How often through life do you get caught up in what you’re doing?

What you have to do?

The work to be done?

I want to encourage you to check your priorities…

I was pondering this passage from Mark 13 this morning:

“As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”  (Mark 13:1-2, emphasis added)

Those two verses got me thinking about my job as a mom.  My job as a wife.  And, honestly, my job in everything else the world calls me to do.

You see, as a mom I am to train my children in the way they should go-towards Christ!  Am I really doing this when I spend so much time teaching them to clean?  Teaching them school?  Etc.

Well, the answer is yes…sort of.

You see, it’s how I teach them.  If I am putting so much emphasis and focus on their lessons and not their heart, then I’ve got it all wrong.  If I am so focused on what I think must be done next (ie. meeting a goal or deadline, or even a desire or want) and yet I don’t put their hearts first, I missed it.

I got this from Mark 13 because of this reason:  Everything about this world will be destroyed…except my children’s hearts!  Yes I can spend my time keeping my  house clean and organized…but how am I delivering that expectation?

We also spend a lot of time outdoors.  While outside, we always try to take notice of God’s creation and praise Him for it:  the beauty of the trees, birds, etc.  And though all of these are beautiful, none of it will be left upon Jesus’ return.

When I get to Heaven I don’t want to show up in pride saying “Look, Lord, at how I kept my house!  Do you like how I organized it?  How clean I kept it?”  I want to know that when I face our great God I hear Him say “Well done good and faithful servant.”  My main job is to share this light that He has given me and use it to help point others toward Him.

I do enjoy a clean and organized house, and for me, it helps me to stay focused on Him without the weights of the home; however, I do not let it take over my role as a mom.  As a wife.  These people need my love.  They need my undivided attention.  They.  Need.  Me.

I once read that most tween daughters say they wish their mom would stop doing dishes or cleaning, just for moment, to feel like they’re really being heard.  I’m determined that my children know that they matter to me, just like I matter to God, more than the stuff of this world that will someday pass away.

Many Blessings!,

Kristy

**EDITED 5/26/12 @3:40PM:  I should note that this should not be used as an excuse to be lazy.  When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert by using God’s Word against him, Jesus was wise enough to rebuke him by saying “Yes, but it also says…”  You need to be wise as well and understand all that the Bible teaches, and it warns against laziness. 

As we approach our deadline to move, it’s easy to not only become consumed of all the “stuff” to be done (*remembering the Mary and Martha post right now!), but also to question OUR jobs to do:  Do we look?  Do we decide where?  Will God really … (you fill in the blank)?

All of these types of questions, and more, have sent me deeper and deeper into prayer – I do not want to step out of God’s Will nor do I want off His path!

Last night and this morning, as I began pondering this deeply, a wave of verses began swarming my brain in a collage-like manner:

“If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  (Matthew 6:30)

“He replied,  ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”  (Matthew 8:26)

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  ‘You of little faith,‘  he said,  ‘why did you doubt?’”  (Matthew 14:31) [Read more...]

I want to give you an analogy to think on this week: The Prowling Lion.

The Bible tell us:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Picture how the lion hunts. He doesn’t just jump in amongst his prey and start chasing, hoping to catch one. No, instead he stays back, watching. He watches the herd and waits. He watches to find the weakest among them and then waits until an opportune time to attack that weakling – and then makes his attack. [Read more...]

This past week God had me pondering so much involving the upcoming celebration of Christ’s birth.  I know many of you know the story of Mary and Martha.  And I know many of us (yes, me included) think of the “busyness” that Martha was under while Mary spent time with Jesus.

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

One thing that really stood out to me this week was a part so often over looked: Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made!  How many of you are distracted by all the preparations that have to be made this week? [Read more...]

I probably don’t even need to explain what the “I Can’t” whispers are, but I’m going to any way – just in case. We all experience them; sometimes they’re reoccurring, sometimes not.  Some are different from what others may experience, some aren’t.  Either way – we all experience them.

For some it’s an important meeting at work and you’re trying to pull everything together when the computer breaks  “I can’t do this!”  For some it might be the endless amount of hours put into a job, a marriage, or possibly a friendship – and not see any good coming from it – “I can’t do this!”

As a homeschooling mom of five with one car and a husband who works an hour away, I’ve experienced a few of the “I Can’t” moments.  [Read more...]

Let’s face it – we all have struggles. We all have troubles. In fact, Jesus Himself said “In this life you will have trouble” (emphasis added). He’s not only acknowledging our trouble, but confirming it.

So, since it is a fact that we will face trouble, the question is – How do we deal with it?.

There is a man living in Southern California named Nick Vujicic who knows trouble. Nick was born without arms or legs. That’s right, his body consists of his head, torso and a little stub of a foot that he refers to as his “little chicken drumstick”.

Dave and I had the privilege of seeing Nick speak at our church in California four years ago, and I must say, Nick was by far the most encouraging speaker I have ever seen! I mean seriously – if this man, age 28, has not only found happiness and joy in life while surviving without any limbs, there has to be something to what he has to say, right?

The heart of Nick’s message is his absolute joy and trust in the power of Jesus as His savior. Nick understands that while the rest of the world saw him as someone who was considered useless (Nick himself included for a period of his life), Jesus saw a man who could not only find hope, but who could share it with people all over the world.

