Pull your husband close and dance barefoot in the kitchen.
Cradle your littles and kiss those chubby cheeks.
Hug your tweens and tell them they’ll always be your baby.
Grab that teenager and tickle those stinky feet.
Pray in the car.
Point to Jesus.
Serve when it’s hard.
Choose love when it hurts.
Be thankful.
Gather your family for meals every day.
Speak life every chance you get.
Choose worship over worry.
Live,
Read,
memorize,
and teach your children
The Word.
Give honor to the One who created your family.
Fall in love with Jesus by falling on your knees.
Courageously pour hope into your home.
Stand your ground, mammas.
have a mother’s courage.
đIt means so much that you’re taking this journey with me.â¤
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It’s Foster Care Awareness Month. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known that if we weren’t a foster family. But I’m thinking, for those of us living in SoCal, it would be good for us to start paying more attention because Los Angeles has the highest number of foster children in the NATION!
The. Nation.
Thirty-thousand kids are currently in the foster care system in LA. I had no idea before I started this journey. Our sweet foster daughter is from LA, and they called us because NO ONE WOULD TAKE HER – This is common. There are not enough foster families in LA, so the overflow calls get sent to Orange County and beyond.
On a side note, she just turned one and we couldn’t be more in love with her!Â
I’ve had a lot of people ask me what it’s like– if I’m worried how it will affect my kids, and how we’ll feel if she is reunified with her bio parents. I’ve found it’s common for people to misunderstand what foster is and assume we “get to keep her” now that she’s been placed with us. I shared many of the same misconceptions about the system before we started this journey, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on the subject.đ
I’m attempting to keep this non-emotional (not a typical blog post for me!), and as informational as possible. However, this is how I perceive the information based on my personal experience with foster care thus far. Also, when I approached my Facebook Foster/Adoption group with the questions of misconceptions, there was a much longer list than what I’ve included here. This blog is just scraping the surface of a deep and complicated subject. But I will say, for the sake of complete transparency: The system is incredibly broken.
Misconceptions about Children in Foster Care
Foster care means adoption.
I’ve had well-meaning, precious people say, “Congratulations” âŚnot understanding that a kid who has been removed from their bio parents by DCFS, was taken because they were in danger of, or were being neglected or abused. However, the goal of the foster care system (judges, attorneys, social workers, therapists, investigators, rehab centers, parent educators, foster families) is to reunify these precious kiddos to their biological families. Adoption is the last resort and a result of their biological family not being well enough or safe enough to take them back home. For most of the foster families I know, if the adoption took place, it took two to three years to finalize. I have friends who’ve had children living with them for two years, and then they reunite with their biological family.
2. Parents who have their kids taken by DCFS really don’t want their kids.
In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. The court has given them a “case plan” designed (in theory) to provide them with the tools and healing to be the parents they want to be. I’ve heard many foster families say they wish they could take in the biological parents into their home, too. They need love and a family to support them. Unfortunately, with a large percentage of foster youth parents having been in the foster system themselves, that support is usually not set in place. And let’s be honest, no social worker, attorney, judge, or therapist can replace the healing power of a loving family, leading a child to a loving God.
3. Once you have a foster child in your home, you won’t have contact with the biological family besides court dates.
Biological parents are usually granted visitation with their children (even if they are in jail or rehab). We started with seeing our foster daughters’ mama four hours a week, then it was increased to nine hours a week. Some foster agencies will transport and monitor the visitation for the foster family. We, however, have been responsible for transporting and supervising the visitations for baby girls (until recently). The parents have court given time to work on their “case plan” and towards reunification–attending visitations and bonding with their children is typically part of that plan.
  4. Foster families are emotionally stronger than other families.
The number one comment I receive is, “I don’t know how you do it, I would get too attached.” Guess what? I am super attached. I’m no different than you, no foster family is. We aren’t stronger than anyone. Surrendered, yes. Strong, no.
If you are a person who would get too attached to children in foster care, then guess what?! You’re the perfect candidate to be a foster parent. Attachment is what these kids need.
Things you may not know:
*Statistics from CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
It means so much that you’re taking this journey with me.⤠I’d love to send you a FREE SEVEN-DAY DEVOTIONAL: CLICK HERE FOR DEVOTIONAL
I was a cheerleader. Not the cool kind. When a routine called for the splits, Iâd lower my skirt to hide the fact I was several inches away from nailing it. I couldnât do a toe-touch. Iâd routinely jaunt across the quad with my skirt unknowingly tucked up under my backpack. Yeah.
