To Serve Part 2

Britton praying and holding the flashlight
Aidan's turn!
running to the next house...they were really excited to do this!


Once again, I spent the week trying to decide in what way God wanted to use me and the boys...I had thought we would do one thing, but felt that we would have to do that at a later time. Tonight, I was standing on our front porch and it was just starting to get dark. I looked at my two eldest sons coloring on the sidewalk with chalk and was taking that moment to thank God for these two precious blessings. I was suddenly reminded of something I had previously read. I told Brit to run in and get a flashlight and asked Aidan to get some shoes on. When Brit came out with his flashlight I told the boys we were going to go on a prayer walk. The plan was to walk from house to house and shine the flashlight at the house or yard and then pray for the family inside. The book suggested the parents pray, but I thought it would be a good idea for us all to say a prayer. We stopped at the first house and we all prayed and held the flashlight...Britton prayed for the people to be safe. When Aidan prayed, we all had to chuckle a little..he prayed that God would welcome them in the neighborhood. (these neighbors have been here for 3 years) We spent the next 45 minutes walking from house to house on our little street and praying for protection, good health, for us to be a light, for losses, for their futures and the list went on and on. Then we got back to our house. We ended the walk with prayer for our family and our home.

Psalms 141:2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

It was a great time in prayer as a family...and I know that God heard our prayers...and just like the psalms we set our prayer before him...and lifted our hands like the evening sacrifice...and we even did it in the evening!

Perfect all the time?

Aidan 4, Liam 10 mos
Liam 10 mos
Britton 7
me & Brit 7
my hubs..yep, ladies he's taken & Liam 10 mos

Sometimes I believe it is the times when things aren't "perfect" that I learn the most. If someone has hurt me, I seem to be more open to God's guidance....if my boys are fighting, I am more willing to whisper a prayer of patience....if the finances are tight, I look up and ask God for a spiritual (and yeah, even some financial) manna....I am always a little amazed when people are afraid to tell others they are hurting. Do we REALLY think they will believe that things are PERFECT all the time? Do we want them to? I read a book, by Susan Pohlman entitled Halfway to Each Other: How a year in Italy brought our family home. If you haven't read it, DO SO! It is a memoir about a woman's journey to bring her family back together. Life had simply gotten in the way and they had all grown apart. If you know me, you're probably thinking, Oh Lord, Misty's talking about that book again...but you see, that book taught me so much...God used that book to open my eyes about many many things. While I could probably write a dozen blog posts about the lessons learned, there is one particular lesson that sticks out in my mind right now. Susan felt God's call and guidance in moving her family to Italy for a year. Now, keep in mind they did NOT speak Italian, except maybe what they learned while at the Olive Garden (my interpretation) and they had teenagers whom were NOT excited about leaving their friends/social life/schools to go to a foreign country. But, she and her husband listened to God's call...(if you're going to read the book, what I'm about to say may seem like a spoiler, but there is so much to glean from it...READ IT ANYWAY!!!) Susan (the author) was out walking one day..and keep in mind things had not necessarily been smooth sailing. They had hit MANY fairly major bumps in the road during their beginning time in Italy....and she said, God you TOLD us to MOVE HERE!!! She said that at that point, she felt God's voice say, Yes, but I did not say it was going to be PERFECT....
So many times in my own life, I think we need to look a certain way at certain events, we need to participate in certain activities, our kids need to be in certain sports...but what am I doing exactly? Trying to make everyone believe that we are the status quo? That we are perfect? My sons are 7, 4 and 10 mos...I have one who is more often than not going to be wearing his shoes on the wrong feet and have his shirt on backwards..when you mention that perhaps he might fix it, his reply, "Well, that's how Jesus made it." I have one son, who is a constant thinker and loves to discuss great philosophical things with you...and sometimes he can be downright offensive..ie when he tells us we drive our car too much because of the gasses it emits and blah blah blah (I tuned him out here b/c he was talking WAY over my head)...and I have one son who no matter how hard I try ALWAYS has messy hair. (a friend of mine says it's RockStar hair, that DOES sound better than messy hair) We are not perfect..my sons are not into the "traditional" regional sports that are so popular where we live, and that is OK. We are who we are...We are a family that is a lil messy sometimes. We are a family who is a little loud sometimes (though we really DO try to be respectful). We are a family who will get into the occasional disagreement & we are a family where occasionally there is outside drama that affects us.
BUT....
We are ALSO a family that LOVES to giggle. We are a family that will occasionally hollar out I love you to each other. We are a family that loves to learn about new things. We are a family that loves to help others & we are a family that loves Jesus and wants Him to guide our lives...
Nope..we are not perfect...We may have perfect moments...but we are most definitely not perfect all the time and I wouldn't trade one ounce of perceived "perfection" for what I have...

