why we do what we do.... honestly.

every 4th of July our neighborhood has a parade. we usually go stay with my parents at their lake house that weekend, but on occasion we stay home. this year, last minute we decided to just stay home.
the night before the parade i stayed up late to decorate the girls bikes. i blew up bright red balloons for the handle bars, and used a sharpie to make tons of stars on all 6 balloons. i wrote sayings like, "God Bless America" on each one of them. then i had the girls make signs to tape on the front of their bikes and we put red, white, and blue streamers in the back. that night i did a good bit of gripping at my 5 year old to "stay out of the way" and to "not mess me up".


i can be OCD about really silly things! after all that i woke up super early the morning of the parade to fix the girls hair all up and paint their faces. we put big red feathers in Navy's hair. Madison and Baylor got red, white, and blue bows and head bands! i was throwing mini tantrums every time they messed up their make-up or hair! running around like a chicken with my head cut off finishing the decor on each bike, then loading the bikes, and touching up face glitter and lip color.
in my insane mommy frenzy i told the baby (she's 5, i know.. but, she is my baby)
"get over here and stand by your bike so i can take your picture". she was in no hurry and was eating an apple.. AN APPLE! ............ MESSING UP HER LIPSTICK!!! Lord have mercy!


i fussed and fussed about that, then i said..
"i did all this work for you girls and all mommy wants is a darn picture! is that too much to ask!?!!"
Baylor proceeded to take another bite of her apple and very calmly looked up at me discussed and said:
"WHY ARE YOU SOOOO OBSESSED WITH THIS STINKIN' PAHWADE??"
yes, just like that. pahwade. (parade) :)


my. five. year. old. just. told. me. off...... and the worst part was
SHE WAS RIGHT!!!
of coarse my husband was in ear shot for that and looked at me with a huge grin.. obviously in agreement with her. that's when i realized what a spectacle i had become.
what in the world was i doing? i had convinced myself i was "doing all this for the girls"
uhhh.. yeah right!


because the girls absolutely love getting squawked at while watching their mother in a complete and total hairspray, glitter eye shadow and streamer tailspin.


we often do things like this in our christian walk. we think we are fooling other people but, they see. make sure you get that part.... THEY SEE. we aren't fooling anybody but ourselves. sometimes we have been doing the same thing for so long we don't even realize it. we need to take a good look at our motives and what is behind them.


why do you do what you do? honestly.          


"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrew 4:12


intent of the heart. i like that, that's exactly what we are talking about here. what is the actual intent of our hearts in what we do?


God is all knowing. he knows exactly why we do what we do and if indeed our motives are pure. another one of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 19:14 i think goes along side the topic at hand.


May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. -psalm 19:14

 i say Psalm 19:14 verbally almost everyday at least twice! i so desperately want to be pure in my heart and words. the word tells us in Matthew 12:34 out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. so that means if we have a mouth issue whether it be gossip or filthy language or anything in between we have a heart issue. don't try to just control your mouth, I'm not saying don't control your mouth. but, we do need to realize that there is a deeper root issue there.
think of that issue as a weed in your yard..most of us have certain issues and we just cut them off at grass level or mow over them. which does no good because what happens..?
THEY JUST POP BACK UP!

we need to get our gloves on, get out our gardening tools and DIG THAT ROOT UP!
let's quit grabbing for the same ol' weed spray that doesn't work! spritzing the same "issues" over and over again and again. just dig it up, get it out of your yard (your life) and move on down the road.


who is willing to do that?
who wants everything Christ died for you to have??
who is sick of going around that same ol' mountain day after day?
who is willing to ask God sincerely "show me where my motives are just not pure?"


see, i did all those things the day of the parade for me. i wanted to bring my girls down to that parade and show them off like little dolls to everyone. my motives where not for the girls. if they had been i would have let my girls color those big red balloon's, paint each others faces and decorate their bikes with what they thought would be fun!


come next year my daughters will be doing all those things and i will just be there to video, giggle and enjoy watching them create there own style!

Father- we come to you humbly today asking that you would search our hearts and show us where there is any selfish or impure motives. Lord we want to be authentic in your sight. let us not hide behind lies and manipulations that are false. as we walk through this life show us where we have convinced others or even ourselves of a false motives. give us the strenght we need to break out our gardening tools and pull the weeds up from the root. allow our heart to unfold like flowers before you as it so beautifully says in the Casting Crowns song Joyful Joyful. Father we are asking you to show us just why we do what we do.
 in Jesus precious name.

Amen

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."

Psalm 139:23-24