Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we  are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14‭-‬16 NKJV

Let us hold fast to what we believe. Let’s wrap it around our hearts. Our high priest is Jesus. And Jesus was tempted as we are in every possible scenario. And yet he still was without sin.
If we come to God humbly and boldly we will find mercy and grace. There isn’t one of us that doesn’t need the grace of Jesus. We all do. If Jesus experienced every single temptation and resisted each one without sinning and that same Jesus lives inside of us, then why do we find excuses to keep living in sin, or giving into temptation? Make a decision to follow Jesus all the way. Repentance is a complete 180 turn. When you repent you go from the direction you were going to the direction God wants you to go. Everytime you start heading the wrong way, repent and turn. We may not be perfect like Jesus but we have his Holy Spirit living inside of us. His discerning spirit. Stop grieving the holy spirit inside of you and start listening to him.
💓

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

I often enjoy reading about the proverbs 31 woman to see where I could improve.
Well you guys, this morning I had a revelation.

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
Proverbs 31:15 NLT

Three things in this verse..
1. She gets up early to serve others.
2. She plans her day instead of letting it just happen to her.
3. She has help!!!! Yall I’ve read this chapter so many times but this stuck out to me. She has other women helping her accomplish her goals and plans for the day. Whether it was chores or watching her children while she “worked” outside the home.

She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
Proverbs 31:24 NLT

She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:16 NLT

She sold to merchants.
She’s in realistate yall…
She is a good business woman!

18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

She stays up late making good business transactions and making sure she is making profit.

21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes.

She prepares for winter and for drought.

Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
Proverbs 31:19‭, ‬22 NLT

She is creative and helpful by adding to her home. Nowadays it might look like being creative and using your gift to make money so you can buy your best of the best bedspreads 😜

She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

Ladies, she takes care of herself. She doesn’t look bummy and depressed.

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
Proverbs 31:25 NLT

She isn’t worried about tomorrow. She is at peace and joyful with laughter.

When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
Proverbs 31:26 NLT

Yall, she is a wise teacher. She speaks in kindness. She isn’t rude or prideful.

She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
Proverbs 31:27 NLT

She always knows what’s going on in her home because she doesn’t zone out on her phone while her children destroy the house
… ok that interpretation may be far off but I’ll just add it here for me…  Haha.

She is a hard worker and is never lazy.

This is huge for me
…
I sometimes like to be lazy..  not even going to lie…

17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.

I encourage you to read the chapter of proverbs 31 for yourself and read a couple different translations to better understand it.

You notice it never said, she was a gossip and chatted about everything with all her lady friends… haha.

Fear is based off of lack of faith. When FAITH is present fear is absent.

Faith is what we need to believe that God is bigger, more powerful,  and is able.

I don’t know about you, but I never want to doubt God. Because lack of faith in who he is and what he is able to do, is in fact doubting him. I don’t want to be a doubting Thomas. I want to be believing Mary. I want to talk about why I found myself struggling with my faith. Not in the sense of believing in God, but more so in the way of believing who I am in Christ.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
I Peter 5:6‭-‬11 NKJV

Satan is referred to as a lion roaming seeking whom to devour. This is real y’all. Spiritual warfare is real! We have to keep ourselves full in the word of God so that we give no opportunity for Satan to devour us.

Yesterday in church my pastor hit it on the head. A lion seeks out the sheep (in the bible Jesus is our Shepard and we are referred as his flock and sheep) (you see a pattern? Satan is the lion?) Who is all by itself. Instead of attacking the herd of sheep he waits pacing back and forth hiding waiting for one of the sheep to wander off on their own without the others… that’s when the predictor (lion) jumps out to devour the sheep .

This is why we need the body of Christ. This is why we need each other to stay protected. Hebrews 10:24-25,
-And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.-

The body of Christ isn’t doing what it should be doing. We were made to uplift one other and go through our struggles together.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:9 NIV

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
I Peter 5:9 NKJV

God’s word says that we are all going through the struggles and afflictions. And yet we feel SO alone. That is a lie from Satan! Satan wants us to feel like we are the only ones who struggle with faith, have fear, get depressed or worries, argue with our spouses, lose our cool with our kids, have trouble trusting people in friendship.
But we all go through afflictions. We all have our baggage. They might look different from one another but we all have something!