Well, then again, maybe we ARE perfect...perfectly imperfect!

To Serve or Not to Serve: 1

As I mentioned in the previous post...the boys and I have decided to do at least 1 random act of kindness or service per week...if we have the opportunity to do more, we will, but we will do at least ONE intentional random act.
This week, I had planned on doing our random act on Wednesday. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday praying about it and just didn't have any idea where to start. I spent most of Thursday thinking/praying about it as well....still, nothing. Friday came and I got up early to do my quiet time. I was sitting on my deck with my coffee and I closed my eyes and said, "God, guide me, what are we supposed to do?" At that moment, I envisioned me and the boys making muffins for the local fire fighters and delivering them to the fire department. I thought, well, that might be fun...When Aidan and Britton got up, I asked them, what they thought and they literally jumped at the chance! They started jumping around the house...they even added a dimension to it that I hadn't thought of...they wanted to make them "thank you" cards. So...we did. During Liam's quiet time, we baked the firefighters muffins. We decided to make them mini muffins, figured they would go further..Then they worked on the cards for the fire fighters. Aidan drew a fire truck on his..Brit drew them rescuing someone in a fire on his. After they were finished, we put our hands on the plates of muffins and asked Jesus to protect these men/women who risked their lives to protect us...
When Liam got up, we went to the firestation and asked if we could tell the fire fighters thank you. With each boy carrying a plate of muffins and their card, we went in. Britton asked the lady behind the glass if we could see the firefighters. She smiled and said to wait just a moment. A few moments later, a firefighter came out and led us to the back of the station where the trucks were. The boys handed their plate of muffins to the men and women in the break room and Britton said, we just wanted to say thank you. I had included a note on the back of his card that said, "My boys are learning about showing kindness to others..thank you for letting us make muffins for you." The Griffin family. The firefighters seemed a little stunned...One of them yelled, FOOD! But the others just looked and smiled at the boys. Then one of the firemen said, would you like to see the trucks? Aidan and Brit both grinned a smile that spread from one ear to the other. When we got back there, they gave Brit and Aidan honorary firefighter badges and allowed them to stand on the back of the truck...
As we were walking away...Brit said to Aidan, "that was so cool." Aidan's reply, "yeah, I could hardly get words to come out." Now, I am not naive...I know that the fire trucks were probably the BIGGEST cool factor there..but they were able to show kindness to someone they think is extremely cool...and THAT is the coolest thing there is!

Can't wait to see what God has us do next week!

the Griffin boys...to serve or not to serve is NO LONGER a question!

If you read my previous post..you know that serving others and showing others generosity has been on my mind. Today, God has been convicting me about taking that one step further. Like anyone who has a profession "outside" of the home, I take my job seriously...I am a full time mommy. That is what God has called me to do...therefore, for whatever reason, he has called me to, with my husband & God's help, shape my three little guys into the young men God wants them to be. I take it seriously..obviously, I gave up a career to do so. Don't get me wrong...all you mommy's whom God has called to work outside the home & be a mommy have all my admiration! I am lucky to do ONE thing well...and well, you guys juggle a lot of balls!
Anyway, so I am home...and this summer, Josh and I have went back and forth....tons of camps for kids, OR conserve resources and get some of this debt that plagues us paid off...to my sadness yet happiness...the latter one...Brit is going to one camp (Boy Scout) and swim lessons..Aidan just swim. At first, I was like, great, Josh, YOU stay home with 3 boys all day, every day for an entire summer...Then God showed me a different way...
Years ago, I bought a book called Families on Mission. It is a practical book that has little "random acts of kindness" in it to help teach your children the importance of serving. So, here we go! The Griffin boys & mom are going to choose ONE serving opportunity each week & put it into action! IF we can squeeze in more (in between the simple craziness of life) we will..but 1 is our goal! I will blog about our experience and hopefully it will inspire others to learn from our mistakes, glean from our successes OR take their own families & serve those around them!
For you Father!!

