The Unknown

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

God often calls us into it. It may be the unknown of a medical decision, the unknown of where we are moving to, the unknown of who our children will become, the unknown of finances, the unknown of (fill in the blank). Our lives are filled with unknowns and we often get frustrated when we cannot know. This frustration is based in fear. If we are honest with ourselves our fear is of the unknown and we wonder whether God will meet us there. The truth is God is already in the unknown. He is in the darkness and is waiting for us. He walks with us and meets us in the unknown. We love knowledge and we have been deceived into thinking we can have all knowledge. God calls us to faith. How is God calling you to have faith? What unknown will He meet you in? Prayers for you as you step forth into the unknown trusting God with it all.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

History and Hope

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Recalling stories can lead to hope in the present and for the future. Whether it is our personal stories or the stories of others, recalling and being reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past fuels our hope for our present circumstances and our future. What act of faithfulness can you recall today in your own life? How about in the lives of others? Throughout the Bible God reminds people of His faithfulness through the retelling of history. How can you remind others of God’s love and faithfulness and help fuel their hope in Him?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Rich Moments

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Rich Moments. My heart is tied up in measuring my life by chronological time, by the clock, rather than by moments. Often we think the most valuable things take the most time. A rich moment does not have to be a long one. There is a depth to moments that cannot be measured by a clock or calendar. I wish I were more patient and more attentive to these moments and opportune times. They mold and shape us. They add joy, life, contentment and peace. They allow us to see God and others in deeper ways. Time can be more than a hand moving around a clock yet we often lower the value of time to be just that. Time can be measure by depth and not just length. This measurement is often more valuable. God often slows down our lives so that we have opportunity for rich moments. What rich moments has God brought you? What will He bring?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Hospitality

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Hospitality. How has someone been hospitable to you lately? How have they extended the love of Christ to you? Maybe they have opened the door for you as your arms are full. Maybe they have given you a word of encouragement when you most needed it. Maybe they have greeted you with great enthusiasm. Maybe they have given you their full attention. Maybe they brought you chocolate. The gift of hospitality can minister to our hearts, bodies and souls in such rich ways. How have you received the gift of hospitality lately?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.** 

He Never Lets Go

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

God never lets go. Through the calm in life, when challenges are minimal and life is relatively peaceful, God is holding onto you. Through the chaos of life, when challenges are unending and life seems to show no sign of peace, God is holding onto you. God never lets go – through calm or chaos, peace or unrest.

What season are you in? Are you in a time of calm and rest? If so, remember God is holding onto you and you can enjoy His presence. Imagine walking hand in hand with your child, enjoying the day together. Are you in a time of chaos and unrest? If so, remember that God is also holding onto you and you may or may not sense His presence, but He is with you. Imagine walking your child across a busy street, hand in hand, guiding and helping him/her navigate through chaos of cars and stressors. The same hand that walks you through joys walks you through pain. The same hand that walks you through calm walks you through chaos. He never lets go.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.** 

Does Fear Lead?

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

How does fear lead you? Maybe you fear being yourself. Maybe you fear making the wrong decision. You might fear being hurt or abandoned. You might fear losing someone or fear pain. Maybe you fear simpler things. We all fear and for some of us our fears lead. We often cannot name these fears, especially the deeper ones. Spend some time in prayer throughout the day, anytime you have opportunity and ask God to reveal your fears to you. Talk to Him, be honest and allow Him to help you trust Him rather than let fear lead.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

In the Way

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

In the way. How do you respond when something is “in your way”? Maybe a person is physically in your way or someone is interrupting you from getting something done. Whatever the situation we daily find ourselves with something or someone “in our way”. I often respond with plowing through, deeming my task as more significant than anyone or anything around me (confession time). We often treat God the same, plowing through our day, our goals, deeming our tasks as more significant than God’s interruptions. Where might God get “in your way” today? How will you respond?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**
 

Choose to Rest

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Rest. May you choose rest today. Sometimes you are forced to rest and other times it is a choice. It is funny because we think that we would always choose rest but often we choose to do yet another thing. Rest, choose to rest.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Under the Radar

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Under the radar. God loves to work under the our radars. He is often working, redeeming and resurrecting when we have no clue. We think because we cannot see God working this means He is not. We think He does not care or is ignoring us. Our sight and our understanding often are skewed and so we doubt. At least I do. My prayer for us today is that we would trust. Even if we cannot see or feel God that we would trust that He sees, He is working good things and that He has not forgotten.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Mistakes and Grace

