Thursday, January 20, 2011

seeds

I'm not sure what it is or how it will be but I feel blessing is coming! I can feel it! It scares me a little because I know that I am filled to be emptied again (listen to the last verse of Desert song by Hillsong). I have a vision of myself walking barefoot in a beautiful field dropping seeds. It's planting season! What seeds will I plant? I want to choose carefully. I want those seeds to take root, grow and harvest! That's why I must be careful which ones I plant. What will I plant in my marriage, in my children, in my friends or in my health? 

I love what Kevin Gerald says in his book Forces That Form Your Future. He says "To reap a desirable harvest, learn to recognize a harvest in a seed.  (Matthew 12:33-37)

33"If you grow a healthy tree, you'll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you'll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.

You can bet that whatever seed you plant, it will produce. You plant anger, anger will grow. Lies? Lies will grow. Joy? Joy will grow. If your children hear your words are fearful, fear will manifest in them as well. If your children hear you and your spouse fighting, they will fight (hello!). If your children experience a Mother who is on her knees praying, they too will learn to pray. And the list goes on and on and on. We have all planted bad seeds in our life. I've done it in my marriage, my parenting, my friendships, my diet, my health and even in my mind. 

My Mom and I had an amazing conversation this morning about my life as a Wife and Mother. It's a season in my life that requires me to be extremely careful where I plant my seed. I cannot be on the phone through out the day talking to friends. I cannot meet for coffee with every single person who needs me. I cannot do very much outside of my home with four young children, not to mention a nursing baby. The day will come when I am available to do more but right now, everything has to be poured into my home. As soon as I start saying things like "I need a break", I will begin to shut down. It's not that Moms do not need breaks, we do. But the honor and blessing we have as Mothers is to be with our children and serve them with everything we've got. I can promise you that the Lord will give you the break you need in order to recharge. It may not mean a girls night out or a vacation. It may mean a two mile run or a trip to Target alone. Sometimes the only break I get is a bath. If a thirty minute bath is the only time I get to recharge, that's okay because the seeds I am planting with my children will reap a harvest that goes beyond my wildest dreams. 

As I discussed with my Mom the difficulty of finding "time" to be there for my friends and to do things outside of my home, my Mom said something that blew my mind. What she said flowed within the same vein the Holy Spirit had been speaking to me from. "Mandi, what is the most important thing in your life right now?". Obviously I answered her with a no brainer! "Family." She then said "Okay, and you struggle with time so don't you think your time needs to be poured into what will bring harvest? If you spend time planting seeds on bad soil, you will waste your time and this is not the "time" for you to waste time. It's okay that you don't have time for many things outside of your home. Your home is in order because it's the field God gave you to plant your seeds." Suddenly I began to hear a bell in my head ringing "ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!". Thanks Mom!

Case in point. As I type this blog, my six year old Ava Beth has come into my room a couple of times with laundry baskets full of folded clothes. Do I love that she helps do my chores? YES! But it's more than that. I have spent many hours folding clothes with her alongside watching, asking if she can help. Now she has learned. The seed of folding clothes may not be important to some but to a little girl who will grow up and raise a family, it is huge. She knows the importance of keeping things in order so we don't get behind. I don't even have to ask her anymore. She gets clothes out of the dryer and folds! Will she continue this as a teenager? I think so. The seed has been planted that we have to serve one another around here in order for things to keep going. 

There is a relationship I have right now, a friendship, where the friend is in the midst of an extremely painful trial. It is huge. We were disconnected for a while last year and had not spoken in months. When I heard about her situation, I instantly heard the Holy Spirit say "Go. I want you to walk through this with her. Help her fight Satan." We have talked on the phone very late at night several times because we both have kids and can't talk with them awake. NEVER have I felt burdened, annoyed or stressed. I have not struggled AT ALL to find time to walk this road with her. She is on my heart ALL DAY long and I LOVE praying with her, praying for her and encouraging her all I can. It's because I KNOW God showed me to reach out. I KNOW I am planting seed on soil that is going to reap an incredible harvest! Not only that but it is a life giving friendship. She plants seeds into me too!

I know this is long. Stay with me! I believe this means that when we choose the right seed to plant, God is going to anoint that seed! It will NOT be a time waster. It will NOT be a seed that comes back to bite you in the butt. When you get the seed from HIM, it will harvest! Sow His seed, not your own.

Do you feel frustrated? Stressed? Worried? Depressed? Do you feel wishy washy or fickle about your seed? Feeling fickle is the #1 red flag for me! Fickle is the thing that lets me know something is not right. If you feel any of those things in the seeds you are planting, you may want to get out your shovel before the seed takes root, dig it up and plant something new. 

What happens if the seed has already taken root? Well, that will be part two of this blog post! We all seeds that have taken root and leave us in a big stinkin' mess! So I am praying about this one and specifically asking God for scripture to guide me. When he shows me, you will see a part two! 

In Forces that Form Your Future, Kevin says to ask yourself these questions before sowing a seed.

*Will this seed produce a a desirable harvest in my life?

*Will it move me towards my goals or take me off track?

*Will it move me closer or farther away from God?

*Will it strengthen or weaken my marriage?

Finally I will stop typing and leave you with this scripture to chew on. God has given us an amazing guide through His Word on very specific things in our lives. I think this verse says a lot and I am seeing it in a whole new light. I pray you will too!




Matthew 12:35 (The Message)




 34-37"You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."

Now I am off to sow some seeds with my kids! Seeds of Math to be specific!

Love,

Amanda

(and get this book TODAY! It is changing my life!) 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very good word Amanda! Convicting and true! You and your mama are wise women. I will be praying with you about this and send some prayers my way too! Love you!

Tiffany said...

Right on target, 'Manda!

Thank you for continuing to push forward in the Spirit and challenging us to do the same.

Wonderful, wise words!!!

I love you,
Tiff ;)
xoxoxo

Cara said...

I loved this post! Know I dont get to come read very often but when I do, I feel encouraged and motivated. I love you millions. Hope I get to see you come JUNE!

Kate said...

look forward to your wise words on the root, too!
your friend is blessed beyond measure to have you by her side, praying, standing in that gap for her. :)
xo

Gina said...

LOVED reading this! WOW! Thanks for sharing!!!

Karen said...

I loved this one. I wrote one along these lines some time back. I love our conversations and how God uses you to encourage me. I throw something out and you take it and run with it. You have a gift.

I sometimes stop for a "season" and look at all the people God has put into my life. Some of them plant seed in me and some seem to take all I have. I can also see where I have sown seed and I got a bumper crop.

I always remember this: whatever I'm asking of God, He will almost ALWAYS require it of ME!!!!

I love you.
mom