But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. Matthew 15:18 NIV

Parents often instruct their children to watch what they say, that words matter. Many times a week I remind my children to be kind and loving with their words.They often smirk or wrinkle their little noses. Kindness is not what is in their hearts and it is shown clearly with their words and actions. It is normal to see and hear a child act out of heart and feeling. Their disguise has not yet formed.

As we grow into adults, somehow we learn to cover up and disguise those murky areas of the heart we try to keep hidden. While kids have a way of walking with their hearts exposed, we adults try the Adam and Eve trick, grabbing fig leaves, trying to hide.
 
Yet God sees it all. He sees and knows about the murky places in our hearts. He calls us to walk in the light in all areas, not just the cleaned up spots. For as we walk in the light, we will have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us (1 John l:7).

But we can't stay in the light by our own strength or good deeds. We need the Holy Spirit's guidance and reminders just as a child needs a parents’ reminders to be kind. Lately, I have committed scripture to memory to guide my heart and lead it away from the defilement my human nature is prone to. When anger or some other thought that is not pure or lovely arises, I repeat scripture:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 ESV 

Faith Step: Choose a verse to memorize this week to repeat to yourself when you feel the murky places in your heart being stirred up.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 NKJV

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

At 3 AM I heard a knock on my bedroom door. My feet shuffled toward the sound. In the dark hallway, I found my son. He was distraught from his stuffy nose and found it difficult to rest. I refilled his diffuser and gave him a drink of water. As I was exiting his room, he called out, “Thank you, Mom.”

Suddenly the 3 AM wake up call wasn't about my sacrifice but the gift of serving. Giving of oneself to strengthen another–wasn't that the focus of Jesus' ministry on earth?
Jesus didn't proclaim what He gave up or suffered to heal the sick, to walk the miles and miles to teach hungry souls and perform miraculous wonders. Jesus served. He gave because He had been given purpose from the Father. He loved because He was loved. And He followed His Father's lead in it all.

It wasn't about sacrifice that led Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:17-44). Jesus loved His friends. He walked those miles to their home. His call for Lazarus to arise was motivated by love and compassion. His heart of service and compassion was an opportunity for His Father’s name to be magnified.
 
How humbling. It is easy to get caught up in a self-sacrificing mindset, to think I am giving up  my sleep, my time, my money.  But am I really? In my roles as parent and a wife, I have a tremendous opportunity to pour out encouragement, love, and support. I get to serve because ultimately I was served the greatest and best gift of all by Jesus, God’s son. Through Jesus as a gift, I have received forgiveness, unconditional love, and eternal hope.  
Jesus served humbly on the Earth and then sacrificed his life for me and you. My opportunities to serve aren't sacrifices. They are opportunities to give and love following the example of my Savior.  

Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28 (ESV)

Faith Step: Practice a mindset of service rather than sacrifice. Take some time to write out the areas of your life where you are sacrificing. Ask God to help you see them as opportunities to serve and show compassion from the source of the love He pours on you.  

For as long as I can remember, a cloud of sadness forms around me as the days get shorter and cooler. I have struggled year after year with some seasonal depression causing me to dread winter. The gray skies. The fridged air. The feeling of being stuck inside day after day. When October hits I begin to feel the heaviness, like a weight pressing that I don't know how to get rid of.

This year as I began to feel the changes outside and within my heart, I whispered prayers to God. Help me, Lord, not get sucked down. Keep my heart and head above the grey clouds.
 
Over the course of the last few days, I have noticed I am more present. I feel the crisp morning air with a new appreciation. The colorful leaves pop as I drive, walk, or look out a window. The smell of apple cider and autumn wind awaken my senses, grounding me in the here and now, the present.

The present, the gift of this very moment. I often miss the present moments because I am distracted. This fall God is teaching me that I can find joy in the present. The changing of seasons doesn't mean I have to dwell on what I do not like. I can be thankful for the abundant, vibrant creation He placed right in front of me, today.

Winter will come, but not yet. Right now the season is fall and I choose to see it. I choose to enjoy it.

Faith Step: What is something you do not like about the season you are in? Ask God to help you renew your mind so you can see the present He has for you.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– His good, perfect, and pleasing will. Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Melissa Schrock is a wife, mom of 4, and the author of the book Released: from dark pit to life with abundant hope. Melissa enjoys using everyday life situations in her writing  to remind us of God's truths.

Cellphones. Can you remember life before them? An era when communication took time and patience? Last week I discovered my phone was not delivering all text messages. Some recipients would get my messages, others would not. 
This morning I was frantically searching Google for answers. Why were messages not making it? As I stared at the cellphone screen with stress bubbling up within me, my kids were talking to me and finally yelled, "Mom! Mom!” Ugh. I had let this silly device get in the way of the little one talking right in front of my face, in my presence. I would like to say I put down my phone and my stress subsided, but that was not the case. I put down the phone yet continued into my morning with frustration.
This afternoon as I reflect on the cellphone incident, I am taken aback. How often has God sent me messages that I have not received? How many times have the sins of pride or selfishness kept me from hearing or seeing God's words for me? Why does a cell phone malfunction make me more upset than my own sin problem that keeps me from getting the most important messages?
So as I look at my failures, I accept redemptive grace through Jesus and I move forward, pressing onward to the high calling. I received an important message today. One that stills me. One that calms the raging life around me, and I sit at the cross in His presence.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7-8 (CSB)

Faith Step: What message is God trying to send you? Stand with heart bowed, hands out and receive the message.