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Mistakes. How do you respond to yourself when you make a mistake? What self-talk happens? Are you beating yourself up? Or are you accepting yourself as human and imperfect? A wise woman once said to me, “You will give others grace when you learn to give yourself grace”. Essentially, I am hard on others because I begin with being hard on myself. Sure there are things we need to rise to, changes we need to make, transformation we need to submit to. Then there is the opposite where we beat ourselves up. We are human – a fact we do not like to admit.
Where do you need to give yourself grace? God has given you grace, will you give it to yourself? Will you give it to others?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Delay

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Delay. I recently heard a song which had the line, “Oh my God, you will not delay.” At this point in my life this line was a comfort. Other times in life, this line is hard to believe. God’s timing is perfect, He does not and will not delay yet we often think or feel just the opposite. He does not come through at the time we thought He would. He takes too long (in our opinions) or maybe we think He has forgotten. The truth is that God does not delay, His timing is perfect. Through the life of Jesus we see the unique timing that He had, things we could not necessarily understand if we were one of the people in the story, yet He has purpose. His timing is perfect and it has purpose we just may not get to be in the know. Not getting to be in the know - now that’s the hard part.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Bold Requests

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Bold Requests. Do you ever wonder what gives people the confidence to make bold requests?  How do they know what to ask for? Sometimes I do not make bold requests because I do not have the first clue of what to ask for. Sometimes I hesitate to make bold requests because fear of what someone will think of me. Bold requests can mean that you in fact do not have it all together.  Bold requests could mean that you need help.  I do not like to admit either one of those things yet they are true. Jesus wants your bold requests. He wants to hear from you. Lepers made bold requests of Jesus, accepting whatever outcome would come. The point of a bold request is not necessarily the answer but admittance that you need God's help and you speak that need. God is listening.  He wants to hear your heart. What bold request might you voice today?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Micro-Managing

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Micro-management. Micro-management is oh so tempting! I want to control, I want to manipulate, I want to impact a decision or result. The temptation to unnecessarily micro-manage is one antithesis to trust. In micro-managing we think our world is in order and that we have a handle on it. One small thing can send it spinning and we’re back to the manipulating, controlling and the wonderful self-blaming. When we have not micro-managed something well we blame ourselves for being incompetent, not together and sometimes stupid. When we micro-manage we expect so much of ourselves, things that God is not asking or expecting of us. Pay attention to those things you are frantic to micro-manage. Why? Are you really supposed to? How can you trust God instead?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Re-Creating

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Re-creation. God is in the work of re-creating. He creates and He re-creates.  He takes things that have gone wrong, whether by our doing or another’s and He re-creates.  He does not scrap and start over; He works with what He is given. He does not work within the limits of human ability because He has God ability. Our human ability often has to start over. God’s ability does not have to start over and shows its great power as He works with what is before Him. He re-creates, mysteriously and perfectly bringing good from evil, hope from despair and life from death. What will God re-create today?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

True Words

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

True Words. What a gift to have true, encouraging words spoken to us! What true words have been spoken to you? How might these lead you today?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Overwhelmed by Joy

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Overwhelming joy! Some days are just full of them. The day cannot get any better. Everyone is happy, the day is beautiful and your perspective on life is hopeful. We need these days! These days sustain us and give us hope on those days that are not so joyful. May today be a day filled with overwhelming joy! (If it is not, may one come soon!)

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Flattery

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Flattery. We all love a little bit of flattery! As we spend most of our days doing what we consider menial work, we crave (and need!) any encouragement we can get! I want to be encouraged when I take the time and energy for makeup, hair and clothing other than workout clothes! I will take false or true encouragement because it makes me feel good, important and valued. The danger in false encouragement is that it builds up something that is not truly who I am. False encouragement paints a picture of who I am not rather than who I am. Sure we would rather have all forms of encouragement but at the end of the day I would rather have fewer true encouragements that many false encouragements. We all want to feel good, important and valued, especially when it does not seem that our work as moms is making any significant impact. Flattery comes and goes – smile and move on. Take true encouragement to heart and let it take root.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Your Voice

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Your voice.  My daughter is experimenting with her voice.  It is so fun to watch her explore her voice, the strength of it, the sound of it and the reactions she gets from others.  We all have a voice as well.  Some of us have lost our voice.  Maybe it has been drowned out or quieted.  Maybe it has not been given the freedom to speak.  Maybe we have not had the freedom to experiment with our voices to find them.  Maybe we are just too tired to use it.  God has given you a voice for something, someone.  May you find the freedom to experiment and explore your voice.  When it is found may it nourish and build up that which God has called you to speak for.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Wonder