We need each other. We won’t function properly without the body of Christ. We need to protect one another from Satan’s tactics. Don’t go at it alone. Trust someone to go through it with you in prayer and fasting! Know that God is with you so who can be against you!
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31 NKJV

The reason I was struggling in my faith and my identity who I am in Christ was because even though I was going to “church”, I wasn’t truly gathering in assembly of Christ. I wasn’t opening up to other believers and loving and encouraging one another and growing together. It’s way too easy to just go about my own business and my own life and forsake fellowship with other Christians. When I say fellowship, I mean being 100% real. None of this throwing toys in the other room and shutting it pretending I have it all together. We need to have deep relationships with others, not just surface relationships. I feel like the “church has gotten soft. We’ve allowed hurt and unforgiveness to become the excuse as to why we don’t trust others, opening up to them, asking them for prayer in a struggle you’re having. Instead we are so filled with fear of what others will think of us if they know we need prayer for our parenting, our marriage, our friendships, our needs.

It’s ok to have needs y’all . We all have them.  Instead of living this picture perfect Instagram life, let’s live genuinely, authentically, and lovingly. However this is a two way street. If we open up with one another and put trust in eachother then we need to also keep each others confidences. None of this he said, she said, junk. We need to stop this gossipping and tearing one another down crap and love, encourage, and PRAY for each other instead.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:18 KJV

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18 NIV

Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people.
Ephesians 6:18

Are you getting this yet?

We need each other to walk out this life of Holiness and righteousness. Will we always be holy and righteous? No! That’s why we need Jesus and each other to help one, to uplift each other. To PRAY for each other.

Let’s stop living mediocre lives! Let’s stop living a life of fear and of insecurity. Let’s live the life God has called us to, in Faith, Love, Trust, HOPE, and with each other.

Everyday life doesn’t look like someone’s Instagram news feed. It looks like a whole lot of laundry, dirty dishes, and meals to make. We only put our highlights on Instagram for the most part, and spare everyone of the negativity. In reality we all have daily tasks and chores to be done, between the kids fighting to eat their breakfast, spouses leaving their messes around the house, and me forgetting to put away leftovers, so now I must toss my hard work of cooking. We all have to deal with some kind of chaos at some point in our lives. Every day is not going to be spring break at the beach as it once was in highschool. The good news is that you are not alone. Everybody in adulthood has to work, whether its in the home, at home, or at a location. We all have responsibilities. We need to make sure that we are not comparing our lives, relationships, marriages, parenting styles, and friendships to others.

No good can come from comparing. I find if I compare I feel one of two ways, jealous or superior. Both which are sinful and distasteful. We all have a journey to take and not one single person’s will look the same as mine. So please stop comparing your routine daily life to someone’s highlight reel of their one vacaction to France, the Bahamas, or New York. They may have worked hard and pinched pennies for that trip, or they may have gone into debt over it, or it may have been paid for by someone else, or better yet, it may be none of your buisness how or why they went. When we stop wishing and wanting what others have, we then can start dreaming and planning toward what we want and already have. So find ONE thing that brings you joy in this day, and focus on that. Although vacations look like they bring us joy, its truly just temporary happiness. It is not lasting joy. Joy comes from the Lord. You don’t have to be rich and be able to buy whatever you want to be happy. Find joy in the simple things in life. Find a good book and enjoy reading it. Make a cup of coffee and turn on some music and enjoy it. Sit outside and listen to the birds chirping and enjoy it. Play with your kids and make them giggle, that brings me so much joy. Most of all, find Joy in Jesus. When I start getting housebound stir crazy with the kids I take them for a drive, most days I do not have a destination. So I say all this to simply remind myself and others that life isn’t suppose to always be easy and fun, its natural to get tired, bored, and feel ordinary. Its normal. When you start feeling these things do something that will pick your mood up, it doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. The truth of the matter is we need to learn to enjoy the very things we must do daily. I will turn on music, a preaching, or a positive speaker to listen to while I do dishes and pick up toys. I HATED cooking, but I have to do it so I started watching the cooking channel, and tried new recipes. I now have a few staple recipes I use weekly that I enjoy cooking because I like the taste of my cooking. It is really all about finding the good in the chore. Finding the joy in simplicity. Approaching each new day with a thankful heart. 

I say all this to encourage myself in all honesty. I STRUGGLE with being content and finding joy in the mess of motherhood. However, when I do, I can go on again for a long time before hitting my low point and needing to “find joy” again, so to speak. Remember that this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Mom! Mom! Mom! Wake! Wake! Wake Up Mom! Come! Come Mom!