One of our important cheerleading jobs was painting the ârun-thru” for the Friday night football game. This was serious stuff. We had to make life-altering decisions like: What should it say?! What colors should we use?! If we use too much paint, will it be too hard to tear?
A stampede of sweaty teenagers ran through this thing before theyâd compete. It signaled the battle of Friday Night Lights had begun; they were ready to face their opponents and build a legacy.
God asks us to do the same thing at times. He’ll require we charge towards a stronghold before announcing, âYouâre ready to step on the field.â
âThere is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavensâŚA time to tear down and time to buildâ (Ecclesiastes 3:1,3b).
Sometimes we must tear down before we can build up. The Hebrew word for âtear downâ in this verse is parats. In the tense used it means, to break or burst out (from womb or enclosure). So another way to understand this is, thereâs a time to burst out from whatever youâre stuck inside of.
Weâve got to break-through in order to build.
I found the same Hebrew word used nine other times in the context of increasing blessing or territory.
âThe little you had before I came has increased (parats, break or burst out) greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have beenâ (Genesis 30:30a)
Thereâs a blessing when we press past our comfort zones into new territory.
Whatâs stopping us from making that phone call, having the hard conversation, going to the adoption seminar, applying for that job, taking the first step towards healing our marriage? Maybe weâre too busy staring at the daunting banner in front of us, forgetting we have a banner over us. Moses declared, âThe LORD is my Bannerâ (Exodus 17:15). We are to lift up His name and bravely march forward.
Perhaps weâre too prideful thinking we can run through the banner by ourselves? Listen, it took a herd of sweaty young men to burst through our epic signs. Call the counselor or friend. Get in a small support group or Bible study. If you have a stronghold or complacent spot in your life, gather some people around you and address it. Life is moving forward with or without your participation.
Maybe weâre unwilling to put effort into breaking through our fears, selfishness, insecurities or haunting grief.
Itâs a shame really.
Because thereâs an epic battle going on among us, and we werenât made to stand on the sidelines. God can heal and equip, and he passionately desires to do so.
Letâs do the hard work of identifying the banners holding us back. Letâs be brave and learn to run full force at them, knowing on the other side is where weâre called to be living our lives. On the field, with our brothers and sisters, co-laboring with Christ to build things that are âtrue, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, graciousâthe best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curseâ (Philippians 4:8-9 The Message)
Weâve got one life on this earth. One. Get in the good fight for the kingdom. Ask God to show you which areas you need to have a breakthrough and CHARGE!!
Once, I swung open the front door of my mini-van, jumped inside, heard a growl, peeked over my shoulder and found myself face to face with two black dogs.
Seriously, who the heck put their stinkinâ dogs in my mini-van?!
Um. Yeah. Not my mini-van.
Itâs a bit terrifying how long it took to realize my mistake.
No one in the van was happy…and somebody definitely peed a little.
Hereâs the deal: Donât climb into someone elseâs mini-van uninvited. It doesnât matter how much it looks like yours. Same goes for our lives. Someone may appear to have a similar life, outlook, circumstance, parenting triumph or woe – but until youâve entered in, youâve no clue whatâs really going on inside.
Never assume. Itâs a waste of time. And donât barge in. Itâs too risky.
Wait to be invited.
This can be so tricky. Especially if the door of their life appears wide open. Â Dusty goldfish are pouring out, the leaking juice box under the backpack has puddled next to a runaway credit card. You just want to offering a suggestion…right?! Stop. There could be some snarling teeth in there. Someoneâs going to get hurt.
I canât tell you how many friendships in my life have been strained because weâve felt judged by one another. Â It makes all of us shut down and pull away. Ask yourself two questions:
Have I established mutual trust with this person?
If you havenât known this person long, and you get all up in their business, it can feel like judgement. It may not be your heart! But remember, they donât trust you yet. Itâs not fair to expect them to know your intentions. Be wise and hold your tongue. But love them like crazy. Be a constant in their life.
Has this person indicated they want your opinion?
I have friends who I know donât want my opinion- even though they love and trust me. Bummer is, Iâm still prone to give it. Weâve got to know our audience yâall. Â Itâs hard for this Italian/Irish girl to shut it down! Iâm learning at the speed of molasses â I need to discipline myself in this area.