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Wonder. How long has it been since you’ve sat in wonder? (I don’t mean this in the “I wonder why my child just did that?” kind of wonder.) I’m speaking of a true wonder in which you sit before God and are amazed at His work. It might be God’s work of creation, healing, growing, etc. Our children bring wonder back into our world as they explore and discover. As we grow older the opportunities to wonder seem to diminish yet God is still working in wonder.  What beautifully mysterious wonder will you see today?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

False Words

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Do not let false words lead you today. Too often we let false words spoken to us lead us. I’m not talking about healthy criticism that we can grow from, but those things that have been spoken that are truly false. Some of us have experienced this more than others. However many times you have experienced it these words take root in our hearts and minds and they lead us. What false words have been spoken to you? How have they led you?

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Slow Down

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Slow down. Those words seem nonexistent in our vocabularies. I always think that if I slow down then I’ll miss something or won’t get things done that need to get done. Truth is that if I don’t slow down I might miss the most important things. Slowing down is not a sign of weakness, it is actually a sign of strength and trust. There are times to go at warp speed and there are times to slow down our pace. Slowing demonstrates trust that God is sovereign and that there are greater moments happening that we just might miss out on. Try slowing down and trusting God today through slowing.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Grateful

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

What are you grateful for? A house, walls, protection from the rain, the heat, the snow.  A child, a husband, a family, a home. Beauty, love, creation, generosity.  Health, legs, hands, a heart.  Fill in the blanks ______, ______, ______, ______, ...

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Prayer and Creativity

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Creativity. One thing that parenting has caused me to pray for is creativity. I never thought that would be my prayer, at least in the sense that it has been. I thought a prayer for creativity might be exclusively for crafts or games, playing make-believe or tea parties. I never thought about asking for creativity in problem solving, or guidance in discipline. God is the master of creativity.  Why wouldn't I ask Him? Creativity has become a regular prayer of mine as I seek God in raising my children. That and patience of course.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Bloom

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Bloom where you’re planted. Ugh. If you’re like me I cringe at those words. Bloom where you’re planted, i.e. you’re stuck. For those of us who thrive off of forward motion, these are not words we enjoy hearing. I miss the “bloom” part and let the “you’re planted” part take over. What encourages me is that we are not alone. God desires to “bloom” us and grow us. Even when we feel and might actually be “stuck” God is still in the work of transforming us. I love that He never leaves us and is always interested in us.

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Disneyworld

**Before you begin reading, sit down, breathe normally and be quiet for 1 minute.**

Disneyworld. I sometimes (really, always) wish God would tell me what’s coming up. Why doesn’t He? Even a hint would be nice every now and then (really, always). There are plenty of deep, theological answers I could provide but an image came to my mind a few months ago when talking with a friend. Disneyworld. What if God doesn’t tell us where He is taking us because it is SO good that we wouldn’t be able to contain our excitement, we wouldn’t be able to focus on the present and we’d constantly be asking “Are we there yet?”. Maybe (really, guaranteed) He knows more than we do and out of grace and just plain wise parenting He is waiting to tell and show us. Maybe God’s taking you to Disneyworld!

**Sit quietly again for as much time as is available to you.**

Two Minutes

  Sometimes all you want is two minutes. Two minutes to sit ... in silence ... alone. Most moms I know do not have two minutes to sit alone in silence and if they do they are asleep. Many moms I talk to also say that the first thing to go is actively cultivating their spiritual lives. Women who are intelligent, hold post-graduate degrees in religion tell me that cultivating their spiritual lives has gone out the window. Women who are full time moms and work outside the home full time struggle too. Full time stay at home moms are struggling as well.
   In the midst of the unknown, unexpected, constant demand of life a lot of times all we want to do is sleep, sit and escape. We are engaging people, things, decisions all day long and to think of engaging something else is overwhelming. To think of pursuing God and cultivating our spiritual lives is daunting.
   "Two Minutes for Mommy" is an opportunity for moms to sit, be and receive. My hope is that in two minutes (or more if you'd like) you can receive some rest and spiritual encouragement that will lead you through the day. My hope is that these two minutes will miraculously multiply into the hundreds of minutes in your day, nourishing and sustaining you.