Hot Mess of a Martha

I am the definition of {Hot Mess Express}. I lose my keys about 10 times a day, I forget where I set my phone down, and my debit card.. well I have not seen that thing in days. My life is one big to do list filled with more to do list that are never getting done. When I tell you I'm on my way somewhere add about 20 minutes to the travel time cause I will get side tracked by something. I try and try again to have it all together yet I seem to keep failing. 

I'm constantly going. My social calendar never seems to have an open moment leaving me little time to clean my house or wash my truck. When I'm not at church I am working or hanging on the lake or having lunch dates with Grandma leaving me little time to breathe. (So maybe you have picked up by now too that I am a little melodramatic.)

Recently I picked up Andy Lee's Flawed Yet  Called: A Mary like Me. The book walks you through the three Mary's in the Bible. The one that called to my heart was the story of Mary and Martha. If you have never spent time in Luke I have linked it here. I think that this encounter with Jesus can be a teaching tool for men and women. 

All to often so many of us busy ourselves with so much more than we need to. I think Jesus is trying to teach Martha that she didn't have to physically sit at His feet but she needed to have a heart with Him above all the clutter and chaos that surrounds our daily lives. It is life there will always be laundry to be washed, dishes that need cleaning, and a bed that needs making. The moment we let these stresses take control of our lives is the moment we disobey God. 

Let's be honest though could you imagine Jesus walking up to your door unannounced? I think we all would like to think that we would be a Mary and sit at his feet not distracted by anything instead of a stressed out Martha who was rushing to clean and prepare a meal. I chuckle at the part in the story when Martha looks at Jesus and says “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” this is so one of those questions yet not a question more of a statement to let you know that we women are the sass masters and we want it our way or the highway. 

Martha was stressed and sassy. A women after my own heart. Like literally me 95% of the time 

Jesus comes back though so cool, calm, and collective Luke 10: 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 

Its inevitable that Martha and women like myself and many of you would stress about the many things not getting done in our lives. Proverbs 31 writes to us telling us the expectations of a wife. “She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.” I don't know about you ladies but I struggle to get up that early in the morning and then on top of that you want me to have breakfast for the whole house prepared? Yeah ok bye BOO.. 

The key is though that we don't let the stress of having the perfect home, outfit, or life become bigger than the love for our SAVIOR. 

Luke 10: 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

We should have the hearts of Mary. Focused on one purpose. One thing. That thing is not schedules, to do list, and chores. That thing is 

JESUS 

Worldly stresses like the schedules, to do list, and chores will be apart of our lives as men and women of God. It is our job though to not let them consume our hearts more than He does. The chaos and stress of life should never overtake the love and peace Jesus gives us. We have a relationship with him because we have committed ourselves to Him and trust Him with all our heart that he will take care of and provide for us should we be obedient to Him. 

So this weekend I pray you don't let the stress of not having your laundry for the week ready to go, or the grocery shopping list lying on the kitchen counter unfinished, or that bathroom you need to scrub consume you. I pray you find the time Sunday as in everyday to go get plugged in at a church somewhere and start diving deeper into God's love for you. There is no better time than NOW! 

XO, 

 M.K.M

B I B L E// Real and Raw

Everyday I set aside time in the morning and the evening for quiet time. In this time I may listen to worship music, read my bible, journal, or spend time in prayer. I have found myself lately focused on trying to read more  of the bible working on knowing stories and being able to summarize books.

The other day though as I sat working through my daily read for a reading plan I am working through I found myself frustrated. I found myself frustrated trying to comprehend the words in front of me. I knew that tomorrow there would be a new reading that paired with what I had read today and I would need to understand for future readings. This is when I started to think:

Is God really worried about how well I can spit verses off?

Is He focused on me knowing the order of the books in the Bible?

Is he worried about me staying the course of my reading plan?

God's main concern is that we are in His word daily. He wants us to be moved and changed by his words, but am I really being moved and changed just because I can spit off verses if what those verses say have not moved me and changed my heart. What have I really gained if I do not take the time to really dive deeper into the word but just simply memorize for reciting.

We as believers study scripture to better know him. We study scripture to have a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Father. We Study scripture to show God, "God I wish to know more of you." We fail Him though if we read for pride.

Our bibles were made for a bigger purpose. Yes the bible journaling is cool and the Instagram photos are awesome but just like we were made with a bigger purpose so was the bible. The bible is the manual to life and should be opened everyday to study and better understand all the sacrifices God mad for you and me. Whether it takes you a year to read or you spend your whole life working through all the books in the bible the point is you do it for Him. You do it because you seek to OBEY.

So friends if you are feeling discouraged in your inability to recite scripture or maybe with the current reading you are working through know this; you have already been obedient today because you have opened your bible. You are further today than you were yesterday. It is not a race to read your bible the fastest or know more verses than your neighbor. The point is you opened the word today to foster a relationship worth far more than knowing a few verses will ever be worth. God believes in you, you need only believe in yourself.

| Isiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. |

XO,
 M.K.M

| L O V E |

Love is a verb. It is an action given out and taken in. For some they love themselves better than they love others and for others they love others better than themselves. I myself am the ladder of the two. First and foremost we are called to love our God with ALL of our heart. As the saying goes LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE.

If you have ever met my mother you would know I'm a product of most all that makes her the special women I love. There was not a day my mom didn't tell me she loved me, not a competition she wasn't at screaming like the crazy women she was, nor a school event that she wasn't front and center to snap a pic for the many photo albums I now hold dear to my heart. What my mother taught me though was to believe in those I love and believe in them with all my heart. Coming to know and love Jesus wasn't hard it was basically written in my DNA. Loving and building relationships with others wasn't hard either it's one of my favorite things to do. The hard part for me was loving me and allowing myself to be loved by others.

I wrote before how I struggled with being obedient to God and his plan for my life. For me I see those around me getting into relationships, settling down, and starting the next chapter of their story. I desire to have all these things yet I'm not obedient to God and allowing him to open my heart to such experiences. I find myself shutting doors before I ever fully give them the opportunity to open and develop because of past experiences in my life.

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it." - Pastor Rick Warren

Allowing my past to dictate me puts a barrier between me and God and me and my future. It hinders my ability to open my heart to the love of others and be fully immersed in the relationships I build. Learning to let go has been one of the biggest struggles for me personally. I love being in control and taking lead of many of life's challenges. Coming to know God though is knowing that you are no longer in control that He has it now. He shows me daily that I am loved for so many more reasons than I knew, he shows me that he cares, and he shows me that good things are coming.

I am challenged
I am inspired
I am motivated

By the words God wrote for us. I know that today I may feel I failed. Tomorrow is a new day and another opportunity to be  obedient, passionate in my pursuit, and intentional with my actions because I am LOVED.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

XO,
  M.K.M

Defeated, Depleted, and Discouraged.

"God you pursue me with power and glory. Unstoppable love that never ends"


I struggle daily with the urge to compare myself with those around me. I believe many can relate to such a struggle and pain to feel that you are not worthy or comparable enough.  For months I have been diving into the word, getting more connected with my church, and learning to create time for myself and with God. These past few weeks though was a test to all my work.
There is part of me that wants to say I have failed the past few months then there is the other part of me that says if I was going through this same type of a situation months of go I would have cried woe is me and sought out the pity of others.

I believe our relationship with God is like a garden we have to tend and put work into our garden to be able to see the fruit of our work. We most sow seeds to see growth in our own garden and realize someone will always "have it better than we do," but if we can learn to look at our own gardens for the beauty they hold we will find contentment and peace more abundantly where we grow.
The past couple of weeks I have found myself stumbling in my obedience to God. I allowed the enemy to walk in and have a hand at my attitude and out look towards others when I should have been focused on other things. I allowed him to make me doubt my path and future all because I was focusing on the things happening in others lives at the moment instead of focused on the things God was doing right in my own garden.

I have found myself feeling defeated because I look at the girls around me and see they have found a man that pursues them daily and loves them unconditionally. They take the most beautiful trips. They seem to have their lives figured out. CONT.  BELOW:

//This week in particular I share the joy in the fact that my little sister, best friend, and one of my biggest inspirations got engaged to the love of her life. She has found the one she wishes to spend the rest of her life with. With the engagement comes the monotonous small talk of congratulations from others and what I would consider the most tacky of questions, "Is it weird that your little sister is getting married before you are?" If you all must know until this moment I had never thought twice about it. There was always a part of me that knew my younger sister would get married before me she has always had a more family focused future where mine had been geared more towards school and career. As I sat and had more and more people start to ask me that question I started to question myself and where I was in life. And for what purpose? I was allowing others and the enemy to affect me in a way that I feel took away from some of the excitement for my sister and her next great chapter. I allowed myself to put the blame of others on my upset when I had brought it upon myself by not staying focused and being reminded that God has a plan for me I need only be still and He shall reveal to me.//

CONT.:
When in reality I gave my life to someone who continues to pursue me daily no matter how I look, no matter how bad I mess up, or no matter how defeated I feel. I allowed myself to be consumed by issues that are momentary and superficial. I forgot what the bigger purpose was here and that's to serve a God who's graces are more than we can ever understand. To serve a God who sent his only son so that you and I could sit here today and write a post like this and talk about a man like that. This season of life is just that, a season and as we know seasons are constantly changing and different than the last. Moving forward I hold on to the fact that I put my joy and faith into the love God has for me. I find myself realizing I'm exactly where I'm suppose to be according to Gods plan and that through prayer, worship, and His word it will only be revealed more and more to me I need only be obedient.

Psalm 63:1 “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water"
XO,
   M.K.M