Generosity...how far will we go?

As a follower of Christ, I claim to be generous, loving & understanding...I claim to want to help others...to show them the love Christ has for them through my actions. How far am I willing to go? Am I willing to give generosity to those who I don't feel agree with me? Do things the way I want them to? Am I willing to hug someone who might smell a little bad...maybe puts me at risk for head lice?
Our pastor preached a sermon yesterday that has had me thinking long and hard about this...
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
How often do we say, well, if they would just do things THIS way.....or maybe we don't say it...maybe we just think it. SHOULD we? or is Christ just calling us to help...and not question the reasons for the call?
Do we need to know the reasons BEFORE we show generosity?
Do we need the person to think like we do before we help them? Years ago, I met a lady who is probably one of the most compassionate people I have still yet to ever meet. When she walks up and says "how are you?" she looks you in the face and waits for your answer. She truly wants to know...This sweet lady also showed me some things, just in her actions that caused me to pause. You see, Jenny, and I worked at an emergency shelter for abused & neglected children. If a child was removed from the home, sometimes in the middle of the night, they were brought to Rainbow House. Jenny was the director. I was a hired hand...but the lessons I learned I will carry to my grave. One day, Jenny was talking about this case of a little boy who was being abused by his mom. The court was allowing the mom to come for supervised visits. I was stunned and said as much....The venom in my words caused Jenny to look up at me with such a look of compassion that it forever changed me. She said, "Misty, they just don't know any better. Abuse is a cycle. It's how they were raised...it's our job to teach them, there IS a better way." I went home that night and prayed, "God make me compassionate like Jenny...let me see the good in ALL...not just the good in who act like me or who I feel need my compassion."
I started to notice the change almost immediately...When Josh and I are driving and someone cuts him off...he gets mad and says so, and my immediate thought is...well, maybe they are in a hurry or maybe they are just so busy with their kids they didn't see us...It's not that I am this awesome self less person...no, God honored me with the compassion I saw in my friend.
Matthew West sings a song "In my Own Little World". This is one of Britton's favorite songs. He sings it regularly. The lyrics are amazing...

In my own little world it hardly ever rains
I've never gone hungry and always felt safe
I got some money in my pocket shoes on my feet
In my own little world
Population me
I try to stay awake through the Sunday morning church
I throw a twenty in the plate but I never give 'til it hurts
and I turn off the news when I don't like what I see
it's easy to do when it's
population me
What if there's a bigger picture
what if I'm missing out
What if there's a greater purpose
I could be living right now
outside my own little world
Stopped at the red light, looked out my window
Outside the car, saw a sign, said "Help this homeless widow"
Just above this sign was the face of a human
I thought to myself, "God, what have I been doing?"
So I rolled down my window and I looked her in the eye
Oh how many times have I just passed her by
I gave her some money then I drove on through
in my own little world there's
Population two
What if there's a bigger picture
what if I'm missing out
What if there's a greater purpose
I could be living right now
outside my own little world
Start breaking my heart for what breaks Yours
give me open hands and open doors
put Your light in my eyes and let me see
that my own little world is not about me

We will go to Africa to help little children...educate the adults...but here in America we turn our nose up in our own church at a family struggling...WHY?
They may not be like me...they may even seem prideful..but you know what, God did not ask me to CONDEMN them..he asked me to HELP them...(only he can do the saving). We will rush to the plains to serve the Native American population, but what if God asks us to serve a family in our church secretly struggling to put food on the table? What do we do then? If we've helped them once, do we move on and say, well they should have figured it out by now? Or....do we pray for guidance and HELP them AGAIN? We will pull the entire community together and raise thousands of dollars to help ONE person struggling with a sickness...while doing the bare minimum for another...is THIS the way HE calls us to be? Or should we do all for as many as we can...yes, we will probably get tired...yes, we will probably have to work hard...BUT what exactly do we think He wants us to do? Just enough to be socially acceptable? Just enough to show the world that, hey look at me/us, see how AWESOME we are?
We are a hurting people...there is poverty, sickness, sadness, brokenness....I don't have to go to Zimbabwe to serve..I can do it in my own community....Do I? or do I keep my head down and say, "Well, I've had to work hard for what I have...they should work too." Umm, no..God has BLESSED us with what we have...we should use those blessings to help his other lambs.
So, I end this diatribe with a thought...there is another song that has always touched me...it is by Brandon Heath...