We hope you will be blessed and encouraged by Nick’s message in the video below. And be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to have a chance to win Nick’s book, “Life Without Limits”!

It is with a sad, and yet excited for the future heart that I announce that this will be my last post for justopenthebook.com.  God has led us on an amazing journey since we launched this ministry in March 2010.  Through trials, successes, mistakes, challenges and leaps of faith, God has remained reliable, loving and faithful to us every step of the way.

My goal foremost in this site has been to follow and obey God, and to share how real God is with others.  I wanted my journey to reflect God’s glory and how reliable He is in His word.  God remains faithful.

At various times in our ministry, and much more so lately, God has spoken to me about the importance of work and my vital role in leading my family.  I have relied on God to provide for our needs as we worked to fulfill our mission with this ministry.  Over time, God has shown me that his plan for me was to return to outside work.  As I searched for career opportunities, I had planned to continue my role in this ministry on a part time basis.

But God has other plans.  The job offer I have received is in the financial services industry, which was my first calling and where the bulk of my career has been spent.  Due to industry regulations, I cannot have a role in any outside business activity, including this ministry.

Of course, I was torn by having to make a decision to take a job that meant leaving this ministry.  Rather than weighing out all the pros and cons or worrying or making a case for either side, I turned to God’s word.  I prayed that God would lead me by his verses, and opened my bible.

As I read, I was led to the books of 1 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians and Ephesians.  Verses about caring for those in your own household, managing your children well, living an upright life, loving your wife as your own body, settling down and working hard, providing for oneself to earn the respect of outsiders, etc, poured out to me.  I saw God clearly leading me.  My first ministry, above all else, is to lead my family in a manner that honors God.  I have been blessed with an amazing wife and four (almost 5) precious children.  They are the mission field that God placed in me first and foremost.  And while I hope that my life will always lead others to Christ, I must be successful within my family before I can ever expect the privilege of ministering to others.

It was so refreshing to hear God speaking to me in this way.  I know without a doubt that it is time for a new season in my life.  To love, provide for and train up my family to honor and follow God by putting them first.  I will miss the joy of sharing my excitement about Jesus and the Bible in this blog.  But I know God will bring opportunities to share my faith in other ways.  I am excited to know I can grow as a husband and father, and can invest my time to build up the knowledge of God within my own house.

I am so deeply thankful to God for all the blessings he provided in this ministry.  Thanks to all of you who have followed our journey, read our newsletters, prayed for us, supported us, sent in prayer requests and testimonies.  My hope has always been that this site would be about what God is doing in everyone’s life, not just in mine.  And the many emails, Facebook notes and contacts we’ve received sharing how our work has encouraged others faith in Christ is more than I ever expected.

While I will miss working on JOTB, it is so humbling to know that God has other plans and has led me clearly to them.  My greatest hope is that those who have read our site would grow closer to God, trust him more and live with increased faith.  And most of all, that those who have not yet accepted Jesus would accept him now and receive his eternal life and forgiveness.

God continues to provide in ways we never anticipated, and has been completely trustworthy and faithful.  He will always be that way, for all who believe in him.

As I move on, my wife Kristy will be managing justopenthebook.com.  We are looking at bringing on new writers who will continue to share God’s truth, their stories of faith, and words of encouragement to continue this mission.  We pray that God will draw you closer to Himself through this ministry for much more time to come.

Have you ever wondered what the point of everything is?  Why are we here on the earth?  What difference does it make if we are Christians or not?

There are some obvious answers that come to these kinds of questions, and many people have many different perspectives.  Discovering the meaning of life is a search of many a lifetime.  Even being a Christian, you may here answers like “to tell others about Jesus”, to obtain eternal life, to be forgiven of sin.  And those are all valid and correct.  But what is behind all of that?  Is it just about us?  Thank God we’re saved from hell, end of story? [Read more...]

Do you ever have trouble making decisions?  I think we all struggle at times to know what is the right thing to do.  Thankfully, God has given us several ways to look to Him to help us know the right course of action.

God’s word is there for us to rely on in a very practical way.  Looking to the truths, commands and values expressed in Scripture helps us to know what God’s will for us will be in a specific situation.  By understanding how to look to the Bible for help, we can make better decisions and be more confident in the choices we make. [Read more...]

So today marks the final week – exactly one week until the due date for our next baby.  My wife has been a week or two early with most of the rest of our kids, so we are in full preparation for the arrival of baby #5.

The pillows stand ready.  The hospital bag is packed.  The infant car seat is installed and the neighbors are on standby to watch the kids as soon as labor begins.  And now we wait.  It is such an interesting feeling to know that a new daughter is coming, but not knowing whether it will be later tonight or not until this time next week.  There’s a reserve of both adrenaline and patience I keep ready, on call for when my wife says it’s time.

While we wait, we were looking last night at the gang of 4 beautiful children with which we have been blessed.  They are truly amazing.  I can’t imagine my life without any of them.

Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him”.  As my wife and I thought about our kids, we realized God’s reward is so much more than just the joy, love and fun these kids bring to us. [Read more...]