a word...I preach that here at the S house often. You should come listen sometime...bring your tithe. kidding, again.

Francis Chan writes that "Worry and stress reek of arrogance". 

God can handle it, and He intends to do just that as soon as we give our burdens to Him.

Be strong and courageous; don't be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 3:16

Love,

Erica

Kingdom woman

When a kingdom woman begins her day, heaven, earth, and hell take notice. –KW

That is the first line in a book I am currently reading. I read it and closed the book. I did that because I wake up in the morning and drink coffee.  I’m pretty sure no one notices except my husband…and that is because he brings me the coffee. He is so brave (and smart).

I took that line from the book and thought about it for a few days (2 weeks) before opening the book.

It took 2 minutes for me to desire to want to be a kingdom woman. It took the rest of the days for God to help me understand what I needed to do to get there.

If I had actually just read on for a page or two I might have already figured it out.

I wonder if Jesus sometimes face-palms Himself when He is dealing with me. I do that to my kids sometimes when I am teaching Algebra.

 

Sometimes I do dances from the 90’s when my kids get the answer right.

 I’m pretty sure Jesus does that too. Maybe.

The basis of how a kingdom woman comes out of her fear of God. How she prioritizes her home and family, organizes her life, makes decisions, chooses investments, and develops her skills comes from her efforts to advance God’s kingdom. If her priorities are rooted in anything else, they will lead to weariness and busyness rather than fruitfulness and abundance.

The simplest way I know to define what it means to fear God is to take God seriously. It means to place what God says and what and what God requires as the highest priority in your life. Fearing God does not mean you are scared of Him. Fear is better understood as reverence or awe. It means to hold in the highest esteem. A kingdom woman fears the Lord in every area of her life.

The marketplace does not control a woman who fears God. The television, magazines, blog, and social media sites do not influence her away from Him. Her friends don’t dictate her emotions or decisions. The culture doesn’t define her. Even her own ambitions don’t dominate her. Rather, the primary influence in a kingdom woman’s life is God. His voice is the loudest. He is the One he seeks to please. Her reverence of Him determines her choices.-_KW

No one can see my that my cup overfloweth because my plate is piled so high with stuff!  

It’s time that I scrape it off a bit.

It will be a newly learned discipline for me to conquer my “stuff”…and discipline takes Jesus.

This is what must happen in my life in order for me to become a kingdom woman. OK, fine… this is the first thing that has to happen in my life to set me in the right direction in becoming a kingdom minded woman.

Less me, more Jesus.

Love,

Erica

Interested in the book?  Women click here   men click here 

Reference:

Evans, Tony and Hurst, Chrystal. Kingdom Woman (Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. )p. 17, 19-20

Janice Ruth

Hey, you.

Yeah, you. The Mom that thinks she blew it today. And pretty much everyday, too.


I just wanted to tell you something...

Great Moms get overwhelmed.


We feel like we've failed a bit here and there don't we? Every single day.

Back up 25 years or so, OK 30. I remember watching my Mama lay in the kitchen floor and kick and scream. I just stood there with scissors in one hand and half of my hair in the other wondering why she was acting ,well, crazy.
I wanted to be like my beautician Mama, so badly. I wanted  to "cut" hair.

Funny, I could have never cut a single hair in my life and still be so much like her. I didn't know that then.

I spent so much of my "almost" adult life (you know when your between the age 20-30 years old) blaming my meltdowns on my Mama.  The good ol' "that's how I was raised" mentality.

The truth?

I was raised with a Mama who became overwhelmed because she loved me too much not too. She was at every event I ever participated in. She even spent more money (that we didn't have) on groceries at the nicer store because it was my first job. Just to see me.  I remember her being there for every single highlight of my life.

And EVERY single failure too.

You see it is not on you, Mom, what decisions your children make or how your children turn out. What IS up to you is to guide them to Jesus. Teach them to listen for His voice in all things.

You will always fail, every single day. But God never fails.

I believe this is what Peter meant when he told us to cast all of our cares on Him, for He cares for you
 (1 Peter 5:7).

Parenting is not a job you have to do alone. God understands, He is a parent.

I want my kids to know how much Jesus loves them and they can't see Him if I am in the way. This motivates me to be more patient, kind, and merciful; and to pray more.

Some days I only get time to pray one single word before the next bit of chaos ensues. God honors that one word.

God blessed me with Children, not so that they would be successful by this world's definition. He gave them to me so that they may know Him.

So, Mom.

 Less Mom, more Jesus! (that also may mean less stuff, more time *cough* *cough*)

Your doing GREAT!

Love,
Erica

P.S. My mama was saved some time after the hair cutting incident. They say in some cases you have to hit "rock bottom" before you come to know Christ. I'm pretty sure Julie, Michael and I were standing there holding shovels when she hit. I love you, Mama!

Clean hands, dirty heart

I often say I want to go to Africa on a missions trip. My heart for orphans is a broken one.

I like to think of myself walking around hugging and holding precious children, feeding them and singing to them.

Mama.

Tonight I sat in my Bible study party and stared over at a homeless girl that my friend had brought along; she picked her up from the shelter a little earlier that day.

By the evenings end I had watched her cry several times over her children being taken away. I know what desperation looks like. She was desperate.

It was 11 pm and there we sat opening up our hearts and sharing our testimony with her.

I finally get it. I love Jesus. I know that each day I grow closer to Him. But I never got it until tonight.

You see, I had several thoughts tonight as we sat sharing a meal.

One of them being... "what if she has some type of infection or communicable disease and we are eating after one another."

I am ashamed of that thought.