Does your friend let her kids watch rated R movies at the age of nineâŚguess what?!
Thatâs not your mini-van!
Or maybe a friend doesnât believe in vaccinations, or home-school, or private school, or public school, or any school!!
Yeah. Thatâs not your mini-van either. Get out girl!
Itâs hard to be a mom these days. Everyone and every book out there hisses, âYouâre doing it wrongâ or, âYou can do it better.â Our generation has trouble trusting God can equip us properly.
We turn to the next, âHow to…â book, before we turn to Godâs book.
We ask Siri before we ask the Spirit.
I believe the enemy’s in this; undermining our God-given instincts to parent our children well. He uses social media, articles and most aggressively- he baits us to tear each other down. We don’t need to be another blasting horn of judgement towards our sisters! Godâs heart is for us to, âEncourage one another and build each other up.â(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Donât know how to do this? I think it starts with less worrying about getting into someone elseâs life, and inviting them authentically into your own. Living out grace is a powerful witness and gift; loving people regardless of their parenting choices. If a friend does ask your opinion, it’s a safe place to practice honesty. Any fiery pups in her mini-van should know you well enough not to snap.
âLetâs baby wrestle! Iâll get on my knees and put one hand behind my back. You can fight normalâŚbut don’t tell Mom.â
My poor big brother; he desperately wished I was a boy. So I agreed, on several occasions, to âbaby wrestle.â
Why did I entertain this sibling wackiness?! Iâm sure a therapist would say it’s some quirky way of bonding. Whatever. Reality was, I knew- even though he was stronger than me, he wouldnât hurt me. He couldn’t, or I would tell Mom. It was my chance to “bring it” full force.
God welcomes our desire to wrestle, too. He wants us to run full force into his arms when we’re frustrated. Of course He’s stronger, but He won’t crush us. We can’t hesitate to step onto the mat; where unmet expectations lay sprawled out on the sweaty, sticky floor, and “bring it”.
Listen loves, thereâs no form of battle more intimate then wrestlingâŚ
Itâs grabbing hold; skin to skin, breath to breath, strength against strength.
Reaching out and seizing God – is seizing all that is good. But weâll never know if we donât engage in the communion.
Do you want to know God? You must be willing to honestly approach Him. Get in His face. Itâs beautiful, steadfast & glorious.
Do you want to know who you are? Accept wrestling with God is part of your refining. Jacob wrestled with God, and afterwards, God gave him a new name. (Genesis 32:22-32 & Hosea 12:4) It was in the wrestling God clarified Jacob’s identity. We could be missing a defining moment if we abandon the arena of connection with our Father in Heaven.
Three reasons we walk away:
Weâre full of pride. Deep down we think, whatever Godâs purposes are, itâs not valid enough for us. Therefore, weâve no desire to hear what he has to say. Weâre over it. Weâre over him. We love ourselves and our plan for life more than we love God. We truly think: heâs not worth the sweat; the conversation isnât worth our time. Simple as that.
Weâre full of misconceptions about Godâs character. God’s always good. But if one smidgen of our heart suspects heâs a bit evilâŚweâre not going to challenge him. We know heâs stronger and suspect heâll pin us down and punch us in the face. Maybe, weâve misunderstood what it means to âfear Godâ? Maybe, weâve confused loving discipline with punishment? But, somewhere along our journey, weâve believed the lie, âGod isnât always good.â
We think itâs a sin to bring our questions to God. Nowhere, I can find, is it a sin to communicate freely with God. However, itâs a matter of the heart. God sent his son, tearing down the veil separating us from direct communication with Him. He wants authentic relationship. He formed us in His imageâŚthe image that presses in and fights for intimacy. The image so consumed with the desire to be known, heâs moved space, time and history in order to touch us. Believe me: He wants to talk to you.
The majority of âfaith heroesâ in the Bible, in some manner, pushed back at God when they didnât understand his plan. Two elements of their wrestling are routinely evident:
They were humble enough to be honest. If youâre reading this thinking, I never question God in my heart, I always accept His plan without a struggle, I suspect youâre lying to God and yourself. If that was true, youâd have perfect faith. Youâre not Jesus, sister. And even in His perfect faith, he asked God if heâd be willing to change His planâŚthree times! (Matthew 26:36-44)
They trusted Godâs goodness. They knew Godâs love was permanent. Even in their unbelief, anger and sorrow-God’s plan wasn’t to walk away. Instead of pinning them down in His strength, God firmly cradled them until they understood he was not only God, but also loving Father.
