Parenting Archives - Living Above the Noise

Living Above the Noise – New Look, New Focus

November 13, 2015 By livingabovethenoise

I took a break from blogging this past six months. I needed to regroup and discover my focus. When I started blogging four years ago, I was still full swing into parenting and just getting my feet wet with grandparenting. This got me thinking. My old blog name and focus, A Mom’s Many Lessons, was feeling a bit boxed in. My life wasn’t just about the lessons learned from being a mom, but from all the avenues my life has taken.

I quickly discovered that planning a new blog layout is not for the faint of heart! I’ve put a lot of thought into my purpose for blogging and even into the details for my header design. I wanted my new design to reflect where God has me in life. I still have plenty of “lessons” to share about, but my heart is soaring like this bird in the header. I feel like weight has lifted off my heart and God has allowed me to see what life looks like without the noise and chatter of so many things around me.

So here I am, starting a new blog, with a new focus.

My new name was in the tagline of my old blog – “A Mom’s Many Lessons…in living above the noise and for the glory of God.” My focus for life is to seek to live above all the noise around us, that which vies for our attention and distracts us from our main goal, the one goal of glorifying God in and through all of life. This made it easy to choose my new name!

What’s this noise I speak of? Oh, there are too many to put into words, but here are a few:

Expectations – of myself and others, often unrealistic.
Perfectionism – seeking the “best” and what I think will make God and others happy.
Roles – being a “good” wife, a “good” mom, a “better” friend, etc., but by whose standards?
Church – trying to be and do what other Christians expect; pressure that comes from not believing in all that goes on in modern churches…
The World – balancing between being in the world but not of it.

My goal in life is be like David and Solomon, to have a heart of understanding and discernment, and to use my life to serve and follow God. I blog to encourage you to do the same. To live above the chatter beckoning us to veer from our main focus, to sidetrack us from following God’s best for us and our family. So please join me as I share ideas and lessons in my quest to stay focused.

If you follow me via email, my new blog will transfer over to your email. If you haven’t subscribed, please do, so you won’t miss a post! You can also follow me on Facebook and Pinterest.

Blessings as we share in this journey called life!

Solomon’s Prayer – “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David, my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You…so give Your servant an understanding heart…to discern between good and evil.” 1 Kings 3:6-9

How Busy Is Too Busy?

June 30, 2015 By livingabovethenoise

Before I get back to blogging (I have way too many posts in my “All Posts” file) I should fill you in on why I’ve been so silent and what’s been going on in my house these days. Not that my life is so very interesting, but I think it helps to know a person a little bit before you read their stuff.

Busy Feet

My “stuff,” my lessons learned, are nothing new under this bright sun of ours, like Solomon said so many years ago. But the God who created me has given me a gift of words, a bit of wisdom and intuition that I am going to use for all His glory for as long as I am able.

Busy, Busy – ALL the Time! (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

So here’s the deal – my entire life, I heard my mother say, “When life slows down, I’ll…..” Have you ever said that? “When life slows down….” I’ve been saying it a lot lately. And I’m finally asking myself if that is really ever going to happen. Maybe it will when my body is unable to coordinate the making of a meal, or the driving a car to see my grandkids, or when my mind is gone like my Mom’s is now. But before that day? Will life ever really slow down? Or should it?

We need to pray for God to show us just how busy He wants us to be. I hope to be busy, like Mary, about the things that matter most to Him: family, friends, lost souls, community. Drawing them to the only One who can heal their hurts, give them wisdom, and comfort their weary souls. And how we go about that, my friend, will look different for each one of us. And we’ll each mess up often. Choosing the temporal or the fun instead of the hard. But for the goal…

Take a moment and listen to my favorite hymn these days. It reflects this sentiment perfectly! (If you’re getting this via email, you’ll have to hop on over to my blog to view it. It’s worth it!)

Choices We Must Make To Know How Busy To Be

We live in a lost, dying, and corrupt world. This fact alone should keep us very busy! So busy that our days will be spent caring – and talking – and visiting – and teaching – and loving – loving – loving.
We ~~might~~ will have to limit some things like entertainment or leisure – at least be sure that they’re not taking us away from time with others or time with God. (Yes, I’m feeling an elbow in my rib.)
Creating space to rest is of utmost importance, especially when we are called to service. We need time to think, to ponder the ways of God and our incredible need for Him. Space to rest and listen to His still small voice, to hear the needs of others, to think about what’s best to do tomorrow.

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

My Crazy-Busy Life

My life has been filled, absolutely filled to the brim, with loving and blessing and caring and serving this last year. To the point that some goals my husband and I have had, or thought were important, have been put on the back burner. I share about them in these posts: Life Changes – Are You Ready To Step Out of the Boat? and Learning To Be Salt and Light

Here’s a sampling of my last nine months:

3 grandbabies born in the last six months (helped at two births and follow up care for mom and/or children)
Traveled back and forth two states away, to help another daughter’s family move closer to us! (yay, at least one is closer now!)
Moved another daughter to Colorado (miss her lots!)
Helped clean and pack the truck when our daughter’s family moved away – :o(
Took a very fun, family ski trip and visited our daughter in CO – (much needed!)
Learned of our 32 yo daughter’s possible brain tumor (now diagnosed as AVM, which is treatable; ever so grateful that she was on the good side of the 50% chance of death or paralysis from this event!)
Discussed and counseled a daughter during a “pre-courtship”
Daily helping the five children still in our home, finish schoolwork and learn or better their skills, and discover their talents for future work (woodworking, jewelry making, fine sewing, craft shows, food trailer sales/events, etc.)
Planted our garden plus put 60 lbs. of fresh fish (from bow-fishing in our backyard river) into our freezer. Thanks, guys!
Gained three (soon to be ~~five~~ four) Alpacas that my daughter wants to raise for wool and breeding
Dealt with 2 pet deaths in the last few weeks. We had to put down our sweet, 3 yo family dog, plus my daughter’s momma alpaca (the vets have no clue as to what happened, but we gave her a fighting chance via syringe feeding for over a week). Now we bottle feed her baby every three hours. We’re tired!
Plus all the holidays and birthdays that were packed into those months, complete with guests and food and gift giving

I’m sure I’ve forgotten many other events or trips not covered here, but you get the picture! I get the picture! Yikes, life is certainly busy. But which one would I not do? Which person would I say, “No, you’re not important enough to take the time for?” I am finally learning (getting into my thick skull) it’s just not going to slow down.