The words I hear every single morning before the sun is even fully up. I open my eyes to see my sweet 2-year-old son shaking my arm. He is smiling with such joy, love, and excitement for the day ahead of us. He doesn’t know what the day will hold, he doesn’t carry the burdens and stresses of yesterday. He is thrilled to start another day with his mommy and brother, (and daddy before and after work). We literally can do the same thing at home for days in a row and he still wakes up with the same excitement. I want to be more like my two-year old.

I need to wake up refreshed by the new day ahead of me, without knowing what it hold’s but having the utter most joy and excitement for it. I need to start waking up with his attitude. If we come to God every morning with the same approach my toddler comes to me, what impact would that make on us? How would that effect our moods, our attitudes, and the direction of our day? Maybe, just maybe, we need to start acting more like our children. I’m not talking about tantrums, and learning how to potty train. I am solely speaking about the heart of a two-year old. What are my son’s hearts desires everyday? To play, help, love, laugh, serve, learn, and grow. I need to approach my life with the same heart. For we are Gods children, are we not? If we believe he is our heavenly father shouldn’t we approach God with the same attitude as we would our mommies and daddies as a child?

Think about it.

God! God! Jesus! Wake up! Wake up! Good morning Lord! Come! I welcome you to join me in my day! Thank you Lord for another glorious day! I do not know what it holds, but I know while your with me in every moment, it will be a good day.

I know even the smallest mundane things can be truly enjoyed if I am doing them along side of Jesus. I need to invite Jesus into my days, I need to be excited to have the opportunity to spend another day with my heavenly father, just as my son is so excited to spend another day with his mommy and daddy. It’s time to take the authority in Christ Jesus’ name that has been given to us, and rebuke the spirit of depression, oppression, fear, busyness, tiredness, condemnation, guilt, worry, unworthiness, and any spirit that is not from God. We need to recognize who God is. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we don’t see our problems any longer, we just see Jesus. When we do that, it allows God to move in our lives while we are living our life with His peace, resting in our hope and confidence that He will care for us. Just as my son knows if he wakes up mommy, he will get a fresh diaper put on him, food on the table, a sippy cup of milk, and lots and lots of cuddles and kisses. We need to go back to the basics of understanding what it means to be a child of God. We are to come onto Jesus with a child’s heart. So I want to encourage you to wake up tomorrow relying on God, calling out to him with a thankful heart and repentance, and asking him for his help. Ask God for food to eat, milk to drink, and remember that we can not live on bread alone… open up the word of God and eat. Fuel yourself as you fuel your children every morning.

Make those changes and you WILL see changes in your days, you will experience his love, joy, and peace. As believers we should be bearing the fruit of the spirit, if we aren’t we need to re-examine ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what needs to change in our hearts and lives.

Life is a constant balancing act.

I have been struggling with balancing all that there is to be done in my daily life. There is so much to be done and so much to improve on daily. I have goals, I have action plans, then… I have kids. My time is limited because chasing a toddler, entertaining him, and teaching him how to use the potty can all be a “bit” exhausting. Between cleaning one mess after another, cleaning up any potty training accidents, and just feeding the children… And dishes, oh the dishes.. It can feel a bit exhausting and mundane. After cleaning the play room then doing the dishes only to come back and see everything pulled out again with Milk dumped on the toys, then pee on the floor because my toddler had an accident, while the baby is crying because he is ready to be nursed and put down for a nap, it can be a “little” chaotic at times.

I am not saying having children is negative. I adore my children! It’s just sometimes difficult to be productive and do what I want to when I feel like doing it. When I make goals and want to get things accomplished I always seem to have to give my time to those things which in return takes that time away from my children. I have a good size list of goals. The reality of it is, I can not fit all those goals into my daily life right now with having young children. I found myself trying to accomplish everything on my list that in return I was tired, stressed out, grumpy, not happy, depressed, feeling hopeless, and helpless.  I was overwhelemed by the tasks that I needed to get done. I would feel like a failure when I wasn’t able to complete a job well enough. I felt like my mind could never rest. I know it’s important to have goals and know what they are and achieve them. I just had too many things on my plate. I was trying in my power to do this and that, and have a perfectly clean house, while potty training, while cooking every meal, while working out daily, while limiting tv time for my kids and I, while being more interactive with my children, while trying to be creative and teach Emmanuel crafts, while keeping the table and counters cleared, while trying to vacuum more, while keeping my kids happy, while keeping my husband happy, while growing spiritually, while trying to have personal development time for myself and read books that help me grow as a person, while, while, while. I was overwhelmed because I couldn’t keep up. One thing would get down while another mess was happening. I just broke down and cried. I can’t keep doing this. I’m burning out at each end and I’m miserable. I understand that I still need to do many of those things. I understand that some women can juggle is all. But I for one can not juggle it all. It might be done by super mom X but I’m simply Mary. I am not super mom X, and I shouldn’t compare myself to super mom X. I shouldn’t try to be super mom X, because God created me to be me, Mary. I was doing  so much that I wasn’t doing much well. I really feel like my family and children suffered the most while I went through this brief phase. I realized I was losing my cool with my children way more often and was consistently irritated by them if they interrupted what it was that I was trying to do, even if it was reading the Bible. I realized I wasn’t being a good mom to my children because I was too focused on the wrong things.