If you receive anything from this read, hear this: Itâs better to run to God with your frustrations, then to run from Him in frustration. Take the first step onto the mat.
Iâve put together a list of helpful Bible verses to showcase youâre not alone in your wrestling with Godâs ways. FREE DOWNLOAD:God’s Word — Marked by Love
Dear ones,
Iâm writing you these truths because Iâve found myself huddled, in several seasons, in one of the âThree Reasons We Walk Awayâ camps listed. Itâs too much to break down in a simple blog post. I have a heavy burden on my heart for you if youâre in one of these spaces right now. Please message me.
We call it, âThe Dark Hole of our Marriage.â I was thirty and had birthed three kids in 2 ½ years. Everyone around me was a total jerk. Everyone. Other mammas, my mirror, the mailman, and especially that speed-walker dude on Kellogg. Trust me – but donât trust me. I hadnât slept and each day was a blur of diapers, feedings and potty accidents. It wasnât until I was thirty-three that I began to feel a bit human again. Kids were sleeping more; playing in the toilet less. I finally understood; maybe everyone around me wasnât really a jerk. Maybe the honking lady in the Sprouts parking lot truly cared my baby was rolling away with my shopping cart. Maybe.
Perhaps, they were just offering an oxygen mask to a suffocating girl.
Life’s truly a canvas of mountains and valleys. One of the greatest dangers for extreme mountain climbers is lack of oxygen to the brain. When this happens, they get disoriented and canât think clearly (Hello, motherhood!). They become incapable of ascending or descending the mountain alone. A fellow climber must place their own oxygen mask over the climberâs mouth and physically help them down.
This is how God designed fellowship to work. Because we all have âmountainsâ to climb, dear ones!
On some mountains, youâll be stronger than me. Your faith wonât falter. Youâll have a week when all the kiddos are healthy, and youâve had bunches of quiet time with Jesus. Your oxygen tank will be 100% full with a backup in the mini-van.
On other climbs, I might be honking at your kiddo in a runaway shopping cart.
But what is our spiritual oxygen tank filled with? Encouragement? Wise words? Dinner on the doorstep?
All of these are precious and certainly loving. But weâre talking about our sisters SUFFOCATING!!! I donât care how epic your baked pasta dish is, itâs not going to cut it.
Two things are made from the breath of God in the Bible: Mankind (Genesis 2:7), and Godâs word (1 Timothy 3:16).
This is no coincidence. When our spirits are gasping for air, we need the breath of Godâs word poured into us. But what happens when weâre too worn out to lift relief to our lips? Youâre not the only gal who struggles to find time to read Godâs word. But you donât need to collapse on the trail and declare it hopeless.
Look around for other climbers – other believers. Use what’s left in your lungs to cry out, âSomeone, please speak the word of God over my life right now!â
This is not shameful. This is brave.
Your life, your children, your marriage, your sanity, in some way, depend on your ability to recognize, youâre too exhausted to ascend higher by yourself. Some days, weâll need a sister to hoist us up, press the word of God upon our lips and carry us straight to Jesus.
And if this isnât you right now, get ready for a search and rescue season! I guarantee thereâs someone with an empty oxygen tank on your trail. Scoop them up, speak Godâs truth into their life and take them to the King.
Sometimes Mammaâs need help. But all the time, they need grace.
Once upon a time, at Trader Joes, I allowed my three angels to push their own mini-carts. SoâŚthey decided to play bumper carts down the aisle of wine bottles. Smack in the middle of the horrific scene, another mom sauntered by, her two children peacefully pushing one cart and said,
âYou know, itâs really not the best idea to let each of your children have a cart.â
I donât remember what I said. But I did not say,
âWow, thatâs such wonderful advice. Youâve helped me feel like a non-idiot. You clearly care about me and the six shattered Merlots Iâm about to pay for.â
Yeah. I did not say that.
Moments later, a heroic Trader Joeâs worker, rushed to my side as I confiscated the horrid mini-carts. I was attempting to balance all three on top of my big one. She gently offered the kiddos a sucker while I completed my mission.
I look back on this day and ask myself-Â Which character in this embarrassing story do I want to be? Our words and actions, even well intended, are pathways.
Here are key questions Iâm learning to consider:
Is what I say or do, leading someone down a hallway to Godâs love? Or, is it a route to my own self-validation?
