I want you to build an ark, Noah.

A what?

There is going to be a flood, Noah.

A what?

God asked Noah to create something that no one had ever seen because He was about to do something He had never done. And, Noah? Well, he was obedient and did all that God instructed Him to do.

Every child that ever went to Sunday School knows this story, right? We have the righteous Noah, the ark and all of the animals. It’s such a cute story.

Yes, it is cute and inspiring. Then, we have this:

And the Lord shut him in. - Genesis 7:16

Just imagine Noah watching the door close and not fully comprehending what was about to happen. The rain begins to beat against the boat and the waves begin to get rocky.

Do you want to know something that never occurred to me before? Noah was on the ark a long, long time. He was in the ark for 370 days. The Lord shut him in and, then, nothing except wind and waves for over a year.

See, building the ark was not the difficult part.  Did people understand what he was doing?  No.  Did folks laugh at him and call him crazy? Probably.  But,  that was not the hard part.  After all, Noah had a clear word from the Lord and he was going with it.

The part that is completely overlooked is what happened between the Lord shut him in and God remembered Noah (Genesis 8:1.)

Do you want to know what happened?  He waited. And he waited. And, then, he waited some more.

Come on now…someone wants to testify.

The Lord tells him to get into this boat.  He shuts him in and then silence.  Can you even imagine?  Of course you can – because we have all had our moments of waiting on the Lord.

Faith is not building the ark.  Faith is what happens inside the ark.  Faith is not being able to see the Lord at work, but knowing that He is and that He will remember you.

Faith is waiting, my friends, and it isn’t always easy. But, He is so worthy of your wait.

We’re far from perfect, but you already knew that, right?

We had a weird technical fluke in our March issue on Hayley DiMarco’s marriage article, “The Fruitful Wife,” in which a file wasn’t updated before going to the printer. Please forgive our tired pre-Christmas eyes!

Here’s the article as it should have been printed. Thanks for your grace for our small but hardworking team!

The Fruitful Wife by Hayley DiMarco

I saw this cartoon this morning and it totally sums up my life on most days. I just thought I would share it. I don’t know who writes these things, but I’m pretty sure they must be hiding in my closet.

Social media is crazy fun, y’all. I have met some really great people (hey, Wendy and Jen!) Those are two Jesus-loving ladies, my friends. You should probably follow them. Seriously, go ahead. I’ll wait.

Okay. So, it’s fun. I’ve made some of the recipes. I’ve laughed at some of the jokes. I’ve had serious conversations and times of prayer with some ladies I probably would not have met this side of heaven.

Unfortunately, there is an ugly side to it as well. Satan can use this online environment to prey on a weakness that you and I probably share: the tendency to compare.

You see someone post about getting a book deal and you think, “I have been blogging way longer than her.” Someone shows off a picture of that beautiful princess castle cake they made from scratch after seeing it on Pinterest. My Your first thought may be something like, “Um, they must not know that Kroger can make cupcakes and the only thing you have to worry about is getting them home in one piece.” 

Do not let Satan use something as silly as someone’s vacation photos on Facebook steal your joy. Let’s build each other up and not tear one another down. Years ago, I used to go to these beautiful home shows and tours. You know, you walk around looking at someone else’s beautiful home and pretend like you aren’t dying to look in the medicine cabinets. Can I be honest? I would walk around those places and, then, go home and be ungrateful for what I had been given. It was an ugly part of me and I had to deal with it.

Let’s make a deal. Today, we are not going to compare. We will post things that will encourage and uplift. We will rejoice with others and not envy their blessings. We will be real and honest and thankful for what we have been given because it is good.

Here are some encouraging posts to get you started.

• I hear burnout is a thing by Lisa-Jo Baker
• How women can get really radical for their sisters at A Holy Experience
• World’s Okayest Mom at We are THAT Family
• 10 Groovy Ways to Use Bible Apps by Rachel Wojnarowski

Do you ever see someone who has exactly what you have been praying for? Have you ever looked at someone else’s life and thought, Okay, Lord, what about me?

I remember, in my youthful-and-pitiful-and-desperately-wanting-a-boyfriend days, I was obsessed with a song called Someone Else’s Star. It’s by an artist who was popular for a season and has now probably resorted to performing at state fairs and Dollywood.  The chorus begins: I guess I must be wishin’ on someone else’s star. It seems like someone else keeps getting what I’m wishin’ for. Pitiful, I know.

Yet, as I was reading in the book of John this morning, I realized two things:

1. I haven’t changed all that much.  I’m still looking at what other people have been given.
2. This habit of always looking at someone else and comparing is nothing new.

Let me set the scene.

Jesus has just informed Peter that, in his old age, he would be killed and his death would glorify God.  Jesus tells him that his hands will be outstretched – indicating a martyr’s death by crucifixion.

