Take THIS Waltz
I am 33 weeks now and our sweet baby girl will be here soon. I have spent the last several months resting, praying, reading, growing, and serving. This truly has been probably one of the greatest seasons in my life and with my family. I have not worked since July and my days have been filled with making lunches, planning dinner, playing Minionopoly with my 5 year old, praying for my friends, and spending time on the phone with my family members that live far away.
This has been a very strong time of spiritual growth for me and my husband and God's timing for that is perfect as we prepare to welcome precious baby girl in January. Jon and I have embraced some very tough realities this year, but while they have been challenging and hard to face, we are now stronger, closer, and more focused on the Lord as the anchor of our relationship. I hope that the both of us are never tested more than what we have been this year, but considering how the enemy wants nothing more than our faith, the both of us are certain we need to keep our armor on and prepare to battle hard.
It has been quite a while since the Lord has really laid anything specific on me with clarity that I need to write and share until this morning at church. Let me back up a few days first though. Now that I am 8 months pregnant, I wake up at night alot of course and some nights I will turn on a movie and have some "me" time. I went on to Hulu and found a new movie with Seth Rogen called "Take This Waltz". I did not look at the trailer and read the description I just flipped it on because I love most of the movies that he is in. He makes me laugh. The movie turned out to be a very solemn and cynical view of married life. And while I could relate in many parts of the movie, it really left me questioning something that caught me at the very end. The summary and context of it is this - Seth's wife "Margo" spends the movie trying to find herself. She is bored, miserable, and constantly feeling rejected by her mate. Long movie short, she ends up walking away from all of the relationships that were meaningful in her life to pursue other people and other things...very selfish things. In the meantime, her mate's sister relapses into alcoholism and disappears. In a panic, the family calls Margo, as the two of them were very close. Margo reunites with them and shortly after the sister in law resurfaces. The sister in law pulls her aside and really gives her a piece of reality. She says, "Margo, life just has a gap in it." This really hit me. And I actually caught myself agreeing and sharing this "epiphany" with my husband. Life just has gaps in it that all of us are trying to fill. And then...today at church my entire perspective was renewed.
"Life just has a gap in it"!!! ??? For those of us that are alive in Christ, and walking in relationship with the God who made us, this could not be farther than the truth. Today at church Justin Terry shared with us scriptures that really hit home for me. He asked us, "Where is your heart?" and quoted Psalm 27:1 which says,
"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life -of whom shall I be afraid?" and
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
And I was quickly reminded that when my heart is fully seeking Him, and I can sincerely speak from my mouth that the "Lord is the stronghold" of Keri's life, it is then that there are no gaps that have any real significance in my life. The peace, joy, and love that one experiences in the light of their salvation is EVERYTHING and THE ONLY THING that anyone needs - and it DOES fill the gaps. Life only has gaps in it when we are not gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him and His Plan for us fully.
I am thankful that the spiritual markers in my life and in my family show that the position of our hearts is on this "one thing" that David asks for in this Psalm - to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life, to follow the Lord's plan for our family, and to gaze on the beautiful eternal rewards of the hope of our salvation in Him.
Our prayer to share with you:
This has been a very strong time of spiritual growth for me and my husband and God's timing for that is perfect as we prepare to welcome precious baby girl in January. Jon and I have embraced some very tough realities this year, but while they have been challenging and hard to face, we are now stronger, closer, and more focused on the Lord as the anchor of our relationship. I hope that the both of us are never tested more than what we have been this year, but considering how the enemy wants nothing more than our faith, the both of us are certain we need to keep our armor on and prepare to battle hard.
It has been quite a while since the Lord has really laid anything specific on me with clarity that I need to write and share until this morning at church. Let me back up a few days first though. Now that I am 8 months pregnant, I wake up at night alot of course and some nights I will turn on a movie and have some "me" time. I went on to Hulu and found a new movie with Seth Rogen called "Take This Waltz". I did not look at the trailer and read the description I just flipped it on because I love most of the movies that he is in. He makes me laugh. The movie turned out to be a very solemn and cynical view of married life. And while I could relate in many parts of the movie, it really left me questioning something that caught me at the very end. The summary and context of it is this - Seth's wife "Margo" spends the movie trying to find herself. She is bored, miserable, and constantly feeling rejected by her mate. Long movie short, she ends up walking away from all of the relationships that were meaningful in her life to pursue other people and other things...very selfish things. In the meantime, her mate's sister relapses into alcoholism and disappears. In a panic, the family calls Margo, as the two of them were very close. Margo reunites with them and shortly after the sister in law resurfaces. The sister in law pulls her aside and really gives her a piece of reality. She says, "Margo, life just has a gap in it." This really hit me. And I actually caught myself agreeing and sharing this "epiphany" with my husband. Life just has gaps in it that all of us are trying to fill. And then...today at church my entire perspective was renewed.
"Life just has a gap in it"!!! ??? For those of us that are alive in Christ, and walking in relationship with the God who made us, this could not be farther than the truth. Today at church Justin Terry shared with us scriptures that really hit home for me. He asked us, "Where is your heart?" and quoted Psalm 27:1 which says,
"The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life -of whom shall I be afraid?" and
Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
And I was quickly reminded that when my heart is fully seeking Him, and I can sincerely speak from my mouth that the "Lord is the stronghold" of Keri's life, it is then that there are no gaps that have any real significance in my life. The peace, joy, and love that one experiences in the light of their salvation is EVERYTHING and THE ONLY THING that anyone needs - and it DOES fill the gaps. Life only has gaps in it when we are not gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him and His Plan for us fully.
I am thankful that the spiritual markers in my life and in my family show that the position of our hearts is on this "one thing" that David asks for in this Psalm - to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life, to follow the Lord's plan for our family, and to gaze on the beautiful eternal rewards of the hope of our salvation in Him.
Our prayer to share with you:
"Lord, thank you for the hope of our salvation in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Father we pray as your gospel is shared that more people will be able to lie down all of the things they are chasing and doing to fill the gap and experience the light and the love that you have for them and the Ephesians 3:20 life you have for them. Father we ask that our family seek you all the days of our life and let the inward position of our hearts be reflected in the outward behaviors and actions of our lives. Lord we are just thankful for all that you are, and all that you have done through your son Jesus Christ. Everything we have is from you and we believe that you are preparing the way for us as we live a life out loud for you amidst a world that really does not desire or recognize the true greatness, power, fulfillment a relationship with you truly brings. Lord keep our eyes and our hearts focused on seeking you, spending time in Your Word Hearing from you, and sharing the message with others that they see you in us. In Jesus Name..."
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