And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (NKJV)

One, two, one, two, the girls chanted as they made their way across the yard in the three-legged race at my daughter’s birthday party. Crossing the finish line, their voices rang with cheer. Not because they had won but out of the pure joy of completing the race.
While the children raced, we quickly discovered the winning teams consisted of an older child paired with a younger child. Upon first thought that doesn't make sense. An older child has longer legs and more strength than a small child. How can they even be a competing pair? Is it possible for them to work together?
Here’s the secret. The older child would lift the younger one just enough to carry them down the yard and back. The older used their strength to compensate for the younger’s lack.
Wow. My walk with God feels similar to a mismatched three-legged race. He has strength, wisdom, and power while I am weak and flawed. As I have journeyed through this life, I have realized my strength is small, but I know that the One who walks beside me and in me is strong. Sometimes in difficult seasons I feel Him lift me up, carry me through. His strength covers for my lack and weakness. He is with me one step at a time as we head closer to the finish line.
While I have experienced seasons of allowing God’s gracious hand to pick me up, in other seasons, I have resisted. Shouting over and over in my head, One, two! One, two! think I can do this with my own two feet. I’ve got this on my own.
Oh, how I regret the times of pride resistance. Who am I but a precious child in need of God’s gracious hand to guide me?
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)
Faith Step: Close your eyes and picture a three-legged race. What kind of participant do you see yourself as? Are you at the starting line trembling with fear? Do you step in unison with the Father, step out on your own, or allow Him to carry you?

Soft, silky sand moves like water around my feet. The sound of waves crashing meets my ears. The warm summer breeze gently dances through my hair. At the water’s edge the sights, sounds, smells, and touches seem enhanced. Something about the beach awakens my senses, slows time. I take it all in.
 
As I look to my right, on the surface of the sand a small bug crawls, quickly moving his four little legs up and down over the sand. Compared to the size of his body, the sand grooves and mounds look like valleys and mountains. Up and back down he moves. On the top then in the depths.

With my feet buried in the cool, exfoliating sand, my thoughts wander to my life journey. Up and down. Over the low grooves and towering mounds, just like that little bug I have crawled, frantically trying to move forward and onward. Like miles of sandy beach the journey of life feels. Endless valleys and mountains. Yet where is it all leading?
 
There was a time in life when my movement through the valleys and mountains seemed useless, aimless, going nowhere. Now that I am a new creation, living the abundant life with and for Jesus, the valleys and mountains hold more meaning. I am not wandering aimlessly. I am not frantically crawling in search of the next high. My walk is with purpose and eternal value. My path still feels long at times, but it has joy and meaning. The valleys and mountains are building character and endurance in me. I am running this race with a finish line in view, an eternal goal. My mountains and valleys are now leading toward the inheritance my Father prepared for me long ago. His inheritance is for you, too.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV)

FAITH STEP: Spend some time thinking about your life journey today. Sit with pen and paper to map out your mountains and valleys. Thank the Father for the joy in your journey and ask Him to lead when you feel you are going nowhere.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:16-17 (ESV)

Melissa Schrock is a wife, mom of 4, and the author of the book Released: from dark pit to life with abundant hope. Melissa enjoys using everyday life situations in her writing  to remind us of God's truths.

Have you had those days where nothing goes right? Fresh hot coffee spills all over the counter. Angry words slip out to your disobedient children. There isn’t enough time to read God’s Word and pray this morning. You walk to the car with your slippers still on your feet. You run a red light because last night’s disagreement with your spouse is on replay in your mind. The kid in the back seat is yelling because he forgot his water bottle, and he is very thirsty!

As a child, growing up in a Christian home, I remember hearing adults talk about living a lifestyle that imitates the example of Christ. Now that I have kids of my own, I think more and more about my actions on those whirlwind days. My actions and thoughts are not always worth emulating.
 
Many times in the New Testament, Paul told people to imitate and follow him as he followed Christ. Did he not have bad days?

I have dedicated this year to spending time in and mediating on Paul’s letters. Through this journey I have come to realize being an example worth imitating is not about all the wrong things that happen–the quick angry words, the disagreements, the distracted mind. We are all human and make mistakes, even Paul.

So how did Paul have the confidence to say, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”? It wasn't because he was perfect. Paul’s confidence was rooted in looking ahead and looking upward. Paul shares one of his strategies: forgetting what was behind and reaching forward to what was ahead. (Philippians 3:12-14) He did not sulk in his failures. He did not mull over all his mistakes while he sat in prison. He looked up toward the prize. He knew Who had a hold of him and he was secure in that. Paul lived a life that honored God in both his successes and in his failures. Although he was weak, he knew God's strength. He experienced the power of a changed and overcoming life through God’s grace and calling. Paul kept his eyes on God more than the circumstances around him.
 
Where are you today? Are you drowning in your imperfection, or are you acknowledging your weakness and humbly glorifying God for His strength and grace in your life? If you are not living a transformed life, stop and talk to the Father. Let Him change yours (as He did Paul’s) into a life worth imitating.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without
reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5 (ESV)

FAITH STEP: Evaluate your life in the light of Philippians 3:12-14. Practice looking ahead. Take steps you would have the children (or others) around you imitate. 
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)