Can you imagine what Peter must have felt?.  There are certain things about my life that I do not want to know and the manner of my death is pretty high on the list.  So, I can understand Peter’s response.

So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them. That disciple was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray You?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord—what about him?” – John 21:20-21

Peter has been told his fate and, now, he is interested in the fate of John. It seems to be a legitimate question. Lord, what about him? What’s going to happen to him?

Then, Jesus’ response.

“If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.” – John 21:22

Jesus responds with, That would be none of your business, Peter.  You need only concern yourself with following me.

Does that step on anyone else’s toes?

That would be none of your business, Stacy. What I choose to give to someone else?  What I choose to do for someone else?  What is that to you?  Your only concern should be following Me.

Here is what I have come to understand. God does not owe me any explanations.  He is under no obligation to explain Himself or His plan to me and, if He did, I probably would not understand it.  His ways are so much higher than our ways. We do not see what He sees.

I don’t know where this morning finds you. Do you have a deep desire that has yet to be fulfilled? Does it seem as if everyone else keeps getting what you’re praying for? Do not let Satan plant seeds of envy or discontent. Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

If you are looking around and concerning yourself with what someone else has been given, I’m going to say this as gently as I can:

What is that to you?  You must follow Him.

We have all done it.  We have looked at someone else’s life and wondered why they “have it so easy.”  We see a happy couple and think how perfect their relationship seems.  We drive by the large, brick home and think how great it must be to live within those walls.  We look and we compare and we covet. Nothing will discourage a person faster than comparisons and false assumptions.

Life is full of thorns and thistles.  And everyone gets cut and scraped every now and again. When it came to his ministry, Paul was nothing if not honest.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in Asia... - 1 Corinthians 1:8

Our witnesses and our ministries will be useless if we are not honest about our struggles.  Broken people can not relate to pretend perfection.  Paul lets the Corinthians know that he had intense trials while spreading the gospel in Asia.  He was persecuted and suffered greatly.

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death… - 2 Corinthians 1:9

Sometimes, when pain comes our way, it is so intense that we are certain we will just die.  Maybe it’s a financial devastation or a health issue or a broken dream.  Whatever it might be, when it hits, it feels like a death sentence. And, if it were up to us, it may very well be the end.  But, when we feel the weight of a death sentence upon us, we turn to the One whom death could not contain.

But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. – 1 Corinthians 1:9

God allows suffering for a greater purpose.  He wants us to rely on Him.  That does not come naturally in our self-sufficient, it’s-all-about-me world. So, sometimes we suffer.  The pain can be so intense that we are certain we will not make it through alive. Yet, when we lean on Him, we find that He proves Himself faithful once again.  And then…

Then many will give thanks on our behalf… - 1 Corinthians 1:11

God gets the glory and we find that, even in our suffering, it was never about us.  It is always and only about Him. God will not let our suffering be in vain.  We must, however, be honest about our struggles.  We must rely on Him to bring us through and trust that He will make something beautiful out of our pain.

~~~~

Stacy Edwards is a trucker’s daughter and a pastor’s wife. She is a freelance writer and a mom to four fabulous little girls. Stacy blogs at Servant’s Life where she uses her words to point others to the hope and encouragement found in Christ.

We do not get to choose our story.

If we were honest, wouldn’t we all choose the one where life is easy and each day is sunshine, sweet tea and a good old fashioned porch swing? Wouldn’t we wish happy endings for ourselves and for everyone we love? That, however, is simply not our choice to make.

We can, however, choose Him. We can choose to say, “yes,” to whatever path He places us on.

Let’s face it. Life is hard. For me. For you. For the woman with the tired eyes in the cereal aisle. Illness, job loss, family hurts and soul-deep wounds – they visit us all and many of them leave the forever kind of scars.

But we can choose Him. And we can choose joy. We can look our fellow sojourner in the eye and say, “I will not pass judgment in your time of pain.”

We can trust Him to take our story and make it meaningful. If we let it, pain can birth a praise too beautiful for words. And is it not, in brokenness, that we most resemble Him?

Our story, in Him, is one of letting go. We let go of the notion that we are the hero in our story. We realize that the story is not even, in fact, about us at all.

So, we endure. We push on through trials, devastation and heartaches. We may not have chosen our circumstances, but we are smitten with the Savior who urges us onward.

We offer up our lives to the Author of our faith story knowing that, in time, all will be redeemed and restored. If we could see what He sees, we would say, “Yes, Lord. This is the story I would have chosen for myself.”

~~~~

Stacy Edwards is a trucker’s daughter and a pastor’s wife. She is a freelance writer and a mom to four fabulous little girls. Stacy blogs at Servant’s Life where she uses her words to point others to the hope and encouragement found in Christ.

There are those days when you see Him everywhere. The skies are blue and the birds are singing. There is a song in your heart, a spring in your step and a smile on your lips. Praise God for those days for they are, indeed, good. 

But, let’s be honest.  There are days when you struggle to see Him. The pain is blinding and oppressive and the darkness heavy. Your faith tells you that He is there, but your bruised heart begs for proof.

Peter knew the feeling. He understood shame and dreams dashed. He knew what he was talking about when he said…

Though not seeing Him now… - 1 Peter 1:8

I know you can’t see Him. Isn’t it comforting to read those words? Right now you can’t see Him. I get that.  That’s what Peter is saying.

Here is the hard part. Don’t gloss over it and miss it. Faith and obedience do not negate the hurt.

And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,

That’s the difference. You hurt, but you still believe that He loves you. You are confused, but you still believe that He is good. You feel alone, but you believe He is there.

You can’t see Him at that moment – but you believe.

And that is the secret to surviving the dark.

~~~~

Stacy Edwards is a trucker’s daughter and a pastor’s wife. She is a freelance writer and a mom to four fabulous little girls. Stacy blogs at Servant’s Life where she uses her words to point others to the hope and encouragement found in Christ.

The February issue of HomeLife is just full of good stuff. I sure hope you have picked up a copy. What makes our magazine great is y’all (our fabulous readers) and, also, our dedicated contributors. I wanted to take just a moment and highlight some of them. I hope you will visit their blogs and tell them how much you love them!

Kristen Welch (We are THAT Family), one of my favorite bloggers is in there talking about how to make your marriage rock! There are all kinds of wonderful tips like praise your spouse in front of others, go to bed at the same time and much more. It goes along with  this post that I wrote several months ago which became one of the Family Matter’s most shared posts for 2012. Great marriages are worth fighting for, folks.

Also, in our February issue, we have tips on hospitality and servanthood by Jennifer McCaman. Jennifer and her family are on mission in Thailand and she blogs about it here. When we shared her recent post on our Facebook page, lots of people were moved by her words.

Personally, I have been a fan of Kelly Hancock for years. I like to think of her as my personal meal planner, grocery list maker and money saver. She really is great. She blogs at Faithful Provisions. Today, she has posted about a fabulous little Buy One Get One Free coupon for Starbucks. And that, my friends, is why I love her. You’ll want to hop on over and print that baby out. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.

Welcome back.

Going right along with Kelly’s tips and tricks for saving money, we have Aaron Householder’s article on stewardship and how we can make the most of our resources and use them for God’s purposes. You can find out more about him on his blog as well.

This is just a small glimpse into the army of writers that give of their time and talents here at HomeLife. When you read an article you like, please be sure to read their bio information as well. They may just have a blog out there that you can visit and let them know how much you appreciate their words.

Have a great weekend, friends!

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Stacy Edwards is a trucker’s daughter and a pastor’s wife. She is a freelance writer and a mom to four fabulous little girls. Stacy blogs at Servant’s Life where she uses her words to point others to the hope and encouragement found in Christ.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the stage of life you are in right now? Maybe, one day, it feels like you have everything under control. Then, little by little, the ground begins to give way beneath you. Then, before you know it, you are in over your head. You begin making mistakes at work. All of a sudden, you can not pull yourself together enough to even make a grocery list.  You feel like you are drowning.

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. - Psalm 61:2

There is something you need to remember. Satan is the author of lies.  Everything about him is evil and deceptive and his intention is to steal every bit of joy from your life.  He will do his very best to convince you that you are ill-equipped for the life you currently have.  He wants you to believe that God has randomly dropped you into the role of working mom or single mom or homeschooling mom and then not equipped you to do it well. Listen closely. It is not your abilities that Satan wants you to doubt. He is attacking your faith in the One who has placed you where you are right now. Satan wants you to begin to doubt the goodness and provision of God.

Satan will try to convince you that God simply did not equip you well enough for this season of life. And, if you buy into that lie, anxiety and fear will begin to grow.

Are you feeling overwhelmed right now? Ill-equipped?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Are you scared? Anxious? Worried you may mess it all up? Go to His Word.  Everything you need to equip yourself is within those pages.  All Scripture is God breathed, so that you can be equipped for every good work.  And, not just equipped, but thoroughly equipped.

If you are staying in the Word, you are thoroughly equipped for every task you encounter.  You are thoroughly equipped to be a godly parent, a supportive and loving spouse, a productive employee, and the servant that you are called to be.

There will be those days when you feel the waters rising and you begin to feel overwhelmed.  But, long before Satan has a chance to pull you under, follow David’s lead in Psalm 61 and cry out to the One who is never overwhelmed by your circumstances.

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Stacy Edwards is a trucker’s daughter and a pastor’s wife. She is a freelance writer and a mom to four fabulous little girls. Stacy blogs at Servant’s Life where she uses her words to point others to the hope and encouragement found in Christ.