~ Life, well lived, will be busy. ~

The Take Away: We are born to serve – and to die in that service.

This isn’t a depressing reality, but a life-giving one. One that breathes Christ to those around us. Christ, the ultimate One who died to give us life. And I’m finding that I can actually smile in the dying!

Won’t you join with me in relishing the busyness along this path of life!

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Just ONE Thing You Need To Know!

April 17, 2015 By livingabovethenoise

I’ve noticed something in my inbox lately. A multitude of blog posts claiming things like: “6 Things You Need to Know,” “5 Super Simple Habits,” “7 Ideas That Will Rock Your World.” Okay, I get it! Someone out there wrote “5 Best Ways to Boost Your Blog” telling bloggers to catch their reader’s attention by offering simple solutions.

Well, I’d love to hop on the bandwagon, but I just can’t get myself to do it. I just can’t follow the crowd, no matter how many more views I get.

Why?

Because I’ve tried too many of those “better ways!” Oh, they worked for a while, but I got tired. I’m only human. And so are you! Without God and His ways at the core of all we do, we will always burn out.

I blog to share about God, about His great love in sending Jesus to rescue us. You’ll read of His many lessons in faith and character in this crazy world, about how much better our lives will be if we follow Him and not everyones else’s ideas.

Yes, you will read my ideas, my lessons. But my goal is to use use those lessons to lead you to God. Not to me. Not to some other method. Just. To. God. I’ll share tips and ideas for life as a wife, mom, friend…but the foundation for them all is and always will be from His Book. He made things to work best when they are done His way.

So, I lied. There is the ONE thing you need to know – the ONE way to a better life….

God!

Simple. Matter of fact. Honest. Beautiful. Sometimes hard to do. But all the time the best choice.

God.

Now that we have that settled, we can talk about all the creative ways to live well!

Blessings as you seek His face and His ways. Daily. Minute by minute. Choice by choice.

Love you all! And so does God!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:13

Finding Quiet In A Noisy World

February 17, 2015 By livingabovethenoise

I awoke this morning to my usual world, one where I don’t know where I’ll be living in a year, with ceilings that look like I’m in a doctor’s office, and adjustments all around to life in my fifties. That’s when I again realized the necessity of quiet time in this crazy, noisy, chaotic world.

Now, if I were writing this post from the mountains of Tennessee or on the beach in California or any of my “perfect” places, I might not feel the chaos of the times. But for most of us, calm days are few and far between, and we enter our days running.

I’m in my quiet corner of the world right now, yet, there is noise. There are a hundred things shouting my name, calling me to come hither, that they might steal my joy, my peace.

Get Ready For Battle

And so we must fight. We must wage war on this culture which seeks to steal our peace. We must plan an attack early in our day, lest we get the onslaught of the wave of hurry, the avalanche of to-do’s.

But how do we do this? What does it look like for a busy woman? Where will we find space away from the crowd or the tumult?

This is where need and self control come in. Once you discover the much needed commodity, quiet for the soul, there will be little that can stop you from creating space in your day to get it. Once you realize your need was there all along, you’ll know the minute it rears its little head begging for more. You will have to make it happen, not much different from when you feel hunger or thirst. You will realize your cells are running dry when you feel distant from God, or when you snap too quickly, or when discouragement is draining your energy. But you must find the time.

Is God An “Add On” Item To Your Day?

My husband and I went to a “Christian” marriage counselor/psychologist years ago. I question his faith because in his counseling, God was an “add-on” (like in Amazon’s cart when you want free shipping but the product is low cost, so it must be “added on” to a larger item). He treated God as if He was an “add-on” to his therapy, someOne to give a little power to the message. Let’s not do that with God! Let’s give Him the pre-eminence He deserves.

We can only do this by giving Him our personal time. Offer Him a tithe of the first fruits of your day. Let Him fill you with His wisdom, strength, counsel, and love before you begin in this crazy life we each must live. You may have children who need you from sun-up to sun-down, husbands who need to talk. You have work to do, meals to make, and clothes to wash. You have birthday cards to write, houses to clean, and lessons to teach. And that is why quiet time with your Lord is so very critical.

You need Him and He desires for you to place Him where he belongs in your life. Center front, first love, ever present, constant in your minute-by-minute life.

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God….Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:6-8, 10

Make Space For God

You will have to figure out how to keep God center-front, but do figure it out!

Steal fifteen minutes while you’re nursing a baby.
Grab five minutes after your shower.
Hold onto those precious moments when your husband has the kids busy.
Even one verse to meditate on while you shower is time with your Father.
Simply pray for wisdom and listen to His voice while you wash the dishes or brush your teeth.

Create space in your day (preferably your morning) to make a quiet, purposeful, listening time with your God. No doubt it will make your day run smoother, brighten your outlook, give calm to the hurry, and deliver you from fear of the unknown. But do take time. Time to listen. Time to think. Time that gives God space to speak to you, time for you to listen.

God wants us dependent on His grace, love, wisdom, strength, and so much more!

Find His Truth for any lie. Feel the comfort in His arms.

Discover rest.