Relax and the WIP Wednesday Link-Up

Posted on September 26, 2012 by MB@NewLifeSteward • 20 Comments

Change is Inevitable God has been working in my heart lately. I’m getting restless and maybe a little discontent with the typical American life. I want more.

My weekend at dotMom only continued to fuel that fire and passion. I’m just going to give you my notes from the first session with Jen Hatmaker and then a few concluding thoughts at the end. (Please not that below are mostly direct quotes taken from her session. They are her words. Not mine.)

Relax

1.  Relaxing in parenting.

Fear makes an already hard job–motherhood–harder than it needs to be. Relax. Jen showed a video of her kids sliding down her stairs covered in sleeping bags on a boogie board. You can tell she’s filming the video and hear her laughing in the background. Relax and enjoy your kids.

Romans 8:28-89 (hover over reference to read)

Being conformed to the image of Christ is not easy for us OR our kids. Our job is not to shield them from everything hard.

I don’t want my kids safe and comfortable. I want them BRAVE. I don’t want to be the reason my kids choose safety and comfort over COURAGE.

Parent with diligence but parent without fear.

2.  Relax in rest.

Rest is a gift that God wants for us. Ask Him for what we need in order to rest.

The day of rest is the ONLY day God blessed and made holy.

Exodus 16 (Israelites gathering manna and quail)

Gather just enough for one day and it’s only good for one day. God sustains us in our daily labor. Spending time with Him sustains us. His Word is our daily bread.

On the sixth day, we gather enough for two days because tomorrow, we rest and the manna won’t be there.

My thoughts:

As I said before, God is stirring in me. I’m not satisfied with the status  quo. I told my husband the other night that I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was changing.

I don’t want to parent out of fear. I don’t want to make life choices for my son based out of fear. This starts with me living without fear. Stepping out in faith following after what the Lord has called our family to do–whatever that is. And right now, I have absolutely no idea of any specifics. I know it involves serving others more–particularly the poor, widowed, and orphaned–and not being afraid of how being around “those people” may affect my son. It involves continuing to downsize the excess we live in to free up our finances to give.

I’m tired of reading about other people’s amazing adventures with God. I want to live my own. <–Like it? Tweet it!

Definitely a work in progress as I continue to process what I heard this weekend and seek the Lord’s direction.

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Work In Progress Wednesday

 It’s time for the WIP (Work in Progress) Wednesday Link-Up! 

This week’s featured post: I’m still reading since I was gone all weekend! Double feature again next week?

What is God doing in your life? Link up a post below or let’s chat in the comments! Please make sure you link back to newlifesteward.com! This helps promote the community and allows everyone’s posts to be shared.  :)  If you aren’t sure how to do that, e-mail me! I’ll be glad to help!

Link Up Rules:

  • Please link to the post’s permalink so that it will go directly to the post you want us to read.
  • In the “Name” space, put the title of your post.
  • Limit 3 Links per week.
  • Please take time to visit the blogger before you and encourage them in their comments.
  • Use Hashtag #WIPwed when you tweet about your post!
  • One Post will be featured each week from the previous week’s Linky!
  • Please link back to newlifesteward.com so your readers know where to find us! (Grab the button on the sidebar!)



This post is linked with thanks to:

Works for Me Wednesday
Women in the Word Wednesday
Living Well Wednesday
Unwrapping His Promises
God Bumps and God-Incidences
Whatever Wednesday
Encourage One Another Wednesday
Walk with Him Wednesday 

Photo Credit: GollyGforce

KidVentures-300x250

Need some fresh ideas for entertaining the kids outdoors this summer? Check out Kidventures, an eBook from boy mom of 6 year old quadruplet boys, Jen Murray! She will have you outside in the sun for some great adventures in no time! Only $4.99! Click here for details! You can also purchase the Kindle edition on Amazon:KidVentures: 50 Outdoor Experiences of Wonder, Discovery, & Childhood Memories

Filed Under: Loving My Child

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  • http://twitter.com/JenniMullinix Jenni Mullinix

    Oh yes, this is my heart’s desire! Life is SO much more than we make it sometimes. Learning to balance our fear and our longing to serve can be tricky. I’m thankful we serve a God that leads us when we ask for His guidance!

