Latest / Mom2Mom MENTORING - Work/Life Harmony, Soul-Care, Kingdom Minded Moms / What are you looking at?

Transcript

What are you looking at? · Mom2Mom MENTORING - Work/Life Harmony, Soul-Care, Kingdom Minded Moms

• 0:00
  There was a time when I found myself constantly dwelling on what was missing, the vacancies, the losses, the things that weren't as they should be, I'd pray, but really I was just whining in God's direction and there was a lot of big holes.
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  With no husband, father provision.
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  Well, you get the picture.
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  It was during this time that I received a gift.
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  This gift was my friend and mentor, Kathleen Kennedy, who introduced me to the power of worshiping God, fixing my gaze on him.
• 0:41
  And not the problem.
• Kathleen gave me a gift that changed everything.
• It was a simple list of the names of God with scripture references.
• I.
• We'd use those names and character traits of God to worship him.
• The Ministry of Kathleen's was called Wings of Worship.
• We would travel to conferences and lift up silk painted flags, dance and use drama to usher in the presence of Jesus.
• It was in those sacred moments of worship that I learned the power of lifting up the name of God instead of lamenting in the gaps, I started praying the names of God over my life, over my children, over my home.
• Instead of focusing on what I lacked, I started focusing on who he is and friend.
• That simple gift changed everything.
• Now, before I go on, as your mom mentor and your friend, I wanna make this same gift available to you.
• Yep.
• It's the exact list that Kathleen gave me those 25 years ago.
• Just go to mom to mom mentoring.com/names
• of God to get your list.
• Now in the midst of extreme uncertainties battles between attorneys, my kids' own fighting, I would lay on the floor and cover myself with a silk flag named the Lord of hosts.
• It was my way of worshiping him and fixing my gaze on him instead of striving to fix the problems.
• instead of agreeing with the declaration that my children were fatherless, I raised a banner declaring ABBA over my family, and I watched the good, good father move in amazing ways in the lives of my children.
• And in a season when I felt desolate, abandoned as a wife, I found a piece of white bridal gown fabric stitched together a big white flag and declared the Lord is my husband.
• While I learned to lean on him and not my own understanding.
• You see, we're told in the word of God that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous can run into it and are safe.
• And during that season of life, when I was desolate and felt abandoned, I learned to run into the name of the Lord.
• I discovered that where my eyes were fixed, determined the posture of my heart Oh, there were so, so many days that I was so weary.
• All I could do was lift my eyes, and that's when I would remember My help comes from the Lord maker of heaven and earth.
• But let's be real.
• Even with what I learned in that season, I still lose sight of Jesus.
• My vision gets cloudy, and I let distractions pull me away.
• I cast my eyes downward.
• And even inward sometimes I see the lack instead of the provider.
• I focus on what's missing instead of the one who fills all things.
• And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.
• Hi friend.
• Welcome to Mom.
• To Mom Mentoring.
• I'm Misty Hughes, your gratitude guide, mom, mentor, celebration, coach, and your dream champion.
• I help Christian working moms just like you.
• Learn to live powerfully lead with purpose.
• And love with passion, but if we're honest, life doesn't always feel that way, does it? You get so distracted by all the shiny things, the never ending to-do list, the work deadlines, the soccer practice, the piles of laundry, the shoulds, coulds, and woods swirling in your head.
• I know you try to be everything to everyone, and in the process you lose sight of the one who is everything.
• So today I want to ask you.
• What are you looking at? Have you ever noticed how your eyes naturally lock onto what's missing? If there's a smudge on the mirror, you see it.
• If a word is misspelled on a sign, your eye typically goes straight to it.
• My husband, Craig, has this incredible ability to spot the gaps, the missing pieces.
• The things that need fixing.
• while it's a great skill that I love dearly, it also says something about our human nature.
• We fixate on absence, on voids, on imperfections.
• And I'm gonna be honest with you, I do it too.
• When I see where I failed or missed the mark, my first instinct is to fix it.
• I slip into fix it mom mode.
• Try harder, be better.
• Close the gap because isn't that what we're supposed to do? Identify the problem and work harder to make it right, but then I hear God say, stop it.
• Psalm 46 10 literally says, cease striving.
• And know that I am God.
• That word no in Hebrew, it doesn't mean just knowledge.
• It means to see, to perceive, to recognize God is literally telling us, stop scrambling.
• Stop obsessing over what's missing.
• Instead, look at me.
• So let me ask you, when you look at your life, your home, your family, your work, what do you see? Do you see what you think you lack or do you see God the great gap filler, the one who makes a way? Because the truth is you become what you behold.
• If you keep looking at the missing pieces, you'll always feel empty.
• But if you fix your eyes on Jesus, you will see the one who overcomes.
• Remember the story of the 12 spies in numbers 13 and 14.
• Moses sent 12 men to scout the land of Canaan, the promised land, and they all agreed the land was incredible overflowing with milk and honey, but 10 of those spies only saw the giants standing in the way.
• They looked through the lens of fear, and fear told them, this is impossible.
• Joshua and Caleb, well, they saw the same giants, but through a different lens.
• The lens of God's power and God's faithfulness.
• They knew God had already promised victory.
• So instead of focusing on the obstacles, they focused on the one who overcomes all the obstacles And because their eyes were fixed on God, they walked into the promise.
• Now, it was a few years later, but they still got their promise.
• So let me ask you, where are you looking at the giants in your life instead of the greatness of your God? Who is he to you today? Jehovah sa, the Lord of hosts the one who fights for you.
• Jehovah Shama.
• The God who is right here, Emmanuel.
• God with us.
• Now, beloved mom, I know you are busy, So I would like to give you two simple ways to shift your focus back to Jesus.
• Number one, lift your eyes.
• Psalm 1 21 says, I lift my eyes to the hills.
• From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord.
• When you feel overwhelmed to weary to take another step or can't handle one more thing.
• Lift your eyes.
• Sometimes it's the only thing you can lift.
• Go outside and look at the sky.
• Jesus says in Matthew 6 26, look at the birds of the air.
• They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
• Are you not worth much more than they? Let this looking up remind you that God is bigger than whatever is weighing you down.
• He is the good shepherd who leads you beside still waters and restores your soul.
• The second thing that you can do is remember and worship.
• When was the last time you had a real tangible encounter with God? Maybe it was during a worship service or in a quiet moment of prayer, or when he showed up in a miraculous way.
• Take a moment to pause and remember.
• Let that memory stir up fresh worship in your heart.
• Pray.
• Open the eyes of my heart, Jesus, I want to see you The world tells you to hustle, strive, and do more.
• But Jesus reminds us to look and see that your father provides where your eyes go, your heart follows.
• If you fix your eyes on Jesus, your heart will find peace.
• If you fix your eyes on your problems, your heart will be overwhelmed.
• Beloved, you don't have to have it all figured out.
• Just lift your eyes.
• See Jesus, behold the lamb of God, who takes away all the wrongness, all the darkness.
• If you need help fixing your gaze back on him, I've created that free resource, the names of God to help you meditate on who he is.
• You can download it at Mom to mom mentoring.com,
• names of God and let your heart be filled with his truth.
• If this episode has encouraged you or even challenged you, I wanna invite you to share it with a friend and leave a review.
• It helps other kingdom minded moms find the encouragement they need.
• Remember, You are called and created to live powerfully lead with purpose.
• Love with passion and parent with presence, and always remember when you shine, you give others permission to shine too.