So I have made 3 goals to do daily and 5 goals to do weekly. It’s short and sweet and has made my life more enjoyable.

My 3 Daily Goals:

1. To love on my children. I know this sounds so simple but to set aside time and really just LOVE on them and show them how special they are. Take in those moments that they hug me and really hold them and soak it in. They’re growing so quickly.

2. To do something for myself daily. This can include, reading a chapter in a book, reading a chapter in the bible, worshiping Jesus, and working out. I do try to get in the word daily, but I don’t always and I have to give myself grace. Some days I can do all the above and some days I barely can do one.

3. Cook dinner and most days lunch for my  husband. I know this may sound like a “no brainier” but for me it has been a real struggle. I have never been much of a cook and not very good either. With lots of practice and trying new recipes I’m getting better!

I ofcourse try to clean the house, do laundry, and do dishes daily. But if I have to prioritize my day the 3 things above will take priority. For some people reading this may laugh that these are even daily goals of mine. For others, they will truly understand where I am coming from. Being a mommy to a 2 year old son and a 6 month old son can be a bit exhausting. Between nursing the baby every 2 hours in the day and 2-3 hours (on a typical night) in the night really can take a toll on my mind and body.

I know this is just the season that I am in, that is why I want to fully enjoy it and not stress over things. I have a tendency to want to be PERFECT at everything I do. But with that mindset I rarely get anything done and then just want to give up.

I need to rest in Jesus. I need to just live and love. I gave Emmanuel a hug / cuddle on the couch and just held him. I put my phone down and looked at him and just LOVED on him. I gave him kisses and he looked up at me with such a pure authentic love and joy. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t done that in far too long of a time. Yes I’ve hugged him, but I haven’t just held him without distraction. I just soaked that love in and WOW, it filled me with such satisfaction. I need to just stop trying to do everything and be present in my children’s lives. I started focusing on my dreams and goals so much I took my focus off my present dream and goal, which is to be the best and most involved wife and mommy to my kids. Talk about eye opening. No more striving. Just living. ❤️

My identity is in Christ and him alone. But if people ask me about me, I will start off as saying I’m a mom. Because I am one proud mom. Not of my works but of my children. I purpose is to be a mom. I lost sight of that briefly for a week or two. Those were the hardest and most emotional weeks I’ve dealt with in a long time. It’s because I was trying to live life in a way that I personally wasn’t called to live, atleast not in this season. I am a mommy. I LOVE being mommy, and I want to live my life knowing that IS my purpose. That being a wife and a mother is enough. Why do we have to be more than that? Why do we feel like raising tiny humans and teaching them about Jesus and how to live life, is not enough of a fulfilling life or purpose? It is enough. I am enough. Because this is who GOD created me to be. I don’t need to find success in any other area of my life. If I succeed at raising Godly children and being a great wife. That IS all I need to feel satisfied. Jesus is all I need. God is my everything and I need to live the calling he has for me and that is to be me, a stay at home mom with big dreams and crazy messes.

I hope this can encourage some mom out there going through similar situations.

Oh I forgot about my weekly goals 😂

My weekly goals:

1. Work out 5 days a week

2. Do a craft with Emmanuel 3x a week

3. Take my kids outside (now that it’ll be getting cooler) atleast 3x a week

4. Do a play date atleast 1x a week

5. Spend some quality time with the hubby.

Oh and I’m always working on my spiritual growth but I decided that’s not a goal. It’s just my way of life 😉

Rest in Jesus.

“Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭116:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Being too Busy is a sin.