  • StephanieGlidden

    Oh the stirring, I love when God begins that process. I can’t wait to hear where he takes you. Have you read “The Gift Of An Ordinary Day” by Katrina Kennison? It’s beautiful! I think you’d like it :)

    • http://newlifesteward.com/ Mary Beth

      I haven’t read that! I’ll have to go check it out!

  • Ro elliott

    Oh yes..when we parent out of fear…then we have to control the outcome…child can sniff fear a mile away…it makes them back up…but when we are being led…inviting them into a journey…they are willing to walk with us…along side us. great thoughts here…blessings~

  • http://www.triplebraidedlife.com/ Brenda @TripleBraided

    Mary Beth, all of this really spoke to me. Especially “”I don’t want my kids safe and comfortable. I want them BRAVE. I don’t want to be the reason my kids choose safety and comfort over COURAGE.
    Parent with diligence but parent without fear.” I feel myself almost getting obsessed (with this baby coming) about how I am going to protect her, what do I do when her daddy and I aren’t on the same-page (b/c of course I’m right!! :-) , what if I totally mess her up. I worry more about the emotional/spiritual stuff than the “how-to-keep-her-alive” stuff that most parents (I think) worry about with a new infant. Then my mind goes to “I’m just not good enough to have a baby”. Anyway, your post reminded me to relax. I’m trying. :-)

    • http://newlifesteward.com/ Mary Beth

      I was like you–way more worried about the spiritual things than the physical! In reality, none of us are good enough…that’s why we need the Spirit to help us parent. With Him, you will be more than enough for that baby girl!

  • http://simplystriving.wordpress.com/ Nikki

    Amen! Anxious to see where this leads you. And I’m with you. I don’t want fear to be a part of my life. especially in my parenting. My grandmother always used to say fear is simply a distraction. A sign to let you know you’ve looked away from the prize. Praying we keep our eyes fixed…

    • JosephPote

      Well put, Nikki! Your grandmother sounds like a wise woman.

      • http://newlifesteward.com/ Mary Beth

        Doesn’t she though?

  • Lori

    Amen! Amen! Sounds like you gained a wealth of knowledge at the conference! So excited for you!

  • soulstops

    Thanks for sharing…I agree with you that I want my parenting to be out of fear…in process…funny, but my post link up today was about not being fearful…a God-incidence as JDLee would say? Blessings to you :)

  • http://susanstilwell.com/ Susan Rinehart Stilwell

    Amen, Mary Beth! Glad to see you with such a godly perspective. The most important thing a parent can do is walk faithfully with the Lord. He causes everything else to fall into place :)

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  • JosephPote

    “I don’t want to parent out of fear.”
    I like how you put this, Mary Beth.
    Lots of good lessons in that one simple phrase!

  • messymarriage

    Thanks for sharing what God is putting on your heart, Mary Beth. It sounds like He is up to some amazing things! Continue to keep us updated on your journey. :)

  • Elizabeth

    Thanks for so generously sharing your notes. Great nuggets. I am grateful. Can’t wait to follow your words as you walk out the stirrings of your heart and life. Thank you for your honesty. Thanks Mary Beth for the community here.

  • http://www.simplyhelpinghim.com/ SimplyHelpingHim

    Beautiful dear sister! I understand where you’re at, for I want more too! Thanks for sharing! Love ya!

  • http://www.dianadenis.com/ Diana Denis

    I KNEW that you’d have some great notes! Here’s my love it, gotta save it takeaway. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Major Ah-ha moment: “Being conformed to the image of Christ is not easy for us OR our kids. Our job is not to shield them from everything hard.” I’m just going to have to sit with this for a while…
    Thanks for sharing.

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