Will this help them feel better, or me feel better?
Which corridor am I nudging people towards when I come to their aid?
I donât think the mamma at Trader Joeâs had a heart to help me. Â She wanted to make it clear, she knew more about this parenting thing than me. Iâm super guilty of behaving this way, too. We all struggle with insecurities when we seek validation outside of God’s love.
Once I shamed a mamma for packing her daughter marshmallows as a âhealthy snack.â Not my finest moment. But advising her how not to feed her children, validated the way I chose to feed mine. It was vain. Godâs word makes it clear, âDo nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.â (Philippians 2:3)
Holding my tongue is just as hard as the Bible says. Godâs shown me, sometimes I donât really want to help, I want to be heard. If being heard by others becomes more important than loving them, weâve missed the mark big time. This is true in our friendships, marriages and everyday encounters.
Jesus didnât say, the greatest commandment is, âLove the Lord your God with your heartâŚAnd the second is to give judgmental advice to all the tired moms on your street.â
Nope. He said, ââLove the Lord your GodâŚÂ  And the second is like it: âLove your neighbor as yourself.â(Matthew 22:37-39)
How did you feel loved when you were in this bleary-eyed stage? Consider those thingsâŚand then do them for others. Next time you see a crazy mamma balancing mini-carts in Trader Joeâs, help her get the third one up with a smile.  She doesnât need your advice, she needs your grace.
Thereâs power in a name. Too often, we hand that power over to others.
My name is Arabic in origin, literally meaning, âsmall bird.â I think itâs cute. But last year, when a small bird built its nest in our front door wreathâŚI wasnât so sure. Every time we opened the door, it whizzed into our house and repeatedly rammed into our fireplace. My youngest laughed, my daughter screamed and my oldest lurched with a determined broom to guide her outside. Hmmm. Am I a small bird?!
In 2018, I surely let circumstances label me – Slight, Insignificant and Weak.
All false names given by false friends.
We’ve all allowed false names to banner over us. Names like: Alone, Failure or Liar.
Instead of asking God for a word to live by this year, I asked Him for a new name. This year was straight up hard. 70 percent of the time, I felt 100 percent inadequate. I mean, face-down on a rug, sobbing, I-don’t-think-I’ll-ever-stand-up-again kind of inadequate. Maybe God had a new name for me; something awesome, like Phoenix?!A name to inspire rising up fierce from the heartache. But after failing to persuade my hubby that Phoenix is a super cool name for his wife⌠God dismantled my view.
In the book of Acts, Peter heals a lame beggar. Onlookers are astonished and,
” When Peter saw this, he said to them: âFellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? …By faith in the name of Jesus,this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesusâ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:12, 16, emphasis mine)
God didnât have a new name for me; but a new understanding…
My name isn’t the one that matters.
This year, there were times I felt like this lame beggar – that I’d never stand again – miraculously, I did. And it had nothing to do with my name.
There were moments I felt I’d suffocate from unmet expectations – but I didn’t. And it had nothing to do with my name.
God works through the mire to birth His magnificence. I’ve lived this truth. If you have too, you’ve known no miracle on earth like it. When we’re not strong enough to stand – but still do – we’re face to face with our true identity.
“That is why, for Christâs sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (1 Corinthians 12:10)
When this small bird felt she’d never soar – she found herself wielding swords and charging into battle…because of a name. God uses the meek to bring forth the meaningful. This year, I’ll allow the weakness in me to lead to the wonderment of Him. I’ll be less concerned with the meaning of my own name, and seek to understand more the meaning of His.
For it’s in the purposes of Him that I find the purpose of me.
We don’t require a special new name to label us; we need to allow The Name Above All Names to live in us…
I have one big brother; and he is all brother. When we were kiddos, his love language was messing with me. I believed his Every. Single. Word. Stuff, like-
At the age of 12, Iâd be sent to live on an Indian Reservation to make bead necklaces for the rest of my life–because I was a girl.
AndâŚ
Dr. Pepper was called âDr. Pepperâ because you were supposed to pour red crushed peppers in before you drank up.
Iâm relieved my parents forgot to send me away, and eventually, I traded sucking red crushed peppers through stubborn straws for my beloved non-fat, with-whip, mochas.
My whole life Iâve had the ‘fun’ of knowing what it means to have a brother…but not a sister. Last week my daughter received a letter with the precious words crayoned,
âCiana, you can call me Sisterâ.