When you become too busy things are replacing your time with Jesus. And that my friend is a sin. My to do lists were keeping me from getting in the presence of Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. Sometimes when living for Jesus you need to pause and make sure your ministering to your family as well as the people who need Jesus. Last night Mic, (my husband) uplifted me with prayer and words of encouragement from the Lord. I get tired, weary, and lost as much as the next person. It was wonderful because as soon as he prayed for me, the peace of God surpassed all my understanding.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The good news is, I don’t need to understand everything. I don’t have to because God already knows all. God’s got it. Why do we feel the need to carry the problems and stresses of the world on our shoulders? Why do we feel the need that we have to live this life and all the craziness with it on our own? I should know by now that the best way to live my life is freely in Jesus. To worship and love on him and pray to him and be in his word. You see I was in the Word almost daily but I was still feeling that there was a lack of satisfaction and peace. God revealed to me I was lacking worship and prayer with him. I needed to nurture that side of my relationship with him. I needed intimacy with Jesus. It’s like in a marriage, I can’t just have conversation with my spouse of “you need to do this and that,” I also need to have intimacy with my spouse. We need to tell eachother we love eachother. We need to encourage and uplift one another. I need to be telling my husband of the good things he has done and thank him for them. I have to nurture the relationship in entirety. Well my spiritual relationship with Jesus is no different, really. We are married to Jesus aren’t we? We the church  are the bride of Christ. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:21-33‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/eph.5.21-33.niv

Talk about having a revelation. We are brides to Christ. We are to be married to Jesus in a spiritual sense. That means like any marriage you have to invest into it daily. You have to have intimacy. Obviously I’m speaking about intimacy in a way of worship and prayer.

Sometimes we can become so busy serving God in ministry that we forget that our first ministry is our family. I need to be ministering to my children, my husband, my loved ones.

“This is a true saying: If a man is eager to be a church leader, he desires an excellent work. A church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach; he must not be a drunkard or a violent man, but gentle and peaceful; he must not love money; he must be able to manage his own family well and make his children obey him with all respect. For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the church of God? He must be mature in the faith, so that he will not swell up with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was. He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the church, so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the Devil’s trap.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭3:1-7‬ ‭GNT‬‬
http://bible.com/68/1ti.3.1-7.gnt

We have to first manage our families before we can become leaders for Jesus. I am thankful my hubby was there to help lead me in a time I was needing some encouragement. I believe I have a gift of encouragement, but sometimes after I am done encouraging others I need some encouragement myself. As the body of Christ we need to encourage one another. If one of us is tired, weary, and need rest, let us go to the word and find the rest God has for us. I am to worship Jesus and just let it soak in and stop trying to do so much on my own power.

After my hubby prayed for me I was instantly filled with the peace of God. I layed in bed with headphones on listening to worship. I listened for about 20 minutes and drifted off to sleep. Although I still woke to take care of Malachi, I have not slept SO peacefully for a LONG time. I woke up at 6:30am awake, laid in bed and put my headphones back in with worship and stayed there until Emmanuel woke and came in around 6:45am. I turned on worship in the living room and now it’s 8:40am and I do not plan on turning the worship off anytime soon. God is lifting my spirit so much. I just need to rest in him. I was trying to do so much on my own strength. But my strength has limits, his strength though, it’s limitless. ❤️

It’s time so slow down. It’s time to be more like Mary in a world who wants us to be a Martha.

The Story of Martha and Mary

At the Home of Martha and Mary

Luke 10:38-42 New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I want to be the Mary that Jesus is referring to in this story. Sometimes in life we can get so caught up in all we have to do we end up not being present in the people’s lives who mean the most to us. We may see our family and friends often, but are we really present and listening to them? I we really spending quality time with them or are we in the kitchen preparing and cleaning nonstop. As a mother of two children I definitely can always have a list of things to accomplish. I’m currently working at finding balance. I know I can’t just stop cooking and cleaning, but there needs to be a time set in the day that is to just stop what I’m doing and be present. I want to hear the voice of the Lord, I want to be still and know that he is God. I want to have deep friendships and meaningful relationships. I want to dig deeper. I finally am starting to find balance. I want to live my life with a purpose. I don’t want to just survive another day, I want to thrive another day. My name is Mary legitimately. I want to be like the Mary in this story though, far too often I find myself acting like Martha; stressed out, and frazzled hair, not rested, not being present even though I’m still here. I find myself getting so caught up in all that I need to do that I end up not doing the most important things, such as; spending time with Jesus, sharing the love of Jesus, and showing my family and friends that love.

It’s time to stop being like Martha and start acting like Mary. This world has enough Martha’s.