I sat there crying with her some time later and holding her hand. In those few moments, Jesus spoke right to my heart.

Beloved, do not fear what can kill the body...only the soul.

I had so many revelations in that.

Did I think that I could go to Africa and pick up a child from a place that wasn't infested with disease and maggots?

Can I show the love of Christ without getting my hands dirty?

Can I tell Ashley that Jesus loves her and lives in me without embracing every bit of her?

And then it came over me like a rush of wind. Jealousy.

I was jealous of her. Jesus came for her. The dirty, broken, suffering, and infected.

And if He came today I would just be a part of the crowd

 and He would pass me by.

It only takes a little pride to become a Pharisee.

After we prayed Ashley asked for a minute to thank the Lord for the blessing of us ladies there praying and leading her to Christ.

We were not the blessing in that room.

If you are in the Clarksville area and would like to help others like Ashley, click here.

Please keep Ashley in your prayers, and me too.

Love,
 Erica

14 days

A few years back my husband began a new tradition for us in our marriage by the name of "14 days".

I have to tell you that selfishly, I adore the "14 days" of Valentines. I look forward to it more than all holidays combined! (If you know me, and understand my love for Christmas then you understand how HUGE that last statement was).

OK, so let me explain how it works.

Each day from Feb 1 to Feb 14 a small token of appreciation/affection is given. It can't be an expensive gift...which makes it much more fun!

And Challenging.

I woke up dancing this morning folks, and saying YAY! repeatedly. It's almost enough to make you sick.

BUT

This year I've decided to play the game back.

So this morning's YAY! was two fold (helping with the nausea?)

Listen, you've got kids,pets,bills,housework...work. All those responsibilities can get in the way of  one of our most important tasks. To nurture our marriages.

This is why I get so excited. Because for two weeks we make a point to give small tokens of appreciation, adoration and even thanks. Because we all could use a little more "thanks", couldn't we?

I could tell you that everyday should be the 14 days, and yes you are right. They should be. But in all honesty...they're not. We're human. We get weary and we even forget. (we are too busy but that's another blog post)

Here's some good news...it actually lingers on into the relationship. It refreshes us and reminds our hearts.

IT BLESSES US.

SO the reason for this post is not so I can tell you this and that be the end.

I challenge YOU.

I challenge you twice if your marriage is failing. (click here) and here.

Please don't leave your laptop up so your spouse can see this...this is for YOU.

Single?

I hope you accept my challenge regardless of your emotions or circumstance.

I pray it brings you joy!

If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to inbox me privately.


Love,
Erica

And so it begins...

Busy day. Loud day. The kind of day when everything runs together into one BIG mess.

I didn't even realize how chaotic it really was until I stepped off the porch into complete silence. I don't even remember hearing a car passing by. (strange around here)

I took advantage of the quiet and began to pray softly as I walked towards the mailbox. I have learned that when you have a busy household it is best to take advantage of the little jewels of quiet. Placed here and there and sometimes hard to find, never-the-less they are there.

Many times in my life I have been an Abraham. Taking control of the situation and not waiting on God, because I didn't trust Him.

I'm hard headed. I chose to learn things the hard way. Eventually, I got tired and learned to just be still when I am told to do so.

As in don't try to figure this out Erica, just be still and know that I am God.

I've been anxiously waiting (hey, it counts as still) a prompting to let me know when it was time to begin to prepare for the next season of my life. And Friday afternoon, I got my answer.

I love that God is so gentle with us.He could have used anyone to relay the info to me. Though I truly believe because of the sensitivity of the matter, He chose to deliver the message straight to my heart. He flooded me with all of the wonderful everything that He has blessed us with. He reminded me of many treasured times and people that where given to our lives during this season and encouraged me towards what's to come.

I always get tickled when I recall those wise words of my Granny. "Jesus promised us heaven, He didn't say a word about the boat ride getting there being a cruise ship"

I know joy doesn't come without strife. Healing doesn't come without pain. But joy DOES come as does healing.

Please pray for us as our family begins our next chapter. For joy and healing, for strength and mercy.

We know who writes our story and we are faithfully trusting in Him.

Jolly Ol' Soul

There is a very long line tonight at the mall. Screaming children dressed in their best waiting for a chance to wish on the lap of the Jolly fat man. He never really does look Jolly, does he?

The parents don't either.

Oh, I've done it...more than once. We tend to skip the line nowadays.

We still tell our children about Santa, but we focus more on the Birth of Jesus. I've heard from many people that we are taking away our little ones imagination. "They" have obviously never witnessed the murals on my walls made out of spaghetti sauce, or the things we find halfway flushed down the toilet. There is an abundance of imagination at the Swaringen house. Trust.me.folks.

What I hope you won't find in our home this year is an overabundance of stuff.

Why is it that tend to find "things" we NEED this time of the year?

The Lord has put it on my heart to live with less. I have found so much JOY freeing myself of things that I don't NEED.

Praying for our children to follow suite.

I am working on a short list of things that I feel I need. It's really not so short. I'm not sure I will ever learn.

You know, Paul only needed food and clothes. Look at the life of Paul.

I want to be more like Paul. Paul with an iphone (it's on my list) dont' judge!

Fulfilment doesn't come in a package. And friends, IT NEVER WILL.

We need to stop looking for it in a store because...

 There is no line for the cross. No waiting in with our ugly screaming lives that we dress up everyday.

There is room for everyone at the feet of Jesus.

Room and fulfillment.

And forgiveness.

May the thing you find you NEED this Christmas be only wrapped in swaddling cloth.

Love,
Erica
עִמָּנוּאֵל -Immanuel With Us God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdLwZCprtkI