Hey Mom! A Hack, A Book, A Poem

When a resource comes from my daughter, I automatically give it a 5 star review. She is godly, intelligent, wise, and resourceful; I value both her wisdom and her research. From purchasing a vacuum to investigating appropriate plants for the subdivision entrance, she can be trusted. So, with joy—and inclusive of her comments—I share my latest favorites (A Hack, A Book, A Poem) from Hey Mom!

A Hack

Comment: Hey Mom! You are not going to believe this method. It will save all kinds of frustration.

Ingenious Duvet Cover Trick:

A Book

Comment: Hey Mom! I sent you a link to the biography I’ve been listening to on the life of Queen Mary. It’s really good, and the author has all these very British anecdotes, which I think you would get a kick out of. For instance, she talks about how the queen always had an umbrella with her, and she would inconspicuously poke the king if he got too long-winded in his speeches!

Anyway, it just made me think of the wife of a leader, and plus, you like the British. Also, it spans a fascinating time in history—through both the World Wars.

I think my take-away, though, is that while she was a great queen (she was loved) and an excellent wife, she had her drawbacks as a mother. Tell me what you think.

Matriarch, Queen Mary and the House of Windsor

By Anne Edwards, read by Corrie James

A Poem

Comment: Hey Mom! One of the ladies in my Bible study read this prayer to us the other day; I thought you would like it. She was a hospice nurse for many years, so the last line, God be at mine end, was particularly meaningful to her. She said that people die very differently from one another. And, she told us that you can tell a difference with those who are looking forward to seeing their Savior.

God be in my head,

and in my understanding;

God be in my eyes,

and in my looking;

God be in my mouth,

and in my speaking;

God be in my heart,

and in my thinking;

God be in mine end,

and at my departing.

-The Book of Hours, 1514

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds …” (Hebrews 10:24).

Which younger person has God placed in your life to provide you with resourceful information?

How does He use this relationship to infuse you with encouragement and inspiration?

If you are the younger person in the relationship, are you patient when one from another generation asks for your much-needed assistance and input?

Alleviate the Agony of Waiting

Sitting at my kitchen counter, I ate my warm oatmeal and pondered the topic: waiting. My friend’s dilemma related to her professional life, and mine touched my personal life. As we encouraged each other back and forth with our text messages, I realized that she and I are not alone.

Waiting for something or someone seems to perpetually command a placeholder in our lives.

Waiting for:

a medical school slot to open up

a business permit to be acquired

a boss to get back to us

the insurance company to approve

an interview to be granted

a biopsy report to come in

an internship to turn up

a spouse to change

a prodigal to come home

one’s finances to improve

a friendship to be reconciled

a healing to take place

an email to be answered

If Waiting is a Biblical theme—and it is—we ask, “Why is waiting so hard?” Perhaps, as one of life’s greatest challenges, waiting reminds us that we are not in control.

So while sitting in Life’s Waiting Room, allow these three thoughts to alleviate—lessen—the agony.

Perspective

The Lord of all time is also the Lord of timing.

-Ronnie Stevens

While we are waiting, God is working.

-Alistair Begg

Presence

God + nothing is more than enough.

(God’s very Presence offers fullness of joy—Psalm 16:11—with or without what it is that I am waiting on or for. So, while we wait, we still get God!)

-Larry Thompson

Provision

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

-2 Peter 1:3 Berean Study Bible

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

How well do you wait?

Why do you think waiting is so challenging?

What are you waiting on right now?

What thought of encouragement do you have to offer to a fellow-waiting pilgrim?

Note: Please keep in mind, the definition of alleviate is to lessen, as opposed to eliminate. Only God can eliminate the agony of waiting.

A Broken Heart and a Grief Stricken Question

Do you ever ask yourself, “If I had been there, what would I have done?”

For a few moments, write yourself into The Story on that early Easter morning. No Starbucks, no Egg McMuffin, no breakfast bar. Just a broken heart and a grief stricken question: “Who will roll away the stone?”

What we know:

It was early, very early, just after sunrise, and three women faced a challenging, emotional task. Someone dear to them died the day before, and they took it upon themselves to anoint the Body for a proper burial. Since two of them stood with the owner of the tomb the previous evening, they knew the location. Staring at a problem of gigantic proportion, they asked themselves the question, “Who will roll away the stone?”

What we don’t know:

• Who first raised the question? Was it Mary Magdalene, or Mary the mother of James, or was it Salome?

• Why had they not thought of this before now?

• Was the question one of worry and anxiety or just a concern for the obstacle?

What they discovered:

Their ordinary question received an extraordinary answer! When they looked up, the stone was rolled away and the empty tomb confirmed the resurrection!

As the Scriptures record:

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!” (Mark 16:1-6).

Our place in the Story:

In our life journey, like the ladies, we grapple with the obstacle: “Who will roll away the stone?”

In our finances, in our family, in our future?

In our habits, in our hearts, in our hopelessness?

Yet when we look up—like Mary, Mary, and Salome—we discover that God, in His glorious faithfulness, has already rolled away the stone. Just when needed, His grace for the moment is greater than the stone, regardless of its size.

But there is more:

God always longs to accomplish a greater miracle than just rolling away the stone. In our finances, in our family, in our future, in our habits, in our hearts, and in our hopelessness, He desires to display the Resurrection of His Son!

Dear One, may this be the most meaningful Easter you have ever experienced, and may you and I pray together: Father, as I write myself into this Easter Story, I ask You to roll away the stone in every crack and crevice of my life, and reveal the glorious Resurrection of Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

1. How would you have felt if you were walking with the women on that early morning, just after sunrise?

2. What would your concerns have been? Would you have been worried and anxious?

3. Where do you need God to roll away the stone in your current circumstances?

4. What would it look like not only for the stone to be removed, but for the Resurrection to be displayed in that situation?