How Does the Lord Speak to Me ~ Mysteriously and Amazingly!!

It's been a rough few weeks as a house parent here in Yoakum, TX, feeling like our wheels were spinning out of control, wondering what could we do differently, what were we doing right?  Asking ourselves question after question and crying way too many tears...one day in desperation I posted on Facebook

"I give up!  I don't know what to do!"

And my bestie replied "Pray!"

And so I laid my head in my hands and cried out to the Lord.

I was feeling so incomplete, a lousy home mom,

and wondering what to do with a child who just didn't seem to want to learn, accept responsibility for her actions, who was doing the blame game like a pro and was defiant at every corner and turn.

So I cried out to the Lord!!!

Help me, please help me!!!

And then looked up some scripture and this came up

I poured my heart out to my Bestie in an email, she knows me and yet is not involved in the trenches of being a home parent, I cried on my sister here at BBYR and reached out to our ladies prayer group to pray, just pray for me, for the little girl, for us, for our home.

And what came to me, through my prayers, through the sweet counsel of words from my Bestie, encouragement from my sister is

CHAOS to CALMNESS

and that's what we need to do

We need to take the chaos of these children's lives

and lead them to calmness.

This resonated with me

for I was once the little girl, young adult, young wife & mom

who's life was filled and swirled with chaos...

...why didn't I see it...maybe because I am too close

But with the loving and encouraging words

and being open to what the Lord wanted me to see and learn

is that it is my responsibility to

be the CALMNESS in our lives of CHAOS!!

I found these...they all spoke to me...

and

is this bridge from land to sea

or a mountain top to the sky

I see water a little turbulent on one side

and calm on the other...with a walkway to between

I have chosen to be the house mom to these three little's

and God has shown me this week,

over and over

He is Perfect,

not me!

He is filled with Love

and can fill me with love for these kiddo's.

Remember it is God's way, not mine!

Every resource I have is from the Lord,

He is enough and will provide all I need,

each and every step of the way.

Remember to say YES!!!

Remember to pick my battles!!!

Remember we are all a work in progress!!!

And sometimes it's okay to say

Lord...help me!!! I don't know what to do!!!

Set boundaries but know some can be changed

And from our sermon yesterday...

..."I don't have to be afraid of something being taken from me, or in giving to those who ask of me, or in lending of what I have to others.  I am even free to give to my enemies!!!

And even though sometimes it feels like these kiddo's are out to get me...

...really all they want is to be loved!!

And isn't that what we all want:

So to answer the question I asked at the beginning:

God speaks to me through His Word, friends, in the quiet of the morning hours, through songs, through sermons and in my heart.

How do you hear God speaking to you?

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I like to choose a word or a phrase for each year.

Past words have been

flexible,

intentional,

grace (to myself and others)

soft 

and this year,

the theme of the past few weeks

have been

Chaos to Calmness

and so I am choosing

I want to be CALM in my spirit...

CALM in my heart...

CALM in my reactions...

CALM in my tone...

and have

CALMNESS in our home!!!

Do you choose a word to focus on throughout the year?

I give up!!!
I don't know what to do????

I give up!!!
I don't know what to do????