I read it over and over, and all the feel-goods sprinkled over my spirit. My cousinâs daughter had written them. Sheâs adopted from Uganda and understands more than most, love makes a family. And God is that love. We enter a loving relationship with God; strike down genetic laws; and become sisters with other believers. But it doesnât always feel that way.
If someone at church referred to me as âsisterââŚI figured theyâd forgotten my name. Honestly, there are times when hearing it from random ladies makes me roll all my eyes. Why can it feel so patronizing? When itâs stripped down: we may be sisters in Godâs family, but we often struggle to treat one another that way. It’s not on purpose! We’re busy. We’re tired. We’re overwhelmed keeping precious little humans alive and forget to really pray when we say we will.
When someone in a family struggles, it affects the whole household. If something is lost, all grubby fingers dig under the couch cushions to find it. If one kiddo hurls their body into the mini-van late, all the kiddos run like hyenas to get to class on time. If youâre in a healthy family, your lives are intertwined. But if you donât live under the same roof, this gets tough. I think of the letters between Ciana and Milla. At such a young age, they’re making an effort to keep their lives intertwined. And thatâs the keyâŚthey’re intentional.
True sisterhood speaks these words:
When you struggle, my spirit will wrestle in prayer for you.
When youâre lost in an area of life, Iâll search Godâs word for answers with you.
When you feel youâll never make it to the finish line, Iâll carry your heavy diaper bag.
But how can we authenticate our spoken words of sisterhood when life is so….much?
Here are three things Iâve found to be practical, powerful & completely do-able:
1. Fast together.
When a friend lays out a deep concern over coffee, I offer to fast with them for a week over the issue. Fasting doesnât have to be dramatic. It can simply mean going without something you enjoy and replacing it with specific prayer. I typically choose to stop eating sugar. The struggle is so for real. Every time I’m all cravy, I stop right there and pray for whatever unique trial my friend is dealing with.
2. Pray at the same time everyday together.
Most likely, you donât see your friend every day. So set an alarm on your phone to remind you both to stop what youâre doing and pray. I had a friend who was struggling with her husband when he came home from work. We set our phones to alert us to pray thirty minutes before he got home. When we were done praying, we would simply text, âAmen,â to each other.
3. Dedicate a prayer journal to your friend.
I love to do this! I buy thin journal packs at TJ Maxx or HomeGoods, sharpie a friend’s name on the cover, and fill it up with prayers over their life. Some fill up faster than others and I donât do it every day. Sometimes Iâll take a quick picture of the cover and text it to my friend saying, âYou were just covered in prayer.â I imagine when I go home to Jesus; my children will find them and deliver them to my living friends.
Iâm praying these practical tips spur your relationships to a deeper level. Itâs not easy when youâre in the jungle of âAdultingâ. But thatâs why itâs so important, isnât it? We all need to know someone is genuinely in the thick with us. We all want someone to take the time to say, “Friend, you can call me Sister.”
âCarry each otherâs burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.â (Galatians 6:2)
Taking time to give thanks to the Lord fills our souls more than deep fried turkey. In the Old Testament, the Fellowship Offering of thanksgiving (first mentioned in Leviticus 7:11-15), helps us to understand the deeper purposes of giving thanks.
Giving thanks reflects our desire for fellowship with the Lord. The thanksgiving offering was not commanded by the Lord, it was a voluntary act of worship; a stirring of the heart. When a worshiper wanted to have fellowship with the Lord, they’d give an offering of thanks.
 If you’re hungry for closeness with God, CHOOSE TO GIVE THANKS.
When we give thanks, we get full. The thanksgiving offering, unlike all other offerings, required the worshiper to eat the entire meal on the day it was offered. A worshiper left with his belly full after giving thanks to the Lord.
 If you’re feeling empty and craving more out of life, CHOOSE TO GIVE THANKS.
Our choice to give thanks, blesses others. After the Lord and the priests took their portion of the offering, the worshiper would take the remaining bread and meat home to share with friends and family.
If you want deeper fellowship with those you love, CHOOSE TO GIVE THANKS.
 âLet them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.â  Psalms 107:8-9
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I was a cheerleader. Not the cool kind. When a routine called for the splits, Iâd lower my skirt to hide the fact I was several inches away from nailing it. I couldnât do a toe-touch. Iâd routinely jaunt across the quad with my skirt unknowingly tucked up under my backpack. Yeah.