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight

Touched down on the cold black tar
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath

Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buying time

All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong

Well, I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You see the people all alone

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

So...Lord give me your eyes...but not only give me the ability to NOT condemn...to follow and serve you almost blindly...to see only the LOVE....

Looky, Looky, Looky

I had a thought the other day about raising boys...as a mom of three boys, it is mine and their daddy's job to teach them that SOMETIMES in life, you have to avert your eyes. A prime example of this is in the mall. Now, we walk by and probably don't think a thing of it, and this is in part due to our sexually saturated society, the larger than life women in their undergarments in the Victoria's Secret store. Now, don't get me wrong...I'm all about pretty undergarments...but this is an example of how when I notice my 7 year old staring with eyes large, causes me concern. The same is true with the way people dress at the beach and sometimes just how they dress in the general public. You see, I want my boys to believe that a woman's beauty comes from the inside....her spirit is a thing to admired..not so much the amount of clothing she chooses to wear. Yes, this is 14th century thinking....but that's ok.
As I said, our society is sexually saturated...but then we women get ticked when a guy lusts over the chick at a restaurant where a ladies body parts are glorified....even marketed..as being a thing to stare at...
We get mad at a guy when all a guy thinks about is sex, yet we have shown it to him since he was 3...even if it is just girls in panties. We can't have it both ways...so, in my home, we talk about how just SOMETIMES you need to avert your eyes...yes, it is difficult...and not always the POPULAR route...but sometimes it must be done.
Knowing that we are entering interesting territory, I got to thinking about something. Do we HAVE to look if it is RIGHT in front of us? For example, we drive by a house in our subdivision and notice that all their lights are on, enabling us to see clear through their house...should we look? I heard a story about a woman and her child who were walking down the side walk and saw a man, in his OWN home naked...she sued. REALLY? Is that what we are down to...just because we CAN look...that means we SHOULD? I don't believe we should...something is offensive to us, look the other way! Don't stare...causing your child to look and then get ticked b/c they saw something inappropriate. When we pass cars on the interstate...do you LOOK? and then get offended at what you saw? Well...I say, serves you right..just because you CAN..doesn't mean you SHOULD...isn't this the lesson we teach our children about practically everything their peers do? If so and so were to jump off a cliff and all that...Well, how about we raise a new generation of gentlemen? Teach them to NOT look....or if they do, avert their eyes and if the thoughts will not go away, ask God for assistance..is THAT so bad?

Summer is HERE...

The boys have been out of school for two weeks now but the weather is just now proving to us that Summer is, indeed, HERE! Finding things to do for boys, that do NOT include making huge messes, is NOT an easy task. My boys aren't your "typical" boys. They aren't really into basketball, baseball, football or soccer....they like hiking, riding their bikes, swimming...See my dilemma?!
When summer started sneaking up on me, I asked the boys what they wanted to do...they said, go on vacation...well, that isn't possible every day of the summer..so I had to come up with some alternatives.
For Britton, today was day one of his tennis lessons. He really enjoyed it and it gets him out and moving. Aidan starts his camp next week. He is going to the local animal sanctuary to learn to "move" like an animal. Not completely sure he needs HELP in that department...*chuckle* but we will see how it goes! Then as the summer rolls on, we will add swimming lessons to our daily schedule, VBS and before we know it school will be BACK in session! It seems to go so fast...these 3 precious months that we have with our kids.
It may sound like I am trying to find things to send my kids to so that I can "get rid of them" for a while. That simply isn't the case. I am very deliberate in what I send my kids to. Josh and I try to think of things that will be fun but will also be useful for them. Though these camps and activities are fun and useful, I believe the most USEFUL activity we can do is be together, as a family. We will be making trips to the movie theatre, going on picnics to the park and swimming in our pool. We will be sharing giggles, sharing stories, and yes, sharing disputes. We will be sharing life...as a family. Oh, yeah, don't get me wrong, the disputes drive me nutty just like any other mom, but the disputes are what help them grow. Help them learn to solve disputes as adults, help them tolerate differences in other people...help them be the MEN God want's them to be. That to me, is the BEST part of summer vacation...